WEBVTT 1 00:00:02.480 --> 00:00:05.919 Welcome to Pastor Rick's Daily Hope. This is the place 2 00:00:05.960 --> 00:00:09.919 where Rick Warren brings you uplifting messages from God's Word 3 00:00:10.119 --> 00:00:13.439 every day to help you grow deeper in faith and 4 00:00:13.640 --> 00:00:18.039 live with purpose. Today we're bringing our series called Toolbox 5 00:00:18.120 --> 00:00:21.719 for Life to a close. In this series, Rick teaches 6 00:00:21.920 --> 00:00:26.079 four essential skills that you need to succeed wherever God 7 00:00:26.079 --> 00:00:30.039 has placed you. Whether it's at home, at work, at school, 8 00:00:30.199 --> 00:00:34.079 or in your community. These are tools that every follower 9 00:00:34.159 --> 00:00:38.280 of Jesus needs. So let's get started with today's teaching. 10 00:00:38.600 --> 00:00:41.960 Here's Pastor Rick Warren with the final part of a 11 00:00:42.000 --> 00:00:45.840 message called learning to be both fast and Slow. 12 00:00:46.640 --> 00:00:48.880 So we've looked at some examples of when God says 13 00:00:48.920 --> 00:00:51.359 to move fast. Let me give you some examples, and 14 00:00:51.399 --> 00:00:54.840 again this is not exhaustive. Just a few examples of 15 00:00:54.880 --> 00:00:57.280 when does God want me to move slowly? 16 00:00:58.039 --> 00:00:58.399 All right? 17 00:00:58.520 --> 00:01:01.039 Here a few write these down. Number one, I need 18 00:01:01.039 --> 00:01:04.879 to move slowly. Number one when I don't have the facts. 19 00:01:06.439 --> 00:01:10.400 The Bible says, when I don't have the facts, I 20 00:01:10.480 --> 00:01:14.680 need to move move slowly. I need to find out 21 00:01:14.719 --> 00:01:17.719 more about what I'm about to do before I do it. 22 00:01:18.439 --> 00:01:22.480 Now our culture, this is so counterculture because our counter culture, 23 00:01:22.560 --> 00:01:30.359 our culture worships impulsivity, Our culture values spontaneity. To do anything, 24 00:01:30.519 --> 00:01:35.680 to plan anything is considered uncool, to plan anything, to 25 00:01:35.799 --> 00:01:38.280 think it out is to consider Oh, that's kind of geeky. 26 00:01:38.719 --> 00:01:38.760 No. 27 00:01:38.920 --> 00:01:40.799 No, I just want to be a free spirit, and 28 00:01:40.840 --> 00:01:43.519 I just want to be spontaneous, and I just want 29 00:01:43.519 --> 00:01:46.840 to be impulsive. And so you make decisions when you 30 00:01:46.840 --> 00:01:49.760 don't have the facts and haven't planned at all. How 31 00:01:49.799 --> 00:01:52.439 many times you've heard things like this? People say, well, 32 00:01:52.560 --> 00:01:56.159 just go with your gut, go with your gut. 33 00:01:56.239 --> 00:01:57.319 You just ate a burrito. 34 00:01:59.519 --> 00:02:01.719 What kind of information you're gonna get out of that? 35 00:02:02.480 --> 00:02:03.480 Beans and cheese? 36 00:02:04.200 --> 00:02:07.799 Go with your gut? What does that mean? Go with 37 00:02:07.840 --> 00:02:11.439 your gut? That's a terrible reason to base your life. 38 00:02:11.520 --> 00:02:12.280 Your gut is. 39 00:02:12.280 --> 00:02:17.759 Wrong, It has indigestion half the time. Or here's another one. 40 00:02:17.800 --> 00:02:20.360 You've heard this on a thousand talk shows, you've heard 41 00:02:20.360 --> 00:02:23.159 it in movies, and they make it sound so spiritual. 42 00:02:23.560 --> 00:02:26.680 Just you gotta follow your heart. You ever heard that? 43 00:02:27.520 --> 00:02:29.879 Just follow your follow your heart? 44 00:02:30.360 --> 00:02:31.240 Are you kidding me? 45 00:02:31.680 --> 00:02:37.159 Your heart lies to you all the time, all the time. 46 00:02:37.800 --> 00:02:38.400 You lie to. 47 00:02:38.360 --> 00:02:42.240 Yourself more than you lie to anybody else. About half 48 00:02:42.280 --> 00:02:45.879 the time your heart gets it dead wrong. The Bible 49 00:02:45.919 --> 00:02:50.199 says in Jeremiah seventeen, the heart is deceitful. That means 50 00:02:50.360 --> 00:02:54.319 it has an amazing ability to con you. And we 51 00:02:54.400 --> 00:02:57.120 tend to convince ourselves that things are bad when they're 52 00:02:57.159 --> 00:02:59.680 not really that bad. And we can convince ourselves that 53 00:02:59.719 --> 00:03:02.080 they're good when they're not really that good. And we 54 00:03:02.199 --> 00:03:05.000 lie to ourselves all the time. You should not trust 55 00:03:05.039 --> 00:03:07.159 your heart because about half the time it's going to 56 00:03:07.240 --> 00:03:07.960 be dead wrong. 