Am I Doing Success Right? (North OC)

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L Good morning everyone.

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How we doing?

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Good.

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Good, good, good.

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Happy Sunday.

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Happy Memorial Day weekend.

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Um, it's great to be here.

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I'm always, I'm always, uh, honored

to always share with you what

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God has been teaching me, and

as we've been going through this

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series, am I doing this right?

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I've really felt like as a, as a, for

myself at least, I really have had

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to ask myself, am I doing this right?

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Um, this dec this September, I'll be

coming up on uh, 10 years as a disciple.

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Be double digits, such as mind blowing.

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Um, but it, but we always have to beg

the question, am I doing this right?

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Um, and uh, we've talked about

faith, we talked about relationships.

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We talked about finances.

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You know, Maurice's

stories are really funny.

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Last week, I dunno if you were here,

but you know, talking about his

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contribution checks being bounced

'cause he had no money in his account.

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Or his, the speeding ticket,

getting paid up, all that stuff.

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It was like pretty comedic, but

it, I had to reflect on mine.

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And there was one story that I remember

specifically that stood out to me was I

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was a freshman in college at Cal State

Fullton, uh, with my roommate Drake.

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Uh, we went to Chick-fil-A and, you

know, thinking nothing of it, you

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know, I get my meal and I, I, I about

to pay and I get, I give him my card

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and the card comes back declined.

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And I was like, oh, I,

I'm like, he tried again.

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So he tries it again.

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And I was like, can you

try it one more time?

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You know, maybe, maybe

it's, it's an insert chip.

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It's not the tap anymore, maybe.

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Really?

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You know?

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So come to find out, I, I am

like, uh, I, I step outta lines.

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I'm embarrassed.

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So I just go to the back of the store

and I'm like, I'm looking at my bank

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account and my app, my Wells Fargo app,

$0 and 0 cents in the bank account.

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I called my dad and I was like,

dad, I think my account got hacked.

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I, there's no way I can

have $0 and 0 cents.

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And he's like, are you sure?

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I was like, yeah.

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I, I, I, you know, I, I, I

should have gotten paid by now.

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This, this, and that.

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And so I, he was like, well,

just check your transactions.

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I was like, okay, sure.

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So I, I opened up the history

and I was like, well, that's me.

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Yep, that's me too.

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That's also me.

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That was gas.

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That was a subscription.

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And then I, it added up to

where yes, I was the culprit.

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I robbed myself, you know, so.

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Finances, you know, God entrusts us

with little, I had very little, but you

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know, over time, hopefully, I mean, as

of right now, I'm doing pretty well.

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I'm not at zero, I can tell you that much.

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But, um, other than that, um, I really

am grateful to continuing this series

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and actually finish our series and

we're talking about success today.

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Um, before we get into it though,

let's bow our heads and pray, and

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let's just get centered with God.

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Uh, God thank you so much for

today and the time to come

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before you and come together.

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God, it's always a blessing

and a gift to be able to come

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together and to worship you.

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Father, we pray that today our hearts

are stirred, not by my words, but by your

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word God, that it carries and is timeless.

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God, we pray that we are impacted

and inspired to want to go do

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more and advance your kingdom God,

not for our glory, but for yours.

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We love you, father.

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We praying Jesus name.

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Amen.

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All right, so like I said, am I

doing this success thing right?

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Right.

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When we, when we view success,

I'll take some answers.

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When you hear the word success,

what are some words or people

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even that come to mind for you?

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We'll take some hands,

take a couple responses.

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Words or people?

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Yes.

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Accomplishments.

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Accomplishments, absolutely.

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What else?

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Determination.

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Determination?

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Yes.

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Anything else?

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Discipline.

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Discipline?

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Yes.

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Chris?

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Winning.

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Winning.

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Yes.

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What else?

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Marcel.

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Money.

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Money.

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Corina.

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See, this is how, you

know they're married.

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You know, they think the same thing.

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Yep.

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Prayer.

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Prayer.

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Yep.

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Okay.

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I like that.

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We're going spiritual now.

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It's all right.

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I, I like that one more.

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Yes.

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Have it all together.

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Yeah, absolutely.

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I think when we think of success,

there are so many phrases and people

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that come to mind instantly that, but

I think in our culture, especially

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in the Western civilization,

success is very materialistic.

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It's very, very materialistic, and

we have to be careful because if

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that combines with our faith, we

get into a very dangerous place.

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So we're gonna start off in

Matthew chapter 25, verse 14.

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If you wanna turn your Bibles over to

there, I'll also have 'em on the screen.

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But if you bought your

paper Bibles, praise God.

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We're still gonna keep it going.

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Um.

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Just some context here.

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We're in what's called the all of it

discourse in the last, Jesus' last

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teaching, his final teaching with

his disciples in chapters 24 and 25.

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He's teaching 'em about the end times.

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Um, he's teaching them about the, his

second coming, his return, but he is

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also teaching about, um, basically

like how to live until he gets back.

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And so with that, we're in, uh, chapter

25 and in verses one through 13, he's

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already talked about what's called the

Parable of the 10 Virgins, and it's

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about spiritual preparedness being

ready to come, ready, be prepared when

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he comes back, when the master returns.

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But now we're gonna be

picking up in verse 14.

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So it says again, it will be like a

man going on a journey who called his

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servants and entrusted his wealth to them.

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To the one he gave five bags of gold

to another two bags and to another

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one bag each according to his ability.

