Central Abbotsford

This past week, my family started watching the show Beast Games on the recommendation of a friend. If you’re not already familiar, Beast Games is a reality-style game show hosted by Jimmy “Mr. Beast” Donaldson, one of the most popular and successful YouTube stars (especially among the elementary and middle school crowd). The concept of the show is that 1000 competitors participate in a series of physical, mental, and psychological challenges until they are whittled down to one $5,000,000 winner (we are only a few episodes in, so please don’t spoil the end if you’ve seen it. For my kids’ sake, of course).

I’m not writing this newsletter about Beast Games, but there was something that happened in one of the early episodes that I found particularly interesting from a theological standpoint. It requires a bit of context, but I’ll try to be quick about it. With the number of contestants already whittled down to 110, those remaining were given just a few minutes to vote one leader who would advance to the next challenge, AND be able to choose five more people out of the group to come alongside them. The catch? In order for someone to be elected, they needed 100 of the 110 votes. The stakes? If the group didn’t elect someone, nobody would advance from the challenge and everyone’s odds of winning dropped. Hopefully that sets the scene well enough.

This gets us to the interesting part. The group deliberates. People make their cases. And, a general consensus emerges around a leader. Not everyone is on board, but over 100 people are. The leader steps forward and is instructed to choose the five to come along with him. The crowd is shouting out at him, asking how he will make the choice. His response? To tell them that he will seek the Lord’s guidance in prayer. He gets to one knee, then falls to the ground. He stands again and makes his selections, reaffirming that it was through hearing from God that he arrived at his choices. One of the other (unchosen) contestants responds by saying, with a tone of absolute certainty, “I speak to God every day and I know for a fact He didn’t tell him that.”

See? I told you there was something theologically interesting in Beast Games! And to think, three paragraphs in, you didn’t believe me…

So, here’s the question: how can we know – for a fact – that God is speaking to us? It is a question of great importance! As Christians, we want to be people who seek the Lord’s guidance in all of our decisions, and that involves hearing from Him. Here are a few ways that we can be sure we are hearing from God. (These are not exhaustive! But they are a good starting place if you’re asking the question.)

1. Read His Book

2 Timothy 3:16 reads “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness”. This is reflected in the Northview Statement of Faith, which includes this about God’s revelation to His people: “We believe that all Scripture, both Old and New Testaments, are inspired by God as men of God were moved by the Holy Spirit. We accept the entire Bible to be the infallible Word of God and the final, complete and authoritative guide for the faith and life of Christian discipleship.” 

Reading the Bible, and doing so regularly in order to become increasingly familiar with it helps you become increasingly familiar with the ways of God – His priorities for His people and His world. Yes, the apostle Paul cries in Romans 11:33 “How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!” However, he does so after celebrating “the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God!” Diving into the Bible can be intimidating, especially if you’ve never done much of it before. But, as you make it a regular part of your life, you will, day by day, find yourself hearing more and more from God.

If you don’t know where to start, why not consider jumping into our 2025 Bible Reading Plan?

2. Speak With Him

If you ask 100 Christians about their prayer lives, you will probably get 100 variations on the answer of “it could be better”. Implicit in this answer, though, is an understanding of the importance of prayer. James 1:5 is a reminder that “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.” While the answer that you receive from God may not come in distinct audible form, the more you are in prayer with Him, the more your ability to discern His will for your life will be honed.

If you don’t pray, or don’t really know how to pray, start (in conjunction with the first point) by praying His Scriptures back to Him! When we first learned to speak, we did so (for the most part) by hearing and imitating our parents’ words. God is just as pleased when we pray the words of the Bible as a toddler’s mother is hearing those first jumbled attempts at parroting her.

If you want to see how others pray, you are always welcome to join our Pre-Service Prayer group downstairs from 4:15pm-4:45pm each Saturday. There, we pray for our service, our community, and our church family. Even if you would just like to observe in silence, please drop by for a quiet moment of communion and communication with God.

3. Share With Mature Believers

Part of the reason that we are placed in communities is to be able to share and discern how God is working in your life. If you think you are hearing something from Him, especially in relation to His will for your life, regularly being with your church family gives you greater opportunity to share this with those trusted people who can help you discern His word.

This is one of the reasons why we host dinner and dessert each Saturday night at Central Abby – our hope is that your relationships with your brothers and sisters in Christ will be grown and deepened so that you can come to a place of confidence and vulnerability that you can go beneath the surface and the small talk, and “encourage one another and build one another up” (1 Thessalonians 5:11).

If you’re not yet at a place where you know someone well enough in the church to have this level of conversation, you are always welcome to talk with me! If Saturdays are too busy for you, I usually set aside a few times each week for one-on-one conversations, and I would love the opportunity to help you walk through these kinds of questions, or anything else related to faith and life. Just email me at eheath@northview.org and we’ll find a time!

 

“For this is the will of God, your sanctification.”

