#9- Ch. Livingston- July 27- 2023

Well, it's a beautiful day, and welcome to the JIGGIN' podcast. JIGGIN' is spelled J-I-G-G-N, and it stands for Jesus is the Good News. And if you're not a fisherman, you may not be used to using a fishing jig, or maybe you've never heard of a jig, but you could also use a jig. You could jig for fish. And so, there's that relation to Scripture, too, where Jesus, in calling the apostles, particularly Peter, and Peter had fallen at Jesus' knees, and Jesus said, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. And something that we hope to do with this podcast is to fish for men, is to share the gospel, is to share the good news of Jesus Christ with others. And as far as Jesus being the good news today, I wanted to share, out of today, Mark chapter 8. And I'm going to read Mark chapter 8, verse 35, and it says this, For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it. And so, I share that as a part of the good news because Jesus there says, whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it. He and only he can save us. He is the only way to heaven and to eternal life. And so, ultimately, we want to share the good news about Jesus with people. I am Nate Bryan. I'm the preacher at Rochedale Christian Church. And today, I have one of our high school students, Chloe Livingston, with us. Chloe has done an internship with us this month of July, and has been a huge blessing to us here over the last several weeks. And Chloe also is a member of our Praise Team and serves in that capacity. And so, Chloe, welcome to the Jigging Podcast. Thanks. I'm glad to be here. So, Chloe, let's just start off. And again, a part of this podcast is it's really for our congregation. But we hope many people will listen. But we want to give the congregation an opportunity to get to know us better. We ultimately want to talk about Scripture. We want to point our congregation to Jesus. And we've had a lot of fun doing these. So, with you, Chloe, and, you know, people, again, maybe a lot, don't know you. But yet, when they show up, they come to Second Service, they're going to see you up on the stage singing most Sundays. And so, with that in mind, I thought it'd be good, again, just to introduce you a little bit more. But tell us just a little bit about your faith, your background. You know, how did you come to know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior? Well, I can't remember a time when I didn't know about Jesus and know that just about the Bible and things. But because my mom and I, we always had story time, like Bible story time, or she did a devotion with us. But I think when we started coming to church at Rochedale, that's when I started taking my faith seriously. And I started to find it on my own, not my parents' faith. So that was really cool. Yeah, awesome. Well, I love hearing about mom, you know, parents leading the faith in the home. And something that, you know, we've talked about, we're looking to hire someone to really work alongside us and with families here. But that's such an important piece of where we want to move more towards, is to equip and empower parents to do the very thing you're talking about, to read Scripture at home, to pray together with their kids and their families at home, and to sing songs of praise to our Heavenly Father at home, all those things that are part of, ultimately, family worship. I love hearing that that's where your roots, like you said, as long as you can remember, that's the way it ought to be. That's awesome. I know you're blessed with fantastic parents and a fantastic family. So from there, and you kind of alluded to this, but when you started coming here to Rochedale Christian Church, your faith really was able to blossom in many ways. But what brought you to Rochedale Christian Church? When did you guys come and show up and all that fun stuff? We've always had, like, family members that have gone to church here. And specifically, like, my Aunt Brenda and Uncle Kenny, they've always wanted us to go to church here. And Rick and Kay Kahl always wanted us to go to church here. And so one day we just decided that we would give it a try, and then we loved it. And so we started coming every Sunday. And before we knew it, we were involved in, like, lots of different areas, and it was just really awesome for that to happen. Yeah. You know what? I know you guys have been a blessing, all of you. And I've enjoyed getting to know you. I know Leanne has. I know you're maybe Feifei, my daughter's favorite person in the world. We've joked about it, but it's true. Like, you're prayed for many times a day, every time we pray as a family. It's always, let's see, when Feifei and Jed pray, they pray for Tucker and Chloe. It's in that order. Tucker and Chloe are always involved in the prayer. And then they're other friends, and they go on. And that's no offense to Heath. I didn't mention Heath there. Heath is thrown in there in a lot of the prayers too, Heath, if you're listening. But Tucker and Chloe are always mentioned in our prayers, and maybe that's, you know, Jed and Feifei have really enjoyed you guys. Well, awesome. So