GCSES, A LEVELS, UNI, GET MARRIED, GET A DOG AND DIE. OR IS THERE ANOTHER OPTION? Feat. Samuel Mcgurk

When it comes to life we often are told, believe and live out as if there is only one lane, one path and one way of doing things! Especially when it comes to 'big' things of life.

In this podcast we explore the fact that there is more than one option, that you could be called to another country, you be called to celibacy, you could be called away from education and employment as opposed towards.

Maybe there is more than just the white picket fence that is so often presented, how can we know? Maybe you'll never know if you don't take a peek over, if you don't take a step to see what is on the other side!

Time Codes:

0:00 - Intro
1:51 - Samuel's story
8:53 - Providence over coincidence
11:14 - Instilling passion, following conviction
14:31 - Calling of God is context
17:20 - Ephesians 2:10
20:16 - Walking his will brings the clarity
25:42 - Samuel's wisdom and advice
28:39 - Things to think about when it comes to Gods will
31:23 - What one thing should you take away?
31:57 - Conclusion

Music by
Over the limits
Vernacolmusic

Chapters

• 0:00 Intro
• 1:51 Samuel's story
• 8:53 Providence over coincidence
• 11:14 Instilling passion, following conviction
• 14:31 Calling of God is context
• 17:20 Ephesians 2:10
• 20:16 Walking his will brings the clarity
• 25:42 Samuel's wisdom and advice
• 28:39 Things to think about when it comes to Gods will
• 31:23 What one thing should you take away?
• 31:57 Conclusion

Transcript

Wildfire podcast is an extension of Wildfire, which has a focus of igniting men and women of God into a deeper discipleship with Christ, instilling people with a passion to radically and relentlessly pursue Christ wherever that leads.

That God's truth will spread like a wildfire.

So, Samuel Mcgurk.

That's your name?

Yeah.

For those who do not know who you are, may you tell us?

because the people want to know, who is this person in front of us right now?

So, my name is Samuel.

It's actually strange because I'm back from Romania now, and in Romania, everyone calls me Shamu or Samuel.

But again, not Samuel in Northern Ireland.

Sorry.

Say that again, the Romanian name.

Shamu.

The Hungarian people call me Shamu.

Shamu.

Shamu.

Almost.

Okay.

Almost.

By almost, you mean not even close.

We're not moving on from this podcast.

I don't even care if it's 30 minutes of us trying to get this, Samuel.

Break it down slowly.

Shamu.

Shamu.

Yeah.

It's a bit of like a, like a Shamu.

A bit of an accent in there.

Quite Hungarian.

Ah, Shamu.

The Romanian people call me Shamu or Samu.

Shamu.

Shamu.

Shamu.

Yeah.

I'm never going to call you Samuel ever again.

Shamu, tell us a bit about you.

Yeah.

Well, I'm 20 years old, and I spent the last 10 months in Romania.

Yeah.

Oh, yeah.

That's the most notable thing to know about you.

I would say so.

What about prior to that?

How would you have described just Samuel Mcgurk prior to the advent of Shamu Mcgurk?

Well, I'm from the countryside in the north coast of Northern Ireland, and I went to Chorion Grammar School, and I loved school, and I loved life outside of school in Exodus, and I did gymnastics before this and played a bit of piano.

Yeah, and you did.

Where did you meet me?

On our first Exodus team in Exodus Chorion to Romania.

Ah, yes.

And yeah, well, those questions can come later, but yeah, you've already touched on it, but what specifically do you do now?

Give us the ins and the outs.

Yeah.

So for about the last two years, I've been interning with Exodus in firstly in their center in Chorion, and then I spent 10 months in their center in Romania.

And being an intern, it's a wee bit like being a volunteer, but learning alongside that.

And at the heart of what I did was, for me was learning how to serve God well.

And whether that was through the kids clubs or care for the elderly, or practical work or home visits or church services, it's a lot of what I've been doing the last two years.

I did my best to stand behind Exodus and I serve God well.

And in a month's time, I'm moving to Hungary for the future, I think, to work part-time with Exodus, almost on the other side.

So I did Exodus teams and now I'm on the other side planning them from Eastern Europe.

