What's Your Problem?

I'd like to welcome everyone to Bridge Gospel this morning. I'm really glad that you're here
with us. I'd also like to welcome everybody who's watching online that may be away. I pray that God
blesses your travels, and we're looking forward to seeing you when you get back. And I believe
that God will bless you right where you're listening. I'd also like to welcome anyone
who's a first-time guest. I know it can be a little strange to visit a new church, but we just
want to make sure that you are comfortable, have some coffee, make yourself at home, and we'd love
to get to know you. So I just have a couple of announcements. Women's ministry is going
to be starting up this week. We have a, hallelujah. Actually, we were shocked. It made the newspaper
in Apache Junction here. Somebody brought that to my attention this week. I was like, wow,
that's amazing. So we have a couple announcements for that. First of all, we have the Bridge for
Women. It's going to be a gathering on Tuesday, September 8 at 645. It'll be right here. There's
going to be a speaker and an opportunity just to make some friends. That is an important part
of our life. Amen? So I encourage you ladies to come out for that. And the other announcement
we have is we are having a fruits class. And what this class is about, it is about the nine
fruits of the Spirit. And those are things that we want operating in our life. We want
to operate with patience. How many of you have tried the other thing, not operating with
patience, right? So we know that these fruits are things that we want to get moving in our
life. So the whole purpose of this class is to give you guys some practical tools and
just to be a source of encouragement and say, you know, these fruits are from God. They're
for you and they will help you live a better life. So they're there to benefit us. So we
want to get that in there. Sign up is required. It's on the website, bridgegospel.org slash events.
Amen. So I'm going to pray for the offering. We're not going to pass a bucket or put anybody
on the spot. We got a box in the back. You can do your thing. Or you can go give online
with a little R2D2 box there. And if you write a check, just make sure you write it out to
Two Rivers Church. They're the ones that helped us get started here. So I'll pray for the offering.
Dear Heavenly Father, we thank you for the ways that you care for us and provide for us.
We thank you for wages, bonuses, gifts, and source of increase that you bring into our
life. And we thank you for the opportunity to give back, to lay up treasures in heaven.
And we know that it may leave our hands, but it never leaves our life. In Jesus' name. Amen.
Hallelujah. So today's sermon is, we're going to be in Matthew 25. The title of my sermon today
is, what's your problem? This will be fun. Amen. So as you make your way to Matthew 25,
you know, there's a man in the Bible that most of us would rather not talk about.
And he didn't commit adultery. He didn't murder anyone. He didn't worship a false god. He didn't
rob the poor. And as far as we can tell, he was careful. He was responsible. He protected what he was
asked to protect. And yet Jesus calls him wicked. And what did this man do? And it seems like he did
nothing. And, you know, maybe that's not quite true. Because if we look at what Jesus says,
he really didn't do nothing.
So starting at verse 14, it says,
For it is like a man going on a journey, so Jesus is telling a parable here,
who summoned his slaves and entrusted his property to them.
To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, each according to his ability.
Then he went on his journey. The one who had received five talents went off right away
and put his money to work and gained five more. In the same way, the one who had gained,
the one who had two gained two more. But the one who had received one talent went out and dug a hole
in the ground and hid his master's money in it. After a long time, the master of those slaves came and
settled his accounts with them. The one who had received the five talents came and brought five
more, saying, Sir, you entrusted me with five talents. See, I have gained five more.
His master answered, Well done, good and faithful slave. You have been faithful in a few things.
I will put you in charge of many things. Enter into the joy of your master.
The one with the two talents also came and said, Sir, you entrusted two talents to me. See, I have
gained two more. His master answered, Well done, good and faithful slave. You have been faithful with
a few things. I will put you in charge of many things. Enter into the joy of your master.
Then the one who had received the one talent came and said, Sir, I knew that you were a hard man,
harvesting where you did not sow and gathering where you did not scatter seed. So I was afraid.
And I went and hid your talent in the ground. See, you have what is yours. But his master answered,
evil and lazy slave. So you knew that I harvest where I didn't sow and gather where I didn't scatter?
Then you should have deposited my money with the bankers. And on my return, I would have received
my money back with interest. Therefore, take the talent from him and give it to the one who has ten.
