WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.240 I'm really excited to be here. You know, my wife, 00:00:03.279 --> 00:00:06.179 Alex, and I, we live in Nashville. I'm a family 00:00:06.179 --> 00:00:08.599 minister at the church that I work at. So from 00:00:08.599 --> 00:00:11.460 zero to 18, I'm there. I was literally texting 00:00:11.460 --> 00:00:13.900 people this morning about, hey, y 'all call it, 00:00:13.900 --> 00:00:16.559 we worship, we call it Kids in Christ service. 00:00:16.980 --> 00:00:18.739 I was texting people this morning, hey, make 00:00:18.739 --> 00:00:20.179 sure you do this, make sure you do that. And 00:00:20.179 --> 00:00:22.059 people were like, hey, we got it. You know, it's 00:00:22.059 --> 00:00:24.719 so weird to be a little bit, to be away from 00:00:24.719 --> 00:00:27.899 the church for even a short amount of time that 00:00:27.899 --> 00:00:31.039 we get to. you know, travel on the weekends. 00:00:31.239 --> 00:00:33.600 It's a little bit weird to be away from my home 00:00:33.600 --> 00:00:35.920 church, but I'm so incredibly glad to be here 00:00:35.920 --> 00:00:38.119 this morning, be with my family, right? Regardless 00:00:38.119 --> 00:00:40.200 of where we meet, we're family, and I'm absolutely 00:00:40.200 --> 00:00:43.020 overjoyed by that. Donovan brought this to me 00:00:43.020 --> 00:00:46.719 a little while ago about what this sermon series 00:00:46.719 --> 00:00:49.560 is about, about what we're going to talk about 00:00:49.560 --> 00:00:51.679 this morning, and it's all about doing well, 00:00:51.759 --> 00:00:56.079 right? I think that so often in our lives, we 00:00:56.079 --> 00:01:00.549 are consumed by the idea of success. We're consumed 00:01:00.549 --> 00:01:04.790 by the idea of success. And we look across the 00:01:04.790 --> 00:01:06.790 world, and one of the terrible things that we 00:01:06.790 --> 00:01:08.390 can get into is we can get into the comparison 00:01:08.390 --> 00:01:11.829 game. I work with, you know, small people, medium 00:01:11.829 --> 00:01:14.469 people. I work with so many young people. And 00:01:14.469 --> 00:01:17.569 one of the most prevailing themes in their lives 00:01:17.569 --> 00:01:21.090 is the idea of comparison. You know, when a 16 00:01:21.090 --> 00:01:23.430 -year -old gets a car, if they don't have a BMW, 00:01:23.730 --> 00:01:26.269 it's like, oh, man, well, this guy got a BMW 00:01:26.269 --> 00:01:28.930 for his 16th birthday. Am I lesser because of 00:01:28.930 --> 00:01:32.180 that? Oh, this person got a car on their 16th 00:01:32.180 --> 00:01:35.420 birthday. I only got a bike. Oh, this person 00:01:35.420 --> 00:01:37.920 got this. This person got that. One of the things 00:01:37.920 --> 00:01:41.700 that we too often focus onto is the idea of what 00:01:41.700 --> 00:01:46.480 the definition is of doing well. What is the 00:01:46.480 --> 00:01:50.780 definition of doing well? So often in not only 00:01:50.780 --> 00:01:54.079 our culture, but every place surrounding the 00:01:54.079 --> 00:01:58.420 world, the idea of doing well is tied to money. 00:01:59.039 --> 00:02:03.920 It's tied to success. It's tied to fame. And 00:02:03.920 --> 00:02:06.260 I don't think anybody in here would think it's 00:02:06.260 --> 00:02:09.560 out of bounds to say that unfortunately that 00:02:09.560 --> 00:02:12.620 has creeped its way into the church. What do 00:02:12.620 --> 00:02:14.580 you mean that you go to a church of less than 00:02:14.580 --> 00:02:17.180 400 people? What do you mean you don't have five 00:02:17.180 --> 00:02:19.340 people on staff? What do you mean you don't have 00:02:19.340 --> 00:02:20.800 this? What do you mean that you don't have that? 00:02:20.939 --> 00:02:22.400 What do you mean you don't have a full -time 00:02:22.400 --> 00:02:24.039 children's minister? What do you mean you don't 00:02:24.039 --> 00:02:27.080 go to a Honduras trip every single year? What 00:02:27.080 --> 00:02:29.669 do you mean you don't do this? And so we've judged 00:02:29.669 --> 00:02:32.509 the church and people inside the church based 00:02:32.509 --> 00:02:39.069 on success, how the world defines it. But that's 00:02:39.069 --> 00:02:42.789 happened a lot, not only with this specific area 00:02:42.789 --> 00:02:48.449 in terms of doing well, but also in business, 00:02:48.530 --> 00:02:50.490 in Christian businesses, right? One of the gold 00:02:50.490 --> 00:02:53.110 standards for doing well in the world today, 00:02:53.330 --> 00:02:56.960 at least I feel, is Chick -fil -A, right? I think 00:02:56.960 --> 00:02:59.159 that's a perfect example of Christians setting 00:02:59.159 --> 00:03:03.599 a standard. And rather than curtailing their 00:03:03.599 --> 00:03:06.400 clientele, curtailing their standards to the 00:03:06.400 --> 00:03:10.580 world, they uplift the world's standards. When 00:03:10.580 --> 00:03:14.759 we think of doing well, sometimes as a minister, 00:03:14.879 --> 00:03:21.020 I can, I guess the best way to describe it is 00:03:21.020 --> 00:03:25.759 I can fall into this sin. I can be worried about, 00:03:25.840 --> 00:03:30.289 oh, My church doesn't have 500 people. I'm not 00:03:30.289 --> 00:03:34.810 the biggest youth program in Nashville. I'm not 00:03:34.810 --> 00:03:38.870 this. I'm not that. And I think that when we 00:03:38.870 --> 00:03:42.069 start to understand the true definition of what 00:03:42.069 --> 00:03:44.770 success is, the true definition of what doing 00:03:44.770 --> 00:03:51.310 well is, the more it becomes obvious that Jesus 00:03:51.310 --> 00:03:55.050 Christ is at the center of that. The idea of 00:03:55.050 --> 00:04:00.069 well. The idea of doing, the idea of success 00:04:00.069 --> 00:04:05.250 has to start at Christ. In the year 2020, it 00:04:05.250 --> 00:04:09.030 was my very first ministry job. My very first 00:04:09.030 --> 00:04:13.229 ministry job, I agreed to the job about two weeks 00:04:13.229 --> 00:04:18.680 before the world shut down. It was wild. One 00:04:18.680 --> 00:04:20.980 of the things that I did in that time frame was 00:04:20.980 --> 00:04:24.079 I started, I'm a big NBA fan. I love NBA basketball. 