April 13, 2025 • 14 mins
Who here loves mornings? If you do, you are absolutely in the minority, but this devotional is designed to help us think about our day differently. Giving us five practical points and sharing an amazing story about Jesus, we hope that Sean will inspire you to think about your days differently.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:09):
Good morning everyone. This is Sean Copeland. Today is Sunday,
April the thirteenth, one week until Easter, and welcome to
another brand new, life changing edition of the ninety four
x Kingdom Driven CEO. Thank you, thank you all so much.
(00:32):
So today I am very excited to bring you a
episode entitled The Alarm Clock Theology.
Speaker 2 (00:43):
I think you're going to really love it.
Speaker 1 (00:45):
I put it together as part of a devotional that
I did earlier this week, and I'm excited to share
it with you. I am joining you from our lake
house on Lake Skiatook, just north of Tulsa. So if
you hear a little bit of background noise, birds or
a little bit of wind, that is why everybody is
(01:06):
sleeping in. So I am sharing with you from the patio,
which is absolutely glorious. It has been a wonderful week
and I'm excited to be back with you all. So
let me talk with you a little bit about the
Alarm Clock Theology. And I want to start with a
deep theological question. Who here that is listening to this
(01:31):
episode loves mornings?
Speaker 2 (01:34):
Now?
Speaker 1 (01:35):
Be honest, because I believe mornings people are kind of
a unique species. They're not really of this world. I
will admit I really like mornings. I have to get
enough sleep the night before, but when I do, I
love them. But you know, morning people tend to bounce
out of bed. They're like those Disney characters who sing
(01:57):
and stretch and make fresh onyms Let's and most of
us are over here going hey, do not speak to
me until I've had sixteen ounces of Jesus and caffeine.
Speaker 2 (02:08):
But here's the deal.
Speaker 1 (02:10):
Whether you're a morning person or not, you woke up today,
and that means God gave you a brand new twenty
four hour miracle and he has a plan today. This
is the day the Lord has made, not tomorrow, not
next Sunday, you know, not next Friday when your paycheck hits,
(02:32):
not three years ago when your metabolism worked better. This day,
and God says, rejoice and be glad in it. So
I just want to share five quick points that I
think will help us to live in this day and
practice the new alarm clock theology, the Monday morning alarm
(02:52):
clock theology.
Speaker 2 (02:54):
No less.
Speaker 1 (02:56):
So the devotional that I read started out with the
line and begin the day with open hands of faith.
Speaker 2 (03:02):
And our first point that we want to.
Speaker 1 (03:04):
Make is receive the day with open hands. What do
we usually start the day with complaints?
Speaker 2 (03:12):
Right? Why is my back sore?
Speaker 1 (03:14):
Why did my kid eat the pop tarts on the
white couch? Why is it snowing in April? Why do
I have to go to work today? Why do I
have all these challenging employees? You know, all the problems.
Speaker 2 (03:26):
But here's the twist.
Speaker 1 (03:28):
When we begin our day with clenched fists, holding tightly
to our expectations, we can't receive what God actually wants
to give us. One time, I watched a toddler at
Chick fil A try to carry his chicken nuggets, his fries,
his milk, and his toy all at once, and guess
what he dropped them all.
Speaker 2 (03:49):
That's us.
Speaker 1 (03:50):
When we try to carry everything in life without open
hands of faith, you cannot carry blessings when your hands
are full of contra. Open hands equals an open heart.
So let's start the day open handed, anxious for what
God has in store for us. Point number two, Let's
(04:13):
stop complaining even about the weather. Our devotional said, be
careful not to complain about anything, even the weather. And
you know, I'm from Oklahoma and we treat weather like
a competitive sport. If it's cold, we say I'm freezing.
If it's hot, we say I can't breathe. If it's raining, we.
Speaker 2 (04:33):
Say this is depressing.
Speaker 1 (04:35):
If it's sunny, we say, well, we'll probably get skin cancer.
I mean, God could literally send a double rainbow to
us and we would say it is too human.
