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Not What We Do, But What He Does For Us - Immersed Series
31 Plays4 days ago
In this sermon, Ridley Barron preached about the profound difference between what we try to do for God and what God has already done for us. Drawing from 2 Samuel 7 and the story of King David, Barron explores the nature of God’s unconditional promises—specifically the Davidic covenant—and how our salvation is rooted in God’s initiative, not our own efforts or performance. Through practical examples, scriptural insights, and relatable humor, he addresses common struggles with performance-based faith, emphasizing that Christianity is about receiving grace, not earning it. Barron challenges listeners to consider how they use their time, talents, treasures, and testimonies out of gratitude for God’s grace, reminding the church that God’s love and forgiveness are unearned and freely given, and our call is simply to respond and join Him in His work.
Timestamps:
00:00 "How Much Must We Do?"
03:37 God's Message to Nathan
07:59 Prophetic Layering Explained
10:53 "Forgiveness Through Christ's Sacrifice"
14:07 "Embracing God's Grace"
18:25 "Salvation's Beginning and Principles"
22:31 "Sabbath: Embrace Stillness, Hear God"
23:14 Inability to Focus in Modern Society
29:53 "Everyone Has 168 Hours"
30:38 "Strengthening Your Relationship with God"
36:08 Gratefulness, Service, and Humility
38:52 "God: A Cyclone of Purpose"
40:37 Eternal Investments and Reunion
44:40 Invitation to Reflect on Faith
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction to 2 Samuel 7
00:00:00
Speaker
2 Samuel chapter 7 this morning is we're continuing through the journey, page 527 if you are in your chronological Bibles. My wife reminded me this morning that not everybody's falling along in their normal Bible. We can just flip to 2 Samuel 7. So if you got your chronological Bible, you want to turn there.
Life's Hard Questions and Reflections
00:00:16
Speaker
um How many of you know life is full of hard questions? Yeah. How many of you are dealing with some hard questions right now in your life? You know, questions come in difficult seasons of our life, difficult parts of our lives. One of the hard questions that I have dealt with most of my life is this question of how much is enough?
00:00:37
Speaker
How much is enough? You know, you start off as a kid going, okay, what do I have to do to get an A in this class? Or for some of you, is how much do I have to get a D in this class just to get by it, right? um How much do I have to do in order to make the team? How much do I have to do in order to get that Christmas present from my parents that I really wanted?
00:00:56
Speaker
A little bit later, our our values change a little bit, and it's what do I have to do? How much do I have to do to get that girl's attention in the science class that I want to go out with? One of the questions that quite often comes to us, whether it's as believers or nonbelievers, is the question is how much do I have to do for God?
00:01:13
Speaker
How much do I have to do for God? It's a question that comes at different seasons in our life. And today we're going to look at a time in David's life, King David, second king of Israel, a time when he might have been asking that
David's Peace and Desire to Build for God
00:01:26
Speaker
actual question. We're going to start out 2 Samuel 7, beginning in verse 1.
00:01:35
Speaker
It says, When the king had settled into his palace, and the Lord had given him peace. Rest on every side from all his enemies. The king said to the prophet Nathan, Look, I am living in a cedar house while the ark of God sits inside tent curtains.
00:01:50
Speaker
So Nathan told the king, Go and do all that is on your mind, for the Lord is with you. So at this point it says that David ze is at this kind of the season of peace. If you remember the story of David, starts off pretty tough, right? He's born the runt of the family with a bunch of brothers who really didn't see him as very valuable and almost an afterthought in their family.
00:02:10
Speaker
he He arrives on the scene. The first thing he has to do is face a giant in order to get to a place of prominence. um He has to battle enemies of all different kinds from the Philistines as a foreign enemy.
00:02:23
Speaker
But he also has to battle against King Saul who chases him for half of his life trying to pursue him and put him to death. um When he got to the place where he was king, he continued to fight enemies. So there's a lot of conflict in his life.
00:02:36
Speaker
But when we pick up the story here, what's going on, David is actually at a really, really good season because his enemies have been defeated. He's actually just completed the the building of his palace in Jerusalem, which he has finally conquered and now made the capital of Israel.
00:02:53
Speaker
And he's brought the Ark of the Covenant back into Jerusalem so that it can have its permanent home, hopefully. All right? So he's sitting around, and we don't we don't know the whole detail of the story, but I picture in my mind that one night David is sitting on the terrace of his palace, and Nathan the prophet shows up, and they're having this conversation.
God's Response and Covenant with David
00:03:11
Speaker
and And just out of the blue, it hits David. He goes, you know what? It's not right that I just moved into this incredible palace built of cedar, and God's ark is in a tent. And by the way, when he refers to the tent, he's talking about the same tent for 400 years they've carried around in the wilderness.
00:03:27
Speaker
That same tabernacle is still in in use. And so he says, you know what? I just don't feel like that's right. I think I need to build a home for God. And Nathan the prophet, his his buddy, his advisor says, i think it's a great idea.
