WEBVTT 00:00:00.479 --> 00:00:05.280 The message this morning is for anyone who wants to see something happen in your life. 00:00:06.160 --> 00:00:08.240 This is for anyone who wants to see something change. 00:00:08.400 --> 00:00:13.839 Maybe there's one part of your life, one area of your life where you'd be willing to say, I would like to see this get 100% better. 00:00:14.080 --> 00:00:17.679 I would like to see like 100% improvement in this one area. 00:00:17.839 --> 00:00:19.519 Today's message is for you. 00:00:19.760 --> 00:00:27.440 Before we jump into the teaching, specifically, though, I want to show you a picture and ask if you know what this is, because this is a very specific picture of a very specific thing. 00:00:27.600 --> 00:00:29.440 And I want to know if anyone recognizes this. 00:00:29.519 --> 00:00:30.800 So go ahead and put that up there. 00:00:30.960 --> 00:00:31.519 What is this? 00:00:31.679 --> 00:00:32.399 Anyone? 00:00:33.679 --> 00:00:35.280 An El Camino. 00:00:35.439 --> 00:00:36.240 I heard it. 00:00:36.479 --> 00:00:37.840 This is not a car. 00:00:38.560 --> 00:00:40.399 It is also not a truck. 00:00:40.640 --> 00:00:48.320 It's a weird Frankenstein hybrid car truck from the 1960s and 70s called an El Camino. 00:00:48.399 --> 00:00:53.200 You ever experienced someone who invents a problem and solves it, but it never needed to be solved? 00:00:53.439 --> 00:00:55.520 You know, that's like what our government does, right? 00:00:55.600 --> 00:00:58.960 Like instead of solving actual problems, we'll just invent problems and solve those. 00:00:59.039 --> 00:01:00.079 And like no one asked for that. 00:01:00.560 --> 00:01:01.840 No one asked for that. 00:01:02.000 --> 00:01:02.479 No one cares. 00:01:02.560 --> 00:01:03.840 That's what the El Camino is. 00:01:03.920 --> 00:01:05.680 It's a problem that didn't need to be solved. 00:01:05.920 --> 00:01:07.599 People who wanted cars had cars. 00:01:07.760 --> 00:01:09.200 People who wanted trucks had trucks. 00:01:09.280 --> 00:01:12.560 No one wanted a weird giant car truck boat slash. 00:01:12.799 --> 00:01:13.200 It's weird. 00:01:13.280 --> 00:01:14.319 It's a weird thing. 00:01:14.640 --> 00:01:17.680 If you can't tell, not a big fan of El Caminos. 00:01:17.760 --> 00:01:18.000 All right? 00:01:18.079 --> 00:01:20.560 Some of you, if you have them, great, awesome. 00:01:20.719 --> 00:01:21.439 More power to you. 00:01:21.599 --> 00:01:30.560 The reason though, you'll understand this, the reason I am not a fan of El Caminos is because I first got introduced to this vehicle in 1999 when I pulled out in front of one. 00:01:31.920 --> 00:01:34.400 And interesting lesson in physics. 00:01:34.560 --> 00:01:37.359 The average car weighs about 3,000 pounds. 00:01:37.599 --> 00:01:41.359 El Caminos, between 4,500 and 4,900 pounds. 00:01:41.519 --> 00:01:56.560 Turns out, if you are in a car that is not moving and it weighs 3,000 pounds, and a 4,900-pound monstrosity comes at you 50 miles an hour and hits you, that car wins. 00:01:56.959 --> 00:01:59.200 That's the car that wins that battle. 00:01:59.280 --> 00:02:00.319 That's what happened to me. 00:02:00.400 --> 00:02:06.560 I was 16 years old and uh was not a good driver because there's no such thing as a good driver who is also 16 years old. 00:02:06.640 --> 00:02:10.639 I know some of us in the room are 16, you're you're protesting, you're like, no, I'm a good driver. 00:02:10.879 --> 00:02:11.599 You're not. 00:02:11.759 --> 00:02:12.400 You're just not. 00:02:12.560 --> 00:02:13.199 Just own it. 00:02:13.280 --> 00:02:14.479 There's no way you could be. 00:02:14.639 --> 00:02:17.280 You haven't been in enough situations to be a good driver yet. 00:02:17.360 --> 00:02:17.919 You're just not. 00:02:18.000 --> 00:02:23.919 And I and I wasn't, and I I had one of those moments where I just miss, I misgauged a situation. 00:02:24.080 --> 00:02:28.159 I looked, I thought I had enough time to pull out into this road and make my turn. 00:02:28.240 --> 00:02:31.840 And then I hesitated, I got out, was like, ooh, maybe I don't have as much time. 00:02:32.000 --> 00:02:33.360 That thing, it's coming at me. 00:02:33.520 --> 00:02:34.560 It looked further away. 00:02:34.719 --> 00:02:35.520 What do I do? 00:02:35.599 --> 00:02:39.439 And I chose to just sit there and uh see what happened, you know? 00:02:39.599 --> 00:02:41.039 Like, I'll just hang here. 00:02:41.280 --> 00:02:42.800 Maybe the guy will stop. 00:02:42.879 --> 00:02:44.159 And no, he did not. 00:02:44.400 --> 00:02:45.840 So what happened was he hit me. 00:02:46.000 --> 00:02:47.360 Thankfully, no one else was in the car. 00:02:47.439 --> 00:02:49.280 It hit the passenger side, not the driver's side. 00:02:49.360 --> 00:02:53.120 My car looked like a crumpled up piece of paper, and his car looked like that. 00:02:53.280 --> 00:02:54.479 It looked the exact same. 00:02:54.560 --> 00:02:57.919 It had no visible damage whatsoever. 