let's just get to what I think is the fun part and just talk a little bit about scripture. So just share with us, Chloe, what's your favorite scripture? If you had just one that you'd go back to, why is it your favorite? And just share that with us. So my favorite is Ephesians 2.10, which says, For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good work, which God prepared in advance for us to do. And I think it's so good because it just, especially when I'm struggling and I feel like, oh, I don't even know why I'm doing what I'm doing, but it just helps me to realize that God created me with a purpose and for a purpose. Yeah, with a purpose and for a purpose. I love that. Something that we can certainly lose sight of. I say we, but you look at our culture. So much of our culture, so many people around us are so lost. And I think that the core part of that is that they truly lack that purpose, that they don't recognize that they were created with a purpose and for a purpose. I know I've shared before, you've heard it, but I've talked about like the three big questions, which to me center around that, the three questions I'd always ask people. How did you get here? What are you doing here? And how are you leaving here? But ultimately that center question of what are you doing here? In other words, what's your purpose? And when we can recognize that God, our creator, he made us in his image, he has a purpose for us, a plan for us, a plan to use us, a plan for us to bring him glory and to glorify him. Anyway, I could go on and on on that, but I love that. I think it's so important, too. I always like when we talk about Ephesians 2.10. We hear a ton about it, and it's great. So let's just go back. I'll read Ephesians 8 and 9 and 10 together. Ephesians 8 and 9, it says, For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves. It is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast. And so that's Ephesians 2.8 and 9, which again, key verses of the faith, key understanding of that we are saved by grace, through faith. It's not of our works. It's not of ourselves. It's the gift of God. But also with that in mind, like we go on in the verse in there, we are God's handiwork, and we were created in Christ Jesus to do good works. And boy, that all flows together. And that's just, again, a centerpiece, a very crucial passage that Paul's getting down to there in Ephesians 2. So I love that. So that's your favorite verse, but now let's talk about this. What's your favorite book of the Bible? This is a hard one for me, but I think my favorite is definitely Esther. Okay. So Esther, and let's just for a moment, you know, what about Esther? What about that book? We're back in the Old Testament here. What about Esther has always, I think you shared, you mentioned earlier, like it's always just been one of your favorites. It's been one that you've enjoyed, the plot, everything going on there. So let's just talk about it for a moment. So I think it started when I was, like, little, and I would watch the Esther VeggieTales episode. Okay. And then when I got to be in, I don't know, probably middle school, I started, like, reading it aside from just watching the VeggieTales episode. And it's just one I feel like I go back to a lot because it helps me to see that while my timing might not always be exactly when I want something to happen, God always comes through. Yeah, great. And, I mean, there's so many aspects of Esther as we look at what transpires. I love, and let me just pause for a moment, but, like, I love that you bring up the VeggieTales. It's funny, the kids, they've been going back and watching a bunch of the VeggieTales. And so a lot of good stuff there. But anyway, yeah, as you look at Esther and you look at what's going on there with, you know, you've got, so Esther ultimately becomes queen. She's lovely. She's beautiful. And, you know, and then, so she's got this, her cousin, Mordecai, who is the one who had kind of raised her. And it's interesting that she hides her upbringing, she hides her Jewish background as she becomes the queen. And so as we look at this and sort of dive in, it's then her cousin, Mordecai, who, again, they had kind of hidden even that relationship ultimately, right, who overhears these two guards that are talking about killing King Xerxes. And so then he's able to pass that on, and that becomes a piece of this story. But then ultimately there's this guy named Haman. And so Haman is this guy who, so if you look at Esther 3, and I'm going to kind of give, like, a really brief overview as we're, like you said, you said Esther, and I got to dig in back through this. But at the beginning of Esther chapter 3, Haman is, like, made, you know, essentially like the right-hand man of the king. And then everyone is to kneel down to Haman. But we see in, again, Esther 3, what's that, verse 2, right, the second part of that, it says, but Mordecai would not kneel down or pay him honor. And so Mordecai, because of his faith, is refusing to bow down to Haman, which infuriates this guy. He wants Mordecai dead. You know, he's looking for a way not just to kill Mordecai, but