57 00:03:08.120 --> 00:03:09.759 How's that working out for you? Anyway? 58 00:03:10.319 --> 00:03:15.599 Follow your heart one dead end after another, broken hearts, 59 00:03:15.599 --> 00:03:19.840 broken relationships. Following your heart is not You need something 60 00:03:19.919 --> 00:03:24.039 bigger than yourself. You need an objective source of truth 61 00:03:24.639 --> 00:03:26.560 that's bigger than you. We talked about this a couple 62 00:03:26.560 --> 00:03:30.120 weeks ago. That's outside of you. That's a lot more 63 00:03:30.159 --> 00:03:32.719 reliable than simply well, I got up this morning and. 64 00:03:32.639 --> 00:03:33.719 Felt like doing this. 65 00:03:34.840 --> 00:03:38.759 Really, your feelings are often wrong, and we know now 66 00:03:38.800 --> 00:03:39.960 today from virtual reality. 67 00:03:39.960 --> 00:03:41.280 We can't make you feel anything. 68 00:03:42.919 --> 00:03:46.639 Really, people advertisers know how to make you feel all 69 00:03:46.759 --> 00:03:49.879 kinds of things that you don't want to feel. And 70 00:03:49.960 --> 00:03:53.039 doesn't mean it's right, doesn't mean it's true. No, you 71 00:03:53.120 --> 00:03:57.479 need the facts. You need the truth. The Bible says this. 72 00:03:57.520 --> 00:04:04.520 Look at these verses Proverbs nineteen twenty one. The Bible says, 73 00:04:04.879 --> 00:04:10.599 zeal that's enthusiasm. Zeal without knowledge is not good. You 74 00:04:10.680 --> 00:04:14.159 got to get the facts. A person who moves too 75 00:04:14.280 --> 00:04:17.120 quickly may go the wrong way. 76 00:04:17.199 --> 00:04:18.720 Has that ever happened to you? Of course it has. 77 00:04:19.480 --> 00:04:21.160 You ever been driving down the street and you didn't 78 00:04:21.160 --> 00:04:22.560 know where you're going, and you were in a new 79 00:04:22.600 --> 00:04:25.279 town or a new area, and you didn't know, and 80 00:04:25.399 --> 00:04:27.480 you felt like somebody was pressuring you from behind, so 81 00:04:27.519 --> 00:04:28.920 you turn right or turn left. 82 00:04:29.319 --> 00:04:30.360 It wasn't the right decision. 83 00:04:30.439 --> 00:04:33.720 You just felt pressured to do it, and it wasn't 84 00:04:33.759 --> 00:04:36.360 It wasn't at all where you wanted to go because 85 00:04:36.399 --> 00:04:39.360 you hadn't stopped to get the facts and consider where 86 00:04:39.399 --> 00:04:43.279 you need to go. Zeal without knowledge is not good. 87 00:04:44.040 --> 00:04:48.240 You know, today America economy is run on small businesses. 88 00:04:48.839 --> 00:04:51.560 But most people don't realize that about eighty percent of 89 00:04:51.600 --> 00:04:55.160 all small businesses fail within the first five years. Why 90 00:04:55.439 --> 00:04:59.120 because they have zeal without knowledge. They have a desire, 91 00:04:59.319 --> 00:05:02.480 but they never to anybody who's actually done it. I 92 00:05:02.519 --> 00:05:06.879 could say I like to eat cookies. I'm gonna start 93 00:05:07.120 --> 00:05:13.120 Ricky's Cookie Store. I know nothing about running a cookie store. 94 00:05:14.360 --> 00:05:17.120 And before I ever start Ricky's Cookie Store, I got 95 00:05:17.120 --> 00:05:21.439 to go talk to Missus Fields and say what were 96 00:05:21.480 --> 00:05:26.439 the pitfalls, what didn't work. It's dumb to start anything 97 00:05:26.519 --> 00:05:28.879 without talking to somebody who's already done it. 98 00:05:29.480 --> 00:05:30.639 That's what the Bible says. 99 00:05:30.879 --> 00:05:34.160 I should move slowly when I don't have the facts 100 00:05:34.160 --> 00:05:38.199 Proverbs eighteen thirteen. To decide before knowing the facts is 101 00:05:38.240 --> 00:05:39.560 shameful and stupid. 