00:02:58.000 --> 00:03:00.960 Um, because it's an El Camino made of solid steel. 00:03:01.120 --> 00:03:04.080 All right, take that down before it causes further trauma. 00:03:04.319 --> 00:03:12.159 Um I learned a valuable lesson that day that sometimes the worst thing you can do is nothing. 00:03:12.719 --> 00:03:17.599 In hindsight, I was so frustrated because if I would have just hit the gas, I think I could have made it. 00:03:17.759 --> 00:03:21.840 If I would have just gassed it, I it would have been a scary close call, but I think I could have made it. 00:03:21.919 --> 00:03:26.400 Or if I would have just shifted into reverse and gone a few feet backwards, I'd have been fine. 00:03:26.639 --> 00:03:32.560 But in the moment, in the confusion, because of my lack of experience, I just I just did nothing. 00:03:32.719 --> 00:03:37.280 And sometimes the worst thing you can do in a situation is nothing. 00:03:37.919 --> 00:03:42.400 Jesus actually talks about this exact same dynamic in the lesson that we're going to look into today. 00:03:42.479 --> 00:03:45.520 If you're just joining us, we're in a series called A King in His Kingdom. 00:03:45.599 --> 00:03:50.319 We are studying the teachings of Jesus, which is a good thing to do if you're a Jesus follower. 00:03:50.639 --> 00:04:00.479 One of the kind of tragic realities of the American church is that we we tend to find as Jesus followers, we are far more familiar with what Jesus did than with what he said. 00:04:01.039 --> 00:04:04.080 We're far more familiar with what Jesus did than with what he said. 00:04:04.159 --> 00:04:10.159 And so we know about the miracles, we we know the stories of Jesus, and he healed these people, he walked on water, he died on the cross, and he rose again. 00:04:10.319 --> 00:04:17.360 But if we're not familiar with what Jesus said, we're not gonna be able to actually live out the life that He has He's won for us. 00:04:17.600 --> 00:04:20.160 So we've got to know what our what our leader actually said. 00:04:20.319 --> 00:04:21.439 We're studying His teachings. 00:04:21.519 --> 00:04:27.360 And if you study His teachings for long, you recognize that there's a theme that runs through them. 00:04:27.680 --> 00:04:29.120 And it's this idea of kingdom. 00:04:29.279 --> 00:04:30.800 He's always talking about the kingdom. 00:04:31.040 --> 00:04:34.399 The kingdom of heaven is like this, the kingdom of God is like this. 00:04:34.480 --> 00:04:36.720 It's a thread that runs throughout the teachings of Jesus. 00:04:36.800 --> 00:04:40.079 And when he talks about the kingdom, he's talking about God's way of life. 00:04:40.399 --> 00:04:49.759 He's announcing himself as a king, and he's saying that life in his kingdom, in other words, life under his authority, under his reign, it looks like this. 00:04:50.079 --> 00:04:55.040 And he's teaching us time and time again about the culture of the kingdom of God. 00:04:55.680 --> 00:04:56.800 What does God value? 00:04:56.959 --> 00:04:58.399 What does God prioritize? 00:04:58.560 --> 00:05:00.639 What does God really care about? 00:05:01.279 --> 00:05:05.519 When we sit at the feet of Jesus and we learn from his teachings, we learn how to live as part of his kingdom. 00:05:05.680 --> 00:05:10.720 What we find is that his way of life is beautiful, it is powerful, but it is very different. 00:05:10.959 --> 00:05:15.360 It is extremely counter-cultural, and it takes us some time to acclimate. 00:05:15.920 --> 00:05:16.959 And that's what we're here to do. 00:05:17.040 --> 00:05:21.279 And so the teaching we're looking at today is Matthew chapter 25, verses 14 through 30. 00:05:21.360 --> 00:05:23.759 I'm gonna read right from our mobile app, it'll be on the screens. 00:05:23.920 --> 00:05:27.920 And if you have this book with pages called a Bible, you can use those as well. 00:05:28.079 --> 00:05:28.959 Those are awesome. 00:05:29.120 --> 00:05:30.079 Here we go. 00:05:30.319 --> 00:05:32.800 Again, it will be like a man going on a journey. 00:05:32.959 --> 00:05:38.000 When he says it in this translation, some of your translations might say the kingdom of God or the kingdom of heaven. 