00:03:43
Speaker
The problem is neither one of them consulted God on this. So in verse 4, let's pick up the story. It says, but that night the word of the lord came to nathan go to my servant david and say this is what the lord says are you to build me a house to dwell in from the time i brought the israelites out of egypt until today i have not dwelt in a house instead i have been moving around with the tent as my dwelling In all my journeys with all the Israelites, have I ever spoken a word to one of the tribal leaders of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, asking, why haven't you built me a house of cedar?
00:04:19
Speaker
So now this is what you are to say to my servant David. This is what the Lord of armies says. I took you from the pasture, from tending the flock, to be ruler over my people Israel.
00:04:30
Speaker
So Nathan goes home, goes to bed. God shows up in a dream and says, hey, I've got something I want you to share with David. And he basically flips the script on David and says to him, David, you don't build for me.
The Davidic Covenant and Prophetic Layering
00:04:43
Speaker
i build for you. This is how this works. And he goes so far as to say, you were a shepherd out in the field. i chose you. I protected you. I put you in the place of prominence where you are.
00:04:56
Speaker
Your throne is yours because of who I am, not because of what you have done. So you think you're going to build me a house. Look at verse 9. He says, i've been with you wherever you've gone i've destroyed all your enemies before you i will make a great name for you like that of the greatest on earth i will designate a place for my people israel and plant them so that they may live there and not be disturbed again evildoers will not continue to oppress them as they have done Notice who's doing all the action in those two verses.
00:05:29
Speaker
God says, I have been with you. i have destroyed. i will make a great name. I will designate a place. Again, God's kind of putting David in his place to say, This has been me all along. This isn't you.
00:05:43
Speaker
You're not the one who's making all this work behind the scenes. It's always been me. And what he does in this conversation is he introduces for us what is known as the Davidic covenant.
00:05:55
Speaker
The Davidic covenant. Now, if you've been with us since the beginning of our journey through the Bible chronologically, you know that God is a covenant-making God. He does it all the way through Scripture. He started with Adam, continued with Noah, and moved on to Abraham and then eventually Moses.
00:06:11
Speaker
And so now he's picking up this covenant with David. And if you notice this, every one of these covenants is basically building off the last one. It's a continuation. It's almost as if it's an add-on clause to the last covenant to say, here's how I'm going to continue to do this.
00:06:26
Speaker
And in every one of these, it is God who's taking the initiative in the covenant. And in this particular covenant, the Davidic covenant, God says two things. Number one, I'm going to give you land.
00:06:38
Speaker
and And this has been the promise since the days of Abraham, right? That they were going to have a nation, it would be their own, and that they would be able to live there permanently in peace if they would continue to follow him. The second promise is this.
00:06:52
Speaker
I'm going to give you a legacy. God says to David, I'm going to build you a house, and it's not going house of cedar. It's going to be a dynasty where you will have somebody on the throne of Israel from now for forever.
00:07:05
Speaker
Right? It's going to be your descendants who rule my people. I will raise up your offspring. I will establish your kingdom. Look at verses 12 and 13. He says, when your time comes and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up after you, your descendant, who will come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom.
00:07:25
Speaker
He is the one who will build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. a pretty bold promise. He's speaking specifically of Solomon who would come along after David, who would become the next king, and who would indeed build the temple that eventually would occupy Jerusalem.
00:07:45
Speaker
But then in verse 14, he says something interesting. Things shift a little bit. He says, I will be his father and he will be my son. When he does wrong, I will discipline him with a rod of men and blows from mortals.
00:07:59
Speaker
So in the last verse it said he's going to establish the throne of his kingdom forever. And what we know because we know the end of the story is that this is actually a prophecy about the arrival of Jesus. Jesus is going to be a part of that lineage. Matthew chapter 1, the prophecy about the birth of Jesus, it says this.
00:08:19
Speaker
The Lord God will give him the throne of his father, David. So God's connecting the dots from Jesus back to David. And we know that that's going to be the case. But then in this next verse, he says, when he does wrong.
00:08:32
Speaker
So right now, some of you are going, okay, pastor, I was with you on this part about it being Jesus to a certain point. but But Jesus didn't have any sin. This can't be a referral to Jesus. Well, the truth is what we're looking at here is something called prophetic layering.
Jesus' Role and God's Unconditional Love
00:08:49
Speaker
Okay? Prophetic layering. Stay with me for just a second as we we talk about this. What is prophetic layering and why is it important? Well, prophetic layering, if you could put the picture up for me, can you click on that picture for me? Okay.
00:09:04
Speaker
Lisa and I have had the opportunity over the years to travel some cool places. um For those of you who are going to Denver this summer, this is one of those places right here, okay, in the mountains. um The picture is actually too large. Go to the next one, please.
00:09:18
Speaker
This is Utah. Lisa and I have been to Utah. The next one, this was in Hawaii. Cool mountain ranges there. And then the last one, see if anybody can guess where that is.
00:09:34
Speaker
Did somebody say Kentucky? um ah It's actually Wyoming, Grand Tetons, the mountains there. um The reason I show you that is because this is an example of what I'm talking about, prophetic layering.
00:09:47
Speaker
If you look at those mountain ranges, anytime, if you've ever been over to the Smokies, you have the same thing happen when you're driving. From a distance, what you see is mountain peaks that all look like they're right there together, right? One behind the other, right there.
