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Universally personal.

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Have you ever noticed that the holy or the perfect are not the ones called to the kingdom? The ones entering are described as thirsty. But what happens when the thirst is real, the pipes are broken, and real life gets messy? Welcome to Universally Personal. I'm your host, Greg Allen. Today we are bridging a gap we all encounter daily: the space between divine invitations and everyday infrastructure. Because let's be honest, it's easy to talk about living water when your kitchen sink is not backed up. This episode is part two of my conversation with Will Barnes. If you caught part one, you already know to expect a deep layered discussion, so get ready to take some notes. Let's dive in as Will explores the depth of the kingdom invitation.

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I think there's such a temptation in the American Church where we we're trying to sell satisfaction, but those that enter eternity in Revelation are called thirsty. Universal personal This speaks to deeper dispositions and heart longings and the ways in which if this was seated in our deepest parts of ourself, how that would flow through the various layers of self eventually get to the surface. But I think a lot of the times when I when I've seen people talk about sermon application, it's almost all in you know how you think or behave, you know, as opposed to how does this actually get seated in your heart of hearts and and begin to conform your heart from that heart of stone to heart of flesh, and you know, begin to be a a fountain that kind of just flows out as opposed to dealing with the stuff on the surface, just go way upstream. And to me, that upstream stuff is the heart level stuff. Conform your heart from that heart of stone to heart of flesh, and you know, begin to be a fountain that kind of just flows out. To me, the the easiest way to get to that is is just to put it into the context of longing and desire and not short circuit those things. I think there's such a temptation in the American church where we we're trying to sell satisfaction in Christ, which sounds great, but those that enter eternity are called thirsty. So there's something about what happens on this side of eternity that doesn't fully quench the thirst. It does get quenched, but the prerequisite for ending the kingdom, you know, there's that passage that says, you know, adulterers and murderers and homosexuals and all these things won't enter the kingdom. But then you you would expect it to say, so people who didn't kill anybody, people who aren't homosexual, people who, you know, who who love their neighbor as themselves, they're the ones that get in. It doesn't say that. It says the people that get in are thirsty. So for me, there's something that that is the qualifier for the kingdom. And that feels something way more core and heart level than just did you do that thing, did you not do that thing? You know, um, do you want to do that thing? Do you not want to do that thing? You know, but more of what is your deepest longing and how does that deepest longing ultimately point you to Christ and what he offers? And yeah, there's four tastes of that satisfaction on this side, but uh it doesn't seem like that thirst is quenched, otherwise, it would be all those who have had their thirst quenched by Christ can come in. You know, it doesn't say that, it says, if you're thirsty, if you're thirsty, if you're thirsty, and to me that upstream stuff is the heart level stuff. Because otherwise, you can make it into something that you can control, you can abstain. You know, it's like that phrase in the AA rooms. You know, there's a difference between abstinence and recovery. That's the kingdom. There's a difference between just not doing what's on that list and being in recovery. Because you can relapse and be in recovery. You know, it's it's all it's all the journey. You know, I mean, I mean, you don't, you know, so to say that those that are recovered get in. Well, wait a minute. I thought this was kind of a present tense thirsts and recovery that's ongoing. That's the people. Those that enter eternity in Revelation are called thirsty. If you're thirsty, those that enter eternity in Revelation are called thirsty. I I want to always preach and teach and lead worship in a way that doesn't sell a false bill of goods, that doesn't promise an spiritual experience that shortcuts what will be an ongoing thirst. Um, and if I'm promising complete satisfaction in the presence of God, and that sounds almost sacrilegious. I don't see scripture promising that on this side of eternity. I think that's a bit of a hyper-realized eschatology. Yeah, it's taking what will be and making it all now instead of embracing it already and a night. Conform your heart from that heart of stone to heart of flesh and begin to be a fountain that kind of just flows out as opposed to dealing with the stuff on the surface. Just go way upstream. And to me, that upstream stuff is the heart level stuff. Those that enter eternity in Revelation are called thirsty.

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If you're thirsty, come on in.

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He illustrates how tackling a small practical frustration can make life's heaviest seasons a lot more bearable.

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Universal personal.

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A lot of, I mean, besides music and things like that, but at which we would record albums and put out songs, but um, most of the work I did was in ministry or in mental health. And it's like trying to hold on to an oiled snake to determine whether you've actually made a difference. I mean, sometimes it's clear you made a difference, but those aren't the ones you spend your time thinking about. You think about the ones that you you wonder if if anything mattered, you know. And there was a particular moment where I was in ministry, and um I was I'm not for sure if I was the lead pastor of this church at the time. This may have been when I was still an associate pastor, but either way, I was doing a lot of ministry work and a lot of counseling within the church, and there was a particular couple that was going through a very difficult time. And, you know, most of most of what I was doing was just listening and trying to actively listen. And um I wasn't even asking a lot of questions. I didn't need to, you know, there was just they just needed someone to talk with. Um, and I realized that at the end of those things, I felt so powerless to make any difference in the situation that they were actually going through. And I saw God work in some very powerful ways, but it was sort of like I'm kind of along for the ride here. And I you don't know when something's gonna happen, when he's gonna move, or or when they're gonna come into a different kind of headspace. But you just kind of stay with them through the process and kind of be, I was just, I just felt like I was almost with them in their loneliness, you know, um, which is a bit of an irony, but but I but that's how it felt. I want to make sure I'm always leaving time in my life to contribute to the material world in a way that feels redemptive and add beauty back in. Almost tending of the garden, to put it in an Eden term. It actually does make the world a bit of a better place and makes it more beautiful. And if I can contribute to that beauty and that process of life, it just removes some of the thorns and thistles of the fall, that it actually does make life on this side of eternity a little bit more, a little more enjoyable. I mean, I think restoration, redemption, these are the priorities that are near to my heart. I want to see redemption brought into these uh spaces because there's a lot of life and a lot of goodness left. I want to see redemption brought into these spaces. They just needed someone to talk with. Um, and I realized that at the end of those things, I felt so powerless to make any difference in the situation that they were actually going through. But then their faucet broke. Just in passing, they mentioned they had a the plumber gave them an estimate for $550 to fix their faucet. And I was like, a gold faucet? You know, what's going on here? It was just leaking. I mean, all honestly, all they had to do was just really put some Teflon tape on it, or you know, the plumber's tape stuff, and probably reseal it. And uh, I was like, look, let me go by the hardware store, pick up a couple things, I'll meet you at your house. If I can't fix it in 30 minutes, called plumber. I want to make sure I'm always leaving time in my life to contribute to the material world in a way that feels redemptive. That it actually does make life on this side of eternity a little bit more, a little more enjoyable. I replaced the seal, took about 15 minutes, and uh and I felt like that was that was something that I could stand back and say, that's that's fixed. That's fixed. Uh I couldn't look at their life and say, that's fixed. That was that's on God, and that's that's on a timeline that I have no control over. Um, but there's moments when I can say, I can't do all that, but I can do this, and that will alleviate a stressor in their life that I I have some control to actually contribute to. This removes some of the thorns and thistles of of the fall, that it actually does make life on this side of eternity a little bit more, a little more enjoyable.

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From the thirst of the kingdom to the grit of everyday plumbing, it's all connected and it's all universally personal. It turns out that whether we are navigating a deep spiritual thirst or just trying to fix a leaky pipe, grace meets us exactly where we are. And you don't have to fix the whole world today. Sometimes just fixing the pipes is enough. Thanks again to Will Barnes for taking us on this journey and making the overwhelming feel simple. Until next time, be fit, stay sharp, and listen closely.