00:04:24.240 --> 00:04:25.959 You probably can tell by my height. But I love 00:04:25.959 --> 00:04:27.839 NBA basketball. I love all things basketball. 00:04:27.939 --> 00:04:30.620 I watch basketball way too much. And I started 00:04:30.620 --> 00:04:33.500 this little podcast thing. So I started on YouTube, 00:04:33.680 --> 00:04:36.600 on Twitter, on Instagram. I got some really awesome 00:04:36.600 --> 00:04:40.319 opportunities. I got to interview several different 00:04:40.319 --> 00:04:42.980 NBA players. This picture in the middle here, 00:04:43.040 --> 00:04:46.360 it got posted on social media on the New Orleans 00:04:46.360 --> 00:04:48.000 Pelican site. I'm there in the back. ground. 00:04:48.019 --> 00:04:51.100 I got to stand on the court at halftime. I got 00:04:51.100 --> 00:04:54.500 an NBA media pass. I got to talk to NBA GMs. 00:04:54.500 --> 00:04:56.540 I got to meet millionaires who, you know, get 00:04:56.540 --> 00:04:58.220 to play the game of basketball. And it was so 00:04:58.220 --> 00:05:01.439 much fun. It was so much fun. And, you know, 00:05:01.439 --> 00:05:04.720 by all metrics of the world, I was successful. 00:05:05.529 --> 00:05:08.350 By all metrics of the world in this world, like 00:05:08.350 --> 00:05:10.769 on Twitter, I was getting 5 to 10 million impressions 00:05:10.769 --> 00:05:13.449 a month. On Instagram, I was getting paid to 00:05:13.449 --> 00:05:17.750 do a post. On YouTube, I was making so much money 00:05:17.750 --> 00:05:20.769 a month by posting all these videos. By all markers 00:05:20.769 --> 00:05:26.889 of success in the world, I was successful. But 00:05:26.889 --> 00:05:31.350 what went into this, in my mind, as a minister 00:05:31.350 --> 00:05:36.139 now, was inappropriate. Because here's the point 00:05:36.139 --> 00:05:39.300 that I was at, is that every game, NBA plays 00:05:39.300 --> 00:05:42.579 82 games a year. Every game I was watching. It 00:05:42.579 --> 00:05:44.279 didn't matter if I was at a wedding. It didn't 00:05:44.279 --> 00:05:46.019 matter if I was at a funeral. It didn't matter 00:05:46.019 --> 00:05:49.600 if I had a youth ministry thing going on that 00:05:49.600 --> 00:05:52.800 day. I would end class early on Wednesday nights 00:05:52.800 --> 00:05:55.180 to make sure that I got to watch the beginning 00:05:55.180 --> 00:05:57.060 of this so I could tweet about it. So I could 00:05:57.060 --> 00:05:59.660 make sure that I was the most informed on content 00:05:59.660 --> 00:06:03.620 and be able to comment good things about the 00:06:03.620 --> 00:06:07.149 team. My wife will tell you it was a rough time 00:06:07.149 --> 00:06:09.050 because it seemed that all other responsibilities, 00:06:09.230 --> 00:06:15.269 all other things in my life came second to this. 00:06:16.850 --> 00:06:20.110 And I was still an active minister at the time. 00:06:22.009 --> 00:06:25.689 By all metrics, I should have continued doing 00:06:25.689 --> 00:06:31.110 this because I was successful. And the question 00:06:31.110 --> 00:06:37.459 this morning is, Does all success come from God? 00:06:38.959 --> 00:06:45.959 Does all success come from God? It's a very interesting 00:06:45.959 --> 00:06:50.560 and important question that we have to ask. Some 00:06:50.560 --> 00:06:52.639 of us immediately have an answer. Some of us 00:06:52.639 --> 00:06:57.019 have dealt with people in the world who are successful 00:06:57.019 --> 00:06:59.439 by the metric of the world, who sell millions 00:06:59.439 --> 00:07:02.470 of dollars of merchandise, who... have really 00:07:02.470 --> 00:07:04.829 good businesses that are profitable, that have 00:07:04.829 --> 00:07:09.509 a wide span of successfulness, both professionally 00:07:09.509 --> 00:07:11.790 in the business world and things like that. But 00:07:11.790 --> 00:07:14.329 one of the things that I think we have to understand, 00:07:14.589 --> 00:07:18.310 and I'll say this and then we'll explain it, 00:07:18.410 --> 00:07:24.029 is that Satan can bless you too. Satan will give 00:07:24.029 --> 00:07:29.829 you anything you want. Anything you want. He'll 00:07:29.829 --> 00:07:32.920 give you money. He'll give you fame. He'll give 00:07:32.920 --> 00:07:37.540 you ideas and ideals of grandeur that you could 00:07:37.540 --> 00:07:42.860 obtain one day. But apart from that, he'll take 00:07:42.860 --> 00:07:46.579 everything you have. He'll give you anything 00:07:46.579 --> 00:07:51.379 you want, but will take everything that you have. 00:07:51.939 --> 00:07:53.759 And I think one of the things that we have to 00:07:53.759 --> 00:07:57.779 understand, and with the idea of Satan blessing 00:07:57.779 --> 00:08:01.420 us, I know we tie that word with blessing and 00:08:01.420 --> 00:08:03.839 we tie it with Christ and God and what he has 00:08:03.839 --> 00:08:07.199 given to us and praise be to him for that. But 00:08:07.199 --> 00:08:10.300 Satan can make a curse seem like a blessing. 00:08:12.540 --> 00:08:15.420 He can say, you know what? This thing that you've 00:08:15.420 --> 00:08:18.360 wanted for your entire life, I'm going to be 00:08:18.360 --> 00:08:23.199 a good guy. I'm going to give it to you. And 00:08:23.199 --> 00:08:25.600 I think that it is no more clear that this is 00:08:25.600 --> 00:08:28.160 not only true, but absolutely fundamental to 00:08:28.160 --> 00:08:31.439 not only our faith as individuals, but even to 00:08:31.439 --> 00:08:33.740 Christ. In Matthew chapter 4, verses 1 through 00:08:33.740 --> 00:08:36.519 11, then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the 00:08:36.519 --> 00:08:39.200 wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After 00:08:39.200 --> 00:08:41.580 fasting for 40 days and for 40 nights, he was 00:08:41.580 --> 00:08:44.620 hungry. The tempter came to him and said, if 00:08:44.620 --> 00:08:47.320 you are the Son of God, tell these stones to 00:08:47.320 --> 00:08:49.899 become bread. Jesus answered, it is written, 00:08:49.960 --> 00:08:53.059 