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Then he went on his journey.

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The man who had received five bags of

gold went at once and put his money

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to work and gained five more bags.

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Uh, so also the one with two

bags of gold gained two more.

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But the man who had received one

bag went off, dug a hole in the

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ground, and hid his master's money.

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After a long time, the master

of those servants returned and

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settled the accounts with them.

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The man who had received five bags of

gold brought the other five masker.

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He said, you've entrusted

me with five bags of gold.

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See, I have gained five more.

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His master replied, well done,

good and faithful servant.

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You have been faithful with a few things.

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I will put you in charge of many things.

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Come and share your master's.

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Happiness.

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The man with two bags of

gold also came master.

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He said, you have entrusted

me with two bags of gold.

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See, I have gained two more.

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His master replied.

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Well done.

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Good and faithful servants.

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You have been faithful with a few things.

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I will put you in charge of many things.

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Come and share your master's happiness.

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Then the man who had received one bag

of gold came mastery, said, I knew

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that you are a hard man harvesting

where you have not sewn and gathering

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where you have not scattered seed.

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So I was afraid and I went out

and hid your gold in the ground.

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See, here is what belongs to you.

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His master replied, you

wicked, lazy servant.

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You knew that I harvest where

I've not sewn and gathered

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where I've not scattered well.

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Then you should have put my

money on deposit with the banker

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so that when I return, I would

receive it back with interest.

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So I got three.

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We're gonna stop there for today.

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I got three points for you today.

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The first point being stewardship over

striving, stewardship over striving.

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You know, Jesus begins this parable

by painting the picture of a master,

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entrusting his wealth to his servants.

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You know, none of them earned it.

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You know the word in trust means

assign the abi, the assigned

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responsibility for doing something too.

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So it's not something that they

earned or get or, or, or worked

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for in these bags of gold.

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The master had entrusted them to it, you

know, and he gave it to each, according

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to their ability, not to test their

worth, but to invite them into his worth.

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Um, the one thing we have to

understand with Godly success,

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and that it starts with God first.

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He doesn't call us to hustle

or to prove ourselves.

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He entrusts us because of

his grace and his purpose.

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Everything you have, think about it, your

time, your talents, the opportunities,

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the, um, some of the skills and the

abilities that you may have, that's not

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something you earned or you deserved.

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That's all from God and

he entrusts that to you.

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Now, think about that.

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Like how, like how gracious of a God

do we serve, that the gifts and the

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talents and the abilities, the time,

the opportunities that you have.

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All come from our gracious father.

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You know, this is about a relationship.

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Like I said, none of us have deserved it.

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None of those servants even

deserved those bags of gold.

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But God entrusted, God graciously

gave those things to us.

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You know, even then God is in this boss

that is waiting around for you to mess up.

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He's like, all right, I'm gonna

give you this opportunity.

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I'm gonna watch for you, for you to fail.

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'cause obviously, we're imperfect

people, so of course we're going to fail.

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But God is not a God

that looks for our flaws.

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He works with us despite our flaws.

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I don't know if you guys remember it, but

a sermon that I preached about was that

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God can work with imperfect faith, right?

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We have to remember that

God is a gracious God.

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He's not this hard, overbearing God

that is looking for your every mistake.

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He's looking to work with us.

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He loves us.

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In spite of that, amen, we

have to ask ourselves this.

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Am I treating what God has

entrusted to me as a gift to

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steward or a task to prove myself?

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You know, I've often felt the

pressure, I'm sure you have of

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messing up in some type of way.

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You've been given a job opportunity,

a responsibility or assignment, and

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you're like, and, and maybe it's

a big opportunity and you're like,

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man, I don't wanna mess this up.

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I feel the pressure, I feel, uh,

the worry, I feel the weight, I feel

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like I also feel kind of honored,

but I also don't wanna mess it up.

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I think a lot of times though, I think.

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I have a hard time growing.

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I mean, growing up for me, I, I, I'm,

I'm an achiever by nature and I will

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get into that a little bit later.

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I love to win.

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I love to succeed.

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I love to be the best at what I

do, but it's very hard when I fail.

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It's very hard to, for me to be, not say

necessarily humble, but to accept that

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failure is a possibility to accept that

I am not gonna have it all together.

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And it's hard because I think sometimes.

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I, I focus so much on being perfect, but

I actually have a hard time believing

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that God can actually work through

my flaws and that what he's given me.

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I have to be perfect at.

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I have to use my time effectively.

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I have to, uh, make sure that every

opportunity that is given to me,

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I live it out to the full, and

that there's no room for error.

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But that thing, the thing is I have

to remember, we have to remember

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that we have to stop striving and

start stewarding what God has given

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us with humility and with faith.

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You know, isn't it?

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Like I said, it's a relief to

know that God is the God that

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give, that invites us to grow.

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He's not, it's not attest

to see if we pass perfectly.

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What he gives us, what he gives us

to steward is inviting us to grow and

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to honestly be more reliant on him.

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When we remember we've been

entrusted and not hired.

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Everything in our perspective shifts

because now the question becomes,

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what does God actually want from us?

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But what does God actually

want me to grow in?

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And it leads me into the

next principle that have is

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faithfulness over fruitfulness,

faithfulness over fruitfulness.

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Now go to verse 20.

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Uh, verse 21, what does the master say?

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He says, well done when, when

all the servants come back.

