The Deception of Information: Breaking Free from Spiritual Procrastination
This podcast episode elucidates the critical distinction between mere note-taking and genuine discipleship, asserting that the accumulation of knowledge does not equate to spiritual growth or transformation. We assert that many individuals possess extensive notes filled with wisdom yet remain ensnared in the same patterns of behavior and spiritual stagnation. The discussion challenges listeners to confront the delusion that information alone can lead to transformation, emphasizing that true discipleship requires active obedience and application of learned principles. Through the examination of personal anecdotes and scriptural references, we highlight the necessity of translating knowledge into action, thus enabling listeners to evaluate their own spiritual journeys. Ultimately, we urge our audience to embrace a lifestyle of discipleship characterized by living out the truths they have learned rather than simply collecting them.
In this episode, the speakers vehemently confront the audience with the uncomfortable truth that possessing extensive knowledge of Scripture and teachings does not necessarily correlate with spiritual maturity or discipleship. They draw attention to the phenomenon of spiritual hoarding, where individuals accumulate insights and revelations without actualizing them in their lives. Through compelling anecdotes, they illustrate the futility of being well-versed in spiritual principles while failing to embody them. The discussion highlights the critical distinction between being a passive consumer of religious content and an active participant in the kingdom of God. Ultimately, the speakers call for a paradigm shift from passive learning to proactive living, urging listeners to prioritize obedience and transformative action over mere intellectual engagement with faith.
Takeaways:
- The act of note-taking alone does not equate to genuine discipleship or spiritual growth.
- True transformation in one's life requires action and obedience rather than mere accumulation of knowledge.
- Discipleship is not about collecting wisdom but rather about living out that wisdom in daily life.
- It is imperative to recognize that spiritual maturity is measured by one's actions, not by their notes or knowledge.
Transcript
You got notebooks full of revelation, but your life is full of the same old mess.
Speaker A:You've been collecting wisdom like Pokemon cards, but you ain't walking in none of it.
Speaker A:Today we exposing the lie that note taking equals discipleship.
Speaker A:This episode is about to shatter every excuse that you've got for staying stuck.
Speaker B:You just locked into Discipleship Decoded, where we get raw, real and relevant about what it means to follow Christ in.
Speaker C:A culture that is absolutely losing its mind.
Speaker B:This ain't about playing church.
Speaker B:We're here to make disciples preach the truth and call out everything that opposes the kingdom of God.
Speaker B:So if you're tired of watered down messages and are ready for some real talk, you're in the right place.
Speaker B:I'm your host, Malden Mitchell.
Speaker B:Now let's get into it.
Speaker C:Hello everyone everywhere, and welcome to another episode of Discipleship Decoded.
Speaker C:I'm your host, Malden Mitchell, and I want to thank you so much for taking time out of your day to spend a few moments with me.
Speaker C:So I want to get real from the onset.
Speaker C:Man, you got notebooks full of revelation, but your life is full of the same old mess.
Speaker C:You got highlighted Bibles but unholy habits.
Speaker C:You got a ton of sermon notes, but you can't even trace spiritual growth in your life.
Speaker C:See, this ain't about being deep, but it's about being delivered from the delusion that information equals transformation.
Speaker C:See, you think because you can quote the preacher, recite the scripture, remember the points that you're growing, but here's the gut punch truth that's about to shatter your spiritual pride.
Speaker C:You ain't a disciple just because you take notes, but what you actually are is a spiritual hoarder, collecting truth but never applying the truth.
Speaker C:You're a knowledge addict.
Speaker C:You get high off revelation, but never get delivered by it.
Speaker C:I mean, you got more notebooks than breakthroughs, more highlighters than holiness.
Speaker C:I mean, you got more apps than applications.
Speaker C:And so you've been treating discipleship like a college course when it is supposed to be a complete surrender.
Speaker C:You've been studying Jesus instead of following Jesus.
Speaker C:You've been learning about God instead of learning from God.
