Episode 1330: Interview with Robert Bass author of Hidden Fruit

[00:00:00] Scott Maderer: For joining us on episode 1,330 of the Inspired Stewardship Podcast,

[00:00:07] Robert Bass: I'm Robert Bass. I challenge you to invest in yourself, invest in others, develop your influence and impact the world by using your time, your talent, and your treasures to live out your calling. Having the ability to find your life's purpose is key.

[00:00:24] And one way to be inspired to do that is to listen to this, the Inspired Stewardship podcast with my friend Scott Maderer.

[00:00:41] There's a lot of times we try to find our purpose, uh, by achieving something, by reaching a destination by. Um, I'll even use me for example, oh, I've wrote this book, so now I've achieved my purpose. And the answer to that is no. Because once you reach that destination, once you [00:01:00] achieve that goal, you'll realize, well, there's empty.

[00:01:03] Scott Maderer: Welcome and thank you for joining us on the Inspired Stewardship Podcast. If you truly desire to become the person who God wants you to be, then you must learn to use your time, your talent, and your treasures for your true calling. In the Inspired Stewardship Podcast, you'll learn to invest in yourself, invest in others, and develop your influence so that you can impact the world.

[00:01:36] In today's podcast episode, I interview Robert Bass. I ask Robert about what brought him to write his latest book, hidden Fruit. Robert shares with you the secret to finding joy and purpose in your life, and I also ask Robert to share how we can recognize true fruit of the spirit in our lives. One reason I like to bring you great interviews like the one you're gonna hear today is [00:02:00] because of the power in learning from others.

[00:02:03] Another great way to learn from others is through reading books. But if you're like most people today, you find it hard to find the time to sit down and read, and that's why today's podcast is brought to you by Audible. Go to inspired stewardship.com/audible to sign up and you can get a 30 day free trial.

[00:02:24] There's over 180,000 titles to choose from, and instead of reading, you can listen your way to learn from some of the greatest minds out there. That's inspired stewardship.com/audible to get your free trial and listen to great books the same way you're listening to this podcast. Robert is a pastor, a public speaker, and an Arthur located near Jacksonville, Florida.

[00:02:49] He is dedicated to encouraging others with the good news of Jesus. Robert and his wife Carmen, founded Redeemed on Purpose, a business dedicated to equipping families with resources [00:03:00] for a healthy life. He has authored three books and his most recent is called Hidden Fruit. Before entering Full-Time Ministry, he owned a personal training business and was a master certified Mercedes-Benz employee.

[00:03:12] He enjoys spending quality time with his wife and son. Robert recharges through sports and loves to play competitive tennis. Welcome to the show, Robert.

[00:03:22] Robert Bass: Welcome. Thank you for having me on.

[00:03:24] Scott Maderer: Absolutely. We talked a little bit in the intro about some of your journey and some of the things you've done and then recently you're putting out this book Hidden Fruit.

[00:03:36] What brought you to the point where this is the book that you decided to put out into the world?

[00:03:44] Robert Bass: Yeah, as many people know, we recently got out of this crazy thing called a pandemic in our world, and one of the things I noticed was just fear was everywhere. Everybody was fearful. People were[00:04:00] hoarding things, really being self-focused.

[00:04:04] And. I begin to see so many people that proclaim to be Christians, people that follow God, still operating in the same kind of way, very fearful, very focused on. Themselves. And I was like, wait a second. The Bible gives us a lot of hope. God gives us hope in spite of the things that we go through. So why are we acting this way?

[00:04:27] And so the book is really came from that mindset of God has promised us peace in spite of the things that are going on. And so even though fear may be around us, even though hard times, difficult times may be surrounding our life, we may be in the middle of a tragedy. God still promises peace. So why don't we have it?

[00:04:51] Why are we not experiencing that? And so the book helps answer that question. You're, for you and yourself [00:05:00] where did. Where did you learn that approach for yourself? How did you, in, in other words here, you're sharing it with others before you share it with others, you've gotta have some level of understanding of it for yourself.

[00:05:14] Scott Maderer: What in your life brought you to begin to understand that?

