Build YourFuture

00:05Let's welcome Dr. Gian

[Narrator] Let's welcome Dr. Gian.

00:13Last week: Build Your World

Last week I shared with you my message entitled, "Build Your World." I hope you have the chance to watch it. If not, I strongly encourage you to do so before watching this one. However, your future can still be built. If you pay close attention, there is still hope for all of us. With our Lord God, it is never too late.

01:43There is no good future without a good present

There is no good future if you do not have a good present. You have to fix your present if you want to have a good future.

01:54God fixes people through people

You can't fix yourself. God has to do it, my friend. God fixes people through people. Every time we are in trouble, what is what we need? We need the help of our Lord God. And guess what? He is going to send somebody to help us all the time. It's through the interaction with individuals that we get healed.

02:21The mirror technique

But what is wrong with you, my friend? I suggest you to use the mirror technique. The mirror technique is a very useful technique that allows you to see yourself from other people's viewpoint. That's right. You have to go to your past to understand your present. You have to see your own mistakes first. That's the first step.

02:51Why did you do what you did?

Why did you do what you did? What was your purpose in doing that, my friend? When you think about it, you reflect about it, you say, "I get it. I was thinking that I wanted this and that." Not always what you want is the right thing, especially when you are growing and maturing, correct?

03:19The power of a godly mentor

That is why there is power in a godly mentor. One of those godly individuals that can change your entire life.

03:30My parents, my first mentors

Have you experienced that power in your life? I have. And I love the fact that my parents were my first mentors and they were the ones telling me. Once I finished high school, "Son, now you have to get your first job." I was 17 when I was hired in my first job full-time. And my dad said, "You're going to do whatever they say in the workplace." And immediately going to the university, to become a software engineer, I remember my mom saying, "Son, those are your new mentors. We have done everything we can here in our home, but now you need to go and find new mentors, godly mentors, my friend.

04:22Four Bible stories of men who built great things

I want you to analyze with me four biblical stories of men who built great things. Are you ready for this? There you go. So let's start with the first story. It's the story of Noah.

04:371. Noah: where all seems to be evil, there is always a good guy

Where all seems to be evil, there is always a good guy. That is the condition of the earth. There is evil everywhere.

04:48Like the times of Noah

Even the Lord Jesus said later, "When I will come back for the end times, it's going to be like the times of Noah. People doing business, getting married, building houses and all that.

05:04Is that good guy you?

There was one good guy. When you are thinking of building your future, you realize like in the times of Noah, there is evil, but there is always one good guy. Is it possible that that is you?

05:23God gets fed up with evil

You know that the Lord God eventually gets fed up with what is evil. Sooner or later, look at history. Hitler, for example, every single dictator, crazy individual in life, in many countries, even systems like slavery, there is a moment when the Lord God says, "Enough is enough." And that is what brings us to the future.

05:56Building salvation takes many years of work

However, building salvation for the next generations takes many years of work. Noah invested near a hundred years building the ark, working with his family, analyzing the whole scenario.

06:17It takes time

What makes you think that something that is good that the Lord God is putting in your heart to do is going to be done from one day to the next. What makes you think that, my friend? No, it's not like that. It takes time.

06:34Outstanding leaders are chosen by God

However, you need to understand that outstanding leaders are chosen by God. Leadership positions, special assignments, divine callings are not for everybody. There are certain missions that only certain individuals can do for whatever reason.

06:57Something in his heart pleased God

In the case of Noah, he was chosen because there was something in his heart that pleased God. And that is what I want you to think about yourself. Is there anything good inside of you that pleases God?

07:12A high price

Maybe that is why he is going to call you to do things, but you are going to pay a high price. Do you think it was easy for Noah just to say no to everything and say yes to God's calling? Especially that type of calling, build something that nobody ever built before. They didn't know anything about navigation, floating devices, rain, flood. I don't think that even Noah understood in the first place the severity of this calamity that was about to come, but he was willing to pay the price.

07:58Are you willing to pay the price?

Are you willing to pay the price, my friend?

08:03Listen carefully to God's voice

You want to build a future, consider these aspects. You know that in order to be effective, you must carefully listen to the voice of the Lord God, the Holy Spirit. You have to. And where do you begin?