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He says, well done, good and

faithful servant to the one that

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had five and that brought five.

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And the one, that two, that brought two.

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You know, when the master

returns, like I said, he is at,

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he's calling them faitfhful.

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He didn't say most productive, most

successful, most like you, like you

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brought back the most investment.

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Congratulations.

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Like, no, he just said, he called

him faithful, faithful servants.

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I, I, I mean that, that phrase for me,

I don't know about you, but that phrase

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is what I want to hear when I see God.

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Isn't that what we all want?

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Not to be judged by the

amount, but by our faith.

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Not the fruit of what we, what

we've had to bear, but by our

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faith, and honestly because of

our faith, we should bear fruit.

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That's just how it is.

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But if we are so locked in on the

fruit and lose the faithfulness,

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are we truly serving for God?

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Are we serving for ourselves

on our own satisfaction?

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Godly success isn't about

outcome, it's about obedience.

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Our role is to respond faithfully

to what God has given us, not

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to the guaranteed results.

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You know, in one Corinthians chapter

three, verse 6, 3 7, Paul is riding

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to the church in Corinth who have

placed their identity in the leaders

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that have been leading the church.

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But Paul says this, he's, he

tries to remind me, he's like, Hey

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guys, you have to remember this.

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He says, I planted to see I,

Paul a Paul's watered it, but

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God has been making it grow.

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So neither the one that plants,

nor the one who waters is anything,

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but only God who makes things grow.

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Amen.

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Faithfulness does not force outcomes.

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Sometimes we, we confuse

control with faith.

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We wanna make things, uh, happen.

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We wanna make things push forward.

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I, I mean, for the campus ministry,

I'm sure they know Kyle Lounsberry's

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favorite phrase is, make it happen.

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If we ever have a problem and

we gotta have a solution to fix

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it, Kyle's like, make it happen.

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Which is not a bad thing in its entirety,

but I think what happens is that mindset

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can somehow, and I'm not saying, I'm

not trying to bash saying the phrase

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is something that we like, we like

to be optimistic and adaptive to, but

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in life though, we're always in this

make it happen type of mentality where

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it's about us and about our control,

about our power, then we truly are not,

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we're not living out I authentic faith.

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You know, the Bible also says in

Psalm 21, 27, verse one, unless

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the Lord builds the house, the

la, the builder's labor in vain.

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You know, even if you're not,

it's necessarily committed to God.

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If you're not a disciple, I'm sure you can

feel the pressure and, and, and the worry,

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but also the, the how exhausting it is.

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To go chase after results and

work in school on social media.

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You might feel like you have

to achieve everything, but it's

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never quite enough at some point.

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But what if the goal, what if it wasn't

to achieve more, but to live with purpose,

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to live with integrity, and to live

with peace regardless of the outcome?

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Can I be honest for a quick, quick second?

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Yes.

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I love results.

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I am a results oriented person.

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I, I, I, I'm a doer.

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I love to get things done.

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It's in my nature.

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If you have any questions about

it, you can ask my mother.

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She's in the front row here.

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It's probably from her, so if you have a

gripe with me, you can bring it up to her.

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But I'm a doer by nature.

325

: 00:13:48

I just, I, I love to achieve.

326

: 00:13:49

I've always been an achiever, whether

it was in sports, whether it was in

327

: 00:13:51

school, whether it was in Kids' Kingdom,

and doing bible trivia or memorizing

328

: 00:13:54

the scripture, like whatever it was,

I wanted to just get it done, but

329

: 00:13:58

also be the best at what, what I do.

330

: 00:14:01

And you know, I, I don't if you

haven't already, I, I love showing

331

: 00:14:04

people my Google calendar and a lot

of the campus guys know I like, I

332

: 00:14:07

have my calendar on my phone that I,

it's color coded and it's everything.

333

: 00:14:09

It's nice and tight.

334

: 00:14:10

It's, it's great like that, that,

that's just how, that's just who I am.

335

: 00:14:14

And that's all, that's from my dad.

336

: 00:14:15

That's from my dad.

337

: 00:14:16

My dad is the color coded schedule guy.

338

: 00:14:17

So like family vacations,

itinerary, there you go.

339

: 00:14:21

No free time itinerary, right?

340

: 00:14:24

If, if it was free time,

there was something in that

341

: 00:14:26

free time that we had to do.

342

: 00:14:28

Right.

343

: 00:14:30

And so for me, you know, I, and for those

that also don't know, I'm also currently

344

: 00:14:35

in a master's program at Long Beach State.

345

: 00:14:37

Go Beach.

346

: 00:14:38

Um, but also Go Titans.

347

: 00:14:39

That's my undergrads, that's my, my home.

348

: 00:14:41

So there you go.

349

: 00:14:42

Yeah, there we go.

350

: 00:14:42

There we go.

351

: 00:14:43

But I, I'm in a sport management program

getting my master's right now, and one of

352

: 00:14:47

the things they emphasize so heavily in

the program is called personal branding.

353

: 00:14:52

Is that how do you brand yourself

to employers, people in that you're

354

: 00:14:55

looking to be, um, hired by people that

you're looking to get contracted by.

355

: 00:14:58

It's all about how you present yourself.

356

: 00:15:01

So, uh, on my LinkedIn, go add

me after service if you want.

357

: 00:15:04

Um, is that in my bio?

