”Make the Trade” // Matthew 13:45-46 // Lakeview Bible Church

It was me. I didn't turn on. Um, hey, a

couple things as we get going. Uh, I

didn't I did a bad job. Can you forgive

me? Um, we doubled the amount of

sheriff's deputies that you find here on

a Sunday morning. And apparently we're

people were like, "Is there a problem?

Is there a threat? Is there like no

there is no it's it's not for safety.

It's well it is for safety but it's more

for efficiency so that you my friends

after a wonderful time together where

the Lord speaks to you and fills you

with joy and his presence can leave here

in the most expeditious way possible

with joy in your heart as all the other

cars around you try to figure out how to

get out of here in the most

um yeah their rules and rags needed two

deputies on Quinnland Park in order

order to make traffic go safely and so

to leave two up here during that

process. That's why we have more. And so

would you please um yeah, it's not you.

It's the other it's the person down.

They're on your left right now. Uh

they're they're less patient maybe, you

know. Um but we're working out the

kinks. We're going to make it efficient.

I promise as we can. And in the

meantime, hey, just relax. Just grab a

coffee this this morning. You can go

linger by a table, let the traffic flow,

and then you can go just stress level

down. It's all good. No, thank you.

That's what's going on. Uh, next thing,

uh, this Thursday, uh, you heard, uh,

bunch of stuff's kicking off. Uh, men's

Bible study, women's Bible study, uh,

mom will kick off next week. Uh but for

all the guys, all the guys, uh if at all

possible, would you please make it a

point to come this Thursday morning,

6:30, we're done? 7:30, 7:45. Um I want

to talk to all the men. If you're 18 and

over, that's you. Uh as we set

trajectory for not only this year, but

who we are going to be as the men of

Lake View Bible Church. Okay. Um, I want

to just orient us, encourage us, and set

some direction uh for who we're going to

be. Now, some of you, you're like, I

will get on a plane tomorrow and I will

be somewhere else. All right, we're

going to record it so you'll be able to

catch it later, but please, please,

please hear me. If at all possible, I'm

asking you say, "Hey, boss, I'm going to

be a little late on Thursday morning."

If you're like, "No, I work downtown and

the traffic's going to be horrible."

Then I'm asking to make that sacrifice

so that all the guys are maximum

participation that we can have here on

Thursday morning as we uh set the

trajectory for who we're going to be as

the men of the church. Why? Uh the man

is the head of the house as Christ is

head of the church. Uh we set the tone,

gentlemen. uh we are either going to be

the rate limiter or the rate accelerator

as to what God does in and through Lake

View in the years ahead. And uh I

believe we're going to be the

accelerator. And so I want to orient us

to what I feel like God has been talking

to me about. And congratulations. What

he talks to me about, I talk to you

about. It's how this works. Uh so uh

again, 6:30 Thursday morning. Thank you

uh for adjusting your schedule if you

need to to make it. All right. Uh grab

your Bibles. Matthew chapter 13 is where

Matthew 13 · chapter mention

we're going to be.

Matthew chapter 13.

Matthew 13 · chapter mention

We're just going to look at two verses.

This is Make the Trade Sunday. And

that's going to be obvious here in a

second. As you're turning there, let me

tell you about an article I ran across

uh a couple weeks ago um beginning of

January. Uh this was in the New York

Times and the title there you see hope

in a time of cynicism and what caught my

eye were the first two lines which are

there. Uh it's actually America has

become a country of cynics at least

that's what the studies show. that

caught my eye because I kind of feel

that a little bit that people are less

hopeful uh by and large right you guys

are paying attention political stuff

economy inflation right there's there's

all the list uh not to mention

geopolitical around the world and so

what Lauren is trying to do in her

article is how do you actually have hope

in a time of citizen uh cynicism this is

what she cites as evidence for um why

she wants to address this topic. She

says 80% of parents believe their kids'

lives will not be as good as theirs.

