Feeling
Yeah
We're feeling good, we're feeling alright
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
We're feeling alright, yeah
We're feeling good, we're feeling alright
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
It's about that time for us
To look around and meet somebody new
Well, let's all welcome in familiar faces
Perhaps somebody who
Has a conflict in their life
Alright
Tell them you're sorry, but
There's ways to change, they're on to right
See, we can sit in a distant haze
And watch rain clouds
For thoughts of
Welcome to Ocean Water
We hope you feel refreshed by the living water of Jesus Christ
As we help people receive drinking water from the ocean for free
Thanks for joining us for this week's message
And if you enjoy it, please share it with a friend
30% of the world's surface is covered in ocean water
Yet 1 out of 8 people in the world have a water problem
This is really backwards and we aim to fix that
Now I'm here today at the beach where I live in California
And we work every day on providing a decentralized and free solution to this problem
It's called small-scale desalinization
This is where we remove salt from the water and we make it drinkable
Now why is this important?
Well, did you know that those people, the 1 in 8, also have the highest water cost per person on the planet?
That's right
People with the worst access pay the most for it
That should really make our blood boil if we follow Jesus
It affects every race of people in the world
Now the good news is that it does not have to be this way
We provide a relatively low-cost solution along rural and remote coastal areas
Where these systems are deployed on really fun trips that are a blast
Where we make a big difference
We install these systems and we also start a church and work through a church
Now why do we do that?
Well, one word, Africa
Africa has had more outside investment from governments and NGOs in the last 50 years than anywhere on earth
And yet it's basically as worse off as it's ever been
Because if you have money and you help people and you work around them
Instead of through them, it doesn't work
So we always work through a local church or we help start a church
Because this group of people are the hands and feet of Jesus who live their year round
Who are there for people all the time long after a trip has been accomplished
Now I also help other people do beach talks
I want to be very clear
We're not trying to have one big church
We are trying to make disciples one at a time and plant churches one at a time
That's it
Our church in St. Clement had over 60 people the last time we met in February
That's a lot of people
Now I'm quite aware that some people don't like a small church
They like things big and that's fine
That's why we have freedom of religion in America
So if big is your gig, by all means, go rock it out
We like small and rad
We want to give our time, effort, energy and lives to a network, a movement of small, rad churches
It's the same love for Jesus, just a different methodology
You know, when we get to heaven and all the pastors get together and have their monthly meeting
Because that's what pastors do
99% of the pastors in heaven, when they talk about their church, will have had less than 50 people in it
Large churches are a recent sort of trendy development in the last 80 years, especially in North America
History paints a much different picture
The last book called Church Planting Movements by David Harrison really helps you understand this
When you look at a historical perspective, you see that God's always worked through small, genuine groups of people
To be His hands and feet all over the world
So at Ocean Water, we want to be small and rad
And when we sense that there's like an alpha leader in our midst
We want to give them the tools and trust them and get out of their way to go make another one
I want to be very clear, here at Ocean Water, we're trying to play global small ball
What we've learned is you can basically have a church up to about 60 people and it doesn't cost anything
Isn't that awesome?
You know, 40 million Americans just filed jobless claims
And there are hundreds of areas around the world along the coast that don't have a church
Isn't it exciting that we found a free way to do church so we can help people in a free way overseas?