Speaker C:If you look over your life, you've been collecting sermons instead of becoming servants.
Speaker C:But here's what's really happening.
Speaker C:You are using note taking as a substitute for your obedience.
Speaker C:You're using study as an excuse to avoid surrender.
Speaker C:You're using knowledge as a replacement for transformation.
Speaker C:And every time God convicts you, you write it down and think, that's enough.
Speaker C:And every time he challenges you.
Speaker C:You highlight it and think that you've handled it.
Speaker C:And every time he calls you higher, you take notes and think that you have climbed higher.
Speaker C:But writing it down ain't the same as working it out.
Speaker C:Highlighting the verse ain't the same as living the verse.
Speaker C:Taking the notes ain't the same as taking the steps.
Speaker C:And you've been deceiving yourself, thinking that hearing equals doing, that knowing equals growing, and that collecting equals connecting.
Speaker C:But James said it plain, be doers of the Word and not hearers, only deceiving yourselves.
Speaker C:So you've been deceiving yourself, thinking that your notebook makes you a disciple.
Speaker C:But disciples don't just take notes, they take action.
Speaker C:They don't just collect truth, they live truth.
Speaker C:They don't just study the Word, they obey the Word.
Speaker C:Listen to what James said in James, chapter 1, verse 22.
Speaker C:But be doers of the Word and not hear us only deceiving yourselves.
Speaker C:Did you hear that?
Speaker C:Deceiving yourselves.
Speaker C:The word deceiving in the Greek is paralogami, which means to mislead, to delude, and to lead astray by false reasoning.
Speaker C:You've been using false reasoning to convince yourself that note taking equals discipleship.
Speaker C: But check verse: Speaker C:For he looks at himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of person he he was.
Speaker C:You look in the mirror of God's word, see what needs to change, write it down, and walk away unchanged.
Speaker C:You see your sin, but you don't stop your sin.
Speaker C:You see your pride, but don't crucify your pride.
Speaker C:You see your rebellion, but don't repent of your rebellion.
Speaker C:But verse 25 brings the real fire.
Speaker C:It says, but the one who looks intently into the perfect law of freedom and perseveres in it, and is not forgetful hearer, but a doer who works.
Speaker C:This person will be blessed in what he does.
Speaker C:Check that.
Speaker C:Blessed in what he does, not blessed in what he knows, not blessed in what he writes, not blessed and what he connects, but blessed and what he does.
Speaker C:Matthew, chapter 7, verse 24 through 27 seals the deal.
Speaker C:It says, therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.
Speaker C:The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and pounded that house, yet it did not collapse because its foundation was on the rock.
Speaker C:But everyone who hears these words of mine and doesn't act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the stand.
Speaker C:Rather, the sand acts on them.
Speaker C:Not just hearers, not just studies, not just takes notes, but acts on them.
Speaker C:And see, the difference between the wise man and the fool ain't what they heard, it's what they did and what they heard.
Speaker C:The Bible doesn't whisper, so why should you?
Speaker C:Your notebooks don't make you wise.
Speaker C:Your obedience does.
Speaker C:Your highlights don't build your foundation.
Speaker C:Your actions do.
Speaker C:Your notes don't determine your destiny.
Speaker C:Your decisions do.
Speaker C:So let me tell you about this story.
Speaker C:I knew this brother, let's call him Marcus.
Speaker C:This dude was a note taking king.
Speaker C:He had every sermon from the past five years, organized by date, categorized by topic, color coded by thing.
Speaker C:I mean, his Bible looked like a rainbow exploded in it.
Speaker C:Every verse was highlighted, every margin was filled, every page marked up.
Speaker C:He had apps for everything.
Speaker C:Bible studying apps, note taking apps, sermon apps, prayer apps.
Speaker C:His phone had more spiritual content than some libraries.
Speaker C:People would come to him when they needed him to find a scripture, remember a sermon point, or locate a quote.
