WEBVTT 00:00:00.160 --> 00:00:01.840 And with that in mind, we're going to pray again. 00:00:02.000 --> 00:00:03.279 We pray a lot, if you've noticed. 00:00:03.439 --> 00:00:05.280 We like to pray, because you know it's it's God. 00:00:05.440 --> 00:00:10.240 Um Jesus, thank you so much for uh for the fact that you do answer our prayers. 00:00:10.560 --> 00:00:22.879 Thank you for the fact that no matter how big a problem might be, if it seems impossible, if it's an addiction that we can't overcome, if it's a health issue that seems beyond our control, nothing is beyond your control. 00:00:23.519 --> 00:00:24.800 And you love us. 00:00:25.760 --> 00:00:32.479 If there's one person in this room that has not realized the overwhelming love that you have for them, God, I pray you make that clear right now. 00:00:32.960 --> 00:00:44.159 And as Ken shares with us from your word, we pray that you would open our minds, that you would open our hearts, that we would be a people, a whole family of people that say, we want to learn, we want to grow, and we're ready, God, for whatever it is you have for us. 00:00:44.479 --> 00:00:46.159 I pray all this in your name, Jesus. 00:00:46.479 --> 00:00:47.039 Amen. 00:00:47.280 --> 00:00:47.759 Amen. 00:00:48.000 --> 00:00:51.280 Great job, just see you, man. 00:00:52.799 --> 00:00:55.280 Well, I want to open up by saying thank you. 00:00:55.359 --> 00:00:59.039 Uh thank you that this is just one of my favorite places to be. 00:00:59.200 --> 00:00:59.759 It really is. 00:00:59.920 --> 00:01:04.239 And if you're new here, there's a really good chance it'll become one of your favorite places as well. 00:01:04.400 --> 00:01:12.640 I want to thank you for um, I I love being a part of this and how unbelievably talented a leader and gifted speaker Justin is. 00:01:12.719 --> 00:01:18.640 And I want to thank you for not just when he introduces me and walking up, you you guys don't go, oh man, really? 00:01:18.799 --> 00:01:20.079 Justin's not here this way. 00:01:20.319 --> 00:01:22.000 Uh, I want to thank you for not doing that. 00:01:22.079 --> 00:01:25.200 And uh, I'll just assume those who do get up and leave, you're going to get coffee. 00:01:25.280 --> 00:01:26.879 So I'm just gonna assume that. 00:01:27.040 --> 00:01:34.560 Um, but you know what, life is full of struggles, and and there's something within every one of us that wants to succeed. 00:01:34.719 --> 00:01:41.040 We want to succeed, we want to know we're success, and we want to know that there's significance in what we're doing. 00:01:41.200 --> 00:01:51.840 And there's some moments in life, and I just want to kind of get a little bit personal and we'll we'll end up to where we're going this morning, but uh, there's significant moments, and for us, it's happened in the past couple weeks with my daughter. 00:01:52.000 --> 00:01:55.920 Kennedy's 11, and she just uh she's just learned how to ride a bike. 00:01:56.159 --> 00:02:04.640 And now, some of you, if you're thinking about age and bikes and thinking, wow, you must be a really bad parent for not teaching her that before 11. 00:02:04.799 --> 00:02:06.959 And I can tell you this, it wasn't me at all. 00:02:07.120 --> 00:02:19.840 My wife's patience and amazing uh encouragement was the process in that because I took her out and my wife had gotten her little bike to teach her, and I tried to do that, and I'm just like, I was so frustrated because she wasn't getting it. 00:02:19.919 --> 00:02:21.439 And I'm like, you've got this. 00:02:21.680 --> 00:02:26.800 I know she's got the ability, coordination, she can do this, and yet she was so tensed up and so frustrated. 00:02:27.199 --> 00:02:35.039 And I'm just like, okay, don't get frustrated, stop getting frustrated, which you can tell when you you say it that way, just stop getting frustrated. 00:02:35.120 --> 00:02:37.520 You know, that instantly they're not frustrated anymore. 00:02:37.680 --> 00:02:40.719 And and so she's getting frustrated, and I'm getting frustrated. 00:02:40.879 --> 00:02:45.439 And and uh one time as I was attempting this, and I'm like, that was it, you got it, you got it. 00:02:45.520 --> 00:02:51.439 And then she put her feet down and fell off the bike, and I'm like, oh man, and and she just kind of gave me the clarity. 00:02:51.599 --> 00:02:55.759 She goes, you know, most people learn this when they're younger. 00:02:56.240 --> 00:02:58.240 And I just was like, oh. 00:02:59.039 --> 00:03:00.800 And she just kind of brought up the reality. 00:03:00.879 --> 00:03:14.639 And for those of you who don't know my story and our story, she goes, you know, most of them, when most kids were learning to ride a bike, I was in cancer treatment, and uh, and it's true, she was, and at three to five and a half, six years old, and we just never got to it. 00:03:15.199 --> 00:03:31.840 So yesterday, when we went and we traded in her training bike for a bike and let her pick it out and her ride it, and we went for like a five, six-mile ride on the on this the West Cobb Trail, it was just one of those moments you're like, this is significant. 