358

: 00:15:06

I put passionate, results driven,

adaptive, dynamic, charismatic

359

: 00:15:13

sports management, graduate student,

multi-sport athlete, looking to

360

: 00:15:16

get experience in the sports world.

361

: 00:15:18

So even in my bio, I'm branding

myself as results driven,

362

: 00:15:22

and that's not a bad thing.

363

: 00:15:23

I think in our world and in some of

our jobs today, results are good and I

364

: 00:15:26

don't wanna discourage anyone from that.

365

: 00:15:28

Results are a good thing.

366

: 00:15:30

However, the moment that results

starts to drive our walk with God

367

: 00:15:37

is where it becomes very harmful.

368

: 00:15:40

I know for myself currently right now,

as I lead the campus ministry, it's

369

: 00:15:44

very hard when I don't see growth.

370

: 00:15:48

We don't see as many people

attending our ministry or our

371

: 00:15:51

events as much as we want to.

372

: 00:15:53

It's hard, 'cause like I said, my

mindset in my head is that I'm so

373

: 00:15:58

results driven and I need to see results.

374

: 00:15:59

I need to see growth or else I don't

think God is working and it's so

375

: 00:16:03

dangerous 'cause it just, it totally

wrecks everything that we're here for.

376

: 00:16:09

It's about to be, it's a walk

of faith, not a walk of results.

377

: 00:16:14

Like I said, the faith, the

fruitfulness comes from our faith.

378

: 00:16:16

But if our, if we're so focused and

we're so like locked in on the results

379

: 00:16:21

that we're gonna miss the walk with God

saying that I should have been there by

380

: 00:16:25

now, or we should have been here by now.

381

: 00:16:27

But this walk, it's all about humility.

382

: 00:16:31

It's about us surrendering and living

at peace no matter what the outcome is.

383

: 00:16:36

So even if my ministry does shrink,

am I still being faithful to God If

384

: 00:16:40

it grows, am I still being faithful

to God or am I saying, oh yeah,

385

: 00:16:43

look what I've done in your jobs.

386

: 00:16:46

Same thing if you get that promotion,

man, look at all the work that I've done.

387

: 00:16:50

It's like, no, what has God

guided me through to be able

388

: 00:16:53

to have this opportunity?

389

: 00:16:55

I'm gonna get, I'm, I'm, I'm gonna start

going a little bit deeper, so I hope

390

: 00:16:58

you guys are buckled up and ready to go.

391

: 00:16:59

We're ready.

392

: 00:17:01

We have to ask ourselves, am

I more loyal to the alchem?

393

: 00:17:04

I hope for.

394

: 00:17:05

Or to the God who holds it.

395

: 00:17:08

Parents, you're, I'm, I'm sure one

of your greatest desires in life is

396

: 00:17:14

to see your kids become disciples.

397

: 00:17:18

I, I, I, I hands, I know my mother

is here in the front row, and I would

398

: 00:17:22

not be here because without her faith,

without God, more importantly, but

399

: 00:17:25

because of her faith and my dad's

faith, I would not be here right now.

400

: 00:17:29

So parents, I understand as a, as

a kid, as a kingdom kid receiving.

401

: 00:17:33

Faith in the years that you've walked.

402

: 00:17:35

I understand the, the love that you

have for your kids, but we also have

403

: 00:17:39

to understand that you also have to

understand, I can't say we, I'm not

404

: 00:17:42

there yet, but I'm gonna need you

to hold me down when I get there.

405

: 00:17:46

Is that it's up to it's, it's God.

406

: 00:17:50

I have to entrust.

407

: 00:17:50

God has entrusted them to me, but

I also have to make sure that they

408

: 00:17:55

understand that they're God's first.

409

: 00:17:57

That's right.

410

: 00:17:58

We have to entrust their future to God.

411

: 00:18:00

'cause God loves them

more than you ever will.

412

: 00:18:04

And that's hard 'cause you're

like, I don't wanna make sure

413

: 00:18:07

nothing happens to my kid.

414

: 00:18:10

I don't want 'em to get

influenced by the wrong things.

415

: 00:18:12

I don't want them to be around the

wrong people or hear or experience

416

: 00:18:15

things like, trust me, I get it.

417

: 00:18:18

But we have to be able to entrust them

to God who holds all things together.

418

: 00:18:25

And I wish the teens were in the room.

419

: 00:18:26

'cause I would, I would talk to

'em directly and tell 'em that it's

420

: 00:18:28

not, they're not being overbearing,

they're not being unreasonable.

421

: 00:18:32

They just love you a lot.

422

: 00:18:35

You still tell Yeah.

423

: 00:18:35

I guess they'll tell 'em.

424

: 00:18:35

Yeah, I'll, I'll, I'll

shoot Dan a text right now.

425

: 00:18:39

You know, like I said, but faithfulness

as a parent, it's not about controlling

426

: 00:18:43

their outcome, it's about loving them

consistently and entrusting their

427

: 00:18:48

lives to God's timing and his grace.

428

: 00:18:49

Right campus.

429

: 00:18:52

Yo Pros, you're pursuing the degree,

master's, bachelor's, the job, the career,

430

: 00:19:00

trying to figure out what your calling is.

431

: 00:19:03

You easily obsessive over

getting it right, like the one,

432

: 00:19:05

it's, it's gotta be one shot.

433

: 00:19:07

Like I've gotta get this right

or it's never gonna happen.

434

: 00:19:10

You ask yourself the question,

we've all been asking this

435

: 00:19:12

series, am I doing this right?