00:09:59
Speaker
But as you get closer, what you realize is that there's actually great distance from one mountain to the next, sometimes many miles. It's just the illusion that they are very close together. Prophetic layering is when a prophecy is given that has both a near fulfillment as well as a distant fulfillment.
00:10:18
Speaker
that make sense? So picture that in your head because as we get into the prophets, this is going to become very important. It's it's a a fact of a lot of the prophecies that they have near fulfillments. In this case, the near fulfillment is Solomon. Solomon's going to be the one to build the temple.
00:10:32
Speaker
The far fulfillment is Jesus Christ. But you're going, okay, but wait a minute. It says that he is going to he's going to have wrong done and that there's There's going to be the issue of that wrong needing to be disciplined.
00:10:47
Speaker
Jesus didn't have sin. Jesus did not bear his own sin He bore ours. That's what the gospel tells us. It wasn't his sin that he took to the cross. It was yours.
00:10:59
Speaker
It was mine. And that's the good news of the gospel. That our sin, the burden of our sin, the guilt and shame of our sin, has been paid for by what Jesus Christ did on the cross. 2 Corinthians 5, verse 21 says,
00:11:13
Speaker
Paul writes it this way. He says, He, being God, made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
00:11:28
Speaker
You and I have the ability to cast our sins on him to receive forgiveness in exchange and that is what the gospel is all about. In verse 15, it says, but my faithful love will never leave him as it did when I removed it from Saul. Remember that God removed his favor from King Saul, the first king, because he was not obedient.
00:11:50
Speaker
He says, I will not remove that favor. i Love will stay with us. Another promise of the gospel is that you and I are loved very deeply by God and nothing we do can undo that love.
00:12:02
Speaker
So let's dig in just a little bit more on this Davidic covenant because it's important. The Davidic covenant is what is known as an unconditional covenant. An unconditional covenant. When God initiated it, David couldn't do anything dev avoid it because David didn't have anything to do with its being put into place.
00:12:20
Speaker
It was God who 100% was the originator of this covenant. Another example of an unconditional covenant is the new covenant that you and I live under.
00:12:31
Speaker
The new covenant that you and I partake in when we become followers of Jesus Christ. At the last supper, that last meal he had with his disciples in Jerusalem, Jesus said something that we repeat every time we have communion together as a church family.
00:12:46
Speaker
This is my blood of the new covenant. This initiates this covenant between you and I. Notice he doesn't say any conditions about it when he issues that statement.
00:12:59
Speaker
No conditions because Jesus paid it all. He did all of the work. You can't earn it so you can't lose it. It's yours for the taking.
00:13:12
Speaker
Yours to receive. You didn't start it. You don't keep it. You don't maintain it. God has already done the full work of the gospel.
Grace, Repentance, and Salvation's Initiation
00:13:22
Speaker
You just have to take it on for yourself.
00:13:26
Speaker
That's good news because we still sinned. This may make you feel better or this may scare you to death. Your pastor's a sinner.
00:13:38
Speaker
Any of you shocked? i was I was waiting for a gasp of shock, but nowhere. Nowhere. Okay. um I guess we'll go on with that thought.
00:13:52
Speaker
But here's the good news. Even though we had that old self inside of us that still leads us towards sin, we don't have to crawl back to God and ask for forgiveness or beg for forgiveness.
00:14:04
Speaker
It's already ours. It's on the table. We just have to take it. We just have to receive it. This past week, I was on my prayer retreat that I take every month. And Wednesday, I just became very aware of the overwhelming grace of God in my life for me as a sinner.
00:14:24
Speaker
That as I approached God sitting in the chair where I was staying that night, as I approached God and began to have a conversation with Him, it just struck me, i don't have to beg you to enter into your presence. i don't have to I don't have to grovel.
00:14:38
Speaker
Do I have to repent? Yes, absolutely, we all do. But repentance is a simple step that just acknowledges what God has done and says, I i choose not to do it again. And by that simple step, I receive i received the free forgiveness that God has already given to us.
00:14:57
Speaker
Now, I've got sins that occupy my headspace. I bet many of you do too. And the reason they do is because we have an enemy who is known as the accuser.
00:15:08
Speaker
You sit still for a few minutes and he starts to whisper in your ear, you're such a loser. There is no way God could love somebody like you who does this and you just fill in the blanks, right? Anybody who would dare think that way, speak that way, act that way, there's no way that God could love them.
00:15:25
Speaker
And that's what the enemy does. Now, we like to think that there's one enemy, but there's three. Paul tells us very clearly in Ephesians, not only is Satan our enemy, and he's a he's a big one, right? he he's He's intimidating, he's fearful, he can do a lot of damage.
00:15:40
Speaker
But he also, Paul mentions the world systems around us. You see, the world's against God. The world doesn't want God. The world doesn't set itself up to receive God.
00:15:51
Speaker
The world pushes you to do things that aren't honoring of God. The love of money is a perfect example. that You can go anywhere you want to in the world. The most impoverished countries are down on Wall Street, and you're going to find people who love and pursue money and material things.
