Slide 1
ADAM AND EVE
In trying to become more than what they already were, they became less than what they had been 

Slide 2
We become Ron Burgundys when we try to USE God instead of SERVE God

Slide 3
Matthew 6:33: “Seek FIRST the Kingdom of God…”

Slide 4
Two aims:
1. Redirecting those who want to be a big deal for personal gain
2. Inspire those who think, “I can never be a big deal so this topic is irrelevant to me”

Slide 5
Moses: “Who am I, that I should go to pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” (Ex. 3:11)

Slide 6
“And God said, ‘I will be with you.’” (Ex. 3:12)

Slide 7
“O Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue.” (4:10)

Slide 8
“The Lord said to him, ‘Who gave man his mouth? Who makes him deaf or dumb? Who gives him sight or makes him blind? Is it not I the Lord? Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.” (4:11-12)

Slide 9
One attitude (personal ambition) tries to replace God (living for ourselves instead of for Him)

One attitude (fear) denies God (“He can’t use someone like me”)         

Slide 10
“How can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.” (Judges 6:15)

Slide 11
Judges 4:6-7 “The Lord, the God of Israel, commands you: ‘Go, take with you ten thousand men of Naphtali and Zebulun and lead the way to Mount Tabor. I will lure Sisera, the commander of Jabin’s army, with his chariots and his troops to the Kishon River and give him into your hands.”

Slide 12  
“If you go with me, I will go; but if you don’t go with me, I won’t go.” (v. 8)

Slide 13
“Very well. I will go with you. But because of the way you are going about this, the honor will not be yours, for the Lord will hand Sisera over to a woman.” (v. 9)

Slide 14           
“Most blessed of women be Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, most blessed of tent-dwelling women.
He asked for water, and she gave him milk;
In a bowl fit for nobles she brought him curdled milk.
Her hand reached for the tent peg, her right hand for the workman’s hammer.
She struck Sisera, she crushed his head
She shattered and pierced his temple”
Judges 5:24-26

Slide 15
Eliakim, Azor and Zadok

Slide 16
Some of us have the WRONG purpose because we make life all about us

Some of us LACK purpose because we lack FAITH

Some of us DILUTE our purpose because we think what we’re doing doesn’t matter

Slide 17
What’s in your hand?

Slide 18
Moses: “What if they don’t listen?”
God said, “What’s that in your hand?” (Exodus 4:2)

About 20 years ago there was this movie that had such a cringeworthy scene. I don’t know much about the movie, but you couldn’t escape this scene ’cause it kind of became a meme. It might be familiar to some of you.

So when you guys aren’t really trying to pick up a woman saying I’m a big deal, we all cringed and it, we don’t wanna become like that. But can I be honest? Don’t all of us kind of wanna be a big deal? Not famous. I hope none of us pursue famous that will ruin us if we’re trying to pursue fame, but wanting to be a big deal in a sense that your life matters. That while you were here, you made a difference. That your love and your service was seen. The reason I’m pretty confident in saying that is that’s what you voted for this week. What is my purpose? And calling and behind that question is the yearning. How do I know if I have a purpose, how do I know if I have a calling? And certainly the hope that it might be there.

That’s a good desire. It is not wrong because God himself wants you to be a big deal. How do I know that? Remember in the New Testament disciples ask Jesus how to become great in the kingdom of God. How to become a big deal to heaven. Jesus doesn’t shame him. He said You shouldn’t think about that. You shouldn’t be concerning yourself with that. That’s a a sinful desire. No, he pulls a child into their group, says you wanna become great. Here’s how you do it. You become like this child. You become a servant. If Jesus tells us how to do something, it can’t be wrong to want to do that. Jesus is saying it’s a good desire to wanna be a big deal. But we don’t wanna become a wrong burgundy who tries to become a big deal for the wrong reason and in the wrong way.