Yeah.

Shout out to Exodus.

We love Exodus here.

Me and you both, just amazing.

Oh, and then you were working in Northeast.

Yeah.

Which is Ethan Clark, Bruce Campbell.

I mean, it really doesn't get much better than those two Goldny mentor guys, like me and you both look up to them.

Yeah, amazing.

So, yeah, you, can you tell us sort of about how that transition happened?

Like, why did you make the decision to do what you're doing now?

Like you've got the Samuel Mcgurk that I knew the first time we did team together.

That was back whenever we were like 16, 17.

So take us through your own personal journey as to the Samuel that I met on that team, to the Samuel that we have now.

So if you're, you, Samuel Mcgurk now, Shamu Mcgurk, are talking to the Samuel Mcgurk at 16 on that team, would you be recognizing each other?

Would you say, no, that's like never going to happen.

Like what would that conversation be?

Tell us a bit about that journey to where you are now.

Yeah.

And was lots changed in my life, but I would say even before that, like growing up, like what's one thing that really convicted me was mission.

So even like in Sunday School, where you hear the missionary stories, the, they really stood out to me.

And like a small conviction started even from a young age to do mission, but didn't really know how it would come about.

But when I was, when I was 14, I really felt Romania was on my heart.

And then that's when I did my first excess team with you, Luke.

And, but even after I did the excess team, I wasn't so sure why I felt so strongly, like to go to Romania in the first place.

But I'm going to mention about the Book of Esther.

And because it's interesting in the Book of Esther, they don't mention God, but the writer writes about all these coincidences that happened.

And at the time, I felt like coincidences were happening in my life.

I looked back, it was, God was in it.

You know, so by the end of school, I had done my best.

I applied to university, it just happened.

I didn't get into university.

And I felt a lot of peace about interning with Exodus.

And then by the end of that year, just a strange turn of events, another coincidence, I was able to go to a month to Romania.

Looking back, I say coincidence, but obviously looking back, God's hand was in it.

And after my month in Romania, I never felt such a conviction about a group of people or a country.

And I decided to move my life there.

And like I was saying, looking back at Samuel 14, 15, he went to Romania for the first time.

I would have never seen myself doing mission or ministry.

There's been a long journey, but I'm doing right now, I'm doing mission and ministry.

So was like university on the cards for you, like GCSE, say that was uni, get a job.

Was that sort of the narrative that you'd always sort of been thinking?

Or was mission something that you always thought that was going to be like the permanent residency of your life?

Or maybe it was just, yeah, was it that was going to be the permanent residency?

It was just a matter of time?

Or was it, no, like I care about mission, but yeah, mission, like as it relates to the summer and then like there's job and mission is just going to be that like two, three weeks in a year type thing.

So which one was it for you?

Yeah.

Well, at the time, education was a really big priority for me.

I always wanted to go to university.

And like coming from someone who I spent last year in full time mission and ministry.

But before that, I would say I said no to more ministry.

I put education above that beforehand.

But at the time, I really thought I would go ahead and be a doctor, do medicine.

And I thought I still had it on my heart to do mission.

And I thought maybe go out and be a doctor in a foreign country or do mission.

But I always loved education and saw myself going on to university straight after school.

And maybe somewhere later on down the line would do a mission.

I never thought after school I'd go into ministry and mission.

Yeah, you wouldn't think that the sort of the narrative of your life could be entitled permanent mission.

Yeah, but rather the narrative of your life would be go to university, become a doctor, have that as your job.

And then you use that resource and skill set to do what other people usually do and go on mission teams.

But then all of a sudden that changed.

And yeah, you talked about how that was a conviction whenever you went on a month.

I love the way you said there about coincidences, but then you highlighted the Esther story and you were like, whenever we're reading that, it seems from our view and probably from their view, where there's two options, it's coincidence or it's providence.

And followers of Christ say that it's complete providence.

That is that the sovereign God stands over and above everything and that it is true in faith.

We say that he has a will for Samuel Mcgurk's life.

And so whenever that will is coming into fruition, it's not coincidence that is taking you through that.

It's the providence of God.

And you were seeing the providence of God play out in your life.

