WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:22.260 Hi, and welcome to the Willow Ridge Church weekly podcast. 00:00:22.780 --> 00:00:25.880 This is where you can find audio for our current and past sermons. 00:00:26.100 --> 00:00:30.420 We hope that you enjoy this week's installment, and be sure to check back next week to hear 00:00:30.420 --> 00:00:31.260 the latest message. 00:00:31.680 --> 00:00:32.460 Thanks for listening. 00:00:46.540 --> 00:00:54.020 So a few Sundays ago, probably actually before that, Pastor Bo came and said, Dave, would 00:00:54.020 --> 00:00:56.980 you mind teaching on Graduate Sunday for us? 00:00:57.060 --> 00:01:02.700 You know, you spent time with them this past couple of semesters, and so I said, sure, thank 00:01:02.700 --> 00:01:08.200 you, because I am honored that I get to share with you today on behalf of our graduates, as 00:01:08.200 --> 00:01:10.280 this is their special day. 00:01:11.140 --> 00:01:15.920 And as I think back to the last nine months, I've had the opportunity, along with my wife, 00:01:16.020 --> 00:01:24.220 Tricia, along with Ben and Natalie Wood, as well as Jeff Lawson, to spend nine months in 00:01:24.220 --> 00:01:30.040 building relationships, nine months in teaching them various passages of scriptures from God's 00:01:30.040 --> 00:01:32.740 word, and really getting to know them. 00:01:32.980 --> 00:01:38.640 You know, and I'll be honest with you, when I stepped back into that arena of youth ministry 00:01:38.640 --> 00:01:44.340 with them, I really had put that part of me behind me several years ago. 00:01:44.920 --> 00:01:47.860 And I was like, what did I say yes to Bo for? 00:01:48.020 --> 00:01:49.500 You know, I mean, he's my boss. 00:01:49.580 --> 00:01:52.080 That's one good reason why you say yes to your boss. 00:01:52.580 --> 00:02:00.200 But, you know, but it really has been such a blessing to be with you guys in the last nine 00:02:00.200 --> 00:02:05.800 months, and just getting to know you, and allowing us the opportunity to open up God's 00:02:05.800 --> 00:02:07.020 word and share together. 00:02:07.700 --> 00:02:12.280 And over that time, we've asked them a hundred questions. 00:02:12.520 --> 00:02:17.080 We've asked the senior hires that came on Wednesday night to Ben and Natalie's house, we asked them 00:02:17.080 --> 00:02:20.400 a hundred or more questions just based on the Bible study that we did together. 00:02:21.180 --> 00:02:28.180 And so, a few weeks ago, as I was reading Luke chapter 19, I was sitting in my office during 00:02:28.180 --> 00:02:32.460 the first service Sunday morning, and usually I'm doing odds and ends that I need to accomplish 00:02:32.460 --> 00:02:33.080 for that day. 00:02:33.520 --> 00:02:36.400 And on this particular Sunday morning, I just had the opportunity to say, well, I'm going 00:02:36.400 --> 00:02:39.340 to go ahead and read Luke 19, just kind of get ahead of the game. 00:02:40.100 --> 00:02:45.060 And so, as I read through Luke 19, God literally just jumped some questions in my mind. 00:02:45.940 --> 00:02:47.580 And I was like, wow. 00:02:47.820 --> 00:02:53.240 Because other times that I've prepared to teach, whether it be in a group setting or like this 00:02:53.240 --> 00:02:58.280 on a Sunday morning, I'm usually kind of, I need to do a few more days or weeks to kind 00:02:58.280 --> 00:02:59.020 of get things together. 00:02:59.100 --> 00:03:03.020 But on this particular Sunday, God said, here's some questions for you, Dave. 00:03:04.060 --> 00:03:08.100 Matter of fact, here's some questions that you can ask and build this message around. 00:03:09.040 --> 00:03:12.460 And of course, as I started thinking through those questions, I also started thinking about, 00:03:12.800 --> 00:03:14.700 you know, this is graduation Sunday. 00:03:15.380 --> 00:03:19.320 You know, the families are excited because of this time of the year. 00:03:19.760 --> 00:03:22.680 You know, I was asking Bennett before the service, hey, when's your graduation? 00:03:23.360 --> 00:03:26.620 You know, this time of the year, all those emotions start to flood in. 00:03:26.700 --> 00:03:31.500 You know, as we look at these pictures together and parents start to reminisce. 00:03:31.620 --> 00:03:36.100 You know, I'm not trying to get moms and dads starting to cry early or anything like that. 00:03:36.100 --> 00:03:37.820 But that's just what this time of the year is about. 00:03:38.680 --> 00:03:40.920 And you begin to think about them growing up. 00:03:41.220 --> 00:03:42.640 And so I started thinking, you know what? 00:03:43.900 --> 00:03:50.020 From the time that we're born, once we hit about age two, somewhere in there, we start 00:03:50.020 --> 00:03:53.100 having to address questions in our life, right? 00:03:54.240 --> 00:03:59.420 When you get about two, three, somewhere in there, we start to ask questions. 00:03:59.600 --> 00:04:04.800 For instance, out in the lobby, I saw Carla standing there with her two boys there. 00:04:05.060 --> 00:04:10.500 And, you know, here's testimony that time flies. 00:04:11.700 --> 00:04:15.040 At age 18, you go, where's all this time going? 00:04:16.120 --> 00:04:18.780 And Carla said, well, he's eight and he's four. 00:04:18.780 --> 00:04:24.720 And one of my favorite questions to ask a little one when I see him age two or three is, how 00:04:24.720 --> 00:04:25.240 old are you? 00:04:26.380 --> 00:04:29.940 The reason that it's such a joy is because they start to fumble with their hands. 00:04:30.220 --> 00:04:36.560 Like, okay, I'm expecting an audible response here, but they start going, lifting up two. 00:04:36.680 --> 00:04:38.000 If they're three, they start to peel that. 00:04:38.020 --> 00:04:41.260 I don't know what the deal is about three-year-olds peeling that third finger up. 00:04:41.300 --> 00:04:44.180 I don't know if it's hard to get up and they start peeling that third finger up, you know. 00:04:44.520 --> 00:04:46.900 Then they start to answer questions, right? 00:04:47.060 --> 00:04:48.400 Well, that doesn't stop. 00:04:49.200 --> 00:04:51.700 From that point on, we start to filter more questions. 