Ben Stuart & The Rhythms Of A Well-Fought Life
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It's Live in the Bream with host of Fox News at Night, Shannon Bream. This week on Live in the Bream, we have got somebody who I've had the privilege to go to his church, Passion City Church in D.C., hear him speak and give the word. It was full of meat. It was challenging. He's got a book now that will allow you to get the same message and the same encouragement. We're so excited to welcome author and pastor Ben Stewart to Live in the Bream.

Thank you, Shannon. It's great to be here with you. So the brand new book is Rest and War, Rhythms of a Well-Fought Life. And so a lot of people, they're going to look at that title and say, okay, what the heck does this mean? Rest and War? Yes. Well, it is a field guide to the spiritual life is what I tell people. I just have encountered so many people.

people that are experiencing, they don't feel like they're flourishing as human beings. And there's something about modern life that is not allowing us to do that. So in the safest time to live as human beings, we,

Relatively speaking in history, we feel filled with anxiety and anger and addiction and distraction. And so this book is an attempt to help people understand it feels like a battle spiritually because it is. And yet it's a battle in which our king has died.

the decisive victory and because he's been victorious, we can too. And so what does it look like if the spiritual life's a struggle? How do we struggle well? And so this book's about trying to figure that out. The rhythms of rest and war is kind of where we're headed. Well, I love that one of the earliest illustrations you have in the book, you talk about prisoners being set free and handed a sword. Yeah.

So we're not set free to just be like, okay, now I'm just going to lounge around and eat grapes and sit in the hot tub. I mean, we're set free from, if you're a Christian, if you're a believer, what you view as the change of sin and the oppression of that in your life, it can make you totally miserable, whether it's addiction or messed up relationships, whatever you're fighting against. So you are set free from that if you accept what Christ has done for you, but it's set free to go fight. Explain that.

Yeah. Well, there's a great story in the Old Testament, you know, when King David, you know, the nation of Israel, the Philistines had encroached attacking on their territory. The Israelites were cowering in fear until David stepped out, fights Goliath on their behalf. And when they watch him victorious, they shout the war cry and drive the Philistines out of there.

And for me, spiritually, I think it's the same for us. When we see Jesus, the son of David fight for us on the cross, that's what he's doing spiritually. It frees us up to go, you know, I can drive fear and lust and pride out of my life, but I find many people experience that when they,

come to faith or pursue God. They just thought, man, I just thought some of these addictions would go away. I thought some of these temptations would, and they're so discouraged by the struggle. And that's where those lines came from. You were talking about saying, no, you've been set free, but set free for the fight, not from the fight. I mean, before you were just a victim. Now you have a chance to be a victor. And C.S. Lewis said it, Christianity is the story of the true king has come

And he is inviting us all to take part in his great campaign of sabotage. And that's what it is. It's people who are being equipped to struggle. Well, the penalty of sin is gone. There's no condemnation, but there's a process now of breaking the power of that canceled sin in our lives. And, and there's strategies we can employ. And there's,

ground to be gained. And for me, that's an encouraging thought. I'm not doomed by my struggles. I can have progress in the struggle. Right. And the struggle actually means you are making progress. I've got the book all marked up and I just, I have this one that I want to read that I have that I started. It says the spiritually dead do not struggle with sin. Your struggles far from being a sign of your spiritual death are in fact, just the opposite. Your struggle may be one of your greatest assurances that you are alive. Mm-hmm.

Yeah, I think if you're spiritually dead, you're not aware that there's a spiritual battle in the world, externally and internally. But I talk to so many people that the fact that they...

just keep struggling with some addiction or discouragement. They go, man, I wonder if God really loves me. I wonder if he really cares. Like, Hey, the fact that you're struggling, the fact that you want to move forward, that's a sign he's working in you. You may have some bad strategies you're deploying, but, but this is a fact that you're alive. Now we just got to figure out how to struggle well. But I think for many of them, the encouragement will come with knowing, man, the best fighters are the people who know they've been fought for that. Hey, God fought for me. Jesus loves me. He's not shaming me.

And for so many people I've encountered, shame keeps them from strategizing. And once you can get that shame out of the way, no, I'm loved. Then you go, oh, okay, then...

Let me come up with a strategy of how I can walk out by the power of God from some of these besetting sins and discouragements into a life of persistent, though imperfect progress. And I think the struggle is, yeah, assign your life. Now let's just figure out how to struggle. Well, let's not beat ourselves up, but let's beat up some sin in our life. Talking with author and pastor Ben Stewart, the book is Rest and War, Rhythms of a Well-Fought Life. Yeah.

