The First Rule: How to Succeed in the Game of Life 3

today is week three in our series entitled how to succeed in the game of life now the reason i'm comparing life to a game is because they're very similar to each other in certain ways so it makes a great analogy especially when you're trying to explain how to succeed in life in fact let me show you how they're similar to each other if you don't mind first of all every game has an objective something that you're trying to accomplish and so does life life has an objective it has a purpose it has something you're trying to accomplish games also have rules and if you break those rules you're penalized in some way and it's the same way in life life has rules and if you break those rules you have to pay the price that's why so many people have crappy lives they've broken the rules and they're paying the price for having done so and last but not least games usually include instructions on how to play the game and the same hosts true for life we've been given instructions on how to play the game of life and those instructions are found in our bible the reason so many people don't know how to play the game of life is because they've never opened this up so as you can see comparing life to a game is a great analogy because they're so similar people is true life is like a game and that's why i'm using this particular analogy to explain how to succeed in life now i've already given you the objective to the game of life so now it's time to talk about the rules and i'm only going to give you five in this series the top five you see the game of life has a lot of rules and when i say a lot of rules i mean a lot of rules but some rules are more important than others in other words you can break the majority of the rules and it won't hurt you in the long run and the reason it won't hurt you in the long run is because the consequences of breaking those rules are relatively small and the effect is short-lived turn to james chapter 1 verse number 19 and i'll give you an example of what i'm talking about notice what james wrote understand this my dear brothers and sisters you must you see that word must this is a rule this is something you must do understand this my dear brothers and sisters you must all be quick to listen slow to speak and slow to get angry now let's be honest most of us have broken this rule at least once in our life and if we're even more honest we've broken this rule many times we we've spoken before we've heard all of the facts and we've offended people because of that or we've stuck our foot into our mouth but a week or two later we forget all about it why because the consequences of what we did was relatively small and the effect of it was short-lived and then there are rules which have greater consequences if you break them and the effect is felt for a longer period of time turn with me if you would in the book of second corinthians chapter 6 verse 14 and i'll give you an example notice what it says don't marry an unbeliever now how clear can that be people this is a rule don't marry an unbeliever how can righteousness be a partner with wickedness how can light live with darkness now i know that some of you have broken this rule and you suffer the consequences in fact you've had to live with the consequences ever since you said i do now that doesn't mean that you can't have a good marriage i've seen christian marriages that were bad and i've seen non-christian marriages that were good so i'm not saying that you can't have a good marriage or that your life is ruined but the truth is you'll never have the type of marriage that god wanted you to have unless your spouse becomes a christian i don't care what you say because there's something special about two believers becoming partners in this game called life and being able to share something that those who aren't saved won't understand there's something about being able to pray together there's something about being able to uh read the word of god together it's something there's something about having the same morals the same values the same beliefs trust me when there are two visions you have division that's what the word means so if you want to have a great marriage you need to marry a believer you break this rule and i promise you you're going to pay the consequences and then there are a few rules just a few that have devastating consequences and if you break them the consequences are eternal turn to matthew chapter 16 verses 24 through and i'll give you an example of this notice what jesus said to his disciples if any of you wants to be my follower now you need to understand something god is a gentleman he's not going to force you to do anything that you don't want to do he's given you a free will that's why it says if anyone wants to be a follower because you have a choice but i'm going to tell you this is a rule and basically what he's saying is you can choose to follow this rule or you can choose not to follow this rule but notice what he said then jesus said to his disciples if any of you wants to be my follower you must do you see that word must that means it's a rule you must turn from your selfish ways take up your cross and follow me if you try to hang on to your life you will lose it but if you give up your life for my sake you will save it and what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but you lose your own soul is anything worth more than your soul now one of the rules in the game of life is you must become a follower of jesus christ and if you don't the consequences are you'll lose your soul and if you lose your soul even god can't have mercy on you you will be damned for all of eternity now listen to me very closely i'm not saying that god doesn't want to have mercy on you i'm telling you that god can't have mercy on you and the reason god can't have mercy on you is because god is just and in order to be just he must punish sin and the reason that jesus christ came is so that our sin would be punished in him he died on the cross for our sin he