00:04:52.540 --> 00:04:53.620 What is your favorite color? 00:04:54.800 --> 00:04:56.600 What do you want to be when you grow up? 00:04:57.720 --> 00:05:00.120 What are you doing after you graduate high school? 00:05:01.420 --> 00:05:05.220 What are you going to do for a living as you process through college? 00:05:06.580 --> 00:05:10.680 And then when you see somebody dating after college and life, you say, how long have you 00:05:10.680 --> 00:05:11.100 been dating? 00:05:11.140 --> 00:05:14.000 And that's always followed up, well, when will you get married? 00:05:15.380 --> 00:05:18.560 And then some of us like to really expedite things. 00:05:18.560 --> 00:05:22.320 And we hit that when do you get married thing after somebody's been married only a few months. 00:05:22.380 --> 00:05:25.880 And we hit them with the question on how are you going, when are you going to have kids? 00:05:25.920 --> 00:05:27.800 It's like, whoa, slow down. 00:05:27.880 --> 00:05:29.000 You're getting a little ahead of yourself. 00:05:29.080 --> 00:05:29.900 We just got married. 00:05:29.980 --> 00:05:31.460 We want to get to know each other. 00:05:31.520 --> 00:05:33.900 But, you know, we start hitting question after question. 00:05:34.040 --> 00:05:36.240 And then how many kids will you have? 00:05:37.820 --> 00:05:39.360 And then this is a question I start. 00:05:39.440 --> 00:05:39.960 I'm starting. 00:05:40.080 --> 00:05:41.280 I'm at that stage in life. 00:05:41.320 --> 00:05:43.320 In a few weeks, I'll be 55 years old. 00:05:43.320 --> 00:05:47.020 And when you start asking that question, when are you going to retire? 00:05:47.620 --> 00:05:48.760 You start processing that. 00:05:48.880 --> 00:05:50.800 So question after question after question. 00:05:51.140 --> 00:05:55.440 From the time we're two or three, we field questions all our life, don't we? 00:05:56.220 --> 00:05:58.160 You'll probably field some questions today. 00:05:58.660 --> 00:06:01.880 Some you may want to answer and some you may not want to answer. 00:06:03.260 --> 00:06:09.380 But the amazing thing for me is this, is when I looked at Luke chapter 19, I felt like the 00:06:09.380 --> 00:06:11.800 Holy Spirit threw these questions out to me. 00:06:13.340 --> 00:06:16.600 It also caused me to think about what God's Word does for you and I. 00:06:19.340 --> 00:06:25.240 When you open up God's Word, you're going to discover either an actual question that you 00:06:25.240 --> 00:06:26.460 find in God's Word. 00:06:27.820 --> 00:06:31.660 As a staff, Bo on Tuesday has been leading us through the book of James. 00:06:32.240 --> 00:06:35.860 And James gets really pointed in asking his readers questions. 00:06:36.880 --> 00:06:39.180 Questions that you have to ask yourself. 00:06:40.560 --> 00:06:43.820 Questions that you have to find answers for yourself. 00:06:43.920 --> 00:06:47.920 But all through God's Word, Old Testament, New Testament, there are questions that are 00:06:47.920 --> 00:06:49.060 right on the page. 00:06:50.760 --> 00:06:55.440 But within God's Word, there's also those questions that arise, that come up to the top 00:06:55.440 --> 00:06:58.560 because of the Holy Spirit stirring in your life. 00:07:01.220 --> 00:07:05.040 And whether it be a parable or whether it be a story that you're reading in the Old or New 00:07:05.040 --> 00:07:07.980 Testament, God says, what about this question? 00:07:08.860 --> 00:07:10.140 What do you think about this? 00:07:12.580 --> 00:07:17.740 This is what Hebrews chapter 4, verses 12 through 13 says about God's Word. 00:07:19.220 --> 00:07:22.040 For the Word of God is living and active. 00:07:22.560 --> 00:07:23.620 Stop there for a second. 00:07:25.860 --> 00:07:27.300 God's Word is not dead. 00:07:28.520 --> 00:07:33.980 God's Word does not have, it is relevant to our life. 00:07:35.020 --> 00:07:38.840 Because just as we just read, it is living and active. 00:07:39.560 --> 00:07:45.320 Anytime that you and I place our life in God's Word, anytime we're reading God's Word, it becomes 00:07:45.320 --> 00:07:47.780 active to our heart, our mind, and our spirit. 00:07:48.740 --> 00:07:51.740 The only reason it may not is because we're not listening. 00:07:52.940 --> 00:07:54.080 We're not responding. 00:07:56.080 --> 00:08:00.540 Sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints 00:08:00.540 --> 00:08:05.720 and of marrow, and discerning the hearts, discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. 00:08:06.260 --> 00:08:06.880 Listen to that. 00:08:08.040 --> 00:08:13.540 So when you and I read God's Word, it is there by way of the Holy Spirit, causing you and 00:08:13.540 --> 00:08:20.440 I to discern our thoughts and our intentions of our heart. 00:08:21.840 --> 00:08:25.240 See, from our heart comes our thoughts, our emotions. 00:08:27.240 --> 00:08:33.120 And God says here, my Word is going to help you discern your thoughts, and it's going to 00:08:33.120 --> 00:08:34.580 help you discern your intentions. 00:08:35.940 --> 00:08:41.520 Verse 13 goes on to say, and no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and 00:08:41.520 --> 00:08:44.400 exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give an account. 00:08:47.080 --> 00:08:54.020 And so, as I read Luke 19, the Lord just hit me with some questions. 00:08:54.980 --> 00:09:02.600 And in Luke 19, verses 1 through 10, a very familiar passage to you and I, the first question 00:09:02.600 --> 00:09:05.080 that the Lord hit me with is, what is my purpose? 00:09:05.940 --> 00:09:12.420 And so, our graduates and everybody here in the room and those who are watching us, what 00:09:12.420 --> 00:09:13.220 is your purpose? 00:09:14.960 --> 00:09:22.880 You see, this passage is familiar because if you grew up in the church, you know, at my 00:09:22.880 --> 00:09:28.860 age, you went to Sunday school and you learned on this thing called a flannel board. 00:09:29.500 --> 00:09:36.240 It was flannel and the teacher stuck some kind of figure up on the flannel board and they taught 00:09:36.240 --> 00:09:40.620 taught you what the passage of Scripture was about. 