Speaker C:Marcus was like a walking concordance, a human research engine for spiritual information.
Speaker C:But here's the problem.
Speaker C:Marcus's life didn't match his notes.
Speaker C:He could quote every sermon about marriage, but his life and his wife was miserable.
Speaker C:He had notes on every message about parenting, but his kids were rebellious.
Speaker C:He could recite every point about integrity, but he was cheating on his taxes.
Speaker C:He had highlighted every verse about love, but he was bitter towards his own brother.
Speaker C:And he had documented every teaching about forgiveness, but he was still holding grudges.
Speaker C:And he had recorded every word about generosity, but he was super stingy with his money.
Speaker C:See, Marcus had become a spiritual scholar, but not a surrendered saint.
Speaker C:He was a professional note taker, but not a practicing disciple.
Speaker C:A collector of truth, but not a liver of that truth.
Speaker C:And then one day, his wife confronted him.
Speaker C:She said, marcus, you got more notes about being a godly husband than any man I know.
Speaker C:But you ain't being a godly husband to me.
Speaker C:You can quote every sermon about love, but when was the last time you showed me love?
Speaker C:You got notes on every message about sacrifice, but what have you sacrificed for this family?
Speaker C:See, you study about Jesus, but when are you going to act like Jesus?
Speaker C:And so that night, my man Marcus looked at his notebooks, his highlighted Bible, his organized files, and realized the truth.
Speaker C:That he had been collecting wisdom instead of living wisdom.
Speaker C:He had been studying transformation instead of experiencing the transformation that he desperately needed.
Speaker C:He had been documenting discipleship instead of demonstrating discipleship and family.
Speaker C:That night, Marcus had to make a decision.
Speaker C:He closed his notebooks, put down the highlighter, turned off his apps, and started obeying what he knew he already should be obeying.
Speaker C:He apologized to his wife, not because he learned how, but because he chose to.
Speaker C:He changed his behavior not because he studied more, but because he applied what he already had studied.
Speaker C:And so he became a better father, not because he took more notes, but because he took more action.
Speaker C:Six months later, this brother's marriage was restored.
Speaker C:His kids were responding.
Speaker C:His life was transformed, not because he learned something new, but because he lived what he already do.
Speaker C:What he already knew, rather.
Speaker C:And Marcus learned the hard way, that information without application is just spiritual masturbation.
Speaker C:It feels good, but it doesn't produce nothing.
Speaker C:So you already know what this is.
Speaker C:You've been sitting in church for years, taking notes like you're getting paid for it, but your life ain't changed one bit.
Speaker C:Bit.
Speaker C:I mean, you got notebooks full of how to overcome addiction, but you're still addicted.
Speaker C:How to walk in purpose, but you're still procrastinating how to love your enemies, but you're still hating how to forgive, but you're still bitter.
Speaker C:You got more revelation than most preachers, but less transformation than most sinners.
Speaker C:You can quote the sermon, but you can't live the sermon.
Speaker C:You can remember the points, but you can't apply the points.
Speaker C:You can recite the scripture, but you can't obey the scripture.
Speaker C:And here's what's really happening.
Speaker C:You've been using note taking as a spiritual form of procrastination.
Speaker C:See, every time God convicts you, you write it down and you tell yourself, I'll deal with this later.
Speaker C:Every time he challenges you, you highlight it and you promise yourself, I'll work on this tomorrow.
Speaker C:Every time he calls you higher, you document it and you convince yourself, I'll start this next week, but later never comes, and next week never arrives.
Speaker C:And.
Speaker C:And tomorrow never happens because you've been substituting note taking for obedience, study over surrender, and knowledge for transformation.
Speaker C:You think because you wrote it down, you don't have to work it out.
Speaker C:Because you highlighted it, you don't have to live it.
Speaker C:Or because you documented it, you don't have to do it.
Speaker C:But here's the truth that you need to hear.