00:03:32.080 --> 00:03:34.000 And it was just such a joy. 00:03:34.400 --> 00:03:42.080 But through that time, some of the most significant parts of life come in ways we don't expect them to happen. 00:03:42.319 --> 00:03:52.159 And if I could take you to another significant event of the last couple years that culminated, well actually culminates in a few weeks, it's that my daughter really was diagnosed with cancer. 00:03:52.319 --> 00:03:54.479 She really is a survivor, she's doing great. 00:03:54.639 --> 00:03:57.039 But through that process, I had no idea. 00:03:57.199 --> 00:04:05.680 Now, if you would have asked my wife and I, hey, if you've got the results today that you have, do you want this to happen? 00:04:05.759 --> 00:04:09.680 We would tell you 100 times out of 100, no, we don't. 00:04:09.840 --> 00:04:19.839 I'll never forget the doctors telling us as we sat down with them three days, two days after the diagnosis, saying, Hey, if you gotta have cancer, this is the kind you want. 00:04:20.000 --> 00:04:25.279 And my wife and I both looked at each other and at the same time looked back at the doctor and goes, Yeah, we don't want it. 00:04:25.439 --> 00:04:26.800 You can have it back. 00:04:27.279 --> 00:04:28.480 Because we don't want that. 00:04:28.639 --> 00:04:33.439 And in this world, there are overwhelming circumstances that hit us. 00:04:33.600 --> 00:04:36.800 There's frustrating parts of life, and how are we gonna deal with that? 00:04:36.959 --> 00:04:45.360 Because as I want success and significance, how does the stuff and the gross of life play into that? 00:04:45.519 --> 00:04:47.360 And how do we deal with that? 00:04:47.759 --> 00:04:56.800 And how do I find that significance and that success in the midst of circumstances that aren't problem, they're not positive. 00:04:57.040 --> 00:05:11.279 And I'll give you one example that as we went through this process with my daughter, my two sons have this amazing sensitivity towards kids, amazing interactive ability that I firmly believe was fostered through that. 00:05:11.600 --> 00:05:19.600 Go back two years, and I was invited and asked to speak and just kind of more be a chaplain for a Blue Skies retreat. 00:05:19.839 --> 00:05:31.759 Blue Skies is a retreat where they take families, and families will take their vacation and pay to go and serve a family that has a child with cancer. 00:05:31.920 --> 00:05:41.600 And these families with kids with cancer, which we were one, will come down and they go from everything goes wrong to this week of just euphoric, everything is wonderful. 00:05:41.680 --> 00:05:43.680 It's called blue skies, and it's amazing. 00:05:43.839 --> 00:05:46.079 And I was asked to be the chaplain last year. 00:05:46.319 --> 00:05:52.000 I took my family down with me, and we were going to, I was not only gonna be the chaplain, but we were gonna serve a family and help out. 00:05:52.160 --> 00:05:56.079 And I remember my boys going, Dad, what do we do? 00:05:56.240 --> 00:05:58.399 And I'm like, dude, it's easy. 00:05:58.720 --> 00:06:01.120 I said, you already have been trained. 00:06:01.279 --> 00:06:06.160 You've already been a sibling, you've already had a daughter or a sister with cancer. 00:06:06.480 --> 00:06:10.560 All you have to do is be you because these kids are going through what you've been through. 00:06:10.639 --> 00:06:13.120 I said, here's what you do: you have fun. 00:06:13.920 --> 00:06:15.839 That's your job for this week. 00:06:16.079 --> 00:06:16.720 Have fun. 00:06:16.879 --> 00:06:22.879 And when you see the kids with cancer and you see their siblings, make sure you include them and make sure they have fun. 00:06:23.040 --> 00:06:26.240 And if there's any competition, make sure they win. 00:06:26.560 --> 00:06:27.680 That's it. 00:06:28.240 --> 00:06:30.639 And I said, if they win, then we all win. 00:06:30.720 --> 00:06:38.800 And I said, at the end of the night, there's gonna be a meeting with everybody, and some of the adult leaders are gonna need help when they say, Hey, I need a few people to help with. 00:06:39.040 --> 00:06:43.839 I said, before they finish the sentence, raise your hand and say, I'll volunteer. 00:06:44.079 --> 00:06:47.600 And I can't tell you how proud I was of my boys that they just got that. 00:06:47.680 --> 00:06:56.079 And I'll never forget one of the meetings, one of the gentlemen who is the leader of the whole camp, um, and he just said, Hey, um, after this meeting, I just need a couple guys to help. 00:06:56.160 --> 00:06:57.519 And both my boys raised their hands. 00:06:57.600 --> 00:07:00.720 One of them stood up and he goes, You don't even know what it is yet. 00:07:00.959 --> 00:07:01.920 And I'll never forget. 