I Refuse To Lose | Preston Morrison | Gateway Church

this weekend the title the messages I refuse to lose and I'm going to walk you down a path that is extremely scriptural but I'm gonna set it up by kind of bus chucking myself alright because I am intensely competitive I've always been this way I some would say I have a problem in the last service I could feel the judgement from about half of the room some were applauding this behavior others we're sitting there judging me with their eyes like I can't believe you're a pastor so I'll bust Chuck myself but I know there's some competitive people in the room I I don't I can't play basketball at the gym at my gym because it's hard for me not to flip that switch you know like if we're playing and you you say one little thing like it's it's on like Donkey Kong now and and I'm not a pastor anymore I'm a thug and I mean a government's ago my I was with my boys at the gym I was just shooting around we weren't even playing and this big kid it looked like it was in high school turns out he was he was the starting center senior at shap great great basketball player playing in college now he's like hey you want to play one-on-one I'm like yeah bro let's go I thought I could keep it under wraps you know I was trying to kind of show my boys even though I'm in my 40s now daddy still got it don't you worry about it and but I was still trying to be pastoral and set a good example you know what I'm saying so we start playing and and this kid at big kid he starts backing me down like he was MJ and I just I was I was being sensitive I was like oh oh that that was good good he beat me the first game and I was fine like it was 11 7 you know no big deal I knew if I wanted I could have flipped the switch and some of your thinking yeah sure I'm not done with the story the kid made one comment at the end of the first game and I thought all right son let's go let's go I am NOT pastor Preston now I'm too some dude the gym whose middle-aged about to teach this young buck a lesson class is in session kid let's just say second game 11:4 I dominated them but we have to play three because we have to know which one of us is better right he's like you want to run it back now I am wheezing I'm gonna I'm not gonna hide that fact okay I'm like yeah bro yeah my son wants some water I'm gonna give him some water I'll come back I took as long as I could to get that water came back played a third eleven five I taught the kid a lesson let me just say this so no no now you don't need to applause you don't you don't need to applaud here's why cuz if you would have been there you wouldn't go to church here anymore I'm just kidding I'm just kidding some of you're like but did you lead into Jesus no I probably pushed him further away honestly but it's just always been this way that's why I don't play like if you ever invite me over to your house for dinner and then you say and to play games I will know you're trying to shut this church down okay I've just always been competitive and and it's just it comes out every once in a while and I try to kind of keep it under wraps and you know not let the cat out of the bag but it just happens every once in a while like on our honeymoon we'd been married 24 hours and my wife was a two-sport college athlete very very competitive that was it was love God be competitive I don't care what else happens after that and she grew up with two older brothers and an older sister and they were you know they'd wrestle and they'd push around and I was the oldest and I didn't do that with my brothers very often and so we're kind of different that way well when we were first together like Holly she was a button-pusher like I mean she just like she'd want to see me flip that switch she just pushed me like come on flip it let's see come on let's go so 24 hours we're on a cruise ship and she grabs the pillow off of our bed and she just walks up to me and she goes why hahaha that's so cute why am she did it even harder unlike woman don't wham across the face I'm like babe we've been married for 24 hours do you want me to exercise my authority completely I didn't say that I promise I'm not that dumb huh huh there's a couple em in there like I talk like that yeah but anyways different message huh I was like babe don't don't push my buttons she literally pushes me she's like come on let's go well this was in a day where cruise ships had not been been refurbished yet you know so it was like 70s you know decor and remember the scratchy couches from the 70s well we were on that cruise ship and so instead of grabbing the sweet soft pillow off of the bed that she grabbed to hit me in the face with I reach for the scratchy 70s pillow on the couch she hit me again in the face I reached for the pillow and I know slam Oh wham the zipper on the pillow caught my wife flush in the lip and instantaneously her lip just skull exploded on me I am panicking immediately and I 24 hours we've been married and all I heard myself say out loud was please don't tell your dad she's crying and I'm going I'm never gonna do this again like what did you do you beep flip the switch don't flip the switch I'm sorry I wasn't trying to hurt you we were just playing I promise I'll never do this again and it happened like six months later I'm sure but here's the point you're like where's the point I'm gonna get to it I was created as a very competitive individual I hate to lose but on a very serious note there are some things at the top of my list areas in life where I despise losing and I want you to understand one of those areas at the top of my list is I refuse to lose our children I refuse it I literally teeth clenched hands clenched