 the world is in need of some serious Christians. It's not my goal to exclude anyone, but I wanna talk to serious believers who are totally committed to the call of God on their life. You might be wondering, how do I discover my specific purpose? What exactly does God want me to do? And maybe this has even been an area of frustration for you, where you wanna do something for God. There's this fire, this passion of the Holy Spirit deep within you, yet you don't quite know what to do with that passion. You wanna do more, but you don't know what that more is. You desire to do something great for God, but you can't quite pinpoint what he's destined for your life. Well, this message is for you. I'm gonna take you through the scripture now to show you how to discover God's perfect plan for your life, his perfect will, his specific calling for you, and his specific calling will make use of your gifts, your talents, your personality, everything about you that's not your sin, God wants to use. He wants to capture it and use it unto his glory. This is for those who will say, Lord, spend my life for your glory. Pour me out like a drink offering every last drop, Lord. This is for serious committed Christians who are serious about picking up the cross and coming after the Lord. So you're ready for total surrender and you'll do whatever God wants you to do no matter what it is. You're saying to yourself probably, okay, Lord, I'll do anything you want me to do as long as I know it's you. I'll go anywhere you want me to go as long as I know you're the one sending me. So if that's you, write this in the comment section, let it be your public faith-filled shameless declaration, I'm all in. If that's you, write it in the comment section now. But only if you're serious, I'm all in. Lord, if you show me the path, I'll walk it. If you give me the instruction, I'll follow it. If you give me a command, I'll obey it. I will obey without delay or doubt. That's you again, right? I'm all in, write that whether you're watching live, even if you're watching on the replay. Now let's go to Matthew 25. We're gonna read several verses here, but this parable really reveals the nature of God and how he deals with his servants. You and I are servants of the Lord. Preachers, ministers, Christians are servants, not celebrities. We have to break away from this social media mentality where we see ourselves as public figures and famous people and important people. We are servants. Yes, we're important to the Lord, important to each other. I think you get what I'm saying there. But we have to begin to see this for what it is. It's service. It's a life laid down. Your calling is not about you. The anointing God placed on you is not about you. God called you for his glory. God anointed you for the captive. God wants to place you into ministry so that you can serve and support and edify and encourage others. Whatever God places in us and on us is never about us. It's always about him and others. So again, as we look at this parable found in Matthew 25, very popular parable that Jesus told. Well, all his parables are popular, but this one probably preached on more often than many of the others. And this particular parable reveals some truths about stewardship, about obedience, about how we as the servants respond to our Lord. Watch this, Matthew 25. I want you to go there now. Matthew 25, I'm gonna begin reading at verse number 14 and we're gonna go all the way down to verse number 30. Stay with me here, verse 14. Again, the kingdom of heaven can be illustrated by the story of a man going on a long trip. He called together his servants and entrusted his money to them while he was gone. He gave five bags of silver to one, two bags of silver to another and one bag of silver to the last, dividing it in proportion to their abilities. He then left on this trip. So notice here that the scripture says he divides in proportion to their abilities. Now, all of us have a different gift set. All of us have a different, how shall I say, a different deposit that God has placed in us. Your deposit is very unique. God has given you certain things that he has not given to others. And some of us, he trusts with more responsibility at the beginning because of the way he created us and what he put in us. But no matter where you begin, good stewardship will always cause God to give you more. The way you treat the responsibilities he has given you will determine the responsibilities he will give to you. So let's say you're like the servant, you get the one bag, okay? You're not like the two bag or five bag servant, but that's okay. You take that one bag of silver and if you're a good steward that can become 10 eventually, then 100. So we don't all necessarily start in the same place because all of us have different circumstances, different starting points, but we can all obey God unto his glory. We can all obey God with what we've been given. So the Bible says very clearly here, he divides in proportion to their abilities. Different ones have been given different abilities and that's okay. We all have different starting points. He then left on his trip. Now notice here that he doesn't give them any specific instructions. I'm gonna point that out now and we'll talk about that later. Verse 16, the servant who received the five bags of silver began to invest the money and earn five more. So here we see this proactivity, this initiation that he takes to go and do something with what the master had given to him. He doesn't have instructions on what to do, but then he also doesn't just sit on that silver and say, well, I'll wait for the master to return. This servant takes the five bags of silver and begins to invest it and he doubled it. Now watch this verse 17. The servant with two bags of silver also went to work and earned two more. So this next servant with the two bags of silver, he doubles his investment as well. Verse 18, but the servant who received the one bag of silver dug a hole in the ground and hid the master's money. Verse 19, after a long time, their master returned from his trip and called them to give an account of how they had used his money. All of us will give an account. I preached a few weeks ago on how every believer will stand before God and receive their reward in proportion to how they behaved here on this side of eternity. So they are giving an account to the master. Verse 20, it says this, the servant to whom he had entrusted five bags of silver came forward with five more and said, master, you gave me five bags of silver to invest. I've earned five more. So he's excited about this. He presents this. What a joy it is to present to the Lord what you've done for him for his glory. Verse 21, now, the master was full of praise. Well done, my good and faithful servant. You've been faithful in handling this small amount. So now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let's celebrate together. On a side note, this could be indicating that on the other side of eternity, that we'll be given other responsibilities in proportion to how we handle what God gave us on this side of eternity. So how you live this life on earth will determine the responsibilities you're given in the heavenly realm when we stand before God. So verse 22 says the servant who had received the two bags of silver came forward and said, master, you gave me two bags of silver to invest. And I've earned two more. Here again, we see a doubling of the master's investment. 