Not good. She also says that the studies

show 50% of people believe the country's

best days are behind it. And then she

mentions this piece uh that we live in a

K-shaped economy. If that's unfamiliar,

uh just think of the letter K. And what

it's saying is that depending on who you

are, if you are upwardly mobile and your

job is good and you have assets, you

keep getting better. And if that's not

you and you're struggling and you're

falling behind, you're falling further

behind. That's basically what a K-shaped

economy is. As she um as she unpacks it,

uh as I read it, I'm like, "Okay, on the

surface of it, I I see what you're

saying." But uh what really I struggled

with was her conclusion.

How

do you have hope in a time of cynicism?

And I'll you can find it. Just Google

it. Uh but here's the answer. Uh just

work hard to make the world a better

place.

That's it. That's what you need to do.

Now, here's where I agree with her. I

think such as it depends on us, we

should do what we can in our pocket of

the world, on our street, in the place

that we call home to do our best to work

to make it better. Yes, I love that. No,

no problem there. Uh my struggle is that

even if you do that, are you going to be

able to fix everything?

Do you think even after you work hard to

make the world a better place, there

will be still things that are broken,

messed up, jacked up that you'll point

to and be like, I'm still cynical and

this time I tried and now I'm worse,

right? And here's why. Just for me

personally, the conclusion

was wholly unsatisfying.

Because it's never going to happen even

if you work the hardest and work your

fingers to the bone and you get as many

people together as you can. Because this

world will never deliver all your hopes

and dreams. Why? Because you were made

for a different world.

And only here's the paradox of that.

Only when you realize that, put your

hope in that world, then you're actually

more effective to make a difference in

this one. Which is why we say in order

to not just end up at the place of just

try harder, just work harder, have some

hope.

Make the trade. Make the trade. Make the

trade from what the world says is going

to give you hope in a time of ci

cynicism

for hope. That really is hope. It sounds

like this. You have to trade the belief

that this world can satisfy you for the

belief that this world never will.

You have to trade the belief that you,

me, can fill the desires I have for

trust in the one who created you and can

actually fulfill those desires.

You and I have to make the trade from

pursuing more and achieving more and

acquiring more and experiencing more for

a relationship the with the one who is

more

and who can meet you in the midst of

every day where you're at and fulfill

those things that really deep down you

hope for and you have to make the trade.

It will never work any other way until

you and I trade where we put our hope.

Those hopes will remain. And if you're

honest enough to be a part of a survey,

you'll end up growing cynical. Why?

Because only in Jesus will your hopes

actually be fulfilled. In this life and

ultimately in the one to come, you have

to trade. So Matthew 13

Matthew 13:45

verse 45

we're going to short parable two verses

about a guy who makes the trade.

The first thing we're going to see the

first truth is that God actually wants

you and I to genuinely

search for life. Look at verse 45. Again

it's in a series of uh parables. Again,

the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant

in search of fine pearls who on finding

one pearl of great value went and sold

all that he had and bought it. A couple

things just to notice about the parable.

Um

he's a business owner.

He's a merchant

and he's out trying to source product.

He's on a business trip.

He's actually trying to grow his

business.

And notice something. God doesn't rebuke

him

in the parable. It's not like, "Well,

you know those merchants always out

there trying to make a buck."

No. What's What's he saying implicitly?

Go get it, man. Search, grow it, look

for the look for the inventory you need.

And then secondly, implicit in what

Jesus says here is God is actually anti

cynicism.

He's he's actually against the cynic.

What do I mean? Well, the cynic looks at

the marketplace like if you're a

merchant be like, "Oh, what does it

matter? Oh, why bother, man? I tried

last year to to grow the it doesn't work

and sit on your hands." You know, in no

place like God is

down on people going to genuinely search

for life.

He's like, "Why don't you go after?"

Actually, what God would say is you're

not searching for life hard enough.

How do you know that? Well, this is what

Jesus said. John 10:10. He says, "I came

John 10:10

that they may have life and have it

abundantly." Do you want hope?

