Welcome to “Coffee with Phil,” where vulnerability, honesty, and the journey of life are on the table. In this episode, Phil dives into his major struggle for 2024: the tension between advancing and slowing down. Reflecting on the concept of living in the “both and” rather than choosing extremes, Phil shares insights on posture, place, and purpose. He unveils the challenges of embracing a slowed-down spirituality while striving for advancement. Join him on a personal exploration of navigating this tension, emphasizing the importance of preparation, recognizing God’s unexpected ways, and ultimately, staying true to the destination despite the evolving journey. So grab your coffee, sit back, and let’s dive into the beautiful mess of life together with Phil.
BONUS CONTENT
- Previous Episode: Episode 58
- Episode mentioned: Episode 34
- Pete Scazzero: Emotionally Healthy
ZION PEOPLE
Check out our other podcast: Zion People. It’s a bi-weekly podcast, that shares Christian teachings in sermon style format. Our desire is that the content presented will encourage and uplift you, to inspire and teach you, and most importantly, connect you with Jesus.
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Introduction
Well, hi and welcome to Coffee with Phil. Welcome to the podcast. It’s great to have you in the studio with me today. Well, you’re not in the studio, but now I’m with you wherever you are. And isn’t that the joy of how we do things?
Hey, look, it’s a glorious day. I hope you get a chance to grab a decent coffee, you know, isn’t it bad when you grab a coffee and it’s not decent? Ohh, so disappointing sometimes. Anyway, I’m enjoying a great coffee and I hope you are too.
I wanted to talk to you today about my major struggle for 2024. It may well be that the struggle goes longer than that, but today I want to talk about it. I want to talk about the tension of 2024. It’s not so much that it’s time stamped, but it’s just where I’m at. So, it’s a time stamp of my journey. If you’re listening to this much later on, then It could well be that you learn something for yourself from what I’m Hearing. And that’s really the whole point of the podcast is that I would share my journey. I would speak with you from a place of vulnerability and honesty, and just wanting to lead by demonstration and invite you to participate in the journey, even if it’s just by observation.
But what I find in chatting to people who are listening to the podcast, getting feedback is that people are going, “you know you’re, you’re travelling the journey, and we can see it’s a journey we’re on.” And so, look, I just hope that what I share helps you in some way. Please also help me make sure you share the podcast. So, get it out on social and promote the episodes as best you can. Make a comment and tell people why you enjoyed the episode and encourage them to follow along. Make sure you subscribe to your preferred podcast channel and let’s get this growing alright.
My Major Struggle
Well, let’s get into today’s podcast. My major struggle for 2024. Let’s go. So let me tell you where this came from. I began the year with a lot of musing. As I do, you know, we’re now, I’m recording this in February. So, the year is already flying by. But I began the year with some musings around where to put energy and attention. And as a result of that I shared a message (a brief message) at the church at Zion called the tension for 24, and in that I was proposing that… and I’m not going to preach that sermon again. So don’t worry. But we’ll put the link down in the show notes, but it was about how you live in this tension, not so much with one or the other. But live in the tension of both and.
So, I talked about three different areas of our lives, and I talked about the extreme tensions of 1 extreme to the other, and what I felt God was saying to us, not so much to live in the middle, but to live in each end of that tension. My struggle is not in doing one or the other but doing them both well. Because I think what we find is that when we make a choice A or B, what we tend to do is chuck one out and prefer the other and that’s not what creates the tension. The tension is both.
So, let me quickly explain which those three are, and then I’m going to talk about one of them today, and I’m going to bring it home and personal for me. In this I presented 3 different aspects of our lives that I’m seeing or not seeing tension so a little bit prophetic, a little bit of well, what’s about to happen in our lives? And how can we prepare ourselves?
So, the first one was really in our posture, and we certainly believe, and I’ve shared a podcast of this title that this is a season for the church. For us as believers, individually and corporately, to advance and occupy. To move in boldly with the Lord going before us. We move boldly into the promised land, the promises he’s given us that we would occupy territory that he makes available, that we will eat and harvest that which we did not plant, and we will live and dwell in that which we do not build, so advance and occupy.
But on the other end of its spectrum, there’s a concept that I have also shared on this podcast regarding a slowed down spirituality about that journey to become emotionally healthy that we might be emotionally mature, that we can then become spiritually mature and it’s the concept of a slowed down spirituality. And I’ve shared many, many thoughts on this from many, many different authors and huge kudos to Peter Scazzero, who we’ll link in the show notes for his work in the subject.
So, one tension is the whole posture of how do we advance and occupy. But then how do we slowdown in our spirituality? The second one was about our place and the tension of the importance of family, that which we were born into, and you know God says honour your mother and father and that we’re to esteem our children and that we’ve got this family that’s vital.
