Finishing Well Before You Begin Even Better (with Tim Ross) | The Leader's Cut w/ Preston Morrison

When he says go, he always tells you how to finish; absolutely when to finish and the best way to leave where you can always come back. When we haven't been around the block as many times, the thought can be, "Well, I'm leaving this house, so it doesn't matter if I burn down a few rooms." The commitment has to be, "I'm walking out of the front door with integrity," because life is too uncertain; I might have to walk back through these doors. And I think sometimes we get so focused on where we're going that we forget where we are. Before we go is where God called us. Y'what you do not properly grieve, you will never properly leave. You're either going to make them hate you on your way out, or you're going to behave in a way where you make them miss you.

What's up everybody? Welcome to The Leaders Cut. And I can barely contain myself. Pretty sure you can tell why I cannot contain my excitement to be with you today. My best friend on planet Earth, the Timothy Charles Ross, is in the house today. I'm here, and we—this is actually kind of a, a part two, it is, to our last conversation. It's not even kind of that; they saw we, we did the episode on how to begin a new thing, which we love to talk about, and then I got hit up by multiple people going, "Hey, this is so great for me. Can you guys do an episode on how to finish?" Well, which by the way, I read it before I prayed, made me think of Ecclesiastes chapter 7:8. Nice, the end, seven and eight of a thing. Talk about it; it is better than its beginning. Wow. The NLT, I think, says it something like, "Finishing is even better than starting." This is the conversation we are going to have today, because we both know that starting well, that's good, is impossible without finishing well. Facts. But finishing well can often times be 10 times harder.

Oh, absolutely correct. Starting a new thing well. So let's pray, and we will jump right into this conversation. There will be the knife of Heaven all up in this thing. I could already tell as I, I just was praying about where we're going when we were praying. So let's pray; invite the Spirit of God in. Holy Spirit, invade, invade this time. Yes, Lord, invade us; take over. Yes, Lord, do whatever you want to do in me, with me. Forget about this episode; just take over and during this time together, whatever you want to do, Holy Spirit, we just want it to be done. We know that many of our brothers and sisters are coming to the end of a season. Yes, Lord, and for some it's excruciating, and it would be really easy for the flesh to get active. Holy Spirit, would you take out the knife of Heaven, the word of God which divides between joint and marrow, and cut all over our flesh in such a way that none of it, as a result of our time today, gets in the way. Yes, Lord, of what you want to do as these seasons come to an end. Yes, Lord, Holy Spirit, we yield, and we lay down on the operating table of Heaven. Yes, Lord, cut on us. Yes, Lord, in Jesus' name. Jesus' name. He, amen. Amen. Amen. Let's get it. Let's talk about it. Let's go.

Because, of course, a lot of people like to start new things; it's exciting, a fresh page, all those things. But you and I have both lived when God is displeased with a finish, you're not going to see His pleasure when you begin. So let's talk about when you hear finishing something; what is the hardest in your mind? What are the hardest things about finishing well?

Um, the first thing that comes to my mind is not checking out early. When you know the end is coming, and you just want to like bounce, coast, bounce—your mind's not there, your body doesn't want to be there; you quietly quit. Right? You lame-duck yourself through it; you kind of just go through the motions. Um, when it, when the end is coming, it depends on the, it depends on the situation. I've been in both. If it's a good situation, one of the most difficult things is to actually leave. If it's a good thing, right, and you know it has to end, the hardest thing to do is to actually leave. You, you turn everything into a—"What did you just call me? Oh, did you want me to stay for five more minutes? You know what I'm saying? I heard you wrong. Right?" You want to stay. When it's a bad situation, you want to strike the rock twice. You want to strike the rock twice on the way out, like you know how God has told you to do it, and you still want to be like—like, you know what I'm saying—give somebody a little flinch and be like, "Hey, you're an idiot that…" You would reach for that moment that keeps a man out of a new beginning. Everyone else, you—I, if you're going to start in this way, I want you to know, I might move this mic out of my face and I might punch yours if you need to restrain yourself. My eyes are already watering. You don't—you reached for that one thing.

Absolutely correct, because you want to strike the rock twice. PR—Moses was supposed to be watching the back of Joshua's head as they walked into the promised land. He wasn't supposed to go up to the mountain dead; he was supposed to be watching the back of Joshua's head. He was never going to lead them into the promised land, but he wasn't supposed to die before they got there. And when it's time to start wrapping up, when things start coming to a close, one of the biggest temptations is to not do exactly what God told you to do. Moses was told specifically what to do to that rock the first time and specifically what to do to that rock the second time, but he allowed all of his feelings and sentiments and frustration about what was going on between him and the children of Israel, him and them—yep, right—him and them to literally compromise his integrity before the Lord. And one of the scariest things, one of the things I'm, I'm most afraid of is this, because that's what that moment—every time I read that moment where Moses strikes the rock twice, it—I literally see God doing this, 'cause remember the water still gushes out, right? God's not going—this is a lesson that He's always taught me—God's not going to penalize the [Music] people because of the disobedience of the leadership. The son of the shepherd, He's not going to do it, so they still got their thirst quenched. But as soon as it was over, it was this—and that's—I am, I am shook to even think about that happening. So it's, it's about, it's about following instructions, even when your mind, your body, everything about what's going on in the moment makes you want to do something else. You got to like be very disciplined to do the thing you're supposed to do.