I give you hope. Do you want that? I

want that. Whatever Jesus meant by life

and life abundantly, yes, please. I'm

first in line. I will cut you off in the

parking lot. That's what I want to do.

Here's

the challenge.

There are some ways to pursue life and

you will actually find life. There are

some ways to pursue life and you will

actually not find it. Here's the first

half of John 10:10.

John 10:10

The thief comes only to steal and kill

and destroy.

Now Jesus says, "I came that they have

may may have life and have it

abundantly." Question. How does uh the

enemy steal, kill, and destroy?

One of the things he does is he

convinces you to pursue a life that at

the end of it will lead to your

destruction. But he doesn't tell you

along the way that that's where he's

leading you. You find that out too late.

And in contrast, Jesus says, "Hey man,

find life in me." It's kind of like a

merchant who's looking for a really

great pearl.

Question,

are you that merchant?

Because you and I are all looking for

something. We're all in search.

And what God says, I think, is go get

it. Search harder.

But use wisdom

because not every search is going to end

up where it might appear it's going to

end up. You you know how this works,

right? The mom and dad or mom or dad who

um say themselves, uh I need to provide

for the family. I need to provide for my

spouse. And in doing that, the enemy

convinces them to go all in on their

career. And they end up actually losing

the thing they say that they're going to

work for.

That's what the enemy does. Or um the

mom or dad who because they have unmet

longings, unmet hopes from their own

life, put those on their kids,

right? This is why there's throwing

coaches for eight-year-olds. No

judgment.

And the kid can't bear the weight. So

the thing notice the path the pursuit

you think is going to produce what you

actually undo un undoes you at the end.

What's the problem? You don't find out

till too late.

Right? So he says genuinely search for

life but please use wisdom. And if you

find yourself in a pursuit that you're

like man I don't think this is going to

end up where I think it's going to end

up. Make the trade. Make the trade.

Second part of the

parable. When you find it, give it all

for that life. Right? So just look back.

Merchant in his search of find pearls in

verse 46. Who on finding one pearl of

great value went and sold all that he

had and bought it. It's a little on the

nose,

but the guy made the trade.

Now in parables, one of the things you

do interpretively is like, okay, who's

who in the zoo, right? Um, who's the

fine pearl of great value that he finds?

Jesus, right? Small woodland creature,

furry tail. Sounds like Jesus. Um, who's

the merchant?

You are. You're the merchant.

What's the parable saying? When you find

Jesus, what do you do? All in.

Sell it all. Take your chips. push it

all in. But notice little phrase we

skipped over. You do that only if you're

in the kingdom of heaven.

There's two kingdoms. There's the

kingdom of heaven. There's the kingdom

of the world. Two different value sets.

And the kingdom of heaven, the value set

is when you find Jesus. Woo! Allin.

Kingdom of the world. You know what you

do? You just stack up pursuits. You

pursue life here. When that doesn't

work, you pursue life here. When that

doesn't work, you pursue life here. You

know how this works, right? You get out

of college, you're like, "Man, I'm gonna

get a great job and I'm going to build

my resume and I'm gonna stack a claim,

man. I'm gonna be somebody." And you're

like,

"All right, money. I'm going to go after

money and I'm going to man get as many

zeros on that account as I can." Man,

then you get I'm going to get a

relationship and when I get a

relationship, I'm going to get married

and she's going to be awesome and I'm

going to be awesome and then guess what?

You're actually married and that's hard.

And then you're like, "All right, we're

going to go on vacation. and we're going

to do trips and we're going to have

experiences. And guess what? The

vacation always ends. The party always

ends.

Notice in the kingdom of the world, it's

just pursuit after pursuit after

pursuit. And where do you get?

Here's the invitation.

Please don't do that.

When you find Jesus, go allin.

Now, nothing I've said thus far is

cosmically difficult to understand.

You're like, "Yeah, dude. track in

pretty simple. It's a two sentence

parable.

