December 31, 2024 • 26 mins
In this episode of Give It Your All, we dive into what it means to maximize the opportunities God has given us. Using the parable of the talents in Matthew 25:14-30, we explore how God expects us to steward His gifts with intention and purpose. He rewards those who use their time and resources wisely, as it blesses others and aligns us with His more excellent We'll.
We’ll also reflect on Ecclesiastes 11:2, where God reminds us to prepare for the unknown by making the most of what we have, especially during fruitful seat's. It’s not just about working itself—it’s about working with eternal impact in mind.
You'll be encouraged to evaluate areas where you can maximize God’s glory. Pray for wisdom, seek His guidance, and take bold action in faith.
Need prayer? Visit giveityourall.us/prayer
Let’s give it our all for the Kingdom!
Give It Your All Podcast
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
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Unknown (00:00):
Daryl, welcome to give it your all, the podcast where
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we dive deep into life's biggestchallenges and victories through
a biblical lens. I'm your host,Daryl Baptist junior, and it's
been a couple weeks, guys. Wetook last week off because it
was Christmas. You know,definitely wanted to celebrate
the holidays with the fam andeverybody. Hope you guys had the
opportunity to enjoy so we'reback on the schedule, you know,
every Monday and Friday. So buttoday we have a amazing topic.
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We will be going over maximizingopportunities. And of course,
we're going to dive straight into see what the Bible has to say
about that. So we're going to goto Matthew 25 and verses 14
through 30. And as you know, Iwill be reading out of the New
America Standard Bible. So herewe go, guys for it is just like
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a man about to go on a journeywho call his own slaves and
entrusted his possessions tothem, to one he gave five
talents to another two and toanother one, each according to
his own ability, and he went onhis journey. The one who had
received the five talentsimmediately went and did
business with them and earnedfive more talents. In the same
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way, the one who had receivedthe two talents earned two more.
But he who received the onetalent went away and dug a hole
in the ground and hid hismaster's money. Now after a long
time, the master of those slavescame and settled accounts with
them. The one who had receivedthe five talents came up and
brought five more talents,saying, Master, you have
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entrusted five talents to me.
See I have earned five moretalents. His master said to him,
Well done, good and faithfulslave. You were faithful with a
few things. I will put you incharge of many things. Enter the
joy of your master. Also the onewho had received the two talents
came up and said, Master, youentrusted two talents to me see
I have earned two more talents,his master said to him, Well
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done, good and faithful slave.
You are faithful with the fewthings I will put you in charge
of many things. Enter the joy ofyour master. Now the one who
have received the one talentalso came up and said, Master, I
know you to be a hard man,reaping where you did not sow,
gathering, where you did notscatter seed, and I was afraid,
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so I went and hid your talent inthe ground. See you still have
what is yours. But his masteranswered and said to him, you
worthless, lazy slave, did youknow that I reap where I do not
sow and gather where I did notscatter seed? Then you ought to
have put my money in the bank,and on my arrival, I would have
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received my money back withinterest. Therefore, take the
talent from him and give it tothe one with the 10 talents. For
to everyone who has more shallbe given, and he will have an
abundance, but from the one whodoes not have even what he does
have shall be taken away andthrow the worthless slaves into
the outer darkness in the placethere will be in that place,
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there will be weeping andgnashing of teeth. Whoo, so,
guys. That is the parable of thetalents. That's a very meaty
One. Again. That is Matthew 25verses 14 to 30. I actually
preached my first sermon,actually my only sermon. Up
until this point, I preached myfirst sermon on that. I titled
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it, give it all you got, orgiving it all you got, something
along those lines. But prettymuch, guys, this is a parable.
So for anyone that doesn't know,hopefully most people do. Most
people here, I believe, arebelievers. But just in case
you're a new believer or justhaven't heard of this, a parable
is pretty much a earthly storymeant to reveal a heavenly
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meaning. So Jesus spoke andtaught in parables. Often Let he
who has ears, ears and haveeyes, let him see So certain
things he said for us to be ableto really dissect, really ponder
upon, think about, and see howwe can apply it to our lives.
But in regards to today,maximizing opportunity, you know
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this, this verse, I mean theseverses, they entail a lot, you
know, they unpack a lot. Youknow, God expects us to make the
most side of what's been givento us. Sometimes we feel like we
don't have enough, you know,especially, you know, in that
example, you see that, okay, weall kind of been given similar
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opportunities, but we see thisone person is more gifted. This
other person has a little bitmore resources than us. This and
we really just have nothingsometimes in comparison,
however, you know, if you're anable bodied person, even really
if you're not, but definitely,at least, if you're able bodied
person, you have what it takesin order to receive more. So,
because God says so, it's notsomething I made up. This is
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out, you know, this book is, oh,it's 20,024 Officially, the
last, well, no, tomorrow's thelast day, but it's almost the
last day of 2024 and this bookhas been around for a long time,
you know? So this is nothingnew. I say that to say this is
nothing new. These words werehere before I was born, and I'm
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sure they're going to be hereafter I go home to the Lord. You
know, but whatever we have, Godhas given to us. He said in
Psalms, I believe Psalm aproverb. You know that your gift
will make room for you. You knowGod has given you something. He
expects us to cultivate it. He'slike he gives us the raw
materials and for us tocultivate it. He given us the
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wittiness, the experience, theenvironments we were in, the
education we've been given inorder to cultivate something out
of what he's given us. You know,the whole idea of that you don't
have anything, or you feel likewhat you have isn't sufficient
enough. That doesn't cut it,guys, that does not cut it. And
especially, you know we'retalking about the person that
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feel like they don't havesomething, but especially to
those that know they have anadvantage, that know they have
extra resources, that they knowthey have all these gifts, these
talents, these abilities, andyet they don't do anything with
him. Do anything that'sprosperous with them, you know.
