September 17, 2021

You Are a Witness

You Are a Witness

You Are a Witness

September 17, 2021
September 17, 2021

You Are a Witness

You Are a Witness

In this week’s podcast, Dan and Howard discuss how everyone is a witness to something. We are all made to be witnesses. You will hear real life examples of the struggles of being a witness and truth from God’s word about how to be a faithful witness. You will most importantly hear what it means to live as a child of God and to be a witness to the King in all of your work.

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Audio transcript

Howard: Today, I’m with Dan Butler. We’ve been celebrating the first year of The Center, and we are entering into year 2. We’ve enjoyed seeing what God’s been doing. Dan, what’s something you’ve enjoyed about the last year?

Dan: I was talking to Sam about this yesterday as we were working out. Seeing people being able to think about scripture and apply it to their daily lives. That was one of the reasons you started The Center. Over and over again, we keep seeing people learning how to apply God’s word in their lives. How about you?

Howard: That’s mine too, and you can test it. People have come to me both with great opportunities and terrible situations at work, and yet there is relevance every time. We need it, but when we are in the middle of it we cannot always see it. We think we are on an island all by ourselves. That’s wrong and God’s word is relevant to everything.

Something else we keep seeing is there is no separation. There is no separation between faith and church.

Connecting people would be another piece. Connecting people with someone who has been through what they are experiencing and is on the other side of it. That’s part of living your faith out, to help others through things. Also, connecting people to jobs.

All that’s been great, but God’s word is at the center of all of it. It’s fun to see how God’s word helps people.

What’s Your Identity In?

Dan: Well, I mean, today we talked about how we are witnesses. Where do you see people getting their identity today?

Howard: I was with a Faith Driven Entrepreneur and Faith Driven Investor group last week, and we looked at the statistics of just how many people get their identity from their work. People look at their phones all throughout the night and are unable to leave their work in the office. Some of that’s a social thing, but much of it is work. Where my mind goes in the quiet moments is where I’m probably getting my identity.

Too often we have the world and businesses shaping what our identity is, rather than those who have the light of Christ in them.

Dan: One thing that’s prevalent is how people get their identity in their kids. Whether it’s how well their kids perform on school work but especially sports. Some parents really drive their kids to perfection. This is something I’ve been thinking about recently.

Howard: And we’re all prone to do that, right? We let our biggest mistakes define us. We let our biggest accomplishments define us. I’ve certainly been guilty of that myself. Like you said with children, when they do something wonderful, it’s great! It’s always great to see them hit new goals and milestones, but it doesn’t define us.

We know this about life, we learn so much more through failure — especially when we know who we are. Talk about relevant, this is what we are talking about today. In the bible, you’re a witness to what your identity is, and the bible says a lot about what our identity is. Even in the first book we learn we are made in the image of God. We are made to be His as male and female, to subdue the earth, be fruitful, and multiply, to put all things under His Lordship.

We’ve been given such great identity and purpose, and yet, we’re prone to look at the apple on the tree and even these other gifts from God. We look at these things and think to ourselves, “Oh, that’s what I’ve got to have.”

We Witness 24/7

Dan: That’s great. I think we are all witnesses to something or someone. Even today, you mentioned how bumper stickers are a witness to something. For example, if you put a fish on your car with John 3:16. What are some thoughts you have on that?

Howard: When are we not a witness? Everyone is a witness every single minute. Some people pushed back and said we aren't witnesses when we are sleeping, but if you had a long and hard day you sleep hard and that can be a witness to that. Anytime someone is watching us we are a witness. Then we can think about what people are witnesses to.

Dan: This reminds me of when Kem Wilson came and spoke to us. He talked about how his daughter sent him a card that ended by saying, “P.S. I’ve been watching you.” Her point was that throughout her life she’s seen how Kem has loved his wife and others. She’s seen what he pours his time into. She’s seen how he lives his life and glorifies God.

Howard: That’s such a good example. One thing Kem said was that your kids will listen to some of what you say, but they will see all of what you do. We are witnesses by how we live our lives. And we have such a chance to be witnesses for light, yet we tend to separate things. We are a witness for social life in one place. We are a witness to work in another. Another for our lifestyle. We can each think of things we were witnesses to this week, whether good or bad.

But here’s what God’s word says in Isaiah 43. God’s setting up something really big with the prophet Isaiah here.

“Everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made… You are my witnesses,” declares the Lord, “and my servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he.” – Isaiah 43:7,9

Here, Isaiah is wrestling with God and asking why people aren’t living faithful lives. God tells him that either way they are witnesses. So God proposes to put both sides on trial and see who wins. Isaiah 43 is an amazing book and I recommend that everyone reads chapter 43.