to kill all of Mordecai's people. So that kind of leads into this, again, his ultimate plan of, then he brings this edict to the king, and then he wants all the, ultimately all the Jews to be killed. And so the king goes along with this, right, and it's still at this point, like Esther has kept her background, her Jewish background hidden. But this becomes what's going to happen. But then Mordecai obviously hears that he gets the edict. He's able to make contact with some of Esther's, you know, ultimately one of her servants, I guess, if you will, right. And then it's interesting. I think this is an interesting part here in Esther chapter 4, if you're with me, Chloe, and I'm just going into things that stood out to me as I was looking back over Esther today. But in Esther 4, like verse 12, I'm just going to read verses 12 through 14. And it says, When Esther's words were reported to Mordecai, he sent back this answer. Do not think that because you are in the king's house, you alone of all the Jews will escape. For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for Jews will arise from another place. But you and your father's family will perish. And then this is the part that I find the most interesting. He says, And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this. That's an interesting one. He's saying, you know, you were talking about timing earlier. And that one stood out to me. Like, you know, here's Mordecai sending this message. Like, maybe you were, maybe you've come, maybe you were put in this position of queen for a time such as this, you know, for this moment. So anyway, that's interesting. And so then ultimately she asks, you know, down there, and this shows her faith, I think, just a little bit later. I say, you know, faith. But in verse 16 there, so she replies into Mordecai. That was back in 15, I guess. Go gather together all the Jews who are in Susa and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. And I and my attendants will fast as you do. When this is done, she says, then I will go to the king, even though it's against the law. And if I perish, I perish. I think, boy, that takes, I mean, if I perish, I perish. We talk about, you know, taking that leap of faith. And so what we know is that she follows through with that, right? And she does go before the queen. He asks what her request is. Ultimately, just to fast forward a little bit there, she requests this banquet with the king and Haman. And so ultimately they meet, right? And then she exposes, you know, her one wish. She says, I'll give you your one wish up to half the kingdom, ultimately, right? And then he's like, well, what's your wish? And then, again, eventually she comes out with it and says, grant me my life. Spare me, spare my people. For me and my people have been sold. This is in, let's see, Esther 7, verse 4. I and my people have been sold to be destroyed, killed, and annihilated. And then in verse 5 there, King Xerxes asks Queen Esther, who is he? Where is he? Who's the man who has dared to do such a thing? And Esther said, an adversary and an enemy, this vile Haman. And then ultimately Haman gets, you know, impaled on the pole, and then we can get into all the gruesomeness of this wildness, right? But Esther and her faith and the timing and God's sovereignty and being in control of all this is quite a cool little story. And then I say, you know, and then the Jewish people are saved because of Esther and all that transpired. So hopefully that was at least a very quick overview of the story. Hopefully it wasn't too bad of one. I left out many different parts of it. But then I guess the other part of that is the interesting thing of like Haman, it's interesting like the contrast between like Haman and Mordecai. So Haman was like the number two guy. He wanted Mordecai dead. You know, Mordecai wanted to kneel to him. But then by the end of the story, it's Mordecai who's being, who's elevated, who becomes the number two guy. He was the one who had spoken up and saved the king when he had heard of the conspiracy and blah, blah, blah. And then it ends up being Haman that is impaled, that's killed and replaced by Mordecai. So there's that and then you just see, you know, God coming through and saving his people. So I don't know. Hopefully that was a fair. Yeah, it was good. I also really like that Esther is talked about like she's very beautiful, but her inward beauty shines way more than what her outward beauty shines. Like I think that that is a really cool part of Esther. It's just something that even, it doesn't matter what you look like on the outside. It's all about your faith and letting God shine through you. Good. Yeah, no, very important. And I think a key thing to note too, as you read this book in the entirety, you look at the details. Both Esther and Mordecai are very much not perfect people, have their own flaws. And I share that just because they do. But like you say, then even in the midst, despite their flaws, which we all have, right? And then as we look at like, I like that you bring up like true beauty because we live in a culture that's so basic, especially for young women