Joy After Tears | Psalm 126 & 147

You're listening to The Bible Guys, a podcast where a couple of friends talk about the Bible in fun in practical ways. Hey, everybody, we are the Bible Guys. I'm Chris and this is Jeff Man. We are gonna look at the two psalms that we talked about yesterday Some one twenty six and Psalm one forty seven. Some one twenty six is very personal and how God rebuilds ruins and Some one forty seven is like this cosmic gods so great and he restores souls. So it's it's really cool. It's gonna be cool. Yeah, I agree. And uh. Before we jump into that, we have a segment that desires put together. Uh and it's called Manes So you went we hired. It's the only only only secon we have with the jingle yep, although we're trying to get the segment. There's the theme songs. Yes, yes, well here it is. This is written in by Alex d Bye Alex, and he writes this, have you ever had a mentor who changed your life? And what do you look for in a mentor? Wow? What a good question. Yes, and by the way, we would love to hear your questions. If you want to write into us, send us an email simply at info at the Bible guys dot com. Yeah, or you can comment on any of one of our platforms. We would love to get those and use them. So you want to take a shot at that. Yeah, I've Yeah, I've had a few mentors. I would say, my dad really, what it means to be a dad, what it means to be a man, a Christ follower. He just went to heaven a few weeks ago. And then I had Stan Will was my trumpet teacher. He was the only one of I had a couple of school teachers who took an interest in me, but most of them were repulsed by me because I was such a bad little kid in school and it was just energy. It wasn't that I was bad kid, it was just that I get my school work done very quickly and was bored to death in a traditional school environment. But Stan made a big difference in my life. Introduced me to music, and that set up my run towards college and how to pay my bills for school. Made me believe when I was a kid, a teenager, that college was possible because we didn't have any money how was I ever going to go to college? Right? But began making me think, hey, there might be an opportunity for you to get a scholarship if you had worked at it. So that's what I did. And then I had a couple of mentors through college that wound up. They were professors that I just kind of leaned into and I learned a lot about what to do not to do from them. And then I would say in ministry long term, Rick Warren had a big impact on me from AFAR For a long time, I read the purpose driven Church, not the purpose driven life, but the purpose driven Church twice a year for the first five years I was in ministry, and it made a big, big difference in my view of the paradigm that I felt called to try to build and lead in. And then you know, we wound up becoming friendly and so that was kind of cool. I got spend a lot of time with him and a few others. David Elms, I would say, is my other one with regard to global missions and that kind of thing. So, yeah, what do I look for in mentors? People who are wiser than me. That would be one. People who have the ability to articulate their ideas clearly. And I always have been attracted to people who build systems always, so something that I can see, not just these vague ideas, but I can figure out how to apply them in my life. And I'm kind of a systems guy, and so finding a structure, a system, a paradigm that I can figure out how to begin implementing was important to me. And then accessibility is important. And do you have access to him like Rick? I didn't for years, but I had his book, and so I think books, you know, have been a great opportunity to have, you know, mentored me when I couldn't have access directly to the person. Yeah, yeah, yeah, So I mean, well that's first of all, Wow, that's a lot. I didn't expect you to list all your mentors, or at least a lot of them. I was maybe thinking one for me, So I'm feeling pressure to come on to multiple But I would say, I would say my dad didn't become a mentor for me until later on in life. So and then, and none of my brothers, although I loved all of them and I was close to them, never considered any of them as a mentor. So I was mentor less until I went to church and when I became a Christian, my first mentor type person. And I would even say even I was in baseball my whole life since T ball, and I would say, there wasn't even like a really like a good friend of a coach there. I didn't really have a mentor until I was about maybe fifteen or sixteen, and I had a pastor named Jamie, and he was a goofy kid. He was a goofy person. He was way way less athletic than I was, so in that way, he was artsy. So I liked that side of me because I had an artsy side, but he didn't have the athletic side, and I sort of had both. And and you're kind of cool that way. I'm kind of cool that way. I'm like Zach Cafron huh in high school musical. Oh you brought it on your own self? I did? I did. But anyway, the point is is that he was a mentor to me. And you know what, now that I'm talking this out loud, I'm not sure I've ever even thought about this until just now, But my strongest mentors have been those people who are are gifted in communication. So people who have really looked up to and tried to model after are people who amaze me with their ability to communicate. Yeah. Yeah, So I would say, I would say the three that come to my mind, or my pastor Jamie growing up. And then I would say from afar, Andy Stanley is one of the best communicators in terms of ability and style and clarity that I've ever heard in my life. He's one of my favorite ones. And then I would also say Dave Wilson. So Dave Wilson was probably the only three of that group who not only was a mentor to me in