00:16:07
Speaker
It's a natural desire of the world system, and we push that on ourselves. The third thing, the third enemy, you know who it is? It's you. You are your own worst enemy many times.
00:16:20
Speaker
I love it when people come to me and they want to go, I'm just under spiritual attack. I'm like, no, you're under stupid attack. It's you. You're being stupid. Just stop. Stop.
00:16:31
Speaker
Straight to jail. I mean, you're just, you're just, i mean, come on. And when you step into that kind of behavior and keep pursuing that route, don't look at look at me and go, hey, Satan's all over me. No, no, it's you. You know the good to do and you don't do it. You know what the Bible says?
00:16:51
Speaker
That's called sin. When you know the good to do and you don't do it, it's called sin. So the enemy accuses us, but God sends this incredible message loud and clear from his word You're forgiven and free if you'll receive it.
00:17:08
Speaker
You're forgiven and free. You don't have to carry the weight of your sin. You don't have to be bound up to the old behaviors. I can set you free. And as I sat there Wednesday reading God's word, I was reminded of the psalmist where he says that beautiful phrase, man, it's such freedom. and Your sin is removed as far as the east is from the west.
00:17:31
Speaker
Now, think most of you know this, but let's just be clear on why he chose that language. If you start traveling north on the globe, what happens? You eventually start traveling south. Get to the pole, you start going south, right?
00:17:43
Speaker
If you start traveling east on the globe, you never start going west. You just keep going east. Keep going west, same thing. You never get to the place where you arrive right?
00:17:55
Speaker
What is the psalmist saying? He's saying your sin is removed so far because of God's grace, you never have to think about it again. doesn't have to be on your radar at any point.
00:18:07
Speaker
So back to what we were talking about. When we ask this question, how much is enough for God? We're starting with the wrong question. Salvation doesn't start with what we do for God.
00:18:21
Speaker
It starts with what God has already done for us. That's where the story of salvation begins. And so this morning, if you don't have a relationship with Jesus Christ, if you don't understand how salvation works, before this day is over with, will you come grab me or John, Kyle, my wife, any one of these people around here who who look like, man, they know all the answers because they're smart.
00:18:47
Speaker
matter on just grab somebody and say, can can I just ask some questions? Can I talk to you about what this means? Because this is a different story than I've heard from the world. Now, I want to take some some principles from the story and I'll apply it to you because I know most of you in this room would call yourself a Christ follower, but I think there's some really, really important principles that God was showing David that apply to us here this morning. So let's look at those. Number one, Christianity is not about you living...
00:19:18
Speaker
There he goes. Not about you living a good life and then giving your record to God, but about Jesus living a perfect life and giving his record to you. What does that mean in practical nature?
00:19:29
Speaker
When God looks on Ridley Barron's life, he doesn't see my sin. He sees only Jesus. As a follower of Jesus Christ, the Bible says that we are made new in Christ.
00:19:39
Speaker
And so all the old things are gone away. The new has come. And what that new is is the Spirit of God that's put on us. When God looks at me, He sees the blood of Jesus Christ covering my sin.
00:19:51
Speaker
I have been forgiven. The gospel is about receiving, not earning. If you're sitting here today and you're saying, hey, I'm a Christian because I did anything...
00:20:02
Speaker
fill in the blank and because I got baptized because I went on a mission trip because I made 60 straight Sundays at church if it's because you did anything you are not saved if you worked to earn your salvation then you can lose your salvation But the Bible says an entirely different story.
00:20:22
Speaker
Christianity is not about living a good life and handing God our resume. It's about Jesus Christ living a perfect life and handing you his resume and saying, take a look at what I've done for you.
00:20:36
Speaker
And this morning, again, if you're if you're counting on good things you've done, it's not enough. It never can be. But praise God, it doesn't have to be.
The Cross and Christ's Unique Work
00:20:46
Speaker
Second thing.
00:20:47
Speaker
um God doesn't need you. This may shock some of you. God doesn't need you, especially if you're one of the the ones who's working so hard to perform, to try to get it right. God doesn't need you.
00:21:02
Speaker
He invites you into this journey with him. God is not looking for assistance. He's not looking for interns. He's not looking for part-time help.
00:21:12
Speaker
He doesn't need you to do anything. He simply says, come follow me. The cross was not a team effort. He did it all by himself.
00:21:24
Speaker
And it was the complete work. Jesus told his disciples, do not move until the Spirit comes. You remember the story? He's getting ready to ascend into heaven, spent the last 40 days after the resurrection teaching teaching them some other stuff.
00:21:40
Speaker
And he says to them, I want you to go back to Jerusalem. I want you to sit still. I want you to wait. And I want you to pray. Why? Because Jesus knew that the only way that we could ever do anything of any value to him was if our his spirit was inside of us.
00:21:58
Speaker
So we said, you go back, you wait on the Spirit. Now, yeah I got to chase a rabbit here this morning a little bit. and I'm warning you, I've chased rabbits all morning long. I am panting. So we're we're just going to keep chasing them, all right?
00:22:10
Speaker
I have come to the conclusion that as Christians in America, we do not understand the meaning of Sabbath. We do not understand the power of Sabbath.