1 Thessalonians 4:3

FEBRUARY 28, 2025

This past week, my family started watching the show Beast Games on the recommendation of a friend. If you’re not already familiar, Beast Games is a reality-style game show hosted by Jimmy “Mr. Beast” Donaldson, one of the most popular and successful YouTube stars (especially among the elementary and middle school crowd). The concept of the show is that 1000 competitors participate in a series of physical, mental, and psychological challenges until they are whittled down to one $5,000,000 winner (we are only a few episodes in, so please don’t spoil the end if you’ve seen it. For my kids’ sake, of course).

I’m not writing this newsletter about Beast Games, but there was something that happened in one of the early episodes that I found particularly interesting from a theological standpoint. It requires a bit of context, but I’ll try to be quick about it. With the number of contestants already whittled down to 110, those remaining were given just a few minutes to vote one leader who would advance to the next challenge, AND be able to choose five more people out of the group to come alongside them. The catch? In order for someone to be elected, they needed 100 of the 110 votes. The stakes? If the group didn’t elect someone, nobody would advance from the challenge and everyone’s odds of winning dropped. Hopefully that sets the scene well enough.

This gets us to the interesting part. The group deliberates. People make their cases. And, a general consensus emerges around a leader. Not everyone is on board, but over 100 people are. The leader steps forward and is instructed to choose the five to come along with him. The crowd is shouting out at him, asking how he will make the choice. His response? To tell them that he will seek the Lord’s guidance in prayer. He gets to one knee, then falls to the ground. He stands again and makes his selections, reaffirming that it was through hearing from God that he arrived at his choices. One of the other (unchosen) contestants responds by saying, with a tone of absolute certainty, “I speak to God every day and I know for a fact He didn’t tell him that.”

See? I told you there was something theologically interesting in Beast Games! And to think, three paragraphs in, you didn’t believe me…

So, here’s the question: how can we know – for a fact – that God is speaking to us? It is a question of great importance! As Christians, we want to be people who seek the Lord’s guidance in all of our decisions, and that involves hearing from Him. Here are a few ways that we can be sure we are hearing from God. (These are not exhaustive! But they are a good starting place if you’re asking the question.)

1. Read His Book

2 Timothy 3:16 reads “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness”. This is reflected in the Northview Statement of Faith, which includes this about God’s revelation to His people: “We believe that all Scripture, both Old and New Testaments, are inspired by God as men of God were moved by the Holy Spirit. We accept the entire Bible to be the infallible Word of God and the final, complete and authoritative guide for the faith and life of Christian discipleship.” 

Reading the Bible, and doing so regularly in order to become increasingly familiar with it helps you become increasingly familiar with the ways of God – His priorities for His people and His world. Yes, the apostle Paul cries in Romans 11:33 “How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!” However, he does so after celebrating “the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God!” Diving into the Bible can be intimidating, especially if you’ve never done much of it before. But, as you make it a regular part of your life, you will, day by day, find yourself hearing more and more from God.

If you don’t know where to start, why not consider jumping into our 2025 Bible Reading Plan?

2. Speak With Him

If you ask 100 Christians about their prayer lives, you will probably get 100 variations on the answer of “it could be better”. Implicit in this answer, though, is an understanding of the importance of prayer. James 1:5 is a reminder that “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.” While the answer that you receive from God may not come in distinct audible form, the more you are in prayer with Him, the more your ability to discern His will for your life will be honed.

If you don’t pray, or don’t really know how to pray, start (in conjunction with the first point) by praying His Scriptures back to Him! When we first learned to speak, we did so (for the most part) by hearing and imitating our parents’ words. God is just as pleased when we pray the words of the Bible as a toddler’s mother is hearing those first jumbled attempts at parroting her.

If you want to see how others pray, you are always welcome to join our Pre-Service Prayer group downstairs from 4:15pm-4:45pm each Saturday. There, we pray for our service, our community, and our church family. Even if you would just like to observe in silence, please drop by for a quiet moment of communion and communication with God.

3. Share With Mature Believers

Part of the reason that we are placed in communities is to be able to share and discern how God is working in your life. If you think you are hearing something from Him, especially in relation to His will for your life, regularly being with your church family gives you greater opportunity to share this with those trusted people who can help you discern His word.

This is one of the reasons why we host dinner and dessert each Saturday night at Central Abby – our hope is that your relationships with your brothers and sisters in Christ will be grown and deepened so that you can come to a place of confidence and vulnerability that you can go beneath the surface and the small talk, and “encourage one another and build one another up” (1 Thessalonians 5:11).

If you’re not yet at a place where you know someone well enough in the church to have this level of conversation, you are always welcome to talk with me! If Saturdays are too busy for you, I usually set aside a few times each week for one-on-one conversations, and I would love the opportunity to help you walk through these kinds of questions, or anything else related to faith and life. Just email me at eheath@northview.org and we’ll find a time!

 

“For this is the will of God, your sanctification.”

1 Thessalonians 4:3a