I—my mind goes to this new Bible. I'm still getting used to the—you know how you get used to the old locations of everything, and then you switch to a new one and you're like, "I don't even—I know it's here." Frustrating. I know it's here. Here, here you go. Uh, Deuteronomy 4, yep, verse 21. Several times Moses talks like this; he's saying to the people essentially why he can't go. In verse 21, furthermore, the Lord was angry with me for your sakes—in other words, it was your fault—exactly—and swore that I would not cross over the Jordan and that I would not enter the good land which the Lord your God is giving you as inheritance. He was mad at me because of y'all. That's what Moses says. And not true, not true at all, not true. Revision is history. This actually—what it makes me think about that when somebody—'cause here's one of the questions I know some are asking, "Okay, I want to finish well, but I'm in a sticky situation, and the leadership I'm under is not godly; they're not doing godly things." It has nothing to do with you. My mind goes to, if you strike the rock twice, that's right, thinking it's the righteous thing to do because of unrighteous behavior, you will not be able to blame what happens next. God's response to your disobedience; they're not going to get to be your excuse. Bad leadership is never your excuse to do bad things.

Absolutely correct. So, uh, Dave Chappelle had a skit on, uh, Chappelle Show, "When Keeping It Real Goes Wrong." The believer's equivalent of that is when keeping it real goes rogue, or when keeping it real turns rogue. Because I, I have seen too many people, because of the scenarios you just presented, right, the leadership's bad, they've been treated poorly, or whatever, then they feel justified, "I had to do it like this," right? And it's like, "I know that probably felt good to your flesh," right? The Lord is not pleased with what you just did. Yeah, ask him how that worked out for him. Ask—well, you can't ask David because he actually did the right thing. But if three javelins come towards David, and the fourth one he catches, flips it around and throws it back at Saul, and then looks up to Heaven and goes, "He was trying to kill me; it was either me or him, Lord. What, what you expect me to do?" And we got a lot of people in this day and age that are using the sins of the father to justify their own, the sins of their flesh. Exactly right. Exactly right. It is not ever going to work, and you're never going to see—no, the supernatural response of the Spirit, yeah, when you walk in your flesh. Absolutely not in response to someone else walking in theirs.

I think this is one of the hardest parts about finishing well is when someone knows your time is coming to an end. If they don't want you to leave, what are you typically going to see? You're going to see them operate in the flesh. Absolutely correct. They're going to throw a little passive-aggressive verbal jab. You know they don't want you to leave. So part of what I would say is, "Hey, it may not be that they hate you or they're angry with you; it may be they don't know how to grieve your departure." And you do this as well or better than anyone I know. Once you get locked in on where, and especially so where someone is, but why they're there, your empathy factor—y—goes through the roof. Yeah, because you now have understanding. Absolutely correct. Jesus is King; context is Queen. And when I have understanding of where they are and why they are, it becomes easier, that's right, to be gracious, yeah, with all that. Getting, getting understanding—wisdom is a principal thing; therefore get wisdom—Proverbs 4:7—with all, like getting, get an understanding. If, if you can get context to the reaction, the behavior while you're trying to end well, it doesn't mean it's not frustrating, but context just helps you to calm down. How many times have you been in traffic, and what should be a normal day—I usually get home in 25 minutes—turns into two hours, and it's a parking lot, and you're angry, and you're frustrated, and you didn't factor in this time, and maybe you weren't going to get gas till you got back home, and now the light is on, and you are just fuming. And then as it continues to creep up, you see a car smoldering with smoke; flames have been doused, and there's yellow tape around it. You feel completely different about this two hours because now you have context to why this traffic's been backed up for the last two, two hours. Right? Like, yeah, in an instant, right? Now, if you're in that same traffic and you find out after two hours it was on the other side of the highway, and everybody on this side of the highway was just looking, then you're fuming for a different reason, right? But context just helps you to calibrate. But most of us allow furiosity—it's a word I made up to rhyme with curiosity—if you're furious, you won't be curious. Yeah, and and when you're furious, you don't lean in to figure out, "I wonder why, I wonder why this person is responding the way they are." And the, the more—I mean this gets into so much nuance—because the higher your emotional intelligence, the easier all your transitions will be.

Y, I've never said this in my life. Y, this is what you bring out of me. Yeah, I see. The higher your emotional intelligence, the easier all your transitions will be. It's not that if it, if it's painful, it won't be painful; you'll still feel the pain, but you'll be able to contextualize it. It's not that if it's great, it still won't be great; it's just that you—it's just different when you've already done so much work on you. You realize, "I'm, I can only control me; I'm the only one I can control in this scenario." If my departure brings out the best in you, yay; if it brings out the worst in you, understood. Yeah, but I can only control me. Yeah, and that's ultimately who God's looking at. I think the more frustrated one's flesh gets as they finish, the more pleased God's Spirit is. So I actually think we should spend the way that we see it and go, "The more frustrated you get," let's just say your leadership is getting PA—they just go passive-aggressive—they go, "Okay, great, great, great." You get understanding, you okay, but it doesn't change anything; it doesn't change—the more frustrated your flesh gets, the more pleased His Spirit is. Celebrated. Yes, absolutely. I am finishing well; I'm going to finish well when I fight to stay pure, especially when I'm most frustrated. Absolutely. I don't need to—if, if someone else isn't going to play by the rules, yeah, I kind of just make peace and go, "You know what? I'm not going to strike that rock," right? I know I could, I know I could break the rules, too—too easy—too, but I'd rather please Him than get into it with you.