436

: 00:19:14

Trust me, 18 to 22.

437

: 00:19:15

Man, it's confusing as heck.

438

: 00:19:16

I, and I'm sure most of us have been

here, so we all understand like.

439

: 00:19:18

What were we doing?

440

: 00:19:19

We don't, we don't know sometimes,

but sometimes the, the questions

441

: 00:19:24

of, am I doing this right?

442

: 00:19:25

Am I making the right moves?

443

: 00:19:26

Did I do this?

444

: 00:19:27

Did I do that?

445

: 00:19:29

Are sometimes more rooted in

control than they are in faith.

446

: 00:19:33

And it's hard because we wanna

make sure that we are setting

447

: 00:19:36

ourselves up for the future.

448

: 00:19:37

But the biggest thing is that I'm not

here to discourage us from dreaming

449

: 00:19:41

big for any of us, but we shouldn't

sacrifice our discipleship for a dream.

450

: 00:19:49

If anything, our discipleship, our

greatest dream is to be with God, which

451

: 00:19:52

we'll talk about a little bit more,

but we can't sacrifice the questions

452

: 00:19:57

or allow the questions and the doubt to

sacrifice our discipleship for a dream.

453

: 00:20:02

You know, as someone that is, like I said

in my masters program, trust me, I get it.

454

: 00:20:06

And especially in a world of sports

and media where it's all about results.

455

: 00:20:10

It's all about who you are.

456

: 00:20:13

But at the end of the day, none

of those people are gonna be

457

: 00:20:15

beside me when I stand before God.

458

: 00:20:16

That's it.

459

: 00:20:18

None of those people are gonna be there

to vouch for me and my spirituality

460

: 00:20:20

because God already knows everything.

461

: 00:20:23

It's not about what I do

here or for them even.

462

: 00:20:27

It's about how faithful I remain to God.

463

: 00:20:34

This is where we're gonna need

the older generation, the more

464

: 00:20:37

seasoned disciples I should say.

465

: 00:20:40

We need you guys to be

able to hold us down.

466

: 00:20:42

Right.

467

: 00:20:43

Your walk, your consistency,

your perseverance, your faith

468

: 00:20:51

is needed because you are an example

to us of how to live a faithful

469

: 00:20:57

life, of desiring godly success.

470

: 00:21:01

Not a life about the numbers.

471

: 00:21:03

And I know finances can be

tight and it can be stressful.

472

: 00:21:05

Trust me, I'm, I'm barely

holding my own together, but.

473

: 00:21:10

We need you guys to hold

us down, keep us rooted.

474

: 00:21:14

Remind us what is important to not

sacrifice our discipleship for a

475

: 00:21:20

dream, to not sacrifice our jobs, or

sacrifice our, our discipleship for

476

: 00:21:25

a job or even for a relationship.

477

: 00:21:30

We need you guys with all your wounds and

the scars you've endured over the years,

478

: 00:21:35

the battles that you have gone through.

479

: 00:21:38

The tests, the trials to share with us,

to guide us, to help us see that, like I

480

: 00:21:45

said, life as a disciple is so much more

fulfilling that the success that we bear

481

: 00:21:50

through God's eyes is more fulfilling than

anything we could ever gain in the world.

482

: 00:21:54

And even for those of you guys that are

well off, that are successful, praise God.

483

: 00:21:59

I don't wanna take, I'm not trying

to, I'm not trying to, I'm not

484

: 00:22:02

trying to diminish anyone or anything

that God has blessed you with.

485

: 00:22:05

Also even in that, how do we praise God?

486

: 00:22:07

How do we worship God even in

the midst of being so successful?

487

: 00:22:11

Because I know for me, if I was a

successful man, I, I could easily

488

: 00:22:13

get in my own head about man,

like, this is, this is great.

489

: 00:22:16

I enjoy all having all this

and all these things, but it's

490

: 00:22:19

about surrendering to God.

491

: 00:22:20

If you can be that example for us,

our church is in good hands, not

492

: 00:22:25

because of who you are, but because

who God has allowed you to become.

493

: 00:22:31

I also want to have a quick shout out

real quick to a lot of our older singles,

494

: 00:22:37

for those of you who have been here

for years and in a culture, in a world

495

: 00:22:43

that has pushed the, the agenda for

a certain achievements or milestones

496

: 00:22:47

that you should be here by now.

497

: 00:22:49

You should have done this by now.

498

: 00:22:51

You should be married by now.

499

: 00:22:52

You should be doing this by now.

500

: 00:22:54

At the end of the day, your reward

is in full because you have Christ.

501

: 00:22:59

Marriage is a bonus.

502

: 00:23:01

I'm, I'm, I'm just saying it plainly.

503

: 00:23:03

'cause Paul considered singleness a gift.

504

: 00:23:05

Why?

505

: 00:23:05

Because he was able to focus

and be faithful to God in a

506

: 00:23:08

way that married people cannot.

507

: 00:23:12

And it's hard because sometimes, like

I said, when we, when we, when we wage

508

: 00:23:15

and we balance and we, when we try to

figure out how we can value that versus

509

: 00:23:21

valuing our relationship with God, it

becomes very difficult to please God.

510

: 00:23:25

And even end pleasing ourselves because

we know in our hearts, man, I need

511

: 00:23:29

to be, I need to be faithful to God.

