Point of View May 28, 2024 – Hour 2 : Trading Faces

[00:00:00] Question How do you define yourself?

[00:00:23] Sometimes we define ourselves by our careers.

[00:00:26] I've gone to men's retreats where they said, as a man you can introduce yourself to the

[00:00:32] people around you but you cannot tell people what you do.

[00:00:36] And sometimes it almost causes some of the men to be tongue tied because they completely

[00:00:41] have defined themselves in terms of their career.

[00:00:44] Maybe you've identified yourself in terms of your personality type or your sexuality

[00:00:50] or a particular trauma that took place in the past.

[00:00:54] I think that is a really significant issue and that's one of the reasons why I'm excited

[00:00:59] to spend an hour today talking about this book, Trading Faces, Removing the Masks That

[00:01:05] Hide Your God-Given Identity.

[00:01:08] You know when we talk about the Greek culture and acting, and of course my producer is an

[00:01:13] actor, they used to sometimes wear masks to help people understand what they represented

[00:01:19] and yet we still wear masks today.

[00:01:22] That's always been a problem but I think it's maybe even been more accentuated because of

[00:01:27] social media and we can portray ourselves in a way that we can control on social media

[00:01:33] so we really want to spend some time digging into this in some way.

[00:01:37] And this book is written by John and Angel Beeson.

[00:01:41] First of all if you would like to contact them we have a link to thebeehive.live which

[00:01:47] is on our website but also we have information as well about angelwholehopecounseling.com

[00:01:53] so all of those resources and links are on the website.

[00:01:58] The book came out last month in October with our good friends at Kregel and John Beeson

[00:02:03] first of all is the pastor and co-leader of the New Life Bible Fellowship in Oro Valley,

[00:02:10] Arizona.

[00:02:11] Kind of close to Tucson and previously has written Blogging for God's Glory in a Click

[00:02:17] Bait World.

[00:02:19] And John thank you for joining us today here on Point of View.

[00:02:21] Thanks for having us we appreciate it.

[00:02:25] Also Angel is with us she received her master's degree in biblical counseling from Westminster

[00:02:31] Theological Seminary, has had over 10 years of counseling experience and Angel I appreciate

[00:02:37] you joining us as well.

[00:02:38] Thank you Kirby it's a pleasure to be here.

[00:02:41] John first of all tell me about your work as a pastor and then I want to talk to Angel

[00:02:45] about being a counselor because you're kind of a pastor counselor team and as a husband

[00:02:50] wife team you've identified 10 different identities that masquerade as truth but from a pastoral

[00:02:56] point of view since we have lots of people that are in churches maybe even church leaders

[00:03:01] pastors talk about why this is significant especially those who are in ministry in that

[00:03:06] way.

[00:03:08] Good question Kirby.

[00:03:10] I like the way that you introduced this whole segment I would say like that's me that's

[00:03:17] my own whole the own danger of my own heart is to identify myself not just vocationally

[00:03:24] as a pastor but my identity as a pastor and so we write this book not as those who are

[00:03:31] separated from the struggle but as those who are pulled in it as well and so I think we

[00:03:36] all we all challenge we're all challenged in different ways and and you know some of

[00:03:42] the identities that were pulled into kind of we can see from a distance that that objectively

[00:03:48] looks problematic it looks objectively problematic to identify you yourself your desires but

[00:03:54] a lot of the identities that we connect ourselves to connect our core selves to are good things

[00:04:01] it's good to be a pastor it's good to be a mom it's good to be a husband it's these

[00:04:07] are gifts of God and yet they're just not ultimate in terms of who we are and so we

[00:04:11] see that time and time again both as counselors and also as as a pastor here in Arizona watching

[00:04:18] our people kind of struggle with that and so this has been a project that's born out

[00:04:24] of our own struggle but also watching so many other people struggle with it as well.

[00:04:29] Rachel let me come to you.

[00:04:30] You're a counselor and you know as well as I do that lots of counselors therapists and

[00:04:34] others talk about this idea of self-talk you know I'm ugly I'm fat I'm a loser you know

[00:04:39] I'm never going to amount to very much and in some respects there is a need for us to

[00:04:45] take an honest assessment of who we are but even more so to recognize who we are in Jesus

[00:04:50] Christ.

[00:04:51] Yes and I yeah I echo John's words that we this is a labor of love that has come out

[00:04:59] of our own struggle and what God has done in our own lives and yeah as a counselor I

[00:05:05] sit day in and day out and hear there's not a day that goes by that I'm counseling where

[00:05:09] I don't hear I'm not enough or I feel worthless.

