REPLACEMENT

00:00Intro

[Intro song] Hey, I am Dr. Gian. Life is not a lecture, it's a set of lessons. Pull up a chair, let's talk about how to live them. [Narrator] Dr. Gian explains why some people are replaced in relationships and at work and how that replacement actually happens.

00:35Nobody stays the same forever

Nobody stays the same forever. Only the Lord God does. Life follows natural processes in which everything evolves and people are expected to grow and advance. Not everyone, however, grows in step with what is required of them. Let me give you one example. A family. Two young people, they have children. And as parents, must keep growing if they want their lives to be happy. What if those parents keep treating school age children like babies? It would be a total disaster, correct?

01:20If you want a happy life, grow up

If you want a happy life, grow up. What is a happy life? It is when you take responsible care of yourself and others when that is your role and you move through the ups and downs of your days with a positive attitude. Making intelligent decisions for your own sake and for the sake of those in your care. The same is true for a single person or for a married person without children anywhere in the world. Anyone can learn the joy of a happy life, but how can they live it if they do not even know what it is? That is precisely why you should watch my message "How to be Happy". Here is the QR code and the URL if you want to take note of that. With God's wisdom, you move through every season of life with a smile, growing and adapting to the circumstances. Stop dwelling on catastrophes or in the past. Think about yourself. Now, focus on your life and on today. Are you adapting, evolving and growing? One of the challenges that we have is to broadcast 24-7. And we do it using all technology available as of today. Now, I know that sometimes people are just watching and they are not even paying attention. Others on the other hand are very, very attentive to what's going on on TV. But speaking about maturing,

03:15Cereal for dinner

there is a story that I heard that is interesting. It's the case of a young fella who still lives with his parents. He loves to eat cereal for dinner. And you know when it's about thinking what's to be an adult, he thinks it's something that you can unsubscribe from. One day, his mom asked when he was going to grow up. He said, "Can I get back to you? I am in the middle of a very important cartoon."

03:54What replacement means

Replacement is the natural process in life by which someone is reassigned to other responsibilities.

04:03At work: Joe, Mark and Dave

Example in the workplace. So we have here Joe and his crew. He is the leader. But he is stuck in the middle of a task. And he doesn't know what to do. But with them, there is another guy, Mark. Mark, on the other hand, he has been learning more and more about what's going on in that field. And he has the solution. So more likely, if Joe doesn't update himself, he's going to end it up without a job. Or maybe working on Mark's leadership. Okay, so let's suppose another scenario very similar. Here's Joe in the same predicament. But this time there is no Mark or anybody in his crew that can help. But if you pay attention behind him, there is another crew. Let's take a close look of them. Oh, here's Dave. Hi, Dave. Dave has his own crew. And he is advancing in life. He is growing. He is learning. He is adapting. Therefore, guess who is going to be the leader of what it was, Joe's group? That's kind of sad, don't you think? You know, in the workplace, it's pretty common to see that phenomenon. Some people are very good at what they do. They get promoted. They are assigned as the leader, the boss, the supervisor. But unfortunately, they just think that things are going to stay like that forever. And they don't want to learn. There are new techniques. You know that in these days, it's very easy to learn more things just by using your device. Like you are doing now with me. But unfortunately, some people don't see the necessity of keep growing. They just think things are going to be like that forever. They need me. You know, I'm good at this and that. I know my job. I know what I have to do. But things change in every field. There are new techniques, new equipment, etc. So you better keep updated, upgrade yourself and find out how you can learn more. And in many companies, they are willing to pay for training. If that is your case, talk to your supervisor and tell them, you know, I have been thinking about this time for me to probably go back to school to learn certain other things that I can even use here in the company. Think about it, my friend. Now, let's go to another scenario that has to do with this. It's the natural process in life, like you can see in this image, where simply you are evolving. And the thing is, this is a never ending process. You realize that. We all are always moving to a new thing. You notice what is going on with technology. It's like there is always a new thing all the time. And some people think, I don't want to keep doing this. I just quit. Well, it's not that simple. There are many things that eventually they can take you out of their systems. And many things is tricky if you don't try to follow with the system. Life is a constant change. We are talking about that today. Why is it that some people are replaced? Now, we are going to move now to a different scenario, which is family setting.