For the one who has will be given more, and he will have more than enough. But the one who does not
have, even what he has will be taken from him. And throw that worthless slave into the outer darkness,
where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Whew! It does not end well.
So what did he do?
What could possibly be so serious about a man who simply cared for what was entrusted to him
and brought it back to his master? Because apparently, returning what he was given
wasn't enough.
See, when the master came home, he had every penny.
So why does Jesus call him wicked?
You see, here's the deal.
We all have something, right?
You see, the master entrusted this to him, and that's stewardship.
And a steward doesn't own the thing. He doesn't own anything.
A steward has been entrusted with the thing.
Five talents, two talents, one talent.
And Jesus explicitly said to each one according to his ability.
So right up front, we're seeing that they don't receive identical deposits.
But I think he's also teaching that our equal worth does not mean equal stewardship.
You see, someone might have more money than us.
Someone might have more education than us.
Maybe they have more influence.
Maybe they have more time on their hands than us.
Maybe they have abilities that we just, we don't have.
That's not the question.
The master never condemns this one talent servant for not being the five talent guy.
The issue is what he did, what was entrusted to him.
Now, for most of my life, you know, I've been a business guy,
and I've seen so many ups and downs in people's life.
You know, I saw hardworking people get, like, aerospace patents,
and they went bankrupt.
And then I saw these, like, cryptocurrency kids that were, like, next to me at our data center.
Like, they became millionaires.
And none of it made sense.
But it taught me that we don't always get to choose what happens to us.
But what happens to us doesn't automatically get the final word
about what our faithfulness should look like.
You see, stewardship asks the question,
what am I doing with what God put in my hands?
And we see the five talent servant, he went out,
and he started doing something.
He traded.
The two talent servant did the same thing.
But verse 18, it says,
And this is the revelation I think that's easy to miss in this story,
is that he didn't simply fail to act.
He took action to prevent action.
You see that?
And I circled in my Bible,
he went, he dug, he hid.
He went, he dug, he hid.
You see, buying money was a very common thing people did.
Sorry, burying money was a common thing people did to keep it safe.
You know, you couldn't go down to the Wells Fargo, right?
Hey, I want to, you know, store this at the bank.
It was, they had banks, but it wasn't like that.
So a lot of people would bury their money.
And I think that's a fascinating detail,
because he did not choose chaos.
This isn't a prodigal son that ran off and blew it.
But he chose to care for it.
But here's the problem.
He chose a strategy that was most likely to guarantee
that when the master came back,
nothing would have changed.
Do you see it?
He expended all this effort to make sure that nothing happened.
He went, he dug, he hid.
And the problem wasn't that he protected his master's property from danger.
The problem was that he protected his master's property from purpose.
And sometimes our biggest stewardship failure can be the capacity
that we spend resisting change.
You know, it takes a lot of energy to walk around the elephant in the room.
You know, it takes energy to prevent having an uncomfortable conversation.
It takes a lot of energy to just manage consequences, right?
Instead of confronting what's going on
and having an uncomfortable conversation.
And I think the question that this story puts before us
is how much of my life and how much of our lives have we spent
making sure that nothing happens?
Avoiding the conversation.
Avoiding the risk.
Explaining why we're not responsible.
You know, we all think in ways that lead to us getting off the hook.
You ever notice that?
So sometimes our bigger stewardship failure is not, you know, losing.
It's resisting change.
It's resisting the risk.
And some of us, we get tired not because we've been building,
but because we've been digging.
We've been burying.
And, you know, maybe that's something that you learned growing up
or you learned it on the street or wherever it was
and you got this mentality to have no value
of what God could do in your new life
and no belief that God would do anything.
And that's what's being exposed in this story.
And it's so easy to land in that place.
And I've been there myself.
And through deception and disappointment and discouragement,
here we are, right?
And you can come to a place where your excuses are bigger than your dreams
and they're bigger than the calling that God has on your life.
There's another encounter with Jesus that has just always fascinated me.
It's in John 5.
And it says,
Now a man was there who had been disabled for 38 years.
When Jesus saw him lying there
and when he realized that the man had been disabled a long time already,
he said to him,
Do you want to become well?
The sick man answered him,
Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up.
When I'm trying to get into the water,
someone else gets there before me.
You ever watched Cops?
The officer walks up to the car.
Dave, you're laughing.
You're a cop.
You know.
