From Rome To Us: Why Planning, Giving, And Praying Shape A Life That Matters

Want a life that isn’t ruled by the latest fire to put out? We walk through Paul’s plan to reach Rome on the way to Spain and uncover a simple framework you can use right now: plan with clarity, give with joy, and pray before you move. Paul doesn’t drift; he names a destination, counts the cost, and takes the next faithful step. That alone speaks to a culture living in constant emergency mode. When you know where you’re headed, decisions get simpler, distractions lose power, and you finally feel traction.

We also press into generosity as worship. Paul celebrates believers who were pleased to help the poor in Jerusalem, not out of guilt but gratitude. That vision stretches beyond money to time and talent. Think of the everyday gifts you carry—skills in the kitchen, a willingness to serve, the patience to teach—and how they can bless others when laid before God. Acts 2 shows what happens when a church shares: hearts grow glad, needs are met, and people are added daily. Open hands don’t run empty; they make room for grace.

Finally, we return prayer to its rightful place: first, not last. If the apostle who wrote much of the New Testament asked for prayer, how much more should we? Prayer isn’t a wish list; it’s where our hearts align with God’s will, where detours become divine appointments, and where courage to act takes root. Put it all together and you have a practical rhythm for the next year: define your destination, plot the steps, give wildly, and pray your way forward. Subscribe, share this with a friend who needs a reset, and leave a review telling us the first step you’re taking this week. What’s your destination for the next 12 months?

Chapters

• 0:00 Paul’s Travel Plans And Purpose
• 3:40 Why Planning Beats Living In Crisis
• 10:40 Counting The Cost And Setting Steps
• 17:20 Detours To Rome And A Bigger Plan
• 22:30 Joyful Giving As Worship
• 31:10 Money, Time, Talent: What We Owe
• 38:30 Being The Church That Shares
• 45:00 Start With Prayer, Not Last
• 52:00 Aligning With God’s Will