This is a really exciting time to be alive
So each week when I do my beach talk, I'm providing a message for our church here in San Clemente
But I'm also modeling in a very simple way how easy it is to start something that helps people with no money
Now, we're not trying to get people who already have jobs to give money to our church
That's good because we believe in generosity, it's a part of our worship
But we're trying to get people who already have a job to start a church
That's a big difference
Now why? Because I've been to 42 countries and I've seen the devastation and inequity caused by a lack of access to water, food, housing, and education
In areas where we need simple, free, scalable solutions so we can help people in those environments
So this week's beach talk, we want to continue in our study in the book of Daniel
About the life of Daniel, we've called this time together Waves
And today I want to talk to you about being coached
Did you know the best surfers in the world have one thing in common? They all have coaches
Now today we're going to talk about how important it is to learn from people who've gone ahead of us
To have a spiritual coach, people that we look up to
Now, we've shared for the last six weeks that before every blessing comes a test
God tests you to see what you can handle before he gives it to you
Look at what God says are the five waves to be coached in life
Now, the first thing that you need to do is you need to make a commitment to never stop learning
What does that mean? It all starts with a choice
Nobody can decide for you, you've got to make this choice yourself
You have to realize how important learning is for the rest of your life
Proverbs says commit yourself, that's making a commitment to instruction and tune in your ears to hear the words of knowledge
You know, I've been in school for 26 years of my life
12 years in grade school, 4 years for a bachelor's degree, 4 years for a master's degree, 5 years on a doctorate
I love learning
Your education, and you know this, it doesn't stop when you graduate
I've actually heard people say, well I'm glad I finished my education so now I can start my career
The rest of your life is an education
There are a lot of things God wants to teach us that we've not yet learned
Learning is not a stage of life, learning is your life, learning is your lifestyle
God wants you to learn something every day, so he says commit yourself to instruction
Make a commitment to never stop learning
What new skill are you working on right now as we've all been at home?
Is this skill going to help you next year, get ahead in your work, your life, your family, your business?
Are you going to be any different? Are you going to be better? Are you going to come out of this stronger?
It's our choice, will you be wiser? It's our choice
Now we make that commitment because we want to keep growing until the day we see Jesus
The moment you stop learning, you stop influencing
You can never take a person farther than you yourself have been
So why should you never stop learning? Well it brings success and profit
Do you want those things in your life? Then you need to be continuously learning as a person
The more you learn, the more you earn
Ecclesiastes says if an axe is dull and its edge is unsharpened, more strength is needed but skill will bring success
If you've got an axe and you're chopping wood and the blade is dull, obviously it takes a lot more time and energy
to chop the wood. If your axe is sharp, which represents skill, then it doesn't take as much effort
It's simply saying here, work smarter not harder
You're never wasting your time when you're sharpening your axe
Notice it didn't say desire, it didn't say prayer, it says skill will bring success
You can pray all you want, have all the desire you want, write down all your dreams and goals
But if you don't have the skill, you're not going to be as successful as you could be
Now I know a lot of people who have the desire to be successful, a desire to grow, they desire to be effective
But they're not willing to learn the skills
You've got to go back to school and get a new skill or whatever
Skill, as the Bible says, is what will bring success
And not only that, but the Bible says it will bring profit
Proverbs 19, 8 says, do yourself a favor and learn all you can, then remember what you learn and you will prosper
You'll have a better life, the more you learn, the more you'll earn
Now humility asks questions, pride says, why I don't want to ask questions, I'll look dumb
Well there are no dumb questions in life, the dumb thing is to not ask questions
So in humility you'll actually learn more because you'll ask questions
There's a verse in the Bible that says, counsel in the heart of man is like a deep well, but a man of understanding will draw it out
Daniel was a man of understanding
Proverbs 23, 12 says, pay attention to your teacher and learn all you can
Now here's the second key that the Bible tells us to be coached
Learn the lessons of the prior generation
The whole reason why I wanted to talk about this was because there was a mistake that King Belshazzar made
He could have learned lessons that would have prevented his kingdom from being overthrown
Because his grandfather had made all these mistakes, but he didn't listen, he didn't learn, and as a result he lost it all
Learn the lessons from the people that have gone before you, all you have to do is ask
This concept is actually something that God commands us to do
Let me give you an example of it
The Bible in the book of Job, chapters 8 verses 8 and 9 says, ask the former generations and find out what their fathers learned
For we were born only yesterday and we know so little
He said, I want you to go out and ask the former generations so you need to learn the lessons of people who came before you
If you don't, you're being prideful
If you're humble, you'll learn
What does that mean?