00:09:40.620 --> 00:09:48.040 Or if you're in this room and you're the age of, of like, Ben and Elizabeth and Wyatt, you 00:09:48.040 --> 00:09:50.640 might have saw it in a cartoon on a TV. 00:09:53.140 --> 00:09:54.760 It's the story of Zacchaeus. 00:09:56.060 --> 00:10:02.040 And what we read about Zacchaeus is that Zacchaeus was the chief tax collector, meaning he was 00:10:02.040 --> 00:10:03.620 over other tax collectors. 00:10:03.740 --> 00:10:08.580 And it was his responsibility to gather taxes from his own people for the Roman government. 00:10:08.700 --> 00:10:09.840 That was his task. 00:10:10.360 --> 00:10:14.460 But as many tax collectors of that time, what they did was they always skimmed a little bit. 00:10:14.540 --> 00:10:16.040 They always patted their own pocket. 00:10:16.760 --> 00:10:18.340 And Zacchaeus was one of those. 00:10:18.420 --> 00:10:20.420 And Zacchaeus was rich because of that. 00:10:21.740 --> 00:10:26.140 But Zacchaeus had heard about this man named Jesus and he knew that Jesus was coming through 00:10:26.140 --> 00:10:31.740 because Jesus was, again, as Bo shared with us last week, Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. 00:10:32.640 --> 00:10:36.580 It was at this time that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem because he knew that it was a point 00:10:36.580 --> 00:10:40.300 in time for him to die on the cross and for him to raise from the dead. 00:10:41.560 --> 00:10:43.800 So he's journeying in to Jerusalem. 00:10:45.500 --> 00:10:49.220 And so Zacchaeus, one of the things about him was Zacchaeus was short. 00:10:49.960 --> 00:10:53.500 And so Zacchaeus knew, if I'm going to get a glimpse of Jesus, I've got to figure this out. 00:10:53.580 --> 00:10:55.480 And so Zacchaeus figured it out. 00:10:55.800 --> 00:10:57.300 He climbed up in a sycamore tree. 00:10:58.840 --> 00:11:02.940 And Zacchaeus got above the crowd because there was a large crowd of people following Jesus. 00:11:03.000 --> 00:11:05.460 And he got up in that tree and he could see Jesus. 00:11:06.860 --> 00:11:11.460 Now, this is not part of the scripture, but I can only imagine that Zacchaeus was probably 00:11:11.460 --> 00:11:14.860 thinking, as I could see Jesus, he might have been thinking about his day too. 00:11:14.960 --> 00:11:17.320 Well, you know, I've got to collect some more taxes today. 00:11:18.020 --> 00:11:22.180 But what Zacchaeus doesn't realize is that Jesus got a point with him. 00:11:23.060 --> 00:11:27.920 And no matter what was on his calendar, no matter what he had on his mind on the people 00:11:27.920 --> 00:11:33.000 he needed to see that day, that day was going to get interrupted because Jesus needed to see him. 00:11:34.060 --> 00:11:41.600 And so when Jesus walks by and he makes contact with Zacchaeus, Jesus calls Zacchaeus by name. 00:11:42.040 --> 00:11:42.960 I love that. 00:11:43.920 --> 00:11:46.500 He doesn't say, yo, you tax collector, come on down. 00:11:46.620 --> 00:11:48.020 You and I got to have a conversation. 00:11:48.520 --> 00:11:49.580 You got to get some things right. 00:11:49.660 --> 00:11:52.240 No, he calls Zacchaeus by name. 00:11:53.500 --> 00:11:57.620 That part of scripture right there is evidence for you and I that Jesus knows us. 00:11:58.780 --> 00:12:01.120 We're not just some random figure. 00:12:02.660 --> 00:12:03.680 Jesus knows us. 00:12:03.680 --> 00:12:09.620 When you see the accounts of Jesus that Jesus has on one-on-one, which are multitudes in the Gospels, 00:12:09.700 --> 00:12:12.040 you see how personal Jesus is. 00:12:13.280 --> 00:12:15.020 And he calls Zacchaeus by name. 00:12:15.080 --> 00:12:18.800 He says, Zacchaeus, come on down because I'm going to go to your house. 00:12:18.900 --> 00:12:21.740 Jesus basically said, hey, I'm inviting myself for supper. 00:12:22.420 --> 00:12:25.040 And so if it's all right with you, Zacchaeus, we'll go to your house. 00:12:26.340 --> 00:12:28.220 Calls him by name, goes to his house. 00:12:29.160 --> 00:12:32.300 And it's so beautiful what we see in scripture that happens. 00:12:33.640 --> 00:12:37.240 Look at Luke 19, starting at verse 8. 00:12:39.240 --> 00:12:45.920 And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. 00:12:48.520 --> 00:12:50.800 Zacchaeus is making a change in his life. 00:12:50.900 --> 00:12:53.020 He's making a change in the purpose of who he is. 00:12:53.600 --> 00:12:58.600 In that very moment, he's going from being a chief tax collector to all of a sudden, 00:12:58.980 --> 00:13:04.860 just in that conversation and connection with Jesus, he's now giving everything he has away. 00:13:06.580 --> 00:13:11.440 And not only that, he says, and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, 00:13:12.480 --> 00:13:14.500 I restore it fourfold. 00:13:14.880 --> 00:13:16.800 I'm going to give back more than what I took. 00:13:17.320 --> 00:13:19.440 A lot of things are happening in this moment. 00:13:19.580 --> 00:13:28.000 Because again, Zacchaeus serves the Roman government and collects the things that they want him to collect. 00:13:29.080 --> 00:13:31.500 And now he's saying, I'm giving it away. 00:13:32.600 --> 00:13:35.440 It's going against what he's supposed to be about. 00:13:37.000 --> 00:13:44.940 But in that moment, Jesus changes the purpose of his life just because of the encounter that Zacchaeus has with Jesus. 00:13:46.280 --> 00:13:50.180 So if you and I were to ask Zacchaeus in that moment, Zacchaeus, what is your purpose? 00:13:50.620 --> 00:13:57.540 In that moment, he would say, my purpose is to serve Jesus and to change my way of life. 00:13:59.280 --> 00:14:09.600 We go on to see in verse 9, and Jesus said to him, because of the change, today salvation has come to this house since he is also a son of Abraham. 00:14:11.200 --> 00:14:13.500 Salvation came to the house of Zacchaeus. 00:14:14.380 --> 00:14:17.240 Jesus recognized him as a son of Abraham. 00:14:18.460 --> 00:14:22.860 And then in verse 10, we see a purpose statement that Jesus basically gives of himself. 