Have you ever thought of yourself as being in partnership with God, actually being a partner with God in His creation? Now, on the one hand, it may seem a little arrogant to think that we would be partners, but you may be surprised to learn that this is exactly how He set up His creation. It is precisely how He arranged things so that we, His children, His creation, would work in partnership with Him. You're not all alone. You're not an hourly employee and he's the owner he wants to work in partnership with you and the real most the most important question is How would that change the way you live day to day if you realize you're in ownership with him? You you're a partner with him. You have skin in the game. You have some part of his work to expand his kingdom. How would that change things? That's what we're gonna talk about today. I think you're gonna find it really interesting and helpful. Hi, I'm Sam Hunter. This is 721 Live, the media arm of 721 Ministries. I'm glad you're with us. Thank you for joining us. If you'll hit that subscribe button, then you'll get these as soon as they come out. Just take a moment, hit it. We are across video platforms, podcast platforms. Just hit that subscribe, and then you'll get these as soon as they come out. Okay, this idea of partnership. In the last three videos, we've been talking about these words, three words that have really stuck with me. If we started with guarantee, what if we saw everything in the scriptures as a guarantee? Which it is, as a guarantee, not just a promise, not just a statement, but a guarantee. How would that change us? And then that would move us and engender us towards gratitude and then loyalty. So instead of just thinking of love, think of loyalty and how that would change the way you live. It's no longer a got-to world, it's a get-to world. I'm loyal to Jesus for what he has done for me. I'm loyal to my heavenly father. Yes, I love them as much as a human can love someone that's not another human in front of them, tangible, touchable. Loyal to me carries the day. And then this idea of partnership. Now, Anais Nin has an interesting quote, we don't see things the way they are, we see things the way we are. We don't see things the way they are, we see things the way we are. And then another quotation I was reading not too long ago, that the amazing thing, the interesting thing about the placebo effect is how expectations, how expectations shape our experiences. How expectations shape our experiences. So if you look at guarantee as an expectation, these are all guarantees. These promises, I'll always be with you. I love you perfectly. I'll always take care of you. I'll always work with you to bring good out of everything that's happening around you. I'm always here. That's a guarantee. If you expect that, it's gonna shape your experiences. Loyalty will shape your experiences. And now the idea that we'd be in partnership. Now, as we jump into this, I just wanna ask you a few questions to set this up. How do you see yourself in relation to God? How do you see yourself in relation to God? Is he a owner and you're a hourly wage person? Is he the boss and you're just an employee? Is he a taskmaster and you're pretty much a servant of his? Or are you on the same side with him? Are you in partnership with him? Does he want to share his work, his expanding his kingdom, his work in our human lives with you as a partner? Now, let's back up a minute because God calls himself Father, and he calls himself Father for a reason. That's the best example that we humans can know of, a father child, a loving heavenly father. loving his children perfectly. So what kind of father figure did you have? or may still have. What kind of father figure? Now, think about the various kinds of father figures that we could have, and the men were very quick to answer this. You could have a controlling father, a taskmaster father. Some, I've even heard talk about their father being the great Santini. If you saw that movie based out in Charleston, The Citadel, and Robert Duvall played this father who was just a, he was a military father, and he was just terrible to his son. You have fathers like that. You have loving fathers. You have fathers who are invested in their children's lives. They're right there with them. They're ready to roll up their sleeves and get involved and help them, work with them. You have fathers that are not invested in their children. You have all our gamut. Which type of father did you have? Because that's going to change. It's gonna shift the way you view your heavenly father. I heard this story about a young boy who was 10 years old, and he was going to create a little fort in his backyard. And to do that, he wanted to level out the ground that would be underneath the fort, and there were some rocks there. And he got the little rocks out first, but then there was a big rock, and he could not get that rock to budge. He tried everything. He went and got a shovel and tried to use leverage to get it out. He was sweating. He dug a hole around it. He couldn't. He was sweating. He was crying. He was giving it everything he had. He could not budge that rock. His father was watching him from the kitchen. Eventually, his father walked out, and