WEBVTT 00:00:00.080 --> 00:00:06.160 We're in a series right now called Elijah Shah, and I know it sounds like I'm just slurring my speech, but I promise you I am not intoxicated. 00:00:06.400 --> 00:00:18.640 What we did was we we blended the names Elijah and Elisha together because that's what we're doing right now, is we're studying the lives and the stories of Elijah and Elisha, these two prophets in the Old Testament whose stories flow together. 00:00:18.879 --> 00:00:25.760 These are two men who lived almost 3,000 years ago in a completely different culture, a completely different part of the world, obviously a different time. 00:00:26.000 --> 00:00:27.760 And you might ask yourself, like, why? 00:00:28.160 --> 00:00:32.560 What can we gain by studying the lives of these men? 00:00:33.119 --> 00:00:35.520 How is this relevant to us today? 00:00:35.679 --> 00:00:39.280 And the answer is Jesus, because like in church, that's always the answer. 00:00:39.359 --> 00:00:40.159 Just say Jesus. 00:00:40.479 --> 00:00:41.280 The answer is Jesus. 00:00:41.359 --> 00:00:47.200 Hebrews 13.8 says that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. 00:00:47.520 --> 00:00:53.439 One of the amazing things about the Bible, about Scripture, is that it's all about Jesus. 00:00:53.840 --> 00:01:05.599 Like God's an amazing storyteller, even though Jesus doesn't show up in person until you know a little past the halfway point, the whole Old Testament, like the old stuff, it's all hinting at Jesus. 00:01:05.680 --> 00:01:06.799 It's all pointing to Jesus. 00:01:06.879 --> 00:01:12.560 And so when Jesus shows up on the scene, Jesus does things that are very reminiscent of things that have been done before. 00:01:12.719 --> 00:01:18.640 Jesus performs miracles that are very reminiscent of miracles that men like Elijah and Elisha performed. 00:01:18.719 --> 00:01:23.599 And the reason that's the case is because these men were doing things that were foreshadowing Jesus. 00:01:23.760 --> 00:01:33.760 These men were doing things through God that were, we're painting a picture, an early picture, the first brush strokes of who Jesus is, what Jesus can do. 00:01:33.840 --> 00:01:38.719 And so as we study these men, their lives, their stories, what God did through them, we are studying Jesus. 00:01:38.879 --> 00:01:44.159 And as a church, as a church, we've got a lot of people from a lot of different places, a lot of different walks of life. 00:01:44.239 --> 00:01:54.000 And maybe you're here this morning and you're just kind of contemplating the whole God thing and wondering if this is for you, I want you to know first and foremost that we believe Jesus is the answer for life. 00:01:54.159 --> 00:02:06.319 We believe that when we know Jesus, when we're connected to Jesus, the more we understand Jesus, the more Jesus is at the center core of everything we do, everything we are, that's when life is what it's supposed to be. 00:02:06.560 --> 00:02:09.599 We need someone, not something, and Jesus is that someone. 00:02:09.680 --> 00:02:16.400 And so as we study this, as we open up God's word and we go through this and we learn more about who God is and who Jesus is, we grow. 00:02:16.639 --> 00:02:17.919 That's what we want to see happen. 00:02:18.000 --> 00:02:20.879 We want to leave here better, we want to grow. 00:02:21.039 --> 00:02:22.960 Okay, so let's recap really quick. 00:02:23.039 --> 00:02:24.560 We met Elijah a few weeks ago. 00:02:24.719 --> 00:02:32.000 He shows up out of nowhere in 1 Kings chapter 17, and the first thing he does is he challenges a terrible evil king named Ahab. 00:02:32.080 --> 00:02:36.400 He basically throws a gauntlet down and just says, Hey, here's this challenge from God. 00:02:36.479 --> 00:02:38.719 And then the next thing he does is he runs for his life. 00:02:38.879 --> 00:02:42.639 Because that's what you do when you challenge an evil, an evil king. 00:02:42.719 --> 00:02:43.199 You run. 00:02:43.360 --> 00:02:45.120 And God told him to, God told him to flee. 00:02:45.199 --> 00:02:47.199 And so we kind of looked at his journey last week. 00:02:47.280 --> 00:02:48.240 He went from Samaria. 00:02:48.560 --> 00:02:50.080 We actually have a map here, you can see this. 00:02:50.240 --> 00:02:52.960 He went from Samaria, which was the capital city of Israel. 00:02:53.120 --> 00:02:57.840 He goes all the way to this place called Kareth Brook, which was on the east side of the Jordan River. 00:02:57.919 --> 00:03:01.120 And he hangs out there for a while until the brook dries up. 00:03:01.280 --> 00:03:08.240 He has no water, and so he goes next to a place called Zarephath, which is way up in Phoenicia, not even in Israel. 00:03:08.319 --> 00:03:12.639 This is the last place that Elijah would ever, ever have thought to go. 00:03:12.960 --> 00:03:14.319 And that's where we're at in the story today. 00:03:14.400 --> 00:03:18.240 So we're going to go ahead and pick it up in 1 Kings chapter 17, verse 8. 