First - Week Three (and two) Discussion - Use what you've been given

This week's discussion was all about taking what God has given us and putting it into use for His Kingdom! We looked at the responsibility we have to use it well and to make sure he gets the glory. Jump into the discussion with us.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:18

Welcome to Navigate, a podcast discussion from Tower Life Center, where we talk about how to navigate life, living as a follower of Jesus in a fallen and ever-changing world. Let's join the discussion.

SPEAKER_05 0:30

Hello. Hi, everyone. How's the podcast world doing?

SPEAKER_00 0:34

How are we doing today?

SPEAKER_05 0:35

Good morning. Good morning. Good idea.

SPEAKER_00 0:38

It is a good morning.

SPEAKER_05 0:38

Hello.

SPEAKER_00 0:39

Good night. I don't know. All the things. Whenever you're listening to this.

SPEAKER_05 0:42

It's good because he has created a faulty.

SPEAKER_00 0:46

Right.

SPEAKER_05 0:47

And he's given us so many beautiful things.

SPEAKER_00 0:49

Yeah. So many good gifts.

SPEAKER_05 0:51

So many.

SPEAKER_00 0:52

So many.

SPEAKER_05 0:52

And that's what we're kind of diving into a little bit today. Yeah. In part three.

SPEAKER_04 0:57

Yeah. Yeah. We are uh halfway, we've reached a halfway point of uh our first series. It's not our first series, it's our series called First. Yeah. Right. And the premise behind it is, well, I said it and it sounded sounded weird.

SPEAKER_00 1:13

Good catch.

SPEAKER_04 1:14

First series. First series first. Yeah, that's right. Our first first series. First first. It is our first series. We've never done one of those before. First, first. And the premise behind it is what comes first shapes everything else. And so we've talked about it being a a series of um priority, a series of responsibility, and and ultimately a series of stewardship, right? And so what are we putting first and how does that thing, or the person or who or what we're putting first, how does that shape everything else? Yeah. And so we really spent the first couple weeks, and I know we weren't with you guys via podcast last week, but with this uh this idea that says, hey, God owns everything, He's created everything, He made it all good, He made it all perfect, yes, and distorted it. We talked about that all summer long, right? But He it's all His, He's given it to us, yeah. Right. And so then if it's all His, He owns it, He's given it to us to manage and be stewards of. Then the question we sought to answer this week in part three was what am I doing with all that God has given me?

SPEAKER_01 2:21

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 2:22

Right. There's there's some assumptions that we had to make along the way, and I'm gonna make those same assumptions today is you know, the assumption is we all agree God owns it all. Right? We all agree that He gave us gifts, He gave us talents, He gave us passions, He gave us all of the things, right? It's all His, but He gave it to us to use and to stewards. So we just have to say, well, what am I gonna do with what He's given me? Yeah And so really part three, four, and five now go from transitioning our thought process from who is the owner to what now do I do as the steward of what God owns. Does that make sense? And so that's what we're seeking to answer. And uh we said our base camp verse for this week was 1 Peter chapter 4 verses 10 and 11. I'm gonna read that for us because we're gonna touch on it throughout. Uh and so these two verses say each of you should use whatever gift you've received to serve others as faithful stewards of God's grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ.

SPEAKER_01 3:34

Let's go.

SPEAKER_04 3:35

To him be the glory and the power forever and ever. And then Paul amends himself. Or Peter amens himself. He's like, Amen. That's good, Pete. Right. Those are some good words from the Lord. I know.

SPEAKER_01 3:48

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 3:48

Right. And so that's our base camp verse, and we just said, hey, out of this, out of this base camp, right, out of these verses that we're gonna use, there's four basic truths that we're gonna talk about that I think we can pull out to help us begin to answer the question, what am I doing with all that God has given me?

SPEAKER_01 4:05

Right.

SPEAKER_04 4:05

Right? Like that's the ultimate goal of of our discussion yesterday and today, right? Is what what am I gonna do with all that God's given me? But we're gonna use those verses to pull out some basic truths. Okay. And so the first basic truth was we have to recognize what we have received.

SPEAKER_01 4:23

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 4:23

Right. And if we go back to our verse in 1 Peter 4 10, it starts out and says, Each of you should use whatever gift you have received. And I just think it's important that we spend just a second on the intentionality of the words that Peter used. Yeah. Right. He said, use whatever gift you've received. Like we talked about it yesterday. It doesn't say use the gift you've earned, use the gift you've accumulated, use the gift you've achieved.

SPEAKER_00 4:48

Strived for.

SPEAKER_04 4:49

Strive for. Yeah. Yeah. Like, no, you've received it.

SPEAKER_00 4:53

Yeah. You didn't do any the work's already done.

SPEAKER_04 4:56

And had nothing to do with you.

SPEAKER_00 4:58

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 4:58

Yeah. Right? Like, and it's so important that I think we see that because you get to receive the finished work on the cross. Right. Because that's stewardship. To me, that's stewardship language.

SPEAKER_00 5:08

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 5:08

Right? That we're seeing. Like the word received is stewardship language. It automatically implies what we've been talking about for the first couple weeks of like, God owns it. God created it. It's all his. Yeah. But he put it in our hands.

SPEAKER_00 5:24

Now you get to steward it.

SPEAKER_03 5:26

Right. And so it also says use it. Don't bury it. Right.

SPEAKER_00 5:29

Yeah, don't bury it.

SPEAKER_03 5:30

Previous week. Don't bury it. Yeah. Right.

SPEAKER_00 5:31

That's right. Right.

SPEAKER_03 5:32

We're not going to bury it. Don't hide it. Yeah. Yep. Use it.

SPEAKER_00 5:34

Use it.

SPEAKER_04 5:35

A hundred percent.

SPEAKER_00 5:36

Use it for good purposes. Right. And we'll get it.

SPEAKER_04 5:38

Even if it scares you.

SPEAKER_00 5:39

I know. We'll we'll get to that in a little bit.

SPEAKER_04 5:43

Exactly. Exactly. The first truth is we have to understand that we have received something and we have to begin to recognize what it is that we've received, right? And so James 117, we've used it every single week. Is whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down from the Lord. Right? You've received it, but in order for you to receive something, what has to happen? It has to be given. Right? So the owner's going to give it to us, the manager, the steward.

SPEAKER_00 6:14

Which I think it's important in that to be praying through that and asking God, like, what are the gifts? What what is this thing that you've put in the inside of me that I need to use for the good of other people? What can bring people closer to you that you've placed inside me?

SPEAKER_04 6:31

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 6:32

How do you want me to use that?

SPEAKER_04 6:33

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 6:34

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 6:34

And it's a it's important that as we're talking about recognizing what you've received, that the it's natural for us to want to think we've cultivated, we've earned, we've achieved, we've strived for. Yeah. Right. Like it's natural for us to be like, well, I'm, yeah, of course, you know, I had this thing in me, but man, I've really spent time honing it. I've really spent time getting better at it. Yeah. Right. And eventually we begin to see that as like, well, I didn't receive that. No, no, no. I've worked for that. I've created that, right?

SPEAKER_00 7:03

And we can make it about self rather than glorification of God.