00:07:02.079 --> 00:07:03.199 He says, It doesn't matter. 00:07:03.279 --> 00:07:05.519 You're the leader, and I believe and what trust what you're doing. 00:07:05.600 --> 00:07:07.920 If you need help, I want to be the one to help. 00:07:08.240 --> 00:07:12.959 And I'm sitting there going, and and literally the guy's like, What? 00:07:14.079 --> 00:07:28.079 Okay, and they did that all week, and it became this contagious piece of all the kids, and I'm just like, wow! And fast forward to this year, where at the end of that camp, my oldest son, who's 17 now, was 16 then, went to Melinda, the one who created Blue Skies. 00:07:28.160 --> 00:07:33.360 She's a nurse at children's, and she said, There's got to be a place for families in this, and she created this. 00:07:33.439 --> 00:07:36.959 And at the end, Graham, my oldest, went up and he said, Miss Melinda, I've had a great time. 00:07:37.120 --> 00:07:39.279 He says, But can I talk to you when you have a minute? 00:07:39.439 --> 00:07:40.399 And she said, Sure. 00:07:40.480 --> 00:07:43.360 And they talked, and he goes, Miss Melinda, you need interns. 00:07:43.519 --> 00:07:50.959 You need an intern to come and help the leaders know where things are and just kind of be here and understand what's going on and kind of organize a little bit. 00:07:51.040 --> 00:07:53.439 I know you've got the leaders, but help the leaders lead. 00:07:53.600 --> 00:07:58.560 You need that, and I'm gonna be your first one, and I'm gonna design the program and I'm gonna do that. 00:07:58.800 --> 00:08:12.639 And he sat down with her after the Blue Skies retreats went on, and he said, I've gone online, I've designed this based on other intern programs, and they need to raise this much money, and I'm gonna be your first intern, and I'm already raising my support. 00:08:13.040 --> 00:08:18.319 At 16, and I'm just like, Yes, you can applaud for that. 00:08:21.360 --> 00:08:26.160 I'm sitting there going, man, when I was 16, I don't know what I was doing, but it wasn't that. 00:08:26.879 --> 00:08:31.360 I'm like, wow, that is significant. 00:08:31.839 --> 00:08:35.519 That is success as a dad to have a child that even thinks that way. 00:08:35.679 --> 00:08:36.960 He is not perfect. 00:08:37.200 --> 00:08:40.320 But it's one of those where you're like, that's awesome. 00:08:40.559 --> 00:08:43.519 And that came out of something that was not good. 00:08:44.240 --> 00:08:50.159 And I just got to thinking, in this life, how do I get to that point where I'm successful? 00:08:50.320 --> 00:08:55.919 How do I get to that point where I know that what I'm doing is significant in the midst of life? 00:08:56.159 --> 00:09:09.279 And there's really two decisions we have to make, and I want to share those with you this morning that really determine whether or not, no matter what the circumstances, no matter what the environment, whether or not we're gonna be successful and significant. 00:09:09.600 --> 00:09:16.159 And if we make these two decisions, and I'm just gonna throw them out there, I don't know where you are on the spectrum, but there's one way to address it. 00:09:16.240 --> 00:09:18.720 The first one is where is my foundation? 00:09:18.879 --> 00:09:22.639 What foundation am I going to build my life on? 00:09:22.879 --> 00:09:25.039 And I'll give you three options that I see. 00:09:25.200 --> 00:09:27.440 And one would be that of just going, you know what? 00:09:27.679 --> 00:09:29.120 I'm gonna take care of it. 00:09:29.279 --> 00:09:30.720 I am gonna be successful. 00:09:30.879 --> 00:09:34.320 I am, I believe in if you can see it, you can do it. 00:09:34.399 --> 00:09:36.559 If you can visualize it, it will become reality. 00:09:36.639 --> 00:09:39.360 And it's that self-help model and idea. 00:09:39.600 --> 00:09:43.759 And I can tell you this there is some success in that. 00:09:43.919 --> 00:09:48.720 I've seen it happen where people go, I can do this because I've visualized it before. 00:09:48.799 --> 00:09:50.480 I'm a positive thinker. 00:09:50.639 --> 00:09:55.519 And I and I've seen it work in some senses, and I've seen it work in some areas. 00:09:55.840 --> 00:10:09.840 Success, by some definition, happens, but the problem is what happens when I visualize it and I do it and I accomplish it, and I climb that ladder, and I'm at the top, and I've succeeded, and I realize that my ladder is on the wrong wall. 00:10:10.399 --> 00:10:14.799 And that there's success, but then there's not significance. 00:10:15.039 --> 00:10:20.960 And then I succeed, and then, well, well, this didn't bring fulfillment, so what's the next one, and the next one, and the next one? 00:10:21.200 --> 00:10:26.240 And the problem with that mindset is that we can achieve, but is there really significance? 00:10:26.320 --> 00:10:30.720 And do I get to the point where I really find that fulfillment? 