Be Iron | Pastor Brandon Beals | Venture Church

Hey, everybody, this is Pastor Brandon. I want to thank

you for watching our YouTube channel. Please in the comments

below let us know where you're watching from. It's always

a blast breast to see from where people are watching

from around the world. Thank you for watching. Enjoy the service.

Happy Father's Day to all the dads that are here.

I got to say, out of everything I've ever been

assigned to do on a Sunday morning, that took more

energy than anything I've ever done. I choose preaching three

times every Sunday, honored times over having to get little

kids to say what I want them to say. So

on that note, when you leave today, make sure and

thank a kids worker you don't know what it's like.

You should give them presents and things like that. But honestly,

Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there. We

want to make sure that today is special so for you.

So we're excited that you're here. Hope you enjoy the service.

I have one announcement that I just about forgot to share.

That's a big deal. We're doing something that we haven't

done for a few years. Used to be normal for

us to do this, but we added a couple hundred

seats to the auditorium, and we are going to go

to a summer service schedule starting July fifth. So on

July fifth, we are going from three services to two

services for six weeks. We'll shift back to our normal

three service schedule on what is our fall vision Sunday,

August twenty third, but starting not next Sunday, July fifth,

we are going to two services. They are nine and

ten forty five. So if you show up for the

ten o'clock service at ten, you are forty five minutes

early or an hour late, so please take note of that.

And again we'll do that for about six weeks and

then we will shift back. We're excited to have a

little bit more time in between services for people to

hang out before and after the services underneath all the

awnings that we have, and we're gonna have lots of

different things planned for everyone to do, so looking forward

to it. I got asked after the first service, when

the online service will be welcome to all of you

that are watching online. That will be at our ten

forty five service, that will be the one that will

be broadcast. Sound good? Hey, Today we finish up talking

about Solomon and the things that Solomon said and the

things that Solomon wrote. I want to teach today on

a proverb that is probably familiar to many of you.

It's Proverbs twenty seven, verse seventeen. I'm gonna read it,

and then we're gonna pray together. As iron sharpens iron,

so one person sharpens another. I want to ask everyone

to buy your heads, close your eyes. I want you

to repeat this prayer after me. Everyone say, Dear Jesus,

speak to my heart, change my life in Jesus' name. Amen.

I always find it fascinating whenever I get asked this

question around Father's Day, PB. I don't know what to

get my dad. I don't know what to get my

husband for Father's Day. Guys are the easiest people to

shop for. Ladies. I'm gonna give you a word of advice.

How to shop for your husband on Father's Day? Kids,

How you shop for your dad on Father's Day? Here

it is buy them a knife. All I have to

do buy them a knife. I am actually, uh, it's true.

For the first time ever sporting a knife my wife

and I I know, pretty awesome. My wife and I

went on a road trip and we're in the middle

of nowhere, Montana, and we stopped to get gas and

they were selling knives at the gas station. Damascus Steele.

So I bought this knife without telling my wife, and

for the first time ever, you, along with her, find

out that I bought it. Boys love knives. It doesn't matter.

I mean, they maybe they want a fishing knife, maybe

they want something for cooking. Maybe they just want a knife.

They get to wear on a belt and show off,

but they maybe they want a knife they can shave

their face with. Boys love knives. Let me prove it.

I'm gonna invite up several of our staff guys. Come

on up, staff dads. I thought it would be appropriate

to vite up some of the staff dads because they

are not just fathers, but they're also spiritual dads to

many of you. And I said, if I got you

a knife, what would you want? So I got them

knives according to what they wanted. Morgan wasn't here, so

I got Morgan a handmade Damascus steel knife. Okay, Jonathan said,

I want a cleaver Sean. By the way, I also

gave Sean this shirt in the first service King Sized

movie reviews. He has an Instagram page where he and

his wife, Rebecca review movies. You gotta listen. Rebecca's the

best one with it. Sean likes every movie, but if

you really want to know if a movie is good

or not, listen to Rebecca. Sean asked for a folding knife.

So there you go. You go knives. It's that easy, people,

Why don't you give them a hand? Thanks. Guys went

in doubt by the guy's a knife. In the first service.

I said, I could probably right now say if you're

here and you brought a knife, raise your knife. I

didn't do it because it would freak out too many people.

