(Disclaimer: This transcript is auto-generated and may contain mistakes.)

All right, welcome to Transformation Church. No, I'm just kidding. Thanks, guys, for being here. Just a couple of quick announcements I'm going to make, and then we'll start our service. First of all, thank you so much to Pastor Menes and his son Joshua for coming out here and participating with us. It's a great blessing to have you guys out here. Tomorrow morning, we're going to have a popcorn men's preaching opportunity, but it's not going to be in here. It'll be in our cabin, and we'll just meet around 9 AM. And so we'll just have about a one-hour service approximately, and then we'll be good to go for the day. We can head out. Thank you guys for showing up and participating. It's a lot of fun. Thank you so much for the guys who competed in our Mighty Men's Challenge. It's a lot of fun to come up with things to make you all miserable, and so I really enjoyed that. I appreciate everybody who made a good sport, and even though a lot of people are eliminated quickly, a lot of people are still engaged and watching and participating in just the competition. I appreciate that as well. So thanks, guys, for that. We're going to pick a few different people for some songs. One thing if you help me, just make sure to try and get your trash and throw it away when we leave tonight. We will try to do a Q&A after the sermon. Maybe take a quick break, get some waters or something, and then we can do a Q&A session as well, too. And make sure to thank Pastor Jimenez for coming out here and taking time. He's definitely very busy, but we appreciate that he's willing to come out and preach for us. And so if anybody wants to lead a song, who would anybody? All right, Christian, you can be number one. You're going to be our first song leader. Dylan, you can be two. You can be number three, Eric. Elijah, you can be number four. So we'll just go the one, two, three, where the next you're going to read for us. And then after the sermon, you'll follow up and finish. It's going to be song leader's choice. So whatever song you want, you're going to lead for us. And so we'll kick off with three songs. We'll have the Bible reading. And then Pastor Jimenez will come preach for us. All right, Christian, come on up. If you can lead us off. Turn your head over to 415, victory for grace. 415, victory for grace. One, two, three, four. Courage at fancy, Light in their brilliant array, Shouting the name of their leader, Hear them insultingly say, Not to the strong is the battle, Not to the swift is the grace, Yet to the true and the faithful, Victory is promised through grace. Conquering now and still to conquer, Who is this wonderful King? Whence are the armies which he leadeth, While of his glory they sing, He is our Lord and Redeemer, Savior and God our Divine, They are the stars that forever Ride in his kingdom will shine, Not to the strong is the battle, Not to the swift is the grace, Yet to the true and the faithful, Victory is promised through grace. Conquering now and still to conquer, Jesus our ruler of all, Romes and their sectors all shall perish, Crowns and their slanders shall fall, Yet shall the armies how leadeth, Faithful and true to the last, Ride in thy mansions eternal, Rest when their warfare is past, Not to the strong is the battle, Not to the swift is the grace, Yet to the true and the faithful, Promise through grace. Alright, turn to 81. When we see Christ, Song 81. When we see Christ, Song 81, sing it out together. When we see Christ, All times the day seems long, Our trials are to bear, We're tempted to complain, To murmur and despair, But Christ will soon appear, To pass his bride away, All tears forever over, In God's eternal name, It will be worth it all, When we see Jesus, My trials will seem so small, When we see Christ, One glimpse of his dear face, All sorrows will erase, So bravely run the race, Till we see Christ, Sometimes the sky looks far, With not a ray of light, We're tossed and driven on, No human health in sight, But there is one in heaven, Who knows our fear is there, Let Jesus solve your problem, Just go to him in prayer, It will be worth it all, When we see Jesus, My trials will seem so small, When we see Christ, One glimpse of his dear face, All sorrows will erase, So bravely run the race, Till we see Christ, That day will soon be o'er, All storms forever pass, We'll cross the great divide, To glory safe at last, We'll share the joys of death, A heart a home a crown, The tender will be banished, We'll lay our burden down, It will be worth it all, When we see Jesus, My trials will seem so small, When we see Christ, One glimpse of his dear face, All sorrows will erase, So bravely run the race, Till we see Christ, I can resolve no longer to linger, Charmed by the world's delight, I can resolve no longer to linger, Charmed by the world's delight, I can resolve no longer to linger, Charmed by the world's delight, Things that are higher, things that are lower, Things that alert my sight, I will hasten to him, Hasten so glad and free, Jesus' greatest highest, I will come to thee, I am resolved to go to the Savior, Pleading my sin and strife, He is the true one, he is the just one, He hath the words of life, I will hasten to him, Hasten so glad and free, Jesus' greatest highest, I will come to thee, I am resolved to follow the Savior, Faithful and true each day, He what He sayeth, do what He willeth, He is the living way, I will hasten to him, Hasten so glad and free, Jesus' greatest highest, I will come to thee. The Bible reads, The sons of Judah, Phares, Hezron, and Carmi, and Hur, and Shobel, and Reah, the son of Shobel begat Jehath, and Jehath begat Ahumai and Lehad. These are the families of the Zorathites, and these were of the father of Itam, Jezreel, and Ishma, and Ibdash, and the name of their sister was Hazalelponai, and Penuel the father of Gedor, and Ezer the father of Hushath. These are the sons of Hur, the firstborn of Ephratah, the father of Bethlehem, and Asher the father of Tekoa had two wives, Helah and Nara, and Nara bare him Ahuzam, and Hephir and Timonai, and Heahashtari. These were the sons of Nara, and the sons of Helah were Zireth, and Jezwar, and Ethnan, and Koz begat Anub and Zobeba, and the families of Aharhel the son of Harum, and Jabez was more honorable than his brethren, and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, Because I bear him with sorrow. And Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, O that thou wouldst bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that thine hand might be with me, and that thou wouldst keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me. And God granted him that which he requested. And she loved the brother of Shewa begat Meir, which was the father of Ishton, and Ishton begat Bethrafa and Paseah, and Tzayinah the father of Yirnahash. These are the men of Rekah, and the sons of Kinaz, Othniel, and Sariah, and the sons of Othniel, Hathath, and Meirnathai begat Ophrah, and Sariah begat Joab, the father of the valley of Charashim, for they were craftsmen. And the sons of Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, Iru, Elah, and Nem, and the sons of Elah, even Kinaz, and the sons of Jelalel, Ziph, and Ziphah, Teriah, and Azriel, and the sons of Ezra were Jethur, and Mered, and Ephir, and Jalon, and she bare Miriam, and Shemai, and Ishba, the father of Eshtomoah, and his wife Jehudijah, bare Jered, the father of Gedor, and Heber, the father of Sokrom, and Jekutiel, the father of Zanoah, and these are the sons of Vithiah, the daughter of Pharaoh, which Mered took, and the sons of his wife Hodiah, the sister of Naham, the father of Kyla, the Garmite, and Eshtomoah, Demiachatite. And the sons of Shimon were Amnon, and Reina, Benhainen, and Tylon, and the sons of Ishi were Zohath, and Benzohath, the sons of Sheila, the son of Judah were Ur, the father of Lekah, and Leada, the father of Marashah, and the families of the house of them that wrought fine linen of the house of Ashbeah, and Joachim, and the men of Chozebah, and Joash, and Saraph, who had the dominion in Moab, and Jashubah Elaim, and these are ancient things. These were the powders, and those that dwelt among plants and hedges, there they dwelt with the king for his work. The sons of Simeon were Nemuel, and Jamon, Jerib, Zerah, and Shaul, Shalom his son, Mipsam his son, Mishma his son, and the sons of Mishma, Hamuel his son, Zakur his son, Shimei his son, and Shimei had sixteen sons, and six daughters, but his brethren had not many children, neither did all their family multiply like to the children of Judah. And they dwelt at Beersheba, and Moladah, and Hazar-Shaul, and at Bilhah, and at Esam, and at Tolad, and at Bethuel, and at Hormah, and at Ziklag, and at Beth-Markaboth, and Hazar-Sussim, and at Beth-Bireh, and at Shirem. These were their cities under the reign of David. And their villages were Esam, and Ein, Rimon, and Tochan, and Eishan, five cities. And all their villages that were round about the same cities under Baal, these were their habitations, and their genealogy, and Meshobab, and Jamlech, and Josha, the son of Amaziah, and Joel, and Jehu, the son of Josibiah, the son of Sariah, the son of Asiel, and Elionai, and Jehacabah, and Jehoshiah, and Asiah, and Adiel, and Jehosimael, and Benaiah, and Ziza, the son of Shiphi, the son of Alon, the son of Jeriah, the son of Shimri, the son of Shemaiah. These mentioned by their names were princes and their families, and the house of their fathers increased greatly. And they went to the entrance of Gedor, even under the east side of the valley, to seek pasture for their flocks. And they found fat pasture and good, and the land was wide and quiet and peaceable, for they of Ham had dwelt there of old. And these written by name came in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah, and smote their tents and the habitations that were found there, and destroyed them utterly unto this day, and dwelt in their rooms, because there was pasture there for their flocks. And some of them, even of the sons of Simeon, five hundred men, went to Mount Seir, striving for their captains, Pelotia and Neriah, and Rephiah and Uzziel, the sons of Isshin. And they smote the rest of the Amalekites that were escaped and dwelt there unto this day. We'll pray. Heavenly Father, Lord, thank you so much for Steadfast Baptist Church. Thank you, Lord, that Pastor Menes was able to be here tonight. Please, Lord, fill in with your spirit and allow me to preach a great message. Please help us, Lord, to apply it to our lives. In Jesus' name, amen. Amen. All right. Well, I'm not sure if you're able to hear me, but I want to begin, of course, by saying thank you to Pastor Shelley