174: What Your God-Given Assignment Will Cost You | Noah Herrin

26:30Nick Bare:It is by grace, you are saved through faith, but it does not mean that faith by itself, if not accompanied by action is dead. How do you respond to that? So I think it's really about the order. And I think both are actually absolutely true. it kind of goes back to what we were saying a few minutes ago about falling in love with Jesus. So the best way I know how to describe this is when Maddie and I got married, I didn't do any chores around the house because I just, I don't know what I was thinking. It was, I wasn't thinking that's what was happening. And one day I came home from work and she was extremely upset with me.

27:10She was like, I asked you to do the laundry last night. You did not do the laundry. You haven't done any laundry since we got married. I mean, she was letting me have it. and I deserved it. I was just very late. I watched sports when I came home from work and I did nothing. And so she, the next day she was gone for like three or four hours. And I thought, I am going to do every single piece of laundry in this house. And what I did is I like left all of it folded on the bed so that she could see that I had done it. And so dumb. And when she came home, And she had never in our entire relationship been so excited about what she saw.

27:47Like she started trying to kiss me. I mean, it was like, I was like, you need me to vacuum? Like what else do you need? You know? But I learned in that moment that great relationships require effort. That if you want to have a relationship that actually thrives, you can't just be like, well, I hope that this gets better. And then you don't put effort into the relationship. And what I think about those two scriptures is our relationship with Jesus can only start because of what he did for us. It is only started by our faith and belief that he actually is God, that he actually did die on the cross, that he actually did raise from the dead and that it counted for us.

28:27Like that is the only way you can begin a relationship with Jesus. But because you love him, you naturally want to put in effort into the relationship. you naturally want to get to know him. And the more you get to know him, the more you fall in love with him, the more you're going to start doing the things that he wired you and called you to do. And so this like James is, I love the book of James. It's like one of the most like hard nose, like this direct to the point. I love the book of James. It's amazing. And I love it because it's a reminder that this journey of following Jesus, I really think the audience he was speaking to is not dissimilar to American Christianity.

29:06which has slipped into a little bit of how can, it slipped into a little bit of what can I get out of following Jesus versus here's everything that I have, Jesus. You're the Lord of my life. And I really think what he's saying is like, hey, like you're just making this all about you. It's time to get some skin in the game here. Like you call yourself a follower of Jesus, like do the things that he did, like follow in his footsteps. Like you say you're a follower, but you just, you're just, you look like you did before you accepted Christ. Yeah. That's good. Dude, it makes me think of Steph's birthdays.

29:48Nick Bare:Steph is a big like holiday birthday, make a moment experience. Lots of balloons. Yes. Like balloons, cards. and I have historically for our entire relationship failed. All she's ever wanted is flowers and a card. Yeah. And I'll be very honest, like I have failed many times. I've gotten caught up in my life and work, in my training. And it's 11 p.m. the night before the big day. And I'm like, crap. I did it again. I did it again. so I'll go like make something on the computer or like I'll make a custom card which is like a piece of paper folded over and I'll write some stuff on it custom does make it sound better it does but she knows I forgot even that I forgot I just didn't care enough and I hate to say that but it's the truth so her birthday was three weeks ago and I was like I'm doing it big this year like I'm I'm making up for, like this is the new standard.

31:00Nick Bare:Yeah. I did it all, dude. I got one of those companies coming to the sign in your yard. Oh yeah. It's like happy birthday, Steph. She's into tennis right now. So there's a tennis ball on it. Come on. I got flowers delivered. I got custom cupcakes done. Wow. I took the day off of work. I got her a birthday present. We went into Austin. We went into the spa. she's been craving like a chicken Caesar wrap so I found the best chicken Caesar wrap spot wow awesome I could find we went to this like natural regenerative butcher and grocery shop afterwards got coffee she wanted homemade burgers and fries for dinner I did that I did it all come on man and she was so happy wow not the not because of like what I got her yeah and it was the thought it was the intention it was the works yeah like she knows i love her yeah but it was the action that i took yep that like reinforced the love that i have for yeah man and that was an eye-opener for me because i watched how just like it made her feel like man i could have i could have been doing this for a long time yeah and i didn't because i relied on the fact that we got married i'm committed we're already good we're good we're wearing our rings yeah what else do we need right and i was so wrong but i resonate with that yeah and the way that it aligns with faith and and works and deeds makes so much sense yeah it's faith first if you try to do works first there's no relationship with god your works can't earn it like it doesn't matter it doesn't matter how, what your spiritual pedigree is, who your dad is, who your mom is, how much money you've made.

32:51It just doesn't matter. It's like you got faith is first. And then once we realized that it's his works that did it, not ours, then we naturally want to do things that he's called us to do.