[00:05:14] The shame language is so prevalent and has such a grip on our souls and our minds and

[00:05:20] so it's just a huge invitation our heart behind this is just to call people to truly

[00:05:28] receive and just invite them to hear God's voice for them as individuals and do the

[00:05:34] work to step out of the voice of shame the voice of self-condemnation and really take

[00:05:42] a deep look at what the blood of Christ means for them as individuals and what that sets

[00:05:46] them free to step into in their identity in Jesus Christ.

[00:05:49] Let's talk about that because your first mask is shame finding worth as an image bearer

[00:05:54] and yesterday I quoted from Ricky Gervais you've got another quote in there as well

[00:05:58] humanity is a plague of course he's playing this in the movie Afterlife you know selfish

[00:06:03] parasite narcissistic and all the rest but it does seem to me that an honest assessment

[00:06:09] of who we are as sinners is true but this idea of the fact that we're fallen or broken

[00:06:17] has gone to an extreme has it not in terms of this idea of shame and that's why that

[00:06:23] was the first chapter in your book.

[00:06:26] Yeah they're very intentional because you know we look at Adam and Eve right back from

[00:06:32] the beginning of time and they were naked and unashamed and then sin enters the equation

[00:06:38] and all of a sudden shame enters the story where they go to hide and that's us that's

[00:06:46] all of us when guilt can say hey I did something wrong and I feel bad about it shame speaks

[00:06:53] in I am language and we identify with it right I am now worthless I am now not enough and

[00:07:00] so I'm going to do whatever I need to do to mask that pain right the flesh seeks to

[00:07:06] avoid pain at all costs and until we are willing to wrestle with our shame actually it's

[00:07:13] intentional chapter one because it's a huge invitation to really deal with the shame

[00:07:18] to really hear God's voice for us in our shame to lay it down because then our hearts and

[00:07:23] our minds are now open to receive the rest of what God has for us with our identity but

[00:07:29] until we're well if we're not if we're willing to hold on to that shame we're going to have

[00:07:33] a really hard time hearing God's voice in any way.

[00:07:36] Let's take a break when we come back we'll get into some other topics as I mentioned

[00:07:40] there are 10 different masks and it is very well written 250 pages published by our good

[00:07:47] friends at Kregel Publications you should be able to find the book in your local bookstore

[00:07:51] but we of course have information about that on our website and I might also as you go

[00:07:56] to the break I encourage you to go and find out a little bit more about them one is the

[00:08:00] beehive dot live and I think you'll appreciate that because their name is Beeson and so you

[00:08:06] can find some great material there and find out more about the book as well we also have

[00:08:12] information about the counseling work that is being done by Angel at the whole hope counseling

[00:08:19] dot com website and most importantly of course we have information about the book I would

[00:08:24] encourage you to look for it in your local bookstore but if you cannot find it we have

[00:08:27] information about it so you can get it in paperback or Kindle so we talked about shame

[00:08:33] let's come back and talk about good works I'll see what John has to say about that but

[00:08:37] a lot of people are convinced that they just do enough good works that's enough and I think

[00:08:41] we also recognize that it is not if we really understand God's word we'll come back right

[00:08:46] after these messages this is Viewpoints with Kirby Anderson two dozen states have legalized

[00:09:04] marijuana and another 14 permitted for medical purposes but ironically this comes at a time

[00:09:10] when we're learning more each year about the health effects of cannabis why talk about

[00:09:14] it now well various media outlets report that the Biden administration is working to reclassify

[00:09:19] marijuana as a less dangerous schedule three drug Dr. Bertha Madras calls it a political

[00:09:26] decision not a scientific one she has spent 60 years studying drugs and has served as

[00:09:30] the psychobiology professor at Harvard Medical School in 2015 the World Health Organization

[00:09:36] asked her to do a detailed review of cannabis and its medical uses her 41 page report concluded

[00:09:43] that there were few medical benefits and many medical harms Alicia Finley provides a shorter

[00:09:48] summary of the health effects for example the addiction potential of marijuana is as

[00:09:53] high or higher than some other drug especially for young people about 30% of those who use

[00:09:59] cannabis have some degree of use disorder by comparison only 13.5% of drinkers are estimated

[00:10:06] to be dependent on alcohol another concern is the fact that marijuana does more lasting

[00:10:11] damage to the brain than alcohol especially if a high potency is being consumed today

