Christian Bible Study Made Simple: Two Fish Podcast
The Two Fish Podcast, hosted by Nick and Aaron, is a Christian Bible Study, with a goal to go through scripture together while keeping it simple and having practical application to our everyday lives. Our prayer is that Christ takes the Two Fish and spreads it through out the world.
Christian Bible Study Made Simple: Two Fish Podcast
Cultivating Faith's Garden The Intimacy of Knowing God and Being Established by God
As we wade deeper into the waters of our covenant with the Divine, we unravel the delicate balance between the Old Testament laws and the grace that Jesus ushers in. The cross isn't merely a symbol of sacrifice; it's a blueprint for our dual-faceted relationships: the vertical with God that fuels our inner spirituality and the horizontal that fosters communal fortitude. Through heartfelt dialogue, we aim to empower you to be more than a passive recipient of faith, but an active cultivator of your own spiritual garden. So tune in, and let the insights from our Two Fish community support and inspire your spiritual walk. Visit twofishpodcast.com for this and more soul-nourishing episodes.
Welcome back to the Two Fish Podcast. My name is Nick, I'm Aaron and this week we're diving into the concept of being established in God.
Speaker 2:Two Fish Community. We are back for another episode and you are getting what we are calling our campfire episodes.
Speaker 2:Yeah what we are calling our campfire episodes. Yeah, so candid conversation is what we used to call them. We decided to call it a campfire because that's how nick likes to describe what we do, because that's kind of where we developed from. Um. A couple of announcements continue to go. Check out the twofishpodcastcom uh, get on there. Get signed up for duane's devos. Get those in your email. Sign up for our email list uh. Check out the store. Yeah, leave us a review five stars only.
Speaker 1:We don't want those one stars.
Speaker 2:I love it if you don't like it, just just move on. Just move on, share it, and move on definitely share it with a five-star review. So, anyways, we're going back to 2 Thessalonians 3. Yeah, that is where we're going to be today.
Speaker 1:So if you want to get your Bible out, and join us there and don't click ahead because you've already heard the 2 Thessalonians 3 episode, because that's not what this is.
Speaker 2:That's correct. This is a campfire conversation around, basically a word.
Speaker 1:Yeah, if you listen to which hopefully you have, if you haven't go back and listen to it. But if you listen to the episode where we went into chapter 3, we really, for a second, honed in on this. It's actually verse three. But the Lord is faithful. He will establish you and guard you against the evil one. And we have confidence in the Lord, about you, that you are doing and will do things that we commanded. May the Lord direct your heart to the love of God and to the steadfastness of Christ. But really what we want to hone in that's commanded. May the lord direct your heart to the love of god and to the steadfastness of christ. But really what we want to hone in. That's kind of the context of what we're talking about. But what we're wanting to hone in on is that thought process of he will establish you and guard you against the evil one yeah, I think, uh, for me that that just really stuck out because the other versions use the word strengthen.
Speaker 2:He will strengthen you and protect you from the evil one. We have confidence in the Lord that you are doing and will continue to do the things we command. But that word establish just has a much better explanation point behind it, and I think when you're thinking of your relationship with christ and what that looks like, you should be looking to him for that foundation, right, we're we're told to build upon a firm foundation, and how much more firm can you get if you're letting jesus establish you and protect you from the evil one? Yeah, that's good. A couple other ways this word can be kind of referenced in the Bible to make stable, to place firmly, set fast, fix, like the other versions read. To strengthen, to make firm, to render constant, confirm. Other ways this word is kind of used throughout the bible. All of those. To me, just more could you ask for than to have jesus make you stable, to place you firmly, to fix you, to strengthen you and to make you firm.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and like that is what that verse is saying and paul was saying to the thessalonians, right yeah, I think another word that you didn't say but made me think of, as you're saying, that is the concept of being rooted being rooted in god. And what god being rooted in our lives. I think the bible verse and I should have listened, looked it up but, um, that talks about building a foundation. Don't build it on the sand, but build it on the hard rock so that it doesn't wash away when the storm comes. And I think it's this concept of establishing roots maybe that's a good way to say establishing roots within god, when within christ so you can go to second timothy 219 for well, there's a couple of spots this firm foundation shows up.