23, the master said, well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount. So now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let's celebrate together. So the master is happy to see that his servants had done well with what he gave them. In fact, he has a celebration for them and then rewards them with more responsibilities. Verse 24, then the servant with the one bag of silver. Can you imagine this, by the way? Being this servant and you're seeing these other guys go before you, Lord, I doubled it. Oh, let's celebrate together. You did well. Then the next guy goes, Lord, I doubled it. Let's celebrate together. You did well. And then now the servant with the one bag of silver came and said, master, I knew you were a harsh man. Harvesting crops you didn't plant and gathering crops you didn't cultivate. I was afraid, it's key right there, I was afraid I would lose your money. Interesting, fear is the root of inactivity. I was afraid I would lose your money. So I hid it in the earth. In other words, I did nothing with it. Look here is your money back. But the master replied, you wicked and lazy servant. So I don't know about you, but when I look at this portion of scripture, it seems to me that this servant with the one bag was thinking that he would possibly receive praise because he hid. Look, I was wise with it, I didn't want to lose it. I knew you were harsh, so I buried it. He was probably expecting the master to say, you know what, good job, that was wise. I'm glad that you didn't risk my money. But no, the master replies in verse 26, you wicked and lazy servant. Interesting that wickedness and laziness come together, mentioned here. If you knew I harvested crops I didn't plant and gathered crops I didn't cultivate, why didn't you deposit my money in the bank? At least I could have gotten some interest on it. In other words, you could have done something with this. Then he ordered take the money from this servant and give it to the one with 10 bags of silver. So now we see that the guy who had originally had five bags of silver, who doubled it and has 10 now, he gets that servant's portion. You know, Miss Coleman who we all know and love her ministry impacted many lives, Miss Coleman would often say that she believed that the Lord had passed many men by before he finally gave that ministry to her. And I believe that God has called us all to our own specific purposes, but then I also believe that God will add responsibilities to us that others have neglected. See here, that's part of what the Lord does. It's a principle of stewardship. If one servant is not a good steward, the other servant is, the Lord will take those responsibilities from the lazy servant and give them to the faithful servant. So this is really something we have to consider because I don't wanna be someone who the Lord passes by like this. When the Lord is dropping mantles to the earth, I don't wanna be the one standing by the wayside, letting him drop mantles. I wanna catch a mantle. I wanna be called upon. I want God to use my life. On a side note, I've remarked before that when God called David, he was tending sheep. When God called Moses, he was tending the flock of his father. When God called his various servants, they were doing something, plowing the fields, serving in the temples, serving prophets. God does not anoint the lazy. Now, many have misunderstood what I said when I say that. When I say God does not call and anoint the lazy, they think I'm talking about salvation. No, that call of salvation has gone to everyone. And just because someone struggles with laziness doesn't mean that they're disqualified from receiving salvation. But in order to do the work of ministry, the Lord uses workers. When God calls upon someone to do the work of ministry, he looks for workers. No, I'm not talking about salvation. I'm not saying that those who have the flaw of laziness are hopeless and can never be used. But what I am saying is that those who are inactive will not be called upon to do something for God's glory. And if you'll say to the Lord, Lord, I struggle with laziness, Lord, I struggle with inactivity, but I wanna do so that he'll work with you. And then as he works with you, he will give you responsibilities in proportion to how you obey and overcome that laziness. So that's what I mean when I say that. But here we see verse 28, then he ordered, take the money from this servant and give it to the one with the 10 bags of silver. Lord, don't take my silver. Lord, don't take my portion. Lord, don't take that responsibility from me. I can't imagine how many times the Lord has passed by people who simply refuse to do anything for him. And I know this is not something we wanna hear. And I know that this is not something that we want to acknowledge as true, but it's right here, it's a law of stewardship. When one servant is wicked and lazy, the Lord takes from them and gives it to the one who is faithful. This is why it seems like certain ministries that do well continue to do well and then better and better and better. And then you might be wondering, what happens to everyone else? Well, God adds responsibilities to those who are responsible. God adds work to those who work. And this is a principle of stewardship. This is a reality of the heavenly realm. God looks for workers. And again, let me emphasize this so you don't hear what I'm not saying. If you struggle with laziness, it's not that the Lord has given up on you, but it's he can only cause you to work in proportion to how you overcome that laziness. So continuing now, verse 29, to those who use well what they