33:01Nick Bare:Yeah. I'm curious, running a church in Nashville, Tennessee,

33:10Nick Bare:which, I mean, as a whole, you know we spent a nine month sabbatical in uh in nashville yeah in 2023 i like that nine months sabbatical um the people in that area there it's just it's different um yeah steph and i were in we were visiting franklin a few months ago we're in a coffee shop and there was like this group of mid 20 year old girls that came in. Yeah. And they were dressed very Southern proper. They were all carrying their Bibles. Wow, this is like really awesome to see. Yeah. Especially when you compare two parts of Austin, Texas. Sure. Just being very honest. But Way Church has a younger audience demographic.

34:01Nick Bare:We do. what problems do you see that the younger population is struggling with when it comes to their faith and their relationship with Christ? Yeah, I think - Or the world. It's, I would say the biggest one, and it's so encouraging like that you saw those girls carrying their Bible around because I would actually say that the biggest issue with younger Christians is biblical literacy, meaning that they don't always know what the Bible actually says. And the reason that that's really dangerous is because there are so many things, whether on social media or conversations that you're having with people that people can say that sound really, really good and valiant and loving that are actually super contradictory to what the Bible says.

34:53I have a mentor who told me 10 years ago, he said, Noah, there's coming a day where people are gonna set aside the Bible in an attempt to become more like Jesus. And what he was saying is, like there are going to be things that people think Jesus would do or Jesus would say because they sound like the most loving thing that you could do. And because they don't actually know what Jesus said and did 2000 years ago, they're just gonna do that thing that sounds loving and intolerant and good now. and they're going to miss who the real Jesus was. Because if you're building your life on a Jesus that's not from scripture, you can call him whatever you want, but it's not Jesus.

35:38And that's the danger that I see with young people is whenever the word is not the foundation of who Jesus is in your life, you'll fill that foundation with feelings. You'll fill it with whatever culture is filling it with. and you'll have this kind of mutt Jesus that has some stuff that's accurate and some stuff that's not, but ultimately you're gonna end up in a place that is not the place that God wants you because your truth is not coming from the word. The way that I say it to our church all the time is that if Jesus said it 2000 years ago, he would say the same thing today because the Bible tells us that he's the same yesterday, today, and forever.

36:18So if he was for it 2000 years ago, he'll be for it now. If he's against it 2000 years ago, he'd be against it now. And a lot of young people, when talking about the things that Jesus is against, they get super uncomfortable. Like, well, why would he be against that? Well, why would he not want me to have that? Why would he say no to that? And what I'm trying to teach our church is that anytime Jesus says no in scripture, it's always because he has a better yes. it's because the designer always knows how the design works best. And so we have to like, I really think lean in with the next generation of like, this is what the Bible says.

37:01This is why it says it. And ultimately this is why it's for your good. And if we don't do that, I think what we're gonna see is just this continuation of a Jesus mixed with culture that is not actually who Jesus is. Do you have any examples of that? Yeah, I think sexuality is like the one that's like, it's like really, it's really prominent right now. So like just an example would be a couple who comes to church and they're sleeping together, you know, they're living together. But they're not married. But they're not married and they don't see any problem with it. They're like, I love her, she loves me and we're gonna get married one day.

37:39Like, what's the big deal? And it's like, okay, well, first of all, like all throughout scripture, we see that God's design for sex is in the context of marriage. And like, ah, but like, that means that I've got to like move out and like, she's going to have to find her own spot and she's going to have to pay for that. And like, that doesn't feel like a win. That doesn't feel like, like Jesus would want us to have to pay twice the amount of money. And it's like, well, the whole reason Jesus said this is because a lot of people who are doing what you're doing, this doesn't end in marriage. This doesn't end in sacrificial love for each other.

38:13Like there's a reason why sex was held out to the end because a lot of times the moment you start getting that, you stop serving the other person in the way that you should. And, but like in the short term, it's just like, well, you're gonna make us like completely upend our life. Like that sounds so hateful. And it's like, actually it's the most loving thing that the Lord could do is cause you to move out. And it's one of the reasons I tell people like, I'm for quick engagements. Like if you know that you love them, like get married, like jump, don't wait, just go all in. But that's a pretty practical common example that I think we see a lot.

38:48Have you had anyone at the church who came to way,

38:52Nick Bare:they weren't married, they were living together, they were sleeping together. And then they were realizing that they made a mistake, like went backwards. Yeah. So we had a couple that was invited to a small group. They were living together. They'd been dating for about a year and they just genuinely had no idea that it was a sin. Like they didn't grow up in church. So they gave the - That's how Steph and I were. Yeah, yeah. We moved in together before we were engaged. Yeah. And we didn't know. Yeah, a lot of people don't. And it's like, the Lord has so much grace for that. You know, like I remember this couple in particular, they actually both gave their life to Jesus at our church.