[00:05:19] Robert Bass: You're a hundred percent right. We walk through seasons and we learn, right? We learn from it. And so I've been through several motorcycle accidents and I remember my second motorcycle accident that I went through, I. Was a very tough time on me mentally.

[00:05:36] I would say the first one was very tough, physically had to learn to walk again. The second one was really tough mentally, even though I had physical things going on, because all of my friends left I had tons of friends, people I hung out with every week. I get into this accident and now all of a sudden I'm texting them, Hey I'm going through this, can't pay bills.

[00:05:56] And they're like, okay, let me know when you get better. The responses [00:06:00] were just you. You would be mind blown to see some of the responses and what people were saying instead of helping and being for me in that time. And so it was a very eye-opening time in my life where I thought I had friends. I thought I had stability.

[00:06:15] I thought I had everything figured out. And then this trauma comes into my life and just shook everything. And so I really begin to say, wait, this isn't the life I want. I don't want one thing that happens in my life and my entire world comes crumbling down, and so how do I prevent this? I'm still going through it, right?

[00:06:35] Still having to overcome and pay bills, but I don't want this to happen again. And so that was a big turning point in my life to say, okay. I've done it my way. I've tried to figure things out. Okay, God, I'm gonna try to do things your way. And let's see how that goes. And I begin to realize that there's a strength available to us that is beyond what we can actually achieve and comprehend.

[00:06:59] And it's [00:07:00] because we get to operating God's strength and in his wisdom and not our own. And but from a practical step is I said, okay. I. I gotta be in church. I gotta be around good people that I can trust and I need a mentor in my life. And so the mentor is really what helped me begin to establish my steps and have good leadership and good people around me that could guide me.

[00:07:25] And actually that's how I wrote my first book, is my mentor was like, Hey Robert, you've been through a lot, you've overcome a lot. You need to share this with others. Quick question,

[00:07:35] Scott Maderer: are you still riding motorcycles? I'm not, yeah. No offenses. But the senates, the second motorcycle accident is already, it's I think I would've stopped after the first one, but yes.

[00:07:49] Okay. So it good. I just had to check cuz you never know. But I actually have a really good friend who rides motorcycles and he's had about eight major accidents and [00:08:00] I keep looking at him like, dude you notice the pattern here? Yeah. So how did all of this affect you work with your wife on I believe called redeemed on purpose as the business that y'all run as well.

[00:08:14] And then of course you've written a couple of other books and then you put this one out, hidden fruits talk a little bit about how your faith journey expand on what you just said of that's, The chance that the motorcycle accident how old were you then? What was your faith journey like before that and after that, and how did that kind of intersect with this journey of writing this book and putting the message out in the world?

[00:08:40] Robert Bass: Yeah, so I was in my early twenties when I got into kind of both motorcycle accidents. They were years apart and in different cities, but really each motorcycle accident did its own impact in my life. The first motorcycle accident because it, I had to physically learn to walk again.

[00:08:59] [00:09:00] That actually reshaped my journey. Where at the time I was fixing cars for a living and I was so amazed by what my body could overcome. I actually went back to school to be a personal trainer. So I shift careers after my first motorcycle accident but didn't really change a lot of my habits and behaviors.

[00:09:18] I, I just switched what I was doing in the world. And so the second one really opened my eyes spiritually, and it, and then I began to use the gifts and talents God had given me. To now make a difference and help other people. So before I was very self-focused. I was raised in church though, went to church every Sunday, Wednesday ki a thing.

[00:09:39] But going into high school, just decided to try things my way and learned pretty quickly that didn't work out very well. And so really I began to shift my focus and say, okay, God, I'm gonna do things your way, which means God's asked us to love him and to love others. And that word love is meaning to help people to make [00:10:00] a difference in their life, to care, actually care for their needs, and not on a very superficial level.

[00:10:07] And so I began to host health classes and fitness classes at my church and in the community, and that just opened so many doors for me. And I ended up moving and establishing more mentors and more people in my life and then getting involved. In my, in a church where I moved. And that's when God began to open my eyes to how much more there is through following him.