00:14:23.320 --> 00:14:29.880 He says, for the Son of Man, speaking of himself, for the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost. 00:14:31.660 --> 00:14:37.340 In the midst of his conversation with Zacchaeus in his home, he says, let me tell you why I'm here. 00:14:38.860 --> 00:14:42.580 I'm here because I came to seek and to save you, Zacchaeus. 00:14:43.200 --> 00:14:47.100 I'm here because I came to seek and to save those who are lost. 00:14:47.820 --> 00:14:49.960 Those who are disconnected from me. 00:14:50.480 --> 00:14:52.120 Those who are far from me. 00:14:53.540 --> 00:14:56.460 So what purpose do you and I serve? 00:14:56.700 --> 00:14:57.720 What is your purpose? 00:14:58.560 --> 00:15:07.440 You know, college students, seniors who are graduating as they move through college, they're processing, what am I going to do for a living? 00:15:08.680 --> 00:15:11.820 You see, our purpose is not tied to what we're going to do for a living. 00:15:13.120 --> 00:15:14.900 We think that it is. 00:15:15.700 --> 00:15:22.480 We think our purpose is tied to, if we're married, whether or not we're tied, our purpose is being a husband, being a wife. 00:15:23.940 --> 00:15:28.800 We think if we own our own business, we're tied to our purpose being that. 00:15:28.960 --> 00:15:30.300 That's who we are. 00:15:30.720 --> 00:15:36.820 Our identity is not about what we do or not what brings us income. 00:15:38.220 --> 00:15:41.220 Now, a person who doesn't know the Lord, they're going to have those thoughts. 00:15:41.300 --> 00:15:42.220 That's just natural. 00:15:42.980 --> 00:15:48.680 But when you and I become a believer in Christ, that changes just like it changed for Zacchaeus. 00:15:50.360 --> 00:15:53.620 Our purpose then is, God, what is it that you want from me? 00:15:55.280 --> 00:16:05.060 So if Jesus says, I came to seek and save the lost, then basically you and I as a follower, because that we are created in the image of God, we therefore seek and save the lost. 00:16:06.220 --> 00:16:08.940 Our relationships become more than just friendships. 00:16:09.320 --> 00:16:11.920 They become more than just people we casually know. 00:16:11.920 --> 00:16:27.940 They become people that we want to have an impact on, people that we want to allow God to use us to meet their needs, whatever those needs may be, because Jesus has redirected our purpose in life. 00:16:29.640 --> 00:16:37.740 That's a hard thing to come to understand sometimes, because we do wrap ourselves up on what we do or what others think about us and things like that. 00:16:37.820 --> 00:16:38.920 None of that matters. 00:16:39.940 --> 00:16:46.100 The only thing that matters is that what Jesus thinks of us and what Jesus desires from us. 00:16:47.920 --> 00:16:51.440 Throughout the Bible, God outlines for you and I our purpose in life. 00:16:52.480 --> 00:17:01.120 You read from the Old Testament to the New Testament, God is going to speak to you and God is going to show you those things in life that he wants you to do. 00:17:04.320 --> 00:17:07.720 Our graduates are leaving one mission field and heading to another. 00:17:09.160 --> 00:17:20.860 They're going to be surrounded by lostness as they sit in a classroom, as they go to whatever the main location is on their campus where you go and hang out and get food or whatever. 00:17:21.660 --> 00:17:24.600 For me, at Carolina, it was the Russell House, even though I never went there. 00:17:26.080 --> 00:17:29.080 I tried not to find my way in the Russell House or the library. 00:17:29.240 --> 00:17:30.040 Some of that shows. 00:17:32.540 --> 00:17:33.800 But no matter where you go. 00:17:33.880 --> 00:17:35.460 But the same is true for you and I. 00:17:36.640 --> 00:17:38.500 There's lostness all around us. 00:17:38.500 --> 00:17:41.360 Sometimes it's in our own home, our own family member. 00:17:42.740 --> 00:17:45.000 Sometimes it's somebody at work where we go every day. 00:17:45.120 --> 00:17:48.060 Sometimes it's our neighbor next door or the neighbor down the street. 00:17:48.640 --> 00:17:57.300 Sometimes it's the person that we see on a regular basis because of the restaurant we go to or the grocery store that we go to or the gas station we go to. 00:17:57.700 --> 00:17:58.880 It's all around us. 00:17:59.140 --> 00:18:02.360 And God says, you know, I'm here to seek and save the lost. 00:18:03.400 --> 00:18:06.140 And that goes for you as well as a follower of Christ. 00:18:07.840 --> 00:18:11.540 So what is our purpose? 00:18:11.780 --> 00:18:12.880 It's found in God. 00:18:13.620 --> 00:18:16.700 It's found in the things that God shows us throughout his word. 00:18:18.300 --> 00:18:26.120 Then in Luke 19, verses 11 through 27, this is the question that pops up as I read that passage of scripture. 00:18:27.080 --> 00:18:31.600 What am I doing with what God has given me? 00:18:31.600 --> 00:18:35.860 What am I doing with what God has given me? 00:18:36.860 --> 00:18:41.320 You see, on their journey, Jesus decided, it's time for a teachable moment here, guys. 00:18:43.080 --> 00:18:46.860 On our journey, let's take a time out because I want to share a parable with you. 00:18:46.920 --> 00:18:53.000 I want to share a story about what you can recognize in life, but yet it has that spiritual impact. 00:18:53.180 --> 00:18:54.800 It has that spiritual truth. 00:18:54.860 --> 00:18:57.400 It has that godly message in it. 00:18:58.460 --> 00:19:03.340 And so Jesus begins to tell them this story about a noble man who is about to inherit a kingdom. 00:19:04.560 --> 00:19:07.360 And this noble man had 10 servants. 00:19:07.560 --> 00:19:15.740 And before he was to leave to go handle business, he says to these 10 servants, listen, I want to give you three months wages. 00:19:16.680 --> 00:19:22.580 And what I want you to do with this three months wages is I want you to do business with it. 00:19:23.380 --> 00:19:26.640 And his hopes is that they'll do business and get more business as a result. 00:19:26.880 --> 00:19:28.320 And that's what he leaves them with. 00:19:28.400 --> 00:19:37.240 And so he goes on to take care of his personal business and hope that these servants, these would take care of some business and have more for him when he returns. 00:19:38.620 --> 00:19:42.280 The story is very similar to the talents that we read about in Matthew. 