In your life, you're going to be wise, you're going to need four kinds of people
First, you're going to need a mentor
Now these are coaches
In life, if you're going to succeed, you're going to need the way God intends you to
You're going to need some mentors and some models, some partners, and some friends
And what are these? Well, mentors are coaches
They're the people that help you along in life
In my life, I have one, Ralph Moore
Ralph's pastor planted churches for 50 years
He was used by God to be a catalyst, an architecting, a network of over 2400 churches
We talk every Wednesday
I always come with a set of questions
I always read what he tells me to read
I always do what he asks
It's a great relationship
Now the second thing you need is models
Models are already doing what you want to be doing in your life
Now we learn fastest from models
You need partners, and partners are those who row the boat with you
They're like your co-workers in what you're working on
And then of course you need friends
Friends aren't helping you with your goal
They're just your friends
They love you no matter what you do
You can really mess up and they love you
They'll just be there for you no matter what's going on
A friend walks into your life when everybody else is walking out
Remember that
Your friends are there when you need them the most
The number three key to being coached, the Bible says, is the word of maintain a humble attitude that honors God
Maintain throughout your life a humble attitude that honors God
Humility and teachability actually go together
Be humble or you'll stumble
The Bible says that pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall
Humility begins simply realizing that you're not God
If you ever get under stress, repeat this three times
I'm not God, I'm not God, I'm not God
And I don't need to be
Takes the pressure off, takes the stress off
That's humility
If you don't realize that, you're not a humble person
Proverbs 15 33 says, reverence for the Lord is an education in itself
You must be humble before you can ever receive honor
You want to start out on a lifelong goal? Be wise
Get to know God and the more you know God, the more you'll get to know his word
You're going to simply be a wiser person
You'll be wiser in relationships
You'll be wiser the way you manage your money
In the way you handle conflict
In the way that you diffuse and solve problems
You'll just be wiser
Because you're not simply depending on your own intellect
You're getting the wisdom of God
Now the wisdom of the ages, maintain a humble attitude
James 4 6, God opposes the proud but he gives grace to the humble
Why does God oppose the proud?
Because they're unteachable
They think they know it all
Humility says I can learn from anybody
Pride says I can't learn from anybody
Humility means you can literally learn from anyone
Now number four, key to being coached is
Refuse to fill your mind with garbage
Now we're all worried about water pollution and air pollution
And we should be, we need to take care of the earth
But those very often we allow our minds to be polluted and corrupted all the time
Through social media, through entertainment, through not reading books
In fact there's never been more mind pollution than there is right now
We become like the content we fill our minds with
Now there are basically a couple different kinds of content that you can fill your mind with
You can fill it with poison, stuff that will really hurt you
There's concepts that can actually derange and degrade you and ultimately defeat you
There's self-defeating thoughts that we allow into our lives and that we buy into
The third thing you can fill your mind with is brain food
This is the good stuff, books, God's Word
Makes us a more well-rounded person
But in addition to brain food you need super food
Now that's the Bible
Now this is why I read every word of God every year of my life
Because I want God's Word to be in my mind every single day
We're getting ready to start another chance to read through the entire Bible in the year on July 27th
I'd love for you to message me and have you be a part of that
There's already a group forming
Now the Bible answers all of life's questions
Now you might say, I don't really have an appetite for reading the Bible
Well it's because it's like when you go from eating junk food to eating fruits and vegetables and lean meats and nuts
And stuff that's actually held for you that comes right out of the ground and doesn't touch anything and gets right into your body
There's a transition there where you have to get used to that
You see, there's no reason why we can't listen to every word of God in our life every year of our life
The average person spends four and a half hours on their phone now
We can easily spend ten minutes a day listening to God's Word get into our mind
It's so easy you don't even have to read it
You can hit play and let it fill your mind
So let's quit making excuses and quit sounding stupid
We absolutely have time to read the Bible every year
It's no problem
You see, we need to spend less time on Facebook and more time in God's Book
Now number five, if you're going to learn to be coached, you've got to put into practice what you've already learned
Putting into practice means that God teaches you and then you act on it
God is not in the business of simply satisfying your curiosity
He tells you one thing and he waits for you to act on it
Now once you act on it, then you get to go to the next step
Once you act on it, then you go to level two or three or four
You have to apply the truth
You have to act on it
You have to internalize what you've learned
We all know way more than we do
We want to be doers, not hearers
A lot of people would say, well, I've been a Christian for 20 years
But really, they just had the same year of Christianity over and over again for 20 years
They haven't learned anything
They've been stuck in year one and done year one 20 times
Being a Christian isn't about how long you've been one
It's about do you apply what you know?