SPEAKER_04 7:06

Well, for sure. For sure. And we see, like, I love just how direct Paul is. And First Corinthians, he's it's chapter four, verse seven. He's like, What do you have that God hasn't given you? Come on. And he's like, I think he just it's also because he's writing letters, there's no way for them to respond. But it's also like feels like a rhetorical question because he's like, and if everything you have is from God, why are you boasting as if it's not a gift?

SPEAKER_00 7:35

Yeah. So good.

SPEAKER_04 7:36

Right? And it's like understanding before we can talk about using it, before we can talk about digging up what's buried, which all of those things are what we'll talk about. Like, are we recognizing that we have received whatever the thing is that we're thinking of?

SPEAKER_00 7:53

Yeah, right. Yeah, and if everything you have is from God, excuse me, why boasts as though it were not a gift, that's humility language.

SPEAKER_02 8:02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 8:02

That automatically sets our heart posture in the right position where it's like, yeah, it ain't yours. He placed it inside of you, and he's going to use it for his glorification. Like that's just such a good um setting of heart posture there.

SPEAKER_04 8:17

For sure. For sure. And when we think about, man, okay, you have stuff God's given you, you've received, right? But we got to have a humble heart posture. And we begin to look at it, it's like going on this journey of like trying to answer that question of what do you have that God hasn't given you? Because we know we can't answer it, but it's important to think through what are the things each of us would what would be the first thing we would say. If I have to say there's something I have that God hasn't given me, what would that be? Right. And so I wrote down well, your natural ability. Well, you didn't choose that. Your personality, you didn't manufacture it, your opportunities. Because some people were like, Well, you know, I showed up to that event, I went to that thing. No, I sent the message.

SPEAKER_00 9:00

He he opened the door. Right. You didn't sent you into that room.

SPEAKER_04 9:03

You did not choose when and where you were born.

SPEAKER_00 9:05

That's right.

SPEAKER_04 9:05

Yeah. Like that is at the most base level. Before you even talk about a room, before you even talk about the event, before you talk about the message, whatever, right? You did not choose when and where you were born.

SPEAKER_00 9:18

You were born for such a time as this.

SPEAKER_04 9:20

And God chose when and where you were born.

SPEAKER_00 9:22

That's right.

SPEAKER_04 9:23

I could have been born a girl in 1500 in Africa.

SPEAKER_00 9:28

Right. But you're not.

SPEAKER_04 9:29

But I'm not. Right? He chose me to be this today.

SPEAKER_00 9:33

Yep.

SPEAKER_04 9:33

Right? And so for me to be like, yeah, okay. But no, no, no. God chose that. God has given me the opportunities, all of the whatever's, right? And so it's all his. So the gift that's been given to me, right, is not mine. However, the responsibility for me to use it well is.

SPEAKER_00 9:56

Ooh, that's something to realize.

SPEAKER_04 9:57

Like, think about it. Like, if you, and I say you, not you specifically, not you, anybody, just you, the general person. If you want so bad for the gift to be yours because you want that to be like it was pride in all of us.

SPEAKER_02 10:11

Mm-hmm. Sure.

SPEAKER_04 10:12

Right. But if we want that so bad, then just transition the desire for the gift to be yours to say, man, that is God's gift. But now I do carry the weight of responsibility of using that will.

SPEAKER_00 10:21

Mm-hmm. That's part of taking on the ownership where it's like, okay, this is uh this is holy work right here. Like I'm carrying something sacred and holy, and that's a huge responsibility.

SPEAKER_02 10:32

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 10:32

And I gotta answer to him for how I carry it, how I steward it, how I walk in it.

SPEAKER_04 10:38

Yeah. I mean, language we use a lot of times on Sunday mornings with the worship team is like we use it, I think, internally in a lot of ways, but I think the worship team is like, hey, he could have chosen to do this without us, but he didn't.

SPEAKER_01 10:53

Right?

SPEAKER_04 10:53

He chose to do this with us.

SPEAKER_01 10:55

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 10:55

And so that's an awesome responsibility. But all we're stewarding is something he's given us, right? We're not owning something that we've cultivated.

SPEAKER_00 11:04

Right.

SPEAKER_05 11:05

And when we look at to just the heart of God and realize how it is just such a like giving heart.

SPEAKER_01 11:15

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 11:15

Yeah. It's like, okay, if we want to, you know, be used and have this good stewardship through the gifts and resources that he's given us, if we're not using them well, why would he continue to just keep on like gifting you or blessing you? Yeah. Because if it's just use for selfishness, it's like, yeah, well, I don't because we know God looks at the heart, yeah, and he and he created the heart. He knows our heart more intentionally than any other person, what whatever. But let's like just this and um like piece of the puzzle that's man, if I'm truly blessed to bless others, and he's going to essentially, not even just financially, but bless you in different regards throughout your life.

SPEAKER_00 12:05

Yeah, like let it just be like part of truly who you're you're missing out on the good gifts he has for you if you're not walking in that stewardship piece. Yeah. And he has so many good gifts and so many blessings. It could literally be the blessing of joy. Like the thing he's asking you to walk into, you're going to experience the joy of the Lord by walking in that. You're going to experience his delight by walking in that. And he wants to show you, you just have to cross that line. Yeah. You have to step into it.

SPEAKER_04 12:39

For sure.

SPEAKER_00 12:39

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 12:40

And it's him who owns it. And it's him who gives it. And he has all the good things you two just were talking about. But stewardship doesn't mean you get to go to the gift buffet and choose the different gifts that you want.

SPEAKER_00 12:58

Yeah, for sure.

SPEAKER_04 12:59

Right.

SPEAKER_05 12:59

You don't get to choose what you're given. And that can sometimes be the biggest challenge.

SPEAKER_00 13:03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 13:04

Or even sometimes, like, um, I think another challenge could be like, yeah, either you want a different gift, or maybe you have a gift that you're like, man, I'm recognizing this in myself.

SPEAKER_01 13:20

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 13:21

But it's not super natural.

SPEAKER_01 13:23

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 13:24

Like, yeah. Or I should say it's not natural for me per se because I've not exercised it super well. I don't have any reps. So therefore, comfortability can get in the way too. Yeah. Or the enemy, like, ah, is this real? Like, I know this is something that I'm feeling called to.

SPEAKER_00 13:42

Yeah, and help place insecurity.

SPEAKER_05 13:45

Someone else could do it better.

SPEAKER_00 13:47

Other people are doing it.

SPEAKER_04 13:48

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 13:48

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 13:49

But we're 100% right. And so we have to understand that as stewards, we don't get to go to the gift buffet and choose what we're given. The only choice we have is what am I going to do with what I've been given? That is my choice.

SPEAKER_05 14:01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 14:01

Yep.

SPEAKER_04 14:02

Right? Like, so am I going to cultivate it? Am I going to work on it? Am I going to say, hey, you know what? That's uncomfortable. Let me lean into that to make get more comfortable with it. Or am I going to shy away from it?

SPEAKER_00 14:12

He's going to grow your faith in relationship and intimacy with him as you do that. Because to your point, if it's not natural, it's got to be supernatural.

SPEAKER_05 14:20

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 14:20

So you're going to lean into him more. And that's only going to build that intimacy with him. So beautiful.

SPEAKER_05 14:26

It has to be.

SPEAKER_04 14:26

And so if we if we understand that general principle. Yeah. Right. Then what hopefully that does is in our heart, that begins to kill any comparison that's that's coming up inside our heart.