he stood there, and he looked at his son, and he said, son, I don't think you're using all the power that you have. And his son just cried out in just desperation and exasperation, how can you say that? Don't you see I'm sweating, I'm crying, I'm dirty, I'm doing everything I can to move this rock. How could you say that to me? And the father said, because you're not using my power, let me help. Let's do this in partnership together. And that's what our heavenly father has arranged for us. And today I intend to show you the passages that make that clear. Let me ask another question. Why in business do people bring in partners? Oftentimes you'll see someone who started a business, perhaps it's a sole proprietorship, perhaps he's running the show, he may be the only one, but he brings in a partner. Why would people do that? Well, for one, they may have financial backing. They may bring strength to it. They may be a friend. They may want some companionship to be able to work in relationship with someone else. More often than not, it's because that person brings something to the table. They have talents that the other does not. And to bring him in or her in will help expand the business. It'll help make things more efficient to grow the business because now you're leveraging each other's talents, each other's powers. Oftentimes we bring partners in for that very reason. Two can get a whole lot more done than one working twice as hard. Then the next question is again in business, why would owners and why do owners oftentimes give their employees an opportunity to become owners, to become, to be able to buy into the business. We see this in big businesses and small businesses. They have an opportunity to buy into the business. They're not just employees. Why do they do that? And if you think about it, if you're just an hourly employee, when you go home at night after work, Are you thinking about the business? Are you thinking about ways to expand the business, ways to make it more efficient, how to cut costs, how to gain profits? Are you thinking that way if you're just an hourly employee? And chances are not. But if you have a piece of the pie, if you have skin in the game, if you've got equity, if you've got something that makes you part of that business, You're gonna have a whole different perspective. You're going to be thinking about ways to make it more efficient, to make it more profitable. You're going to be thinking about ways to make it run better, to make more money because you have ownership in that. You have energy now. You have motivation. That's exactly the way it would change your heart and your focus in life if you realize you were working in partnership with your heavenly father. This is what he wants. This is the way he designed it. So my last question as we get into this is, how do you see your role in God's kingdom? Are you a silent partner? Maybe you've invested some money, you write a check, but that's about it. Maybe you go to meetings, but you're not really, you're more an hourly employee. How do you see yourself? Because what I want to do today is get across to you. that you are to be a partner. He wants to be in partnership with you. He wants to use your talents, the way he designed you, the way he created you. He wants to use those things so that you can work together. And I think it will change the way you live. I'm gonna show you one passage in Philippians, which is about as stark a statement, as obvious a statement as you're gonna find. And then I wanna read a couple of others. So let's start with this from Philippians 1. This is Paul writing to the family of followers in Philippi. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel. Because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. I don't think you can get any more clear than that, can you? Now that you are in partnership, that we're in partnership together, this is what he wants. Now there's so many passages I could have chosen from, but I just felt like I had to limit it. I could have just overwhelmed you. But I'm gonna just read from 1 Corinthians 12, starting at verse 12, because I think you'll find this to be very explanatory. Paul writes, the body, the Holy Spirit through Paul tells us the body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts. Now this, think about us as followers of Jesus, as his disciples, as the children of our Heavenly Father, working in his body of believers in his world, in his creation, through our sphere of influence. The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts, and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ, for we were all baptized by one spirit into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free, we were all given the same spirit to drink. Now, the body is not made up of one part, but of many. If the foot should say, because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body, it would not, for that reason, cease to be part of the body. And if the ear said the same thing, it would not, for that part. Verse 15. I'm gonna go to verse 17. