Latest / Deep Dive Ortho — Orthopaedic Surgery, AI & Digital Health Podcast. / Principles of life

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Principles of life · Deep Dive Ortho — Orthopaedic Surgery, AI & Digital Health Podcast.

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  Welcome to The Deep Dive, the show that extracts
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  the most vital insights from the information
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  you need to conquer your world. Today, we're
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  plunging into a topic that resonates deeply with
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  nearly everyone, regardless of their profession
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  or life stage. From a demanding medical practice
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  to corporate leadership, the universal aspiration
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  for greatness, this ambition... Well, it seems
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  ingrained in us. But in our demanding professional
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  lives, what does true greatness actually look
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  like? And importantly, how can we actively pursue
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  it? Our mission in this deep dive is to explore
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  a clear, yet perhaps surprisingly counterintuitive
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  pathway to achieving profound impact and purpose.
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  Not just in your career, mind you, but across
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  every area of your life. We'll be looking at
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  a framework for living, one rooted in profound
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  Christian wisdom and principles. It draws from
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  patterns observed in biblical figures and spiritual
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  leaders who achieved quite extraordinary impact.
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  It's about transforming those aspirations from
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  abstract ideals into, well, tangible realities,
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  no matter the challenges you face daily. To navigate
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  this fascinating landscape, we're joined by someone
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  uniquely equipped to synthesize complex ideas
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  and connect them to their broader implications.
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  Professor Mo Imam, welcome. Thank you. It's a
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  real pleasure to be here and delve into such
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  a pivotal topic. OK, let's unpack this then.
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  It really does seem that a desire for greatness
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  is almost universal. Corporate leaders, medical
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  professionals, doctors, surgeons, researchers,
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  nurses, everyone aims for excellence, for impact.
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  It's just there. But when it comes to personal
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  growth, especially know, in our inner lives,
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  this ambition can sometimes feel, well, complicated.
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  We might even worry it's arrogant, perhaps, or
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  self -centered. Why do you think that is? That's
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  an excellent observation, actually, and it cuts
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  right to the heart of the matter. You're absolutely
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  right that mediocrity is almost no one's ambition.
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  A scholar wants to be a great thinker, an artist,
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  a great creator, a surgeon, a great healer. Definitely.
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  But as you say, when we ask individuals, especially
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  those of faith, if they want to be great Christians
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  or profoundly impactful in their personal lives,
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  there's often this hesitation, almost a fear
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  of sounding prideful. Yet if we look back at
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  the earliest accounts of spiritual journeys,
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  even figures like Jesus' own disciples, they
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  wrestled with this desire to be great. And what's
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  fascinating is that Jesus didn't scold them for
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  this ambition. Not at all. Instead, he redefined
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  greatness for them. He laid out a completely
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  new paradigm, a different set of metrics entirely.
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  A different way of measuring it, precisely. So
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  in this context, true greatness isn't measured
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  by fame, money, position, or intellect, which
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  are often the world's conventional markers of
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  success in, say, a demanding medical career.
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  It's measured by a different standard altogether.
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  And when pursued, these counterintuitive metrics
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  are said to have literally turned the world upside
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  down in less than a century. So this desire,
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  it isn't a spiritual problem, it's actually a
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  God -given desire. So it's about aligning our
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  deep -seated professional drive for excellence,
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  the kind you see in medicine all the time, with
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  a more expansive, purposeful vision for our lives,
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  one that goes beyond traditional markers like
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  career advancement or accolades. It's about integrating
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  that ambition with a deeper sense of meaning
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  and contribution. That's a really powerful reframing,
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  particularly for professionals who often feel
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  immense pressure to conform to those conventional
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  success metrics. Exactly. It's about channeling
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  that inherent desire for impact into something
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  that transcends the purely material reputational,
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  transforming it into a desire for, well, kingdom
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  impact. You mentioned that transformation begins
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  fundamentally with what we allow into our minds.
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  I find that concept fascinating and almost challenging
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  perhaps. How profoundly do our daily thoughts
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  actually shape our reality and our capacity for
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  impact, especially when we're constantly bombarded
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  with information, good and bad. The influence
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  of our thought life is frankly profound. It's
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  really not an overstatement to say that what
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  we entertain in our minds ultimately guides our
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  lives. For better or worse, there's a compelling
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  study by Haskins that looked at the impact of
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  just five minutes of daily negative news. Just
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  five minutes. Only five minutes. Yes. Participants
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  listened to programs filled with stories of disasters,
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  violence, despair. After evaluating them, Haskins
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  discovered four quite discernible effects. They
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  became more depressed. They developed a more
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  negative worldview. They were less likely to
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  help others. And perhaps most strikingly, they
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  even started to believe that the negative things
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  they heard would soon happen to them. Their perception
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  of reality was directly shaped by those five
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  minutes of negative thoughts Wow That's quite
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  something it really highlights a core principle
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  a mind filled with flawed pessimistic or cynical
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  thinking Simply cannot live an influential fruitful
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  life Transformation the kind we're talking about
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  for true greatness begins fundamentally with
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  what we allow into our minds It's the root of
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  our thinking that determines the fruit of our
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  lives if you feed your mind mental junk food
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  as it were your spiritual and emotional health
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  will reflect it. But if you feed it eternal truths,
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  your health will become stronger and more consistent
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  over time. That makes perfect sense. It's like
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  a mental equivalent of you are what you eat,
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  isn't it? Which raises an important question,
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  then. If our thoughts are so powerful, what should
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  we be thinking? The wisdom tradition we're exploring
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  points to specific qualities for great thoughts.
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  Can you elaborate on these? And how can we apply
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  them to our often chaotic mental landscapes,
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  especially in high -pressure medical environments
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  where critical thinking can sometimes, perhaps
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  easily, lean towards cynicism? Certainly. The
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  Apostle Paul, in his letter to the Philippians,
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  chapter 4 verse 8, gives us a very clear directive.
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  He says to dwell on Whatever is true, whatever
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  is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is
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  pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good
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  repute, if there is any excellence and if anything
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  worthy of praise. Now this isn't casual thinking.
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  The Greek word for dwell here is logizomai. It
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  means to deduce, to reason, to calculate, to
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  ponder, to deliberate, to subject to protracted
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  analysis or thought. It implies active meditation,
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  you see. Thinking about something long enough
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  to grasp its implications for your life. Active
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  meditation not just letting thoughts drift by
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  exactly. Yeah now for professionals in high -pressure
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  fields like medicine two attributes often prove
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  most challenging yet perhaps most impactful first
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  Honorable this means things that are grave worthy
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  of respect It refers to things that reflect the
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  serious purposes of your life and honor a higher
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  purpose In medicine, where the stakes are incredibly
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  high, it's about ensuring your thoughts align
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  with the profound calling of healing and caring
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  for life, not just the technical or administrative
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  demands. Asking yourself, does this thought align
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  with the gravitas and divine purpose of my work?
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  Okay. Second, of good repute, commendable. This
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  is something that speaks well of others or is
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  praiseworthy. In an environment often focused
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  on problem solving or identifying flaws, which
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  is necessary, of course, it's easy for thoughts
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  to drift towards cynicism about colleagues, systems,
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  perhaps even patients sometimes. Cultivating
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  thoughts of good repute means intentionally looking
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  for the praiseworthy, building up rather than
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  tearing down in your mind. That's a conscious
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  effort, then. It really is. Paul is essentially
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  saying, get your thoughts right and the emotions,
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  behaviors and consequences like peace will follow.
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  A spiritually trained mind aligns everything
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  else. It revolves emotional issues and guides
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  behavior. This dynamic is consistently reinforced
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  throughout scripture. For example, Romans 12
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  .2 urges us to be transformed by the renewing
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  of our mind. If we're habitually feeding our
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  minds on that mental junk food, our spiritual
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  health will suffer. But if we consistently feed
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  it eternal truths, our health can become stronger
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  and more consistent than we might have thought
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  possible. It's like creating a mental filter,
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  isn't it? Ensuring what comes in aligns with
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  our highest values and purpose. So where do we
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  find these great thoughts in a world that's constantly
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  bombarding us with everything else? What are
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  the practical sources for this vital mental diet?
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  Excellent question. The first and most foundational
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  source is undoubtedly scripture. And here I'm
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  not just talking about a sort of checklist -driven
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  Bible reading plan. Right, not just ticking a
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  box. No. As the renowned preacher Charles Spurgeon
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  urged, we should lie as soak in my text, let
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  the truth soak into me. This means saturating
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  your mind with truth, pondering it, allowing
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  it to marinate. This deep absorption of God's
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  word saturates the mind with truth. And as John
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  8 .32 promises, you will know the truth and the
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  truth will set you free. Free from anxiety, fear,
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  the expectations of others, those habits that
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  enslave us. Another powerful source is creation.
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  Just reflecting on the grandeur of the natural
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  world provides immense perspective and humility.
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  I remember living in Santa Cruz, seeing the ocean
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  from my house, being able to quickly access the
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  mountains with these enormous trees. Sometimes
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  if my sermon preparation felt ready in terms
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  of notes, but my heart wasn't quite there, you
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  know, I'd take a coffee, sit overlooking the
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  bay, and just stare at the crashing waves. Get
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  some perspective. Exactly. I'd think about how
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  tiny I was in the grand scheme of the universe.
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  Yet here I was, uptight about what people might
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  think of my sermon. The heavens truly declare
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  the glory of God. Such contemplation is energizing.
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  It can pull you out of an emotional pit and provide
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  a high view of God that elevates his words and
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  builds faith. That's a wonderful image. And finally,
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  spiritual insights. Those personal light bulb
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  moments God gives you from life experience. For
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  instance, years ago I had this profound realization
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  that I am not the only person in the world who
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  is desperately insecure. Actually, everyone is.
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  to some degree. Really, everyone? Fundamentally,
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  yes. This insight lifted immense pressure. It
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  freed me from worrying about impressing others
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  or positioning myself in meetings. It allowed
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  me to be authentic and find my security in Christ.
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  Another insight that continuously liberates me
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  is that God loves me right now as much as he
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  ever has and ever will. My performance doesn't
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  change that fundamental truth. These profound
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  truths when deeply pondered and internalized
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  become life -changing. They relieve the knots
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  in your stomach, allow you to make difficult
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  but right decisions, and lead to true security.
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  Those are incredibly practical sources. It's
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  not about just passively consuming information,
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  as you say, but actively meditating on it. So
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  how can busy professionals, perhaps those working
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  long shifts or on call in the medical field,
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  practically cultivate these great thoughts daily
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  amidst demanding schedules? It sounds challenging.
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  Absolutely. It requires intentionality. It won't
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  just happen. Here are a few practical tips. Firstly,
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  memorize and meditate on scripture. This isn't
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  an obligation, it's an opportunity. Write down
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  verses that resonate with you on index cards.
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  Keep them in your pocket or on your phone. Read
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  them during downtime, waiting in line, between
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  patients, between meetings, or even just before
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  bed and first thing in the morning. Make them
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  the first and last thing that goes into your
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  mind. Using those small pockets of time. Precisely.
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  Secondly, use your commute time wisely. Do you
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  really need to listen to talk radio or just general
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  music all the time? Consider audio versions of
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  the Bible, or uplifting teaching, or simply embrace
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  silence for reflection and pondering deep truths.