man shall not live on bread alone. but on every 00:08:53.059 --> 00:08:54.820 word that comes from the mouth of God. And the 00:08:54.820 --> 00:08:57.379 devil took him to the holy city, had him stand 00:08:57.379 --> 00:08:59.500 at the highest point of the temple. If you are 00:08:59.500 --> 00:09:02.460 the son of God, he said, throw yourself down 00:09:02.460 --> 00:09:06.240 for it is written. He will command his angels 00:09:06.240 --> 00:09:08.519 concerning you and they will lift. you up in 00:09:08.519 --> 00:09:11.480 their hands so that you will not strike your 00:09:11.480 --> 00:09:14.200 foot against a stone. Jesus answered him, it 00:09:14.200 --> 00:09:15.960 is also written, do not put the Lord your God 00:09:15.960 --> 00:09:18.539 to the test. Again, the devil took him to a very 00:09:18.539 --> 00:09:20.980 high mountain and showed him all of the kingdoms 00:09:20.980 --> 00:09:25.580 of the world and their splendor and says, what? 00:09:27.120 --> 00:09:33.539 I will give them to you. He said, if you will 00:09:33.539 --> 00:09:38.370 bow down and worship me. Jesus said to him, away 00:09:38.370 --> 00:09:41.090 from me, Satan, for it is written, worship the 00:09:41.090 --> 00:09:44.950 Lord your God and serve him only. And the devil 00:09:44.950 --> 00:09:49.909 left him and the angels came and attended. We 00:09:49.909 --> 00:09:53.289 see it very clearly at the end of the verse here. 00:09:54.370 --> 00:10:00.409 Verse nine, all this I will give to you. The 00:10:00.409 --> 00:10:06.019 idea of success is great. The source of success 00:10:06.019 --> 00:10:10.639 is more important. If Christ is not the source 00:10:10.639 --> 00:10:15.659 of our success, then I question what we have 00:10:15.659 --> 00:10:19.700 been given. So often we can have conversations 00:10:19.700 --> 00:10:22.659 about fruit, right? Don and I this week, we're 00:10:22.659 --> 00:10:25.519 talking about the idea of fruits versus fruit 00:10:25.519 --> 00:10:30.340 of the Spirit. If the success that we have is 00:10:30.340 --> 00:10:33.080 not built upon love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, 00:10:33.220 --> 00:10:36.039 goodness, and faithfulness, has it come from 00:10:36.039 --> 00:10:43.860 God? And can a good thing be a good thing apart 00:10:43.860 --> 00:10:49.460 from God? Can a fantastic work that wasn't inspired 00:10:49.460 --> 00:10:53.259 by God be good? There's so many questions. There's 00:10:53.259 --> 00:10:56.509 so much to contain here. I know we're at the 00:10:56.509 --> 00:10:57.970 part of the sermon where you're like, where are 00:10:57.970 --> 00:10:59.750 we going? Where are we getting at? I'm going 00:10:59.750 --> 00:11:01.809 to take a break. Let's see. How many people in 00:11:01.809 --> 00:11:04.309 here are under 10 years old? Do we have anybody? 00:11:04.649 --> 00:11:07.470 Question mark. Yes. No, maybe so. One on there. 00:11:07.570 --> 00:11:11.330 What about under 18? Under 18? Yes. One, two. 00:11:11.529 --> 00:11:14.190 Look, I got you a deal. I got you a steal of 00:11:14.190 --> 00:11:21.009 a deal. I got a dollar. Can you name who is most 00:11:21.009 --> 00:11:26.100 often attributed to... The writing of Ecclesiastes. 00:11:27.519 --> 00:11:29.500 Who's the author? You can shout it out. I'll 00:11:29.500 --> 00:11:33.120 give you a dollar. No? No? Okay, we'll go 25 00:11:33.120 --> 00:11:37.399 and under. Anybody? Anybody? No. I promise you 00:11:37.399 --> 00:11:41.399 can shout it out. 25. 25 and under? 35 and under. 00:11:42.360 --> 00:11:44.899 Solomon? Who said it? Oh, that man needs some 00:11:44.899 --> 00:11:48.840 money. After this, I got you. I got you. Listen. 00:11:49.240 --> 00:11:51.559 I'll pay for half the tip at the Mexican restaurant 00:11:51.559 --> 00:11:56.460 after lunch today. I got you. I got you. Ecclesiastes 00:11:56.460 --> 00:12:00.159 chapter 2 is most commonly attributed to Solomon, 00:12:00.220 --> 00:12:03.940 right? Solomon was this guy that for whatever 00:12:03.940 --> 00:12:08.779 reason became somebody who was consumed by success. 00:12:09.240 --> 00:12:11.559 And it's really important that we understand 00:12:11.559 --> 00:12:15.840 in Solomon's story, he was blessed by God with 00:12:15.840 --> 00:12:24.350 what? Wisdom, blessed with riches. Even if something 00:12:24.350 --> 00:12:28.950 starts with a blessing from God, it can still 00:12:28.950 --> 00:12:34.330 not end up as a result of God. Solomon's life 00:12:34.330 --> 00:12:40.669 is a beautiful, painful example of that. I don't 00:12:40.669 --> 00:12:42.009 know if y 'all are still a Bible reading church, 00:12:42.250 --> 00:12:46.330 but I read big chapters all the time. So if you 00:12:46.330 --> 00:12:47.830 want to read with me, I'm going to read the entire 00:12:47.830 --> 00:12:51.309 chapter of Ecclesiastes 2. If you take the idea 00:12:51.309 --> 00:12:55.070 of it being read by Solomon, I think it's hauntingly 00:12:55.070 --> 00:12:59.470 beautiful in this idea of success. Ecclesiastes 00:12:59.470 --> 00:13:03.490 chapter 2. I said in my heart, come now, I will 00:13:03.490 --> 00:13:06.750 test you with pleasure. Enjoy yourself, but hold 00:13:06.750 --> 00:13:11.000 this also was vanity. I said of laughter, it 00:13:11.000 --> 00:13:14.960 is mad, and of pleasure, what use is it? I searched 00:13:14.960 --> 00:13:17.279 with my heart how to cheer my body with wine, 00:13:17.419 --> 00:13:20.399 my heart still guiding me with wisdom, and how 00:13:20.399 --> 00:13:23.940 to lay... hold on folly, till I might see what 00:13:23.940 --> 00:13:26.220 was good for the children of man to do under 00:13:26.220 --> 00:13:29.139 heaven during the few days of their life. I made 00:13:29.139 --> 00:13:31.960 great works. I built houses. I planted vineyards 00:13:31.960 --> 00:13:34.980 for myself. I made myself gardens and parks and 00:13:34.980 --> 00:13:38.799 planted in them all kinds of fruit trees. I made 00:13:38.799 --> 00:13:41.159 myself pools from which to water to the forest 00:13:41.159 --> 00:13:44.440 of growing trees. I bought male and female slaves 00:13:44.440 --> 00:13:48.090 and had slaves who were born in my house. I had 00:13:48.090 --> 00:13:50.629 also great possessions of herds and flocks more 00:13:50.629 --> 00:13:53.250 than any who had been before me in Jerusalem. 