00:22:24
Speaker
Sabbath is not a day of the week. Okay, let's clear that up. It's not a day of the week. We like to throw that out there. Sabbath is a place of stillness before God so that he has permission and space to speak into your life.
00:22:39
Speaker
That's why the psalmist said, be still and know that I am God.
Sabbath, Gratitude, and Talents for God's Glory
00:22:45
Speaker
But you know what we do? We go as families and we buy these big calendars to put on our wall in our kitchen.
00:22:52
Speaker
Or some of us are real smart and we do the digital version. And if we find any white space on our calendar, we go like, are we going to do this week? but ah What do we to do here? how How are we going to make all of our schedules line up?
00:23:03
Speaker
we know We got to go have dinner with this family. We got to go do this. We got to do that. And we don't have a clue about how to be still and listen to the voice of God. And so even when we do somehow find a few minutes to sit down and be still, our minds are racing at such a pace, we can't focus. Why?
00:23:23
Speaker
Because we're sitting there watching TV, killing time, a commercial comes on and we pull this out. We can't even make it through the commercials anymore as a society. And so we're going, man, I just, man, I got, oh, that that's a life-changing post.
00:23:35
Speaker
The world will be different tomorrow because of what I have just read. Right? And you know how I know this is what's happening? Because I've just spent the last six or seven months of my life coaching middle school boys baseball.
00:23:49
Speaker
And what I learned is that those middle school boys, not one of them for a minute of any game could sit still or shut up. They couldn't. like ah Guys, I'm not kidding. and There were times i would look at them and say, I love you, but shut your mouth because what's coming out proves you are stupid.
00:24:07
Speaker
You are saying some of the dumbest things I've ever heard. you don Listen to yourself. And about halfway through the season, I looked at them and I realized, you know what? This is what's been modeled for them.
00:24:20
Speaker
How many times, how many times do you think those boys have had a dad walk in the door from work and say, hey, we're not turning on the TV tonight. We're going to sit down around the campfire outside in the family.
00:24:33
Speaker
We're going have a conversation. We're going to sit still. we're gonna Maybe we're going to sing a song or two. We're going to listen to God.
00:24:41
Speaker
If I stood here for one minute and stared at y'all, y'all would be so uncomfortable. you would you Some of would you would pull out your phone and go, I'm missing something I know I am.
00:24:53
Speaker
We can't handle being still. And there, I'm putting both hands up because I'm guilty. There are times in the middle of my busyness, I just hear God saying to me, would you sit down and be still? Because I'm trying to tell you something.
00:25:10
Speaker
You know what that's like because most of you are parents. And you've said that to your children, haven't you? Be still. Listen to what I'm telling you. Guys, we're no different. We're like little kids before God chasing all over everything. And God's going, stop, stop, stop.
00:25:26
Speaker
This is not what I created you for. And when God said, do not forget the Sabbath, he wasn't worried about a calendar day of the week. He was worried about our souls.
00:25:41
Speaker
And if I had the ability to look inside every one of you today, i would bet a large amount of money, or maybe a dinner, that most of you are ragged.
00:25:53
Speaker
Because you've got hair every white space on your calendar filled.
00:25:59
Speaker
And even the ones that aren't officially filled, you're looking for something to do. Because you don't know how to be still.
00:26:07
Speaker
Next thing. We should desire to sort to give back to God. We should desire to give back to God. If you're guest this morning you're going, I thought I was going to go to church and I wouldn't have to listen to a sermon on giving or offering.
00:26:22
Speaker
Sorry, because we're fixing to talk about that. um I want to clear up something. um I, as your pastor, do not look at rolls of people's name to see how much people give in this church.
00:26:36
Speaker
Okay? I do not ah do not care. Don't ask about who's giving. What I do know is what the treasurer shares with me from time to time or Barbara when she shares stuff with me. Okay?
00:26:47
Speaker
um And again, it's not names and numbers. It's just we have X number of families that do this and X number of families that do this. giving Giving, first of all, God doesn't need your money.
00:26:59
Speaker
He does not need your money at all. Giving is for us. Giving teaches us two things. Number one, that everything comes from God. And number two, to be grateful for what he's done for us.
00:27:14
Speaker
ah we Are we clear on that? Based on what I am told, many of you are not very grateful.
00:27:22
Speaker
what About half of the people in our church that don't give to our church? Half. Look around the room. means the person sitting next to you are you, one of the two.
00:27:33
Speaker
and' Getting it done.
00:27:36
Speaker
If this church's ministries were based on the gratefulness of our people, that's a scary place to be before God.
00:27:51
Speaker
Just in case you think that's all I'm worried about, we talk about four things around here. We talk about treasures. That's part of your giving. Time, testimony, talents.
00:28:05
Speaker
Treasure, time, testimony, talents. All four of those things are things you give back to God out of the gratefulness of your heart. Okay? So treasure is a big part of it. We don't do what we do without money, okay?
00:28:16
Speaker
It's got nothing to do with God. God owns the cattle on a thousand hills. He doesn't need your money. He can kill a cow whenever he's ready. Okay? What he's doing is inviting you to join him in what's going on.
