WEBVTT 00:00:03.120 --> 00:00:06.960 What does the Bible say about foolishness? How 00:00:06.960 --> 00:00:11.640 does it describe it? Well, in Proverbs 1, verse 00:00:11.640 --> 00:00:18.079 2, a fool hates knowledge. In Proverbs 18, verse 00:00:18.079 --> 00:00:22.339 2, it takes no pleasure in understanding. In 00:00:22.339 --> 00:00:26.000 Proverbs 10, verse 23, it enjoys wicked schemes, 00:00:26.500 --> 00:00:32.039 proclaims folly in Proverbs 12. spurns a parent's 00:00:32.039 --> 00:00:37.460 discipline in Proverbs 15, speaks perversity 00:00:37.460 --> 00:00:44.119 in Proverbs 19, it mocks at sin in Proverbs 19, 00:00:44.119 --> 00:00:50.320 and it's deceitful in Proverbs 14. It despises 00:00:50.320 --> 00:00:53.539 his mother in Proverbs 15, and a foolish child 00:00:53.539 --> 00:00:58.060 brings grief to his parents in Proverbs 17 and 00:00:58.060 --> 00:01:03.109 19. A foolish man commits sexual immorality in 00:01:03.109 --> 00:01:07.290 Proverbs 6, 32 and chapter 7, verses 7 to 12. 00:01:08.469 --> 00:01:12.969 And a foolish woman tears down her own house 00:01:12.969 --> 00:01:19.810 in Proverbs 14, 1. We can start to see a picture 00:01:19.810 --> 00:01:23.909 of what foolishness is defined by in the Bible. 00:01:24.450 --> 00:01:28.170 It doesn't look like it's something that has 00:01:28.170 --> 00:01:33.250 godly properties. Can you say amen to that? In 00:01:33.250 --> 00:01:37.290 Proverbs 53, verse 1, it says, The fool has said 00:01:37.290 --> 00:01:43.090 in his heart, there is no what. We can see these 00:01:43.090 --> 00:01:51.090 are characteristics of the foolish virgins. One 00:01:51.090 --> 00:01:53.310 of the things that I think is very striking, 00:01:53.530 --> 00:01:56.329 I'm straying away from my notes a little bit 00:01:56.329 --> 00:02:00.010 here. These virgins are supposed to be in the 00:02:00.010 --> 00:02:07.329 church, and yet they're defined as foolish. What 00:02:07.329 --> 00:02:09.870 is that telling us about these particular people? 00:02:10.909 --> 00:02:14.270 Are you guys starting to see a picture of what 00:02:14.270 --> 00:02:16.909 Jesus wants us to see with these foolish virgins? 00:02:21.789 --> 00:02:26.610 When we think about wise, wise is equal to godly. 00:02:27.400 --> 00:02:34.400 It's pious in Proverbs 13. It's wise to salvation 00:02:34.400 --> 00:02:40.780 in 2 Timothy 3. So the question is, were the 00:02:40.780 --> 00:02:43.699 five following the church crowd? I mean, they 00:02:43.699 --> 00:02:47.599 seem to be associated with the church. They seem 00:02:47.599 --> 00:02:52.300 to be associated with God's people. So why would 00:02:52.300 --> 00:02:57.039 Jesus call them out? In the story, perhaps, there's 00:02:57.039 --> 00:02:59.620 something significant to this quality of the 00:02:59.620 --> 00:03:07.020 virgin that we need to pay attention to. It mentions 00:03:07.020 --> 00:03:13.099 that they ran out of something important. What 00:03:13.099 --> 00:03:18.639 did they run out of? Okay, the Bible calls it 00:03:18.639 --> 00:03:21.060 oil, and oil, and some of you guys have jumped 00:03:21.060 --> 00:03:24.370 ahead of me, represents what? The Holy Spirit. 00:03:24.509 --> 00:03:28.930 Very good. Thank you. So oil equals the Holy 00:03:28.930 --> 00:03:32.509 Spirit in 1 Samuel chapter 10 and 16 and Luke 00:03:32.509 --> 00:03:37.330 chapter 4 and Acts chapter 10. What does the 00:03:37.330 --> 00:03:46.009 lamp represent? Yes. Thank you. The lamp represents 00:03:46.009 --> 00:03:52.610 the word of God in Psalms chapter 119, 105. We're 00:03:52.610 --> 00:03:57.629 seeing that there's oil and there's a lamp, and 00:03:57.629 --> 00:04:02.030 they need them both. They need the oil, the Holy 00:04:02.030 --> 00:04:08.590 Spirit, to what? Amplify the lamp, which is the 00:04:08.590 --> 00:04:11.969 word of God. Are you guys kind of seeing what's 00:04:11.969 --> 00:04:19.730 happening here? One time I remember, I mean, 00:04:19.730 --> 00:04:22.019 is this? I guess is this important that they 00:04:22.019 --> 00:04:25.060 need the Holy Spirit to amplify the scriptures 00:04:25.060 --> 00:04:28.860 so that they can understand what's happening? 