You talk about knowing that you've been fought for and what you believe is so important as you move forward. Another line from the book, we need to charge forward with our new identity and mission. So how does that equip us to get into the fray? Yeah, you know, it's interesting. I remember reading a book a long time ago about Spartans and why they were so victorious in battle. And there's much to not emulate in the Spartan culture.

But one of the reasons they fought so bravely is their king didn't hang in the back. Their king went first. And when they watched him risk his life for them, they were like, we're going with that guy. If he's willing to risk his life for us, then we're running out with him. And for the Christian, I think it's enormously settling internally to see that

man, Jesus fought for me that he loves me. And once I realized that, that I'm valued, then I'm not fighting for acceptance. I'm fighting from it. I think a lot of people, if we look at what motivates us to do what we do, say what we say is that I'm desperate for acceptance. But if I can realize, no, you have that there's a piece that settles in. And I think it's fascinating, you know, in the book of James, um,

when he's talking to us about how temptation works in our life, he's talking about kind of how to avoid it in certain ways. But then he says, don't be deceived. He says upstream from every addiction and temptation is deception. And what's the deception? He says, don't be deceived. Every good and perfect gift comes down from your father above. He's saying the lie that launches all these sins in our lives, the lie that God's not a good dad. He doesn't care for you. He doesn't love you.

That's where it started in Genesis. If the serpent can convince Eve that God doesn't have her best interest in heart, then she will go to many deceptive streams looking for life. And so it's important to start the fight there. I know I'm loved because the things of earth grow strangely dim in the light of his glory and grace. We got to look at him if we want hope. Yeah, that's such a great shift in perception. You're not fighting for acceptance. You're fighting from acceptance. I feel like if we could really get that in our bones, it's,

It would change the way that we strive, that we view relationships, that we view our place in the world, what we're after and looking for just something to validate us.

When we've already been validated by the greatest being to ever exist. If you are a person of faith, one of the first things you did was say, write out first Timothy 416. So I actually wrote it in the margins of the book right there. So I have it. It says, watch your life and doctrine closely persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers. What's that about?

Yeah, I love it because it's the Apostle Paul talking to young Timothy and he's saying, be a student of your doctrine. Know what you believe, Timothy, like learn about the God who made you and how the world works. But then he says, be a student of you, like watch yourself. You are in charge of guiding your own life. So be a student of you and watch.

If we all struggle, how does it get you? What are the particular tactics the enemy deploys to discourage you, dishearten you? What are things you need to do to come alive? And so I think there's a freedom. If you can get past the shame in life to just go, no, let me strategize. We'll be a student of you and go, all right, if all of us are tempted, where does the enemy get me? What lies do I believe? Um,

What sad broken places do I go to escape intolerable feelings? Well, okay. What's the path that leads me there? How do I walk back off that path? How do I back away from the insanity and make different choices? And I think it starts by being a good student of yourself. Yeah. And you talk in that next section to really look and resist your first impulses. If you've figured out that they're going to lead you to a tough place.

and really being able to backtrack from that horrible hole that you end up in sometimes with what got you there because it isn't just like you look up one day and say, I want my life to be miserable and controlled by something that is destructive to me or to my family or to people that I love. You say it's easier to resist the river of temptation when it's a tiny stream

not a raging waterfall. You got to keep way ahead of temptation. And obviously you talk about how the enemy, you know, knows what your weak points are, going to look for them. So we got to know them for ourselves and make decisions 10 steps before we get there.

Yeah. You know, you mentioned we were talking earlier about even the pandemic, you know, when it started for me, I thought like every good leader, I need to research and figure out all the data and discern the best thing. So first thing in the morning, I'm reading every article and every, and then I just realized, why am I anxious all the time? Why am I short with my children? Why is suddenly everyone's stupid and stressing me out? And I'm like, Oh, wait a minute. Just,

If I don't like the outcomes, let me analyze the inputs and be a student of me and going, starting with chaos first thing in the morning does not produce good outcomes in the life of Ben. So I can beat myself up or take it out on people or I go, let me switch strategies. And for me, I need quiet in the morning, cast my anxieties upon the Lord because he cares for me, the Bible says. And if I do that, then I can engage life from a place of peace.

of grace and kindness and preparation rather than reaction. And so I realized, Hey, I have to make some strategic adjustments. And when I do that, the Bible gives us that it gives us that roadway and Philippians four to do that. And once you become a student of yourself and sort of learn, Oh, let me make some tweaks. Then it becomes fun and you don't beat yourself up as much, but you go, let me,