39:36So they're like passionate, like we're talking about. like all this passion, just clueless about like anything the Bible says. They're just like, Jesus died for my sins. I have eternal life. This is amazing. And they start going to this small group. And this was like right at the beginning of the church. So we only had eight small groups at the time. Now we have like, I don't even know how many, but I went to one of them and I meet this couple and they're asking like the most elementary Christian questions. And I think a lot of times people are like, oh, like they should know better. But people who have real spiritual maturity when they're around people that are in sin like that and asking questions like that, it's the most encouraging thing because it's like, what better place for someone who's new to their faith, who doesn't know what the Bible says to be asking those questions than around other Christians who are also trying to follow Jesus and live a life that's submitted to him.

40:32What three months after they started coming to small groups, they moved out. They got their own places because they realized like, this isn't what the Lord has for us. And they actually ended up breaking up like six months later. And one of them is now engaged to another girl because it's been like a year and a half now. And the other one is dating someone else. Both are in healthy, like holy relationships that are honoring the Lord. And the guy is the one that I'm the closest to naturally. And he talks about how life changing. He was like, I really think what would have happened between the two of us is we would have gotten married because we were so comfortable living together and so comfortable sharing what we were sharing.

41:15I think we would have gotten married and I don't think that we were supposed to get married. And we just couldn't see that when we were living together. And it's like, so sometimes it ends up working out like really good. Sometimes the relationship ends up ending, but it's like, you can't argue with the results now of their life because they both are like, we're so thankful that we moved out.

41:33Nick Bare:Yeah. I think what happens with some people, couples sometimes is like, say you start dating. Yeah. And then you move in together. Yeah. And then his becomes hers and hers becomes his. Right. Before they commit to each other. Totally. And decide to get married. But here you are now in this situation where you're living together. You're not yet married. you're starting to think, maybe this isn't the person for me, but we're already in it. Totally. So it's going to be so much harder to get out of it than just to keep going. Yep. All right, let's just take the next step. Let's just get married now.

42:14Nick Bare:Let's keep going. Because we're already in it. Yeah. And that's an unfortunate place to be. Yeah. And I think that's one of the downfalls outside of listening to the word of God. Yeah. That could potentially lead to. For sure. I also wanna say like, if there's someone listening to this and you're living with your girlfriend or your boyfriend, like it used to drive me crazy when I would like hear like pastors talk about like different sins or whatever. Like, I just wanna be super transparent. Like all have fallen short of the glory of God. Like we could sit here and have a four hour episode of me just telling you all the things that I did that were against the will of the Lord.

42:49And the really cool thing about the grace of Jesus is all it takes is a moment of repentance to be forgiven. And then you just turn and follow Jesus and do what he asks you to do. And there's no condemnation for you. So I just wanted to say that for anyone who might be in that season, because I know that there's a lot of people who are.

43:05Nick Bare:That's helpful. Yeah. I was sharing this with you earlier. We've been talking about Pastor Joby Martin the last 24 hours. Legend. And I was listening to a podcast of his earlier this week. And he was talking about how to read the Bible. And I thought this was very helpful. This would have helped me a long time ago, but he had three steps. like as you read in the Bible, you ask yourself, like, what did I just read? What just happened? Yeah. And that is the context. Yep. And then the second question you ask, what does this mean? The actual interpretation of the word. Yeah. Not your interpretation.

43:44Nick Bare:Right. God's interpretation. That's right. The actual interpretation. That's right. And then number three, now what? Yeah. Like, how do I apply this? Yeah. To my life, what I'm doing? Yeah. And you said something earlier that I would love for you to kind of tap on again. Yeah. People start their journey of faith and it's like, what can God do for me? Like, what do I get out of this? Yeah. As opposed to like, how do I glorify God? Yep. How do you help people understand like what that looks like and means and how to explore that? Yeah. So like, I think Jesus very easily can become a means to an end.

44:25It's like, I hear that he died for me. That's amazing. Yeah, like I trust you. Like there's two places that I can spend eternity. One is really hot and one feels like San Diego. Like, yeah, I prefer the one that's not really hot. Like I'll do that. I follow you, Jesus. And then like, you don't actually, you don't actually really have a relationship with the Lord. You just are like using him to get to heaven. Does that make sense? Yeah. And then all of a sudden you like start, basically Jesus becomes an accessory. Like you wear the cross, but you don't follow him. You wear the cross, but you don't ever do the things that he did.

44:58And that's what like we're pushing back on is like, really following Jesus comes with a cost. Like when Jesus said, pick up your cross and follow me, those early disciples knew like this comes with a cost. This is gonna cost our reputation. This is gonna cost maybe our finances. This is gonna cost maybe our plans, our decisions. and ultimately when you know that there's a cost to following Jesus, you've got to decide, do I want to do this enough? Like I know we were talking about John five, like, do you want to be healed? In John five, there's like this guy who's, he's been lame, he's been paralyzed for 38 years.

45:38And it's like, that seems like a really obvious question of like, you've been lame for 38 years. Of course you want to be healed, but Jesus doesn't ask dumb questions. You know, like there was a reason he asked it. And I think the reason he asked it, we talked about this last night and this morning is because there's a comfortability that comes with your brokenness and with your consumerism even. And following Jesus, like really following Jesus, it looks like giving him your most valuable possession. Jesus can't be your most valuable possession until he has your most valuable possession. And so it's like, for some people, that's going to be money.