00:19:43.400 --> 00:19:49.740 So this noble man returns and he goes to the first servant and the servant says, yes, I've increased what you've given me. 00:19:49.820 --> 00:19:52.780 He goes to the second one and he says, yes, I've increased what you've given me. 00:19:53.120 --> 00:19:56.620 Comes to the third one and the third one is scared to death. 00:19:57.480 --> 00:20:03.140 Even the very people did not want this noble man to reign over them, to govern them. 00:20:03.200 --> 00:20:04.300 They were scared of him. 00:20:05.360 --> 00:20:11.280 And so this third servant basically says to him, listen, I'm so scared of you that I took what you gave me. 00:20:11.280 --> 00:20:13.860 I wrapped it in a handkerchief and I stored it away. 00:20:14.820 --> 00:20:21.520 And of course, that upsets the nobleman and the nobleman takes that three months wages and he gives it away to the others. 00:20:24.940 --> 00:20:26.340 What are we going to do? 00:20:26.420 --> 00:20:28.740 What are you and I going to do with what God gives us? 00:20:28.800 --> 00:20:34.540 Because see, that's the very picture of God's kingdom that he shares there in this passage of scripture. 00:20:36.060 --> 00:20:42.460 God is the one that has given you and me gifts and abilities and talents. 00:20:43.240 --> 00:20:48.660 And he says, listen, I want you to take these gifts, abilities and talents and I want you to use it for my purposes. 00:20:48.820 --> 00:20:50.480 I want you to use it for my glory. 00:20:50.880 --> 00:20:53.220 It's there to build one another up. 00:20:53.280 --> 00:20:56.240 It's there to make a difference in people's lives. 00:20:57.040 --> 00:21:00.100 So take these and use it and make a difference. 00:21:01.300 --> 00:21:04.040 That's the biblical application there. 00:21:04.140 --> 00:21:07.780 That's the eternal application there in what is being said. 00:21:10.080 --> 00:21:11.700 Look with me at verse 11. 00:21:13.580 --> 00:21:22.720 But as they heard these things, he proceeded to tell a parable because he was near to Jerusalem because they supposed that the kingdom of God was to appear immediately. 00:21:22.840 --> 00:21:28.360 They, the people of God kept expecting his kingdom to be on earth. 00:21:29.360 --> 00:21:30.060 Verse 12. 00:21:30.180 --> 00:21:35.460 He said, therefore, a nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and then return. 00:21:35.860 --> 00:21:40.460 Calling 10 of his servants, he gave them 10 minus and said to them. 00:21:42.060 --> 00:21:43.980 And this is the part that stuck out to me. 00:21:45.780 --> 00:21:47.620 Engage in business until I come. 00:21:49.080 --> 00:21:54.280 He gives them three months ways and he says to them, engage in business until I come. 00:21:56.340 --> 00:22:00.500 He gave them a purpose for what they needed to do with the money that he gave them. 00:22:01.000 --> 00:22:02.880 He expected them to carry out that purpose. 00:22:04.180 --> 00:22:08.260 You see, when you and I apply that to what God desires for us is this. 00:22:08.580 --> 00:22:10.860 You and I are to engage in the business of God. 00:22:12.060 --> 00:22:23.180 If God wants you to help a friend out, maybe in their yard, because that's the burden that God has placed or prompted you to do, that's what you're supposed to do. 00:22:23.560 --> 00:22:25.420 That's what you're to engage in. 00:22:26.100 --> 00:22:36.580 If God has placed a burden on your heart or prompted your heart to give some money to a family that you know is in need, then that's what God intends for you to engage in. 00:22:38.240 --> 00:22:45.320 If God has given you the gift of teaching, but yet you're not using it, God says, I want you to engage that by teaching. 00:22:46.920 --> 00:22:55.040 If God has given you the ability of finances and God engages you by doing something with those finances, that's what God desires you to do, engage with that. 00:22:57.020 --> 00:23:03.920 If God has given you the ability and the gifts to care for other people, to show mercy, God expects you to engage in that. 00:23:04.020 --> 00:23:05.440 That's the business of God. 00:23:06.560 --> 00:23:09.680 So when you and I read God's word, God speaks to us. 00:23:09.740 --> 00:23:10.560 He gives us things. 00:23:10.620 --> 00:23:11.840 He tells us what to do. 00:23:12.040 --> 00:23:16.640 And just like it says there in verse 13, engage in the business until I come. 00:23:16.980 --> 00:23:17.860 What does that mean? 00:23:19.200 --> 00:23:25.900 It says on the day that Jesus returns, that God returns, you and I are to be engaged in the business that he desires for us. 00:23:27.560 --> 00:23:34.960 Whether you're five or 95, there is one timeline about engaging in the business of God. 00:23:35.280 --> 00:23:37.840 It's our death or it's God's return. 00:23:38.500 --> 00:23:44.160 That means until we die or God returns, we're engaged in the business of God. 00:23:45.920 --> 00:23:56.760 You know, my mindset at 55 years old shouldn't be at the place of, all right, man, when I hit 65, 67 or whenever that, you know, that retiring income kicks in, I'm kicking back. 00:23:56.920 --> 00:23:58.200 No, no. 00:24:00.440 --> 00:24:03.840 God never said, gave us a time when he's done with us. 00:24:04.700 --> 00:24:10.280 Our mindset is as long as we have breath to breathe, we will serve the Lord. 00:24:11.240 --> 00:24:14.420 We will be engaged in the business of God. 00:24:15.080 --> 00:24:17.140 That's what his desire is for you and I. 00:24:18.040 --> 00:24:20.880 So what are we doing with what God has given us? 00:24:21.420 --> 00:24:24.200 If you've got the gift of teaching, what are you doing with it? 00:24:25.060 --> 00:24:27.580 If you've got the gift of caring, what are you doing? 00:24:28.440 --> 00:24:30.660 If you've got the gift of serving, what are you doing? 00:24:32.840 --> 00:24:40.600 In a few months, we're going to be asking every one of us, here's opportunities to serve. 00:24:40.700 --> 00:24:41.620 Where are you going to serve? 00:24:43.500 --> 00:24:48.080 Children's ministry, student ministry, adult ministries, worship ministry. 