terms of communication, but also mentored character. He mentored humility and character, probably maybe more than anybody that I know. So I would say that's one of the things I look for, quite honestly, is look for character. Success is important, obviously, you want to build, you know, you're trying to figure out how to build your life and to climb higher, and so you're looking for somebody who's successful. But there are lots of successful people who don't have any character, right, Right, And that's why so many people say don't meet your heroes, right is because most successful people don't have a ton of character in all the other areas of life, maybe in the area it took to get to that successful place, and so that was something that I was always looking for. My dad was very balanced with his character and a very disciplined person and hard worker and all those things, and really grew in his faith. That was important. Stan was funny but kept me in line, and that was it was hard to find somebody who was entertaining and captured my attention as young man, but also made me obey the rules, keep me in line, and he motivated me in a lot of ways, and so that that was great. And then he began. Stan began to cast a vision of what could be right. Maybe you get a scholarship, and so in that one then it wasn't always just that Stan gave me everything I wanted. Stan made me laugh and being funny and laughing is important to me, and our thinking was similar. But he also began to try to show me the future. But he kept me in line. That discipline thing, that character thing was important. I think a couple of my professors that I looked up to didn't have the character. They just had this knowledge and parent wisdom, didn't have character. That's why I didn't name them. And then you know, Rick had that character that I was like, man, I want that in my life. That forty years of ministry, never an accusation with regard to moral issues or anything like that really carried a great model for me, I think personally. And then David now, same thing, seventy years old or whatever now and just walking with the Lord and a man of character really get it done, hard work, ethic, that kind of thing. And so I would say, if you're approaching a mentor you want be respectful. The best way to get my attention when people come to me clearly trying to figure out how to get like when you came and wanted me to mentor you. That Usually the people who catch catch my attention though, are the ones who say, hey, I've noticed this, I've seen this. They ask really compelling questions, right, not just would you mentor me, but they start digging and going, why how do you think when you made decisions? How did you come to that conclusion? How did you learn this thing? Where are you finding this information? And then usually I'll give them material and say hey, go read this, and it's when they come back and go I just read that, like in a week. I read it. I'm so excited. I got this question, this question that kind of eagerness and hunger catches my attention. What about you? When people are coming and saying, hey, would you mentor me? Well, I would definitely say, uh. I always try to assess. I feel pretty unworthy sometimes and so I always think to myself, what can I offer this person? Right, But if they're asking me to mentor them, then it You know, again, this is an Amy Stanley quote, right, It's not my job to fill your cop it's my job to empty mind. So the idea of like, but what captures my attention would be, I guess the same thing. Somebody who I feel like I could gel with, who really wants everything that I have to offer. And it doesn't really matter whether that's competency ministry stuff, or whether it's character stuff or leadership stuff, because I've sort of had niches of all those kind of things. Right, Yeah, but I would say, yeah, the same thing, just an eagerness to learn, and then whether they gel with me and whether that would be something that I feel like I would enjoy doing. Yeah, the mentor relationship mentor mentee relationships. There has to be kind of a friendship in that, and so you can't force that. You can't just kind of schedule that. Yeah, And by the way, that's what I was referring to on whether or not I was going to say yes to the mentorship, right, hey would be my mentor. My yes is going to depend on a long term relationship with that person. For me, Like with Rick Warren, I didn't have access to Rick, but I read everything he wrote. I listened to everything he said on recordings. I showed up at conferences, and I just decided he was my mentor, whether he knew it or not. And then he noticed later on his team began to notice, Hey, this church is really doing something, and they wanted to figure out who we were. I just mentioned, hey, Rick's been my mentor from you know, three thousand miles away and just for ten years. And so that's it is collecting and getting paying attention to everything that that person says, everything they write, and to figure out how it applies to your life. Begin putting in an application rather than expecting that they're going to give you the time. Then as the Lord opens the door, man sees it so towards the end, I had a list Chad Asthma as my executive pastor, and I went in one day and said, hey, these are my four mentors, and we never say no to them. If there's any way for us to say yes, we'll say yes. So David now almost comes raising money. We give money. Rick Warren says, hey, would you go to Rwanda? We canceled like three things and went to Rwanda with him. Right, We said, okay, if we want access, we have to be sitting at the table. We have to show up and when they give us that opportunity, walk through the door and do that. And so it turned out proximity gets causes invitations. Yeah that's