The Rob Skinner Podcast: Helping You Make This Life Count Rob Skinner

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Would you like to be “prosperous and successful?”  God gives clear direction to his people on how to enjoy that very thing.  He tells Joshua the secret to prosperity in Joshua 1:8, “Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.”  In this episode I’ll be talking about how to:
·        Kindle or rekindle your passion for God’s Word
·        How to meditate on scripture
·        Ways to see old scriptures in new ways and…
·        How to develop “greatest hits” collection of your favorite scriptures
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Transcript
How to Become a Multiplying Disciple:  Meditate on God's Word
8 Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. 
Joshua 1:8
Joshua was handed the unenviable job of following in Moses’ footsteps.  The same Moses who faced down Pharaoh, who raised his staff to part the Red Sea, who kept his nation fed for forty years in a desert and who brought down the tablets of the Law from Mt. Sinai.  Imagine the pressure Joshua must have felt in trying to follow in the footsteps of this man for all generations.  Not only that, but Moses had left Joshua with the massive challenge of crossing the Jordan, taking on the fortress of Jericho and conquering all of the promised land.  God assures Joshua in this chapter that he is with him and that he will give him the land and he hands him the key to success and prosperity, meditate on God’s word, the book of the law.  It’s interesting what God doesn’t give him.  He doesn’t give him a pep talk talking about how great Joshua is or how much God believes in him.  He doesn’t give him a buddy like he gave Aaron to Moses.  He doesn’t give him advice on his time management or speaking skills.  Instead he tells Joshua to devote himself to reading and meditating on the words of God.  That one habit will bring success and prosperity to his leadership.  Joshua must have taken this to heart because unlike most other Old Testament figures, Joshua lives a nearly perfect life.  He parts the Jordan, levels Jericho, divides and conquers the promised land, allots all of the tribal territories and successfully leads his new nation until his death.  The only failure he faces is when he forgets to pray when the Gibeonites scam him into making a treaty with them.  He is truly a worthy predecessor to his descendant who shares his same name, Jesus.
Are you looking for success and prosperity in your life?  The formula for success hasn’t changed in three thousand years.  Keep God’s word on your lips, meditate on it and do everything written in it.  Your devotion and application of God’s word will establish the level of fruitfulness, effectiveness and impact of your life. 
Many turn toward God in times of difficulty, become followers and then attempt the long period of marching daily toward Zion.  Some fall by the wayside or settle for an unsatisfying and unfruitful existence with little “success and prosperity” to speak of.  They don’t become multiplying disciples, they often settle for spiritual barrenness, emotional distance from God and a sin-compromised existence.
That doesn’t have to be your life.  Determine today that you will follow in the footsteps of Joshua.  Here’s how you can do that.
Get excited about the Bible
I walked into the Christian bookstore in Berkeley, California a few days after my baptism.  I scanned the Bibles for sale and settled on a Zondervan Study Bible.  It had commentary notes below each page.  It was massive with a bonded leather cover.  I put the s

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Listen today as I talk to David Hedrick.  David is forming a team to plant a new church in Rome, Italy in the spring of 2025.  In this episode he talks about:
·        What inspired him to plant a church in Rome
·        What challenges he sees for those on the team
·        How he’s forming the team
·        What it’s like to plant a church at the age of 64
·        What challenges he’s faced over his life as a Christian
·        What a person needs to know if they want to join the team.
You can reach David Hedrick at:  davidehedrick@yahoo.com or 615-828-1236
For more information about the mission team go to romeexpedition.com
Please support the Rob Skinner Podcast with a gift today.  Please click here:  https://www.buymeacoffee.com/robskinner

In this episode I interview a couple in their fifties from southern India.  They had their own business in Bangalore, India and were about to celebrate their son’s wedding when they felt God’s call to go on the mission field to Ballari, a city of 700,000 people six hours north of Bangalore.  They moved in 2019 right before COVID.  They started leading a small church of 30 disciples and then entered the pandemic lockdown.  Listen as they share about how:
·        The church has grown from 30 to 135 disciples.
·        They have sent three young people off to a school for missions.
·        Thirty of their churches members went on a short term missionary trip to the neighboring city of Vijaynagar, reached out and now there is a church there with 18 disciples.
·        They studied with one couple who became disciples and went back to their home town and converted ten of their family members.
·        They are in the process of planting another new church in the city of Davanagere.
·        What motivates them to live a radical Christian life at this stage of their lives.
 This episode is translated from Tamil to English. 
Amul and Rita live in Ballari, Karnataka, India and can be reached at amulrajrita1@gmail.com
Jeba Premkumar kindly provided Tamil/English interpretation for today's podcast.
Christy and Lucy, ministers from Bangalore are also on the call and can be reached at christylucy1973@gmail.com