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:00

I usually have an intro. Kick it off in verse 22. And Paul says this is the reason why I have so often been hindered from coming to you. But now, since I no longer have any room for work in these regions, and since I have longed for many years to come to you, I hope to see you in passing as I go to Spain and to be helped on my journey there by you, once I have enjoyed your company for a while. Alright, now, really, in order for us to really dive into that, we have to remember what was happening last week and remember as Paul was talking, he was talking about how since he sees Jesus for who Jesus is, he's been just going around preaching from Jerusalem to Illicrum. And in other words, this huge region of people where Jesus has not been proclaimed. Right? And now he's writing to the Romans and he's sitting here going, hey, I've always wanted to come see you. Like my plan from the beginning has to be come to see you. Remember, this is not a church he planted. This isn't like he knows all of these people here. He just knows them by reputation. He does know a couple of people, because we'll see that next week in his final greetings, but it's not sitting here going, he has this like deep personal tie. But what he's saying here strikes very clear, and he's saying, I plan to come see you. Now this is hugely important because if you do not plan for your life, you are never gonna get where you are going. Ever. You are a leaf just blowing in the wind, just going into one situation after another. I'll tell you right now, and I know my kids are tired of hearing this saying, but this is one that comes up a lot in our household. People don't plan to fail, they fail to plan. And again, you know, I prayed a couple weeks ago. I don't know if anyone caught it, especially at the end of service. Like, God, give me a book. Okay, I just I just feel like I haven't been reading enough. I haven't been like building up my mental capability enough. I've just kind of been like putting out this fire and this fire and this fire and this fire, and I've really had no direction in where I wanted to go personally. So this book I'm reading is written by a former Navy SEAL, and he's talking about like in chapter one, the Battle of Vermont. And if you're not familiar with that, it was at like the very beginning of the war on terrorism and all of that, and and think what you want to about the war. I have my own thoughts too. But he's talking about how his SEAL team element went from one building to another, and then there was a Marine element and an Iraqi element that were like going to the same building, and neither one of them knew that the other one was there. So the SEAL element sees one of the Iraqi soldiers at night. All he sees is someone that is not an American troop holding an AK-47, and before he really identified who was that, he just took action, right? Because if sometimes if you wait, you die. Well then the marine element that is with them is going, we're being fired on by insurgents. So the marine element takes up a position and they start firing back. Well, then the SEALs are now feeling like, hey, we're getting fired at, so they start firing back too. And before you know it, the marine element is now calling in tanks and artillery and an airstrike where they're just gonna sit here and bomb this building, drop the whole building because they're they're getting this fierce um attack. Well, luckily, this comes out on the on the radio, and the SEAL commander winds up going to the call and he goes, Hold on, those are my SEALs in there. See, both of these teams have been fighting each other without even knowing it. And they're on the same team. So he goes through what happened, and he ultimately ends with this I'm the commander here, this was my fault. I should have been more clear in my directions, I should have known where my SEAL team element was. I should have known all of this was going on, but because I didn't plan the way I should have, we almost lost an entire SEAL team. And think about that. Some of us, this is how we live our life. We have no control over our life because you're not actually living your life, you're just surviving your life. One situation pops up and you handle that, and then before you're even done handling that, another situation has popped up. And you have no end goal in life, therefore, how are you ever gonna get there? Like if I just walked out, I was like, all right, let's go. How many of you would be able to find me? Maybe one or two of you, and that's only because you know I'm going to hook up the boat and you know where I'm gonna be fishing at, right? But the vast majority of you are gonna be like, I have no idea where this guy went. How does he want me to get there? But see, that's how most of us live our life. We have no plan whatsoever. And Paul is sitting here and he's telling the Romans, hey, this is my plan. Now that I've finished up this stuff, now that I'm done with this, here's the next thing I'm going to do. Some of us we need to understand plans happen in steps. You can't just jump to step 13, because that's not how it works. You gotta handle steps one through 12 first. And what Paul is doing is he's putting that into practice, and he's not even the only one in the Bible that tells us that. In fact, in the words of Jesus himself in Luke 14, Jesus says this for which of you desiring to build a tower does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it. Otherwise, he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish. All who see it begin to mock him, saying, This man began to build and was not able to finish. Think about this. You you plan to build a tower. You have no plan on how to finish it, though. You have no idea if you even have enough resource to finish it. Y'all do know that there is an entire YouTube channel dedicated to the I-4 ISAR. Like, and we can laugh and joke about that because we've all drove by it for the past, what, 40, 50 years now? And it's still not complete. Think about this. But this is how some of us live. We're just gonna kind of navigate through this and we're gonna survive life without ever actually living life. How are you ever gonna get to where you are going if all you do is make day-by-day decisions based on where the biggest fire is. See, some of us, that's that's it. We're just in emergency mode 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and then you wonder why you're tired and you haven't gone anywhere in life. Because you're sitting here going, oh no, no, no, I just I just gotta put food on the table. I just gotta be able to pay my mortgage, I just gotta keep the lights on, I just I have to do what I have to do. And understand, you will always be in that position then. If you never stop and go, hold on, where do I want to go? Because I'm telling you, if you can answer that question, if you can sit here and go, this is where I want to end up, how I get there becomes a very easy question. Think about it. Like, is it really hard for your phone? Because Lord knows none of us read maps anymore. But is it really hard for your phone if you type in an address and then go click, go? Is it hard for your phone to be able to go, okay, here's how you get there? No. It just goes, hey, here's the road you take to get there. The same is true for your life. If you can stop and go, here's where I want to be, working backwards to figure out how to get there is actually super easy. And then all you have to do is actually have the discipline to do it. Sometimes understand it's not gonna be an overnight thing. Like, I and this is always my illustration because it works so well. Because let's be honest, we put on weight a lot faster than we lose weight, right? I mean, Thanksgiving's coming up, and I'm not gonna lie. My dad one year gained 10 pounds on Thanksgiving. Yeah, that's crazy, right? Like, that's a whole lot of turkey and stuffing. Now, do you think he lost 10 pounds on Black Friday? No, he didn't. But see, that's how it works. You there will always be an emergency. There will always be something blowing up around you. And if you're arrogant enough to sit here and go, I'm the only one that can fix this, you have a bigger problem. That's why Jesus in Matthew 6 says this don't worry about what you will eat, don't worry about what you wear. Because your father in heaven cares for the birds of the air and the flowers of the field, but seek first the kingdom of God, and all these things will be added to you. In other words, stop looking at the temporary here and now. It may suck for a second. If you've ever like started your own business, at first it sucks. Like it is just you and you have to do everything. But as the business grows, hopefully you did it right and you've put yourself into a position where now you have other people to help you along and do the things. But it'll never happen like that if you don't have a plan for it to happen that way. If all you're doing is sitting here going, hey, I gotta get it done, it will never, ever get that way. See, Paul has a plan here. And his plan is this I'm going to Rome now. Spoiler, and Paul doesn't get into it in the letter to the Romans, but he does in the book of Acts. Does he get there?

unknown: 10:28

Yes.

