Dr. Jessica Peck is prescribing Hope for Healthy Families on American Family Radio
>> Dr. Jessica Peck: Hello and welcome to the Dr. Nurse Mama show, prescribing Hope for Healthy Families here on American Family Radio. Here's your host, professor, pediatric nurse practitioner, and mom of four, Dr. Jessica Peck. Well, hey there, friends, and welcome to my favorite part of the afternoon, getting to spend time with you prescribing Hope for Healthy Families. Today we have a really important message for you. And as my producer and I were talking, we have talked about a lot of different things. This is this week. We have been all over the map. Today we're going to talk about an issue that impacts every family of every age and every stage. Today we're talking about Kingdom mindsets, and we're talking about the new book, Kingdom System from my guest, Charlie Lewis. Now, Charlie is a seasoned businessman. He's an entrepreneur. He's an author, he's an expository teacher of scripture. He is a military pilot, a Vietnam veteran. He is a husband of more than 55 years. He's a dad to two sons. He's an entrepreneur. Entrepreneur, a very successful one at that. He has done so much and he has a deep faith and commitment to spreading the good news of God's governance plan. And that's what we're going to be talking about today. Now, I want you to stick with me because in this world where chaos reigns supreme, we really need to fix our eyes on Jesus, who is the author and perfecter of our faith. And Charlie has really done a great work in shifting our mindset to really think about kingdom systems, to have a kingdom mindset, to think about eternity. So, Charlie, I'm so grateful for you being here today. Thank you so much for stopping by.
>> Charlie Lewis: Well, thank you, Jessica. It's my, privilege and I thank you for the opportunity.
>> Dr. Jessica Peck: Well, Charlie, right out of the gate I said, you've been married for more than 55 years. That is no small accomplishment. And we need to know right away, right now, what, what are your secrets?
>> Charlie Lewis: Well, I'm asked that quite often. It's actually 58 this year.
>> Dr. Jessica Peck: 58. Did you get married when you were so young?
>> Charlie Lewis: Well, I think we both were, but it was a different time, and we were at different places. I was talking with someone I could, could not believe that I was drafted, one of the service, became a pilot and went to Vietnam, was an airfield commander, had, 30 something pilots and airplanes and all that worked under me. And I was 21 years old.
>> Dr. Jessica Peck: Wow, that's amazing.
>> Charlie Lewis: That's amazing. When my sons were that age, I said, it just dawned on me, I started thinking about that. And I said, no, that can't be right. I, I've got that wrong. I've got the. And I went back and it was actually true. But, I tell people that, you have to be a good waiter, because I, I get ready and I go to the door and I wait. We're trying to leave in France, a real Southern lady, and she's talking to everybody, and I'm a good waiter. But in reality, if I, If I told you what I believe, the Holy Spirit, God did. We. We're like everybody else. First of all, I want to. I want to be clear. I'm. There's nothing special about me outside of my relationship with God. And God's plans are so perfect for us. I remember when we were. I, was asking Fran, to be married. I told her, I said, you know, we went through the finances and stuff. I said, but there's another agreement we have to have. And I said, when we have a disagreement, on anything in any area of our life, I don't want us to. To. I don't want to push through and it be what I believe is right. And I don't want to push through and do what you believe is right. I want us to go to the scripture and go to the word of God and pray and let God tell us what's right for us to do. And we've done that, and we've had an amazing life together.
>> Dr. Jessica Peck: Well, Charlie, I appreciate that insight. When you said a waiter, I thought, oh, people are going to think, you know, at a restaurant. But I knew exactly where you were going because all of a sudden I saw all of the men sitting outside of a dressing room of a department store. You know, at least now you have smartphones. You can watch some sort of sports game. My husband has definitely waited on me a, ton, for sure. But what a beautiful picture of marriage. And it's. So probably most people are familiar with this analogy, but imagining a triangle with God at the top of the triangle and you on either side, the husband and wife, and they think, how do we come together? And it's. You work on pursuing your relationship with God, and God brings you together. That has certainly been true in my marriage, although I only have half as much time as you do, Charlie. But I am going to definitely keep that in mind.