00:28:28
Speaker
to put your priorities in a proper perspective, to not sell your soul to the world systems we were talking about earlier, right? Talent. Some of you are incredibly talented.
00:28:43
Speaker
All of you are incredibly talented. The question is, what are you doing with those talents? What are you doing with them? Again, don't misunderstand me. You can spend some of that talent here. you can spend some of that talent out there in the community. The question is, are you doing it for Jesus?
00:28:59
Speaker
That's the question. ah You don't have to be serving inside the walls of this building. Only so many of us can serve inside this building. You could be serving at a little league ball field. You could be serving at your workplace. You could be creating a Bible study in your neighborhood.
00:29:11
Speaker
There's all kinds of things you could be doing. Colossians is clear. Whatever you do, eat, drink, whatever you do, do it for the glory of God. That's our purpose, right?
00:29:21
Speaker
Time, talent, treasure, testimony. Time is a big one. but We just got through talking about Sabbath, right? Where are you spending your time? How are you spending your time?
00:29:35
Speaker
ah Guys, want you to try something. Go home, tell your wife, I love you and I'd love to go on a date. I just don't have time.
00:29:44
Speaker
Marital counseling would go through the roof, wouldn't it, John?
00:29:48
Speaker
We got to have a conversation, right? You and I, this may be shocking news to us, to all of us, all of us have the same 168 hours every week.
00:30:01
Speaker
What you do with your time is your choice. So try this one. Go to your boss and say, I know I had the deadline to get that project done yesterday, but I just didn't have time.
00:30:15
Speaker
Tell your kids, I really want to be a good dad for you, but I just don't have time.
00:30:26
Speaker
Or how about this one? Jesus, I'm so grateful for what you did on the cross, and I know I'm supposed to serve you, but I just don't have time.
00:30:39
Speaker
And some of us wonder why our relationship with God is not even stronger than it is.
Individual Callings and Ministry Participation
00:30:43
Speaker
Because we're spending all of our time, all of our talent, all of our treasure, all of our testimony even sometimes on ourselves or on worldly pursuits. So by the way, if you're follower of Jesus Christ, you have a testimony.
00:30:56
Speaker
Okay? Not everybody has to have been in prison for 14 years. Not everybody had to run over their neighbor's dog and forgot to tell them about it. nobody but You don't have to be kidnapped Guatemalan terrorist or whatever. You know, y'all have all heard the testimonies. You ever sat there and you went, my testimony's not as good as theirs. Here's my testimony.
00:31:14
Speaker
I was born to two amazing parents with two great big sisters. I was born into the church, got saved at age eight. I've been a Christian most of my life. I have never shot anybody, never shot up drugs, never been drunk in my life. um i've avoided ah I've been stupid a lot.
00:31:31
Speaker
And that's a that's a sin. But I've never done any of those bad things. But here's the good news. I once was lost, but now I'm found. I was blind, but now I see. And if it weren't for Jesus, I would have not had the ability to do any of the above.
00:31:45
Speaker
And all of you have that same power of testimony in your life. You once were something, but now you're something entirely different because of the grace of God.
00:31:56
Speaker
Okay, where was Okay. ah We should offer ourselves to God for whatever he tells us to do. Offer your life. Hear this, though. I'm fixing to set some of you free. You ready?
00:32:09
Speaker
You offer your life, but not every assignment is yours. Not every calling is yours. Chris Smith over here has a calling to serve as a deacon and to pester his pastor as much as possible.
00:32:22
Speaker
And he is great at both of them. And I love him for it. His beautiful wife next to him has been called to put up with Chris and to be married to him. But she has a gifting with children and she serves in our public school system teaching kids.
00:32:35
Speaker
The two of them have two separate callings, but they are united by the one calling to give God glory in their lives. Amen. See how that works? So we all have a calling. We're all invited to do something.
00:32:47
Speaker
But don't judge other people for what they're doing. here and This is going to be another little rabbit for a second. we We are growing as a church. And I hear people come to me and go, man, our church may be getting a little bit too big.
00:33:00
Speaker
And you know what I want to say to people when they say that? We sure are going to miss you.
00:33:07
Speaker
You know what our job is to do as Christians? It is to overpopulate heaven. If you're and you're uncomfortable in big crowds here, you're going to have a real problem in glory when you're sitting around with the billions of people who've accepted Jesus Christ.
00:33:20
Speaker
Right? ah Introversion goes out the window at that point because you can't disappear in heaven and tell God, sorry, it didn't feel like being around everybody. just not gonna work right so our assignment is to grow I would love it if there were a thousand more people packed in here today I would love it if we were doing more why because the bigger we get the more ministry we can do the more we can go to the ends of the earth and still take care of the people right here in our neighborhood we can find the lost we can seek those are hurting it's not 60 people doing the work at 600 people doing the work but as we're doing that and as we're increasing our ministries increasing opportunities for those kinds of things to happen here's what's gonna happen
00:34:00
Speaker
My friend Michael over here, he's going to start a ministry to bullfrogs. Yes, I purposely said bullfrogs so I don't offend anybody in the room. He's going to start a ministry to bullfrogs and he's going to invite other people to come join him in that ministry to bullfrogs, right?