[00:10:33] And long story short, after just following God, continuously going to seminaries, classes, and school actually became a pastor. And so by dedicating my life to the Lord and following his ways, it's amazing the doors that God opened that I didn't even plan for it, to be honest with you.

[00:10:53] Zero plans to be a pastor, zero plans to be leading in church. I was the guy sitting in the [00:11:00] back row barely come in after all the songs are over and sit in service a few minutes. That was me when I first attended church, but God really began to transform my life because I.

[00:11:13] And here's what was so pivotal for me. I received God's love. So in order for you to give something, you need to receive it first. And so I got to experience in the second motorcycle accident, the love of God through other people. I had people bringing me food, I had people picking me up for physical therapy, for doctor's appointments.

[00:11:34] So I actually began to see, wow, people love me. Wow. God loves me. And so part of me writing this book is so people can experience the fruit of the spirit. It's one thing to, to know about peace. But it's another to experience peace. Two completely different things, right? You can know about someone, you can know about a movie star, but when you meet them it's a [00:12:00] completely different experience that you never forget.

[00:12:02] And so my hope through my trials and testimonies and the things that I've been through is that people can understand that you can experience peace. It's a real thing. Even though you may be in a situation that is not peaceful. Let's unpack that a little bit. You've mentioned a couple of things a couple of times that you just now mentioned having some, a feeling of peace or a sense of peace, or knowing peace even when it's not a peaceful time.

[00:12:29] Scott Maderer: And earlier you mentioned this idea of self for focused versus other focused and how important it was to get that right. And yet I think both of those at least inherently at first glance, it's like, Wait that's a little bit hard to understand. So let's take 'em one at a time.

[00:12:48] Let's go back to self-focus first. This other focus, cuz you, you mentioned that first. Obviously at some level, right? We all have to take care of ourselves. You always [00:13:00] hear it, take care of yourself, you gotta take care of yourself. Take time for yourself and I don't think you're saying don't do that.

[00:13:05] I didn't hear that in there. But then there's also this idea of being. Focusing on others and making sure that you're taking care of their needs and listening to them and helping them and all of that. How do you put that together for folks that are struggling with what is that balance between taking care of myself and yet also being other focused?

[00:13:29] Robert Bass: Yeah, I've heard some really good marriage advice one time where they said, the best marriages are when you give 100%, and the other person gives 100%. And so most people say, oh, marriage is 50 50. Then you're really only giving 50% of your time, your energy, and your focus to the other person.

[00:13:46] But imagine when your spouse loves you and thinks about your needs and your desires and the things that you have going on 100% of the time. But then you respond the same [00:14:00] way. You're gonna get everything that you need and desire because that other person is focused on helping you. And that is love I is when you think about others before yourself, but you know that your needs and desires are gonna get taken care of because someone is looking after you the same way.

[00:14:22] And so a lot of times we're afraid to fully love because we think I'm not gonna get it back, I'm not gonna receive it. That's the beautiful thing about God's love is we never have to worry about that. God is just full on a hundred percent pursuing us, loving us, trying to reach us and to give us what we need so we don't have to be afraid of pouring out that love at the same time.

[00:14:46] And so I've just noticed a lot of times when we're afraid to give, when we're afraid to do something it falls into that category of we don't think we're gonna get it back. But we actually do [00:15:00] even if it's not from another person, God is actually pouring into us and meeting the needs that we have.

[00:15:07] So that marriage advice kind of ties in right there to help us not be so focused on ourself and to help others. And then you talked about the piece, even in the time when there's trauma going on where there's a non piece going on and. I think if, for somebody who hasn't experienced that, that's again, it's no that's not possible.

[00:15:35] Scott Maderer: So how, what's the advice that you have for folks? Somebody out there is hearing that right now and they're going, no uhuh. I just don't believe that's even possible. What would you say to that

[00:15:45] Robert Bass: person? Yeah, I wanna respond to that with a scripture from the Bible, from Philippians four, verse seven says this, and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding will guard [00:16:00] your heart and your minds in Christ.

[00:16:04] So God is saying that there's a peace that he offers. That you can have that's actually not going to make sense. Like when you look at it, when you rationalize it like it's not going to make sense that you've got this kind of peace. But what's more amazing to me is in verse nine, it says, what you have learned and received, and heard and seen in me practice these things.