The officer walks up to the window.
And he says,
Do you know why I pulled you over?
And all of a sudden,
Oh, this is my friend's car.
It's not stolen.
And this is my friend's backpack.
And I'm bringing it to his cousin
because he left it at my aunt's house.
And these are my friend's pants.
And I was at his house.
And I don't know what's in the pockets.
And I had two beers two hours ago.
And I swear to God,
there is definitely no drugs in the car.
Right?
And this explanation is getting longer and longer.
And it's trailed off into all these things.
And the officer is just kind of,
uh-huh.
And he's looking around.
And the camera zooms in
on the five empty beer cans.
And the little zipper bags.
And the scale.
And then you're sitting there.
Like, this was a yes or no question.
And somehow,
we're getting this whole story.
Now, let me be fair to this guy
in John 5.
Jesus asks him a very simple question, right?
Do you want to be well?
And the man answers,
not with yes,
not with no,
but a big explanation.
Sir, I have no one to put me in the pool.
And you know,
that explanation could be completely true.
And the Bible doesn't say he was lazy,
that he was lying.
It doesn't say that,
you know,
he just liked suffering.
Those are us.
That's us reading the text
and bringing that to the story, right?
But Jesus,
he doesn't even argue with his explanation.
You know,
Jesus didn't walk up.
Well, why are you still here?
He asked,
do you want to be well?
And sometimes,
we can have an explanation too.
And it might be true.
Right?
Some people may really have failed you.
You may have really gotten hurt.
You may have really been overlooked.
You may really have lost out on opportunities,
maybe decades of your life.
We're not denying any of that.
But Jesus has this incredible way
of cutting through
the explanatory structure.
It's a good Sunday morning word, right?
The history,
the reasons,
the circumstances,
the story, right?
Where you came from,
what they did,
how they didn't love you,
the disappointment,
the discouragement,
the things that happened.
And Jesus can acknowledge all of it,
but still get to the question
that really matters.
And that's what happens now.
And there comes a point
in the pain and disappointment
where explaining
why you are where you are
is not a substitute
for obedience
about what happens next.
Verse 8,
it says,
Jesus said to him,
stand up,
pick up your mat,
and walk.
And immediately,
the man was healed,
and he picked up his mat
and started walking.
Hallelujah.
Now,
back to Matthew 25,
our third servant.
You see,
the first servant,
he brought results.
The second servant,
he brought results.
And the third servant brought
an unknown caller.
Hallelujah.
He brought an explanation.
And he said,
Master,
I knew you to be a hard man.
Sounds familiar, doesn't it?
And then finally,
he goes on,
and he says,
I was afraid.
There it is.
There it is.
It's his fear
that dug the hole.
And fear has this weird way
of sounding right.
It has this weird way
of picking up
religious vocabulary.
You know,
fear can call itself
wisdom,
and discernment,
and waiting on God,
and contentment,
and all these things.
But what it comes down to
is when the master
showed up,
the talent is still
in the ground.
And the master,
he doesn't even accept
the excuse
on its own terms.
He's like,
if that's something
you really believed about me,
you could have done something.
Right?
You know,
we had this saying
when I was in business
that you can't cash excuses.
And we have to be careful
that sometimes we may say,
well,
I'm waiting on God.
And there's times to wait,
but oftentimes,
more than not,
there's times to move,
and times to act,
and time to go.
And waiting can be obedience.
But sometimes we're waiting
until I know
this is going to work out.
Or maybe we're waiting
for someone else
to kind of taste the mushroom
and go out there first
and see how it goes, right?
Or maybe we're waiting
until the fear goes away.
Maybe we're waiting
until we have enough money,
or maybe we're waiting
until this,
whatever it is
that God called us to,
doesn't cost us anything.
And sometimes we're really
not waiting for direction.
We're waiting for it
to become convenient
and cheap and certain.
Now, I believe that God
has entrusted something
to every person in this room.
Not the same thing,
not the same capacity,
the same talents,
or the same opportunity,
but I believe that God
intends to accomplish things
through each and every person
in this room this morning.
Because God is faithful.
But we have to be careful
and think about everything
that we've accumulated
to explain, you know,
well, why isn't now the time?
Why shouldn't I do this yet?
Why shouldn't I give yet?
Why shouldn't I obey yet?