00:03:18.479 --> 00:03:24.319 Then the Lord said to Elijah, Go and live in the village of Zarephath, near the city of Sidon. 00:03:24.479 --> 00:03:26.400 I have instructed a widow there to feed you. 00:03:26.560 --> 00:03:35.120 So he went to Zarephath, and as he arrived at the gates of the village, he saw a widow gathering sticks, and he asked her, Would you please bring me a little cup of water? 00:03:35.360 --> 00:03:38.639 As she was going to get it, he called to her, Bring me a bite of bread too. 00:03:38.879 --> 00:03:50.000 But she said, I swear by the Lord your God that I don't have a single piece of bread in the house, and I have only a handful of flour left in the jar and a little cooking oil in the bottom of the jug. 00:03:50.159 --> 00:03:55.199 I was just gathering a few sticks to cook this last meal, and then my son and I will die. 00:03:55.759 --> 00:04:00.719 So God has sent Elijah to a widow to be provided for. 00:04:00.879 --> 00:04:05.280 God just forgot to provide for the widow so that she could provide for Elijah. 00:04:05.520 --> 00:04:09.759 God forgot to give her what she needed to do what God told Elijah she would do. 00:04:10.000 --> 00:04:15.280 And look, there's moments like this in Scripture all the time, where it looks like God doesn't know what he's doing. 00:04:15.599 --> 00:04:22.879 And you may have lived with faith in God and oftentimes thought to yourself and maybe been brave enough to say it out loud, God, I don't think you know what you're doing. 00:04:22.959 --> 00:04:25.920 It doesn't seem like you're doing what you ought to be doing. 00:04:26.160 --> 00:04:29.600 And when you read the Bible and you come into those moments where you go, God, what are you doing? 00:04:29.759 --> 00:04:30.720 Stop and ask. 00:04:30.800 --> 00:04:32.079 God, what are you doing? 00:04:33.439 --> 00:04:39.519 Because those are the moments where you often find God's doing something really interesting, something very intentional. 00:04:39.759 --> 00:04:42.240 Okay, so we'll we'll keep reading in verse 13. 00:04:42.560 --> 00:04:44.800 But Elijah said to her, Don't be afraid. 00:04:44.959 --> 00:04:48.079 Go ahead and do just what you've said, but make a little bread for me first. 00:04:48.240 --> 00:04:51.040 Then use what's left to prepare a meal for yourself and your son. 00:04:51.199 --> 00:04:59.279 For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says there will always be flour and olive oil left in your containers until the time when the Lord sends rain and the crops grow again. 00:04:59.519 --> 00:05:04.240 And so she did as Elijah said, and she and Elijah and her family continued to eat for many days. 00:05:04.319 --> 00:05:09.759 There was always enough flour and olive oil left in the containers, just as the Lord had promised through Elijah. 00:05:09.920 --> 00:05:12.160 So Elijah is a very, very bold man. 00:05:12.399 --> 00:05:19.680 Bold enough to challenge a king, bold enough to say to a widow, who says to him, This is all I've got left. 00:05:19.920 --> 00:05:23.759 I'm gonna prepare this food for myself and my son, and then we are going to die. 00:05:23.920 --> 00:05:24.319 This is it. 00:05:24.399 --> 00:05:26.639 We're going to starve to death because this is all we've got. 00:05:26.720 --> 00:05:30.160 And Elijah says, Yeah, yeah, will you just make me a little bit first? 00:05:30.560 --> 00:05:31.279 Before you do that? 00:05:31.439 --> 00:05:33.839 Like, go ahead and do that, but just can I have some? 00:05:35.120 --> 00:05:43.839 And either Elijah and God by extension, because Elijah's just doing what God is telling him to do, either Elijah and God are very callous or they know something. 00:05:44.639 --> 00:05:46.560 They're aware of something. 00:05:48.319 --> 00:05:51.279 Something that this widow needs to know. 00:05:53.120 --> 00:05:54.720 And we've got to park here. 00:05:54.800 --> 00:06:00.560 We've got to stop here and examine this, unpack this, because there's a dynamic at play here that is vital for us. 00:06:00.800 --> 00:06:05.519 There's a mindset that God wants us to learn through this scripture and other scriptures like this. 00:06:05.600 --> 00:06:12.720 It's a mindset that if we can grab a hold of it, if we can begin to think this way, it not only changes our lives, but it changes us. 00:06:14.160 --> 00:06:18.399 It's a mindset that will transform the way you view yourself, the way you view your life. 00:06:18.800 --> 00:06:30.639 And I'll just say this the people I know in my life who live with the least worry, the people I know in my life who live with the least amount of anxiety and fear and worry, this is the mindset that they have. 00:06:31.519 --> 00:06:34.720 The mindset that we're going to explore today, but we've got to get there. 00:06:34.959 --> 00:06:35.279 Okay? 00:06:36.079 --> 00:06:40.639 So the first thing that we have to understand is that God never runs out. 00:06:41.279 --> 00:06:42.240 God never runs out. 00:06:42.319 --> 00:06:44.639 And that's something that Elijah is very confident in. 00:06:44.800 --> 00:06:47.120 Elijah's like, look, just don't be afraid. 