00:05:38.160 --> 00:05:39.199 He's talking about the kingdom. 00:05:39.279 --> 00:05:40.319 He's been teaching about this. 00:05:40.399 --> 00:05:45.519 He's using a variety of stories and parables to illustrate the kingdom, so that it is the kingdom. 00:05:45.680 --> 00:05:51.439 It will be like a man going on a journey who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them. 00:05:51.839 --> 00:05:58.480 To one he gave five bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one bag, each according to his ability. 00:05:58.720 --> 00:06:00.480 And then he went on his journey. 00:06:00.800 --> 00:06:09.040 The man who had received five bags of gold went at once and put his money to work and gained five bags more, so also the one with two bags of gold gained two more. 00:06:09.279 --> 00:06:15.920 But when the man who had received one bag went off, he dug he went off, dug a hole in the ground, and hid his master's money. 00:06:16.079 --> 00:06:19.279 After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. 00:06:19.439 --> 00:06:22.800 The man who had received five bags of gold brought the other five. 00:06:22.959 --> 00:06:26.800 Master, he said, You entrusted me with five bags of gold, see? 00:06:26.959 --> 00:06:28.560 I've gained five more. 00:06:28.800 --> 00:06:32.240 His master replied, Well done, good and faithful servant. 00:06:32.399 --> 00:06:35.680 You've been faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things. 00:06:35.839 --> 00:06:38.240 Come and share your master's happiness. 00:06:38.560 --> 00:06:40.480 The man with two bags of gold also came. 00:06:40.639 --> 00:06:45.120 Master, he said, You entrusted me with two bags of gold, see, I have gained two more. 00:06:45.360 --> 00:06:49.040 His master replied, Well done, good and faithful servant. 00:06:49.199 --> 00:06:54.560 You've been faithful with a few things, I'll put you in charge of many things, come and share your master's happiness. 00:06:54.800 --> 00:06:56.879 And then the man who received one bag of gold came. 00:06:57.040 --> 00:07:04.319 Master, he said, I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed. 00:07:04.480 --> 00:07:17.519 Uh, quick aside, those of you who maybe feel like you're being called into a meeting with your boss one day and you have not performed, insulting your boss's character or making accusations about your boss, probably not the best way to butter him up. 00:07:17.759 --> 00:07:19.680 So here's the response, right? 00:07:19.920 --> 00:07:20.560 So I was afraid. 00:07:20.639 --> 00:07:21.920 I went out and I hid your gold in the ground. 00:07:22.079 --> 00:07:23.120 See, here's what belongs to you. 00:07:23.199 --> 00:07:26.160 His master replied, You wicked, lazy servant. 00:07:26.639 --> 00:07:30.480 So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed. 00:07:30.560 --> 00:07:36.240 Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest. 00:07:36.480 --> 00:07:43.279 So take the bag of gold from him and give it to the one who has ten bags, for whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. 00:07:43.519 --> 00:07:52.160 Whoever does not have, even what they have, will be taken from them, and throw that worthless servant outside into the darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 00:07:52.319 --> 00:07:53.920 So it ends on a real high note. 00:07:54.079 --> 00:07:58.079 Um a lot of Jesus' parables end just like this. 00:07:58.319 --> 00:07:59.199 They really, really do. 00:07:59.279 --> 00:08:04.319 A lot of Jesus' parables are warnings, they are they are tales of caution. 00:08:04.879 --> 00:08:09.040 And if you were here last week, we looked at a story called the parable of the unforgiving servant. 00:08:09.120 --> 00:08:10.160 It ends the exact same way. 00:08:10.240 --> 00:08:18.560 There's a servant, he's been forgiven billions of dollars of debt by the king, and then he goes out and tries to have someone thrown in prison because this person owes him a few thousand dollars. 00:08:18.639 --> 00:08:23.519 And when the king finds out, he throws him out, utter darkness, weeping and gnashing of teeth. 00:08:23.600 --> 00:08:26.240 This is this is like eternal judgment language in scripture. 00:08:26.319 --> 00:08:27.439 It's really intense. 00:08:27.759 --> 00:08:30.959 So clearly, Jesus is trying to get our attention. 00:08:31.279 --> 00:08:39.360 Anytime Jesus ends a parable with, and the person was thrown out where there's weeping and gnashing of teeth, that's when you go back a few sentences and reread whatever it's said. 00:08:39.759 --> 00:08:41.039 Because that's important. 