512

: 00:23:31

But also if this dream doesn't come

true, and I don't know, is my faith

513

: 00:23:34

gonna waver, but I, I, I commend you.

514

: 00:23:38

I'm encouraged by you.

515

: 00:23:39

I'm inspired by you, because it takes

another level of faith to remain faithful

516

: 00:23:44

to God, despite the societal or the

cultural norms that go on around us.

517

: 00:23:51

Like I said, in a culture that pushes

for us to quote unquote arrive at

518

: 00:23:55

certain milestones, God invites

you into joy and success right now

519

: 00:23:59

into his presence and his purpose,

that your journey is significant.

520

: 00:24:04

So if you ever felt like you

were overlooked or that you were

521

: 00:24:07

still waiting, remember that you

have already arrived in Christ.

522

: 00:24:11

You are deeply valued in this kingdom

because not only for you, but those that

523

: 00:24:16

may be following in your faith, in your

footsteps, in your faithful footsteps, can

524

: 00:24:20

see the example that you have laid before.

525

: 00:24:23

Amen.

526

: 00:24:25

You know, one detail we can't miss is

in verse 19 that says, after a long

527

: 00:24:28

time the master of those servants

return and settled accounts with them.

528

: 00:24:34

Jesus will return or we will meet him.

529

: 00:24:39

When he does, he's not looking for

the successful people or just the

530

: 00:24:44

married people or the popular people.

531

: 00:24:48

He's looking for faithful people,

good and faithful servants that we,

532

: 00:24:55

that he wants to welcome into his joy.

533

: 00:24:59

Faithfulness is a, is not, it's like,

it's not a matter of visible fruit, but

534

: 00:25:03

the most beautiful part of this story

isn't about the work of the reward.

535

: 00:25:07

It's the invitation to something deeper.

536

: 00:25:09

You guys still with me?

537

: 00:25:10

Yeah.

538

: 00:25:12

Last point here is presence over payoff.

539

: 00:25:15

Come on.

540

: 00:25:17

Verse 21, the master

away, even non verse 21.

541

: 00:25:20

But after the one that brought back five

bags of gold, the one that back, that

542

: 00:25:24

brought back two bags of gold, he says,

come and share your master's happiness.

543

: 00:25:30

The true award wasn't more gold.

544

: 00:25:33

It wasn't.

545

: 00:25:34

It was, it wasn't the fact

that they got to gain so much

546

: 00:25:36

more than they already had.

547

: 00:25:38

It was the fact that the master now

invited them into a relationship.

548

: 00:25:42

He already had one then, but he says,

he says, come and share my happiness.

549

: 00:25:46

Come and share my joy.

550

: 00:25:48

That's the offer on

the table to all of us.

551

: 00:25:51

It's not the usefulness or the

productiveness, but the faithfulness, the

552

: 00:25:56

closeness that we can gain with Christ.

553

: 00:26:00

In Philippians chapter three, verse

eight, it says I, this is Paul

554

: 00:26:03

again into the church in Philip.

555

: 00:26:04

I says, I consider everything a loss

compared to the surpassing worth

556

: 00:26:10

of knowing Christ Jesus our Lord.

557

: 00:26:14

You know what's sad is that

the third servant missed this.

558

: 00:26:17

He didn't understand the master.

559

: 00:26:19

He feared him.

560

: 00:26:20

He misunderstood him, and he buried his

opportunity out of fear and not faith.

561

: 00:26:24

You know, like I said, like, and then he

even comes up with the reasoning saying,

562

: 00:26:28

it's like, well, I know that you're a

hard man and you know, you, you, you,

563

: 00:26:31

you, you, you don't plant where you

sewed and you like all these things.

564

: 00:26:34

And then I love how the master's response

is like, well, if you knew those things

565

: 00:26:37

and you were so fearful that I was a hard

man, why didn't you do anything about it?

566

: 00:26:42

Which I kind of find it's

very comedic at my end.

567

: 00:26:44

I, I, I kind of find like, I was

like, I would be sarcastic in that way

568

: 00:26:47

as well, but at the end of the day,

sometimes we can carry this mindset.

569

: 00:26:52

This incomplete or distorted view of God,

or, or if anything, we assume that we know

570

: 00:27:00

God, so therefore we, we act accordingly.

571

: 00:27:03

And the, honestly, we tend to end up

doing the things that we, he doesn't want

572

: 00:27:06

us to do just because of our assumption.

573

: 00:27:08

We end up viewing things or we

start to proceed to participate in

574

: 00:27:11

certain things that we feel like,

well, I know God is, you know, in

575

: 00:27:15

this way, so I, I shouldn't do this.

576

: 00:27:17

Or I'm, I'm fearful to do that.

577

: 00:27:18

I'm, I, I'm hesitant to step out and obey.

578

: 00:27:21

And, and, and I, and I'll shrink

back into my, I'm gonna protect

579

: 00:27:24

what I have because if I step out,

I'm afraid I'm gonna lose it all.

580

: 00:27:29

'cause it shows up in our daily lives,

sometimes the way that we compare

581

: 00:27:31

ourselves to one another, the way

that we wonder sometimes if we're not

582

: 00:27:36

getting the recognition we deserve, if

it really matters or we fear that we've

583

: 00:27:41

missed our moment because we don't quote

unquote, see God working in our lives.

584

: 00:27:47

But the win isn't the result.

585

: 00:27:51

It's the relationship.

586

: 00:27:53

Jesus is the reward.