All right, so you—so, so on a, on just like a regular degular level, right? Like we—I love when you say "regular degular," by the way—like, like all, all, all, all the scriptures that we can lob at this aside, right? Here's one of my personal philosophies when I transition from a place: If you're going to say something bad about me, you're going to have to make it up. That's my philosophy. I'm not, I'm not—I can't—I, I can't determine how you're experiencing me, but I'm going to be a good steward of this transition. And if you're going to say something that's just really negative, you're going to have to make it up, 'cause I'm not going to give you something to be like, "On the way out, he TPD'd the place," right? You know what I mean? "On the way out, he decided to leave 20 emails in the box. On the way out, he knocked over four pictures; right? He, he made them all crooked and said—"No, you may not like the transition, but you're gonna be hard-pressed to be like, "He was a jerk about it." Yeah, he didn't—the last two weeks he just coasted; he didn't get this done; he kind of left his—not happening. I'm not going to do that to me. This 100% connects to, obviously, the hardest thing about finishing well is not walking in the flesh; that's what we're, what we're saying. Okay? And this absolutely connects—I think the mentality for some, and for some of us when we're less mature, when, when we haven't been around the block as many times, the thought can be, "Well, I'm leaving this house, so it doesn't matter if I burned down a few rooms." Wow. And we've seen people go, "Well, I'm not going to live here, right, in two weeks; right? My two-week notice is in; I'm not going to live here in two weeks, so what does it even matter, right? If I tear down a few rooms, striking a few rocks on my way out, 'cause y'all didn't treat me well." And here's, here's what I would say: When you forget that the Earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof, you're not burning another man's house down; you're burning something which belongs to the Lord.

Absolutely. Absolutely. And if you don't think that there is going to be some divine retribution when you start building rooms in your next house, you might as well get ready to dwell in a tent a little extra longer. Because if you leave a place burning down rooms, He will not give you your own house; He won't give you your own room, buddy. But we see this; it's like, "Well, I'm going to be out, so what does it matter?" The Earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof; this is mine. That's right. He didn't do this; she didn't do this; I did this. Exactly. And you're tearing down something I spent years building up through many—yeah—that we got to change this. It, it's not mano a mano—no—uh, people that jump out of windows can't walk through the front door. Don't start one-liners today; don't start one-liners today. Tell your stories about yellow tape around cars which have smoke smoldering. Stick—you saw—you saw it, didn't I? I saw it clearly. I lost you for a second 'cause I, I was—see, I was in the car frustrated and convicted once I saw someone pass away in that vehicle. Don't, though, stop on one-liners; don't do it today; don't, don't—yo, yo, they don't come, they don't come all the time. When they come, I'm just saying—people that jump out of windows don't get to walk through front doors. The commitment has to be, "I'm walking out of the front door with integrity," because life is too uncertain; I might have to walk back through these doors. And people that jump out of windows don't get to walk back through the door. The Lord says, "Heaven will not open up over you if you bail out this window on Me." I've never thought about that before. How many people just—"I'm just jumping, I'm just jumping ship," right? You, you can't wait till it docks; I got a raft; I'm out. I'm about to start something down the street; I'm about to take my ball and go somewhere else. Just like—"n"—just go out the front door, 'cause you might have to walk back through it. That is wisdom right there, especially for a younger generation. Oh my goodness. Don't burn down a door; God might ask you to walk back through down the road. Life, life is too uncertain. Pris—I've been alive too, too, too long; somebody's going to die, and then there's—they meant—they meant enough to both of y'all that both of y'all got to go to the funeral; it don't look good if you went out the window. Every place I ever left, I walked out the front door; I didn't go out the back door, window, trap door; I walked out the front door, which means I can walk back in. What a principle! I mean, it's just—the—again, I can only be in control of myself; I can't control anybody else's actions, but before the Lord, the way I handle a thing is absolutely important.