SPEAKER_00: 10:29

He does. Just not the way he thought he was gonna get there. See, instead of having this nice journey, in fact, if you go back in Acts 20, I think it is, it details what happens to Paul right here. The Holy Spirit tells him, hey, don't go back to Jerusalem, or not don't go back, but understand as you're going back to Jerusalem, some things are gonna happen. In other words, this ain't gonna work out the way you think it is. He's gonna wind up getting arrested, and then Paul, again, being the smart lawyer, Roman citizen that he is, goes, Hey, you can't crucify me here. I'm a Roman citizen. And then Rome, who was in charge of Jerusalem at the time, goes, he is absolutely right. He goes, I want to appeal my case to Caesar. This would be like the equivalent of you get stopped on the way home or on the way to the beach today, right, to celebrate the baptisms, and the cop's going to arrest you because you've been driving with a suspended or revoked driver's license with knowledge, so it's now an arrestable offense, and you're like, no, no, no, no, no, no, I want to go talk to the President Donald J. Trump right now. And the cop's like, okay, you have that right as an American citizen, let's go. Think about this. You are about to get an audience with the most powerful person in the world at this time. That's where Paul. You don't think he had a plan in that? You don't think that Paul's sitting here going, hey, I sit down with Caesar, the head of the Roman Empire, who controls everything from India to the Atlantic Ocean, Africa to England. And I get to sit down and do what? Do you think he pleads his case? He doesn't. You know what he does? He gives a gospel presentation. He sits here and goes, Let me tell you who Jesus is. That's fine, you can kill me when I get done, but let me get this out first. So Paul has a plan. He wants to appeal to Caesar. And then he gets into this next verse and it kind of shifts completely away from what he's just talking about. And it says this starting in verse 26. For Macedonia and Achaia have been pleased to make some contribution for the poor among the Jerusalem. Hold on, what did he say? They were what? Pleased to. In other words, they weren't sitting here going, it's my money. They were pleased to do this. For they were pleased to do it. That's the second time. And indeed, they owe it to them. He's taking it a step further there now, isn't he? Not only were they pleased to give to the poor, they owed it to the poor. For if the Gentiles have come to share in their spiritual blessings, they also to be of service to them in material blessings. When therefore I have completed this and have delivered to them what has been collected, I will leave for Spain by way of you. I know that when I come to you, I will come in the fullness of the blessing of Christ. Did you catch what he just said? They're pleased to give to the poor. Some of us, this is our hard issue right here. Because some of y'all are not pleased to give. Some of y'all are sitting here going, like, nope, this is my money. I'm gonna hold on to it. I got bills to pay. I need food too. And I go and I get that. I do. But I'm gonna sit here and tell you, if you gave and didn't have food, who would make sure you had food? Jesus. And you know how? Because if you were like, hey, I only got 20 bucks, let me give it to you, but I have no lunch money, you know what I'm gonna do? Give you your 20 bucks back. Because it's not about the monetary value. In fact, when Jesus is in the temple and he sees the woman give her two cents, literally like two pennies, what does he say about her in comparison to the Pharisee who's sitting here throwing gold into the giving box? She's the one who gave more. Because she's sitting here going, like, this isn't about me. The Pharisee, when he gives, he walks over and he's like, hey, everyone looking over here, right? Look at all this. I'm making it rain in here. She's quietly going over by herself. She doesn't ask for people to look at her. She's not sitting here going, hey, look what I'm doing. She's going, This is what God put on my heart to give, so I'm gonna give. And I'm gonna be pleased because the Bible tells us that the Lord loves a cheerful giver. If you don't want to be cheerful as you're giving, keep it. I don't want it. Because I'm gonna go ahead and tell you right now we don't need it. I get asked a lot, like, why we don't preach about money a lot here. Here's the thing. I preach what the text is giving me. We teach what's called expositionally, which means we're just gonna start in verse one and we're gonna run it through the end. And we do it that way so we don't miss anything. I'll tell you right now about 25% of Jesus' ministry is about giving. You guys know what we're what book we're starting after we are done with Romans and Matthew. So we're gonna be learning about what Jesus said. So do you think I'm gonna talk about it? If the text does, we have to. And let's be honest everything here costs money. We printed Thanksgiving flyers, right? Because we want to feed people in our community. Those flyers costed money. We have a building that we get to meet in. This building costs money. Some of you like the lights being on, right? That costs money. Yeah, if it were up to me, we would be meeting in a field somewhere. Usually around water. Like, I have no problem going, hey, I'm gonna just preach from the boat because that's I can make a biblical argument for that. How many of you are in the like mood to wake up? Like, some of us, let's be honest, we have a hard time getting here at nine on a Sunday. What if I was like, hey, we're heading out to Edgewater? And then you're gonna have to find a way to get from this island to this island because this is where we're gonna service at. We would lose a lot of our congregation, right? Francis Chan, and whether you like him or not, is immaterial. But they had a problem at the church he was pastoring. They were growing too much, and they kept running out of room and running out of room and running out of room. So they they meet together as an elder board and they go, okay, what's our plan? Okay, because we have to have plans moving forward. And of course, what do you think the majority of the elders came up with? What? We just need a bigger building, we just need more seats. Like we just need to be able to continue