0:00:00 - 0:00:24 So we have an angelic topic today. The theme is angels save you when you're stuck. And the, the message I want to get across to you today is that if you would like to encounter greater power than your own, the way to do that is to do everything within your power. Now, a big chunk of this which we're 0:00:24 - 0:00:48 going to get to is how important it is to realize that things work this way. If you're not looking for it to happen, probably you, you probably won't recognize it when it does and therefore you will not receive the blessings that you otherwise could. This is a lot like when you don't realize that the 0:00:47 - 0:01:10 Lord can use you just a normal person like you to answer someone else's prayers. The, the opposite of this is not realizing that God can use other people to answer your prayers and it turns out that this isn't something he does just some of the time it happens all the time. But unfortunately, because 0:01:10 - 0:01:31 people aren't looking for it, they don't recognize it when it happens and then they therefore don't benefit from it when it does. Uh I, I've had a lot of experiences where people have told me that, that I took part in answering their prayers. And in fact, just recently, uh, I had a person tell me that 0:01:31 - 0:01:50 they had been praying about being stuck in their lives. They had come to a point where they just didn't know what else to do and they were doing everything, they knew what, uh, knew to do and un unbeknownst to me when they were praying about this, I had some really specific impressions to do specific 0:01:49 - 0:02:08 things with that person, which I did and then came to find out later that uh they had been praying about these very things and this happens to me all the time and it could happen to you too if you were more open to the Lord using you in that way or using other people in that way. So to start this off 0:02:08 - 0:02:30 , I want, I want to start with an analogy which is the game of rugby. Now, if you don't know much about rugby, the easiest way to explain it is imagine football and soccer had a baby that was a real sport. So that's rugby. Uh So one of the key rules in rugby and one of the differences between rugby and 0:02:30 - 0:02:52 , and say football is that when you pass the ball, which looks a lot like a football, it's just bigger when you pass the ball, you can't pass it forward the way you do in football, you can only pass it behind you. And this makes for some really interesting game dynamics. But what I wanted to do here 0:02:51 - 0:03:10 is list out the reasons why you might do this because it's backwards. Right. And the whole point like in football or soccer is to get the ball across the goal posts. That's how you score. So, and the other teams trying to prevent you from doing that. So it might seem counterintuitive that passing the 0:03:10 - 0:03:28 ball behind you would help you in that goal. Well, why would you ever pass the ball? Well, if you're tired, so let's just say that you just sprinted across half the field and you're really tired and there's someone who's fresh, they can take the ball, then it becomes kind of a relay race and you can 0:03:28 - 0:03:50 , you can toss the ball off to them and then they can start sprinting themselves. Another very frequent situation is when you're about to get clobbered by a bunch of huge guys. If you're about to get hit, then you wanna pass the ball before that happens. Another situation is when maybe you have a teammate 0:03:49 - 0:04:09 that's a way faster runner than you and they get close to you. And so you can toss them the ball without too much risk that it'll get intercepted. And then finally, another reason is when, uh, you just have too many people crowding around you in front of you and you want to pass it to someone who's got 0:04:09 - 0:04:36 a clearer path than you because you can really hurl this ball pretty far. So, um, that's when you would pass the ball and it turns out that this has really important and clear connections to the situation. It's similar to in the gospel. So the, the ball, we could think of the ball as God's power. And 0:04:35 - 0:05:05 when are you going to receive God's power? Well, if you're out of strength, if you're about to get clobbered, those are, those are two really appropriate times for God to give you more power, right? Um But sometimes this power interfaces with another person and they're going to strengthen you. So for 0:05:05 - 0:05:25 example, angel strengthen the Lord and angel, strengthen the Lord in the garden of Getem. And also after his 40 day fast, angel strengthened Elijah when he was having a really hard time. So when does this sort of thing happen? Well, you've used up all your strength, you're about to face a situation that's 0:05:25 - 0:05:56 far beyond your capability or you have extra talents that the person or angel interfacing with you does not have you have capacity beyond what they have or when uh you have opportunities that they do not have. Now, I'm mentioning those briefly and I'm not spending tons of time on them, but each of these 0:05:55 - 0:00:00 is definitely worth thinking more about and you could think about it for a really long time. There are many, many applications of this there are things you can do to increase these situations in your life. And it's one way to increase the ministry of Angels to you. And also when you understand this, 0:00:00 - 0:06:42 you can increase your role as a, as an angel to other people. So just as a, for example, um there is this notion of getting closer, so you can't hook the ball across the whole field without increasing the chance that you're gonna miss or someone from the other team is gonna take it. And likewise in life 0:06:42 - 0:07:03 , the further you are from the resources of God's light and truth, the harder it is to transmit those things. Now, we know from the scriptures, there's the story of Jesus healing a person from afar and he commended the man who asked him to do so for his faith. But just because it's possible, doesn't 0:07:03 - 0:07:31 mean it's easy or better, right? There are benefits to proximity and they are massive. There are also costs, but they're worth it. What about this idea of having open space? So how do you create