Speaker 2 (04:46):
But here's the thing.
Speaker 1 (04:48):
God is the author of our circumstances. That means the weather,
your job, your season, your annoying coworker. God allowed it
for a reason. That is what his word tells us.
Melody Baby said, gratitude turns what we have into enough.
(05:09):
And when you thank God for the day, for your circumstances,
even in the mess, it's like saying, Lord, I trust
your pen more than I trust my plan. Point number three,
we need to live within the boundaries of today, the
devotional said, I knew what I was doing when I
(05:30):
divided time into twenty four hour segments, and of course
God did. Can you imagine if we had to live
the whole week at once. Monday stress, Tuesday's responsibilities, Wednesday's
dental appointment, Thursday's kids science project, you forgot about Friday's car,
won't start, Saturday soccer game, at seven am Sunday sermon
(05:51):
that you forgot you were preaching all at once.
Speaker 2 (05:55):
We would collapse. But God, who.
Speaker 1 (05:58):
Is infinitely wise, said let's give them one day at
a time. That's all they can handle. Jesus said in
Matthew six point thirty four, do not worry about tomorrow.
Speaker 2 (06:10):
For tomorrow we'll figure about it. We'll worry about itself.
Speaker 1 (06:12):
Each day has enough trouble of its own. There was
absolutely a season of my life when I worried about
the future, and I even tend to do that today.
Speaker 2 (06:23):
I was thinking about next week.
Speaker 1 (06:24):
We've got a big board meeting, We've got a big
shareholder meeting, we've got our annual VIP party, there's all
kinds of things coming up.
Speaker 2 (06:33):
But that's next week.
Speaker 1 (06:35):
What I'm going to do tomorrow is focus on tomorrow.
That's all I'm going to focus on. I'm going to
stop thinking about what's happening in the future and just
focus on that day. The one time, I was venting
to a friend about it, and he looked at me
and said, well, you're just borrowing trouble from a day
(06:55):
you're not even living in yet, And that hit me hard.
So here's the good news. You don't need to solve tomorrow.
You don't need to fix the past. You just need
to be present today. Point number four. We need to
rejoice on purpose. And let's go to Psalm one eighteen
twenty four. This is the day the Lord has made.
(07:16):
Let us rejoice and be glad in it. Now, I'm
gonna give you a little bit of background around this
in just a moment that is going to blow your mind.
Speaker 2 (07:24):
But this Psalm, this verse is not a suggestion, It
is a choice.
Speaker 1 (07:31):
Joy didn't come from the outside in. It comes from
the inside out.
Speaker 2 (07:37):
And I get it.
Speaker 1 (07:38):
Life is hard, Kids get sick, bills, pile up dogs,
throw up.
Speaker 2 (07:42):
On the wide couch again.
Speaker 1 (07:43):
But joy isn't pretending everything is perfect. Joy is saying
even if it's not, I know who is. It reminds
me so much of shad drag me shagging, of Bendigo.
Whenever the King basically told them, listen, you bow to me,
or you're going into the fiery furnace, and they basically said, listen, King,
(08:05):
our God will save us from the fiery furnace. But
even if he doesn't, we will still love him. That
even if he doesn't is so so powerful Paul says
in Philippians three thirteen and fourteen, forgetting what is behind
and straining toward what is ahead. I press on toward
(08:26):
the goal. You can't press on if you're still parked
in the past.
Speaker 2 (08:31):
So what do we do?
Speaker 1 (08:32):
We live in the now, rejoice in the moment, and
trust that God is doing something bigger than what we
can see. Finally, point number five, let's encourage one another today.
Hebrews three thirteen says, but encourage one another daily, as
long as it is called today. The translation, don't wait
(08:53):
that text you've been meaning to send, Send it, that
compliment you've been holding in, Say it that hug you've
been resisting because you're not a hug like Jesus would,
awkward and all. You never know what a kind word
can do for someone who's hanging on by a thread.