00:10:31.200 --> 00:10:38.320 There's another way to kind of address it, and uh for many who are here, you've probably experienced it in some way, and that's kind of a religious. 00:10:38.480 --> 00:10:38.879 You know what? 00:10:38.960 --> 00:10:39.919 I'm gonna take the truth. 00:10:40.000 --> 00:10:45.600 I'm gonna take this amazing book of truth, and I'm gonna live by the rules, and I'm gonna do the best I can here. 00:10:45.759 --> 00:11:03.440 The problem with the religious version of that is that that lifestyle is creating an emptiness because I'm living by the rules, and it it's kind of a religious version of the self-help of I'm gonna do the right pieces here, but then then what's the result of that? 00:11:03.679 --> 00:11:09.519 What normally happens is a little bit of bitterness where I say, okay, God, I'm I'm doing everything right. 00:11:09.840 --> 00:11:16.480 When religion is the foundation, I'm doing everything right and it's not working out, and we get frustrated. 00:11:16.879 --> 00:11:19.919 And and that that can breed a bitterness. 00:11:20.080 --> 00:11:30.320 It can also breed in the religious, and let me just say this: I know there are some here today that you've been through the religious waters and you got burned or burned out. 00:11:31.120 --> 00:11:38.559 Because what is true and wonderful was presented as a rule and impossible, and you're never good enough. 00:11:38.799 --> 00:11:40.159 Look what Jesus did for you. 00:11:40.320 --> 00:11:41.919 What are you doing for Jesus? 00:11:42.240 --> 00:11:47.919 And it became this rules of what you can and can't do, where you should go, not go, who you should be with and shouldn't be with. 00:11:48.000 --> 00:11:50.080 And it became this list of rules. 00:11:50.320 --> 00:11:56.799 And on behalf of the real Jesus, let me say, I'm sorry. 00:11:57.120 --> 00:11:59.360 I'm sorry, that should have never happened. 00:11:59.600 --> 00:12:01.039 I've lived under that. 00:12:01.200 --> 00:12:05.519 I I remember, I can look back and I can remember questioning, well, why? 00:12:06.240 --> 00:12:07.600 And I'll give you one quick example. 00:12:07.759 --> 00:12:12.960 I said, Well, I don't understand this this piece about this particular area. 00:12:13.120 --> 00:12:17.279 I said, Why do you say that when it seems the the Bible says something different? 00:12:17.360 --> 00:12:23.679 That Jesus' first miracle was to do that, and and you're saying that it wasn't, and then it was this, and I don't understand that. 00:12:23.840 --> 00:12:24.799 Why would you do that? 00:12:24.960 --> 00:12:28.639 Why would you stray from the purpose of it? 00:12:28.720 --> 00:12:29.919 And I'll never forget the guy. 00:12:30.000 --> 00:12:37.360 He says, Well, if I give them permission or if I give them the authority to do that, then they'll abuse it, and I have to control them. 00:12:38.159 --> 00:12:39.679 And I'm like, whoa. 00:12:41.600 --> 00:12:43.519 See, religion controls. 00:12:44.159 --> 00:12:46.480 Jesus is the only one in control. 00:12:46.559 --> 00:12:47.679 I'm not in control. 00:12:47.919 --> 00:12:53.200 I have the joy and privilege of being gifted to share some of the truth, but I'm not the control. 00:12:53.840 --> 00:12:59.039 Jesus alone, and the last way to really hit that is through a relationship. 00:12:59.440 --> 00:13:06.960 If the foundation is a relationship with Jesus Himself, the real Jesus, then life makes sense. 00:13:07.120 --> 00:13:09.600 Then circumstances find perspective. 00:13:09.759 --> 00:13:11.600 Then pain has a purpose. 00:13:11.840 --> 00:13:16.720 And I want to share a couple verses with you as we look at this in Ephesians 2.10. 00:13:16.799 --> 00:13:21.919 And if you have a Bible, I so encourage you to find Ephesians 2.10 and put a big star by this verse. 00:13:22.240 --> 00:13:27.519 Because it is a radically joyful experience of the relational part of a foundation. 00:13:27.679 --> 00:13:30.000 I want to read that, if they can bring it up on the screens. 00:13:30.080 --> 00:13:31.360 And there it is. 00:13:31.679 --> 00:13:44.080 For we are God's workmanship created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. 00:13:44.799 --> 00:13:46.559 In the relational sense. 00:13:46.799 --> 00:13:48.559 I just want to look at a couple words there. 00:13:48.720 --> 00:13:51.200 It says that we are God's workmanship. 00:13:51.360 --> 00:13:53.919 You and I, He made for a purpose. 00:13:54.240 --> 00:13:57.840 Individually, intricately, intimately, He made you and I. 00:13:58.000 --> 00:14:00.480 And He said, This is my purpose for you. 00:14:00.639 --> 00:14:02.480 And that it's in Christ. 00:14:02.720 --> 00:14:05.519 We begin to discover that when we go all in. 00:14:05.600 --> 00:14:08.480 What you saw in baptism this morning is a beautiful example of that. 00:14:08.559 --> 00:14:09.600 We're saying, you know what? 00:14:09.759 --> 00:14:11.200 I don't need the religious Jesus. 