SPEAKER_00 14:38

Right, right.

SPEAKER_04 14:38

Right? Because I'm looking at, well, they have that. Look at what they're doing with that gift that I think that I might have. Yeah. Right. Well, I'm not doing that or that. Or man, I'm crushing it. Why aren't they? Right. There's pride, there's insecurity.

SPEAKER_00 14:49

All the things.

SPEAKER_04 14:50

Right. There's all of that. And if we just say, listen, God owns it. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 14:54

Yeah. Be faithful in every little step.

SPEAKER_04 14:57

Yeah. And if we just say he owns it and he gave it to me. And my choice is what am I going to do? Yeah. Then that's going to kill the comparison because what we do is we take our eyes off of what anyone else is doing. Right. The way we said it yesterday was someone else's abilities, opportunities, and influence, right? What they're doing and what they were given is 100% completely irrelevant to the stewardship of your abilities, opportunities, and influence.

SPEAKER_00 15:24

Come on, somebody.

SPEAKER_04 15:26

Yeah. You know, like it just is.

SPEAKER_00 15:27

We need to hear that.

SPEAKER_04 15:28

Yep. It's like I could sit here all day long and wish that I knew as much about technology as Zach. I wish that I could lead worship like Brad. I wish that I could do social media like you. Like, but I don't, and I don't even, I don't want to.

SPEAKER_00 15:42

That's not your area. We could all sit here and say, we wish we could get up and speak to the masses, but I also don't wish that. But like you're so gifted at the end.

SPEAKER_04 15:51

I'm not trying to one I'd pick up.

SPEAKER_00 15:52

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 15:54

If you went to the fed, you're not getting that one then.

SPEAKER_00 15:56

Yeah, for sure.

SPEAKER_04 15:57

That's like going to go to crowd and going to the seafood station.

SPEAKER_05 16:01

Salmonella here we get in the bears. But then the other part is, and kind of going back to what I was saying earlier, is there can be this like, and you mentioned this yesterday, so if I'm jumping ahead, redirect me, but just this idea.

SPEAKER_02 16:17

I am I know I am.

SPEAKER_05 16:19

Um but it seems fitting at the time of just this idea of so many times we like leave something and we're like, oh man, I hope like that sounded okay. Or we try to make it about ourselves. And I think that can be part of the reason why these gifts can be so misused. Cause even you singing about that, like I feel like a couple people just come to my mind of like, man, you have such an incredible voice. Yeah. Like you need to sing.

SPEAKER_02 16:44

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 16:44

And it's like, oh, you know, I don't, I don't want to. Like that wouldn't that make me uncomfortable. Or it's like, well, you have this gift, so why not use it? Yeah. And then once again, it's not about you. Yeah. So for sure. And that can be hard too, because we want to leave places kind of like you mentioned yesterday and be like naturally in our fleshliness, like, oh man, yeah. Brad was Brad's such a good guy.

SPEAKER_00 17:09

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 17:09

But it's like, if that is the goal, it's a loss.

SPEAKER_00 17:12

Yeah, yeah. For sure.

SPEAKER_04 17:13

I mean, I think two things to that point. Number one, you're 100% right. Number two, you're 100% way ahead of where we're going. Yeah. Absolutely. But you're 100% right. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 17:21

I love it, but it's so good. It's true. It's so good.

SPEAKER_04 17:23

It's it's it's it's so true because we even whenever we look at someone else's gifts and we're looking and saying, well, I wish. Or why aren't they? Or why are they? Or whatever, right? It's still all as selfishly motivated and rooted to your point of like whether we think, well, what do they think about Kyle? What do they think about Brad? Right? Like, what do they think about me? There's still selfish motivation in that.

SPEAKER_05 17:52

Coffee's good over there.

SPEAKER_04 17:56

I mean, I don't even know how to pretend that didn't happen.

SPEAKER_00 17:59

I was trying to be quiet, okay.

SPEAKER_04 18:01

And it's like, well, let me tell you, you weren't.

SPEAKER_00 18:03

No, but clearly I wasn't. So sorry if that stays in and doesn't get edited up.

SPEAKER_04 18:07

Well, he's gonna have to take out the whole last minute.

SPEAKER_00 18:09

Okay. Well, it's moving up.

SPEAKER_05 18:12

Hey, but it doesn't matter because you want to stay tuned to what I was already jumping ahead of. You're not gonna want to leave now.

SPEAKER_02 18:19

Yeah, keep on track.

SPEAKER_04 18:20

All right. I don't know where we're going. I just need to tell somebody that God didn't call you to steward someone else's life. He's calling you to steward your own. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 18:27

So just stay in your lane. Stay focused on what God's called you to.

SPEAKER_04 18:30

Yes. I think I think that staying in your lane is is a great way to like and then be really good at your lane.

SPEAKER_00 18:36

Mm-hmm. And let God build those reps. Let God like build you up and encourage you and strengthen you in it. Like it just takes reps. We're never gonna be like super great at anything, but that's the part of growth. That's the part of becoming.

SPEAKER_03 18:50

Your lane's not the same as the lane next to you. Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 18:52

Right.

SPEAKER_03 18:53

One one lane maybe going faster. Maybe you're in the fast lane and somebody else isn't as fast as you.

SPEAKER_00 18:57

Yeah. In this season.

SPEAKER_03 19:00

Right. Don't compare that either.

SPEAKER_04 19:01

And yeah, don't be like, well, if they were like me, we'd get a lot more done. No. Or probably wouldn't slow down or probably a lot more crashes.

SPEAKER_00 19:07

Or don't slow down or dim your light because that's the case. You know, like God has called you, anointed you, set you forth in this lane. Stay focused. Keep your head down. Keep your eyes on him. He'll lead you.

SPEAKER_04 19:21

Yeah. And I just think of like, I think of just how like highways work. If we're using this lane analogy. Like stay in your lane, and over time, if you can stay in your lane, you know what's gonna happen? You're gonna go from one lane to two.

SPEAKER_02 19:34

Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_04 19:35

And then you're gonna go from two to three. And then three to four. Because I think, Brad, it was you earlier talking about the fact of like, well, if if we handle what he's given us, instead of just wanting more, if we handle what he's given us, he's going to give us more.

SPEAKER_00 19:48

Yeah. Right? So he has to make sure we can steward the little before he gives us the much.

SPEAKER_04 19:52

You're right. And so just like stay in your lane. And then I'm going to put parentheses in parentheses, right? Stay in your lane or stay in your lanes. Wherever God has called you to, whatever he's called you to do, do that to the best of your ability. Yeah. Because he's called you to live that life, not the life of someone else.

SPEAKER_03 20:09

And get in the lane. Don't park on the shoulder.

SPEAKER_01 20:11

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 20:11

Yeah, that's right. I'll sit on the sidelines.

SPEAKER_01 20:13

That's right.

SPEAKER_04 20:14

Yeah, pull off the rest stuff. All right. That analogy has been sufficiently medium. All right. So we have to recognize what we've received. Now we have to, the second principle is realize why you've received it. Right. So now this goes back to really what um Zach was kind of saying as we read through our text earlier. First Peter 4 10. Each of you should use whatever gift you've received to serve others. So to Zach's point, you've received the gift, use it. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 20:40

Why?