00:08:42.000 --> 00:08:43.919 This parable is extremely rich. 00:08:44.000 --> 00:08:45.440 It's actually incredibly practical. 00:08:45.600 --> 00:08:48.240 Like I said, this is for those of us who want to see something happen. 00:08:48.399 --> 00:08:51.039 We want to see something change, we want to see something get done. 00:08:51.200 --> 00:08:55.919 But before we jump into the takeaways, I want to make sure that we we really get some of the nuance here. 00:08:56.720 --> 00:08:59.360 That we we relate to this the way Jesus intends us to. 00:08:59.519 --> 00:09:02.720 Number one, don't feel bad for the third servant. 00:09:03.600 --> 00:09:04.080 Don't feel bad. 00:09:04.240 --> 00:09:11.039 Jesus does not tell this story in a way that's designed to have us sympathize with this third servant. 00:09:11.200 --> 00:09:16.159 It's like last week when we did the unforgiving, you know, unforgiving servant, you didn't feel bad for that guy. 00:09:16.320 --> 00:09:20.159 When he gets cast out, when he gets what he deserves, you're like, serves him right. 00:09:20.240 --> 00:09:20.960 You know, what a jerk. 00:09:21.039 --> 00:09:24.559 He got forgiven billions, and this other guy only owed him a few thousand. 00:09:24.639 --> 00:09:25.679 He was gonna have him thrown in prison. 00:09:25.759 --> 00:09:26.639 Like, come on. 00:09:26.879 --> 00:09:29.440 Jesus didn't set him up as a sympathetic character. 00:09:29.519 --> 00:09:38.159 The same is true here, but but we might not see that because we can easily miss just how much of an opportunity this man had. 00:09:38.879 --> 00:09:46.320 This man has an incredible opportunity, but the language is a little vague to us, and so in the translation I read, it said it said bags of gold. 00:09:46.480 --> 00:09:50.799 Some of your translations may actually have the actual Greek word, which is talent. 00:09:50.960 --> 00:09:53.519 This is often called the parable of the talents. 00:09:53.679 --> 00:09:55.840 The word talent to us means ability. 00:09:55.919 --> 00:09:59.600 It means like a skill that you have, but that's actually a fairly new meaning for the word. 00:09:59.679 --> 00:10:05.120 It's a meaning that has actually become popular in large part because of the story and its impact on history. 00:10:05.360 --> 00:10:07.919 But in Jesus' time, a talent was a weight. 00:10:08.080 --> 00:10:08.879 It was a weight. 00:10:08.960 --> 00:10:10.799 It's a way that they would use to measure money. 00:10:10.879 --> 00:10:13.120 The question is, how much is a talent? 00:10:13.279 --> 00:10:15.519 How big are these bags of gold? 00:10:16.000 --> 00:10:22.320 When you read this, that one servant got five talents or five bags of gold, the other servant got two, the the other the third servant got one. 00:10:22.399 --> 00:10:28.159 How many of you pictured like a small bag, like a pouch, you know, like a lunch bag or something, like here's your bag of gold? 00:10:28.320 --> 00:10:29.759 Anyone picture something about that size? 00:10:29.919 --> 00:10:30.559 Okay, that's pretty. 00:10:30.879 --> 00:10:32.960 Anyone picture like a Santa Claus sized sack? 00:10:33.120 --> 00:10:36.559 Someone like, here's your bag of gold, and here's another one. 00:10:36.639 --> 00:10:37.919 Anyone picture something that big? 00:10:38.159 --> 00:10:38.960 Anybody? 00:10:39.200 --> 00:10:39.840 Like, no one. 00:10:40.159 --> 00:10:42.320 No one naturally pictured a large bag of gold. 00:10:42.399 --> 00:10:45.759 But here's the truth a talent weighed 80 pounds. 00:10:46.080 --> 00:10:47.919 Roughly 80 pounds. 00:10:48.240 --> 00:10:55.679 And so, this guy who got five bags of gold, the word bag is a very, very like ambiguous word. 00:10:56.080 --> 00:10:57.600 I mean, there's a lot of different bags. 00:10:57.759 --> 00:10:58.559 You know what I mean? 00:10:58.720 --> 00:11:01.200 And so it's not, we're not talking like a lunch bag here. 00:11:01.279 --> 00:11:05.360 We're talking about a giant stuffed duffel bag filled with gold. 00:11:05.919 --> 00:11:15.120 And when you want to talk about monetary value, okay, one 80-pound bag of gold is gonna get you about$1.7 million. 00:11:16.000 --> 00:11:16.399 Right? 00:11:16.639 --> 00:11:18.480 So don't feel bad for the third servant. 00:11:18.559 --> 00:11:19.279 That's my point. 