And you talked about that one month, and that time for you to go and to get a taste of what the Lord was calling you into.

And so can you sort of talk maybe more about what was sort of the thinking going through your head during that month?

It was like, obviously it was this evolution where you went out there and you probably weren't expecting to come back knowing that, no, this is something I need to do like on a permanent basis.

So maybe what was the evolution that was sort of starting to convince you about doing mission as like, again, that narrative of your life, permanent mission?

Yeah.

And it did feel very gradual for me.

And I like, I wrestled with it a lot that I wanted to go to university, kept trying, kept pushing the door many, many times.

But it was my first year out of education.

I had very little direction.

I didn't know where my life was going or what I was doing.

I really felt I stuck.

And I had really had no plan when I came home from Romania.

And when I finished my first year, I really had no idea what I would do.

And I felt that almost my eyes were closed or no opportunities.

I felt no opportunities or doors were opening for me.

So it was a real providence from God that even when I was in Romania, it was only as soon as I came home, when I looked back and I really felt a heart for the country.

And I knew that the following year I would go back.

I think for many it can seem like, for me personally, the idea of a life in Romania or Hungary is like, it seems very off-putting to me.

I'm like, I feel like I don't have this burning desire to go there.

You know what, that's okay, because it's not my burning desire to have, maybe.

But for you, you had, God was instilling in you this desire, this longing, this conviction, and this pull towards this.

So whenever it comes to the why you made the decision that you did to go and do missionary, it's because you had this passion and this heart and this motivation, this enthusiasm for it.

So, yeah, can you chat a bit more about that?

because sometimes we view mission as like, as a very costly thing and it's complete sacrifice.

I'm doing bunny rabbits right now, people.

It's complete like sacrifice.

And, but there's also a real element like, you want to do this.

Like you're passionate about this.

Like you love the people and the culture.

And that's not to diminish the surrender that's actually taking place there, but it is to hold these two intention.

So would you like to maybe speak in to a bit more about the, the surrender side of things, but also the passion and how those two work together and what you're doing, maybe how you view those, like is it sometimes more surrender or is it sometimes more passion or are they equally balanced?

Yeah.

Well, it's still funny to me how like the first time I went, it didn't really grab my heart, the country of Romania.

And even the second time I went, it was only the third time that I was felt really convicted about the country.

And sometimes there's times when I feel the cost of the sacrifice moving away.

Well, people ask me things like, do you not miss home?

Or what was it like leaving your family?

Or leaving your life in Northern Ireland, giving up a university?

But for me, it does come down to the conviction that I have.

And looking back at the minute, the sacrifices seem really small to me, because of the fulfilment and the conviction I have for the country.

And I remember when I was asked if I'd want to stay on and go to Hungary, you know, take a job, a place in Hungary.

And that felt more of a bigger deal.

I think, I do think if someone really loves a country, they could spend a year in it.

You know, they could take a gap year and spend time in it.

But for me, the next calling was to start working and start a job and almost start my life in Hungary, which is more costly.

But I do love, I love the people and the mission.

And that's what drives me.

So would you say, like what I'm getting from what you're saying is that the calling of God provided context for your surrender, and the calling of God provided the motivation for your surrender, and the calling of God provided the joy for you to then give your surrender.

And even in the surrendering of your life, because of who you're surrendering to, that was a joy.

Absolutely.

So it's this idea of like, number one, you were a sinner, and then you were saved by grace, but you were saved to serve.

It's like, okay, I'm saved.

I can be joyful for the rest of my life, but God's like, more than that, I now want to use you for you to have a life and a life to the full.

And a part of that life and having it to the full is for you to be used by others, and for you to step into the will I have for you.

And you're seeing that play out in your own life, where you're seeing the call of God in your life, and his will, and just to be a part of that, isn't it, wherever that takes you.

That's where my view lands as, like whenever I'm thinking about the will of God, wherever that takes me, even till death, to die for Christ, it is gain, as paul said in Philippians, because of who I'm dying for.

It's like anything I do for the king is class, whatever that will be, whether that be cleaning toilets or taking bins, we can so easily in our humanity create these arbitrary lines of what is important and what's not important and what's great for the kingdom and what's lowly for the kingdom.