Charlie Lewis was raised in a family of faith. And God profoundly guided his life step by step
And with that, I would love to hear just your testimony and how you came to know the Lord and how he called you to the work that you doing today.
>> Charlie Lewis: Well, thank you. I, was raised in a family of faith. I grew up and with people believing in God and, and with God having a, a place at the table where we talked about things, and where we realized there was there was goodness and following that directions and the things that God had taught us to do and like maybe a lot of people, I didn't really pursue it. It wasn't a, it wasn't a focal point for us. But I, because we did all the things that teenagers in high school and college people do. But I remember profoundly when I graduated from high school, I graduated early and I had gone to a university and I was working because my family had businesses and manufacturing and So I was trying to go to school around that so I could help and participate. But I remember going to school and I had decided the medical field was for me, I was going to be a doctor. And so I went to school and spent almost the entire day outlining the next six, eight years of my life. And I really felt good about it. So I got through, I went back out to the parking lot, got in the car and I perused, looked over this map I had laid out for my life. And I remember closing the folder, laying it on my seat and the Holy Spirit, God said to me as profoundly as you and I are talking, he said where do I fit in there? And you know, I wasn't in that vein. That wasn't, I had other things that I had planned that wasn't really a consideration. And it startled me. And I sat there for a second and I said well I don't know Lord, do you want to fit in there? And continued on with my life, not really changing. But that, that was kind of a turning point where the Lord began to call and say, you know, I've got plans for you. Or is that what you're walking in my plans? And I, I I, I would have to honestly say no, I was working in my plans is what I had envisioned. But God had totally different idea and he changed everything. In the middle of school I moved, moved to a new location. And that was during the draft. And my notices didn't keep up with me. And by the time I got six notices at the my next address, one of them said report for a physical. And the terminology then was were you in phase? In other words, was your progression such that you were not just going to avoid service but you were actually pursuing. And I was well ahead of faith. So I Told the guys that, you know, when I reported for the fiscal, I said, you know, I'm in phase. I'm well ahead of phase. He said, that's great, Mr. Lewis. That's great. He said, you know, you can appeal this, but you'll probably be through with basic training and something else with. By the time you get through it. I thought, now that's not good news. That's not what I had planned. But so I went ahead and I went to service. And God profoundly has guided my life step by step. Never had any aspirations to fly. Ended up flying, flying. And, in the service in Vietnam, came home and God sovereignly called me back to help in the family business and at the same time has taken me on a path that taught me, how to understand and hear his voice and hear what he's saying to me. And. And that is the most wonderful thing about my life.
>> Dr. Jessica Peck: I love that you say that. And it's such a good but God story. He wanted to be a doctor, but God gave you a different path. And what I found, Charlie, is that God's visions are so much different than ours. His thoughts are higher than our thoughts, his ways are higher than our ways, and his plans are so much, infinitely better than whatever we could dream up on our own. And it has been. I have never. I have yet to talk to somebody who said God called me to this and, wow, it's really been terrible. It's always when you're walking with the Lord, he blesses that path. Not to say that life is easy and everything goes perfectly, but you have. You can have such a confidence in that kingdom perspective that you have. And you had two sons and now they work with you. What is it like being in business with your sons?
>> Charlie Lewis: Well, it's actually, Jessica, it's actually a little different about, probably over 15 years ago now. I was at a place where things were happening in our life and in business and. And we were doing well. God had really blessed. And the Lord said, I want you to turn your business over to your sons. And I said. I said, okay, Lord, we'll start that process and we'll make that happen, and we'll do a graduated. I'll talk with the attorneys and the CPAs, and I'll get all that in place. And the Lord said, no, you didn't hear what I was saying. I want you to turn it over to them. And I said, whoa, now, that's. That's kind of different, Lord, you know. And, I prayed about it. And Fran and I prayed about it and we basically turned everything over to our sons about 15 years ago. And the attorneys and the accountants just went bonkers. They said, you can't do that. That won't work. And, And I said, well, you know, if God's God and if that's what he's told me to do, and I have imparted, that understanding and that relationship to my sons, that I don't have to worry about it. It'll be up to them and up to God and they hear and they recognize the voice of God and they respond. And it has just been an amazing journey. They are so good and so, so they take better care of us than we would. You know that.