[00:10:16] you know many years ago I had an author on my radio program who documented that cannabis

[00:10:20] could cause schizophrenia but I received significant pushback from some of the audience but we now

[00:10:26] have better evidence of this link from the latest scientific studies on the other hand

[00:10:30] there is some scant evidence that marijuana helps with very specific pain but not for

[00:10:35] most others overall there are few benefits and many health concerns I'm Kirby Anderson

[00:10:42] and that's my point of view for a free copy of Kirby's booklet a biblical view on anti-semitism

[00:10:51] go to viewpoints.info slash anti-semitism viewpoints.info slash anti-semitism you're

[00:10:59] listening to point of view your listener supported source for truth back once again talking about

[00:11:05] the book trading faces removing the mask that hide your God-given identity written

[00:11:10] by John and Angel Beeson and again if you would like to know more information about them

[00:11:15] or the book it is available at our website pointofview.net you can find some of the links

[00:11:20] if you wanted to order it available in paperback or Kindle 250 pages 10 different masks we're

[00:11:25] talking about here published by Kregel publications and I might just mention that if you were

[00:11:31] looking for a study maybe one that you could do in a small group or Bible study maybe even

[00:11:36] a sermon series we'll talk about John with that in just a minute it certainly goes through

[00:11:41] and identifies the problem gives of course biblical perspectives and at the end even

[00:11:46] offers a suggested prayer so lots of great material that would be very helpful if you

[00:11:51] wanted to have this discussion in a small group setting or in a Sunday school class

[00:11:56] but John let me come to you because mask number two good works finding acceptance as a redeemed

[00:12:03] sinner that actually sounds pretty good but again you've got some questions about whether

[00:12:08] or not that should be the mask that we use for our identity

[00:12:12] yeah as Angel said we really begin the story in the garden with Adam and Eve and this battle

[00:12:20] between will I allow God name me or will I name myself with my shame and then we you

[00:12:26] immediately move outside the garden and what happens right you find Cain trying to earn

[00:12:32] favor with God merit with God and of course the reality is like we've been doing that

[00:12:37] ever since we try to cover our shame with our good works with being good enough and

[00:12:42] this is obviously you know it's you know the parable of the prodigal son this is the older

[00:12:47] brother trying to earn favor earn merit with his father right it's not just a religious

[00:12:55] problem it's actually it's in all of us like you look at as secular as you can get as far

[00:13:04] as ways non-religious as you can get there's still a good works intuition I'm going to

[00:13:10] try to earn good works by demonstrating my benefit to the environment by displaying who

[00:13:19] I'm voting for like this is in all of us as human beings and that's just it's never enough

[00:13:25] right we will never make it up to heaven on the basis of what we have done no matter what

[00:13:33] rubric that's based upon and the gift is we have Jesus Christ acceptance we are redeemed

[00:13:40] sinners who is who are paid for by Jesus Christ who's come for us like we need look no further

[00:13:49] than the works of Jesus Christ because his works are merited to our behalf if we are

[00:13:54] in him mm-hmm well again very important issue because sometimes we have kind of a works

[00:14:00] oriented salvation we say oh no we're saved by grace but then we turn around and sometimes

[00:14:04] they're dependent upon our work so I just thought that was a very helpful chapter as

[00:14:07] well but angel let me come to you because one of the other mask is independence now

[00:14:12] we're pretty independent bunch anyway in North America so that's no surprise but then you

[00:14:17] even talk about the fact that you know we have a lot of people today talking about building

[00:14:22] their platform building their brand becoming a influencer becoming a social media influencer

[00:14:30] so talk about that idea of independence because the solution of course is to find freedom

[00:14:36] as a servant can you explain that sure yeah we are a culture we are a creation right that

[00:14:44] has been in God's image made to be known and so we long to be known it's in all of us and

[00:14:52] yet we seek we seek that out so often in this exhausting format of independence right

[00:14:59] it's a very me centered world I want what I want when I want how I want it and and it

[00:15:06] flows out of our own desires which is another mask but it's it's an invitation to step into

[00:15:13] making less of self and more of God because though he has created us as unique individuals

[00:15:21] the weight of who I am couldn't cannot be grounded in me it's just not enough and so

[00:15:32] we have an invitation to step into the freedom that comes when I know who I am that I am

[00:15:39] bought with a price that I am known more than I could ever know myself that I I'm I'm designed

[00:15:48] you know scripture says that every step I take is established by my king of kings and