And Jesus time and time again really flips that on its head as what we perceive as great and what we perceive as strength and wisdom.

And God's like, I'll use the foolish things of this world.

And it's the last will be first.

It's like everything's just being inverted.

And there's a verse in scripture, Romans 12.

In Romans 12, chapter 12, that is, it says, do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.

And it's important that we're not conformed to the patterns of this world.

And what they say, we can do.

And what they say, we should do.

When we're not called to take our cues from the world, we're called to take our cues from the god of this world.

And whenever you have that renewed mindset, it's almost like there's an abundance to life, and there's so much more variety, and so much more color to paint the canvas, which is our life.

So yeah, there's a verse that I do want to read, which is found in Ephesians 2.10, which I think is incredible.

I'll actually maybe get your take on it.

If that sounds good.

I'm maybe blindsiding you here, but we'll go with it.

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

So if you are looking at the words given to us by God there through the lens of your life, how do you sort of view that?

And I'll maybe allow you to hang on to that question.

I'll read it one more time.

You can sort of think through it.

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

I would say even over the last two years, I've really fallen in love with serving.

And even before that, I was much more focused on serving myself, and I still am, in some ways, but I've really enjoyed.

That's a really important investment to me, is serving others and serving God.

And that's something I couldn't say a few years ago.

And for me, what was more important was advancing my own portfolio and my own career.

But I've really, my heart has really changed to invest in the work of God, and God's kingdom and God's people.

And that's what's changed in my heart.

I've been made for good works.

See, I love that because you're looking at that through the lens of your life, and you're seeing and what's standing out to you is created in Christ Jesus for good works.

You're recognizing that you're created and your purpose is found in what the Creator has instilled in you.

And what the Creator has created you for is for good works.

And that is to actually do things.

And as you said, to invest in his kingdom and to invest in his people and the people of this world.

Yeah, I love that.

I just love that we're his workmanship.

That's insane.

You just need to look at yourself in the mirror and you derive your value, not from you yourself or your own identity or anything like that, because that's what the world's doing now.

And it's just, it's not going very well whenever you do it that way.

But whenever you look in the mirror and say that you're of infinite value because of who created you and whose workmanship you actually are, and then you recognize that you're created in Christ Jesus, the person of Jesus Christ who is God.

You're created in Christ Jesus for what purpose?

Good works, as you said, to invest in his kingdom, which God, the triune God, Father, Son and Spirit, prepared beforehand.

I don't know what that entails, but I think whenever it was just the eternal God, before anything existed, time, space, matter, God had prepared for us his will that we should walk in them.

So there's good works which God has prepared for us, and we're to walk in them.

And I think that's the important thing, that verb there, we're to walk in them.

Sometimes I think opportunity gets lost in deliberation, and we can almost get to in a spiral about what is the will of God for my life.

And we want to pinpoint it down, and then once we know it, walk in it.

Whereas here in scripture, it's like, no, God has good works for you, and you're to walk in them in what you do know.

And that is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, and to love people as He loved us.

And in everything, give thanks, for this is the will of God for your life, or to be holy.

This is the will of God for your life, or not to be conformed to this world, but be transformed through any of your mind.

This is the will of God for your life.

There are so many verses in scripture where it's like, for this is the will of God for your life.

And people who have these questions and doubts about what is the will of God for my life, they never really go to these verses that actually tell them what the will of God is for their life.

And then it's from this place of certainty, that is what God has already revealed, that we walk in faith with risk and in love and obedience and in faith that this is what God wants us to do.

And then you'll find clarity in the walking.

You'll find clarity as to what God's will is for your life.

Whereas most people would prefer if they're like, okay, what is God's will?

And then I'll walk in it.

And that removes faith and that removes dependence on Christ.

And it wouldn't really what would be taught in scripture.

It's like, no, have faith and reliance on God first.

And also don't overcomplicate things.

Like as you've done, you had this conviction and you walked in faith.

And it's in the walking in faith that you had clarity and assurance that this is what God was wanting.

Can you speak into that actually a little bit more as to, did you feel like this is a real firm certainty that this is what I want to do and this is what God is calling me to do?