So we have to maximize theseopportunities. God expects us to
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maximize the person with thefive, the person with the two, a
person with the one who,wherever you are, he has the
same expectation for each andevery one of us. So it's on us
to really like do an internal,retrospective look on ourselves
and really dissect what it is.
You know, they have thesespiritual gift tests out there
again. They have these differentchurches and stuff. And if you
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don't know what to do, alwaysstart off by saying, well, it
might not be clear what to do inyour life, but it is always
clear what you're not supposedto be doing. So we definitely
can start there where we're notsupposed to be doing guys,
because usually it's the casethat you might not necessarily
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be lazy. You might actually haveto have a good work ethic. You
might have no problems puttingin the work, you know, getting a
little sweaty, doing what yougotta do, or even working hard
just, you know, just pushingyour mind, maximizing the
opportunities is given to you inthat regards, but it's important
for us to be intentional. Youknow, he was intentional in what
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itwas that he allowed us to have.
Sohe know, by giving you what you
have that is going to directlyimpact somebody else is directly
is going to grow and benefit notonly you, not only them, but
he's going to get the glory,because he's going to come back
for us, and we have to settleaccounts. He's going to see what
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have you done with thestewardship responsibility, you
know, over our lives, over ourtimes, our resources, again,
everything about us, you know,he was intentional with it,
meaning there's somethingspecific that he had for you to
do with that. And if you'retapped in with him, like you're
supposed to be tapped in withhim, then it's very easy to get
in line, because he has purposefor all of us back in Jeremiah,
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and I believe Isaiah too, youknow, I think it was Jeremiah,
though, when he said he hadplans for us before we were
formed in our mother's wombs, heknew us. You know, that's that's
so amazing. So we have noexcuse. So even if we don't know
what our purpose is, even ifwe're not clear on what it is,
you know, the fact that you'rebreathing and alive, you can tap
in. You know, becauseeverybody's purpose is to give
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God glory. I don't care who youare, what you do. Every single
person, according to that wordwas created to give God His
glory. Now, how we do that doeslook different, because
everybody's not the head,everybody's not the heart,
everybody's not the eyes,everybody's not the hands. So we
all come together collectivelyas one body. However, he got
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something special for you so andon top of that, you know this,
the scriptures also remind us,or just show us, that not only
does he expect us to do,especially, you know, your all,
give it your all, maximizingeverything you have is we know
it's hard work. You know,sometimes it's not always easy.
Making the most out ofsomething, because it takes
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planning. It takes strategizing.
It takes taking risks, you know,having that leap of faith, going
out into the unknown, knowingthat you have God, but still is
requiring you to go out into theunknown. And it could be scary,
you know, it could be veryintimidating when you do that.
So, but we have to realize thatthat's not just in vain again at
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the end of that story, when hedoes come to settle accounts,
and what does he do? He rewardsthose who maximize their
opportunities. Because the morethat we do, the more that we do,
the more people can be blessedby what it is that we've done.
You know, so. Is a directcorrelation. He's he understands
that his struggles, heunderstands that it's not always
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easy, that it's sometimes evenfrightening or intimidating, but
he still trust us knowing this,he still was intentional and
giving us these talents, thesegifts, our lives, knowing that
it's going to be a struggle,knowing that we're going to be
like sheaves being sent into thedens of wolves. You know he's
he's conscious of it. However,what we don't see is at the end
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of it. But he promised us thatwe're going to be rewarded for
our obedience, for our faith andobedience. You know what I mean.
So he's just encouraging sowhatever God has given you,
again with these Parable of theTalents, don't be like that one
person that's not maximizingtheir opportunities, like
maximize. Be like the personwith the five or with the two,
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even if you just have one. But Iknow most people listening don't
just have one, especially inthis day and age. God has just
gifted us with so much. Butnevertheless, whatever you have,
whatever that you feel that Godhas put into you, placed into
you, that is special, that isunique. Again, not the most
special or the most unique, butit's still special and unique.
There's something about you thatI could benefit from, that
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somebody else can benefit from.
So what is it, what is it thatyou can be doing to maximize
again, we're only here for ashort period of time. Guys,
thinking Ecclesiastes, we'reactually going to be going there
next. But in Ecclesiastes,Solomon talks about our life
being but just a vapor. Youknow, it's just here today and
gone tomorrow. You know, it'sjust as quick as it comes it
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goes. However, what's going tobe real is eternity that lasts
forever. You know, I don't careyou live the 200 years old. I
know most of us. I don't thinkany of us gonna live there that
long, but let's say we do 200years. First is eternity is
nothing. It's still nothing. Sowe have to make sure that with
this limited time, because weall will transition. So with
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this limited time, we have to beconscious. We have to make sure
that we're taking advantage ofeverything, every opportunity.
Again, by being led by HisSpirit. Of course, it's not that
say you just get into things.
Just get into things becausehe's given us wisdom and
discernment, because, again, hemade us managers over his stuff.
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He's not going to give you amanaging role if he don't feel
like you're responsible for it,you know, he he knows if you're
going to end up beingresponsible for but he still
knows if you have thecapability. So all of us have
the capability. He put it insideof us. He created us. That's how
we know we have the capability.
Because God designed us. Heformed us. We are fearfully and
wonderfully made each and everyone of us, you know, so not
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maximizing is really trying God,you know, because he wants us to
live for the fullest. He say hecame to give us life, and came
to give us life more abundantly.
So let's not try him, you know,let's not, let's not make his
sacrifice on that cross, Hissacrifice getting beat and
flogged, his sacrifice gettingthe the crown of thorns nailed
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into his skull, into his brain,his head poking through his face
and stuff. Man, that's let's notmake that in vain, guys, let's
do what he called us to do, andthat's maximize these
opportunities. So we're going toshoot over and switch it up a
little bit. And not just goingto go on that route, but we're
going to shoot to Ecclesiasteschapter 11, verses one and two.