00:34:13
Speaker
Well, Donnie wants to do a ministry to crows over here. Donnie does not have permission to send his crows to get the bullfrogs or to judge him for his bullfrog ministry, right?
00:34:25
Speaker
are we Are we together? Okay, now fill in the blank with whatever ministry you want to do. Colossians, Paul says it. Whatever you do, do it to the glory of God.
00:34:37
Speaker
Invite others to join you in the journey, but don't judge them when they don't and they have their own calling to fulfill. And don't feel guilty for not being a part of their calling.
00:34:49
Speaker
As we increase the number of ministries in this church, hear this. This is from your pastor. You don't have to be involved in everything at our church.
Disappointment, Dependence, and Legacy
00:34:58
Speaker
People will come up to me and go, we just got a lot on the calendar. I don't think I can make it to all of it. Good.
00:35:03
Speaker
Pastor doesn't make it to all of it. I'm not going to the ladies' night.
00:35:10
Speaker
I don't feel compelled to hang out with the youth every time they get together. I'm not going to make do that. not going to make you do that You find your place, you find your calling, you get engaged. And if you're new here and you're going, hey, I'm having trouble getting engaged, this is not the place to get engaged in the in the large group.
00:35:26
Speaker
This is the place to come here and yell and be happy and worship Jesus and all that kind of stuff. You get engaged by getting into the small groups, the life groups, the Bible studies. That's the place to get engaged, okay?
00:35:38
Speaker
Everybody with me?
00:35:41
Speaker
Anybody with me? Good gracious, that was like crickets. We're almost done. Hang in there. um
00:35:54
Speaker
Some of us in this room carry too much. Some of you are carrying nothing.
00:36:01
Speaker
And I hope you hear what I'm saying. Some of you are carrying too much. It's time for you to lay some things down and quit feeling like you have to do everything. But some of you, it's time to show your gratefulness to God by saying, what can I pick up?
00:36:14
Speaker
What can I become a part of? What can I lead? How can I serve? Where can I go? Again, time, talent, treasure, testimony. um Next thing.
00:36:25
Speaker
God allows disappointment to remind us of who the real Savior is. What do you think would have happened in this story if David had been allowed to build that temple the way he wanted to that night?
00:36:39
Speaker
My guess is David would have taken the credit for it. David have probably gotten a little proud, maybe a little arrogant, and even going, look what I did for God.
00:36:50
Speaker
In fact, David later in his life does become a little proud before God. Starts counting soldiers. He's not supposed to be counting. You'll read that story if you haven't already.
00:37:01
Speaker
Solomon, his son, phil fell prey to pride and arrogance because of the way he was blessed. So sometimes God comes in and he he pulls the rug out from under you and says, hey, you don't need to be taking credit for this.
00:37:16
Speaker
And if we get a little haughty and little... puffed up and proud before him he will bring disappointment in our life to say hey let me remind you who's running the show here let me remind you who's paying the bills let me remind you who's doing this he's saying hey watch it big boy that's Hebrew by the way watch it big boy you're not the thing you think you are because without me you couldn't do any of this you couldn't wake up and breathe tomorrow if it weren't weren't for me
00:37:49
Speaker
By the way, I didn't share this first service. Thomas Paine and Voltaire, you remember those two names? Both of them huge, huge skeptics, cynics, atheists. Questioned Christianity, questioned the Bible, questioned God, all the way up to the day they were dying.
00:38:04
Speaker
And when they were dying, both of them, as they were dying, screamed in pain, I was wrong. I was wrong. And there's nothing I can do about it at this point.
00:38:18
Speaker
you more about that, I can share the story with you. Pulled it up this morning. Thomas Paine wrote a book questioning everything about God. Voltaire, all of his life. He said within 100 years, the Bible will be gone.
00:38:31
Speaker
Voltaire's gone, the Bible's still here.
00:38:37
Speaker
Lastly, this is all about God's kingdom that he is building, not ours. all about God's kingdom. I love this quote from Tim Keller. Tim Keller died last year of cancer.
00:38:48
Speaker
Fantastic pastor, preacher, author up in New York State. Just incredible man of God. He said this, God is a cyclone pulling us in so that he may send us back out.
00:39:01
Speaker
A cyclone pulling us in so that he may send us back out. You see, if God just called us in, he'd be a vacuum. He'd just suck us in and there'd be no purpose to it and that would be the end of it.
00:39:12
Speaker
But he pulls us in to send us back out to the far reaches of the earth so that other people may know the same thing that you and i have been privileged to know. He pulls us in to send us back out.
00:39:23
Speaker
And we need to be mindful of that because this is not about us. It's about him. Say nothing with me.
00:39:33
Speaker
want make sure you're all awake. Nothing. Nothing in this life that you have right now is actually yours not a thing your wife your kids your business your legacy your money your material things your family nothing is yours every bit of it will be gone the day you're gone are sooner so what does that mean only things that are done for God will last only things that are done for God will last I've done lots of funerals over the course of my life been Adam
00:40:09
Speaker
and unfortunately had to lead them to things I've learned. Number one, all of us will die. So every one of you in this room will someday stand before your maker. The second thing, I've never seen a hearse pull in a U-Haul.