for his friendship and for inviting me. And he preached a great sermon on the subject of friendship last night, and I can give a testimony to the fact that he is a great friend. And I appreciate his friendship and, of course, his fellowship. And I want to say thank you to all of you for being here tonight and for taking time out of your schedules, of course, to come out to an event like this, not just to have a good time and to get some rest, but also to be fed spiritually. And I think it's important for men to spend time together. So I appreciate all of you being here tonight. And I realize that there are some of you here tonight that are feeling very mighty after that mighty man's competition. And you're feeling real manly because you can do some very manly things like catch and throw things. So, you know, good for you. I'm not bitter. I'm not bitter. But I know we had a good time this morning out at the mighty man's competition. It was a good time. And I appreciate, of course, everyone's just a good spirit out there and having a good time, encouraging each other. So tonight, I'd like to preach. I was thinking long and hard about the kind of sermon that could be preached, should be preached, lots of sermons could be preached, should be preached to men. But specifically, I thought of this subject. I thought it'd be a good subject for men to hear about, to learn about. And I'd like to preach tonight on the subject of ambition, ambition. And I'd like to begin by just giving you a definition of ambition. And ambition is defined as a strong desire to do or to achieve something, typically requiring determination and hard work, a desire and determination to achieve success. And I think it's important for us as men to have ambition. I don't think ambition is a bad thing. I do think that it can get out of control, of course. But I think that God created men to be men of ambition. And this is what men do. This is one of the reasons why men are the way that they are. This is why men go to war. This is why men play sports. This is why men go hunting. This is why men take their work very seriously, because God has put it in men to have a desire, a strong desire to achieve something, to do something, to accomplish something, to work hard at something. And I'd like to speak this evening on the subject of ambition. I'd like to give you four thoughts on the subject of ambition. They are alliterated for those of you that care, but maybe you can jot these things down. And I'd like to talk about ambition. Number one tonight, I'd like to begin with the burden of ambition, the burden of ambition. Now we're there in 1 Chronicles 4. I realize that it's a long chapter and it has a lot of names. There's really just two verses, and I'm sure you can pick them out, that I want to focus in on. In verse 9, the Bible says this. 1 Chronicles 4 and verse 9, And Jabez was more honorable than his brethren, and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, Because I bear him with sorrow. Notice verse 10. And Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, O that thou wouldest bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that thine hand might be with me, and that thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me. And God granted him that which he requested. I've always loved these two verses here, and this short little synopsis that we're given of this man Jabez. I don't know that we preach a lot of sermons about Jabez. I'm not sure the reason for that. I think it's because, and maybe some of you don't know this, and that's fine, but I know that years ago there was a liberal that wrote a book called The Prayer of Jabez, and it was like a prosperity gospel type thing based off these verses, and I think maybe that's the reason why conservative Christians, fundamental Baptists have maybe stayed away from emphasizing Jabez, because we don't want people to associate us with that book, but the verses are there, and the individual is there, and I want you to notice that this man Jabez, the Bible tells us some things about him. First of all, we're told that he was an honorable man. Notice again there verse 9, and Jabez was more honorable than his brethren, and his mother, the Bible tells us, here's another thing, called his name Jabez, saying, because I bear him with sorrow. The name Jabez has something to do with the fact that his childbirth had some sorrow associated with that. What that was, we don't know, but there was something there at his birth that created sorrow, and his name was Jabez, but he grew up to be more honorable, the Bible says, than his brethren. That reminds me of the book of Acts, where it says that the Bereans were more noble than those in Thessalonica, and then we read here in verse 10 that he has a prayer. Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, and here's his prayer, and I want you to see it, it shows you that this man had a burden. It says, O that thou wouldst bless me indeed, this is Jabez speaking to God, putting in his prayer request, and he says, and enlarge my coast. Apparently he had an amount of property, he had an amount of influence, he had an amount of land that had been given to him that he had the responsibility over, but he's asking the Lord to give him more. He's asking the Lord to enlarge his coast, he's asking the Lord to bless him, he says, O that thou wouldst bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that thine hand might be with me. Now I want you to notice here that there's nothing wrong with a man wanting more, with a man wanting to do more, accomplish more, be more, and I will say this, that you should want more, you should have this burden, like Jabez who had this burden, he said, I'm not happy, and we're not talking about being discontented, obviously we must learn to be content in whatsoever state we find ourselves in, but there is a such thing as a godly discontentment, where you say, I want to do more, I want to accomplish more, this man was praying to God and he was saying, enlarge my coast. I like verses like this where he's saying, enlarge my coast. I like Isaiah 54 too, you don't have to turn there, I'll just read this for you. Isaiah 54 too says, enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thine habitations, spare not, lengthen thy cords, strengthen thy stakes, and I like this idea of saying, we want more, we want to do more, and I'm here to tell you tonight that you should have a burden to do more, and I like that word burden, I'm using that word very specific, because if you are a man that has some ambition, if you are a man that wants to do more, accomplish more, I don't know how else to explain it other than it being a burden, something you carry with you, this burden to want to, in my career, if you want to call it that, or my ministry, to reach more people, to get more people saved and baptized and discipled, and get more churches started. We should all have a burden, something that gets you up in the morning, something that gets you going, something that you're working towards, and a reason to get out of bed, and I would say this, that we need to remind men in 2024 that it is okay for you to want more, because today we live in this society where we've got a lot of weak men, we've got a society filled with beta males, we've got a society filled with these soy boys, and they're playing video games into their 30s, and they're living in their mother's basement, and they're spending their entire day in their underwear in a basement, eating popcorn and playing video games, and this is not what God created a man to be. And if you ask me, if you're curious, Pastor Jimenez, what are your thoughts about grown men playing video games? My answer to that is this. When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child, but when I became a man, I put away childish things, and I think that a man who gets up every day and has something he's working towards, something he's burdened about, some sort of ambition that he's trying to achieve in his life, you're just not going to have time to play kid games. You should have a burden. The Bible says where there is no vision, the people perish, and as men, we need to get a vision for our lives, and there are some areas in which you can get some vision. When I talk to men about these things, I like to simplify things as much as possible, and I give them these areas, and I'll give them to you tonight, and maybe you can remember them, but you ought to have a vision, and you ought to have some ambition in the area of your faith, in the area of your family, in the area of your finances, in the area of your fitness, in the area of your future. You ought to consider these areas in your life. When it comes to your faith, there should be something you're working towards. You should have some sort of godly dissatisfaction with your walk with God. Maybe it's you want to develop a deeper understanding of the Word of God. You want to read the Bible more or read the Bible deeper, study the Word of God more deeply, maybe memorize Scripture, but there should be something in your faith that you're working towards. Maybe it's your prayer life. I can tell you right now, all of us can work on our prayer life, and I don't know about you, but I want to be the type of Christian that, like the Bible says about Jacob, that he wrestled with God, and that he had power with both God and men, and that you can have the power of God upon your life to be able to pray like this man, Jacob, and to open your mouth and ask the Lord for requests at the throne of grace and have the ear of God in your life. Maybe it's Bible reading. Maybe it's prayer. Maybe it's soul winning. I don't know about you, but I want to be a better soul winner. I don't just want to see people saved consistently. I want to see my converts come to church. I want to see them get baptized. I want to see them be discipled. Hey, I'm happy for all of the soul winning that the new IFB does, and I'm happy for all of the groups of soul winners that go out and praise the Lord for it, and I want to myself be able to have a convert sitting next to me in church and say, here's a Timothy that I've reached for the gospel of Christ. I'm just saying, is there something in your faith that you're working toward, something in your personal walk with God? You just want to be more right with God, more genuine, more authentic. I'm just saying you ought to have a burden for your faith. You ought to have a burden for your family. If you're married here tonight, you ought to have a burden to have the best relationship you can with your wife, to be the best husband you can for your wife, to be the best leader you can for your wife. You ought to have a burden to have a good relationship with your