Get Your Hands Dirty | David Eiffert

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Transcript

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Okay, well, last week, um, at conference I started a message called The Field of Your Future. And we talked about how seed time and harvest is a universal law. That's built into the fabric and function of the universe, just like hot and cold, just like day and night. Just like summer and winter, you can be confident that your life is in a constant state of sowing and reaping. And the people who reap a harvest today are the people who sowed seed yesterday. And the people who reap a harvest tomorrow are the people who sow seed today. And we had three made points just by way of review. Number one, you have a field. Number two, you choose the seeds three plant. Anyway, and so today what I'm wanting to do is I'm wanting to just get really practical. I'm wanting to get super specific on exactly how is it that we plant seeds to produce a better harvest. I want you to know this. There's not a single person in the room. That can't plant better seeds today. For a better harvest tomorrow. That's true for all of us. And we talked about last week how there was these five areas in your field that you're responsible for and you have the opportunity to plant better seeds. And so, um, yeah, if you are at the conference, let me say this, you heard some world class preaching. Does anyone appreciate Pastor Jared? Pastor Jabin being with us. So we're just coming off of some world class preaching, but today I'm putting on my teacher hat. I hope that's okay. It's the responsibility of the pastor, not just to motivate you. Right, but to teach you and to lead you. And so we're gonna talk about these five areas of our field. To refresh your memory, the five areas of your field are your soul, your relationships, your finances, your body, and your work. And I'll say this, and I think all of us are probably good at some of those areas. And bad at others. And so I'm just trusting that the Holy Spirit is gonna come and do his work on us individually and challenge us in the right areas. But we're gonna go through, uh, all five and I'm gonna talk about how to sow good seeds in those areas. Are you good for it? Yes. Okay, here we go. Number one is this Your soul. Your soul. Now, when we say your soul, what we're talking about is your mind, your will. And your emotions. You could say it, that it's, it's your interior life. And people talk about, people love talking about spiritual warfare. Oh, spiritual warfare. This spiritual warfare that, lemme tell you this, the primary place that spiritual warfare happens is between your ears. It's, it's right here. And renewing your mind is front and center in your discipleship to Jesus. Look at this, what Paul says. Romans chapter 12 verse two. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed. How? By the renewing of your mind. Listen to this next word then. Can you say that word with me Then? Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is. His good, pleasing and perfect will, and people love the first part of this. First, do not conform to the patterns of this world, but be transformed by the renew. Like they love all of that, but a lot of people don't Say that Next part, which is this, then you will be able to test and approve God's will. God's good, pleasing, and perfect will listen to me. Your ability to accomplish God's will is dependent on you, renewing your mind. Amen. Yeah. Right. If you don't renew your mind, you're not gonna be able to prove God's good and perfect will in your life. Renewing your mind is key. And the way that I like to say it is this. Thoughts follow me now. Thoughts are like trains. They take you somewhere. The question is where this, uh, past weekend I was at Chan Eliza's, uh, wedding reception. Save your clap'cause they're not here. Where are they right now? Getting on a cruise, getting on a crew. They're on a boat right now, so they're having a good time. But, uh, I was at, sitting at the wedding reception. I was at a table with people and we were talking, we were talking, oh, the wedding, blah, blah, blah, blah. Then we started talking about, unsurprisingly, Charlie Kirk, and I didn't realize this, but they told me that there was a video circulating, um, of him being killed. Yes, I have not seen it. I don't plan on seeing it. Don't send it to me. Uh, but there was a number of people at the table who had seen this video, and they were saying, man, when I, when I saw that video and I was sitting next to Jesse, my, my best friend, he's a cop, right? And so he sees, he says, he says, I've seen lots of stuff. He says, but that video, he says, there's something about it. There's just something wrong about that video and there's people at the table and they were saying, I saw that video and it, listen to this phrase, it took me to a bad place. Yep. That's how thoughts work. They take you somewhere. What