00:13:53.570 --> 00:13:57.129 I also gathered for myself silver and gold and 00:13:57.129 --> 00:13:59.590 the treasure of kings and provinces. I got singers, 00:13:59.809 --> 00:14:02.870 men and women, and many concubines, the delight 00:14:02.870 --> 00:14:08.809 of the sons of man. So I became great and surpassed 00:14:08.809 --> 00:14:11.830 all who were before me in Jerusalem. Also my 00:14:11.830 --> 00:14:14.450 wisdom remained with me, and whatever my eyes 00:14:14.450 --> 00:14:18.090 desired I did not keep from them. I kept my heart 00:14:18.090 --> 00:14:20.610 from no pleasure, for my heart found pleasure 00:14:20.610 --> 00:14:26.110 in all my toil. And this was my reward for all 00:14:26.110 --> 00:14:29.230 of my toil, that I considered all that my hands 00:14:29.230 --> 00:14:31.950 had done in the toil I had expended in doing 00:14:31.950 --> 00:14:35.409 it. And behold, all was vanity, and the striving 00:14:35.409 --> 00:14:38.370 after win. Then there was nothing to be gained 00:14:38.370 --> 00:14:40.870 under the sun. So I turned to consider wisdom 00:14:40.870 --> 00:14:44.549 and madness and folly. For what can the man do 00:14:44.549 --> 00:14:47.889 who comes after the king? Only what has already 00:14:47.889 --> 00:14:51.429 been done. Then I saw that there is more gain 00:14:51.429 --> 00:14:55.330 in wisdom than in folly. And there is more gain 00:14:55.330 --> 00:14:59.600 in light than in darkness. The wise person. has 00:14:59.600 --> 00:15:03.100 his eyes in his head, but the fool walks in darkness. 00:15:03.580 --> 00:15:06.679 And yet I perceive that the same event happens 00:15:06.679 --> 00:15:09.460 to all of them. Then I said in my heart, what 00:15:09.460 --> 00:15:12.500 happens to the fool will happen to me also. Why 00:15:12.500 --> 00:15:16.320 then have I been so very wise? And said in my 00:15:16.320 --> 00:15:21.240 heart that this is also vanity. For of the wise, 00:15:21.259 --> 00:15:23.860 as of the fool, there is no enduring remembrance, 00:15:24.080 --> 00:15:26.840 seeing that in the days to come all will have 00:15:26.840 --> 00:15:31.450 been forgotten. How the wise dies just like the 00:15:31.450 --> 00:15:34.909 fool. So I hated life, because what is done under 00:15:34.909 --> 00:15:37.629 the sun was grievous to me. For all is vanity 00:15:37.629 --> 00:15:41.610 and a striving after win. And I hated all my 00:15:41.610 --> 00:15:44.590 toil, in which I toil under the sun, seeing that 00:15:44.590 --> 00:15:46.649 I must leave it to the man who will come after 00:15:46.649 --> 00:15:49.909 me. And who knows whether he will be wise or 00:15:49.909 --> 00:15:53.149 a fool? Yet he will be the master of all, which 00:15:53.149 --> 00:15:57.259 I toiled and used my wisdom under the sun. This 00:15:57.259 --> 00:16:02.259 is also vanity. So I turned about and gave my 00:16:02.259 --> 00:16:05.500 heart up to despair over all the toil of my labors 00:16:05.500 --> 00:16:08.580 under the sun, because sometimes a person who 00:16:08.580 --> 00:16:11.139 has toiled with wisdom and knowledge and skill 00:16:11.139 --> 00:16:15.779 must leave everything to be enjoyed by someone 00:16:15.779 --> 00:16:19.019 who did not toil for it. This also is vanity 00:16:19.019 --> 00:16:24.539 and a great evil. What has a man from all the 00:16:24.539 --> 00:16:27.980 toil and striving of heart with which he toils 00:16:27.980 --> 00:16:31.620 beneath the sun? For all his days are full of 00:16:31.620 --> 00:16:35.740 sorrow and his work of vexation. Even in the 00:16:35.740 --> 00:16:40.159 night his heart does not rest. This is also vanity. 00:16:41.480 --> 00:16:44.559 There is nothing better for a person than that 00:16:44.559 --> 00:16:47.360 he should eat and drink and find enjoyment in 00:16:47.360 --> 00:16:52.840 his toil. This also I saw is from... the hand 00:16:52.840 --> 00:16:59.000 of God. For apart from him who can eat or who 00:16:59.000 --> 00:17:02.960 can have enjoyment. For to the one who pleases 00:17:02.960 --> 00:17:06.200 him, God has given wisdom and knowledge and joy. 00:17:06.519 --> 00:17:09.660 But to the sinner, he has given the busyness 00:17:09.660 --> 00:17:15.339 of gathering and collecting only to give to one 00:17:15.339 --> 00:17:20.150 who pleases God. This is also vanity. and is 00:17:20.150 --> 00:17:25.349 striving after the wind. It is so incredibly 00:17:25.349 --> 00:17:30.529 hauntingly beautiful. You see a man that has 00:17:30.529 --> 00:17:35.609 been given everything, success, money. It says 00:17:35.609 --> 00:17:39.410 that his house was innumerable, his wives innumerable, 00:17:39.450 --> 00:17:45.549 his money uncalculable. The man who had it all, 00:17:45.630 --> 00:17:49.829 at the end, after it had all been taken away, 00:17:50.029 --> 00:17:55.190 that is when he found out how important the source 00:17:55.190 --> 00:17:59.430 was. Because he had it all. Again, the same idea. 00:18:00.430 --> 00:18:05.650 He had the successes of the world. And it boils 00:18:05.650 --> 00:18:10.230 down to this point. Do not judge success on the 00:18:10.230 --> 00:18:13.309 scale of the world, but instead through the eyes 00:18:13.309 --> 00:18:17.269 of God. Do not judge it based on biggest house. 