102 00:05:39.720 --> 00:05:43.560 Well that's pretty clear, all right. Number two. 103 00:05:44.160 --> 00:05:48.120 Second time, I should move slowly when I'm hurt or angry. 104 00:05:49.160 --> 00:05:52.040 This will save you a whole lot of counseling bills 105 00:05:53.680 --> 00:05:58.360 if you'll understand. Don't move fast when you're hurt or angry, 106 00:05:58.480 --> 00:06:02.000 or you could add depressed too. How many times have 107 00:06:02.120 --> 00:06:06.040 you made a bad decision when you were upset because 108 00:06:06.079 --> 00:06:10.000 your emotions kicked in, your heart kicked in, and your 109 00:06:10.040 --> 00:06:12.680 heart was telling to do stuff that wasn't logical or 110 00:06:12.680 --> 00:06:17.959 even rational or even beneficial. I should move slowly, the 111 00:06:17.959 --> 00:06:19.839 Bible says, when I'm hurt or angry. Look at some 112 00:06:19.879 --> 00:06:24.040 of these verses James one nineteen. Everyone should be quick 113 00:06:24.240 --> 00:06:28.519 to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry. 114 00:06:28.600 --> 00:06:31.079 To see the rhythm there, you might circle quick, slow 115 00:06:31.120 --> 00:06:35.199 and slow. Quick to listen, slow to speak. Usually we 116 00:06:35.199 --> 00:06:38.839 get that one exact opposite. Usually we're quick to speak 117 00:06:40.279 --> 00:06:42.759 and slow to listen. And that's why we have all 118 00:06:42.759 --> 00:06:45.199 the relational problems that we do, because we're quick to 119 00:06:45.240 --> 00:06:48.079 speak and slow to listen. God says, no, no, no, 120 00:06:48.079 --> 00:06:51.720 you got it all backwards. Be quick to listen, be 121 00:06:51.839 --> 00:06:53.879 slow to speak. By the way, if you do the 122 00:06:53.920 --> 00:06:57.000 first two, the third one's automatic, you'll be slow to anger. 123 00:06:57.839 --> 00:06:59.439 Now that's a rhythm. 124 00:07:00.240 --> 00:07:03.759 Let me show you a few verses Proverbs fourteen twenty nine. 125 00:07:03.920 --> 00:07:09.079 Whoever is slow to anger has a great understanding, But 126 00:07:09.199 --> 00:07:13.879 he who is quick tempered makes foolish mistakes. Let me 127 00:07:13.879 --> 00:07:15.319 show you a couple more up here on the screen. 128 00:07:16.680 --> 00:07:21.240 Proverbs fifteen, verse twenty eight. The Godly thinks before speaking. 129 00:07:22.480 --> 00:07:24.920 He saying, put your mind in gear before you put 130 00:07:24.959 --> 00:07:28.120 your mouth in gear. Well, we don't always do that one, 131 00:07:28.279 --> 00:07:31.199 and that gets us into trouble. Why we don't go slow. 132 00:07:32.319 --> 00:07:36.800 We're too quick to spout out our opinion on the 133 00:07:36.839 --> 00:07:40.839 internet or somewhere else. The godly thinks before speaking. Here's 134 00:07:40.839 --> 00:07:45.879 another one Proverbs fifteen eighteen. Losing your temper causes trouble, 135 00:07:46.279 --> 00:07:49.040 but staying calm settles argument. 136 00:07:49.160 --> 00:07:52.480 How do you stay calm? Go slow, go slow. 137 00:07:53.079 --> 00:07:56.279 Sometimes you're to go fast in life, but sometimes you're 138 00:07:56.319 --> 00:07:57.040 to go slow. 139 00:07:57.120 --> 00:07:58.160 Let me give you a third area. 140 00:07:58.680 --> 00:08:04.199 I should move slowly when making a major decision. Oh, 141 00:08:04.240 --> 00:08:06.560 this one could save you a lot of heartache and 142 00:08:06.639 --> 00:08:09.680 a lot of money too. When making a major decision. 143 00:08:10.079 --> 00:08:15.519 Never make a major decision impulsively. Take some time to 144 00:08:15.639 --> 00:08:21.759 think it through, to consider, to pray, to just slow down. 145 00:08:22.680 --> 00:08:25.639 Some of you are unmarried and you would like to 146 00:08:25.680 --> 00:08:29.120 be married. I'm gonna give you my best marriage advice 147 00:08:29.240 --> 00:08:32.600 in two words. Here's ten years of counseling in two words. 148 00:08:33.320 --> 00:08:39.879 Go slow. Just don't get in a hurry. What happened? 