I refuse to lose our children to the extent that we can do something to reach children we will and you're gonna see why it's scriptural I'm not just preaching this because it's back-to-school weekend preaching this because this is the message the Lord gave me for this weekend so I want to show you a couple of reasons why we must all have this mentality that we must refuse to lose as it relates to children in the kingdom of God here's answer number one point number one because God is serious about kids God is serious about kids and you see all through Christ's ministry on the earth for those three years you see some pretty serious moments with kids here's one of the ways you can see how serious God is about kids Jesus scolds those who keep children from coming to him Matthew 19:13 one day some parents brought their children Jesus so he could lay his hands on them and pray for them simple requests but the disciples scolded the parents for bothering him so the disciples remount the parents were bringing the kids to Jesus but Jesus said and I'm pretty sure his tone was strong to the same extent extent the disciples just scolded the parents I think Jesus scolded the disciples even more he says let the children come to me don't stop them for the kingdom of heaven belongs to those who are like these children Jesus placed his hands on their heads and blessed them before he left how do you know if you're keeping children from coming to him simple answer if you're not bringing any of them to him you know if you aren't bringing any children to Christ it's just another way of saying I am keeping children from coming to Christ and Jesus scolds the disciples think about this and this is not even one of the sub points did you realize there's a place in scripture where Jesus goes on record and says let me just say if you cause one of these children who believes in me to stumble it will be better for you to tie a heavy cement weight around your neck and drop to the bottom of the ocean than be left in my hands okay those are fighting words he is serious about children Jesus Culture disciples for getting in the way of children coming to him here's another way that we see him being serious he puts them under his name mark chapter 9 verse 36 then Jesus put a little child among them taking the child in his arms he said to them anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf welcomes me and anyone who welcomes me welcomes not only me but also my father who sent me now it's kind of help you understand this point I'm gonna tell a story and it's gonna sound like I'm name-dropping I don't name drop I don't like the name drop I know that I don't respect people who do I just don't think it's necessary but you'll understand why I'm telling you this story related to this sub point okay about a year year and a half ago I got an invitation to go to a Diamondbacks game and it happened to be the play in Game two the playoffs and the invitation I receive was from one of the two owners of the Diamondbacks and he said I'd like to bring you and your wife to the play in game and I said well my wife won't be able to come she said a volleyball match with my daughter but I'll probably bring one of my son's and he said well how many sons do you have and I said I have two sons he said well there will be three tickets at will-call under my name and yours for you and both your sons please come to the game I said okay we would love to I went home I told the boys and one of my son said daddy what are we gonna wear all we have is Rangers t-shirts so we had to run to the store don't tell the owner of the Diamondbacks but we had to run to the store we had to buy some d-backs t-shirts and we go to the stadium that night and we got a will call and sure enough my name and his name are on an envelope and it says guests of and it had his name and mine underneath it from the moment I received that envelope everything was different I've been to Super Bowls with great guests I've been to World Series with great guests I mean I've had some some special moments but I've never been treated at a sporting event like I was treated at this one we go into the stadium we go down we realize where our seats are we're in the sixth row in the owners section and two winnings in at the end of the second inning servers start coming to our seats asking us what we'd like to eat and so my boys kind of gave me that look like Daddy are we allowed to order anything I'm like yeah go ahead or do what you want at the end of the second inning she goes gets the food brings it to the kids and I've reached out my wallet and I said how much is that gonna be she said oh it's gonna be free sir it's already been taken care of by and she said the owner's name my boys immediately at the revelation of a blank check started strategizing which food groups would happen between which innings and every inning the server came and made my sons feel like they were the kings of the earth even better than that at the end of the 3rd inning the owner of the Diamondbacks who was sitting in the front row with a young man in college in his dad who was dying of cancer at the time at the end of the 3rd inning he comes up to the 6th row and he says Preston I want you to take the boys and sit down in my seats in the front row behind the net and I said no no it's ok these are great you know we were right behind Randy Johnson and I said we're fine here he said no no I want you to go down there I want to think about this the owner of the Diamondbacks in the play hidden game goes and sits in the 6th row so that I can take my son's up to the front row and sit in his seats an e free ice cream that he was paying for ok they treated