00:40:24
Speaker
Never. I don't care if you got zero in the bank or a billion dollars in the bank, the day you die it's gone. But what you can do is you can send it on ahead.
00:40:36
Speaker
you can send it on ahead you can make investments in a kingdom that will last for eternity there's gonna come a day when this body will cease to exist yesterday I thought it was about five o'clock after I worked in the yard all day but we made it through but someday this body will end and I will step into heaven and two things that I cannot wait to experience number one the opportunity to reunite with people I've led to Jesus Christ.
00:41:08
Speaker
People who have come to know Jesus because of some conversation we had or something we did together, and we're going to be able to sit around for eternity and talk about that moment and go, you remember that night? You remember that conversation?
00:41:20
Speaker
You remember how funny it was that we weren't even supposed to be on that trip together and somehow God originated that and and orchestrated that so that we could be there. And today, today, you're here because of that.
00:41:32
Speaker
I'm equally excited because I'm going to find people who are responsible for me being here.
00:41:40
Speaker
I'm going to be able to go thank my fifth grade teacher who taught me in Sunday school. Coolest dude ever. He would spend all kinds of time with us. Every time he he moved up with us. But in fifth grade, he gave us all of the fifth grade boys Swiss Army Nights for Christmas.
00:41:55
Speaker
By the way, that's against our bylaws here. We are not giving any fifth graders this on the night. Just get it out of your head. I wouldn't even trust Deacons with it. um Sorry, Chris.
00:42:07
Speaker
Yeah, he he was such a powerful influence. Coach McNeese, my football coach, incredibly godly man, taught me a lot about football, a lot about life. He taught me how to be a godly man on the sidelines just like I was on Sunday morning.
00:42:23
Speaker
I had to preach his funeral years ago.
00:42:28
Speaker
And then,
00:42:32
Speaker
gonna spend some extra time sitting in front of my grandmother.
Invitation to Salvation and Commitment
00:42:42
Speaker
The one who every time I went to her house, she prayed for me, I heard it. Heard her when she still could do it, on her knees, by her couch, with her Bible open. praying for the least of the little ones of her family.
00:42:56
Speaker
She
00:43:00
Speaker
didn't have a lot.
00:43:03
Speaker
When she died, she was living in a trailer that one of her sons bought for her behind his house. She didn't have a whole lot of money.
00:43:10
Speaker
But man, she's a wealthy woman in the kingdom.
00:43:21
Speaker
I would do anything i could do to get you to Jesus.
00:43:30
Speaker
Anything I could do to convince you that it's not scary. In fact, the scariest thing is living life without him.
00:43:40
Speaker
I would do anything I could do let you really, truly experience
00:43:48
Speaker
grace and forgiveness.
00:43:51
Speaker
Like only he can give it.
00:43:55
Speaker
I can't do it for you.
00:43:59
Speaker
It's you.
00:44:01
Speaker
Your choice. And as we learn from this story of David today, God stands over there reminding us, there's nothing you can do for me. I don't need you to do anything. I just want you.
00:44:15
Speaker
I want you to receive what I'm giving to you freely. It's yours for the taking.
00:44:23
Speaker
And if you're sitting in this room today and you don't know Jesus Christ, it's yours. You just have to step up and take it. And if you got questions about what that looks like, don't leave here today without talking to one of us.
00:44:40
Speaker
Don't leave here today. It's not scary. I promise we're not going push you out in front of everybody and say you got to talk. Especially not if you're an introvert.
00:44:49
Speaker
we're not we're not We're not going to hurt anybody. We're not going to do any weird rituals. We just want to sit out and have a conversation about who Jesus is and what he's done for you.
00:45:00
Speaker
For the rest of you, the ones who say, I already have that relationship, what are you doing with your time, your talent, your treasure, and your testimony?
00:45:13
Speaker
Because after all God has done for you, it's the least he deserves from you. Do you pray with me?
00:45:22
Speaker
Father God, as we come yet again to your presence, just thankful that you even listen to us, that you even spend time on us. This morning, Father, our prayer is that the words that have come from your word to us, that have been preached and sung and prayed today, that they've had the right impact, that seeds have been planted, that hearts have been opened, and that now we stand ready to respond.
00:45:50
Speaker
For some of us, it may be the beginning of a new journey, a journey with Jesus Christ. Man, what a joy that would be.
00:46:00
Speaker
For others of us, it may be that we, for way too long, have followed Jesus nominally. We have superficially pursued Him. we've We've taken after Him from a distance. And today, maybe somebody in this room wants to walk up here and say, I'm done with that. I'm all in.
00:46:20
Speaker
I am all in. My business, my family, my legacy, my material things, everything about me, it's yours, Lord. Do with it what you will.
00:46:30
Speaker
Give us the courage to respond as you lead us. It's in Jesus' name I pray, amen. you stand with us as we sing this morning? If you need to come and talk to any of us, we stand here ready to talk with you.