What’s clear is that we are always witnesses, but we tend to separate it. We are witnesses when we go to church, but we don’t mix that up with our business. Then we are witnesses of separation!

Dan: I think this is where the hypocrisy of the church comes into play. You are saying one thing, but you are doing another. So what is your true witness? Here’s an example at work, we’ve all done this. You dismiss someone because you are busy, but you go back and clean it up. That’s a redemptive conversation when you pause and listen to the Holy Spirit.

Howard: I know I’m a witness to the God who created me and loves me more than I can think or imagine. I’m never not a witness. That’s a good double negative there. Therefore, when my witness is off, I’ve got to clean it up.

Your point about forgiveness is important. Sometimes it’s 2 years later when we realize we’ve done something wrong. Other times it is 10 minutes. We can tell the restaurant worker we are sorry for not treating them right. Certainly we can also do this with our bigger relationships in our work.

Dan: I totally agree. If you think about your life and all your relationships, where are they broken? Where do they need to be cleaned up? You are only here momentarily. Give God the glory, get after it, and ask for forgiveness when you get off track in your relationships.

Howard: To be a witness in it all — even at work.

Dan: Right.

Howard: We have to consider what our coworkers would say we are witnesses to. Back when I worked at the bank, people thought I was the digital guy. That would’ve been my witness. I was a witness to how digital technology could transform banking. That’s not a good witness.

Royalty

Dan: We’re all witnesses to something, that’s a great point. What does it mean to live as royalty?

Howard: First, we are a chosen people. Everyone is made in the image of God. Everyone is a witness to something, but those who believe and trust in Him are children of God. These are the people who have been reborn. People who have been born again. Those people are priests and kings who are going to live forever.

“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” – 1 Peter 2:9

That’s what the woman at the well did. She came for water in the quiet of the day because she was embarrassed of the life she was living. Jesus gave her new life and told her to go tell others. So she left the water she came for and told others about him.

Dan: What are some of the points people made this week around this topic?

Howard: That’s what we exist to do. We have 5 groups that meet every week to discuss and practice these things. Every one of us, at some point in our lives, has not felt like a child of the King. We can know we are His one moment, and the next minute we forget. Maybe we feel threatened and we choose to defend ourselves, our money, and our business. Our sin can make us feel not like royalty as well. But when we do know we are His, God cleans that up. He restores us continually. We’re going to live forever. Even in sin we can turn from it and know, like the prodigal son, what it's like to have our royalty restored.

So yes, we do get down on ourselves; so we have to get in the practice of preaching the gospel to ourselves every day. We cannot leave the priesthood only to the pastors. Pastors are wonderful, but all believers are part of the royal priesthood, not just pastors. Everyone has an opportunity to shine their light every day, instead of separating their lives.

How To Witness

Dan: So far we’ve talked about being a witness and about being royalty as children of God. How do we practice this day to day?

Howard: There’s nothing you’re trying to be better at that you don’t practice. I was reminded of this when I visited my children’s schools. Grammar isn’t any good if all you do is learn it, you have to practice. Otherwise you’ll never learn grammar! All sports are this way too.

Being a priest and exercising your witness as a child of God to shine light takes practice. So we start small and keep practicing. Learning how to witness to your family will help you know how to witness in your workplace.

By practicing, we get better — even when we do it wrong. In the process, we learn how to rely on God better. He is the one working in and through us, we have to submit ourselves to Him.

Dan: You’ve used the example of work, but what you’ve said also applies to our kids, our marriage, and countless other areas of life. I love that thought that someone is always watching you. And because we are royalty, we keep getting the robe put back on us when we try to tear it off. This frees us to go back and clean stuff up.

Howard: Because we cannot mess it up.

Dan: That’s right.

Howard: There are winners and learners. I’m a witness either way. I’m a child of God either way. My mistakes don’t define me. My biggest accomplishments also don’t define me. This is what we cover this week.

In 2001, Lewis Smedes said it this way, “You’re not your accomplishments. We are not what we’ve done in the past, and we certainly aren’t our mistakes.” We also are not our accomplishments. We are not who we hope to be. Smedes says that the way to live freely is to make promises and keep them. By making and keeping promises we bind ourselves to others. When we fall short on our promises, the people we’ve promised to hold us accountable.

Dan: Any final thoughts as we wrap up?