00:06:47.279 --> 00:06:48.879 There's always going to be enough flour. 00:06:49.040 --> 00:06:50.879 There's always going to be enough for you. 00:06:51.199 --> 00:06:53.199 Because God never runs out. 00:06:53.360 --> 00:06:59.439 This this miracle that Elijah does, that God really does through Elijah, is very, very similar to some miracles that Jesus did. 00:06:59.600 --> 00:07:03.439 Like I said earlier, Elijah, the prophets, they're hinting at Jesus. 00:07:03.680 --> 00:07:08.240 And so Elijah is involved in this miracle where food miraculously multiplies. 00:07:08.319 --> 00:07:09.360 That happened with Jesus all the time. 00:07:09.519 --> 00:07:11.839 Jesus once turned water into wine. 00:07:12.319 --> 00:07:14.720 Some of you I thought would be more excited about the concept of that. 00:07:14.800 --> 00:07:16.800 But Jesus turned water into wine. 00:07:16.959 --> 00:07:21.839 Jesus fed over 5,000 people multiple times by miraculously multiplying food. 00:07:22.000 --> 00:07:24.720 And it's very important that Jesus did things like that. 00:07:25.120 --> 00:07:35.439 Because it completely and totally took the wind out of the sails of his opponents, the Pharisees, the religious leaders, because they could not say something like, like, oh, well, Jesus, you know, he may be a prophet, but he's no Elijah. 00:07:36.000 --> 00:07:36.879 They couldn't say that. 00:07:36.959 --> 00:07:39.839 They couldn't say, oh, Jesus, yeah, he might be some prophet. 00:07:39.920 --> 00:07:47.759 Maybe he hears from God, but he's no Moses, he's no Elijah, he's no Elijah, because Jesus would do miracles like those guys, but then he'd take it to a whole other level. 00:07:49.199 --> 00:07:50.480 They could not deny that. 00:07:52.240 --> 00:07:56.240 There's so many parallels between what Elijah does here and what Jesus does. 00:07:56.319 --> 00:08:01.279 For example, in Matthew chapter 14, we get to see this miracle that takes place, very similar. 00:08:01.519 --> 00:08:08.720 Then he told the people to sit down on the grass, and Jesus took the five loaves and two fish, looked up toward heaven, and blessed them. 00:08:08.879 --> 00:08:13.120 And then breaking the loaves into pieces, he gave the bread to the disciples who distributed it to the people. 00:08:13.279 --> 00:08:18.560 They all ate as much as they wanted, and afterwards the disciples picked up twelve baskets of leftovers. 00:08:18.720 --> 00:08:23.120 About five thousand men were fed that day, in addition to all the women and the children. 00:08:23.920 --> 00:08:29.199 So this is Jesus doing Elijah's miracle, but to a much, much greater degree. 00:08:31.199 --> 00:08:32.879 But there's a similarity. 00:08:33.440 --> 00:08:37.919 Even beyond just the food multiplying, there's a similarity, and it's very, very interesting. 00:08:38.080 --> 00:08:43.919 Because if you know that story of Jesus feeding the 5,000, he's got these five little loaves of bread, these would be like dinner rolls. 00:08:44.080 --> 00:08:46.240 And he's got two fish, these would have been sardines. 00:08:46.320 --> 00:08:48.960 That was actually the main food source of that area, the Sea of Galilee. 00:08:49.039 --> 00:08:50.879 They fished for sardines, essentially. 00:08:51.120 --> 00:08:59.039 So Jesus takes a few little dinner rolls and two sardines, and he feeds over 5,000 people to the point that there's baskets of leftovers. 00:08:59.200 --> 00:09:01.279 Like baskets of leftovers. 00:09:02.720 --> 00:09:05.840 But where did the fish and the bread come from? 00:09:06.480 --> 00:09:10.399 It came from this little boy who happened to have that on him, packed with him. 00:09:10.480 --> 00:09:13.039 It would have been his probably only meal for that day. 00:09:13.200 --> 00:09:17.200 And Jesus asked that boy to give to him what he had. 00:09:17.679 --> 00:09:21.120 And then Jesus used that to provide for all these people. 00:09:21.279 --> 00:09:30.960 Elijah asks this widow to give to him what little she has, and it's through that that this miracle takes place. 00:09:31.679 --> 00:09:34.399 It's a very strange concept because God never runs out. 00:09:34.559 --> 00:09:35.279 God is infinite. 00:09:35.360 --> 00:09:36.879 God lacks for nothing. 00:09:37.120 --> 00:09:38.480 There's nothing that God needs. 00:09:38.559 --> 00:09:42.879 God never feels fear about not having enough. 00:09:43.679 --> 00:09:47.759 There's no such thing as scarcity to God, and yet that is our reality. 00:09:48.720 --> 00:09:51.279 We live in a world where we're reminded of the scarcity of things. 00:09:51.519 --> 00:09:58.960 And so we have this infinite God who lacks nothing asking people to give to him what little they have. 00:10:00.080 --> 00:10:01.759 It's a very interesting dynamic. 00:10:02.960 --> 00:10:05.519 Because God doesn't need what they have to do the miracle. 00:10:05.679 --> 00:10:07.120 So why is he asking? 00:10:08.559 --> 00:10:09.360 What is he getting at? 00:10:09.519 --> 00:10:10.080 What is going on? 00:10:10.240 --> 00:10:11.279 What does he want them to learn? 