Here's what I want to do. I want to give

you a real life flesh and blood example

of what this looks like because you know

what helps you and I the most

going, hey, how does this work out in a

real life? So, that's what we're going

to do. Would you help me and welcome Joe

Bland up here with me?

Joe is one of our elders. He has been a

part of Hill Country Bible Church for a

number of years and now Lake View. I get

to call him a friend, which is a

privilege. And uh you can see where our

conversation is going to go a little

bit.

But uh hi Joe. Um

>> okay. How are you?

>> Here's here's what I want to do is start

your story for everyone. Why don't you

want to start when you're little Joe

running around the neighborhood? I want

you to start as a freshman at UT in the

architecture program. What happens?

>> Everybody's looking up here thinking,

"Freshman at UT? He's 72 years old. I

better get comfortable."

So, as a freshman at UT, I was in the

school of architecture. U I've been for

I'm fortunate enough to be able to enter

that school because a friend of mine's

dad was the dean.

And uh but I it wasn't working for me

because unfortunately I was dealing with

some issues with drug and alcohol

abuse that were keeping me from being a

student student and passing grades.

So fortunately for me, my parents

reached out to me after a semester and

said, "We need to have dinner."

And at dinner that night, dad gave me

kind of the lay of the land. He said

one, he said, "If you keep fighting

these drug and alcohol, this is a battle

you might not win." He said, "I" and he

would had been a major in the in the

army. He said, "I served with a lot of

really great men that lost that fight,

and you're not guaranteed the ability to

win it."

Said, number two, he says, "Quit that.

Get your degree in architecture. Become

an architect. It's a fine profession.

You can make you a good living and it's

it's it's an honorable thing to do. And

then he said, number three said, I could

come to work for him. You he had a

construction company and I could go to

work for him and uh this is in 1972. He

said, I make a $100 a day,

>> 365 days a year, and that's nothing to

be ashamed of. So for you math people,

that's $36,500

was good money in 72.

Well, couple weeks went by and I was

getting off the shuttle bus and instead

of going over to the school of

architecture, I went over to the co-op

barberh shop

and they cut off my ponytail.

Yes, I used to have hair and it was the

70s. Okay.

and I went to work for my dad and that

was the best thing that could have ever

happened to me because dad was stricken

with pancreatic cancer in 1976 after

four years of being involved in the

business and I had learned enough to

keep the company running and uh which

enabled us to pay back my parents their

life savings that they had invested in

the business to uh to to go. So it

>> and so you get to learn from your dad.

>> Yes.

>> How to how to run a construction

company. And then he gets sick and the

power went out.

>> The guys in the back will work on that.

But in the meantime,

>> in the meantime,

>> in the meantime, uh but you also had an

opportunity to actually own the company.

>> That's true. Um in in 1978 one of our

partners died of a heart attack and in

79

when my dad passed um I also took the

initiative to borrow the money and buy

out his younger brother and at 26 years

of age I became the sole owner of a

construction company and it was a good

business and it it it provided a good

livelihood.

Notwithstanding, I'm still struggling

with my drug and alcohol problems, but

the business is uh is growing and and

doing well. And then in 1982, I had had

the opportunity to meet the most

wonderful woman, prettiest girl at the

dance. And I married her in ' 82.

And like I read somewhere the other day,

we've been married for 44 years, and 35

of them were happy.

But but but but that that difference in

numbers is is all on me because I was

the I was the way child.

>> Um you you told me when I first heard

this story that uh Barbara was not only

a pretty good-looking lady but also

pretty accomplished herself.

>> She was very accomplished. She was a

salon owner. She had a hair salon. She

was a strong willed uh just a wonderful

wife. And once we got married, she

recognized that my lifestyle and our

lifestyle together was not one that was

sustainable.

and she had been saved at the age of

seven years old, committed herself to to

Jesus and she decided that she would go

back to uh to church that our lifestyle

wasn't going to our marriage would never

sustain if she didn't.