00:24:48.620 --> 00:24:57.360 You know, God gives us gifts in order that you and I can use those gifts in the body of Christ to uplift, to undergird, and to support one another. 00:24:58.340 --> 00:25:05.660 God gives us gifts and abilities and talents to get out into our neighborhoods and our workplaces to use that as our mission field. 00:25:07.440 --> 00:25:10.880 What are we going to do with those things that God has given us? 00:25:12.400 --> 00:25:18.940 Hopefully we want to be like servant one and servant two and not like servant three who wrapped it up. 00:25:19.800 --> 00:25:27.200 My mentor, my pastor that I first served under for about 11 years, I remember overhearing him say this. 00:25:27.420 --> 00:25:32.000 And my wife and I have talked about this quite often, just different things that he says. 00:25:32.060 --> 00:25:38.320 And he said one time, somebody in the church was talking to him and he simply looked at him and said, use it or lose it. 00:25:39.380 --> 00:25:40.500 Use it or lose it. 00:25:40.920 --> 00:25:45.800 And they were talking about a gift that they knew that God had given them and what they were supposed to do. 00:25:46.600 --> 00:25:47.900 And they weren't doing it. 00:25:48.980 --> 00:25:51.160 And he said, use it or lose it. 00:25:52.300 --> 00:25:53.940 So what happened to servant number three? 00:25:54.880 --> 00:25:56.340 He had three months wages. 00:25:56.460 --> 00:25:57.360 What did he do with it? 00:25:57.560 --> 00:25:59.140 He sat on it, didn't do anything. 00:25:59.240 --> 00:26:00.020 What did Jesus do? 00:26:00.780 --> 00:26:01.380 Took it away. 00:26:02.220 --> 00:26:03.620 That was a parable that he taught. 00:26:04.740 --> 00:26:06.840 So our purpose is found in Jesus. 00:26:09.060 --> 00:26:14.840 The things that we're supposed to do with what God has given us, God reveals to us and we're to engage in it and do it. 00:26:16.060 --> 00:26:18.820 Luke chapter 19, verses 28 through 40. 00:26:19.900 --> 00:26:21.420 Here's the third and final question. 00:26:23.440 --> 00:26:25.200 What does God need from me today? 00:26:26.520 --> 00:26:28.460 What does God need from me today? 00:26:29.680 --> 00:26:32.300 What does God need from you today? 00:26:33.260 --> 00:26:34.440 What about tomorrow? 00:26:34.700 --> 00:26:35.660 What about the next day? 00:26:37.640 --> 00:26:40.680 See, Jesus finally gets on the outskirts of Jerusalem. 00:26:41.900 --> 00:26:46.120 And all this time, the children of Israel wanted a physical king. 00:26:46.940 --> 00:26:48.660 They wanted their own king. 00:26:48.720 --> 00:26:50.840 And they knew that Jesus was a messiah. 00:26:50.960 --> 00:26:53.860 And their mindset, he was their king. 00:26:54.100 --> 00:26:56.240 But they wanted him to be their earthly king. 00:26:56.320 --> 00:26:58.100 But he's like, I'm not an earthly king. 00:26:58.900 --> 00:27:01.400 I'm not here to take down earthly kingdoms. 00:27:01.500 --> 00:27:02.620 That's not what I'm about. 00:27:03.900 --> 00:27:10.840 But in this one moment, we see Jesus in this image of being an earthly king. 00:27:12.460 --> 00:27:13.700 He knew his purpose. 00:27:14.640 --> 00:27:16.640 But in this one moment, we see this. 00:27:16.640 --> 00:27:23.220 Because as entering towards Jerusalem, Jesus looks at two of his disciples and said to them, 00:27:23.900 --> 00:27:27.760 I need you to go untie a colt and bring it to me. 00:27:28.760 --> 00:27:29.900 That's what he says to them. 00:27:30.440 --> 00:27:35.580 I need you two to go untie a colt and bring him to me. 00:27:36.500 --> 00:27:40.800 But Jesus, what are we to say when we start untying this colt? 00:27:41.900 --> 00:27:45.460 And Jesus says, tell them that the Lord is in need of it. 00:27:47.240 --> 00:27:48.660 Mission, get the colt. 00:27:49.740 --> 00:27:52.220 Answer to a response, the Lord is in need of it. 00:27:52.280 --> 00:27:52.860 Pretty simple. 00:27:52.960 --> 00:27:53.900 That's what they had to do. 00:27:54.480 --> 00:27:55.000 They go. 00:27:55.460 --> 00:27:56.460 They go to this house. 00:27:56.540 --> 00:27:57.340 They see this colt. 00:27:57.400 --> 00:27:59.940 Just as Jesus said, they see the colt tied up. 00:28:00.420 --> 00:28:01.400 They untie the colt. 00:28:01.540 --> 00:28:02.280 Out comes the owner. 00:28:02.920 --> 00:28:03.560 What are y'all doing? 00:28:04.440 --> 00:28:05.640 Where are y'all going with my colt? 00:28:07.360 --> 00:28:09.960 And they basically say, the Lord is in need of it. 00:28:10.920 --> 00:28:11.460 Done deal. 00:28:12.380 --> 00:28:13.700 He doesn't chase after them. 00:28:13.760 --> 00:28:16.700 He doesn't get a pitchfork, run them out of his yard or wherever the case might be. 00:28:17.160 --> 00:28:17.800 None of that. 00:28:17.920 --> 00:28:18.960 Doesn't report a theft. 00:28:19.220 --> 00:28:19.720 None of that. 00:28:21.780 --> 00:28:23.960 You know, Jesus had it all planned out. 00:28:23.960 --> 00:28:27.360 Just because it's like it said, when they got there, it was just as Jesus said. 00:28:28.300 --> 00:28:30.240 And the owner responded just as Jesus said. 00:28:30.300 --> 00:28:32.520 So they take the colt and they take the colt back to Jesus. 00:28:33.060 --> 00:28:36.560 They lay their cloaks over the colt. 00:28:38.540 --> 00:28:42.500 And Jesus begins to ride right in through the city. 00:28:42.760 --> 00:28:45.480 Now, this is the very image of a king that a king would do. 00:28:45.580 --> 00:28:48.340 That a king would ride a colt in through the city. 00:28:48.340 --> 00:28:53.420 That was the image that we read in the history and that we understand about that time. 00:28:54.640 --> 00:28:56.240 And not only that, they're celebrating. 00:28:56.440 --> 00:28:57.220 They're worshiping. 00:28:57.340 --> 00:29:00.340 They're so ecstatic that Jesus is riding through them. 00:29:00.500 --> 00:29:03.540 But on Jesus' mind, he knows what's ahead. 00:29:03.640 --> 00:29:05.140 He knows that the cross is ahead. 00:29:05.260 --> 00:29:07.340 He knows that his burial is ahead. 00:29:07.480 --> 00:29:09.400 He knows that his resurrection is ahead. 00:29:10.080 --> 00:29:12.700 And that's what's on his mind and he's following through. 