149 00:08:39.919 --> 00:08:41.840 You go out, you see somebody, You get a quiver 150 00:08:41.919 --> 00:08:44.279 in your liver, and you're ready to marry him next week? 151 00:08:44.519 --> 00:08:45.519 Are you kidding me? 152 00:08:46.480 --> 00:08:47.960 And then you think you're going to spend the rest 153 00:08:47.960 --> 00:08:50.600 of your life with this person? You didn't check him out. No, 154 00:08:50.960 --> 00:08:53.039 you should go through I tell people when he used 155 00:08:53.039 --> 00:08:56.000 to do counseling. You should go through all four seasons 156 00:08:56.000 --> 00:09:00.080 with somebody before you marry him, winter, spring, summer, fall. 157 00:09:00.159 --> 00:09:02.639 All you gotta do is call go through all four 158 00:09:03.000 --> 00:09:06.360 seasons with it. You see, here's the problem with dating. 159 00:09:06.840 --> 00:09:13.080 Dating is such an artificial phony experience. I mean, everybody 160 00:09:13.120 --> 00:09:17.679 acts their best looks, their best dresses, their best smells, 161 00:09:17.759 --> 00:09:22.000 their best guy walks up to you, you know, in 162 00:09:22.080 --> 00:09:24.039 a bar, say hey, can I buy you a drink? 163 00:09:24.919 --> 00:09:27.519 Where else in the world do you offer a stranger 164 00:09:27.559 --> 00:09:30.279 to buy them something? Can you imagine you're in sears 165 00:09:30.320 --> 00:09:31.759 you walk up, Hey, can I buy you a toaster? 166 00:09:33.480 --> 00:09:35.240 Yeah? Care for a blender? 167 00:09:35.759 --> 00:09:40.039 You know, really, it's so phony and so fake, and 168 00:09:40.200 --> 00:09:43.240 it's not the real deal. You gotta see him when 169 00:09:43.279 --> 00:09:47.399 they're down, when they're up in all the experiences of life. 170 00:09:47.519 --> 00:09:49.759 You gotta see him when they're when they're upset and 171 00:09:49.759 --> 00:09:52.360 they're you know, and they're down in every. 172 00:09:52.159 --> 00:09:56.960 Experience, because that's real life. You see. I just need 173 00:09:56.960 --> 00:09:57.840 to talk to. 174 00:09:57.840 --> 00:09:59.799 Our ladies here for just a minute, because I don't 175 00:09:59.799 --> 00:10:04.399 want broken hearts. You need to understand, ladies, that when 176 00:10:04.399 --> 00:10:08.639 a man decides he's gonna get married, he's a man 177 00:10:08.679 --> 00:10:11.519 on a mission, and a man on a mission will 178 00:10:11.519 --> 00:10:15.240 do things to get to woo a woman he would 179 00:10:15.279 --> 00:10:20.360 never do in real life, like go to the opera. 180 00:10:20.600 --> 00:10:24.279 No man would ever go to the opera voluntarily. Okay, 181 00:10:24.720 --> 00:10:26.960 But but if he's trying to woo a woman, he'll 182 00:10:27.000 --> 00:10:29.559 go to an opera. He'll talk for three hours on 183 00:10:29.600 --> 00:10:35.600 the phone. What man does that? Nobody? No, but he'll 184 00:10:35.600 --> 00:10:40.720 do it during the dating season, okay, and bring flowers 185 00:10:40.759 --> 00:10:44.039 and all these kind of things. And then once they're married, 186 00:10:44.440 --> 00:10:46.960 the guy mentally in his mind, he's got a checklist 187 00:10:46.960 --> 00:10:50.840 and he goes check married. Now I got to go 188 00:10:50.879 --> 00:10:52.320 to the second thing on the list, weich is I 189 00:10:52.360 --> 00:10:55.240 got to provide for her. I got a family to 190 00:10:55.279 --> 00:10:57.799 take care of and I And so all of his 191 00:10:57.879 --> 00:11:02.279 attention moves from woo the woman done that. Now it's 192 00:11:02.720 --> 00:11:06.240 support our family, support our marriage. And all of his 193 00:11:06.279 --> 00:11:10.679 attention moves to the business. And the woman feels like, hey, 194 00:11:10.720 --> 00:11:11.759 this is bait and switch. 195 00:11:12.000 --> 00:11:13.559 What happened to the guy who talked to me for 196 00:11:13.600 --> 00:11:19.279 three hours on the phone. He's working, okay, And so 197 00:11:19.360 --> 00:11:21.000 I'm just trying. 198 00:11:20.759 --> 00:11:23.200 To put it out the way it really is that 199 00:11:23.919 --> 00:11:26.399 you just need to go slow. You know, I heard 200 00:11:26.440 --> 00:11:30.360 this week about a couple in our church that chose 201 00:11:30.399 --> 00:11:34.759 to wait ten years to get married for the sake 202 00:11:34.919 --> 00:11:42.399 of their children from previous marriages. That's unbelievably mature and unselfish. 