In fact, some of the most spectacular fails in scripture are really those who want to become a big deal for the wrong reasons and the wrong ways. Let’s go back to the very first man and woman. Adam and Eve. Think about how good they had it. They were naked and unashamed. No sin in their relationship, didn’t have to work for their food. There was no crime, no enemies, no threat. They could walk with God in the cool of the day. They could see God as clearly as you see me. They could hear God. I mean they had it so good as two sinless human beings. And then the Satan came and said, but it can be better. How? How can it be better? You can become like God and suddenly being a sinless human being wasn’t enough. They wanted to become a God and they disobeyed God and they fell and they became much less than they were.

Think about that. In trying to become more than what they already were, they became much less than what they had been. And so in our desire to be a big deal, there has to be a little bit of surrender. What is God’s purpose for us? What is God created us for? Lest we end up being a wrong Ron Burgundy. Another one who fell into this trap was Absalom, one of David’s sons. He was in line to become the next king of Israel. That’s a big deal. But he wasn’t gonna wait. He decided he wanted to be king now. And so he betrayed his father, he dishonor his father. He tried to kill his father to become a big deal right now. And he becomes one of the most despicable people in scripture because he was putting power over loyalty, power over relationships. And if you pursue power over people, if you’re running over people you love, whether you’re a boss or a family situation or whatnot, you might get what you want for a little bit.

But your namesake will be Absalom. And I don’t think anybody wants to follow him. If we go to the New Testament, there was another person who wanted to be a big deal, Simon the sorcerer. He would do these magic tricks to get a following. It was his trade. And then he sees Peter who had real power. I mean Peter who could pray for people and they would be healed. The Holy Spirit would come down. He’s a power he had never known before. And he wanted this power not to serve people, but to serve himself. And so he tries to pay Peter off. Can I buy the bill, the ability to do this? Will you teach me how you do it? See, he didn’t want power to serve God. He wanted power to use God. And that’s a big difference. Some people do that today. You can use the name of Christ, but you’re using him for yourself not to serve him.

And we become Ron Burgundy when we try to use God instead of serve God. So while it’s a good thing to want to be a big deal, how do we keep from falling into these traps of Adam and Eve or Absalon or Simon? Well, we go back to a verse that you have heard me quote more than any other verse that I’ve preached on since I’ve been here. And I had a laugh ’cause I was with my wife. There’s a woman visiting here from Houston. Her name’s Denise. And she actually is visiting, she’s just in town. Drove out to see Kurt and me. And she gave me one of the most precious gifts I’ve ever been given. ’cause She heard me quote this verse all the time in Houston, Matthew 6 33. And she gave me a calligraphy picture of it. And it’s my favorite color, blue.

It’s in my office. I see it every day. And I can’t get away from it. I don’t want to because I want it to set up every day when Jesus says in Matthew 6 33, seek first not my power, not my reputation, not my enrichment, not even my pleasure. We’re to seek first, continually keep on seeking more than anything else. He says, what the kingdom of God. And that’s really Jesus’s way of saying, this is how you become a big deal. That matters. I can’t imagine anything more pathetic than a lifetime trying to advance ourself. Because what we’re doing is we’re winning battles that don’t matter. We’ll be forgotten. We’re not gonna be glorified. It’s all about the advancement of God’s kingdom. So ambition is a real big problem for those who want to be a big deal. But you know what? There’s another problem. Some of us ambition is really what’s keeping us from our purpose and calling.

But there’s another group but’s keeping you from your purpose. And calling is fear and doubt. I’m gonna lay my cards on the table. I have two aims in this sermon. First, I wanna redirect those who want to be a big deal for personal gain, to think that they matter. You matter because God created you and you’re his son or his daughter. But the second group I want to redirect is to inspire those who think I can never be a big deal. So this topic’s irrelevant for me. I don’t know who voted for it. I don’t really care about it. There’s no way that God can use me. And you think your purpose and calling don’t matter because you’re just not all of that. Have you ever noticed that the people that God tends to use in scripture are those who seem the most unlikely to be used?

Let’s go back to another early couple. Adam, Abraham and Sarah, you’ve all heard this story so many times. God decides he’s gonna launch an entirely new family. That all the people of faith will trace themselves back to this physical family. Though many will enter spiritually. And so he chooses a man who by the time he has this come true, is literally a hundred years old. The wife Sarah is 91 years old. And when she’s told she’s gonna become a mother, she laughs. She laughs. And why wouldn’t she? Well, yeah, God could use me, but not like that. That ship has sailed. And yet it hadn’t. I said, you think so? Watch. And he used her in a way that she thought she could never be used. Don’t write yourself off. I think of Moses, we think of him as a really big deal. But if you notice when he was called, he tried to argue God out of it.