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact, God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body. Do you see where we're going with this? God has set this up so everybody has a role to play. And each one is equally as important. Let me read a little bit more and ask another question. The eye cannot say to the hand, I don't need you. And the head cannot say to the feet, I don't need you. On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable. And the parts that we think are less honorable, we treat with special honor. You hear what the Holy Spirit is saying to us. You're all part of our one body and we want we want it We need everyone moving each one has a different sphere of influence each one has separate talents Let's bring them all together and when he talks about the weaker parts being indispensable You know, you may think that Billy Graham is way more important than the one person at his work or at her work or in her sphere of influence, in her neighborhood, that spreads the Word of Jesus, that shows the love of Jesus, that is a disciple for Jesus. that the comparison between Billy Graham and that person is not even close, but Billy Graham himself, I'm sure would tell you, no, no, I'm just doing my part. I may look like the head, she or he may look like the hand or the feet, but we gotta all be doing this together. Matter of fact, Billy Graham was asked about how important evangelism was, and he said, well, really, it boils down to one person. And they said, well, one person, Tens of thousands of people come to see you. What do you mean one person? Evangelism, one person. He said, yep, they come in that door one person at a time. One person at a time. And more often than not, they're brought by one person. So we all have a role to play. Now, I want to convince you that this has been God's design from the very beginning in the garden. as well as the first garden, as well as the last garden, the second garden, what is the new heaven and the new earth, which is described as pretty much like Eden. I wanna show you that his plan all along and now in between these two gardens is for us to work in partnership. And the reason I want you to get this is I believe it'll change the way you live. It will increase your motivation. It'll increase your awareness. You'll be looking around more active, seeking ways to grow the kingdom because you're in partnership with him. You'll want to use the talents he gave you. It will bring so much more richness into your life. So in the beginning, God created man and woman. He put them in the garden to do what? to work the garden. He created it, and he brought them in to help him manage the garden. Let's just take a look at Genesis 2, and we'll start at verse 15, and then we'll read verse 19. The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. I brought you in, Adam. You're a partner with me. I set it up. Now you handle the details. Verse 19. Now the Lord God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them. And whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. That sounds a lot like a partnership to me. That sounds like God is saying, look, you take it from here. I've created it, I'll help you, I'll be with you. Matter of fact, I'll walk each evening in the cool of the evening. I love that image, is God coming into the, Garden walking in the cool of the evening to hang out with his partners his junior partners, but his partners That's how he created us now, I want to go with one more older testament psalm psalm 8 For beginning of verse 4 what is mankind that you are mindful of them human beings that you care for them you made them rulers over the works of your hands, you put everything under their feet. That is a partnership, my friends. I'm gonna read verse six with adding in my own part. You made them rulers in partnership with you. over the works of your hands, that you put everything under their feet. It's crystal clear that the original design was a relational and physical paradise, a relational and physical paradise with God Almighty, with the Holy Spirit, even with Jesus, with the Trinity, in which we did our part and they did their part. It was a partnership from the very beginning. in the first garden, in the next garden, in the new heaven and the new earth. You know, you're not floating up into the clouds when all of this comes, when Jesus comes back. He's not taking you up to float around in the clouds. There's a new heaven and a new earth right here on this earth, reshaped. And we will be living out in a system of government and a system of business. There won't be any playing harps and floating around. It'll be exciting. It'll be wonderful. Imagine this world in which we now live being perfect. all the businesses, all the governments, the medicine, there won't be any need for doctors, they'll have to find something else to do. My wife says she's gonna grow grapes, she's gonna become a vineyardist, grow wine, make wine. We'll still be working with him in different roles and Jesus speaks to this. In Matthew he makes a couple of comments, in Luke he makes a comment. Both Matthew 25 and Luke 19 are about the talents being given to people, and what they do with the talents. Both of these are about it. Now, we'll read Matthew 25, verse 34. Then the king will say to those on his right, come you who are blessed by my father, take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. The kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. This was my plan from the beginning. Luke 19, verse 17. Well done, my good servant. His master replied, Because you have been trustworthy in very small matter, take charge of ten cities. See, when you think about this, the parable of the talents, and there were a couple of different ways that Jesus gave these parables. I mean, he taught for three-plus years. He shifted things around depending on his audience. But in each one of them, say, for instance, the most familiar one, he gave one man 10 talents, another man 5 talents, and another man 1 talent. The man that he gave ten talents doubled them. He produced an extra ten talents. The man that he gave five produced five. Now, the man that he gave five didn't produce ten, he produced five. And each one from God, they heard, well done, good and faithful servant. You've done with what I gave you. You've done what I've asked. Yes, I only gave you five, but you doubled it. I gave you 10, you doubled it. You did what I asked you to do. And now I'm gonna reward you in the new heaven and the new earth, you'll be in charge of several things because you were trustworthy in what I gave you to do. It's not a matter of whether I produce more than the next person, the matter is I do what he created me to do, the good works which he had planned in advance for me and for you to do in partnership with him. Isn't that exciting to think that way? It might be a little overwhelming, but it's the way it's designed. It's the way he wants it to go. Now, let's take another one. Let's go all the way to Revelation. Revelation 2, 26, to the one who is victorious and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations. I will give authority over the nations. Chapter 22, verse five, for the Lord God will give them light and they will reign forever and ever. It couldn't be more clear that in the very first garden and the eternal garden the new heaven the new earth He wants to work with us. He wants us. He gives us authority He gave mankind the authority over the entire world at the beginning of the creation said you you take it I give you dominion over it you work it you expand expand your family expand your your whole business arrangement working my kingdom But in between, he still wants that for us. He still wants to work with us, even in between. He wants you to be doing your part in partnership with him. Now, I want to keep coming back to how would that change the way you live? Because it's a fact. I'm not cheerleading you. I'm not trying to give you a great speech here to get you motivated. I'm telling you, this is a fact. This is what he wants. And when you start to live this way, it will change everything. It will change everything. Dallas Willard likes to say that God wants us to be in a conversational walk with him through life, talking with him about what we're doing together. What we're doing together. He also says, and then we begin to understand that God's whole purpose is to bring us to the point where we can walk with him calmly, constantly. calmly, constantly, quietly, giving us some space to be his often fumbling collaborators. Can I get an amen on that? To be his often fumbling collaborators, having some distance, but being united with him because we are being made in the image of his son bearing the family resemblance. He wants us to be his collaborators. We'll see that in the scriptures, that we are his co-workers, that we are his stewards. It's all about being in partnership, and he works with us. Let's take another one. Let's just look at the in-between. First, we'll go to Philippians and then Ephesians. I love these two passages. Philippians 12 13 Should be a familiar passage Continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling work it out Say you're saved now start to work it out for it is God who works in you to willing to act according to his good purpose Now I'd like to read verse 13 for his God who works in Partnership with you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose. He wants you to work He's given you He's given you salvation now. Let's work it out and he'll work with you and in you as you do your part Ephesians chapter 2 for we are God's handiwork now that word handiwork The Greek word behind it is poetry. It's like fine craftsmanship We are God's fine craftsmanship created in Christ Jesus to do good works which God prepared in advance for us to do. We are created in Christ Jesus to do good works which God prepared in advance to do, and He wants us to do it in partnership with Him. That's why I added it. Let me just re-read it. For we are God's handiwork created in Christ Jesus to do good works in partnership with Him, which I added. which God prepared in advance for us to do. Chapter 4, verse 16, from him the whole body joined and held together by every supporting ligament grows and builds itself up in love as each part does its work, and I added, in partnership with him. It couldn't be more clear. This is what I could give you so many more scripture passages on this, but it's crystal clear This is what he wants for us to live in partnership with him and I get excited about that I get a piece of the ownership now. I'm a junior partner. I don't even want to