right. So yeah, I think that's a great one. I think mentors, the whole idea of being of finding a good mentors important. But then you have to get in stick with the process. And I would say, don't go a Lakhart. Well, I like what this mentor says. I don't like what that mentor says, right, right, So I only had one mentor in each of the key areas of my life that I really paid close attention to. I looked around, I shopped around, I tried to find other opportunities, but I found the one that I said, Okay, this is what I'm going to build after, and I'm not going to go and compare his opinions to somebody else's opinions. I'm just going to run with this one. So there's something to that. Anyways, we mentioned we're going to read these two chapters. We took a long time on that. When we had the time, I think, because you're going to find out that these two chapters that we're reading, we didn't do a transition. You know, speaking of mentors, you know who's the best mentor? God? Oh there you go, very good. And he wrote a book and spent some time in his book. That's right, yea, And eventually he's gonna invite you. It is joining there, it is okay. So some one and some one forty seven were written, we believe by people who were heading back to Jerusalem during this Ezra and Nehemiah esther time right. Yeah Israel chapter one, yeah, time. Prasing Cyrus timeframe. So here's what it says. In some one twenty six, when the Lord brought back his exiles to Jerusalem, it was like a dream. We were filled with laughter, and we sang for joy, and the other nation said, what amazing things the Lord has done for them? Yes, the Lord has done amazing things for us. What joy? Restore our fortunes. Lord, as streams renew the desert, those who plant in tears will harvest with shouts of joy. They weep as they go to plant their seed, but they sing as they return with the harvest. What a good one? I like them? Six verses yep, And then in one seventy says, I praise the Lord. How good to sing the praises of our God. How delightful and how fitting The Lord is rebuilding Jerusalem and bringing the exiles back to Israel. He heals the hearted and bandages their wounds. He counts the stars and calls them by name. How great is our Lord. His power is absolute, his understanding is beyond comprehension. The Lord supports the humble, but he brings the weak down into the dust. Sing out your thanks to the Lord. Sing praises to our God with a harp. He covers the heavens with clouds, and provides rain for the earth and makes the grass grow in the mountain pastures. He gives food to the wild animals and feeds the young ravens when they cry. He takes no pleasure in the strength of a horse or in human might. Nor the Lord's delight is in those who fear him, those who put their hope in his unfailing love. Glorify the Lord, O Jerusalem. Praise your God, O Zion, for he has strengthened the bars of your gates and blessed your children within your walls. He sends peace across your nation and satisfies your hunger with the finest wheat. He sends his orders to the world, and how swiftly his word flies. He sends the snow like white wool. He scatters frost upon the ground like ashes. He hurls hail like stones. Who can stand against his freezing cold? Then at his command it all melts. He sends his winds, and the ice thaws. He has revealed his words to Jacob, his decrees and regulations to Israel. He has not done this for any other nation. They did not know as regulations. Praise the Lord. So these two chapters are written in rejoicing, and they're just acknowledging that God is good. And dude, what an unbelievable picture where it says, those who plant in tears will will harvest in shots of joy. They weep as they go to plant their seed, but they sing as they return with the harvest. You know, for a person like you who grew up planting and harvesting, you know, it's it's a it's just a word picture of you know, like at the beginning there was sorrow and now they're they're reaping the benefits of joy, and it's a picture of the exile to the return. Right. Do you know the ministry bearing precious seed? Do you remember that from our our old days? I don't think so. So they used to use this this passage, and it was in the King James, he that goe with fourth bearing precious seed, so doubt uh, he who goe with forth weeping, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing. I was talking that it's a bible printing ministry, Okay, that they did, and they for free they print bibles through churches and then they for free send them all around the world to missionaries and places that don't have any Bibles and stuff. But that's that's what they use. Yeah, yeah, kind of yeah, well, that's that's amazing. It's pretty neat and uh and yeah. So it's pretty clear that that these chapters would have been written. And let's remind ourselves that these were actually songs, right, because all the songs were songs. So this is these are these are things they would have sang. And it's possible that they could have sang this on their journey to Jerusalem. These kind of songs are like, you know, now in our days, we're singing waymaker, he makes a way, Yeah right, all that kind of stuff. That's how they'd be singing this man. Stuff was hard, we had tears in our eyes, and God restored us right, and all these things. The other thing I think is really interesting is, hey, God provides for us. There's this clear idea that God, he says, you know, restore our fortunes. The author rights, but it's interesting it says, where did it talked about wheat? Remember that wheat? Yes, the finest week. Oh yeah, he sends peace across our nation and satisfies your hunger with the finest wheat. It's interesting they didn't have an expectation that God just snapped his fingers and do miracles. They saw