But the number of guys that walked out and said,

I brought a knife, I brought a knife. I brought

a knife. I had like a group of older guys

in our church. They were sitting by each other. All

three of them brought knives. So I don't know why

we need. Knives are just useful. You never know when

you have to hunt something or you have to open something.

You never know when it'll But Solomon who wrote Proverbs

twenty seven seventeen, he was king during the early Iron Age.

You probably heard about Stone Age, Bronze Age, iron Age,

and you may have wondered what made them determine what

those eras were referred to. Well, it was referred to

as the primary resource that was used to make tools

and weapons during their day, and at the time of Solomon,

they discovered iron, and iron is stronger and more durable

than either of those previous resources. Iron allowed societies to

make more effective, longer lasting tools. They could farm more land,

they could equip larger armies, and at the time of Solomon,

iron was the most important metal technology of the entire age.

It was the heart metal. Iron gives off the image

of strength, durability, usefulness, Iron is not fragile. Solomon uses

this iron imagery to portray the picture of a strong

person with strong, tested character. Iron stands for people who

are meant to be sturdy in their convictions and in

their conducts. And you are going to find out that

there are many uses of iron. But today I want

to talk about knives. Father's Day, I want to talk

about knives. I want to share with you three truths

about knives. Number One, knives don't sharpen themsel. In other words,

as iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another. We

need each other. Everyone here needs healthy relationships, healthy friendships.

Solomon said this in Ecclesiastes, and tell me if this

doesn't preach on its own. He said, two are better

than one because they have a good return for their labor.

If either of them falls down, one can help the

other up. But pity anyone since it's Father's day. Pity

the fool, But pity anyone who falls and has no

one to help them up. Also, if two lie down together,

they'll keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone?

The one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A

cord of three strands is not not quickly broken. We

need friends. We are not meant to live life alone.

You and I are designed by God to live in community.

We need support, encouragement, and constructive criticism if we're going

to be lifted to higher heights in our life. Healthy

friendships make people stronger, and knives don't sharpen themselves. Proverbs

seventeen seventeen says a friend loves at all times, and

a brother is born for a time of adversity. Now,

this knife, if it was dull, it still works. It's

just not nearly as effective as when it's sharp. A

dull knife takes longer to perform an ordinary task. In fact,

a dull knife doesn't really cut it more or less tears.

That's why you need iron steel sharpeners to create a

finer edge on the blade. It'll help it cut quicker

and better. You see, Genuine friends make us better versions

of ourselves. This verse implies that friendship is more than companionship.

I think sometimes what gets guys in trouble is guys

and their buddies, because guys in their buddies get in

trouble together. But companionship, it's friendship is more than that.

It has a profound purpose. It's a space to share ideas, experiences,

uplift each other. You provide an environment that helps us

reach our potential, ultimately aligning ourselves with God's purposes for

our lives. Church, don't try to live life on your own.

Some of you will hear me say this and you're like, well,

that's what I want. I want friends. I let people

to hang out with PB. It's yours and the church's

responsibility that I have friends. Okay, let's look at what

the Word of Amos says. Amos three to three, here's

what he says. He says, do two walk together unless

they've agreed to do so. You need friends, but they

don't just fall into your lap. You have to put

yourself out there. One of the things that I've realized

is that the older that I get, the more often

I have to be intentional by telling people I want

to be friends. Last month, I was speaking out a

church down south and I spent five hours with the pastor,

and as he was dropping me off at my car

so I could drive home, I looked at him and

I said, Roger, you and I are meant to be friends.

He said, Brandon, I think so too. I had to

put myself out there be intentional. Time is living it,

so you need friendships that count. Knives don't sharpen themselves.

Second thing that I've learned about knives is knives aren't

sharpened by soft substances. Get ready. Not only do we

need friends, but we need honest friends. In order for

a friendship to be effective in sharpening, you got to

be willing to speak the truth to your friends. You

got to be willing to have friends that'll have difficult

conversations with you, that are willing to approach sensitive topics.

You need friends that are honest with you, and honesty

can hurt sometimes Proverbs twenty seven to six. This is

an interesting verse. Let me break it down. It'll pop up.