It's like I hear some saying right now, "Yeah, but I'm being chased out the back door; I'm being chased." And here's what I would say: If you are following the One, He never goes out the back door; He goes out the front door. This is not about someone chasing you; yeah, this is about you following Absolut. And when God leads you, when, when He says go, mhm, He always tells you how to finish. Absolutely. When to finish, yeah, and the best way to leave where you can always come back. So there's somebody that's like, "Yeah, but you don't understand; they, they're trying to kill me." Sweet, they killed [Laughter] Jesus. And while He was up on that cross, they taunted Him, "If you're really the Son of God, why don't you just ask some angels to come and take care of this situation? Why don't you get yourself down?" He wasn't going to compromise His exit, because if He compromised His exit, He would have been abdicating His authority. And the only way to gain the authority that God wanted to bestow on Him was to go through that bloody, horrific exit. Some of us are leaving oil on the table because we don't want to have a cut in our flesh, but there is some authority that only comes through bleeding. Press—not leading—bleeding. And some people are trying to lead their way out of a circumstance and an exit when they need to be bleeding themselves out of it, but they do not want to go through the pain of it. But Hebrews 12 told us, "He endured the cross and despised its shame for the joy that was set before Him." You must not know something's before [Laughter] you; you think all that was is all there is. Oh, and so you're trying to get as much as you can on the way out 'cause you don't know what's next. Scripture says, "For the joy that was set before Him," which was not the cross—"For the joy that was set before Him, He endured that cross and despised its shame," 'cause He knew He had a place to sit after He hung up. After you hang up, you can sit down, but you're going to have to bleed your way out of this, and it is scary, and it is frustrating, and you do feel like you died, and you probably did—emotionally a little bit, spiritually, psychologically. I, I, I, I understand all of that, and and the authority you get on the other side—it cost what it cost. Some stuff you got to bleed for. I would rather pay full price for that which God desires to give—full—than take shortcuts and find a deal. My flesh wants to steal Absolut. Absolutely. I don't know what you ate for breakfast this morning, by the way. I, I haven't eaten—this intermittent fasting—what are you talking about? I, I don't—and I'm a raw vegan. Well, Protein House is on the way after this. I mean, that—I know, I know you're—I—this is tackling the flesh in the midst of transition is huge. It is—our biggest mistakes are made in pressure-packed moments, where especially there's a little bit of pain. When you put pressure and pain in the midst of transition, it's a recipe for some of our worst sides. For sure. So to be aware—transition is hard; yeah, it is; it's hard; there's grief; there's all—there's many facets—ably to healthy transition, okay? But being aware that if you operate in your flesh, even for two swings—my God—it can ruin—oh, hold on—hey, calm down—hey, but just calm down real quick, because obviously you think about those swats, but just to hear it and to know that meant disqualification—that's all it took—that was it—it's that—that's, that's easy to get wrong. And this is why, with holy awe—I won't say fear—in trepidation, but holy awe, we should navigate obedient transition with holy awe. Yeah. And I think sometimes we get so focused on where we're going that we forget where we are. Before we go is where God called us. Yep. Yep. It wasn't bad, even if things got hard. Y, this is where God called me to be. Absolutely correct. Absolutely correct. For divine reasons. Absolutely correct. And so I want to be a blessing. Yes. This is the perspective of—I'm going through the front door with blessings being left at every desk. Absolutely correct. As we leave. Yeah. Absolutely correct. So we can't walk in the flesh. Let's, let's talk for a minute about some of the—whatever you do, don't do. Okay. Okay. So the hardest thing—not to walk in the bush—but let's help him out. Whatever you do—yeah—yeah—yeah—yeah—as you finish, don't do this, and then we'll go to the other side of the practical: How do we go out the front door, please God and honor man? Yeah, for sure, for sure, for sure. Whatever you do—whatever don't do… What's the first thing that comes to your mind? Uh, um—whatever you do [Music] don't revise history in your narrative. Love it. Just don't do it. And what I mean by that is, I already know when people leave a situation that they deem is bad, they act like the whole thing was bad the whole time—the whole time—from the beginning, even though six months ago, before God said it was time to go, it was the greatest place I've ever worked or ever been. But then now it's time to go, and this is the worst place ever. You met your spouse there; you got recognized there, promoted there, whatever—there, prepared there—all the things, right? And then the last year or two sucks, or it turns sour for whatever reason, and it gets very, very hard, and you start crying, and six months go by, and then, right, you finally leave, and it's the most painful thing ever, and whatever—you get your severance, or you know, you move on, and they didn't give you a party—whatever the thing is, right? And then it's revisionist history; it's the most terrible place ever. "I must have missed God; the whole thing was bad." And it's like, "No, it wasn't." Egypt wasn't all bad; there once was a Pharaoh that knew not the God of Joseph, up into that Pharaoh—Goan was po—that's what I'm talking about, right? Joseph and Pharaoh and Jacob and his children—they were—alloh—even called it some of the best land in the land for your brothers and your father. So it was good until it wasn't. That's so great. And you have to be able to hold the tension of both, right? This season was great until it wasn't. And thank you, Holy Spirit. A lot of times the "wasn't" season—that's the only way God can get you out. For some of us, if it's good all the way up until the end, we won't even leave; we'll keep making excuses to stay. So when that grace starts lifting, and things that were easy start getting frustrating, He, He builds that into the process to move you on to the next thing, because you ain't supposed to be here forever; you were never supposed to be here forever, right? It's the 19-year-old that still lives at home and is now looking at his parents sideways because curfew is 11:30, right? 15, 16, you was like, okay. 19, with your own little car—you know what I'm saying? Got that 2014 Honda Accord—can't afford a tent nowhere—everybody can see straight through all windows—and now you, you know, you got a little peach fuzz, and you know you got your little job at Apple, and and at the Genius Bar, and now you looking at your parents a little—you feeling yourself a little bit, bro. It's time to leave, m'hm, 'cause ain't nothing wrong with your Mom and Daddy's rules, right? They just don't fit the age and stage you are anymore. So great. And that discomfort is meant to make you go sleep on somebody's couch or go get a one-bedroom efficiency and eat some peanut butter and jelly sandwiches so you can have some autonomy. Yep. It ain't—your parents ain't bad; their house ain't bad; it's time for you to go build yours. Exactly. So don't revise history and be like, "Man, my parents never let me do nothing." N—these restrictions saved you. Don't curse those who gave you the time you needed to prepare to build your own house. I'm just saying, even if it gets a little sideways in the end, the sideways is meant to help. Do not stay where you were never meant to remain forever. That's what I'm saying. That's what I'm saying. That's savage right there.

