Authenticity, God's Will, & Memorizing Scripture - With Ben Courson

[00:00:00] What does true authenticity look like? How can we know God's will and how on earth does

[00:00:06] Ben Corse and memorize so many Bible verses? We sit down and ask him on today's

[00:00:10] episode of Ask a Youth Pastor.

[00:00:14] Now I'm going to jump onto a question from a guy named Zach, who's the buddy of mine. Zach asks

[00:00:31] this, how do you become completely sincere with yourself? What does that process look like? How can

[00:00:38] we become better vessels of God's love when considering sincerity? Yeah, that's really good. Right now there's

[00:00:46] really info, statement in LA and that is being your authentic self. That's been kind of a big deal for a while.

[00:00:54] And the thing is I only kind of speak from the heart on this one more. Ultimately I used to personally wear a lot

[00:01:03] more masks and I suffered what's called cognitive dissonance which is a psychological

[00:01:10] malady wherein you say one thing when you actually believe the opposite and I would like

[00:01:15] pull it on this mask in order to appease or play gay other people. And the reason not so dangerous

[00:01:23] is because it psychologically creates this dissonance to where your beliefs don't line up with how

[00:01:31] you actually live and that's why James emphasized faith and words to faith, that works them.

[00:01:36] Word belief comes from the German origin by life. That's where we get a word, believe me by life. And what you

[00:01:43] believe if was intended to come up by your life. And so if we don't do that, if we don't live

[00:01:50] authentically and true to God made us to be, the cognitive dissonance will mess with our

[00:01:55] neural pathways so much that we'll have an identity crisis. And I think I would rather go down

[00:02:02] in flames and get in trouble for being myself than being somebody I'm not and affecting nobody

[00:02:12] positively. So the only way to never get criticism is to say nothing to do, nothing to be nothing

[00:02:17] in ancient philosopher said. And so if you're gonna like stand up for what you believe in,

[00:02:23] if you're gonna be true to God need you to be, you're gonna have crueilers but your haters

[00:02:27] have to be your motivators, tires that will simply be the sheep. If people are talking about you

[00:02:31] behind your back, they're buying you for a reason and God just said you do pretty good job in you,

[00:02:35] he just knows your enemies can't swim, see the Egyptian cherry tears for more details. And so

[00:02:39] one 14 says like the Lord has put our enemies under our feet. So if you want to say something to

[00:02:44] your enemy you better write it on your sneakers because it's under your feet. And when you live with

[00:02:48] that kind of victory mentality of hey I can love my enemy because they don't fear my enemy,

[00:02:53] we only hate that between fear. But if the fangs are taken off my enemy that I can live with

[00:02:59] confidence and Godfidence knowing that people can put me down but they can't take me down so

[00:03:04] I'm gonna live authentic to why I'm in really not care what other people think because people

[00:03:09] are not your dictionary they don't define you. The Bible defines you as being a somebody who's

[00:03:15] crowned with glory and honor. That's what the book of Psalm says. So if you lock that way like

[00:03:21] you wake up in the morning you're like well I have a crowned on my head in the scepter of my hand,

[00:03:25] I'm crowned with glory and honor as the crowning jewel of creation, the highest form of God's creation,

[00:03:31] it changes everything. Wow.

[00:03:33] I love that answer and for me everything you're talking about it plays into really why I started

[00:03:47] this podcast because I feel like a lot of times I mean you and I were pastors kids we both have

[00:03:53] great dads but we also great dads, great senior pastors, Rob Savato, John Corson, amazing guys. But

[00:04:00] we also know what it's like to grow up in the church and I feel like it's very easy to wear those

[00:04:05] masks in church and a huge part of the reason why I started this podcast was I just noticed so many young

[00:04:11] people have questions. They're being told a lot of things believe this this is what you know

[00:04:17] your parents believe this is what your Bible teacher believes this is what your pastor believes

[00:04:21] and it's just all thrust on kids but they're constantly like what about this but what about this

[00:04:26] but a lot of times they're not able to be sincere, they're not able to be open with their questions

[00:04:31] because they're afraid they're going to be judged, they're afraid that people are going to think oh

[00:04:35] you're not really saved or you're not really a true Christian because you're doubting and I think

[00:04:39] that like there's that quote that says it's not it's not doubt that's the enemy of faith. It's not

[00:04:45] it's it's when we let our doubt turn into unbelief it's when we don't ask questions and we just let

[00:04:51] our doubt sit and sit and sit and we never challenge it we never wrestle with it and then the

[00:04:55] doubt just eventually turns into unbelief because no one ever was there to say hey I love you

[00:05:01] and I want to jump into this question with you so that's why we're doing this right now.

[00:05:06] Yeah absolutely, that's a really good word dude.

[00:05:09] Can we do a quick one just like a really quick one and then like

[00:05:20] You do a super quick one okay and then and then we'll do like a normal one because this I feel

[00:05:24] like you can I feel like you can hit this one really quick. Yeah, I might have to do these

[00:05:28] little fast just because I got to catch a plane but yeah okay well then whenever you whenever

[00:05:32] you whenever you gotta tap out you tap out but here's here's the first one you have a real skill

[00:05:36] with calling scripture to mind you're probably the best at memorizing scripture I've ever seen

[00:05:41] to be honest so do you have any tips how do you memorize scripture what's your process?