you think about takes you some, they're like trains. They take you somewhere. But the question is where, and I'm not the type of person who thinks you can just like change your emotions, you know what I mean? Like, don't be sad. It's like. Right. Okay. Like I don't think you can just change your emotions, but you can change your thoughts and your emotions, follow your thoughts. And so if you listen to bad news all day, don't be surprised if you wake up every morning in a cloud of anxiety because your emotions follow your thoughts. It's not a coincidence. Emotions follow thoughts, and that's a warning. But listen to me. It's also an opportunity That's right. That's right. Right. Because you can use that reality to your advantage by filling your mind with what you want more of. You know, for me, uh, when I was in my thank you for that golf class, that was really great. Uh, when I was, when I go cry myself to sleep when I was in my twenties, uh, anxiety for me it was like a thing. Uh, it's not now. I, I'm not an anxious person now, but in my twenties, I, I was an anxious person. It was, it was a big part of my life. And I remember I would get in my car and I would, and I would just say this over and over and over and over in my car. I would say God has not given me a spirit of fear, but of power and of love, and of a sound mind. That's of two Timothy one, seven. Seven. Uh, God has not given me a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and a sound. I would say that I would say that all day over and over and over. What was I doing? I was using my thoughts to lead my emotions. So some, some people need to hear that, that, that your emotions are a wreck and you're thinking, why is this happening to me? Well, I can tell you one of the primary reasons is this, that your emotions follow your thought. And so you can choose to use whether or not you know that it's a reality in your life. So what was I doing? I, I was, I was using my thoughts to lead my emotions. You can write this down. Where are my thoughts taking me? Where are my thoughts taking? And listen, you are responsible for the condition of your own soul. Absolute. You are responsible. Proverbs chapter four, verse 23, says this, above all else, guard your heart. Above all, El above all else, guard your heart for everything you do, flows from it. And I think technology has made this, um, both more difficult and more important.'cause like, I'm sure you're like me, that you've got this phone in your pocket, right? And we all check it like 5 billion times a day. Listen to me, your phone is taking you somewhere. Yes. The, the, the question is where I think it's a really challenging question that when you wake up in the morning, what's the first thing you do? You check your phone. So do I like, that's the first, but, but it's an interesting question. If you were to say, like, when you wake up in the morning and you open up your phone, what's the first thing you open says a lot about you. Right? Because that, that, that's what your, that's, that's where your emotions are going to flow. Because it's what you're putting in your mind. Like what? The things that you let in your heart produce a harvest. Listen to this verse, Psalm chapter 1 0 1, verse three. I will not set before my eyes anything that is worthless. I will not set before my eyes anything. So you have to guard what you let in because every thought is a seed. Every thought is a seed. So first off, your soul, everyone say your soul. Your soul. Number two is this. Your relationships. Proverbs chapter 27, verse 17 says this, as iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another. And so if you want good relationships in the future, well then you have to sow seeds for good relationships today. Like am I talking to anybody like, like, and there's a lot of people, there's a lot of people that come to this church and say like, man, I want friends at this church. But they're the same people who like come late. Leave early, like, don't serve on teams, don't join a group. You know, and it's, it's like fine for a while, but then down the road they come to me and Jordan and they're like, man, I, I want friends, but I, I just don't feel like I have any friends at this church. And like, we've seen this over and over, like, I'm not talking one or two times, dozens of times. People where they, they consistently don't do their part to connect to the life of the church, and then they complain that they don't feel connected, right? So they show up and they're not friendly. They don't, they don't talk to anybody and then they're disappointed because their harvest is not tons of friends. I don't know why I don't have any apples. You didn't plan in the apples? Come on. Like that. That's why, by the way, that's why we have things like small groups. Yeah. Because we work really hard trying to make it as easy as possible for you. If you want relationship, if you want friendship, if you want connection, if