In the Exodus three 11, when God calls him, he says, who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt? Now, God doesn’t say to Moses, Hey Moses, don’t be so hard on yourself. You’re actually really special. You are like a snowflake. There’s no one else on the earth just like you. Moses, repeat after me. I am special. It’s like bad afternoon television. Instead, God says to him, Moses, I’ll be with you. It’s irrelevant who you are. If I’m with you, that’s all you need to know. But Moses still pushes back. Lord, I’ve never been eloquent neither in the past, nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue. And again, God doesn’t say, Moses, quit talking about your tongue. Enough about your tongue. You have a perfectly good tongue. You have an above average tongue, right that that’s why I’m calling you.

Instead, God says, Moses who gave man his mouth, who makes him deaf or dumb? Who gives him sight or makes him blind? Is it not I the Lord Moses? Just go, I’m gonna help you speak. I’ll teach you what to say. So we’ve learned that some people are ruled by selfish ambition. Ron Burgundy, I’m kind of a big deal. Some people are ruled by fear. I can’t ever be a big deal. Both attitudes are wrong. One attitude tries to replace God living for yourself instead of his kingdom. But the other attitude denies God. He can’t use someone like me. What message is God asking you to pick up this morning? What side of that equation are you on? Maybe God wants you to be a bigger deal than you are and don’t try to talk ’em out of it. Some of you, I think God has been saying, Hey, have you ever thought about this?

Or to get this burning passion? Maybe you could do that. And you think, God, I can think of a thousand reasons why that’s a bad idea. Why I’m the wrong person to do that. It doesn’t matter. You only need one reason to do it. If God’s called you and he says he’s gonna be with you, that one reason is enough. The Bible’s filled with people that God uses that didn’t have what it takes. I think of judges six and eight. Life was miserable for the Israelites ’cause they were being attacked by the Amalekites and the Midianites. Every time they would plant a crop, just when it was time to harvest the Amalekites and Midianites would come in and steal all the crops. Imagine this, you spent your whole lifetime saving up in your 401k. And just when you’re ready to retire, some manager swoops in and steals everything you’ve stored up.

That’s how it felt like to be an Israelite. And they would steal the livestock. Israel got so fearful, they all moved into caves ’cause they were afraid of being raided. And so God goes up to Gideon and says, look, I’m tired of this. You’re the one that’s gonna deliver them. And Gideon thinks that that’s impossible. And he explains why it’s impossible. How can I save Israel Judges six 15, my clan is the weakest in Manasseh and I am the least in my family. Now, the reason Gideon says this is judges were chosen usually very hierarchical way. The most important person in the most important family, from the most important clan, from the most important tribe. That’s who would lead. Gideon is literally exactly the opposite. He was the least important family member in the least important clan, in the least important tribe. I mean, he was everything he wasn’t supposed to be.

How could God use me? And some of you, you’re holding yourself back. Well, I didn’t come from a strong family. I don’t have the connections. I don’t have that sense of stability and, and purpose. I’ve got too much. And, and so you discount how God can use you. I, I just, I don’t have the right pedigree. I don’t have the right connections. You’re looking at your earthly family. If God is your father, that trumps everything else. Your spiritual family is where you get your calling. I think of Deborah in jail, two women. This is in judges four in a hyper patriarchal society. And yet Deborah tries to inspire a commander named Brock. And she says, the Lord, the God of Israel commands you go take with you 10,000 men of Naftali and Zebulon and lead the way to Mount Tabor. I will lure Cicero, the commander of Jain’s army with his chariots and his troops to the Kishan River and give him into your hands.