Be kind for everyone you meet is fighting a battle
that you know nothing about. That is a quote from
(09:16):
Ian McLaren. So I'm going to close with one very
very important story that I think will make this all
come together.
Speaker 2 (09:25):
So it is the Last Supper.
Speaker 1 (09:27):
Okay, It's Jesus' last meal with the disciples before his crucifixion.
Speaker 2 (09:32):
He knew what was coming.
Speaker 1 (09:33):
He actually went to the garden of Gysemine and sweat blood.
He was under such tremendous duress I can't even imagine.
I cannot imagine knowing.
Speaker 2 (09:45):
That you were about to be brutally crucified. But here's
what he did.
Speaker 1 (09:50):
Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks,
he gave it to them, saying, drink from it, all
of you. This is my blood of the Covenant, which
has poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.
I tell you I will not drink from this fruit
of the vine from now on until that day when
I drink it with you in my father's kingdom.
Speaker 2 (10:08):
Okay, we're familiar with that part.
Speaker 1 (10:11):
That's the basis of communion, and it's a very very
important verse.
Speaker 2 (10:15):
But listen to what comes next.
Speaker 1 (10:18):
When they had sung a hymn, they went out to
the Mount of Olives.
Speaker 2 (10:24):
Okay, I've read this.
Speaker 1 (10:25):
A million times, and until my buddy Jeff Hager pointed
this out to me, I did not realize that after
the last supper, before they went to the Mount of Olives,
they stopped and sang a hymn.
Speaker 2 (10:40):
Now the question is what did they sing?
Speaker 1 (10:43):
They sang the Jewish Talmud, which is a collection of
teachings about Jewish life and customs written shortly after the
first century, and it states that during the Passover meal,
four cups of wine would be drank, and the singing
of the Hallel would begin after the second cup, with p.
One thirteen being the first hymn sung, followed by some
(11:05):
one fourteen. After the fourth and final cup of wine
had been drank, the remaining psalms of the Hallel one, fifteen, sixteen, seventeen,
and eighteen were then sung. It is in the last
of these psalms, p. One eighteen, which Matthew and Mark
refer to. All Christian scholars who have studied this matter
(11:28):
over the centuries agree that this is what Jesus sang
on the night before he was crucified. The stone that
builders rejected has.
Speaker 2 (11:39):
Become the cornerstone.
Speaker 1 (11:41):
The Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in
our eyes. The Lord has done it this very day.
Let us rejoice today and be glad. He sang, this
is the day that the Lord has made. Let us
rejoice today and be glad. Guys, I don't know about you.
(12:04):
We may have challenges ahead tomorrow and Monday. But we're
not being publicly humiliated, stripped, beaten, and nailed to a
cross to die. Jesus is the example of how we
deal with stress and worry. So this day, this ordinary,
(12:25):
slightly messy, coffee stained day, is a gift. It might
not be easy, it might not be flashy, but it's
a canvas for God's glory. So start the day with
open hands. Let's let go of control. Let's stop complaining
about things that we can't change. Let's live one day
at a time. Let's rejoice on purpose. Let's encourage someone,
(12:48):
and let's trust that God is working behind the scenes.
Because this is the day that He has made, and
he made it for you. Let's not waste it. Please
bow with me this morning. Lord, we thank you for
this day. We don't want to miss the gift of
right now. Help us to rejoice even when it's hard,
(13:10):
to trust you in every moment, and to be a
blessing to someone else each day. We love you and
receive this day with open hands and open hearts.
Speaker 2 (13:21):
In Jesus' name, A man and I.
Speaker 1 (13:24):
Want to thank you all so much for joining this
edition of the ninety four ex Kingdom driven CEO. It's
a huge blessing to have you here. I will tell
you if you could share this out. We are really
close to our fifty thousandth listener and that will open
up tons of exposure for the podcast, so I would
(13:44):
appreciate it. If you enjoy this podcast, please share it.
It's obviously free and it's always focused solely on Jesus
Christ and how to be a leader that integrates our
faith into our business.