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  That seemingly unproductive time can become a
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  powerful period of mental renewal. Turn the car
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  into a sort of sanctuary. Kind of, yes. Thirdly,
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  listen to uplifting music. There's an undeniable
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  connection between music and our emotions. Refreshing
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  and uplifting music can set a positive course
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  for your mind, steering it away from negativity
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  and toward peace. And finally, create visual
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  reminders. Put a key passage on your computer
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  screensaver or on your phone lock screen. Set
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  up reminders. These subtle nudges can help keep
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  truth at the forefront of your mind throughout
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  the day. Simple things, but consistent. Yes.
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  Thinking great thoughts is the critical first
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  step in a radically changed life. When truth
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  resonates with your heart, your emotions begin
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  to change, and you find yourself motivated to
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  act in surprising ways, aligning your emotions
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  and behavior for profound impact. You've made
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  a compelling case that thinking great thoughts
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  is foundational. What's fascinating now is the
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  role that reading great books plays in expanding
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  our mental landscape and fostering spiritual
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  growth. Why is external input like this so crucial,
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  especially for those in demanding knowledge -intensive
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  fields like medicine or staying updated clinically
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  as paramount, but this is about a different kind
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  of update, isn't it? It is, yes. Written words
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  possess an inherent power to shape our perspectives,
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  much like our own thoughts do. It's interesting,
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  God in the Old Testament even commanded the kings
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  of Israel to personally write out and scrutinize
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  every word of the law. Not just read it, but
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  write it out themselves. Really? Write it out?
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  Yes, because He wanted them to be ruled by men
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  who deeply understood His written word. This
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  demonstrates the profound impact of absorbing
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  truth. from written sources. It's how we learn
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  from those who have experienced God's truth in
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  the past, how we stand on the shoulders of giants
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  as it were. My own life has been profoundly impacted
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  by specific books. One seminal work was The Knowledge
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  of the Holy by A .W. Tozer. A missionary handed
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  it to me years ago in Hong Kong and his opening
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  line just stunned me. What comes into our minds
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  when we think about God is the most important
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  thing about us. That's quite a statement. It
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  is. This book radically changed my perception
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  of God. I think I grew up viewing him as a sort
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  of cosmic policeman, always ready with a club
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  looking for mistakes. Tozer revealed a God who
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  takes holy pleasure in the happiness of his people,
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  who has a good plan, and who sees me as the object
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  of his affection. It was so foreign to my previous
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  understanding that I had to reread sections multiple
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  times for it to actually sink in. I've kept that
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  book and its updated edition for over 26 years
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  now, revisiting it often. It continues to shape
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  me. That's a powerful personal testimony to the
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  transformative power of a single book. Beyond
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  your own spiritual journey, then, what types
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  of books or genres would you recommend for listeners
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  looking to cultivate similar shifts? Shifts in
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  their worldview or perhaps practical skills relevant
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  to their professional and personal lives? Excellent
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  question. Beyond purely theological works, I
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  found biographies of impactful figures incredibly
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  shaping. Reading Dawes, the story of Dawes and
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  Trotman, founder of the Navigators, for instance,
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  it showed me that an ordinary chap with just
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  a high school education but deeply rooted in
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  scripture memory could impact millions worldwide.
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  So it's not about academic brilliance, necessarily.
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  Not at all. Yeah. It removed the pressure to
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  be some kind of brilliant scholar or wealthy
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  individual. It demonstrated that passion for
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  Christ and belief in God's word were the real
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  prerequisites for world changing impact. These
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  books really illustrate God's ability to use
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  improbable people to do impossible things. which
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  is very encouraging. Later, when I was leading
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  a college ministry, I faced intellectual challenges
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  from professors and graduate students who questioned
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  my faith. I remember feeling quite small, even
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  inadequate, wondering if I had to throw my brains
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  in the trash to follow Christ. A common struggle,
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  I think. Very common. Then I discovered the works
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  of Francis Schaeffer, specifically books like
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  Escape from Reason and The God Who is There.
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  Schaeffer provided such a robust framework for
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  intellectual Christians to reconcile faith with
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  reason. He showed that faith wasn't irrational
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  or anti -intellectual. He also helped me understand
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  grace more deeply, moving beyond a performance
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  -based faith to a genuine relationship with God.
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  So in summary, reading great books has profoundly
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  shaped my perception of God, my confidence in
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  faith, my marriage, my ministry, my relationships.
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  They've provided significant life lessons and
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  breakthroughs. It's a practice that truly pays
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  eternal dividends. If our thoughts are shaped
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  by what we consume and what we read, then it
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  stands to reason, doesn't it, that the people
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  we surround ourselves with also profoundly influence
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  us. How does pursuing great people work as a
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  catalyst for growth, and what does that actually
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  entail for us today in our busy lives? The principle
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  is beautifully illustrated by the relationship
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  between Elijah and Elisha in the Old Testament.
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  Essentially, who we choose to follow will determine
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  to a large degree who we become. It's almost
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  inevitable. If we want to become truly great,
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  in the sense we're discussing, we need to pursue
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  and learn from great people. We naturally take
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  on the attributes, the perspectives, even the
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  mannerisms of those we spend the most time with.
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  Now, before we discuss the people we choose to
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  influence us, it's important to acknowledge those
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  we didn't choose. Our parents or parental figures
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  are, undeniably, the most influential people
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  in our lives, for better or worse. That's certainly
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  true. We inherit both nature and nurture from
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  them. And many of us carry baggage from our family
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  backgrounds. I've learned some important principles
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  over the years for constructively dealing with
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  this. First, no one had perfect parents. Only
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  Jesus was perfect. We all grew up under the influence
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  of imperfect people who made mistakes. Remembering
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  this helps us let go of unrealistic expectations
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  and perhaps lingering grudges. Oh, allows for
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  grace. It does. Second, thank God for what you
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  did get rather than dwelling on what you didn't.
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  It's so easy to lament what went wrong or what
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  was missing. But focusing on the blessings received,
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  however small they might seem, is vital for moving
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  forward in a healthy way. And third, deal constructively
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  with the damage. Everyone has baggage, difficult
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  experiences. The goal isn't to pretend they don't
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  exist, but to proactively work through them and
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  grow, rather than getting stuck or letting them
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  define us. That's a very compassionate and practical
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  approach to family history. So once we've processed
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  those untozen influences, how do we then go about
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  identifying and seeking out the chosen influences,
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  the great people who can actively shape our future
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  growth? That's where the concept of our spiritual
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  Mount Rushmore, as I sometimes call it, comes
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  in. The first step is to look in the rear view
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  mirror. Take some time to identify four or five
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  people who have most positively and indelibly
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  impacted your life so far. Then reflect on how
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  they shaped your character. What qualities did
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  they model? What did you learn from them? Identify
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  the patterns of need they met in your life. This
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  gives you a really valuable glimpse into the
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  kind of people you'll likely need in your life
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  going forward. I can give you a couple of personal
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  examples from my own life. Coach Lance, he was
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  my first non -family role model back in junior
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  high. He was quite hard, demanding, but also
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  deeply caring. He looked past my rather arrogant
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  surface behavior to see potential underneath.
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  He taught me teachability, a huge lesson. He
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  invested individual time in me daily, playing
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  basketball, and continued to offer blunt challenges
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  and wisdom for years after. He really taught
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  me to be strong and authentic. That sounds like
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  a key relationship. It was foundational. Another
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  was Howard Hendricks, a renowned professor at
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  Dallas Seminary. I pursued him persistently for
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  mentorship. Initially, I was rejected because
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  his schedule was just packed. So you had to be
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  persistent. Very persistent. The mentorship eventually
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  evolved from just being in his large classes
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  to informal gatherings at his home. And then
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  later, I assisted him with travel. He taught
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  me that powerful communication stems from a genuine
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  passion for God. We actually prayed together
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  every night on those trips. He also provided
• 18:54
  profound personal counsel during some of my own
• 18:56
  struggles, emphasizing our shared human insecurity.
• 18:59
  He once told me everyone, including himself,
• 19:02
  battles insecurity. That was incredibly freeing.
• 19:05
  Those are vivid examples, showcasing the diverse
• 19:08
  ways different individuals can shape us. So having
• 19:11
  looked in the rear view mirror, how do we then,
• 19:13
  as you put it, look out the windshield? How do
• 19:15
  we identify and pursue future mentors and influences?
• 19:18
  What's the strategic approach for someone in
• 19:20
  perhaps a complex professional network, like
• 19:23
  a busy medical practice or hospital? The apostle
• 19:26
  Paul's model of relationships with Barnabas and
• 19:28
  Timothy is incredibly insightful here, I think.
• 19:31
  We can break it down. First, you need a Paul
• 19:34
  mentor. to you, someone who is further along
• 19:37
  in their journey, a spiritual elder who can guide
• 19:40
  you. In a medical context, this could be a senior
• 19:43
  consultant who exemplifies not just clinical
• 19:45
  excellence, but deep character and spiritual
• 19:48
  maturity, someone you look up to in multiple
• 19:50
  dimensions. Someone who's walked the path. Exactly.
• 19:53
  Second, you need a Barnabas. peer mentor. This
• 19:57
  is a peer who encourages, challenges, and walks
• 19:59
  alongside you. Perhaps a colleague at the same
• 20:01
  stage of your career, with whom you can openly
• 20:03
  share struggles and victories. Someone who gets
• 20:05
  it because they're in it too. A trusted colleague.
• 20:09
  Yes. And third, you need a Timothy Minty. We
• 20:13
  also need someone we are actively investing in,
• 20:15
  helping them grow. This might be a junior doctor,
• 20:17
  a medical student, or even someone outside your
• 20:20
  immediate professional sphere. The act of mentoring
• 20:23
  others solidifies our own learning and keeps
• 20:25
  us growing. Now, it's really important not to
• 20:28
  expect one perfect person to meet all these needs.
• 20:31
  God uses a variety of people, none of them perfect,
• 20:33
  at different seasons of your life. And if you
• 20:35
  find yourself being appalled to others, remember
• 20:38
  not to constantly give without receiving. You
• 20:40
  need very encouraging people, VEPs as I call
• 20:43
  them in your life, who pour back into you and
• 20:46
  offer relationships without an agenda. That's
• 20:48
  a great point, replenishing the well. Absolutely.
• 20:51
  God puts different people in our lives to play
• 20:53
  different roles, father figures, cheerleaders,
• 20:55
  confidants, prophets, sponsors, experts, counselors.
• 20:58
  Understanding these roles helps us receive from
• 21:01
  them appropriately and avoid offense or unrealistic
• 21:03
  expectations. Ultimately, who we align with relationally
• 21:07
  profoundly shapes our trajectory toward greatness.
• 21:10
  It's quite simple. If you want to be an average
• 21:12
  Christian surround yourself with average Christians,
• 21:15
  but if you want to go from good to great in God's
• 21:17
  eyes intentionally surround yourself with great
• 21:19
  people, okay, so if our thoughts are the foundation
• 21:23
  and our relationships are a key influence, then
• 21:25
  dreaming great dreams seems like the natural
• 21:27
  next step, doesn't it? What exactly does it mean
• 21:29
  to have a God -sized dream? And how does that
• 21:32
  differ from just personal ambition or, you know,
• 21:35
  typical career goals within, say, a demanding
• 21:37
  medical practice, aiming for professorship or
• 21:41
  leading a department, for example? That's a crucial
• 21:43
  distinction, yes. Sanctified, God -honoring dreaming,
• 21:47
  as I think of it, isn't primarily about self
• 21:50
  -fulfillment or personal fame or even just professional
• 21:53
  advancement though those things might happen.