SPEAKER_04 20:41

Why? For what purpose? Well, to serve others.

SPEAKER_00 20:43

Yeah. And to bring them closer to Jesus. Right?

SPEAKER_04 20:45

But like that's the whole point. Yeah, 100%. Our whole entire being exists to glorify God, as we'll talk about. Right? But that means we're going to tell other people about Jesus. We're going to serve other people for the purposes of Jesus. All of that. But if I've received a gift, why? Well, in that same sentence, it's so that it can be used to serve other people.

SPEAKER_01 21:07

Yep.

SPEAKER_04 21:07

And the way we kind of begin to break it down, and because we're on a podcast, audio form, not video, it's a little harder to see. But we basically said, listen, the way that we should see stewardship in our life is from God.

SPEAKER_00 21:20

There's a little roadmap.

SPEAKER_04 21:21

Yep, from God with an arrow to me, with an arrow through me, with an arrow to others.

SPEAKER_00 21:28

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 21:28

Right? Like that's the It's simple. Yes.

SPEAKER_00 21:32

Very simple. Right. The principle of it is very, very simple. We just have to cling to that. We have to keep that at the forefront of our minds.

SPEAKER_04 21:41

So I've received it says from God to me. We have to understand that it's from God to me. That's the what we just talked about. Yep. Then we have to say, now, why did I receive it? Well, so that it can go through me to other people.

SPEAKER_00 21:56

And I think here in that, like just take a look at that. See where you're at in this little roadmap. Do you understand that it's it's from God? Like, are you there yet? Okay, now if you're there, it's it's something that's going to you. Have you received it? Are you willing to receive it? And then through me, am I willing? And then two others. That's the call to action. Yeah. So just take a moment, say a prayer, ask God, where am I at in this? And what's my next step?

SPEAKER_04 22:26

Yeah. And I think it's natural to look at that and for certain people, for certain personality types, to see that and be like, all right, I will do that, but I'm gonna do it with a bad attitude, I'm gonna be miserable, I'm gonna be ticked off, right? Like, I'll I'll be a steward, but I'm gonna be grumpy about the whole thing.

SPEAKER_00 22:46

No, you won't, because you have the joy of the Lord living inside of that heart of yours.

SPEAKER_04 22:50

Which is which is which is a hundred percent true, but I need you to see how the joy is tied to the things that he's given us.

SPEAKER_01 22:56

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 22:57

Because scripture tells us that God wants us to enjoy what he's given us. The Bible said he he richly provides everything for our enjoyment.

SPEAKER_01 23:05

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 23:06

Right? When we he when we talked about the Garden of Eden this past summer, right? The first command wasn't don't eat from the tree. The first command was eat from any tree you want because they're good to for taste and they're good for you. Like eat from any tree besides that one.

SPEAKER_00 23:20

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 23:20

Right? He created everything in the garden because it was good for him and he wanted them to enjoy it.

SPEAKER_00 23:25

For enjoyment, and then he gave us instruction for protection.

SPEAKER_04 23:28

But in the garden also came responsibility.

SPEAKER_00 23:30

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 23:30

It also came stewardship. Right? And so I would argue that enjoyment and stewardship aren't arch nemesis. I don't know if the plural of nemesis is nemesis is. No, I don't either, but I don't know. They're not, they're they're certainly arch nemeside.

SPEAKER_00 23:48

Yeah. Anyway.

SPEAKER_04 23:50

No, it's not like, well, I if I have to steward, then I can't enjoy.

SPEAKER_00 23:54

No, they go hand in hand and it's so beautiful.

SPEAKER_04 23:57

Enjoyment is not the enemy. I would say consumption without purposes.

SPEAKER_01 24:01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 24:02

Right? If my goal is to just consume as much as I can of this life with no purpose, that's the enemy, right? Yeah. That's the enemy of stewardship, not enjoyment. It should be joyful for you to serve other people, for you to love other people, for you to use what God's given you. Like that should be a joy.

SPEAKER_01 24:19

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 24:20

Right? If I got up every week and thought, oh my goodness, Sunday's here. Now I have to get up and talk to people. I how dumb is this? I hate it so much. No.

SPEAKER_00 24:30

Like that's so life-sucking. That's draining. Why would you want to live that way?

SPEAKER_04 24:35

Right. It's just I'm going to use the gift God's given me.

SPEAKER_00 24:37

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 24:38

And I say this all the time. People can argue if it's a gift or not. Like, I don't know if you like it. You don't have to like it. I'm just saying, I feel like it's a gift God's given, so I'm going to use it.

SPEAKER_00 24:46

But it's a responsibility too, to take our thoughts captive, submit it to God, and say, like, I get to do this.

SPEAKER_04 24:54

That's right.

SPEAKER_00 24:54

Wow, this is exciting. I get to do this every new day. I get to do this. It doesn't always feel like that. But we get to. It's an opportunity. Yeah. It's an opportunity of partnership with the Lord.

SPEAKER_04 25:04

Yep. And he did not have to partner with you, but he chose to.

SPEAKER_00 25:07

Right.

SPEAKER_04 25:08

Yep. So we're going to use the gift we've received to serve other people. Right. And we say, okay, well. That sounds good. That sounds encouraging. He wants to partner with us. He chose to, all of that. But like, prove it to me. Okay. Ephesians 2 10. It says we're God's masterpiece. He's created us new in Jesus so that we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

SPEAKER_01 25:39

That's right.

SPEAKER_04 25:40

Like I need you to see, we are his masterpiece. So he created you. Different and unique from everyone else, with gifts, talents, opportunities, passions, strengths, resources, whatever, right? A story, a testimony. Yep, influence, all of that. He's created you uniquely. Yeah. As a masterpiece. Then he created you new in Jesus, once you give your life to him, confess him as Lord and Savior, right? So he's created you new. Now he did all of that so that you can do the good things that he had planned for you long ago.

SPEAKER_01 26:11

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 26:12

Like I need you to see he has things for each and every person that he's planned for you to do.

SPEAKER_00 26:17

You just have to step into it.

SPEAKER_04 26:19

Why in the world would God go through the work of making a masterpiece, creating you new in Christ Jesus, washing the sin away, having things planned for you long ago, and then said, Hey, figure it out, dude. No, he gifted you for it. Like that's the part that's like wild to me, even in my own mind. Like times whenever I don't it's like he didn't just say, All right, I'm gonna drop you in the middle of the ocean now, figure it out.

SPEAKER_00 26:42

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 26:43

No.

SPEAKER_00 26:44

Yeah, 100%. And I just in that moment, I think too, like, imagine God sitting next to you in this moment. And you're like, Yeah, thanks for all the gifts, but I'm not gonna use them. And you just look at him point blank and say that. Like the heart behind that, like, that's so sad and it's so offensive to God. He's like, But I gave you these good gifts. This is for you. I I want you to delight in this, I want to bring you joy. But if you're not gonna step into it, it's all for naught.

SPEAKER_03 27:16

Sorry. I'm only gonna use it once a month, or I'm only gonna do it. Yeah. Like I was trying to Romans 12, 6 is in his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. Yeah. Say halfway.

SPEAKER_01 27:30

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 27:31

Do them well.

SPEAKER_00 27:32

Yes. Yes.

