FROG Discipleship

Figure it Out!

• Nick

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0:00 | 24:04
SPEAKER_00

Good morning. Nick here with Frog Discipleship. And I want to share with you a little bit of a conversation which my son and I had the other day that I think is very, very impactful, healthy conversation in how we need this mindset in our lives today as Christian men and women. So my son and I left town. We're heading to Dallas, Texas, to meet my wife. She had a conference. And on the way, we were traveling down 45 and we stopped at Bucky's. Now, my we we all love Bucky's. Bucky's is a great place to stop and visit. So anyway, as we were stopping, we were looking around, and my son came and found this little 3D printed toy. And he said, Dad, can I have it? I said, No. You don't need another toy. You got tons of toys. He said, Dad, but this one's 3D printed. He said, it doesn't matter. You got tons of toys. You don't need it. So I told him no. Well, that got his gears turning. Well, then as we got in the car, he wanted to know why was it a no? Well, son, you got an abundance of toys. You don't need another. Right? Get rid of some toys and we can talk. Because I mean, toys are not something that is in short supply here at our house for him. So, fast forward a couple days, you know, the gears are still turning in his mind. And he says, Hey dad, can I get a 3D printer? Since I can't have a 3D printed toy, can I get a 3D printer? Now, obviously, what's the boy wanting to do with a 3D printer? He's wanting to print 3D printing toys, right? So again, I said, No. You don't need one. They're expensive. I said, we might be able to get you one one day, you know, eventually, but still not right now. He said, why? I said, son, again, you have an abundance of stuff. You know, you got more stuff than you know what to do with. So I said, No. So after that, the gears are still turning. And then he came to me one evening and he said, Hey Dad, so I can't have a 3D printer because it's expensive and I have too much stuff. I said, Yes. He said, Well, can we have a garage sale? Now, understand, we live in the middle of nowhere. I mean, it would be absolutely pointless to have a garage sale because no one would show up. And I told him, I said, Well, why why do we need to have a garage sale? And he told me, Well, if a 3D printer is expensive and I have too many toys, I figure if I sell some of my toys, then I can have some money to buy a 3D printer. So, what is the lesson here? He had a figure it out mindset. A figure-it-out mindset. Eight years old. He took a challenge, or you can say a no. Dad told him no, but it was something that he he needed, something or something that he truly desired. And he was going to figure it out. It took a couple days, you know, it didn't happen in a blink of an eye, but it he figured it out. So I told him, I said, yes, son, we can put your toys on Facebook Marketplace, we can start going through them, we can start selling them, and then yes, we can take that money and purchase a 3D printer. He was excited. What does that have to do? What does that simple story about my son have to do with your faith today? Life brings you challenges. There's going to be plenty of people that say no or discourage you or try to hinder you from growing in some shape, form, or fashion. You, the listener, must have that figure it out, whatever it takes, mindset. So here in Matthew chapter 16, these are the words of Jesus Christ. For then Jesus said to his disciples, If anyone desires to come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. If anyone desires to come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. So what does that look like to deny yourself, to take up your cross and follow him? Well, what that means is that Jesus has to be priority. Now, this is where the figure it out mindset comes in. We are on the struggle bus in a lot of ways when it comes to life. To not prioritize ourselves first is going to be difficult for us. But we see here from Christ Himself telling us to deny ourselves, to focus on Him. If anyone desires come in, let Him deny Himself, take up His cross, and follow me. Take up His cross. Well, this is where the difficulty comes in. This is where the challenges come in. This is where the we have to figure it out no matter what, have a whatever it takes mindset in Christ. We want to know why Christians aren't as abundant as they once were. Because Christianity as a whole has a quit mindset, a quit mentality. Oh, the going gets tough. Well, I'm just gonna stop. I'll let someone else do it. No. If anyone desires to come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. Verse 25, for whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. So self-centeredness, pride, arrogance, remember what pride means? People rebelling in defiance of eternal truth. We can't be that person. You do not want to be the one rebelling in defiance of God's eternal truth. So don't be prideful, don't be arrogant, don't be self-absorbed. So we have to have a whatever it takes mindset, a figure-it-out mindset. Well, what does figure it out mean? It means failure. And it means tons of failures. It means embracing the hardship of failure, accepting the failures that you are going to have, and view those failures as lessons and not obstacles. Now, what's the difference between a lesson and an obstacle? Well, an obstacle is something that is in your way. If you view it as a lesson, you're finding a solution. Okay? So again, a lesson versus an obstacle, a lesson, this is where that figure it out mindset comes in. If you view it as a lesson, you're figuring out how to overcome that whatever is in front of you. But if you view it as an obstacle, an obstacle, just something right there in front of you, all you're seeing is right there, and you are stuck. Stock. Dead in your tracks, not moving. Well, you have to view your failures not as an obstacle, but as a lesson. Because as a lesson, you start learning, you start figuring