you want community, all you have to do is show a little bit of initiatives. But you know, the Bible teaches us that if a person wants friends, what do they have to do? Show themselves friendly. If you want friends, you must show yourself. Friendly, not once. Persistently friendly, continually friendly, and like I, I guarantee you, if you put friendship out, you're gonna get friendship back. If you put smiles out, maybe not 100% of the time, but you're gonna get smiles back. If you put thoughtfulness out, you're gonna get thoughtfulness back. Well, that person didn't say hi to me. That person wasn't friendly to me. They were in this and that. Like, no sweat. Just keep doing what you know how to do. You know what I mean? Just keep sowing seed because you know, the principle of seed time and harvest is at work in your life and in your relationships. If you sow friendship, you're gonna reap friendship. I'm thinking like, um, I'm just looking around. I'm thinking like Preston right here. How long have you been coming to this church? A little short of two years. Little short of, that's crazy. A little short of two years, man. There's, there's like. Yeah, probably hundreds of people in this church that would say that Preston and his amazing wife, Caitlyn, and their beautiful daughter, grace, right here are their friends. Right. So like how, how did they, how did they do that? Some people are like, I've been coming to this church for seven years and nobody knows me. I say, yeah, right. How, how did, how did they do that? Well, they showed themselves friendly. I remember the first time I, uh, met Preston, I, I think I was in the sound booth. I think I was running sound. And he just like walks up back there. I'm thinking like, I'm not sure you're supposed to be back here, man, security. He just walks up to me, he's like, hi, my name is Preston man. God has totally turned my life around, man. You. I just want you to know I wanted to introduce myself and I wanted to let you know that your ministry has helped change my life right? Fast forward, like less than two years. He's one of my best friends. Right. How does that happen? By sowing seeds and reaping a harvest, and so that, that is all, and you might have regrets relationally, but you can still sow seeds into your future. And you may not be able to fix relationships in the past, but you can start building new relationships. Now. How? By planting the seed of friendship. Some of you're like, man, I, I don't have any relation. My, my kids hate me. Whatev look. You, you can plant seeds for a better future. I, I, I don't talk to my dad, but like you can plant seeds for a better future. Your relationships are a field and what you plant today, you're gonna reap tomorrow, your soul, your relationships. Number three. Y'all doing all right? Yes. Number three, is this your finances? Deuteronomy chapter eight, verse 18. But remember the Lord your God for it is He who gives you the ability to produce. Well, some of y'all just got uncomfortable, like Pastor David, why are you talking about money? Well, because Jesus talked about money more than heaven and Hell combined, right? And also because your financial habits are seeding your future here, here's how I think, uh, uh, good financial stewardship comes down to three things, three areas, giving, saving. Spending and you've gotta be responsible in all three, giving, saving, and spend. And, and I want you to know this, that if your financial life is terrible, I want you to know this. God has something better for you. That's right. He, God has something better for you if you're, I'm not saying everyone's gonna get jet skis and Corvettes, but like, it is not God's will for you to suffer financially. It's not. It's not. And, and He has given you the ability. Yes. To get out of the mess that you have created. That's right. But it comes not by a big check from the church. It comes by sowing financial seeds. So how do you do that? Okay, well first off, I'm just gonna say this. Are you ready? Tithe, right. Like, just, just do it. Get some financial seed in the ground. That's right. And, and notice that when, that, when scripture teaches us to give, it's not because God's trying to get something from us. It's because God's trying to get something to us. Pastor David, I, I just don't make that much. Okay. Let's go. Bring your tithe. That's right. Right. Pa you know, times are tough. Yeah. Yeah. That's cool. Take a step of faith. Bring your tithe. Amen. I'm praying for you guys. Thank you. But also tithe, tithing is a reminder that everything that you have is a gift from God. Amen. And tithing is also a personal invitation to a consistent blessing in your life. Prove it. No problem. Matthew chapter six, verse 33. Seek first the kingdom of God and all these things will be added to you. Right? So all these things are gonna be, he's talking about, he's talking about real regular things, close food, rent, paying the bill, like he's talking