00:29:14.260 --> 00:29:20.640 But on that day, he needed two disciples to carry out an important mission for him. 00:29:20.980 --> 00:29:26.740 On that day, he needed a man to say yes to his colt being untied. 00:29:29.940 --> 00:29:33.540 What is it that Jesus needs from me today, from you? 00:29:34.680 --> 00:29:42.680 I honestly believe there are times in our lives, multiple times in our lives, where Jesus needs us to do something for someone. 00:29:44.520 --> 00:29:49.020 Also, though, there's times in our lives, where Jesus needs us to do nothing. 00:29:51.620 --> 00:29:55.620 Because when God speaks to you and I, it requires a response. 00:29:56.520 --> 00:29:58.200 Now, here's the important thing. 00:29:59.460 --> 00:30:05.080 What does God need from me today, I think, is one of the hardest questions to answer. 00:30:05.300 --> 00:30:06.000 And here's why. 00:30:07.000 --> 00:30:11.140 If you don't know God, then the question doesn't apply. 00:30:12.240 --> 00:30:18.860 But if you know God, but aren't getting to know God, it only confuses you. 00:30:19.960 --> 00:30:28.560 To only know what God wants you to do each and every day or in that moment when God wants you to do something is the fact that you know God. 00:30:30.300 --> 00:30:31.560 What do I mean by that? 00:30:33.420 --> 00:30:44.180 Well, in John chapter 15, verses 4 through 8, Jesus says this to those who are listening. 00:30:45.840 --> 00:30:48.800 In this translation, it uses the word abide. 00:30:49.800 --> 00:30:51.880 Meaning remain in other translations. 00:30:52.260 --> 00:30:52.700 Abide. 00:30:53.620 --> 00:30:56.300 If you and I abide in something, we're close-knit. 00:30:56.420 --> 00:30:57.000 We're there. 00:30:57.400 --> 00:30:58.860 We are joined together. 00:30:59.000 --> 00:30:59.980 That's abiding. 00:31:00.160 --> 00:31:01.160 That's remaining. 00:31:03.300 --> 00:31:05.660 Jesus says, abide in me and I in you. 00:31:05.740 --> 00:31:06.520 That's his promise. 00:31:06.660 --> 00:31:12.520 If you and I abide in Christ, in God, his promise is that he will abide in us. 00:31:12.600 --> 00:31:13.400 That's his promise. 00:31:14.440 --> 00:31:15.820 He doesn't go back on his promises. 00:31:18.960 --> 00:31:25.480 As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. 00:31:25.540 --> 00:31:33.420 The only way that we produce fruits, the only way that we do what God asks us to do, that we meet the needs that are around us, 00:31:33.420 --> 00:31:37.620 is because we are in relationship and we are abiding in Christ. 00:31:38.420 --> 00:31:39.460 That's the only reason. 00:31:40.680 --> 00:31:41.440 I am the vine. 00:31:41.500 --> 00:31:42.980 Jesus is saying, I am the vine. 00:31:43.100 --> 00:31:45.120 Speaking of himself, you are the branches. 00:31:45.560 --> 00:31:50.860 Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit. 00:31:51.240 --> 00:31:52.980 For apart from me, you can do nothing. 00:31:53.680 --> 00:31:57.540 So if I'm not abiding in Christ, that stuff's flying over my head. 00:31:57.600 --> 00:32:01.700 I'm not going to know when I need to do something for somebody else. 00:32:02.640 --> 00:32:06.600 I'm not going to know when I need to have a listening ear for somebody who's hurting. 00:32:06.860 --> 00:32:14.680 I'm not going to know when to speak words of wisdom if I'm not listening to God to tell me when to speak words of wisdom and encouragement. 00:32:16.680 --> 00:32:20.220 The fact that you and I have to abide in Christ is where it happens. 00:32:22.120 --> 00:32:29.800 Verse 6, if anyone does not abide in me, he is thrown away like a branch and withers and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire and burn. 00:32:30.440 --> 00:32:37.880 If you abide in me and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish and it will be done for you. 00:32:38.520 --> 00:32:43.840 By this my Father is glorified that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. 00:32:45.420 --> 00:32:48.520 That's the picture of being on the same page with God. 00:32:50.120 --> 00:33:00.240 So if I only abide with God one day of the week, how many times do you think I'm going to hear God when he asks me to do something? 00:33:02.500 --> 00:33:04.080 The Lord needs me. 00:33:05.900 --> 00:33:11.780 If I'm abiding with God three days out of the week, how many times am I going to really hear God speak? 00:33:11.780 --> 00:33:20.960 See, the whole point is that we're constantly connected and a part in our relationship with God so that we can hear him and know him. 00:33:21.660 --> 00:33:25.240 And when we read God's word, God's word is not foreign to us. 00:33:25.380 --> 00:33:27.040 It's like we're not reading Latin. 00:33:28.980 --> 00:33:36.280 For me, it was in a Spanish class in Carolina that I had to drop after the second week saying, I don't know this stuff. 00:33:38.180 --> 00:33:43.040 Being in God's word, abiding in God's word means you understand God's word, you know God's word. 00:33:43.400 --> 00:33:48.340 And so when challenges and things come your way, you understand how to meet those things. 00:33:48.600 --> 00:33:54.400 God's word says that you and I grow in our understanding, we grow in our knowledge, and we grow in our wisdom. 00:33:55.320 --> 00:33:59.400 But that only happens being in God's word, abiding in God. 00:34:00.220 --> 00:34:06.320 Abiding means I make myself available to God just like those two disciples did, just like the owner of the cult. 00:34:07.380 --> 00:34:11.440 Abiding means I am willing to do what God requests, just like they did. 00:34:12.440 --> 00:34:16.140 Abiding means I obey God and do what he needs me to do. 00:34:17.740 --> 00:34:20.900 So you see, it's being available, it's being willing. 00:34:22.240 --> 00:34:24.800 But last and most importantly, it's being obedient. 00:34:26.640 --> 00:34:37.920 I guarantee you, as you're in tune with God throughout your day, you will recognize what you need to say, what you need to do, or what you don't need to say, or what you don't need to do. 00:34:40.080 --> 00:34:43.980 Because you're listening to the voice of God, because you've been in the word of God. 00:34:45.200 --> 00:34:48.000 And you're aware of what God is doing in and around you. 00:34:52.240 --> 00:35:01.860 Come this fall, you got to do one of those things that I couldn't ever stand doing, was take a book list and go get books. 