• 21:55
  It's about being so captivated by a vision to
• 21:58
  serve God and accomplish something significant
• 22:00
  for his kingdom that the dream would be utterly
• 22:02
  impossible without him stepping in. Impossible
• 22:05
  without God. Yes. It's a dream so great that
• 22:07
  human effort and energy alone simply couldn't
• 22:10
  bring it to fruition. Think about the impossible
• 22:13
  dream given to Jesus's 12 disciples. Ordinary,
• 22:16
  mostly uneducated men, their task. Go reach the
• 22:20
  entire planet. Seems utterly audacious. Completely.
• 22:23
  This audacious mission, without printing presses,
• 22:26
  TVs, or the internet, literally turned the world
• 22:29
  upside down in less than a century. It demonstrates
• 22:32
  God's absolute delight in doing impossible things
• 22:35
  through improbable people, and importantly, imparting
• 22:39
  exceeding grace to undeserving recipients. This
• 22:42
  means your dreams aren't too unlikely for God,
• 22:44
  and you're not too improbable for him to use.
• 22:47
  He especially delights in accomplishing his purposes
• 22:50
  through people who, by faith, don't consider
• 22:52
  their dreams impossible at all. because they
• 22:54
  know he is involved. That's incredibly liberating,
• 22:57
  actually. It pushes us way beyond our self -imposed
• 23:00
  limitations. So what are the core beliefs that
• 23:03
  underpin this capacity for dreaming God -sized
• 23:06
  dreams? What do we need to truly believe? There
• 23:08
  are two core beliefs that are absolutely fundamental,
• 23:10
  foundational, really. First, God is able, as
• 23:13
  the prophet Jeremiah declared in chapter 32,
• 23:15
  verse 17. Ah, sovereign Lord, you have made the
• 23:18
  heavens and the earth by your great power and
• 23:19
  outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you.
• 23:22
  Nothing. Nothing is too hard. Think about the
• 23:24
  vastness of the universe, billions of galaxies,
• 23:27
  each with billions of stars, all held together
• 23:29
  by his command. If you can do all that, then
• 23:32
  your most difficult problem, your most audacious
• 23:34
  dream. It's not even mildly difficult for him.
• 23:37
  We need to grasp his scale. Second, God is desirous.
• 23:41
  Not only is he able, but he's actually willing.
• 23:44
  He wants to do great things. 1 Corinthians 2
• 23:47
  .9 says God wants to do, "...things which eye
• 23:49
  has not seen, and ear has not heard, and which
• 23:52
  have not entered the human heart, all that God
• 23:54
  has prepared for those who love him." Our biggest
• 23:57
  problem isn't usually that our dreams are too
• 23:59
  big. It's often that they're far too small. Limited
• 24:02
  by our self -imposed beliefs about what God could
• 24:04
  or would actually do through us, He wants us
• 24:06
  to lift our eyes beyond our daily to -do list
• 24:08
  and just survival mode. That reframes our challenges
• 24:11
  entirely, shifting the focus from an issue of
• 24:13
  our capability to one of God's ability and desire.
• 24:16
  Can you give us some examples of how God actually
• 24:19
  births these impossible dreams in people, drawing
• 24:22
  perhaps from biblical narratives? It seems it's
• 24:24
  not always a straightforward, easy process. You're
• 24:27
  absolutely right. It's rarely straightforward.
• 24:29
  And God often works in surprising, sometimes
• 24:31
  even difficult ways to birth these dreams. Consider
• 24:35
  Abraham. God commanded him to leave his comfort
• 24:37
  zone, his home, his family, and go to an unknown
• 24:40
  place first. Only after Abraham stepped out in
• 24:43
  obedience did God burst the dream of innumerable
• 24:45
  descendants. The principle here seems to be that
• 24:48
  God often begins by asking us to step out of
• 24:51
  our comfort zone into the unknown. Obedience
• 24:53
  first, then the dream. Often, yes. Then look
• 24:56
  at Moses. God led him to fail spectacularly in
• 24:59
  his own strength. Remember him killing the Egyptian?
• 25:01
  He had to flee into exile for decades. This was
• 25:04
  preparation, allowing him to learn reliance solely
• 25:06
  on divine power for the immense task of delivering
• 25:09
  Israel. This teaches us that God sometimes allows
• 25:12
  us to fail in our own power to prepare us for
• 25:14
  his supernatural accomplishment. He needs us
• 25:17
  to realize it's impossible without him. Failure
• 25:19
  is preparation. That's counterintuitive. It is.
• 25:22
  Think also of Paul. His defining calling was
• 25:25
  clarified in a moment of profound personal crisis
• 25:27
  on the Damascus road. It shifted him from persecutor
• 25:30
  to missionary literally overnight. God often
• 25:34
  clarifies our calling in times of crisis, providing
• 25:36
  a platform to speak clearly when we are desperate
• 25:39
  and our lives feel like they're in disarray.
• 25:42
  And closer to home, my own wife, Teresa. Her
• 25:45
  crisis of abandonment by her first husband became
• 25:47
  the very platform God used. Her pain and brokenness
• 25:50
  were transformed into a powerful means for God
• 25:52
  to teach and give hope to other single mothers,
• 25:55
  helping them reclaim their identity as daughters
• 25:57
  of God. This shows that failures, difficulties,
• 26:00
  pain, brokenness. These can be the very platform
• 26:02
  God uses to fulfill his dreams through us. Turning
• 26:04
  points out of pain. Precisely. In my own life,
• 26:07
  I experienced this quite vividly. I received
• 26:09
  a specific clear directive while sitting in a
• 26:11
  field at a retreat many years ago. It wasn't
• 26:14
  an audible voice, but a powerful, unmistakable
• 26:16
  sense that God wanted me to be a catalyst to
• 26:19
  transform how Americans think about God, how
• 26:22
  pastors think about preaching, how churches think
• 26:24
  about their communities, and how everyday believers
• 26:26
  live out their faith. That's a huge vision. It
• 26:28
  felt audacious, almost overwhelming, especially
• 26:31
  when our radio program was only on two local
• 26:33
  stations at the time. But we stepped out. And
• 26:35
  within five years, it expanded to 600 stations
• 26:38
  across the country. Only God could do that. God
• 26:41
  accomplishes big goals, but usually through people
• 26:44
  who have decided to actually pursue the dream.
• 26:46
  He's placed in their hearts. That's a truly awe
• 26:49
  -inspiring personal story. It really demonstrates
• 26:51
  God's capacity to use anyone who embraces his
• 26:54
  vision. So for those listening right now, what's
• 26:57
  a practical process to begin dreaming these God
• 27:00
  -sized dreams in their own lives? Where do they
• 27:02
  start? The practical process begins with intentionality.
• 27:05
  It requires setting aside time to think and pray
• 27:08
  differently. Firstly, write it down. I find it
• 27:11
  incredibly helpful to actually write down audacious
• 27:13
  dreams for specific areas of my life. My marriage,
• 27:16
  my children, my career, my ministry on simple
• 27:19
  three by five index cards. Then maybe break them
• 27:21
  down. Develop several smaller bite -sized steps
• 27:24
  that will lead you in the direction of that larger
• 27:27
  dream. You don't have to show them to anyone.
• 27:28
  Just the act of writing. Yes, the act of writing
• 27:31
  them down is like making a contract with yourself.
• 27:33
  It creates clear -cut objectives. And there's
• 27:36
  something powerful about seeing it black and
• 27:38
  white. When you write down your life goals and
• 27:40
  desires, you often find you unconsciously gravitate
• 27:43
  toward them over time. Secondly, pray over them,
• 27:47
  regularly. Pray over your dreams, asking God
• 27:49
  to check your motives. Are they truly aligned
• 27:51
  with His purposes? Ask for His intervention.
• 27:54
  his guidance, his power. He is your biggest supporter,
• 27:57
  remember. He wants to see his dreams fulfilled
• 27:59
  through you even more than you do. As long as
• 28:01
  they're birthed out of your fellowship with him,
• 28:03
  they're his business as well as yours. You can
• 28:06
  expect him to work them out in his way and in
• 28:08
  his timing. God invites you, invites all of us.
• 28:11
  to dream great dreams, to know Him and to make
• 28:13
  Him known through your unique personality, your
• 28:16
  passions, your gifts, your experiences. He wants
• 28:18
  to do in you not just something good, not even
• 28:20
  something great by worldly standards, but something
• 28:22
  truly impossible by human standards. If we're
• 28:25
  talking about God -sized dreams, then praying
• 28:27
  great prayers must be absolutely central to this
• 28:29
  whole process. What does it mean to pray great
• 28:32
  prayers? And how does this transform our ability
• 28:34
  to actually see those dreams fulfilled? Praying
• 28:37
  great prayers is indeed central. It's the engine
• 28:39
  room, perhaps. It moves us onto holier ground,
• 28:42
  as one writer put it. It's a sacred invitation
• 28:45
  to bring our thoughts, our hopes, our audacious
• 28:48
  dreams into God's very presence. Remember what
• 28:50
  Jesus said in John 16, ask and you will receive
• 28:54
  and your joy will be complete. Imagine if we
• 28:56
  truly believe that promise, even just to a small
• 28:59
  degree. The potential is enormous. Great prayers,
• 29:02
  I believe, have distinct characteristics. First,
• 29:05
  they're deeply personal. Think of Moses seeking
• 29:07
  God's glory, not just guidance, or David desiring
• 29:10
  God's presence above all else to dwell in the
• 29:13
  house of the Lord, or Paul's intense passion
• 29:15
  to know Christ. And fundamentally, Jesus taught
• 29:18
  his disciples to call God Abba, an extremely
• 29:20
  familiar, intimate term, like daddy or papa.
• 29:23
  That intimacy is key. It challenges the idea
• 29:26
  of a formal distant God. It's about childlike
• 29:29
  dependency and deep intimacy, knowing you are
• 29:32
  deeply loved and nothing can come between you
• 29:34
  and your father. Second, great prayers are often
• 29:37
  birthed in brokenness. They frequently flow from
• 29:39
  a sense of spiritual bankruptcy, helplessness,
• 29:42
  utter desperation. When we come to God knowing
• 29:44
  we have absolutely no resources, no answers,
• 29:47
  no strength left to get ourselves out of a situation,
• 29:49
  God pays special attention then. When we're at
• 29:51
  the end of our rope. Exactly. Think of David's
• 29:54
  raw confession in Psalm 51 after his terrible
• 29:56
  sin. Or Nehemiah's profound prayer for Jerusalem's
• 29:59
  broken walls when he heard the news. This brokenness
• 30:02
  shifts the focus completely from our personal
• 30:04
  needs and limitations to God's infinite sufficiency.
• 30:07
  I recall a financial crisis in our ministry back
• 30:10
  in 2003. We had literally 15 days of cash left.