203 00:11:42.440 --> 00:11:43.519 What they did is they. 204 00:11:43.480 --> 00:11:47.000 Dated each other while their little ones, their babies were 205 00:11:47.039 --> 00:11:51.360 growing up. They remained sexually pure, they kept their vows 206 00:11:51.399 --> 00:11:55.320 to God, and then once the kids were grown and 207 00:11:55.840 --> 00:11:59.480 they felt were ready, they got finally got married the 208 00:11:59.559 --> 00:12:01.679 very soish moon. And by the way, they're on their 209 00:12:01.679 --> 00:12:05.120 honeymoon right now. Yeah, they're on their honeymoon right now. 210 00:12:05.240 --> 00:12:09.480 They chose to go slow when they could have gone fast. 211 00:12:09.639 --> 00:12:11.639 But I guarantee you they saved themselves a lot of 212 00:12:11.679 --> 00:12:14.559 problems that they might have had if they had just 213 00:12:14.679 --> 00:12:18.399 rushed into something without even considering all the other players 214 00:12:18.679 --> 00:12:20.919 in the in the formula when you're. 215 00:12:20.799 --> 00:12:21.919 Making a major decision. 216 00:12:22.039 --> 00:12:24.519 Let me show you some Bible verses Proverbs twenty one 217 00:12:24.679 --> 00:12:29.399 twenty nine. Wicked people bluff their way through life. 218 00:12:30.759 --> 00:12:33.120 So do some presidential candidates. 219 00:12:34.440 --> 00:12:41.120 Okay, okay, but God's people think before they take a step. 220 00:12:42.000 --> 00:12:44.799 You gotta think. You got to use the brain. I'm 221 00:12:44.799 --> 00:12:46.840 waiting for God's will. God gave you his will when 222 00:12:46.879 --> 00:12:50.399 he gave you a brain, and he says, go slow, 223 00:12:50.720 --> 00:12:54.559 think before you speak. What major decision are you facing 224 00:12:54.639 --> 00:13:00.279 right now that you need to slow down on? What 225 00:13:00.399 --> 00:13:02.960 made your decision? Are you facing right now that you 226 00:13:03.279 --> 00:13:06.000 Maybe it's retirement or a new job, or I don't 227 00:13:06.000 --> 00:13:09.240 know what it is. You just need to slow down on. 228 00:13:10.279 --> 00:13:15.120 Proverbs four twenty six says this, ponder the path of 229 00:13:15.159 --> 00:13:18.000 your feet, then all your ways will be sure. Circle 230 00:13:18.039 --> 00:13:20.960 the word ponder. That's an old English word. It just 231 00:13:21.000 --> 00:13:23.159 means to really seriously think about it. It means to 232 00:13:23.879 --> 00:13:29.559 carefully consider. When he says ponder the path of your feet, 233 00:13:30.639 --> 00:13:34.639 He's what he's saying there is carefully consider the direction 234 00:13:35.120 --> 00:13:39.360 of your life. And he says, if you carefully consider 235 00:13:39.799 --> 00:13:44.360 the direction of your life, then he says, all your 236 00:13:44.399 --> 00:13:46.720 ways will be sure. 237 00:13:47.600 --> 00:13:47.840 Now. 238 00:13:49.000 --> 00:13:52.159 What does it mean to carefully? It means to ask yourself, 239 00:13:52.480 --> 00:13:56.200 what do I need to do today in order to 240 00:13:56.240 --> 00:13:59.600 get where I want to be tomorrow? Most people never 241 00:13:59.639 --> 00:14:02.000 ask that question, so they never get to where they 242 00:14:02.000 --> 00:14:02.320 want to be. 243 00:14:02.879 --> 00:14:04.440 What do I need to do today? 244 00:14:04.559 --> 00:14:09.600 The habits, the practices, the savings, the skills, the learning. 