08:23Begin by reading the Bible

Well, you begin by reading the Bible. And precisely by going to churches, ministries, to the teaching of qualified pastors that will tell you the Bible as it is with proper interpretation, then you are going to start to get familiar with biblical concepts. And then when you read the Bible, you say, "I feel that the Lord is talking to me about this." Eventually, the Holy Spirit is going to reveal more and more things to you. You know that God always gives you the design. It is His design.

09:08It is His design, not your idea

Keep this in mind. Whatever is what you are going to build for your future is not your idea. You need to continue always keeping in your mind is the Lord's copyrights. Just like that. Whatever we receive in order to do wonderful things in life for the Lord, it is not ours. It belongs to the Lord.

09:36Whose idea is this?

I always talk to my musicians and everybody that works with us producing music, for example. We produce tons of music and we say, "Well, certainly there is creativity. There is a lot of talent involved in this, but whose idea is this?" It is the Lord's idea.

10:00He always provides, slowly

Everything comes from Him is His design, and He always provides, slowly, but He always does. All the materials Noah needed were not given to him. Just like that. Slowly. Slowly, the Lord will provide for you, my friend. If He gives you the design, He is going to provide all the materials.

10:30Your job: test and error

Now, your job, what is it? Test and error. You try this and see what happens.

10:39Start with small things

It's a very wise idea always to begin with small things, whatever the project is. Try it in a small scale. You don't have to come up with a particular project and do it in a huge scale to start. You should start with a small scale because you never know. Little things that you didn't think of when it's a small batch, when it's just a test, you will say, "Oh, I see this. I see this." It's intelligence, my friend. Test and error. You try it and see what happens.

11:29Read the design with clarity

Once you are in that place, understanding the design, knowing what the Lord wants you to do, and you are devoted to that cause, you are willing to pay the price, you are going to read with clarity. You have to read the design again and again and again. You have to read the instructions. You have to even write things down in order to comprehend everything clearly.

12:01Without love, it's nothing

And once you are about to start doing your project, remember, the Apostle Paul said, "Even if I give my own body in sacrifice, but if I lack love, it's nothing." Whatever projects we do, like Noah building the Ark, those projects are actually beautiful when the person leading the project has the love of God in his heart. And you can tell just by looking at the individual, just by looking into his eyes, just by hearing his voice, does he possess love, the love that comes from heaven, for me, for people, for everybody?

12:49Love and good communication

It's love and good communication. Noah needed to have communication with his family. He was not a tyrant. He had strength, though. Probably the kids said, "Well, Dad, we would like to do this. We would like to do that." We don't know exactly the rules, but one thing we know,

13:16A godly leader must be strong

Noah was determined to not let his children get contaminated with the world, the ways of the world, and evil. So he needed to be strong. A godly leader must be strong, and sometimes a godly leader says, "No, these are the steps. These are the rules."

13:40A leader who is not listening to God

But if you, as a leader, you are not doing what God wants you to do. You are not listening to him. First of all, you are not going to have a vision, a clear vision. Second, you are not going to have love in your heart. You are not going to communicate properly, and you are not going to communicate properly. And you are going to end up weak. Therefore, you will say, "It's all right."

14:03Noah didn't give up

That's not the case here. Noah was a strong leader. He didn't give up.

14:10He will send the rain on time

And ultimately, he needed to wait until the right time for the rain. My friend, the Lord gives you a project. The Lord is giving you a design for the future. You build it. And he will send the rain on time. Whatever is what you are doing, the Lord has the right time. You just wait on him.

14:372. Moses: the Lord God in the center

Now, let's talk about the second story, which is the case of a wonderful leader, Moses, creating something called the tabernacle. The whole point of the tabernacle was to have the Lord God in the center. In the center of the camp, in the center of the camp, there was the tabernacle. And there, the Lord God needed to be worshipped. And that is what you need to consider. What's the point of these wonderful projects that you see today? But they are so far from giving glory to God, or way too far for those individuals to acknowledge the greatness of God. They say, "I did it. I'm the creator. I am the one that came up with this solution for this thing or this other thing." You see them online all the time. And they become famous and rich.

15:48Every project is for His glory

The purpose of every project the Lord gives you is that he will be glorified.