are given, even more will be given. And they will have an abundance. But for those who do nothing, from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away. This is why I said this is for serious Christians because new converts may hear this and go, this is a little confusing, sounds a little harsh. And I don't want you to be afraid or confused. We're not talking about salvation here. We're talking about the call of God into ministry. But those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away. Now throw these useless servants into outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Interesting here. These servants who did well were given more. Now this parable has various applications, but the primary spiritual principle that has universal application that I'm pulling out here is simply the law of stewardship. It's simply the law of how God will add work to workers. If you do well with what you are given, God will give you more to work with. So I want to come back to the point I was making earlier at the top of the portion of scripture that we read. And let me clarify something real quick before we go there. I had told you that this is not about salvation, but that this is about stewardship. Now this message, as I said, the parable has other meanings that we could go over. And there's a primary meaning that we can pull from this parable. I understand that. But again, what I'm talking about is the principle of stewardship. And I'm applying that principle of stewardship to ministry. So now, let's talk about what we were discussing a moment ago. The fact that this master gave no instructions to them. Sound familiar? He invested in them, put something in their hand and said, here, I'm giving you this and now I'm leaving. That sounds familiar because this is quite similar to what the Lord has done with us. Think about the fact that the Lord has given you time, resources, relationships, connections, influence, breath, a physical body, strength, energy. He's given you skill sets and hobbies and passions and desires. He's given you a mind, he's given you a voice. He's given you wonderful things. The Lord has invested in you. Now you may not feel that. I know I, for one, I'm just gonna be real honest with you. I, for one, when I began in ministry, I would say to the Lord, Lord, are you sure I'm the guy? Because I would look at myself, I would look at my flaws. I would look at how I thought I was lacking and I would say, Lord, there's no way you can use me. I mean, use that person over there. They seem to have more to them. But people tell me, they go, oh, there's charisma, there's gifting, there's this and that. I go, you don't understand. All of this is the Holy Spirit. Anything good you see in me, that's the work of the Spirit. And really, it was as if, like Miss Coleman said to the Lord where she said, Lord, if you can use nothing, here it is. That's how I felt. Lord, if you can use nothing, here it is. You can call everything out of nothing. You spoke to the void and everything came into existence. Surely, you can use me. And so I offered what I had. I didn't have much. I didn't have amazing ministry connections. Don't get me wrong. I had wonderful connections of discipleship and the Lord put key people in my life. But I didn't have amazing connections by worldly standards. Like I didn't have powerful connections in my phone. I didn't have all the ins and all the different avenues and areas and spheres of ministry. I was just someone who loved the Lord. I am someone who loves the Lord. An 11-year-old boy who said, Lord, you can use my life. I'm offering you what I have. And I gave that to him. And you may be like I was where you say, Lord, I'm looking at myself and I don't see much. I don't see talent. I don't see ability. I don't see skill. Let me tell you something. The Holy Spirit within you is your qualification. The power of the Holy Ghost deposited in you is what gets the job done. It's not by power nor by might. Say that out loud. It's not by power nor by might. It is by my spirit, says the Lord. Not by power nor by might. By my spirit, says the Lord. There is no limit to what God can do with a life surrendered to the Holy Spirit. There is no limit to what God can do with a life surrendered to the Holy Spirit. It is not about how charismatic you are, how gifted you are, how intelligent you are. It's about how surrendered you are to the Holy Spirit. That power comes on a surrendered mind. And so God has deposited in you. You may say, well, I can't really find a discernible talent. There's really no one skill set where I can point to and say, that's the one. But do you realize God has given you the raw materials for you to work with? I was not good on camera. Now I'm not trying to brag and say, well, look at how wonderful I am on camera. I still think I need a lot of work on camera, but I at least could admit that I've come a long way from where I used to be. I mean, even just doing this live stream, this would have been impossible for me just a few years ago. It would take me, I kid you not, and I'm not exaggerating, okay? This is a fact. If I wanted to film like a one minute promo, and promo, I mean like a commercial where I'm promoting like a service or promoting a new book or something like that. If I wanted to film something that cost, that took one minute, that one minute promotional video would take me literally two, three, sometimes four hours. Cause I would just get frustrated and start over and stutter and fumble over my words and it was a skill set I had to develop. But I say all that to say that you may not see right now what God has put in. You may look at yourself and say, there's no possible way that God put anything in me. There's no possible way that I actually have a skill set. You may look at others and say, I can't speak like them. I can't stream like them. I can't pray like them. I can't study like them. I can't do this like them. I can't do that like them. I can't really pinpoint what God has given me. Okay, let's start with the basics then again. God has given you a voice. God has given you energy. God has given you time. God has given you people in your life that you can influence. God has given you a physical body. God has given you desire and passion to do something for him. Great, that's a wonderful start. But we see here that the servant who was wicked did nothing because he didn't know what to do. When you don't know what to do, do something. Now this may sound like backwards because we are kind of taught certain doctrines. And