greater flexibility in your life? Well, you become less encumbered. What are some things that can encumber 0:07:31 - 0:08:03 us in life? The cares of the world, choke the word massive debts, huge responsibilities, um gaping weaknesses, long standing barriers, all of these things, addictions, all of these things encumber us. And it makes it a lot harder for God to use us to do the things he could otherwise do. Now, does this 0:08:03 - 0:08:27 mean we just flush our whole lives down the toilet? No, but it does mean we learn, we should learn to appreciate the value of, um, doing all things, doing all appropriate things to maximize our independence is very important and we could keep going through this, but I don't want to get hung up too much 0:08:26 - 0:08:51 on this idea. Now, let's flip this around and talk about some, some reasons that you're not going to get the ball. What are some things you can do to decrease the likelihood that you will either be used by the Lord to help others or of accepting of, of perceiving and receiving help from others. Well 0:08:51 - 0:09:08 , if you're not where you're supposed to be, if all the actions happening on one part of the field and you're in another part of the field, you're not gonna get the ball. What if you aren't doing what you're supposed to be doing? If you're just not even paying attention, you're just doing whatever, instead 0:09:08 - 0:09:29 of playing the game or you're doing something as part of the game, but it's not what's relevant and helpful to the current situation. Yeah. Well, that happens all the time, doesn't it? We fill our lives with these things that cost us a great deal, but benefit us very little. And this is where an inventory 0:09:28 - 0:09:49 of how you're spending your resources, whether that's time, money, emotions, whatever that can really help and you can identify the few things that give you the greatest meaning or benefit in life, net benefit, long term net benefit and the many things that don't and start scratching off those things 0:09:49 - 0:10:12 that don't and reinvest those resources in the things that do. Another reason you might not get the ball is that you're not overcoming those who are presently blocking you. If you've got a crowd of guys around you, no one's gonna pass you the ball because you're instantly gonna get tackled, right? What 0:10:12 - 0:10:31 if you're winded? If you're this asthmatic dude on the field and you're wheezing before you even start moving, no one's gonna throw you the ball, they don't wanna lose. What if you're taking your sweet time? Like there's obviously a lot of fast paced action happening around the ball and you're just sort 0:10:31 - 0:10:52 of sauntering over there taking your sweet time. Does this happen in life? It absolutely does. If you dangle an opportunity in front of 10 people, you're gonna see 10 different reactions. And there's probably one of those 10 people whose reaction is so intense that it exceeds the sum of the intensity 0:10:51 - 0:11:16 of the other nine, that's a pattern in human behavior. And so if you're at the bottom three of the, the low intensity reactions to an opportunity, no one's gonna toss you the ball. The one thing about people who have the ball is, they know what having the ball is worth. And so they're not gonna take 0:11:16 - 0:11:42 that from the situation where that worth is, is being used and recognized and appreciated and just throw it away to someone who doesn't value it at all. Finally, another reason that you wouldn't get the ball is that you're waiting for the ball to come to you before you bother doing your best to go to 0:11:42 - 0:12:13 it and you should think about that very hard. So many people they wait for God's blessings to come to them before they're willing to change and guess what they never do because that's not the way it works. He says come nigh unto me while I am nigh unto you. Ask seek knock, follow me. There's a direction 0:12:12 - 0:12:35 in all of that and if you're waiting for Him to come to you, then you're, you're, you're looking in the wrong direction, you're waiting for the opposite thing to happen and surprise is not going to OK. So hopefully, this analogy kickstarts our thinking about this. Now, the a point I wanna make here is 0:12:35 - 0:12:54 that God uses other people to build blessings that he will pass to you. Right? Going back to the analogy. Some dude is running full speed up the field towards you. You do not have the ball. He does, you're just standing there waiting for it, right? And you're in the place you're supposed to be and you've 0:12:54 - 0:13:17 done all the things that you can do without the ball and you're ready to do the things that you can only do once you have the ball and then you get the ball. That's actually astonishingly similar to the way it works in the gospel. God uses other people to build blessings that he will pass to you. And 0:13:17 - 0:13:42 this is such a, a, an inspiring thought because it counteracts so many sources of uh disappointment and discouragement in life where you have someone who in spite of their best efforts or perhaps they've made some mistakes along the way. It doesn't matter who really, really, really, really wants better 0:13:42 - 0:14:02 things. They're not just saying it, they really want it and if they had an opportunity, they'd go for it, but they feel like they've gotten into a trap in life where there's no escaping their situation. Well, I have good news for you. Jesus Christ is the redeemer and you should look up what that word 0:14:02 - 0:14:36 means. It means he pays the price to get you out of a nasty situation. He redeems us and all of his servants participate in that mission, all of his real servants. One of the purposes of angels is to fulfill the covenants of the father. And a part of that fulfillment is to redeem people in whatever way 0:14:35 - 0:14:55 might fall to them, whatever opportunity they might have to do. So, so let me read you this passage from First Corinthians three because what Paul is talking about is a very real phenomenon and you will absolutely see it in your life. If you're live today, you're gonna see this. If you haven't already 0:14:55 - 0:00:00 , you will. For while one saith I am of Paul and another I am of Apollo. Are