00:04:29.120 --> 00:04:33.300 Is that important? Absolutely. You know, I remember 00:04:33.300 --> 00:04:36.800 going on a backpacking trip in California. It 00:04:36.800 --> 00:04:38.660 was actually quite close to where we lived, which 00:04:38.660 --> 00:04:40.800 is kind of cool because usually you have to travel 00:04:40.800 --> 00:04:42.819 a long distance or whatever. But there were mountains 00:04:42.819 --> 00:04:44.720 that weren't very far from where we lived. And 00:04:44.720 --> 00:04:47.019 we hiked up through the mountains. We're kind 00:04:47.019 --> 00:04:50.290 of in a little bit of a valley. And I remember 00:04:50.290 --> 00:04:57.750 not bringing a flashlight. And it got really 00:04:57.750 --> 00:05:00.449 dark at night. Like, you know how sometimes you 00:05:00.449 --> 00:05:02.329 can kind of see your way, maybe there's a little 00:05:02.329 --> 00:05:05.389 bit of moonlight? It wasn't like that here. It 00:05:05.389 --> 00:05:11.810 was dark. And the ground was very uneven. And 00:05:11.810 --> 00:05:16.350 this person needed to go to the bathroom. And 00:05:16.350 --> 00:05:18.709 I thought I could make it. I really did. I thought 00:05:18.709 --> 00:05:21.290 I can get there. I will do what I have to do. 00:05:21.790 --> 00:05:24.550 I couldn't make it. I couldn't even get to the 00:05:24.550 --> 00:05:28.110 bathroom because it was so dark and I couldn't 00:05:28.110 --> 00:05:33.189 see my path. And it reminds me of what it's like 00:05:33.189 --> 00:05:36.810 for us as Christians. See, we can pretend. We 00:05:36.810 --> 00:05:39.889 can tell ourselves, I got this. I can make it. 00:05:41.009 --> 00:05:44.069 But in the story, God is saying something different. 00:05:44.680 --> 00:05:49.240 He's saying you need the oil and you need the 00:05:49.240 --> 00:05:54.019 lamp to be successful when the bridegroom comes. 00:05:57.779 --> 00:06:01.040 So one of the things that the story mentions 00:06:01.040 --> 00:06:07.360 is that because the virgins didn't have the oil 00:06:07.360 --> 00:06:12.680 and they didn't have the lamp, or they had the 00:06:12.680 --> 00:06:15.569 lamp, didn't have enough oil, They ran into problems. 00:06:17.910 --> 00:06:27.829 Let's look at verse 5. While the bridegroom tarried, 00:06:27.829 --> 00:06:32.949 they all slumbered and slept. And in verse 6, 00:06:33.050 --> 00:06:39.870 what happens? Midnight came. Uncertainties happen 00:06:39.870 --> 00:06:42.769 in life. People start to lose their hold on truth. 00:06:44.079 --> 00:06:46.459 There starts to become questions about whether 00:06:46.459 --> 00:06:49.939 or not we're actually in the right path or if 00:06:49.939 --> 00:06:51.660 there's another path that we should be looking 00:06:51.660 --> 00:06:53.899 for. I don't know if you guys have been following, 00:06:54.019 --> 00:06:56.439 but have you noticed that prominent people in 00:06:56.439 --> 00:07:00.000 the church have started to drift away? Have you 00:07:00.000 --> 00:07:03.300 guys noticed that? And they started to question 00:07:03.300 --> 00:07:05.620 the Adventist church. Is this really God's church? 00:07:05.819 --> 00:07:07.680 Do we really, is there something else out there? 00:07:07.740 --> 00:07:12.519 What are we doing here? You guys kind of, have 00:07:12.519 --> 00:07:17.189 you guys seen that? You know, the Bible talks 00:07:17.189 --> 00:07:21.310 about midnight coming. And midnight in ancient 00:07:21.310 --> 00:07:25.509 times were the dark parts of the night. In this 00:07:25.509 --> 00:07:32.329 story, midnight is symbolic of judgment. And 00:07:32.329 --> 00:07:36.550 it's talking about oil and a lamp, and then it's 00:07:36.550 --> 00:07:40.589 talking about midnight. And there's dark times 00:07:40.589 --> 00:07:44.209 that are coming. And what do we need to hold 00:07:44.209 --> 00:07:48.069 on to to keep ourselves on track? Are you guys 00:07:48.069 --> 00:07:49.990 seeing what God is trying to say to us here? 00:07:50.910 --> 00:07:54.829 We need that oil. We need the Holy Spirit. We 00:07:54.829 --> 00:07:59.649 need to keep our noses in the Bible so that when 00:07:59.649 --> 00:08:03.170 midnight comes, we're not among the foolish virgins. 00:08:07.629 --> 00:08:13.269 So darkness comes in everybody's life. When the 00:08:13.269 --> 00:08:15.689 bridegroom came, all the virgins knew about it, 00:08:15.730 --> 00:08:20.389 but those without oil were not ready. They tried 00:08:20.389 --> 00:08:24.230 to borrow oil. Can I get a little bit of your 00:08:24.230 --> 00:08:30.149 oil for me? Can we borrow oil from other people? 