again, I just have to be honest with you and I'm probably going to, you know, kill a few sacred cows as they say. But I think that we have like certain superstitious Christian myths that we just allow to become a part of our mindset when they're not anywhere to be found in scripture. Like for example, we have this idea in our minds that if we do something that's different than what the Lord had intended, that we're going to be judged harshly for it. But while you're working to find that specific destiny that God has placed in your life, you have to do something. Like you really think you're going to go before the Lord one day. You're going to die, you're going to go to heaven. He's going to say, hey, do you remember how you volunteered to help in the children's ministry at your church? Yes, Lord, I remember. Well, I didn't call you to do children's ministry until I'm taking away your heavenly reward. You really think the Lord's going to do that? Or do you remember that time you joined the street evangelism team and you went knocking on doors and telling them about the love of my son Jesus? Yes, Lord, I remember. Well, I didn't want you on that team. I would much rather you have had been an evangelist traveling from church to church and now I'm stripping you of your heavenly reward. Okay, no, that's not going to happen. Think about how Jonah purposefully, intentionally ran from the call of God but still had no choice but to fulfill it eventually. He ran from the call, he heard from God, he knew what God wanted him to do and he said, nope, I'm going in the opposite direction and people often talk about Jonah and the whale. Think about Jonah and the wind. The Bible says that a powerful wind came from the presence of the Lord. That was the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit came and redirected Jonah. The Holy Spirit destroyed his means of disobedience. He tore that ship apart and he made it so that Jonah would have to go back to where God had called him to go and prophesy and preach. And so, you know, this is something I believe that the Lord does for us. He directs us as we go. The call of God is not as fragile as you might imagine it to be. Think about the fact that the master in this parable was more upset that the servant did nothing. That's what bothered him. You didn't do anything. You know, you could have at least put it in the bank and deposited it there. I could have gained some interest and the way the master is talking, we see in the way that he's talking, we see that options are revealed. So yeah, maybe you didn't double my money like I wanted you to, but I would have been happy if you had put it in the bank and deposited it and gained some interest. In other words, I wish you would have done something. I wish you would have done anything at all besides bury what I gave you in the dirt because you were so afraid of me judging you. I mean, this parable alone should shatter any of those preconceived ideas that we have about God being angry with us for getting it wrong. Now I understand, we don't wanna be presumptuous. We don't wanna just go and do everything and anything that comes to our minds and hearts and expect that God will anoint it. There's a difference between the extremes of presumption and paralysis. You see, some people are so presumptuous, they think that God's in everything that they're doing. They're not concerned with doing God's will. They're concerned with getting God to do their will and they try to do anything and everything and they're constantly changing directions and there's no real discernible purpose in their life and they wander around aimless from project to project, ministry style to ministry style, ministry focus to ministry focus, church to church, task to task, project to project, gift set to gift set and they never focus in and do any one thing for long enough to be effective. They destroy their own momentum by constantly changing directions. And so these people are presumptuous. They're constantly jumping on every trend, every bandwagon, they're taking any direction that they're given, they go with the wind wherever it may be and they never focus on doing one thing well for the Lord or even a few things well for the Lord and so that's presumption. They just move on and do whatever they want. They don't really stop and pray and the difference between presumption and purpose is prayerlessness. The difference between presumption and purpose is prayerlessness. Those who do not have a prayer life, those who aren't seeking instructions can never receive the corrective directions of God. They just continue down that path. Well surely God is with me because I'm so amazing. Well surely God is in this because I'm so anointed. But again, let's not take this to the extreme to where we go and fall into that Christian superstition, that myth, that idea that if you do one thing that maybe God didn't specifically anoint that he's gonna tear you down. You know, I've known a lot of people who would have been a lot further in their calling, their God-given calling right now if they didn't just sit around and say, well I'm just waiting for God to open the doors. I'm waiting for God to do something. Now I'm gonna get to the other extreme in a moment. Yes, there are also people who, they don't do anything because they're so afraid, but I'm also now talking about those who just everything, they just move forward, and they do whatever they feel is on their heart. But then there are also those who they just sit around and unless God splits the heaven, speaks to me with a booming, audible voice, I'm not gonna change direction. Don't be either extreme. I'm describing two extremes to you. There is the extreme of paralysis and the extreme of presumption. In between is purpose. Paralysis, you don't do anything because you're too afraid. Presumption, you do everything because you're prideful. The balance, the PowerPoint is purpose. Purpose is that middle road. Avoid the extremes of paralysis and presumption. Don't just go doing whatever you wanna do. Don't just go doing every trend. Don't just go changing directions every three weeks. My goodness, I know people who are a prophet one week in evangelists the next week and a pastor the next. So pastor a church for maybe half a year, go on and be a prophet, come back, pastor a church for three months, go on and be an evangelist, come back and pastor a church for another month, all the while changing states and directions. And I'm not talking about any one particular person. Don't think about anybody