ye not Carnal? Who then is Paul and who is Apollo? But ministers to whom ye believed even as the Lord gave to every man I have planted Apollos watered but God gave the increase. So then neither is he that planteth anything, 0:00:00 - 0:15:43 neither he that water eth. But God that giveth the increase. Now he that planteth and he that water are one and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labor. For we are laborers together with God. Ye are God's husbandry. Ye are God's building according to the grace of God, which 0:15:42 - 0:16:04 is given unto me as a wise master builder. I have laid the foundation and another build thereon. But let every man take heed how he build thereupon. Now there's a lot there. But some of the things that are there include that this idea that this whole work is God's work and we're all fellow laborers in 0:16:04 - 0:16:33 that work. And while we each receive according to our own labor, we all help each other in getting further than we otherwise could. And that's a delegated duty from God. But one, one quality of the way this works is that you'll, you'll continuously see one person strive to do all that they can. And then 0:16:32 - 0:16:57 it, it's not like that just transitions into better and better and better and better forever frequently. What happens is they hit a barrier and then their transition onto another path that was built by another person and it's better than the one they have. This happens all the time. Here's a really simple 0:16:57 - 0:17:23 example. So uh many people who have served full time missions in the L DS church will tell you that some of the best connections they ever made with people didn't come from their own direct effort. You know, they could knock on all the doors in a very large area and not get a single solid uh appointment 0:17:21 - 0:17:47 to teach. But as they did that, as they exerted the best they could, they got this golden referral from another person or some crazy miracle from God where he said, go to this place. This is what the house looks like. Knock on this door and you hear these stories again and again and again, I have too 0:17:47 - 0:18:12 many to count from my own two years. It happens all the time and it's not just in this, this very isolated case of L DS full time missionaries. This happens all the time in life where you do the best that you can and it fails miserably. And then all of a sudden out of nowhere, God connects you with something 0:18:11 - 0:18:32 that someone else put together, that's a million times better than what you had. And again, the sad thing is because some people are. So, whether it's a mix of pride or just blindness and not understanding how these things work, they completely miss these opportunities even when they're dangled right 0:18:32 - 0:18:49 in front of them. And they're like little toddlers that refuse help because they want to do it themselves. But they absolutely can't, you know, like a little baby who hasn't learned to hold the spoon, who's really hungry and wants the food but wants to hold the spoon themselves. Or else they won't accept 0:18:49 - 0:19:13 it from their parents. And that's how most people are and like a little baby, they'll throw the spoon across the room, right? Or just spit out the food. Here's another one from John for Jesus saith unto them. My meat is to do the will of him that sent me and to finish his work. I, I just wanna pause 0:19:12 - 0:19:38 there. How many of you can say that to say my mate, what he meant is my purpose. My purpose is to do the will of him that sent me and to finish his work. This is one of many things that Jesus said that we chalk up to something that only Jesus could or should say. And really, it's a wonderful example 0:19:37 - 0:20:00 of what he wants us to be able to say and what we have to be able to say if we really want to follow him. Imagine if you took upon yourself the responsibility to finish the work of Christ first in yourself. And then echoing out in the circles of your influence, your spouse, your Children, your community 0:19:59 - 0:20:23 and so on. How different would your life be if you took upon yourself that responsibility or to put it another way to take upon yourself, the name of Christ, or to put it another way to pick up his cross and follow him in your house. If, if you're an adult and you have kids at home in your house, what 0:20:22 - 0:20:53 would it be like to if everyone in your house took upon them, the responsibility to do the will of you as their parent and finish your work, imagine how, how insanely different your daily life would be if the people in your house did this and the only problems that you saw in your, in your household 0:20:52 - 0:21:24 would be the ones that are beyond their capacity in which you could gladly help them or the ones they didn't yet know about because they don't yet understand the things that you do. Is there a better way of defining what peace at home would look like? And we learn these things as families first anyway 0:21:24 - 0:21:48 . So Jesus said this and then continuing on, say not ye there are yet four months and then cometh harvest, behold. I say unto you, lift up your eyes and look on the fields for they are white already to harvest. And another side note here, he's saying, you think that harvest is four months away because 0:21:47 - 0:22:11 you know the grain harvest is. But he says, lift up your eyes and look on the fields. They are white already to harvest. And we'll get to this point. I think a la a little later in the slideshow. But this dovetails into this verse where he says, uh take ye not thought for the morrow for sufficient unto 0:22:10 - 0:22:40 the day is the evil thereof, which sounds really negative. But what he's saying is every single day contains within it. Exactly what is needed to take you from exactly where you are to the exact best place you could be. One day later. This is an immense blessing from God and we trample all over it like 0:22:39 - 0:23:10 pigs, given pearls because we don't see the value of each day. If you knew the value of each day, you would live each day like you've been given the greatest gift in the universe because for you, you have been and it has come at a tremendous price and the value of every moment is so