00:18:17.789 --> 00:18:20.630 Do not judge it based on most money. Do not judge 00:18:20.630 --> 00:18:24.210 it based on all the things that so many people 00:18:24.210 --> 00:18:27.750 in the world want to tell us. And honestly, even 00:18:27.750 --> 00:18:32.630 people in the church will tell us. How many times 00:18:32.630 --> 00:18:35.589 do we see, not only in my work, but in our everyday 00:18:35.589 --> 00:18:38.509 lives, do we see people out in the world who 00:18:38.509 --> 00:18:41.339 have... you know, these huge churches that, you 00:18:41.339 --> 00:18:44.140 know, spend hundreds and hundreds and thousands 00:18:44.140 --> 00:18:45.599 and thousands. I'll give you a perfect example 00:18:45.599 --> 00:18:49.980 from a church in Nashville. There was a church 00:18:49.980 --> 00:18:55.279 in Nashville that was giving out $1 ,000 to the 00:18:55.279 --> 00:18:58.359 individual who was under 18 years old who brought 00:18:58.359 --> 00:19:01.920 the most friends to church. And here's, I'm not 00:19:01.920 --> 00:19:04.920 saying that I don't spend money to get people 00:19:04.920 --> 00:19:08.460 to come to church, but I have an issue with that. 00:19:09.480 --> 00:19:12.759 I have an issue with that because quite simply 00:19:12.759 --> 00:19:16.740 and quite frankly, as nicely as I can put it, 00:19:16.819 --> 00:19:22.720 I hold a high regard for what God blesses a church 00:19:22.720 --> 00:19:28.019 with. If a family, you know, I think about a 00:19:28.019 --> 00:19:32.039 family member at our church that they have a 00:19:32.039 --> 00:19:35.819 limited income and they give, you know, let's 00:19:35.819 --> 00:19:40.069 say they give $30 on a Sunday morning. And it's 00:19:40.069 --> 00:19:44.549 a sacrifice. And we so flippantly give something 00:19:44.549 --> 00:19:47.869 like that out to an 18 year old, a 16 year old, 00:19:47.950 --> 00:19:54.009 a 15 year old, whatever it may be. And so in 00:19:54.009 --> 00:19:57.049 the pursuit of success, have we lost the mission 00:19:57.049 --> 00:20:01.109 of Christ? In the pursuit of filling a sanctuary 00:20:01.109 --> 00:20:06.210 filled with people who love God, have we forgot 00:20:06.210 --> 00:20:11.049 the definition? of success? Have we forgot how 00:20:11.049 --> 00:20:15.890 many people the church started with? Have we 00:20:15.890 --> 00:20:21.170 forgot that God blesses us regardless of the 00:20:21.170 --> 00:20:26.569 number of people in attendance? He blesses the 00:20:26.569 --> 00:20:30.589 true and faithful in heart, the people who are 00:20:30.589 --> 00:20:34.390 seeking Him daily, the people who are desiring 00:20:34.390 --> 00:20:38.950 Him so fervently that their lives are changed 00:20:38.950 --> 00:20:44.470 forever. The truth and the matter of the fact 00:20:44.470 --> 00:20:49.930 is so often what can happen is we see success 00:20:49.930 --> 00:20:55.450 and we're threatened by it. We should always 00:20:55.450 --> 00:20:59.430 be in prayer and always be lifting up churches 00:20:59.430 --> 00:21:02.589 to be successful, for people to be successful. 00:21:03.069 --> 00:21:06.410 And the fruits of our labor, the fruits of their 00:21:06.410 --> 00:21:10.569 labor, will show if that success is from God. 00:21:13.049 --> 00:21:15.569 And more importantly, and this is the part that 00:21:15.569 --> 00:21:18.769 I think all of us struggle with, is the idea 00:21:18.769 --> 00:21:24.950 of judgment in that. Sometimes there's a really 00:21:24.950 --> 00:21:29.369 popular saying, there's no hate like Christian 00:21:29.369 --> 00:21:32.769 love, right? Sometimes because we can get kind 00:21:32.769 --> 00:21:35.720 of a bad rap for being a little judgy. Just a 00:21:35.720 --> 00:21:37.220 little bit, some of us. Not you great, wonderful 00:21:37.220 --> 00:21:40.819 people, but people out there. Sometimes we can 00:21:40.819 --> 00:21:43.539 get a little bit of hate for being judgy. We 00:21:43.539 --> 00:21:47.480 can. And it's really interesting to me because 00:21:47.480 --> 00:21:50.819 what can happen is, and it happens all the time, 00:21:51.460 --> 00:21:55.799 is we so often become the brother in Luke chapter 00:21:55.799 --> 00:21:59.380 15. If you'll read with me there, Luke chapter 00:21:59.380 --> 00:22:02.809 15, verses 11 through 32. And he said there was 00:22:02.809 --> 00:22:04.910 a man who had two sons, and the younger of them 00:22:04.910 --> 00:22:06.690 said to his father, Father, give me the share 00:22:06.690 --> 00:22:09.289 of the property that is coming to me. And he 00:22:09.289 --> 00:22:11.430 divided his property between them. Not many days 00:22:11.430 --> 00:22:14.109 later, the younger son gathered all he had. and 00:22:14.109 --> 00:22:16.630 took a journey into a far country. And there 00:22:16.630 --> 00:22:18.650 he squandered his property and reckless living, 00:22:18.829 --> 00:22:20.890 and when he had spent everything, a severe famine 00:22:20.890 --> 00:22:23.549 arose in that country. And he began to be in 00:22:23.549 --> 00:22:25.589 need, so he went and hired himself out to one 00:22:25.589 --> 00:22:27.589 of the citizens of that country, who sent him 00:22:27.589 --> 00:22:30.210 into his fields to feed the pigs. And he was 00:22:30.210 --> 00:22:32.789 longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs 00:22:32.789 --> 00:22:36.750 ate, and no one gave him anything. But when he 00:22:36.750 --> 00:22:39.190 came to himself, he said, How many of my father's 00:22:39.190 --> 00:22:41.529 hired servants have more than enough bread, but 00:22:41.529 --> 00:22:44.519 I perish here with hunger? I will arise and go 00:22:44.519 --> 00:22:46.119 to my father, and I will say to him, Father, 00:22:46.259 --> 00:22:49.279 I have sinned against heaven and before you. 00:22:49.500 --> 00:22:51.700 I am no longer worthy to be called your son. 00:22:51.779 --> 00:22:53.700 Treat me as one of your hired servants. And he 00:22:53.700 --> 00:22:56.660 arose and came to his father. But while he was 00:22:56.660 --> 00:22:59.660 still a long way off, his father saw him and 00:22:59.660 --> 00:23:02.279 felt compassion and ran and embraced him and 00:23:02.279 --> 00:23:04.500 kissed him. And the son said to him, Father, 00:23:04.579 --> 00:23:07.359 I have sinned against heaven and before you. 00:23:07.920 --> 00:23:11.279 I am no longer worthy to be called your son. 00:23:11.680 --> 00:23:14.240 But the father said to his servants, bring quickly 00:23:14.240 --> 00:23:17.940 the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring 00:23:17.940 --> 00:23:20.440 on his hand and shoes on his feet, and bring 00:23:20.440 --> 00:23:23.200 the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and 00:23:23.200 --> 00:23:26.720 celebrate. For my son was dead and is alive again. 