00:11:19.440 --> 00:11:21.919 Don't think, oh, the guy only got one little bag of gold. 00:11:22.000 --> 00:11:23.279 What's he supposed to do with that? 00:11:23.360 --> 00:11:23.759 You know? 00:11:24.000 --> 00:11:25.919 The other guy got five, and the other guy got two. 00:11:26.000 --> 00:11:28.080 This guy gets one bag of gold, cut him some slack. 00:11:28.159 --> 00:11:37.440 This man was given$1.7 million at least, and he buried it in the ground and he left it there for years. 00:11:38.240 --> 00:11:39.440 For years. 00:11:40.480 --> 00:11:46.879 Now, we don't see that because you know, we're we're disconnected from this culture, but everyone that Jesus was originally speaking to would have been like, what? 00:11:46.960 --> 00:11:51.519 Like, if someone gives you that level of an investment, there's things you could do. 00:11:52.320 --> 00:11:56.480 There's things that you could do that you've never even dreamed of doing because it doesn't seem like you should dream about it. 00:11:56.559 --> 00:11:57.600 It's too impossible. 00:11:57.759 --> 00:12:02.720 And he had that and he did nothing for years. 00:12:02.960 --> 00:12:06.000 So, so don't feel bad for the third servant. 00:12:06.080 --> 00:12:08.559 He's not painted in a way that's supposed to make us feel sympathy. 00:12:08.639 --> 00:12:11.200 He's he's painted in a way that's supposed to warn us. 00:12:12.320 --> 00:12:17.679 Now, the second thing is these other two servants they get to hear something from the master. 00:12:18.000 --> 00:12:21.679 And I don't I don't know about you, I know, I know not all of us in the room are Jesus followers. 00:12:21.759 --> 00:12:22.720 Some of us are figuring that out. 00:12:22.960 --> 00:12:24.320 If that's you, we're so glad you're here. 00:12:24.399 --> 00:12:25.200 This is for you. 00:12:25.600 --> 00:12:34.000 But those of us who have crossed that line in our hearts where we've said, I follow Jesus, I remember reading this story when I was a kid. 00:12:35.120 --> 00:12:45.519 And ever since then, I have this incredible desire to see God face to face one day and hear him say, Well done, my good and faithful servant. 00:12:45.679 --> 00:12:46.960 Anyone else have that desire? 00:12:47.360 --> 00:12:51.600 Like, you just imagine can you imagine what it would be like to be praised by God? 00:12:52.000 --> 00:12:54.559 Like, we praise him because he deserves it. 00:12:54.960 --> 00:13:05.279 But you you look at you look at this this story and these servants who hear their master say, Well done, my good and faithful servant. 00:13:06.240 --> 00:13:09.759 You've been faithful with with what I gave you, so I'm gonna give you more. 00:13:09.840 --> 00:13:12.480 Now come and share in my happiness. 00:13:12.960 --> 00:13:17.200 Scripture teaches us that we actually share in the glory of God. 00:13:18.720 --> 00:13:25.279 That God loves us so much that we become co-heirs, Scripture says, with Jesus. 00:13:28.000 --> 00:13:33.279 I want to experience what it's like to be praised and promoted in God's kingdom. 00:13:33.600 --> 00:13:38.480 We spend a lot of time trying to get praised and promoted in this life on earth, right? 00:13:38.559 --> 00:13:40.399 We want to hear people above us say, well done. 00:13:40.480 --> 00:13:42.320 We want to be given a raise, given a promotion. 00:13:42.399 --> 00:13:47.759 Well, if you desire to be praised and promoted in the kingdom of God, this story tells you how to do it. 00:13:48.480 --> 00:13:49.759 So let's break this down. 00:13:49.840 --> 00:13:52.559 Let's talk about what this story teaches us, because there's so much here. 00:13:52.720 --> 00:13:54.480 The teachings of Jesus are so rich. 00:13:54.720 --> 00:13:59.200 There's always a main point, but then there's always so much more, and we can just we can just eat it up. 00:13:59.440 --> 00:14:01.840 Again, this is for those of us who want to see something happen. 00:14:02.000 --> 00:14:03.039 You want to see something get done. 00:14:03.120 --> 00:14:05.679 Does anyone just want to see something get done in your life? 00:14:05.919 --> 00:14:06.639 Raise your hand. 00:14:06.799 --> 00:14:08.000 Just everyone raise your hand. 00:14:08.080 --> 00:14:10.080 Because clearly, some of you are like, nah, nothing. 00:14:10.159 --> 00:14:11.120 I'm good, nothing. 00:14:12.000 --> 00:14:12.960 Everything's great. 00:14:13.200 --> 00:14:13.840 Cool. 00:14:14.480 --> 00:14:18.000 If you want to see something get done, here's where we start. 00:14:18.320 --> 00:14:20.799 Number one, do something. 00:14:22.240 --> 00:14:25.279 If you want to see something get done, do something. 