00:10:11.440 --> 00:10:12.720 What does he want them to understand? 00:10:12.879 --> 00:10:14.159 What does he want us to understand? 00:10:14.320 --> 00:10:16.320 That's what we've got to explore today. 00:10:17.120 --> 00:10:23.759 This concept of an infinite God who never runs out, asking people to trust him with what they have. 00:10:24.000 --> 00:10:27.279 Now I just want to get this out of the way before we continue. 00:10:27.759 --> 00:10:29.679 Today's message is not about money. 00:10:30.879 --> 00:10:31.120 Okay. 00:10:31.279 --> 00:10:32.639 You guys aren't excited about that. 00:10:32.879 --> 00:10:33.600 Hold on. 00:10:33.840 --> 00:10:35.440 Today's message is not about money. 00:10:35.679 --> 00:10:36.720 I'm gonna do this. 00:10:37.039 --> 00:10:38.320 I think this is important. 00:10:42.399 --> 00:10:43.519 That's better. 00:10:44.159 --> 00:10:47.840 I bought that at Party City yesterday, because I'm a high roller. 00:10:48.159 --> 00:11:01.120 Um and I because anytime, anytime a pastor talks about a message like this, like a story like this, where God is miraculously multiplying resources, it is like you know what's coming next. 00:11:01.360 --> 00:11:04.879 You know, it's always like, okay, people start to get uncomfortable because it's a message about money. 00:11:04.960 --> 00:11:14.720 It's a message about, it's a message about like your resources being given to something, so that God will miraculously multiply, you know, whatever, in your life or in the church's life. 00:11:14.799 --> 00:11:22.960 And so you start to hear these stories if you're in church long enough and you go, okay, what new thing is about to happen that I'm gonna be asked to have faith and dig down deep in. 00:11:23.039 --> 00:11:24.559 But today's message is not about money. 00:11:24.720 --> 00:11:27.360 Because, and this is so important, God does not want your money. 00:11:29.279 --> 00:11:30.080 There we go. 00:11:32.639 --> 00:11:37.360 God does not want your money, and that's because God wants your everything. 00:11:38.639 --> 00:11:42.000 He doesn't want your money, but he wants your everything. 00:11:45.120 --> 00:11:51.600 See, when when Elijah asks this this widow for what she has, it's not it's not like she is well stocked. 00:11:51.759 --> 00:11:54.000 It's not like she has this full pantry. 00:11:55.039 --> 00:11:57.440 And Elijah says, Hey, can I have a little bit of that? 00:11:58.000 --> 00:12:00.480 He's essentially asking her for everything. 00:12:02.879 --> 00:12:05.200 And this is that dynamic that I'm talking about. 00:12:05.360 --> 00:12:13.519 We have this infinite God who has everything, can do anything, and he asks people for everything. 00:12:15.440 --> 00:12:16.879 And that is risky. 00:12:18.000 --> 00:12:18.559 Like that. 00:12:19.919 --> 00:12:23.360 To trust God with with anything is difficult. 00:12:23.519 --> 00:12:27.919 To trust anyone with everything, that requires risk, and we don't like risk. 00:12:28.000 --> 00:12:30.399 We are not risk-oriented people. 00:12:30.480 --> 00:12:32.320 We we are risk-averse, naturally. 00:12:32.399 --> 00:12:35.840 Some of us in here might be adrenaline junkies, but typically speaking, we don't like risk. 00:12:36.000 --> 00:12:40.399 We live in a world that that helps us minimize risk everywhere we go. 00:12:41.039 --> 00:12:43.679 I know this for a variety of reasons. 00:12:43.919 --> 00:12:47.200 One example is what I mentioned earlier with the story about the foster family. 00:12:47.279 --> 00:12:49.279 Uh, trees, so dangerous. 00:12:49.600 --> 00:12:50.720 These trees, you know? 00:12:51.120 --> 00:12:55.440 Rhonda Hunter is an amazing uh part of our family here, and Rhonda has a God story. 00:12:55.519 --> 00:12:56.720 If you haven't seen it, it's awesome. 00:12:56.799 --> 00:13:00.399 You can see it on our on our website, on our mobile app, um on YouTube, or whatever. 00:13:00.559 --> 00:13:05.440 And and in her story, she was in a car and a tree fell on the car while she was in it, and it's a miracle that she's alive. 00:13:05.519 --> 00:13:08.080 It's a crazy, incredible story. 00:13:08.720 --> 00:13:10.559 Trees are dangerous, that's what I'm trying to say. 00:13:10.639 --> 00:13:12.240 Like, you gotta watch out for trees. 00:13:12.399 --> 00:13:17.679 And and I live in this house and we have all these trees, and I'm starting to look at the trees a little differently. 00:13:17.840 --> 00:13:21.200 Now that I have children, I'm like, that one could fall. 00:13:21.440 --> 00:13:22.080 That'd be bad. 00:13:22.159 --> 00:13:23.440 If that one fell, it hit our house. 00:13:23.600 --> 00:13:24.240 That one's a little too. 00:13:24.559 --> 00:13:25.519 I need to get these trees removed. 00:13:25.679 --> 00:13:28.799 Like, I'm actually planting right now all the trees that need to go. 00:13:29.279 --> 00:13:33.519 Because I see these trees and and I can imagine them falling. 