Speaker 2:But, god's, I'm gonna go second timothy 219 for that. But, but god's firm foundation stands bearing this seal. The Lord knows those who are his and let everyone who names the name of the Lord, let everyone who names the name of the Lord, depart from iniquity. So, right there, like, but God's firm foundation stands bearing this seal. Listen to this seal. Listen to this seal. The Lord knows those who are his. Why? Because he establishes them. Yeah, when we allow him to work through our lives and I think you can bring in the concept of being born again, right, so when you're born again, this process begins and you've got to let God establish you. You're going to be born again. He's going to take you from your old sinful nature and create you new and plant you on his foundation.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:And he's going to know you and you are going to know him.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's going to know you and you were going to know him. Yeah, that's going to require some change on our part, because when he does come in, it's like roots of a tree the tree starts small and then, as it establishes itself within the ground, as it grows, as it grows up, it also grows down an hour and I think it doesn't just stay. Hey, as a sapling, I rooted myself in, I got established into the ground and that's all I need to do. As it grows and matures within Christ, within God, within the Christ-following context, it also gets deeper and it changes underneath. And I think being just planted and established isn't necessarily enough.
Speaker 2:We need to grow not just on the outward, but on the inward as well we talked about this in our last episode, but one of the headings in my bible, um, is while you're waiting for the second coming of Jesus, get to work. Yeah, right, yep, and that's that continual process of growing, but it's not growing in the world's standards. So think about our episode about success that we released. It was an extra episode. Right, are we growing in the world's standards? Right, are we growing in the world standards, or are we growing in christ standards, and are those standards establishing a deeper relationship with him? Like that is the goal? So, so how are you digging into that? What are the things you're doing in your daily walk to help build on that foundation that he's planted you on and he wants to establish you on?
Speaker 2:yeah are you? Are you accepting that or are you possibly walking away from that?
Speaker 1:um, I think that's that's that continual inward growth too is. If we don't continue to lean into God and allow him to work through us, that establishment that we have, that roots they're going to, it's going to get weak, it's not going to grow, it's not going to get. I just keep going back to a tree. You know, we've been establishing the ground, but it's not just enough to be there, we need to also grow the foundation.
Speaker 1:Yeah, if that makes sense, and if we don't, as we grow up and out and we get into the world, if we don't and I think we also said this in one of the episodes in second thessalonians if we don't, at some point god's also said this in one of the episodes in 2 Thessalonians if we don't, at some point God's going to come or trials are going to. I should say, at some point trials are going to come, and if we haven't grown down and out and we're just growing up and out, that tree's going to fall over, because it doesn't. It was established, yes, but we got to continue to grow that.
Speaker 2:I think that really, that makes a lot of sense. Um, look at a tree. It doesn't have like one root, right, it's surrounded by a bunch of others and and some of the strongest trees they're, and the roots are intertwined, yeah, and that's what protects them, right, and I think we can look. Look to Paul as an example of this. Paul didn't just stay in one community. Paul wrote letters to multiple communities. He went and visited multiple communities. Paul surrounded himself Shoot, you can even go to Jesus. Jesus didn't do this walk alone, right, he brought brothers along with him to help him stand firm, I believe, and to teach them to go out and to be like christ there was.
Speaker 2:Well, what did christ do when he was here? He went and he picked 12 people, made them his disciples, taught them the word, and then those disciples went out into the world and started making their own roots and planting their own seeds. And that's the same thing we're to do. Yeah, and it's really, really hard to do by yourself yeah, and I think that's where you know, in Thessalonians.
Speaker 1:He continued then to talk about confidence. I think that's where we can get confidence, when we're growing ourself, but then our roots start intertwining with the trees beside us, with the brothers and sisters beside us in Christ. We get more confident because we have that system in place. To hey, man, my, my, the trials of my life right now are are trying to blow me over, trying to get me off course, but I have confidence. I'll give you an example. Here's a perfect example. This is going to be um confession, confession minute of nick burt here this. Well, when this episode comes out, it will have been probably a month, but I had a situation in my life. Things should have been smooth. They were most definitely not and I lost it. I had an internal attitude and an external attitude to that, to a couple people, not the wrong people. I did not lash out, like I internally wanted to, about the situation because it should have gone one way and it didn't.
