Time is one of those things that gets into all kinds of mythological thinking—time travel and all those kinds of things—but for practical, relational purposes with the Lord and between us, we've got to really understand that time is understandably confusing, and yet we don't have to understand every moment of time. You don't have to understand everything in the past, you don't have to understand everything in the future, you don't even have to understand everything in the present. But if you begin to follow the Lord and seek Him in what He lays out before you at any given time, in the moment that you have—because the time that we have is always now—there is a past, there is a future, but the time we have is now.
[00:39:35]
It's hard to rest in the now. More often than not, we are either lamenting the past or we are anticipating the future, either with dread or with hope, but we very rarely live in the here and now, which is a struggle for us because we tend to think of the future because we can somehow control it. If we could understand the past and understand the now, if we do the right thing now, we might get the right results in the future, and then we lament the past because we almost feel as if, if I could have just changed what I did at that moment, then this time would be different in the future. And we struggle with control.
[00:40:26]
We tend to look at rest as a moment in time or an event of some sort that we literally set a time to rest. And that is our rest. But I don't know about you guys, but sometimes you can get physical rest, but no mental rest. And other times you're working and your employer would say, you are on a mental rest, right? And we need to bring those two together, right? But we struggle with this because we go, how do you rest while working? And how do you work while resting when these are kind of the two opposites, but there's a time for everything. So there must be a time to rest and a time to work. But in Christ, these two come together where you have work and rest at the same moment in the same time and the same activity.
[00:42:27]
We want to know the plans God has for us. Right? Wouldn't it be comforting in one sense? I know there's other ways, but in one sense, wouldn't it be comforting if God said, you know what, today you're going to do this, this, this is going to happen. I mean, it would help me so much if God would tell me how many red lights I'm going to hit on the way to work. It would help me. It would prepare me because if I'm driving and I, I tend to expect every light should be green and then I hit every light red, if God had told me that in the future, in the past, I would be more calm, I suppose. But really the reality is, if my heart's not right and God goes, you're going to hit every green light, I'd start arguing with God.
[00:43:33]
God gave us prophecy to look to the future so that we have hope right now. Now I want you to be clear on this. He did not give us prophecies for the future so that we would focus on the future and always dread it or always be distracted by it, but rather to have hope for now. Because whatever you're going through today, there is a future hope for you and this will pass. It came to pass. This is the whole point of prophecy.
[00:45:27]
We make our plans, but you have no idea because you could walk out today, get in your car and go, and it's like, oh, you were just planning on getting in your car, driving away, going home, eating some lunch, relaxing, and now you have to deal with a car that's broken down. God establishes your steps. You plan, but God knows what's going to happen and He establishes your steps. But when we think of that, we often think in terms of how He disrupts our plans rather than actually leads us in the way.
[00:47:32]
How many of you have found your plans don't go the way you think? Whether the circumstances, whether literally your timing of things, whether people's responses and reactions, whether your illness or non-illness, whether your money plans—I mean, everything seems to always go awry and that's for us to come back to, wait, I'm not God. I'm not in control of everything. It doesn't mean we don't make effort, but He establishes our steps. He's the one who directs our lives. We don't get to direct ourselves.
[00:49:47]
There's a limitation and you guys should be thankful that God has limited my will because if you've ever watched the Twilight Zone and you've ever seen those stories where people like get whatever they want, how does it always end up? It always ends up bad. I mean, Rod Sterling really knew his human nature, you know, but it always ends up bad. If you get exactly what you want, it's not good. I'm glad God has limited me because there's been times that—you know, how many of you have ever felt that way for people, like you just want to smash them and you just smash them and it would be over, and it's like, oh, well, I'll bring him back. I mean, we would be crazy as God. It'd be horrible.
[00:51:45]
Multiple choices don't help often. We think it does, but it doesn't because it will spend our time making choices. But this is where God directs our steps. He actually limits our choices so that we have a choice. And really it comes down to two things in any given moment. Do you choose God or do you choose yourself? And practically speaking, that usually comes down to, do you choose others' needs, benefits, or do you choose your own? In any given moment, those are the choices we have.