46:24And for other people, it's going to be what they do, their vocation, their job. And so what I'm not saying is you have to quit your job or you have to give away every dollar in your bank account. What I am saying is that truly following Jesus looks like Jesus saying, hey, they're taking up an offering today and you're in the service and you hear him like tugging on your heart to give towards it, you're not going, no, like this is mine. It's you going, yeah, I'll give that a hundred dollars in the offering that he's asking me to do because he's the Lord of my life, not my money. Or, oh, okay. Like you want me to go this direction in my business?

47:04Man, that's a really hard decision, but ultimately you're the Lord of my life. And so I surrender all to you and I'm going to do that. Like I value your plans more than my plans. That's what we're talking about. It's like, I'm just, he's not just someone who adds to my life, but he's somebody who, if he asks something from me, I willingly lay it down. Does that make sense? Yeah.

47:25Nick Bare:I mean, everything is his. Yeah. You know, my prayer time, like I explained to you, is in my sauna at night. Yeah. I love that, by the way. Which I'm excited for you to get a sauna. Me too. it's like it's a challenge being the first like 12 minutes of that prayer time is it's very present yeah it's very deep the last three minutes it's hard to focus on anything for sure so like you really gotta go like well we were in there today man i was i was real close i was like i don't know how much longer that's why i kept adding water on because like i'm gonna i'm smoking them out before we get in the water.

48:10Nick Bare:But that's really powerful time for me. And when I'm in the sauna, I look out. The way our sauna is set up, it's in our backyard and I see our pool. I see our fire pit. I see the backyard. I can see where my kid's room are. And it creates the perfect backdrop for a place of gratitude. And I sit in there. I'm like, I start every your prayer off with, Lord, I'm so grateful for all the abundance, the security, the wealth that you've provided us. It is more than I could ever want or ask for. But all of this is yours. Yeah, that's great. And one of the things that I was telling you about Chad Wright, Chad Wright shared with me months ago and has become part of my prayer every day is God, please conform me to the image of your son, Jesus Christ at all costs.

49:05And I say this and I really mean it.

49:08Nick Bare:Take it all. Take it all if you want it. The house, the money, all of it. And when I walk into HQ and I'm oftentimes touring people, they ask me the question, how proud are you? You built this. this is all yours. Yeah. And I used to be like super prideful. Like, yeah. Yeah. I worked really hard for this. Yeah. Look at it. Yeah. And I can honestly say, now when I'm asked that question, none of it's mine. Wow. It's not mine. Wow. None of it. Yeah. But that's been like a spiritual journey. Yeah. It did not happen overnight. Yeah. but that was forged through the storms that I've been in and many of these storms in the last year that have helped me learn that.

50:02Yeah. Are you familiar with the parable of the talents? I don't think so. You should read it soon. I think it's my favorite parable. So like Jesus tells you all these stories in the gospels that are called parables. And there's one called the parable of the talents. There's basically these three guys that he gives different talents to. and talents in Bible times, it was like a certain amount of money. So it's not like you're gifting, like we would think of the word talent now, but he gives each of them a different amount. And basically he gives one a lot, one kind of a medium amount and one a little.

50:42And the one with a lot and the one with the medium amount, they go and they make a return on the talent that he gives them. they like go invest it and they bring back a return. They multiply it. And then the one with one talent was so afraid to lose it that he buries the talent. And when Jesus comes back or not Jesus, but Jesus is telling the story. So the man who represents Jesus in the story comes back and he's like, okay, what'd you get? What'd you do with it? And he has to like dig it back up. And he's like, look, I didn't lose it. And the man in the story rebukes him and basically tells him to leave.

51:21Like he's very upset with him. And when I hear you saying that, I think of like God's blessed you. He's blessed all of us with a certain amount of talent, a certain amount of gifting, a certain amount of money, a certain amount of whatever it is. And what he's looking for is stewards, not owners, who realized like this is what he gave me. I'm gonna go make the biggest return on investment possible, meaning the greatest impact possible with what he's given me, whether that's the biggest impact through my finances, through my influence, through my time, through my gifting, whatever it is, so that ultimately I can bring back.

51:56And the thing that I always remind myself is you don't get to decide the amount of talent that God gives you. The only thing you get to decide is will you bring him back an investment on it? That's it. Because we all get a different amount. And some people can say, that's fair, that's not. It doesn't matter. It's all his. the person that you find yourself comparing yourself to the most that has more talent or whatever the thing is than you, it's like, it is the Lord's, like you nailed it. It's like, and when you realize it's all his, it not only helps you have a better relationship with what he's given you, but it helps you have a better relationship with others to not compare, to not compete and just go, man, if we're all trying to steward this for the glory of God, we're all gonna hear well done, my good and faithful servant, which is the goal of our life.