Or was there a, no, I have faith that I have a conviction and a stirring as you talked about in that month that you went, whenever you came back, that there's a stirring.

And then you had actually in faith and obedience, walk in what God had for you.

And then as you're walking in it, as you've done for this past year, you've seen God confirming or on confirming.

Can you speak into that sort of paradigm about walking in the will of God and how that brings clarity?

Yeah, and I would say the verse just says about how love the Lord, God, for your heart, soul, mind, and he'll give you the desires of your heart.

And like if you love, the more you fall in love with God, your desires will become his desires.

And especially after my month, my heart really broke for the people of Romania.

And that was a desire that God had for his people and for my life as well.

And absolutely did take, it was a risk.

I kind of enjoyed the aspect, the risk aspect of it and moving across.

And I would say when I went to Romania, I got a lot more confirmation as to why I was there.

And like people I had met five years ago, I was working with, and it was only, again, very coincidental that I met them five years ago.

But I was able to work with them again all those years later, when I had gone to Romania.

And through different verses and passages, the people spoken to my life when I was in Romania, I held close to me before I went.

And so there was an aspect of taking a leap of faith, to go out to the foreign country for a year.

I didn't really know what to expect, but I felt God confirmed that in my heart.

And I would also say, you know, there's been decisions, like I was very close to at the end of this year, applying to a theology course.

And I told my bosses and the leaders, but I really, after that, after I'd made that decision to apply, I felt really unsettled in my heart.

But I always try to go, try to push the boot out and try to go forward with something.

And then God usually confirms or, you know, in that case, I felt really unsettled about it.

So I didn't go ahead with it.

And what we're not saying is jump, like, and this is a metaphor, to jump out of a plane with no parachute.

That's not what faith is.

Faith is jumping out of the plane with like an assurance.

And whenever you take a step of faith, it's from the unchanging and immutable character of God and his protection and his sovereignty and his goodness and his love and his mercy.

And that is the parachute, the assurance and the confidence that we have when we walk in faith as it relates to the living of our life.

What advice would you give to those in GCSEs right up until those who are in uni or coming out of uni, that whole area of life, that whole chronology?

What would you say to them?

Well, I'd say if you're at that stage, it's a very formative stage of your life.

And something that's been really important to me is about making decisions for myself.

And many people have given me lots of different advice.

Many people don't understand why I've come out of education and I'm doing my mission.

But what I would say is make sure you're making a decision for yourself and for God, and don't do something just because that's what's expected of you.

And my second piece of advice is just to do your best.

And with whatever God has apportioned to you, just do your best.

And yes, I'm not using the qualifications that I got in school right now, but strange when I look back, everything I learned in school has set me up for what I'm doing now.

Things like hard work and respect and getting things done on time, and time management.

All things I learned in school have served me really well on the mission field.

And at the end of the day, I have a piece that I did my best, and the kids, even the kids I work with, they would do a lot to have the education that, the opportunity for the education that I got.

My third piece of advice is about a contentment.

And I would have never put myself in Romania and Hungary.

Like a few years ago, I would have never saw myself moving there.

And I'm going to take words from paul, where he says he's learned the secret to be content in every and any situation.

And this last year, I've never felt so content and fulfilled in my life.

And my last piece of advice is about a conviction.

And like I said, I felt very convicted.

And if you have a conviction for a country, or a group of people, or a cause, or a charity, I really encourage you to hold on to that.

And like I said, people have asked me, like, how can you make this a sacrifice?

Or how can you leave your life behind?

But it just seems small, because I have such a purpose and conviction right there.

So the last thing I want you to think about is, what one thing do you want people to take away from this podcast?

And as you're sort of thinking through that, I'm just gonna machine gun a few thoughts here for people so they can have these thoughts and they can also pair it with your story and sort of come before the throne room and their community and their local body and their church and discipleship and sort of think through these things.

So whenever it comes to thinking about the will of God for your life, one is know God, know the living God, know Yahweh.

Always have an aspiration to grow closer to Yahweh.

Always have an aspiration to glorify God in everything that you do.