00:08:31.689 --> 00:08:35.090 This kind of oil? Are you guys following what 00:08:35.090 --> 00:08:38.409 I'm saying? Can you, can I? Okay, I don't want 00:08:38.409 --> 00:08:40.590 to ask this question. But who in the church is 00:08:40.590 --> 00:08:45.090 admired for their spirituality? Can you borrow 00:08:45.090 --> 00:08:51.009 oil from that person? No. And yet, these virgins 00:08:51.009 --> 00:08:56.389 were trying to borrow oil. You can only get oil 00:08:56.389 --> 00:09:01.049 from the oil provider, who is God. I can't give 00:09:01.049 --> 00:09:05.509 you oil, and you can't give me oil. This oil 00:09:05.509 --> 00:09:08.129 is what's helping them prepare for the bridegroom 00:09:08.129 --> 00:09:14.009 and to know what to look for when he comes. So 00:09:14.009 --> 00:09:16.710 the foolish virgins asked for oil from the other 00:09:16.710 --> 00:09:18.929 virgins and they were not able to obtain any. 00:09:19.750 --> 00:09:22.809 They tried to find some oil from other sources 00:09:22.809 --> 00:09:26.210 and lost out on the opportunity for salvation. 00:09:28.250 --> 00:09:32.700 So let's talk for a minute about this oil. Several 00:09:32.700 --> 00:09:37.700 things I want you to glean about this oil, about 00:09:37.700 --> 00:09:40.500 the Holy Spirit. I'm not going to read these 00:09:40.500 --> 00:09:42.639 texts, but I'm going to give them to you with 00:09:42.639 --> 00:09:44.600 a reference if you want to jot them down and 00:09:44.600 --> 00:09:47.240 look them up later. That may not be a bad idea. 00:09:48.279 --> 00:09:52.360 Number one, the oil, the Holy Spirit is the helper 00:09:52.360 --> 00:10:00.470 who teaches and reminds in John 14, 26. The oil 00:10:00.470 --> 00:10:08.190 convicts the world of sin in John 16, 7 -8. It 00:10:08.190 --> 00:10:12.049 dwells in believers and fills us in 1 Corinthians 00:10:12.049 --> 00:10:16.889 3, 16. It's the source of revelation, wisdom, 00:10:17.049 --> 00:10:24.110 and power in Ephesians 1, 17 -20. It guides to 00:10:24.110 --> 00:10:28.269 all truth and knowledge of what is to come. In 00:10:28.269 --> 00:10:33.450 John chapter 16, verses 13 and 15. It gives us 00:10:33.450 --> 00:10:36.870 spiritual gifts to believers in 1 Corinthians 00:10:36.870 --> 00:10:42.750 chapter 12, verses 7 and 11. It seals in the 00:10:42.750 --> 00:10:46.629 lives of believers. Ephesians chapter 1, verse 00:10:46.629 --> 00:10:50.830 13. It helps in our weakness and it intercedes 00:10:50.830 --> 00:10:57.299 for us in Romans 8, 26 and 27. It makes believers 00:10:57.299 --> 00:11:00.980 new and grants us eternal life. In Romans chapter 00:11:00.980 --> 00:11:05.580 8, verses 10 and 11, it sanctifies and it enables 00:11:05.580 --> 00:11:09.580 good fruit in our lives. In Galatians chapter 00:11:09.580 --> 00:11:16.720 5, verse 16 to 25. Here's the application. We 00:11:16.720 --> 00:11:20.139 have two types of Christians. By all external 00:11:20.139 --> 00:11:25.259 appearances, they both look the same. And they're 00:11:25.259 --> 00:11:29.100 studying the word of God. But one's not transformed 00:11:29.100 --> 00:11:35.080 through the power of the oil. We need to study 00:11:35.080 --> 00:11:39.059 the Bibles. I hear people more and more talking 00:11:39.059 --> 00:11:41.460 about that. We've got to study the Bible. We've 00:11:41.460 --> 00:11:43.379 got to study the Bible. We've got to study the 00:11:43.379 --> 00:11:48.460 Bible. But have you noticed that we're more busy 00:11:48.460 --> 00:11:51.639 than we've ever been? Have you noticed that, 00:11:51.700 --> 00:11:53.779 you know, when you look at your day, you're like, 00:11:53.799 --> 00:11:57.220 whoa. It's gone, but what did I do with it? What 00:11:57.220 --> 00:12:04.179 did I spend my day doing? Jesus knew that down 00:12:04.179 --> 00:12:07.080 through the ages, we would also need advice about 00:12:07.080 --> 00:12:10.840 how to prepare for a second coming. So he gave 00:12:10.840 --> 00:12:14.220 us a choice to either be smart or foolish. And 00:12:14.220 --> 00:12:19.759 we can choose. We can take ownership. It's important 00:12:19.759 --> 00:12:25.149 for us to understand midnight is coming. And 00:12:25.149 --> 00:12:29.470 which of the virgins do you choose to be? See, 00:12:29.529 --> 00:12:32.309 we need the oil of the Holy Spirit to guide us 00:12:32.309 --> 00:12:37.330 as we study the word of God. God wants us to 00:12:37.330 --> 00:12:41.710 be so needy on him. And I work with people that 00:12:41.710 --> 00:12:44.210 I encourage to not be so needy on other people. 