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Again, Ecclesiastes chapter 11,verses one and two. It says,
Cast your bread on the surfaceof waters. For you will find it
after many days, divide yourportion to seven or even to
eight for you do not know whatmisfortunes may occur on Earth.
So on the flip side to what hewas saying about maximizing your
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opportunities by, you know,investing and stuff he wants us
to make. He wants us tomaximize, because we never know
when we might need that extra tosustain during the dry season,
you have no clue. You know rightnow. And I'm living in America,
sunny South Florida, Palm BeachCounty, and we have, we had a
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contentious, very contentiouselection year. Our political
main two political parties inthis country are a little bit
more divided than I've everexperienced. I'm just 32 years
old. I think my father said it,it kind of got wild back in the
50s and 60s too, if I'm notmistaken, but at least in my
lifetime, it never been asradical as open radical. So
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anyway, I say that to saythere's going to be, they're
suspected to be from economistprojections and stuff, to be a
couple little issues going onwith our economy this coming
administration. However, I dobelieve, regardless of what
happens, that if you're rockingwith God, God is going to
sustain you. You know it'simportant for us to take
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advantage and make sure wediversify what we're doing.
Mean, because anything canhappen, you know, anything can
happen. My father always toldme, Son, don't always. He said,
Oh, don't let one man controlhow much you eat, you know. So
he, he's a career guy. He'sgoing to retire next year from
the Palm Beach County governmentdealing with it and computers
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and stuff. So even the personthat has this kind of corporate
America job, and he built it,you know, he took care of me, my
sister, you know, off of that,you know, to this day, he still
helps us out.
But he even would say, you know,don't, don't count on that. Even
if you go that route, don'tcount on just one thing, because
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you never know. You never know.
People get fired all the time.
Businesses close. Things happen.
You know what I mean, so, and itcould be no fault of your own,
or it could be your fault. SoNevertheless, you know, don't
put all your eggs in one basket.
So that's what the Bible herewas saying. You know, divide,
divide your portion to seven oreven to eight. For you do not
know what misfortune. Again, nokeyword is misfortune may occur
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on the earth. We believesometimes when we get extra
money, and I'm guilty of it too,guys. So I'm not just trying to
call people out myself isincluded. But you know, there
are times when we might see thatwe get these extra monies or
extra resources and we like, oh,okay, God, I really don't need
it. So let me just buy whateverI want to buy, or go wherever I
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want to go, do whatever I wantto do with it. And meantime, you
know he you don't know that intwo months from now, your car is
going to break down, or thatyour refrigerator is going to
stop working, or it's going tobe in the middle of summer here
in sunny South Florida, your ACbroke or in the middle of winter
up north somewhere, and yourheaters stopped working, you
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know. And now you have to paythis money has to come from
somewhere, but you don'tremember, two months ago, you
just got an extra $1,000 extra$1,500 and guess how much this
thing cost? Probably 800 $900right, right there at the $1,000
mark that you got. But what dowe do with it? We probably spent
it. Probably took your lady outon something to eat, you know,
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bought your man something. Youknow, everybody's shopping on
fashion nova and stuff nowadays,but, you know, we gotta make
sure that we are stewarding ourmoney properly. We realize that
we have extra money. Let us goto the Lord. But hey, Lord,
listen, I really didn't. I don'tneed it right now. Um, thank
you. What should I be doing withit? You know, and I'm pretty
sure he's going to let you knowwhat to do with it. There's,
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there's ways to invest thismoney, not just saving. Again
investing, because saving isburying that talent. The guy
saved his money. He saved thetalent. But though go, at least
put it in the bank, the Biblesay, because I could've got some
interest off of it, you know. Sothat's the whole concept, you
know, letting, letting yourresources make more resources.
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You know, God is a God ofmultiplication. Again, I'm not,
I'm not here to preach likeprosperity gospel or anything
like that. But nevertheless, Godis still a prosperous God, and
he, he knows how to make, make alot from a little, you know. So
even if you only have a little,God can flip it if you just
stick to his commandments, stickto his principles and how we're
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supposed to live, not justliving frivolously, living as
if, okay, YOLO, I'm only goingto, well, what is it, YOLO, you
only live once, or somethinglike that. Yeah, there you go.
Sorry, guys, I'm kind of out ofpop culture, but yeah, you only
live once. You know that's,that's, that's foolish, because
we don't, you know, at least notnot believers. Believers live
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twice. We live on this side foreternity. So let's not, let's
not take on the world's visionof how we're supposed to move
with our money and move withthings. No, let's let's go to
God. Let's divide our portions.
Let's invest more into Christianbusinesses. Let's invest more
into Christian organization.