00:14:11.279 --> 00:14:15.200 And I've tried the self-help thing, but I get overwhelmed and I can't control it. 00:14:15.600 --> 00:14:16.799 I want to know the real Jesus. 00:14:16.879 --> 00:14:18.320 I want to know this personal relationship. 00:14:18.480 --> 00:14:23.840 When I get to that, one of the best ways I can describe it is my friend Terry. 00:14:24.000 --> 00:14:25.679 He was a neighbor and he's still a friend. 00:14:25.759 --> 00:14:28.480 He started a business and we've walked through a lot together. 00:14:28.720 --> 00:14:33.919 But I'll never forget him telling me the story of when he was younger and growing up. 00:14:34.159 --> 00:14:36.000 He and his twin brother and his dad. 00:14:36.159 --> 00:14:39.279 His dad said, My dad always had a car he was working on. 00:14:39.519 --> 00:14:45.360 And he would get one out of the junkyard, have it towed to our house, and then we'd piddle with it. 00:14:45.519 --> 00:14:46.720 And we would fix it. 00:14:46.960 --> 00:14:49.759 He said, I didn't realize what I was learning was not normal. 00:14:49.840 --> 00:14:50.799 It was just normal for us. 00:14:50.879 --> 00:14:56.480 We'd go out after dinner, we'd tinker with the car, and we'd do the upholstery, we'd do this, that, and the other, and we'd work on it together. 00:14:56.559 --> 00:15:05.360 And he says, once we got it back to pristine condition, we'd drive it for a week or a month, but then he'd sell it and get another car. 00:15:05.600 --> 00:15:07.440 And we'd just work on it and tinker on it. 00:15:07.600 --> 00:15:10.320 He said, I never had any idea what that really meant. 00:15:10.559 --> 00:15:14.960 He says, but then I got married and then I got a car. 00:15:15.279 --> 00:15:17.840 And he says, Dude, you've got to drive this car sometime. 00:15:17.919 --> 00:15:19.679 And he and I went down and said, I want to see it. 00:15:19.840 --> 00:15:21.919 And I think the name, I think he named him Gloria. 00:15:22.240 --> 00:15:23.519 He says, You got to see Gloria. 00:15:23.759 --> 00:15:28.080 And I'm like, now you know you're a car guy if you're naming cars, all right? 00:15:28.320 --> 00:15:29.600 And he showed me Gloria. 00:15:29.840 --> 00:15:34.720 It was a 1965 Pontiac GTO convertible. 00:15:34.960 --> 00:15:37.919 And okay, there's some car people here, alright. 00:15:38.240 --> 00:15:41.120 And it was in pristine condition. 00:15:41.279 --> 00:15:42.960 I mean unbelievable. 00:15:43.200 --> 00:15:45.360 Better than factory condition. 00:15:45.519 --> 00:15:49.840 And he had restored this car literally from a heap in a junkyard. 00:15:50.000 --> 00:15:55.039 He had pulled out in the original, he had hand stitched the interior back together. 00:15:55.200 --> 00:16:04.159 He had pulled the engine out, completely pulled it apart, and he had literally calibrated the compression in each cylinder so that it was perfect, better than factory. 00:16:04.399 --> 00:16:09.120 He goes, dude, he says, Next time you take Heather on a date, you gotta take Gloria. 00:16:09.279 --> 00:16:12.159 And I'm just like, whoa, no, no, no, no, no. 00:16:12.559 --> 00:16:15.679 Well, I'll tell you why I didn't want to, but I'll tell you that I did. 00:16:15.759 --> 00:16:19.519 And Heather and I, we got it one night, and she said, Oh, this is kind of cool. 00:16:19.600 --> 00:16:20.960 And she, I said, You want the top down? 00:16:21.039 --> 00:16:21.600 She goes, Oh, yes. 00:16:21.679 --> 00:16:24.480 So we're driving, we went down to the Cheesecake Factory in Buckhead. 00:16:24.879 --> 00:16:31.120 And as we're driving down, if you know that part of Atlanta, you know it's a very, I mean, the governor's mansion's there, very nice part of town. 00:16:31.360 --> 00:16:36.399 Very nice cars driving up and down the road, Mercedes and Bentley's and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. 00:16:36.480 --> 00:16:41.200 And it didn't matter because every light we came to, people were just staring at us. 00:16:41.759 --> 00:16:49.039 And after about two or three lights, my precious wife, who's not a car person, she's like, why do people keep looking at us? 00:16:50.080 --> 00:16:53.759 I'm like, oh, honey, they're not looking at us. 00:16:54.559 --> 00:16:56.159 They're looking at the car. 00:16:56.240 --> 00:16:57.360 And she's like, really? 00:16:57.759 --> 00:16:59.120 She said, but it's old. 00:16:59.279 --> 00:17:01.919 And I'm like, I know. 00:17:02.799 --> 00:17:06.319 And I said, you can buy those cars if you have enough money. 00:17:06.480 --> 00:17:08.319 You can't buy these cars. 00:17:08.559 --> 00:17:11.519 We pulled up to the cheesecake factory and went to valet it. 00:17:11.599 --> 00:17:13.680 And the guy literally said, Oh, hang on here. 00:17:13.839 --> 00:17:15.920 And I started again, he says, hey, stay there. 