us like we were the most special people on planet Earth why because he put his name on us he in essence said however you treat me I want you to treat my guess and my boys will never forget that day do you understand what Jesus is saying he's saying Preston how would you welcome me if I walked into this church don't just tell me how you'd welcome me you want to know how I know you would welcome me by however you welcome these children into my house precedent if you'd roll off the red carpet for me then you make that carpet twice as long for these young children I died for ok I want to make a strong statement and I don't care if I'll get in trouble for saying it but I so help me God I will go broke in this church we will go broke as a church reaching these kids I do not care I do not care I'm not telling you we're gonna waste money but I'm telling you I am doubling down in this season of my life I don't know what God's doing we have an amazing thing going on but we're gonna do even more because we have to we have to God is serious and here's the point when you really love someone and this is someone being God you take seriously what they are serious about God is serious about our kids and we must be - here's the second answer to the question because I'm an investor not just me because God has called us as his children to be Kingdom minded investors you are an investor I am an investor and let me just kind of refresh some of us on the principles of wise investing I'm just gonna give you two here's the first one wise investors think long-term not just short-term Matthew chapter 6 verse 19 I love the way the message translates this listen to what Jesus says don't hoard treasure down here where he gets eaten by Moz and corroded by rust or worse stolen by burglars watch this next phrase stock pile treasure in heaven where it's safe from moth and rust in burglars listen that there's a term in investing it's called compound interest it's a very simple term and it simply means the more I have my money invested the longer I have it invested the more money it makes me okay that the interest just starts to create more and more money even if I don't continue to invest if I just put a lump sum in the beginning the interest makes me more and more money with each and every year I have that money in that investment okay think about this and if you're older like me or even older than me don't take this personally we are not the best investments in the church we have far less time than they do these children represent the best long-term invest meant in the body of Christ period point-blank they are the best investment but here's the problem when you only think about you you won't invest in them beyond that when you only think about today you won't invest in tomorrow listen we need to be the kind of people that every time we walk into a room and we see someone in a younger generation than us we need to be thinking with an investment mindset to this day I've been a youth pastor I did that for almost seven years I was a young adults pastor for five plus years to this day I still walk into a room and I am constantly looking for the best soil to invest in it's how my mind works we have been created to be Kingdom minded investors and our children represent the best long-term investment there is in the church and I'm not just talking about money our time our energy they are a long-term investment here's the second principle of wise investing wise investors know what great investments look like proverbs 21 20 there is desirable treasure and oil in the dwelling of the wise but a foolish man squanders it let me kind of help you understand how we see resources here at this church every year we budget after praying as elders what we believe more on the safe side but of course by faith the giving that will come in in a calendar year and every year more has come in than what we budgeted since the beginning and we're very grateful for that but I want to hope you understand something when we get into a season where there is more that has come in than what we budgeted we don't sit around in the conference room and go what do we do with it all and just start making it rain wherever we want okay listen this is not my money so I can't decide what to do with it on my own this is not even our money so we can't decide what to do with it on our own it's all God's this is his house and it all belongs to him so here's what we do when there is extra that comes in we step back as elders and we pray the lead team does this we step back and pray Lord what do you want done with this extra this goes back to a principle that God taught me years ago when we've planted this church I was very stressed about the finances when we moved into this building we had $800 in the church savings account we were as week-to-week as you could possibly be not because we spent wildly there just wasn't a lot we moved into this building we didn't have enough money to buy chairs you know what's amazing that the church that was here before they had gotten into a little bit of trouble and so they they had to leave all of their assets here so we moved into this building projectors chairs computers furniture it was already here it was like moving into the promised land but we didn't have much and it was stressful and I was constantly stressed by the finances and one day in my quiet time I felt the Lord say Preston you don't understand how this works let me try and help you understand what this is like it's like the two of us are sitting at a very expensive restaurant together and the server has just brought the two of us menus and you have opened up the menu and it is dawning on you that you