15:56Ceremonies, routines, people and elements

Moses had this clear understanding. The tabernacle, what we are building here is with the purpose of worshipping the Lord God. And that was his priority. Of course, there were certain ceremonies, certain routines. People involved doing certain things, and there were elements. In the Holy of Holies, there was bread. There were different things that have a symbolism for today's life. But the important thing is, it was a clear understanding. In the middle of us, people, must be the Lord God. In the middle of the presence of God, he must be worshipped. And whatever we do, we have to respect that.

16:53How we prepare to worship God

And that is why, although your clothing is not that big of a deal when it's about coming to worship God, the Lord will receive your worship any day, any time, regardless of how you are dressed. But if you take your time to do special things like going to eat, when you wash your hands, and when you get up and you brush your teeth, and you fix your hair, put the shirt on it, stuff like that, imagine what is about worshipping God. There are ceremonies, there are practices, there are routines that we follow as a church. There are certain things that you need to consider. There are people involved there. There are ministers that they perform a particular function. Imagine individuals that are called by God to do excellent things, but they refuse to worship God, and they refuse to give to the preacher, the honor the preacher deserves in that particular day of worship. I think you understand.

18:06Every tribe has its own place

One of the wonderful things about the whole camp, it was how the tribes were allocated in different positions. There were 12 tribes, north, south, east, and west. They all were distributed in such a way that everyone has its own place. And every tribe has its own purpose, function.

18:35Organization is essential for your future

Organization is essential for your future. If you are not an organized person, you're not going to be able to do anything in life. Nothing. The greatest ideas that the Lord sends to people are being wasted because people are not organized, not even to write it down, to understand in the first place what the Lord wants them to do. And they don't design anything. They don't pay attention to the details. And therefore, they are just totally lacking. Organization is a total disorder. And who likes to be in a place that is not organized? Everything has to have its own place and function. In order to have your future built, you have to be smart.

19:33From slaves to a people ready for seasons

Now, you know that the Israelites, led by Moses, they were slaves initially. They were set free. And now, with the camp in the tabernacle, they were prepared to go through seasons.

19:54Seasons: war, rest, celebration

The seasons were basically three seasons. There was a time for war. There was a time to rest. And there was a time to celebrate. And you, when you are building your future, you need to consider this. There are seasons in your processes when you are in fight mode and you have to be strong and fight to win. To win, not just to fight. You have to conquer. You have to win. If you don't want to win, you're not going to win.

20:29People who don't care about winning

You know that there are people that they lose all the time, simply because they don't care. They don't have the desire. They don't have the ambition to win. They lose in sports. They lose in business. They lose in love. They lose in relationships. They lose in employment. They lose all the time. They cannot finish anything because they don't understand that there is a season for fight, for war, to go to battle. But not just to go to battle, to die. I mean, what would be the person thinking, "I cannot wait to go to battle so they can kill me there."

21:11You go to battle to win; then rest and celebrate

No, you go to battle to win. But after you fight, you need to take your time to rest. When you're building your future, you have to consider that. Yes, you are building and building and fighting and winning, but you have to rest. And then you have to celebrate. Celebrate what you have accomplished so far. Celebrate. People are very good to criticize. Most people are so negative, and they will tell you, "The one thing that is not good out of 100 things, 99 things are good and something, but some people, they love to find that one little thing to tell you.

22:00Be someone who celebrates

Don't be like that. You can't change them. It's their problem. You need to be someone that celebrates. Celebrate the victory of God. Celebrate every day. Celebrate the fact that you are going to a place of triumph. You are in war, fighting. You win. You rest. You celebrate. You have your food. You celebrate. And that is what Moses did.

22:31Joshua and the Promised Land

Moses had somebody with him close to him. It was Joshua. Moses told Joshua, "Joshua, we are doing great. We have everything we need. The Lord is with us." Just remember, the objective is to go to the Promised Land. Sometimes people forget that there is a Promised Land waiting for them in the future. And that is why some people don't have the ambition to go anywhere, to make any effort in anything.

23:09Too much ambition, or none at all

Quite often you hear preachers attacking individuals that are so materialistic and say, "Well, they just work, work, work, work, work. They are so ambition. They have so much ambition. The only thing that they can think of is making money, making money, making money." And I understand this. It's tricky and it's dangerous. But on the other hand, you have individuals that they have. They have no ambition. There is a project. The Lord is giving you a project. A dream is inside of their souls. But they just say, "I don't want to do it because it's too much work." That's a problem.