52:43Nick Bare:Here's a question for you. Yeah.

52:47Nick Bare:we all have been given these different levels of talent

52:55Nick Bare:and i'm following it's not for us to own it is for us to appropriately steward that's right how do you respond to someone that asked the question this person has more talent than me and they're not a believer and they don't think the same way that I do and they're not doing to glorify God. How am I supposed to think of that individual and what they have? Yeah, I think our first posture as a believer should be not yet. That's the heart that I think the Lord wants us to have is like, they're not stewarding it for him yet because they haven't met the right person who's gonna lead them to Jesus. That's fair.

53:38There's this other proverb that says that the wealth of the wicked is laid up for the just, which means like there are people like that, that I fully believe either haven't met Jesus yet and they're going to meet Jesus. And it's gonna be, dude, you're a classic example.

53:54Nick Bare:I'm literally thinking that as you're saying that. You're a classic example. That's me in a nutshell. Yeah. So there's examples like you who it's like, they just haven't had their encounter with Jesus yet. But one day that will be stewarded for his glory and praise God. I think God uses all sorts of crazy circumstances where like he blesses a thing and you don't see why he blessed it until way later. I think there's other examples, unfortunately, where people never follow Jesus, but that money doesn't go with them to where they're spending eternity. And eventually it gets repurposed for God's kingdom.

54:30Fairness in the kingdom of God is a really slippery slope to mess with. and the reason I say that is I saw the number one like most questioned thing for people who don't follow Jesus as far as like the thing that they wrestle with is like why do why do bad things happen to good people why do good things happen to bad people you know flipping it and there's so many reasons for that but even in the premise of the question there's kind of some like things that are messed up because according to the Bible, there are no good people. Like we've all fallen short of the glory of God. There was only one good person and his name was Jesus and he willingly sacrificed himself for us.

55:14And so just coming from that place of like, hey, like I try to do good, but ultimately like without Jesus, I can't, like that's the first thing. But the other thing is like, because we live in a fallen world, that's the part that people really miss. They're like, well, if I'm following Jesus, why doesn't he bless my thing? It's like, well, that's not the point of following Jesus is to be more blessed on earth. Point of following Jesus is to go, man, I'm already the most blessed person of all time because my eternity is secured. And no matter what happens to me on this side of eternity, I am going to be with Jesus forever.

55:52And so I just think like, there are so many things that we won't know on this side of heaven, as far as like why God chooses to do some of the things that he does, bless some of the people that he blesses. But I think the healthiest posture for our own soul is when we see someone that God's blessing. If they're a Christian, I like to say it this way. It's like, don't get upset when God blesses your neighbor because it means he's in the neighborhood. It's like, just celebrate, dude. It's kind of like the ice cream truck. I never got mad when the ice cream truck stuck to my neighbor's house. I knew he was gonna come to my house next.

56:26Yeah, that's good. That's like a healthy posture to have, I think.

56:28Nick Bare:That's good. you brought up John five and I did want to talk about John five. Yeah. My mentor and I were having a conversation this past week about John five. And he asked me the question, Nick, do you want to be healed? In reference to the story of Jesus asking the paralyzed man, do you want to be healed? and he made me think about it in a way that I've never thought about before. I've written this or read this scripture before many times and I always just like read past it and I never tried to interpret what Jesus was actually asking this man. And then as I was preparing for this podcast, I went on your instagram.

57:24Nick Bare:Yeah, and I saw you made a reaction video to theo vaughn. Yeah, which have you ever he lives in nashville I believe have you guys ever connected? Um, I met him one time believe it or not He was in a sauna at a place. It was like a public place A public gym that had a sauna and I opened the door to get in the sauna and he was sitting in there with headphones on and just looked up and I Immediately closed the door because like we kind of head nodded and it was just like those I'm gonna let you do your thing and I turned around so, um, I don't know that he would remember that but I have met him. It was just very brief.

57:53Nick Bare:When I was in Nashville, I was going to Soho house one day. Yeah, that's where it was. That's where I met him. Oh, it was? Yeah. He was passing. He was walking past me. As I'm walking past him, I'm like, oh my gosh, this is Theo Vaughn. And as he's passing me, he stops. He dabs me up, pulls me in, gives me a hug. Wow. He goes, what's up, brother? And then just keeps walking by me. And so good. I walk up to the host that checks you in at Soho House. And I was like, that was Theo Bond. And she goes, yeah, he does that to everyone. But you made a reaction video. I love that. He's been sharing some really, some good stuff lately.

58:36Nick Bare:You can tell he's really exploring. He's hungry. His faith. Yeah. In a very like authentic and genuine and vulnerable place. I agree. Which is cool. but you made a reaction video and he was talking about John five. Yeah. And I mean, you can watch his gears turning. For sure. As he's explaining like what this meant to him. Yeah. And as Jesus is asking this paralyzed man, do you actually want this new life? Yeah. Because life you have right now, like you are being provided for. You have comfort. People are taking care of you. As soon as I heal you, You won't have those things anymore. Are you ready to endure and embrace what's on the other side of healing?