So, she did. She went back to the little

Baptist church up the street. And uh the

uh and that's and that's where the the

trouble began.

you uh

>> she she did the she did what she want

what she felt she needed to do which was

try to get her husband in the church

with her and she did it

based on scripture. She came home and

told me that if I died that day I would

spend eternity in hell.

And and ladies, that's true.

But it's not necessarily the way to lead

your husband to Christ.

>> But the w

the way you do and the way she did,

excuse me.

She came home one day and said, "I need

to talk to you." And of course I, "Oh

boy, here it comes. I want to hear about

it." She said, "No, I need to ask her

forgiveness."

And I immediately thought of every

worldly thing that could have gone

astray. Did she have an affair? Did she,

you know, max out our credit cards or

what, you know, blah blah blah blah,

everything of the world? Because that's

all I knew at that time in my life was

the world. I had worked hard to build a

business up, to make a name for myself,

to be a respected person in the

community, to have relationships,

and that was all those were all my idols

that we've talked about here. Those were

all the things I And they're not bad

things. Just like the merchant that was

looking for the pearls, it's not a bad

thing. it is when you put that thing as

what's driving you over your

need for Jesus.

But so we uh she says, "I need to ask

your forgiveness."

She said, "I've been trying to do what

only God can do.

And I've been trying to lead you to

Jesus. And only he can do that."

And here's a guy that's, you know, hung

over washing a truck in the driveway

being told by his strong willed,

successful

woman,

that she's sorry, that she's my helper

mate, that God says she is to be my

helper, and that I'm the spiritual head

of the family, and the job I'm doing is

between me and God. It's not for her to

judge me.

Well, I'd love to tell you that one of

heavens parted and you could hear the

harp playing in the background and doves

fluttered and I immediately, you know,

dropped to my knees and thank you Jesus.

Wasn't quite like that.

But maybe in a week, maybe in a couple

weeks, I decided to company her to

church because I wanted to see who this

Jesus is. Who is it that that teaches

a strong willed, successful woman to

humble herself in front of a husband

that doesn't deserve it

>> and ask his forgiveness because she's

been trying to control his life when

only God can do it. So, I wanted to go

learn about this Jesus. So, you show up

with met Barbara at the little Baptist

church.

>> Amen.

>> And after um a little while, you decide

to make the trade.

>> That's right. It it took it took a

while, but as we gradually grew and I

attended church more regularly, I

decided that yes, I needed to be

baptized. I was sprinkled as a baby in

the Methodist church, but I needed to I

needed to proclaim in front of God and

all of the audience that I was going to

accept this Jesus as my savior and I was

going to follow him in my life.

And it's important to note that while

that was happening,

all of my idols in life, all of the

things I had set on that pedestal,

my banking relationship, my shy

relationship,

all the things, excuse me, were going

away. The the

uh a large developer here in Austin

filed bankruptcy. I was left owing a lot

of money. I had borrowed that against

that at the bank. And I went to the bank

who happened to be the same bank that

had foreclosed on my debt and asked the

bank, you know, we you don't expect me

to pay that back. And they said, you

didn't read the fine print.

And then the next opportunity, I had to

go to the bank. the doors were taped

shut because the Federal Deposit

Insurance Corporation had closed my

bank.

So, this relationship that I treasured

so high was gone.

And uh I met a very nice young man with

the Federal Deposit Insurance

Corporation.

>> What What did he want from

>> FDIC? And he was very polite when he

told me on the phone that I needed to

pay off all my debt. I went, "No, no,

no, no, no, no, no. You mean just

continue to pay the debt? He said, "No,

we're not a bank. We're the government.

Pay off your debt."

And of course, there wasn't another bank

left standing. So, the only avenue there

was to sell the assets

that I had barred against to be able to

pay off the debt. It's not a problem.

It's heavy equipment. Clean it up, sell

it, you can pay off the debt. All's

well.