individually, okay? I'm just using that as an example. I know of this kind of person, okay? And then there are those who just will not budge and they think that's spiritual. They, you know, well, I'm not gonna move, Lord. And you know, we can refer back to Moses, Lord, unless your presence goes with us, but at least Moses did something, okay? So there are those who will just stand by and do nothing, they do nothing. And so you might be wondering, okay, I get it. I don't wanna be presumptuous and lack a prayer life. I don't wanna just go doing anything and everything that comes my way, assuming that it's gone. But I also don't wanna get stuck in paralysis to where I'm just sitting down and, Lord, I won't move until you tell me, and he's thinking, I already did. Why are you waiting to be led when you've already been commanded in the scripture? Go, do something, spread the gospel, expand the kingdom. I'll show you, for example, a few things. And by the way, this is how you begin to fulfill that perfect will of God for your life or his perfect will for your life. Okay, so now I wanna talk to you here about how to actually do this, okay? So how do you avoid those extremes and how do you find that middle road where you're walking in God's divine destiny? Number one, you have to abandon this idea that God has preordained every single little action you will take, which shirt you'll wear on this day and exactly the arrangement of the words that you'll use in a conversation with everyone you'll ever come into contact with. I get it, God is sovereign overall, but he also allows for free will. How these two work together, the scripture gives us some clues into this mystery that's not what this message is about, but just for now, be aware of the fact that God has given you some choice in the matter. The call of God is not as fragile as you might think. So for example, the Lord gave me a purpose, preach the gospel, pray for the sick, teach on the Holy Spirit and use your passion for media. That's really the primary instructions he gave me. Now the Lord did give me, and this is kind of a unique situation, but the Lord did give me very specific instructions for the structure of the ministry. Like when I was like 14 years old, the Lord showed me visions of the structure. He can do that for you too, but he didn't give me all the little details and the steps in between every phase, I just had to get going and sometimes you have to be going to be guided. So here's what you do in order to find this perfect middle of the road purpose that God has given to you. Okay, so maybe you're watching this, you're saying, okay, I think I have an idea of what my talents may be, maybe not, or maybe I don't know what my talents are, whatever it is, you start by living holy. Every single believer, and please hear me now because if you hear anything I say, hear this, every single believer can fulfill God's specific purpose for their lives by obeying his general commands. Every single believer can fulfill God's specific purpose for their lives by obeying his general commands. What do I mean by that? I mean that while you're waiting for that specific instruction to be spoken to you, while you're waiting for God to tell you clearly this is what I want you to do, don't wait doing nothing, instead begin to refine your ability to hear his voice by obeying his word. So the written word of God is our guide. So you're saying, I don't know what to do, I don't know where to go, I'm gonna show you right now. Here's what you're specifically going to do right here, right now. Like starting today, get your notepad out or your digital notepad, whatever it may be, get it out because I'm gonna show you that right now. I'm gonna show you all the things you need to be doing, all the primary things I should say, you need to be doing right now, okay? Number one, live holy. First Peter 1.16, do not talk to me about the specific will of God and ministry if you're living a lifestyle of blatant sin, okay? That's not right now, okay? Get this right first. Live holy, I'm not saying live in perfection but live in the progress that God has for you. Live in the process of being perfected and submit yourself to the sanctification process of the Holy Spirit and as he begins to cleanse you, he begins to use you. So that's number one, live holy. First Peter 1.16, number two, evangelize. Mark 16, 15, every believer is called the evangelize. Now that's gonna look different for everyone. You may be called to preach in a pulpit but you don't need a pulpit to evangelize. Evangelism is simply sharing your faith, sharing specifically the gospel message with your loved ones, with your friends, with your coworkers. That's number two, evangelism. Number three, live a lifestyle of worship. John 4.24, you're a person of the spirit, right? They that worship him will worship in spirit and in truth. Every believer is called to live a lifestyle of worship. Number four, pray. I mean, this should be pretty simple, right? First Thessalonians 5.17, pray. Colossians 3.16, know God's word, understand it. Luke 10.27, we are to demonstrate that love, love of God and love of others, demonstrate love. Serve in the church, 1 Peter 4.10. So here I've given you one, two, three, four, five, six, seven different things that you can begin doing right now. Now you may say, David, that's understandable. I get that, we see those commands in scripture, but what's the specific call for me? Well, we shouldn't even be talking about specific call unless you're obeying God's general command, because here's what's gonna happen. If you live holy, if you're evangelizing, worshiping, praying, studying God's word, demonstrating love and serving in a local church, a healthy church, if you are doing these things, then the Holy Spirit begins to transform you into someone who can clearly hear the whisper of the spirit. First, you must know the word to develop wisdom. And once you have the foundations of the word and wisdom, then the whisper of the spirit begins to guide you specifically. God is not gonna give you step four, five and six if you haven't taken step one, two and three. What's step one, two and three? Right here, obey the word. Do what the word of God says. You may say, well, I wanna know specific, what's my talent, what's my gift, what's my... Right now, we're just focusing on the basics. We'll get to that in a moment. You live holy, evangelize, worship, pray, no God's word, demonstrate love and serve in the church. You do these things, not with perfection, but you do these things with