Shownotes
Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy
Welcome to Day 1106 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.
I am Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom
What Does God Want? – Worldview Wednesday
Wisdom – the final frontier to true knowledge. Welcome to Wisdom-Trek where our mission is to create a legacy of wisdom, to seek out discernment and insights, and to boldly grow where few have chosen to grow before.
Hello, my friend, I am Guthrie Chamberlain, your captain on our journey to increase wisdom and create a living legacy. Thank you for joining us today as we explore wisdom on our 2nd millennium of podcasts. This is Day 1106 of our trek, and it is Wisdom Wednesday.
Creating a Biblical worldview is important to have a proper perspective on today’s current events. To establish a Biblical Worldview, you must also have a proper understanding of God and His Word. This week we will begin a new series that will cover another detailed book review from one of today’s most prominent Hebrew scholars Dr. Micheal S. Heiser. We will take a deep dive and share Dr. Heiser’s insights into the question which is also the title of his book “What Does God Want?”
What Does God Want?
What does God want? It sounds like a simple question, but if you give it a bit of thought, it’s really not.
Why? Well, for starters, you have to know who’s asking the question. People will ask it for a lot of different reasons. Is it a cry of anger from someone in pain? Perhaps it’s a barely audible whisper that surfaces from deep sadness. Is the motivation curiosity? Or is it just prompted by the desire to reflect and think deep thoughts? It’s not difficult to see that giving the right answer depends on why the question is being asked.
While we all may have motives for asking this question, the answer is the same for everyone, at least in terms of the answer God himself would give with respect to all of us. That is precisely how I’m asking it. I’m asking it to help you think about some important things. When I ask, “What does God want?” I’m really asking, “What does God want when it comes to every person in the human race?” What does God want when it comes to me and my life and to you and your life?
Before I get to the detailed answers from Dr. Heiser, it’s pretty obvious that the question is a religious one. All of our questions about God naturally get filed in the religious folder. I’ve raised the question, and we will explore the answer because I’m interested in God. Most people still are, though they may not be interested in church. It certainly is not a prerequisite to be involved in church to be seeking the answer to our question. As we go through this book, we will find that the answer is going to be a biblical one. That narrows the focus a bit more. The goal of Dr. Heiser’s book is that the Bible would answer the question “What does God want?”
Now for the answer. It’s simple. He wants you.
That might surprise you. You may doubt it. That’s okay. It’s the right answer. To be honest, though, it isn’t enough of an answer. You can’t get a sense of how amazing and profound the answer is by just that one sentence. You need some context to appreciate how much love is behind it. There’s actually a long, remarkable story behind the answer.
Since that’s the case, this book is not only about what God wants, but it’s about things God wants you to know. Yes, he wants you, but for you to appreciate that and (hopefully) feel the same way about God, you need a little context.
That is what we will discover in our detailed synopsis of this book. We’ll start with God’s story. There’s a lot of tragedy in it, but none of that ever changed God’s mind about you (or me, thankfully). Once we are done discovering the story that is contained in this book, Dr. Heiser drills down on some parts of the story that are especially important.
Before we jump in, Dr. Heiser does have one disclaimer. If you’ve spent a lot of your life in the church, you might think you already know the story. You certainly know parts of it, but I can guarantee there will be some surprises. Unfortunately, the thing that most often gets in the way of the wonder of the story is religion. Sometimes church and denominational preferences become more important than the story. That’s not the case within this book.
Even though I’m assuming some listeners or readers are familiar with the Bible, I’m confident you’re going to encounter new truths and new ways to think about old truths. And if you’ve never been in a church or heard much about the Bible, you’re the perfect listener. There’s nothing to unlearn or relearn. It’s all fresh. Either way, I think you’re going to experience the thrill of discovering what God wants—and why.
Growing up with Godly parents, I understood God to be the creator. I assumed he knew about me and everyone else, but I did not have a good grasp of what he was thinking about me, or other people in the world. While I had a sense of God’s love for me, it was more of a distant God who was watching whether I was being good, or bad. I did not realize that God was actually seeking me. I know now that God was and continues to seek me because it’s His nature to seek all of us. He is committed to us. How do we know these things about God? Those are the questions and answers that we will discover over the next several months as we explore “What does God want?”
While we have answered the question that God wants us, we will never know the why of that question unless we sincerely seek Him.
And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.
That will conclude an introduction into Dr. Heiser’s book “What Does God Want?” Next Wisdom Wednesday we will begin to start to slowly peel the layers back to find out why. I believe you will find each Wisdom Wednesday an interesting topic to consider as we build our Biblical worldview.
Tomorrow we will continue with our 3-minute humor nugget that will provide you with a bit of cheer and help you to lighten up and live a rich and satisfying life. So encourage your friends and family to join us and then come along with us tomorrow for another day of our Wisdom-Trek, Creating a Legacy.
If you would like to listen to any of our past 1105 treks or read the Wisdom Journal, they are available at Wisdom-Trek.com. I encourage you to subscribe to Wisdom-Trek on your favorite podcast player so that each day’s trek will be downloaded automatically.
As we take this trek together, let us always:
- Live Abundantly (Fully)
- Love Unconditionally
- Listen Intentionally
- Learn Continuously
- Lend to others Generously
- Lead with Integrity
- Leave a Living Legacy Each Day
I am Guthrie Chamberlain reminding you to Keep Moving Forward, Enjoy Your Journey, and Create a Great Day Everyday! See you tomorrow!