descended into hell to pay the penalty for our sin and one day when we stand before god what determines whether we get into heaven or we don't get into heaven is whether or not we've received jesus christ because sin must be punished and if jesus christ hasn't carried your sin if your sin has not been paid for by jesus christ in essence what you told god is i'll pay for my own sin and you will because god is a just god so it isn't that god doesn't want to have mercy on you it's that god can't have mercy on you if you don't become a follower of jesus christ okay got off a little tangent there but here is my point there are a lot of rules in the game of life but only a few that are really crucial and critical so rather than trying to give you every rule in this game that we call life i'm going to give you what i consider to be the top five if you obey these five rules i guarantee you'll have a great life now parents you need to teach your children to abide by these five rules and if they abide by these five rules they will succeed in life no ifs ands or buts i promise you they will succeed in life rule number one is a no-brainer even an idiot can see the logic in this rule do we have any idiots here there's always a few that will raise their hand okay we've got a few idiots here at cornerstone fellowship but i've got good news for you even you can see the logic in this rule and here it is rule number one you must work to support yourself when you become an adult is that a no-brainer or what to be honest with you i shouldn't have to include this in the top five rules but i do my gosh i thought i'd never have to see the day where i'd have to put this in the top five rules let alone talk about it in church but here i am giving you the milk of the word and not the meat of the word because of this downward spiral that america is in but i might as well quit griping about it and teach on it now rule number one is not a man-made rule it is a god-given rule turn to me turn with me if you would to the book of second thessalonians chapter 3 verse number 10 notice what it says even when we were with you we gave you this rule even when we were with you we gave you this rule now paul wrote this but we need to understand that all scripture is inspired by god so this is not a man-made rule this is a god-given rule and here's what god said the one who is unwilling to work shall not eat welfare is not biblical can't believe he said that pastor don't you have any compassion you must be a conservative i am a conservative let me tell you welfare is not biblical workfare is everyone should be given the opportunity to work if they're capable of working but i'm here to tell you receiving a check for not doing anything is not biblical why because god's given rule is this the one who is unwilling to work shall not eat if you need help then you should have to show up at the courthouse i don't care if you pick up trash along the road you should have to do something in order to receive something god told us that let's go a little bit further look at first timothy chapter five verse number eight anyone who does not provide for their family and especially for their own household has denied the faith did you see that don't claim you're a christian not support your family don't say you're christian and not work why because that's part of the christian faith when i was teaching on family i told you that you need to instill within your children the importance of family so when they get into it and you stop it this is what you tell them hey we don't do that we're a family and nothing is more important than family right we work together we help each other and we make personal sacrifices for the family i get up at 6 30. i'm always at work by eight unless we've stopped to do something that we need to be doing for our work i work seven days a week now not seven days a week for this but there are things i have to do at the house i'm here to tell you i don't do those things for myself i don't do those things for my wife and my children why because part of the christian faith is we make personal sacrifices for the good of the family you know there were some tough years when we first started the church and you know my girls lived through that and we got to the place where god had blessed us there were times when we would go out to buy them something and both of my girls were very appreciative of what we did for them and they said dad i'm so sorry i said honey you're why i work the reason i get up and go to work is because your mom and you it's my pleasure to do this for you and it's biblical we're a family nothing's more important than family we work together we help each other we make personal sacrifices for the good of family i'm working for you people that's part of the christian faith but notice what else that verse says not only have you denied the christian faith but you're worse than an unbeliever because you don't have to be a believer to know that you make personal sacrifices for the good of the family even unbelievers know that now today we have kids that won't work because they can't get the job they want in fact many of them have the attitude that certain types of work are beneath them i've actually heard kids say your kids here at cornerstone fellowship well i'll never work a fast food job i won't do that won't work fast food like it's beneath them to do that parents that's your fault because you haven't taught them what the bible has to say about work the bible teaches that all work is honorable as long as it's not immoral or illegal in fact that's a biblical principle and you need to be teaching that to your children from the time they crawl to the time they leave your house so let me say it again and if you're smart you'll write this down because what i'm doing is i'm telling you what to say how to say it and why as a parent it's your job to program your kids to be successful in life how do you program your kids to be successful in life will you instill within them the things that god's word teaches and