>> Dr. Jessica Peck: What a blessing. What a blessing, Charlie, to have that now. Three generations of legacy in a family business. And I know that can be such a blessing. Like you're describing, it can also be really difficult. I know there are other families who think that has not been my experience, but Charlie, I would draw my listeners to recognize the common thread in your testimony of just your total dependence on God and your obedience and submission to God's will in your life. Walking and hearing the Lord's voice and then moving to action when he calls you to that. And this is the way, the not the way to have a perfect life with no problems, but this is the way to walk with confidence and knowing that you can rest assured and a God who loves you and takes care of you.
Charlie has written three books about the kingdom system of governance
So I would love for you to give us an introduction to your books. This is actually a series of three books. They're called the Kingdom System, Kingdomnomics and Kingdom Deployment. And it. That one is releasing in this month and you can actually buy them as a set. But tell us about this Kingdom mindset, Charlie.
>> Charlie Lewis: Well, it's. It's an interesting, journey. It's been an interesting journey. The, the set is actually called God's Redemptive Plan for Governance because, when I was being drawn to, the kingdom, I was led to, go to the scripture and read everything that God said when he was on the earth in the person of Jesus Christ. And it was at a time in business where I was working 18, sometimes 20 hours a day and things had begun to happen that were not bad, but they didn't make sense. And I had been successful in business and still am, but I had, I had a, understanding of how things were supposed to work and it just wasn't happening. And so I, I just being a type A. I tried a lot of different things, some amazing things that God abled me, enabled me to do. But then he takes me and says, I want you to read everything I said it and you know, our, our, our God and our friend has a sense of humor. Thank God.
>> Dr. Jessica Peck: Yes, for sure.
>> Charlie Lewis: And, and me being, who I am, I'm busy. I said, I know God. I know the stuff in red. I can get a red letter and I can do the stuff in red and I, I can just see now as I did after I got away from that God just laughed, snickered. Yeah, the stuff red. And so I.
>> Dr. Jessica Peck: Well, I'm going to hold you right there, Charlie. I want to hear the rest of the story where we're already on our first break. We'll be talking more about Charlie's call to look at this kingdom system of governance and really redefining what we view as success to stop our earthly pursuer of success and to shift our mindset to look at God and eternity. And people today are so desperate, desperate to find their purpose and meaning. We're going to share some insight on how Charlie has found his when we come back. Don't go away. I'll see you on the other side of this break.
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>> Dr. Jessica Peck: Praise the one who set me free. Hallelujah. Death has lost its grip on me. You have broken every chain this salvation in your name. Jesus Christ, my living hope Welcome back friends. That is Living Hope by Phil Wickham. It is definitely, probably in my top 10 list of songs. Yes, I know my top 10 list is really about 157 songs, but I remember the first time I ever heard that song. I was serving as a volunteer camp nurse for a high school camp and had been talking with a bunch of high school kids who were going through some stuff. It's really hard to be a teenager in today's world and just looking for hope. And I can tell you I can prescribe no better hope than the hope that is found in the good news of Jesus Christ. Christ. So to hear those students singing that the King of kings calls me his own, oh my goodness, that gives me chills. That is the hope that we are sharing today. And we are doing that through the message that God has given. Charlie Lewis. He is the author of a new series of books. The first one, what we're talking about is Kingdom System. He's also author of Kingdomnomics and Kingdom Deployment. He's been sharing his story of being a very successful businessman, married for almost 58 years, having two sons, giving his business to his sons to 15 years ago and really God has called him and give him a vision for the kingdom way of governance and the kingdom way of doing things. So Charlie, before the break when we were so rudely interrupted by our radio, we you were talking about reading God's word and looking at the red letters and about the conversation that God had to call you in a new direction. So I'm going to let you pick it up and finish your story.