I, I got one that comes to my mind, and it may take a second for me to walk this through, 'cause I got to tell a story. So here's what I would say: Whatever you do, don't—while you were on the clock of your present employer, being paid by your present employer—use their money and time to start working on your next thing. Don't do it; please don't do it. So when, when Gateway had said, "We're sending Preston out," it's a three-year process. Part of what they did during that season, the last 18 months, they sent me out to Frisco, when the NorthStar Church—yep—was—in the Gateway, came the Frisco campus. Well, Robert sent me out there, and so I'm, I'm out in Frisco trying to get the DNA into, uh, that campus. And while I know I'm six months away—less than six months—from beginning interest meetings in Scottsdale, okay? So the temptation could be—I mean, this is my long-term call; what's next? I got to start… You know, here I am sitting in…

This big executive office in this nice office building in Frisco, and I have two options. I can give my all to the people God has right in front of me in that season, or I could hedge my bet a little bit and start working on future things while being paid by my present employer, MH.

And I remember the Lord very clearly drawing a line one day. I started to use the whiteboard in that room, and I’m not being legalistic, I’m just sharing my story. Yeah, for sure. I started writing some Scottsdale things on the Frisco whiteboard, and I felt the Lord say, “Stop it now.” And I went, “Well, Lord, I mean, you’re you’re sending me to Scottsdale; they they they’ve already talked about it; everybody knows about it; I I I don’t see, you know, it’s 5:30; what what what’s the problem?”

And I remember the Lord telling me this story. He said, “Do you remember when you were pregnant with your firstborn, when Holly was pregnant? He said, ‘How many how many times did you go to Babies R Us when Holly was pregnant with Riley?’ Now, don’t don’t judge us for this, but literally we were so baby in love, baby obsessed, excited for Riley to be born that we would drive out to Addison where the Babies R Us was, often times four nights a week. Wow. I’m not exaggerating. Wow. We would buy the iced animal cookies for like $5 and go sit in the gliding rocking chairs in the back, and we would watch all the parents with newborns go by us, and we would just sit in awe and we in excitement. Okay, wow.”

The Lord said, “How many times do you think he went while Holly was pregnant with Riley?” And I said, “Let let’s just say 100.” “Mhm,” 150, MH said. “Okay, when you were pregnant with Tyler, our second born, he stepped you down. He said, ‘How many times did you drive out to Babies R Us?’” And I started laughing and I said, “Well, probably like two.” And he said, “Well, wait a minute, it’s still your child, right? Exactly what changed?” And before I could answer, he said, “Preston, when you didn’t have a baby yet, the only way you could kiss on your baby was to go watch other parents kiss on theirs.” That’s right. “But once you had a baby of your own, anytime you wanted to kiss on the baby in Holly’s womb, you just went into Riley’s room.” That’s exactly right. “And kissed on her.” That’s right. And the Lord goes, “Preston, every time you want to go kiss on Scottsdale, go into Frisco’s room.” That’s right. “I remember when you told me, ‘Kiss on Frisco.’ Remember, if you will give your all to finish in Frisco, I will give you more than enough oil to steward Scottsdale.” That’s right. This is why I would say it may seem like a small thing, people; it matters to the Lord, your last day. Right. The Lord is saying, “You’re not done.” That’s right. Absolutely correct. There are things I want you to do, and if you want to finish well, don’t steal. That’s right. That’s so good. Don’t steal from your present employer. Absolutely correct. And not only don’t steal, give. Yeah, absolutely. Give AB more than they’re even paying for. Yeah, absolutely. And we’ll get to that, but I’m just the first thing that comes to my mind; whatever you do, don’t steal. All right, so I got a coign on that because when I transitioned from Potter’s House, um, I was going into itinerant Ministry, like it was just yep, itinerant speaking. And so, um, uh, we built a website, Timroth.org, and you know, I I told I told Bishop Jake about my transition in April of 2010, um, and then my last day was December 31st of 2010. Um, I had Church Media do the website, and um, website was done and and was ready to go live in October, but I wasn’t finished at PH, so my last day was December 31st of 2010. That site did not go live until Jan January 1st of 2011, because let it not be said that while I’m still finishing this season, I’m already trying to ramp up for my own. It is a heart posture, it is, and it’s subtle. Yeah, right, because most people would be like, “Oh, this is just practical and logical; I’m gearing up for my own,” but it’s like, “Nah, just just kiss on this baby; yours is coming.” Right. And God’s going to bless that baby; he has more than enough to bless that baby, but do not take milk out of this bottle to put into yours. It’s I’m glad you mentioned that; that’s very important. Don’t give into to the temptation to start a new thing saying you’re getting a head start. Right. Don’t do it. Don’t do that. Your head start yep would involve you being disobedient to the Lord and not doing everything he asked as a part of your finish. Yeah, don’t do it. Yeah. What something else that comes to mind? Don’t, when you’re finishing, don’t do it.