00:12:44.710 --> 00:12:48.789 But God wants us to be so needy on him that we 00:12:48.789 --> 00:12:51.519 are constantly going to the Holy Spirit. We're 00:12:51.519 --> 00:12:54.480 asking his advice. What do I do, Lord? How do 00:12:54.480 --> 00:12:58.059 I handle this situation? What is your will? God 00:12:58.059 --> 00:13:01.519 wants us to be needy. He wants us to be just 00:13:01.519 --> 00:13:07.940 like little children. And we don't want to be 00:13:07.940 --> 00:13:15.259 that if we're being truthful. Here's what Ellen 00:13:15.259 --> 00:13:18.879 White says in Christ's Object Lessons. The special 00:13:18.879 --> 00:13:21.940 gifts of the Holy Spirit are not the only talents 00:13:21.940 --> 00:13:26.120 represented in the parable. It includes gifts 00:13:26.120 --> 00:13:29.519 and endowments, whether original or acquired, 00:13:29.919 --> 00:13:34.039 natural or spiritual. All are to be employed 00:13:34.039 --> 00:13:38.240 in God's service. In whose service? In God's 00:13:38.240 --> 00:13:41.120 service. Becoming his disciples, we surrender 00:13:41.120 --> 00:13:44.799 ourselves to him with all that we are and have. 00:13:45.440 --> 00:13:49.299 These gifts he returns to us purified and ennobled 00:13:49.299 --> 00:13:53.879 to be used for his glory in blessing his fellow 00:13:53.879 --> 00:14:05.480 men. Let's go back to Matthew chapter 25. You 00:14:05.480 --> 00:14:09.399 know, there's something that's interesting about 00:14:09.399 --> 00:14:13.659 this chapter. See, Jesus tells us some stories 00:14:13.659 --> 00:14:16.429 about... These virgins, some of them were wise, 00:14:16.529 --> 00:14:20.549 some of them were foolish. And then the author 00:14:20.549 --> 00:14:23.990 just abruptly moves away from that story into 00:14:23.990 --> 00:14:29.570 another story. This time, the story is about 00:14:29.570 --> 00:14:35.750 talents. I wonder if that's a coincidence or 00:14:35.750 --> 00:14:40.730 if there's a purpose for why this talents story 00:14:40.730 --> 00:14:44.919 follows the virgin story. The Bible often talks 00:14:44.919 --> 00:14:49.000 about or uses repetition and enlargement to help 00:14:49.000 --> 00:14:52.519 us understand something that's important that 00:14:52.519 --> 00:14:56.899 God wants us to understand. So you guys know 00:14:56.899 --> 00:14:59.240 the story of the talents too, right? We know 00:14:59.240 --> 00:15:01.779 the story of the virgins. We often hear the story 00:15:01.779 --> 00:15:04.159 of the talents. And I don't think that we often 00:15:04.159 --> 00:15:07.399 hear them together. Would you guys agree with 00:15:07.399 --> 00:15:11.039 that? Let's talk about this for a minute. So 00:15:11.039 --> 00:15:13.240 we know the story of the talents. There's a man 00:15:13.240 --> 00:15:18.759 that he calls his servants and he gives them 00:15:18.759 --> 00:15:22.820 talents, right? He gave one five talents, he 00:15:22.820 --> 00:15:24.539 gave another two talents, and he gave another 00:15:24.539 --> 00:15:27.279 one talent, each according to their ability. 00:15:28.580 --> 00:15:33.159 And then we know the story. Like the one who 00:15:33.159 --> 00:15:36.500 received the five talents, he made another five 00:15:36.500 --> 00:15:40.200 talents, right? The one who received two talents, 00:15:40.419 --> 00:15:43.580 he gained another two. So we see these guys are 00:15:43.580 --> 00:15:45.840 actually doubling their talents, right? It's 00:15:45.840 --> 00:15:48.700 pretty cool. But then there's one who received 00:15:48.700 --> 00:15:52.179 one talent. He went and dug in the earth and 00:15:52.179 --> 00:15:57.500 hid his Lord's silver. Now you guys know the 00:15:57.500 --> 00:16:00.259 story. We'll pause there. But how did the servant 00:16:00.259 --> 00:16:05.360 feel about the one servant who hid the talent? 00:16:05.500 --> 00:16:08.730 How did he feel about that? Was he happy? Good 00:16:08.730 --> 00:16:10.590 job. At least you didn't lose anything, right? 00:16:16.750 --> 00:16:20.289 One of the things that we know is that the master 00:16:20.289 --> 00:16:23.830 was angry. He was angry because he didn't use 00:16:23.830 --> 00:16:29.330 his talents. One of the things that the oil does 00:16:29.330 --> 00:16:35.529 is it gives us the ability to use our talents. 00:16:36.590 --> 00:16:41.789 For God's purpose. You guys following me? So 00:16:41.789 --> 00:16:46.330 what are the fruits of the Spirit? We have wisdom, 00:16:46.409 --> 00:16:49.269 knowledge, faith. These are gifts of healing. 