Deborah’s telling Barack, this is your moment. This is how you become a big deal. It’s scary, but I’m commanding you to go. Barack wasn’t particularly brave. He tried to resist. If you go with me, he said, I’ll go, but if you don’t go with me, I won’t go. So Deborah gives in very well, I’ll go with you. But because of the way you’re going about this, you sissy, the honor will not be yours. For the Lord will hand Cicero over to a woman. And that’s exactly what God did. The battle became fierce. Sister, I knew he was in trouble. So he escapes from the battle, runs into the area that was being populated and by a nomadic tribe named the Ken Knights. They were friendly to the Canaanites. He thought he would have a friendly welcome. And there’s this woman named Jill. She sees him.

She knows what’s going on. And so she calls out to him, come my Lord, come right in. Don’t be afraid. And he wouldn’t be afraid. She’s a woman. He just escaped thousands of men who wanted to kill him. She’s with a tribe that’s supposed to be friendly with the Canaanites. And so he thinks, oh great, she’s gonna hide me. So she brings him in, she covers him up. He gets nice and cozy. He asks her for a drink of water. Now what does water do when you’re tired and thirsty? It refreshes you. So jail didn’t give him water. She gave him milk. What does warm milk do? It makes you sleepy. So she tucks him in. She says, you’re okay Here, have some milk. Cera falls asleep. She grabs a tent peg and a hammer. They’re a tribe of nomads. They’re all over the place.

And she drives the tent peg through Ceras temple and kills the commander of Israel’s enemies. You like, well, why? Why did she do that if she’s from a friendly tribe? Yeah, she was with the Ken. She had married into the Kenai Tribe Jail is a Hebrew name. She was a Hebrew woman, an Israelite woman who found herself in a place and she didn’t know when she was married into the Ken Night clan tribe that would give her an opportunity to defeat Israel’s enemy. But there it was. And she took it. And that shows the, the sovereignty of God to accomplish his ends. We don’t know how what we’re doing matters. We’re just living our lives. She married a Kenai. She had no idea how significant that would be. And then let, let’s take this further. What did she do the morning? She killed Cicero.

She milked a goat. She milked a goat every day. She wasn’t thinking, oh, I’m gonna go into the Bible now. I’m milking a goat. It’s what she did every day. She was faithful. And think of all of those times, a nomadic tribe where she’s pulling up the tent pegs and putting them in and building up her arms, driving in the tent pegs. That’s what a woman does when she’s a nomad. She’s not thinking, I need to get strong. It’s not easy to put a tent peg through a skull. She didn’t know that she was getting ready for this. I think of that eighties movie karate kid when Mr. Miyagi is trying to teach his young protege how to fight. And at first he’s just having to do all of these tasks like waxing his car, wax on, wax off until the young kid says, wait a minute, I wanna fight karate.

This isn’t helping. And then Mr. Miyagi says, wax on, wax off. He says, oh, he had no idea these simple tasks were preparing him. That’s jail. She was just being faithful to what a woman of her time was supposed to do. And God was setting her up through his sovereignty to have one of the most glorious victories in all of the New Testament. So she gets her own song. She certainly became a big deal because Debra sang of her in Judges five. Most blessed of women be Jail. The wife of Hebrew, the Ken Knight, most blessed of tent dwelling women. He asked for water. Ha She gave him milk in a bowl fit for noble. She brought him curdled milk. Her hand reached for the tent, peg her right hand for the workman’s hammer. She struck Cicero, she crushed his head. She shattered and pierced his temple.

See, a lot of you, you’re living lives that are big deals and you don’t realize they’re big deals. And you may never realize how big a deal your life is. Let me mention three people in scripture, EUM, Zo, and Zadak. They’re all mentioned in scripture. Anybody know what they did? I might call on you if you raise your hand. Eli, come Zo za. They’re in scripture. They’re in the genealogy of Joseph. The Bible said they’re a big enough deal that he’s going to mention their name. Now, as the ancestors of Joseph, they didn’t even contribute DNA to Jesus. They helped bring along the line that would lead to Joseph, who is so key because Joseph protected Jesus provided for Jesus got him away from a king who wanted to kill him. But neither one of them could even imagine they would be in the Bible that their life would count.