Let's invest more into yourlocal church. Let's invest more
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into our families and to ourlocal education, in our schools,
our local communities, and toourselves. You know what I mean
as believers, not just as, youknow a race of people, because
you know, honestly, you know,I'm a proud Bahamian American. I
love being black however, youknow, I don't, I don't identify
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with black Americans. I don'tidentify with Bahamian, Bahamian
Americans, more so thanChristian. I'm a Christian, you
know, I'm a child of God. He ismy identity. Now I've, I've died
to my old ways, and I was bornagain and into adoption, and I
can call him father now. Sothat's what I meant by investing
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into our communities, theChristian communities, where
we're coming together to bringthe light into this dark world,
to be the salt of the earth andand ministry cost, guys, these
initiatives cost, you know, Godisn't against money. In fact, he
utilizes it a lot, you know, buthe does it in in a way that
honors him, that brings himglory, that brings the most
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impact for everybody, because wedon't see. Everything. So we're
only focused on what we think wewill miss it probably 100% of
the time. You know, very closeto it. You know, because we're
we're so focused on, even if wegot the best intention, we're
just so focused on doing thingsour way that we miss the move
and calling of God. So we justgotta be mindful. We just have
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to be careful that everything wedo, we're doing it for the Lord
so and again, just making themost out of our time. Because,
again, you don't know whatmisfortune may come. So why play
with it? Why chance it? Whenlife, anything can happen, a
death can happen. Your car canbreak down, get you know some
anything can happen. Lose yourjob again, like I mentioned
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earlier. Then what you know areyou just going to be in trouble,
just going through it,stressing, or have you applied
the wisdom that God said? Hey,diversify your money. Hey, go
put this money in the bank. Soat least you got some interest
in case something goes down. Soyou know what I mean, you don't
have to just save it and spendit when you need it. And now you
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got something left. You got youalways have something coming in,
or at least you got something,you know, sustain you during the
dry season. So, yeah, that'swhat God really has to say about
it, from, from what I was led totalk about today, and just
moving on to like, now what?
What do we do with thisinformation? It's really
important for us to take thetime to truly analyze the areas,
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things and places that we canmaximize, for the Lord's sake,
you know, again, talking aboutall of our different
opportunities, as far as ourmoney, our time, you know, just
our resources in general, ourgifts, our talents. How can we
maximize these things for theLord's sake? How can we maximize
our opportunities so that theycan grow into bigger
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opportunities for us, throughGod, through through the world
and just for His glory, youknow, ultimately, for us and our
and our families as well, youknow, so we really have to take
that time to just sit down, justpray like, you know, no devices.
Just get your pen and paper out,you know, good. Let's go old
school guys, you know, get yourpen and paper out and and just
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sit there and write, write withareas that you can, that you can
maximize under God's leading.
You know, praying he got you, Ipromise. And also, when you're
praying, just pray forrevelation and guidance and
making sure you're doing itGod's way. Because God told
Abraham that he was going togive him a child, or that he was
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going to have a child, and hedidn't tell him how, but when he
told him that, okay, he got theinformation. He got the promise,
but he took it upon himself tomake that work. So with him and
Sarah, I do. They went withHagar and had Ishmael, you know.
But that wasn't God's plan.
Ishmael wasn't a promised child.
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Um, Isaac was and, you know, buthe had to wait to do it God's
way, because God wanted glory.
God was like, Yo, I'm going touse Sarah and her old age and
her barrenness and imma, use youa RAM in your old age and your
and your barrenness to bringforth, you know, the promised
child. However, just because Godtells you something, you know we
have to, we gotta be carefulthat we listen, and also on how
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he wants it done, how he tellsus is going to be done, because
you can jump the ball and messaround and have a Ishmael mess
around and have a Hagar going onon the side. And I know God
redeemed everybody. Hagar. Heredeemed Ishmael wasn't
necessarily their fault, but itstill was out of order. And God,
God will turn everything aroundfor the good of those who love
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the Lord and who are calledaccording to His purpose.
However, you know, it's best tojust stick with God's plan. So
he ain't gotta turn nothingaround. He can just keep it
straight. You know, let's keepthis straight and Daryl God,
let's keep it straight andnarrow. So, you know, just time
to take action. You know, whenit comes to maximizing our
opportunities in life, you know,again, tomorrow's not promised,
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today's not promised. You know,we don't want to get caught
slipping, especially we happento live to be a little older,
and like, Dang shoulda, woulda,coulda. Wish I did this. I
should have done that. And it'slike, Nah, we don't have to. You
know was There's an old Chinesesaying. I first heard it during
the Jackie Chan day, back in theJackie Chan adventure zone. Was
it Nickelodeon cartoon network,one of them, but either way,
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definitely wasn't CartoonNetwork, so had to be somebody
else. But nevertheless, he said,Grandpa, he was like, Don't put
off tomorrow. What can be donetoday? It's a beautiful it's a
beautiful saying, you know, justmaximizing the opportunities. I
know you get tired and stuff,but it's okay. But put in that
work. Put it in. Make your list,get it done, check it off, you
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know,whatever you got to do. I used
to put sticky notes of tasks,and I used to have like, a
little bucket or a can. Andevery time I was done with the
task, you know, I take it off,and I'll throw it in a can, and
I just see by the end of the dayor the end of the week of the
month, how many tasks that I getdone. And and it's just so
encouraging, you know, to keepgoing and going. So, yeah, I
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encourage you to do whatever yougot to do sure you can ask chat.
GBT, you know, I'm a, I'm a bigAI guy. So, yeah, do whatever
you got to do, to just takeaction and let God direct your
heart and your path. He's goingto meet you. You just got to
move. You just got to movetowards him, and he going to
meet you and bring you where heneeds you to be. Trust me, you
just got to take the steps. It'sokay. You don't have to be
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anxious, you don't have toworry, you don't have to feel
ashamed. You just need to knowthat God got you, but you just
have to give it to him. You'reeverything. He don't want some
of you. He don't want a piece ofyou. He want all of you in every
way, shape and form, so andthat's that's pretty much it for
today, guys, I thank you fortuning in if you need some
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prayer, if you need help prayer,you know, I got the link in the
description of the show notes,so please hit me up if you need
some prayer. You can contact methrough my email down here, if
you have anything that you wouldlike to talk about, if today's
message touched you in any way,please like, share and subscribe
and Hey, thank you so much forlistening again. Looking forward
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to seeing you soon until nexttime. Thank you for listening to
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Daryl, welcome to give it your all, the podcast where
(00:07):
we dive deep into life's biggestchallenges and victories through
a biblical lens. I'm your host,Daryl Baptist junior, and it's
been a couple weeks, guys. Wetook last week off because it
was Christmas. You know,definitely wanted to celebrate
the holidays with the fam andeverybody. Hope you guys had the
opportunity to enjoy so we'reback on the schedule, you know,
every Monday and Friday. So buttoday we have a amazing topic.