high. Lift up your 0:23:10 - 0:23:29 eyes and look on the fields for they're white already to harvest. You look and you see these things that are far off and you lust after them and it is lust because you don't understand what they are. You're just making up what you guess the value might be. Meanwhile, you're completely ignoring these 0:23:29 - 0:23:52 tremendous blessings that are right in front of your face every single day. And you're treating them like they're nothing. Verse 36. And he that reeth receive wages and Gareth fruit unto life. Eternal. That both he that soe and he, that reeth may rejoice together. There are few pieces to this, right 0:23:52 - 0:24:20 ? We gotta take it slow. So, so we don't skip over them. He says the harvest is already ready to go. It's all set up. Here's a sickle, go to town and the, the more you go to town, the the more wages you'll receive, you're gathering fruit to eternal life. You're here to have greater joy forever. That's 0:24:20 - 0:24:53 your mission. And the more heed and diligence you apply to that task, the more you will succeed in it. And he even gives us this key. The secret is to focus on the benefit to others and both he that soe and he that reeth may rejoice together. But Jesus underscores the point in verse 37 that one soe and 0:24:53 - 0:25:19 another reeth 38 I sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labor, other men labored and ye are entered into their labors. Now, when John sends out the 70 they're not operating on people, they're not interacting with people who had never ever heard anything about the gospel. He sent them to Israel 0:25:18 - 0:25:43 who had a long chain of servants that had preached the gospel to them for generations. This is what he meant by this. But expanding this principle out to more general level there is nothing in this world that is uniquely a result of you. You're standing on the shoulders of giants in all that you do in 0:25:42 - 0:26:15 all that you experience. The question is, what are you doing with it? How diligently are you reaping and are you sowing more seeds or are you just standing there in the field doing nothing? So these themes are examples of how God builds blessings through righteous people that He will pass to you when 0:26:14 - 0:26:33 you reach the point where you've done all you can with what you have. And that is absolutely the key. Now, that's not the only way he does it. He also does it through the wicked and we'll get there. But first, I want to go through some examples of how he builds blessings through the righteous that he 0:26:33 - 0:27:03 then passes on to you. Here's a fun one. The brass serpent in first Nephi 1741 we read this description of how that worked. And as a refresher, this was the, the brass serpent that Moses um set up as an example of some of what Christ would be and do as a remedy to the poisonous bites. They were getting 0:27:02 - 0:27:22 from these serpents in, in the wilderness, it says, and he did straighten them in the wilderness with his rod for they hardened their hearts even as ye have and the Lord straightened them because of their iniquity. He sent fiery flying serpents among them. And after they were bitten. He prepared a way 0:27:22 - 0:27:41 that they might be healed and the labor which they had to perform was to look. And because of the simpleness of the way or the easiness of it, there were many who perished. Now, I want, I do want to break this down just a little because we're here and it's valuable and I apologize if this is too much 0:27:41 - 0:00:00 of a detraction from the point. And so hopefully, it doesn't distract you too much. What does it mean to straiten straiten? It means to correct them. So he did it in the wilderness with his rod. Now, people think of the Lord as this endless fount of mercy and it's not wrong to think that. But there, 0:00:00 - 0:28:41 there is an overwhelming quality of justice to the Lord and that's his rod. It's cause and effect because mercy is an opportunity to make justice into a greater blessing than it is given your, your past decisions. So he, he says that the Lord straightened them because of their iniquity. What does iniquity 0:28:40 - 0:29:11 mean? It means it means the opposite of fair. That's kind of a surprise because we think of iniquity as a synonym for evil, for wickedness, but that's not what it is. It, it's an inequality of what type that, that sort of become a, a popular idea and a a corrupted idea. It means what is deserved, what 0:29:11 - 0:29:47 is most reasonable, what is best? Um That's what equality means in the gospel. Iniquity is anything other than that. It's to do what is unreasonable to, to do what is unfair. And so this was a people who had a serious value problem, not value as in moral values per se value, as in their appraisal of 0:29:47 - 0:30:10 value. They chose what had no worth. They spent their money on what had no worth. They desired things that were less than what was actually best and so on. They desired to have what they didn't deserve. That's iniquity. All of these things are iniquity. And so what was his remedy for this? He sent them 0:30:10 - 0:30:39 a problem that was beyond their ability to solve themselves. And then he gave the solution through Moses and they had to do a certain thing in response to Moses in order to be freed from those poisonous bites. And there were people who would not do it, even though it was simple, they would not do it 0:30:38 - 0:31:01 . And it was actually the easiness of it that made it easier to turn away from, in other words, because it looked small in their sight. They decided it was of little value. Does that happen to people today? Do people turn away from opportunities to improve? Because they don't think it really matters 0:31:01 - 0:31:24 all that much. If you say to people, look, here are some things that have already happened. The writing is on the wall and this pattern is going to continue. It's reasonable to assume that but also here are some stronger reasons why it's going to, do you want to react to that or do you want to ignore 0:31:24 - 0:31:48 it? Well, a whole lot of people respond by saying, well, it's not like that yet. So I'm just gonna ignore you because of the simpleness of the way many will perish. So we read