08:09At home: a broken promise

Okay, in this scenario, let me show you here this other case. Here is a happy family. Dad, mom and kids. They are happy. They are doing life as usual with the struggles and all that. But this guy, he thinks that he can just flirt and have girlfriends and the wife will be okay with that. So, he breaks his wife's heart. So, the girl is devastated. And he thinks, well, what is she going to do? I mean, I am the one who provides here. I am the one. I am this and that. So, he is thinking she has to take it. Not necessarily. In fact, it's adultery. And families, there are replacements too. She was replaced by somebody, but she did the right thing. She focused on her family. So, she decided now to work with her children and they are just being happy. Mom and the kids. But guess what happens? One day, somebody looks at this lady, looks at those kids and he says, "Aha, I want to be the daddy." So, you totally understand the problem, right?

09:41Six cases of replacement in the Bible

Let me give you six biblical cases of replacement. The first one, Saul being replaced by David. There is a prophet. The name is Samuel. Samuel is the one who is putting the oil, anointing the king. He did it with Saul. But then Saul did something terrible. They disobeyed the Lord God. And as a result, he lost the kingdom. So, the new king is David. It was the death of Saul the moment when David finally occupied that position of honor. First case of replacement. Saul was replaced by David. Second case is different. This is the case of a queen. Her name was Vashti. And you know, the problem with her was that she was arrogant, stubborn. She did not want to follow the king's orders. So, she was replaced by Esther. The story is pretty intense. Vashti was removed as queen and Esther was chosen in her place. Now, let's go to the third case. The third case is not like any of those two before. This is the case of the traitor Judas. You remember that he sold the Lord Jesus. He betrayed him. But at some point the apostle said, "We need someone to occupy that place." Well, he was replaced by Matthias. Peter said that Judas needed to be replaced and that place needed to be filled. The believer said, "We agree. We need to replace him." And they did. That was the third example here. Example number four, Barnabas. Barnabas was working with Paul. He was replaced by Silas. Paul and Barnabas had a disagreement. And as a result of that disagreement, Paul decided to call Silas to continue the journey with him. So, Silas takes Barnabas' place and Paul makes him his companionship. So now, we have a problem here. Those two that were good friends because of this disagreement now are separated. See, next case is now with David again. This time it was the time for his succession. So, he was replaced by Solomon. David loved his son and he said, "Solomon, you will be my successor." And Solomon became king. And finally, I'm going to give you the example of a prophet, Elisha. His mentor was Elijah. And there are many beautiful things that you probably don't know about this too, that you should read. The Scriptures are here on the screen. Beautiful, interesting stories. But the point is that Elijah knew that the next one would be Elisha. He was not too happy with that. Elisha somehow, he just decided to follow Elijah everywhere. And eventually, Elijah was taken up. And in that moment is when Elisha received the mantle and the role of prophet.

13:38Good and bad reasons in the Bible

There are several reasons why there was replacement in those biblical cases. Let me start with the positive reasons. Number one, age. And number two, the necessity for transferring power. Well, those are positive reasons. But not all the reasons in those biblical cases were good reasons. There are some bad reasons. The number one, disobedience to God. The number two, arrogance. Number three, rebellion. And number four, lack of understanding. But now let's talk about the causes of replacement in the current world. Why people are being replaced, for example, in the workplace.