[00:56:16]
Why spend money on what is not bread and your labor on what does not satisfy? Now this is a weird statement when he goes, buy it without money, and you kind of go, what is he talking about? If you buy it and yet it doesn't cost anything, you're not buying it, you're being given. It's like, yes, but there is a cost, but not a financial cost. If you choose the things of the Lord, it may cost you financially at times, it may cost you time-wise and things like, but in economic terms they call this opportunity cost. What will you spend your opportunity on?
[00:58:14]
How many things do we do that really doesn't bring fulfillment, doesn't really set the heart at ease, does not bring rest to the soul, does not bring contentment and satisfaction? Do you realize the most noble task in the world—you could think of different things, but I'll put it out, the idea of preaching God's word, noble, going out and being evangelist, that's noble, that's big stuff, that's like what we as Christians should aspire to do—you realize that becomes a task when it's just something you do because that's what you're just supposed to do, and even if it benefits others, if you're not doing it with a heart of love, it becomes nothing to you.
[01:00:46]
What you should be seeking is the Lord in it. Oftentimes, I mean, I remember when I would do evangelism on the streets, I was not good at it, but one of the things I remember was always thinking, did I do a good enough job? Now I gotta tell you, what's the criteria of a good enough job for evangelism? You know what I mean? I mean, think about it. I take a survey of people I've come to and like, hey, I preached the gospel, how well do you think I did? Was it clear? Was it touching? Did it really help you? Right? I mean, what's the criteria you go by? Most of us go, well, I felt good about it. Well, la-dee-duh. You know, I mean, like, what does that matter? Well, I mean, else can I judge by? People come to the Lord? Well, I mean, I guess that's important, but I mean, I want to know if I did good. What's the point of evangelism for you to go out and go, I got my Christian star today. Why do we go and evangelize? What do we go for? So that others may know the Lord and be saved. True. So why do we think, did I do a good enough job? Where's the focus on that? Me, myself, and I.
[01:02:57]
We tend to seek the Lord in spiritual stuff. And then we get spiritual and then we stop seeking the Lord and make it all about ourselves. Rather than going, what's God doing? I mean, guys, how many of you have neighbors? Y'all have neighbors? So how many of you have preached the gospel line for line, the four spiritual laws, the Romans road, whatever method you go through? You know, how many of you have sat down and went, okay, this is the whole gospel, the whole truth. And they've all gone, Oh, now I understand this whole time. I've just been waiting for you to tell me. No, how many of you would go, well, I haven't even, I mean, I'm still just learning their names, right? Like, Oh, okay. Start there. But we go, Oh, but I got to be an evangelist. Okay. But you're a neighbor for a reason.
[01:06:17]
What really matters to God, to others, and even our own soul is not how nice your house is, not how nice your yard is, not how much you have in a 401k, it does not matter how much you are liked and appreciated, it does not matter all these kind of things that we seek after and we think they're so important. God goes, that is not important. What matters is souls. What matters is loving God and loving others. Is that not the greatest commands?
[01:13:27]
Idols of this life consume our lives. Whether it's the desire for sex or the desire for money, the desire for prestige, the desire for security, the desire for power—I mean, all kinds of things that just are gods that just consume us. And we never find rest for the soul, nor are we bringing anything good to other people through those idols. And even evangelism and going to church, we treat as a Christian kind of checkmark list. But it never brings rest to the soul because we're not searching for the Lord. He is the salvation. He is our peace. He is our joy. He is our contentment. But we're not searching for Him in all these things. Instead, we're looking to Him to give us these things. In other words, we use God as a means to an end rather than the end.
[01:17:42]
The substance is Christ. And this means when you are going about your life, it is not the task you are set to. It's not the occasion that you're in. It's not the circumstances. It's finding Jesus in the circumstances that matter. That's what's hard to do, though. Because what happens in most of our lives? Let's just be honest. Let's describe our lives. Most of us would say it's disappointing. It's hard. It's frustrating. There's turmoil. There's angst. There's dread. I mean, a lot of negative things. How many of you have, you know, you don't have to necessarily raise your hand, but your life would be kind of described that way. Even if you have millions of dollars and you're wondering if you got cancer, do you realize your life stinks? Like, I don't know if I'm going to live very long. Like, all that. And he goes, this is nothing. Nothing is of substance in this life except knowing Christ.