Speaker C:Your notebook ain't going to stand before God.
Speaker C:You are.
Speaker C:Your highlights ain't going to be judged.
Speaker C:Your life is.
Speaker C:Your notes ain't going to determine your eternal destiny.
Speaker C:Your Obedience is.
Speaker C:God ain't going to ask you how many sermons did you hear?
Speaker C:He's going to ask you how many sermons did you heed?
Speaker C:He ain't going to ask you how much did you know?
Speaker C:He's going to ask you how much did you grow?
Speaker C:He ain't going to ask you how many notes did you take?
Speaker C:He's going to ask you how many steps did you make?
Speaker C:And you've been deceiving yourself, thinking that hearing equals doing, that knowing equals growing and collecting equals equals connecting.
Speaker C:But James said it, if you're a hero only and not a doer, you are deceiving yourself.
Speaker C:You've been lying to yourself about spiritual maturity, fooling yourself about your level of discipleship and convincing yourself that information equals transformation.
Speaker C:But transformation doesn't happen in your notebook.
Speaker C:It happens in your life.
Speaker C:It don't happen when you write the truth.
Speaker C:It happens when you live the truth.
Speaker C:It don't happen when you study the Word.
Speaker C:It happens when you obey the Word.
Speaker C:And so you've been treating discipleship like a research project when it is supposed to be a lifestyle change.
Speaker C:You've been approaching God's Word like a textbook when it is supposed to be a transformation manual.
Speaker C:Brother, you've been collecting sermons like trophies when they're supposed to be tools for change.
Speaker C:So families, stop studying your way to heaven and start obeying your way there.
Speaker C:Stop learning about transformation and start living transformation.
Speaker C:Stop taking notes about discipleship and start actually being a disciple.
Speaker C:See, the goal ain't to know more.
Speaker C:The goal is to grow more.
Speaker C:The goal ain't to collect more truth.
Speaker C:The goal is to live more truth.
Speaker C:The goal ain't to take notes.
Speaker C:The goal is to take more action.
Speaker C:So I need to talk to the note taker who's listening right now.
Speaker C:You've been taking notes for years and you genuinely thought that you were being a good student.
Speaker C:You thought diligence and note taking meant diligence and discipleship.
Speaker C:You thought documenting the Word meant doing the Word.
Speaker C:And I ain't saying that note taking is bad.
Speaker C:I am saying it ain't enough.
Speaker C:See, your note should be the starting point, not the stopping point.
Speaker C:A reminder, not a replacement, a tool.
Speaker C:And not the goal.
Speaker C:The question ain't did you take good notes?
Speaker C:The question is, did you take good action?
Speaker C:The question isn't did you remember the sermon?
Speaker C:The question is, did you live the sermon?
Speaker C:The question isn't, do you highlight the verse?
Speaker C:The question is, did you obey the verse?
Speaker C:So this moment is your wake up call.
Speaker C:Stop collecting and Start connecting.
Speaker C:Stop studying and start surrendering.
Speaker C:Stop taking notes and start taking steps.
Speaker C:So here's your action plan, and it's going to require you to close your notebook and open your life.
Speaker C:Step one, audit your notes.
Speaker C:Go through your notebooks, your highlighted verses, all those same sermons that you got, and make a list of everything you know but you're not doing.
Speaker C:Be honest, be brutal, and be real about the gap between your knowledge and your obedience.
Speaker C:Step two, Pick one thing.
Speaker C:Don't try to fix everything at once.
Speaker C:Pick one thing from your list and commit to it.
Speaker C:Not 10 things, not five things, but one thing.
Speaker C:Maybe it's forgiveness, maybe it's generosity, maybe it's integrity, maybe it's love.
Speaker C:But pick one and attack it with the same energy that you used to study it.
Speaker C:And step number three, close the notebook.
Speaker C:For the next 30 days, no more note taking.
Speaker C:I don't care how good the sermon is.