00:23:26.819 --> 00:23:29.700 He was lost and is found, and they began to celebrate. 00:23:30.240 --> 00:23:34.279 Now his older son was in the field, and as he 00:23:34.279 --> 00:23:36.460 came and drew near to the house, he heard music 00:23:36.460 --> 00:23:38.599 and he heard dancing. And he called one of the 00:23:38.599 --> 00:23:40.700 servants and asked what these things meant. And 00:23:40.700 --> 00:23:42.799 he said to him, your brother has come and your 00:23:42.799 --> 00:23:45.039 father has killed the fattened calf because he 00:23:45.039 --> 00:23:48.539 has received him back safe and sound. But he 00:23:48.539 --> 00:23:51.359 was angry and refused to go in. His father came 00:23:51.359 --> 00:23:54.059 out and entreated him. But he answered his father, 00:23:54.180 --> 00:23:57.640 look, these many years I have served you and 00:23:57.640 --> 00:24:00.559 I never disobeyed your command. You have never 00:24:00.559 --> 00:24:05.319 gave me a young goat that I might celebrate with 00:24:05.319 --> 00:24:08.490 my friends. But when this son of yours came who 00:24:08.490 --> 00:24:11.230 has devoured your property with prostitutes, 00:24:11.349 --> 00:24:14.670 you killed the fatted calf for him. And he said 00:24:14.670 --> 00:24:17.829 to him, son, you're always with me, and all that 00:24:17.829 --> 00:24:21.890 is mine is yours. It was fitting to celebrate 00:24:21.890 --> 00:24:24.990 and be glad, for this your brother was dead and 00:24:24.990 --> 00:24:30.869 is alive. He was lost and he is found. When I 00:24:30.869 --> 00:24:35.650 think of the church today, I feel too often. 00:24:36.190 --> 00:24:38.150 that we're like the brother in this scenario. 00:24:40.170 --> 00:24:43.670 I'll give you a really good example. A lot of 00:24:43.670 --> 00:24:46.250 times we'll see people out, whether they are 00:24:46.250 --> 00:24:49.970 celebrities, whether we know them really well. 00:24:50.029 --> 00:24:53.529 Maybe they are a movie star, an actor. Maybe 00:24:53.529 --> 00:24:56.950 they're an NFL player. Maybe they play NBA. Maybe 00:24:56.950 --> 00:25:01.940 they're a famous concert. or a famous person 00:25:01.940 --> 00:25:03.960 in the orchestra or whatever it is. We see these 00:25:03.960 --> 00:25:06.279 people who are really, really famous in life. 00:25:06.420 --> 00:25:10.400 Maybe they've lived their lives in a way in which 00:25:10.400 --> 00:25:14.079 has been public and has not been pretty. You 00:25:14.079 --> 00:25:16.299 know, maybe they've had several divorces. Maybe 00:25:16.299 --> 00:25:19.160 they have had several scandals. Maybe they've 00:25:19.160 --> 00:25:21.680 had several things in their life that do not 00:25:21.680 --> 00:25:27.059 reflect Christian values. And all of a sudden 00:25:27.059 --> 00:25:29.980 we see maybe on social media in a post or something 00:25:29.980 --> 00:25:32.519 like that, we'll see that, hey, this person got 00:25:32.519 --> 00:25:36.819 baptized. How many Christians would we see in 00:25:36.819 --> 00:25:38.940 the comments of a post like that being like, 00:25:39.019 --> 00:25:42.920 this isn't real. This isn't real. Hey, we know 00:25:42.920 --> 00:25:46.980 what you did last week. We know, we know, we 00:25:46.980 --> 00:25:49.140 see this. We know 10 years ago what you were. 00:25:49.200 --> 00:25:51.279 We know that you've had several husbands. We 00:25:51.279 --> 00:25:53.160 know that you've had several partners. We know 00:25:53.160 --> 00:25:55.119 that, you know, you've been drunk on the cover 00:25:55.119 --> 00:25:57.819 of Vogue or whatever it is. Like, we know these 00:25:57.819 --> 00:26:02.980 things. And Christians are so loud. We are so 00:26:02.980 --> 00:26:05.779 loud when people come to Christ about how they 00:26:05.779 --> 00:26:09.000 don't meet our level of Christ, about how they 00:26:09.000 --> 00:26:12.099 don't meet our level of faith, about how they 00:26:12.099 --> 00:26:15.400 don't meet certain standards that we have set 00:26:15.400 --> 00:26:21.789 that God has not. I fear that the church today 00:26:21.789 --> 00:26:25.609 has never been louder. We've never had less to 00:26:25.609 --> 00:26:31.369 say. I feel that so often we scream from the 00:26:31.369 --> 00:26:35.069 mountaintops about what is and what is not right. 00:26:37.910 --> 00:26:41.750 Another example for you. For a long time, especially 00:26:41.750 --> 00:26:45.009 when I grew up, there was a lot of people that 00:26:45.009 --> 00:26:49.309 said, no, you have to use the KJV. No, don't 00:26:49.309 --> 00:26:51.069 use the KJV, use the New King James Version. 00:26:51.269 --> 00:26:53.910 What do you mean you use the NIV? How can you 00:26:53.910 --> 00:26:57.329 use anything else besides the NASB? How can you 00:26:57.329 --> 00:27:01.089 use that type of Bible? How can you use that 00:27:01.089 --> 00:27:03.170 translation? If you're in the churches of Christ, 00:27:03.230 --> 00:27:05.130 you use the message, you're already excommunicated. 00:27:05.309 --> 00:27:10.190 Like, it has been insane for a long time. And 00:27:10.190 --> 00:27:14.650 that's a standard that has not been set. And 00:27:14.650 --> 00:27:17.390 so what we say for so long is that this person, 00:27:17.799 --> 00:27:21.119 has not met my definition of what it means to 00:27:21.119 --> 00:27:24.119 be a Christian, yet they have met the definition 00:27:24.119 --> 00:27:29.700 of what it means to be a Christian in Christ's 00:27:29.700 --> 00:27:34.460 love. What happens is the further and further 00:27:34.460 --> 00:27:39.049 and further and further that we get... Maybe 00:27:39.049 --> 00:27:41.130 it's our own conversion. Maybe it's the start 00:27:41.130 --> 00:27:43.589 of our faith. Maybe we go from the milk to the 00:27:43.589 --> 00:27:45.650 meat. The further that we get from the milk, 00:27:45.690 --> 00:27:47.730 the more that we judge people that they're not 00:27:47.730 --> 00:27:50.130 on the meat already. I see it all the time in 00:27:50.130 --> 