Why shouldn't I at least try yet?
Why shouldn't I take the next step?
And, you know,
what I've discovered in my life
and all the questioning
and waiting and wondering
that I've had is that,
you know,
we're not really trying
to establish whether
or not God is in it.
We're trying to establish
that it's not going
to cost us anything.
We want to know
if it's going to work.
And, you know,
there's this other thing
that sneaks in.
Sometimes along the way
we've picked up this idea
that somehow if God
is really in this,
it should be easy.
That, you know,
the people will just show up
or the money will just show up
or the opportunity
will just show up
and the doors will swing open
and you'll build it
and they will come
and let me tell you
that is not how God
has worked in my life.
My goodness.
You know,
I've had things that
were very hard
that I knew
that God was in it.
There were a lot of things
that cost me
that God was in.
There were things
that took years,
decades,
that I knew
that God was in it.
and I've had doors
closed in my face
when I knew
that God was in it.
How about that?
And I've had to change direction.
I've had to admit
that I was wrong
and I've had to keep going
when the thing
that was in front of me
didn't look anything
like I thought.
But don't be deceived.
Difficulty is not proof
that God is absent
and ease is not proof
that God is present.
You see,
sometimes obedience
costs something
because it costs Jesus
everything.
Paul says in Galatians,
I have been crucified
with Christ.
It's no longer I who live
but Christ who lives in me.
So I don't pray
that my life will be easy.
I pray that God gives me
the opportunity,
the faith,
and when that opportunity
comes that I will be found
faithful.
because what I want
and I hope what you want,
maybe what you want
is that certainty
to know the outcome
before we start
to have God
exactly lay out
the whole thing
and what it's going to cost us
before we say yes
and to have him guarantee
that everything's going
to turn out perfect,
that we're going to get
a return on our investment,
that our business
is going to work out
or whatever it may be.
But I'm telling you
that's not faith
and that's not trust.
That's a contract.
You see it?
And maybe you're thinking,
well, what if I move
and I get it wrong?
I think that paralyzes
a lot of people
and I think that's
a great question
and I think what's
behind that question
is a desire to honor God
and to follow God.
But I want to show you
a story in the Bible.
It's in Acts 16.
It's talking about
the Apostle Paul
and his journeys.
It starts in Acts 16,
verse 6.
It says,
They went through
the region of Phrygia
and Galatia,
having been prevented
by the Holy Spirit
from speaking the message
in the province of Asia.
When they came to Mysia,
they attempted
to go to Bithynia,
but the Spirit of Jesus
did not allow them
to do so.
So they passed through Mysia
and went down to Tros.
A vision appeared
to Paul during the night.
A Macedonian man
was standing there
urging him,
come over to Macedonia
and help us.
After Paul saw the vision,
we attempted immediately
to go over to Macedonia,
concluding that God
had called us
to proclaim
the good news to them.
You see that?
Paul and his team
were already called
to preach the gospel.
I mean,
God literally appeared
to Paul with an audible voice
and called him.
And then they went to Asia.
Then they went
this other way.
No.
Now these were not
like 20 minute detours
like, hey,
I went to Fry's
and they didn't have
the hot sauce I wanted
so I had to drive
all the way over
to Walmart
and I had to walk.
No.
These are hundreds
of miles.
They would have been
traveling on foot.
Would have taken weeks.
Maybe months.
Walking.
Stopping.
Crossing the desert.
Sleeping in some weird town.
Getting up.
Going again.
No air conditioned car.
No rest stops.
And somewhere in the middle
of all that movement,
God says,
well,
not that way.
So they changed direction.
And imagine that feeling
of going all those miles.
The cost of the traveling.
The fear of being kidnapped
or held for ransom.
The fatigue.
And then God,
well,
not that way either.
And they kept moving.
Until finally,
God called them
to Macedonia.
You see,
God is perfectly capable
of directing people
who are in motion.
Amen?
You know what?
I would rather start moving
and start doing something
and moving in a general direction
and have God direct me
and I'd rather faithfully
just try something sometimes
and discover,
well,
maybe this wasn't the thing.
But I would rather have to seek
that correction as I go
than to spend another decade
asking God,
well,
is this going to work?
Are people going to like show up?
I don't have a decade to waste.
I don't have a year to waste.