to grow. And Francis Chan went, No, here's what I want to do. I want to build like an outdoor stadium with no roof. And his elders were like, Well, that's stupid. What happens when it rains? Or it it snows, or it's blazing hot. And here was his response. Every Sunday you turn the TV on, you see an outdoor stadium with no roof, and you see these people in a sold-out stadium watching a game. And they'll sit there in the snow and they'll sit there in the rain, and they'll sit there when it's blazing hot out, but they won't do it for the word of God, they won't do it for Jesus. And you know what old Pastor Francis Shand did when his elder board went, We're not doing that. Because we're not the NFL and we're not gonna try to compete like that. He literally, he didn't even get fired. He literally went, if you guys aren't onto this, deuces, I'm out. Because he went, if this isn't about our heart and giving, what is it about? This isn't about our comfort. This isn't about like how comfortable we can make ourselves. Where in Jesus' ministry do you see Jesus seeking comfort? In fact, when when the rich young ruler comes to him, Jesus even tells him, Foxes have holes and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head. What is Jesus telling him? Look, bro, I'm homeless. You want to come follow me? You want to do the things I'm doing? Here's how I'm doing it. Get on board and let's go. And the rich young ruler gave away everything, right, and followed Jesus? No. What'd he do? He went away sad for he had great possessions. Because some of us have heart issues, and I'm telling you right now, those heart issues are what keep you from giving. And I'm gonna be some of us in this room are not givers. Some of you are, but some of us aren't. Like you give nothing. And what Paul is sitting here saying is, hey, these people I've already visited, these people I've already preached to, they were pleased to give. And you know why they were pleased to give? Because they went, we owe this. This is who we are. Look at what Jesus has given me. Why do I want to hold on to this? Because Jesus gave it to me for a reason. And if I want to share in the spiritual blessings of Jesus, then I need to be material blessings to others. Understand this: if you are in Christ, you have received far more than you will ever give away. And I don't care how many zeros come on the back of that check. Because you owed a debt that you could never repay. And let's think about it like that. Like, how many of you like in Christ when I have been perfect since I've been in Christ till now? How many of you were perfect from your wake-up alarm this morning till you got here today? How many of us have been perfect even while I've been up here for the past 18 minutes preaching? And yet Jesus goes, hey, come on in. Look what you've been given. And that's what Paul is sitting here saying, that they owed it. We were made right with a righteous God through the death of Jesus, and we owe a debt that we would never be able to pay back. And don't get me wrong, giving is more than just money. You guys luck out. You really do. Hear this very carefully. Everyone in this room, you luck out. You know why? Because we have a school that pays for almost everything here. That's why I don't have to stand up here and beg. However, that shouldn't negate our giving either. Because I can tell you right now, we have a what we call a zero net in our budget. Which means at the end of the year, everything that comes in goes back out. And I'm gonna tell you right now, you didn't see me rocking a brand new 2025 Raptor in the parking lot, right? Like any one of you been on my, you know, 25-foot contender dual 250s? No? It ain't going out and just pay. That ain't how we roll. We sit here and go, there's a whole community out here that needs us. I was talking with um someone during the barbecue and they were telling me how much Del Tona needs Jesus. So does that need have to do with monetary things? Yeah, it does. You know what else it has to do with? Your time. Your talent. Because some of you in this room understand you bring something to the table that no one else in this room does. I get to hear from my wife and kid all the time about how Joe's cooking is the best that they've ever had. It hurts every time. As I'm sitting here slaving, trying to just keep up with them. And I go, and if he's not doing that for the glory of God, what is he doing it for? Why? Just so we can be fatter? Like, I'm looking around the room, doesn't look, and none of us in here look like, hey, you know, we we couldn't afford to skip a meal. Like, and this is what I'm seeing. Like, what about our time? I'll tell you right now, these people that were up here singing for you this morning, leading you in worship, they have spent hours this week. We had to get here even earlier today because they were not content with how much practice they had during the week. Like they they've been singing for almost an hour before you guys started showing up, people that get here on time at 8:30. And some of you are like, wait, service is at nine. Yep, but you can show up earlier than that too, and you can actually talk to each other. I know it's crazy to think that we could have fellowship with one another, you know, and not just walk in at, you know, 9.10 and go, okay, well, let me just take and then I'll leave as soon as service is over. I know it's a crazy idea, right? But we can give of our time too. Go and and and that's what he's talking about. These these people up here that have been singing, it has been hours. Bailey is literally sitting here going, hey, I'm learning a new instrument so that I can be up here and do this. Let me ask you, what have you given? What have you spent at all this week, whether it was your time, money, or talent, to bring glory to Jesus? And that's what Paul is driving at. It pleased them. And make no mistake that giving is a form of worship. Why did it please them? In their giving, they are worshiping Jesus because they see the treasure they have, and they're sitting here going, everything I have is it you could have back. There's a song River Valley Church, I think, sang. And in it, in the chorus, it goes, It's your breath in my lungs. So I pour it, I forget how the words go. Huh? I pour out my praise. Understand by me singing to Jesus, I'm just giving Jesus what he