especially the things that are very crucial so by the time they begin to crawl to the time they leave your house you should be instilling within them the word of god now here's the advantage you have over many people who go to church you have the pastor the type of pastor who will not only tell you what to say he will tell you how to say it and why so if you're taking notes you write this down here's what you tell your kids this is a biblical principle all work is honorable as long as it's not immoral or illegal now the word honorable means worthy of respect so what this principle is saying is that anyone who works no matter what type of job it is is worthy of respect let me say that again you don't hear this in america much anymore and especially behind the pulpit because we don't want to offend anyone listen to me anyone who works no matter what type of job it is is worthy of respect as long as they're not doing anything that's immoral or illegal people that's why i tip a sonic that's why i tip at fast food restaurants i've tipped at sonic and i've tipped at fast food restaurants as long as i can remember and when my kids were little they saw that and when i tipped them i'd always look at my girls and say they're working and i respect what they're doing and they deserve to be tipped people i respect anyone who would get out and work why because they're obeying god's word look at first thessalonians chapter 4 verses 11 and 12. make it your goal your aim your objective to live a quiet life minding your own business and working with your hands just as we instructed you before then people who are not christians will respect the way you live and you will not depend that need to depend on others now let me point out a few things in this passage of scripture in fact if you're a parent you should have this scripture either memorized or in the front of your bible or back your bible this passage of scripture the the book the chapter the verse should be written down let me point out a few things first of all the goal is to be independent notice that paul began this passage of scripture with make it your goal and then he ended it with these words so you will not need to depend on others people that's the goal in fact that's part of the two-fold objective as a parent your job as a parent is to raise your children to be godly and independent people that's the goal to work so you can be independent not dependent on others and that includes the government secondly paul told them to get out and work with their hands which is manual labor listen to me manual labor is one of the most honorable things that you can do and then he went further and this is what he told them he said this is the result of working then people will respect you why will people respect you because you're working in order to be independent and anyone who works no matter what type of work it is is worthy of respect look at that verse again knowing all of those things let's read through it notice what paul is saying make it your go your aim your objective to live a quiet life minding your own business and working with your hands manual labor just as we instructed you before then people who are not christians will respect find that what you're doing is honorable the way you live and why will they respect you because all work is honorable as long as it's not immoral or illegal and you will not need to depend on others so let me state this principle again hopefully you see the importance of it especially in relaying it to your children all work is honorable as long as it's not immoral or illegal which means anyone who works no matter what type of job they do is worthy of respect as long as they're not doing anything that's immoral or illegal if you're a drug dealer no respect for you why what you're doing is immoral or illegal now on the flip side of this those who don't work and depend on others to support them are not worthy of respect now i want to make sure that you understand exactly what i'm saying so let me make it crystal clear for you if you're capable of working and you're not working i have no respect for you none zilch nano nano is not really correct nano means infinitely small it means one billionth of something so i guess i have a billionth amount of respect for you if you don't work i don't know what that respect is i'll try and find something good about you let me be honest with you if you don't work you're worse than crap you want to know why crap has a purpose crap has a use it can be used as a fertilizer you're not even good for that okay now having said that let me go further and give you a tip remember what tips are tips are helpful hints tips are inside information that gives you an advantage how many of you would like to have an advantage in this game that we call life anyone here well listen up because i'm getting ready to give you a tip that's going to give you an advantage in life and here it is though all work is honorable not all work is enjoyable or as profitable now we're going to talk about working smarter not harder though all work is honorable not all work is enjoyable or as profitable in other words some jobs are better than other jobs some jobs are more enjoyable and some jobs are much more profitable so if you want one of the better jobs then you better get out and get an education or get some type of training or acquire a specialized skill listen to me if a business can pull a person off the street and train him to do a job in 30 minutes it is a minimum wage job the reason some jobs pay more is because they require some type of specialized knowledge training or skill therefore you can't just pull a person off of the street train him in 30 minutes and he can do that job so they're going to pay that person more because he either went further in school or he went to some vo-tech or he acquired a special skill and not everyone can do this therefore we're going to pay them more for this job and that's why solomon advised us to buy truth wisdom knowledge and understanding look at the book of proverbs