14:33Why people are replaced at work today

There are positive reasons and negative reasons as well. The positive reasons is because somebody retires. Imagine if somebody retires, this position is open, right? So somebody is going to occupy that place. This person will be replaced. The second reason is because someone got a job in another company. So the position is open. And the third reason is when someone is being promoted. And when someone is promoted within the company, obviously somebody else is going to take that place. Those are positive reasons why in the current marketplace, in the workplace, you see as replacement. But are there negative reasons? Of course there are bad reasons. The number one cause for the replacement in the current world is because of poor ethics. Some people are just lazy. They are not responsible. They don't come on time. They don't fulfill the responsibilities. And eventually they get fired. That position is open. Now somebody is going to replace that guy or girl. The second reason why some people are being replaced is because they simply are negative people. They are pessimistic. They don't have enthusiasm. It's like a cloud of negativity. Imagine who is going to like the idea of working with someone like that. The third reason, unfortunately, some people not understand. They are unwilling to learn. Some of them are unwilling to change. They are being offered classes, training sessions, equipment, and they just refuse to learn. They are going to be replaced. Sad. There is another reason sometimes people just have limited IQ. If somebody is too slow, in these days, that is just rapid transitions from one technology to the next. If the person is not bright, unfortunately, it's going to be replaced. And as you can imagine, the cases of evil. There is always someone everywhere that is going to be evil. That person is going to be replaced sooner or later. Today we are reflecting about replacement. And why is it so important that you reflect about it?

17:27If you don't change, you will regret it

If you don't change, my friend, if you don't adapt to the circumstances, you will regret it. Especially when you are so set on your ways and you don't want to learn many things that are necessary in this world, in this life with technology and all that. You don't want to feel anachronic, obsolete. And quite often that is the problem. Because the rest of us, we are moving forward. We just think it's sad that this person doesn't want to learn. But if you want to know how can you adapt

18:13Adapting without changing your values

without changing your moral values, I will tell you that adapting, which is changing your way of thinking, it begins with a simple thing. It begins when you begin to talk to the Lord God and you begin to read the Bible. That is how you begin to adapt. You begin to change. Because there is something so intimate in our relationship with the Lord God. The spirit of God dwelling in our hearts, if you are a believer, there is a portion of the Holy Spirit dwelling inside of you. You know, some people say, "I have a guardian angel that protects me." Like if it's magic, right? Other people say, "My mom in the afterlife is looking after me." Those are kind of interesting concepts, but they are not necessarily correct. We respect those who we love and they are already in heaven.

19:31Who is really with you?

But who is really with you? Are there angels around us protecting us? Yes, indeed. The memories of our relatives stay in our hearts. The pictures are there. But the one that is always with you, if you are a believer, is the Spirit of God dwelling inside of you. People even say, "I hear the good angel and the bad angel in my head." All interesting ideas, but not necessarily correct. The Holy Spirit of God dwells inside of you. When you develop that relationship with the Lord God, and you read the Bible every day, every day, my friend, something super powerful is going to happen inside of you. Change. You know, it's inevitable. It's going to happen. The change will begin to transform you. And you know what that means? That means that you are going to start turning away from sin. Yeah, turning away from sin. Because the voice of the Holy Spirit is just so powerful. It is hard to explain until you live it. And I think that you understand what I am saying. You have that relationship with the Holy Spirit and you just know it. He is talking to you, impressing you, leading you. It's like a whisper constantly without words. It's just a feeling. That is how you begin to adapt. Because while you are doing that, and you walk away from sin, and you stop doing what is wrong, you will begin to focus on your tasks. In your home, in your family life, as well in your workplace, in your business. It makes sense. Because when you are focused on what is your responsibilities and the right things that you need to do, obviously, you are not going to do anything wrong intentionally. Nobody is talking about perfection, but more likely you are going to be more and more accurate.

22:14Good communication begins with God

Then you will discover the power of good communication. And that good communication begins with the Lord God. The good communication with the Lord God comes when you are talking to Him in your daily devotion, in your daily time with the Lord. You say to Him, you talk to Him, you read the Bible. It is a constant interaction between you and the Lord every single day. And through the day. You pray through the day. Something that some people think, I never thought that I would be praying so much. Other people have said to me, I didn't know that I was praying all the time. Communication. As you are learning to communicate with the Lord and you begin to comprehend more and more words. You are reading, right? You are reading the Bible. You are learning to read and comprehend. You know what is going to happen to you. You will improve your communication with everybody else. And when you do that, you will move to a next level, which is getting along with everybody else.