in Alma 3746 0 My son do not let us be slothful because of the easiness of the way for. So was it with our fathers for? So was 0:31:47 - 0:32:17 it prepared for them that if they would look, they might live even? So it is with us the way is prepared and if we will look, we may live forever, I tell you even so it is with us. The way is always prepared. God never ceases to provide the way he never ceases to prepare the way he has an extremely intricate 0:32:16 - 0:32:47 system through which he sends the people needed to earth at any time to ensure that all people have what they need so that His promises can be fulfilled, his promise that all can ascend as high as they will. And this is why it's true that people get what they want in the eternal scheme, they get what 0:32:47 - 0:33:12 they deserve because they get what they chose. But if you don't understand that the way is prepared and how it is prepared, you are not going to look and you are not going to live you will not find eternal life. You will not find the outcomes that you seek because they will be provided in a way that 0:33:12 - 0:33:38 you don't recognize and you won't receive. The people didn't have to make the brass serpent. The people didn't have to be worthy of God telling them to do it. The people didn't have to put it up on a pole. Moses did all those things. All they had to do was look at this freaking thing. That's it. And 0:33:38 - 0:34:01 they could have the full blessings for which they did not pay. Here's another example. The Liahona in first Nephi 16, we read and it came to pass that the voice of the Lord spake unto my father by night and commanded him that on the morrow, he should take his journey into the wilderness. Here's the problem 0:34:01 - 0:34:26 Lehi had no idea where to go, but he wanted, he strongly desired to do what the Lord had commanded him to do likewise. There are things in your life that you've been commanded to do by the Lord, whether those are general things or specific to you. It doesn't matter. They're just as important if you sincerely 0:34:25 - 0:34:45 desire with all your heart to do those things. God will make a way and sometimes that way will be provided through other people. So continuing here in 1st 516, we're gonna go to verse 10 and it came to pass that as my father arose in the morning and went forth to the tent door to his great astonishment 0:34:45 - 0:35:06 , he beheld upon the ground, a round ball of curious workmanship and it was a fine brass and within the ball were two spindles and the one pointed the way whither we should go in the wilderness. There you go. There's the solution to someone else. Now, I'm gonna pick this story up from Alma 37 because 0:35:06 - 0:35:26 there's a, there are a few elements of this that we get a greater highlight on. And now my son, I have somewhat to say concerning the thing which our fathers call a ball or director or our fathers called it Liahona, which is being interpreted a compass and the Lord prepared it and behold, there cannot 0:35:25 - 0:35:42 any man work after the manner of so curious, a workmanship and behold, it was prepared to show unto our fathers the course which they should travel in the wilderness and it did work for them according to their faith in God. Therefore, if they had faith to believe that God could cause that those spindles 0:35:41 - 0:36:04 should point the way that they should go. Behold, it was done. Therefore, they had this miracle and also many other miracles wrought by the power of God day by day. Nevertheless, because those miracles were worked by small means, it did show unto them marvelous works. They were slothful and forgot to 0:36:04 - 0:36:33 exercise their faith and diligence. And then those marvelous work ceased and they did not progress in their journey. No alma then relates this to the way all things work with God. He says, the word of Christ will point you a straight course to eternal bliss. And, and he says that the more heed and diligence 0:36:33 - 0:36:55 you give to that the greater the outcomes will be. And echoing this language about the brass serpent, he says, do not let us be slothful because of the easiness of the way for. So it was with our fathers for. So was it prepared for them that if they would look, they might live even so it is with us the 0:36:55 - 0:37:17 way is prepared. And if we look, we may live forever sound familiar because we just read that with the brass serpent, the way is prepared and if we will look, we may live forever. So one thing I want to point out real quick before we forget is that he says that it was so curious, a workmanship that no 0:37:17 - 0:37:42 man could have made it. It had to have been from the Lord. Now, um you will find references to curious workmanship in, for example, the construction of the Tabernacle in the, in the the the wilderness for the people of Moses, the Israelites, there are other examples as well. But this distinction here 0:37:41 - 0:38:05 is that even though for example, Nephi later learned metallurgy and he built swords and things, the fact was that this extremely intricate advanced piece of technology just appeared to them it was completely beyond the capacity of Lehigh or Nephi to build this thing, to even conceive of this thing. It's 0:38:05 - 0:38:21 not like they were expecting to open the tent door and find this thing on the ground. It, it'd be like you walking out the door and I don't know, there's a brand new corvette in your driveway. Right. It, it's the last thing you would expect, but it's even worse than that because you've seen a corvette 0:38:21 - 0:38:42 before, right. It'd be like a bushman in, in some remote area who's never seen any examples of technology, finding a brand new corvette in their driveway. Well, they wouldn't have a driveway but you get the point. Right. Why is this important to underscore when God provides you, these escapes from the 0:38:42 - 0:39:02 traps that you're in? It's going to be a surprise. It's not going to be the way you would think to get out of it. You know, uh, if you're in massive amounts of debt, a lot of people who are addicted to gambling, they, they think that they're gonna get out of it by gambling some more. Maybe there's an 0:39:02 - 0:39:21 opportunity to get out of it. That's totally