• 30:13
  I was crying out to God in my basement, completely
• 30:15
  broken, desperate. The next month, usually a
• 30:17
  summer drop -off financially, turned out to be
• 30:19
  our largest financial response ever up to that
• 30:21
  point. God delivered when we were utterly dependent.
• 30:26
  Third, great prayers champion God's agenda. They
• 30:28
  focus on God's will for the world, not just our
• 30:31
  personal needs or comfort. Of course, praying
• 30:33
  for our daily bread is good and necessary. But
• 30:35
  truly, great prayers seek to blaze a trail for
• 30:37
  what God wants done in the world. They align
• 30:40
  with Jesus' model prayer, your kingdom come,
• 30:42
  your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
• 30:44
  It's about asking big things of a big God for
• 30:47
  his glory, seeking to direct the course of history
• 30:49
  through prayer. That sounds like a complete reorientation
• 30:52
  of our prayer lives then, moving from a primary
• 30:54
  self -focus to God's broader purpose and kingdom.
• 30:59
  So what else characterizes these impactful prayers?
• 31:02
  How do we ensure we're praying effectively, not
• 31:05
  just wishfully? Crucially, Great prayers take
• 31:08
  God seriously. This means they are promise centered
• 31:11
  not problem centered. Why? Because God is sovereign.
• 31:14
  He's omniscient He is good and he cannot lie
• 31:17
  when he says he'll do something in his word He
• 31:19
  will think of promises like I will supply all
• 31:22
  your needs according to my glorious riches in
• 31:24
  Christ Jesus from Philippians 4 .19 Or my grace
• 31:27
  is sufficient for you for my power is made perfect
• 31:29
  in weakness from 2nd Corinthians 12 .9 Believing
• 31:33
  these promises truly banking on them changes
• 31:35
  everything in our prayers trusting his word implicitly
• 31:37
  However, there's a significant potential roadblock.
• 31:40
  We must address unforgiveness Matthew six point
• 31:43
  one teen is starkly clear for if you forgive
• 31:45
  other people when they sin against you your Heavenly
• 31:47
  Father will also forgive you But if you do not
• 31:50
  forgive others their sins your father will not
• 31:52
  forgive your sins That's quite challenging. It
• 31:54
  is it implies that if our horizontal relationships
• 31:57
  with people aren't right our vertical relationship
• 31:59
  with God suffers Unforgiveness harbors bitterness,
• 32:03
  resentment, and that poisons our prayers, hindering
• 32:06
  their effectiveness. This means being willing
• 32:09
  to ask God to do for others what we want Him
• 32:12
  to do for us. Be merciful and forgiving, even
• 32:15
  when it's incredibly difficult. Great prayers
• 32:18
  also display tenacious persistence, like Abraham
• 32:21
  bargaining with God for Sodom and Gomorrah, persisting
• 32:24
  even when feeling like mere dust and ashes, or
• 32:27
  Queen Esther risking her life by going uninvited
• 32:29
  before the king to intervene for her people.
• 32:31
  This willingness to stand in the gap, to press
• 32:34
  the issue even when scared or feeling unworthy,
• 32:37
  is what often makes ordinary people impact history.
• 32:39
  John Knox, the great Scottish reformer, famously
• 32:42
  prayed, give me Scotland or I die. And Mary,
• 32:45
  Queen of Scots, is said to have feared his prayers
• 32:46
  more than all the assembled armies of Europe.
• 32:49
  That's persistent prayer. Finally, and most importantly,
• 32:51
  great prayers. Always go back to Jesus. Our access
• 32:55
  to God, our standing before him, any power we
• 32:58
  have to move his heart. It's based solely on
• 33:00
  Jesus's finished work on the cross and his role
• 33:03
  as our great high priest as Hebrews 4 describes.
• 33:06
  His favor makes the impossible possible. It allows
• 33:08
  us to receive immeasurably more than all we ask
• 33:11
  or imagine as Ephesians 3 .20 puts it. He is
• 33:15
  the foundation, the reason we can dare to ask
• 33:17
  the improbable and expect the unthinkable. This
• 33:19
  kind of prayer, personal, broken, God agenda
• 33:22
  driven, promise centered, persistent, and Jesus
• 33:24
  centered transforms our ability to see those
• 33:26
  God -sized dreams fulfilled. It aligns us with
• 33:29
  his agenda and unleashes his power. Okay, so
• 33:32
  we've thought great thoughts, read great books,
• 33:34
  sought out great people, dreamt great dreams,
• 33:36
  and prayed great prayers. This really sounds
• 33:38
  like a powerful foundation for personal growth
• 33:40
  and effectiveness, but there's a vital element
• 33:42
  you address next, taking great risks. How does
• 33:45
  risk -taking play into this pursuit of greatness,
• 33:47
  and crucially, what sets radical faith apart
• 33:49
  from mere recklessness, especially in professions
• 33:51
  like medicine where decisions carry immediate,
• 33:54
  often high -stakes consequences? Taking great
• 33:56
  risks is absolutely vital. It's often at the
• 33:59
  edge of a decision, as someone said, where obedience
• 34:02
  confronts our comfort or convenience. Breakthroughs,
• 34:05
  real spiritual breakthroughs, almost always require
• 34:07
  these risky steps of faith. As the writer of
• 34:10
  Hebrews states so clearly, without faith, it
• 34:12
  is impossible to please God. And where there
• 34:15
  is no risk involved, there is simply no faith
• 34:17
  being exercised. And without faith, there is
• 34:19
  no divine power, often little joy and diminished
• 34:22
  intimacy with God. So risk and faith are intrinsically
• 34:24
  linked. Inextricably linked, it's entirely possible
• 34:27
  to run a church, manage a department, lead a
• 34:29
  team, or even live your personal life without
• 34:32
  much real faith. You can implement programs,
• 34:34
  make sound decisions based on data, teach principles
• 34:37
  all without ever stepping out of your comfort
• 34:39
  zone and expecting God to do anything supernatural.
• 34:42
  Many organizations, even outwardly successful
• 34:44
  ones, can be spiritually hollow in God's eyes
• 34:48
  if they lack this element of radical, risk -taking
• 34:51
  faith. We need to expect a great outcome, not
• 34:54
  because of our own abilities, but because God
• 34:56
  has promised hope and a future, as Jeremiah 29
• 34:59
  .11 says. Our king wins. He's on our side. We
• 35:02
  can afford to risk for him. The Bible, of course,
• 35:05
  is just full of risk takers. Abraham left everything
• 35:08
  familiar for an unknown destination, believing
• 35:10
  in tangible promises more than the visible reality
• 35:13
  around him. Moses returned to Egypt, facing the
• 35:16
  most powerful ruler on earth, risking his life
• 35:18
  to demand freedom for slaves. David, just a young
• 35:21
  shepherd boy, risked his life against the giant
• 35:23
  Goliath, not out of bravado, but because he was
• 35:26
  offended by the giant slander against the living
• 35:28
  God. Esther risked her life by approaching the
• 35:30
  king uninvited, a capital offense to savior people.
• 35:34
  Incredible courage. Yes, and in the New Testament,
• 35:37
  Peter left his family, his fishing business,
• 35:39
  his security, everything, to follow Jesus as
• 35:42
  an itinerant preacher with no visible means of
• 35:45
  support. Paul, the former persecutor, became
• 35:48
  a missionary. enduring stoning, shipwrecks, imprisonments,
• 35:53
  yet kept returning to hostile cities because
• 35:55
  God's call was greater than his circumstances
• 35:57
  or his fear. These are powerful examples of stepping
• 36:00
  out despite fear, which leads us to your crucial
• 36:03
  distinction. How do we tell the difference between
• 36:06
  radical faith and mere recklessness? For medical
• 36:09
  professionals, for instance, this could mean
• 36:10
  discerning between innovative, bold interventions
• 36:13
  rooted in sound principles in prayer versus irresponsible
• 36:17
  ill -advised actions. That's a critical point,
• 36:20
  especially in high -stakes professions. The key
• 36:22
  distinction is this. Radical steps of faith involve
• 36:24
  risk, yes, but they also fit with God's clearly
• 36:27
  revealed will. They are not contradictory to
• 36:30
  his word. They are generally accompanied by wise
• 36:32
  counsel from trusted, godly people, and they
• 36:35
  are birthed in much prayer. So there's a process
• 36:37
  of discernment. Absolutely. Reckless steps, on
• 36:40
  the other hand, might involve risk, but they
• 36:42
  do not align with God's revealed will or wisdom.
• 36:46
  They might be impulsive, self -serving, or ignore
• 36:49
  clear scriptural principles or wise counsel.
• 36:52
  It's also really important to understand that
• 36:53
  fear and faith can, and often do, coexist. Risk
• 36:57
  -takers step out in spite of their fear, not
• 36:59
  in the absence of it. Esther was terrified when
• 37:02
  she approached the king. Peter undoubtedly felt
• 37:04
  fear leaving his nets behind. God understands
• 37:07
  our fear, our sense of threat and security. But
• 37:09
  he doesn't offer us Diet Christianity, a safe,
• 37:12
  risk -free version. He rewards faith. Hebrews
• 37:14
  11 .6 is unequivocal. Without faith, it is impossible
• 37:18
  to please God. He rewards those who earnestly
• 37:21
  seek Him. That's incredibly insightful. So for
• 37:24
  those of us who might be naturally cautious or
• 37:26
  perhaps feel overwhelmed by the idea of such
• 37:28
  radical steps, what are the practical ways we
• 37:30
  can grow? How do we become great risk takers
• 37:32
  for God? It's a growth process for sure. To become
• 37:35
  a great risk taker, we need to focus on three
• 37:37
  key things. One, refocus your fear. This means
• 37:41
  fearing God in the sense of reverent awe and
• 37:44
  obedience more than you fear people or circumstances
• 37:46
  Psalm 111 point 10 says the fear of the Lord
• 37:50
  is the beginning of wisdom This isn't a cowering
• 37:52
  fear, but a perspective that prioritizes God's
• 37:55
  view above all others It leads to wise choices,
• 37:58
  even if they're unpopular or risky Think of Billy
• 38:01
  Graham in the 1950s amidst intense racial conflict
• 38:04
  in the American South. At his Jackson, Mississippi
• 38:07
  crusade, he personally went and pulled down the
• 38:09
  ropes, segregating the black and white attendees.
• 38:12
  He risked losing significant financial support,
• 38:14
  alienating powerful figures, damaging his reputation.
• 38:17
  But he chose obedience to God's clear command
• 38:20
  to love equally over the fear of man. That moment,
• 38:22
  born of fearing God more, became a major watershed
• 38:25
  in his ministry. Wow, that took real courage.
• 38:27
  Immense courage, rooted in the right fear. 2.
• 38:31
  Rejuvenate your faith. You build faith by practicing
• 38:33
  faithfulness in the little things. Many Christians,
• 38:36
  for example, hesitate to give even a tithe, doubting
• 38:39
  God's promise of provision. Yet giving consistently,
• 38:42
  even small amounts sacrificially, allows you
• 38:44
  to see God's supernatural work in meeting your
• 38:46
  needs. It builds your faith muscle. Remember
• 38:48
  Enoch in Genesis 5? The text simply says he walked
• 38:51
  faithfully with God. He did this so consistently,
• 38:54
  so intimately in his daily ordinary life that
• 38:57
  God took him away without him even experiencing
• 38:59
  fetal death. His consistent faithfulness and
• 39:02
  unseen moments built a faith that pleased God
• 39:04
  immensely. Start small, be faithful, and watch
• 39:06
  your faith grow. Consistency in the small things
• 39:09
  builds capacity for bigger risks. Precisely.