00:35:03.160 --> 00:35:10.700 Now, that's not as hard as the fact that mom and dad are probably paying for those books, or a portion of those books. 00:35:12.040 --> 00:35:26.300 But no matter how many books that we've acquired, either personally reading or ones we were asked to buy because we needed it for, to accomplish a course where we were in a university or wherever the case might be. 00:35:27.100 --> 00:35:37.000 All those books that are up in the boxes in my attic that I need to take somewhere and get rid of them because I've not looked at them in 20 years because that's how long they sat in the attic. 00:35:38.440 --> 00:35:39.220 Doesn't matter. 00:35:40.540 --> 00:35:48.120 Because the only book that really matters in life, when it comes down to life itself and what life requires is God's word. 00:35:50.920 --> 00:35:53.560 But too often we leave it in a box in an attic. 00:35:55.380 --> 00:35:58.060 Too often we leave it by our bedside, never opened. 00:35:59.600 --> 00:36:03.980 We leave it on our bookshelf, collecting dust with all the other books we've never read. 00:36:05.460 --> 00:36:11.500 And so we go through life not knowing who God is and not knowing who we are in God. 00:36:13.760 --> 00:36:25.980 And to understand our purpose, to understand what God has given us to use those things, to understand what God is asking us in those moments in our life. 00:36:26.640 --> 00:36:29.340 The only way we know that is by knowing God's word. 00:36:30.420 --> 00:36:31.680 Is it hard to understand? 00:36:31.780 --> 00:36:32.600 At times it is. 00:36:33.320 --> 00:36:40.120 There's some things in here that's like, I don't care how many times I read it and even pop open a commentary, I'm still scratching my head. 00:36:41.080 --> 00:36:46.680 But there's times when I've read something and come back to it years later and going, I didn't see that last time. 00:36:48.440 --> 00:36:49.900 That's just how God works. 00:36:52.220 --> 00:36:57.860 So the most important thing that students can have when they go off to college is God's word. 00:36:58.300 --> 00:37:05.300 Most important thing that your student can have when you send them off to middle school or high school or elementary school is the word of God. 00:37:05.300 --> 00:37:16.240 The most important thing that you and I can have when we go to work every day, when we go out and hang with our friends and our buddies, wherever we go, the most important thing that we have in God is God's word. 00:37:16.700 --> 00:37:20.400 And the fact that it is implanted in our heart, our mind, and our spirit. 00:37:23.100 --> 00:37:31.000 There's a verse in Scripture, in Colossians chapter 1, verses 9 through 12. 00:37:33.400 --> 00:37:34.220 It's a prayer. 00:37:35.740 --> 00:37:44.240 It's a prayer that I want to read to pray over all of us, but maybe it's more specifically for our students who are about to go off to college. 00:37:47.240 --> 00:37:52.940 Under the influence of the Holy Spirit, Paul writes this, verse 9 of Colossians 1. 00:37:53.940 --> 00:37:57.660 So we have not stopped praying for you since we first heard about you. 00:37:58.640 --> 00:38:05.940 We ask God to give you complete knowledge of his will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding. 00:38:06.980 --> 00:38:10.000 Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord. 00:38:10.680 --> 00:38:13.240 And your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. 00:38:13.440 --> 00:38:18.040 All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better. 00:38:18.760 --> 00:38:26.060 We also pray that you will be strengthened with all his glorious power so that you will have all the endurance and patience you need. 00:38:26.960 --> 00:38:29.660 May you be filled with joy, always thanking the Father. 00:38:30.180 --> 00:38:36.640 He has enabled you to share in the inheritance that belongs to his people who live in the light. 00:38:38.200 --> 00:38:42.580 God's word is a constant source for your life and for my life each and every day. 00:38:43.700 --> 00:38:46.900 It's our responsibility to make sure we're in God's word. 00:38:47.700 --> 00:38:50.860 To answer the questions that God always lays before us. 00:38:51.360 --> 00:38:52.040 Will you pray with me? 00:38:54.360 --> 00:38:55.760 Lord, thank you for your word. 00:38:59.040 --> 00:39:02.880 It is rich with the understanding that we need each and every day. 00:39:04.100 --> 00:39:13.700 It is rich with the guidance that we need as we go through life, understanding you, understanding ourselves, and understanding the world in which we live. 00:39:15.340 --> 00:39:20.460 So, Father, help us just to be on a constant journey of connecting with you through your word. 00:39:23.280 --> 00:39:26.660 Lord, allow it to be active and living in our life. 00:39:27.600 --> 00:39:30.900 Lord, allow it to allow it to judge the intentions of our heart. 00:39:32.220 --> 00:39:36.520 Allow it to help us to discern the thoughts that we have. 00:39:39.400 --> 00:39:44.420 So, Lord, our ultimate purpose is to love you and to serve you and be in relationship with you. 00:39:46.020 --> 00:39:50.340 So, that you can grow us and mold us and shape us into your image that you desire. 00:39:52.460 --> 00:39:53.200 Lord, thank you. 00:39:53.420 --> 00:39:54.180 Thank you for your word. 00:39:54.320 --> 00:39:58.960 Thank you for what it does in and through our hearts and minds. 00:40:00.360 --> 00:40:01.580 We ask this prayer in your name. 00:40:02.000 --> 00:40:02.260 Amen. 00:40:02.260 --> 00:40:02.360 Amen. 00:40:04.420 --> 00:40:22.140 Thanks again for listening to the Willow Ridge Church weekly podcast. 00:40:22.660 --> 00:40:24.960 We hope that you enjoyed listening to this week's message. 00:40:25.140 --> 00:40:34.020 If you'd like to learn more about who we are or explore additional resources, visit us online at www.willowridgechurch.com. 00:40:34.360 --> 00:40:37.560 Or by searching for Willow Ridge Church on Facebook and Instagram.