All right, so so th this is uh this is this is really light; this is some this is some therapy side. Okay, obviously this is going to happen. All right, so whatever you do, don’t forget to say [Music] goodbye. Greatest season ever. Worst season yet. Whatever you do, don’t forget to say goodbye, because what you do not properly grieve, you will never properly leave. And Buddy, slow yourself down; you’re in a school zone right now. Don’t speed in your little Ferrari. Oh oh no no no, don’t talk; don’t I’m I’m not being dramatic; people think we get dramatic. I literally and sometimes I think wrongly I come to these episodes and go, “You know what, I’m going to be in this episode; I’m not I never I’m not going to,” but you know you know what I’m reminded of? It’s an involuntary reaction; it’s like when you went to the doctor as a kid, they took that rubber mallet and they hit you in the knee and you’re like, “Stop doing that! I don’t want stop doing stop doing that!” It’s involuntary. Oh, it’s so funny; my mind is just going back through the catalogues of relationships; what you don’t grieve, yeah, you you you’ll never leave. Timmy, I’ve never even thought a lack of grief can be in part the reason for much gossip. Oh, absolutely; to keep going round and round and for everyone else to move on, yeah, but that one person, yeah, stays stuck in that moment and 10 years later is still talking about it as though it happened 10 minutes ago; they’re in a completely new season and still rehearsing the last season. I never thought a lack of grief. Yes. What what what what we don’t grieve, we don’t integrate and metabolize, so it just goes with us to the next thing. And so how many people go into a new season oh treating the people in their new season like the people from their past season because they won’t cry? We we tell people, “Oh oh, I’m leaving and I’m not going to cry,” and it didn’t we try to act like the season was meaningless, when even if it was bad, it was meaningful; it was full of meaning; it taught you resiliency if it was a bad season. If it was a great season, it taught you what it was like to feel rewarded, to feel recognized, to feel celebrated. If it was a bad season, you know what it feels like to be ignored, to feel rejected, to to feel isolated. Right. And whether it was the best season of your life for the worst season of your life, it’s worthy of your tears. And what you refuse to lament, you will not be able to lay down. And so people go into the next season and they wonder why they can’t fully embrace the new season, cuz they never fully metabolize the old one. So let’s just say you left the greatest season of all time; you get to the new place; you can’t enjoy it cuz it’s not them; it’s not like it was over there, man; it was it was popping over there; they the the the vibe over here is just not the same; oh, I wish I I’m longing for what I used to. Right. It’s greatest season ever. Right. If it was the worst season of your life, right, you get over here, even if it’s good, you can’t enjoy it; you’re flinching in it cuz, “Man, it’s good, but I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop,” because you never cried; you never sat with the sadness of “It’s over; the season is over.” Goodbyes are important; goodbyes are incredibly important; goodbyes are incredibly important when it’s good; goodbyes are incredibly important when it’s bad; you have to say goodbye; it’s one of the ways that that your body receives closure so it can move on to the next thing. Goodbyes are absolutely important. What you don’t lament will end up being your cement; that is cheesy, but that is where my mind a bar where it will that’s a bar; what I don’t lament will end up being like quicksand concrete around my feet that will keep me stuck. Place. Absolutely. And the only way to break it off is to grieve. Yeah, absolutely. Part of grief is celebration; it is; grief is not a negative thing; beautiful; it’s beautiful; it must be done; it must be done. Wow. Yeah. Goodbyes are important. You you look at um NBA players during the trade deadline during the during uh free agency; if they’ve been at a um Organization for several years, people still wearing their jerseys; you got to hit up that goodbye. Right. “Thank you for seven great years, Dallas. Thank you for six great years, LA.” Can we that’s too soon; is it it’s too soon for you? No, it’s too soon; that’s you cross you cross the line; you cross the line; collusion. I have one word for you: collusion. Pal Gasol, collusion. Stop; don’t move on; take out the U in the K and what do you have left with Luka’s name? You you actually bother me when you do this; I I just that’s fine; he was supposed to be there; that’s fine; we will really know there’s collusion if the Mavs end up getting Cooper Flag; that if that was the payment price, we will know there was all right; you lose Luka, you get Flag; let’s just see; let’s just see all right; just how scripted it all is. Yeah, we’ll see. But Flag, I love the thought of if the longer you’ve been somewhere, the deeper its meaning in your life and the people who were a part of that season, the more you goodbyes are important; you owe an honorable goodbye, not just to them, to yourself; to yourself; it is a line in the sand; that’s right; of because here’s the deal; not only what what you don’t lament will serve as your cement; here’s another way to say it: if you don’t have a goodbye on the tough days of the new new place and new season, there may be temptation to go back through that door. Okay, so you walked straight into my thought. Okay, so Juliet and I wept; we cried a river leaving MSC City; we knew God had told us that our season was up; God had already showed us who our successor was; we walked through the process; we cried a river; I mean a full [Music] complete river of tears. Okay, um, we were not a part of a local church for two years after that; just we traveled; we got used to our new rhythm of life. You were in a different church every week, right? Yeah, I was in a different traveling all over; exactly right; I wasn’t we, but we didn’t have a local