They didn’t know the Messiah was coming. They didn’t know that I’m choosing a woman and I’m gonna have a kid and he’s gonna marry a woman and he’s gonna have a kid that eventually it’s gonna become a really important person named Joseph. They just lived their life and family and God used it as such a big deal. They’re in scripture. And how many of us are in scripture? How many of us are related to somebody in scripture? It might surprise you that, that I am try not to be proud about this. But my brother was going through our genealogy and I said, Jerry, this could really be cool for me. Preaching. Go back, see how far back you can go. If we could be anybody in the Bible, that would be really cool. Jerry finally calls me. I said, Gary, I had to go way back.

All right. He goes, but I found out we’re related to Adam and Eve. So I’m kind of a big deal, right? I’m I’m actually in scripture. The principle is be faithful. You might think, I’m just living in my family. I’m just doing my job. And God is setting it up. God is sovereign. He’s advancing his kingdom. And when that’s our desire, he can use us in ways we don’t even know. So here’s what we’ve learned. Some of us have the wrong purpose because we try to make it all about us. The Ron Burgundy of the world. Some of us lack purpose because we lack faith. We’re like Sarah or Moses or Gideon. Some of us might dilute our purpose because we think what we’re doing doesn’t matter. It’s such a common thing. We’re milking a goat, we’re setting up a tent. But look at how God used jail. So how do you know what is your purpose? I want to ask you the same question that God asked Moses. When Moses is trying to say, I, I I just don’t know what I’m supposed to do. God gave him this question. What’s what’s in your hand? He says, Moses, I want you to go and speak for my people. And Moses is, but, but what if the people don’t listen to me? What, what do I do? And what did God say to Moses? And Exodus four, two, Moses, what’s in your hand?

What’s in your hand? Moses use that. Now the only thing in Moses’ hand was a staff. You may have had it for 10 years, 20 years. This old stick. He had used it. It was the most common thing he could imagine. How can God use that? It’s just a stick. I said, oh yeah, watch what happens. Throw it on the ground. It turns into a snake. I asked the worship team if they could get me a staff that would turn into a snake. Kurt overheard it and said, Gary, we’re not that kind of a church. So that one got vetoed. But but just imagine this stick becomes a snake. He picks it up, it becomes a staff again. I guess it’s a common thing, Moses, but it has, when it’s used by me, a power you can’t even imagine. And that stick called forth locusts and flies that stick touched the river Nile and turned an entire river into blood.

What’s in your hand, Moses? A staff use that jail. How? How, how is God going to use you? How, how are you gonna kill one of the mightiest warriors in, in the world? What do you have? Jail. And I’ve got a little skin of goat milk. I’ve always got a tent peg and a hammer. Jail. Use that, that will work. David had never killed a man King David in his entire life. And yet here’s Goliath taunting God, laughing at God’s people. Saul wants to weight him down with all this armor in the swords. They say, no, no, no. I can’t use that. I don’t know how to use that. So David goes, God, what, what am I gonna use to kill this giant?

He says, David, what’s in your hand? What did you use as shepherd? Well, for animals, I just have a few rocks. I have a slingshot. Use that David. That’ll work. Use that in the New Testament. The disciples come up to Jesus. Look, it’s late. They’re hungry. We gotta send them away. We got thousands of people here. They need to eat. And Jesus says, what sounds absurd? Okay, you eat, you feed ’em, huh Jesus. What are we gonna do? What does Jesus say to ’em? Essentially, what, what’s in your hand? And we got, we got a few loaves of bread. We got some fish. Use that. That’ll work. God often points us back to what we already have, what we’re already doing. And when we’re seeking first his kingdom, it becomes a powerful tool of redemption. And I like this. What’s in your hand approach? Because we’re trying to search for these big moments.

And often it’s the day to day where our purpose is seen. And Kevin Carter was a photojournalist in the early nineties. He was covering the famine in sedan. And he took this picture that won him a Pulitzer Prize. It it was a horrific time in world history where sedan people were starving. This is a little Sudanese boy who’s trying to crawl toward an aid tent that’s a vulture waiting for him to die. And it was really that one picture that captured the world. And and it was used, I mean, it opened up a lot of wallets in a good way that we need to do something. This country is in peril. And he became so famous, he was going on all the tours, talking about the picture. And he said, at one point, yeah, I waited 20 minutes. ’cause I I wanted the vulture to open up its wings.