>> Charlie Lewis: Well, thank you, Jessica. As I was saying, I, was drawn to read everything that God said when he was on the earth in the person of Jesus Christ. And I was really busy. I didn't, I didn't have that time to give. I didn't think. But I did it. And, and so I read it. And when I got through, I was, talking and, and communicating with the Lord again. And, and I said, well, Lord, I've read it. And he said, there was a silence. And that's always, the deafening silence. I, I said, oh, something's not right here. And he said, no, Charlie, you didn't read it. And I said, now wait a minute, Lord. I said, that bothers me because I know you know that I, in fact did read it. And he said, no, you read it with your religious mind. You didn't read it with an open spirit to hear what my spirit wants to say to your spirit. And I was crushed. I actually wept. And for days, I would think about it and just, just weep because I realized what I had done. So I said, okay, I'll go back. When I was a young believer, I, I really seeking the Lord. I'd read a good bit of Watchman Knee, and I'd read his, the most of his Spiritual man, those three volumes. And I understood what God was saying. You're doing it with your mind, your emotion, your feeling, your intellect. You're not doing it with your spirit. So I repented and I asked the Lord to forgive me. And I went back and read it all again. And it took me months. And when I got back to another time after completion, I said, okay, God, I've done it, and I've done it listening. But I want to be told I'm totally candid, Lord. I don't have a clue what you wanted me to see there. I don't know what you were trying to say to me through the reading of those scriptures. And he said, well. I said, well, I, I quite honestly, I was really pretty surprised about what you did and what you taught on the earth. I said, you didn't teach most of the things that I've been taught in church. You taught something totally different. And he said, what was that? I said, you taught the kingdom of God. That was the central theme and the primary message of everything that you did and taught when you were on the earth. And he said, right. And I said, well, now, is that what you want me to. To Know and to understand. He said, yes. And so I said, lord, I. I'm a Westerner. We don't have those kind of kingdoms. And I'm not really sure what you're talking about. He said, you, as a successful businessman, what do you do when you need to know something? I said, well, I research everything that's available. He said, that's what I want you to do. Research the scripture and find out what you're taught, what I'm talking about. So that was the journey I went on. And when I got to, Daniel, the second chapter in the 44th verse, and Daniel began to interpret Nebuchadnezzar's dream. And he describes all these successive kingdoms. And he said, when these kings are on the earth and at last kingdom, God is going to establish, set up, not establish. He's going to set up his kingdom on the earth. And he said some amazing things. He said, it'll never be destroyed. It'll never be occupied. it will continue to grow. It will grow forever. It is an eternal kingdom. And then he said something that really pricked my. My interest. He said, it will smash all these other kingdoms into nothingness. I said, God, what are you talking about, kingdoms? And I, I look, and he was talking about government. He was talking about Babylon, the Meads, the Persians, the Greeks and the Romans. And then he said he would set up his government on the earth. And I said, lord, are you talking about government? He immediately took me to Isaiah, nine, where he said, when the child comes, when the Messiah, Yeshua comes, the government will be on his shoulders. And I said, so are you telling me that the kingdom of God is the government of heaven that you delivered to the earth for me to engage in my situation, my circumstances and my relationships to impact and to direct the outcomes? And he said, yes. And I said, lord, that's a game changer. I've been walking this way a pretty good while. And why have I never heard of this? Why. Why do I not know about your kingdom being the government that I can engage on the earth to impact my life? And he said, well, that's what I want you to teach. I said, that's what you want me to understand and teach? Is that your kingdom, your government is on the earth, and it comes with all of its power, all of its authority, all of its dominion, all of its victory and all of its joy? And he said, yes. So that's how my journey began, to understand the kingdom system.
Charlie says going to God's Word transforms your daily life
>> Dr. Jessica Peck: It's fascinating to hear you talk, Charlie, to hear you recount your dialogue with God so naturally, just like you're talking to another person. And I think there are people listening who think, yeah, that's how it is with me and people who are thinking, I want that. But one of the most important things that you keep sharing with us that you did, is going to God's Word. And that's how we start to hear his voice. Because when we read His Word and we know his, we know his character, we know his attributes, and we start to know what his voice sounds like. And that's how we start to hear it in our life. It's by going to God's Word. And you write that God created and designed the kingdom to work for our good. How does this transform, how did this transform your daily life? And how does it transform the daily life for every single believer who's listening?