But that in itself brought on another

problem with the Internal Revenue

Service, another fine organization of

our federal government, which you

understand because my dad had been a

major and served in the army and had

risked his life and was

an honored meddled soldier. I had the

most utmost esteem for our government

and it wasn't working out that way

because here my government was asking

things of me that I I couldn't do. I had

depreciation schedules that had to be

reworked and all of a sudden I owed a

lot of taxes. I hadn't drawn a salary in

a year or two and and I was owed this

this huge tax liability. It was a it was

just it was hard

and then it got harder.

>> And so you had put these pursuits in

front of you and all of them one by one

are going away.

>> Yes. And then it went from bad to worse.

>> Yes. We had a the unfortunate uh

I had an employee by the name of Victor

Nazario that on April the 17th of 1987

died in a trench fatality.

And understand the laws are such that

that does not happen. It can't happen.

It does. It's it's it's on you.

But we were following the general

practices.

You know, we were we were right down the

middle of the fairway and what we did.

But the trench collapsed, Victor died.

And that night on the news, the county

attorney said contractors like Joe Bland

who kill their employees are going to go

to jail in Travis County.

And that was hard. And it was hard on

Barbara because her husband that she had

pled to thick or thin to support was

wasn't wasn't working out that way.

So as God is

uh stripping you down little by little

um

he uh he takes you to the end of

yourself

>> and you end up not selling the company

but losing it,

>> closing the company.

>> Yeah. understand that

God's word, this book is as true today

as it was thousands of years ago when

the prophets start first started

recording

their prophecies when when when our God

created Adam and Eve and and uh and the

garden. All of all of the truth that's

in that book is everlasting.

And what I had put all my faith and

truth in was the the world. And

honestly, it will disappoint you. It's

people disappoint you. You you you've

got but one true friend and that's in

Jesus. And he will stand by you and hold

you and comfort you, give you a life

that's everlasting, give you that

abundant life that you mentioned

earlier.

And you've just got to get there. You've

got to get to the point of uh knowing

that this is what I want. This is I want

that abundant life. I want it for me. I

want it for my wife. U at that time our

future family, for my friends, my

co-workers.

That's what I want. I want to be able to

give and share something that will

change your life for eternity.

the uh the DA after a long process ended

up dropping the charges against you.

>> Yeah.

>> Um you lost the company and you had to

humble yourself and and go get a job.

>> Yeah. I had to go I had to go get a job

and you know the first thing I was met

with at the at the new construction

company was why should I listen to you?

You went broke.

And I said, "Well, for that very reason,

because I know what that feels like and

you won't like it. So, you need to

listen to me

because I have the life experience that

you don't need to get. You You can glean

from me. I will share it with you." So,

but uh

>> and so you go to work.

>> Go to work

>> and eventually God in his kindness

um gives you another opportunity to have

to maybe do it different.

>> Right. Right. I uh the company I worked

for and I was at the top of the food

chain there, but the company wasn't

based on Christian values. It was based

on a balance sheet value and everything

was driven about the balance sheet. So

there were ways that the employees were

being treated which I'm a Christian,

right? I'm these are my fellow brothers

and sisters. These people are created in

God's image. They are as exalted to him

as I am and I'm going to mistreat them

to my personal gain. Couldn't do that.

So, I went home, told Barbara I was

going to try to start a new business,

start a small company with 30 people,

know all of my employees, know their

families, be able to share life with

them, be able to share with them the

things that I couldn't ever give them,

but they but the free gift of a a

relationship with Christ that is waiting

for their acceptance and I could in

introduce them to that. I'd never be

able to pay a person enough money, give

him enough raises or titles or

appreciation, but what I could give my

employees was that relationship with

Jesus that he had so blessed to be with.

>> So share with everyone how you started

to run your company different this time

around with Jesus at the center.

>> Well, I it just it's been different the

entire time. I've I've uh since day one,

I've been able to pray with my employees

and pray for my employees and lead Bible

studies and and give them uh in times of

need. Uh it's just been an absolute

confirmation that God's way, God's

business, his economy

is successful.

