In this second online Fireside Chat – the Questions and Responses session with some of the brothers, we hear from brothers Chris Wilde, Peter Welk, and Tom Goetz, who sit down and share with us about their experiences of Christ and our identity in Christ.
The fact that the brothers give a response doesn’t mean that they “know it all”; rather, before the Lord and in fellowship in the Body, they give a response according to the light they received from the Lord and according to the experiences the Lord gave them.
And as we all have to admit, we all fail in many ways and things again and again, but we can learn, we can fellowship, and we can ask questions in fellowship in the Body, and in the fellowship of the Body there may be some responses – as limited as they are – for our encouragement and our going on together.
What a wonderful thing to be in the church life under the Lord’s blessing and under His speaking, even rich speaking! Hallelujah!
Online Fireside Chat 2 – Questions & Responses
Question 1 – What can I do when my heart is really busy most of the time, and I get distracted? I feel like I’m doing a lot of things for the Lord, but I’m actually missing the Lord. There’s a lot of necessary things I need to do; at the same time, I read my Bible and spend time with the Lord. But a lot of times, I feel like it’s a chore, and I’m missing the Lord.
What can you do when your heart is so busy so much of the time, and I get distracted – and a lot of time it is with good things? I love the Lord, but there are so many necessary things I feel I need to do.
And at the same time, I try to read my Bible, I try to spend time with the Lord, but a lot of times I feel it’s a chore, and I miss the Lord…but I don’t want to miss Him. Sometimes I feel I get into a cycle that is really hard to get out of. So my question is: how can I get back my enjoyment, my first love to the Lord?
Listen to the response to this question here – or watch it on youtube here.
Question 2 – In Philippians 4:7, Paul talks about the peace of God. In John 14:27, the Lord refers to the peace of the world. In my experience, sometimes I have peace about something, but I haven’t really prayed about it that much. Is that real peace? How can we discern between the Lord’s peace and a natural peace, or a peace that the world gives us?
This question is related to some of the things spoken of at the conference, but it is also related to our experience. There is this kind of peace – the world can give us peace, but it is not God’s peace. So in my experience, sometimes I feel like I have peace about something, but I haven’t really prayed about it, I didn’t go to the Lord about it. Is that real peace, or how can we discern between the Lord’s peace and the peace from maybe being natural, or the peace that the Lord gives us?
And even more specifically, let’s say that something serious happens in our life, but we have peace about it, yet I didn’t talk to the Lord about it – is that peace natural peace, or is it the Lord giving me peace?
Also, this question relates to the peace given by the world, the economy, the pandemic, everything being so unstable…it seems that the peace from the world disappears quickly. How can we discern between the two in any given situation?
Listen to the response to this question here – or watch it on youtube here.
Question 3 – Where is the balance between forbearance and extreme suffering? At what point should we try to remove ourselves from a situation? Where is the line between the two?
We did talk about forbearance, and we may understand it is not just to be OK with it, but not be bothered by it, but whatever situation we’re in, we can fit in it, we can live in it, we can take it, no matter what happens.
But the question is: sometimes we may get into a situation where we feel, where is the balance between forbearance and something like extreme suffering?
At one point should we try to just remove ourselves from a situation of extreme suffering? We may accept that a certain environment the Lord has arranged for us, and we need to accept it and take Him as the forbearing One. But at what point does it cross the line?
At what point is this too much, and maybe even damage us as human being?
Listen to the response to this question here – or watch it on youtube here.
Question 4 – Matthew 5:48 says, “You shall be perfect as Your heavenly Father is perfect.” Other passages in the Bible and in the ministry also have imperatives. In light of my history of failures, even though I want to do it and decide to do it, I can’t do it. I don’t know how I can meet the standard.
When we read such verses, with a lot of imperatives, you need to do this, it should be this way, you must do this, I have a great history of failures…so I see that I decide to do it, I agree with it, and I can’t do it.
Even more, I implode, so a lot of times in such a failure, it’s hard even to read my Bible, read the ministry, or come to the Lord, because I think that I will read and then touch another imperative, another thing I have to do – and I will fail again. I know that the standard is high, but I don’t know how to meet the standard.
Listen to the response to this question here – or watch it on youtube here.
Question 5 – How do we deal with comparing ourselves to others? How do I find identity in Christ and let that be enough?
What is your personal experience comparing yourself to others? We all, both the more mature ones and the young ones, tend to naturally compare ourselves to others. And it seems as though that, in any direction you go, it is negative.
And we may think that someone is better than us (so we beat ourselves up) or we are better than the other (and we get proud). How do we find identity in Christ – and that is just enough?
Listen to the response to this question here – or watch it on youtube here.
Question 6 – How real is God’s work of transformation? How can it be that someone who has been a believer for a long time can do really bad, or even terrible, things? They might not even be aware of what they’ve done. How can you become useful to the Lord instead of being a problem?
I grew up in a Christian home, with a lot of different believers; I have seen so many patterns go before me, and when I see them (and I saw them when I was young), I realize it is possible to live the Christian life. Their pattern infuses me with faith.
There are times, though, when I see believers who have been believers for a long time, I respect and look up to, and they would say or do things and I can’t believe they said that or did that. And this causes me to start question this a little, how real is God’s work of transformation?
Because I am the same as they are, I am no different, I have the same problem.
So thirty-forty years down the line, when I am their age…I am just as likely to do the same thing. How does it happen that someone who has been a believer for a really long time can do really bad or terrible things?
And even more disturbing, they may not even be aware of what they have done? This is scary…I don’t want to be that way. On one hand, we cover them, but at the same time, how can we be useful to the Lord instead of being a problem?
Listen to the response to this question here – or watch it on youtube here.
Question 7 – Is it negative and unspiritual to laugh and have fun with our friends?
Sometimes we may see older brothers that we look up to, and we find them to be more spiritually mature than we are. We also see that they don’t laugh and they don’t seem to have a good time. And sometimes I wonder, is that negative, that I am joyous and laugh and have humour with my friends?
And in conferences and messages, we hear that we don’t have fun but we have joy, we don’t have friends but we have companions, so a lot of these things got into us…and we may want to have fun. The question is, is it unspiritual to laugh and have a good time with your friends?
Listen to the response to this question here – or watch it on youtube here.
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