>> Charlie Lewis: Well, Jessica, we miss a lot of what, if you don't understand the kingdom and the kingdom paradigm, you miss the, the just. And the main, thing that we're supposed to receive from Scripture, because it is the theme. I actually say, from COVID to cover. The scripture is a book about two kingdoms, one king, one who wants to be king, and the epic battle for humanity. The kingdoms are the thread that runs through everything that's written. But it goes more than that. If it's government, then how does that apply to what we're talking about? And in Matthew 6 where the Lord talks and he says all the things about, living our lives, not in pursuit of things, but in pursuit of outcomes. And I know we'll talk a little bit more about that later. But he says two things in that Matthew 6 and 33 that I have always missed. He said, seek first my kingdom, which means my government, my rule, my jurisdiction, my authority, my ability to live on the earth, and that government. And then he says, and my righteousness. Some, translations say, ah, my way of doing and being right. Well the Lord said, charlie, here's where the disconnect happens in most of our lives. what Jesus was describing then was the kingdom paradigm. Because a, ah, paradigm is the ideas, the assumptions and the beliefs that we accept and they create our understanding of our world and how it operates. That's a paradigm. So what had happened in my life, I had been a believer for years, but I would, I entered the kingdom and got access to all of those things that God provided, but I was trying to engage them using the world paradigm. I still did business the way the world does business. But what you find out his way of doing and being right. His ideas, his assumptions and his beliefs are different than the world paradigm. And so many people, they believe, the religious paradigm. Well, when I began to really read it, I was saying to the Lord, I said, lord, that doesn't sound very religious to me. He said, good, because I'm not religious. And I said, wait a minute. So if you can read, John 4, the lady at the well, and you believe God is religious, then, then you're reading something different than I read. Because here Jesus, purposely, intentionally and all with direct, like shooting an arrow, he went to find that woman. And first of all, that violated all of the religious principles he had been taught. She was a woman, she was a Samaritan, and she was a lady of questions. She didn't have a real good reputation yet. Jesus, began the conversation by saying, I'm come to give you life, to give you living water that will change your life and give you a new relationship and a new paradigm to live your life. So I said, well, Lord God, if it's not religious, is it the church paradigm? He said, no, the church is not the kingdom. It's two different things in scripture. He mentioned the kingdom more than 125 times. He mentioned the ecclesia, three times. So just by reference, that's pretty important to him. So I said, lord, if that's important to you, it's important to me. I want to know what you're telling me. I want to know what I'm supposed to get out of that. And he said, I'm not religious. I'm relational. And he said, the scriptures, they're not religious, they're relational. And I said, well, you're talking about government. He said, yeah, the scriptures are the values, the principles and the established precedents that we agree to use to govern ourselves. It's about government. And I said, well, now, what does that mean? If you take that word that we translate, testament or covenant, if you extend out, it's other, it's a constitution. So the scriptures are our governing agreement with the governor of heaven. And it's a different paradigm than we've been taught. And if we're going to live in the, and all that that provides, we have to adapt and adopt that paradigm. That's the game changer.
>> Dr. Jessica Peck: You know, I think a lot of people would think, okay, yeah, we, we would be comfortable as believers saying that we're citizens of heaven. We're, we're not citizen of an early kingdom. We're going to live in a heavenly kingdom one Day far off in the future when we die. You know, all of these things that happen in the future will live in that kingdom of God. But you're really talking about saying that, hey, God has given us this kingdom. Now you can start living it now. And you draw parallels in your book between God's creation of physical systems and the creation of life and the kingdom. So how. How do we, you know, take this abstract idea that we have? And. And you're right in talking about religion being very ritualistic. You know, you can be very religious and still not know the Lord. And. And you're talking about, really, a living, breathing, working faith and an active kingdom that's here and now. So how do we. How do we begin to even walk that out?