different than what you would have expected. And your open mindedness to that is absolutely going to be a limiting factor to God sending it to you. If these guys opened up their tent door, saw this ball and said, what the heck, I just picked it up and chucked 0:39:21 - 0:39:41 it into the woods because they were expecting that God would give them some angel to go before them with a pillar of smoke and, and fire like he did with the Israelites. After all, they were being led to a land of promise. Right. Why wouldn't he just do it the same way he did with Moses? Well, there 0:39:41 - 0:40:04 are reasons. So if, if you're expecting a pillar of fire and you get a little brass ball, don't pick up the ball and chuck it into the woods or step over it, you know, or kick it to the side. But that, but that's probably what you will do. So you have to catch yourself in this. All right. So, so now 0:40:04 - 0:40:32 let's get back to uh being slothful to give heed to the compass, exercising this faith part of looking. It says, uh, you have to look so you can live the way is prepared. And if you look, you will live forever. Part of looking is not just expecting something, it's expecting something really important 0:40:31 - 0:40:57 . So we already have, have delved deeply enough into this point that you ought to expect something different. Something that you wouldn't have imagined before. It doesn't mean it's, it's not without value. The brass serpent was a life saving device. People were dying. So it was definitely valuable. It 0:40:57 - 0:41:27 was just really weird. Ok. This Leona, it, it was curious workmanship. It was definitely a fine piece of technology, but it was super weird. If you think that the Lord can only send you tiny little blessings. He doesn't need other people to do that. He doesn't need angels to do that. You've already got 0:41:27 - 0:41:50 tiny little blessings all over your life. If that's all you want, that's so easy to fulfill. You probably already have them. If you're in big trouble, a little solution ain't gonna cut it. Ok? If you've reached the end of your rope and you have no idea what else you can do to get out of your situation 0:41:49 - 0:42:16 , you're not looking for a little thing. You're looking for a big thing, even if it's in a little package. Does this make sense? If you're going to ask the creator of the universe for something, don't ask for something little think about what you want more than life itself and ask for that. And if you 0:42:16 - 0:42:39 don't want anything more than life itself, ask him to send you the situations that will help you value something that much because that's actually the best thing he could do for you. The greatest blessings require complete commitment. They, they don't, they don't play around with, uh they won't compete 0:42:39 - 0:43:06 . It takes your whole heart. So these are important lessons for how to recognize and take advantage of when he sends you blessings that are beyond what you're capable of obtaining for yourself. Now, let's pivot and let's talk about how God uses others to build blessings that he'll pass to you from the 0:43:06 - 0:43:27 wicket. See, God created all of this and he knows what he's doing. He made it in such a way that even the wicked achieve his purposes, they can't help but do it. It's like how water always runs downhill. It, it doesn't matter what the water wants to do, that's what it's going to do, even if it's not 0:43:27 - 0:43:47 aware of what it's doing, that's what it's going to do. And the wicked can't help but achieve the purposes of God. It's not that, that they don't have choice. It's that even when they make wicked choices, God is going to turn that around and make it serve his purposes too because that's how powerful 0:43:46 - 0:44:11 He is and how good and wise he is. It's all designed that way. So Luke 1924 says, and he said unto them that stood by, take from him the pound and give it to him that hath 10 pounds. Do you remember this parable? So the, the point here is that, you know, in the, in this story, the the master had given 0:44:11 - 0:44:32 several of his servants, some, some seed money and he said, go and make me some more money. I'm I'm gonna go away and I'll come back. And when he came back, the, the one guy that had one pound, he had just buried it in the earth and the master wasn't too happy about that. So he said, take that from him 0:44:31 - 0:44:57 . He has not been a wise steward and give it to the one who had 10 pounds who made the most money. God absolutely does this. In the, in the long term, every person will get what they deserve and what this means. This is another verse in Luke is that for many, what they think they have will be taken from 0:44:56 - 0:45:23 them. And this includes, there's no, there's no holds barred on this. This is, includes everything. It's not just wealth, it's not just uh respect from other people. How, how other people see you. It's not just your um your skills, your understanding, it's your family too, including your spouse. There 0:45:23 - 0:45:48 are many, many, many people who are married to someone that they will not be with in the eternities, even if some guy promised that they would be in Proverbs 1322 we read the wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just. And this is the same principle. Again, God's justice will be settled, it will be 0:45:47 - 0:46:10 paid out and every single person will get what they deserve. So if the sinners have more than they deserve, the, the wicked people, God will take it away from them and he'll give it to the people who deserve it. And again, there are no limitations on what can be transferred in this way. What will be 0:46:10 - 0:46:30 transferred in this way. Here's an example of this principle. It's from Deuteronomy six, it says, and it shall be when the Lord, thy God shall have brought thee into the land which he swear unto thy fathers to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob to give thee great and goodly cities which thou builds not and 0:46:30 - 0:46:52 house is full of all good things which thou fill it not and wells digged which thou digest, not vineyards and olive trees, which thou plants not when thou shalt have eaten and be full. Then beware lest thou forget the