[00:15:53] Lord of Lords and so there's not one day that goes by where he has not already established

[00:15:58] it for me God knows what's best for me and so it it gives me this invitation to know who

[00:16:04] I am in Christ and then now I'm free to serve my master free to love God as I love others

[00:16:14] but it's not it's focused the purpose is not for the sake of self it's for the sake

[00:16:20] of God's glory and our good you know the Edwin also relates very much angel to mask number

[00:16:27] four because you talk about here where there were a co-worker shared with John that you

[00:16:33] know I'm an ENTJ commander won't go into all the details there take me or leave me you know

[00:16:39] and the bottom line is is that that's just the way I am and how many times I'm sure in

[00:16:44] your counseling somebody will say look angel if you're going to try and change me not this

[00:16:49] is the way I am I'm just an individual so whether it's independence or individuality

[00:16:54] those two masks kind of the one-two punch that sometimes keep us from growing in Christ

[00:16:59] yes it's funny there's been more than a dozen times someone's walking to my office saying

[00:17:06] I'm a three you know what that means and we are talking about even and they don't know

[00:17:11] who they are unless they're achieving something and it's a shocker that they walk in exhausted

[00:17:16] and with a lack of purpose so yeah it desires as people of the flesh the flesh is never satisfied

[00:17:28] and that's the truth like the flesh is outside of Christ the flesh is always hungry and it

[00:17:33] will always be seeking kind of liking it to a coyote right coyotes are always hungry

[00:17:40] and the only way to kill a coyote is to starve it because it's constantly on the prowl it's

[00:17:45] constantly looking for something else to devour and we have to starve the desires of the flesh

[00:17:52] in order to step in well actually in order to step into just hearing God's desires for

[00:18:00] us right like God you know what's best for me shift change my desires to align with your

[00:18:06] desires for me because now I'm going to find satisfaction in who you say I am as your saint

[00:18:12] right one who has just where I can let you be God in my life and find complete joy in

[00:18:20] making more of you and less of myself so good well John let me come to you because mass number

[00:18:26] five is on desires and anybody that's been in a ministry any length of time as people

[00:18:32] say well that's just the way I am you know those are my desires God wouldn't have given

[00:18:36] me the desires if he didn't want me to be happy and so in some respects the desires

[00:18:42] and of course we can talk about sexual desires but other desires as well this idea of being

[00:18:48] dependent upon God is difficult in a time in which we live in a culture especially a

[00:18:54] consumer type of culture that says you can pursue anything you want you can get anything

[00:18:59] you want anytime you want because after all you should be pursuing your desires and make

[00:19:05] yourself happy isn't that so true like we we take we layer desires upon desires we we

[00:19:14] are a culture that that rays you know gasoline all over the fires of our desires and say

[00:19:21] this this is true happiness to to be satisfied in your desires and yet we're always empty

[00:19:29] you know we just said Halloween like what like no no child is a puppy the morning after

[00:19:37] if the parent lets them eat all the candy they want right like we recognize this in

[00:19:43] a in a five-year-old and yet we don't in ourselves right like even the way that often we speak

[00:19:49] about sexual desires even you know let's put outside you know same-sex attraction or

[00:19:57] anything but even even in the context of heterosexual attraction it's almost as if it's a given

[00:20:05] and a need that that's that's not the case right we are yes we are made as desiring beings

[00:20:12] God has intended us for desire and yet the purpose of our desires is ultimately to be

[00:20:19] directed toward him he is the ultimate satisfaction of our desires and so the question isn't whether

[00:20:25] or not we'll be desiring things it's whether or not our desires will be directed toward

[00:20:29] God and his satisfaction of our desires in him well let's take a break and when we come

[00:20:35] back we'll get into a couple of the other masks because again there are ten and we've

[00:20:40] covered at least five of them shame and good works independence individuality and desires

[00:20:45] we'll come back and talk about marriage parenthood ideologies career and patriotism all part

[00:20:50] of this book trading faces removing the masks that hide your God-given identity let me again

[00:20:56] encourage you to go to our website point of view net you can find out more about the book

[00:21:02] I would imagine you would be able to find it in your local bookstore but if not of course

[00:21:05] we have information there not only about John and Angel but also about the book it's

[00:21:10] all available at our website point of view net let's take a break when we come back we'll

[00:21:14] get into a little bit more of the details of the masks that we so often wear that hide

[00:21:22] our real identity in Christ we'll be back right after this it almost seems like we live

[00:21:32] in a different world from many people in positions of authority they say men can be women and