progress. And as you progress in these general commands of God, as you progress in the general will of God, revealed in scripture, he begins to reveal his specific will by the spirit. His general will, revealed in scripture, eventually turns into the specific will revealed by the spirit. Now watch what happens here. Go to Acts chapter 16. I'm gonna show you something else. Acts 16, I'm gonna read verse six, seven and eight. Acts 16, verse six, seven and eight. Next, Paul and Silas traveled to the area of Phrygia and Galatia because the Holy Spirit, watch this now, had prevented them from preaching the word in the province of Asia at that time. Then, coming to the borders of Mycia, they headed north for the province of Bethania. But again, the spirit of Jesus did not allow them to go there, so instead, they went on through Mycia to the seaport of Troas. So here we see something interesting. Paul and Silas begin to make their way to Asia. Now, I can tell you for a fact that Paul and Silas did not pray about this. They did not ask the Lord, Lord, do you want us to go to Asia? You may say, how do you know that? I know that because as they were going there, the Holy Spirit said, stop, this is not what I want you to do. Now, why is this important? This is important because it shows us Paul and Silas is, or more specifically, Paul's heart for the gospel. What would Paul do? Paul, as an apostle, whose job it was to preach the gospel to the Gentiles, he breaks that gospel message into a whole new people group. He would look and see where are the nations open and he would identify a need. And once he identified the need, he then said, I'm going to use my skill set. I'm gonna use what God gave me. I'm gonna use what God deposited in me to fulfill that need or to fill that need. So here we see Paul the apostle used his mind, used his body, used his talent, used his ability to speak, used his ability to convince and reason. So here we see Paul the apostle now taking these deposits that God gave him and then looking for a need. He says, where can I fill a need? He says, there it is in Asia. So he begins to go to Asia and the Holy Spirit says, not yet. And that's how you know Paul didn't pray about it. So what was Paul's process for spreading the gospel around the world? Well, he took God's deposits and then looked for a need. So that's one of the things you have to do if you wanna fulfill God's call. What has God deposited in me and how can I use that to spread the gospel? Those are the two questions that lead you to your specific purpose. And let me remind you, this is after the fact that you've fulfilled the general commands of God. This is after having walked in God's general command. You ask yourself, what has God deposited in me and what needs can I fill with those deposits? What has God deposited in me and what needs can I fill with those deposits? So then, God's specific will for your life is fulfilled when you use your specific gifts, talents and abilities to fulfill his general command. Say that again. You find God's specific, perfect will for your life, specifically now you. You find God's specific, perfect will for your life by taking your specific talents and abilities and using them to fulfill God's general commands. And it really is that simple. You may say, David, what if I mess up? Well, if you're praying, the Holy Spirit will correct you. The Holy Spirit's voice acts as our safety net. So that if we ever get off track or get too far into something that we're not supposed to be doing, the Holy Spirit will say, okay, I'm gonna remove this from you or I'm gonna speak to you very clearly and specifically. Now, the Holy Spirit has actually helped me here before in this. Because I can recall one time, many of you know, right now we're sitting in our new studio, which is almost done. Trust me, you're gonna love it when it's done. We still let partners come and see it. Maybe you're watching this when it's done, but those who are watching this live, it's just a couple months from being finished. So I remember though in Southern California, we had an opportunity to buy a building in Aliso Viejo, California. And it was a beautiful building. It was already a studio perfectly located. I mean, it was like ideal, right Steve? Just ideal. We were so convinced that we wanted to do this. I was pulling out all the stuff. I was contacting every donor. I was contacting every, everyone I knew that could help us make this happen. And I remember we were in the building, we're praying. And I'm sitting in one of the upstairs room of the building and I'm praying for God to give us the building. Lord, give us the building. Give us the building. Give us the building. And this was a specific move that I wanted to take for the ministry. A specific step I should say that I wanted to take for the ministry. And so I'm praying and I'm praying and I'm praying. And I realized, Lord, my desire for this is so strong I'm having trouble hearing you. I was just being honest with the Lord, okay? I said, Lord, my desire for this building is so strong that I'm having trouble hearing you. And so I prayed this. I said, Lord, if this isn't you, don't shut but slam the door in my face. That's what I told him. I said, if this isn't you, I'm not asking you to shut this door. I'm asking you to slam it in my face. I said, because Lord, you know how persistent I am. I'm so emotionally wrapped up in this. I can't tell if it's you or not. So I'm gonna do what I can to try to make this happen even if you're not in it because I can't hear clearly right now. I was so emotionally involved. Some of you who know what building it was know why it was so emotional for me. I wanted to get this building. I wanted to do purchase. It was a Christian ministry that was losing its studio. And I said, Lord, I don't want to see that happen. This has been such an impactful ministry of my life. And so I said, Lord, I want to make this happen. I said, so my nature of persistence is gonna be that. I'm gonna cause this to happen even if it's not you and that's dangerous. That's very dangerous. And so I said, Lord, don't shut this door. If this isn't you, you have to slam it in my face. We had partners lined up. We had the money being gathered. We had donations coming in for that specific. We ended up using it for this studio. But we had partners pledges ready, pledges ready. No one had given yet, but they were ready. And we were stepping into it. We were getting ready. We had the, guys, I kid you not, I had the contract, the final contract ready to go. It