Lord which brought the fourth out of the land of Egypt from the house of Bondage. So 0:46:52 - 0:47:17 when Israel took the promised land, it wasn't empty. The Canaanites had already built up cities and farms and they had all this infrastructure set up already. Remember when they sent the spies and they came back with the fruit of the land. It it was to prove to Israel that it was already set up and ready 0:47:17 - 0:47:42 to go. They weren't being taken to some, some desert. It was, it was a, a lush, fruitful place that already had all these uh all this infrastructure set up. So God took it from the Canaanites who sinned against him in rejecting the ministry of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and gave it to their Children 0:47:41 - 0:48:07 . He promised the land to Abraham and he fulfilled that promise 400 years later. So this is an example of him taking away from the wicked, the the blessings that are reserved from the right for the righteous. Now, this is a really important example because it's so often the case today that the blessings 0:48:07 - 0:48:28 that a person is looking for, they're beyond their own capacity to obtain. And they don't realize that God has gone through an extensive process to set this up through someone else. And again, we talked about the two ways this happens from the, from the righteous or from the wicked. But the point is 0:48:28 - 0:49:00 that it's set up already and all you have to do to receive the inheritance is the best that you know, right now day by day, that's the very, that's the very process. So let's drill down into that. The first key on how to obtain blessings beyond your ability is to focus on the problems currently facing 0:48:59 - 0:49:23 you. Not the stuff that lies beyond that, everyone wants to skip over the stuff right in front of them. The problem with this is not only is what lies beyond that currently, beyond your capacity because we proceed line upon line precept upon precept, you grow successively, but your understanding of what 0:49:23 - 0:49:47 lies beyond the present step is almost assuredly wrong. It's certainly limited. And this is like trying to build a building when you've got a partial blueprint or a partial blueprint, that's also all blurry, whatever you make is not gonna be what it needs to be. What do you think the structural integrity 0:49:46 - 0:50:11 of a flubbed up blueprint building is, it's, it's definitely not gonna be what it was meant to be. And so the way to get from point A to point B is to focus on point A, that's, that's it. Every single day provides you with the opportunity to make the greatest progress from where you are to where you 0:50:11 - 0:50:39 could be. You can't get around that. The second point to make here is that it's required that you do the best, you know, in all things. Now, you'd think that of all the people in the world, folks who were raised L DS or who were L DS at some point would know this because the temple, the L DS temple is 0:50:39 - 0:51:05 kind of a big deal to that theology. And if you distill everything in the endowment down to just a few points, one of them is most definitely this concept that you will not receive more and better from God until you live up to what you've already received. So why is this something that people just don't 0:51:04 - 0:51:32 get? And they, they, they writhe and writhe looking for some other way? It's not possible. You have to actually do what you know, to receive more and better. Now, let's flip this around and look at it in a positive light. DNC 1 23 17 says, therefore, dearly beloved brethren, let us cheerfully do all 0:51:31 - 0:51:59 things that lie in our power. And then this is an if then people and then may we stand still with the utmost assurance to see the salvation of God for his arm to be revealed. You want to see more of God's power in your life. What's really simple, cheerfully do all things that lie in your power, do everything 0:51:58 - 0:52:31 that you can see is the best given your current understanding. And then when you get through with that pray to God and say, Lord, I've been true and faithful in everything that you've given me. How can I be better? And He will tell you, he will tell you every single time. Second knee 5 25 23 for he labored 0:52:31 - 0:52:54 diligently to write, to persuade our Children and also our brethren to believe in Christ and to be reconciled to God. Pause, how are you reconciled to God? What does that mean? It means you're doing everything you believe He would in your place and nothing you believe He would not do in your place. You 0:52:53 - 0:53:18 pretend you're Him in your life. And when you hit something where you're not sure what he would do, you pray and you read the scriptures and you look for someone who might know more than you do about it and you just keep incrementing your understanding continuing the verse. Why do we do this? Why do 0:53:18 - 0:53:45 we persuade people to be reconciled to God? For we know that it is by grace that we are saved. After all we can do. When you do everything you can, you will be shown the arm of God in your life, His blessings will flow to you far beyond anything that you can do for yourself. And when you do not do that 0:53:44 - 0:54:12 , when you fall short of that, you remove yourself from that blessing. It is that simple. So how important is it to recognize the ways in which His arm is revealed? Because if you miss it, you will fall out of this state of being reconciled to God. If an angel were to drop down from heaven to you and 0:54:12 - 0:54:37 , and say, uh the Lord sent me to you to tell you that you need to get a better job. And you responded to that by saying thanks. No, thanks. I'm good. I don't need you to tell me that I can go directly to God if he wanted to tell me, he could tell me me himself or uh but, but I need my job, but my job 0:54:37 - 0:55:01 is so important or whatever or I'm a chicken. I don't wanna apply to any other jobs. Then obviously you would be cutting yourself off from the state of being reconciled to God because now you're no longer doing what he would do in your place and he's communicated this to you. Well, is the situation any 0:55:01 - 0:55:26 different when it's a human angel instead of an angel dropping down