• 39:11
  3. Recall God's faithfulness. regularly, intentionally
• 39:16
  revisit instances of God's past faithfulness.
• 39:19
  Look back in scripture, Hebrews 11 is a fantastic
• 39:21
  resource, the hall of faith, reminding us of
• 39:24
  what God did through Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Moses,
• 39:26
  and many others who took great risks. And also
• 39:29
  recall God's faithfulness in your own life. Personally,
• 39:32
  I keep journals where I write out my fears, my
• 39:34
  prayers, the challenges I'm facing. Then a few
• 39:36
  days or weeks or months later, I make a note
• 39:38
  of how God intervened, how He answered, how He
• 39:40
  provided. Looking back through stacks of these
• 39:43
  journals reminds me that what seemed utterly
• 39:44
  impossible on a Tuesday was often miraculously
• 39:47
  resolved by Thursday, or perhaps took longer,
• 39:49
  but was resolved nonetheless. My move to Atlanta
• 39:52
  back in 2002, leaving a beloved church and a
• 39:54
  secure life, was incredibly difficult for the
• 39:56
  first two years. My wife faced serious health
• 39:58
  issues. Finances were strained. Ministry felt
• 40:01
  challenging. But looking back, I can see how
• 40:03
  God used that time to refine my motives, deepen
• 40:05
  my dependence, and ultimately fulfill broader
• 40:07
  purposes I couldn't have foreseen. Faith is truly
• 40:10
  a verb. It's not just what you have as much as
• 40:12
  what you do. Great Christians don't play it safe.
• 40:15
  They act on what God has said. knowing it's true
• 40:18
  because of his character, even when there's a
• 40:20
  heavy cost involved. This idea of risk and the
• 40:23
  cost involved naturally leads us to the next
• 40:25
  practice, making great sacrifices. Now, the world
• 40:28
  often views sacrifice primarily as loss or depletion,
• 40:32
  but this framework seems to reframe it as an
• 40:34
  act of profound love. Can you explain that connection?
• 40:37
  And why is it so fundamental to achieving spiritual
• 40:40
  greatness? Sacrifice at its very core is merely
• 40:43
  love with clothes on, as someone beautifully
• 40:45
  put it. The degree of our sacrifice directly
• 40:48
  corresponds to the degree of our love. You sacrifice
• 40:51
  more for what, or whom, you love more. This concept
• 40:55
  is deeply embedded in the biblical understanding
• 40:57
  of sacrifice and worship. In the Old Testament
• 40:59
  sacrificial system, detailed in Leviticus, access
• 41:02
  to God demanded compulsory sacrifices for sin
• 41:04
  and guilt. Those were required. But deeper fellowship,
• 41:08
  Communion with God grew through the voluntary
• 41:10
  offerings burned offerings expressing devotion
• 41:13
  grain offerings expressing gratitude peace offerings
• 41:16
  expressing celebration and fellowship These voluntary
• 41:19
  acts given freely from the heart express profound
• 41:21
  love and desire for God himself So there's required
• 41:24
  sacrifice and then voluntary sacrifice born of
• 41:27
  love exactly and the ultimate Old Testament example
• 41:29
  of this is Abraham and Isaac God tested Abraham's
• 41:33
  devotion his love by asking him to sacrifice
• 41:35
  Isaac his beloved son, the child of promise,
• 41:38
  the one through whom all God's future blessings
• 41:40
  were supposed to flow. Abraham's willingness
• 41:42
  to obey, to sacrifice his most precious possession,
• 41:46
  demonstrated unequivocally that he loved God
• 41:48
  above all else, even above God's promised blessings.
• 41:52
  Isaac was Abraham's most precious possession,
• 41:54
  the fulfillment of a long -awaited dream. This
• 41:56
  test, what I sometimes call the test of singularity
• 41:59
  of devotion, applies to everyone in different
• 42:01
  ways. Every significant relationship, every cherished
• 42:05
  possession, every deeply held dream will, from
• 42:07
  time to time, be asked to go to the altar. It's
• 42:10
  not that God wants to take them away necessarily,
• 42:12
  but he wants to know if we love him, the giver,
• 42:14
  more than the gifts. It's a merciful requirement,
• 42:16
  actually, keeping us close to God and revealing
• 42:18
  where our true love and allegiance rest. I find
• 42:21
  the analogy you use elsewhere of plastic pearls
• 42:23
  particularly insightful. It vividly illustrates
• 42:26
  how we can cling to things of lesser value, not
• 42:28
  realizing the far greater treasure God offers
• 42:30
  in exchange. How does this cost everything principle
• 42:34
  apply to our lives today, especially for busy
• 42:36
  professionals who have invested so much time
• 42:38
  and are and identity into their careers, their
• 42:41
  families, their financial security. The plastic
• 42:43
  pearls analogy is very apt, isn't it? Imagine
• 42:46
  a small child clinging tightly to a string of
• 42:48
  cheap plastic beads. You offer her a string of
• 42:51
  real, lustrous, incredibly valuable pearls in
• 42:54
  exchange. But she refuses, crying, no, they're
• 42:57
  mine. To us, her attachment makes no logical
• 42:59
  sense. She would lose practically nothing and
• 43:02
  gain something immensely more valuable. But in
• 43:04
  her childish naivety, she doesn't grasp the true
• 43:07
  value of the real pearls. We can be like that
• 43:09
  child. We can, yes. We often resist sacrificing
• 43:13
  our toys, our careers, our families, in the sense
• 43:16
  of holding them too tightly, our income, our
• 43:18
  comfort, our reputation, our plans, because we
• 43:20
  don't fully grasp their relative value compared
• 43:23
  to intimacy with God and His eternal promises.
• 43:25
  We cling to the plastic pearls. Jesus's radical
• 43:28
  call in Luke 14 is startling. If anyone comes
• 43:31
  to me and does not hate his father, mother, wife,
• 43:33
  and children, brothers and sisters, yes, even
• 43:36
  their own life. Such a person cannot be my disciple.
• 43:38
  And whoever does not carry their cross and follow
• 43:40
  me cannot be my disciple. That word hate is so
• 43:43
  strong. It is. It doesn't mean literal emotional
• 43:46
  hatred, of course. It's a Semitic idiom meaning
• 43:48
  to love less by comparison. It means prioritizing
• 43:51
  Jesus, our relationship with him, above all other
• 43:54
  relationships, and even our own self -preservation
• 43:57
  or agenda. It means a complete surrender of ownership
• 43:59
  and control to God. Letting our personal agenda
• 44:02
  die that's carrying our cross. This is the paradox
• 44:05
  of sacrifice. It caused everything. in terms
• 44:07
  of surrender. But not offering yourself fully,
• 44:10
  holding back, ultimately costs even more a life
• 44:13
  of unfulfillment, missed potential, shallow impact.
• 44:16
  Presenting yourself as a living sacrifice, as
• 44:18
  Romans 12 urges, is meant to be the normal Christian
• 44:21
  life, though sadly, it's perhaps not the typical
• 44:23
  one. That's a profound, challenging truth. So
• 44:26
  what specifically motivates great Christians
• 44:28
  historically and today to embrace such significant
• 44:31
  sacrifices? What are the underlying convictions
• 44:33
  that propel them forward when the cost seems
• 44:35
  so high? I believe there are four key convictions
• 44:38
  that consistently motivate great Christians to
• 44:40
  make great sacrifices. First, they grasp God's
• 44:44
  unconditional love, like the sinful woman in
• 44:46
  Luke 7 who anointed Jesus' feet with expensive
• 44:49
  perfume and washed them with her tears. Jesus
• 44:51
  pointed out that because she recognized how much
• 44:53
  she had been forgiven, she loved much. When you
• 44:56
  truly grasp the depth of God's love for you,
• 44:58
  the immensity of His forgiveness, it naturally
• 45:01
  motivates an extravagant, unreserved devotion
• 45:03
  in return. It's not about earning His love, but
• 45:06
  responding freely to the love already given.
• 45:08
  Love motivates sacrifice. Absolutely. Second,
• 45:12
  they embrace God's relational economy. God measures
• 45:15
  love and sacrifice differently than the world
• 45:18
  does. He looks not at the size of the gift in
• 45:21
  absolute terms, but the size of the sacrifice
• 45:23
  relative to what the giver possesses. Remember
• 45:26
  the story of the poor widow's offering compared
• 45:28
  to the rich man's large donations in Luke 21?
• 45:31
  Jesus said she gave more because she gave all
• 45:33
  she had out of her poverty. A tithe from a high
• 45:36
  income might be a very generous offering, but
• 45:38
  it's not necessarily a sacrifice if it doesn't
• 45:40
  truly cost you anything significant in terms
• 45:42
  of lifestyle or security. True sacrifice involves
• 45:44
  giving up something that genuinely costs you.
• 45:47
  It's about the heart and the cost, not just the
• 45:48
  amount. Precisely. Third, they believe in eternal
• 45:52
  rewards. Jesus promised tangible rewards a hundred
• 45:55
  times as much in this present age, and in the
• 45:57
  age to come, eternal life. For those who sacrifice
• 46:00
  homes, family, or possessions, pour me in the
• 46:03
  gospel. Mark 10 .29 -30. Paul echoed this powerfully
• 46:06
  in Romans 8 .18 stating that our present sufferings
• 46:09
  are not worth comparing with the glory that will
• 46:11
  be revealed in us. This eternal perspective elevates
• 46:14
  eternal value far above temporal gains. It helps
• 46:17
  us let go of our plastic pearls because we glimpse
• 46:19
  the value of the real ones God offers. Keeps
• 46:21
  the temporary in perspective. Yes. And fourth,
• 46:25
  they recognize God's sovereign ownership. Ultimately,
• 46:28
  sacrifice is not praiseworthy in itself, but
• 46:30
  a profound privilege. Because as King David prayed
• 46:32
  when dedicating to the temple offerings, everything
• 46:34
  comes from you, and we have given you only what
• 46:36
  comes from your hand. First Chronicles 29 .14.
• 46:39
  We're simply giving back to God what already
• 46:41
  belongs to him. its stewardship. This perspective
• 46:43
  was exemplified by individuals like David Brainerd,
• 46:46
  a missionary to Native Americans who died young
• 46:48
  from tuberculosis, or William Borden, heir to
• 46:50
  a fortune, who gave it all away for missions
• 46:52
  and also died young. By worldly standards, their
• 46:55
  lives seemed like tragic wastes. But their sacrifices
• 46:58
  rooted in this conviction of God's ownership
• 47:00
  had massive delayed eternal impact, inspiring
• 47:02
  thousands to follow in their footsteps. So the
• 47:05
  level of love we have for God is directly seen
• 47:06
  in our willingness to sacrifice for him. It's
• 47:09
  an act of worship. If you aspire to be a great
• 47:11
  Christian, be prepared to sacrifice everything
• 47:12
  with passion, holding nothing back. Right. After
• 47:15
  discussing the intensity of risks and sacrifices,
• 47:18
  one might almost expect the path to greatness
• 47:20
  to be one of grim austerity. But surprisingly,
• 47:23
  this framework includes enjoying great moments.