SPEAKER_03 27:34

It's it's so true, right?

SPEAKER_00 27:36

Like and it takes all of us. Like we are the body, that's the beauty of the body of Christ. We're all different, we're all unique. And when we all come together and we're all activated and moving forward in our each of our individual callings, guys, that's unstoppable. That's so exciting.

SPEAKER_04 27:53

Yeah. Yeah. I think that like it's important. I love what you just brought up with the you doing different things well. Because well is different for each individual person. Right? It doesn't mean that you have to do things perfectly, but it doesn't mean you get to do things half.

SPEAKER_01 28:11

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 28:12

Right? Like or not at all. Or not at all for sure. Right?

SPEAKER_01 28:15

Like, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 28:16

I think doing things well is saying, I'm gonna do it to the best of my ability. What is the best of my ability? If can I just bring my best to the Lord? Right? We can go back to week one of this when we saw Cain and Abel, right? And Abel brought his first and best. What if using our gifts well is just bringing our first and best? Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 28:37

Yep.

SPEAKER_04 28:38

Right? Like, what if that was just saying, hey, I'm gonna do it well. I'm gonna bring my first and best.

SPEAKER_01 28:45

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 28:45

I might still make a mistake. I'm probably gonna say something dumb. I'm probably gonna like for me. I'm probably gonna stumble over a word. I'm probably gonna like it.

SPEAKER_03 28:54

Well, and he wants us to grow. Like the first time you do it, maybe you're not gonna do it very well. So uncomfy. But push, he he wants us to push to be better.

SPEAKER_00 29:03

Persevere.

SPEAKER_04 29:04

I've Zach, you're probably the most critical person of making fun of me. That at least tells me. It's all in love. Once every other week I say something pretty dumb. Or like unless I say something pretty dumb, like I I misspeak in a pretty noticeable way. Right? Like, yeah, and I'm okay with it. Like I don't feel first and best. Like legitimately. Like I like I appreciate it. I'm not mad about it at all. Yeah. I'm like, whenever I say, like, I think of I think of the friends episode whenever he says blue, blazer black. Right? Yeah. And I'm like, that's a hundred percent. I say stuff like that all the time. I'm just like, I start adding random letters into words or not finishing them. I'm thinking through things.

SPEAKER_00 29:48

Your brain's going faster than your lips can move.

SPEAKER_04 29:50

So I'm still, I can still do that and be using my gift well.

SPEAKER_00 29:54

Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 29:55

Right? Like, Brad, you can miss a note and still be using your gift well.

SPEAKER_00 30:00

Because it's all about the heart. God cares about the heart behind it.

SPEAKER_04 30:03

It is first and best.

SPEAKER_00 30:05

Yeah. Yep.

SPEAKER_04 30:05

For sure. That's literally like, and so we're going to use the gifts we've received because first and best, right? Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 30:12

Confession's also an important part of that, which you just did.

SPEAKER_04 30:14

So thank you. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. There you go.

SPEAKER_00 30:16

Thanks for modeling that.

SPEAKER_04 30:18

So we're going to recognize what we've received. We're going to recognize why we've received it. So that then the third principle is we can responsibly use what we've received. That's right. Because we can sit here and say all day long, okay, I've been given this gift and it's to serve people, and now, ooh, I do not want to serve people.

SPEAKER_00 30:34

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 30:34

I do not actually want to do it.

SPEAKER_00 30:36

Yeah, people are messy. People are not serious.

SPEAKER_04 30:38

I don't want to use it well.

SPEAKER_00 30:39

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 30:40

Super cool. I have the gift.

SPEAKER_00 30:41

People are going to judge me.

SPEAKER_04 30:42

Yep. Yep. Yep. So each of you should use whatever gift you've received to serve others. Why? For what purpose? Well, as faithful stewards of God's grace in its various forms. Right. And we have to like, and I said it yesterday, and I probably don't do it, say it often enough of like the goal of this life is not just serving others. Yeah. Right. The goal of this life is the pursuit of God the Father through his son Jesus and the Spirit of God on the inside of us. Like that's the goal of our life. Right? But I can't do that without serving others.

SPEAKER_00 31:14

Right.

SPEAKER_04 31:15

Now, if the goal becomes serving others, I'm missing it. But I cannot pursue God that in a way that doesn't love people well.

SPEAKER_02 31:23

Right.

SPEAKER_04 31:23

Right. So the way we said it was stewardship isn't about what we can do for others, it's about being faithful to God and how he's asked us to live our entire lives. Serving others is just the byproduct of faithful stewardship.

SPEAKER_01 31:36

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 31:37

God has asked us to steward our entire lives for him in pursuit of him. Living like Jesus. You can't do that without serving others. Yeah. Yeah, for sure. But not I'm not serving others to do that because of that. I'm serving others. Right? It's a byproduct. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 31:54

Yeah, for sure.

SPEAKER_04 31:55

Like Zach could probably go pretty long on the technicality of what byproduct actually is. But byproduct is like the offput of something that else happened. Like something else is happening, and the byproduct is like what trickles off. Serving others should be the thing that trickles off of my pursuit of God.

SPEAKER_00 32:12

Yeah. It's the fruit.

SPEAKER_05 32:13

Yeah. That's why God says love God, love people. Yep. Yep. Yep.

SPEAKER_00 32:16

Keeping it simple.

SPEAKER_05 32:17

Yeah, because if it was any, if it was just love people, eventually there would be a lot of just destruction.

SPEAKER_04 32:26

Well, you know, what I think is so interesting, I'm glad you brought that up, Brad, is they were they asked Jesus, hey, what's the greatest command? He says, Well, love God with all your heart, soul, and mind. Yeah. But what does he say about loving people? What's what's the sentence in between? And second to that, or just as important, or second is just like this. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 32:47

Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_04 32:48

Love your neighbor as yourself. Right? It's it's to your point, I don't even know that I can love God if I don't love people.

SPEAKER_01 32:55

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 32:55

And I certainly can't love people if I don't love God. I know that's for sure. Yeah. Like that is for sure.

unknown 33:00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 33:01

That's like when he said stay home and concentrate on your own faith.

SPEAKER_00 33:05

Mm-hmm.

unknown 33:05

No.

SPEAKER_03 33:06

Oh, it's like your faith. I'm like, I know.

SPEAKER_00 33:10

It's like literally cringing. Hold on.

SPEAKER_03 33:12

Go out.

SPEAKER_04 33:14

Yeah. Make the side. First Zach. First Zach chapter one. Yeah. I'm like, I'm interested to see where this is going.

SPEAKER_00 33:24

He didn't say stay home.

SPEAKER_04 33:26

Yeah, right.

SPEAKER_00 33:26

Yeah. He said go out.

SPEAKER_03 33:28

You do that without serving others.

SPEAKER_04 33:29

A hundred percent.

SPEAKER_00 33:30

Right.

SPEAKER_04 33:30

A hundred percent. And I uh this is where I would call us back to a little bit of where I think Brad and Zach, you guys were taking us earlier of last week's discussion of the parable of the talents, right? The master leaves his servants. There's one master, three servants, he leaves one of his servants five bags of silver, one of his servants two, and the third servant has a bag, right? And he says, Oh, I'm gonna come back. And so the master gives it to them to take care of while he's gone. He comes back, he checks and he's like, How'd it go? Well, the guy with five was like, turned your five into another five, we've got ten total. Yeah. Okay, the guy with two was like, turn two into another two, we've got four now. The guy with one was like, I knew you were harsh. So I buried it, and here's your one bag back.