00:16:50.710 --> 00:16:53.929 We have the working of miracles. We have prophecy, 00:16:54.629 --> 00:16:58.690 intelligence, speech, influence, time, money, 00:16:58.850 --> 00:17:02.610 health, strength, love, and kindness. These are 00:17:02.610 --> 00:17:06.740 some of the talents of the Holy Spirit. How many 00:17:06.740 --> 00:17:09.759 of you guys know what your talents are? How many 00:17:09.759 --> 00:17:14.700 of you know what God has blessed you with? It's 00:17:14.700 --> 00:17:17.519 really important for us to know what our talents 00:17:17.519 --> 00:17:19.960 are. If you don't know what your talents are, 00:17:20.000 --> 00:17:22.400 that's okay, but you'll at least know one of 00:17:22.400 --> 00:17:28.220 them by the end of this message. So they all 00:17:28.220 --> 00:17:33.319 had talents. Daily, we should be using our talents, 00:17:33.339 --> 00:17:37.150 our gifts for the glory of God. Many people find 00:17:37.150 --> 00:17:40.809 excuses not to use their talents for God's purpose. 00:17:41.769 --> 00:17:43.710 You know, one of the things that always bothers 00:17:43.710 --> 00:17:47.450 me is, you know, you'll have people in the world 00:17:47.450 --> 00:17:50.009 like your Katy Perry's and your Beyonce's and 00:17:50.009 --> 00:17:52.990 there's probably other people. And guess where 00:17:52.990 --> 00:17:57.029 their talents started? In the church. They started 00:17:57.029 --> 00:17:59.730 singing songs for Jesus and now they're not. 00:18:00.609 --> 00:18:04.089 We'll just leave it there. But their talents. 00:18:04.680 --> 00:18:11.039 They had talents. We have talents. The Holy Spirit 00:18:11.039 --> 00:18:15.640 wants to connect with us so we can use our talents 00:18:15.640 --> 00:18:22.859 to glorify God. In verses 16 and 17, we can see 00:18:22.859 --> 00:18:25.740 the cheerful servants using their talents for 00:18:25.740 --> 00:18:30.700 God, and he blesses them with more. In verse 00:18:30.700 --> 00:18:33.940 18, the servant that's chosen not to use his 00:18:33.940 --> 00:18:39.240 talents at all, what does he do? He buries them. 00:18:41.460 --> 00:18:43.680 I don't want to lose it, but I don't want to 00:18:43.680 --> 00:18:47.400 use it. Does that sound about right? He buries 00:18:47.400 --> 00:18:51.339 it. Here's something that's really important 00:18:51.339 --> 00:18:57.140 for you to understand. God is going to come and 00:18:57.140 --> 00:19:01.460 settle his accounts with all of us. Which of 00:19:01.460 --> 00:19:04.279 the servants in the story would you like to be? 00:19:05.460 --> 00:19:09.180 Are you using your talents to glorify God? Are 00:19:09.180 --> 00:19:12.039 you using your talents to further God's kingdom? 00:19:13.339 --> 00:19:17.200 Everyone is going to be accountable for how they 00:19:17.200 --> 00:19:21.420 use their talents. You know, sometimes the church, 00:19:21.579 --> 00:19:24.019 and it seems like sometimes the bigger the church, 00:19:24.220 --> 00:19:27.839 the fewer people are willing to serve. We need 00:19:27.839 --> 00:19:29.960 somebody to teach children Sabbath school. I'm 00:19:29.960 --> 00:19:33.859 too busy, Pastor. I'm sorry, I can't do it. The 00:19:33.859 --> 00:19:38.619 church has needs. What about where you work? 00:19:40.380 --> 00:19:44.019 God put you in that job. How many of us are, 00:19:44.140 --> 00:19:47.240 we praise God, praise God for blessing me with 00:19:47.240 --> 00:19:51.519 this job. I'm making really good money. But then 00:19:51.519 --> 00:19:53.500 what do you do with that job to glorify God, 00:19:53.599 --> 00:19:56.799 to say thank you for putting me here? Do you 00:19:56.799 --> 00:20:01.380 look for those opportunities? Do you unite with 00:20:01.380 --> 00:20:07.960 the oil to share your talents with God? You following 00:20:07.960 --> 00:20:15.299 me, church? God is pleased with what his servants 00:20:15.299 --> 00:20:17.440 have done with their talents, at least two of 00:20:17.440 --> 00:20:20.019 the servants. But he gets mad with the servant 00:20:20.019 --> 00:20:24.079 for not using his gift. Why does God call the 00:20:24.079 --> 00:20:27.740 servant wicked and lazy? God could have just 00:20:27.740 --> 00:20:30.839 said, you didn't do it, okay, well, shame on 00:20:30.839 --> 00:20:35.240 you. But that is not what he does. Why does he 00:20:35.240 --> 00:20:41.180 call the servant wicked and lazy? There has to 00:20:41.180 --> 00:20:44.019 be something that this servant is doing that's 00:20:44.019 --> 00:20:47.460 outside of God's will. Are you guys following 00:20:47.460 --> 00:20:50.640 me? Not only is he not using his talents, but 00:20:50.640 --> 00:20:57.059 God is not pleased with him. Perhaps the message 00:20:57.059 --> 00:21:01.380 is not how talented you