out. The gears get to turning in your head, and you start finding solutions. Because if you view it as an obstacle, the only thing you're finding is excuses. And we need solutions, not excuses. Your best excuse is your worst excuse because you believe it yourself and you keep yourself from growing. So you have to have a figure it out mindset. In order to truly thrive in your relationship with Christ, you have to have a whatever it takes mindset. You know, now as we go on and look at scripture, we see here in Matthew 6, verse 33, and it teaches Christ speaking again, but seek first the kingdom of God and all his righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Well, what is he talking about? What things shall be added to you? Well, let's read in context a little bit, starting at verse 31. Therefore, do not worry, saying, What shall we eat, or what shall we drink, or what shall we wear? For after all these things the Gentile seeks, for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things, but seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things, sufficient for the day is its own trouble. So what does that mean? We need to figure it out and seek first the kingdom of God. Put him priority number one. Not someday, not tomorrow, not later, but right now. Prioritize Christ right now. Well, I got this and that on the calendar. Figure it out. Figure out how to make Christ priority number one in your life right now. Well, I don't have time to read scripture, or I don't understand the scripture that I read. Make a phone call to a Christian friend, talk with them about Jesus, figure out a way to grow. See, we have created this mindset that in order for a person to grow, it's a cookie cutter. It's a it's a all right, well, you got to go to church, you have to re-spend hours in your Bible, spend hours in prayer, spend hours in this. Yes, the Bible says pray without ceasing. But what that means is not ever moving and just staying in one spot and spending all your time talking to Jesus. No, to pray without ceasing means you go on about your day and you're talking to Jesus every single uh minute of the day. You're talking to him continually throughout the life in which you are living in the present. So when we need, when Christ tells us to seek first the kingdom of God and all his righteousness and all these things will be added to you, well, we don't need to worry about the bare necessities in which we need food, water, shelter, all those things. If we're seeking first Him, He's going to provide for us. So we don't need to worry about it. And He tells us, worry about today, focus on today. Figure it out now. If you're not where you need to be in Christ, figure it out. You are more than capable of figuring out. Now, you might need someone, someone's help along the way, but you have to figure it out that you need someone's help along the way. I'm not saying you could do it all yourself. I mean, Christ sent the disciples out two by two, but you have to figure out how to make Christ priority number one in your life so you can start serving him today, prioritizing him now, not later, not someday, but right now, you have to figure it out. The ball is in your court, so to speak. Not later, not tomorrow. Are you going to pick it up and do something with it now? You have to do something about your relationship with Christ now. Because if you're not going to do it now, you won't do it later. You'll forget something else. You know, see, Satan likes to make us busy. Okay? Well, busyness is not always productive. Okay? And what that means is you're constantly busy, you're doing plenty of things, but you're not being productive. Think of you start a task and you don't finish it because you start another task. Okay? You're halfway doing everything and never accomplishing or achieving or completing a goal. You're busy but not productive. You have just fell victim of Satan. Figure out how to get out of that trap and start thriving in your faith. I can't do it for you. Your preacher can't do it for you. Your mom and dad can't do it for you. Your children can't do it for you. You are responsible for you. So you, the listener, needs to figure it out right now how to seek first the kingdom of God. Prioritize it. Prioritize it. Let's go to the Great Commission. How do we figure this out? Again, Jesus is speaking in Matthew 28, 18. And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all the things I have commanded you, and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Amen. Well, what does this mean for you? It means you are to be a disciple making disciples. Well, what is a disciple? A learner. If you are not prioritizing Christ in learning and growing in your faith, you are not growing others in their faith. And we are commanded, it tells us to go, therefore, and make disciples. How does that work? We plant, we water, God gives the increase. Well, what does that mean to plant and water? We share the gospel, whether in verbal conversation or on podcast or at church or in you know books or whatever, whatever skill or talent you have, you use it for the kingdom of God. You do it now, you figure it out now, you start today. Well, you can't give what you do not have, so you can't give knowledge you do not know, you can't pass growth on that you have not experienced. That's why it's so important if we are called to make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, it needs to be believers making believers. Okay? That's what this is. Well, this needs to be, you know, I'm a firm believer in learn a little bit, do a little bit. And what I mean by that is, and this is where the figuring it out comes into play, the figure it out mindset, the whatever it takes mindset. So many people that I've talked to in the faith are like, well, I haven't read all the Bible yet. It doesn't matter. I'm not asking you to read all the Bible from cover to cover, because even if you did, you wouldn't understand a fraction of it. So what has it benefited