chapter 23 verse 23 by the truth how do you buy truth how do you buy truth well basically you buy a book you pay someone to train you you pay someone to educate you but he said buy the truth do not sell it in other words don't sell out wisdom knowledge and understanding as well in other words what psalm is saying is spend the time and money on getting an education or training or in acquiring a special skill now why did solomon advise us to do this he advised us to do this because not all jobs are the same and the best jobs require some type of specialized knowledge or i should say education training or skill so the wise person spends his time and money on getting what he needs in order to get one of those better jobs kids look up here parents listen to me look me in the eyes i'm going to give you a pearl of wisdom minimum education minimum training minimum skills equals minimum wage parents you need to memorize that saying and constantly say it to your kids when your kids are little before they ever start school you need to tell them when they say go to school minimum education minimum training minimum skills equals a minimum wage now listen to me all work is honorable but not all work is enjoyable or as profitable if you want a job that's more enjoyable and you want a job that's more profitable then you need to follow solomon's advice now i know what some of you are thinking you're scared to death you invited someone to church here and you're going oh alan you can't say things like that there are people in here that are making minimum wage if you're thinking that you're not listening to me because i said all work is honorable as long as it's not immoral or illegal all work people if a person is working and supporting himself he is worthy of my respect no matter what he does or how much he gets paid and i respect that person but if there's a person here that's making minimum wage they would be the first to agree with me they would be the first one to say that some jobs are better than others and some jobs are more profitable than others and they know firsthand because they're experiencing it the barrier that keeps them from getting one of those better jobs they don't have the education the training or the skills that are needed to qualify for those jobs most of the time we're stuck in a position because we're not qualified for anything else in fact let me tell you what my grandpa told my dad while my dad was still living at home grandma grandpa was a farmer and he made a good living but people let me tell you right up front it was a hard living hard living and he told my dad if you don't want to do this type of work all of your life then you better go out and get an education now my grandpa only had a third grade education the reason my grandpa only had a third grade education is because his father died when he was young in fact i'll tell you the story at least this is the way i understand it when my grandma was having a child of course in those days they used a midwife and so my grandpa's father was driving the midwife home and she lived up on a ridge and i took that old model t or model a or whatever it was and he pulled up and it was a night there was no full moon there's no moon out whatsoever and what he didn't know was he stopped and one of his wheels was over the ridge so when he got out of the car he stepped out on the running board and when he did it went off balance he fell off the ridge and the car fell on him he lived for one week then he died my grandpa being one of the older kids had to quit school go out and work a man's job because nothing's more important than family you work together you help each other and you make personal sacrifices for the good of the family but my grandpa understood the barrier that's between most people and a better job he understood that if you want one of those better jobs one of those jobs that's more enjoyable one of those jobs that pays a little bit more you better get out and get an education or some type of training or acquire a specialized skill and my dad told me the very same thing i started mowing yards right after the third grade nine to ten years old and i mowed yards until i was 16 years old and i could go work for resources let me just tell you right up front i did not like mowing yards because you always had to mow yards in the heat of the day and the reason you had to do that is because of the dew on the ground nothing was better in the summer time to wake up and there's no dew on the ground you see my dad believed in work and so i had more than enough jobs to get the money that i wanted but someone would call my dad and say your boy was more yards he'd say yeah they'll mow your yard my dad believed in you working so normally though i had to mow in the heat of the day because if you don't hit mow in the heat of the day and there's dew on the ground wet grass that sticks together and all of a sudden you've got all these clumps and it looks like you bailed hay and if someone is paying you to mow their yard they don't want their yard to look like you're belling hay so i'd have to wait until one or two o'clock in the afternoon it's a hundred degrees and i'm out there mowing the yard people you didn't have weed eaters back then at least we didn't have a weed eater you know what i thought a weed eater was it was all the bush cliffs those shears man i'm telling you you took that around trees you did everything there that's how you weeded i can remember the first time i saw a wheatie or i thought oh my gosh no riding lawn mowers now there were some rich people that had rotting lawnmowers but why we need a riding lawnmower my dad had four boys i can remember when my grandmother passed away she had a writing lawnmower we received it did we get to use it no we might tear it up that was reserved for dad to use and did dad ever mow the yard no he had four boys people i had allergies and back then you didn't take shots for allergies maybe other kids did but we didn't do that we didn't have pills like allegra you just rubbed your eyes and