23:52Holiness, and focus on the Promised Land

Moses left Joshua with this idea. The holiness of God, you need to revere and adore God the proper way and the tabernacle with the ceremonies. He must be worshipped. And yet you keep focused on the Promised Land. Beautiful, beautiful.

24:193. Solomon: the next generation builds

Now let's talk about the third story. The third story is the story of a king who was called to build a temple. The first temple, this was the calling for Solomon.

24:37The project was not Solomon's idea

The interesting thing about this is that the creator of this project was not Solomon. Actually Solomon, he didn't even work to make the money to prepare everything for the temple. It was his father, David. The thing is David was not the one who needed to build the temple for different reasons. And the point is that sometimes when you are building your future, you are not going to see the final project with your own eyes, but the next generation.

25:13Second generations in business

In some business, it happens that the children are wonderful children and they carry the legacy and they push and they move forward with the vision, the founding father of this business, this company created. Some are great, but not all the time. Sometimes, in fact, some children have frustration for their fathers because they become entitled and lazy and the only thing that they want is to spend the money. They don't want to work hard, etc. It's hard to see someone, second generation, being able to carry that leadership if that person doesn't have the ambition.

26:04A spiritual next generation

But sometimes it's not blood related next generation. Sometimes it's somebody else. It's just spiritually speaking, second generation. Somebody that has the same desires, the same dream, that person will be the one building, not necessarily yourself. And what is wrong with that? There is nothing wrong with that.

26:32Prepare the design and set aside the money

The thing is, in your case, you need to prepare the design and set aside the money. Whatever the Lord is giving you for the future, you say, "I am not going to be able to do this, but where is my children or grandchildren or whomever?" Somebody that will take the vision, I want to give them the design like David did, and I want to give them the money like David did. And tell them, "This is how you're going to build it." That is your job, my friend.

27:08The best of the best for the Lord God

And of course, when the time comes, the best of the best is for the Lord God. Solomon had that particular thing. I admire that very much in people that love excellence.

27:23People who love excellence

I wish I would have the desire to high standards of excellence. I do have the desire for great things and excellence. But I am aware it is not precisely the greatest of my strengths. I know people that they just love excellence, and my goodness, they impressed me. You can see individuals that are so into excellence that they call them perfectionists, right? Because they make the effort to have everything in their right place, their right color, their right size.

28:08The best wood, the best silver, the best stones

That is the process of building this temple. Solomon wanted the best of the best, the best wood, the best silver, the best stones, the best of the best for God. When you are building your future, you need to think about that. I'm going to give the Lord the best, the best of the best that I can do. And if you are not going to fulfill that plan, you have to go and let your son build, your next generation build. You say, "I have done my part, but that's all that I can do. It's time for me to move away and let the next generation." Take leadership.

28:57Build Your World

Precisely for that reason is that sometimes people need to start thinking that there is a possibility of building a new world. If you haven't watched the message, "Build Your World," here's the QR code on the screen. Find that message. Study it, because that will give you clarity about why and how is that the necessity for new things come to the mind of people.

29:334. Paul: building the Church

But let's go to the fourth story. All right. The fourth story is the apostle Paul building the church.

29:42Who built the church?

You know, people say, "Well, I think it was the Lord Jesus who built the church." Well, in fact, he is the creator of everything, Savior, Redeemer. Of course, he is. But humanly speaking, "Oh, oh, oh, but I thought there were the 12 disciples." Well, 11. One was a traitor. Okay, what happened with the apostles? I thought the name were the creators of the church. Well, they were awesome.

30:14Paul wrote most of the doctrine of the Church

But when you study the book of Acts and when you analyze the doctrine of the New Testament, when you understand who wrote the doctrine of the church, the most, no, the great majority of the books, letters, the instructions for the church were written by the apostle Paul. Okay.

30:45Humanly speaking

Imagine that we are saying, and we, for the sake of the argument, we are going to believe that was Paul building the church. Oh, please don't get upset thinking that I'm saying we humans build the church. It's the Lord who does it. But in terms of actions, human actions, okay, theologians? Humanly speaking, "Amuse me and come with me in this trip." It was Paul building the church.