children. Maybe the hearts of your children have turned away from you, or maybe your heart has turned away from your children, and you ought to have a burden to say, I want to cultivate that relationship. I want to develop that relationship. I want to have my children's heart and have their respect and have influence upon them. Maybe it's finances. Maybe you need to get out of debt. Maybe you need to make more money. Maybe you need to get a better job, you know, whatever it might be. Hey, there's something wrong with having a goal that says, hey, I want to make money, and I want to make good money, not for the sake of money, but to provide for my family and to support the work of God. Maybe it's your fitness. Maybe you have a goal to lose weight. Maybe you have a goal to build muscle. Maybe you have a goal to just live a healthy lifestyle. You know, one of my goals and things that I want to work on is to live my life in such a way that I could live into old age and be active and be mobile and be able to continue even as, Lord willing, a 70, 80, if God would allow it, a 90-year-old man. I'd love to be able to be 90 years old and play with some grandchildren and knock on some doors and preach the gospel and preach the word of God. I'm just saying there ought to be something in your life, areas in your life that you're working on, that you have a burden for, that you say, it's good, it's good, but I want more. Jabez wanted more. Oh, that thou wouldest bless me indeed, he said, and enlarge my coats. So we see that you should want more, and it's okay to want more. But I'd also like to just point this out for you, and I'd like to maybe let you in on this little secret, and it is this, that not only is it okay for you to want more, but God also wants to give you more. Notice it again there, 1 Chronicles 4 and verse 10. And Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, O that thou wouldest bless me indeed, and enlarge my coats, and that thine hand might be with me, and that thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me. That's a great prayer. That's a prayer of burden. That's a prayer of ambition. But I want you to notice the answer to the prayer, and God granted him that which he requested. Here's how we know that Jabez was not out of line by asking for more and saying I'd like more, give me a bigger coat, enlarge my coats, enlarge my influence, enlarge my resources, help me to do more. Here's how we know he wasn't out of line, because God granted him that which he requested. So not only do we see that it's okay for you to want more, and you ought to want more, but God also wants to give you more. You know the Bible says, Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think. And God is willing and ready and able to give you more, even more than what you and I can ask or think. Here Jabez is asking for a lot, and God is exceeding abundantly able above all able to give him more than what he can ask or think. It reminds me of Job 42. You don't have to turn there, but in Job 42 in verse 12 where the Bible says this, So the Lord blessed the latter end of Job more. I love that. God blessed him before, and of course he had a trial there, and he had a testing, and it was taken away. But the Bible says the Lord blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning. So we see the burden of ambition. You should want more. I'm here to tell you tonight. You should have a godly dissatisfaction somewhere in your life, and if you're here tonight, you're like, I'm satisfied with every area of my life. I'm just firing on all cylinders. I'm as fit as a fiddle, and I have as much money as I need, and I'm the most godly person. Hey, then here's an area you need to work on is pride because all of us have something we can work on, and we should all have something we're working on. We should all have a burden. So we see the burden of ambition. Then I'd like to give you, secondly, tonight, not only do we see the burden of ambition, but I'd like you, and if you're jotting this down or maybe you're writing this down somewhere, I'd like us to notice the behavior of ambition, the behavior of ambition. It's not just enough to want more. You've got to do something about it, and if you're going to be a man of ambition, if you and I are going to be men of ambition, then we must have the behavior of ambition. I'd like you to go with me, if you would, to the book of Proverbs, Proverbs chapter 21. Of course, if you open your Bible just right in the center, you're more than likely following the book of Psalms after Psalms. You have Proverbs. Proverbs 21. And I would say this, that we must develop a work ethic. Proverbs 21 and verse 5, there's lots of verses we could go to on the subject of work and work ethic, but I chose this verse, and there's another verse I'll show you because I think it connects with this idea of ambition. The Bible says in Proverbs 21 and verse 5, the thoughts of the diligent tend only to plenteousness. And that word plenteousness has this idea of ambition. Plenty, meaning to yield great, to yield more, to yield in greater quantities. The thoughts of the diligent, the word diligent there is referring to someone that's a hard worker. The thoughts of the diligent tend only to plenteousness, but of everyone that is hasty only to want. I think it's interesting because when the Bible, the Bible sometimes puts these terms together, especially in the book of Proverbs, and sometimes it might seem like they're disconnected, they're randomly put together, but nothing in the Bible is incidental, coincidental or accidental. It's all in there for a reason, and I think it's important for us to notice that here he says, the thoughts of the diligent tend only to ambition, tend only to plenteousness, tend only to yielding great quantities and qualities, doing more, accomplishing more, but here's the compare and contrast, but of everyone that is hasty. See, I wouldn't have said hasty. If I wrote the Bible and you're God, I didn't write the Bible because if I wrote the Bible, there's lots of things to say that you probably wouldn't like, but if I wrote the Bible, I wouldn't have said, but everyone that is hasty, I would have said, but everyone that is lazy, right? But here he says, but everyone that is hasty, and obviously the Holy Spirit is right, I'm wrong, but everyone that is hasty only to want. Want is the opposite of plenteousness. Plenteousness is having plenty, having more than you need. Want is having a lot. Now why does he say, why does he compare and contrast the diligent versus the hasty? And again, I might have said the diligent versus the lazy, but the hasty here is the lazy. I think the hasty is the right word because you know what hasty means is someone trying to do something quick. You know what it reminds me of is the get quick rich schemes. Look, I'm just here to tell you, you're not going to get rich off of investing on cryptocurrencies. No offense. You're not going to buy a book on Amazon and have a four-hour work week and be wealthy and rich. Look, the hasty, that only leads you to want. Anything that's worth doing is worth being patient for. Anything that's worth doing. See, diligent doesn't just speak of work. It speaks of determination, staying with it, sticking with it. Say, I want to have a good career. Then you ought to find a job that it's not hasty. The training doesn't happen in two days. You understand what I'm saying to you? The more hasty the training is, the less valuable the job is. You understand what I'm saying? But you're going to buy some pill and buy some equipment that you just got to do for ten minutes a day for two weeks and you're going to have ripped abs or whatever. That's not how it works. And you and I, if we're going to be men of ambition, are going to have to develop a behavior of ambition, and the behavior of ambition is this, a work ethic. We must develop a work ethic. The thoughts of the diligent tend only to plenteousness. Let me give you another verse. Go to Proverbs 13, if you would. Look at verse 4, Proverbs chapter 13 and verse 4. Proverbs 13 and verse 4, the Bible says this, the soul of the sluggard, the soul of the sluggard. And the word sluggard here is talking about a person that's lazy. God often uses animals and uses the names of animals to depict things. So in the book of Proverbs, when you see sluggard and when you see sloth, these are not good things. He's not calling you a lion. He's not calling you a cheetah. He's calling you a sluggard. Why? Because a slug goes slow. He's calling you a sloth because a sloth sleeps a lot. The soul of the sluggard, look at it, desireth and hath nothing. It's not that they don't want. It's not that they don't desire, but they don't have anything. Why? Because, yes, we should have a burden for ambition, but it takes more than just a burden. It requires behavior. It requires a work ethic. The soul of the sluggard desireth and hath nothing, but the soul of the diligent shall be made fat. And I know that we don't use the word fat in a positive way in our society, but here it's being used in a positive way. Just think of it this way. Do you want to have a fat bank account? That's what it's talking about. The soul of the diligent shall be made fat. So we must develop a work ethic, and we must develop this idea of working hard. Keep your place there in Proverbs if you would. We're going to come back to Proverbs, so please stick something there, a bulletin or whatever, and go with me to the book of Genesis, Genesis 31. Genesis 31, and I would say this, that we need to develop a work ethic, and we need to develop a work philosophy. I want to give you an example here from Genesis 31. I love this story about Jacob, because Jacob is someone that in our modern vernacular, we would say that he came from money. Jacob had a very wealthy and successful father by the name of Isaac. Jacob also had a very wealthy and successful grandfather by the name of Abraham. What I like about Jacob is though he came from quote-unquote money, he actually had to start over financially. Due to his own sin and his own deception, he had to run away from home, and he left home, and he left with nothing. So though he came from money, he started with nothing, and he wasn't necessarily given money from his family when he built his empire, when he built his wealth, but what he was given was even greater than money. He was given an inheritance of being a hard worker. And in Genesis 31, we see his own testimony to regards to his work ethic. Look at verse 38. This is Jacob speaking. This 20 years, he's speaking to Laban, his boss. This 20 years have I been with thee. The ewes and the she-goats have not cast their young, and the rams of thy flock have I not eaten. He's talking to his