00:13:34.159 --> 00:13:38.399 My children see those trees, and all they can imagine is climbing them. 00:13:38.720 --> 00:13:41.840 When's the last time you looked at a tree and imagined yourself in it? 00:13:43.840 --> 00:13:44.960 My kids do that all the time. 00:13:45.120 --> 00:13:50.399 We look at trees and we imagine our car being destroyed, our roof being destroyed. 00:13:53.039 --> 00:13:56.240 Because our imagination leads us to worry the older we get. 00:13:56.320 --> 00:13:58.960 I heard a quote last week and I thought it was just brilliant. 00:13:59.039 --> 00:14:03.840 It said that worry is simply a misuse of imagination. 00:14:05.200 --> 00:14:08.240 Worry is a misuse of imagination. 00:14:08.720 --> 00:14:10.720 We worry very well. 00:14:10.879 --> 00:14:14.000 We are good at imagining all the things that can go wrong. 00:14:14.320 --> 00:14:18.799 We are good at imagining all the bad things that could possibly happen. 00:14:19.360 --> 00:14:27.519 And of all the worries that we have, all the worries that we deal with in this world, it's maybe the worry of not having enough that we are confronted with the most often. 00:14:29.120 --> 00:14:30.720 It's a worry of lack. 00:14:32.159 --> 00:14:37.120 It's a worry of not having enough to do what maybe we want to do, we feel like we have to do. 00:14:37.200 --> 00:14:42.559 And it's so interesting because we live in the most prosperous civilization in human history. 00:14:42.879 --> 00:14:47.679 We carry devices in our pockets that cost more money than most people ever see in a year. 00:14:49.200 --> 00:14:53.840 One of the biggest industries in America, the fastest growing industries, is the storage industry. 00:14:54.080 --> 00:14:56.399 Because we have more stuff than we can fit in our house. 00:14:56.639 --> 00:14:58.399 Like, I'll caught myself saying this. 00:14:58.480 --> 00:15:00.320 Yeah, my house doesn't have that much storage. 00:15:00.879 --> 00:15:03.120 Like, well, it's got multiple rooms. 00:15:03.279 --> 00:15:05.360 I have too much stuff, that's the problem. 00:15:07.600 --> 00:15:09.360 And yet I still fear lack. 00:15:12.480 --> 00:15:26.480 We know what it's like as Americans, and I'm sure we've all been, some of us have been through some really tough situations, but most of us are much more familiar with the fact that we've eaten way too much than we're familiar with what it feels like to really be hungry. 00:15:26.960 --> 00:15:29.120 But even still, we fear lack. 00:15:30.080 --> 00:15:31.360 We fear not having enough. 00:15:31.519 --> 00:15:33.279 And that's not because we're bad people. 00:15:33.440 --> 00:15:37.759 This is not a moment where we're like shaming and saying, how, you know, come on, realize how blessed you are. 00:15:37.919 --> 00:15:45.200 What we are is actually living proof that there's no amount of money, that there's no like magic line of income or or anything that takes that fear away. 00:15:47.759 --> 00:15:53.039 That you cannot have so much that the fear of going without goes away. 00:15:55.919 --> 00:15:58.960 We fear not having enough. 00:15:59.200 --> 00:16:03.759 And that becomes a bit of a crisis when you're dealing with a God who is willing to ask you for everything. 00:16:05.519 --> 00:16:07.600 Jesus asks for everything. 00:16:09.679 --> 00:16:12.000 Matthew 16, 24. 00:16:12.320 --> 00:16:19.519 Jesus said to his disciples, Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves, which is everyone's favorite thing to do, and take up their cross and follow me. 00:16:19.759 --> 00:16:23.600 This is Jesus giving a sales pitch, by the way, to people who might want to be his followers. 00:16:23.759 --> 00:16:31.039 You want to be my disciple, deny yourself, take up your cross, which means be willing to die and follow me. 00:16:32.399 --> 00:16:41.840 And if you think maybe he's just grabbing attention, and then he's about to get into all the benefits of being a Jesus' follower, the very next statement, he says, Whoever wants to save their life will lose it. 00:16:42.159 --> 00:16:45.360 But whoever loses their life for me will find it. 00:16:47.519 --> 00:16:50.960 Whoever loses their life, whoever gives their life will find it. 00:16:51.039 --> 00:16:54.799 This is Jesus asking us for everything. 00:16:55.279 --> 00:17:06.799 Asking us to trust him with everything, asking us to risk everything, all that we are, everything that we have, to trust him with everything, to give him ownership of everything. 00:17:06.880 --> 00:17:10.400 And that is the big ask. 00:17:12.000 --> 00:17:14.400 It is a transfer of ownership. 00:17:16.720 --> 00:17:22.079 Jesus is asking us to transfer ownership in our minds of everything to him. 00:17:24.319 --> 00:17:36.960 And if we can do that, if we can actually get to the point where we see everything that we have and everything that we are as belonging to Jesus, that is when Jesus says we find real life. 00:17:38.480 --> 00:17:41.759 That is when we discover a life that's actually worth living. 