• 47:26
  This seems particular. relevant, perhaps counterintuitive
• 47:29
  for high -stress professionals like those in
• 47:31
  the medical field who often grapple with burnout
• 47:34
  and find joy hard to come by. How does joy and
• 47:37
  actively experiencing it fit into this picture
• 47:39
  of greatness and sustained impact? It's a vital
• 47:41
  and often tragically overlooked component. Great
• 47:44
  Christians don't just endure life, they enjoy
• 47:47
  it. They find satisfaction and happiness not
• 47:49
  as the ultimate goal but as gifts from a good
• 47:52
  God. As the writer of Ecclesiastes observed,
• 47:55
  there is nothing better for a person than to
• 47:57
  rejoice and do good as long as they live. This
• 47:59
  is the gift of God. Ecclesiastes 3 .1213. Joy
• 48:03
  is, as C .S. Lewis put it, the serious business
• 48:06
  of heaven. Many good Christians are busy, dedicated,
• 48:08
  perhaps even stressed. But I don't think there
• 48:11
  are any truly great Christians, those with deep
• 48:13
  impact, who lack fundamental joy. The New Testament
• 48:16
  just overflows with reasons to rejoice, even
• 48:19
  amidst difficulties. So joy isn't frivolous,
• 48:22
  it's important to God. Why? Yes, joy matters
• 48:25
  deeply to God for several reasons. One, it honors
• 48:28
  God. When we genuinely enjoy his gifts, a beautiful
• 48:31
  sunset, a good meal, laughter with loved ones,
• 48:33
  success in our work, it reminds us, and potentially
• 48:35
  others, that all good things come from him and
• 48:38
  that he is fundamentally good. We can take his
• 48:40
  blessings for granted if we don't pause to actually
• 48:43
  enjoy them. Two, it sustains in adversity. Remember
• 48:46
  Nehemiah 8 .10, the joy of the Lord is your strength.
• 48:50
  This deep, God -given joy provides resilience.
• 48:53
  It allows us to find strength and perspective
• 48:55
  even in the midst of incredibly challenging circumstances,
• 48:58
  like those faced daily in medicine. Three, it
• 49:01
  renews hearts. Proverbs 17 .22 famously states,
• 49:04
  a cheerful heart is good medicine. Modern science
• 49:07
  even backs this up. Laughter builds the immune
• 49:09
  system, reduces stress hormones, and restores
• 49:11
  health. God literally designed us to enjoy life.
• 49:14
  It's good for us, body and soul. And four, it
• 49:17
  renews us through rest. God designed Sabbath
• 49:19
  rest not primarily as a list of prohibitions,
• 49:21
  but as a gift, a required vacation day, if you
• 49:24
  will. It's an invitation to stop our striving,
• 49:26
  to reflect, and to actively enjoy God's gifts,
• 49:28
  His creation, our relationships, His presence.
• 49:31
  This renews our bodies and hearts. It's about
• 49:33
  breaking free from the relentless modern -day
• 49:35
  assumption that we must work seven days a week
• 49:38
  just to keep up or be sustained. What's fascinating
• 49:41
  here is how the story of the prodigal son's older
• 49:43
  brother illuminates what you call a warped theology
• 49:46
  of pleasure. How does focusing solely on performance
• 49:50
  or duty prevent us from experiencing the joy
• 49:53
  that's already available to us? This feels very
• 49:56
  relatable to many high achieving professionals
• 49:58
  who perhaps tie their self -worth entirely to
• 50:00
  their productivity or accomplishment. The older
• 50:02
  brother in that parable is such a poignant figure,
• 50:04
  isn't he? He was focused entirely on earning
• 50:06
  his father's favor through dutiful, flawless
• 50:09
  performance. He worked hard in the fields, obeyed
• 50:11
  all the rules, but he was so absorbed in his
• 50:14
  good behavior, his performance, that he missed
• 50:16
  the profound truth his father revealed to him.
• 50:19
  My son, you are always with me and everything
• 50:21
  I have is yours. Luke 15 .31 he already had access
• 50:25
  to everything everything he could have killed
• 50:27
  the fattened calf and thrown a party anytime
• 50:30
  he wanted he didn't need to earn it but he was
• 50:32
  so driven by performance so focused on his own
• 50:35
  righteousness that he couldn't enjoy the life
• 50:37
  the relationship the inheritance he already possessed
• 50:40
  many sincere believers fall into this performance
• 50:43
  trap they were zealous diligent they work incredibly
• 50:45
  hard for god but they lack genuine joy this drivenness
• 50:49
  as opposed to healthy God -given drive, is often
• 50:52
  subtly rooted in self -righteousness, perhaps
• 50:55
  even arrogance, and certainly a warped theology
• 50:57
  of pleasure. How so, warped theology? Well, many
• 51:00
  people, consciously or unconsciously, equate
• 51:03
  pleasure with sin, or at least view it with deep
• 51:06
  suspicion. This leads to either feeling guilty
• 51:08
  about enjoying things, guilty pleasures, or avoiding
• 51:12
  legitimate enjoyment altogether. C .S. Lewis,
• 51:15
  again, hit the nail on the head when he remarked,
• 51:33
  Suppressing genuine God -ordained pleasure can
• 51:36
  lead to frustration, burnout, depression, and
• 51:38
  sometimes, sadly, very ungodly outcomes, like
• 51:42
  midlife crises born from years of denying legitimate
• 51:44
  internal desires for joy and connection. That
• 51:47
  resonates deeply, especially for professionals
• 51:49
  often operating under immense pressure to perform,
• 51:52
  and perhaps neglecting their own well -being.
• 51:54
  So what are some practical tips for busy individuals?
• 51:56
  How can they actively cultivate and even plan
• 51:59
  for these great moments of joy amidst the demands?
• 52:01
  It absolutely requires intentionality, and often
• 52:04
  a retraining of our ingrained habits. Here are
• 52:07
  a few practical things. One, slow down. As the
• 52:11
  author John Ortberry was once advised by a mentor,
• 52:13
  you must ruthlessly eliminate hurry from your
• 52:15
  life. That takes discipline. It does. Slim down.
• 52:47
  This isn't literal weight loss, though that might
• 52:48
  be relevant for some. It means simplifying your
• 52:51
  schedule, your commitments, your relentless goals.
• 52:53
  Don't get overextended. Remember Mary and Martha.
• 52:56
  Martha was praised for her diligent service,
• 52:58
  but Mary was commended for choosing the better
• 53:01
  part, prioritizing simply being with Jesus, Luke
• 53:04
  10 .3842. Your primary calling is a relationship
• 53:08
  with Christ, not just an endless agenda for Him.
• 53:10
  Focus more on being than just doing. Quality
• 53:12
  over quantity and commitments. Exactly. Three,
• 53:16
  live now. Don't constantly postpone joy for some
• 53:19
  future state when I retire, when I get the right
• 53:21
  job, when the kids are older, when this project
• 53:23
  is finished. Don't dwell excessively on past
• 53:26
  regrets or future anxieties. The present moment
• 53:29
  is the only one you truly have stewardship over.
• 53:33
  Learn to be present and find joy in the now.
• 53:38
  Intentionally notice and celebrate small blessings,
• 53:41
  small moments of beauty or grace. For years I
• 53:43
  lived near the ocean but rarely actually saw
• 53:45
  it. I started making myself get up early occasionally
• 53:48
  just to watch the sunrise over the Pacific, taking
• 53:50
  a moment to appreciate a bird singing outside
• 53:52
  the hospital window, or the intricate design
• 53:54
  of a flyer, or the smile of a patient or colleague.
• 53:57
  These moments of appreciating creation's beauty
• 53:59
  or simple human connection are gifts from God,
• 54:02
  readily available if you just take the time to
• 54:03
  look to notice. Cultivating awareness. Yes. And
• 54:07
  five. Plan in. This might sound unspiritual,
• 54:11
  but schedule enjoyable activities, family time,
• 54:13
  personal worship, and rest into your daily, weekly,
• 54:16
  and annual calendar. If it's not planned, especially
• 54:19
  for busy people, it often simply won't happen.
• 54:22
  Critically, try prioritizing the B items, things
• 54:25
  related to relationships, rest, prayer, reflection,
• 54:28
  before you fill the calendar with all the do
• 54:30
  items like phone calls, meetings, and tasks.
• 54:33
  This ensures the essential aspects of life and
• 54:35
  relationship are not consistently neglected,
• 54:38
  fostering a closer relationship with God, and
• 54:40
  ultimately a more joyful and sustainable life.
• 54:43
  By integrating these practices, you can cultivate
• 54:45
  a joyful, winsome testimony, even amidst the
• 54:48
  pressures of a demanding life or career. If we
• 54:50
  are seeking greatness ourselves in the way we've
• 54:52
  defined it, then empowering great people must
• 54:54
  be a natural outflow, mustn't it? What does it
• 54:57
  mean to leave a lasting legacy for others? And
• 54:59
  how can we be intentional about it, particularly
• 55:01
  for those already in positions of leadership
• 55:03
  or mentorship in their fields, such as senior
• 55:05
  medical staff training the next generation? Absolutely.
• 55:08
  True greatness, as Jesus redefined it, culminates
• 55:11
  in serving others for God's glory. And specifically,
• 55:14
  it involves equipping others to become all God
• 55:17
  intends for them to be. Great Christians, those
• 55:20
  with lasting impact, end their lives with a comma,
• 55:23
  not a period, because they have multiplied themselves
• 55:26
  in others. Paul's instruction to Timothy in 2
• 55:28
  Timothy 2 .2 is the classic model. The things
• 55:32
  which you have heard from me in the presence
• 55:33
  of many witnesses entrust these to faithful men
• 55:36
  who will be able to teach others also. Notice
• 55:38
  the four generations mentioned there. Paul, Timothy,
• 55:41
  faithful men, and others also. That's the power
• 55:44
  of reproduction. Multiplication, not just addition.
• 55:46
  Exactly. There's a key principle here. Productivity
• 55:49
  is no substitute for reproduction. You can be
• 55:52
  incredibly busy, productive, achieve great things
• 55:54
  yourself. But if you haven't intentionally reproduced
• 55:57
  your life, your faith, your skills, and others
• 55:59
  who can then reproduce them again, your impact
• 56:01
  is limited. Sadly, relatively few Christians
• 56:03
  intentionally develop a spiritual lineage by
• 56:06
  investing deeply in others this way. So how do
• 56:09
  we practically go about leaving this kind of
• 56:11
  legacy? How do we empower others effectively?
• 56:13
  There are several key steps. First, help many.