[01:18:57]
It is good that life is so terrible lest we grow to be distracted by it too much. Because we would think this will bring satisfaction and we'd constantly chase. And don't we already? Guys, there's a reason it's hard for the rich to enter the kingdom of God. And whether you like it or not, you live in a country where you can come in and be an AC. You are in 1% territory. True? How many of you can go to a tap and get clean water? Even if it's not your tap. We have so much clean water, we don't guard it. We actually have taps on the outside of our houses that anyone can come and use. That's creepy. But no one worries about it. Why? Because as much as water is expensive, it ain't that expensive. We don't care. We are rich people.
[01:20:33]
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart as working for the Lord or to the Lord or with the Lord. I mean, in other words, he's basically saying, relate it to God. Whatever you find yourself doing, you should be doing it. Whether you eat or drink, do it for the glory of God. God, it's all about walking in the glory of God. Literally, we think of it as accomplishing glory, like bringing God's glory about. He goes, no, no, no. You're bringing God glory. No, no. You are walking in the glory. He is glorious. He brings about his glory. We are only doing it to enter into his glory and to share it with others. But he himself is glorious. So we search for him. We work for him. We seek him. We pursue him. We do all these things because everything else doesn't matter one diddly. It really doesn't.
[01:22:06]
This is love for God: to keep his commands and his commands are not burdensome. They're restful. But we don't get there overnight. This is something you develop. This is something you sow and you reap and you work towards, not because you have to earn it, but because it's cultivated in ourselves.
[01:23:14]
Why is it that when we work, there's still satisfaction when we join with God in the work? Rather than thinking I did it all myself or just letting God do all of it. And why is it more satisfying when we participate?
[01:26:24]
Do not be deceived. God cannot be mocked. And man reaps what he sows. Whoever sows to please their flesh from the flesh will reap destruction. Whoever sows to please the spirit from the spirit will reap eternal life. So he goes, do you understand we're mocking God when we go, I'm not going to work towards the things of God because that's works. We're mocking God when we go, I won't work. But we're also mocking God when we work to bolster our pride or to make ourselves look better than others or to accomplish things. We're mocking God either way. And he goes, he will not be mocked. He works it out. One way or the other.
[01:27:24]
Let us then not become weary in doing good. For at the proper time, we'll reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, when is it opportune? Guys, this is what I'm trying to say is we've got to look because not everything is opportune. Do you understand? I cannot preach the gospel to you today and be at Disneyland. Right? There's an opportunity cost. I can't be in the mountains enjoying myself and preaching to you. So I'm missing the mountains today. No, it's just I can't be at two places at once. I don't have that kind of free will. Neither do you. I have a choice to make and you do too.
[01:28:44]
Half the time, if not most of the time, the decisions that I make to follow the Lord and seek him are not in big spiritual moments at church, not in big spiritual moments of evangelism, not big spiritual moments of Bible study, but in the small mundane moments of taking out the trash or driving courteously or answering the door when a salesman is there or being nice to a sales clerk at the store or picking up trash that someone else dropped or cleaning up after your spouse. These are things that will never go down in the annals of history. They're never going to go down as big things, but you are sowing either to the spirit or the flesh.
[01:31:47]
We're looking for huge revelations from God rather than just making the decision opportunity by opportunity. Will I sow to the flesh or sow to the spirit? You walk out. I'm just, I'm, I promise you, there'll be a few of you today who walk out and see trash on your way out and you'll go, ah, nuts. Because of what I'm saying right now. Because if you see trash, that's God's appointment for you to bend over and get some exercise. Pick it up, right? And you kind of go, ah, Dan, that doesn't matter. And you're right. Someone else will pick it up if you don't. We're not going to let trash pile up here, right? But you have no idea what God will do in your life or someone else's life if you will do it. But you've sown to the flesh or to the spirit by the decision you make.
[01:35:58]
It's not the future. It's not the past. It's right now, which is opportune. And you have the opportunity to sow to the flesh or to the spirit. And this is how we're constantly working. And we need to search for who in all of it. Okay, Lord, there's a piece of trash. You pick it up and you go, why do you want me to see this trash? And then you throw it away and then all of a sudden you're like, oh no, there's another piece of trash and all of a sudden you're like, I'm the trash man of the church. You're gonna have to wrestle with God going, why does he make me see all the trash? And maybe he would tell you, stop. Oh, there's a lesson. But you wouldn't come to it unless you kept picking up trash enough to go, why is this happening? I'm serious, guys. This is how you get to know God. It's not random.
[01:36:48]