00:17:42.880 --> 00:17:46.559 When we transfer ownership of everything that we have to him. 00:17:48.559 --> 00:17:57.440 I said earlier that there's this mindset that people have, and the people I know who have this mindset have less worry than anyone else I know, and it's the mindset of owning nothing. 00:17:59.839 --> 00:18:03.519 Of owning nothing, of viewing everything as belonging to God. 00:18:03.680 --> 00:18:13.039 The people I know who really believe that God owns it all, who see everything that they have as simply something they've been entrusted with for a season, but ultimately it belongs to God. 00:18:13.119 --> 00:18:16.000 Those are the people I know that have less worry than anyone else. 00:18:16.640 --> 00:18:18.880 Because you really only worry about what you own. 00:18:21.759 --> 00:18:23.759 I don't worry about other people's houses very much. 00:18:23.839 --> 00:18:24.400 Maybe I should. 00:18:24.480 --> 00:18:26.240 Maybe I should be more compassionate. 00:18:27.119 --> 00:18:28.799 I don't worry about other people's phones. 00:18:28.960 --> 00:18:31.680 I don't worry about, you know, anything. 00:18:32.400 --> 00:18:33.440 I love you guys. 00:18:33.680 --> 00:18:40.160 No, I like the when you own something, when you see it as belonging to you, you worry about it. 00:18:41.200 --> 00:18:46.640 And so I bel I agree with the statement that we said earlier that worry is a misuse of imagination, but I'll add something to that. 00:18:46.720 --> 00:18:49.279 I think worry is a misplacement of ownership. 00:18:51.359 --> 00:18:52.960 It's a misplacement of ownership. 00:18:53.039 --> 00:18:58.640 And when you can transfer ownership of what you have and all you are to God, the worry goes away. 00:19:00.799 --> 00:19:03.680 Like I've experienced this in some pretty tangible ways in life. 00:19:03.839 --> 00:19:07.200 Um used to have a couple dogs, Wojo and Roxy. 00:19:07.359 --> 00:19:09.039 Wojo we got when we first got married. 00:19:09.200 --> 00:19:18.240 Megan and I, I think we've been married for like a year, and we got Wojo, and then we got Roxy several years later, and then we had children, and we realized that we are not good at being parents of humans. 00:19:18.319 --> 00:19:19.440 That's Roxy. 00:19:20.000 --> 00:19:20.400 Yay. 00:19:20.799 --> 00:19:24.160 Um we were not good, she's one of those so ugly she's cute dogs. 00:19:24.240 --> 00:19:25.039 You know what I'm saying? 00:19:25.200 --> 00:19:28.960 Like, that's just that's she's a Pekinese, which we had a shihtsu, wojo is a shih tzu. 00:19:29.119 --> 00:19:31.200 A peeking's is just a shih tzu that sheds. 00:19:31.359 --> 00:19:37.920 So, you know, if you've ever, if you have a shih tzu and you're like, what would it be like if this thing left hair everywhere, go buy a Pekinese, and you'll know. 00:19:38.160 --> 00:19:45.759 Um and so after having children, we just realized we couldn't, we weren't good at the dog and human dynamic. 00:19:45.839 --> 00:19:48.400 It was uh we couldn't take care of both, and we chose our children. 00:19:48.559 --> 00:19:52.319 And so we we gave our dogs away. 00:19:52.559 --> 00:20:02.720 And we gave Wojo to my brother, and Wojo lived out the rest of his life with my brother, and then uh we gave Roxy to a friend of mine whose daughter really wanted a dog. 00:20:02.880 --> 00:20:06.240 And I will never forget the day that I took Roxy to my friend's house. 00:20:06.480 --> 00:20:09.359 I had her in the passenger seat of the car, she's little peekingies. 00:20:09.519 --> 00:20:12.880 Umort and sneeze, but it somehow was cute, I guess. 00:20:13.039 --> 00:20:16.000 Um she's in the car, I had her buckled up, she was safe, don't worry. 00:20:16.160 --> 00:20:20.079 Uh, drove there, and uh, I'll never forget it. 00:20:20.160 --> 00:20:34.720 I'm standing at this guy's door, I ring the doorbell, he opens the door, and there's his daughter, and she's so excited, and you know, I hand Roxy to them, and we talk for a few seconds, and then they say thank you, and the door shuts, and there I am, and I don't have Roxy. 00:20:35.839 --> 00:20:43.200 And it was one of the happiest moments of my life because I hated that dog so much. 00:20:45.680 --> 00:20:51.359 Like, I used to be a dog person until I had Roxy. 00:20:51.920 --> 00:20:55.119 And I might be a dog person again one day, but it's gonna take time. 00:20:55.279 --> 00:21:00.559 Like, I need space, I need, I need to heal because that dog was terrible. 00:21:01.359 --> 00:21:02.400 Horrible. 00:21:02.720 --> 00:21:06.720 Not intelligent unless it was like an intelligence for criminal activity. 00:21:06.799 --> 00:21:13.200 Like to get into something she could figure it out, but go to the bathroom outside, couldn't figure it out no matter how much we tried, none of that. 00:21:13.440 --> 00:21:15.119 She wasn't loyal, she didn't love us. 00:21:15.200 --> 00:21:15.920 I don't understand. 