was the day I was signing it. Hear me now. The day I was getting ready to sign it when suddenly one of the people who was going to back us pulled out and said, I can't do this right now because the stock market just took a hit and my wealth is tied up there and I can't do it. I said, okay, no problem, we'll figure this out. Then I got another call that same day from someone else saying, I'm not gonna be able to help in the way I thought I was gonna be able to help. I'm sorry. And one by one, everyone began to drop out. Now, in my mind, I'm thinking, this is the devil I rebuke it. You know, I'm like, I'm trying to make it happen still. And it was only probably, I wanna say, goodness, I don't wanna exaggerate the story. So we'll just, we'll give it a nice buffer. I wanna say it was about a month later, a month or two that COVID shut the world down. Now here's the thing. We were planning on keeping that building paid for by doing weekly meetings in that building. That was gonna be the plan. But because of the nature of COVID, people weren't coming to meetings. Even if we held the meetings, people weren't coming. You guys, had we walked through that door? It would have financially strained the ministry. Not for a few months. We would have been financially strained for probably, I wanna say, a good five or six years. Things would have been very tight to where we could not have done anything that we're doing now. It wouldn't have been as flexible. Now, why do I tell you that story? I tell you that story to illustrate God's faithfulness. We have to learn to not trust necessarily in our ability to hear him. There's a point of spiritual pride in that. I hear God so clearly. I can hear the spirit. I'm so sensitive to the spirit. Sometimes it's like a bragging point for Christians. No, no, I don't trust necessarily my ability to hear him. I trust his ability to speak. I don't trust my ability to know anything, but I trust him to guide me. And so it's that safety net that the voice of the Holy Spirit that gives us the confidence to move forward. You wanna discover God's perfect will for your life? I just showed you how. You do the basics, live holy, evangelize, worship, pray, know God's word, demonstrate love, serve in the church. That's gonna do something to you in the spirit, to your character that causes you to be one who can hear the voice of the Holy Spirit and then you get going. You ask yourself the questions, what did God deposit in me and how can I use that deposit to fill a need? And then you use your specific gifts to fulfill God's general commands. That's what he's called you to do. He's put it in your hands. He said, look, when God created man, please don't misunderstand what I'm about to say. Let me say it and then explain it. When God created man, he made and was looking for a partner. Now you may say, God doesn't need a partner. I agree. He doesn't need a partner. But it's what he, that was his will. It's what he desired for this particular earth realm, if you wanna word it that way. He created Adam to steward and to cultivate and to have dominion. Read it in the book of Genesis. He told him, have dominion. You rule this sphere under me. And God was looking for a steward to cultivate his creation, to steward the world, to care for what God had made. Someone in his image, his likeness. Now, when you think partner, you think equal partner. No, we are not equal partners with God. We are so blessed that he is so gracious as to give us an opportunity to partner with him. Why he decides to do it? I don't know, does he need us to do that? No, but the way he chooses to move in the earth is through partners. So he says, look, I gave you breath. I breathe the breath of life in you. I gave you talents and abilities, whether you see them or not. And even if those talents and abilities and skills are not sharpened yet, do something with them so that you sharpen them. And I've given you the raw materials with which you are to create the life that is abundant. He sanctifies, he blesses, he sustains, he does all of that, but then he leaves the responsibility on you to do something with what he gave you. And so many of us are fretting, Lord, what if I get it wrong? He'll guide you. But what if I misstep? He'll bring you back on track. Look, if Jonah, please hear me now, if Jonah fulfilled God's call when he was running from the call, you don't think God's faithfulness is going to be able to keep you when you're attempting to follow what you think is his voice. And you look at the word, you hear the Holy Spirit and then you get to work. Do something. And as you begin to do, God begins to direct. As you begin to go, God begins to guide. As you begin to take action, God begins to pull you into your purpose. God will guide as you go. So let's make this more succinct one more time. How do you fulfill God's perfect will for your life? How do you find that will? Live holy, evangelize, worship, pray, know God's word, demonstrate love, serve in the church. You do those faithfully. And then you begin to develop into someone who can hear God clearly and who begins to see opportunities. Then you ask yourself this question. I'm giving you the biblical roadmap here. This is the principles of stewardship being applied. We are applying what we've gleaned from scripture. So after you've done the basics, then you ask those questions. What did God deposit in me? And what are the needs that can be filled? Anything, anything for the kingdom. Anything for the kingdom. Anything and everything that can be done for the kingdom. Just do something for the kingdom with what he deposited in you. And then you use your specific talents and abilities, everything that God's done in you and given to you that's made you unique. You take what's unique about you and you use all that you are and all that you have to fulfill God's general commands. And in doing that, you'll find the perfect will of God. Don't worry, he'll direct you. Don't be afraid. Oh, I was afraid, Lord, I didn't know. If I would, Lord, I didn't know if I would disobey, you'd be upset or if I missed something and how do I find you and I don't want to move until you, stop with that. Why are you bearing what God gave you? He'll say to you, you could have done something. Anything. I know it sounds spiritual to go, oh, brother, I don't make a move unless I know the whole, you're gonna be sitting there for a long time because we are not so perfect that we can always hear God so clearly. And this is why we have to do something. Do something with what God gave