(00:32):
We will be going over maximizingopportunities. And of course,
we're going to dive straight into see what the Bible has to say
about that. So we're going to goto Matthew 25 and verses 14
through 30. And as you know, Iwill be reading out of the New
America Standard Bible. So herewe go, guys for it is just like
(00:55):
a man about to go on a journeywho call his own slaves and
entrusted his possessions tothem, to one he gave five
talents to another two and toanother one, each according to
his own ability, and he went onhis journey. The one who had
received the five talentsimmediately went and did
business with them and earnedfive more talents. In the same
(01:16):
way, the one who had receivedthe two talents earned two more.
But he who received the onetalent went away and dug a hole
in the ground and hid hismaster's money. Now after a long
time, the master of those slavescame and settled accounts with
them. The one who had receivedthe five talents came up and
brought five more talents,saying, Master, you have
(01:36):
entrusted five talents to me.
See I have earned five moretalents. His master said to him,
Well done, good and faithfulslave. You were faithful with a
few things. I will put you incharge of many things. Enter the
joy of your master. Also the onewho had received the two talents
came up and said, Master, youentrusted two talents to me see
I have earned two more talents,his master said to him, Well
(02:01):
done, good and faithful slave.
You are faithful with the fewthings I will put you in charge
of many things. Enter the joy ofyour master. Now the one who
have received the one talentalso came up and said, Master, I
know you to be a hard man,reaping where you did not sow,
gathering, where you did notscatter seed, and I was afraid,
(02:24):
so I went and hid your talent inthe ground. See you still have
what is yours. But his masteranswered and said to him, you
worthless, lazy slave, did youknow that I reap where I do not
sow and gather where I did notscatter seed? Then you ought to
have put my money in the bank,and on my arrival, I would have
(02:45):
received my money back withinterest. Therefore, take the
talent from him and give it tothe one with the 10 talents. For
to everyone who has more shallbe given, and he will have an
abundance, but from the one whodoes not have even what he does
have shall be taken away andthrow the worthless slaves into
the outer darkness in the placethere will be in that place,
(03:10):
there will be weeping andgnashing of teeth. Whoo, so,
guys. That is the parable of thetalents. That's a very meaty
One. Again. That is Matthew 25verses 14 to 30. I actually
preached my first sermon,actually my only sermon. Up
until this point, I preached myfirst sermon on that. I titled
(03:31):
it, give it all you got, orgiving it all you got, something
along those lines. But prettymuch, guys, this is a parable.
So for anyone that doesn't know,hopefully most people do. Most
people here, I believe, arebelievers. But just in case
you're a new believer or justhaven't heard of this, a parable
is pretty much a earthly storymeant to reveal a heavenly
(03:55):
meaning. So Jesus spoke andtaught in parables. Often Let he
who has ears, ears and haveeyes, let him see So certain
things he said for us to be ableto really dissect, really ponder
upon, think about, and see howwe can apply it to our lives.
But in regards to today,maximizing opportunity, you know
(04:18):
this, this verse, I mean theseverses, they entail a lot, you
know, they unpack a lot. Youknow, God expects us to make the
most side of what's been givento us. Sometimes we feel like we
don't have enough, you know,especially, you know, in that
example, you see that, okay, weall kind of been given similar
(04:40):
opportunities, but we see thisone person is more gifted. This
other person has a little bitmore resources than us. This and
we really just have nothingsometimes in comparison,
however, you know, if you're anable bodied person, even really
if you're not, but definitely,at least, if you're able bodied
person, you have what it takesin order to receive more. So,
because God says so, it's notsomething I made up. This is
(05:04):
out, you know, this book is, oh,it's 20,024 Officially, the
last, well, no, tomorrow's thelast day, but it's almost the
last day of 2024 and this bookhas been around for a long time,
you know? So this is nothingnew. I say that to say this is
nothing new. These words werehere before I was born, and I'm
(05:24):
sure they're going to be hereafter I go home to the Lord. You
know, but whatever we have, Godhas given to us. He said in
Psalms, I believe Psalm aproverb. You know that your gift
will make room for you. You knowGod has given you something. He
expects us to cultivate it. He'slike he gives us the raw
materials and for us tocultivate it. He given us the
(05:46):
wittiness, the experience, theenvironments we were in, the
education we've been given inorder to cultivate something out
of what he's given us. You know,the whole idea of that you don't
have anything, or you feel likewhat you have isn't sufficient
enough. That doesn't cut it,guys, that does not cut it. And
especially, you know we'retalking about the person that
(06:07):
feel like they don't havesomething, but especially to
those that know they have anadvantage, that know they have
extra resources, that they knowthey have all these gifts, these
talents, these abilities, andyet they don't do anything with
him. Do anything that'sprosperous with them, you know.
So we have to maximize theseopportunities. God expects us to
(06:28):
maximize the person with thefive, the person with the two, a
person with the one who,wherever you are, he has the
same expectation for each andevery one of us. So it's on us
to really like do an internal,retrospective look on ourselves
and really dissect what it is.
You know, they have thesespiritual gift tests out there
again. They have these differentchurches and stuff. And if you
(06:49):
don't know what to do, alwaysstart off by saying, well, it
might not be clear what to do inyour life, but it is always
clear what you're not supposedto be doing. So we definitely
can start there where we're notsupposed to be doing guys,
because usually it's the casethat you might not necessarily
(07:10):
be lazy. You might actually haveto have a good work ethic. You
might have no problems puttingin the work, you know, getting a
little sweaty, doing what yougotta do, or even working hard
just, you know, just pushingyour mind, maximizing the
opportunities is given to you inthat regards, but it's important
for us to be intentional. Youknow, he was intentional in what
(07:31):
itwas that he allowed us to have.