like yourself. And, you know, I've got two young girls, so I care a lot about that and for all of our culture. But, yeah, beauty gets placed on the physical. But, you know, I think of, you know, the Proverbs 31 woman, if you will, and go back to Proverbs 31. But I think, man, that true beauty that truly comes from the inside. And anyways, that's a great reminder. And I hope any young women that do listen to this do think about that and consider that too. A lot of it comes back to you mentioned, you know, having that purpose, God having a plan and a purpose for us. I think when we have a better understanding of that, we set out to please God and not to please people or to impress people by our looks or whatever else. You know, we're going to find ourselves in a much better place, quite literally, right? Yeah. So, anyway, good stuff there, Chloe. Well, anything else that, I mean, we, I don't know, we covered a lot of different quick aspects of Esther there. And so appreciated that. And you making me go back and do a little digging in Esther, that's good. You know, tell me this, or actually, not just tell me, but let's talk about this for the congregation. I want them to know, like, we've talked about, you've been involved in many different things. I didn't mention, you know, you helped a ton with EBS. You've been involved, you've helped in the nursery and different parts with children's stuff. And on Wednesday nights during Bible study, you've worked with our kids at that time. I said our kids, any of the kids that have shown up during that time. So you've played many different roles, had a lot of different hats. So, like, what do you want the people here at Rochedale Christian Church or people that maybe come and visit us, what do you want them to know about you? You know, they show up, you're pretty quiet until they get to know you, I think. They see you up on stage singing. But what do you want people to know about Chloe? I love to serve people for the Lord. I just, I really, in any area, whether I'm singing or, I love little kids. So that's an area I really like to serve in. But I just love the feeling of being able to help someone and then that helps them get closer to knowing God and understanding His truth. So whether that's at school or church, that's just, it's my favorite part about my faith. Yeah, no, awesome. I love that. And, yeah, I love that you enjoy, like you said, ministering together. And those, you're only getting to see just tidbits now, but to think about the eternal consequences, the eternal rewards of getting to share the love of Jesus with people and to point people to Jesus day after day. I don't want to give too much of your personal information, too, but I want people to just know, too, about you. Like, you've been a great help to us on this internship. And, you know, we never know what God has planned for us, but we know that ministry has been on your heart in some capacity. And so I think it's fine to share that with the congregation. We don't know what God's plan is at the end of the day, but we're going to be, I can tell you, people that hear this, and I hope that they will, that we're going to be praying for you. And whatever God has planned, you've got your senior year coming up, but you're looking at Christian colleges and universities and different options as to what maybe God has planned for you and how he might use you to serve him and to serve his church in the future. That's an exciting thing to me. I think that's an exciting thing. I know it's in the congregation, and people will be praying for you in the midst of that. So, again, I hope I didn't share too many details there, but I think it's, you know, we want people to know you. And what we always say is, like, the more prayers, the better, you know. It's not a, you know, we might even add you to the prayer list. You know, that would be good. So, anyhow, any closing words before we leave, Chloe? Anything else that you would want to share? I just, again, we appreciate you. We appreciate your help on this internship. This is sort of concluding it. We'll do a few more things, but school starts up here in, like, what, two weeks? But, well, obviously, we're still going to see you a lot. We're going to be, you know, even in school with FCA and different things, we'll be around, and then, yeah, God's still got a lot of work going on. So, I just want to, we'll close with that. But I just want to, again, thank everyone for listening to the Jigging Podcast. Thanks for tuning in with Chloe and I today. And if you would keep Chloe in your prayers, keep, really, all of us in your prayers. Can't pray too much. And the other thing that I just want to remind us of is that, you know, this is the Jigging Podcast. Remember, Jesus is the good news. Go and share the good news with somebody. Tell somebody about Jesus. Point them to Jesus. If anybody needs a Bible, we've got a cart full of them at the church. You can take them as many as they need. But Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life, the only way. And we need to point people to him. So, thanks again for listening to the one and only Jigging Podcast.