>> Charlie Lewis: Well, Zig Ziglar always said, you can't hit a target. You can't see. So you have to know that. That there is a plan, there is a provision, and that it's good. And the Lord said that it. It was for hope and for a future. So what is that, Lord, and how do I engage that? And the way you really do it is through relationship. relationship requires fellowship. Fellowship requires time spent together. You can't have relationship any other way. And time spent together requires that you give the time. I've had people say to me, charlie, God just doesn't speak to me. And I said, really? And they would say, yes. And I would say, okay, how much time do you spend with him? And it was always a blank look. And they said, not much. I said, you can't have a relationship with somebody you don't spend time with. So how do you spend time with it? Fran And I, after 58 years, she doesn't have to tell me what she's thinking or what she wants. And that happened very early in our. In our marriage because our spirits are tuned together, and we fellowship spirit to spirit and breath to breathe. I hear what she says. She can walk in a room and be 100 yards from me, and I can see her face. And I know if everything's all right or not, because I've spent time with her. I, fellowship with her. I don't have to make it. the difficulty with religion sometimes is we make that. We feel like we got to go somewhere and get in a closet, lock everything out. And that's how you get that, right, Charlie?
>> Dr. Jessica Peck: Here we are, already at our second break. Listen, don't go away. We'll be back with more from Charlie Lewis, author of the Kingdom System Kingdomnomics, Kingdom Deployment. And when we come Back we'll talk some more about practical application. What does this mean to you today? We'll have that answer when we come back.
Here's Dr. Ligon Duncan from the American Family Studios documentary the God who Speaks. I think the most striking thing to me about the Bible is that it not only reveals God to me, it is God speaking to us, revealing himself to us, but in the process of teaching us about himself, he reveals so much about who we are. I also, I often tell people that one of the ways that I know that the Bible is true is the way that it diagnoses my sin. I'm often reading through a passage and I'm thinking this was written 3,000 years ago and yet it perfectly diagnoses the state of the sin of my heart. The only way that can happen is if my creator is actually the author of the book. Visit thegodwhospeaks.org it. But I know what you done.
>> Dr. Jessica Peck: I'm fighting. Welcome back, friends. That song is also in my top 10. You've already won by Shane and Shane. It's such a great reminder when we feel like we're struggling in the world today, that God has already won the war. And we may be fighting in these battles, but ultimately we know the outcome. And here today to lift our eyes to a kingdom perspective is Charlie Lewis. He is an author. He's a seasoned, very successful businessman. He's an expository teacher of scripture. He's been to more than 60 countries. Six, zero. That's 60 countries sharing the transformative power of God's kingdom. And this kingdom comes and you explain it in a paradigm, Charlie. So explain to us the paradigm of God's kingdom.
>> Charlie Lewis: Okay, well, scripture is so full of the paradigm. but if we don't know that they're there and it's, it's. Maybe you have had this experience that I've had. I, would, I would be reading scripture and I would see something in there and I would say, wait a minute, when did you put that in there? I've read this before and I didn't see that. But when we learn to listen to the voice of God and to see with the eyes of the spirit and hear with years that, you know, eyes to see and ears to hear both come from the Lord. But when we get that relationship where we're listening to the voice of God, then we can hear what God is saying and we know to look for it because it's almost totally different. just a couple things, that, that I have used and I've Taught all over the world. I teach about giving and. And, you know, that's so big in so many people's eyes. But I said, giving precedes receiving. So in the kingdom, you give and then you get. And it tells you exactly how. Good measure that means a lot. Pressed down, shaken together, tightly packed together shall men give to your bosom. For with the same measure that you give, the same measure you receive. The Lord said to me clearly one day, he said, if your earning plan is not to fulfill your giving plan, then you're operating in the wrong kingdom.
>> Dr. Jessica Peck: That's pretty. That's pretty revolutionary right there. I don't think most business people think that way, Charlie.