already owns. Remember last week we talked about the rua and the pneuma and God breathing his breath into us, and that's what makes us alive. So when I give that back to Jesus, am I giving him something that he didn't give me? We started decorating for Christmas yesterday at the house. And I know some of you are like, it's not even Thanksgiving. We have a lot of yard stuff that we decorate, so every year, you know, we have to go through and fix things that broke the year before. So, as my daughters are out there in the sweltering sun yesterday, which, if we would have just waited two days now that I think about it, it would have been much better because then it would have felt like Christmas, right? But as we're going through it, I was explaining to my daughters that um for two years straight, I had a part-time job at one of these little roadside places that sold. You guys know the wire deers that light up? Like they sold those. So my job at this part-time place was not a salesman because I don't know if you know this or not, but I would make a terrible salesman because I would be like, You want to buy this? No? Okay. Do you want to buy this? No? Okay, and I would just keep going. I'm not trying to pressure you. If you don't want to buy it, don't buy it. Let's keep going. Dust off your feet, go to the next town. That's from the Bible, right? But anyway, my job was to actually put all of the lights on these reindeer. And that's what they were working on yesterday. And I was like, it's crazy because there's like a like pattern you have to use so that you don't wind up with 15 extra feet of lights or a reindeer that has no lights on its head, right? So you had to follow this pattern. And and Kayla goes, Do you still remember that pattern? And I was like, Well, chick, I was like 16 when I did this. No, I don't remember what the pattern was. And she goes, Oh, but that was at uh, and and she names this company that I worked at. And I was like, No, no, no, that was a different company. And she was like, Well, what'd that company do? And I was like, Well, you know, when you were in school, and it was like you bring in a dollar twenty-five and you get 19 presents, you know, for mom and dad and everybody, because it's just like the holiday shop. I don't want to call them out, but they're cheap presents, and that's why you can get everybody a present for five bucks. She's like, Oh yeah, with your money. And I was like, Yes. I am so glad you realized that because that has a deep theological connection to what I'm gonna be preaching on. Because when you went to the store and I got stuff with my money, did you get me a Christmas present? Yes, you did. But just with my money. It is the same thing with Jesus. When I am giving back to Jesus, that Jesus has already given me. Am I giving? Yes. But who did it cost? Jesus, not me. And when we start looking at it like that, we can start to see church completely different. Like raise your hand if in the past like two days you have told someone, hey, I can't, I have to go to church. No one? Okay, either you're not having gospel conversations with people. Thank you. Now, understand if we were talking to like a friendly disciple and we were like, hey, I have to go to church, they would be like, what? It would be the same thing as saying, like, if you were like, hey, I have to go to family instead of go home. And see, and when we understand that the church isn't this, this is part of what being a follower of Jesus is. The church, though, is us coming together to worship. And giving is a form of that worship. And you guys hear me say this every single week if you're paying attention. We love you, we thank you, and we cannot do this without you. Understand if it was only me and Debbie in this room, would I still stand up here and do this? I would. Why? Because these are the conversations we have at the house. And it starts with like just a little question, and next thing you know, I've been talking for like three hours, we're up way too late, and Debbie goes, I just needed a yes or That was all I was asking for. And I went, but you can't just have it like that. Like you need to understand the intricacies and how this and this flow together. And it's because of this and this and this. But understand, we wouldn't be able to have anything moving forward. I can't run the sharing center and teach your kids. I can't teach your kids run the sharing center and prepare my messages. I can't record podcasts and teach your kids and run the sharing center and prepare messages. I can't do counseling and like you guys see how this stuff starts stacking up, right? That's why we sit here every week and go, we can't do this without you. Because things will fall through the cracks. And usually I'll tell you, it's the things I don't want to do. Like plan events. I will be up here at whatever time you want to start getting a fire going and cook food. I absolutely love doing that. I don't want to plan how everything's going to look, though. Even when we barbecue, you know who plans when the food comes off and goes on? That would be Joe. I have no problem burning the crap out of my hands and singeing all of my arm hair, playing with fire, but I'm not going to write down what time we put the chicken on. Like I go, no, let's just do it, and then we'll figure it out as we, you know, go along, right? Because I have no plan. Like I was just preaching. But sitting here and understanding in Acts 2 what happens when we all get on the same mission? What happens when we all actually come together and see this the way the Bible does? It says this, starting in verse 44. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. In other words, we're all on the same team. We all understand the message and we're all moving as one unit. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all as any had need. In other words, they were pleased to be giving. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts. In other words, they weren't afraid to give of their time to be with one another. Praising God and having favor with all the people. And here's the natural outcome of that. And the Lord added to their numbers day by day those who were being saved. You want to know how to reach those people that are far from Jesus? Do the things Jesus told us to do. And day by day, the Lord was adding to their numbers. Why? Because they were being the church. They were being the light and the darkness. They were being the city on the hill. People were sitting here going, there's something different there. This isn't just the same old rhetoric of follow the law and everything. They're sitting here going, hey, no, like this is who we are. And we're going to do the things that God has put in front of us. Everyone coming together to push the gospel out, giving money, giving time, and giving their talent, and the outcome is simple. Jesus saves. See, if we do the things that Jesus has told us to do and we just let the Holy Spirit be the Holy Spirit, understand the only outcome is this: people will be hardened or people will be saved. Those are the only two possible outcomes. And if they're hardened, what do we do? Dust off your sandals, keep on going to the next one. Because it's not your job. That's the job of the Spirit, not me, not you. And then Paul finishes this section with this in verse 30. It says, I appeal to you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God on my behalf, that I may be delivered from the unbelievers in Judea, and that my service for Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints, so that by God's will I may come to you with joy and be refreshed in your company. May the God of peace be with you all. Amen. Paul ends this section with this simple thing. Pray for me. You know why we start every service the same way? Like, do you have any prayer requests? Because we really, really, really believe that there is a power that comes with praying to God. And that should be the first place we start when in fact, for most of us, it's our life effort, right? For most of us, we we really only pray when we are out of ideas and nothing else seems to be working. For most of us, by the time you come to me and go, hey, can you pray for me? This has been going on for weeks, months, years. And now all of a sudden, because nothing else is working, it's like, okay, well, let me try this prayer thing. What would have happened if you'd have started with prayer? And I'm not saying that everything would have worked out perfect in the way you wanted it to from the start, but what would have happened had we started with prayer and then went forward with it? Would you even be in the situation? And I don't know because I'm not Jesus, but I do know, most of us, this isn't what we start with. Understand who's writing this down, though. Right? The author, right? Paul. Let's just like kind of recap some of the stuff that Paul's been able to do. Paul has been to the third level of heaven. Anyone in here? Like most of us, the closest we would get to that would be like some shrooms or LSD, right? Ain't no one in here been to the third level of heaven. Anyone in here, do you like carry a handkerchief or something in your pocket? And as you're walking by people, it just happens to fall out, and it has enough like spiritual power left over on it that as people are like grabbing it to hand it back to you, they're being healed? None of us? No? Okay. Um, anyone in here, like, have you raised the dead? Like, have you been like preaching late at night and someone fell out your window, hit the ground, and died? You walked over, looked at them, went, nah, they ain't dead, they'll be back up in a second, and then they walked back into the room? Just close. Like anybody in here, like, have you wrote half of the New Testament? Alright, so so we can all come to the honest conclusion that as far as the faith is concerned, Paul is a beast in comparison to any one of us, right? Like, Paul's got this. Again, if there's someone that I think doesn't need, hey, can you pray for me? It's this guy. He apparently has some kind of direct link. Like you guys remember Nextel? You know, I think him and Jesus share that. Because his stuff gets answered. Casting out demons, doing all sorts of things. And yet his first thing is, hey, can you guys pray for me? Remember, I told you at the beginning, right? In Acts, we see what's happening, right? He's going back to Judea. There are people in Judea who are already currently plotting to have him killed. That's why he's sitting here going, hey, can you pray for me about this? The Holy Spirit's already laid it on me. I know bad things are coming, but can you pray for me? Because I know that without prayer, I don't stand a chance against the forces of darkness. And I get it. I was not raised super spiritually. I was raised in a good Baptist church that had great theology, and I could tell you a verse that went with anything you could bring up. But if you were like, hey, could you pray for me? I'd be like, um, cool, like, bow your head, close your eyes. Like, let's pray. Because my faith and my strength were in my ability and my knowledge. And if I encountered a demon, man, I've been shooting since I was like three. Now, I don't know if my everyday carry would be enough to kill a demon. I doubt very seriously. I could buy like a demon scope for my AR that would allow me to see them, and then buy special like blessed bullets that would allow me to kill them. I don't think that's how it works. Has not been. We could do some experiments maybe this week. If anybody wants to go shooting and demon hunting, maybe we could buy an enchanted sword. JT showed me some anime stuff that you know, there's a whole demon slayer thing, and you just learn certain fighting, what is it, poses. But that's where my strength is laid. As things have come against me, I go, no, here's what the Bible says. But now I'm telling you, what I'm seeing here is totally different because Paul, this guy who definitely could have used scripture, I mean, he's trained by Gamelmeel. Camelmule, or however you say his name. The greatest teacher of their time. I think he knows what the Bible says, but yet what does he go to? Pray for me. How many of us, how many of us are calling our brother or sister during the week and going, hey, can you pray for me? How many of us, like you're at work with with someone else and you're like, hey, you know, I know you're a believer, can you pray for me? How many of us start our day with prayer? Like how many of us are open, and and this is something like my day starts with the weather. Since like I was 18, right? Because I started working construction right at 18. And if you've ever worked construction