00:17:16.000 --> 00:17:17.279 I'm not valeting this. 00:17:17.440 --> 00:17:18.960 And I'm just thinking, what? 00:17:19.759 --> 00:17:24.640 And and literally he got some cars out of the way, and here's the door. 00:17:24.880 --> 00:17:25.680 He moved back. 00:17:25.759 --> 00:17:26.559 He says, Come here. 00:17:26.720 --> 00:17:29.119 And he pulled it right next to the door. 00:17:29.440 --> 00:17:32.480 And he put cones all the way around it. 00:17:33.680 --> 00:17:36.559 And he said, he said, dude, it'll be here when you get out. 00:17:36.640 --> 00:17:45.440 And I was like, just that time, one of the one of the Atlanta Falcons pulled up in an NSX and the doors fly open. 00:17:45.519 --> 00:17:49.119 And he literally got out, almost didn't even acknowledge the valet. 00:17:49.200 --> 00:17:49.839 He walked right over. 00:17:50.000 --> 00:17:52.960 He goes, dude, you have to sell me this car. 00:17:54.079 --> 00:17:55.599 I'm like, I can't do that. 00:17:55.680 --> 00:17:57.519 He goes, No, I mean, you have to. 00:17:57.759 --> 00:17:59.440 He says, I've been looking for one of these. 00:17:59.519 --> 00:18:06.160 Now, if you see the Dallas Cowboys pants, it's that kind of steel, blue, silver, that's what color it was. 00:18:06.240 --> 00:18:07.920 And it was just stunning. 00:18:08.079 --> 00:18:09.359 And he goes, You don't understand. 00:18:09.440 --> 00:18:12.079 I've looked for one of these cars my whole life. 00:18:12.319 --> 00:18:14.960 And now that I am where I am, that's the car. 00:18:15.119 --> 00:18:17.359 He said, I'll trade you right now. 00:18:18.319 --> 00:18:20.079 And I'm like, dude, I can't do it. 00:18:20.160 --> 00:18:20.640 It's not money. 00:18:20.799 --> 00:18:22.160 He's like, Well, you give me his number. 00:18:22.400 --> 00:18:23.680 I have to have this car. 00:18:23.839 --> 00:18:25.119 And it was just one of those. 00:18:25.200 --> 00:18:29.680 And the reason why I did not want to drive it, and Terry finally talked me into it. 00:18:29.839 --> 00:18:32.240 I'm like, dude, I can't drive this car. 00:18:32.319 --> 00:18:33.920 And he goes, why not? 00:18:34.240 --> 00:18:35.440 He said, It's a great car. 00:18:35.519 --> 00:18:37.279 I'm like, no, it's it's phenomenal. 00:18:37.359 --> 00:18:39.519 I said, but what if somebody hits me? 00:18:39.599 --> 00:18:40.640 What if I wreck? 00:18:41.680 --> 00:18:43.200 I would be terrified. 00:18:43.279 --> 00:18:43.920 What would I do? 00:18:44.079 --> 00:18:45.599 And Terry just went, really? 00:18:46.240 --> 00:18:47.599 And I'm like, yeah. 00:18:48.000 --> 00:18:51.279 He said, then I'll fix it again. 00:18:52.400 --> 00:18:54.720 And I'm like, oh. 00:18:56.640 --> 00:18:57.279 Yeah. 00:18:58.559 --> 00:19:05.920 Okay, now I wasn't driving just crazy with it, but I'm just thinking, I that gave me such freedom at that point. 00:19:06.240 --> 00:19:15.279 And here's the point, and the reason I share that story, if you look, you can flip over just a page or two to Philippians chapter 1, verse 6. 00:19:15.839 --> 00:19:18.799 Because here's what happens in that relationship with God. 00:19:18.960 --> 00:19:29.359 It says that being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. 00:19:30.000 --> 00:19:32.000 He's the master craftsman. 00:19:32.400 --> 00:19:38.400 Now, if if I could put it this way so simply that this is one of the things I love about this place. 00:19:38.880 --> 00:19:41.119 You don't come here fixed up. 00:19:41.359 --> 00:19:42.640 You don't come here perfect. 00:19:42.799 --> 00:19:45.279 Some of you are, most of us are not. 00:19:45.920 --> 00:19:48.079 We come with our junk. 00:19:48.319 --> 00:19:49.599 We come broken. 00:19:49.839 --> 00:19:54.160 We come and Jesus goes, Yeah, come on in. 00:19:54.240 --> 00:19:58.319 And this is a phrase I heard when I was a young teenager and I've never forgotten it. 00:19:58.480 --> 00:20:04.880 Jesus loves you 100% exactly the way you are right now. 00:20:05.680 --> 00:20:09.519 But he loves you too much to let you stay that way. 00:20:09.920 --> 00:20:12.319 Because he is the master craftsman. 00:20:12.559 --> 00:20:17.200 And he has a plan that he's put into motion before you even knew about him. 00:20:17.440 --> 00:20:20.720 And he says, I want to craft you into who you were meant to be. 00:20:21.039 --> 00:20:22.799 And I'm I'm good. 00:20:23.119 --> 00:20:23.680 I'm good. 00:20:23.839 --> 00:20:30.880 I just, and until I come back or you die, I'm gonna work until completion, till you are everything I made you to be. 00:20:31.279 --> 00:20:35.920 See, that's when we lay that foundation of saying, God, that's what I want from you. 00:20:36.079 --> 00:20:38.640 That is that is who you are. 00:20:38.880 --> 00:20:42.720 You're the craftsman, you're the potter on the clay. 00:20:42.960 --> 00:20:48.720 It gives such freedom to know, but God, what if I mess up and I ding up the fender of my life? 00:20:48.960 --> 00:20:51.599 He's like, I'll fix you again. 