He said, wounds from a friend can be trusted, but

an enemy multiplies kisses. Now, if I kept extrapolating this illustration,

I don't think there's any dude in here who wants

to be kissed by their friends. But what Solomon is

saying is he's saying, the person in your life that

just tells you what you want to hear, that's not

your friend, like you can multiply kisses. Lots of people

that are gonna tell you what you want to hear,

but wounds from a friend can be trusted. What that's

saying is it saying it's all about honesty, It's all

about accountability and speaking the truth. Not only are those

three pastors that are up here, not only are they

spiritual dads to many of you. Not only are they

my employees, but they're also my friends. And there's been

many times Morgan and I have pushed the limit of

our friendship by speaking the truth to each other. And

in the end, wounds from a friend can be trusted.

So Morgan has the courage to talk to me about

the junk in my life because he loves me. If

a friend is willing to tell you the truth, that

means that friend really sees something great in you, sees

more for you. It's all about acountability in speaking the truth.

Knives aren't sharpened by soft substances. We need other people

to help us reach our potential, which means we need

to intentionally foster relationships that are built on honesty, mutual respect,

and an eagerness to help each other grow towards God's

purposes for our life. And the sharpening process involves honesty

and tough love. Good friends will point out your flaws

and hold you accountable. Might not be comfortable, but it's

necessary for growth. Solomon said, it's as iron sharpens iron,

Strong durable metal is developed and sharpened through friction and sparks.

Growth can be challenging, but it requires effort. I was

thinking guys in their high school buddies, guys in their fifties.

Who's only really good friends with their high school buddies? Now,

there is an exception to this rule, but for the

most part, the stereotype is dead on accurate. There's a

reason that guys like the movie Hangover, because they all

have this like dreamy idea of finding your high school

buddies who, as adults you frankly have nothing in common with.

But you get to go to Vegas, do absolutely crazy

things that you would never do at any other time

in your life, and go home and not tell your

wives about it. Why because you're too ashamed of the

things you did with your high school buddies. And I

always say, too many guys just have friends that make

them dumber, don't make them sharper guys. If you wonder

why does my wife always have a problem when I

leave for the weekend with my buddies, because your buddies

make you dumb, I will tell you this. Your wife

doesn't have a problem with you going away for the

weekend with me. You know why. She didn't have a

problem with you going away for the weekend with Morgan.

You know why because there's the thought, oh, maybe they'll

even come back better husbands. Maybe they'll come back better fathers,

prioritizing our family even more. At the minimum, they're gonna

be much more focused on their spiritual lives and their futures.

Knives are not sharpened by soft substances. Some of you,

your problem is you're iron and you're sharpening yourself with soap.

You surrounded yourself with someone who makes you smell good

for just a moment, but if there's any sort of

intensity in them friendship, it crumbles and falls apart. Some

of you, you try to sharpen your iron with wood,

and as soon as there's too much friction, it catches

fire and burns away. Some of you, you're just two

pillows trying to sharpen each other. You're super comfortable, you

act like morons when you're together, but you're too soft,

and you give in to each other. Paul said this,

and Thessalonians, he said, therefore, encourage each other and build

each other up. I thought about this and thought, I

am so busy as a fifty five year old man.

When I have free time, my number one priority is

my family. When I don't have when my family is

not available, I don't have time for useless friendships. I

want him to count. Iron is the strong, durable metal.

It symbolized the strength, durability, resilience, and it's developed through

interaction and challenge. And iron works best on iron because

a softer substance will crumble next to iron. It underscores

the fact for equals in friendships, peers who share your

commitment to truth, God's purpose for your life and your family.

Sharpening presumes a purpose. While a dull blade can still cut,

it doesn't cut well, it doesn't defend well, it doesn't

produce well. But that act of sharpening involves friction control,

intentional contact that files away the blunt sides and makes

it ultimately more effective. You and I have to be

diligent in nurturing the right friendships, ones that foster moral,

spiritual growth that help us flourish in every every area

of your life. This summer, I am leading three growth groups.