[00:16:27] Now watch this. Then it says, the God of peace will be with you. So verse seven said, the peace of God. Is gonna be with you, and that's great. We all want peace. But then it says, the God of peace is gonna be with you. And so the scripture combines them, but also helps us understand that there's a difference.

[00:16:49] Between you having peace about something, but then God coming into the situation and actually bringing in his peace because his presence is there, that [00:17:00] actually changes the situation. And so there, there is. What I love about following God is he has so much available to us that we can have that he desires for our life if we will just trust him and it's not going to make sense.

[00:17:18] He tells us it's just sometimes it's not gonna make sense. He's gonna ask you to do this. You're gonna feel a or a leading from him to try this and to do things this way. And you're like I don't understand how doing it this way is gonna get to that. But God has a way of guiding us and giving us peace that we need.

[00:17:38] And so that, that scripture's always encouraged me and kept me focused.

[00:17:43] Scott Maderer: And I'm yeah I'm sure you have one too I have a long list of questions that I'd like to ask because there's a lot of things that. God has done in my life or around me and it's okay I've just added that to the [00:18:00] list I'm gonna ask you someday because I don't understand it.

[00:18:03] Obviously you do. Yeah. But I don't, so hopefully someday somebody will explain it to me, cuz I, I'll get and having that sense of peace is I think is one of 'em. As well. So in the book too, you talk a lot about people finding purpose, people finding joy. People finding peace, these sorts of things what does that mean to you when you're talking about that, what does that mean to you?

[00:18:30] And again, what advice do you have for folks that are struggling in those areas?

[00:18:37] Robert Bass: Yeah, my first two books were written all about your purpose, and one of the things that I realized in my walk with God and even in writing the book, is a lot of times we try to find our purpose by achieving something, by reaching a destination, by I'll even use me for an example.

[00:18:55] Oh, I've wrote this book, so now I've achieved my purpose. And the answer to that is [00:19:00] no. Because once you reach that destination, once you achieve that goal, you'll realize well, There's emptiness and we constantly, it's like a circle we constantly try to achieve and achieve all over again.

[00:19:12] So what I've realized is our purpose is actually connected to our relationship with God. That we can't find our purpose until it is through our relationship with God. So it's not when I get to a destination, my purpose is actually walking with God and allowing him to guide me along the path. But what I love about God is he doesn't control us.

[00:19:37] He allows us to lead. He allows us to figure things out and he's guiding us and showing us the path that is gonna be best for our life. And so to really help from a practical standpoint is instead of looking for peace, when you achieve something, know that peace is already available right now because God's presence is with you.

[00:19:59] Right [00:20:00] now, and so you can experience something in spite of not completing something. You may feel a certain way about yourself, right? You may feel like you don't have skills and talents and abilities, but yet God is saying, I can give you what you need, even in spite of not having that or even working towards that because God loves you even when you don't achieve.

[00:20:29] The things that you desire for your life. He loves you then, and he's gonna love you when you achieve those things anyways. And so your purpose is connected to your relationship with God. And so if we can understand that first. That frees us up for so many things that I can enjoy being on this podcast with you.

[00:20:50] I can enjoy being at home with my family. I can enjoy writing books. I can enjoy whatever it is I do. There's a freedom and a peace and a [00:21:00] joy in it because God is with me in spite of me achieving or doing all of these things. And

[00:21:07] Scott Maderer: you talked about earlier about how a lot of this kind of comes out of a place of fear and fear is not listed as one of the fruits of the spirit.

[00:21:19] There are things that it says that we have out of a relationship with God as fruits of the spirit. What is that kind of, because again, fruits of the spirit is also Christianese. Unpack that a little bit. When you talk about folks having the fruits of the spirit showing up in their life what are you talking about and how does that kind of answer to that, that feeling of fear that, that causes us to act in other ways.

[00:21:48] Robert Bass: Yeah. I remember when I was a kid that there was this guy my family knew, and every time you seen him, you just smiled because this guy was goofy. He was fun. It, [00:22:00] he walked into a room and you knew it was gonna be a blast, right? So his presence, he wouldn't even say anything. But his presence alone brought joy into an environment and I'm sure everyone listening knows someone like that.