I don't have a day to waste.
And I'm not telling you
to be reckless.
I'm telling you to pray,
to know scripture,
to seek wisdom
and listen to counsel.
Count the cost
and test your own motives.
But the Bible
has already given us
so many things
that he's called us to do.
To reach the world,
the great commission,
to serve our neighbors,
to love our neighbors
as ourselves.
And we don't have to,
we don't have to run
our daily life
waiting for a special
revelation for that.
I can go love my neighbor.
I don't need God to,
well,
you should go love
your neighbor today.
You should go make him
a casserole
and you should walk
that thing over there
and knock.
I don't need him
to do that, right?
I believe it
because it's written.
You see,
God doesn't have to give us
the whole itinerary
before we can leave
the driveway.
You know,
he called Abraham.
He said,
go to this foreign place.
Okay.
And then we ask
these questions.
I've asked these questions.
Here's my list of questions.
Where are we going?
How long is it going to take?
Who's going to be there?
How is it going to turn out?
What if it doesn't work?
What if I fail?
Can I get a confirmation?
Can I get another confirmation?
Can we stop at Taco Bell?
Get in the truck.
God can talk to you
on the way there.
You know the two-thirds
of God's name is go.
G-O.
D.
And,
and,
and,
amen.
And I don't mind
getting tired.
I know all about tired.
I don't want to get tired
digging a hole.
Amen.
And I don't want to spend
the little bit of time
and energy
that I have in this life
digging a hole
to bury the thing
that God called me to.
I know obedience
can be hard.
And I know it can be heavy.
And I know it's going
to cost something.
And I know I don't have
all the time in the world.
But if I'm going
to get tired,
I'm not going to get tired
digging a hole.
I want to get tired
of building the thing
that God called me to build.
Serving the people
that God called me to serve.
Going to the places
that God has called me to go.
Loving my neighbor
as myself.
I want to get tired
doing those things.
My last point is
there is something to build.
Exodus 31
says,
The Lord spoke to Moses.
See, I have chosen
Bezalel, son of Uri,
the son of Hur
of the tribe of Judah.
And I have filled him
with the spirit of God
and skill,
in understanding,
in knowledge,
and in all kinds
of craftsmanship
to make artistic designs
for work with gold,
with silver,
and with bronze,
and with cutting
and setting stone,
and with cutting wood
to work in all kinds
of craftsmanship.
Moreover,
I have also given him
Oholiab,
son of Elishamash,
of the tribe of Dan,
and I have given ability
to all the specially skilled.
I'll stop there.
Why does God put all this
in one man?
You know,
so Bezalel can discover
his strengths.
So he can, you know,
go take a spiritual gift test.
Well, I'm an E-N-J-Q-X-H,
so I'm obviously anointed
by God, right?
No.
There's a reason
that all of this
has been deposited
in his life,
and that's because
something needs to be built.
It goes on,
the second half of verse 6
says,
that they may make
everything
that I have commanded you.
And here's all the things.
He's going to build
the tent of meeting,
the ark of the testimony,
the atonement lid
that's on it,
all the furnishings of it.
This is our project,
and it is multidisciplinary.
You see,
his capacity
has met a problem,
and his calling
is what tells
that capacity
where to go.
And the deposit
that God put
in his life
has an object.
It has a target.
It has a goal.
And I'm here today
to ask you,
to ask you
an important question
and to think about
everything that God
has spoken to you
or put into your life
or gifted you with.
What is your problem?
Not what's wrong
with you.
What's your problem?
What is the problem
that God has deposited
the materials
in you
to solve?
And I think
that breaks down
to three questions
that we've seen
in these scriptures.
What can I do?
And that's a question
of capacity.
What can I do?
I am not a dentist.
No, you're not.
Glory to God.
What needs to be done?
That's a problem, right?
What needs to be done?
But then this bigger question
is what has God
actually entrusted me to do?
And that's a question
of calling.
And the place
that all that converges,
go.
And once you begin
to see what God
has put in your hands
and bless you with
and put in your life,
you're the one
that gets to decide
what to do with it
at the end.
But remember,
the master comes back.
Now, just because
you can solve anything
doesn't mean
that God assigned it to you.
And just because
you notice a problem
doesn't mean
that it's yours.
And just because
somebody says
that they need you
does not mean
that God called you.