00:20:52.240 --> 00:20:54.000 Because I'm with you. 00:20:54.559 --> 00:20:56.480 I'm not just for you, I'm with you. 00:20:56.640 --> 00:20:57.839 Now here's the amazing part. 00:20:57.920 --> 00:21:05.519 It always blew my mind that I could know God, the creator of the universe, keeps everything in order, the smallest and the biggest, that I could know him. 00:21:05.759 --> 00:21:06.559 That's amazing. 00:21:06.720 --> 00:21:15.839 But what literally exploded my cranial was when I realized that the God of the universe believes in me. 00:21:17.200 --> 00:21:18.799 That blows my mind. 00:21:19.119 --> 00:21:23.680 That he not only believes in me and you, but he says, You're amazing. 00:21:23.920 --> 00:21:24.960 I made you. 00:21:25.200 --> 00:21:35.119 And I've got this incredible opportunity for you to be successful and significant in a way that you will be full. 00:21:36.000 --> 00:21:38.720 But it's only gonna happen when you do it with me. 00:21:39.359 --> 00:21:45.920 Now, that part, that foundational part, I get and I love, and it's awesome. 00:21:46.799 --> 00:21:51.519 The part that I struggle with is the next decision. 00:21:51.920 --> 00:21:59.599 Because in life, we are going to have circumstances we don't expect, environments that are not optimal, people that come across. 00:22:00.160 --> 00:22:07.200 Path and they don't do what they should or we think they should or they should have done and we bear the burden of that. 00:22:07.440 --> 00:22:12.400 The second decision I have to make is that to properly handle frustration. 00:22:12.640 --> 00:22:16.079 Not only a foundation, but what happens when I get frustrated? 00:22:16.240 --> 00:22:17.599 What happens when it doesn't work out? 00:22:17.759 --> 00:22:26.240 Because the truth is, if you're a self-help person, that success may be empty down the road, or it just doesn't work out. 00:22:26.319 --> 00:22:30.880 I get success and I get everything I thought I wanted, and it's not what I I really need. 00:22:31.359 --> 00:22:32.400 I'll give you one example. 00:22:32.480 --> 00:22:38.400 I've got a good buddy who's a very successful, owns a shoe company that if I told you the name, you would know it. 00:22:38.480 --> 00:22:47.039 And uh he didn't get married until later in life, but he was successful, and he is successful in many measures, but it wasn't enough. 00:22:47.359 --> 00:22:48.640 It's not enough. 00:22:48.880 --> 00:22:50.480 And so he just thought, you know what? 00:22:50.559 --> 00:22:55.039 I've been this, I'm a little bit later in life, but so this isn't filling that part. 00:22:55.119 --> 00:22:56.559 I I guess I need to get married. 00:22:56.720 --> 00:23:00.799 So he came up with a list of the perfect woman, and he found the perfect woman, and they got married. 00:23:00.880 --> 00:23:01.759 And guess what? 00:23:01.920 --> 00:23:09.279 She's a woman, and they're illogical and emotional, and it just it doesn't matter how perfect the list, he's like, Well, Emma. 00:23:09.680 --> 00:23:11.599 And we had lunch, I said, How's it going? 00:23:11.680 --> 00:23:13.119 And he's like, Oh, it's good. 00:23:13.279 --> 00:23:14.240 And I'm like, Really? 00:23:14.319 --> 00:23:15.519 And he's like, No. 00:23:15.680 --> 00:23:18.240 And uh I said, give me an example. 00:23:18.319 --> 00:23:28.079 He goes, Well, all I can say is if you're a person, you ask a question that you don't want an answer to, expect an answer you don't want to hear. 00:23:29.359 --> 00:23:32.319 And I said, You said that to your wife? 00:23:32.480 --> 00:23:33.599 And he said, Yeah. 00:23:33.920 --> 00:23:36.400 I said, Well, how's that working out for you? 00:23:37.200 --> 00:23:38.799 He's like, not so good. 00:23:38.960 --> 00:23:49.440 And I just like, see, because what what brought him success in the business world doesn't work in the relational world in a marriage, and and the self-help isn't working. 00:23:49.680 --> 00:23:52.799 And the truth is, is that no matter how much we love it, say, you know what? 00:23:52.880 --> 00:24:03.119 If I only have kids, and kids are gonna be great, and that's gonna bring me fulfillment, and they do, but that's not gonna have the significant effect apart from knowing God and seeing the perspective. 00:24:03.279 --> 00:24:11.599 Because kids, they're they're take, take it to the extreme, they're not gonna be exactly what we expect, the way we expected. 00:24:11.839 --> 00:24:22.480 I love walking out here and seeing the new babies and seeing the parents, and they have this half zombie, half-smile look, you know, just like it's the greatest thing of my life. 00:24:22.559 --> 00:24:23.359 It's awesome. 00:24:23.519 --> 00:24:26.799 You know, just it's just awesome. 00:24:27.599 --> 00:24:32.319 But we can't just tough it through that and find significance. 00:24:32.480 --> 00:24:34.000 We can't just tough it through. 