And you know, I think one of the things that we learned about the lockdown season was just how important it is to have a home-life and a family-life and to take care of and attend to the family that we have and not just the ones we live with, but the ones we’re connected with. You know that you might be living in different countries or different parts of the world.
You know, different parts of the nation, different cities. You know, families are important, but the other extreme to that is, is that God would say. Jesus actually said my brother or sister. These are not my family, my families, those who do the will of the father. And I would propose to you that there’s a tension and that we’re to prioritise the covenant family, the Covenant family that God has adopted and grafted us into, and that would be our brothers and sisters in Christ that we would not put our kids on the throne and our lives be dictated by what they demand.
Or perhaps your spouse that’s not walking in the same direction as you. I’m not sure what’s going on in your world, but I think God’s saying that we’ve got to honour and value the importance of our covenant connection with each other, and I’ll just let you unpack that, because I’m not going to talk about it today.
And then the third and final one was our purpose that we were given by God, this unique assignment that we’re destined for purpose and that we’re a masterpiece to create good works that God has prepared in advance for us to walk into.
And you know, I’m all about assignments and understanding our gifting’s and our passion and our purpose and moving into that assignment, I think is vital. The other extreme to that tension that I sense God’s saying. We’ve got to understand that he’s called us to be submitted to one another. If you’re not willing to submit yourself to the order and the structure that God’s created around you, then you won’t be fruitful.
So, we’ve got this tension of understanding that I’ve got my own assignment and I’ve got to run with it, and I’ve got to run well and I’ll be, wanting to hear the master say “well done. Good and faithful servant.” But I don’t think there are enough of us submitting in the structure in the order that God’s put around us. So, there’s a tension in that. So that’s around our posture, our place and our purpose.
And today what I want to just talk about is the first one, our posture, because I think it’s where I personally have the major struggle, the big struggle, it’s what I’m trying to wrestle with. And again, just let me remind you it’s how we live with multiple outcomes without being schizophrenic or bipolar. Without having two personalities or an integrity, you know what I would hate for people to say about me is well, you preach one thing and you do the other, or you advocate for certain things, but we don’t see you demonstrating them and so you know, it’s about being authentic and vulnerable. But it’s also about looking at how we can do this well with Jesus as our help. So I want to get into that today.
I’ve just got five thoughts I want to share with you around how I’m trying to journey this, with regards to my major struggle. And that’s in the first year of posture and it’s in the concept that I shared with you that we are to advance and occupy. And if you’ve listened to that episode, I think it’s #34. We’ll link to it below.
But if you’ve listened to that, you’ll hear about my passion to move with intentionality and obedience into the promised land that is prepared for us. I do not want to be like the 10 spies that shrunk back in fear. Read that in numbers. I don’t want to be like the 10 spies. I want to be like Joshua and Caleb. That said, come on, we can go forth for God surely has given this land unto us. But I also am wrestling with a yearning in my heart and a desire to walk with Jesus, to slow down spirituality, be present with him first and foremost, present with others and not so preoccupied with the assignment and the driven nature of my personality that I forsake going around me in order to pursue the objectives that I feel God set for us and just as I’m saying that I’m reflecting, you know, certainly that has been a criticism in the past.
You know me, I feel strong, I get so consumed with the God-given vision that i forget to care about the people in the way and slowed down spirituality helps us to see what Jesus sees, because we’re walking at his pace and my friend Richard and I were talking about this the other day over a cup of tea, and we were remembering. I think it was Pete’s podcast where he said recently that Jesus moved at the speed of love.
A good Jewish rabbi walked everywhere in the days of Jesus, and they walked at 3 miles an hour. It was kind of the pace that they were permitted to go so far on certain days. And Pete calls it the speed of love. Perhaps he’s quoting someone else. I’m not sure but I slowed down spirituality and I’ve got this sort of feeling in me, that less is more.
It’s really important to take time out. It’s really important to slow down and to insert moments into our schedule, into our programming that we would focus not so much on the tasks, but on who we are in the midst of the task. What am I feeling at the moment and why am I feeling that? What’s that feeling or emotion pointing to? You know, God uses our emotions as signposts, and I’ll speak about that. In a second, so I’m feeling like there’s less is more and that is God like holding on to it under this immense, huge, towering shadow of the goals that I have and the programmes that are before me, in my desire to see the church flourish and to see the community impacted with God’s love as a result of what we do as a faith community.
So how do we achieve all those things by doing less? This is a tension for me, and if you’re living close to me geographically or relationally, you’re going to see some changes. I think you might make some observations and I hope that’s a good thing. But it’s going to be messy, because you’re going to go well, that’s not what I expected Phil to do. Well, that’s not what I thought he would want. And I’m wrestling with this. And so, you’re not sure, just come and say something and please don’t be judgmental. But feel free to start a conversation.