Speaker 2 (13:59):
Thank you so much and God bless you.
Speaker 1 (14:12):
M HM
Good morning everyone. This is Sean Copeland. Today is Sunday,
April the thirteenth, one week until Easter, and welcome to
another brand new, life changing edition of the ninety four
x Kingdom Driven CEO. Thank you, thank you all so much.
(00:32):
So today I am very excited to bring you a
episode entitled The Alarm Clock Theology.
Speaker 2 (00:43):
I think you're going to really love it.
Speaker 1 (00:45):
I put it together as part of a devotional that
I did earlier this week, and I'm excited to share
it with you. I am joining you from our lake
house on Lake Skiatook, just north of Tulsa. So if
you hear a little bit of background noise, birds or
a little bit of wind, that is why everybody is
(01:06):
sleeping in. So I am sharing with you from the patio,
which is absolutely glorious. It has been a wonderful week
and I'm excited to be back with you all. So
let me talk with you a little bit about the
Alarm Clock Theology. And I want to start with a
deep theological question. Who here that is listening to this
(01:31):
episode loves mornings?
Speaker 2 (01:34):
Now?
Speaker 1 (01:35):
Be honest, because I believe mornings people are kind of
a unique species. They're not really of this world. I
will admit I really like mornings. I have to get
enough sleep the night before, but when I do, I
love them. But you know, morning people tend to bounce
out of bed. They're like those Disney characters who sing
(01:57):
and stretch and make fresh onyms Let's and most of
us are over here going hey, do not speak to
me until I've had sixteen ounces of Jesus and caffeine.
Speaker 2 (02:08):
But here's the deal.
Speaker 1 (02:10):
Whether you're a morning person or not, you woke up today,
and that means God gave you a brand new twenty
four hour miracle and he has a plan today. This
is the day the Lord has made, not tomorrow, not
next Sunday, you know, not next Friday when your paycheck hits,
(02:32):
not three years ago when your metabolism worked better. This day,
and God says, rejoice and be glad in it. So
I just want to share five quick points that I
think will help us to live in this day and
practice the new alarm clock theology, the Monday morning alarm
(02:52):
clock theology.
Speaker 2 (02:54):
No less.
Speaker 1 (02:56):
So the devotional that I read started out with the
line and begin the day with open hands of faith.
Speaker 2 (03:02):
And our first point that we want to.
Speaker 1 (03:04):
Make is receive the day with open hands. What do
we usually start the day with complaints?
Speaker 2 (03:12):
Right? Why is my back sore?
Speaker 1 (03:14):
Why did my kid eat the pop tarts on the
white couch? Why is it snowing in April? Why do
I have to go to work today? Why do I
have all these challenging employees? You know, all the problems.
Speaker 2 (03:26):
But here's the twist.
Speaker 1 (03:28):
When we begin our day with clenched fists, holding tightly
to our expectations, we can't receive what God actually wants
to give us. One time, I watched a toddler at
Chick fil A try to carry his chicken nuggets, his fries,
his milk, and his toy all at once, and guess
what he dropped them all.
Speaker 2 (03:49):
That's us.
Speaker 1 (03:50):
When we try to carry everything in life without open
hands of faith, you cannot carry blessings when your hands
are full of contra. Open hands equals an open heart.
So let's start the day open handed, anxious for what
God has in store for us. Point number two, Let's
(04:13):
stop complaining even about the weather. Our devotional said, be
careful not to complain about anything, even the weather. And
you know, I'm from Oklahoma and we treat weather like
a competitive sport. If it's cold, we say I'm freezing.
If it's hot, we say I can't breathe. If it's raining, we.
Speaker 2 (04:33):
Say this is depressing.
Speaker 1 (04:35):
If it's sunny, we say, well, we'll probably get skin cancer.
I mean, God could literally send a double rainbow to
us and we would say it is too human.
Speaker 2 (04:46):
But here's the thing.