• 56:16
  train a few. Jesus ministered to multitudes,
• 56:19
  he healed many, taught thousands. But he deeply
• 56:22
  trained, mentored, and invested his life into
• 56:24
  a select few, the 12 disciples who would then
• 56:27
  go on to change the world. You can and should
• 56:30
  contribute broadly to many lives. But you must
• 56:32
  invest deeply, disproportionately, in only a
• 56:35
  few key individuals whom God brings across your
• 56:37
  path. How do you choose who to invest in? That
• 56:39
  requires prayer and discernment. Look beyond
• 56:41
  just personality, charisma, or raw talent. Look
• 56:44
  for faithfulness in small things. Availability,
• 56:47
  are they willing to make time? And teachability,
• 56:49
  are they humble and eager to learn? Those qualities,
• 56:53
  faithfulness, availability, teachability, F -A
• 56:56
  -T as some call it, are often better indicators
• 56:58
  of future impact than raw giftedness alone. Second,
• 57:02
  look under your own roof. Legacy building, spiritual
• 57:05
  empowerment, starts with those for whom you have
• 57:07
  direct moral responsibility, your family, your
• 57:11
  spouse, your children. Paul is very clear in
• 57:13
  1 Timothy 3 that a key qualification for leadership
• 57:16
  in the church is managing one's own family well.
• 57:19
  Sadly, history is littered with examples of leaders
• 57:21
  in ministry and business who achieved great public
• 57:24
  success while neglecting their own families,
• 57:26
  leading to heartbreaking consequences, struggles
• 57:27
  with faith, addiction, broken relationships for
• 57:30
  their children and spouses. If you want to empower
• 57:32
  great people, start at home. That's your first
• 57:34
  and arguably most important sphere of influence.
• 57:36
  A crucial reminder. Third, bring them in. You
• 57:39
  can't effectively mentor or disciple people from
• 57:41
  a distance just by giving instructions or information.
• 57:44
  You need to model the message by living authentically
• 57:47
  alongside them. Jesus lived with his disciples
• 57:49
  2047 for three years. He allowed them to smell
• 57:53
  and taste and see the Christian life in action,
• 57:56
  the good, the bad, the struggles, the triumphs.
• 57:58
  This builds genuine relationship which is far
• 58:00
  more powerful for transformation than just imparting
• 58:03
  knowledge. You show them what it means to be
• 58:05
  a follower of Christ, living out the truth daily
• 58:07
  in real life. Riving it out together. Yes. And
• 58:11
  fourth, build them up. This involves more than
• 58:14
  just encouragement, though that's vital. It means
• 58:16
  affirming their strengths and potential, inspiring
• 58:19
  them to dream God -sized dreams for themselves,
• 58:22
  but also having the courage to lovingly confront
• 58:24
  their flaws, blind spots, and areas needing growth.
• 58:28
  Equipping involves training their head, imparting
• 58:31
  knowledge and understanding, their heart, shaping
• 58:34
  character and motives, and their hands, developing
• 58:37
  practical skills. It's holistic development.
• 58:39
  You challenge them to become better, like my
• 58:41
  mentor Bill Lawrence challenging my preaching
• 58:43
  laziness because he saw potential. Our goal for
• 58:46
  those we empower should be to help them become
• 58:49
  truly great, perhaps even exceeding our own impact
• 58:52
  for God's glory. It's quite striking, though,
• 58:54
  that despite this clear pathway for multiplication,
• 58:57
  you suggest that relatively few people truly
• 58:59
  leave a lasting legacy in this way. Professor
• 59:01
  Howard Hendricks, your own mentor, identified
• 59:03
  three common reasons for this failure. Can you
• 59:05
  elaborate on those? Why do so many fall short
• 59:07
  here? Yes. Professor Hendricks, who is a master
• 59:10
  equipper himself, often highlighted three critical
• 59:12
  reasons why so few leave a lasting multiplying
• 59:15
  legacy. First, lack of discipline. Simply put,
• 59:19
  you cannot impart what you do not possess. Paul
• 59:21
  could confidently tell people to imitate me as
• 59:24
  I imitate Christ, 1 Corinthians 11 .1 also 4
• 59:27
  .1617, because his own life was exemplary, disciplined,
• 59:31
  and aligned with his message. Leaving a legacy
• 59:33
  requires personal discipline, being willing to
• 59:35
  do the hard work ourselves, to turn off the TV,
• 59:38
  break bad habits, wake up earlier, prioritize
• 59:40
  prayer and study in order to cultivate the qualities
• 59:43
  and skills we hope to pass on. If you want to
• 59:45
  empower great people, you must first commit to
• 59:47
  becoming exemplary yourself. There are no shortcuts.
• 59:50
  Leading by example, fundamentally. Fundamentally.
• 59:53
  Second, lack of vision. This is often a failure
• 59:56
  to see beyond one's own lifespan or one's own
• 59:58
  immediate ministry or career. Hendricks himself,
• 1:00:01
  as I mentioned, didn't focus primarily on building
• 1:00:04
  a huge personal media ministry or writing countless
• 1:00:06
  bestsellers, though he could have. Instead, he
• 1:00:09
  strategically invested deeply in a few key leaders.
• 1:00:12
  Men like Tony Evans, Chuck Swindle, David Jeremiah,
• 1:00:15
  who in turn went on to lead massive ministries
• 1:00:17
  and impact millions globally. His legacy isn't
• 1:00:20
  just in what he did directly, but in who he produced
• 1:00:22
  and equipped. It's about focusing on multiplication
• 1:00:25
  over mere addition or personal platform building,
• 1:00:28
  seeing the bigger, longer term picture. thinking
• 1:00:30
  generationally. Precisely. And third, lack of
• 1:00:34
  focus. This relates to the help many train a
• 1:00:36
  few principle. Trying to help everyone equally,
• 1:00:39
  spreading oneself thin across too many commitments
• 1:00:41
  or superficial relationships inevitably hinders
• 1:00:44
  deep, transformative investment in anyone. The
• 1:00:47
  principle requires strategic focus and selectivity
• 1:00:50
  guided by prayer. Without that focus you risk
• 1:00:52
  ending up with a diffuse shallow impact and perhaps
• 1:00:55
  looking back at the end of your life wondering
• 1:00:57
  how it slipped away without leaving a significant
• 1:00:59
  lasting multiplying imprint on others. Our own
• 1:01:02
  greatness in this kingdom sense is deeply connected
• 1:01:04
  to our genuine interest in seeing other Christians
• 1:01:06
  become great. It's realized as we serve them
• 1:01:09
  by equipping them to hopefully exceed our own
• 1:01:11
  impact for the sake of the gospel. Finally then,
• 1:01:14
  you emphasize developing great habits as the
• 1:01:17
  thread that ties all these other practices together.
• 1:01:19
  Now habits can sometimes sound less spiritual
• 1:01:21
  and more like, well, self -improvement techniques
• 1:01:24
  or productivity hacks. How are habits so crucial
• 1:01:27
  for living out a truly great Christian life?
• 1:01:30
  And how can we realistically cultivate them amidst
• 1:01:32
  our already packed schedules, particularly for
• 1:01:34
  those in demanding professions like medicine
• 1:01:36
  with unpredictable hours and constant pressure?
• 1:01:39
  It's a brilliant connection actually, and far
• 1:01:41
  more spiritual than it might initially seem.
• 1:01:43
  Habits are indeed the thread that integrates
• 1:01:45
  all these other practices we've discussed. Thinking
• 1:01:48
  great thoughts, reading great books, pursuing
• 1:01:50
  great people, dreaming great dreams, praying
• 1:01:52
  great prayers, taking risks, making sacrifices,
• 1:01:55
  enjoying moments into a fluid, consistent, integrated
• 1:01:58
  lifestyle. They are what make these principles
• 1:02:01
  part of who we are, not just things we occasionally
• 1:02:03
  do. Ultimately, our habits dictate who we become
• 1:02:07
  over time. Discipline, cultivated through habits,
• 1:02:10
  is described in Scripture as a godly means of
• 1:02:12
  grace. Habits create the structure, the highway,
• 1:02:15
  as Dallas Willard put it, on which the grace
• 1:02:17
  of God is delivered into our lives. Spiritual
• 1:02:20
  maturity doesn't just happen. It comes through
• 1:02:22
  training, through practice, through developing
• 1:02:24
  trained senses to discern good from evil, as
• 1:02:27
  Hebrews 5 puts it. That training happens through
• 1:02:29
  consistent habits. So habits create the channels
• 1:02:32
  for growth. Exactly. We all operate largely on
• 1:02:35
  autopilot. run by unconscious routines and habits,
• 1:02:38
  both good and bad. True transformation, moving
• 1:02:41
  towards greatness, requires consciously examining
• 1:02:43
  these deeply ingrained patterns and often intentionally
• 1:02:46
  breaking the negative ones and establishing positive
• 1:02:49
  ones. For instance, years ago, I realized I had
• 1:02:52
  a habit of watching the late night news. I felt
• 1:02:54
  the world wasn't quite right until I knew the
• 1:02:56
  latest bad news, but it kept me from getting
• 1:02:59
  up early for time with God. So I broke that habit.
• 1:03:02
  Concurrently, as a family, we did a six week
• 1:03:04
  experiment. Absolutely no television on school
• 1:03:07
  nights. The first few days were, frankly, bedlam.
• 1:03:11
  The kids didn't know what to do with themselves.
• 1:03:12
  I can imagine. But by the fourth or fifth day,
• 1:03:15
  something shifted. We started playing board games
• 1:03:17
  together. Later, the kids started developing
• 1:03:18
  musical talents, reading more, building stronger
• 1:03:21
  family relationships. And personally, I gained
• 1:03:23
  about 2 .5 hours back in my day. That's the power
• 1:03:26
  of intentionally changing just one habit. That's
• 1:03:28
  a fantastic example of how a relatively small
• 1:03:31
  change can have such a significant ripple effect.
• 1:03:34
  You also use a powerful, perhaps slightly uncomfortable
• 1:03:38
  metaphor comparing some detrimental spiritual
• 1:03:41
  habits to a stench. Can you explain that? And
• 1:03:44
  how it applies to how Christians might unknowingly
• 1:03:47
  conform to worldly patterns without even realizing
• 1:03:49
  it? Yes, the stench metaphor comes from a real
• 1:03:52
  experience I had visiting a home where the living
• 1:03:54
  conditions were filled with such squalor and
• 1:03:56
  filth that the smell was genuinely nauseating
• 1:03:59
  to me as an outsider. But the inhabitants, having
• 1:04:02
  lived in it for so long, had become completely
• 1:04:04
  accustomed to it. It seemed normal to them. They
• 1:04:05
  couldn't smell it anymore. Acclimatized to it.
• 1:04:08
  Completely. Spiritually, I fear many Christians
• 1:04:11
  have allowed their minds and lives to be filled
• 1:04:13
  with so much garbage from the surrounding culture.