boss, and he's saying, Look, first of all, I've been with you for 20 years. That's diligence. Look, there's something wrong with the guy who is just jumping from job to job to job. Your resume has 20 jobs on it, and it accounts for three years. And look, if that's you, I'm not mad at you. I'm not picking on you, but I'm trying to be a friend like Pastor Shelley preached about and tell you that's not a good testimony. He said, These 20 years have I been with thee. And he says, And I didn't cost you anything. Thy ewes and thy she-goats have not cast their young, and the rams of thy flock have I not eaten. He said, I didn't eat on your dime. That which was torn of beasts I brought not unto thee. I bear the loss of it. And by the way, let me say this. You want your boss to like you? Quit breaking his stuff. Take care of his equipment. And if you do break it, I'm not saying obviously all companies and cultures are different, but Jacob is saying, I bear the loss of it. Of my hand doth thou require it, whether stolen by day or stolen by night? Thus I was. Look at the work ethic. Thus I was in the day the drought consumed me, and the frost by night, and my sleep departed from mine eyes. What is it? That's work. Hard work. Thus have I been 20 years in thy house. I served thee 14 years for thy two daughters and six years for thy cattle, and thou hast changed my wages ten times. And what we see here is a philosophy of work, and the philosophy of work is this, that work is hard. Work is not enjoyable. Work is something that you and I as men need to just decide to be hard workers, and need to decide to develop a work ethic. Now listen, maybe you're here and you would say, Pastor, I hear you. I get it. I think it's good to be a hard worker, but naturally I'm just lazy. Let me let you in on a little secret. There's no ladies here, so I'll go ahead and just let you in on this little secret that maybe nobody's let you in on. We all are. Human beings by nature are lazy. By nature we all want to take the path of least resistance. By nature none of us want to work hard. You look at the hardest working person you know and they're lazy. You say, well, what's the difference between them and you? Well, the difference between them and you is that they pretend to be hard workers. You ever heard this term before? Fake it till you make it. And look, here's all I'm saying to you. You say, well, I struggle with laziness and I don't think that I'm a great worker. Here's all I would say to you. Figure out the characteristics of a hard worker and then just pretend to have those. And here's the thing. Maybe I'm wrong, and if I am, the Lord will have to correct me or chastise me, but I'm giving you permission to be a hypocrite in this area of your life. Just pretend to be. Just figure out what does it mean to be a hard worker. This afternoon I just jot down some things that I think characterize a hard worker. Obviously there's probably more that I didn't think of, but here's some things that characterize a hard worker. They get up early. Here's what I'm saying. You ought to get up early. You say, but when I get up early, I don't want to get up early. Okay, I get that, but just get up anyway. You don't like it. You don't want to. You want to stay in bed till noon. I get that. What? I'm not mad at you, but just get up anyway and just pretend. When you get to work, be focused on work. Don't get distracted. Don't be distracted. Don't spend time on social media when you're getting paid by your boss to work. You say, but I want to be on social media. I want to check out. I'm just really interested what my friends and family, all 3,000 of them that I've never met are having for lunch. They're all taking pictures of their lunch, and I'm missing it. I know you really want to see it, but just pretend like you don't. Just pretend like you don't care. Just pretend like you actually are honest, and you have character, and you have integrity, and you're going to work while you're being paid to work. Work with a steady pace. Don't be a sloth. Don't be a sluggard. Don't be like a Jehovah's Witness out soul winning. You ever seen a Jehovah's Witness out soul winning? They move like a sloth. Why? Why? Because they're just putting in their 59 minutes, 59 seconds, hoping that if they can just put in their 59 minutes, 59 seconds, and if they can just move as slowly as possible so they can talk to the least amount of people, which by the way, I'm thankful for. I'm thankful that they're lazy, you know, and they're hoping they make it to the 144,000 or whatever, but don't be that. Be focused at work. Have a steady pace. Hey, how about this? Produce high quality. That means that you pay attention to detail. That means that you care about excellence. That means that you're not sloppy. I often tell my staff this. We need to go as quickly as possible and as slow as needed. As quickly as possible and as slow as needed. You know, no boss wants you to be so attention to detail oriented that you get nothing done. But no boss wants you to go so fast and you're getting so much done, but it all has to get redone because you didn't do it right. You know how to make your boss happy? Move as quickly as possible and as slow as needed. That's a steady pace. Steady pace, high quality, attention to detail. How about this one? I think Pastor Shelley mentioned this one last night. Be a problem solver. Don't be the guy that's constantly going to your boss with every problem. I can't stand it when people, they just want, here's a problem. Now here's the thing. Maybe your boss wants to be made aware of the problems, and I get that, no problem with that, but if you go to your boss with a problem, bring a solution. Say, hey, here's the problem, and I don't know if you want me to do this or not, but I brainstorm three solutions, and I can do it. That's going to impress your boss. That's what a hard worker would do. It's easier to just text your boss. You know, you're supposed to go pick something up. The store is closed. Is there another store? Can you buy it somewhere else? Like why do I have to explain this to you? Just what I'm saying to you is just figure out what it means to be a hard worker, and if you're not that, then just do it. Just pretend. Just pretend to be that person. Just practice those characteristics, and here's what I'll tell you. You do that long enough. You do that hard enough. You do that week after week, month after month, year after year. People will start thinking you're a hard worker, and you and I can keep your secret that you're not. You're just faking it, but people will think you're a hard worker, and the truth is you'll become a hard worker. You've got to develop a work ethic, especially young men. You've got to learn how to work. You know, the Bible says it is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth, and it's important. Now, if you're not a young man and you don't have a good work ethic, then you develop a good work ethic, but if you're a young man, you've got to develop a good work ethic. You've got to learn how to work, learn how to work hard. I have a brother-in-law who owns a landscaping business. Yes, he is a Mexican, and he has a very successful landscaping business. I mean, I won't give his details, but I'll just tell you he's a very successful businessman, and honestly, he's one of the hardest workers I know. I mean, I know a lot of good workers, but my brother-in-law is one of the hardest working men I know. He has a very successful landscaping business, lots of employees, and every once in a while he'll have a big job, and he needs a few more hands, and he'll ask my sons to come work, and I've got two teen boys. I've got my oldest son with me here tonight. He's 16, and I've got my second born who's 15, 14. He'll be 15 in September. Josh will be 17 in September, and they'll go work for my brother-in-law, for Jose, and when they first started going to work, you know, I would tell. I would drive them there. This is before my son had a license. I would drive them to the job site, and then I would coach them on, like, how to work, and I'm telling you this because you might think, like, oh, well, that's just your thoughts. That's just your opinion, but I will say this. After a few days of working, when I would go pick up my sons, and I'm thankful for this, I would have grown men. Look, not church members of mine. These are just employees of my brother-in-law, grown men. I wasn't their pastor. They didn't know me from Adam, who would walk up to me and say, you know, I got to tell you, your sons work harder than most men I know, and so what I'm telling you is I gave them this advice. They followed it, and then I have non-bias, because it would be one thing if I was dropping them off with a bunch of church guys, and the church guys were complimenting, because it's like, well, they're the pastors. But these are all church members. These are just random guys that work in a landscaping company, and they are saying to me, like, your sons are some of the hardest-working people I've ever seen, like, they work harder than most men. So let me just tell you what I told them, if you're a young man especially. And, of course, this isn't the context of landscaping, so you might have to switch it to whatever context you work in, but this is what I told my sons. I told them, always be busy. Always be busy. And never, ever, ever be standing around with your hands in your pockets. Never. Always be busy. I told them, do whatever the boss tells you to do, which in this case is their uncle. But I know how business owners are. Sometimes they get busy. He's taking phone calls. So I told him, look, when he tells you to do, you do that. And when you're done with that, find out what he'd like you to do next. But let's say he's busy. Let's say he's on the phone. He's a busy businessman, and he's taking phone calls. Let's say he's on the phone talking to some client, and you don't know what to do next. Just do whatever he's doing. Because I've seen him, he'll be on the phone talking, but he's still working. So if he can't give you direction, just start doing what he's doing. Or let's say he's not there, then just there's always something to clean up. There's always something to pick up. There's always something to put away. Just stay busy and don't take a break until it's time to take a break. And always have your hands moving. And look, I'm just telling you, it's not rocket science. I understand that. But this is having a good work ethic. So we need to have a good work ethic. Young men need to develop a good work ethic. Older men need to develop a good work ethic. You need to develop whatever it means in your context, in your job, in your sphere, get a good work ethic. Let me say this. You