you blew snot everywhere see some of you women are grossed out when you see these old country boys they put their finger on their nostril and they blow out and then they turn around and put their finger on the other nostril and they blow out i understand that man when you're out there working you don't pull out your little handkerchief no here's the problem i'm gonna be honest with you as a kid in summertime 100 degrees in your mowing yard and you're allergic to grass you do that you still got a little bit there and you don't have any sleeves i'm not going to show you my belly but you just pulled up your shirt finished off a little bit that's what you did back then so as you can imagine i complained a lot about having to mow yards complained so much that my dad went out and created a job for me i've told you that little story won't go into there but i want you to understand something i complained a lot and here's what my dad told me if you don't like doing those type of jobs the son you better get out and get you an education or training or acquire some specialized skill because if not you're not going to be qualified for anything better why because minimum education minimum training minimum skills equals minimum wage but here's what's even more important and most minimum wage jobs are hard jobs that's why i respect people who do them you'll work harder and you'll make less money at a minimum wage job you ever work those minimum wage jobs you're out there and you're working it let me tell you you look inside the office where there's air conditioning you go my gosh they don't work even half as hard as i'm working and they're making twice the money this isn't fair yeah it is fair and the reason it's fair is because you don't qualify for that job inside minimum education minimum training minimum skills equals minimum wage now would you guys like another tip not after that one tip number two don't choose a career based on money listen to me don't choose a career based on money instead you choose a career that you're going to enjoy now in all fairness you do have to be able to support yourself and you need to be able to support the type of lifestyle that you want people you can't live like the rich and famous on a preacher's salary if i expected to do that i'd be sorely disappointed but i don't expect to and to be honest with you i am perfectly happy i love my job now christmas time lisa and i always take a two-week vacation right after christmas we always do that let me tell you about the second or third day into that two-week vacation i'm thinking oh my gosh is this ever going to end why because people i love what i do and you know what the older i get the less i want talking about material possessions because i finally come to realize that the more i own the more i have to take care of i've come to realize that the more possessions i own the more maintenance i'm going to have to do i've realized that i don't own those possessions they own me because here i am working five days a week and many times taking work home i'm doing other things in the evening so saturday rolls around and i gotta work again i won't watch football and my yard needs moat the columns on my house need to be painted so to the jams on my garage door please don't drive by and take a look because yes i'm telling the truth i've learned that the more i own the more work i have to do and so now you young kids when you think about winning the lottery you think about man i'd buy a condo a ski in ski out somewhere in colorado i'd own a jet i'd do this i'd do that you know when i was young i thought that now i think why in the world you want a condo someone's going to have to take care of i'm going to pay money on that you know if i win the lotto then i just rent any house i want out there why would i want a jet why would i want to have to pay for all that maintenance all that upkeep maybe get a pilot because i don't know how to fly why don't i just fly first class see for me it means stripping down all of these things because what i've learned is life is not about money people life is about relationships look what jesus said in luke chapter 12 verse number 15. and he said unto them take heed and beware of covetousness what's covensis covetousness wanting what other people have and being willing to sacrifice your values your morals your beliefs in order to get it he said beware of covetousness for a man's life consists of not in the abundance of the things that he possesses now i love the way the nl-2 translates this because it really captures what this verse is saying notice how the nlt translates it then he said beware guard against every kind of greed life is not measured by how much you own sometimes you've never discovered that man now i won't go any further listen to me kids don't pick a career based on money pick a career you'll enjoy in fact let me tell you what true success is true success is loving what you do for a living it's sad to say but most people spend their whole time doing something they hate because they follow the advice of friends family and maybe a college professor instead of following the advice of god let me show you god's advice when it comes to choosing a career turn with me if you would in ephesians chapter 4 verse number 1. i therefore the prisoner of the lord beseech you that you walk worthy of the vocation wherewith you're called god's advice is that you do what you're called to do if you do what you're called to do you'll love your work that doesn't mean that there are things that come up doesn't mean it won't be free of stress it doesn't mean that there's times when you go why did i choose this but overall you're going to enjoy what you do but how do you know what you're called to do well let me give you a principle what you're called to do you're gifted to do and what you're gifted to do you're called to do so find out what you're good at in other words you need to find a job that fits your gifts talents and abilities as well as your work style and if you do that i promise you you'll