59:23Nick Bare:And as I was reading this and we were talking about it, I think a lot of us, myself included, we say we want the other side. We want to be healed. But then we don't take the action to get there because there's fear of what is on the other side. That's right. And the more I read the Bible, to be honest, the more impressed I am by like the golden nuggets. Like you can reread the same chapter a thousand times. Yeah. And you pick up on something new every time. Absolutely. And it is the most beautifully written thing. It is. Ever. Yep. And I think like 20 years from now, I will still be mind blown.

1:00:13Nick Bare:Yeah. but how much is in it that I actually don't see right now. Yeah, absolutely. It's the only book where the author is always present. So the Holy Spirit is always there when you're reading it. I think that's a big reason why we're always getting things out of it. What was crazy about that Theo Vaughn clip, first of all, I love that he, like in that clip that I reacted to, he says, there's a story, it's called John 5. I just love the way he started that. But he is, I believe this with all my heart, the Ovan is going to be an absolute force for the kingdom of God one day. Like that's what I believe.

1:00:50Yeah. But - I would love to have a conversation with him. Oh my goodness. There's, yeah. So I had just preached a sermon two weeks before on John 5. So it was fresh. It was like fresh on me. And one of our team members, he's actually here with me, his name's Andrew. He sent me that clip and he was like, dude, we got to like, you got to respond to this. Like one, he was like, this is incredible that he is wrestling. And this is gonna encourage so many people that he is wrestling with the Bible and with what God says. But two, he lives in Nashville and maybe he would see this, maybe this would encourage him in his faith.

1:01:28He was getting pushed back as you can imagine for even bringing up the Bible. And so we were just kind of like, let's put something out there that's like for this, that hopefully people see and encourage him in. And we had tons of people who did that, but in order for you to pick up the new thing that God wants to do in your life, you've got to put down the old things. And what you could see in Theo Vaughn and what I absolutely believe you could see in John 5 if we were there 2000 years ago is this, man, healing would require me to put down so many old things. And this isn't super popular to talk about in 2026.

1:02:06In fact, it like gets you canceled a lot of times on the internet, but it's so easy to have a victim mentality. Oh yeah. About like what you've been through. And there is a difference between being a victim and having a victim mentality. So a victim has something happen to them. A victim mentality is when you let that thing happen to you for the rest of your life, where because that thing happened to you, it now affects every part of the way you think. It affects the conversations you have. It affects the relationships with you have. It becomes your identity. It becomes your identity. And I think that that's what happened with the paralyzed man, which is why Jesus had to ask him a question that seems so obvious.

1:02:51Do you want to be healed? 38 years, Bible scholars believe that he actually made good money as a beggar, that you can make great money in that area of town, that there was no real incentive for him to stop begging. Like it just, it makes me think of this. Like if you're a victim who's listening to this, you've had something bad happen to you. As followers of Jesus, we have all the compassion in the world for you. And so what we're not saying is that you need to toughen up. We're simply saying that because of what Jesus did for you, you can get up. Like you don't have to stay there. Like you have victory.

1:03:28You are more than a conqueror through Christ Jesus is what the Bible says, which means that on the other side of you saying, yes, I wanna be healed, there is actually victory. Like you can have a new identity. You can be somebody, not just better, but alive. Like the gospel is not about becoming better. It's about becoming alive. And when I think about the words of Jesus, I am the way, the truth, and the life. The life that he's talking about is the life that you've been looking for in all the wrong places. You've been looking for in your old identities. But the life that Jesus offers is Zoe life, which is abundant life.

1:04:04It's life to the fullest. It's life that actually fulfills.

1:04:09Nick Bare:Do you remember the scripture? I think it's in Matthew. It talks about putting new wine in old wine skins. Yep, yep.

1:04:22And that, I've been trying to find it.

1:04:25Nick Bare:I'm flipping through Matthew, but - Yeah, I don't know the reference. That really spoke to me when I first came across it. Yeah. Where if I imagine I give my life to Christ and I am saved and I am new wine, it's really easy to say like, I want a new life. I want to be healed. Yeah. I want to lean into this relationship. Yeah. But it's also really comfortable to go back to our old ways and old rhythms. For sure. But if we put the new wine in the old wine skin, the wine skins burst. Yeah. Like you can't put the new wine in the old wine skin. That's right. So once you have transformed, Yeah. like you have, you have to take the step forward and be bold.

1:05:17Nick Bare:Totally. Or you will explode internally from your old ways. I mean, think about Theo Vaughn. Like, let's just use him as an example. Let's say Theo Vaughn decides like, I'm going all in for Jesus. I'm going to have a radical transformation and follow Jesus. It's like, how different would that make Theovan's life? Like the sold out comedy tours that he does, I'm of the conviction that I think he would still sell them out with a different demographic of people who are like, dude, we love what God's doing in your life. But his content would probably have to change. His shows would change. his whole persona of what, I mean, his identity would be completely transformed.