ought to also develop a work philosophy. A work philosophy. And again, this is maybe more for young men, but it's good for all of us to be reminded of these things. And when it comes to a work philosophy, we read it here. Look at it again. Genesis 31, 40. Thus I was, in the day the drought consumed me, and the frost by night, and my sleep departed from my night. I mean that, you just need to realize that that's work. So let me just give you three thoughts real quickly on the subject of work philosophy, and maybe this will help you. Number one, let's talk about work and fun. Okay? And I'm talking to 2024 America, American men. Work and fun. You say, what about work and fun? Exactly. These two words, they are not associated with each other. Okay? Work is not supposed to be fun. If it was fun, they wouldn't pay you to do it. Do you understand what I'm saying to you? Now look, I understand somebody's going to send me some email, and I get it that there are some jobs out there where somebody's getting paid to eat cotton candy all day, or getting paid to play video games or whatever, but here's the truth. Those are few and far between. There's a thousand people trying to get that job, and they're probably not paying that great because so many people just want to do it. So look, work is not fun. They're not going to pay you to do something fun, and here's what men need to remember about work. Work, other than being in ministry, which being in ministry, maybe you can make the argument that it's a little different, but I'm talking about if you're just working a secular job out in the secular world, you need to remember that there's only one reason why you're working. It's to make money, and the only reason you're making money is not because we love money or want money, but because money is a tool that we use to be able to provide, to be able to protect, to be able to do the responsibilities that we have as men, and here's what we need to remember. You don't need to find a job that's fun. You need to remember that work, we do work so that then we could invest in those things that we actually enjoy and the things that are fun. Because spending time with your wife is fun. Spending time with your children is fun. Spending time in church is fun. Going on events like this is fun. Going on mission trips is fun. Doing these things are fun. So we work so that we can do these other things that are enjoyable. But get this out of your head because look, today you can search on Google and you'll find all sorts of articles out there about millennials and people alive today, and they're just jumping from job to job because they're just trying to find that perfect job that's just fun and fulfilling. It doesn't exist. Work isn't fun. You're not going to be able to get a job working at some unicorn farm and the unicorns fart Skittles and it's just the greatest job I've ever had. It doesn't exist. It's work. And by the way, let me let you in on a little secret because I said maybe ministry is a little different. And here's the thing. I'm in the ministry. Pastor Joe's in the ministry. I love the ministry. I'm doing what I believe I'm supposed to be doing with my life and I think it's the greatest job in the world, but I'm here to tell you this job isn't fun all the time. Sometimes it's not fun at all, and oftentimes it's a lot of work. If a man desires the office of a bishop, he desires the good work. It's work. I enjoy it. I like it. It's fulfilling. But you do something enough and you'll just realize it's work. I love preaching and I try to do a good job of preaching, but I'll be honest with you. There are some Monday mornings where I think to myself, if I've got to sit down and write another stinking sermon, I mean, how long am I going to do three sermons a week for the rest of my life? And they better be funny and they better be entertaining and they better be alliterated, you know what I mean? Sometimes I'm just like, I don't want to do this. You say, what do you do? I think I just pretend. I just sit there and I think to myself, okay, what would a good pastor do right now? A good pastor would just sit down right now and start typing. What are we in? Psalm 3, okay. It's not always fun. So work and fun. How about this? We've already talked about it a little bit. Work and finances. Let's remember the purpose of work is money. Not money for the sake of money, but money as a tool. And look, I'm here to tell you the Bible says that we should want neither poverty nor riches. I think the goal of every Christian man, and I think that this is a godly goal, should be to provide for your family, to provide for the needs of your family, and to invest in the work and kingdom of God. And that should be your goal. You say, when I'm looking for a job, what am I looking for? I'm looking for a job that will provide for my needs, provide for my family, allow me to be able to deal with the responsibilities that God has given me, and I want to have money so that I could invest in the work of God, so that I could invest in the things of the Lord, so that, look, I think that you should have a goal of one day having enough money to go on these, go on this Jamaica mission strips, and Fiji mission strips, and Philippines mission strips, but all that requires money. Work and fun, and work and finances. And then how about this one, work and future. Work and future. Pastor Scheller is actually, after the zip line, we were sitting talking, and he was kind of talking about this. This idea that, look, you need to make sure that you are getting yourself into some sort of a career that has a future. And, look, again, I'm here to tell you, if you need to make yourself valuable, if you are a man here tonight, and you're like, Pastor, you know, I'm in the new IFB, I've got six kids, and I feel like I'm in this dead-end job or whatever, hey, I feel for you. But you, you say, how do I get paid more? Become more valuable. You've got to learn a skill, you've got to develop some skill, a trade, you've got to have some sort of a marketable skill that people pay you for. And you young men, you need to be looking into careers that are going to have some sort of a future that you can grow. And I, honestly, I feel for young men in the new IFB, and I'm not saying that there's anything wrong, but I look at these young men, 18, 19, 20 years old, they're getting married to these young ladies in the new IFB. Praise the Lord, God bless them. But there's already, I mean, you're 19 years old, and within nine months, you now have two people depending on you to feed. So, look, young man, you need to start thinking right now. Start thinking about the future. What kind of work can I do? Look, Lord willing, one day you'll have a nice wife, and you'll have a beautiful family, and you'll have all these things that every man wants. But you know, oftentimes, men are burdened. They have the wife, they have the kids, and then they feel this pressure, and I get it, we all feel the pressure. But you've got to set yourself up. Here's a skill that will make you marketable, just be a hard worker, develop a good work ethic. But learn something, get into some sort of, I remember several months ago, I had a man, a young man in our church, and he was one of these, you know, he's young, and he recently married, had a baby already. And he came to my office, I'd like some counsel, go to Matthew chapter 4 if you would, in the New Testament, Matthew chapter 4. And he was asking for some counsel, and he said, I've got these two job opportunities. And they were in a certain industry, HVAC. And he said, one company is offering me X amount of dollars, which was like a good amount for him. He's like, this will really help me, and this will be good, like we're struggling financially. And then he said, I have this other job offer, which is not starting me as high, but they offer training, they offer certification, there's a progression and a ladder, there's a big future there. And I just said to him, I said, look, I understand that you need to feed your wife today, you need to feed your baby today. And if you can't handle this, if you can't do this, and you take this job, you know, I get it, and God bless you. But if you can struggle, if you can struggle and take this job, I would take the job with the future. I would take the job that's offering to train you, the job that's offering to give you skills, the job that's offering to make you more valuable, because you can take that value with you anywhere you go. And he chose, he said, you know, we prayed, and I told him, make sure you can afford it and whatever. They crunched the numbers, they said, we think we can do it, he took this job. And you know, it wasn't very long after that he got a raise, and he was making what they were offering over here already. And now he's even surpassed that, and in fact, right now, our church bought a 3.5 million dollar building, we need an HVAC system for, and we hired his company to do it. And he made that connection and got us a great deal and whatever, and I'm just saying to you, develop a work ethic, become valuable, get a skill, and get the right philosophy about work. So we said number one, the burden of ambition. Number two, the behavior of ambition. Let me give you a third one tonight, and that is the boundaries of ambition. Because though I think that ambition is good, I do think that ambition can get out of control. In Matthew chapter four and verse eight, we have a story of the Lord Jesus Christ, of course, being tempted. And I want you to notice this specific temptation. Matthew chapter four and verse eight, the Bible says, And again the devil taketh to him, referring to Jesus, up into an exceeding high mountain, and showed them all the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them, and saith unto them, All these things will I give thee if thou wilt fall down and worship me. Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence Satan, for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. I want you to notice that though we should be ambitious, and though we should have big dreams, and though we should be working to do more, to accomplish more, to achieve more, we need to make sure that our ambition has boundaries. Because here Jesus was being offered all the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them. But he had a boundary. He said, No, thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. And we need to make sure that we've got some boundaries in regards to money. And again, man, I think you need to work hard, and I think you should make money. But I don't think you should miss church to make money. I don't think you should quit soul winning to make money. I think you need to have some boundaries with money, and you need to realize that you're trying to make money and provide for your family, and invest in the things of the Lord. But you're not, look, I think you ought to be driven. I think you ought to be sold out, but I don't think you should be a sellout. You understand what I'm saying to you? You go to work and you be sold out. And by the way, it doesn't matter where you work. Maybe you are working at some fast food shop or whatever, and here's the thing, I think you ought to try to get a better job. But while you're working there, make sure you work hard. Be sold out for the work that you're doing, but don't be a sellout. Don't be a sellout. I mean, how much does the devil have to offer you for you to quit church? Your boss says, well, I'll pay you time and a half if you work through the midweek service. Are you going to be a sellout, or are you going to say, no, thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve? Are you going to be a sellout, or are you going to say, hey, you know, here's the thing, I want to seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto thee. So make sure you've got some boundaries with regards to money. Don't let this desire for money overtake you. The Bible says, but godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment, let us be there with content. For they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition, for the love of money is the root of all evil. So make sure you don't allow your heart to begin to love money. Make sure you have the right concept of money. It is a tool that God gives us to accomplish the responsibilities of our life. And by the way, the less you love money, the more God will give you if he can trust you with it. So we should have boundaries when it comes to money and the ambition for money. Let me say this, we should have boundaries when it comes to time. The Bible says this, see then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time for the days are evil. What does it mean to walk circumspectly? The word circumspect means to walk cautiously, to walk in a way that is concerning, that you're thinking about what you're doing. And then the context is this, redeeming the time, redeeming the time. So don't let the ambition get the best of your time. Don't give up that which is eternal for that which is temporal. Don't give up. You understand that you can make money anytime. We've been talking a lot about money and making money. I think men need to go out and you need to bring home the bacon. You need to go out, hunt something, kill something, and bring it home. But we've got to keep that within its context. You can make money later, you can make a lot of money later, and I think you should try to do the best you can right now, but listen to me. If you've got children, you only have those children for 20 years or however long you're going to have them in your home. Don't realize the trade-offs. I'd like to read to you just a little excerpt from a book I was reading recently. I think it put it well. It said this, We have ridiculous and unrealistic expectations of who we can and should become and what we can and must accomplish. We believe it's possible to be it all, do it all, and have it all, all at the same time and with no trade-offs. This irrational confidence in our own ability combined with unrealistic expectations has horrible consequences for our total health and well-being. The truth about life is that we can and must make choices. We need to do the hard work of deciding what we actually want and what trades we are willing to make to get there. We must be willing to let go of the idea that we can have it all. Look, in life, you and I are just going to have to, I want you to be ambitious, but I also want you to walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise. I want you to realize that you need to be investing in that relationship with your wife, you need to be investing in that relationship with your children, you need to be investing in the house of God, the work of God, the things of God, and if you can work hard and do those things and praise the Lord for it, and I don't think that God ever gives us conflicting responsibilities. I don't think, people say, well, I can't go to church because I have to provide. No, no, no, no. God doesn't give you things that conflict with each other. You should be able to have a good relationship with your wife, have a good relationship with your children, have a good relationship with your God, be in church, be a soul winner, be volunteering and serving. You should be able to do all those things. Now, you may need to quit video games. You may need to quit social media. You may need to quit surfing YouTube for hours on end. You need to realize that there's some trade-offs that need to be made in life, and you need to start walking circumspectly, not as fools but as wives, redeeming the time, and you're going to ask yourself, yes, maybe for some weird reason you really want to watch 23 cat videos, but do I really need to watch the cat video or the bear video of attacking a lion? Or maybe I should read my Bible right now, and maybe I should go have dinner with my family, and maybe we should get ready and go soul winning. See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wives, redeeming the time for the days of evil. We need to have boundaries with regards to money. We need to have boundaries with regards to time. And then lastly tonight, I'd like to give you the fourth thought. If you would go back to Proverbs, Proverbs chapter 3. We talked about the burden of ambition. What is the burden of ambition? The burden of ambition is this, that you should want more. There should be a burden in you that says, I want to do more, accomplish more, be more. And you should realize that God wants to give you more. We talked about the behavior of ambition. What's the behavior of ambition? It's developing a work ethic and a work philosophy. It's putting work in its proper place and making sure that you're a hard worker, and if you're not a hard worker, fake it. We talked about the boundaries of ambition, boundaries with regards to money, boundaries with regards to time. Be driven, be sold out, but don't be a sell out. And then lastly tonight, I'd like to talk about the blessing of ambition, the blessing of ambition. See, what's interesting to me is that in that passage where we started, you don't have to go back there, but in 1 Chronicles 4 and verse 10, the Bible says, And Jabez called on the Lord God of Israel, saying, O that thou wouldst bless me indeed. And Jabez understood that in order for us to accomplish more and do more, yes, it requires, yes, it requires hard work and discipline and diligence and a seriousness of delight, but it also requires the blessing of God. In Proverbs chapter 3 and verse 4, the Bible says this, So shall thou find favor and good understanding in the sight of God and man. The Bible says that God can give us favor both in the sight of God and man. Before I was in the ministry, when I was in the Air Force, this was a verse that I would pray every day as I was driving into the base and driving through the gate, I would pray in my mind, Lord, give me favor with God and man, God and man. I think when you go to work, you ought to have this attitude. I want favor with God and I want favor with man. The Bible says about Jesus in Luke 2, 52, you don't have to turn there, And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and man. Favor is defined as approval, support, or liking for someone or something. And you ought to want this, especially in the workplace. You ought to want and desire favor with both God and man. Now, you're there in Proverbs 3, go to Proverbs 12 real quickly. Proverbs 12. And look at verse 2, just quickly let's talk about favor with God. And then I want to just spend a little bit of time on favor with man. Proverbs 12 and verse 2 says this, A good man obtaineth favor of the Lord, but a man of wicked devices will he condemn. You hear very succinctly and simply God tells you, you want favor with God, you can have it. God wants to give it to you. What do you need to be? A good man. A good man. A good man obtaineth favor of the Lord. What's the opposite of a good man? But a man of wicked devices will he condemn. And the word good has this root word in it and this connotation of godliness. And when we are trying to be, because there's only one good and that's God. And when we endeavor to live godly lives, that's when we are a good man. So if you want favor with the Lord, you need to ask yourself this, would God consider me a good man? A good man. That's favor with man. Excuse me, favor with God. Let me just give you favor with man. And I'm going to ask you to just turn to a lot of passages because I want to really highlight this for you. Go to Genesis 39 if you would. Genesis 39 and we're going to flip through a lot of passages here. And I apologize, I'm definitely going to preach more than an hour tonight. And I'm going to be diligent about this thing, all right? But I want, but I want, yeah. We're going to be here till midnight, we're going to be here till one of you falls over dead. You know what I want, what is interesting to me, it's interesting to me. And maybe you have noticed this, maybe you haven't, I'd like to point it out to you. You know what's really interesting to me? Is that whenever you find God's people in a secular workplace in the Bible, they always prosper. Have you ever noticed that? God's people in what we would call a secular workplace, they're always promoted. They're always going up the ladder. And to me it's highlighted so much in the Bible, it's not just one story or two stories. It's highlighted so much that I feel like God is trying to get our attention about this. Let me just give you some examples. You're there in Genesis 39, look at verse 2. This is Joseph, remember Joseph? Was sold into slavery, sold into Egypt, he's living in potter for his house. One of God's young men in what we might call a secular workplace. The Bible says, Genesis 39 verse 2, and the Lord was with Joseph. He was a good man. And he was a prosperous man. And he was in the house of his master, the Egyptian. And his master saw that the Lord was with him. You know that when you walk with the Lord and the Lord is with you, other people will identify it? You don't have to go around telling people, I'm a good Christian. If you're a good Christian, no, no. And his master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord made all that he did to prosper in his hand. And Joseph, look at these words, found grace. That's favor with God and man. Joseph found grace in his sight. In whose sight? In Potiphar's sight, in his boss's sight. Joseph found grace in his sight