SPEAKER_00 34:13

Right.

SPEAKER_04 34:14

And the master super frustrated. He's like, I could have got a better return at the bank. He said, Why didn't you use what I've given you? Right? It's not about the return. It's not that you didn't turn one bag into two or one bag into five. It's you didn't do anything with the one bag.

SPEAKER_00 34:31

You didn't use it, and I couldn't do anything with that.

SPEAKER_04 34:33

You didn't use it. You've buried it.

SPEAKER_00 34:36

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 34:37

And it's not been used.

SPEAKER_00 34:38

Yes.

SPEAKER_04 34:38

And so I asked a question yesterday to the church and said, What gift have you been given that you've buried and not used?

SPEAKER_00 34:45

Uh-huh. Yeah. I just got back from a trip, and the first like two days was complete solitude. It was just me. Um, and then I had a friend come meet me uh two days after, and she stayed for a couple days. And in that two days of solitude, the Lord rocked me with this. I mean, just absolutely rocked me. And he said to me, He said, I have placed my hand of favor on you. I have anointed your head with oil. I have given you influence of Esther. Now it's time to walk in that anointing. And you've been sitting on this for far too long. And I was like, Oh, shoot. And I knew exactly. I literally knew exactly what he was talking about. And I'm like, I don't, mm-mm. I don't want to do it. I don't want to go there. Mm-mm. And so he's like, Yeah, I've given you the gift of creativity. You need to use it. And so this whole trip, he unleashed this like desire and passion to create and taught me about the joy of the Lord and delighting in him through it. And he was like, Okay, I want you to start posting on social media. I want you to be a light in that realm. And I'm like, this is so silly. No, not doing it. And so I went ahead, I created the the first one, second one, third one, created a lot while I was down there. As we started posting them, I would post it at nighttime and I would wake up in the morning, and some of them now have like 2,000, 3,000 likes on them. And I'm like, that is how I know it was God. Because literally, I've been posting for a long time. Anything that is of self, no more than not even a hundred likes. Like it doesn't even get close to that. And God's like, I can multiply this. I just needed your action. I needed you to step into it. And I want you to bring joy to that space. Like, there is joy in being a Christian. There is joy in being a Christ follower. There is joy in walking out what I have called every single person to do. Now go show that. And it's like, okay, God, here we go. So we're on week one of that. But that is definitely a uh a talent that I have buried that I did not want to use and I didn't want to step into. And God said it's time.

SPEAKER_05 37:02

Yeah. It's like so, once again, like you said, simple, but yet can be challenging.

SPEAKER_01 37:06

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 37:07

Like this fact of just like, who do I want to get the glory in this?

SPEAKER_01 37:12

Yep.

SPEAKER_05 37:13

Do I want people to see me or do I want people to see him?

SPEAKER_00 37:17

Yeah. A hundred percent.

SPEAKER_05 37:19

And that changes everything.

SPEAKER_00 37:21

A hundred percent. It really does. And when he's leading it and guiding it, you can feel it, you can see it. And I noticed that just in the content that he was leading me to create. It was all about the joy of the Lord. And it was so sweet and so special. And yeah, I mean, it just completely wrecked my heart in the best way. And it's like, I'm coming back changed, and I'm gonna use what you've given me. And it's just like it's so exciting.

SPEAKER_04 37:50

Yeah, I mean, and there's an urgency to this concept, right? To the concept of what you're talking about, the principle you're talking about. Right. There's an urgency to it that that I think Jesus knew, which is why the master came back and said, Listen, I'm taking the one away from you. Yeah. Because you didn't use it. I'm gonna give it to someone else. Right. There's an urgency that Jesus is leaning into that then Paul once again gets really direct in in Ephesians chapter five. He says, Listen, be careful how you live.

SPEAKER_01 38:19

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 38:20

And I love this. Don't live like fools.

SPEAKER_01 38:22

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 38:23

Right? Don't live like fools, but like those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. And I just asked yesterday, I said, what if that's what stewardship is?

SPEAKER_02 38:35

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 38:36

Making the most of every opportunity in these evil days. Well, if I were gonna make the most of an opportunity, right? If I was gonna make the most of it, I would leverage what I have to make the most of that opportunity, no matter what it is, no matter who gets the glory, we'll get there.

SPEAKER_00 38:52

But like no mat just in general, if I said what you have, where you've at, where you've been, what where you're at.

SPEAKER_04 38:58

Yes. If I want to make the most of something, I'm gonna leverage everything else I have for that thing so that I can make the most of it. And so what if stewardship is just Ephesians 5 16? Make the most of every opportunity.

SPEAKER_01 39:10

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 39:12

Because we're in evil days. And what I love is Paul wrote this letter to the church in Ephesus somewhere between the death of Jesus and the year like 75. And those were evil days. And you know when else it was evil? Like the year 150, and the year 250, and the year 500, every day until the year. And the year 750, in the year a thousand, the year 1500, and the year 1900, and the year 2000, whenever the whole world was gonna die because of the dot-com crash. Right? Like, and then the year 2008 when the and then two thousand Oh, and every day.

SPEAKER_00 39:49

2020.

SPEAKER_04 39:50

Right? Like, oh, you're right. Every day is evil days.

SPEAKER_00 39:53

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 39:53

Because Satan's the ruler of this earth.

SPEAKER_00 39:55

And that shouldn't surprise us. That's not scary. We are living in evil days, but we have the authority of Christ living inside of us, and we get to bring light in these evil days.

SPEAKER_04 40:05

And so, yeah, and so we just have to begin to understand the urgency of saying, Hey, what have I buried?

SPEAKER_00 40:13

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 40:13

What am I not using?

SPEAKER_00 40:14

Lord, pull it out.

SPEAKER_04 40:15

What did I discover in the in in saying, what have I received, right? All of that.

SPEAKER_01 40:20

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 40:20

Because there's an urgency to responsibly using what we have received. And so in love, I would say to those of you listening, stop waiting for what you don't have and start stewarding what you do have.

SPEAKER_01 40:31

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 40:31

Right? Stop being like, well, if I had five bags, it'd be different. Well, you don't. And I don't mean that I don't. Whatever bags you have, you that's what you have.

SPEAKER_00 40:40

You start today. You don't have to be able to do that. You didn't choose what you were given. You start today.

SPEAKER_05 40:43

For sure.

SPEAKER_00 40:44

And I think it's important too that we as a church and we as a local community are having conversations about this. Where it's like, hey, I see that you have X, Y, and Z. Why aren't you using it? Like call people higher. Help them, build them up and encourage them and say, like, you are really gifted at this. And you could use that for the kingdom in so many different ways. Why are we not doing that? Let's go.

SPEAKER_04 41:09

How can I help you? Many of us have more bags than we think we do. Yeah. For I guess I should say it this way. For those of us who view ourselves as not having many bags.

SPEAKER_00 41:16

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 41:17

Right. We have more bags than we think we do.

SPEAKER_00 41:19

We don't even recognize the bag.