1:06:03There's definitely so much fear in that. Absolutely. I mean, and anyone who says that there isn't is being naive. Like there's so much fear in that. Like, let's just be real. And the whole reason we reacted to the clip is because we wanted to acknowledge like this dude has a lot to lose if he decides to follow Jesus. And people don't talk about the cost of following Jesus. And we made the clip to say, hey, Tio, we see you, we're praying for you. And on the other side of you picking up your cross and making this decision, I promise you, it is way going to outweigh the cost, the benefits that being a follower of Jesus come with, that knowing Christ is Lord of your life is gonna outweigh anything.

1:06:45Paul said, I count it as nothing. One translation says, I count it all as dog poop compared to knowing Christ Jesus is Lord. and it's like ultimately you can't make that decision for anyone else but man we just made the clip trying to encourage him like you can do this dude it is fearful but man on the other side it's so much better

1:07:08Nick Bare:that's why they call it being bold that's right like that is when you have I mean it's bold regardless but when you have a lot I don't want to say to lose but like absolutely there's a lot that you're turning off yeah in that step. Yeah. That is a bold move, but it is so respectable. Yep. To stand for something as opposed to fall for anything. That's right. The last thing I wanted to touch on. Yeah. You shared this in a sermon and man, this like spoke to me a lot. You said, we serve a God who does not give opportunity, but gives assignments. Yeah. and you went on to talk about the difference between a god-given assignment versus a man-made opportunity yeah how do we know if we're pursuing a god-given assignment or a man-made opportunity yeah so it might be helpful for me to try to define the difference first um a man-made opportunity might make your name great a god-given assignment will make god's name great a man-made opportunity might bring more money into your bank account.

1:08:23An assignment will bring more people into heaven. So opportunities are not necessarily evil or bad. So that's something that needs to be said. It's like, there will be opportunities that come our way. And just because it leads to more of something that this world has to offer, as long as it's not saying, it doesn't necessarily mean that it's bad. So money, wealth is not bad. It's not bad. It's bad when it becomes the thing that rules us instead of us stewarding it. That's when it becomes bad, right? Jesus never said that money was evil. He said the love of money was the root of all evil. And so that's really important distinction.

1:09:01But unfortunately what happens is a lot of people sacrifice their assignment for more opportunity. So we were talking last night, like I think it's really clear just from being your friend for a short amount of time that we've been friends that your assignment is to help other people. Like from the day, like the first time I met you at the park, you were like talking about coming back to Austin because you cared so much about your team. You cared so much about helping people. And it's like the avenue in which you have helped people for the last 14 years, I think you said? 14 years. 14 years has been helping them become healthier, helping them grow in their fitness, helping them grow in their discipline, helping them grow in these different areas.

1:09:41Like that's clearly the assignment on your life is to impact people and to help them. What would be catastrophic would be going, hey, instead of helping people, what I would prefer to do is just chase more opportunity that's gonna lead to more money, more whatever. Sometimes our assignment does lead to those things naturally and that's okay. But where it doesn't become okay is when we sacrifice what God's called us to do so that we can gain more of what the world has to offer.

1:10:13Nick Bare:So how do you know if you're, sometimes an opportunity can look like an assignment. Yep. What's the confirmation that you're pursuing the right one? So an assignment will always bring glory to God, first and foremost, and it will always be for the good of other people in some way, shape or form. So those two things are kind of pillars. The other thing is your assignment often comes with a cost of some kind. So, for instance, I'll just talk about my assignment. I feel like is to be a pastor, to teach people God's word and to make disciples. Like that's what I feel like my assignment is. And the cost of that is that sometimes I have to say things that are very against culture.

1:11:03And we were talking about last night offline, some of the things that people have done and said about my family because of it. And some of the things we've had to do just safety wise. And it's like, I'm not despising that. That just comes, that's just the cost of what I'm called to do. And I'm honored to do this. Like compared to people in other parts of the world, that's nothing that people say mean things to you. In other parts of the world, people die for doing what I do. So I'm very blessed. All that to say, there's often a cost that comes with it. And sometimes it's hidden. But the other thing about an assignment is that it's really hard and can be extremely challenging, but at the same time, there's a grace on it.

1:11:43So like, it feels like you're running downhill a little bit where I'm still exerting lots of effort. I'm still like, my heart rate is still up, but this shouldn't be as easy as it is. So like an example of this would be like, when we moved to Nashville, it was like, we had zero money. We were so poor, we would walk by the pond and ducks would throw bread at us. we had no team and nothing. We just knew like, this is the assignment God's given us is to start this church. And it was really, really hard. Like we were, I mean, we started with six people and we're meeting in our living room and we're praying and we're casting this crazy vision to six people.