I've got two men's groups that I'm leading and uh

people Authenticity, humility and lover at the forefront. But it

assumes that you get sharpened and you are sharpening at

the same time that both happen. I have I do

Pastor's Huddle, And if you've ever done Pastor's Huddle with me,

you see how we do this. So I have twenty

two guys in Pastor's Huddle this year. They're all under

the age of thirty. Most of them didn't really know

each other very well, but I tell them at the

beginning that my end goal with this is that you

guys are the best of friends. So it starts off

they're strangers, then they become acquaintances, then over time they

become friends, and in my hope and prayer, by the

end of twelve months, they're brothers. And here's how I

intentionally make them do it. I assign them every single

week to do coffee with someone they don't know, one

of the guys in the group. They sit down with them,

they say, tell me your story, what can I pray

for you about? And then they pray together. And then

the next week at Pastor's Huddle, I have the person

that met with them tell me the story about the

person they met with. Because friendships take intentionality, and people

that have ever done pastors Huddle that don't make friends

are the ones that don't follow through on the assigned meetings,

because friendship takes intentionality, especially when you guitar age, knives

don't sharpen themselves, and to be really blunt, knives aren't

sharpened by soft substances. Not to say that your high

school buddies you shouldn't be hanging out with, but maybe

should have some balance there. Finally, number three knives. Sharpening

takes time and hard work. If iron symbolizes strength and endurance,

and sharpenings suggest this active process, and it can't grow

without engagements from both sides. We need mutual growth and

accountability to challenge each other to grow and be better.

You create a culture in your friendships of mutual accountability

where we encourage each other to uphold our godly values

and principles. Did you hear that? Like in the end,

if the most important relationship you or I have in

our life is our relationship with Jesus, you want friends

in your life that are enhancing your relationship with Jesus,

which means there has to be this understanding and foundation

that is similar. And I know, like we're supposed to

have friends that don't go to church and aren't Christians.

To some degree, that's true, But how can someone sharpen

you when they don't have the same perspective of what

is the priority in your life? How does someone help

you grow if they don't fully understand the values that

you have. And by the way, that takes time, It

takes hard work. That's why I tell the guys in

the beginning. You're going to start off as strangers and

there's a process that will lead you to be brothers.

But you got to get to know the people. You

got to know what they value. You got to know

about their wife and their kids, and you got to

know what is important. What are you motivated? What has

God called you to do? And that doesn't happen overnight.

Knife sharpening takes time and hard work. Too many people

have one sided friendships. I know that I'm really it's

father's days, so that this is very like male dominated,

but all the stuff same applies to you girls too.

Too many of us have one sided friendships. You give

because the other person always needs you, But the friendship, honestly,

it doesn't sharpen you. All I know is as I

get older, my time is more valuable, my time is

more limited. I want true friends where we help each

other grow to be better individuals. We need friends that

sharpen our character, our intellect, and our talent. We don't

just need guys with buddies who tend to ruin our

character and may make us dumber. Solomon said this. I

think if Solomon was talking to the group of guys

who get together and act like children whenever they're together.

Here's what Solomon would say Proverbs thirteen twenty. He said,

if you walk with the wise, you'll become wise. But

a companion of fools suffers harm. So many things I

could say, but I'm editing myself on the pulpit. Sharpening

implies this mutual care and responsibility where it's not just

my needs. Were not just me that gets sharpened, But

how can I sharpen this other person? How can I

be sharpened and at the same time be a sharpener.

The author of Hebrews says, let us consider how we

may spur one another on towards love and good deeds.

Embrace people that sharpen you, but at the same time

be that person that sharpens others. The number one goal

I have as your pastor, I hope after having me

in your life and again knife sharpening takes time and

hard work. My hope is six twelve, eighteen twenty four

months after me being your pastor, I hope you can

say this, having Pastor Brandon in my life has made

me better. That's that is my prayer that I would

be for every single person that know owing me for

the season that they knew me made their life a

little bit better. This iron sharpens iron, so one person

sharpened another. That phrase implies this mutual improvement and refinement.

In Solomon's day, iron tools were essential for daily life.

Sharpening was a common task because they understood a dull

knife still works, but it's not nearly as effective as

a sharp one. We need to be willing to engage

in relationships and community ones that foster spiritual growth accountability

where both parties benefit from the interaction. Friction is necessary

for sharpening. Healthy conflict makes us better. By the way,

it's not too late for you to sign up for

a small group this summer. Don't just spend the entire summer.

