* The most powerful thing you can do to touch another person’s life is to be fully present with them.

* Presence communicates Priority - and this makes people feel special.

* As leaders, you have more power in the relationship that your employees, and this can make them feel insecure.

* But if you’re fully present you show them how important they are.

* But it takes sacrifice to be fully present.

* Vs 34 - Jesus refused the pain killer.

* I believe one of the reasons is because it would dull His senses.

* He wanted to be fully present.

* EX: my mom on her death bed.

* It takes sacrifice to be fully present.

* You can dull the pain by going on social media or watching TV or whatever.

* But you’ll lose the power of presence for those around you.

* If you choose to sacrifice, you’ll discover the power of presence.

* You will become a person of influence in other’s lives.

Expert Ownership: Expert owners leave margin on the bottom line for others – with their money and with opportunities for work.

It allows you to come alongside Christ and His work in the earth!

And God will always see that you have no lack!

Giving Account / Workforce Margin

Leviticus 23:9-10 “Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 10 “Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘When you enter the land which I am going to give to you and reap its harvest, then you shall bring in the sheaf of the first fruits of your harvest to the priest.”

(23:22) “When you reap the harvest of your land, moreover, you shall not reap to the very corners of your field nor gather the gleaning of your harvest; you are to leave them for the needy and the alien. I am the LORD your God.”

BOAZ: Ruth 2:1-9 (Lineage of Christ)

God will always see that you have no lack!

Exodus 38:25-26: (Just left Egypt – Building Tabernacle) “The silver of those of the congregation who were [am]numbered was 100 talents and 1,775 shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary; 26 a beka a head (that is, half a shekel according to the shekel of the sanctuary), for each one who passed over to those who were [an]numbered, from twenty years old and upward, for 603,550 men.”

Numbers 1:45-47: (Second year – numbered again w/ a twist) “So all the numbered men of the sons of Israel by their fathers’ households, from twenty years old and upward, whoever was able to go out to war in Israel, 46 even all the numbered men were 603,550. The Levites, however, were not numbered among them by their fathers’ tribe.”

Matthew Henry: “Whatever we part with for the honor and service of God it shall be certainly made up to us one way or the other.”

Expert Ownership: Expert owners leave margin on the bottom line for others – with their money and with opportunities for work.

* The first time Jesus said He was going to suffer Peter rebuked Him for it - “not on my watch!”

* Then Jesus elevated Pete in some situations - brought him onto the mountain and into the garden, both privileges most of the other disciples didn’t get.

* Jesus mentions again He’s going to suffer, but this time He said all will fall away because of HIm.

* This time Pete takes a different angle.

* “Even if all fall away, I will never…”.

* Pete chose to compare himself to the others.

* When you compare, two things happen:

* When you compare UP you get envious.

* When you compare DOWN you get prideful.

* Pete was prideful, and Jesus had to break him of it.

* Matthew 25:14-30 - In the parable of the talents, our goal should be to be like the SECOND MAN.

* Pete needed this lesson - this is why when Jesus asked Him on the seashore after HIs resurrection, “Do you love me more than these?”

* Christ reminded him of his words, and his pride.

* Jesus had to humble Pete before He used Pete.

* We never see Pete comparing again.

* Christ’s goal was to finish His assignment, and then empower His disciples to carry on the mission when He was gone.

* In business, this should be our goal as well - to set our company up so it can fulfill the mission without us there.

* But this can’t be done apart from PEOPLE!

* Jesus shows us the importance of your team.

* He was about to die, and so He went into the Garden of Gethsemane to prepare.

* Gethsemane means “oil press.”

* Israel was known for their olives - you would press them until the oil came out, then bottle it up and sell it.

* Jesus was about to get pressed and He knew it.

* So He chose to bring some of His closest friends along.

* This is so important - we were never meant to live alone.

* God puts people into our lives to help us carry our burdens.

* In business your company is only as good as the people inside it.

* Systems run a business, but people run the systems.

* A business is an “oil press.”

* This is why God used the marketplace to train so many of the heroes of our faith.

* Christ’s friends failed, but He knew they would.

* He put them on His team anyway.

* Because He knew they would ultimately “get it,” and “do it.”

* He chose loyalty over proficiency - they came back and a group of unlearned men turned the world upside down.

* And we’re still talking about it today, 2,000 years later.

* This is the power of building the right team.

* We are made up of three parts - Spirit, Soul, and Body.

* Our soul is our mind, will, and emotions.

* Peter had just denied Jesus, felt the sting of conviction when the rooster crowed, and wept many bitter tears.

* Now we see how Judas responds when he felt the same sting of conviction.

* Look at the three aspects:

* 1) Remorse - this is a matter of the emotions - you feel bad for what you’ve done.

* 2) Regret - this is a matter of the mind - you know you’ve done wrong.