Sohe know, by giving you what you
have that is going to directlyimpact somebody else is directly
is going to grow and benefit notonly you, not only them, but
he's going to get the glory,because he's going to come back
for us, and we have to settleaccounts. He's going to see what
(07:52):
have you done with thestewardship responsibility, you
know, over our lives, over ourtimes, our resources, again,
everything about us, you know,he was intentional with it,
meaning there's somethingspecific that he had for you to
do with that. And if you'retapped in with him, like you're
supposed to be tapped in withhim, then it's very easy to get
in line, because he has purposefor all of us back in Jeremiah,
(08:16):
and I believe Isaiah too, youknow, I think it was Jeremiah,
though, when he said he hadplans for us before we were
formed in our mother's wombs, heknew us. You know, that's that's
so amazing. So we have noexcuse. So even if we don't know
what our purpose is, even ifwe're not clear on what it is,
you know, the fact that you'rebreathing and alive, you can tap
in. You know, becauseeverybody's purpose is to give
(08:39):
God glory. I don't care who youare, what you do. Every single
person, according to that wordwas created to give God His
glory. Now, how we do that doeslook different, because
everybody's not the head,everybody's not the heart,
everybody's not the eyes,everybody's not the hands. So we
all come together collectivelyas one body. However, he got
(08:59):
something special for you so andon top of that, you know this,
the scriptures also remind us,or just show us, that not only
does he expect us to do,especially, you know, your all,
give it your all, maximizingeverything you have is we know
it's hard work. You know,sometimes it's not always easy.
Making the most out ofsomething, because it takes
(09:22):
planning. It takes strategizing.
It takes taking risks, you know,having that leap of faith, going
out into the unknown, knowingthat you have God, but still is
requiring you to go out into theunknown. And it could be scary,
you know, it could be veryintimidating when you do that.
So, but we have to realize thatthat's not just in vain again at
(09:44):
the end of that story, when hedoes come to settle accounts,
and what does he do? He rewardsthose who maximize their
opportunities. Because the morethat we do, the more that we do,
the more people can be blessedby what it is that we've done.
You know, so. Is a directcorrelation. He's he understands
that his struggles, heunderstands that it's not always
(10:06):
easy, that it's sometimes evenfrightening or intimidating, but
he still trust us knowing this,he still was intentional and
giving us these talents, thesegifts, our lives, knowing that
it's going to be a struggle,knowing that we're going to be
like sheaves being sent into thedens of wolves. You know he's
he's conscious of it. However,what we don't see is at the end
(10:30):
of it. But he promised us thatwe're going to be rewarded for
our obedience, for our faith andobedience. You know what I mean.
So he's just encouraging sowhatever God has given you,
again with these Parable of theTalents, don't be like that one
person that's not maximizingtheir opportunities, like
maximize. Be like the personwith the five or with the two,
(10:50):
even if you just have one. But Iknow most people listening don't
just have one, especially inthis day and age. God has just
gifted us with so much. Butnevertheless, whatever you have,
whatever that you feel that Godhas put into you, placed into
you, that is special, that isunique. Again, not the most
special or the most unique, butit's still special and unique.
There's something about you thatI could benefit from, that
(11:13):
somebody else can benefit from.
So what is it, what is it thatyou can be doing to maximize
again, we're only here for ashort period of time. Guys,
thinking Ecclesiastes, we'reactually going to be going there
next. But in Ecclesiastes,Solomon talks about our life
being but just a vapor. Youknow, it's just here today and
gone tomorrow. You know, it'sjust as quick as it comes it
(11:34):
goes. However, what's going tobe real is eternity that lasts
forever. You know, I don't careyou live the 200 years old. I
know most of us. I don't thinkany of us gonna live there that
long, but let's say we do 200years. First is eternity is
nothing. It's still nothing. Sowe have to make sure that with
this limited time, because weall will transition. So with
(11:57):
this limited time, we have to beconscious. We have to make sure
that we're taking advantage ofeverything, every opportunity.
Again, by being led by HisSpirit. Of course, it's not that
say you just get into things.
Just get into things becausehe's given us wisdom and
discernment, because, again, hemade us managers over his stuff.
(12:17):
He's not going to give you amanaging role if he don't feel
like you're responsible for it,you know, he he knows if you're
going to end up beingresponsible for but he still
knows if you have thecapability. So all of us have
the capability. He put it insideof us. He created us. That's how
we know we have the capability.
Because God designed us. Heformed us. We are fearfully and
wonderfully made each and everyone of us, you know, so not
(12:40):
maximizing is really trying God,you know, because he wants us to
live for the fullest. He say hecame to give us life, and came
to give us life more abundantly.
So let's not try him, you know,let's not, let's not make his
sacrifice on that cross, Hissacrifice getting beat and
flogged, his sacrifice gettingthe the crown of thorns nailed
(13:03):
into his skull, into his brain,his head poking through his face
and stuff. Man, that's let's notmake that in vain, guys, let's
do what he called us to do, andthat's maximize these
opportunities. So we're going toshoot over and switch it up a
little bit. And not just goingto go on that route, but we're
going to shoot to Ecclesiasteschapter 11, verses one and two.
(13:28):
Again, Ecclesiastes chapter 11,verses one and two. It says,
Cast your bread on the surfaceof waters. For you will find it
after many days, divide yourportion to seven or even to
eight for you do not know whatmisfortunes may occur on Earth.