before and you wake up and you see that it's like a 80% chance of rain, what does that mean for you? Yeah, you get a day off. So you're already sitting here going, okay, I'm gonna drive to the job site. I'm gonna, you know what, I'll just hook the boat up with me because I know by the time to the job site, they're gonna be like, We're calling it for the day, and that way I can just shoot right over to the water. I get a whole day to go fish now. Because I will fish in the rain, but don't ask me to work in the rain, right? But see, what happens is so I would check the weather every morning. You know what? I'm reaching for my phone before I'm reaching for my savior. So I went, I had to make a conscious effort to like slap my left hand because my phone's right here, every morning to tell my mind, no, before you reach for that, you need to pray. And and you know what? My morning prayers are not super deep. I don't know if you've ever seen me first thing in the morning. I don't have a lot of words for you. Like, usually it's like 10 o'clock before your kids are getting like the real education that they deserve because I haven't woke up fully yet. And I go, but I still start with prayer. And my day always ends with prayer. And throughout the day, I'll catch myself going, hey, you know what? I should say a little prayer. You know why? Because to add the theology and verses to it in John 14, 14, which we looked at a couple of weeks ago, Jesus says this if you ask of me, if you ask of anything in my name, I will do it. Now, prayer, understand this, isn't a cosmic wish list, right? I'm not like sending my Christmas list to heaven and hoping Jesus gives me everything that's on there. What prayer does is it allows my heart to come into line with God's will. That's why Paul ended with, if God wills, I will be there, because what can stop the will of God? Nothing. Think about it. Like when Jesus spoke, let there be light, light didn't have the chance to go, I don't feel like shining. There was light. When God spoke and said, Let the dry land come forth, the water couldn't hold it back. It had no choice. And so if I want to have real power in my life, why would I not want to align my heart to the will of God? Because the will of God will be done no matter what. And if I don't start with this, why would I like why would I even think that I have a chance at this? You men that are in our text thread. That's why when you're like, hey, can you pray? I don't ever respond with, yeah, I'll pray for you. You know why? Because that red notification on my phone's gonna go away, and I'm gonna forget that you even said anything. So what I'm gonna do is at that moment, stop and pray. And most of the time I'm gonna send I'm like as I'm typing that out, I am praying what I am typing. Because that's what you asked for. Sometimes I'll even follow up with you if I remember. Because again, the red notification went away, and as far as I'm done, that conversation was good. But think about how many of us live life like five. Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the spirit. You want an easy life? Here's how you do it: rejoice, give thanks, and pray. Most of us, we don't. Most of us complain, gripe, and ignore God. And then we wonder, because we have no plan for our life, we don't give anything to anyone, why our life looks like it does. You're miserable and happy because you're a miserable and unhappy person. You don't have to stay there, though. You can choose to go, hey, I'm gonna rejoice. In all circumstances. In fact, in Philippians, Paul would say this rejoice. Again, I say, rejoice. Remember when you were younger and your parents told you twice? What happened on the third time? That was it, right? Right across the head. Some of you are messing around with Jesus. He's like, I already told you twice. Again, I say, rejoice. You know what comes on the third one? Fine. You want to be miserable? Be miserable. Some of you hate your life because you choose to hate your life. You understand being miserable is a choice, right? You understand like your life looks the way it looks because you have no plan and you have not made any different choice, right? You want different in your life, do different. Change one thing, and I promise there will be change in your life. And you're like, well, what if the change isn't good? Then change something else. 80% of Americans hate. Maybe you. You know what you don't have to do? Go to your job. You know what you have the ability to do? Change your job. You're not happy, go somewhere else. And I'm not sitting here going, chase happiness. Because guess what? You're gonna take that same miserable attitude to a new company. Guess what? You're gonna be there too. Miserable. Miserable. And then you're like, well, it's the job, it's the job, it's the job. At some point you gotta go, hold on. Is it me? Like if you've been through eight places and you still ain't happy, it may not be everywhere you go. And that's why Paul is sitting here going, I'm gonna start with prayer. And I'm telling you right now, as your pastor, I promise you this: test Jesus on this. And let me know that Jesus failed you. And don't come to me and go, well, you know, I asked for, you know, a Bugatti and I wound up with a Maserati. I guess Jesus failed me. You got a car, don't you? But it's not the one I wanted. That sounds like a personal issue, then. See, as we close today, the the the action is simple. Plan, give, and pray. That's it. If you already listen to the podcast, you already remember PCP. Now just remember PGP. Papa Golf Papa. If you really want to look at it that way. Plan, give, and pray. Look over your next year. Because, guys, here's the deal. I know some of you are in this, like, it's not even Thanksgiving, how dare they start selling Christmas stuff? I get it. Some of us are weird. We don't understand how the spirit works. Thanksgiving isn't known as the wonderful time of the year, right? But think about it like this. What comes after Christmas? New Year's. So, in about a month and a half, here's what's gonna happen. Whether you say it out loud or you're just thinking it in the back of your mind as other people are telling you what their plan is for the next year, you're gonna sit here and go, over the next year, I. Does anybody know how many New Year's resolutions make it past January 31st?