245 00:14:09.720 --> 00:14:11.759 What do I need to do today to get where 246 00:14:11.759 --> 00:14:14.919 I want to be tomorrow? A lot of people dream 247 00:14:14.919 --> 00:14:16.600 about tomorrow, but they never ask what do I need 248 00:14:16.639 --> 00:14:19.080 to do today to get there? That's what it means 249 00:14:19.159 --> 00:14:22.440 to ponder the path of your feet. Now you can't 250 00:14:22.480 --> 00:14:26.080 ponder fast, you can only do it slow. It means 251 00:14:26.080 --> 00:14:28.120 you got to take time, You got to slow down, 252 00:14:28.559 --> 00:14:30.080 You got to think about it. 253 00:14:30.159 --> 00:14:30.320 Now. 254 00:14:30.320 --> 00:14:35.679 This applies to everywhere of your life career, moves, marriage, ministry, family, finances, 255 00:14:35.679 --> 00:14:39.360 and everything. Proverbs twenty two, verse three says this, Sensible 256 00:14:39.480 --> 00:14:44.720 people will see trouble coming because they're pondering the path 257 00:14:44.759 --> 00:14:47.879 of their feet. They're looking at where they're headed. Sensible 258 00:14:47.919 --> 00:14:51.519 people will see the trouble coming and avoid it, but 259 00:14:51.639 --> 00:14:56.399 an unthinking person will walk right into it and regret 260 00:14:56.480 --> 00:14:56.879 it later. 261 00:14:57.039 --> 00:14:57.919 By the way, do you. 262 00:14:57.879 --> 00:15:01.960 Know where we have the numberumber one violation of that 263 00:15:02.039 --> 00:15:03.000 principle right there? 264 00:15:03.440 --> 00:15:05.639 Spending spending. 265 00:15:05.960 --> 00:15:09.279 Sensible people see trouble coming and avoided one thing. You 266 00:15:09.320 --> 00:15:11.759 pirs walk right into it, regret it later. I know 267 00:15:11.799 --> 00:15:13.559 I can't afford, I'm gonna buy it because I really want. 268 00:15:13.480 --> 00:15:17.000 It right now. And it's impulse buying. 269 00:15:17.639 --> 00:15:20.000 It's buying things you don't need with money you don't 270 00:15:20.039 --> 00:15:24.600 have to impress people you don't even like, and that 271 00:15:24.879 --> 00:15:27.840 gets more people into trouble. Why are you in debt 272 00:15:28.159 --> 00:15:31.480 because of impulse buying? Because you did not plan it. 273 00:15:31.600 --> 00:15:35.559 You did not ponder the path and had you didn't 274 00:15:35.639 --> 00:15:38.879 think about it, And so people get in debt. And 275 00:15:39.000 --> 00:15:41.519 the Bible tells us this, look at a screen. Proverbs 276 00:15:41.600 --> 00:15:47.279 twenty one. Plan carefully, and you will have plenty. If 277 00:15:47.360 --> 00:15:51.440 you act too quickly, see that you're going too fast. 278 00:15:51.799 --> 00:15:54.519 If you act quickly impulse buying, I see it I wanted, 279 00:15:55.240 --> 00:15:59.279 then you will never have enough. Now, plan carefully. If 280 00:15:59.320 --> 00:16:01.600 you don't have, if you're living hand in the mouth, 281 00:16:01.799 --> 00:16:06.679 it's because you have not planned carefully. You can live 282 00:16:07.159 --> 00:16:11.840 pretty much on any amount if you planned carefully. I 283 00:16:11.960 --> 00:16:17.039 went through college and seminary with K married on eight 284 00:16:17.120 --> 00:16:19.639 hundred dollars a month because we've planned. 285 00:16:19.399 --> 00:16:22.960 Carefully and we made it work. 286 00:16:24.399 --> 00:16:27.240 And I'm telling you this because we're coming upon the 287 00:16:27.360 --> 00:16:33.399 Christmas season and Satan's favorite tool is called catalogs to 288 00:16:33.519 --> 00:16:36.279 create interest in things you never knew. How did you 289 00:16:36.440 --> 00:16:40.039 live without that until you finally saw it in the catalog? 290 00:16:41.120 --> 00:16:44.480 So I need to slow down. I need to slow 291 00:16:44.519 --> 00:16:46.399 down when I don't have the facts. I need to 292 00:16:46.399 --> 00:16:49.200 slow down when I'm hurt or angry. I need to 293 00:16:49.360 --> 00:16:51.799 move slowly when I'm making a major decision. And let 294 00:16:51.840 --> 00:16:53.960 me give you one more. The Bible says, I need 295 00:16:54.039 --> 00:16:58.399 to move slowly when I'm waiting for a seed I've 296 00:16:58.519 --> 00:17:03.720 planted to grow. When I'm waiting for a seed that 297 00:17:03.840 --> 00:17:08.599 I've planted to grow. Now, this is the law of 298 00:17:08.640 --> 00:17:11.519 the harvest. I taught you a number of years back, 299 00:17:11.640 --> 00:17:13.680 the nine laws of the harvest. Maybe I should teach 300 00:17:13.759 --> 00:17:18.880 that again. Because everything starts with a seed. It starts 301 00:17:18.920 --> 00:17:22.160 with