be the equal partner and imagine One of the men said this today in our 721 meeting in Greenville. He said imagine if your partner your senior partner was the smartest businessman in the world the smartest at whatever your business is in the world and you had him to turn to in any business situation Imagine that when I first got started in real estate development. I had two partners out of Hilton head. I was in my late 20s early 30s the senior partner was in his 40s the junior partner was in his maybe late 30s, but the senior part, both of them had years more experience in real estate development than I did. And I was able to learn from them, just watching them, just listening to them. I could tap into their knowledge and their experience. I wasn't just throwing out there on my own. We worked in partnership together. Now, how do we do this? What does it look like? to work in partnership. Where would we start? Today, I'm excited, you're excited, you get motivated. I really, I see it now, Sam, I've never seen it before. I wanna work in his kingdom. Where do I start? Well, it's not that complicated. Let's just look at a few passages where Jesus gives us the key. Matthew 25, the parable of the sheep and the goats. What does Jesus tell the sheep on his right who did exactly what he wanted them to do? He said, you visited me when I was sick. You visited me when I was in prison. You helped clothe me when I didn't have clothes. You gave me money. You gave me food. You looked after me. So we could all start just by looking out for those around us, looking out for those who need a kind word, who may need a helping hand, who may need to hear about Jesus and they've never heard of him. Maybe they have the wrong idea about Jesus or about God, an angry God, a rule, a taskmaster God, an employee who, and they think of themselves only as grunt hourly workers. If even that, we can help people around us. Just in your sphere of influence, seek to help. Matthew 28, 19, this is where Jesus says, go and make disciples. Go and make disciples. 1 Timothy 6, 18, he tells us to be rich in good deeds and to be generous and willing to share. These are all easy things. Well, they may not be easy, but they're clear things we can do to be rich in good deeds, to be generous, be willing to share with the blessings he's given you. This is part of the partnership. Now, there'll be other things, and we'll see, we can see in 1 Corinthians 12, we can see it in Romans 12, we can even see it in Ephesians 4, that each one has a different spiritual gift. Not everyone has every gift. but he designed it for us to do our gifts, to live out our gifts. In 1 Corinthians 5, when he's talking back, 1 Corinthians 3, when he's talking back to the people in Corinth, and they're trying to decide who is more important, Apollos or Paul, he said, who's Apollos, who's Paul? only workers who through us we brought Jesus to you. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters does anything, but only God who makes things grow. The man who plants and the man who waters is each doing their job and they will be rewarded according to their labor. It's a partnership. Plant seeds, water seeds, help grow the kingdom. Be aware of people around you. A couple more to think about. John 21, 15, he tells Peter in verse 15, 16, and 17, feed my sheep. In essence, look after my people. Then first Peter Peter says always be prepared to give an answer for the hope that you have to give an answer for the hope that you have Hope being confident expectation always be prepared To their people around you that have barriers set up against following Jesus. They've got an emotional barrier. They had a bad experience You replace that bad experience with good experience. They've got an intellectual barrier They've got the wrong information. You replace that bad information with good information. You can do these things. You can play a role in his kingdom and in partnership with him. Now, I want to conclude with what I think is an astounding shift in the translation of a passage that we all know, Romans 8, 28. For we know that God brings good out of everything. We know that in all things God works to bring good out of everything. That's not the best translation. I was listening to N.T. Wright, and of course he knows Greek, but he was talking about his friends who are the best, the experts in Greek, and they did a deep dive into the Greek of this statement. In Romans, from Romans 8-29, and it really should read better, for we know that God will work with us to bring good out of every situation. God will work with us to bring good out of every situation, in partnership with us. So someone in your sphere of influence has had a terrible tragedy. He wants to work with you to help bring good out of that terrible tragedy. Perhaps you've had a tragedy. He wants to work with you to bring good out of that tragedy. It's always with us He wants to bring us into partnership. It will change your life if you'll think about that word Partnership because I'm not again. I'm not cheerleading you. I'm not trying to give you a big motivation I'm giving you the facts and I want you to live that out and do you know why? Because there is so much more You know it Come, follow Jesus, and find Him.