>> Charlie Lewis: No, we don't. I didn't. And so my business had to change. You see, the difficulty with so many in church is they go looking. God has created that desire for that kingdom relationship and to live in that kingdom paradigm. And we're looking for that. We're looking for that in our church experience. We're looking for a church that teaches, the kingdom of God and teaches what God taught in the paradigm of how you live that way. And the Lord said. A, friend said, you know, he just really didn't enjoy church. So I went to the Lord. I said, what is he saying? He said, charlie, he's looking for a kingdom church, and all he can seem to find is a church kingdom. And he said, those are two different things. So I'm. I'm listening and I'm thinking about giving, and I'm saying, lord, okay, so giving, is supposed to. There's supposed to be a plan that comes before my earning. Is that what you're saying to me? And he said, yes. He said, I. In the paradigm that I teach you is that you give, you hear. Well, you don't just give arbitrarily. You don't just give, to be giving. You give. You hear the voice of God. I was so, There are people in the faith that are like heroes, to me and, and to you. I, I, hope and believe too. But Pat Robinson was always a special friend. And I served on the board at Regent, University. And I got to spend a lot of time with him and have meals and all. One day we were at a place and they were really honoring him for what he had done and all this stuff. And he leaned over to me and he said, charlie, I don't get this. And I said, what is it you don't get? He said, I don't get what they're doing. What they, they're saying about me, he said, because all I am is a man who learned to hear and recognize the voice of God, to listen to what he said and do what he told me to do. And if you ever visit Regent University in those places, they're magnificent. He was a man of excellence. And God was saying the same to me. You have to hear and recognize my voice. You alluded to it, Jessica. He said, we hear and we recognize the voice of the Good Shepherd. We hear and we know our Father's voice and the voice of a stranger we will not follow. And the way that happens isn't God can do things any way he wants. But the pattern that I've seen is that we spend time with him just like we do with our family, our friends, and we develop a relationship where it is natural, it just comes. And we learn to hear and we learn to respond to what he tells us to do.
How do you define success in God's kingdom? Because you are a successful businessman
And it will totally revolutionize, one, one more paradigm here, in Matthew 6 again, where he said, don't lay up for yourself treasures where things were the rust and moths and everything corrupt. But, you know, this is where you then put me first. So I said, oh, Lord, how do I say that? He said, our lives are not to be asset based and time driven in the pursuit of income. Our lives are to be lived in, purpose based, eternity driven and in the pursuit of outcomes. That's the kingdom paradigm. And success is measured by that doesn't matter what you have, because all the things that we have here are not going to transcend it. They won't go with us to our forever hereafter, but our forever hereafter is going to be a long time. And we want to lay up things that translate and transfer with us.
>> Dr. Jessica Peck: Well, it really, you're describing an upside down kingdom, which is how I've heard it referred to before, because it just is opposite to everything that we think. I think about the pursuit of the American dream, which is not bad in every sense at all. But if it is your sole purpose in life, I think about families who are driven for success today. They want their kids to be academically successful, they want them to be successful in sports. And measures of success are the kind of house that you have, the kind of vacations that you take, the kind of job that you have. And we look at these measures of success and there are probably a lot of families who are Christian families who would not say, like, oh, that's my measure of success. But if you look at their credit card statement, if you look at their calendar, where they're spending their time and their money. Those are their parameters of success. And so how do you define success, Charlie? Because you are a very successful businessman by the world's standards. But how do you define success in God's kingdom?
>> Charlie Lewis: Success is a relationship with the living God. If, you know, we have to understand, his way of doing and being right, his paradigm and living by that. And it's not the pursuit of temporary things that are confined to this planet. Those things are good. And God didn't say anything bad about him. He said, if you'll see my kingdom, my government and my paradigm, my ideas and my assumptions, and he said, then all those things are going to be added to you. I will have to tell you, just candidly, Jessica, we are blessed with things. I mean, we have homes, we have airplanes, we have boats, we have all that stuff. But I can honestly say before the Lord, I've never gone after one of them for anything except to advantage my family and to service my business so I can service other people. People when, and that's what Jesus began In, in Matthew 6, he said, Your motivation, why do you do it? He said, like he had told Nicodemus, he said, things from the earth produce the earth results. Things from the heavenly realm produce the heavenly realm. So if all we do is pursue things on the earthly realm, he said three times in that passage, he said, then you've got all the rewards you're going to get. Your Heavenly Father is not going to give you any. And see, we're in that relationship to be in that right relationship with our Heavenly Father. And when we have that, we put him first. And, and, and the two things that he said is love him and love your neighbor, love other people. And when you do that and pursue his way of doing and being right, things come to you. You can't, you can't out give God.
>> Dr. Jessica Peck: It's so true. Because our Father loves to give good gifts to those who ask. Right? That's what we're told in scripture. And so learning to talk with God and to ask him for those blessings, you know, I, I, it is, I think about, I mean, I grew up in church singing that seek ye first the kingdom of God. But you, when you just said, and all these things will be added to you, that's just an outpouring of blessing, but it's upside down because that's not what we're pursuing exactly like you're saying. And I think, Charlie, there's a lot of people who may be listening, who feel like, okay, I get the concept, like, I want this, I want to pursue God's kingdom. But they really feel disconnected from that. And they feel like, how is this? How does that really translate to my everyday life? Yeah, I hear what you're saying. How does that really translate? Where do I even see start?
