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In this podcast episode titled "Let Go and Leap", Pastor Matthew Blackwood discusses the importance of committing one's work to the Lord. He emphasizes the need for action, focus, and implication in this commitment. He also highlights the significance of spiritual alignment and trust in the process. Pastor Blackwood explains that when one commits their work to the Lord, their plans will be established and they will experience results, certainty, and success. He concludes by stating that divine favor will rest upon one's plans when they are fully committed to God. Welcome to the Innovative You podcast, where we explore the dimensions of humanity from a biblical purview. My name is Pastor Matthew Blackwood, and we seek to combine business, community, and faith. This is episode one, and the title for this episode is Let Go and Leap. Let me say that again, Let Go and Leap. Now what does that really mean? Letting go and leaping is essentially, it's like jumping off of a springboard into a deep pool of water. You recognize that there's a certain level of risk involved in the process, but yet you do it because it's something that is very important to you. So today we want to look at, from a biblical purview, what does that mean to let go and leap? And how we want to look at that right now is we want to look first at Proverbs chapter 16, verse 3. That's Proverbs chapter 16, verse 3. And what that says is, commit your work to the Lord and your plans will be established. Commit your work to the Lord and your plans will be established. And the first thing we notice there is, number one, I want you to write down, commit your work. That's the first point. There is an action there. The verse begins with an imperative to commit. If you're not willing to commit, if you're not willing to commit to something, you will not be successful. Why is that? Well, if you're not willing to commit to something, then you're going to bounce around from one idea to another, but you're not going to be at a place where you're going to see progress and momentum. As human beings, psychologically, we need to feel, we need to see progress because if we don't see progress, then what happens? We begin to get discouraged. So the very first thing, the very first action that you have to do is you have to commit. After you commit, then you have to focus. So this commitment is directed specifically at one's work or endeavors. If you're taking a plane trip to Dallas or to Canada or Mississippi or wherever it is that you're traveling to, you want to make sure that you are focused in your direction, in a specific direction. So your commitment must be directed specifically at the work that you have committed to. So we have action, we have focus, and the third thing is there is an implication. So committing your work implies a deliberate and intentional act of dedicating your efforts to God. If you are not dedicating your efforts to God, then what you are doing is you're relying upon your own strength, your own capacity. I strongly encourage you to dedicate your efforts to God. If you dedicate your efforts or as you dedicate your efforts to God, then what will happen is God will begin to move supernaturally in your work. So it won't just be you working, but it'll be God working through you. So that's the first point is committing your work. The second thing is to the Lord. So who's the recipient? The commitment is to be made to the Lord, signifying reliance on divine guidance. I cannot tell you how many times in my life that I have relied not on the Lord, but on my own wisdom, my own abilities. But when you have divine guidance, you have supernatural insight, things that you know you couldn't come up with yourself. So this second point to the Lord is critical. It's critical to know that you are committing what you're doing and you're relying upon what you're doing. You're giving it back to God. That could even be in the form of a prayer, Lord, I give this mission to you. Lord, I give this goal to you. Lord, I give this business to you. I give this project to you. And when you do that, you connect with the divine resources of heaven. The very next thing under the second point to the Lord is spiritual alignment. This suggests that one's work should align with God's will and purposes. There are many times in my life where I've found that I focus on purposes that had nothing to do with God. I mean, everything from wanting to be a truck driver, I know you're probably laughing there as you're listening to this, to wanting to be a famous musician, to, I mean, my goodness, at one time I even worked for a pest control company and I was crawling under houses looking for pests and bugs and my knees were sore, my back was sore, and I was thinking, why am I doing this? And the thing is, when you are not in purpose, you know you're not in purpose. Nobody has to come and tell you, man, this doesn't seem like purpose for you. Internally, you know. So you want to be in spiritual alignment. You want to be in spiritual alignment. When you are in alignment with God's will and purpose, then it's like driving on a straight freeway or a straight road. It doesn't mean that there's no challenges, but what it does mean is that you are going to be operating in a very clear path. How many times have you met someone or you've known someone who said, man, I just don't feel like my pathway's clear. I don't really know which direction I'm going in. That is because they are not in spiritual alignment. The very next thing then is trust. This implies placing trust and dependence on God in the process of one's work. You cannot fulfill the plans that God has for you without having a level of trust and dependence on God. What that means is you are going to be uncomfortable. What that means is you are not always going to see the end result. And understand there is a process. God is not going to give you everything right away. He's not going to give you steps A through P. God is going to require that you walk with Him daily. God will give you strategies and God may connect you with something powerful that happens for that day, but it's something that we may call