enjoy your career and that's why parents i tell you it's your job to help your child discover embrace and develop their gifts talents and abilities as early in life as possible because if they can discover that then they just continue on preparing for that job that god has called them to do if they don't know many times what happens is they go to school on to college or maybe they go to vote and they still don't know what they're supposed to do they choose something and they end up doing something they hate but they can't go back now i've got a wife i've got kids i've got to fulfill all of these responsibilities we make personal sacrifices for the good of the family now my advice to you is go back go back life is too short to do things you don't enjoy now a lot of kids don't go on to college or to a trade school because they think it'll take forever to get a degree or certificate and they want to get out and make some money now man i want to get a new car i want to have my own apartment i'm going to go out and get a job right now big mistake do you remember when four years seemed forever six years was an eternity and eight years that's just ridiculous yeah i don't have time to go to college i want to make money right now big mistake look at proverbs chapter 21 verse number five good planning it starts by knowing what you have all planning does so you've got to discover what your gifts talents and abilities are as early in life as possible so you can have good planning good planning and hard work lead to prosperity but hasty shortcuts lead to poverty what is a hasty shortcut getting out of school don't have time for that man i'm gonna go out and i'm gonna make that money right now minimum education minimum training minimum skills equals minimum wage let me just tell you i ingrained this within my girls i ingrained it within them and i have to be honest with you besides mowing yards and hauling hay there really wasn't too many jobs that i didn't like i like working i don't know what it is but i like working i like working at watching college football too but anyways it's work people you got to go between these channels and all these games and try to do it at the right time and not miss anything but anyways i've ingrained this within my kids my eldest daughter has a bachelor's degree in microbiology she then went on to graduate school and got her mba masters of business administration she's now in her fourth year of medical school and after this year she'll still have four more years before she gets out with her specialty altogether that is 13 years of school after graduating from high school but then she'll get to do what she loves and every once in a while when she calls and she's down a little bit because it seems like oh my gosh we've been doing this forever she'll say dad do you realize i'll be 33 years old before i actually be doing what i've been training to do i'll say honey let me tell you something you'll work another 35 to 40 years and you'll be doing something you love people's not about money it's about doing what you love in fact here's what irritates my daughter people ask what she's doing and she'll tell them you know i'm going to medical school and they go oh you're going to make a lot of money you know what she tells them people not about the money my dad taught me it's about doing what you love people that's what it's about now this series is all about intentional parenting believe it or not parents this is more for you learning how to parent than it is for you learning how to apply it to your life yes you can take these principles and still apply it to your life especially as we get into the other four rules but you need to understand something this series was geared for parenting so here's what i'm doing in this series i'm teaching you what to say how to say it and why so that you can program your kids to succeed in life they grow up hearing this over and over again and what i found is they just naturally start gravitating and doing it you know there was a time in this parents you'll face this they hit those teenage years and you think did they not hear a thing i said my gosh but then you begin to see they're just naturally doing it because we started when they were crawling this is what you'll do this is how you do it and this is why people you need to know this is what you say this is how you say it and why all work is honorable as long as it's not immoral or illegal but not all work is enjoyable or as profitable minimum education minimum training minimum skills equals minimum wage and let me just tell you right up front minimum wage jobs are harder jobs you can either pay now and play later or you can play now and pay later but you better get some type of education or some type of skill or some type of training if you want one of those better jobs that pace a little bit more but let me just tell you right up front all work is honorable if i lost my job here let me tell you something i go to sonnet and flip hamburgers and if it embarrassed you for me to come out and deliver your food something is wrong with you you need to check your heart all work is honorable worthy of respect what's not worthy of respect is i won't take that job because it's beneath me my kids never said that my daughter one time said here's a freebie i had no bodybuilding said i'm not gonna drive that car said honey you ever say that again that's the only car you're a driver you'll walk in fact for the next two weeks that's the car i drove to drop her off if your kids ever say that let me tell you you're doing a poor job parenting if you don't do what i did

Channel: Cornerstone Fellowship

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Keywords: pastor allen nolan, allen nolan cornerstone, allen nolan bible study, allen nolan explained, allen nolan sermon, cornerstone church allen nolan, cornerstone pastor allen nolan, allen nolan, with pastor allen nolan, cornerstone fellowship, cornerstone tahlequah

Id: vAAUFpBtc_I

Length: 40min 52sec (2452 seconds)

Published: Sat Sep 18 2021