Speaker 1 (04:48):
God is the author of our circumstances. That means the weather,
your job, your season, your annoying coworker. God allowed it
for a reason. That is what his word tells us.
Melody Baby said, gratitude turns what we have into enough.
(05:09):
And when you thank God for the day, for your circumstances,
even in the mess, it's like saying, Lord, I trust
your pen more than I trust my plan. Point number three,
we need to live within the boundaries of today, the
devotional said, I knew what I was doing when I
(05:30):
divided time into twenty four hour segments, and of course
God did. Can you imagine if we had to live
the whole week at once. Monday stress, Tuesday's responsibilities, Wednesday's
dental appointment, Thursday's kids science project, you forgot about Friday's car,
won't start, Saturday soccer game, at seven am Sunday sermon
(05:51):
that you forgot you were preaching all at once.
Speaker 2 (05:55):
We would collapse. But God, who.
Speaker 1 (05:58):
Is infinitely wise, said let's give them one day at
a time. That's all they can handle. Jesus said in
Matthew six point thirty four, do not worry about tomorrow.
Speaker 2 (06:10):
For tomorrow we'll figure about it. We'll worry about itself.
Speaker 1 (06:12):
Each day has enough trouble of its own. There was
absolutely a season of my life when I worried about
the future, and I even tend to do that today.
Speaker 2 (06:23):
I was thinking about next week.
Speaker 1 (06:24):
We've got a big board meeting, We've got a big
shareholder meeting, we've got our annual VIP party, there's all
kinds of things coming up.
Speaker 2 (06:33):
But that's next week.
Speaker 1 (06:35):
What I'm going to do tomorrow is focus on tomorrow.
That's all I'm going to focus on. I'm going to
stop thinking about what's happening in the future and just
focus on that day. The one time, I was venting
to a friend about it, and he looked at me
and said, well, you're just borrowing trouble from a day
(06:55):
you're not even living in yet, And that hit me hard.
So here's the good news. You don't need to solve tomorrow.
You don't need to fix the past. You just need
to be present today. Point number four. We need to
rejoice on purpose. And let's go to Psalm one eighteen
twenty four. This is the day the Lord has made.
(07:16):
Let us rejoice and be glad in it. Now, I'm
gonna give you a little bit of background around this
in just a moment that is going to blow your mind.
Speaker 2 (07:24):
But this Psalm, this verse is not a suggestion, It
is a choice.
Speaker 1 (07:31):
Joy didn't come from the outside in. It comes from
the inside out.
Speaker 2 (07:37):
And I get it.
Speaker 1 (07:38):
Life is hard, Kids get sick, bills, pile up dogs,
throw up.
Speaker 2 (07:42):
On the wide couch again.
Speaker 1 (07:43):
But joy isn't pretending everything is perfect. Joy is saying
even if it's not, I know who is. It reminds
me so much of shad drag me shagging, of Bendigo.
Whenever the King basically told them, listen, you bow to me,
or you're going into the fiery furnace, and they basically said, listen, King,
(08:05):
our God will save us from the fiery furnace. But
even if he doesn't, we will still love him. That
even if he doesn't is so so powerful Paul says
in Philippians three thirteen and fourteen, forgetting what is behind
and straining toward what is ahead. I press on toward
(08:26):
the goal. You can't press on if you're still parked
in the past.
Speaker 2 (08:31):
So what do we do?
Speaker 1 (08:32):
We live in the now, rejoice in the moment, and
trust that God is doing something bigger than what we
can see. Finally, point number five, let's encourage one another today.
Hebrews three thirteen says, but encourage one another daily, as
long as it is called today. The translation, don't wait
(08:53):
that text you've been meaning to send, Send it, that
compliment you've been holding in, Say it that hug you've
been resisting because you're not a hug like Jesus would,
awkward and all. You never know what a kind word
can do for someone who's hanging on by a thread.
Be kind for everyone you meet is fighting a battle
that you know nothing about. That is a quote from
(09:16):
Ian McLaren. So I'm going to close with one very
very important story that I think will make this all
come together.