Because I think as we wrestle with this together, we’re going to find the answers that God’s got for us and well, I’m searching for answers and maybe you are too. The second thought that I wanted to share on this, and this is me reflecting on how I might do the duty. There’s a feeling that, you know this less is more and that there’s a need to slow down and just be with Jesus to not hurry through the scripture but just linger on the verse and see Jesus in it to pray, but in prayer, to listen, not just to speak. This feeling, I reckon Is a leading by God and therefore if I say that this is something that God’s created in me, it’s a hunger or a yearning that he’s nurturing and blowing breath on to, to fan into a flame. If it’s led by God, then it must be something that I attend to. It must be something that I pay attention to. It must be something that I consider seriously, for to disregard what God has shown me would be a lack of obedience and a lack of submission.
If I was to say that’s not my temperament. That’s not how I do things. Then I’m going to completely miss what God is trying to lead me into as a revelation of another aspect of the way he’s created me. You know, this idea that I was created by God for friendship with God, to sit with God, to have fellowship with God and quite frankly, I think that’s the fundamental purpose of our lives, our creation, to have that and not give attention to it would be disobedient and how I know that again, I I’m really just. Trying to express feelings, I suppose at the moment.
So, if I’m sounding hesitant, it’s because I’m really processing what I’m saying as I record this. But how I know that it’s a test of my will because it’s not easy to do. It’s something that I feel I need to do. It’s something I’m certain that God’s trying to lead me into, and I don’t want to break in the process. So, if I resist God, then it’s likely to break something. This is the tension of my will. It’s not easy. It’s not natural. It’s not what I want necessarily. Would actually prove to me that God is asking me to be obedient, and he’s asking me to be submitted.
And so, look perhaps you can reflect on that for a different area of your life, you know, is there something where you’ve got tension going on and you’re not sure what’s happening, and yet you feel certainly, you know, clearly led somewhere and you’re resisting it or you’re fighting it. Perhaps you might notice that it’s a test of your will and your desire to submit, and therefore it’s an invitation into obedience.
So, I leave it with you, and you can process it at your own time, certainly encouraging you to come back and wrestle with this. Check the transcript and see what that says.
The Current season doesn’t change the ultimate destination
The third thought that I have in this area. Is that the current season does not necessarily change the ultimate destination and that was really encouraging to me when I felt the Lord say that. Because, you know, like as you know, if you know me, you know, I’ve got ambitious goals and a big vision for the church, not that it’s about me. I’m confident that the vision that we have at Zion is far bigger than my time frame or my tenure far bigger than my ability. And so, the destination is one of God’s plans, but we’re encouraged that the season that I’m in is not necessarily changing their destination.
So, I shouldn’t throw it all away. So, it’s not that we should not advance and occupy. It’s not that God has not said we will inherit a land we did not plant or occupy a home we did not build. It’s not that that’s changed. It’s just that this season is essential in the journey.
And you know, I think about the diversion of the people of Israel and what God did in that time and what he established in them in that time and the promise never went away. And that was what was just amazing. We’ve been on an amazing prayer journey as a church in the last five years, I’m going to say. And what’s been amazing is time and time again, we’ve come back to, you know, as we’re praying together and we’ve come back to this point where we’re going… when we feel like this is what God’s saying and it and it just hasn’t changed and it’s amazing, you know, like, it doesn’t matter what we’re feeling at the moment.
God has certainly nailed something to the wall. It’s a destination and a vision and a hope that we hold. So don’t throw that away. So what I’d say to you is, if you’re in a temple holding season or you’re going on a journey, you didn’t really hope for and you’re like, man, has my future changed? then I’d suggest to you go back and ask God that question because I would say to you that the current season does not necessarily change the ultimate destination, and obviously I’m not speaking specifics because I don’t know who is listening in detail but consider that and in the season, which leads me to the 4th point that I’ve got for myself, which I’m sharing with you here.
The Importance of Preparation
And I would say this. Consider the importance of preparation with God as a means of ensuring future success, to consider the importance of preparation with God as a means of ensuring future success. So, in my world, perhaps. What I’m saying to myself is that the essential application and integration in my life of a slowed down spirituality will be paramount for me to be able to advance and occupy and perhaps that I’ll be doing it differently, rather than beating down doors with my forehead, maybe I’ll be walking in Jesus footsteps and seeing him do it before me.