00:21:16.160 --> 00:21:17.119 This dog did not love us. 00:21:17.200 --> 00:21:20.079 Like we took care of this dog, we provided for this dog. 00:21:20.160 --> 00:21:22.799 It's a peekanese, she's not gonna go hunt for food, okay? 00:21:23.119 --> 00:21:25.920 It's like God did not make peekanies, we made those, okay? 00:21:26.240 --> 00:21:40.480 So I would open our front door and she would bolt, and not bolt like she wanted to play, she wanted to escape, like she was escaping from prison, and I had to go chase this stupid dog and bring her back to my house, and all I wanted to do was shut the door and let her live out her dream. 00:21:40.559 --> 00:21:43.039 But I couldn't do that because I own the dog. 00:21:43.440 --> 00:21:45.119 And you can't do that, right? 00:21:45.519 --> 00:21:52.000 And I'll never forget the moment that the door shut and Roxy was no longer in my possession. 00:21:52.240 --> 00:21:53.759 I didn't own Roxy anymore. 00:21:55.039 --> 00:21:56.319 And I felt so free. 00:21:57.599 --> 00:22:01.119 And I thought to myself, some Someone else's problem. 00:22:01.519 --> 00:22:02.000 Right? 00:22:02.160 --> 00:22:03.519 Someone else gets to worry about this. 00:22:03.599 --> 00:22:06.240 Just so you know, um, I didn't pull a fast one on my friend. 00:22:06.319 --> 00:22:10.960 He offered to pay, and it because I'm a Christian, I said I cannot accept money for this dog. 00:22:11.279 --> 00:22:11.599 Okay? 00:22:12.240 --> 00:22:16.319 You are doing a service to me like you cannot imagine. 00:22:19.039 --> 00:22:20.160 Stand that dog. 00:22:21.119 --> 00:22:23.039 But I didn't own her anymore. 00:22:23.359 --> 00:22:25.839 So I didn't have to deal with the stress. 00:22:25.920 --> 00:22:28.480 I didn't have to deal with all the stuff that went along with it. 00:22:28.559 --> 00:22:32.799 All that all that stress and anxiety that she used to cause because she was just so terrible. 00:22:32.960 --> 00:22:36.640 Do you understand what I'm saying about this dog and how horrible of a dog? 00:22:36.880 --> 00:22:38.240 You get what I'm saying? 00:22:38.480 --> 00:22:43.119 You don't, I don't think you do, because this I just, I gotta stop because I could tell stories. 00:22:43.359 --> 00:22:44.160 You don't have time. 00:22:44.480 --> 00:22:47.359 But I was free, like I was free. 00:22:47.519 --> 00:22:50.640 Someone else now owned my problem. 00:22:52.960 --> 00:22:55.519 Worry is a misplacement of ownership. 00:22:55.839 --> 00:22:56.160 Okay? 00:22:58.319 --> 00:23:00.559 Here's what God's word says in Proverbs 16, 3. 00:23:00.720 --> 00:23:02.960 Commit your actions to the Lord and your plans will succeed. 00:23:03.119 --> 00:23:06.319 And we read the word commit and we think dig down deep, work hard. 00:23:06.559 --> 00:23:09.920 But that's actually a Hebrew word, galal, which means to roll away. 00:23:10.079 --> 00:23:15.759 And so it's actually in the sense, if you committed someone to a hospital, it's now that hospital's job to take care of them. 00:23:16.000 --> 00:23:16.960 That's what it means. 00:23:17.119 --> 00:23:19.920 So it doesn't say commit your actions to the Lord, like, come on, just do this. 00:23:20.000 --> 00:23:21.759 It's saying give it to God. 00:23:23.119 --> 00:23:28.400 Transfer ownership to God, and you'll find success. 00:23:28.880 --> 00:23:33.200 Psalm 55, 22 says, give your burdens to the Lord, and he will take care of you. 00:23:33.359 --> 00:23:35.200 He will not permit the godly to slip and fall. 00:23:35.279 --> 00:23:37.599 What burdens are you carrying today? 00:23:37.920 --> 00:23:40.240 What burdens do you own? 00:23:41.519 --> 00:23:44.720 What problems do you take ownership of in your life? 00:23:44.799 --> 00:23:51.680 And God is telling you, He is asking you to give those to Him, to transfer the ownership of your burdens to him. 00:23:52.559 --> 00:23:55.119 To view those things as God's problem. 00:23:55.759 --> 00:23:56.799 Think about that. 00:23:58.079 --> 00:24:01.599 1 Peter 5 7 says, give all your worries and cares to God. 00:24:01.759 --> 00:24:04.720 Some translations say, cast your anxieties on God. 00:24:04.960 --> 00:24:09.200 Give all your worries and cares, all your anxieties to God, for he cares about you. 00:24:09.680 --> 00:24:14.240 This is God saying, transfer ownership of your worries and your anxieties to me. 00:24:14.319 --> 00:24:15.839 What are you worried about today? 00:24:17.599 --> 00:24:18.720 What are you stressed about? 00:24:18.880 --> 00:24:19.839 What are you worried about? 00:24:20.079 --> 00:24:24.079 God is asking you to transfer the ownership of those worries to him. 00:24:24.799 --> 00:24:28.079 And have him own your worries, and you don't have to own them anymore. 00:24:28.400 --> 00:24:34.240 Psalm 37, 5 says, Commit everything you do to the Lord, trust him, and he will help you. 00:24:34.480 --> 00:24:37.519 Commit everything, roll everything to God. 00:24:38.559 --> 00:24:43.759 What would it be like if you actually viewed everything you have and everything you are as belonging to God? 00:24:46.160 --> 00:24:47.039 I mean, think about this. 00:24:47.119 --> 00:24:48.720 Like, money is just the tip of the iceberg. 00:24:48.799 --> 00:24:49.839 This is not a message about money. 