Speaker 1:And I said to aaron we were talking throughout the day, I was ticked and aaron's like look, nick, very calmly, I think you should put on some worship music. And I did. I ended up did later in the day. I'm like, okay, I got to Because I was just in a bad mindset and I had a bad attitude about what was going on, because it should have been very simple and it became something that it shouldn't have been and it was out of my control and it wasn't my fault and what is what is.
Speaker 1:But I hadaron to lean on to say hey, hey, chill out, because I was upset, I was angry, but chill out and let's lean in, let's lean into this. And so I had that now, yes, I did. And then later I got upset again and then I chilled out and then I got upset about the situation again. So it's a continual thing. I'm just going back to all that to say when our root system grows with other followers, we have that confidence. Okay. When I do screw up, which we all will, there's someone there to help out.
Speaker 2:And Dick was not putting on his shoes of peace.
Speaker 1:No, I was putting on my shoes of anger ready to go fix this situation with my flesh, because I was I think I also challenged you to go go back and listen to our episode on james.
Speaker 2:Yeah, how to be slow tame my tongue tame your tongue.
Speaker 2:Be slow to anger right, yeah but that and that that's part of what sticks out about this word of letting god establish you. In that process he's going to put people around you that he is also establishing on his foundation and that is how we grow together. And sometimes it can be really awkward and it could be somebody that he tells you to go pray for. That's a complete stranger and you got to go do it because you don't know how you're going to bless that guy's day.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Or how you're going to bless your own day through that process, right? And I just really got hung up on this word for the last couple weeks, because I think it's so important that we allow god to establish us that we don't try and establish ourself. Let god establish you in the church. Let god establish you in your community.
Speaker 1:Let god establish you with your family and I take I think that takes a level of trust in god and faith in god because, like you said, it could be awkward sometimes to do the things that we're called to do and if we're not have that establishment or that rootness or that connectedness, we're're going to struggle because it's like our ways versus my way, versus his way.
Speaker 1:Well, god's way is going to be much better every single time, whether we understand all the time or not, it's going to be, and I think all that points to the second part of verse three. We really he'll establish you and guard you against the evil one. It's that, it's that I'm going to do this so that we can do this. I'm going to establish you, I'm going to root you, I'm going to connect you with community and connect you with my spirit. I'm going to do all these things so that, and in addition to I'm going to help guard you against the evil one, against the attacks. We're always going to be tempted. God's going to allow us to be tempted, but he's always going to provide a way out. We know what needs to be done, but we won't know if we don't continue to dig into that being that establishment that God's put us in and continue to root in.
Speaker 2:So you can also take this word back to the Old Testament, which it actually shows up more in the Old Testament, from what I found and a lot of what it revolves around, is god saying I will establish my covenant, and he is constantly mentioned throughout and, once again, it is god will establish, not Ezekiel will establish, not Isaiah. It is God will establish. God was and is the creator of all things and he will be the one to establish.
Speaker 1:Establish my covenant. That's a covenant is an agreement, agreement, an agreement between two parties in the old testament. When they would make agreements with one another, they would take, like a goat or a calf or whatever, and they would take it and they would cut it down the middle and let that blood drain. And that was a symbol of hey, if, if one of us, this, this is what's going to happen to the other person. And God wants to enter a covenant so tightly wound with us that it's that serious. That's how serious God is for us and God wants us.
Speaker 1:And, of course, in the Old Testament, when the first covenant with Moses, he said hey, these are the rules to our covenant. And God knew that we weren't going to be able to do that. If you read the laws from the old Testament, god knew there's no way these centers are going to be able to follow this. And they didn't immediately. Immediately they messed up like we do now. And God's plan. And then God's plan was I'm going to send Jesus to take the punishment, like that calf on the ground, to take that punishment, for he wants that covenant with us, he wants to establish that covenant.