and he served him and he made him overseer over his house. And all that he had he put into his hand. And it came to pass from that time that he had made him overseer in the house. And over all that he had that the Lord blessed the Egyptians house for Joseph's sake. And the blessing of the Lord was upon all that he had in the house and in the field. He blessed all that he had in Joseph's hands and he knew not ought he had save the bread which he did eat. And Joseph was a goodly person. He was a good man. Look at it and well favored. This should be the testimony of every Christian. You know the testimony at your job should be this. Your boss says, I don't understand it. I don't get it. But it sure seems since we hired you, you have the blessing of God in your life and it's been blessing our business. You have the favor. Look, you know what your boss should say? Your boss should say, I don't like your pastor. I don't like your church. I don't like your stand. I don't like your beliefs. But I want to hire you and I want to hire as many people that are just like you. Because though you want sodomites put to death, you're the hardest worker I've got. You're the most honest worker I've got. And for some reason, the blessing of God has been upon our business since you showed up. That should be the testimony you want. By the way, that's what Laban said to Jacob. He said, I don't want you to leave. Name your price. I want you to stay because God favors on your life. This is what we read about Joseph, Genesis 39. Flip over to Genesis or you're there in Genesis 39. Look down at verse number 21. Now we find Joseph in prison. By the way, just because you have the favor of God in your life doesn't mean you're not going to go through trials. But now we find Joseph, we catch up to him in prison. He's been lied about, been falsely accused. And notice what the Bible says about him in prison. Genesis 39 verse 21. But the Lord was with Joseph and he showed him mercy and gave him favor. He had favor with God and man. Gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison. And the keeper of the prison committed to Joseph's hand all the prisoners that were in the prison. And whatsoever they did there, he was the doer of it. That's ambition. That's a good work ethic. The keeper of the prison looked not to anything that was under his hand because the Lord was with him. And that which he did, the Lord made it to prosper. I mean, have you ever noticed this? Go to Genesis 41. Genesis 41. Look at verse 38. Now we find Joseph in the palace. He goes from Potiphar's house to prison. Now he's in the palace. Genesis 41 verse 38. And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, Forasmuch as God hath showed thee all this, there is none so discreet and wise as thou art. Thou shalt be over my house, and according unto thy word shall all my people be ruled. Only in the throne will I be greater than thou. And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, See, I have set thee over all the land of Egypt. And Pharaoh took off his ring from his hand, and put it upon Joseph's hands, and arrayed him investors of fine linen, and put gold chains about his neck. And he made him to ride in the second chariot which he had, and they cried before him, bow the knee. And he made him ruler over all the land of Egypt. I just think it's interesting. You find Joseph in Potiphar's house, and he's going up the corporate ladder. You find him in prison, and he's going up the corporate ladder. You find him in the palace, and he's going up the corporate ladder. And everywhere he goes, they identify this. This is a hard-working man. This is a godly man. This is a goodly man. And for some reason, he seems to have favor with God, and people tend to like him. He has favor with man. You say, oh, well, that's just Joseph. Okay, go to the book of Esther. Esther chapter number 2. Esther chapter number 2. Here's a young lady, but let's see it here. Esther chapter 2. Look at verse 15. Esther chapter number 2 and verse 15. The Bible says this. Now when the turn of Esther, the daughter of Abigail, the uncle of Mordecai, who had taken her for his daughter, was come to go in unto the king, she required nothing but what Haggai, the king's chamberlain, the keeper of the women appointed, and Esther, don't miss this, look at it, and Esther obtained favor in the sight of all them that looked upon her. You think this is a coincidence? Now look, everywhere Joseph went, he obtained favor. Now what was that? Part of it, yes, part of it was that he was a hard worker. Part of it was that he was intelligent. Part of it was that he was disciplined and diligent. Yes, all of that is true. But part of it was just the favor of God, the blessing of God upon his life. Look, I don't know what you do for a living, but if I was in business and I had to go and give quotes to people and have them approve those quotes in order for me to make money, I'd sure want the favor of God and man. If I work somewhere where I had a boss and I had to make the boss happy and I had to do certain things and they needed to approve the work that I did, I'd sure want favor with God and man. I think every worker, every man should desire to have favor with both God and with man. Was Esther beautiful? The Bible tells us she was. Was Esther wise? We know she was. Was she discreet? We know she was. But she also obtained favor in the sight of all them that looked upon her and it wasn't just her beauty and it wasn't just her wisdom. It was the blessing of God. Look at verse 16. So Esther was taken unto king Ahasuerus into his house royal in the tenth month, which is the month Tebeth in the seventh year of his reign. And the king loved Esther above all the women and she obtained grace, that's favor, and favor in his sight more than all the virgins so that he sent the royal crown upon her head and made her queen instead of Asti. You say, well, that's Esther. She's a young lady. Alright, go to the book of Esther chapter number 9. Chapter number 9. Look at verse 4. Esther chapter 9 and verse 4. For Mordecai was great in the king's house, and his fame went out throughout all the provinces. For this man Mordecai waxed greater and greater. I'm just telling you, maybe you haven't noticed it, but it seems to me that the Bible highlights that whenever God's people are put into a secular workplace, it just seems like they prosper. It seems like they're blessed. Obviously they walk with God. They work hard, they're smart, they're intelligent, they're talented, but then they also have this secret weapon, which is the favor of God on their lives. I mean, let me give you more examples. Look at Daniel chapter number 1. Daniel chapter number 1. Look at verse 8. Daniel chapter number 1 and verse 8. Daniel chapter 1 and verse 8, the Bible says, But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with a portion of the king's meat, nor with the wine which he drank. Therefore he requested of the princes of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself. Look at verse 9. Now God had brought Daniel into favor and tender love with the princes of the eunuchs. I mean, am I making this up? God gives favor to Joseph and God gives favor to Esther and God gives favor to Mordecai. And here we see that God had brought Daniel into favor and tender love with the princes of the eunuchs. And it wasn't, obviously I don't think this would have happened if Daniel was sloppy and not doing what he was supposed to do. But it's not just being talented and smart and skilled. It's having the blessing of God on your life. Look at the same chapter, verse 19. Daniel chapter 1, verse 19. And the king communed with them and among them all. This is the king communion. He's talking to Daniel and Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. And the king communed with them and among them all was found none like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. Therefore stood they before the king and in all matters of wisdom and understanding that the king inquired of them. He found them ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers that were in all his realm. And Daniel continued even unto the first year of King Cyrus. See, they were smart, they were talented, they were hard workers. But it's also the favor of God. Let me give you another example. Go to Daniel chapter number 2. Daniel chapter number 2. And look at verse 48. Daniel chapter 2 and verse 48. Look what the Bible says. Then the king made Daniel a great man and gave him many great gifts and made him ruler over the whole providence of Babylon and the chief of the governors over all the wise men of Babylon. And Daniel requested of the king and he said Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego over the affairs of all the provinces of Babylon. But Daniel sat in the gate of the king. Am I making this up? I mean it just, it seems. Let me give you another example. Go to Daniel chapter 3. Look at verse 29. Daniel chapter 3 verse 29. Daniel 3, 29. Therefore I make a decree. This is Nebuchadnezzar speaking. That every people, nations, and languages which speak anything amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego shall be cut in pieces and their houses shall be made a dunghill because there is no other God that can deliver after this sort. Look at verse 30. Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the province of Babylon. And I'm just saying to you that it seems to me like every time you see God's people in a secular environment, work environment, they're being promoted. They're goodly. They're godly. They're hard workers. They're skilled. They're intelligent. They're doing their part. But they also have the favor of God upon them. God is opening those doors for them. God is making their bosses and God is making their overseers to have favor on them. And you and I need that. Go to Genesis 47. Genesis 47. While you turn there, let me just read a couple of verses for you. Look, we need to remember that what we need desperately more than anything is the blessing of God upon our lives. In Job 1-10, remember Satan said to God about Job, he said, thou has blessed the work of his hands. In Deuteronomy 8 and verse 18, the Bible says, but thou shalt remember the Lord thy God, for it is he that giveth thee the power to get well. We need to be men of ambition. We need to have a burden. We need to have the behavior. We need to have the boundaries. But don't forget that we need the blessing. We need the blessing of God. I told you when I was in the Air Force, I would pray this prayer as I would come in to work. And I don't know that I prayed it every day, but I know I prayed it a lot. Lord, give me favor. God, give me favor with God and man. Give me favor with God and man. When I was in the military, when I was just a young airman in my first base, they had this thing on our base. It was called BTZ and it stood for below the zone. And it was this thing that they did a couple times a year where new airmen, if they were good airmen, they would call them stellar airmen. If their boss put them in on the list, then they would be examined to be given the rank early, their next rank early. And your boss had to put you into, he had to recommend you to do it. But once you were recommended and you had to put this whole folder together with all your accomplishments and all these things, then you would have to go and have this interview in front of all these commanders. You'd have like 10 commanders all sitting at a table and you would walk in and do your salutes and all these things and sit down and they would ask you questions and you'd interact. And everyone on the base, all the new airmen would do this and they would all compete. This is something that everybody wanted because of the fact that, number one, if you got your rank early, number one, you were making more money, but number two, you immediately outranked all your friends. So this was obviously a good thing. And I remember there was a young man that I worked with and when we were in Texas in our tech school training, he was in the class ahead of me. But we were both going to Travis Air Force Base and we talked a little bit. And when we got to Travis, of course he was there, he got there before I did. But we became real good friends, real close friends. And he was a Christian and I asked him about his salvation and he gave a clear testimony of salvation. And he actually started coming to church with me, the independent fundamental Baptist church that we went to. And he kind of adopted it all. He became King James only and he became a Baptist and all those things while we worked together. And his wife got saved and she got baptized. And I believe that he even came out soul winning with us and we just became very good friends. And people would kind of make fun of us in our shop where we worked. We were mechanics and they would act like, oh, you two are just these little goody two shoes or whatever. And my friend, he got put up for BTZ because he was stellar. He was a good worker and all those things. He was sharp and smart and he had the favor of God on his life. And he went up for this award. And I remember we had a sergeant who came to us and I remember he said to us, he said, look, I like you both. And I'm going to put both of you up for this thing. And we fortunately were not going against each other because we were separated to where we weren't competing against each other. But I was going to go up right after him. And I remember my sergeant, he said to us, he said, he looked at me and he said, if he gets it, I just want you to know that there's a good chance that you won't get it. Because, you know, this is supposed to be something for the whole base to kind of really, you know, encourage the airmen. And he said, I've never seen them award it back to back to airmen from the same squadron, much less the same flight. Because they purposely tried to like pick from different places. So he's like, you know, if he gets it, I don't know that you're going to get it. And I was like, yeah, well, I mean, good luck to him, you know. And I remember I was in church on Wednesday night and I was in my uniform. I came straight from church and he walked in. He was in his uniform and he had a big smile on his face. I knew that he was going up for BTZ. And I walked up to him and I shook his hand and he said, I got it. And, you know, in my heart, I'm just kind of like, ah, that means I'm probably not going to get it. You know, but of course, I'm a good Christian, so I didn't say that because I just faked it, you know. And I'm like, God bless you, you know, and praise the Lord, hallelujah, whatever. I don't remember what I said, but I was happy for him. I was happy for him. I mean, I generally was happy for him. But in my heart, I'm just kind of like, ah, you know, because the sergeant, I put this thing in my head, like I've never seen the same flight get it. So then it was my turn and they put my name in and I put my file together and put it all in. And the whole time, they said, I don't even know why I'm doing this. I mean, he just got it. It's from the same flight. They're probably not going to give it to somebody from the same flight, whatever. But I'm going through the motions, you know, and I get called and I go in and do my salutes and sit down. They ask me questions and I interact and I talk with them. And even in that scenario, they're like, oh, you're from Flight Sozo. He's like, somebody from that flight just got BTZ last time. And I'm like, yeah, I know. But you know what I thought to myself? I thought to myself, this is what I thought to myself. I thought, the king's heart is in the hands of the Lord. As the rivers of water, he turneth it whethersoever he will. And I just thought, you know, I'm praying for favor with God and man. If God wants me to get it, God wants me to get it. If he doesn't want me to get it, that's fine, too. I can be content. The day came when the announcement came and I remember our sergeant came to me and he said, you two, because he would kind of make fun of us because we were both these Baptists and Christians and whatever. And I remember he walked up to me and he said, I don't know how you two did it. I've never seen this before, but you got it awarded. You were awarded BTZ. There's never been a time where two airmen from the same flight got it back to back. And I remember just thinking to myself, glory to God, I think it's just favor with God and man. It's just the favor of the Lord. And I'm here to tell you that you need to have a burden for ambition. You need to have the behavior of ambition. You need to have the boundaries of ambition. But don't forget the blessing of ambition. Make sure that God's happy with you. Make sure that you're pleasing the Lord. Make sure that you have the favor of God on your life. And ask for the favor with man because that's what God can do for you. God can open doors for you. God can give you promotions. God can do all those things. So let's make sure we're putting God first. In Genesis 47 is the last place I'll have you look at. I want you to see this little story here. Genesis 47, I'll be done here in a few minutes. You remember Joseph has now brought his family into Egypt during the famine. Genesis 47 verse 5. And Pharaoh spake unto Joseph saying, Thy father and thy brethren are come unto thee. And the land of Egypt is before thee. In the best of the land make thy father and brethren to dwell. In the land of Goshen let them dwell. And if thou knowest any... I just want you to see this because this is Pharaoh speaking to his employee Joseph. And he says, hey, if thou knowest... I love this little phrase, any men of activity. Men of activity. What's he talking about? Men of ambition. Hard working men. Men that are busy doing something, accomplishing something. He says, and if thou knowest any men of activity among them. Notice what he says. Then make them rulers over my cattle. You know what the world's looking for? They're looking for men of activity. Men of honor. Men of honesty. Men of integrity. Men of character. Men that go to work. They don't badmouth the boss. They don't complain. They don't criticize. They don't whine. They put their heads down. They work hard. They're honest. They love their wives. They love their children. They honor the Lord. All these people we looked at in the Bible, all of them had trials and troubles. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego had to tell Nebuchadnezzar we're not going to bow. Daniel had to say that he would not purpose himself. He had to purpose himself not to foul himself with the king's meat. Joseph had to run from Potiphar's wife and be falsely accused. They all had to stand for God. But yet, God blessed them. As a result, they received favor from God, and they received favor from men. Men of activity. If you don't mind, I'd like to just read this quote for you. It's a little lengthy, but I like it. And it's by the 26th President of the United States of America, Theodore Roosevelt. He said this. It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who's actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcomings, who does actually strive to do the deeds, who knows great enthusiasm and great devotion, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat. You know what America needs? It needs men of activity. You know what Christianity needs? Men of activity. You know what the independent fundamental Baptist movement needs? Men of activity. You know what the new IP movement needs? Men of activity. You know what steadfast Baptist Church needs? You know what First Words Baptist Church needs and Pure Words Baptist Church needs? You know what Verity Baptist Church needs? You know what OKC needs? All these churches, they need men of activity. You know what your family needs? Men of activity. Men of activity. Men of ambition. Men that have a burden to do something, to accomplish something, to make their lives count for something, to get up every day and work hard. They honor the Lord, and they get favor with God and favor with man. That's why our head's on our way to prayer. Heavenly Father, Lord, we do love you. And Lord, I thank you for these men. These men are unique. They're men that would give time, energy, and effort to be at an event like this, to be with other godly men. And I know that they're already the cream of the crop. But Lord, I pray you'd help us to have a godly discontentment. Help us not to be satisfied with the status quo. Help us to develop a vision and a burden for our faith and our families, our finances, our fitness, our future. Help us to be men of work and of work ethic. Lord, help us to have boundaries to our ambition, to always work hard to have favor both with God and with men. In the matchless name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen. Turn to Psalm 44. Psalm 44, the work of Jesus Christ. Psalm 44, on the first. We'll work till Jesus comes. We'll work till Jesus comes. We'll work till Jesus comes. And we'll be gathered home. To Jesus Christ, I'm bled for rest. He made me cease to roam. And before supper on his breast He cannot be home. We'll work till Jesus comes. We'll work till Jesus comes. We'll work till Jesus comes. And we'll be gathered home. I saw at once my Savior's side. No more my steps shall grow old. Within I'll break that chilly tide. And reach my earthly home. We'll work till Jesus comes. We'll work till Jesus comes. We'll work till Jesus comes. And we'll be gathered home.