And it doesn't it's not always about the

bottom right hand corner of the balance

sheet. You don't have to

do I wonder sometimes if I could have

choked out a little more profit than if

I had stopped and shared with an

employee and taken money to to to make

their mortgage payment to uh to get

their AC fixed if uh and then forgave

all those debts. Yeah, I could have.

would would think of the kingdom

that I'm representing when I go and say

I am a Christian and I'm going to do my

best to live up to that. We're

representing the King of Kings, his

majesty, the creator of all. And uh you

do that in the workplace just like you

do when you're here on Sunday mornings.

um share with everyone the story that I

really love, which is when God lets you

know that you actually weren't the boss

of that company.

>> So, a good friend of mine, Craig Foster,

has a ministry at Hill Country, and uh

had one,

this is in the early 2000s, Jobsekers

Network. He since renamed it Purpose

Works. and uh we would sit down and uh

he asked me to come be an intake coach

or or or be a

just sit alongside a intake coach. And a

good friend of mine, Dale Miller, was

talking to this um 50ish year old uh

electronics engineer that was out of a

job and and the questions that we asked

were like, you know, or do you believe

in God? Do you have faith? Do you attend

a church? U how do you think that

relates to your work? But the end, the

last question is, do you have a

relationship? Do you know that if you

were to die today that you would spend

eternity in heaven?

And you'd be surprised. This individual

went well. Oh, yeah. I've been in in the

church pretty much all my life, and I

think I would. I'm pretty sure. I'm I'm

Yeah, I'm I'm almost positive. Yeah.

Yeah. Almost positive. And Dale went,

"Well, that's the wrong answer.

Your answer is I know I am going to be

in eternity with Jesus because I believe

in him. I believe that he died, was

buried, raised on the cross, and has

walked and and talked and is as alive

today as he was then. I believe that and

I know that. And if you do that, you're

assured of eternity with him. So, we

lead this individual to Christ. I mean,

it's which if you haven't ever done it,

it's just amazing. Just changes your

world.

But afterwards, I'm getting ready to

leave and Craig goes, "Well, I'll see

you next Monday." And I No, no, no, no,

no, no. You don't understand. I've got

250 men wandering around like poisoned

rats. I I Monday morning is when I've

got to get to work and set the set the

bar, you know? I've got to I've got to I

got to lead by example.

I left there and I'm driving to the

office and I know exactly where on Mopac

I was when I audibly heard a voice

going, "You don't think I can run a

construction company?"

Oh, no. No, God. No. No. Oh, you can run

a Sure you can. You can run a

construction company. I mean, this it's

this you've created everything. This is

Sure you can. No, you don't think so.

So that's Monday. Tuesday goes around.

Wednesday morning we have our staff

meeting. Had them for 40 years.

At the end of the meeting, I just, you

know, bold in my faith. I Wait a minute.

Everybody,

Mr. Bland's not going to be here on

Monday mornings. I'm going to go serve

at my church. I need you to get up, go

to work. I need you to make choices,

decisions, make the right choices.

I'm giving you the authority.

You've got the responsibility. I'm not

going to unders under underline

undermine what what you do your

decisions. If they need to change, we'll

change them in due time, but I need you

to do this for me.

>> So, I'm curious, Joe, how did the

company do after this day?

>> Well, it ran much better.

I mean, the guys sat around and said,

you know, like, Gabe, we got to go. We

got to get our boots on and get to work.

Mr. Bland's church serving and and he

expects us to go to work and they they

all did because believe it or not,

they're created in God's image and they

they love the opportunity as we all do

to be entrusted with something by

someone else a little bit like Jesus

what he's given us. But when we get that

even in the workplace, when you when you

get that attab boy, it changes you. It

makes you a better employee. And and

a shameless plug here for men's ministry

at this church.

You think, well, I you know, I can't be

there at 6:30 on on Thursday mornings.