can't afford one thing at this restaurant impressed and I know you you try to be too cool for school so you're trying to come up with a way I can see it on your face a cool way to tell the server you've already eaten and you're just gonna have water bread and butter whereas now the server is asking me what I would like for dinner and I'll start with salads in order for different salads and then I moved to the appetizers and I'm gonna have six different appetizers and share with everybody around and I haven't even gotten to the entree Preston and you are having an all-out panic TAC because you actually think I'm gonna stick you with my bill he said Preston don't ever forget what I'm about to say to you son I always pay my bill Preston if I order it off of the menu trust and believe I will pay for it but I'll tell you when you should be stressed son if you ever bring me something that I didn't ask for I'm sticking you with the bill completely calibrated me for the rest of my ministerial career I don't stress anymore I don't stress about resources here's why my responsibility isn't to bring in resources my responsibility is to do whatever God says and if he brings something in and there have been seasons where has there has been extra my primary responsibility is to get away here the Lord on whatever he wants even if it doesn't make sense to me okay a couple years ago it started to become very obvious that one of the things he wanted done at the highest level at this church his children's ministry he started to speak about it to the extent that Noel who's one of our best leaders on our staff actually jumped into the children's ministry and started laying a foundation and then as this happen more and more team members God was drawing staff members and volunteers and these people were well beyond their years in anointing and gifting and it became very obvious God was doing something in our children's ministry and it reminded me years ago I heard TD jakes say something he said you can always tell that God's not building a chicken coop but rather building his temple when you see him bring in the heavy machinery to do it listen money isn't the most valuable resource on the earth people are simply put pennies are the currency of the earth or the currency of heaven it's great when God brings in extra money it's far better when God brings in gifted and anointed people to minister in the house of the Lord and he did he started bringing some incredible team members into this house to steward our children and when that happens it's one of the ways God says son I'm doing something here I'm behind it you better make sure you get behind it good investors know what good investments look like our children's ministry is one of the best investments in this church and I am NOT talking about money I've been praying leading up to this week that we'd have an influx of godly men and women who would go to our children's ministry and just say not because we need you to but because our children and our God deserve you doing it going into children's ministry and saying hey I want to serve once every two months I don't care what the term is that's between you and God but we have a responsibility to raise up these kids and that brings us to the third point we must refuse to lose because we have a mandate the word mandate means an official order a commission to do something we have a mandate a commissioning by the god of the universe to raise up the next generation but here's the problem in the church it's as though we see children like we see cars here's what I mean if I came to you after the service and I tossed you my keys and said hey I need you to go fill up my truck with gas some of you would be like oh okay some of you would think it was weird some of you I'd be catching at a bad time and you would immediately come back at me and say that's not mine that's your truck you fill it up with gas okay a lot of us see our children that way I'll take care of mine you take care of yours show me that in the Bible show me where in the Bible God says I want you to take care of your children and no one else's you cannot find it we're called to do both we are literally called to do both let me show you in proverbs 22 verse 6 probably one of the most famous verses related to children in the Bible train up your child know what it says that sounded like Jerry Seinfeld first hey that's not what it says train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it as a parent we have the mandate to build up our earthly family but as his child we have the mandate to build up our eternal family Psalm 145 verse 3 great is the Lord and greatly to be praised and his greatness is unsearchable one generation not one parent one generation shall commend your works to another generation and Shou declare your mighty acts but I want you to see in a one verse of scripture what happens when one generation shirts their responsibility of raising up the next generation in the house of the Lord go back to the Joshua generation which we hear talks about all the time you're the Joshua generation truth be told I don't want to be the Joshua generation and you're gonna see in judges chapter 2 verse 10 why I don't want to be the Joshua generation the Joshua generation was the generation that got into the Promised Land that's great I think it's awesome but I want you to see why I don't want to be the Joshua generation I want more than that I don't want to just get in I want you to see what happens Joshua dies and everyone in his generation dies - judges - verse 10 and all that generation also were gathered to their fathers they all died and there arose another generation after them who did