the seed of an idea, an idea for a relationship, 302 00:17:22.240 --> 00:17:26.799 an idea for a business, idea for a hobby, an 303 00:17:26.839 --> 00:17:30.039 idea for a work of art, a building architecture. Everything 304 00:17:30.160 --> 00:17:33.480 starts as the seed of an idea. But it doesn't 305 00:17:33.519 --> 00:17:36.599 go anywhere unless that seed is planted, and it has 306 00:17:36.680 --> 00:17:39.240 to be planted in the ground. Once you plant it 307 00:17:39.319 --> 00:17:42.279 in the ground, there is always a waiting time between 308 00:17:42.559 --> 00:17:46.640 planting and harvesting. You sow in one season and you 309 00:17:46.799 --> 00:17:49.839 always reap in another. You never reap in the same season. 310 00:17:50.079 --> 00:17:51.880 You don't plant a tomato seed and now or go 311 00:17:51.920 --> 00:17:56.559 out and pick out a tomato. And when you are 312 00:17:56.799 --> 00:17:59.079 when you have done some planting of seeds in your 313 00:17:59.119 --> 00:18:03.119 life for good. Then you just have to wait and 314 00:18:03.240 --> 00:18:05.799 you can't go back out there and you know, dig 315 00:18:05.839 --> 00:18:07.720 the seed up every five minutes, go are you growing? 316 00:18:09.279 --> 00:18:09.319 No? 317 00:18:09.599 --> 00:18:12.920 You just have to trust God. You plant seeds, Now 318 00:18:13.079 --> 00:18:15.359 what am I DMA? You can plant seeds of kindness. 319 00:18:15.680 --> 00:18:18.680 You can plant seeds of love, you can plant seeds 320 00:18:19.359 --> 00:18:22.279 financial seeds. You can plant seeds of faith, you can 321 00:18:22.359 --> 00:18:25.359 plant seeds of goodness, you can plant seeds of integrity. 322 00:18:25.720 --> 00:18:29.599 Whatever you sow, you will reap. If you plant gossip, 323 00:18:29.880 --> 00:18:34.880 you're gonna reap gossip. If you plant anger and a 324 00:18:35.039 --> 00:18:37.519 violent temper, you know what you're gonna reap anger and 325 00:18:37.599 --> 00:18:41.359 violent temper from other people. You will sow what you reap, 326 00:18:41.640 --> 00:18:43.319 and you will actually reap more. 327 00:18:43.160 --> 00:18:43.720 Than you sow. 328 00:18:44.000 --> 00:18:46.319 When you plant one seed of corn, you don't get 329 00:18:46.359 --> 00:18:48.480 one seed of corn back. You get a stalk with 330 00:18:48.599 --> 00:18:52.079 several ears. With thousands of seeds of corn, you always 331 00:18:52.200 --> 00:18:55.960 get back more than you plant. Positively or negative. You 332 00:18:56.039 --> 00:18:57.960 can make the law of harvest work for you or 333 00:18:57.960 --> 00:19:02.960 against you, But it doesn't happen fast. It happens slowly, 334 00:19:03.960 --> 00:19:06.200 and you just keep waiting. So what do you do 335 00:19:06.640 --> 00:19:10.319 while you're waiting on God and you're going slow, and 336 00:19:10.400 --> 00:19:12.440 you're waiting God for some of these seeds you've been 337 00:19:12.480 --> 00:19:15.920 planning to harvest. You just keep on sowing seed. Here's 338 00:19:15.960 --> 00:19:20.039 what the next verse says. Ecclesiastes eleven six. Oh, first, here, 339 00:19:20.240 --> 00:19:24.559 CLESI ask, don't give me the first one. Ecclesiastes three 340 00:19:24.680 --> 00:19:27.240 one and five says there's a time for everything, and 341 00:19:27.359 --> 00:19:31.480 a season for every activity under heaven, a time to 342 00:19:31.559 --> 00:19:34.559 plant and a time to harvest. There is a time 343 00:19:34.599 --> 00:19:37.039 to scatter, and there's a time to gather. And in 344 00:19:37.160 --> 00:19:39.119 that in between time, what do you do? You go 345 00:19:39.359 --> 00:19:43.119 slow and you keep planting. Here's what the next verse says, 346 00:19:44.359 --> 00:19:47.839 keep on sowing your seed for you never know which 347 00:19:47.920 --> 00:19:51.839 ones will grow. Perhaps they all will. It's kind of 348 00:19:51.880 --> 00:19:53.519 like getting your resume out. You get it out to 349 00:19:53.599 --> 00:19:56.559 one place, you've only planted one seed. You get your 350 00:19:56.599 --> 00:19:58.960 resume out to one hundred places. There's