* 3) Repent - this is a matter of the will - you choose to ask forgiveness and change your ways.

* To repent you have to rely on God’s grace and mercy, and recognize His rightful place of authority in your life.

* Peter experienced all three, and he was forgiven.

* Judas stopped at two - he never repented, giving God the chance to forgive him.

* Bringing this back to business - how do you know who to fire?

* When they’ve done what Judas did, and feel remorse and regret but have no intention of repenting.

* You know they won’t recognize your rightful authority.

* I had to fire an agent once….

* Jesus is talking about the kingdom of heaven and gives several stories of what people need to do to prepare for the coming of His kingdom.

* He gives two parables - one about a wedding and one about work.

* They talk about being ready until He comes and what to do while we wait.

* They are to be LIGHT!

* We’ll talk about the first parable.

* It was custom for men to propose, then go off and work to build a house, then come back to her house and get his bride.

* She would wait with her friends for his arrival.

* The job of the friends was to wait FOR him, then when he arrives to wait UPON him.

* Vs 1-13 - Five shined their light but let the light go out - they had no oil.

* So when the bridegroom showed up they weren’t ready.

* Preparedness can’t be shared.

* They started out right but they didn’t keep it going.

* Oil is the Holy Spirit - it’s our job to keep our light shining by the oil of the Holy Spirit.

* We grow in our relationship with Jesus - that’s the oil.

* Foolish - the word means “the propensity to make wrong choices.”

* These foolish girls refused to change their way of doing things.

* We need to be lights!

* One of the main places we shine our light is where we work.

* How do we shine it?

* 1) By how you do your job - it should be excellent.

* 2) By how you handle conflict - it should be empathetic.

* Be a coal, not a candle. A coal requires conflict to shine.

*

* Stress is at an all time high - and it’s causing sickness and disease like crazy.

* Stress is “to be pulled apart” - you’re being pulled in two different directions.

* You want one thing but another seems to be happening - you’re pulled one way by your desire and another way by your fear or anxiety or doubt.

* Mental stress is the worst - in psychology they call it Cognitive Dissonance.

* Cognitive Dissonance is the “mental stress or discomfort experienced by an individual who:

* Holds two or more contradictory beliefs, ideas, or values at the same time….

* Performs an action that is contradictory to one or more beliefs, ideas, or values….

* Is confronted by new info that conflicts with existing beliefs, ideas, or values.”

* Dr. Leaf says cognitive dissonance comes from saying one thing but believing another - it elevates stress levels in our brain and this opens us up for disease (dis-ease).

* When you say one thing but really believe another, or you DO another, deep down you know you’re a fake - this causes stress.

* All three of the defs of CD involve BELIEF - when your words/deeds don’t line up with your beliefs.

* Belief is all about FAITH.

* The opposite of stress is not peace, but FAITH!

* This is where the story picks up.

* Vs 18-21 - Jesus had just cursed a fig tree and it wilted up and died.

* The disciples were impressed, so Jesus took the opportunity to teach them about FAITH.

* Vs 22 - What Jesus did in this verse is tell us the importance of lining up our words and deeds with our beliefs.

* When these are aligned and pointed toward God, it’s called FAITH.

* And staying in this alignment relieves our STRESS.

* How?

* Faith aligns three things:

* 1) Belief - God becomes the source of all you believe to be true (security).

* 2) Words - the words you speak align with the belief in your heart.

* 3) Actions - you do the things you believe are good.

* If one of these is out of whack you don’t have faith, you have stress.

* *** Note - in verse 28-30 - two sons:

* One aligned his actions with his belief.

* The other fell out of line with his belief - he “said” something but “did” another - and he missed out on the reward.

* The disciples knew Jesus had come as king.

* But they were mistaken on which type of king He was.

* Even though Jesus warned them that He’d have to suffer.

* James and John were pretty jazzed up about the whole “sit on thrones around My throne” comment Christ made earlier.

* Vs 20-21 - They wanted a crown.

* Vs 22 - Jesus referred to the spirit behind the request when He said, “You don’t know what you’re asking.”

* This kept Him from getting bitter toward her - He was always looking “through” people “to” the spirit that inspired them.

* Vs 23 - Jesus pointed them to a cross.

* ** The path to the CROWN was through the CROSS.

* In today’s social media culture, young kids want to be DISCOVERED, not DEVELOPED.

* But it’s the development that fits you to be discovered.

* It’s the way of the CROSS that leads to a CROWN, but knowing your crown may not come until the next life…..and that’s OK!

* Think about James and John at the end of their lives - they probably remembered back to this conversation.

* Fortunately, they got the message and picked up their cross.

* Now they have a crown!

* As a worker today, don’t focus on the provisions and profit FROM your work, but God’s presence IN your work.