00:14:26.159 --> 00:14:33.679 See, so so often, even as people of God, we we are waiting for God to do something, and God might look at us and say, do something. 00:14:34.960 --> 00:14:36.639 You know what God's favorite vehicle is? 00:14:36.720 --> 00:14:38.960 It is not an El Camino, by the way. 00:14:39.200 --> 00:14:40.159 I know that. 00:14:40.559 --> 00:14:41.519 It's people. 00:14:42.399 --> 00:14:43.279 It's people. 00:14:43.679 --> 00:14:55.759 There are times in Scripture where God just bypasses people and does something crazy, does something completely independent of us and makes his will happen on this earth with no partnership with people whatsoever. 00:14:55.840 --> 00:14:58.879 But those are actually very few and far between. 00:14:59.519 --> 00:15:05.279 The vast majority of the work that God does on this earth is when he partners with us. 00:15:05.679 --> 00:15:06.799 It's when he uses us. 00:15:07.679 --> 00:15:09.600 His favorite vehicle is us. 00:15:09.840 --> 00:15:11.759 He does his best work through us. 00:15:12.000 --> 00:15:17.120 And so there's times where we're we're waiting for God to do something, and God's like, well, do it. 00:15:17.679 --> 00:15:18.320 You do it. 00:15:18.399 --> 00:15:19.840 I experience that as a pastor sometimes. 00:15:19.919 --> 00:15:22.559 People will come to us and sometimes say, you know what the church ought to do? 00:15:22.639 --> 00:15:23.360 And they're talking about us. 00:15:23.440 --> 00:15:24.799 Like, you know what the church should be doing. 00:15:24.879 --> 00:15:25.759 And I love it, I love it. 00:15:25.840 --> 00:15:27.919 By the way, if you ever come to me with that, I'm gonna tell you how I'll respond. 00:15:28.000 --> 00:15:28.799 I'll just give it to you. 00:15:28.879 --> 00:15:30.559 I I'm like, yes, here we go. 00:15:30.799 --> 00:15:32.399 The church ought to be doing this. 00:15:32.480 --> 00:15:35.279 And I go, great news, you're the church. 00:15:35.600 --> 00:15:38.159 So, why don't you do that? 00:15:38.399 --> 00:15:40.080 And then the church is doing it. 00:15:40.240 --> 00:15:41.039 Problem solved. 00:15:41.120 --> 00:15:44.480 And that's that's half sarcastic because we do love, we love to partner with people who do things. 00:15:44.559 --> 00:15:45.360 We do that all the time. 00:15:45.519 --> 00:16:03.600 But the point is, so often we're we're like, something needs done, I need to see something happen, this needs to change, and somebody ought to do this, either God or somebody else, and God might look at us and go, you know, the fact that you have that burning passion and that desire, the fact that you've identified the problem, maybe that means you're supposed to be part of the solution. 00:16:03.919 --> 00:16:04.879 Do something. 00:16:05.759 --> 00:16:06.480 Do something. 00:16:06.639 --> 00:16:09.919 God loves work, He really does. 00:16:10.720 --> 00:16:20.399 We see the very first story of people in Genesis chapter 2, and one of the things it says in verse 15 is that the Lord God placed the man in the Garden of Eden to tend and watch over it. 00:16:20.639 --> 00:16:22.480 This is before sin entered the world. 00:16:22.559 --> 00:16:25.600 This is before we messed anything up and we were given a job. 00:16:25.840 --> 00:16:27.600 We were given work to do. 00:16:28.639 --> 00:16:33.679 And what we have to all realize, every one of us, is that each of us has something to tend to. 00:16:34.720 --> 00:16:37.039 Every one of us has been given something to tend to. 00:16:37.120 --> 00:16:41.440 And honestly, like what we have to tend to is usually pretty obvious. 00:16:43.039 --> 00:16:45.519 If you have kids, there you go. 00:16:46.879 --> 00:16:48.720 Do something in their life. 00:16:49.360 --> 00:16:52.000 Do something to invest into them. 00:16:52.960 --> 00:16:56.480 If you're married, there that's something to tend to. 00:16:57.039 --> 00:16:58.240 You don't have to look far. 00:16:58.399 --> 00:16:59.200 Do something. 00:16:59.519 --> 00:17:02.159 Do something that would that would bless your marriage. 00:17:02.320 --> 00:17:04.400 Do something that would make your marriage better. 00:17:04.480 --> 00:17:07.440 If you're a student, you're in school, there you go. 00:17:07.680 --> 00:17:08.640 Do something. 00:17:09.839 --> 00:17:12.319 Do whatever is is has been given to you to do. 00:17:12.480 --> 00:17:14.559 If you have a job, just there it is. 00:17:15.519 --> 00:17:16.160 Do it. 00:17:17.119 --> 00:17:18.400 Do do something. 00:17:18.880 --> 00:17:26.559 Notice that in this story, the the servant, the third servant who's who's punished at the end, he's not punished for doing the wrong thing, he's punished for doing nothing. 