00:24:50.000 --> 00:24:51.519 Money is an obvious way to go with it. 00:24:51.680 --> 00:25:04.000 You know, my thing with money is if you fear losing money, if it's this thing where the idea of being generous and giving to someone in need is hard, you just have to ask yourself, do I own my money or does my money own me? 00:25:04.319 --> 00:25:07.119 Like that, that's that's something I have to wrestle with, we all do. 00:25:07.440 --> 00:25:09.440 But money, it's just the tip of the iceberg here. 00:25:09.519 --> 00:25:10.160 This is everything. 00:25:10.319 --> 00:25:11.839 Like it says, give everything to God. 00:25:12.000 --> 00:25:14.240 Transfer ownership of everything to God. 00:25:14.480 --> 00:25:16.640 Elijah asked this widow to give everything. 00:25:16.720 --> 00:25:18.640 And look, God does not make mistakes. 00:25:18.880 --> 00:25:23.519 It's no coincidence that Elijah showed up the day she had the last amount of food. 00:25:24.799 --> 00:25:31.680 It's no coincidence that the moment Elijah shows up is the moment she's gathering sticks to make a fire to cook this last batch of food. 00:25:31.839 --> 00:25:32.880 God knows what he's doing. 00:25:34.160 --> 00:25:39.039 He waited until the moment when what he would ask for this woman was everything. 00:25:40.319 --> 00:25:43.440 Jesus asks us to transfer ownership of everything to him. 00:25:43.519 --> 00:25:44.960 So I think about my children. 00:25:46.079 --> 00:25:50.880 And many of us here have kids, many of us here who don't have kids will have kids. 00:25:51.759 --> 00:25:53.680 My kids don't belong to me. 00:25:54.640 --> 00:25:55.680 They belong to God. 00:25:57.200 --> 00:26:00.400 Now I want to be clear, I take responsibility for my children. 00:26:00.559 --> 00:26:04.559 But there's a difference between taking responsibility and taking ownership. 00:26:05.200 --> 00:26:12.720 Jesus told a parable about a master, a wealthy man who leaves town, leaves the country, and he entrusts his wealth with three servants. 00:26:12.799 --> 00:26:17.680 And those servants took responsibility for their master's wealth, but they did not take ownership. 00:26:18.319 --> 00:26:20.240 So I take responsibility for my children. 00:26:20.319 --> 00:26:24.480 It's my job to raise them and protect them to a degree, but ultimately they belong to God. 00:26:24.559 --> 00:26:27.039 And that is such a freeing way to think. 00:26:27.920 --> 00:26:32.319 Because there are so many times where I look at my kids and I'm like, God, I don't know what to do. 00:26:32.559 --> 00:26:34.880 You know, you're gonna have to figure this one out, Lord. 00:26:34.960 --> 00:26:44.559 Like you're gonna you're gonna have to you're gonna have to speak to them, you're gonna have to do something, you're gonna have to give me something I don't have because I can't, I alone cannot do this. 00:26:45.599 --> 00:26:51.440 I'm serious, I love my children so much, but I I don't see them as belonging to me. 00:26:53.279 --> 00:26:58.480 And if I view them as actually belonging to God, if I have that mindset, then I don't feel like it's all on me. 00:26:58.640 --> 00:27:05.279 I don't live with the pressure and the stress and the anxiety of going, you know, the fact that they're gonna turn out into these amazing people, that's not all on me. 00:27:05.359 --> 00:27:06.720 A lot of that's on God. 00:27:07.200 --> 00:27:15.680 And I need God to protect them when I can't, I need God to provide for them when I can't, I need God to speak to them and speak into them things that I don't even know. 00:27:15.839 --> 00:27:19.200 I need God to do what I cannot do. 00:27:19.279 --> 00:27:22.240 And the beautiful thing is they belong to God and He's gonna do that. 00:27:23.599 --> 00:27:31.599 If you if you view even your children as belonging to God, so much of the pressure and stress of parenting dissipates because you realize it's not all on you, you're not alone. 00:27:32.960 --> 00:27:41.119 I think about Megan, my wife, and it's interesting when I think about her as my wife, our relationship does not go very well. 00:27:41.519 --> 00:27:47.279 Because when I think about her as mine, I start to have thoughts like shh my wife isn't meeting my needs. 00:27:48.079 --> 00:27:52.640 You know, my my wife ought to be more sensitive to my desires. 00:27:52.799 --> 00:27:55.759 My wife ought to be doing more of this for me. 00:27:55.839 --> 00:28:00.960 When I think about her in terms of possession, she's mine, our relationship stagnates. 00:28:01.200 --> 00:28:02.000 It is not healthy. 00:28:02.079 --> 00:28:05.839 But when I think about her as God's daughter, very different. 00:28:06.720 --> 00:28:08.319 Like maybe I'm frustrated with Megan. 00:28:08.559 --> 00:28:10.720 Hypothetical situation obviously never happens. 00:28:10.960 --> 00:28:13.519 So maybe I'm frustrated with Megan. 00:28:13.680 --> 00:28:20.079 And I'm praying in frustration, which again, totally hypothetical, and I'm praying, God, you know, my wife is driving me crazy. 00:28:20.240 --> 00:28:23.519