587

: 00:27:56

God doesn't just want your effort.

588

: 00:27:58

He he values it.

589

: 00:27:59

He's appreciative it.

590

: 00:28:00

He's grateful for it,

but he wants your heart.

591

: 00:28:04

Paul Paul demonstrates this in his

verse as he is the surpassing worth.

592

: 00:28:10

Paul understood it.

593

: 00:28:11

Paul got it.

594

: 00:28:12

The surpassing worth of knowing Christ.

595

: 00:28:15

It falls in comparison to everything.

596

: 00:28:17

And it reminds me of this question

here that if everything else

597

: 00:28:20

faded away, would walking with God

still feel like enough for you?

598

: 00:28:28

And it's hard because like I said,

in our culture, in our society

599

: 00:28:32

today, we are so materialistic.

600

: 00:28:35

Yes.

601

: 00:28:37

Whether it's a relationship, whether

it's a job, whether it's finances,

602

: 00:28:40

whether it's relat relationships, like

with friendships, popularity, it's,

603

: 00:28:45

it's, it's ingrained in our culture.

604

: 00:28:49

And like I said, if it becomes so

ingrained in our hearts that we miss

605

: 00:28:52

the faith, we never will understand

the surpassing worth to knowing Christ.

606

: 00:28:59

You know, if you're new here, if

you've been around for a while and

607

: 00:29:02

are still trying to figure out.

608

: 00:29:04

Is this worth it?

609

: 00:29:07

You know, is this, is, is, is

is really knowing Christ as

610

: 00:29:11

surpassing of what worth it is.

611

: 00:29:13

Study the Bible.

612

: 00:29:13

Please, we beg you, we plead with you.

613

: 00:29:17

God is begging and pleading with you.

614

: 00:29:19

Not just me, not just those in this

room, but all of us are because

615

: 00:29:23

those that are here today and

have been faithful for many years.

616

: 00:29:27

I've had to wrestle with this, and

I don't say this as if you're gonna

617

: 00:29:30

get it one time and it's, and you're

set for the rest of your life.

618

: 00:29:33

There are going to be times where

you're going to question, there are

619

: 00:29:36

going to be times where you're going

to doubt, there are going to be times

620

: 00:29:38

that you're gonna wanna give up.

621

: 00:29:41

But when you go into the world and

you seek it out and you see all

622

: 00:29:44

that, the world has to offer it,

you will always left wanting more.

623

: 00:29:47

Yeah.

624

: 00:29:48

I want to, I want to give a

quick shout out to Martine.

625

: 00:29:51

Martine, we are, we're so grateful

that you are restored, brother.

626

: 00:29:53

We're so grateful, but.

627

: 00:30:00

It's, I, I, I feel so encouraged because

when we were going through the, when I

628

: 00:30:03

was going through the pre-meeting today

and I saw that it was a good restoration

629

: 00:30:06

and I was like this, like that is just

an epitome to showing you that the world

630

: 00:30:12

is never going to be enough, that God

is always calling people back to him.

631

: 00:30:17

'cause he knows that what he,

what he brings to the table will

632

: 00:30:20

never leave us wanting more.

633

: 00:30:25

It's such an encouragement to know

that what God leave, what God gives

634

: 00:30:29

us, it never comes back empty.

635

: 00:30:31

'cause we all want our lives to

matter, let's be honest, right?

636

: 00:30:34

We all wanna leave some type of impact

here, but deeper than the success is

637

: 00:30:39

the desire to be known, to be loved

for who we are and not just what we do.

638

: 00:30:45

That's what Jesus offers, not

just the task list of things

639

: 00:30:49

to do, but a relationship.

640

: 00:30:53

Now, I don't know if you guys are

aware, but last weekend, um, an

641

: 00:30:58

18-year-old Cal State Fulton student

passed away at Lake Havasu, uh, drowned.

642

: 00:31:03

It was apparently it was like a

big storm and some waters rose, and

643

: 00:31:06

apparently he drowned, unfortunately.

644

: 00:31:08

And, uh, my dad had sent me, uh, like

the, uh, the newsletter article about it.

645

: 00:31:13

And I, like, I read it and I was

just like, I thought to myself, I

646

: 00:31:15

was like, wow, like 18 years old.

647

: 00:31:21

I remember myself being 18, being

a freshman at Cal State full night.

648

: 00:31:24

I remember being in his shoes and I

thought about all the things that I

649

: 00:31:28

wanted to do, the places that I wanted

to go, the people that I wanted to

650

: 00:31:31

meet, like it, like I remember being

in there, but to know that his life

651

: 00:31:38

got cut short because of that and he

can't do any of those things anymore.

652

: 00:31:43

Sobered my heart to remember

like, and, and, and, and I don't

653

: 00:31:47

mean to make that sound like a

negative thing, but it is sobering.

654

: 00:31:50

Yeah.

655

: 00:31:51

It reminds us that this life is temporary.

656

: 00:31:56

In James four 14, it

says, what is your life?

657

: 00:31:59

You are a mist.

658

: 00:32:00

That appears for a little

while and then vanishes.

659

: 00:32:05

This is all we get, guys.

660

: 00:32:09

All we get, and like I said,

and and, and also prayers for

661

: 00:32:12

our brother, bill Dilly, right?

662

: 00:32:15

Passed away this morning.

663

: 00:32:18

Guys.

664

: 00:32:18

Death is sobering.