00:27:53.130 the church today that we see 15 and 16 and 17 00:27:53.130 --> 00:27:55.650 -year -olds make big mistakes that they are going 00:27:55.650 --> 00:27:58.210 to make, and older Christians judge them. They 00:27:58.210 --> 00:28:00.309 say, I never made that mistake. How can you make 00:28:00.309 --> 00:28:02.329 that mistake? You are not a Christian. Do not 00:28:02.329 --> 00:28:04.829 call yourself a Christian. Do not relate yourself 00:28:04.829 --> 00:28:14.160 with me. And Christ is making a point here. Do 00:28:14.160 --> 00:28:18.839 not be overjoyed that you are better in comparison 00:28:18.839 --> 00:28:21.819 than another Christian. That if another Christian 00:28:21.819 --> 00:28:24.660 comes back home into the fold of God's love, 00:28:24.779 --> 00:28:27.099 that we welcome them in, that we eat the fatted 00:28:27.099 --> 00:28:30.759 calf with them because we're overjoyed. We're 00:28:30.759 --> 00:28:34.640 so incredibly filled with the spirit of renewal, 00:28:34.880 --> 00:28:41.809 of hope, of love. of so many great and fantastic 00:28:41.809 --> 00:28:45.710 emotions that God gives us to express the beauty 00:28:45.710 --> 00:28:51.430 that is a Christian who has been found. It's 00:28:51.430 --> 00:28:57.569 amazing to me to see people come to Christ, but 00:28:57.569 --> 00:29:00.710 I still struggle with this. I texted Donovan 00:29:00.710 --> 00:29:03.670 this week about somebody who is famous, kind 00:29:03.670 --> 00:29:07.029 of like I said, that made a commitment to God 00:29:07.029 --> 00:29:10.029 that I questioned. And in his study for this 00:29:10.029 --> 00:29:13.390 lesson, I was like, wow, I stink. You know, like 00:29:13.390 --> 00:29:15.690 I was like, you, what are we doing? Sometimes 00:29:15.690 --> 00:29:20.109 you preach to yourself. And I think it's important 00:29:20.109 --> 00:29:25.410 for all of us to understand this point most specifically. 00:29:25.809 --> 00:29:29.349 We cannot be so consumed by our own Christian 00:29:29.349 --> 00:29:32.190 journey that we forget that there are many paths 00:29:32.190 --> 00:29:38.700 to the faith. Many paths. It's not always two 00:29:38.700 --> 00:29:41.339 -parent household, two -and -a -half kids, go 00:29:41.339 --> 00:29:43.339 to church every Sunday and Wednesday. It's not 00:29:43.339 --> 00:29:47.660 always that because life is messy. The faith 00:29:47.660 --> 00:29:53.240 is messy. It can be really hard to not only be 00:29:53.240 --> 00:29:58.420 a Christian, but it can be really hard to be 00:29:58.420 --> 00:30:01.519 a part of something that you feel inferior to. 00:30:02.619 --> 00:30:06.660 I struggle with this relationship. up and down 00:30:06.660 --> 00:30:09.700 that we have with God. Because even preaching, 00:30:09.839 --> 00:30:13.039 I've told Donovan, I've told several people, 00:30:13.279 --> 00:30:17.259 I don't consider myself a preacher. It's not 00:30:17.259 --> 00:30:19.859 something I desire. I'm so excited that Donovan 00:30:19.859 --> 00:30:22.119 has made that journey into the pulpit. I think 00:30:22.119 --> 00:30:25.359 he does a great, fantastic job. But I just don't 00:30:25.359 --> 00:30:28.000 think that preaching is something that I aspire 00:30:28.000 --> 00:30:30.680 to do full time because I have such a high calling 00:30:30.680 --> 00:30:33.180 of it. It's such a high calling. Same thing with 00:30:33.180 --> 00:30:35.779 like an elder, right? Is that it's such a high 00:30:35.779 --> 00:30:39.059 calling, I feel like I constantly will fall below, 00:30:39.140 --> 00:30:41.559 and I'm scared of the things that I won't do. 00:30:42.619 --> 00:30:47.000 When we think about our Christian journey, we 00:30:47.000 --> 00:30:49.599 have to remember there are many paths to that 00:30:49.599 --> 00:30:55.720 faith. Some people have to meet, it's a really 00:30:55.720 --> 00:30:58.359 popular saying, some people have to meet Jesus 00:30:58.359 --> 00:31:01.440 at the very last moment. Think of the thief on 00:31:01.440 --> 00:31:06.819 the cross. He knew about Jesus. He believed in 00:31:06.819 --> 00:31:12.740 Jesus more than the guy to the right. Sometimes 00:31:12.740 --> 00:31:17.079 faith journey, our faith journey looks very different 00:31:17.079 --> 00:31:18.920 from the people to the left and to the right 00:31:18.920 --> 00:31:25.079 of us. And praise be to God for that. Because 00:31:25.079 --> 00:31:28.869 for me, You know, my dad and my grandfather passed 00:31:28.869 --> 00:31:31.329 very, very young when I was about three years 00:31:31.329 --> 00:31:37.250 old. And I grew up without my dad and my grandfather. 00:31:37.369 --> 00:31:39.190 So every time that, like, I would read the Bible, 00:31:39.349 --> 00:31:42.009 I would read that what's the most common relationship 00:31:42.009 --> 00:31:46.150 that we see depicted between Jesus and God, right? 00:31:46.210 --> 00:31:48.490 It's a father -son relationship. And I struggled 00:31:48.490 --> 00:31:50.849 with that, right? Because I didn't get to know 00:31:50.849 --> 00:31:53.470 my father. I didn't know what it was like to 00:31:53.470 --> 00:31:57.579 be his son. So I struggled with that. And I needed 00:31:57.579 --> 00:32:00.079 people who had great father and son relationships 00:32:00.079 --> 00:32:04.440 to describe that to me. The beauty of the church 00:32:04.440 --> 00:32:10.079 is not that everyone is uniform. It is that God 00:32:10.079 --> 00:32:15.500 fits us together like a puzzle. That every little 00:32:15.500 --> 00:32:18.599 indent that we have, every piece that we have 00:32:18.599 --> 00:32:20.519 or that is missing, someone in the church is 00:32:20.519 --> 00:32:24.819 able to fulfill. And I think so often of how 00:32:24.819 --> 00:32:28.000 we can continue to grow the church, continue 00:32:28.000 --> 00:32:31.099 to be a better example for the people around 00:32:31.099 --> 00:32:33.500 us, be involved in the community, and be a church 00:32:33.500 --> 00:32:36.180 that calls people to a higher. I coach fifth 00:32:36.180 --> 00:32:37.740 and sixth grade basketball. One of the things 