you. I wanna pray for you now. And I want you to really receive this. I don't want you to dismiss this as just another prayer, we're praying. I believe this can be a turning point for you. I believe God's put something in you. I believe God has anointed you and given you a purpose. I believe there are divine deposits in you. You may not see them, you may not be able to immediately identify them, but He's placed those in you. You have been anointed by God. He has placed something in you. I wanna pray with you now. Father, in the mighty name of Jesus, I pray for that one receiving this now. And I ask you Lord to begin to stir those gifts you deposit. Give them the boldness and the courage to step out and do something unto your glory. Give them the boldness and the courage to step out and do something for your glory. Lord, cause them to see, give them the discernment, to see the divine deposits that have been made in them. Make it clear to them what gifts you've given them. And Lord, if it's not clear, give them the courage to obey what they see in your work. Cause your people to step forward today. I bind every lying spirit. I come against that fear and I pray boldness. I pray a fire be in them. I pray Lord, they be like Jeremiah, where that fire is so deep within them and burns such, with such intensity Lord, that fire would burn with such intensity. They would say I can't remain silent. It's like fire in my bone. Release that fire. Some of you are sensing that right now. It's like fire in your bones. I want you to write that in the comment section. I want you to write set me on fire. We're talking about a spiritual fire that God is causing to arrest us. Set me on fire. Write that, let that be your prayer. Oh Lord, that we would burn with holy fire. That we would burn with holy fire, with passion, so much passion for you Lord, that we can't sit still. We have to do something. In the mighty name of Jesus we pray. I want you to say it out loud because you believe it. Say amen. We have to do something. I don't wanna get to heaven and discover that there was so much more I should have done here on earth. Let that thought settle in you for a second. I don't wanna get to heaven and find out that there was so much more that I should have and could have done here on earth. Now I'm gonna ask something of you. I want you to ask the Holy Spirit about what I'm about to say. We as a ministry are expanding. We've seen the favor of God on this ministry, the touch of God on this ministry. Perhaps you've been blessed by the teachings, the media, the live streams. Maybe you've come to one of our in-person events where the power of the Holy Spirit rests on those meetings in a very unique way. People are delivered, healed, saved, empowered. Beautiful, beautiful meetings. Beautiful, beautiful services take place. And maybe you've been blessed by the ministry. Your life has been impacted, received revelation, freedom. Now it's your turn to help us, help others. Now it's your turn to get involved. I want you to do me a favor. Go to davidhernandezministries.com and I am talking about partnership, Tim. davidhernandezministries.com slash partner. I want you to go to davidhernandezministries.com slash partner. Pull it up on your screen right now. I want you to do something for me. Pull it up on your screen. If you're watching on mobile, you can go, you know, out of YouTube, the YouTube app allows you to go into a different browser for the most part. If you're watching on desktop, just open up a different window. Go right now to davidhernandezministries.com slash partner. And I want you to look at the different partner options that are there. I want you to look at them right now. I'm serious. Go right now, davidhernandezministries.com slash partner, whether you're watching live or on replay. And I want you to look at the different partnership tiers. And then I want you to say, Holy Spirit, do you want me to partner with this ministry? And then let him lead you. Maybe he might lead you to partner with us monthly. Maybe he might lead you to give a one-time gift. Maybe he might lead you to do both. But whatever the Holy Spirit instructs you to do, I ask you to obey that. Why? Because this is how God works within the earth. He works through you and I. And so he's called us to work together. He's called us to partner with one another. Your monthly partnership is what helps this ministry continue to go strong. Now look, we're able to offer the media, the live streams, the events for free. Why? Because a partner's like you who helps support it. You've been blessed. Now help us be a blessing to others. Let's continue to see this ministry expand and grow. Look, this is just the beginning. This is the beginning of the work. These are the beginning years of this ministry. I can't wait to see how far the Lord takes his ministry. As a matter of fact, I can see the various different people partnering with us there. Again, davidhernandezministries.com slash partner. Consider a partnership of $15, $30, $60, $120. There's different options there. You can also make a custom partnership or you can give a one-time gift. Now if you're watching internationally, I want you to try to use the form on our website. Now, only if the form on our website doesn't work for you, you can give to YouTube and Facebook. And I can see Eric and Irene and Maria and Deandre and Teresa and Betty and Josie. And I also see we have Alma and Elsie and Leslie and Eduardo and Beatrice. So many different people. Cindy, Yulanda, God bless you, Isabel, God bless you. All of these wonderful people are partners with the ministry now. Thank you for your partnership. I really appreciate this. This is gonna help us take the gospel all around the world, the events and media. And then I see Eliezar also gave a one-time gift. Thank you Eliezar. Sandy, thank you for your one-time gift. Rachel, thank you for your one-time gift. It's coming in right now from all around the world. And I can see the donations that come in right here on my phone. And I wanna thank those of you who are giving. We appreciate your support. But I'm asking everyone right now to do something. DavidHernandezministries.com slash partner. This is how we continue to go and grow. Do it for souls. Do it for the Lord. Do it for Jesus. This is where you get involved. Now, if you appreciated this teaching, you were blessed by it. I want you to go ahead and leave a like on the video right now. And also make sure you're subscribed to my channel so that you don't miss any of the content coming your way.