So on the flip side to what hewas saying about maximizing your
(13:49):
opportunities by, you know,investing and stuff he wants us
to make. He wants us tomaximize, because we never know
when we might need that extra tosustain during the dry season,
you have no clue. You know rightnow. And I'm living in America,
sunny South Florida, Palm BeachCounty, and we have, we had a
(14:10):
contentious, very contentiouselection year. Our political
main two political parties inthis country are a little bit
more divided than I've everexperienced. I'm just 32 years
old. I think my father said it,it kind of got wild back in the
50s and 60s too, if I'm notmistaken, but at least in my
lifetime, it never been asradical as open radical. So
(14:33):
anyway, I say that to saythere's going to be, they're
suspected to be from economistprojections and stuff, to be a
couple little issues going onwith our economy this coming
administration. However, I dobelieve, regardless of what
happens, that if you're rockingwith God, God is going to
sustain you. You know it'simportant for us to take
(14:56):
advantage and make sure wediversify what we're doing.
Mean, because anything canhappen, you know, anything can
happen. My father always toldme, Son, don't always. He said,
Oh, don't let one man controlhow much you eat, you know. So
he, he's a career guy. He'sgoing to retire next year from
the Palm Beach County governmentdealing with it and computers
(15:19):
and stuff. So even the personthat has this kind of corporate
America job, and he built it,you know, he took care of me, my
sister, you know, off of that,you know, to this day, he still
helps us out.
But he even would say, you know,don't, don't count on that. Even
if you go that route, don'tcount on just one thing, because
(15:41):
you never know. You never know.
People get fired all the time.
Businesses close. Things happen.
You know what I mean, so, and itcould be no fault of your own,
or it could be your fault. SoNevertheless, you know, don't
put all your eggs in one basket.
So that's what the Bible herewas saying. You know, divide,
divide your portion to seven oreven to eight. For you do not
know what misfortune. Again, nokeyword is misfortune may occur
(16:03):
on the earth. We believesometimes when we get extra
money, and I'm guilty of it too,guys. So I'm not just trying to
call people out myself isincluded. But you know, there
are times when we might see thatwe get these extra monies or
extra resources and we like, oh,okay, God, I really don't need
it. So let me just buy whateverI want to buy, or go wherever I
(16:23):
want to go, do whatever I wantto do with it. And meantime, you
know he you don't know that intwo months from now, your car is
going to break down, or thatyour refrigerator is going to
stop working, or it's going tobe in the middle of summer here
in sunny South Florida, your ACbroke or in the middle of winter
up north somewhere, and yourheaters stopped working, you
(16:44):
know. And now you have to paythis money has to come from
somewhere, but you don'tremember, two months ago, you
just got an extra $1,000 extra$1,500 and guess how much this
thing cost? Probably 800 $900right, right there at the $1,000
mark that you got. But what dowe do with it? We probably spent
it. Probably took your lady outon something to eat, you know,
(17:07):
bought your man something. Youknow, everybody's shopping on
fashion nova and stuff nowadays,but, you know, we gotta make
sure that we are stewarding ourmoney properly. We realize that
we have extra money. Let us goto the Lord. But hey, Lord,
listen, I really didn't. I don'tneed it right now. Um, thank
you. What should I be doing withit? You know, and I'm pretty
sure he's going to let you knowwhat to do with it. There's,
(17:28):
there's ways to invest thismoney, not just saving. Again
investing, because saving isburying that talent. The guy
saved his money. He saved thetalent. But though go, at least
put it in the bank, the Biblesay, because I could've got some
interest off of it, you know. Sothat's the whole concept, you
know, letting, letting yourresources make more resources.
(17:49):
You know, God is a God ofmultiplication. Again, I'm not,
I'm not here to preach likeprosperity gospel or anything
like that. But nevertheless, Godis still a prosperous God, and
he, he knows how to make, make alot from a little, you know. So
even if you only have a little,God can flip it if you just
stick to his commandments, stickto his principles and how we're
(18:09):
supposed to live, not justliving frivolously, living as
if, okay, YOLO, I'm only goingto, well, what is it, YOLO, you
only live once, or somethinglike that. Yeah, there you go.
Sorry, guys, I'm kind of out ofpop culture, but yeah, you only
live once. You know that's,that's, that's foolish, because
we don't, you know, at least notnot believers. Believers live
(18:31):
twice. We live on this side foreternity. So let's not, let's
not take on the world's visionof how we're supposed to move
with our money and move withthings. No, let's let's go to
God. Let's divide our portions.
Let's invest more into Christianbusinesses. Let's invest more
into Christian organization.
Let's invest more into yourlocal church. Let's invest more
(18:53):
into our families and to ourlocal education, in our schools,
our local communities, and toourselves. You know what I mean
as believers, not just as, youknow a race of people, because
you know, honestly, you know,I'm a proud Bahamian American. I
love being black however, youknow, I don't, I don't identify
(19:15):
with black Americans. I don'tidentify with Bahamian, Bahamian
Americans, more so thanChristian. I'm a Christian, you
know, I'm a child of God. He ismy identity. Now I've, I've died
to my old ways, and I was bornagain and into adoption, and I
can call him father now. Sothat's what I meant by investing
(19:35):
into our communities, theChristian communities, where
we're coming together to bringthe light into this dark world,
to be the salt of the earth andand ministry cost, guys, these
initiatives cost, you know, Godisn't against money. In fact, he
utilizes it a lot, you know, buthe does it in in a way that
honors him, that brings himglory, that brings the most
(19:57):
impact for everybody, because wedon't see. Everything. So we're
only focused on what we think wewill miss it probably 100% of
the time. You know, very closeto it. You know, because we're
we're so focused on, even if wegot the best intention, we're
just so focused on doing thingsour way that we miss the move
and calling of God. So we justgotta be mindful. We just have
(20:18):
to be careful that everything wedo, we're doing it for the Lord
so and again, just making themost out of our time. Because,
again, you don't know whatmisfortune may come. So why play
with it? Why chance it? Whenlife, anything can happen, a
death can happen. Your car canbreak down, get you know some
anything can happen. Lose yourjob again, like I mentioned
(20:40):
earlier. Then what you know areyou just going to be in trouble,
just going through it,stressing, or have you applied
the wisdom that God said? Hey,diversify your money. Hey, go
put this money in the bank. Soat least you got some interest
in case something goes down. Soyou know what I mean, you don't
have to just save it and spendit when you need it. And now you
(21:01):
got something left. You got youalways have something coming in,
or at least you got something,you know, sustain you during the
dry season. So, yeah, that'swhat God really has to say about
it, from, from what I was led totalk about today, and just
moving on to like, now what?