his deliverance as the miracle. But the only way you get wheat is you till ground, you plant seed, you cultivate, and then you harvest. Right, And so they're not saying, hey, look at this miracle that happened and all we have everything we always wanted. They're saying, God gave us the opportunity to seize the moment, and that's the miracle we were looking for. And then they went and were willing to do the work to make it happen. Right. Oh, yeah, there's a sermon in there, it yeah, and it says who can stand against the cold? His commanded all melts when he sends his winds the ice thoss. He also says he takes no pleasure in the strength of a horse or human might know, the Lord's delight is in those who fear him. Isn't that great? Yeah? So God's not impressed, right with our own efforts and our own strength. God's impressed with those who fear him and put their hope in Him and his unfailing love. So once again it's just a reminder that God's God's not going to be like, you know, the way we think we think it's you know, we think the most thing that impresses God is you know the things we can do or you know the strength by our own hand. And it's like, no, the only thing that matters to God is that we love him, we trust in his unfailing love, and we fear Him in the healthy way. Right. Yeah, And by the way, that's true today. Right, that's just as applicable to today, is it ever? Was? Right? So, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of all wisdom. Right. You know. One of the things I love about how clear the Bible is, Like in verse seven, it says, sing out your thanks to the Lord only on Sundays. Don't don't you like that? Isn't it amazing? It's so clear? Yeah, yeah, it's amazing to me how many Christians only praise the Lord and song on Sunday, right, Like for that twenty five minutes on a Sunday morning we sing a few worship songs and the rest of the week the song of their heart is pretty fleshly yeah, right, And there is something to that that, Hey, you know what your heart art reflects our heart. And so he's always saying sing to the Lord, sing thanks to the Lord, saying praise the Lord, be grateful to the Lord, sing praises to the Lord, and in this one. Yeah, so I was being silly. Yeah. So do you play music when you're in the shower at all? Yeah? Sometimes I do. So I do this thing where I work out of the church because we have a gym at our church, right, a fitness center, ye, and then there's a shower there, and so I always get my phone and I always play songs. And I would say about half the time I choose Christian music. Half the time I'll choose like country or you know, these other things, depends on what I'm in the mood for. But oftentimes, probably most of the time, it's it's Christian music and I'll have it playing. And one of our employees that you know who works on our sets, came in and he goes, dude, he goes, I always know what you because you play music when you're in the shower. He goes, Nobody that I know does that. And I said, what it? So, what are you talking about? Not always, but often yeah, because you know, it's like, it's great, it's great to just fill your heart just like you said, with music. Yeah, right, driving down the road, whatever, spend the time. My wife. She always as we have a couple different speakers throughout the house, and she's always going around and telling the speakers to play different worship music or whatever, you know, So when you walk through the house, it's just instead of it being a quiet house, there's always this worship going on. And now here's a question for you. This is just fun. When you leave the house, does your wife insist on leaving worship music play in your house? No? Sometimes we leave and it's just going. But we we but. Not intentionally, not on purpose. So my wife wants the music to permeate the house while we're gone because she feels better about the house. Spiritually, spiritually and the name of Jesus is driving away all the mad stuff. Hey yeah, hey, that's not a bit. And then when you walk back in the house, there it is there, it is going. So so lot. Oftentimes what happens is we get ready to leave and I'll say, Alexa, you know, pause the music or turn off the music, and she'll walk over and she goes, no, she goes, I want it on while we're gone. Liza' will be gone for a full day. That's the point, she says, I want it to be playing while we're gone. We'll be going for a whole day and she'll let Alexa play for the cats. Yeah, yeah, but it's. It's not for the cats though. It's the name of Jesus, the name of Jesus over the. House, which is which is? It's just amuses me and both inspires me at the same time. I love the fact that the one six they recognize the fact one. Just the joy of the first two verses when the Lord brought back his exiles to Jerusalem was like a dream. We were filled with laughter and we sang for joy. I love just what that is. But then they acknowledge, Hey, you know what our joy is a testimony to the other nations, where the other nations are like, what amazing things the Lord has done for them? Right, And so the kind of joy in our hearts other people are watching us, the kind of response we have about our faith, the way we're living it out. Their joy was very clear in the fact that it was God who brought them back. Then it was that joy and that direct response that God did this for us is what caught the attention to the other nations to go, Wow, You've got a good God. So your worship is a testimony to others, so others cannot People who don't know Jesus can't worship Jesus, right, they can watch us worship and then desire what we have, And that's what you're seeing here in Ps. One twenty six. Well, hey, that is a great ending and that is about our time. So hopefully we will see you tomorrow on the Bible, Gosh,