It would’ve been a much better picture. But after 20 minutes, it still hadn’t. So he just snapped the picture and he went on. ’cause There were a lot of pictures to take. He was celebrated. It made his career. But then there was the backlash. And you can probably guess, people wanted to know, well, what happened to the boy? Why didn’t you do something? He goes, well, I chased the vulture away. Well, why didn’t you help him? He goes, you don’t understand. There were thousands of people in that situation. There was nothing I could do. There were so many, I I couldn’t make a difference. And I, I, I’m not here to criticize Kevin Carter. I’m here to challenge us because we’re not in Sudan. But even in Highlands Ranch, there are so many needs. There are vultures, politically, socially, physically, a lot of evil going on. And we guys, I just can’t do anything. I I’ve got one vote. I’ve got one voice. I I’ve got one chance. And we can say I, I just, that there’s nothing I can do.

But there is something we can do. If what’s in our hand means it matters that I help one person. And, and the older I get with the Lord, the more I see that God is focused on Gary, you got to speak. Love this person. Love that person. Serve the one that’s next to you. What’s in your hand? Use that man. We have hundreds come every Tuesday to get fed. One week a month we give out diapers. And not that long ago, a young dad came in. They really needed diapers, but it wasn’t a diaper week. And I love it. One of our staff members, Alex, figured out what he needed. He said, I, I can make that happen. Maybe broke a few rules. But here was one person who had a need. He said, I, I can meet that need. And he did. And that’s what I like about the what’s in your hand calling.

We, we get lost in the big picture because we often, God doesn’t let us see the big picture. But here’s what, what’s in your hand means. What is, who is one person you can serve and love today? Are you a coach? Are you a small business owner? Are you a parent? Are you a spouse? What is that one person that God wants you to love and serve today? And God is so filled with love, he is a god of love. When you reach that one person, that’s a big deal to him. That’s the big deal that really matters. I think of Kent Nuber a taxi driver. How, how can God use you as a taxi driver? One night he got a call, it’s like middle of the night, two or 3:00 AM and it was a certain side of the town that he said, you really don’t want to go to in that time of night.

He goes, there’s one of two things. Somebody’s had too much to drink at a party. That means they’re gonna vomit in your cab. Or it could be domestic violence, which is a nightmare. Normally he would just say, and it’s a pass. But the spirit nudged him. Kent, you need to go. So he pulls up and it’s a fourplex. There’s a one 60 watt bulb for all four apartments. And he said, normally he would never stop. He goes, you don’t make it long as a taxi driver. If you pull up to a dark fourplex in the middle of the night in that part of town, everything within him said, run, drive away. But again, the spirit nudged him. Kent, it’s okay. So he goes up and he knocks on the door and there’s this frail, elderly feminine voice. Just a minute. And then he hears the door open and there’s this very slight woman wearing a floral dress and a pillbox hat. She’s got a tiny little suitcase. He says, can you take my suitcase? And he said, sure. And he grabs her elbow and he gets her to the taxi. He puts the suitcase in the trunk. He sits down. He says, all right, where, where can I take you? And she gives him the address and then says, but can we go through downtown first? He goes, you know, that’s not the shortest way. She says, that’s okay.

I’m not in a hurry. I’m on my way to hospice. He looks in the rear view mirror. So the doctor said, I don’t have very long to live. I don’t have any family members. They said, it’s just best for you to go to hospice. Kent turns off the meter. Where do you want to go? And she took him through one of the most miraculous seasons of his life. She relived her entire life. She had never had the means to go outside of this city. Kent described it this way for the next two hours, we drove through the city. She showed me the building where she had once worked as an elevator operator. We drove through the neighborhood where she and her husband had lived. When they had first been married, she made me pull up in front of a furniture warehouse that had once been a ballroom where she had gone dancing as a girl. Sometimes she would have me slow down in front of a particular building or corner and would sit staring into the darkness saying nothing. Eventually the sun started to rise. The lights peaking over the horizon. She says to Kent, I’m really getting tired. I think we should just go to the hospice now. So Kent put the address in, took her to the hospice. Two orderlies came out. They grabbed a suitcase. The woman looks at Kent and says, what, what do I owe you?