And what would my boss say? Well, what

if what would he say if you went and

said, "If I'm late on Thursday mornings,

but I come back as a better employee,

I'm a better husband for my wife, I'm a

better if if if I'm getting better by

attending this Bible study, can we work

something out?" If you've asked that

question and your boss said no,

fine. If you haven't asked, ask.

So for all of our friends,

>> yes,

>> there's there's some who need to make

the trade and trust Jesus like you did

in that Baptist church. What would you

say to them?

It is the greatest and best decision you

could ever make for your life,

for your wife, for your husband,

for your family, for your extended

family, for your friends and co-workers,

your neighbors.

You can't you can't earn enough. You

can't

acquire enough. You can't do anything

that would replace

the abundant life that he promises you.

And

look, hear from my testimony. It's all

God. I just trusted him.

>> He's the one that took my 30 person

company to 500.

He's the person that divided it into two

different companies

and he's the reason we have a $200

million a year business. It's not me.

It's not this guy. This guy just is

faithful to know what's in his word is

true. And if I treat everybody

the way that he commands me to, and if I

try my hardest, and when I fail, fall to

my knees and say, "I've failed. I can I

need to I need to do better." But you've

given me the opportunity, he's so full

of grace and so full of mercy. There's

nothing you've done that will keep you

from

the experience

that I'm a testimony to, but that he has

waiting for you.

Now, for the person who has already made

the trade, they know Jesus, but they're

wondering like, "How do I

make the trade in my business and at

home and in all these different areas of

my life where Jesus continues to gain

more and more ownership?"

>> What's your encouragement?

>> Well, to begin with, you don't own it

anyway.

It's all a gift.

You're a now you are entrusted to be a

very good steward of that gift. You're

empowered to use every bit of your

business acumen and your knowledge and

your education and you you're you're

told in God's word to persevere and step

up and and lead. You know, you gird

yourself, your feet, your breastplate,

your helmet of salvation, and you get

out there and you lead and you do

everything,

but it's his

to some degree. You've got to loose your

hands

>> and know that it's his. He's blessed you

with it. Now, be appreciative of that.

And don't don't let it drive you. Don't

let it What needs to drive you is what

you learn here today and tomorrow and

next month next Sunday and in our men's

Bible study. That needs that needs to be

what you're that needs to be your true

north because he is so faithful and he's

so kind. He loves you so much. He knows

every hair that's in your head. He

doesn't have to know as many with me.

>> Right. Right. But he, you know, like the

grains of sand on the beach, well, you

don't need all that, God.

But,

but that's what I would I would urge you

to to to

ask yourself, am I allin? And if I'm

not, what about your pride or your

selfishness or your your traits that are

not of him?

are you still clinging to? Yeah, I know

it's not very masculine to think about

kindness and generosity and uh

humbleness.

That's not what this world tells us that

we men are supposed to be.

But what if just what if in God's

kingdom those are the commodities that

we are to deal with and he'll take care

of the balance sheet.

He'll take care of the balance sheet.

trust him.

>> Would you pray for us?

>> Yeah, I'd love to.

>> Lord, thank you for this opportunity to

share how you've worked a miracle in my

life and Barbara's life. Thank you for

what you've done with our family, with

our friends,

the business that we've been so involved

with for 40 plus years. Thank you Lord

for leading us into a true relationship

with you by giving us good Bible

based learned experiences to to see

yourself in the Old Testament stories to

see yourself in the parables that the

gospels.

Lord, you are just as alive today as you

were in those days when those stories

were written. And Lord, if I had to ask

anything, it would be that the joy and

the the glory, the

just the goodness that is in your word

might become true for all of our friends

and

brothers and sisters in Christ that are

here today. that they might

see that there's a practical there is

somebody that went all in for Jesus

>> and Jesus went all in for him.

So accept his free gift and accept the

the

just the the goodness that comes with

that gift. I pray that for everyone here

myself included in Jesus name.

Amen. Will you help me thank Joe?

>> I'm good.

Make sure on your way out, stop by a

table, get plugged in, find a place to

serve. Uh, love you guys. We'll see you

next Sunday.