a divine appointment. I had one of those today, working on a business expansion for one of the companies that my wife and I own. There was a divine meeting where it just so happened that one of the business connections that we have, who I would consider a helper of destiny, someone who is part of your purpose and the accomplishment of your purpose, just happened to be in a coffee shop as I was running in to the same coffee shop. That's not just accidental. That was intentional and that was purposeful. So we've talked about step one, committing your work, and there's an action, focus, and implication. We've talked about step two, to the Lord. There's a recipient. It's important to have spiritual alignment and it's important for there to be trust. Number three then is your plans will be established. Your plans will be established. So, the first thing that we find there is results, results. The outcome of committing your work to the Lord is that your plans will be established. One of the things that if you're looking for resources, if you're looking for what you need for your plans, your business plan, your innovative idea to work, is you need it to be established, meaning it can't be here today and then gone tomorrow. If you went into a grocery store, it was there for 30 days and then you went back the 31st or the 32nd day, right, and the store was gone, that would probably freak you out, like what happened? But we go to some of the same places of business continually because they are established. We know they're going to be there, and not just established, but they have a level of consistency as it relates to the service that they provide or the products that they provide, right? So, the outcome of committing your work to the Lord, you give it to God, is that your plans will be established. Isn't that awesome? I think so. The next thing, then, is certainty. The use of will indicates a promise or assured result. Now, like many of you, I have a level of risk-taking. I do. And it's come back to bite me. I've suffered some losses. But the beautiful thing about when you connect your plans to God, when you give your plans to God, then there is a certainty, there is a promise, there is an assuredness of results. Now, while we can't necessarily know the timing of God, we can begin to understand the patterns of God. And the patterns of God are critical in order for us to see the direction God is going. The next thing, then, we've talked about results, we've talked about certainty, we've talked about those two things. There's two more critical points. The next one is success. Everybody wants success. What does that mean? That means established. Success means established. It suggests ability, success, and fruition of one's plans. My wife and I just had an amazing grand opening for one of the companies that we have. It's a coaching and consulting company called Billionaire Leadership Club. Now, when we had the grand opening, it was such a powerful moment of realization because we realized, number one, it was God that allowed us to launch the business from the place that we're currently located here in Lancaster, California. If you're not familiar with Lancaster, California, just close your eyes and think of the driest desert you can, and you're probably in Lancaster. Probably exaggerating just a little bit, but you get the point. So there were those who came to support us. Why? Because of the fact that there was fruition. The plans that we had were fruitful. They were able to come in and to see the vision beginning to manifest. So ask yourself the question, can people look at the vision that God has given you and is it beginning to manifest, meaning is there fruit on your tree? It doesn't necessarily mean they have to be able to walk into a building today, but can they begin to see the fruit of your labor? So we've talked about result. We've talked about certainty. We've talked about success. The very next thing that we're going to talk about then is divine favor. Divine favor. What does that mean? Divine favor implies that God's blessing and favor will rest upon your plans when they are committed to him. Let me say that again. God's blessing and favor will rest upon your plans when they are committed to him. What that means is you can't give your plans to God and then take them back. There are many people who say, God, you can have this. God, I don't know what to do. God, navigate it. God, be my coach. Be my empowerment guide. Lead me in the direction that I should go with this business. But then at a certain point, they start to doubt the direction God is taking them. When you do that or when you say, well, it's not profitable enough just yet, then what happens is you move out of alignment, spiritual alignment. And that also means that you have lost to some degree a level of trust. I want to encourage you to remain stable, remain focused, and allow God to produce a fruitfulness that is stable. I'll give you one more example. If you went and you had an orange tree in your backyard, right? And it was producing oranges one month, month two oranges, month three oranges. And then month four comes along and all of a sudden you see apples or you see lemons. You go, what's wrong with this tree? Is it bipolar? What is going on with this tree? What happens is when you are continually taking your plans and trying to pull them back from God, then what happens is you will not be established and there will not be a consistency in what is produced. When you're looking at a product or service, there needs to be consistency. There needs to be consistency. So what are the key themes that we see in Proverbs 16? Number one, we see dependence on God. This emphasizes the importance of relying on God for guidance and success. Number two, we see intentionality. This encourages deliberate action in dedicating one's work to God. And number three, we see assurance of success. This provides a promise of stability and success when work is committed to God. So by breaking down Proverbs 16 through, we can see its emphasis on intentional dedication of our efforts to God. There's a necessity of trusting him and the assurance of established and successful plans as a