665

: 00:32:20

It reminds us that what we live for here

666

: 00:32:26

doesn't matter.

667

: 00:32:28

We, if we live as what Paul says, is we

live for Christ, then to die is gain.

668

: 00:32:34

So many people in outside this

building and outside of the faith,

669

: 00:32:38

they, they live for, they live for

the height, they live for it all.

670

: 00:32:41

They live for the glory, but

when they die, they gain nothing.

671

: 00:32:47

To live as Christ Paul says, to live with

in a relationship with Christ, that when

672

: 00:32:52

when you die, you get to be with him.

673

: 00:32:55

So guess what?

674

: 00:32:56

When we live, we win.

675

: 00:32:58

And when we die, we win.

676

: 00:33:00

There's no lose lose.

677

: 00:33:01

You lose your life now,

so you save it for later.

678

: 00:33:04

We have to ask ourselves, are we chasing

something that can vanish in a moment or

679

: 00:33:11

building a life that lasts for eternity?

680

: 00:33:16

To live this Christ.

681

: 00:33:17

To die is game.

682

: 00:33:20

To live this Christ to die is game man.

683

: 00:33:21

How powerful is that Scripture?

684

: 00:33:24

How powerful is that?

685

: 00:33:26

Reminder?

686

: 00:33:28

Don't waste your mist.

687

: 00:33:30

Don't wait for someday to walk with God.

688

: 00:33:32

Don't build your identity on something

that can disappear, because in the

689

: 00:33:38

end, success is not what you build.

690

: 00:33:41

It's who you walk with.

691

: 00:33:43

If you walk with Jesus now,

you will walk with him forever.

692

: 00:33:49

Right now we're going to transition into

communion here, but I also want us to

693

: 00:33:53

remember the greatest act of faithfulness,

the greatest acts of success and not

694

: 00:33:57

success by the world's standards.

695

: 00:33:59

Jesus was mocked, beaten, crucified,

but was perfectly faithful to God.

696

: 00:34:07

He entrusted himself

and his future to God.

697

: 00:34:12

Hebrews 12, two through three reads,

uh, we'll go back to in a bit, but

698

: 00:34:16

let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the

pioneer and perfecter of our faith.

699

: 00:34:21

For the joy set before him, he endured

the cross scorning a shame, and sat down

700

: 00:34:26

at the right hand of the throne of God.

701

: 00:34:30

The cross reminds us that

real success is surrender.

702

: 00:34:34

Jesus gave everything not to earn

love, but because he was loved.

703

: 00:34:39

Jesus is our true model of

success and a reason for hope.

704

: 00:34:43

And if you ever ask yourselves,

am I doing this right?

705

: 00:34:47

Look for Jesus.

706

: 00:34:50

This is a couple practical before I pray.

707

: 00:34:52

Um, I want us to create a trust inventory.

708

: 00:34:54

Not financially, of course, but one of

that thing about all the things that God

709

: 00:34:59

has entrusted to you, like I've talk about

your time, opportunities, relationships,

710

: 00:35:03

influence all those things, jobs.

711

: 00:35:06

Think about that, and then have

a daily faithfulness check-in.

712

: 00:35:10

Ask yourself, am I responding faithfully

to what God has given me today?

713

: 00:35:12

Regardless of the visible results?

714

: 00:35:16

Like I said, if we can remind ourselves

every day of that, it lets us.

715

: 00:35:21

It keeps us humble, it keeps us

rooted, and that golly, success,

716

: 00:35:25

like I said, is not about visible

fruit, but in unseen faithfulness.

717

: 00:35:31

So as we take communion,

let's remind ourselves, like

718

: 00:35:33

I said, of Jesus on the cross.

719

: 00:35:35

And his faithfulness.

720

: 00:35:36

Like I said, that when the world

shamed him and scorned him, he

721

: 00:35:40

was faithful because he knew

that his success was in God.

722

: 00:35:43

Let's pray.

723

: 00:35:45

Father God, thank you for today.

724

: 00:35:47

Father, thank you so much for the

time that we get to come before you,

725

: 00:35:50

God, and value, and, and just be in

awe and reverence of who you are.

726

: 00:35:56

God, we are grateful that success

comes from you and that the

727

: 00:35:59

eternal success comes from you.

728

: 00:36:01

God, we pray that we, we remain

humble and grateful for all that

729

: 00:36:04

you have provided for us God.

730

: 00:36:06

And that we don't, we don't use that

you what you've entrusted to us,

731

: 00:36:09

God, to make our own selves look

great or for our own glory, but

732

: 00:36:13

God, we do it for eternal glory.

733

: 00:36:14

That is to be in a relationship with you,

father, that we pray that each and every

734

: 00:36:19

one of our hearts, as we ask ourselves,

are we doing this right, God, that we

735

: 00:36:22

look to Jesus as your son, as an example,

and as we take this bread in this cup, we

736

: 00:36:26

remind ourselves of the greatest sacrifice

that none of the success that we.

737

: 00:36:29

Desire to have spiritually

would've come without him.

738

: 00:36:32

So we are grateful, father for this

time, and as we reflect and we commune

739

: 00:36:35

together and do this in remembrance of

you, I pray that we just have humble

740

: 00:36:39

and reverent hearts of knowing that

where our true success comes from.

741

: 00:36:43

We love you, God.

742

: 00:36:44

We pray on your son Jesus name.

743

: 00:36:45

Amen.