are, but that you use 00:21:01.380 --> 00:21:05.500 your talents to glorify God. You know, maybe 00:21:05.500 --> 00:21:07.920 sometimes we branch off and we try something 00:21:07.920 --> 00:21:12.160 new and we go, man, that didn't work. But maybe 00:21:12.160 --> 00:21:15.099 using our talents might be about looking and 00:21:15.099 --> 00:21:19.220 seeing where is God working? And uniting our 00:21:19.220 --> 00:21:23.720 talents there and serving in that capacity. If 00:21:23.720 --> 00:21:26.799 you're ever in doubt about where God can use 00:21:26.799 --> 00:21:29.599 your talents, look and see what God is doing 00:21:29.599 --> 00:21:35.720 and join in. Be a part of it. Let me read something 00:21:35.720 --> 00:21:39.220 to you. This is so powerful. I hope you guys 00:21:39.220 --> 00:21:41.940 don't miss this message. This is found in Christ's 00:21:41.940 --> 00:21:44.279 object lessons. And here's what Ellen White says. 00:21:44.859 --> 00:21:50.119 As the will of man. cooperates with the will 00:21:50.119 --> 00:21:54.619 of God, it becomes omnipotent. And that just 00:21:54.619 --> 00:21:57.359 means having unlimited power, able to do anything. 00:21:58.220 --> 00:22:02.579 Whatever is to be done at his command may be 00:22:02.579 --> 00:22:07.400 accomplished in his strength. All his biddings 00:22:07.400 --> 00:22:11.640 and enablings. Did you guys catch what this is 00:22:11.640 --> 00:22:14.940 saying? Okay, let me read it again because I 00:22:14.940 --> 00:22:17.529 didn't even get one amen. Let's try this again. 00:22:17.730 --> 00:22:23.769 As the will of man cooperates with the will of 00:22:23.769 --> 00:22:28.589 God, it becomes omnipotent. Whatever is to be 00:22:28.589 --> 00:22:32.390 done at his command may be accomplished in his 00:22:32.390 --> 00:22:38.309 strength. All his biddings and enablings. Are 00:22:38.309 --> 00:22:41.609 you guys catching what's happening here? God 00:22:41.609 --> 00:22:44.069 unites with us. First of all, he kind of leads 00:22:44.069 --> 00:22:45.690 us in that direction. Okay, you go over there. 00:22:45.829 --> 00:22:48.650 I want you to start a ministry. And then he says, 00:22:48.890 --> 00:22:51.549 and when we return to him, okay, God, I'm going 00:22:51.549 --> 00:22:53.549 to do what you asked me to do. What do you want? 00:22:53.589 --> 00:22:55.789 How do you want this to happen? And God's like, 00:22:55.869 --> 00:22:58.769 watch this. And he just puts his power on you 00:22:58.769 --> 00:23:02.950 and your ministry starts to thrive and be successful. 00:23:05.490 --> 00:23:11.190 Isn't that amazing? So here's the... deal that 00:23:11.190 --> 00:23:15.329 God and I have. So I'm a mental health therapist. 00:23:15.910 --> 00:23:19.490 That means I work with people that have problems. 00:23:21.690 --> 00:23:25.630 And it is where one of my talents is. It's something 00:23:25.630 --> 00:23:27.950 that God truly has blessed me with. And the reason 00:23:27.950 --> 00:23:30.250 I'm saying this, and I'm not bragging, is because 00:23:30.250 --> 00:23:32.869 when I went back to being a teenager, adults 00:23:32.869 --> 00:23:35.190 were coming to me saying, what should I do in 00:23:35.190 --> 00:23:38.680 this situation? And the Lord would bless me then 00:23:38.680 --> 00:23:40.359 too. I'd tell them what to do. They'd do it. 00:23:40.359 --> 00:23:43.700 It worked perfectly. So this is a gift. And God 00:23:43.700 --> 00:23:46.319 and I talked about this gift before I even went 00:23:46.319 --> 00:23:48.220 to college. What do you want me to do, Lord? 00:23:49.059 --> 00:23:52.460 He told me two things. He said, I want you to 00:23:52.460 --> 00:23:54.200 go in the ministry and I want you to be a counselor. 00:23:54.920 --> 00:23:59.500 And I did it. So here's what happens. Sometimes 00:23:59.500 --> 00:24:01.319 when I'm sitting in my office and I'm working 00:24:01.319 --> 00:24:06.279 with somebody, I'm like, okay, I need your help 00:24:06.279 --> 00:24:09.900 here. And I hear the Holy Spirit whisper in my 00:24:09.900 --> 00:24:13.519 ear. And so I'll say things. Sometimes it's things 00:24:13.519 --> 00:24:14.940 I'm like, are you sure you want me to say that? 00:24:15.460 --> 00:24:17.599 And I'll say it. And sure enough, it's exactly 00:24:17.599 --> 00:24:20.680 what I need to say. And things start to unlock. 