Offer your body up as a living sacrifice, because this is spiritual worship.

Number four is abide in God.

Just stay in Him.

Don't flee.

Don't go anywhere else.

Just stay in His presence.

Stay in Him.

Stay in His will.

Stay in His word.

Stay in His presence.

Number five is love with everything and be loved by the one who gave everything.

That's an important point.

Love with everything and be loved by one who gave everything.

And another important point is content over context.

Sometimes in our culture, we're more focused on, okay, is this the uni?

Is this the school?

Is this the job?

Is this the area?

Is this the team?

Is this, is this, is this?

And we're focused on location and context and geographical location.

When actually the biblical focus is always about what you're actually doing in the context that you're in.

It's content over context.

And in every context that you'll find yourself in, the mission stays the same.

Know God, stay in him, stay in his words, stay in his will, stay in his presence.

Glorify him, proclaim his truth, encourage believers.

And this is where we as followers of Christ can have peace, because whenever everyone else is doubting what they're gonna do with the one short life that they have outside of relationship with God, we are in relationship with God who protects us and is comforting us and has a will for us.

And we know that that will is revealed to us and that yes, there may be uncertainty over vocation, but God will provide clarity of that if we step in faith, but even amidst the confusion over context, the content remains the same.

And then sovereign will understand that God's sovereignty stands over and above everything.

God is sovereign and the sovereignty of God is the softest pillow to which I lay my head.

I love that quote.

The sovereignty of God is not something to panic over.

And we need to understand that there is sin and that we must recognize that sometimes in sin, we can thwart the will of God for our lives, like Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.

Discipline, God could be disciplining us and we need to have patience.

And it's not God's will to move on.

Like, yes, I want to be a professional footballer, but maybe I'm not good enough and I need to move on to what God actually wants me to do.

Or, yeah, so these are just a few points to think through when it comes to the will of God.

But yeah, what is the one thing you want people to take away from this podcast, Samuel?

I would say it's only the grace of God that I'm doing a mission and I'm in ministry at the minute.

And I would say if I had my way, I wouldn't be doing mission.

I wouldn't be doing what I'm doing right now.

Of course, I love what I do.

And in some point in points in your life, you're going to have to decide if you want.

Are you aware of God's way?

And one thing to take away is choose God's way.

Samuel, Shamu Mcgurk, thank you so much, sir.

My pleasure.

I know we said goodbye, but we're back.

It's actually just to make one final comment.

From the podcast title, you've noticed it reads, GCSEs, A levels, uni, get a job, get my'd, get a dog, and die.

Or is there another option?

And our exhortation, our encouragement, and the purpose of this podcast is for you to not conform to the world that says that this is only the only chronology that exists for the life of people.

And instead of actually getting people to, we need to just stop being people who tell people what the will of God is.

And we actually need to be people who just live out the will of God for our lives.

So understand and don't settle that, yes, this is one avenue, and this is one narrative that God can call people, but there are so many other things out there.

Like whenever the will of God was being written in his word, in the canon, whenever he talks about the will of God, every time he talks about it, like universities didn't exist, and GCSEs didn't exist.

And yes, education did exist, and professions and vocations, and these are all amazing things.

And please do not mistake this podcast that we're invalidating those.

No, God is calling people to those, and that is where you could be called.

But we also want to recognize that there is another area that you could be called into.

There are so many parish church organizations, so many charities, so many church works, and there are so many things that you can get involved with, and so many gifts that you can utilize, and so much mission to be had out there, all over the world, and all the continents, and all the on-reach people groups, and everything that's out there, and for you to get involved with.

And so don't simply sit and settle whenever you're in careers or anything like that.

That there's only Jesuses, then A-levels, then university, then get a job, and then struggle and just deal with politics and normality of life and dog and insurance and house employment when, yes, that could be something that you go down, but also God could call you to a life of mission, where, or God could call you to another country, and to another culture, and to another arena of life, where your whole paradigm shifts, and how you view the life that you were living, how that completely shifts, and how taking that step of faith, taking that risk, actually is what benefits your relationship with God.

It allows you to grow closer to Him and to glorify Him.

So, recognize those two things, and that, yes, there is another option.