>> Charlie Lewis: Well, there's a lot of places to start. The first, everything that comes through the kingdom of God begins with a relationship with God. Jesus told Nicodemus, he said, my kingdom you cannot even see, comprehend, or understand unless you are born again. You have to begin this whole relationship with redemption. This is a redemptive. That's why the series is entitled, God's Redemptive Plan for Governance. How We Live Our Lives. So we begin with that. And once you begin with that, then as you spend time with him and renew your mind, what did it say? Be not conformed, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind by the washing of the Word, of the Word. And another way of saying that is that, he said, don't think like the world thinks, but think like I think. And that will change your outcomes. Because what we're really pursuing is outcomes.
>> Dr. Jessica Peck: It's so true. And, you're. You're quoting from Romans 12, which is such a great, powerful chapter of Scripture. And I think of also Psalm 37:4. Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. And the, the twist in that, though, the upside down part is that you. Okay, well, I want this. So let me delight myself in the world, in the Lord, but that's not how the Lord works. You delight yourself in the Lord, and he changes the desires of your heart. He changes the things that you want. He aligns your desires to his desires for your life. And I think you can only do that by really going into God's Word. That's where you start, is just start reading God's Word. Start with the Book of John. If you haven't picked up a Bible in a long time, start with the Book of John. If you want to read Psalms, read Proverbs, read Romans. Those are great ways to start. And just pray before you read. And ask God to speak to you through His Word. It is his love letter preserved for you. And Charlie, we've been doing a, series called Worldview Wednesday, and our upcoming episode that we have with Josh Mulvihill. We're really going to dive into the authority of Scripture and how miraculous it is that this book was preserved so perfectly. Over time, it's absolutely incredible. So I want to know, as we're wrapping our time up together here, Charlie, what do you hope that people who read this book, what do you hope that they will take away from it? How do you hope that it will change their perspective and give them, equip them and encourage them to face their, daily life with a new Kingdom perspective?
>> Charlie Lewis: Well, I, my prayer is that it will teach them that God has an amazing plan for their life and he has plans that are good for them. And the scripture is full of that. What we have to do is to seek and to get into that relationship where we in fact can know, and we can know what his will and his plan is for our life and the paradigm that we're supposed to live. Because, one thing I would say too, Jessica, if, if you want to send people to, our website, charlielewis.net we have on there a, a something they can download that is, called Kingdom Activating Declarations. And they can download it for free. If they want a copy, there's put on there how that they can in fact, get, that through us. So Kingdom Activating Declarations, it doesn't cost them anything. And I have people all over the world who tell me about that and who really use that to help them establish that relationship so that it is a Kingdom relationship.
>> Dr. Jessica Peck: And that's at charlielewis.net I'm on it right now and looking at it. Go to charlielewis.net again. This is a series of three books, the Kingdom System, Kingdomnomics, and Kingdom Deployment. And I just thank you so much, Charlie, for joining us and for sharing with us the work that God has done in your life and the wisdom that he has given you as a businessman, as an author, as an entrepreneur, as a father, as a husband. I just thank you so much for that. This is such an important topic and looking at how God has designed us to each live joyful and victorious and successful lives. And as Charlie says, as we look around the world today, it seems very few people are describing their life this way, even among people of faith. Why is this happening? What keeps us from experiencing the power and triumph that Jesus said and scriptures declare would mark his followers? And the key lies hidden in plain sight. And Charlie is sharing that in his books. Listen, I pray the Lord will bless you and keep you and make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you. I challenge you to pursue a Kingdom perspective. And hey, we'll see you right back here tomorrow. For Ask Doctor, Nurse, Mama. Friday I'll be talking about this week's Healthy Habit and Mother's Day. I'll see you then. Jeff Chamblee The views and opinions expressed in this broadcast may not necessarily reflect those of the American Family association or American Family Radio.