result. Now I want to go through one more scripture and then we'll close for this first episode. And I hope this is helpful for you. Joshua 1.9 says, Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. That is the command. Do not be frightened and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. Now what do we see here? The very first thing we see is a divine command. The question asked is actually a rhetorical question. Have I not commanded you? Meaning, there are those, when you listen to the tone and the structure of the language, there are those who forgot the command or don't have confidence in the command. Is that you? Do you find yourself doubting the commands of the Lord? There is an emphasis, that's the second thing. So this rhetorical question emphasizes the authority and the importance of the command. This is not something that God takes lightly. This is not something you and I should take lightly. We are commanded to be strong and courageous. But attached to that strength and that courage, there has to be a reasoning. There has to be something that stabilizes us. There has to be something that grounds us in that, right? So, if God is commanding us, God is commanding us based on His involvement in our plans. Let me say that again. God is commanding us based on His involvement in your plans. So if God is commanding you to be strong and courageous, then God is saying, hey, I'm with you in this process. So then the third thing is there's a reminder. It serves as a reminder to Joshua and to you and to I of God's direct instruction. That's the first point, divine command. The second thing is exhortation to strength and courage. Be strong. That's like the Nike statement, just do it, right? Be strong. So, it's not based on how you feel. It's not based on your circumstance. It's based on the command of God, and that's the critical thing. You're not going to always feel strong. Sometimes you feel weak. Sometimes you feel tired. Sometimes you feel discouraged. But the key is, when you trust in God, if you are going to embody the innovative you, if you are going to be the best version of yourself, who God created you to be, then you have to be strong. Because there are going to be some trials. There are going to be some challenges and things that you face, all right? There's encouragement. So, be strong. The second thing is encouragement. Joshua is urged to have both physical and mental strength. Now, I'll be honest with you, when I look at myself and I evaluate things, the reality is I probably have more mental than physical strength, meaning I used to be an athlete, but I need to get back in the gym and work on the physical strength, right? But really here, there's physical strength, right? There's mental strength, but then there's also spiritual strength. What is spiritual strength? Spiritual strength is a resolve to be strong in addition to the physical and mental strength. And when you are in prayer, ask God for, God, give me physical strength. Give me mental strength. Give me spiritual strength, according to your word. But then you must be willing to do the work in order to come into agreement with God. You can't lay on your couch or chill in your backyard and just hope that God will do all the work for you. No. If you're going to have physical, mental, and spiritual strength, you must be willing to do the work. The next thing, then, is preparation. Strength is necessary for the tasks and challenges ahead. I'll say that again. Strength is necessary for the tasks and challenges ahead. You cannot achieve what God has called you to achieve without strength and without appropriate preparation. So, the first thing, then, is be strong. The second thing is encouragement that we see here. And the third thing is preparation. Preparation. So, when we talk about strength being necessary for the tasks and challenges ahead, it's the why question. So, why is it that I need to be physically, mentally, and spiritually strong? Because I need to be prepared for the journey. Make sense? So, then, the fourth thing is be courageous. Be courageous. Guys, this is episode one. When I first created, when God first gave me Innovative You, and I did the introduction, which was maybe a minute, I was thinking, man, I'm excited. What happens is day two, three, and four, that excitement will start to wane if you don't have courage. You must be courageous. You must take the next step and do the episode one. You must take the next step, and if you're wanting to run a marathon, for example, you must start by running your first mile, building up to your first mile, and then your second mile, and so forth. So, be courageous. Know that if God is with you, you can do it. The next thing, then, is boldness. Joshua is encouraged to act with bravery. You got to be bold. You got to step out there and do some things that may feel uncomfortable. It's going to stretch you in ways. If you are not being stretched, then it's probably not a God-sized task. If it's something where you're just like, yeah, I got this, it's probably not a God-sized task, probably something you can do within your own strength. It doesn't mean not to take steps, but when God gives you purpose and mission, there should be phases and levels of growth. The next thing, then, is confidence, and I'm moving a little quicker because we're at about 24 minutes, and I want to try to wrap this up at about 30-minute mark, right? Confidence. Courage is essential to leading and facing your adversities, so confidence means that you have courage that is essential to leading and facing your adversities, right? You got to be confident, not just confident in what God has put within you, but in God's ability to enhance what it is that he's wanting to accomplish through you. The next two points, then, or the last two points, rather, are do not be frightened is number three, and number four is assurance of divine presence. The key points for, well, actually, I'm sorry, point number three is prohibition of fear and dismay, prohibition of fear and dismay. So the phrase do not be frightened is within the scripture. It's recognizing that we are, at times, going to feel fear. Anybody who tells you that they've