Howard: Just know it’s all His. All things are from God, through God, and for God. Even our mistakes are being used by God. The victory is won, but we have a better battle to fight then the ones we busy ourselves with fighting. We think we’re fighting the world to get what we deserve, but we have a bigger fight. And the fight we are in is already won, but our role is to point to the victory that Christ has already established.

Howard Graham
Howard Graham
Executive Director

Audio transcript

Howard: Today, I’m with Dan Butler. We’ve been celebrating the first year of The Center, and we are entering into year 2. We’ve enjoyed seeing what God’s been doing. Dan, what’s something you’ve enjoyed about the last year?

Dan: I was talking to Sam about this yesterday as we were working out. Seeing people being able to think about scripture and apply it to their daily lives. That was one of the reasons you started The Center. Over and over again, we keep seeing people learning how to apply God’s word in their lives. How about you?

Howard: That’s mine too, and you can test it. People have come to me both with great opportunities and terrible situations at work, and yet there is relevance every time. We need it, but when we are in the middle of it we cannot always see it. We think we are on an island all by ourselves. That’s wrong and God’s word is relevant to everything.

Something else we keep seeing is there is no separation. There is no separation between faith and church.

Connecting people would be another piece. Connecting people with someone who has been through what they are experiencing and is on the other side of it. That’s part of living your faith out, to help others through things. Also, connecting people to jobs.

All that’s been great, but God’s word is at the center of all of it. It’s fun to see how God’s word helps people.

What’s Your Identity In?

Dan: Well, I mean, today we talked about how we are witnesses. Where do you see people getting their identity today?

Howard: I was with a Faith Driven Entrepreneur and Faith Driven Investor group last week, and we looked at the statistics of just how many people get their identity from their work. People look at their phones all throughout the night and are unable to leave their work in the office. Some of that’s a social thing, but much of it is work. Where my mind goes in the quiet moments is where I’m probably getting my identity.

Too often we have the world and businesses shaping what our identity is, rather than those who have the light of Christ in them.

Dan: One thing that’s prevalent is how people get their identity in their kids. Whether it’s how well their kids perform on school work but especially sports. Some parents really drive their kids to perfection. This is something I’ve been thinking about recently.

Howard: And we’re all prone to do that, right? We let our biggest mistakes define us. We let our biggest accomplishments define us. I’ve certainly been guilty of that myself. Like you said with children, when they do something wonderful, it’s great! It’s always great to see them hit new goals and milestones, but it doesn’t define us.

We know this about life, we learn so much more through failure — especially when we know who we are. Talk about relevant, this is what we are talking about today. In the bible, you’re a witness to what your identity is, and the bible says a lot about what our identity is. Even in the first book we learn we are made in the image of God. We are made to be His as male and female, to subdue the earth, be fruitful, and multiply, to put all things under His Lordship.

We’ve been given such great identity and purpose, and yet, we’re prone to look at the apple on the tree and even these other gifts from God. We look at these things and think to ourselves, “Oh, that’s what I’ve got to have.”

We Witness 24/7

Dan: That’s great. I think we are all witnesses to something or someone. Even today, you mentioned how bumper stickers are a witness to something. For example, if you put a fish on your car with John 3:16. What are some thoughts you have on that?

Howard: When are we not a witness? Everyone is a witness every single minute. Some people pushed back and said we aren't witnesses when we are sleeping, but if you had a long and hard day you sleep hard and that can be a witness to that. Anytime someone is watching us we are a witness. Then we can think about what people are witnesses to.

Dan: This reminds me of when Kem Wilson came and spoke to us. He talked about how his daughter sent him a card that ended by saying, “P.S. I’ve been watching you.” Her point was that throughout her life she’s seen how Kem has loved his wife and others. She’s seen what he pours his time into. She’s seen how he lives his life and glorifies God.

Howard: That’s such a good example. One thing Kem said was that your kids will listen to some of what you say, but they will see all of what you do. We are witnesses by how we live our lives. And we have such a chance to be witnesses for light, yet we tend to separate things. We are a witness for social life in one place. We are a witness to work in another. Another for our lifestyle. We can each think of things we were witnesses to this week, whether good or bad.

But here’s what God’s word says in Isaiah 43. God’s setting up something really big with the prophet Isaiah here.

“Everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made… You are my witnesses,” declares the Lord, “and my servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he.” – Isaiah 43:7,9

Here, Isaiah is wrestling with God and asking why people aren’t living faithful lives. God tells him that either way they are witnesses. So God proposes to put both sides on trial and see who wins. Isaiah 43 is an amazing book and I recommend that everyone reads chapter 43.