[00:22:15] When this, when a person walks into the room, the environment shifts. Sometime it shifts for the good, sometimes it shifts for the bad, right? That person walks into the room and they're like, oh no, they're here. And so presence matters. We know it matters. And so what we allow into our life, what we allow into our presence, is so important because that dictates the environment that we in, that we are in.

[00:22:42] So granted, when you're at work and when you're at certain places, you can't control the people you work with and you can't control those things, but you can control what comes out of you. You can control the things that you are pouring into that environment. And so something I like [00:23:00] to ask people is go to your closest friends and ask them, what is the qualities about you that they appreciate the most?

[00:23:08] When you walk into a room, what are people saying? How are they responding? What are you pouring into an environment? And so when we talk about the fruit of the Holy Spirit, when God's presence shows up, that's what's happening. Those are the things that are coming out of his presence. So you know, God's in an environment if there's peace God's in an environment.

[00:23:29] If there's joy, like not happiness, but true joy God is with you and helping you when you have self-control. When you don't do the things that you desire to do because God is strengthening you. And so that's what it's talking about in a very practical way is you know the presence of God is there because you see those things actually changing the environment.

[00:23:52] Like fruit is real. Like Paul used this example for a reason. Like fruit is a byproduct of something. It's real, it's [00:24:00] tangible. You can touch it, you can experience it. And so we have to remember that this is God's presence. This is who he is. These are things that are coming out when he is there. And so we can have those things coming out of us because Jesus has promised us the Holy Spirit.

[00:24:17] He's promised that his presence would never leave us or forsake us, and that he wouldn't leave us orphaned so we know. We can experience those things because he's with us. So where did the title Hidden Fruit come from?

[00:24:31] Yeah, good question. Because those things are available, but yet, just like I mentioned earlier in the pandemic, I didn't see 'em.

[00:24:40] I didn't see him in people's lives and it was almost like the best kept secret. I'm like, wait a second. Like the God doesn't promise a lot in the Bible. He really doesn't. He's not gonna promise this world's gonna be good. He doesn't, the Bible doesn't promise you're not gonna have hard times actually the Bible.

[00:24:57] Just a lot of hard

[00:24:58] Scott Maderer: times. [00:25:00] Yes. It pretty much says, oh, something's gotta go wrong.

[00:25:04] Robert Bass: Yeah, exactly. And but he promises to be with us. Therefore those things are available. But yet they seem to be hidden. And I'm like, wait a second. If this is a promise and God doesn't promise a lot, I think we should press into this promise and figure out how to live this way.

[00:25:22] Scott Maderer: Yeah. I love that. And I think to call that out too, that my I used to joke and I mean it as a joke and I don't, but if you actually read the Bible, it's obviously was not written by people that are good at marketing. It's because the the message, it's like you're burying the lead here.

[00:25:50] There's good stuff in here, but it's behind all this other stuff that, that kind of doesn't sound like, I really wanna sign up for that, but the out of that comes what you're [00:26:00] talking about with the freedom of the spirit. If you go through that the work of understanding the relationship with God and that's it sounds like part of what you're saying,

[00:26:11] Robert Bass: Yep, exactly.

[00:26:14] Scott Maderer: So I've got a few questions that I'd like to ask all of my guests, but before I go and go there, is there anything else about your work or the other, this book or the other books that you'd like to share with the listener?

[00:26:28] Robert Bass: Yeah. For me the most important thing is that people understand that there's hope that will, that was something that was so hard for me and the seasons I've walked into, is just knowing that there's hope.

[00:26:41] And that God is there to help us. That, that changes your attitude really quickly. When you, when there's no light at the end of the tunnel, when everything looks dark and depressing and you're like, I'm never getting out of this. It's easy to stay where you are, but to know that these things are possible, that [00:27:00] yes, you can have joy.

[00:27:01] That it is available. That brings me so much hope and so much encouragement that I can stay focused and knowing. Okay, it's not a matter of if it's possible, it's how just, how do I get, how do I live that way? Lord, show me how to receive the blessings that you have for me and that's life changing.