• 1:04:16
  unholy attitudes, unethical choices, negative
• 1:04:20
  or impure media, constant comparison, materialism,
• 1:04:23
  that no longer seems like garbage to them, it
• 1:04:25
  feels normal. They then wonder why their lives
• 1:04:28
  aren't changing, why they don't experience more
• 1:04:30
  joy or victory, yet they're unconsciously being
• 1:04:33
  conformed to the pattern of this world, as Romans
• 1:04:36
  12 .2 warns against. This might be why public
• 1:04:39
  opinion polls often show almost identical statistics
• 1:04:41
  between self -professed Christians and non -Christians
• 1:04:44
  on critical issues like marital fidelity, financial
• 1:04:47
  honesty, attitudes towards the poor, or even
• 1:04:49
  rates of addiction. Real transformation requires
• 1:04:52
  consciously separating ourselves from this worldly
• 1:04:54
  conformity, bringing those unhealthy mental and
• 1:04:57
  behavioral habits that we've perhaps become numb
• 1:04:59
  to. That's a sobering thought indeed. So for
• 1:05:02
  those listening who want to actively cultivate
• 1:05:05
  great habits and break free from negative patterns,
• 1:05:07
  what are some practical actionable habits we
• 1:05:09
  can start developing today? Where should they
• 1:05:11
  begin? Let's focus on three practical foundational
• 1:05:14
  habits for transformation. First, give God the
• 1:05:17
  best. This typically means prioritizing God first
• 1:05:20
  in your day, most often through a dedicated morning
• 1:05:23
  quiet time for prayer and scripture. This is
• 1:05:26
  often the single most difficult habit to establish
• 1:05:28
  and maintain consistently, especially with demanding
• 1:05:31
  schedules. It requires real self -discipline
• 1:05:34
  and sometimes external accountability. Early
• 1:05:38
  in my own Christian life, I really struggled
• 1:05:40
  with consistency until I asked my college roommate,
• 1:05:42
  Bob, to literally hold me accountable. When my
• 1:05:45
  alarm went off and I inevitably hit the snooze
• 1:05:47
  button, he had permission, which he used, to
• 1:05:50
  physically get me out of bed, reminding me of
• 1:05:52
  my commitment. It sounds drastic, but it worked.
• 1:05:54
  It's about finding whatever system helps you
• 1:05:56
  make your relationship with God the genuine priority,
• 1:05:58
  not just an afterthought. Whatever it takes.
• 1:06:01
  Whatever it takes. Second, do your own dishes.
• 1:06:04
  This is a metaphor, obviously, for taking personal
• 1:06:06
  responsibility for your actions, your mistakes,
• 1:06:08
  your messes, rather than making excuses, blaming
• 1:06:11
  others or playing the victim. There's a temptation,
• 1:06:14
  especially in affluent cultures, towards what
• 1:06:16
  some call affluenza, a sense of entitlement or
• 1:06:19
  lack of responsibility. A true disciple aims
• 1:06:22
  to leave things better than they found them.
• 1:06:25
  I remember a mentor telling a story about seeing
• 1:06:27
  another respected leader picking up stray bits
• 1:06:29
  of paper at a petrol station forecourt. When
• 1:06:32
  asked why, he simply said, a disciple of Christ
• 1:06:34
  leaves things better than he found them. That
• 1:06:37
  applies spiritually, too. Internalizing God's
• 1:06:39
  grace doesn't mean excusing sin or laziness.
• 1:06:42
  It means taking responsibility for our own growth
• 1:06:44
  and impact. Owning our part. Exactly. Third,
• 1:06:48
  get it done now. This is about fighting procrastination,
• 1:06:52
  especially on important but difficult tasks.
• 1:06:55
  Try to address the hardest, most challenging,
• 1:06:57
  or most dreaded tasks early in the day, if possible.
• 1:07:00
  For me, back in seminary, this meant tackling
• 1:07:02
  Greek and Hebrew homework at 4 a .m. in an all
• 1:07:05
  -night coffee shop. Because I knew if I didn't
• 1:07:07
  do it then, with a clear head, it simply wouldn't
• 1:07:10
  get done later when I was tired. Postponing difficult
• 1:07:13
  things creates background stress and robs present
• 1:07:15
  joy. Cultivating the habit of tackling small
• 1:07:18
  hard things upfront builds immense discipline
• 1:07:20
  and effectiveness over time. Those are powerful,
• 1:07:23
  tangible steps. Beyond these individual habits,
• 1:07:25
  you also suggest structuring life for greatness
• 1:07:27
  using practical tools. How do seemingly mundane
• 1:07:30
  things like index cards, calendars, and to -do
• 1:07:32
  lists contribute to a profoundly impactful life,
• 1:07:35
  especially for busy professionals juggling complex
• 1:07:37
  schedules and multiple responsibilities? These
• 1:07:40
  tools, while seemingly mundane, can actually
• 1:07:43
  provide what I call a freedom of structure. They
• 1:07:46
  help translate good intentions into concrete
• 1:07:48
  reality. 3x5 index cards. for clear -cut objectives.
• 1:07:52
  As I mentioned regarding dreams, write down your
• 1:07:55
  specific desires and goals for every key area
• 1:07:57
  of your life. Personal spiritual growth, marriage,
• 1:08:00
  children, career development, ministry, impact.
• 1:08:02
  Read them regularly, perhaps weekly or even daily.
• 1:08:05
  You don't need to memorize them verbatim. The
• 1:08:08
  power is that your mind and heart will unconsciously
• 1:08:10
  begin to gravitate toward these written goals.
• 1:08:13
  It provides clarity and direction, helping you
• 1:08:15
  move intentionally toward your God -given plans
• 1:08:17
  instead of just drifting. Yes, calendars. I used
• 1:08:22
  to hate calendars, feeling they hemmed me in.
• 1:08:25
  But then I realized my mental to -do list was
• 1:08:27
  infinite and always left me feeling guilty. So
• 1:08:30
  I flipped my approach. I decided to prioritize
• 1:08:33
  scheduling the be items before the do items.
• 1:08:36
  My desire for a great marriage meant a regular
• 1:08:39
  date night with my wife went on the calendar
• 1:08:40
  first as a non -negotiable. time for focused
• 1:08:43
  prayer, exercise, quality time with my kids,
• 1:08:46
  all the relational and restorative B items were
• 1:08:48
  scheduled before I filled the remaining slots
• 1:08:50
  with phone calls, meetings, and tasks. This ensures
• 1:08:53
  that the essential aspects of life and relationship
• 1:08:56
  are not constantly crowded out by the urgent,
• 1:08:58
  but less important. Doesn't mean everything always
• 1:09:01
  gets done perfectly, but it helps direct the
• 1:09:03
  overall course of your life towards what truly
• 1:09:05
  matters most. Prioritizing the important over
• 1:09:07
  the merely urgent. Precisely. To -do lists. Now,
• 1:09:11
  while they are never fully completed, they are
• 1:09:14
  still important for maintaining focus day to
• 1:09:16
  day. Write down your responsibilities and opportunities,
• 1:09:19
  perhaps starring the absolute essentials for
• 1:09:21
  that day. But then, critically, try using it
• 1:09:24
  as a prayer guide. Before you start, pray over
• 1:09:26
  the list, asking God for wisdom, energy, and
• 1:09:29
  help with each item. As things get completed,
• 1:09:31
  offer a quick prayer of thanks. It transforms
• 1:09:34
  a potentially stressful list into a spiritual
• 1:09:36
  tool, providing tangible evidence of God's faithfulness
• 1:09:39
  and helping you manage your daily responsibilities.
• 1:09:41
  That refrains the to -do list completely. Finally,
• 1:09:44
  this framework strongly emphasizes turning it
• 1:09:47
  off, deliberately embracing rest. This is often
• 1:09:50
  the hardest habit for driven, high -achieving
• 1:09:52
  individuals, like many in the medical profession,
• 1:09:54
  to cultivate. How does Sabbath rest play such
• 1:09:57
  a crucial role in achieving and sustaining greatness,
• 1:10:00
  and perhaps most importantly, preventing burnout?
• 1:10:02
  Rest is a thoroughly biblical command. Yet, as
• 1:10:05
  you say, often the hardest one for us to obey
• 1:10:07
  in our 247 culture. And it's fundamentally a
• 1:10:10
  huge faith issue. Hebrews four tells us to make
• 1:10:13
  every effort or be diligent to enter that rest,
• 1:10:16
  implying it doesn't come easily or naturally.
• 1:10:18
  We have to strive for it. For those with a strong
• 1:10:21
  work ethic, a do -it -now mentality, the Sabbath
• 1:10:23
  provides crucial balance and perspective. It's
• 1:10:26
  about trusting God will sustain you, your practice,
• 1:10:28
  your projects, your family, even if you completely
• 1:10:30
  close down for a full day. Trusting that he can
• 1:10:33
  accomplish more in six days of rested, focused
• 1:10:35
  work than you can in seven days of exhausted
• 1:10:38
  striving. Think of businesses like Chick -fil
• 1:10:40
  -A in the U .S., which remain highly successful
• 1:10:43
  despite being closed on Sundays. A testament,
• 1:10:46
  perhaps, to God honoring that principle. It requires
• 1:10:48
  real trust. It requires enormous trust. The Sabbath
• 1:10:52
  principle is God's gracious gift to us. It's
• 1:10:54
  about intentionally breaking harmful patterns
• 1:10:56
  of being constantly driven by external pressures
• 1:10:59
  or internal anxieties versus having healthy God
• 1:11:02
  -given drive. As a self -confessed recovering
• 1:11:05
  workaholic, I had to learn this the hard way.
• 1:11:07
  I had to learn to physically leave work at the
• 1:11:09
  office to mentally switch off and go home to
• 1:11:11
  be the husband, the father, and simply the child
• 1:11:14
  of God I needed to be. The command is simple.
• 1:11:17
  Take 24 hours every seven days and just stop.
• 1:11:20
  Turn off the phone, the computer, the alerts,
• 1:11:22
  whatever it is that keeps you mentally tethered
• 1:11:24
  to work or striving. Be restored, renewed, refreshed
• 1:11:28
  by enjoying His creation, His presence and fellowship
• 1:11:30
  with loved ones. This practice honestly probably
• 1:11:33
  saved my life in ministry from burnout. By intentionally
• 1:11:36
  breaking bad habits like constant work and establishing
• 1:11:39
  good ones like regular rest, we move from a cycle
• 1:11:42
  of frustration and exhaustion towards sustained
• 1:11:44
  fruitfulness, integrating all these practices
• 1:11:46
  for a truly great life in every sense of the
• 1:11:48
  word. We've certainly journeyed through a profound
• 1:11:52
  and challenging framework today for unlocking
• 1:11:55
  true greatness. Thinking great thoughts, reading
• 1:11:58
  great books, pursuing great people, dreaming
• 1:12:01
  God -sized dreams, praying great prayers, taking
• 1:12:04
  great risks, making great sacrifices, enjoying
• 1:12:07
  great moments, empowering great people, and finally
• 1:12:10
  developing great habits. This isn't just a blueprint
• 1:12:13
  for personal achievement, is it? It's really
• 1:12:15
  about cultivating a life of profound, sustained
• 1:12:18
  impact, lived out with integrity and joy, even
• 1:12:21
  within the unique pressures of demanding professional
• 1:12:24
  environments like medicine. If you found value
• 1:12:27
  in today's deep dive, please do consider sharing
• 1:12:29
  it with a colleague or perhaps leaving a review
• 1:12:30
  where you listen. Your insights and feedback
• 1:12:32
  really do help others discover these important
• 1:12:34
  conversations. Indeed. And perhaps a final thought
• 1:12:37
  to leave with you is this. The pursuit of greatness,
• 1:12:40
  defined in the profound framework, isn't really
• 1:12:42
  about your own personal achievement or fulfillment.
• 1:12:44
  It's ultimately about cultivating a life so deeply
• 1:12:47
  rooted in God and his purposes, so impactful
• 1:12:50
  that it inspires a ripple effect of grace and
• 1:12:52
  transformation for generations to come. What
• 1:12:54
  intentional step will you take this week, perhaps
• 1:12:56
  even today, to begin shaping that lasting legacy?