Speaker C:I don't care how deep the revelation is.
Speaker C:I don't care how profound the teaching is.
Speaker C:Close the notebook.
Speaker C:Instead of writing what you hear, start doing what you already know.
Speaker C:And step number four, become a doer.
Speaker C:Every time you feel the urge to take notes, ask yourself, what can I do with what I already know?
Speaker C:And every time you want to highlight a verse, ask yourself, how can I live this verse today?
Speaker C:And every time you want to document a truth, ask yourself, how can I demonstrate this truth right now?
Speaker C:And number five, measure transformation.
Speaker C:Man, you got to stop measuring your spiritual growth by how much you know and start measuring about how much you've changed.
Speaker C:Don't ask how many sermons did I hear, Ask how many sermons did I obey.
Speaker C:Don't ask how much did I learn.
Speaker C:Ask how much did I apply.
Speaker C:Don't ask how many notes did I take.
Speaker C:Ask how many steps did I make.
Speaker C:Step number six, Live the word.
Speaker C:Instead of writing everything out, make your life a notebook.
Speaker C:Let your actions be your highlights and let your obedience be your demonstration.
Speaker C:When people see you family, they should see a living sermon, not just someone who has heard sermons.
Speaker C:And when you start living what you've been learning, you have a testimony instead of just theory.
Speaker C:You'll be able to say, I know this works because I lived it.
Speaker C:Instead of I heard this because I wrote it.
Speaker C:See, Culture says knowledge is power.
Speaker C:Christ says obedience is power.
Speaker C:Culture says, the more you know, the better you are.
Speaker C:But Christ says, the more you do, the more you grow.
Speaker C:Culture says, study hard and take good notes.
Speaker C:Pass the test.
Speaker C:Christ says, surrender completely.
Speaker C:Take bold action and live the truth.
Speaker C:See, the world system rewards information.
Speaker C:But God's kingdom rewards transformation.
Speaker C:The world system celebrates knowledge, but God's kingdom celebrates obedience.
Speaker C:The world system measures success by what you know.
Speaker C:God's kingdom measures success by what you do.
Speaker C:You can't serve two systems.
Speaker C:Either you're going to be a student of the word or a servant of the world.
Speaker C:Either brother, you're going to collect truth or you're going to live truth.
Speaker C:Either you're going to take notes or you're going to take action.
Speaker C:The choice is yours.
Speaker C:But you can't do both and call yourself a disciple.
Speaker C:So listen to me, you ain't a disciple just because you take notes.
Speaker C:Jesus didn't call you to be a student.
Speaker C:He called you to be follower.
Speaker C:He didn't say come and study me.
Speaker C:He said come and follow me.
Speaker C:He didn't say take notes about my teachings.
Speaker C:He said obey my teachings.
Speaker C:The Gospel ain't a lecture to attend.
Speaker C:It is a life to live.
Speaker C:It ain't information to collect.
Speaker C:It's a transformation to experience.
Speaker C:And Jesus died on the cross not so that you can have a better note taking skills, but so that you could be having a transformed life.
Speaker C:And he rose from the dead not so that you could study all about resurrection power, but so that you could live in resurrection power.
Speaker C:He sent the Holy Spirit not to help you remember what he said, but to help you do what he said.
Speaker C:And the Great Commission says, go and make disciples and do not make note takers.
Speaker C:Disciples just don't hear the Word, they do the Word.
Speaker C:They don't just study the truth, they live the truth.
Speaker C:They don't just collect wisdom, they apply that wisdom.
Speaker C:So right now, this moment, family, I need you to make a choice.
Speaker C:Close your notebook and open your life.
Speaker C:Stop studying transformation and start experiencing transformation.
Speaker C:Stop taking all these doggone notes about discipleship and actually start being a disciple.
Speaker C:Your notebook can't follow Jesus for you.
Speaker C:Your highlights can't obey God for you.
Speaker C:And your notes can't live the Christian.