Let me figure out how to struggle well so I can make progress. Yeah. And sometimes, and this re the pandemic really made that come home for me because I was having those days where I was like, Oh my goodness, this,

So many people are dying. So many people are losing their jobs. So many people feel isolated and depressed and terrible. And I thought, you know, I got to get up and report on this stuff every day and watch the markets crash another day. And just, it was so overwhelming. It reminded me people are struggling in so many different ways. We all have different burdens. We're all worried about ourselves, people we love, right?

our kids. And, and I, it just forced me to not look at my phone, to get out of bed and either get immediately on my knees or get in my Bible and in my journal and in my prayer and to really put on the armor and kind of get myself ready and in the right head space and

because the world was so overwhelming and we're now two years into this, we're going to our third calendar year. And I know a lot of people feel that way, but the other part of your book is you talk about resting. Like you gotta know what the battle is. You gotta be prepared for it. But I think a lot of people feel like, well, where's the time to rest? And am I not always on alert for the prowling lion that's coming after me? How does rest work into this part of the equation? Yeah.

Yeah, that's a great question. You know, I think it's beautiful to look at the rhythm of Jesus' life. I mean, you think about he had three years to launch a movement that would cover the globe. That's a pretty ambitious goal.

what was his strategy. And you see, he would enter the intensity of the city. I mean, you read at the beginning of the gospel of Mark, he ministers all day, preaches, heals. It goes into the night. It goes all night long. So he was okay with, you know, a lack of balance in a given day, but then he would retreat into the wilderness to sit with his father. And even more intentionally, he,

in seasons of intensity. So Jesus models this rhythm of into the city of intensity and then out into the wilderness of intimacy with his father. Like that was a sustaining pattern for him. And it's arrogance to think I don't need that. I mean, I remember early in my life, I ran a marathon and

probably the last six miles, I thought I'm just going to gut it out. I don't need to drink water. And I like fell over. I'm like, well, that was a pretty dumb strategy. Like efficiency requires that maintenance. And Jesus modeled that that's the way our bodies work. And what I found with leaders and ministers is everyone breaks and

And if you're not careful, some people break morally and that's really tragic or they'll break emotionally. Or for me, I broke physically. I just carried too much stress in my body for years and it caused some physical problems. And I realized that.

Hey, there's a, there's a tax to pushing yourself too hard. It's more strategic to periodically rest. You'll go further faster. So yeah, when people say they're too busy, I'm like, you might just be inefficient. You know, they say it in sharpshooting circles in the military, slow is smooth and smooth is fast. If you move too fast, you're going to be inefficient, miss a shot, have to

cost time. And for me, I've realized if I am slow and intentional, I'm actually more productive. Yeah.

Can you give us a practical look at that either in your life or advice or counsel you've given to others about finding that balance? Because everybody's got demands of their family, of their jobs, you know, feeling the demands of society and of social media and all the things that we pile on ourselves in 2022. How do we find those pockets of rest in a practical way?

Yeah, I think the mentality of being a student of yourself helps because then you can watch and tweak it. You know, I think of, you know, in Genesis, you see there's a problem in Genesis one. It's the earth is formless and void. It has no structure and no life. And in three days, God builds structure, sea, air and land. And then the next three day, he fills it all with life.

And then in Genesis two, he makes humanity in his image and he tells us cultivate, which is what do you do when you cultivate a garden? You structure it so that life can grow. And so for me, I'm like, this is a creation mandate from God. I have to structure my life in a way that anything alive under my influence flourishes, my, my wife, my children, my, my coworkers. But then it starts with me. How do I structure my day so that I'm,

maximizing my potential. And I know for me, if my children wake me up, I'm in reaction mode, everything goes sideways. So I'm like, for the sake of my children, I have to get up early and I fight for that, which means I have to go to bed earlier, which means for me, the margin shrink. And so there's a lot of things that used to be a part of my life, TV shows, movies that aren't anymore. But I go, no, I got to,

I got to steal away with the Lord early in the morning and then I can function and I can work. And, but boy, I'll tell you, you know, and you probably know this as much more than me. It is a fight to find rest as you get older and have more responsibilities. You go to war for that.