31:17Someone has to be wrong

How all that begin? Well, someone has to be wrong. In this case, it was Paul. He was wrong because he was persecuting the Lord Jesus. And he thought, "This is wrong."

31:36From enemies of Jesus to servants of God

You know, it's very interesting to observe that, that people that were anti-Jesus and anti-church, eventually they become wonderful servants of God. When that happens, oh, when they realize that they were wrong, they were honest, but wrong.

32:00The light of Jesus (Acts 9)

So the light, the brightness of Jesus needed to come into the life of Paul. Chapter number nine of the book of Acts tells us the story.

32:11Only the blind can truly appreciate seeing

And you know something? Only the blind can truly appreciate seeing.

32:19Toast with butter when you are hungry

It is like similar to good food. If somebody is satisfied and is not hungry and you give them a wonderful meal, this person says, "Thank you, but I'm not hungry." Now, if somebody is hungry, really hungry, imagine you haven't eaten in several hours, and then somebody gives you a little toast with butter. That's all. You eat the toast and you say, "Oh my goodness, this is the most wonderful piece of toast that I have ever tried in my whole life." Because when you are hungry, any type of food that is edible and is good, you think it's amazing.

33:16Paul is healed through Ananias

That was the case of Paul. Paul became blind, and suddenly it was through a miracle of healing done by Ananias that he received the gift of seeing again.

33:34Without Jesus, we are blind

In terms of spiritual life, the one who is not in Jesus Christ is blind. In terms of your freedom, in terms of being a newborn Christian, if you are not, you are blind. You can't see the truth. But when you become a believer and your eyes are open, everything changes. So only the blind can truly appreciate seeing, and that is what happened to Paul. Paul just appreciated at that moment, not just the ability to see, but the capability to comprehend the wonders of the gospel.

34:25Years of study

He spent many years investigating, researching, talking with the disciples, praying, receiving from the Lord God, receiving instruction from other apostles, other believers, everything that he could acquire in knowledge and teachings directly from sayings they said, and he is writing those things down because only the blind can truly appreciate seeing.

35:01Comfortable Christians forget what it is to be lost

That is the problem with Christians that are so comfortable in the Lord God. They forgot what is to be lost. So many believers today are like that, so comfortable. They said, yeah, I'm going to go to heaven. And they say it like, I'm going to the store. Yeah, I'm going to go to heaven. Yeah, I pray every day. It's like if that was something anybody can do, not everybody. Yeah, I know one day we're going to die. I'm going to see the Lord. Really? You think so? I don't think so. It's not biblical, you know?

35:47Without holiness, you will not see the Lord

You know, in fact, the scripture says without holiness, you will not see the Lord. It's all based on appreciation, my friend. Appreciation. Paul had that.

35:58Passion is not enough: you need training

However, his passion was not enough. He needed training. So that is why he went to Jerusalem and Ananias, Barnabas, and the rest of the disciples, they were talking with them. And at some point, Paul became so knowledgeable about everything that he was even correcting others.

36:23Bible institutes and theological seminaries

Precisely for that reason, is that I suggest to every believer to enroll in programs to learn more about the scripture. There are today Bible institutes, theological seminaries, schools, where you can start studying a little bit more formally the scripture. There is nothing wrong with your daily devotion. It is wonderful. But I guarantee you this, once you start getting familiar with the knowledge of the Bible and reading, suddenly you are thirsty and you say, "You know what? I would like to learn more about all this. I am so curious. I have questions where you need to go to the right school."

37:11Our missionaries in Africa and Asia

And for our missionaries, as you probably have heard me, we have missionaries right now in Africa and Asia. And I say hello to my dear brothers there. Several of them studying with us every week. It's wonderful.

37:31The School of Life and Ministry: Paul and Barnabas

But I will tell you this. The School of Life and Ministry is going to teach you a lot of things. So, for example, the apostle Paul never thought that having a little fight with Barnabas could be a problem. Well, it was a problem. But they were not in the same page about one thing that Mark did. And that created a separation. So Barnabas took in one direction and Paul and Silas in a different direction. People say, "Well, that was God's will." Obviously, everything is God's will at the end because God allows things to happen. But I think, personally believe, that it would be nicer to see Paul and Barnabas together with Mark sometimes, without Mark sometimes, and Silas and all of them working together. And at the end of times of fights and all these controversies, Paul reconciled with them. He did.