00:24:21.920 --> 00:24:25.539 And I see God working. Are you guys following 00:24:25.539 --> 00:24:28.480 what I'm saying? I don't really claim to be a 00:24:28.480 --> 00:24:33.220 good counselor. I just know who helps me. What 00:24:33.220 --> 00:24:37.059 I want to challenge you guys to do. We need the 00:24:37.059 --> 00:24:43.579 Holy Spirit to be with us. So one of the things 00:24:43.579 --> 00:24:47.579 that happens is, you know, God calls His servant 00:24:47.579 --> 00:24:53.579 wicked and lazy. God is adamant about us using 00:24:53.579 --> 00:24:56.880 our talents, that He takes the time to reemphasize 00:24:56.880 --> 00:25:01.640 the importance of us sharing in His work. Could 00:25:01.640 --> 00:25:06.170 it be that part of the reason that God was so 00:25:06.170 --> 00:25:09.730 angry with his servant was because one of the 00:25:09.730 --> 00:25:12.089 talents that he has, that he gives everybody, 00:25:12.190 --> 00:25:15.990 regardless of who you are, is the ability to 00:25:15.990 --> 00:25:22.910 share his love. This servant buried his talent. 00:25:24.089 --> 00:25:28.109 He didn't even use, though at least the one that 00:25:28.109 --> 00:25:31.329 God calls us to use, to share his love with somebody. 00:25:32.329 --> 00:25:36.140 You guys following me? He buried his talent and 00:25:36.140 --> 00:25:45.359 God called him wicked and lazy. You know, if 00:25:45.359 --> 00:25:51.299 we keep going in this chapter, I'm going to make 00:25:51.299 --> 00:25:53.160 my point to show you what I'm talking about with 00:25:53.160 --> 00:25:56.819 this talent. Because he moves directly from talent 00:25:56.819 --> 00:26:00.940 to the final judgment. Now he starts talking 00:26:00.940 --> 00:26:04.039 about judgment. He talks about talent. And then 00:26:04.039 --> 00:26:06.119 he goes back to judgment. Isn't that interesting? 00:26:08.000 --> 00:26:12.059 But this time, this is what he says. He goes 00:26:12.059 --> 00:26:21.460 to specific people and he says to them, he says, 00:26:21.539 --> 00:26:27.420 when I was hungry, you gave me food. When I was 00:26:27.420 --> 00:26:33.670 thirsty, you gave me drink. I was in prison and 00:26:33.670 --> 00:26:36.190 you came to see me. I was naked and you clothed 00:26:36.190 --> 00:26:42.069 me. I was sick and you visited me. Why does the 00:26:42.069 --> 00:26:49.869 author suddenly jump to this? And so what do 00:26:49.869 --> 00:26:53.650 the people say? When do we do that? I honestly 00:26:53.650 --> 00:26:55.869 do not remember giving you anything to drink. 00:26:56.250 --> 00:26:59.210 I don't remember. talking to you i don't remember 00:26:59.210 --> 00:27:01.269 clothing you i don't remember helping you and 00:27:01.269 --> 00:27:05.650 yours i don't remember any of that and what does 00:27:05.650 --> 00:27:17.170 the bible say are you guys catching this if you 00:27:17.170 --> 00:27:21.029 did it to the least of these you did it to me 00:27:21.029 --> 00:27:28.380 we all have at least one talent What's that one 00:27:28.380 --> 00:27:34.160 telling? We got to show God's love. That's what 00:27:34.160 --> 00:27:37.720 this man buried. He didn't want to show his love. 00:27:38.539 --> 00:27:41.319 And Jesus called him wicked and he called him 00:27:41.319 --> 00:27:46.880 lazy. Because God wants all of us, and there 00:27:46.880 --> 00:27:51.000 are no exceptions. You've got to do something 00:27:51.000 --> 00:27:56.700 for his kingdom. So let's see if we can put all 00:27:56.700 --> 00:27:59.779 the pieces together. This is the teacher in me. 00:28:02.740 --> 00:28:05.759 In the first parable, what was the emphasis? 00:28:08.880 --> 00:28:13.319 They needed oil, the Holy Spirit, right? In the 00:28:13.319 --> 00:28:18.539 second parable, what was he encouraging them 00:28:18.539 --> 00:28:23.099 to do? And what do they need to be successful? 00:28:23.819 --> 00:28:28.039 and using their talents. You've got to have the 00:28:28.039 --> 00:28:33.460 Holy Spirit. And then in the third section, what 00:28:33.460 --> 00:28:36.839 do we see? This is truly the final judgment in 00:28:36.839 --> 00:28:41.579 that section. Well, what is God saying? Yeah, 00:28:41.640 --> 00:28:44.559 He's congratulating those, and some people He 00:28:44.559 --> 00:28:47.299 doesn't congratulate. We know some people go 00:28:47.299 --> 00:28:50.410 to hell and destruction, but... But God is taking 00:28:50.410 --> 00:28:53.630 the time to say, man, you did a really good job. 00:28:55.009 --> 00:28:58.009 Even if nobody else saw what you did, I saw it. 00:28:58.829 --> 00:29:04.109 Well done. Are you guys connecting the dots here? 00:29:06.549 --> 00:29:11.430 This is a love message. God is trying to tell 00:29:11.430 --> 00:29:15.390 us, listen, I got the Holy Spirit that's going 00:29:15.390 --> 00:29:20.240 to hook you up. And that's what we need to partner 00:29:20.240 --> 00:29:23.579 with, the Holy Spirit, so God will empower us 00:29:23.579 --> 00:29:30.140 so that we can do His will. Let me show you something. 