What do we do with thisinformation? It's really
important for us to take thetime to truly analyze the areas,
(21:21):
things and places that we canmaximize, for the Lord's sake,
you know, again, talking aboutall of our different
opportunities, as far as ourmoney, our time, you know, just
our resources in general, ourgifts, our talents. How can we
maximize these things for theLord's sake? How can we maximize
our opportunities so that theycan grow into bigger
(21:43):
opportunities for us, throughGod, through through the world
and just for His glory, youknow, ultimately, for us and our
and our families as well, youknow, so we really have to take
that time to just sit down, justpray like, you know, no devices.
Just get your pen and paper out,you know, good. Let's go old
school guys, you know, get yourpen and paper out and and just
(22:06):
sit there and write, write withareas that you can, that you can
maximize under God's leading.
You know, praying he got you, Ipromise. And also, when you're
praying, just pray forrevelation and guidance and
making sure you're doing itGod's way. Because God told
Abraham that he was going togive him a child, or that he was
(22:29):
going to have a child, and hedidn't tell him how, but when he
told him that, okay, he got theinformation. He got the promise,
but he took it upon himself tomake that work. So with him and
Sarah, I do. They went withHagar and had Ishmael, you know.
But that wasn't God's plan.
Ishmael wasn't a promised child.
(22:49):
Um, Isaac was and, you know, buthe had to wait to do it God's
way, because God wanted glory.
God was like, Yo, I'm going touse Sarah and her old age and
her barrenness and imma, use youa RAM in your old age and your
and your barrenness to bringforth, you know, the promised
child. However, just because Godtells you something, you know we
have to, we gotta be carefulthat we listen, and also on how
(23:13):
he wants it done, how he tellsus is going to be done, because
you can jump the ball and messaround and have a Ishmael mess
around and have a Hagar going onon the side. And I know God
redeemed everybody. Hagar. Heredeemed Ishmael wasn't
necessarily their fault, but itstill was out of order. And God,
God will turn everything aroundfor the good of those who love
(23:34):
the Lord and who are calledaccording to His purpose.
However, you know, it's best tojust stick with God's plan. So
he ain't gotta turn nothingaround. He can just keep it
straight. You know, let's keepthis straight and Daryl God,
let's keep it straight andnarrow. So, you know, just time
to take action. You know, whenit comes to maximizing our
opportunities in life, you know,again, tomorrow's not promised,
(23:55):
today's not promised. You know,we don't want to get caught
slipping, especially we happento live to be a little older,
and like, Dang shoulda, woulda,coulda. Wish I did this. I
should have done that. And it'slike, Nah, we don't have to. You
know was There's an old Chinesesaying. I first heard it during
the Jackie Chan day, back in theJackie Chan adventure zone. Was
it Nickelodeon cartoon network,one of them, but either way,
(24:18):
definitely wasn't CartoonNetwork, so had to be somebody
else. But nevertheless, he said,Grandpa, he was like, Don't put
off tomorrow. What can be donetoday? It's a beautiful it's a
beautiful saying, you know, justmaximizing the opportunities. I
know you get tired and stuff,but it's okay. But put in that
work. Put it in. Make your list,get it done, check it off, you
(24:40):
know,whatever you got to do. I used
to put sticky notes of tasks,and I used to have like, a
little bucket or a can. Andevery time I was done with the
task, you know, I take it off,and I'll throw it in a can, and
I just see by the end of the dayor the end of the week of the
month, how many tasks that I getdone. And and it's just so
encouraging, you know, to keepgoing and going. So, yeah, I
(25:02):
encourage you to do whatever yougot to do sure you can ask chat.
GBT, you know, I'm a, I'm a bigAI guy. So, yeah, do whatever
you got to do, to just takeaction and let God direct your
heart and your path. He's goingto meet you. You just got to
move. You just got to movetowards him, and he going to
meet you and bring you where heneeds you to be. Trust me, you
just got to take the steps. It'sokay. You don't have to be
(25:24):
anxious, you don't have toworry, you don't have to feel
ashamed. You just need to knowthat God got you, but you just
have to give it to him. You'reeverything. He don't want some
of you. He don't want a piece ofyou. He want all of you in every
way, shape and form, so andthat's that's pretty much it for
today, guys, I thank you fortuning in if you need some
(25:46):
prayer, if you need help prayer,you know, I got the link in the
description of the show notes,so please hit me up if you need
some prayer. You can contact methrough my email down here, if
you have anything that you wouldlike to talk about, if today's
message touched you in any way,please like, share and subscribe
and Hey, thank you so much forlistening again. Looking forward
(26:10):
to seeing you soon until nexttime. Thank you for listening to
give it your all a podcastsponsored by the Spirit filled
collective. If you found thattoday's episode has been
encouraging in any way we askthat you like, comment, share,
subscribe or follow, so we cankeep giving you this valuable
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