00:17:27.200 --> 00:17:28.799 He didn't lose the money. 00:17:29.759 --> 00:17:30.799 He just did nothing with it. 00:17:30.880 --> 00:17:36.480 And you almost get the sense in the story that if he had come back and said, Hey, I'm so sorry, I thought I had an incredible investment. 00:17:36.559 --> 00:17:42.000 I did all the research, I did my best, I invested, it just fell apart, it fell through, I lost all that you gave me. 00:17:42.079 --> 00:17:49.599 You almost get the impression that the master would have would have been happier with that than the fact that he just didn't do anything. 00:17:50.480 --> 00:17:55.680 It ends with Jesus saying, Those who have will be given more, and those who who don't have, even that will be taken from them. 00:17:55.759 --> 00:18:00.880 That's a weird kind of concept for us, but but the idea there is you gotta use it or lose it. 00:18:01.440 --> 00:18:03.039 And that's how life works sometimes. 00:18:03.200 --> 00:18:06.240 Like you have skills and abilities that if you don't use, they'll go away. 00:18:06.559 --> 00:18:07.200 Right? 00:18:07.440 --> 00:18:12.240 When I was in college, I took Latin for three semesters for a really stupid reason. 00:18:12.400 --> 00:18:15.440 I was getting married, not that I needed Latin to get married, that'd be weird. 00:18:15.519 --> 00:18:18.000 Um I was getting married, so I needed money. 00:18:18.160 --> 00:18:24.319 And uh and I found out that the book for Latin cost$17 and you used it for all three semesters. 00:18:24.400 --> 00:18:28.000 And all the other books cost like$100, and you had to buy a new book every semester. 00:18:28.079 --> 00:18:32.720 I was like, you're telling me for$17 I can I can have three semesters worth of classes? 00:18:32.880 --> 00:18:34.160 I'm sold on Latin. 00:18:34.319 --> 00:18:36.640 You know, Latin, if you don't know, is a dead language. 00:18:36.799 --> 00:18:39.519 What I found out is that it died for a reason. 00:18:39.680 --> 00:18:42.720 Um it is incredibly complex and hard. 00:18:42.880 --> 00:18:48.400 And what's funny is that by the end of the third semester, I was like translating things in Latin. 00:18:48.640 --> 00:18:52.160 We were translating Latin writings, and it was like it was hard. 00:18:52.240 --> 00:18:56.000 I wasn't like great at it, but I could sit down and like actually, like, oh, this is what it says. 00:18:56.240 --> 00:19:01.920 And then a year and a half later, I graduated college and got my degree, and they printed our degrees out in Latin. 00:19:02.160 --> 00:19:05.440 And I could not read a word like at all. 00:19:06.000 --> 00:19:08.559 I remember Megan was like, ooh, you know Latin, what does it say? 00:19:08.640 --> 00:19:11.519 And I was like, ah, I have no idea. 00:19:11.599 --> 00:19:13.359 She's like, how you took three semesters. 00:19:13.440 --> 00:19:22.319 I was like, yeah, but the second that third semester was done, I turned the Latin part of my brain off, and I haven't turned that back on since, and it just isn't, I don't know where that is. 00:19:22.480 --> 00:19:23.920 That information is lost. 00:19:24.079 --> 00:19:25.359 That's how life works sometimes. 00:19:25.440 --> 00:19:28.720 If you don't use something that you have, you end up losing it. 00:19:30.319 --> 00:19:31.759 So do something. 00:19:32.160 --> 00:19:33.839 You want to see something get done, do something. 00:19:33.920 --> 00:19:36.319 Number two, do something now. 00:19:37.279 --> 00:19:38.640 Do something today. 00:19:39.200 --> 00:19:42.880 Look at how the story starts in verse 16, whenever the master leaves. 00:19:43.039 --> 00:19:48.400 The man who had received five bags of gold went at once and put his money to work, gained five bags more. 00:19:48.480 --> 00:19:50.880 So also the one with two bags of gold gained two more. 00:19:50.960 --> 00:19:55.359 But the man who had received one bag went off, dug a hole in the ground, and hid his master's money. 00:19:55.599 --> 00:19:59.119 I get the impression that this man thinks that he's gonna come back to it later. 00:19:59.200 --> 00:20:00.559 You know, I'm gonna I don't know what to do now. 00:20:00.799 --> 00:20:02.640 I'll put it in the ground today. 00:20:02.880 --> 00:20:05.119 Later, I'll I'll figure out what I'm gonna do with it. 00:20:05.200 --> 00:20:07.039 And then maybe time just got away from him. 00:20:07.119 --> 00:20:07.839 I don't know. 00:20:08.160 --> 00:20:10.559 But the other two, they go to work right away. 00:20:11.200 --> 00:20:13.279 They go to work right away. 00:20:13.599 --> 00:20:17.759 We we have this tendency as people to make commitments to do things later. 