SPEAKER_04 41:20

Well, we don't know. Yeah, we yes, exactly. That's what I was going to say. We we have more than we think. We just don't have the ability to say, well, what has God given me?

SPEAKER_00 41:28

Yeah. Which is why it's important in community to point that out in other people.

SPEAKER_05 41:32

And I think the more that, like, yeah, maybe you recognize your bags, or maybe you like, even too, you're like, hey, maybe the reason you don't have multiple bags yet is to your point.

SPEAKER_02 41:43

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 41:44

Yeah. You're not doing anything with the first bag. Yeah. It's like, oh, I want to do big things for God. It's like, yeah. Well, did you make your bed this morning? Right. And it's like, okay, why don't we start there?

SPEAKER_00 41:53

Yes, let's go with the little let's be faithful in the ordinary.

SPEAKER_05 41:57

Then yeah, I can trust you with some larger things, but we've got to start with the the little things. You know, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 42:05

Literally, it's all about being faithful in the ordinary. That's where it starts.

SPEAKER_04 42:09

Yep. And so we recognize what we've received, we recognize why we've received it. We begin to responsibly responsibly use what we've received. And then the fourth principle is remember who gets the glory. Right? I, as I said yesterday, as you may be painfully aware of, ain't none of this about you.

SPEAKER_00 42:30

That's probably one of my favorite things that you always say, and it always humbles me. And you say it in love. But if I'm ever struggling or, you know, caught in my thoughts, it's like, hey, let me remind you, this ain't about you. And like it is said in love. And some people could take that very harshly, but I know your heart, and I know that you're telling me that in love. And when we counsel other people, you're also counseling in love. But like, hey, you're not that big of a deal.

SPEAKER_04 42:58

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 42:59

It like it, it's not about it's literally not about you, it's about him.

SPEAKER_04 43:02

Yeah. That's the that's I was laughing because I'm like, rarely do I tell you it ain't about you as much as I tell you you're not that big of a deal.

SPEAKER_00 43:11

I was gonna say, yeah, you do say that a lot. You're not that big of a deal. Don't worry about it.

SPEAKER_04 43:15

And I don't mean that in the mean way. It's just like, yeah, it's not that deep, you're not that big of a deal.

SPEAKER_00 43:19

Mm-hmm. There's Which is so freeing when you do say that. I want people to hear that there is freedom in you saying that. You bring freedom by saying things like that.

SPEAKER_04 43:27

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. And I I'm not trying to be like, well, yeah, someone else is a big deal, you're not. No, nobody's that big of a deal.

SPEAKER_00 43:32

Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_04 43:33

Right? Only God should be that big of a deal.

SPEAKER_00 43:36

Yeah, only God is. And so he's point blank, simple.

SPEAKER_04 43:39

Yep. And he says in first Peter, all the verses we just read, and he ends it and says, Do all of those things so that in all things God may be praised. Through Christ Jesus. So to him, to God, be the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen. That's who gets the glory. That's who it's about. It's not about us. But it's so hard for all of us, myself included, to really live a life that doesn't have us at the center of the story.

SPEAKER_00 44:13

Well, yeah. It just goes back to like God's going to teach you how to die to your flesh in this too. In everything. But especially when you're utilizing gifts to serve other people, it's every day. Pick up your cross, follow me, and die to yourself. Like pick up your cross, follow me, die to yourself. He's gonna teach you that in new ways.

SPEAKER_04 44:33

Yep, and so we have this cycle of stewardship that says we've received it from God. We've leveraged what we've received for other people so that it can be returned to God as glory. That's right. Right? Like the goal, it's it's like a circle. From God, us leveraging for other people, kind of like turns into glory and it comes back, right? It's from God, leveraged for other people, turns into turned into glory back to God. Oh great. I can trust Brad with that. Alright, let's give Brad more. From God to Brad for other people, return to God to glory. Brad needs more. But if it never makes it back to him, he's like, well, okay, Brad is he's he's not a funnel. I need a funnel.

SPEAKER_00 45:22

Yeah.

unknown 45:22

Right?

SPEAKER_04 45:22

I want somebody who I can pour it in and it comes out the other end. Right?

SPEAKER_00 45:26

Like don't let there be sludge in your funnel. Clear it out.

SPEAKER_04 45:28

I was trying to think what the opposite of a funnel would be. Why just I'm looking at Zach, I'm like, Zach, you're smart with that type of stuff. What's the opposite of a funnel?

SPEAKER_00 45:36

What are they called? Um in the ditches. No, in the ditches, there's those things that shoot out the water to the other side.

SPEAKER_04 45:42

A culvert?

SPEAKER_00 45:42

A culvert. I think about that all the time, and I'm like, yeah, don't let little foxes get stuck in the culvert. Don't let alligators get stuck in the culvert that like eat up or prevent what God is trying to flow through the culvert. Like keep it clear. Do the maintenance to keep it clear.

SPEAKER_02 45:57

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 45:58

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 45:58

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 45:58

It's just who's gonna give Why are you laughing?

SPEAKER_00 46:01

He's laughing.

SPEAKER_03 46:01

Because yesterday when you were doing this, I was popped into my head was Joyce marriage speech, the gift giving and sharing. Yes, yes. And receiving. Yes. And loving. And with loving, you can give and share and receive.

SPEAKER_04 46:16

Yep. It really it's not it really isn't that deep. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 46:21

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 46:21

That's the that's the thing about this. It's not that deep.

SPEAKER_00 46:23

Right.

SPEAKER_04 46:24

And it's really not that complex. For sure. But it's just really freaking hard.

SPEAKER_01 46:28

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 46:28

Yep. Because that means I've got to do that.

SPEAKER_03 46:30

Well, what's kind of crazy is once you start to do that, it's like, how can I do I I don't have enough time. And then all of a sudden you're like, all right, here, God, I'll do this. And then the next thing you know, you're doing two extra things. And then next thing you know, like sometimes it starts multiplying before you even realize it's multiplying.

SPEAKER_04 46:48

Yeah. Yeah. And it's not just like he added hours to your date. No. There are times where you've had to say, no, I'm not doing X because I'm choosing to do Y.

SPEAKER_03 46:57

Right.

SPEAKER_04 46:57

I'm saying no to that because I want to do this. Right. So I do have to make hard choices. I do have to die to self. I do have to prioritize responsibly using it. But when I'm making the right decisions, when I'm prioritizing that, when I'm being responsible, then that's where he's starting to create margin. Right. He's starting to do some things where it's like, oh, by me saying yes, you've now amplified my yes. Right. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 47:22

Yeah. Right.

SPEAKER_05 47:23

There's an author that talks about just like having the go set ready approach because you're never going to be ready. You're never going to like feel fully probably like, oh, I've got enough time. But it's like you said go set ready. That's right. That's not right.

SPEAKER_03 47:39

Zach just thought you said it wrong. I think. No, no. No, I it was like landing. I was like, that is actually a lot of things happen.

SPEAKER_05 47:45

Uh he uh it's Mark Batterson. He would talk about like how you know I was probably never ready, like truly to get married. I was never truly ready to have kids, but like you get on this, like, hey, like you said, God's gonna equip me for like what's ahead. And he's gonna equip, he's gonna give me the the the strength that I need to be a father. He's gonna give me the you know uh wisdom to help lead this person or whatever it is. But if we go in with the ready set go mindset, we're never gonna be fully probably ready. But if we go set ready, like, hey, you got this God. Yeah, like yeah, for sure.