Speaker 2 (09:25):
So it is the Last Supper.
Speaker 1 (09:27):
Okay, It's Jesus' last meal with the disciples before his crucifixion.
Speaker 2 (09:32):
He knew what was coming.
Speaker 1 (09:33):
He actually went to the garden of Gysemine and sweat blood.
He was under such tremendous duress I can't even imagine.
I cannot imagine knowing.
Speaker 2 (09:45):
That you were about to be brutally crucified. But here's
what he did.
Speaker 1 (09:50):
Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks,
he gave it to them, saying, drink from it, all
of you. This is my blood of the Covenant, which
has poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.
I tell you I will not drink from this fruit
of the vine from now on until that day when
I drink it with you in my father's kingdom.
Speaker 2 (10:08):
Okay, we're familiar with that part.
Speaker 1 (10:11):
That's the basis of communion, and it's a very very
important verse.
Speaker 2 (10:15):
But listen to what comes next.
Speaker 1 (10:18):
When they had sung a hymn, they went out to
the Mount of Olives.
Speaker 2 (10:24):
Okay, I've read this.
Speaker 1 (10:25):
A million times, and until my buddy Jeff Hager pointed
this out to me, I did not realize that after
the last supper, before they went to the Mount of Olives,
they stopped and sang a hymn.
Speaker 2 (10:40):
Now the question is what did they sing?
Speaker 1 (10:43):
They sang the Jewish Talmud, which is a collection of
teachings about Jewish life and customs written shortly after the
first century, and it states that during the Passover meal,
four cups of wine would be drank, and the singing
of the Hallel would begin after the second cup, with p.
One thirteen being the first hymn sung, followed by some
(11:05):
one fourteen. After the fourth and final cup of wine
had been drank, the remaining psalms of the Hallel one, fifteen, sixteen, seventeen,
and eighteen were then sung. It is in the last
of these psalms, p. One eighteen, which Matthew and Mark
refer to. All Christian scholars who have studied this matter
(11:28):
over the centuries agree that this is what Jesus sang
on the night before he was crucified. The stone that
builders rejected has.
Speaker 2 (11:39):
Become the cornerstone.
Speaker 1 (11:41):
The Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in
our eyes. The Lord has done it this very day.
Let us rejoice today and be glad. He sang, this
is the day that the Lord has made. Let us
rejoice today and be glad. Guys, I don't know about you.
(12:04):
We may have challenges ahead tomorrow and Monday. But we're
not being publicly humiliated, stripped, beaten, and nailed to a
cross to die. Jesus is the example of how we
deal with stress and worry. So this day, this ordinary,
(12:25):
slightly messy, coffee stained day, is a gift. It might
not be easy, it might not be flashy, but it's
a canvas for God's glory. So start the day with
open hands. Let's let go of control. Let's stop complaining
about things that we can't change. Let's live one day
at a time. Let's rejoice on purpose. Let's encourage someone,
(12:48):
and let's trust that God is working behind the scenes.
Because this is the day that He has made, and
he made it for you. Let's not waste it. Please
bow with me this morning. Lord, we thank you for
this day. We don't want to miss the gift of
right now. Help us to rejoice even when it's hard,
(13:10):
to trust you in every moment, and to be a
blessing to someone else each day. We love you and
receive this day with open hands and open hearts.
Speaker 2 (13:21):
In Jesus' name, A man and I.
Speaker 1 (13:24):
Want to thank you all so much for joining this
edition of the ninety four ex Kingdom driven CEO. It's
a huge blessing to have you here. I will tell
you if you could share this out. We are really
close to our fifty thousandth listener and that will open
up tons of exposure for the podcast, so I would
(13:44):
appreciate it. If you enjoy this podcast, please share it.
It's obviously free and it's always focused solely on Jesus
Christ and how to be a leader that integrates our
faith into our business.
Speaker 2 (13:59):
Thank you so much and God bless you.
Speaker 1 (14:12):
M HM
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