not know the Lord or work that he had done for Israel as recipients of God's miracles we have a responsibility to teach the leaders of tomorrow about what God did yesterday Joshua's generation was a part of some of the greatest miracles recorded in Scripture and yet because it wasn't passed on the way it was supposed to the generation after didn't even know God this is what happens when one generation no matter how incredible the move of God is during their lifetime this is what happens judges chapter 2 verse 10 when one generation shirks their responsibilities of raising up the next generation in the house of the Lord now I want you to see scripturally the response I believe we're all to make it's basically a declaration when we understand I as a follower of Jesus Christ have a mandate not just to invest spiritually into my children but into all children everyone that comes across our path when you understand that's your mandate as a follower of Jesus Christ I believe there's a response and I want us to read it together say this out loud with me Psalm 78 I will open my mouth in a parable I will utter dark sayings from of old things that we have heard and known that our fathers have told us we will not hide them from their children but tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the Lord and his might and the wonders that he has done this is our responsibility we've got to tell the stories of what God has done think about this this is just simple math what happens when someone tells you the story of God's faithfulness in their life your faith rises right why don't we do this more oppressed then I'm hold and these young people don't want to hear what I have to say well let's be a part of creating a church and a culture where they do we're doing meet and greet we have a younger generation pursuing an older generation and saying hey can I take you out to coffee or breakfast one day and where young people go and honor the older generations and learn everything they can from them and the older generations honor rather than judge honor the younger generation and invest heavily into them and learn from them as well this is the way it's supposed to work we have a responsibility to tell the story of God's faithfulness to the leaders of tomorrow whatever you saw God do yesterday he didn't just do it for that day he did it for days to come and you have got to tell the story of all you've seen God do because it inspires the younger generations to walk with the God who did something that miraculous for you believing he can do it for them too but I don't want to end this message with the responsibility side because that might be a little too heavy so let's transition back to the competitive side to try and help you get a little bit more of that I refuse to lose children in the house of the Lord burden and mentality let's just say you were in a really big battle and your opponent just so happened to be Satan himself and all of his allies and you were picking out a weapon and you go into a room with all of these weapons and and you can only pick one and you first look at the biggest weapon in the room and then you look at the the shiniest weapon and then the the sharpest weapon and then the most explosive weapon and then a small weapon in the corner captures your attention it's a weapon it doesn't seem to be getting much recognition in the room and it's as though the second-year eyes lock on to this really small weapon the devil starts chirping have you ever played against somebody who was mouthy you know and when you play cards with them you don't just play a card you slam down the card to try and send them a message cuz they're just yappin you know I don't know if you know this the devil is the worst yapper in all of history and you look over at this tiny little weapon in the corner and he starts yapping louder and louder you don't want that one that one's not gonna do anything against me go for the big one go for the shiny one go for the sharp one go for the explosive one don't go for the little weapon in the corner no one's paying attention to let me show you to passage of scripture why the devil does not want you to begin investing into the next generation let me just show you some 8 verse 2 addresses the yappy nature of the enemy God you have taught children and infants to tell of your strength silencing your enemies and all who oppose you God takes children who've been taught of his strength why do you think we teach our children what we teach them we're not just telling them great stories we are laying a theological foundation for them to build their lives upon but it's even bigger than that we love to shut up the enemy and so we will teach children of God's strength because it shuts up the devil but there's a second reason why I think the devil tries to convince you not to sew into the next generation in the house of the Lord Psalm 127 verses 3 4 & 5 children are a gift from the Lord they are reward from him children born to a young man are like arrows in a warriors hands like arrows in a battle

Channel: Gateway Church

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Keywords: Preston, Morrison, gateway, church, gateway church, scottsdale, tempe, gateway church sermons, church online, arizona church, arizona churches, scottsdale churches, tempe churches, phoenix churches, gateway people, gateway life, Preston Morrison, Robert Morris, Pastor Robert Morris, Pastor Preston Morrison, Preston Morrison sermons, church sermons, refuse to lose, children, sermons on kids, sermons on children, kids ministry, children are a gift, Jesus on childen

Id: wvNsa-czCME

Length: 34min 9sec (2049 seconds)

Published: Mon Aug 05 2019