you by reading it cover to cover because you've forgotten it and you don't understand the bulk of it? Learn a little bit, do a little bit. Okay, so if you noticed, I've given these to you in order for a particular reason, you know, that reason matters. You know, we we are told if anyone desires to come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. So it becomes a desire. So you have to figure out what this desire means. I have this desire to follow Christ. Well, that's great. Okay. Well, now you have to deny yourself, not prioritize your wants, your desire. And then we get told, you know, this is the second one, this is the number two, this the step two, but seek first the kingdom of God and all his righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Okay? Prioritize God, figure it out. We're taking this desire and turning it into an action. We have a desire. Well, what does this desire do? All right, I've got to figure out how to make this desire into action. You make you turn it into action by seeking first the kingdom of God. Okay, you seek first the kingdom of God and all his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. What? He'll provide for you the necessary thing that you need. Okay? And then we look at the Great Commission. This is our purpose, this is our why, this is our goal. We go and we are to make disciples of all the nations, baptize them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And in verse 20, it says, Teach them to observe all things that I have commanded you, and lo, I'm with you, always even to the end of the age. Amen. Teach them. Teach them. Well, I'm not a teacher. Well, figure it out. You're a person that can have a conversation about Jesus. David Miller was a Methodist preacher, and I heard him once say this if my bullet fits your gun, shoot it. If my bullet fits your gun, shoot it. If this podcast fits your gun, shoot it. Share it. Share what you know. Learn a little bit, do a little bit. Learning everything. See, we have this misconception is, oh, I gotta prepare this, I gotta prepare this, I gotta, you know, get all these preparations in place. Well, the problem is you're so focused on preparing that you never do. You never take that jump, you never take that leap of faith, you never truly seek first the kingdom of God because all you're doing is preparing. Well, well, you just said I gotta get myself, I can't, you know, I can't give what I don't have. Yes. But if you spend all your time learning, being a learner, you're still falling short of what God's commandment makes. Make disciples. So we're not just called to be disciples, we're called to make disciples. So if you're just absorbing information and not sharing it, you are not fulfilling your purpose as a Christian man or woman. Okay? Now, this is this is going to be the last verse, and it's last for a reason. Because this is where we truly need to evaluate are we really trying to figure this out? How bad do we want them? And this is in Matthew 22. Then Jesus said to him, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment, and the second is like it. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the laws of the prophet. Love God and love people. It's simple. But how bad do you want to do this? Or how bad do you not want to do this? Well, I'm just not a people person, I'm an introvert. Okay. Last I checked, Jesus saves extroverts and introverts, mutes, deaf, blind, paraplegic, and those who are perfectly capable. So I'm sorry. I don't care about your excuse. Love the Lord your God. Remember, love the Lord your God. Seek first the kingdom of God. We got to take that desire, okay? He who desires to come after me, okay. We have that desire. We have to take up our cross, deny ourselves, and follow Him. Seek first the kingdom of God, okay? We can't share what we don't have, so we can't perform the Great Commission. We can't be disciples making disciples unless we're learning, unless we're sharing. Now, that's not going to be achieved if we're not prioritizing our love for God. Prioritizing your love for God. Everyone says, Oh, I love Jesus. Do you? Prove it. Not to me, but prove it to him. Prove it to yourself. I've seen so many people, I've had so many conversations with individuals. Oh, I love Jesus. Well, I don't even see Jesus in you, brother. I don't I don't see the evidence of what you are speaking. I hear the words, but I don't see the evidence. See, we're not meant. That's why so many people struggle with Christ because the hypocrisy. Have we forgotten that Christ called the Pharisees hypocrites so many times? Let that be a lesson learned. Let that put that in your toolbox, if you will, and file it and be like, I don't want to be a hypocrite. Well, how do you not be a hypocrite? You seek first the kingdom of God. You apply, you figure it out. Am I saying it's going to be per perfect right out the gate? Absolutely not. Are you going to fail? Yes. Expect to fail, accept the failures, learn from the failures, and don't view the failures as an obstacle. View the failures as a lesson and not an excuse. And then move on. Because when you get up after you've been knocked down, that's when you start to truly grow in your faith. And I heard this be like a glow stick. Sometimes we got to be broke in order to shine. Figure it out. If my son at eight years old has a desire for a 3D printer and he's willing to sit there and spend a couple days figuring things out, assessing the situation, learning from his surroundings to then come to a plan that we are going to execute. So if you need some little, if you need toys for your kids or whatever, hit me up. We got plenty. They're for sale so my son can get a 3D printer because he had a mindset that he was going to figure it out. If you truly desire Christ in your life, you will figure it out. Figure it out and stop giving excuses and make Christ number one in your life. Frog Discipleship. Frog is an acronym for Forever Rely on God. Do that this week. Thank you for listening.