00:24:34.160 --> 00:24:36.400 And then there's the next part of the religious part. 00:24:36.480 --> 00:24:50.000 It it what happens is if we decide when we get frustrated to just try harder, put in powerful effort, if I just do all of the rules in the entire book, then God has to bless me. 00:24:50.240 --> 00:24:58.400 What happens is we start praying at God and we start going, well, I'm doing everything right, and you are not acting the way you're supposed to. 00:24:58.559 --> 00:25:00.880 You are not giving me what I want. 00:25:01.279 --> 00:25:06.400 And it becomes this adversarial, frustrating religious pain. 00:25:07.440 --> 00:25:16.880 But in a relationship, when we start seeing the fact that these laws were not meant to be implied except through a relationship. 00:25:17.119 --> 00:25:19.200 It's not just the law for the law's sake. 00:25:19.279 --> 00:25:20.640 We've got to get to the personal side. 00:25:20.799 --> 00:25:23.680 Let me give you an illustration of what I love in the personal side. 00:25:23.839 --> 00:25:30.480 Once you know the person, the law may seem like I don't understand the law, but when we get to the personal side, it makes sense. 00:25:31.039 --> 00:25:32.559 Heather and I went to Boston. 00:25:32.720 --> 00:25:34.000 I had a couple shows in Maine. 00:25:34.160 --> 00:25:36.400 We went to Boston a couple days early and we're driving around. 00:25:36.799 --> 00:25:37.599 I love Boston. 00:25:37.680 --> 00:25:38.400 It was awesome. 00:25:38.559 --> 00:25:41.599 And I love seafood and I love clam chowder. 00:25:41.839 --> 00:25:44.240 I had clam chowder three times in the same day. 00:25:44.319 --> 00:25:45.680 It was awesome. 00:25:46.319 --> 00:25:47.599 Yes, for breakfast. 00:25:47.759 --> 00:25:48.400 I did. 00:25:49.200 --> 00:25:54.240 But we went to this one place and I couldn't help but over here, the table next to us, they're like, Can I take your order? 00:25:54.319 --> 00:25:55.440 And they're like, Do you have clam chowder? 00:25:55.519 --> 00:25:58.799 And then it's like, it's Boston, of course we have clam chowder. 00:25:58.960 --> 00:26:03.680 And the lady said, I would like some tom, do you have a tomato-based clam chowder? 00:26:03.759 --> 00:26:05.920 And the waiter said, Of course not. 00:26:06.079 --> 00:26:07.680 And she goes, What do you mean, of course not? 00:26:07.920 --> 00:26:14.160 He said, It is against the law in the city of Boston to have a tomato-based clam chowder. 00:26:14.240 --> 00:26:15.759 And I just went, What? 00:26:16.160 --> 00:26:19.359 And and she just kind of looked on and he goes, No, I'm serious. 00:26:19.599 --> 00:26:20.400 She said, Really? 00:26:20.480 --> 00:26:25.119 And he walked away, and our waitress came up and I said, Was he just like messing with her? 00:26:25.279 --> 00:26:27.200 And she goes, Oh no, it's a law. 00:26:27.440 --> 00:26:31.200 It is illegal in the city of Boston to have a tomato-based clam chowder. 00:26:31.279 --> 00:26:40.880 And I'm like, that makes no sense until you understand the foundation, the relationship of it. 00:26:41.119 --> 00:26:44.160 Boston, does anybody know the baseball team in Boston? 00:26:44.640 --> 00:26:45.920 The Red Sox. 00:26:46.319 --> 00:26:48.960 And they are a big deal in Boston. 00:26:49.119 --> 00:26:53.519 And I asked the waiter, I said, why can you not have a tomato-based clam chowder? 00:26:53.599 --> 00:26:56.720 He says, because that is Manhattan clam chowder. 00:26:56.799 --> 00:27:00.160 And Manhattan is in New York, and we hate New York. 00:27:01.920 --> 00:27:09.680 So they passed a law that said you can't have anything that refers to New York in the city of Boston. 00:27:09.839 --> 00:27:13.039 I'm like, that's the coolest law ever. 00:27:14.079 --> 00:27:24.799 Once you get the personal side of it, but I can tell you that in this life, as life hits us and as circumstances hits us, we will get frustrated. 00:27:24.880 --> 00:27:28.480 But I want us to see what God says about this frustration. 00:27:28.640 --> 00:27:31.599 It is a trigger for us to make a fundamental decision. 00:27:31.759 --> 00:27:35.839 Is it to just buck up little camper and keep going? 00:27:36.160 --> 00:27:40.240 Is it the the idea of the our society is so messed up? 00:27:40.319 --> 00:27:45.680 It's it's all we're gonna do is spend time trying to avoid frustration and anxiety. 00:27:45.920 --> 00:27:49.519 If if that's the self-help side, and it will always hit. 00:27:49.759 --> 00:27:59.599 I'll give you just my fun example of this, just that we have tried to avoid anything that's pained, anything that's frustration, anything that's overwhelming. 00:27:59.759 --> 00:28:02.480 Even in the schools, the schools drive me crazy. 00:28:02.640 --> 00:28:06.240 Um, I was in this one school up north, and their mascot was the commandos. 00:28:06.559 --> 00:28:10.319 And it was like the commandos army guy with a rifle and bayonet. 00:28:10.480 --> 00:28:15.839 Well, it became politically incorrect to have a rifle and a bayonet for a commando, I guess. 00:28:16.000 --> 00:28:19.200