Speaker 2:It's important to him and that I mean that is the covenant that we are to believe in, that the, that jesus was the sacrificial lamb, the perfect lamb, that died on the cross for us and and bore all of our sin, and he and he came basically for us. It was the whole purpose to not out the law. Right, it's not to throw the law out, because what, what good are we without the law? Like it's kind of like just throwing all your morals out right.
Speaker 1:Yeah, the moral part of the law is still very relevant, because it's what we base everything on right.
Speaker 2:But the concept of grace comes in with with jesus and him dying on the cross for you and your sins. Like there there's grace, there, um, in the old testament. Uh, this just fits really well. Jeremiah 33, verse 1 and 2 here the word of the lord came to jeremiah a second time, while he was still shut up in the court of the guard. Thus says the lord who made the earth, the lord who formed it to establish it, the lord is his name, call to me and I will answer you and I will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.
Speaker 2:Sorry, I included verse three because it was good yeah because that that points to that relationship as you have that relationship that's been established once again, like he is going to show you things and reveal things to you and you're going to pray to him and you might get an answer. You might not right away, but eventually you'll probably get an answer to that prayer yeah, and I think you said it right there.
Speaker 1:Again, this is work. Anyone that thought, hey, I became a christian. Now life's going to be easy, it's just not, but the benefits of not only eternal but being obedient now here in this life. It's hard, but the benefits so outweigh the pros, so outweigh the cons, but it's going to take work. We've been establishing God. God has established his covenant with us, but now we need to grow it and strengthen it. No one joins into a partnership with someone and then never gets to know that person or never hangs out with that person, or never for the christian context doesn't have a relationship with god and not pray to him, and not worship him and not do these things.
Speaker 2:We got to do these things because it's going to strengthen us and strengthen that covenant we have with god and I think, I think you can look throughout throughout the new testament, and it will point to you being born again. There's consequences to be born again and walking away from it. And it tells us that like to be that person, to be born again, to basically have Christ revealed to you, and then you decide to hell with it, like that punishment for that person is going to be. It's going to be pretty harsh. Punishment for that person is going to be it's going to be pretty harsh.
Speaker 2:And I think sometimes we think, oh, I was born again, planted on this foundation, but I don't have to do anything.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I don't think that's the case. Now, that's not necessarily walking away from it, right, but if you're planted on this foundation and you're the lone tree standing in the field, you're not surrounded by other people, it's going to be really easy to be drug into the world. Just for me that's why I've been hung up on this word is like I don't want to be that lone tree out there, and I think that's a big part of the reason why Nick and I do this, and we do this for the two fish community, so we're not lone trees out in the middle of the field. So, once again, we invite you to grab a friend and sit down with them and go through the Bible. Join us and go through the Bible after you listen to the episode with your friend, like, have that conversation because, like Nick shared earlier, and I got another friend that I talked to quite a bit throughout the day and we just keep each other grounded yeah right, you didn't like you can call.
Speaker 2:You can call your friend out when he's going too far left and you can catch him before he falls off that cliff and he walks into a building throwing sandbags around and and doing something crazy, right like um. But if, if you don't try and build those relationships with christ in the middle of, them.
Speaker 1:I just got a picture of the cross and I've heard and I'm sure and I know I've heard this before and I'm sure everyone's heard this but there's a vertical relationship and there's a horizontal relationship. We need to grow ourselves and root ourselves here in the vertical. We need to grow ourselves vertically and we need to root ourselves in the ground there, but we also need to root ourselves in community horizontally and that's what's going to hold up whatever's hanging on the cross. Yeah, and luckily for us, it's not us, it's Jesus who paid the punishment of a broken covenant so that we could have a relationship with God.
Speaker 2:So there you have it. Two Fish community. This is our campfire episode on the word established and how we just felt that rolled this week for us. So hopefully it spoke to you in some manner and once again go out, check out the twofishpodcastcom. Make sure you hit the like the five reviews, sign up for duane's email on there, drop us a note and just encourage us so we can also encourage you.