from heaven, no angels speak by the power of the holy ghost. If a human being says something to you and it's according to a superior understanding of the mind of God than you have. You are under just as much an obligation to heed what 0:55:26 - 0:55:56 they say. Now, this isn't some cultish, um, blind following. No, all angels have to give you sufficient reasons. The, the angel isn't the reason. You know, you can do some kind of a do on a fleece test or whatever you need to do. But, but if they're giving you persuasive reasons, which might be as simple 0:55:56 - 0:56:28 as look, just try this thing that I'm suggesting it has a low enough cost and a high enough potential benefit that it makes sense. That's all it takes, that's sufficient. And you are on the hook if you ignore that or you take it lightly. So first Corinthians 1013, this is a popular one there hath no 0:56:28 - 0:56:51 temptation taken you but such as is common to man, but God is faithful who will not suffer you to be tempted above that you are able. But with will, with the temptation also make a way to escape that ye may be able to bear it. Now, unfortunately, people pervert this one pretending that what it means 0:56:51 - 0:57:26 is God will make you capable of overcoming any temptation. Well, indirectly, sure, eventually, sure, but more often than not the way to escape, that's provided is not through you. It's through someone else. Do you want an example? Hezekiah was potentially the most righteous king in ancient Israel if 0:57:25 - 0:57:58 he wasn't the most. He was certainly top three. Ok. Notwithstanding that when he prayed a very heartfelt and appropriate prayer for God's help in response to the invasion of his kingdom, the answer did not come to him, it came to Isaiah. And when Isaiah presented that answer, Hezekiah didn't flip his 0:57:58 - 0:58:22 lid, he didn't tell Isaiah to go pound sand. I'm just gonna get this direct from God. And what, what did Isaiah bring, he bring, he, he brought a sign and the, the sundial went in reverse, right? So it wasn't a case, even though Hezekiah knew and trusted Isaiah, he had every reason to believe that he 0:58:22 - 0:58:51 was a real prophet and, and that God really did speak to him, but there was this sign. So there was sufficient reason, but not all invitations require these kind of huge miracles to occur. Sufficient reason is just sufficient reason. Some things are really hard to explain to people and, and then it becomes 0:58:51 - 0:59:19 appropriate for other ways, uh other means of evidence. But we need to understand that that God uses other people at least sometimes and, and maybe most of the time to provide this way to escape. Speaking of Isaiah, here's chapter 40 verse 31. And before now, I'm not sure anyone really understands what 0:59:18 - 0:59:40 this means, but I'm gonna tell you, but they, that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings as easel eagles, they shall run and not be weary and they shall walk and not faint. This is a well known promise, but it's claimed by people who don't understand the mechanism 0:59:39 - 1:00:05 , who wouldn't recognize it if they encountered it and therefore would reject it and therefore would not ever have the blessing. Eagles here are angels. It's a common analogy used in the scriptures. Eagles is angels. Jesus does it, for example, where the, where the, where the carcass is, that's where 1:00:05 - 1:00:29 the eagles will go, right? That's not the best example because in some versions, it uses the word vultures, but uh both are important for different reasons. So what are the wings of eagles? This is super important to understand the Book of Revelation. What are the wings of angels? Are they physical things 1:00:29 - 1:01:05 ? Are they symbolic things? What are they? What does it mean to mount up with wings as or from eagles? Where do angels get their wings? What are these wings? These are important questions? OK. To keep this super brief and not do all the work for you. If you want to receive the blessings that are possessed 1:01:04 - 1:01:30 by someone else, you need to learn from them, how they got them and do the same things. Sometimes they can give you, I don't want to call it a shortcut, but maybe that's the easiest way to say it. They can save you a lot of trouble in helping you to do these things in a much more direct way than they 1:01:30 - 1:01:56 had to figure it out. But God is just, and you can only have the blessings of the law that you live. So if you want to run and not be weary and walk and not faint, you have to figure out how that's done and angels will tell you and, and this is obviously can be boiled down, sliced down to any specific 1:01:56 - 1:02:31 scope. So how are they going to do this? They're going to communicate to you their ideas, they're going to show you their example, they're going to construct for you and offer to you opportunities. This is how this is a really, really, really important thing to understand when you're stuck. Look for 1:02:31 - 1:03:03 people who have better ideas than you who provide an example of what you want and don't have and who offer you opportunities to obtain it. Now again, the key is that you are willing to do every reasonable thing, reasonable is a keyword, no matter how different it may be or how ridiculous the person with 1:03:02 - 1:03:33 the invitation may seem. Now we already sort of made that point. We talking about kicking the Liahona, think about what you want and look for any plausible way that you might get it. What is better will absolutely be different, although not everything that is different is better. So you can count on 1:03:33 - 1:03:59 it being different. Don't let that be a disqualifying factor. So how can you tell the difference between what's different and better and what's just different. Well, truth always leaves clues. Pay attention to the fruits. God never expects you to do something that doesn't have sufficient reasons, but 1:03:58 - 1:04:27 he will hold you accountable for everything that does. Let's try to wrap this all up with two brief bullets when you're overwhelmed and you are already doing the best that, you know, look to God for help and recognize that the way to escape your situation will likely be through another person.