never felt fear is probably not being completely open and transparent. At least one time in most human beings' lives, I'll say, there's going to be at least a initial moment of fear, right? Whether it's fear of fire, fear of water, fear of insects, fear of doing something new, fear of travel, the list goes on, right? But we are commanded, again, do not be frightened, despite how we feel. The second thing, then, is fearlessness. Joshua is instructed not to give in to fear. Fearing fear is not the thing. That's not the thing that will cause your downfall. It is when you succumb to the fear, when you say, oh, well, you close the door and you say, can't do it, right? Fearlessness is the ability and the willingness to persist in the face of fear. The next thing, then, is trust. This implies reliance on God's protection and power. We're trusting in God for protection and power. When I get up in the morning, I say, God, I trust you for your protection, for your power. You're watching over me, and I thank you in advance. There are things, both seen and unseen, that God will protect you from. It could be a bad partnership, strategic partnership, a bad business deal. It could be protecting you on the road as you're driving to your next meeting or just doing family things, right? So trust, again, implies reliance on God's protection and power. The next thing is do not be dismayed, right? Why? Because we know that God is with us. Then we have steadfastness. Joshua is advised not to be discouraged or disheartened. Being steadfast means steady wins the race. I'm getting up. I'm putting my boots on, my left boot, my right boot. And I'm going to keep moving forward, which leads to the next point, which is resilience. This encourages maintaining a positive and hopeful outlook. And then we're moving quickly to the fourth point, which is assurance of divine presence. First thing is the Lord your God is with you, for the Lord your God is with you. So when you think about the question, why, why am I resilient? Why am I steadfast? Why am I not to be dismayed? Why do I trust? Why am I fearless? Because or for the Lord your God is with you. If God is with you in the fight, if God is with you in the business, you can call him a silent partner if you want to. But if God is with you, there will be things that people will say that you accomplished. I don't know how you did it, man. I don't know how you did it, sis. But it's because God is with you. The second thing then on that or the sub point of that is presence. There is an assurance that God will be with Joshua. And the same assurance that God will be with Joshua is the same assurance that you and I have. God is with you. So then what next? Support. It indicates God's ongoing support and guidance. Man, this is critical. They're going to be those who, as you are working on the innovative you, they're going to be those who may be supportive at certain points, but then they may fall off for whatever reason. Maybe you guys have a spat, a disagreement, or maybe they move away, or maybe unfortunately they pass or transition, pass away, right? There could be a number of things that get busy, right? So maybe they're not able to support you consistently, right? But the thing about God is God's support is ongoing. God's guidance is ongoing. So then the next point then is wherever you go. Wherever you go, you have the assurance of God's divine presence, which leads to the next point, omnipresence, omnipresence. I've lived in multiple states, man. I've lived in California. I've lived in Mississippi. I've lived in Tennessee. Wherever I have been over the years, God's presence has not been limited by my location. And God's presence, involvement in your life is not limited by your location. The last thing then is unwavering support, which reinforces the idea that God will accompany Joshua. God will accompany you in all your endeavors as long as you commit your ways to God. Don't ask God to bless something that you don't invite him into the midst of. Now it doesn't mean that God won't seek to still bless you, but there are levels of blessings. There are levels of blessings. When you decide to give your ways to God and say, God, I need you, then there's just a different level of involvement and engagement because God is now a partner with you. So I'm going to close with this. The key themes here are in Joshua 1.9, divine command and authority. The verse begins with a reminder of God's command, emphasizing his authority and the importance of obedience. The second thing is strength and courage. So central to the verse is the call for Joshua to be strong and courageous, which are essential qualities for leadership in facing challenges. You got to have strength and courage. If the CEO of a company or a leader in a company is hiding underneath the table, wringing their fingers together, beads of sweat running down their face, they're crying, they're shaking, then what happens is it affects the whole team. The next theme is overcoming fear and discouragement. Joshua is advised to reject fear and dismay, promoting a mindset, again, of trust and resilience. And finally, God's presence and support. God is omnipresent. God is with us. So as we close episode one, I want to again encourage you, as the title is, to let go and leap. Let go of your fears. Let go of your doubt. Let go of your insecurity. Let go of that negative thought, those negative thoughts, I can't do, I can't be, I don't have time. When you commit your ways to God, God will help you to move strategically. But the most important thing that you have to remember is as you're letting go of the fear, as you're letting go of the doubt, as you're letting go of the uncertainty, as you're letting go of what you believe are your own limitations, then you release God to grab ahold of you. So when you leap, you're not leaping out into nothingness, but you're leaping into the net of divine provision. I hope this has been a blessing for you. This is episode one. This is Pastor Matthew Blackwood. And I'm so excited to be on this journey with you. Until next time, may the peace of the Lord be with you. Stay encouraged, stay strong, and we'll talk to you real soon. Take care.