That's an easy one
to get into.
You see,
some of us,
we don't need
more problems,
right?
Amen?
A lot of nods.
I got 99 problems.
My roof leaks,
my VCR blinks
12 o'clock.
Like,
we live,
we live
in a fallen
world.
But you don't need
every problem.
Amen.
You know how to fix it.
You need your problem.
You need your problem.
What is your problem?
Because not every problem
that we notice
is ours.
Not every problem
that we can wrap
our head around
and solve
is ours.
You see,
capacity is not calling.
Our calling
tells our capacity
where to go.
That means
we can't do everything.
Now,
some of you
in this room
have spent
decades
accumulating things
that God
can make use of.
Knowledge,
wisdom,
experience,
skills,
relationships,
stories,
mistakes that you made
that you learned from,
things that you know
how to build,
things you know
how to fix,
things that you know
how to survive.
Because I know
there are some survivors
in this room.
Amen?
And you may have
retired from your employer,
but you never retire
from the kingdom of God.
And maybe your assignment
is different.
Maybe it's changed.
Maybe you can't work
12 hours,
8 hours anymore.
Maybe you're not
supposed to.
And maybe stewardship
looks like teaching
someone else.
But your final assignment
is not doing everything.
I think it's
making sure
that everything
that God spent
all these years
teaching you,
making sure
it doesn't die with you.
Because the master
is coming back.
Matthew 25,
verse 19,
it says,
You see,
all of us
will stand before
the master
and we'll talk about
what was entrusted
to us.
And I want to impress
upon all of you
the gravity of your life
and the scope
of eternity.
You know,
some of us
maybe have 40 years,
maybe we have four,
maybe we have four months.
I don't know.
Neither do you.
But the question is not
how much time do I have?
The question is
what does faithfulness
look like with the time
that I do have?
You see,
eternity doesn't make
this life meaningless.
It makes this life matter.
And maybe somewhere
another question
has started to bother you.
Because maybe
we've been talking
about so much
about what God
has entrusted us with
that we've talked
about digging it up,
we've talked about
getting moving,
and we've talked
about building
and the master
coming back,
and maybe you're
wondering,
have I done enough?
Have I built enough?
Have I served enough?
Have I given enough?
Have I used
what God gave me
well enough?
And what if
the master
looks at my life
and says,
well,
is it enough?
But if what I'm
teaching today
is produced enough
and accomplished enough
and use every gift
perfectly,
and maybe Jesus
will accept you,
we're all in trouble.
Because I haven't.
You haven't.
Nobody has.
The gospel
is not produced enough
and Jesus
will accept you.
You see,
the one talent servant
is not presented
as someone
who trusted the master
and simply failed
to accomplish anything.
You see,
his actions
and his fear
revealed what he
really believed
about the master.
He does not
trust the master.
He does not
share the master's
interests.
And he refuses
the master's purpose
for what he put
in his life.
So this is not
Jesus saying,
you didn't measure up.
Your return
wasn't enough.
You didn't work
hard enough.
But that buried
talent
says what he believes
about the master.
But the gospel
is that Jesus Christ
has accomplished
what you could
never accomplish
to reconcile
yourself back
to God.
You see,
Christ is the
faithful servant.
And Jesus
did not protect
his life
from costly
obedience.
He gave himself.
He went to the cross.
He bore our sin.
He took our judgment.
He died.
He rose from the dead.
Do you see it?
He,
he,
he,
he,
he.
God did it.
God did it.
God did it.
Romans 8.1 says
there is no
condemnation
for those
who are in
Christ Jesus.
So you don't have
to build your
identity out of
successful outcomes.
You can try
and fail.
You can obey
without knowing
how it ends.
You can start
one way
and have God
close the door.
You can discover
that,
oh,
maybe you
misunderstood
something.
Maybe you
misheard God.
Maybe you need
clarification.
But you don't
need to have
a guarantee
to get started.
You see,
we don't
obey to
become
loved.
We obey
because we're
loved.
And we're not
trying to earn
God's love.
And because
that we're
already secure
in Christ,
we can go.
Amen?
So I have
four questions.
Four invitations,
if you will.
Number one,
what have you
buried?
maybe it was
a skill.
Maybe it was
money.
Maybe it was
wisdom,
a relationship.