00:32:37.740 --> 00:32:40.400 I tell them all the time is this. I'm not calling 00:32:40.400 --> 00:32:45.180 you out. I'm calling you up, right? I'm not saying 00:32:45.180 --> 00:32:47.299 you're a terrible human being. I'm saying I know 00:32:47.299 --> 00:32:50.640 your character. I know how you can act better, 00:32:50.799 --> 00:32:55.140 right? I know how God is working in your life, 00:32:55.279 --> 00:33:00.420 and I know that He calls us all higher, and I 00:33:00.420 --> 00:33:02.440 know that we can do that together. That's the 00:33:02.440 --> 00:33:04.619 beauty of the church. One of the things that 00:33:04.619 --> 00:33:08.460 we have to remember is in Luke chapter 15, verse 00:33:08.460 --> 00:33:10.940 7, I tell you that in the same way there will 00:33:10.940 --> 00:33:13.619 be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who 00:33:13.619 --> 00:33:16.500 repents than over 99 righteous persons who do 00:33:16.500 --> 00:33:25.180 not need to repent. Who is your one center? Oftentimes 00:33:25.180 --> 00:33:28.960 we sit in a church setting and there's some semblance 00:33:28.960 --> 00:33:34.000 of an altar call. We have some type of conversation 00:33:34.000 --> 00:33:36.640 here on a Sunday morning and we say, all right, 00:33:36.660 --> 00:33:38.119 you know, we're going to stand up. We're going 00:33:38.119 --> 00:33:40.519 to have a prayer. If you need anything, you come 00:33:40.519 --> 00:33:43.250 forward, right? Who's your one person? I think 00:33:43.250 --> 00:33:44.809 it's really interesting. Donovan and I were talking 00:33:44.809 --> 00:33:47.950 about this this past week about what this means. 00:33:48.250 --> 00:33:51.789 One of the times when we read verses like this, 00:33:51.849 --> 00:33:54.569 we say, who's our one sinner? Who's our one person 00:33:54.569 --> 00:33:57.369 that we are trying to affect in our lives to 00:33:57.369 --> 00:34:00.549 impact change? One of the things that God all 00:34:00.549 --> 00:34:03.190 the time in the Old Testament and a lot of times 00:34:03.190 --> 00:34:06.609 in the New Testament, he calls us to consider 00:34:06.609 --> 00:34:16.590 ourselves first. Who is that one person? Could 00:34:16.590 --> 00:34:21.510 that one person be you? Could that one person 00:34:21.510 --> 00:34:25.809 be somebody in your life that you desperately 00:34:25.809 --> 00:34:32.030 need to have a conversation with? Not a, you're 00:34:32.030 --> 00:34:34.670 the worst person in the world, but how can I 00:34:34.670 --> 00:34:39.250 help you? I'll never forget a family that I know. 00:34:39.869 --> 00:34:44.150 in Texas had an atheist son who was very against 00:34:44.150 --> 00:34:46.469 Christianity for a really, really long time. 00:34:46.630 --> 00:34:49.030 And every month or so, they'd say, hey, son, 00:34:49.250 --> 00:34:50.730 you know, can we talk about this? And he'd say 00:34:50.730 --> 00:34:56.070 no. He'd say no. And it took 32 and a half years 00:34:56.070 --> 00:35:02.869 until the son finally said yes. Sometimes it's 00:35:02.869 --> 00:35:05.789 not about what you're saying. It's about when 00:35:05.789 --> 00:35:09.190 you say it. Sometimes it's not about coming in 00:35:09.190 --> 00:35:13.710 with the fist, the meat of the Bible, but coming 00:35:13.710 --> 00:35:17.769 with the love and care that Christ shows us every 00:35:17.769 --> 00:35:21.730 day, to be able to wake up on this earth, to 00:35:21.730 --> 00:35:28.250 be able to breathe, to be able to live, to be 00:35:28.250 --> 00:35:31.190 able to enjoy the emotions that He has given 00:35:31.190 --> 00:35:36.400 us, the joy, the laughter, even the pain. Who 00:35:36.400 --> 00:35:41.420 is your one person? Is it you? Are you avoiding 00:35:41.420 --> 00:35:45.860 a conversation? Is it someone close to you? Is 00:35:45.860 --> 00:35:49.099 it somebody that you love? I'm not the person 00:35:49.099 --> 00:35:50.900 that's going to stand up here and say, well, 00:35:50.940 --> 00:35:53.360 you have to talk today because you might not 00:35:53.360 --> 00:35:58.300 get tomorrow. I believe that. But I also believe 00:35:58.300 --> 00:36:01.139 that pushing people with some sort of spiritual 00:36:01.139 --> 00:36:06.349 manipulation is not healthy. that you do know 00:36:06.349 --> 00:36:09.650 as a Christian when is the right time to have 00:36:09.650 --> 00:36:13.849 a conversation with your one. What are you doing 00:36:13.849 --> 00:36:17.250 in preparation for that conversation now? Are 00:36:17.250 --> 00:36:20.190 you studying? Are you praying? Are you lifting 00:36:20.190 --> 00:36:22.909 them up in prayer? Are you studying the scriptures 00:36:22.909 --> 00:36:25.429 about something that they are afflicted with? 00:36:25.670 --> 00:36:28.429 Are you securing yourself with the Spirit so 00:36:28.429 --> 00:36:32.190 when that time comes, He is blessing you with 00:36:32.190 --> 00:36:37.449 the beauty that He can. with the joy of the gospel, 00:36:37.590 --> 00:36:43.730 with the joy of Christ? Who is your one? I don't 00:36:43.730 --> 00:36:50.510 know exactly how you typically pray. One of the 00:36:50.510 --> 00:36:53.989 things that I always like to do in my own personal 00:36:53.989 --> 00:36:57.510 prayer life is I always like to just talk to 00:36:57.510 --> 00:36:59.210 God about the people that I'm thinking about. 00:37:00.300 --> 00:37:03.099 whether it be somebody at my work, somebody that 00:37:03.099 --> 00:37:06.300 I meet at National Christian, somebody in a bank 00:37:06.300 --> 00:37:09.000 that I've met, a general person that's come to 00:37:09.000 --> 00:37:12.239 church once or twice, whatever it may be. Just 00:37:12.239 --> 00:37:16.460 talk to God about that person. Not in a way where 00:37:16.460 --> 00:37:18.380 we're trying to change their lives, but just 00:37:18.380 --> 00:37:20.400 say, God, if this person is somebody that you 00:37:20.400 --> 00:37:24.380 want me to be involved in their lives, make that 00:37:24.380 --> 00:37:32.190 clear. Who is your one? I would love for us to 00:37:32.190 --> 00:37:34.409 pray over that person now.