[00:21:39] women men people are prosecuted differently or not at all depending on their politics

[00:21:45] criminals are more valued and rewarded than law-abiding citizens it's so overwhelming

[00:21:51] so demoralizing you feel like giving up but we can't we shouldn't we must not as Winston

[00:21:59] Churchill said to Britain in the darkest days of World War Two never give in never give

[00:22:05] in never never never never yield to force never yield to the apparently overwhelming

[00:22:11] might of the enemy and that's what we say to you today this is not a time to give in

[00:22:17] but to step up and join point of view in providing clarity in the chaos we can't do it alone

[00:22:25] but together with God's help we will overcome the darkness invest in biblical clarity today

[00:22:32] at point of view dot net or call 1-800-347-5151 point of view dot net and 800-347-5151 point

[00:22:49] of view will continue after this you are listening to point of view the opinions expressed on

[00:23:04] point of view do not necessarily reflect the views of the management or staff of the station

[00:23:10] and now here again is Kirby Anderson.

[00:23:13] Once again we are spending some time looking at this book trading faces removing the masks

[00:23:18] that hide your God-given identity and again there are so many great illustrations in here

[00:23:24] but we've been looking at some of the mask of shame and good works and independence individuality

[00:23:29] and desires and we're privileged to have with us both the authors John and Angel Beeson

[00:23:34] and John I thought I'd come to you because the mask number six is marriage now some people

[00:23:40] might say well isn't it good to actually get your sense of identity with your marriage

[00:23:45] but the point that is being made there is we kind of have grown up in this society that

[00:23:51] you complete me and if you're actually getting your sense of identity from your spouse or

[00:23:58] your marriage that's not as healthy as having a dedication to being all that you can in

[00:24:05] that marriage relationship so can you kind of help us sort that one out.

[00:24:11] Yeah you know like a lot of these things again I think what can be confused is that the mask

[00:24:18] is inherently evil or wrong many of these masks are good or at least partially good

[00:24:23] in marriage like is wholly good like but what other institution is given us by God in which

[00:24:29] to become one what a beautiful thing and yet even so if we root our identity fundamentally

[00:24:37] in our spouse we will be let down like I have let Angel down I've let Angel down significantly

[00:24:45] in our marriage and there's been like serious ripple effects of me not being the husband

[00:24:52] I was called to be in her and as much as her identity is rooted as wife like then that

[00:24:59] begins to crumble like who am I if my husband doesn't love me if my husband thinks whatever

[00:25:06] his work or whatever is more important than me and vice versa of course like are as wonderful

[00:25:12] a gift as marriages it's not ultimate like there is an ultimate marriage and it's between

[00:25:18] Christ and his bride that's collectively and that is that is our ultimate happiness

[00:25:25] that is our ultimate joy that is our ultimate glory to be one with Jesus Christ our bridegroom.

[00:25:33] Wow that also I think relates Angel to some of the things you probably have run into in

[00:25:39] your own counseling because it even opens up here with individuals that feel lost because

[00:25:45] they've lost their spouse and I understand that in one sense but also recognize that

[00:25:50] you could have some kind of unhealthy almost dependency on another individual and not always

[00:25:56] then learn to be what God has called you to be.

[00:26:01] Yeah it's so true and this is an area where I can just speak very personally and like

[00:26:06] I grew up I mean I planned my wedding in fourth grade right and I was ready sixth grade I

[00:26:12] started praying for my future husband like I was creating an identity in being a wife

[00:26:19] and leaning on my husband or hoping that my husband would bring my security would bring

[00:26:24] my safety would bring a sense of my happiness it really was just like you are going to be

[00:26:30] my knight in shining armor you're going to be the one to complete me and if I'm not a

[00:26:34] wife I don't know who I am and so as God kind of walked us through our own journey of that

[00:26:40] and our own trauma when I did start feeling like I was losing John to the church in my

[00:26:48] own sin rejecting God rejecting ministry rejecting John I flew into a head of season of adultery

[00:26:56] and because I was lost I was so my identity within a man another man's love for me and

[00:27:03] it was just so empty because it would never satisfy and it was just this and I hear it

[00:27:10] all the time I sit alongside of it all of the time where we just are so codependent

[00:27:15] on another person to be our sense of security to be our sense of safety to be the one to

[00:27:21] comfort us and no person was ever designed to fill that role in our lives only Jesus

[00:27:29] Christ and so it's a huge invitation to step into like I am I'm part of the collective