Kent said, nothing. She said, you gotta make a living. Kent said, there are other passengers. She hugged him. She said, I just want you to know you’ve given an old woman a lot of joy in the last few weeks of her life. Kent got back in his cabin. He never turned his meter back on. He couldn’t pick up any other passengers. He realized he, he had lived this miracle and, and he was afraid. He thought he knew the other taxi drivers they would meet in the taxi room. How some of them would never go there at that time of night, would never go into a dark fourplex and would’ve just left her waiting. And how some of them so impatient would say, lady, just tell me where you need to go. I’m not gonna sit out here looking at an empty warehouse. And yet, ’cause the taxi cab was what was in his hand.

He got to experience something so wonderful that he felt like, what? What if this was the purpose and calling of my life? Here’s how he described it. We are so conditioned to think that our lives revolve around great moments, but great moments often catch us unawares. When that woman hugged me and said that I’d brought her a moment of joy, it was possible to believe that I had been placed on earth for the sole purpose of providing her with that last ride. I do not think I have done anything in my life that was more important than that. What’s in your hand? A taxi cab? Use that. That’ll work. What’s in your hand? You’re on a sports team. People are getting cut. When you make the team, can you say, maybe God put me here to encourage somebody who’s really discouraged when their life dream has been stopped.

I just work in an accounting office. But are your eyes open to how God might use that? Maybe you’re a doctor and and you, Hey, go ahead and pray with her. It’s all right. She needs that prayer. Maybe you’re a lawyer instead of just witting. The case might say, ha ha. Have you guys thought about re-engage? There’s a program at this church that really can help couples reconnect. I know one of the things that are in my hand. I’m a husband. Last week I got to spend some time with my oldest daughter and her husband who loves her so well. He cherishes her. He gave me so much joy that I wanted to double down God. I wanna cherish my wife like that because I know what joy it brings to a father-in-law. And God is my heavenly Father-in-law. And if I’m trying to ignore my wife to do some big, big deal, I become a Ron Burgundy. Not a faithful follower of Christ. What’s in my hand? I’m a husband. I need to cherish my spouse. I’m a son. I need to spend time with my 91-year-old mother. She loves to put together jigsaw puzzles, which I’ve never gotten. I mean, I visit her. I’ve got deadlines, I’ve got books to finish, speeches to prepare and stuff, not whatnot. But man, I’m her son. It matters to her. She matters to my Heavenly Father.

So to be a big deal, I wanna surrender to God’s plan. I don’t wanna make the mistake of Adam and Eve that trying to be more than they were, became less than they had been. I want to be patient and not put power over people like Absalom did. I don’t wanna discount what God might do. I might think God can’t use me that way, but I don’t want to be a Sarah who laughs or a Moses who argues, or a Gideon who says, this is crazy. I wanna remember that daily faithfulness matters. I might not realize how God’s preparing me, but just like he prepared jail, marrying a Ken Knight, milking a goat, taking down and putting up tents. God can use that.

What’s your purpose in calling? What’s in your hand? Who is the individual that you have the ability to love and serve today and tomorrow? What’s in your hand? Use that. That’s how you become a big deal. Let’s pray. Father, the first part of knowing our purpose and calling is that we are called to be your sons and daughters. And someone here doesn’t know you. And they’ve been trying to think, how do I make my life matter? They don’t realize that it really does matter. When we give ourselves to you and I, I just pray that you would give them the grace to maybe ask a scary question. How can I follow Jesus? There are others. Lord I pray you would redirect. They’re making their life about themself. They’re trying to find money or get the promotion They’re ignoring those who are around them, those that they’re called to love. And maybe this word is to say, look, you’re, you’re winning a battle. That doesn’t matter. But Lord, I also pray for those sensitive, some who just feel like you could never use them. And you have such plans for them. And they may never know how important their life is, but they’ve discounted it. And I just pray that this would inspire them. Thank you Lord, that you would use us. Thank you. And in Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.