I consider the people of Israel. I was just listening to a sermon on YouTube, and the guy was, you know, Speaking of the crossing of the Red Sea. And, you know, the Lord led the people to the edge of the Red Sea. They were crying in fear because Pharaoh’s army thundered upon them to destroy them. And yet the Lord said, why are you crying? Moses, hold up your hand and as he held up his hand and his staff, the sea parted, and the Lord parted the sea and led them through the cloud of fire. So, the Lord’s taken you somewhere for preparation for something. And I think it’s Pastor Bill Johnson, who said the reason they spent so much time in the desert wasn’t to get them out of Egypt. It was to get Egypt out of them. And it was purging and cleansing and the teaching of new ways that God did in that wilderness season.
So, for me, what I’m saying is reflection. That perhaps embracing and integrating A slowed down spirituality is part of the preparation with God that will do the best possible for the future success of the mission, meaning life. So, you know, weigh that up for yourself. You know I can’t remember who says it now? I quote so many different people, but let’s just call it a meme. And then you don’t have to quote it, right, you know, don’t ask God to get you out of the situation. Ask God to make you better in the situation you’re in. And that’s that preparation with God.
So sometimes our better prayer is not God deliver me, but please, God, come and transform me and I’ll leave that with you as well.
God’s way is almost always “not the way I would of done it”
So that’s the first four, the 5th and final thought. Is this and I look, I’m preaching to me here and you’re invited to listen. God’s way of doing things is almost always not the way I would have done this. You know, I’ve got multiple stories on that, but I’m saying it to encourage me. Look, think back to the times in your life where God came through for you and you’re like shucks, I didn’t see that coming. And I would not have done it that way. And yet God’s fingerprints are all over it.
And so, in this tension of our posture, in this case, between an advance and occupy and moving forward, the Kingdom of heaven shall advance forcefully, you know as Jesus says, you know, those who are tired and worn out? Come to me. My yoke is easy, and my burden is light. I’ll show you my way of doing it. That’s what I’m just saying to you, it’s not my natural tendency to operate like.
Closing
So, as I sort of land, this really just wanted to take a moment to acknowledge my major struggle for 2024 and invite you into it. I would encourage you to reflect and reflect as soon as you finish listening to this, don’t rush into a meeting. Don’t rush into a phone call. Don’t rush out to watch TV, but just actually take a moment. And maybe even leave your Air pods in if you’re if you’re doing something else to force you to have a quiet moment but reflect. Because that’s what I’ll be doing this afternoon.
And the feelings that are led by God, that are an invitation to obedience and submission. What is God inviting you into as an invitation to be obedient and to be submitted? Think about you know, what you’re holding on to as a promise, you know. Don’t let go of those promises. You know, Abraham believed God, and it was credited to his righteousness because he knew that God’s promise meant that God would fulfil God’s promise because God is faithful, and you know too many times we try and do God’s work for him.
So, the destination doesn’t change. But the process and maybe even the pathway has changed. And then just really say to God, you know, what are you doing in me and how can I agree with it? You know, God doesn’t need your help, but he certainly desires your submission. He’s not trying to make you into a puppet or a robot by remote control. He is discipling and growing and training and equipping you as his son or his daughter, and so preparation with God is a means of ensuring your future success.
And look, I just want to finish by saying that the way that we will have breakthroughs is that God will do something remarkable so that we will sit back and say, wow, look what God has done. And you know, I just recently did some research on the story of Jericho and the people, the Israel coming up against Jericho. There’s a great quote I can’t remember if I’ve told you guys this quote before, but Pastor Gary Cassie says he asks how many stones the Israelites pulled out of the wall of Jericho. And the answer is none. Of course they did not. They stood and declared God to be faithful, and they watched him do remarkable things.
Now, when Israel went on to future locations, the reputation of God destroyed Jericho went before them. It went with them. It was inside them. So, here’s the incentive. What if the Lord is bending us to his greatest desire because he knows what’s better so that in future times we can sit back and say, look what God has done and to others too, people that don’t yet know God would see the testimony of God in our lives. And say wow, it must be a miracle. It must be that God has done something remarkable in your life.
Man wouldn’t it be cool if the people around us were giving testimony to God’s amazing goodness. I mean, Rahab did that. You’ll read the beginning of Joshua Chapter 2. She said to the spy. She said, look, we’re freaking out here because we’ve seen what God has done for you. And now we worry he’s going to do it to us. And then it went beyond there as they went from Jericho.
So, imagine if that was our story that we were that we were allowing God to write for us. So welcome to the partnership. You’re now part of my story, which means I thank you for your encouraging support. And look, give me a shout out. Send me a message. Connect with me in any way you want to as we journey this journey together, I look forward to sharing more on that as things progress and certainly I’m just loving doing the journey with you and I just hope in any way that my story is helping you do faith in a real way in order that we would love a life of purpose on purpose with Jesus.
So, God bless you, have a fantastic day, enjoy a good coffee and I’ll be back soon. So, we can have some more coffee with Phil. Take care.