[00:27:37] whole as the bride and we have one groom and his name is Jesus and to find my full

[00:27:41] satisfaction my full security my comfort my satisfaction there you also talk about parenthood

[00:27:50] finding belonging as an adopted son that's a shorter chapter because it's kind of a footnote

[00:27:55] if you will to the issue of marriage but angel can you speak to that as well because sometimes

[00:28:00] we can actually have almost an ideology almost as you are talking about today the helicopter

[00:28:07] parents and people getting their sense of identity from their kids and those kinds of

[00:28:11] things that's another big issue I'm sure you've run into in counseling as well yeah it's so

[00:28:18] I mean parenthood what a gift right the fruit scriptures with the fruit of our womb is a

[00:28:22] reward and it is it is so true it is such a gift to be called a parent to be a parent

[00:28:29] and yet it is a role that God has given us and even for those who can't be parents right

[00:28:36] who have struggled to become parents there's still a role there's many children around

[00:28:40] I say that with all empathy because each of those journeys are so hard and difficult in

[00:28:46] their own way but we're all we all have a role of parenting in some way because there's

[00:28:52] always someone younger than us around us but for those of us who are parents and who stepped

[00:28:57] into just this longing right like I will be successful when I'm a mom I will be complete

[00:29:02] when I'm a mom or dad again it is a role that God designed for us to shepherd and to

[00:29:09] steward that ultimately these children belong to their heavenly father and it really sets

[00:29:15] us up to like if I'm dependent if my happiness is dependent upon my kids view of me or my

[00:29:21] kids success or my kids whatever whatever like my child is my idol like it'll be on

[00:29:29] the throne of my heart not Jesus and so through if we're removing the mask of parenthood

[00:29:36] we're going to step into no we are all children we are all adopted sons of our most high king

[00:29:44] who has chosen us and called us his own and when we understand the depth of what it means

[00:29:49] to be God's adopted son we are free to parent as those who are under shepherds of the great

[00:29:56] shepherd where we just entrust our kids fully every step again is established by the king

[00:30:02] of kings and Lord of lords including our kids we can't mess them up well said again if you're

[00:30:08] expecting that you will be affirmed by your kids when they're in the teen years I'm going

[00:30:13] to tell you you're in for a rude awakening indeed but John let me come to you just before

[00:30:18] we take another break and that is mass number eight is ideologies people might say well

[00:30:23] that all about well you know men we have to always be right and I love the piece where

[00:30:28] you say imagine the peace of knowing you don't have to be right that Jesus has right and wrong

[00:30:34] settled but sometimes we make an ideology and we make a very difficult set of circumstances

[00:30:41] in our relationships even in our family by always trying to be right and that's so true

[00:30:48] and I mean we're heading into I mean today's an election day we're heading into a big election

[00:30:53] year and how many friendships have ruptured how many of us have had ourselves unfriended

[00:31:01] by someone on social media because of political ideology it's a recent survey was done which

[00:31:10] would show this dramatic shift they've done this longitudinally asking parents what's the

[00:31:16] most important like actor in who you want your child to marry and that for decades and

[00:31:23] decades was their religious affiliation and in the last 10 years that shifted to their

[00:31:28] political affiliation and I don't think anyone's surprised by that now like we're like that's

[00:31:34] that's the reality of the world we live in like that is so significant to to so many of

[00:31:40] us in our core understanding of who we are of course this isn't to say that there's not

[00:31:44] right or wrong it's not to say that that our understanding and following Jesus doesn't

[00:31:50] mean us mean that we care about truth and that we care that the God's truth has made

[00:31:56] manifest we pray that our country would more look like that right that that there those

[00:32:03] in leadership would more reflect that and yet our core identity isn't tied to that like

[00:32:08] we are we are released and actually in that there's this beautiful invitation that we

[00:32:14] are friends like we are friends of Jesus Christ you look at at who Jesus assembles as his apostles

[00:32:21] his zealots there he has Roman you know Matthew's basically a pawn of Rome as a tax collector

[00:32:30] all as his friends we are transformed as Jesus's friends when we sat down are are the necessity

[00:32:39] for me to be right and be known as the one who's right let's take a break when we come

[00:32:44] back we'll finish off the last two but again this is a look at 10 different identities

[00:32:51] that masquerade is truth oftentimes challenging us to really think about whether or not we're

[00:32:58] going to actually be what Christ has called us to be instead of trading the love of Christ

[00:33:06] and the identity in Christ with some of those labels so we've looked at a number and again