[00:05:45] Uh yeah I would say the biggest thing for me is uh wrote in repetition neuroposticity so it's

[00:05:53] just saying that you can actually shape you can actually uh shape your neuro pathways and change

[00:06:00] the grooves in your brain. You get 86 to 100 billion or check neurons and when you

[00:06:05] through wrote in repetition through continuous practice change the way you think your neuro pathways

[00:06:11] will run in a different direction as it works so you can shape your brain there's a plasticity

[00:06:17] to your cranial package that's very phenomenal and so for me when I just repeat the same thing over

[00:06:23] and over and over and over again it's driven in there how do you remember your phone number you know

[00:06:27] you've heard it so many times um and then the second thing I would say is your hip-hop campus is

[00:06:33] the seat of your memory and where that is is uh that's the part in your brain the hippocampus

[00:06:39] that actually shrinks when you get those timers and get older and if you go on a 40 minute lock

[00:06:45] three times a week at risk 40 minute lock then what it does is it enlarges your hippocampus

[00:06:50] and actually increases your memory so exercise is one of the top three best things for your brain

[00:06:55] so weirdly I'm giving sort of unorthodoxy answers but but I think those are a few big ones

[00:07:02] that's that's awesome I'm gonna have to apply some that to my life

[00:07:13] okay here's the last one you can be blessed and happy but also not in the will of God right how

[00:07:19] can Telafry actually in his plans does that make sense did it that yeah yeah I mean the Bible says

[00:07:25] there's pleasure and sin for a season but the pleasure is for more or less that the Lord's

[00:07:30] but the Lord's right and um so I would say that uh I mean I'm gonna use an old classic

[00:07:36] coverage offline but basically when you have so much in the world of the world and you you can

[00:07:41] enjoy the Lord but you have so much in the Lord and you can enjoy the world again that comes back to

[00:07:46] this this in harmonious way of thinking where you're trying to you're trying to serve two masters

[00:07:55] as the Bible says and the only problem with that is is if you're trying to live outside the will of

[00:08:02] God and find joy that's gonna be utterly impossible at the end of the day in the long run because

[00:08:09] you might have instant gratification but not lifelong satisfaction because God is the God of hope

[00:08:14] that the silver cave moniker which which Paul dubbed God the etymology of hope actually comes from

[00:08:21] this source and well spring that is God like he if he's he defines hope so if we're trying to find

[00:08:28] hope outside of God uh ultimately the path just runs its course and ends up at nihilism but if you

[00:08:35] if you say you know what I'm gonna walk with talk to live for trust and depend upon and lean into

[00:08:40] the God of hope that's where ultimate joy will be found that isn't lasting for a season but

[00:08:45] leaves you with a hangover the next day it's joy forever more from 1611 says so I think I think

[00:08:51] you can have like a quink head of dopamine but that doesn't mean it's gonna create lasting lasting

[00:08:58] sacred optimism Jesus joy holy happiness or calm the light so there's a huge difference

[00:09:03] and and and ultimately walking with the Lord sometimes I feel like oh gosh like I maybe you're like

[00:09:09] I want to get hammered or something and maybe that's gonna be fun but I just want to encourage you

[00:09:16] that uh if nothing sweet comes out sweat and it has to be better so often before it's sweet that's

[00:09:22] just how the world works and so when you choose to do the things that you know you're investing

[00:09:28] sweat and then glad to toil in tears into what you believe in you will reap dividends in the future

[00:09:34] even if you're not a Christian like that's just a principle of life yeah um so I want to encourage

[00:09:40] you to go with the not the temporal hit but rather the lasting joy hmm that's awesome

[00:09:56] and for me the question of you know how can you tell if you're in his plan or not in his will

[00:10:00] or not it always comes back to Proverbs 35 and 6 one of the scriptures that I have memorized I don't

[00:10:06] have many but that's one to my life first and it's trust in the Lord with all of your might don't

[00:10:11] lean on your own understanding but in all your ways acknowledge him and heal direct your path

[00:10:15] that verse has guided me through my whole life because if I take the time to stop and just ask

[00:10:20] the question of no matter what I'm doing God what do you have for me right now like what are you

[00:10:25] guiding me what what is it that you're trying to show me just that acknowledgement has always in

[00:10:31] my experience led to him actually directing my path as the scripture says will happen so yeah and

[00:10:37] ultimately it says rejoice evermore for this is the will of God and that's the shortest person

[00:10:42] of Bible and some people think it's Jesus left but in the English it's Jesus left but in the original

[00:10:47] language it's rejoice evermore and it says rejoice evermore for this is the will of God rejoice

[00:10:52] evermore is 14 characters in Greek Jesus left to 16 so the shortest most

[00:10:58] the brevity is the wit of genius the shortest most cogent verse in the Bible is rejoice forever

[00:11:03] more this is the will of God I believe the meaning of life is to enjoy the joy of being

[00:11:08] enjoyed by God so you know you're in the will of God when you can say I enjoy the joy of being

[00:11:14] enjoyed by God God does adore me he enjoys me and that makes a huge difference

[00:11:28] dude thank you so much for being on the show I really really appreciate it Ben

[00:11:32] I love you so much Aaron you are the true Titan of the faith you're you're an amazing friend

[00:11:38] you're so loving you're so genuine you have a shopper it's hard and you really believe what you

[00:11:43] say and you live out your words and you put feet to your face and I just you're a magical friend dude

[00:11:50] and I'm grateful for you thanks man I really appreciate it have a safe flight or write

[00:11:54] okay sounds good we'll connect soon we'll hang soon and I love all your podcasts and I can't wait too

[00:12:01] we'll have to do this again that'd be sick yes I'll send it to you when you're done or when

[00:12:05] when I'm done and I'd love to do this again sometime thank you so much man I love it I love you so

[00:12:10] my dear we'll talk soon homie youtube buddy see you later okay peace

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