SPEAKER_04 48:25

So we're gonna recognize what we've received, why we've received it, we're gonna responsibly use it so that God gets the glory. Right now, all of that is great. Now, what are we going to do practically? Right? Like as we close with the last few minutes, whatever the last few minutes is, what are we going to do practically to begin to put this into play? Like if for those listening, how do we do that? Well, number one, the first thing we can do is just take inventory. Right? When was the last time you took inventory of the gifts you've been given?

SPEAKER_01 48:58

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 48:59

Seriously, like when was the last time you went through and said, okay? And you might say, Okay, well, Kyle, fine, but how do I do it?

SPEAKER_00 49:06

Yeah. Well, like this could be a really fun exercise with your spouse, with your community group, with whatever. Like, make it fun and enjoyable. Like have a dinner and like have this be the topic of conversation. Get a whiteboard out and like literally write it down. Get a big one of those like big pads of um, you would probably know this because you probably use it more in youth ministry, but like the big pads of like the line like an iPad. Oh, no, not the iPad. But you could do that too. Anything or sticky notes.

SPEAKER_04 49:35

The legal pad. Are you talking about a legal pad?

SPEAKER_00 49:37

Like a big one, the giant ones though. Like the really big ones.

SPEAKER_04 49:39

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 49:40

And just start writing things down and calling things out in each other. Like have a have a fun conversation about that.

SPEAKER_04 49:46

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 49:46

And see what God does with it.

SPEAKER_04 49:48

And questions that will help you are when it comes to the tap to the time that God's given you, ask where do I have margin?

SPEAKER_02 49:56

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 49:56

If we're just gonna take inventory, where do I have margin? When it comes to talents, what am I naturally good at? When it comes to my spiritual gifts, how has God equipped me?

SPEAKER_01 50:04

Right.

SPEAKER_04 50:04

When it comes to my influence, who listens to me? When it comes to my relationships, who has God placed around me?

SPEAKER_01 50:09

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 50:10

When it comes to my things, what do I have that could serve somebody else? When it comes to my opportunities, what doors are currently open? And it's probably important to acknowledge what doors are currently closed. Right? So we have to take inventory. What has God given us? Then the second thing is find what's burnt, what's buried. Right? Like what have what has been buried that is something I've had.

SPEAKER_00 50:33

Right. Pull it out, Lord.

SPEAKER_04 50:35

Yep.

SPEAKER_00 50:36

Give me a willing heart to see. Give me eyes to see what it is. Give me a heart to receive it. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 50:43

And as you are finding what's buried, ask the question what has been buried that needs put back into use?

SPEAKER_01 50:49

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 50:50

I I I like the back half of that question of like needs put back into use because at one point in time it was given to you. You knew it was given to you.

SPEAKER_00 50:59

You might have used it a little bit.

SPEAKER_04 51:00

You might have even used it.

SPEAKER_00 51:01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 51:01

Right?

SPEAKER_00 51:02

But like, but you get rusty over time when it sits.

SPEAKER_04 51:06

Or it gets really dirty when you buried it way down deep.

SPEAKER_00 51:09

Dusty. And you gotta clean it up a little bit.

SPEAKER_04 51:11

Right. And so what's been buried that needs to put back into use. So we're gonna take inventory, we're gonna find what's buried, and then steward one thing this week intentionally for God's glory.

SPEAKER_00 51:21

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 51:21

Right, just one thing.

SPEAKER_00 51:24

I'm not asking you to like And have fun while you do it.

SPEAKER_04 51:27

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 51:27

Enjoy it.

SPEAKER_04 51:29

Yeah, I'm not asking you to like quit your job so that you can have 60 hours a week to go serve it at a local nonprofit.

SPEAKER_00 51:37

Right.

SPEAKER_04 51:38

Right? Like, I'm not saying you even should do that. My point is like, what's one thing you can do this week to steward intentionally what God has given you? One thing. Use what you've been given for the purpose he gave it to you for responsibly so that he gets the glory.

SPEAKER_01 51:54

Yeah, that's right.

SPEAKER_04 51:55

One thing. And the kind of the place we ended the plane yesterday was like, it's not good enough to just identify what God's given us.

SPEAKER_00 52:05

Well, he wants more than that.

SPEAKER_04 52:07

Right. So don't just identify it, deploy it. What if we thought of all the gifts that we've been given as this thing that we can like actually deploy?

SPEAKER_02 52:16

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 52:16

Right? For a greater purpose, for the kingdom, for the glory of God, right?

SPEAKER_00 52:21

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 52:21

Like God gave it to me. I need to deploy it. I need to.

SPEAKER_00 52:24

It's that urgency feeling. It's like, oh, I gotta get this out now because like it's for such a time as this. He's gifted you with that. Go use it.

SPEAKER_04 52:34

Yeah. For sure. What other thoughts do we have?

SPEAKER_03 52:38

I think out of that list, like the one that I don't know if scared's the right word, but like by influence who listens to me. Like, just make sure it's not me. Yeah. It's gotta be him through me. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. God through me. Right, right, right. And that it's to his glory. Like for sure. You're not that's good. Be careful how you look at those. Like, who's gonna listen to me like about me? No, no, no, no, no. That's not what I'm talking about. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 53:04

That's good clarification.

SPEAKER_00 53:05

That is so good.

SPEAKER_04 53:06

That's good clarification. I think as we look at taking inventory, yeah, yeah, all of it, all of it to glorify God. Yeah, 100%. And asking those questions, it's like make sure you're applying the first four principles. Right. Yeah. That we talked about.

SPEAKER_00 53:18

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 53:19

To those.

SPEAKER_00 53:19

Yeah. Your gifting will always point people back to Jesus. And if it's not, you better go pray about it.

SPEAKER_04 53:25

Yeah. That's right. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 53:27

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 53:28

For sure. So good. Are we missing anything else?

SPEAKER_00 53:31

I don't think so.

SPEAKER_04 53:32

Nobody wants to add anything. Going once. Going once.

SPEAKER_00 53:36

This is your call to action. Go for it, guys.

SPEAKER_04 53:38

That's right.

SPEAKER_00 53:39

Excited to hear what God's gonna do with it.

SPEAKER_04 53:41

Okay. Who wants to do a quick prayer for us?

SPEAKER_00 53:44

I can.

SPEAKER_04 53:45

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 53:45

All right, dear Lord, thank you so much for oh, just the good, good gifts that you have for us. Holy Spirit, we just pray that you would just unleash your presence over these listeners. Uh, that you would just call them to action, that you would help them to see the gifts that you've placed inside of them, that you would show them the areas that you would have for them to use those gifts, show them their lanes, show them what that looks like. And then show them the fruit of what it is that you want to do through them. We thank you that you've given us these good gifts. We are so grateful. Uh help us to steward them, help us to honor you and all of it, and help us to point people back to Jesus as we become all in followers of you. We love you so much. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

SPEAKER_04 54:36

Amen. Amen. Love y'all. We will see you guys next week for part four of our first series. On first on the next series.

SPEAKER_02 54:48

Goodbye.

SPEAKER_00 54:48

Bye.