unknown: 48:30

25%.

SPEAKER_00: 48:30

25%. About 75% of all New Year's resolutions are done by January 31st. That's why if yours is I'm gonna go to the gym every day, understand the month of January is pretty packed. But come February, it's the same old, same old, right? But here's what I'm telling you. You don't have to wait till December 31st to go, hey, I want a new plan. You can sit here today and go, hey, here's how I want my life, and a year from now, here's what I want my life to look like. That's called a plan. And I'm telling you, if you can come to this is where I want to be in a year from now, you come back to me, I can tell you very easily, okay, well, let's sit down and talk about this. How can you get there? Maybe it requires getting a degree, maybe it requires moving, maybe it requires all of these things that you may be fearful of. But if you don't do the things that you're afraid of, what does that mean for your faith? So plan. Over the next year, give wildly. Stop hoarding for you. You're not a squirrel. Give. Jesus would tell you this: it's better to give than to receive. Think about it. You got in about a month and a half, right? What's your favorite part of Christmas? Is your favorite part the presents you're gonna open? Or is your favorite part watching your kids? Joe, what's your favorite part of barbecuing? It ain't eating your own food. It's watching everyone else eat. It's seeing the smile, and oh my god, this is the most delicious thing I've ever had. And apparently Debbie and JT think that about Joe's cooking anyway. Tom's magic hands. It's sitting here for those okay. Raise your hand if you like. Tom's magic hands are touched by Tom. It's for a bakery. It's not like anyway. It's sitting here watching that, right? Well, you can't giving that. So plan, give. And honestly, pray. Pray. Some of us, I'm gonna tell you, the only workout you need to hit this year are knees. Just do squats. And I don't mean like that. I mean squat down on your knees and literally prostate prostate yourself. Not prostate. Wrong word. What is it? I heard it over here. That word. That word. Lay down on your face and go, Jesus, I can't do this without you.

unknown: 51:32

Wonderful.

SPEAKER_00: 51:33

Some of you, I mean, you're like 45 minutes away from taking that first step of faith. And what I'm telling you is don't stop there. There's more and more and more. And it's a beautiful and a wonderful thing. Don't look at it as things you have to do. Look at it as things I get to do. Because I'm telling you, the joy comes from watching. And we can't do that if we're not planning, giving, and praying. So, Father, I ask and I pray that God, your people in here that you just grab a hold of their heart. That Father, you just sit here and you go, hey, you know what? We're done. At this point, we're done. You've tried it your way long enough. Now you're gonna do it my way. And God, I just ask for transformation. I just sit here and I go, God, these anyone in here who who is struggling to plan, I ask that you give them a plan. If they're struggling to give, I ask that you turn their heart to be a giver. Father, if they're if they're struggling to pray to you. God, just make them so dependent on you. Father, we ask and we pray that we just be transformed. That we look more like you. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.