Do in all your hobbies, jump into a group, begin

to intentionally develop some friendships. And one of the things

that we do in the summer is we provide all

of these group opportunities that are around hobbies and activities.

We do that in particular intentionally in the summer because

immediately you come in and there's a basis of something

that you can do together to break the ice. But

it's not too late. Grab one of our staff in

the lobby after the service and say, what are the groups.

What's one that's open? What can I jump into? I

need friends because friction it's necessary for sharpening. Mutual accountability

is safest amongst those who stand on the same foundation

Proverbs twenty seven seventeen. It is this vivid, literal picture

of a sturdy metal that is improved by deliberate, not delicate.

I don't I have some delicate friends, but they don't

necessarily sharpen me. Engage in relationships and friendships marked by honesty,

gracious interaction that files away the dullness and horn hones

the effectiveness of God's purposes for your life. Everybody needs friends.

You and I are created by Jesus to be in relationship.

We need to be intentional, especially as we get older,

about making sure we have good ones in our life.

You should be sharpened and at the same time you

should sharpen others. I want to ask everybody, buy your heads,

close your eyes. I want to pray for you, Lord Jesus.

That is my prayer for everyone in our church, that

they would live out this verse that says as iron

sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another. God. I pray

that they would find people in their life they would

make them better. It would make them better wives, better husbands,

better mothers, better fathers, better sisters, better brothers, just better people. God,

I pray for those of us that feel lonely because

we feel like that is something that we're missing. Give

us the courage to put ourselves out there. And Lord,

I even claim Lord, I speak this prophetically over our church,

those watching online, those here in person. Lord I say

that by the end of the summer, if they are

willing to put themselves out there, they will make lifelong

friends that will sharpen them that they can also sharpen. God.

I also thank you for all the dads that are

here on Father's Day. Bless them. I thank you for

the amazing dads in this church. And Lord, I also

acknowledge that there are many of us that Father's Day

is hard because we lost our dad too soon, or

we had a rough relationship with our dad. But your

word tells us this. You are a father to the

fatherless that you put the loan families. Lord, today we

say Happy Father's Day to our heavenly Father. We are

here together because you have changed our lives. Lord, I

love you. Thank you for all the dads that are here,

I want to pray that you'll bless everyone this week.

In Jesus's name, I pray, Amen, Amen.

Hey, can we thank Pastor Brandon for that messa this morning? Hey, peep,

peepe really quick, peebe gime here, how many of you

are thankful for a spiritual father over this home in

Pastor Brandon?

Come here, come here, Come on, coma, come into the light,

Come into the light.

Because you are such an incredible father, spiritual father in

many of us, myself included, the staff went together and

we got you something to say, Happy Father's Day.

But you're gonna have to watch this video h Happy

Father's Day.

We we wanted him to be the same hype as you.

First off, I tower over this guy. This is what

I've always wanted.

I know. There you go, Happy Father's Day. Man, Hey,

we want to celebrate. We heard your cries.

We want to.

Celebrate all the fathers in the house. So earlier, you

guys dropped a raffle ticket in the in the offering

buckets as I went by. Let's throw up on the

screen our winners of our Raffle prizes today. Give it

up for Derek Illman, Mike Deatch, Brent Norman Jim R.

Meant Michael MARLINO, if you can you stand your feet,

if you're one of those guys, stand your feet really quick.

We got a little goodie bag for you with some

of our favorite Father's Day hobby gifts here uh and

to everybody in the room, uh, even even those kids

and moms in here. We actually in honor of Peebee's

new best friend, uh Iron Sharper's Iron, we made everyone

some Venture Sasquatch stickers to take home today, So grab

those on your way out.

That's for everybody.

Go ahead and stand your feet really quick, hey, really quickly.

Can we just celebrate all the dads in the house

one more time? Man, We're thankful for you guys, thankful

for leading your families the way you do, for loving

your spouses the way you do. We want to thank

you for being here with us Adventure Church. Make sure

to swing on outside check out some of the fun

Father's Day hobbies that we are showing off. We love you, guys,

and we will see you next week.

God bless peas today's service. I hope it was beneficial

to you. Please like subscribe let us know what you thought.

Look forward to seeing you next week,