Now the Bible says we're supposed to forgive our enemies
Do we believe that? Do we do it? Do we really do it?
The Bible says a lot of crazy things that God expects us to do
Now, Beth Shazzar, this king, he loses everything because he failed to do this last point
He failed to put into practice what he had seen and learned
And he pridefully refused to learn the lessons of the people that had gone before him
Now there's this guy who comes along, he's the grandson, the most famous king of the empire that day
Nebuchadnezzar, he saw Nebuchadnezzar literally lose his mind for about seven years all out of pride
He saw all of his mistakes
Now he saw his grandfather come back and correct those things
He saw the good and the bad in his life and he chose to ignore God
Are you choosing to ignore God? Are you following what God wants you to do and to be in your life?
I sure hope so, I'm praying for that for you
So our kingdoms can be taken away and divided just like this story
Now Daniel was the one guy in the empire who had the courage to point it out
He says in 522, Beth Shazzar, even though you knew all that happened to your father
You need to understand that the Babylonian culture, he called you to lead it
But you didn't learn and you refused to humble yourself
Now God who rules from heaven is going to correct that
Now here's the big lesson from the story
If you don't humbly learn from the prior generations, we'll end up making the same mistakes
We don't want to make mistakes
We want to avoid the mistakes of the people that have gone before us
Not repeat the same ones
We want to have a heart of humble learning
A lot of us are going to miss heaven by 18 inches because that's the distance from our head to our heart
Respond when God's softening your heart
Get your head in line, God will open up doors
1 Timothy 6, 21, some people have missed the most important thing in their life
They don't know God, do you?
You might know string theory or chaos theory or quantum physics
This area is full of smart people
Doesn't mean you know God
He's going to say this, did you get to know me?
Were we friends? Did you build a relationship with me and my son who I sent on earth to die on a cross for you?
You know about it, but did you learn it?
Did you walk in relationship?
You may have had religion, but that doesn't mean you have a relationship
Let me ask you a real question, do you have God in your life?
You say, oh yeah, I've gotten God in my life, really?
Has he made any big changes? Has he transformed your life in any way at all?
No, but you're like, yeah, I've got God
If God is in your life and he hasn't changed anything, God isn't in your life
We can ask him to do that today
You may have gotten religion, but you certainly didn't get God
Some people have missed the most important thing in their life
And it's just simply this, a relationship with the God who made us
And it all starts with humility
In fact, right now we can just pray quickly
Would you pray a simple prayer with me?
It really doesn't matter what you say
Just talk to God, the most important thing is that your attitude is humble
You might just start with God
I've never really said this, but you're God and I'm not
I need you in my life
Thank you, Lord
I believe God's working in people's hearts today
And I'm excited about that
Because in the next 12 months we're going to be doing a lot of work
In four different countries, in four different languages
And that's exciting because God's a global God and we get to be a part of that
Now, the more we have at Ocean Water, the more we can help people all around the world
And I want to encourage you today to make generosity a part of your worship
You can go online at OceanWater.com and click on Give
I want you to pray and I want you to follow the Holy Spirit's leading
Like I want you to in every part of your life
Thanks so much for tuning in for this week's Beach Talk