00:20:18.079 --> 00:20:19.119 We are so good at that. 00:20:19.279 --> 00:20:22.799 We are really good at saying we're gonna do something tomorrow, are we not? 00:20:23.759 --> 00:20:25.599 Scientifically, this is interesting. 00:20:25.839 --> 00:20:30.000 We are less likely to do something if we tell someone we're going to do it. 00:20:30.319 --> 00:20:31.279 Isn't that weird? 00:20:31.440 --> 00:20:32.480 You would think it's the opposite. 00:20:32.640 --> 00:20:35.039 Well, I told a bunch of people I was gonna do it, so now I have to do it. 00:20:35.200 --> 00:20:35.920 Nope. 00:20:36.240 --> 00:20:46.240 Scientifically speaking, if you say to someone, you know, tomorrow I'm gonna start working out, I'm really gonna start dieting tomorrow, tomorrow's the day, your brain actually releases a chemical that makes you think you've accomplished something. 00:20:46.480 --> 00:20:48.160 You're like, I am, you know what? 00:20:48.880 --> 00:20:53.359 Like, I could tell a friend of mine, I'm gonna do this, and I'm thinking to myself, like, I am gonna do this. 00:20:53.519 --> 00:20:54.000 That's right. 00:20:54.079 --> 00:20:56.720 I I kind of already started if you want to look at it a certain way. 00:20:56.880 --> 00:20:59.200 We don't think about this consciously, but that's actually what happens. 00:20:59.279 --> 00:21:05.279 And scientifically speaking, you are less likely to do that thing if you go tell a bunch of people that you're gonna do it. 00:21:05.599 --> 00:21:09.200 But we are really good at saying, I'm gonna do something tomorrow. 00:21:10.160 --> 00:21:11.680 What can you do now? 00:21:12.319 --> 00:21:14.160 What can you do today? 00:21:15.200 --> 00:21:22.160 When I started working here, um, and Doug, I'm just gonna have to say thank you because uh Doug Bennell was one, he's my boss back in the day. 00:21:22.240 --> 00:21:22.960 Now I'm your pastor. 00:21:23.039 --> 00:21:23.759 How's that working out? 00:21:23.839 --> 00:21:24.640 That's funny, isn't it? 00:21:24.799 --> 00:21:25.039 Huh? 00:21:25.119 --> 00:21:25.279 Huh? 00:21:25.440 --> 00:21:25.920 Never saw that? 00:21:26.000 --> 00:21:26.559 I'm teasing you. 00:21:26.640 --> 00:21:29.200 Um, Doug is one of the best bosses I ever had. 00:21:29.519 --> 00:21:32.240 And uh, and Doug used to use this quote all the time. 00:21:32.400 --> 00:21:36.799 It's George Patton, one of the greatest military leaders in our nation's history, the world's history. 00:21:36.960 --> 00:21:41.839 A good plan violently executed now is better than a perfect plan executed next week. 00:21:42.079 --> 00:21:42.960 It's a great quote. 00:21:43.039 --> 00:21:50.319 One of the things I love about good quotes is that if they hit you and you're like, yeah, that's true, they probably line up really well with Scripture. 00:21:50.559 --> 00:21:51.839 Because Scripture's true. 00:21:52.079 --> 00:21:54.160 And this is this is something that fits that bill. 00:21:54.319 --> 00:21:58.960 Ecclesiastes 11 4 says, Farmers who wait for perfect weather never plant. 00:21:59.200 --> 00:22:01.839 If they wait, we Watch every cloud, they never harvest. 00:22:01.920 --> 00:22:09.519 We are we are so consumed sometimes with waiting for the perfect moment, the exact right moment that we just we miss today. 00:22:09.920 --> 00:22:11.839 And today's all we're guaranteed. 00:22:12.319 --> 00:22:16.000 So if you want to see something happen, you gotta do something, and you gotta do something now. 00:22:16.240 --> 00:22:17.680 What can you do today? 00:22:17.839 --> 00:22:22.880 Whatever area of life you want to see the most change in, just seriously, what can you do when you leave here? 00:22:22.960 --> 00:22:27.440 Now, second service people, had you come at the first service, you would have more time today. 00:22:28.400 --> 00:22:30.799 But you made your bed, you have to lie in it, all right? 00:22:30.960 --> 00:22:32.720 Half the day's over, so you gotta get at it. 00:22:32.799 --> 00:22:35.279 You gotta come at it more aggressively when you leave here. 00:22:35.440 --> 00:22:37.039 Actually, don't come to the first service. 00:22:37.119 --> 00:22:38.799 There's way, there's a lot of kids at the first service. 00:22:38.880 --> 00:22:40.079 You need you guys to stay in. 00:22:40.240 --> 00:22:40.880 Sleep in. 00:22:41.039 --> 00:22:41.599 All right. 00:22:42.160 --> 00:22:45.839