Maybe it was
hospitality.
Maybe it was
an apology.
Maybe God has
a whole ministry
idea for you,
an opportunity,
a business you
haven't started.
Maybe something
God has put
something in your
life that other
people need.
Or maybe it's
a responsibility,
a conversation.
I don't know
what it is,
a calling.
Dig it up.
Dig it up.
Dig up the dream.
Dig up the
calling.
Dig up the
thing.
Dig it up.
Number two,
where have you
been waiting
for certainty?
See, there's a
time to learn,
a time to
discern,
a time to
pray.
But Jesus'
disciples,
they were a
pretty unqualified
bunch.
So if you
already know the
next faithful
step,
just start.
You don't need
the whole
itinerary.
You don't need
to know all
the answers.
Just start
moving.
God can talk
to you on the
way.
Number three,
what's your
problem?
Not every
problem.
Not every
need.
Not every
person looking
for you.
what is your
problem.
You see,
our capacity
is not our
calling.
Calling tells
our capacity
where to go.
Number four,
what needs to
be built?
What should
exist because
God entrusted
you with what
he put in
your hands?
Maybe you
build something.
Maybe you
repair it.
Maybe it's a
relationship that
needs fixing.
Maybe you
teach someone.
Maybe you
fund something.
Maybe you
encourage someone
else today.
Maybe you
pick up the
phone and
forgive or
apologize.
Maybe you
finally have
the uncomfortable
conversation.
But if you're
standing, if
you're laying at
the pool, it's
time to get
up.
For whatever
you've buried,
maybe it's time
to dig it up.
And maybe if
you're sitting in
the driveway,
wondering where
God's taking
you, maybe it's
time to start
driving.
And here's the
best news.
The master
hasn't returned
yet.
You're still
here.
I'm still here.
That means
there's still
time.
And you're not
responsible for
someone else's
five talents.
You're responsible
for what he put
in your hands.
So what did
God give you?
And what did
fear bury?
Where have you
been waiting for
things to become
easier?
I want all of us
to spend our
strength on
something that
matters.
And if you're
going to get
tired, get tired
going.
Get tired
building.
Get tired
loving your
neighbor.
And when
the master
comes, I
hope that he
finds us with
our hands on
the things that
he entrusted
us with.
And that the
things that he
gave us didn't
just get hidden
away and buried
in the ground.
And may we all
hear him say,
well done,
good,
and faithful
servant.
Amen?
And if this
is all new
to you, and
if you're
sitting here
thinking, I
don't even
know this
Jesus character
you've been
talking about.
I want you to
hear this.
Your assignment
is not to build
something so you
can get in.
It's not to
discover your
calling.
It's not to
become useful.
See,
Christianity is
not the story
about what you
can accomplish
for God.
It's the story
of what God
has already
accomplished for
you.
You see, it
was Jesus
who died for
your sin.
It was Jesus
who rose from
the dead.
And today,
you can place
your faith and
trust in him
and him alone.
You don't earn
him, you receive
him as the
Lord of your
life.
So if you
don't know
Jesus, today
is the day.
But if you
do know him,
maybe it's time
to dig it up.
Maybe it's time
to get up.
Maybe it's time
to get in the
truck and find
your problem and
start going and
start building and
start doing.
And I pray that
every one of us
is found faithful
with whatever God
has put in our
hands.
Amen?
So dear Heavenly
Father, we thank
you for your
word.
We thank you for
the way that it
guides and shapes
our lives, our
thoughts.
We thank you that
you promise us
many things.
And we know that
all of your
promises are yes
and amen.
And Lord, I
know you love
these people so
much.
And I pray for
revelation of what
you have called
them to, what you
have put in their
lives.
I pray that they
start counting up
the blessings, the
skills, the favor,
the relationships,
the goodness that you
have put into each
and every one of
them.
And I pray that
that sets them
free to do many
great things.
And Lord, I thank
you for each and
every gift, small or
great.
And Lord, I pray for
each and every person
here that the things
that they set their
hands to are successful,
that there is peace and
joy and hope in their
homes, in their workplaces,
lives and every place
they go.
And I pray that your
name may be glorified
through our lives.
And we look forward to
the day where we hear
the words, well done,
good and faithful servant.
enter into the joy of
your master.
And all God's people
said, amen.