seeds have been 351 00:19:59.000 --> 00:20:02.359 planted in one hundred sits, and you will reap according 352 00:20:02.400 --> 00:20:06.119 to what you sew. Now, I realize that some of 353 00:20:06.200 --> 00:20:10.039 you have been waiting for some time for the harvest 354 00:20:10.160 --> 00:20:12.759 in your life, and you know I'm waiting. I'm waiting 355 00:20:12.839 --> 00:20:14.960 for the harvest. Let me give you a verse to 356 00:20:15.079 --> 00:20:17.960 encourage you. The Bible says this in a back chapter 357 00:20:18.079 --> 00:20:21.279 two verse three. God says, at the time I have 358 00:20:21.480 --> 00:20:26.599 decided my words will come true. You can trust what 359 00:20:26.759 --> 00:20:29.960 I say about the future. It may take a long time, 360 00:20:30.920 --> 00:20:36.119 but keep on waiting. It will happen. That's a good verse. 361 00:20:36.200 --> 00:20:37.759 You might want to cut out and put on your 362 00:20:37.799 --> 00:20:41.920 refrigerator or put it on the visor in your car. 363 00:20:42.279 --> 00:20:46.000 God says, at the right time, it will come true. 364 00:20:46.599 --> 00:20:48.480 It may take a while, but keep waiting. 365 00:20:48.559 --> 00:20:51.200 It will happen. It goes slow. 366 00:20:51.640 --> 00:20:54.480 I want to end with a verse that's actually a 367 00:20:54.559 --> 00:20:56.960 prayer of Solomon from the Bible. In the Book of 368 00:20:57.000 --> 00:21:01.240 First Kings. It says this, I love it the message 369 00:21:01.240 --> 00:21:05.680 paraphrase First Kings eight fifty eight. May God keep us 370 00:21:06.000 --> 00:21:10.799 centered and devoted to him, following the life path he 371 00:21:10.880 --> 00:21:16.640 has cleared, watching the signpost and walking at the pace 372 00:21:17.079 --> 00:21:20.319 and rhythm he laid down for our ancestors, and that 373 00:21:20.359 --> 00:21:27.480 beautiful Let me read it again. May God keep us centered, 374 00:21:29.039 --> 00:21:34.079 not sidelined, centered not distracted, Centered and devoted to him, 375 00:21:35.119 --> 00:21:40.599 following the life path he has cleared. Watching the signposts. 376 00:21:40.640 --> 00:21:42.200 Now you can't see the signposts if you're going to 377 00:21:42.200 --> 00:21:47.759 do fast and walking, not running at the pace and 378 00:21:48.000 --> 00:21:53.319 rhythms he laid down for our ancestors. That's my prayer 379 00:21:53.359 --> 00:21:55.480 for you. Then, before we end, I want to go 380 00:21:55.599 --> 00:21:58.519 back to that issue of some of you have not 381 00:21:58.599 --> 00:22:00.680 stepped across the line. Don't I want you to end 382 00:22:01.079 --> 00:22:04.200 this year not being in the family. So let me 383 00:22:04.240 --> 00:22:06.200 give you two last verses. Look here on the screen, 384 00:22:06.920 --> 00:22:10.319 the Bible says. God says, I tell you that the 385 00:22:10.440 --> 00:22:17.160 right time is now, and the day of salvation is now, 386 00:22:17.599 --> 00:22:20.640 not next week, not next year, not in another month, 387 00:22:20.799 --> 00:22:23.440 not when conditions are better. Now is the time to 388 00:22:23.559 --> 00:22:26.000 have your past forgiven, get a purpose for living, and 389 00:22:26.079 --> 00:22:26.920 get a home in heaven. 390 00:22:27.200 --> 00:22:29.240 Where are you going to get that? Deal? And the 391 00:22:29.319 --> 00:22:31.559 Bible says this in Acts twenty two sixteen. 392 00:22:32.200 --> 00:22:37.680 Why wait any longer, Get up and be baptized, trusting 393 00:22:37.839 --> 00:22:39.759 in Him to save you. 394 00:22:40.480 --> 00:22:41.599 Let's bow our heads. 395 00:22:44.519 --> 00:22:48.200 Pray this in your mind. Father, Help me to be 396 00:22:48.279 --> 00:22:54.279 sensitive to your timing. Help me when to go slow, 397 00:22:56.759 --> 00:23:01.039 help me when to say no, and help me when 398 00:23:01.119 --> 00:23:06.079 to move fast. Help me to walk in the spirit 399 00:23:07.599 --> 00:23:13.000 in both the steps and the stops of my life. 400 00:23:15.799 --> 00:23:20.000 Dear God, when you tell me to do something, I'm 401 00:23:20.039 --> 00:23:24.039