[00:33:12] as I've mentioned this is a book that you may want to go through individually but I

[00:33:16] hope that some of you might consider how this could be used in a group setting since again

[00:33:21] it identifies any one of those masks provide some biblical perspective and then ends each

[00:33:27] chapter with a prayer that you can actually be involved with as well and so when we come

[00:33:33] back we'll pick out just two more of those 10 masks which is all part of the book trading

[00:33:38] faces we'll be back right after this thing to point of view your list as we talk about

[00:34:03] the book trading faces removing the masks that hide your God-given identity published

[00:34:07] by our friends at to Kregel publications and we've looked at eight of those ten masks

[00:34:12] and I thought Angel I might come to you because mask number nine is career you talk

[00:34:17] about Jacob sitting across from the wife and she is concerned about the fact that he is

[00:34:23] prioritized his job over her and he needs to commit to change and as I open this program

[00:34:31] I talked about the fact that if you want to really make sure that men have even less

[00:34:36] to say tell them at a men's retreat that they can introduce themselves to people and tell

[00:34:42] them about the individuals may be at a men's retreat so as they introduce themselves to

[00:34:47] other men or even if they're in a couple's situation that they can say anything about

[00:34:53] who they are but not what they do that becomes very difficult because so many men and women

[00:34:59] of course as well identify themselves by their career and that's one of those dangerous masks

[00:35:04] isn't it it is a dangerous mask yes and it is so difficult and it really is a profound

[00:35:11] and loving invitation that God gives us to really consider like to the degree that we

[00:35:18] put our worth in our vocation in our career is is the degree that we give our employer

[00:35:27] power over our self-worth and we are allowing whether that's our employer the co-workers

[00:35:34] that we work with our ability to succeed in that place like it all takes precedence over

[00:35:40] the one who is designed to be on our throne of our hearts and God has made us for work

[00:35:47] right work is good again careers vocational callings are good but they cannot be where

[00:35:53] we depend and place our worth or our value and so yeah it's just an invitation this chapter

[00:35:59] we love it because we're called like as image bearers of God we are called to steward the

[00:36:05] land that God calls us to right we are uniquely gifted and those unique gifts have purpose

[00:36:12] and we are called to have dominion in the land he calls us to to exercise those gifts

[00:36:17] but again the purpose is to point to the gift giver so yeah I can keep going but there you

[00:36:25] go well John let me come to you for just a minute because this section here your vocation

[00:36:29] is too small I would agree because we're talking about giftedness and Angel was addressing

[00:36:35] that just a minute ago and it does seem to me that you can also be limited in what you

[00:36:41] do for the kingdom if you say well I'm just a tax accountant so there's really nothing

[00:36:45] I can do inside the church unless you need your taxes done wait a minute there's a whole

[00:36:49] lot more to you than that or you know I'm a lawyer and I can help you with any wills

[00:36:53] or things like that but there's really not much else I can do within the church because

[00:36:58] that is my if you will giftedness but it's really not looking at that in the broader

[00:37:03] picture so not only is it a dangerous mask in many cases it limits the full potential

[00:37:10] that you might be able to give to the body of Christ Wow I don't that was awesome I totally

[00:37:16] agree like like let's take us back to the garden we've gone there multiple times in

[00:37:21] the past hour but God has made us his image bearers the first thing he the first way he

[00:37:27] says that we bear his image Angel alluded to this is that we were given Dominion so

[00:37:35] the High King of the universe gives us human beings the ability to be princes and princesses

[00:37:43] on his domain and he gives us rule here and yet you're so right to shrink that to my

[00:37:51] own success my own platform my own financial well-being is too small a thing like the ultimate

[00:38:02] purpose of that and this is circled back to in the New Testament as we hear oh listen

[00:38:08] as part of your Dominion you've been given spiritual gifts and those gifts are purposed

[00:38:14] for the building up of the people of God and so like is does your when you think about

[00:38:21] your vocation your if we can use kind of the secular term your career are you thinking

[00:38:27] about that in just what you earn a paycheck for which is like that's part of it for sure

[00:38:32] that's absolutely got like an accountant is working for God's glory in bringing order

[00:38:38] and truth into the realm which she he inhabits but it's not just that you've also been in

[00:38:47] spiritual gifts and those are for the purpose in the context of community in fact kind of

[00:38:52] in a number of the pieces in which we're talking about throughout these passages like in the

[00:38:59] background there is a corrective we think of a culture that tends to answer this question