23:31Getting along is victory itself

And that, my friend, is victory itself. You get along with people, you are happy. They are happy with you. Your supervisor in the workplace, your co-workers, suppliers, clients, anybody. If you have good communication, if you are learning to get along with everybody, why would you be replaced? There is no need. Everybody is happy with you. You see that? Now, let's move to the family scenario, okay?

24:13A team player at home

In the family scenario, that ability that you will develop to communicate better with the Lord God will help you to talk in much better terms with your relatives. In your own home, with your relatives over the phone, with your relatives that live far away distant. You are going to become a nicer person, able to get along with everybody. In other words, it's like you become a team player. Just like that, a team player. It's like nobody sees you with bad eyes. They think that you are so easy to love. So easy to love, my friend, because of these changes that are happening inside of you. You know that some people in the workplace actually feel that there are individuals that they are not team players. And actually, instead of giving, they are always taking. It's like a leech, a parasite, just sucking, sucking and sucking resources from everybody. And why is that? Because they don't want to change. When you are changing, when you are allowing that voice of the Holy Spirit inside of you, based on the Word of God, the biblical principles you are reading, you are becoming a total different individual.

25:53The greatest decision

Now, if you have never, my friend, experienced that, perhaps now is the time for a change. The most wonderful change that you can make in your life. The greatest decision that you can make for your own sake. For the sake of the ones that you love. For the sake of your future, not just on earth, but for the afterlife. It's when you ask God for forgiveness. And don't feel bad about this. Because nobody is putting you down. It's just a fact. You know, it is like eating is a fact. Eventually, you need to brush your teeth. Otherwise, you are going to have dental problems. Well, life, sometimes, it is like that. You have to come clean to the presence of God. Because it's normal. You, me and everybody else, we all sin. The Lord God provided a Savior. The Redeemer, His name is Jesus. John chapter 3 verse 16 declares that the Lord God loves so much the world that He sent His only Son to die for you. And His precious blood will wash away all the sins that you have forever. So, by believing that Jesus is the Son of God, you receive the forgiveness through repentance and faith. So, your name will be written in the book of life and you will experience eternal life. Welcome to the family of God, my friend.

27:46Next steps

As you are becoming a new creature, a new person, a new creation, there are many things that I will suggest you to do. Of course, read your Bible. But I suggest you read good Christian materials. Here on the screen, there is another QR code and a URL that will help you to read another excellent of our PDFs available here on our website. I hope that you like it. Now, before I finish, I want you to know that here, we love to share some humor from time to time. If it's not funny to you, don't get upset. Some people think it is funny. And honestly, I enjoyed it very much. So, hope to see you here next time.

28:38A little humor

This friend of mine told me that one day he decided to reinvent himself. So, he changed his hairstyle, he bought a new notebook with a nice pen, and he started to use a different coffee mug in the office. So, he started his day like that, right? But by lunchtime, he was back to procrastinating exactly the same way that he did it every day. And he said, "Well, at least I have better stationery." There is a guy who lost his job. And when I asked him what happened, he said, "Well, it's very strange." And I thought, "I don't think it's strange. I know who you are and how you behave." But I didn't say anything. I just said, "Tell me the story. What happened the last day at work?" He said, "Well, you know, my supervisor called me and they called in the exit interview that." "Okay." And my manager said, "We asked you to switch to the new system three times." Well, I put the new login on a sticky note and stuck it to the old computer. But I kept using the old computer. But that's wrong. That's why we gave you the new computer and the new login system. Yeah, but the problem was that the computer was not working. So, well, I bought an extension cord. Yes, but the computer was still on throat. "Well, you see," he said, "I was willing to change. I just wasn't willing to change how I work." So the manager said, "Well, thank you. Well, you have a good day and thank you for the services that you presented to us here." They shook hands. So the guy said, "Can you reimburse me for that extension cord?"

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