38:41Even when you are right

Because the School of Life and Ministry is going to teach you that sometimes, even if you are right, it's not a good reason to have a fight. Even when you are right, that is not a good reason to have a fight. Paul learned that years later. The School of Life and Ministry taught him that.

39:12Constant supervision

What we need to do, regardless what is what you do, is to be submitted all the time to a constant supervision. Continue being accountable to people that are wise and ask questions and tell them what is what you are thinking, what is what you plan to do. What's going on with your life, with your budget, with your health, with your family. And at the same time, you leading a project, you need to be careful to oversee the people that are working with you in that particular project.

39:51"It's not that I don't trust you"

I told you in the past this story about my father. I was 14 years old and he sent me to do something. He said, "When you get there, you call me." I arrived to the place and I called him. He says, "Now you go to the other place. When you get there, you call me." I went to the second place. I called him and then he said to me, "When you go back to the other place, you call me." And I said, "Dad, what's going on? Why do you want me to call you every single time? I'm going to different places. So you don't trust me?" And then my father told me this, "Son, it's not that I don't trust you. Simply, I don't trust you." And I'm on the phone and I said, "What? Can you say that again, please?" And my father goes, "Son, it is not that I don't trust you. Simply, I don't trust you." And he said, "Dad, I don't get it." He said to me, "One day you will. When you have your own kids, you will understand."

41:07Why we check on everybody

The reason why we need to always check on everybody is not that we don't trust them. Simply, we don't trust them. It is a good thing to supervise. That is the job of the father or the mother or the boss, the supervisor, to check on the person's check on the person and vice versa. You must continue being accountable for your own sake.

41:32Studying, understanding and writing

Building your future is about studying, understanding, and writing. You have to be a person reading all the time, studying, analyzing, writing, checking everything you are doing.

41:47Your doctrine must be the New Testament's doctrine

And above all the things, whatever your project is that you are building, your doctrine must be the New Testament's doctrine. The worst thing that you can see in life is individuals starting new religions, because suddenly there was a demon that came into their minds and just took them out. No. There is a clear doctrine in the New Testament. Follow it. Learn more about it if you like.

42:25One Son of God: John 1:12

If you want to even start this process, probably the first place to start is to acknowledge that there is one Son of God that gave his life for you. His name is Jesus. John 1:12 says that if you receive him, he gives you the right to become a child of God.

42:51Connect with us: vchurch.us and the Gian TV app

To all the children of God, to you, my friend, yourself watching, I encourage you to connect with us more. Here is the QR code for our website, vchurch.us. You can watch online 24/7 our programs. If you have a smart TV, Roku, Apple, Amazon, or Samsung, download the app, Gian TV. You are going to have so much fun.

43:21Some humor: the construction guy

Today we have been talking about building, right? That reminds me of this story. It says that there was a construction guy who was put in a trial. He was accused of murder. A mortaring. Yes. And suddenly he was declared non-guilty, innocent. So somebody asked him, "What happened?" There was no concrete evidence. Constructing, constructing.

43:54Help us build: vchurch.us/give

Speaking about constructing, you know that every construction needs money. What if you help us? You know, there are people who see the value in helping us in our mission. Here is the URL, vchurch.us forward slash give.

44:08Some humor: the nails

All right. I have a funny story for you. Okay. So this time there was a guy who was helping me fixing a wall. So we are fixing the wall and we have tools, you know, like nails and hammers, and we are just fixing the wall. But I noticed that this guy, he was taking the nails and he was throwing some of the nails away. He picked the next one, looks at the nail, takes the next one. He throws one away. He's throwing seven all away. So now I'm looking at him and I said, "Man, what's going on with you? Why are you throwing some of those nails away?" He said to me, "Well, some are bad. They have the pointy end facing the wrong way."

45:06To all the children of God

To all the children of God, all the people that watch, you myself, you myself.

Transcribed from the video and lightly corrected. Spoken words are kept as Dr. Gian said them.