about regular stuff and he's saying, when you put the kingdom of God first. All that stuff is gonna be taken care of. But what you have to do is you have to start putting seed in the ground. And another thing I want you to know this, that, that when you tithe, you don't just reap financially, even though you do come on. But when you tithe, you also reap a harvest of things that money can't buy. That's right. God opens doors. Right? God makes a way. Like, and and, and I just know this because I'm a lifelong tither. I just believe this, that everywhere I go I have favor. Yes. I know that that's not, that's not works. Righteousness. That's learning the principles of seed time and harvest and how that works in my life. Right. So I I, I, I have never, you know, there's been times when we didn't have like, tons of money, but I have never been in this place of fear. Money has never been a place of struggle with me and my, we don't fight about money. Well, that's, that's never been a thing. And we just believe everywhere we go is favor. If this door closes, that's cool. Here's another I, I believe that because I have consistently put the kingdom of God first, when you seek the kingdom of God, first he opens doors that only he can open. And tithing, of course, I would say is the first way to sow seed financially. But it's not the only way. You can also put seed in the ground by how you spend the other 90%, right? Like, like young people, you want a better job, invest in yourself. Right. Take the course, buy the book, get the certification. It costs money now, but you're sowing seed into your future, right? Every dollar you spend is a seed. That's right. And so if you spend it on stuff that doesn't matter. You're gonna get a harvest of what stuff that doesn't matter, but, but if you spend it on things that grow, your skills, your health, your future, you can watch God multiply it. Yes, but you just gotta understand like churches are after. Like, look, I'm not, I'm, I'm not, I'm, that's not what I'm, where I'm coming from right now, but I can tell you this, that there are a lot of people that are suffering financially because they don't understand that every dollar you have is a seed. And if you just eat all of the seed, well then eventually that might, you might be fat for a season, but eventually it's gonna run dry. That's right. And so you've got your money. And some of that is for you to eat and some of for that for you is to plant your finances, so your soul, your relationships, your finances. Number four, is this. Your body. Your body. First Corinthians chapter six, verse 19. Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit? Who is in you, whom you have received from God you are not. Your own and you're thinking, oh, great, now he's gonna be making me feel bad about my body. Like I'm, I'm not here to try to do that at all, but I am gonna tell you this, you can only go where your body will take you. That's right. Right. Like, and God wants to do some cool things in you, but you know you're gonna have to take that body with you and it can either be a blessing to you or it can be a hindrance to you in accomplishing what God wants you to do. My daughter is eight years old. And here in November, I'm gonna turn 43. Does something bad happen at 43 that y'all ain't talking about? Alright, y'all didn't even tell me about 40. Uh, so by my math, that means that I'm 35 years older than my daughter. And so that means that if she were to have her first kid at 25. Then I'll be 60. Or if she waits like me to be 35 when she has her first kid, then I'll be 70 when I'm, and, and for me, I, I, I want, this is just a desire that I have. I want to be a grandpa who can play with my grandkids. I don't, I don't wanna be like some guy that's just in the chair and like, you know what I mean? Like, like I wanna be, I wanna be cool. I wanna be a cool grandpa. I wanna be fun'cause I'm weird and so I can have fun, but I'm not gonna be able to do that if my body doesn't let me do that. And so and so, when I think about it that way, it's not a big deal for me to go to the gym when I think about it that way. It's not a big deal for me to not have the third slice of pizza or like, it's not a big deal for me to take the stairs instead of the elevator because I'm not just making decisions for 43-year-old David. I'm also making decisions for 73-year-old David. That's good. And I understand that the seeds that I sow now with my body is what I'm gonna reap in the future. I think about it, I'm just looking around, I'm thinking about like, uh, art Kaplan, how old are you? Art? 71. He looks like he's 45. Oh oh oh. That's not for you. It's cool. Right. Incredible shape. Like I can't believe it's amazing. He looks great. He feels great. He moves great. He's still full of life and energy. I think about like Carl Allard, how old are you? 61. 