In this episode, I talk to Ryan Painter, who leads a church in Cleveland, Ohio.  Listen as he shares:
·        How he became a disciple at Ohio State
·        His struggles with anxiety and panic attacks and how he manages this while leading a church and preaching
·        How he has seen God bless the church this year with 9 baptisms in four months in a church of 85 disciples. 
·        What he did and would recommend to get a church that has stalled to grow and baptize again.
·        Why he feels like having fun is essential to making this life counts.
You can reach Ryan at ryanapainter@gmail.com

Join me as I talk to Dr. Sean St. Jean, author of his new book, "Spiritual Trauma."  I recently met Sean and read his book and we talk about his background, his book and why he wrote it.
More about Dr. Sean St. Jean:
Dr. Sean St. Jean is a full-time professor at King University in Tennessee, teaching therapy at a graduate level. He is also a therapist in private practice, and has worked with hundreds of disciples and ministry staff around the world who are struggling spiritual trauma, workplace stress, and ministry burnout. His new book, Spiritual Trauma: A Guide to Healing Your Heart From Church Hurts was just released this fall and can be found at seanstjean.com. Sean, his wife Erin, and their 3 children currently live in British Columbia, Canada, and are active members of the Vancouver Church of Christ.
Dr. Sean St. Jean can be reached at sean_st_jean@yahoo.com

How to Put God's Word into Practice Immediately

Has not my hand made all these things, and so they came into being?” declares the Lord. “These are the ones I look on with favor: those who are humble and contrite in spirit, and who tremble at my word.  Isaiah 66:2
The multiplying disciple responds and acts on God’s word.  He or she goes beyond mere head-nodding and mumbled assent during a sermon, “Mmmm.”  He takes it and immediately puts it to work. 
God compares the different responses of two different kings, Saul and David, in Acts 13:22.  After removing Saul, he made David their king. God testified concerning him: ‘I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.’  Saul was called to wait on Samuel to make an offering and to wipe out the Amalekites.  He chose to ignore and modify God’s clear command.  His lack of responsiveness to God’s word disqualified him as king.  Look at how God addresses his refusal to obey,
“Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices
    as much as in obeying the Lord?
To obey is better than sacrifice,
    and to heed is better than the fat of rams.
23 For rebellion is like the sin of divination,
    and arrogance like the evil of idolatry.
Because you have rejected the word of the Lord,
    he has rejected you as king.”  1 Samuel 15:22-24
David, on the other hand builds an eternal reputation as the “man after God’s own heart.”  Why?  Because, unlike Saul, he was willing to do everything God wanted him to do.  He put things into practice.  David made a ton of mistakes and committed some major sins like adultery, conspiracy to murder and abuse of power.  However, even when he did those things, he repented and turned back toward God.  He never left God or turned away from him like Saul did.
It’s easy to disconnect our feelings about God from our obedience to God.  We say things like, “God knows my heart.”  As if God gives us credit for good intentions or having the right feelings toward God.  It’s clear that God does know our heart, but like David and Saul, we reveal the contents of our heart by our humility and responsiveness to God’s word.  I want God to say about me, “Rob is a man after my own heart, he did everything I wanted him to do.” 
What does that look like in our current generation?  How can we be people who put things into practice?  Here are some indicators of a person who “trembles at God’s word.”
Take notes during sermons, classes and seminars. 
Notetaking is a lost art.  As a young Christian, those sitting around me in church often had both a paper Bible, a notepad and a pen.  People scribbled furiously as they listened to the sermon.  Notetaking is not proof of obedience, but it is one way to stay tuned in and to allow the word to penetrate deeper.  I will often write things down and then place a star next to the points that I felt were particularly convicting or challenging. 
Immediately write down three things that you can put into practice. 
I’ve gotten into the practice of offering “next steps” a the end of my lessons.  I learned this from Nelson Searcy.  I think it’s valuable to know how to apply the lesson of the Bible.  Action is what matters, not simple accumulation of information.  I like to make lists and one thing I will do is start the day by writing down three things I can put into practice from what I read or heard.  When we listen to a sermon or read our Bible without regular application, we resemble those who listened to the words of the prophet Ezekiel:  31 My people come to you, as they usually do, and sit before you to hear your words, but they do not put them into practice. Their mouths speak of love, but their hearts are greedy for unjust gain. 32 Indeed, to them you are nothing more than one who sings love songs with a beautiful voice and plays