[00:39:05] who am I in purely individualistic terms where when we go to Scripture we see yes absolutely

[00:39:12] there's there's the language of the individual but there's also the collective and communal

[00:39:17] aspect of that that are the fullness of my identity is found not just in who I am alone

[00:39:23] but in the context of the family of God the bride of Christ that God has invited me to

[00:39:28] participate in let me just mention real quickly that the 10th mask is patriotism and John

[00:39:35] I'll just stay with you for a minute or two because we don't have to cover that too long

[00:39:38] because we've sort of alluded to that already but as you say it's a good thing to love the

[00:39:42] country that you call home and we are called to be good citizens but again if we identify

[00:39:48] as Americans or Canadians or whatever group you would identify as that as a mistake as

[00:39:54] well isn't it yeah we like here there's great news right we are if they're in Christ we

[00:40:02] are citizens of heaven and ambassadors on this earth and that means that we are called to love

[00:40:07] the country love the place that we are placed in but not with an ultimate love like my identity is

[00:40:14] not rooted in the outcomes of elections or the destiny of my country you know if that were the

[00:40:21] case we'd look at world history and realize countries come to ends they they come they

[00:40:27] rise they fall but our kingdom doesn't the kingdom of Christ that he invites us into doesn't and so

[00:40:34] there's such a freedom and then just the gift of serving as an ambassador to proclaim the high

[00:40:41] king of Kings who has come and is coming again well I've only have a minute or two left and I

[00:40:47] did want to point people to the beehive dot live because there's a place where people can sign up

[00:40:53] to get the beehive and when they do so they'll get a free excerpt from this book and I think

[00:41:00] that is a good way to get started and so there are some great resources there that you can find and

[00:41:05] angel I thought it also at least mentioned that we also have a link to the whole hope counseling

[00:41:10] comm in case people wanted to communicate with you but in the few seconds we have left I just

[00:41:16] thought I might just mention again that this book is something that certainly individuals can go

[00:41:21] through individually and learn a great deal but I'm hoping that some of our listeners if they're

[00:41:27] in a small group or a life group or maybe even pastors will consider what they might do to take

[00:41:33] this material and expand it and John I would suspect that if we have some pastors out there

[00:41:38] that say well could I take your book and maybe even do a sermon series you probably done a

[00:41:42] sermon series on it and probably even have some videos and other resources that they can get by

[00:41:47] going to the website campaign absolutely yeah in fact one of the fun things on our on our blog

[00:41:54] there at the beehive dot live is a quiz that you can take they can kind of probe your own heart and

[00:41:59] and pull out well what is what is the false identity that I'm most prone to connect with it

[00:42:05] could be a fun exercise for the beginning of a sermon series the beginning of a Bible study etc

[00:42:11] again lots of great resources there and book reviews and all sorts of searches that you can

[00:42:17] follow and of course you can sign up for that particular information that will come to your

[00:42:23] inbox so John and Angel thank you so very much for being with us and it is an excellent book

[00:42:28] and I'm so grateful that you wrote it and gave us an hour today to talk about it thank you Kirby

[00:42:33] we appreciate you thank you very much Kirby well that again is the book trading faces it is published

[00:42:39] by our friends at Kregel publications and it is removing the mask that hides your God-given

[00:42:45] identity how do you define yourself are you a defining yourself on the basis of your career

[00:42:51] or on the basis of your desires or your individuality or your independence maybe even

[00:42:57] your good works this is a great antidote to that and so we would certainly recommend the book to

[00:43:03] you and you've been listening to point of view many years ago they began saying that we live

[00:43:14] in the information age well today there is so much information coming at us from every direction

[00:43:21] the hardest thing is to discern which issues are really important and how can I make a positive

[00:43:28] impact without wasting my time trying to figure out accurate information let me give you a suggestion

[00:43:35] to help with that visit point of view dotnet look at the tabs across the top find the one named

[00:43:41] viewpoints Kirby Anderson and others on our team are constantly watching for news to identify those

[00:43:48] issues that you really need to know about they boil things down in a brief summary and then you

[00:43:54] can decide if it's something on which you want to learn more and get involved again when you go to

[00:43:59] point of view dotnet click on viewpoints you'll see exactly what I mean you'll see the issues that

[00:44:06] we are covering right now and when you like what you see I honestly think you will you can slide

[00:44:12] on over enter your email and get them automatically sent to your inbox each day that's it take a

[00:44:19] minute now be informed point of view dotnet click on viewpoints point of view is produced by point

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