61. He's, that's more activity than I do. I mean, he's in better shape than I am and, and that's not just because of what they did last week, it's because of what they've been doing for the last 30 years. That's right. Right. And so, so I'm sowing seeds now that will produce a harvest in the future when it comes to my physical body. And you might be thinking, can pastors talk about our physical bo? I think I can. Because, because this can be a blessing to you or it can be a burden to you. This can help, this can, this vehicle can get you to where God wants you to go, or it can be the reason you don't. Right. And so you just have to make choices. And so I'm trying to be like super practical here. So I've got three super practical body tips. Number one is this. Start ridiculously small. Like you don't have to be a bodybuilder. I'm just talking about like parking farther away, right? Taking the stairs. Do 10 air squats in the morning. Do, do like, do something that's a challenge for you. Movement is medicine. Yes. So just find a way to be active. Number two, eat like an adult. And I love Captain Crunch, so I'm preaching to myself here. One Corinthians chapter 10, verse 31 says this, so whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. When you eat, when you drink, you do it for the glory of God. And, and so like, you know, you know what's good for you, you know what's not, you know? So just make good choices. Stop acting like vegetables are a punishment. Yeah. Pastor Marshall, just kidding. Stop acting like pizza is God's reward to you. Right. Eat like an adult. Just make good choices. Number three, work around your limitations. If you can't run walk, if you can't walk, crawl, like, y'all know, I, I tell you this all the time. I don't run, I don't believe in it. If you see me running, it's'cause someone's chasing me. Call the police if I'm running anywhere. Something terrible has happened. But, but my, my knees don't like it, but my, but my knees love sand volleyball. Why? Because it's padded, it's soft. And so I do that. I work around the limitation. I, I don't, oh, my knee, my knees hurts so bad. I don't do that. I work around the limitation. My shoulder, I've got a weird shoulder. My right shoulder from when Larry Howard clobbered me at home play in church softball like 25 years ago. It still clicks. So, nevermind Shirley's, uh, husband who went to be with the Lord. Uh, yeah. So every time my shoulder pops, I think of Larry. Bless you, Larry. Right? So, so like at the gym, there's all kinds of exercises that I don't do, and so some people are like, Hey, listen. I'm like, that's cool, that's cool for you. I don't do it, but I work around the limitation. Do what you can do if you can't walk, move your arms. Come on, but it's, it is a simple idea, but God gave you one body for this life. Apparently you don't get a trade in at 50. Is that true? You can swap out parts. New knee here, new hip there. Right on. But the body that you're in right now, that's it for you here, right? And so I'm not talking about being a fitness model, I'm talking about honoring God with the body that he gave you. Don't delegate to God what he's delegated to you. He's not gonna do your pushups for you. So be a good steward of your body and God will bless your effort. Take care of the temple. It's the only one you've got. Your soul, your relationships, your finances, your body. Lastly, and I'm done. Number five, your work, your work is a, a field that you can plant seeds in and you might be thinking, well, you don't know my boss. Well, you don't know my work situation. That's, that's for sure true. But I, I just wanna tell y'all, your work ethic is seeding your future. Yes. Like we, we, there's a mindset in our culture right now where people don't wanna work, right? They, what do they wanna do? They just wanna do the minimum. They wanna show up, collect the paycheck, complain about everything. But it's not the Jesus way. That's good. What's the Jesus way? The Jesus way is bringing your best, even when nobody's watching. And you might be thinking, and you might be thinking like, well, convenient for you to say like you're the boss. Well, I'll have, you know that I worked at this church not as the boss for 15 years, and I volunteered at this church, not as the boss for six years. Before that, I was, I was the youth pastor. I was the web developer. I was the graphic designer. I've cleaned the bathrooms at this church and like everything I have done, if you're thinking what, what, what has worked for you? I can tell you the reason that I am where I am today is because everything that I've done, I've given my heart and soul to. I've done my absolute best. And my wife can tell you, like, I would be, I'd like stay up late at night and I'm, I'm like redoing the website, the church website. And I'm, you know, coding and I'm looking at it and I'd say, Jordan, she says, what? I say, come over here. And she says, what? And I'm like, I'm like, which of these two do you like more? And so she looks and she's like, they look exactly the same. I'm like, no they don't. This one's like a half centimeter over to the right. And she's like, no one is going to even notice David. And I'm like, I don't care. This is gonna be the best website, church, website in the history of the world. You know, I, I could have done what a lot of young people do, which is just do the minimum. Complain about everything. Complain about how I'm never picked, when promotions come. Right? Or you can, you can do your work. Whatever your work is, you can do it as unto the Lord. Colossians chapter three, verse 23 says This. Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart as working for the Lord, not for human masters. And so I started asking this question. I love this question. If you're young, you should write this question down. If I was the boss, what would I want from someone in my position? If I was the boss, what would I want from someone in my position? And then do that. And, and, and I've consistently, not perfectly, but I've consistently done that. And so it changed everything for me. I wasn't just doing a job, I was stewarding an opportunity. Amen. And so then when promotion was a possibility, you know who they looked at, the people who are bringing their best. That's right. Our cap people. Who do you promote when it's time to promote people who are bringing their best? Man? He just cleans the bathroom, clean the heck out of'em. Then like may be so be so. So undeniably great. Amen. At whatever you do. And that's that sowing a seat and you might be no, no one even notices, no one even sees that I'm doing. Even if your boss doesn't see, God sees, and he's the one that can open doors for you. And so every time you go above and beyond he sees it. Every time you work hard, he sees it every time you. You, you take on a project that you didn't have to take on. He sees it every time you're walking in the hallway. You pick up a piece of trash, he sees it, and you're sowing seeds into your future. Listen to this one Corinthians chapter nine verse seven. Workers who tend to fig tree are allowed to eat the fruit. Listen to this, and workers who protect their employer's interests will be rewarded. Workers who protect their employer's interests. Will be rewarded. So what does that mean? It means show up on time. That's right. It means take initiative. It means don't steal. Right. And that includes time. It means put your phone down, make your employer glad they hired you, and God sees your work even when your boss doesn't. And I've, I've learned this, that, that people who complain about their current job rarely excel at their next one. Yep. That's right. Right. So I know that there's a lot of people in there. You, you're working job, you're not working the job you want, you're working the job you have. But I, I I'm telling you that what you do day to day at your job right now, it might not produce a harvest today, might not produce a harvest tomorrow, but it's putting seed in the ground. That's right. People who steward their current opportunity, God opens doors for'em. You think about like Joseph in scripture sold to slavery. Worked with excellence. Yep. Thrown in prison, worked with excellence, and eventually not that day, but eventually he became second in command over all of Egypt. Look at this. Proverbs chapter 22, verse 29. Do you see someone skilled in their work? They will serve before kings. They will not serve before officials of low rank. The work you do now is a seed into your next opportunity, so bring your best. Yeah, your soul, your relationships, your finances, your body and your work. And you might be thinking, that feels like a lot, like I'm supposed to manage all five of it. Like when am I supposed to sleep? Remember this, you don't have to be perfect. You just have to be faithful. You don't have to be perfect. You just have to be fit. Start small, start somewhere, but start. Start sowing better seed. And my prayer for you, and my prayer for you, this past week has just been this, is that God would show you. Maybe it's when it comes to your health, maybe it's when it comes to relationship, maybe it's work, maybe it's like the condition of your own heart, whatever it is that God would just start reminding you throughout the week, now I'm sowing seed. I'm sowing seed. I'm sowing seed. Right, because the people who reap tomorrow are the people who sow seeds today. Here's my closing statement. The seeds you plant today determine the harvest you'll reap tomorrow. Your soul guard what you let in, because every thought is a seed that takes you somewhere. Your relationships show yourself friendly and friendship will come back to you. Your finances, your financial habits are seeding your future. Give generously and spend wisely. Your body, honor God with the temple he gave you. It's the only one you've got your work bring excellence even when nobody's watching because God sees your faithfulness. You don't have to be perfect, you just have to be faithful.