[00:27:22] Scott Maderer: So my brand has inspired stewardship and I talk a lot and run things through that lens of stewardship, and yet that's one of those words that I've heard all different definitions from all different people because I think it can mean different things to different people at, especially at different points in their life.

[00:27:39] So for you, when you hear the word stewardship, what does that mean to you and what is the impact of that understanding had on you?

[00:27:48] Robert Bass: Yeah, I'll definitely put it in the context of this book. And so when I think about stewardship, I think about controlling the environment that you're in. If someone was to give you a, an apple seed, [00:28:00] you don't get to control that.

[00:28:01] It's gonna grow an apple tree. But you do get to control the environment that seeds in, whether it grows or not. And so if someone gives you a seed and you don't steward it well, you don't control that environment, then that seed's not gonna grow. If you keep it on concrete, it's just gonna sit right there.

[00:28:18] So you're gonna have to steward the environment, which means control, which means to adapt, which means to change and do what's necessary in order for that tree to grow. And so just know that God has empowered us to make changes in our life. He is asking us to do things. To make a difference in this world, to steward the earth and the environment that God has created for us.

[00:28:45] And so we do have a purpose. We have true roles here but it's gonna take some things to do on our part. So this is my favorite question that I like to ask everybody. Imagine for a minute that I invented this [00:29:00] magic machine and with that machine, I could pluck you from this chair where you are today and transport you into the future, maybe a hundred fifty, two hundred, two hundred fifty years.

[00:29:10] Scott Maderer: But through the power of this machine, you were able to look back and see your entire life and see all of the connections, all of the ripples, all of the impacts you've left behind. What impact do you hope you've left in the world?

[00:29:24] Robert Bass: I would truly hope that people have fallen in love with Jesus, that they have a relationship with God because it does mean no good to be popular and people be in love with me because I don't have the power.

[00:29:36] I don't pretend to have saving grace for people's lives. I would truly hope that the people when. Through my sharing and through my encouragement that they would see that Jesus loves him and that they would want a relationship with him and be driven to him and not to me. So what's

[00:29:53] Scott Maderer: coming next?

[00:29:54] What's on the roadmap for the rest of the year?

[00:29:58] Robert Bass: Yep. So I plan to be traveling to [00:30:00] Israel a little bit. I actually hope to get this book translated into Hebrew to launch in Israel. So I'm working on that. Also, possibly getting the book translated to Spanish and some other languages and. Anytime God gives you something and he's asked you to steward it, that can mean a bunch of different things.

[00:30:20] And sometimes you just don't know what's gonna work. Just like with growing a plant you gotta make some changes every now and then to make sure that it's growing the right way. And yeah, so super excited about that and thankful that God's opening those doors and we'll see the difference it makes there.

[00:30:37] That'll be a fun trip.

[00:30:39] Scott Maderer: Yeah, for sure. You could find out more about Robert over on his website@robertabass.com. Of course, I'll have a link to that over in the show notes as well. Robert, anything else you'd like to share with the listener?

[00:30:56] Robert Bass: Yeah, I'm just thankful to be able to share today and [00:31:00] if someone finds this encouraging, they can get the book at hidden fruit book.com or at any other major book.

[00:31:09] Selling websites.

[00:31:11] Scott Maderer: Awesome. I'll put a link to that as well in the show notes for anyone that is driving right now and didn't get a chance to write it down. Thanks so much for being here.

[00:31:20] Robert Bass: Thank you. It's an honor.

[00:31:28] Scott Maderer: Thanks so much for listening to the Inspired Stewardship Podcast. As a subscriber and listener, we challenge you to not just sit back and passively listen. But act on what you've heard and find a way to live your calling. If you enjoyed this episode please do us a favor. Go over to inspired stewardship.com/itunes.

[00:31:55] Rate all one word. iTunes rate. It'll [00:32:00] take you through how to leave a rating and review, and how to make sure you're subscribed to the podcast so that you can get every episode as it comes out in your feed. Until next time, invest your time, your talent, and your treasures. Develop your influence and impact the world.