And so I found I'm most creative as a pastor. I write sermons. I'm most creative in the morning. So I turn my phone off, screens off. You can't find me. Don't look for me. I told my staff, don't text me. Like I got about 90 minutes in the morning where I'm going to write most of what I can write. And then in the afternoon, I'm not very creative, but I can listen. So as a pastor, I'm like, turn the pastoral button on. Let's go. So someone's like, I really need to ask you a question. Can we meet for breakfast? No, never. I will never meet you for breakfast.

That's not what I pastor. So I am pastoring, but I know the most efficient version of Ben structures his schedule for flourishing. So yeah.

Yeah, it sounds like it comes back to that self-awareness and being a student of yourself. Yes. It's going to help you figure out how to manage stress, temptation, all of those things that fray at us. We'll have more Live in the Bream in a moment. From the Fox News Podcasts Network, subscribe and listen to the Trey Gowdy Podcast. Former federal prosecutor and four-term U.S. congressman from South Carolina brings you a one-of-a-kind podcast. Subscribe and listen now by going to foxnewspodcasts.com.

I got to say, and again, we're talking to Ben Stewart. The book is West rest and war. I was going to combine them rest and war rhythms of a well-fought life. Um, just about navigating the world that we're in today and doing it well and having peace in the midst of that, which I think is what so many people are searching for desperately right now.

I got to say, when I visited your church and you guys are in D.C., so you have some special things with mandates that come and go and not being able to meet, being able to meet. You guys have been really faithful. I got to tell you, when I was at your church, I was blown away. It's packed.

amazing. And it's a very young crowd for the most part. I was like, I am like a great grandmother in here. No, great, great grandma. I'm like, this church is amazing, but everyone's 25. But I thought in the middle of this city that is so about ego and division in so many ways and one upping and all this stuff to see these young people packed in there, praising the Lord and

taking notes to the sermon, singing, fellowshipping together was a beautiful thing to see. It was super encouraging to me, even as the great, great, great, great grandmother of the gang who was there. And listen, I'm not dumb. My husband and I brought another couple our same age, so we wouldn't be the only great, great, great grandparents there. But this is at a time when a lot of surveys show us that young people are falling away from faith. They've lost faith.

interest and really confidence in church or organized religion. They don't feel like it applies to their life or it's a scam or it's meaningless, but they are clearly searching for meaning in life. We know that because we all are. So what can you tell us about the state of young people at your church, what you're seeing in ministry and what's helping them to connect to faith? Boy, that's a great question. Yeah. You know,

It was great before my wife and I moved to DC, we visited cities all over the US praying about where we were going to move. And I was so encouraged. I was like, "Everyone should do this. Travel America and pray over the major cities." Because in every single one, there were flourishing churches. And I'm like, "You know, you don't see this a lot or you don't hear this a lot, but the Word of God is alive and it's bringing people to life. This is happening."

What drew us to D.C. was this high concentration of young people. I mean, it's so energizing for me to be around them. And I mean, if you're a grandma, I'm in trouble, but I love it in there. Keeps me young to be around them. But I think you're right. They're looking for like every human being. I want a purpose and I want a people. I want to be a part of something bigger than me, worthy of my life. And I want to be a part of a community that loves me. And everyone's looking for that.

And the scriptures are endlessly interesting. There's something about them. Even if you don't believe that's the word of God, I do. But if someone doesn't, you go, well, how did this book survive the centuries? There's something to this that's compelling and interesting. And I think it's self-evidential when you read it. Man, this is not a normal book. And so I found I don't think I'm doing technique anything special. We are holding up the word of life. And you go, these are the words of God itself.

the God who made you and he's affirming you're beautiful in his image, but he is also affirming you are desperately broken in a mess. And yet God has done something about it. He loves you. And he has a purpose for your life. That's bigger than just making money or accumulating power for yourself. There's a bigger story you're invited into. And I think you're right. They're looking for authenticity. And I think it's there. I think the church has it. And I think they're finding it in our church. And, and,

I know I tell them all the time, I would go here. I love it here. I'm like, even if I didn't work here, I mean, it's inspiring to see what God is doing and I feel thrilled to be a part of it. And

You are welcome back anytime. Well, great grandma and her friends will come back. Maybe we can, we can be the next generation for so long. We were the kids, you know, and there comes a point where you need to be the mentors and the helpers and, um, you know, the sounding board for people who need it. So, um, we were so impressed and inspired by the church and,

And the book is Rest and War by Ben Stewart. It is such a great thing to think about that shift of you're not fighting for acceptance, you're fighting from it. What a comforting thought and a fantastic book. Thanks for joining us on Live in the Brain. Thank you, Shannon. Great to be here.

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