00:29:31.039 --> 00:29:33.099 We're going to end this, but I just want to show 00:29:33.099 --> 00:29:48.180 you this real quick. Here is it. Mercy. Okay. 00:29:48.559 --> 00:29:54.980 It's going to be Zechariah chapter 4, verse 6. 00:29:56.920 --> 00:30:08.880 Zechariah chapter 4, verse 6. When you have it, 00:30:08.900 --> 00:30:13.119 say amen. Okay, he answered and spoke to me saying, 00:30:13.259 --> 00:30:15.640 this is the word of Jehovah to Zerubbabel saying, 00:30:15.900 --> 00:30:21.940 not by not might. nor by power, but by my spirit, 00:30:22.099 --> 00:30:29.799 says Jehovah of hosts. We need the oil so that 00:30:29.799 --> 00:30:33.279 we can do the work. You guys follow what I'm 00:30:33.279 --> 00:30:36.240 saying here? Are you seeing the message that 00:30:36.240 --> 00:30:39.559 God wants us to get? Are you seeing the love 00:30:39.559 --> 00:30:42.480 message where he's saying, I need you to partner 00:30:42.480 --> 00:30:46.119 with me. I need you to do some work for me. And 00:30:46.119 --> 00:30:48.700 I have designed this work so that it's special 00:30:48.700 --> 00:30:53.000 just for you. Other people can do the work, but 00:30:53.000 --> 00:30:55.720 not as well as the way I've designed it for you. 00:30:55.940 --> 00:30:58.680 And for them, I have special work for them too. 00:31:00.799 --> 00:31:03.119 And God is saying, I don't want anybody to be 00:31:03.119 --> 00:31:07.559 lost, but here's what you need to survive midnight. 00:31:09.640 --> 00:31:14.789 You guys following? Is this a love message? Is 00:31:14.789 --> 00:31:18.309 God speaking to your heart? Stand with me. Let's 00:31:18.309 --> 00:31:25.109 pray. I want to pray a special prayer. I know 00:31:25.109 --> 00:31:26.849 that some of you guys are doing the work and 00:31:26.849 --> 00:31:31.349 I want to say thank you. But there's more work 00:31:31.349 --> 00:31:34.349 to be done. And God is calling us to do that 00:31:34.349 --> 00:31:38.089 work. So I just want us to pray and we're going 00:31:38.089 --> 00:31:41.640 to ask God, please help me. Help me to fight 00:31:41.640 --> 00:31:44.000 that selfish part of me that doesn't want to 00:31:44.000 --> 00:31:48.420 do your work. I want to pray that God will bless 00:31:48.420 --> 00:31:51.140 us with the Holy Spirit so that we will be empowered 00:31:51.140 --> 00:31:55.319 to do what God calls us to do. Let's pray. Father 00:31:55.319 --> 00:31:57.740 God, we're so grateful for your love message. 00:31:58.220 --> 00:32:00.680 We're grateful, Father, that you were able to 00:32:00.680 --> 00:32:04.500 break it down and make it clear to us. We are 00:32:04.500 --> 00:32:08.420 your servants and we need the Holy Spirit, Father. 00:32:09.019 --> 00:32:13.220 so that we can do your work. Father God, I want 00:32:13.220 --> 00:32:15.740 to pray for each person here. We battle against 00:32:15.740 --> 00:32:19.440 our flesh, which tells us somebody else has got 00:32:19.440 --> 00:32:22.779 it. Somebody else will do it. But we want to 00:32:22.779 --> 00:32:27.500 be, we want to say, Father, here am I. Send me. 00:32:28.700 --> 00:32:32.619 Use me, Father, to further your cause. Father, 00:32:32.740 --> 00:32:35.859 if there's fear, we know that perfect love casts 00:32:35.859 --> 00:32:41.390 out all fear. Bless us, Father. Help us. And 00:32:41.390 --> 00:32:44.950 Father, I just pray if there's somebody that 00:32:44.950 --> 00:32:48.309 needs to reach out to the pastor to have a conversation 00:32:48.309 --> 00:32:51.450 about the Holy Spirit coming into their heart 00:32:51.450 --> 00:32:54.250 because they're not a part of your flock yet, 00:32:54.289 --> 00:32:57.349 I just want to pray that you will give them that 00:32:57.349 --> 00:33:01.250 motivation as well. But God, we are so grateful 00:33:01.250 --> 00:33:04.730 for this message. We're grateful for the timeliness 00:33:04.730 --> 00:33:07.869 of it. And we just want to pray for your strength 00:33:07.869 --> 00:33:10.890 and your wisdom. Thank you, Father, for hearing 00:33:10.890 --> 00:33:13.650 our prayer. Thank you for inspiring this message. 00:33:14.069 --> 00:33:16.309 In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.