1:12:24And for the last two and a half years, we've seen 1500 people give their life to Jesus for the first time. We're about to start a second location. All these things in two and a half years, and it just kind of feels like we're running downhill. Like hard things, hard conversations, hard obstacles, but it just feels like God's hand is on it. The Bible would call it God's grace. God's grace makes impossible things possible. And that's when you know you're running in your God-given assignment is I'm doing hard things for the glory of God, the good of others, and there seems to be a grace on it. Does that make sense?

1:13:05Absolutely. Yeah.

1:13:07Nick Bare:That actually is really good to hear because that is confirmation to me. At least I think that I'm on assignment right now. Yeah. There is a huge cost and sacrifice to the assignment that I believe I'm on right now. Yeah. And I'm still battling a lot of battles. Yeah. and fighting the day to day. And it's by no means easy, but of where I'm trying to get to. And I believe that my assignment is taking me to, it does feel like I'm running downhill. Things are just falling into place. Other parts of my life, you know, outside of that direct assignment. Sure. Yeah. It's like, there's still a lot of hardship, but for where I feel like God is taking me.

1:14:01Nick Bare:And I've told Steph this, like all these things are falling into place. almost too easy. Wow. Like without us having to do anything. Yep. And it's a really good, like as I'm, as you were explaining that, that is a very good breakdown. Yeah. Of like what the difference between a man-made opportunity and a God-given assignment is. And when you try to pursue the man-made opportunities, it exhausts you. Oh, I know. Me too. Dude. I know. Yeah, and like, you know, right now, I'm in a stressful season of life. And I'm working really hard, but I'm not exhausted. For the first time in a long time. Wow.

1:14:49Nick Bare:Like a long time. Wow. I've been exhausted for, I mean, much of the last 14 years. Yeah. I feel like I was in some sort of zombie state of pure exhaustion. but for the first time in a long time, I don't feel like I'm in that state right now. Man, it's awesome. It feels really good. You're running your lane, man. Yeah. Assignment. But it doesn't mean it's all blue skies and rainbows and it'd be really easy for me if I didn't have the perspective or insight or the right people around me, these conversations, to focus on all the bad things that are happening and be like, man, there's nothing working.

1:15:33Nick Bare:But I just have to look at it a little bit differently and think, oh, everything's working. There's things that I'm not happy about, but it's all still leading me. I'm still running downhill. And I can feel that. And what I love about being around guys like you is I feel like you naturally get the idea of taking big swings for the kingdom or big swings for your assignment. And like, that's the thing that I really hope as people are listening to the end of this, like, I hope people will do more of that. Because like when I read scripture, like we've talked a little bit about ambition, even on this podcast in a roundabout way.

1:16:20It's like, the Bible says, do nothing out of selfish ambition. But there's a big difference between selfish and godly ambition. Like selfish ambition is pursuing man-made opportunities. Godly ambition is going, hey, I just believe that God is so big and God is so good and that he actually wants to like ring out every possible part of my life for his glory that we should take bigger risks for the kingdom of God. Like when you read the story of David, there was no part of that dude that was not full of godly ambition. Like when he runs out and goes to fight Goliath and calls him an uncircumcised Philistine, which is like the ultimate Bible disword ever.

1:17:02And then attacks him. It's like, dude, that's the kind of faith that I want to have as like, we're pursuing our assignments is like, man, like this is a big swing, but imagine how much glory God could get from this if this works. Like, I think that God really loves to show up for people like that and show out because he knows that he'll get the glory from it.

1:17:23Nick Bare:Yeah, I like thinking of myself as a warrior of God, like Leonidas from 300 with like the six pack abs, the huge chest, the beard, and like the sword and like the armor. I imagine like that kind of warrior for God as opposed like this softer, gentler person.

1:17:51But yeah, man,

1:17:53Nick Bare:the journey has been so rewarding. and it's really hard for me not to take the big swings because I've never gotten excited about the incremental stuff. Yeah. Like even when it comes to business, I'll have people come in here and do an audit and show us where we can make incremental progress. Like, I don't get excited about the incremental stuff. Where's the big swing? Like, let me go take the big swing. And I know it's like massive risk, but huge reward at the same time. Yeah. That's what I want to be on that mission. Yeah. Yeah. In the kingdom of God, man, it's really nice knowing that the Lord's behind you.

1:18:34Nick Bare:Yeah. You know, taking this big swing, but ultimately if he's the one who told me to do it, it's him who's footing the bill. It's him who's going to show up, you know? And it brings a lot of exhilaration and at the same time, peace. Just because who better to have on your side? You know, it's like, what is money to him? What is team to him? What is fear to him? And it's like, it's all got to bow to him. So I'm taking big swings. Well, brother, I appreciate you. This was great. It's an honor. I love what you're doing. I can't wait to be able to sit, you know, Sundays, listen to your sermons. It's going to be awesome.

1:19:17Nick Bare:At some point, but very grateful for you, dude. Grateful for you, bro. Such an honor to be here. Thanks for taking care of us. And I love this podcast. So it's a huge honor to be on it. Thank you, man.