What’s clear is that we are always witnesses, but we tend to separate it. We are witnesses when we go to church, but we don’t mix that up with our business. Then we are witnesses of separation!

Dan: I think this is where the hypocrisy of the church comes into play. You are saying one thing, but you are doing another. So what is your true witness? Here’s an example at work, we’ve all done this. You dismiss someone because you are busy, but you go back and clean it up. That’s a redemptive conversation when you pause and listen to the Holy Spirit.

Howard: I know I’m a witness to the God who created me and loves me more than I can think or imagine. I’m never not a witness. That’s a good double negative there. Therefore, when my witness is off, I’ve got to clean it up.

Your point about forgiveness is important. Sometimes it’s 2 years later when we realize we’ve done something wrong. Other times it is 10 minutes. We can tell the restaurant worker we are sorry for not treating them right. Certainly we can also do this with our bigger relationships in our work.

Dan: I totally agree. If you think about your life and all your relationships, where are they broken? Where do they need to be cleaned up? You are only here momentarily. Give God the glory, get after it, and ask for forgiveness when you get off track in your relationships.

Howard: To be a witness in it all — even at work.

Dan: Right.

Howard: We have to consider what our coworkers would say we are witnesses to. Back when I worked at the bank, people thought I was the digital guy. That would’ve been my witness. I was a witness to how digital technology could transform banking. That’s not a good witness.

Royalty

Dan: We’re all witnesses to something, that’s a great point. What does it mean to live as royalty?

Howard: First, we are a chosen people. Everyone is made in the image of God. Everyone is a witness to something, but those who believe and trust in Him are children of God. These are the people who have been reborn. People who have been born again. Those people are priests and kings who are going to live forever.

“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” – 1 Peter 2:9

That’s what the woman at the well did. She came for water in the quiet of the day because she was embarrassed of the life she was living. Jesus gave her new life and told her to go tell others. So she left the water she came for and told others about him.

Dan: What are some of the points people made this week around this topic?

Howard: That’s what we exist to do. We have 5 groups that meet every week to discuss and practice these things. Every one of us, at some point in our lives, has not felt like a child of the King. We can know we are His one moment, and the next minute we forget. Maybe we feel threatened and we choose to defend ourselves, our money, and our business. Our sin can make us feel not like royalty as well. But when we do know we are His, God cleans that up. He restores us continually. We’re going to live forever. Even in sin we can turn from it and know, like the prodigal son, what it's like to have our royalty restored.

So yes, we do get down on ourselves; so we have to get in the practice of preaching the gospel to ourselves every day. We cannot leave the priesthood only to the pastors. Pastors are wonderful, but all believers are part of the royal priesthood, not just pastors. Everyone has an opportunity to shine their light every day, instead of separating their lives.

How To Witness

Dan: So far we’ve talked about being a witness and about being royalty as children of God. How do we practice this day to day?

Howard: There’s nothing you’re trying to be better at that you don’t practice. I was reminded of this when I visited my children’s schools. Grammar isn’t any good if all you do is learn it, you have to practice. Otherwise you’ll never learn grammar! All sports are this way too.

Being a priest and exercising your witness as a child of God to shine light takes practice. So we start small and keep practicing. Learning how to witness to your family will help you know how to witness in your workplace.

By practicing, we get better — even when we do it wrong. In the process, we learn how to rely on God better. He is the one working in and through us, we have to submit ourselves to Him.

Dan: You’ve used the example of work, but what you’ve said also applies to our kids, our marriage, and countless other areas of life. I love that thought that someone is always watching you. And because we are royalty, we keep getting the robe put back on us when we try to tear it off. This frees us to go back and clean stuff up.

Howard: Because we cannot mess it up.

Dan: That’s right.

Howard: There are winners and learners. I’m a witness either way. I’m a child of God either way. My mistakes don’t define me. My biggest accomplishments also don’t define me. This is what we cover this week.

In 2001, Lewis Smedes said it this way, “You’re not your accomplishments. We are not what we’ve done in the past, and we certainly aren’t our mistakes.” We also are not our accomplishments. We are not who we hope to be. Smedes says that the way to live freely is to make promises and keep them. By making and keeping promises we bind ourselves to others. When we fall short on our promises, the people we’ve promised to hold us accountable.

Dan: Any final thoughts as we wrap up?

Howard: Just know it’s all His. All things are from God, through God, and for God. Even our mistakes are being used by God. The victory is won, but we have a better battle to fight then the ones we busy ourselves with fighting. We think we’re fighting the world to get what we deserve, but we have a bigger fight. And the fight we are in is already won, but our role is to point to the victory that Christ has already established.

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