church that we were going to; um, we thought we were going back to Embassy City; I thought, “I’m taking a year off, and then we’ll go back to Embassy City.” That year went by so fast; we were like, “Yeah, we need another year,” right? You know, we we just when you’re off the field, that’s when you realize, “What were we doing?” And when that grace lifts off, you you’re like, “There’s no way I would have done that right in my right mind, right? You just nobody would would do it.” So then we started praying about a new church; Juliet had kind of like her short list of things she wanted in a church, and I had my short list; our church is 7 minutes away, and it’s less than 300 people; yeah, and we adore it. Yeah, I’ve heard the greatest singers that’s ever going to sing; I’ve heard the best preachers I’m ever going to hear; I’ve been in the most beautiful edifices I’ll ever ever walk into and inhabit occupy, but we because we fully metabolized the last season, fully grieved it, we can just accept this church for what it is at the stage that it’s end at the age that it’s end with all of the the the things about growth; we’re like, “We we just got the two services, like we you know, it’s the first time like the church is like going to two services, and everybody’s like, ‘Oh my God, I don’t want,’ you know, we don’t like we don’t want to have two services; we’re not gonna get to see everybody,” and I’m and I’m and I’m giggling cuz I’m like, “I’ve been through all this, but I’m not sitting up every service like, ‘Need to change this; we need to do; I don’t understand why the pastor keeps doing that,’ and the lights need to” I’m not thinking about production; yeah, I’m not I fully grieve; that season is over; let me let me double down; I wouldn’t be able to be the podcaster I am cuz let me tell you something; the last two years of of the way I’ve been assigned to do podcast, I’d have started another church; it was easier over here; yeah, I have just started a church; I’d have started a church in Denton if I didn’t fully metabolize and grieve that season; so good; then I would have been like, “I don’t want to get picked on out here, right? I’ll just go back to being a pastor.” No; a full goodbye and a deep grief of a good grief prepares your mind, body, and soul to receive the next season that God wants to bring you into. Yep, I love it. So whatever you do, don’t forget to say goodbye. Beautiful. Yeah. I think something that comes to my mind and I’ll use it as a segue before we get to the “How do you finish well practically?” is whatever you do, don’t be ignorant about it being over. And here’s what I mean: I think one of the questions we need to answer is, “How do I know my time is up?” Because one of the things I’ve seen when frustration rises, it’s typically because one person in the relationship is unaware that the relationship has come to so good a transition point; it’s facts; that’s why you know it’s not, “Well, I’m not getting what I want,” because we navigate that; we never fully get what we want; that ain’t it; it’s typically when frustration starts to rise, it’s because one of the two or both in the equation are unaware our season has come to an end. So let’s talk for a couple minutes practically about how does one know that the season has come to an end, and I will I will throw one right in this mix: when the grace is lifted. Yes, sir. Absolutely correct. When the grace has lifted. Absolutely. When you’ve been doing hard things, hard things for years, easily easily easily; I mean more more so easily that you know it’s beyond your capability; not a you thing; it’s an oil of Heaven thing. Yep. And then overnight easy things are hard; become hard; hard to me; this is in my opinion one of the clearest ways God can make it. Yep. When for years hard things were easy and overnight easy things become hard, it’s because the pillar is moving; that’s exactly right; the trth your feet are to follow; absolutely; that’s absolutely correct. I think that’s one of the mistakes we see out of comfort, especially since COVID, where it’s for some it’s like, “If I got a spot, yep, I don’t I don’t want to leave it,” right, no matter what, right? And the Lord’s going, “That’s not how this works; no, you’re a people of the when the pillar moves, you move.” This why we called our entire church Pillar. Absolutely. We go with you because where you go, yeah, I go; period. Absolutely. So I I think let’s just sit here for a second and and camp out here; what comes to mind when you think about, okay, the grace lifts; that’s one way; what are some other practical signs that the Lord may be saying it’s time to go? Um, when you no longer have a burden for it; like when there’s like the thing that used to make you pop out of bed; and to me that’s different from the grace lifting, right? Grace lifts, and things that that are easy now seem hard; when the burden lifts, like you don’t want to do it no more. I think the burden lifts before the grace lifts; when I think about it, I think you’re actually when I think about my transitions, the burden lifted before the grace, and the grace had to lift because I wasn’t doing anything about the burden; wow; lifting. Yeah. So how did that we’ve experienced that; how has it felt? What did describe what the burden lifting feels like for me and I and I can I’ll go to being a lead pastor. Yep. The the burden lifting was like, “Man, I I don’t have to be here on the weekends; if I’m preaching here this weekend, sweet; if I’m preaching somewhere else, sweeter; I mean, dare I say that because that sounds bad, but but you know what I’m saying? Like like I I’m like, ‘This church is Gucci,’ right? It it’s my year 2022; I was only in the pulpit half of the year; by the time I announced Tim Rivers as my successor, which was October of 2022, I had only been in the pulpit five months; I counted; I had only been in the pulpit half the time, and the church grew; yeah, like the burden was off of me; you couldn’t have got me away from that place when I first planted the church, right? But in the seventh year, I’m like, ‘I’mma be in Australia for 3 weeks,’ okay? Like, ‘Well, who’s going to preach at the church?’ Find somebody. Yeah, like I’m I’m and it it wasn’t a flipping ‘I don’t care’; it’s just the burden is off of you; like there’s no you don’t feel compelled anymore. I think it’s important to note because some I think some people mistakenly think that the burden lifting means the love has been lost; no; and it hasn’t; it has not; the love; fact; what I would say; yeah, it is not love to stay somewhere God is gracing someone else to be in your place; facts; that’s not love; that’s that’s what it is; I’ll say it for you; that ain’t love; that’s lust; this this is it’s subtle; it is; because it would be easier to stay; absolutely. And I don’t think we reward enough people who are honest and say, “I could fake it.” Yep. Oh, absolutely; you could; the church was on the biggest heater it had ever experienced since you started it; period; point blank; yes, sir; it the influence was exploding; all of the things; yep; I could have doubled down on that and by comparison to have to have to go jump into a big blue ocean and figure things out without a template, right? It would have been very easy for your flesh to say, “You you know what? Yeah, I mean, the burden has lifted, but my love hasn’t.” Absolutely. And so why I can make the case that I should stay. Absolutely correct, because I love you; I’ve been here since the beginning, and it’s I don’t think we honor people enough who have the courage to say the burden has lifted. I I don’t punish people when when Cody left, which was one of the most difficult transitions relationally that I’ve experienced as a senior pastor; he’s like little brother to me; it wasn’t Cody KS; it was J Cody K me for absolutely; yeah; uh, but I knew the Lord said to me first, “Preston, their time is up.” That’s right; for him the burden had already lifted; right; I I could already see in him; that’s why when the Lord said it, it was just confirmation to go; right out of love; right; yeah, exactly; he thinks he he would have stayed, Timmy, for the rest of his life; the most loyal person other than my baby brother I’ve ever met; he’d have stayed no matter how hellacious it would have been personally for him; right? But actually that’s not love; it’s not love, bro; when the burden lifts, it is the opposite of love; yeah, to say, “Ah, I know, but I’m going to stay anyways.” Right; it’s time; it’s time to go; to go; it’s time to go, bro; love moves; when Love capital L moves; that’s right. And I think it’s a great way; and I had never even thought that if we’re being sequential, every time it was time for me to go, the burden lifted first; the transition from youth ministry to Young Adult Ministry; the the burden lifted; Y; I could feel it; I I remember being in the front row in worship in a service and realizing, “Oh my word,” yeah, the burden has lifted, Y, and I didn’t know what to do, so I stayed for another six months; then when Robert came to me and said, “Hey, I want you to make the leap to young adults,” I said no to him [Music] right; because at that time in in my mid-20s, I was convinced love stays; yep; yeah; love obeys; it does; how can you call me Lord Lord but you don’t do what I say? How can you say you love me, right? You’re my friends if you do what I say; if you do what I say; love doesn’t always stay; I I think we have to remind ourselves that work isn’t marriage; sometimes we take the same approach as though they are synonymous; they are one and the same; work is not marriage; I’m not leaving someone I loved; I am leaving the ones I love, in your case, in the hands of someone who holds the universe up by the power of His word; I am leaving the ones I love in the hands of someone he handpicked to love them even more in this next season. C can can I give another turn of that prism; flip it; cuz work being marriage; Ministry is not your immediate family; it’s great; you’re not literally leaving your wife, your children, your mother, your father, your sisters, and your brothers; yeah, we’re the family of God, but that nomenclature can get in our mind and we can think we’re abandoning our family. I cannot tell you how many pastors think that the congregation is their actual children. Right; I would never abandon my kids; I’ve heard them say it, and I’m like, “These ain’t your kids; like you don’t want them to be your kids,” right? Like, but that can hinder us from obeying the voice of God because now we think that we’re personally responsible for them; yeah. And last time I looked at my legal ID, it did not say Adan I Gyra; it’s never say, you know what I’m saying? So I I feel like like we have to dismiss ourselves and unwind ourselves from all of this; all of the words that we use, like, “We’re a family, and we’re we’re here together, and we’re going to be together forever.” No, we’re not, right? We’re going to be here until the Lord says something different, right? Like, and we have to normalize that type of conversation as opposed to, “We’re doing life together; we’re going to always be together.” No, we’re not; I don’t know what the Lord wants me to do the next 5 years; you couldn’t have paid me to believe that what he wants me to do now. So we are all pillar followers, and the pillar is going to lead you in this season; it leads us in this direction, but at some point the Pillar is going to lead you in that direction and me in this direction, and it’s okay; it’s okay; this is war, and if we’re going to take more ground and occupy more territory, it’s going to happen when we spread out; we have to split up; this we don’t have to always stay together; and I would say we must not stay together yeah when the spirit of God says it’s time to multiply; yeah; it’s not a divorce; no; it’s it’s not it’s it’s not a divorce; it’s multiplication; that’s exactly right; when it’s out of obedience; absolutely correct. I think something you know a very practical I I just hear a younger one saying, “But how do I know before the burden lifts, Preston? Tim; I I want to know or start to become aware before the burden lifts and before the grace lifts; how do I know God is starting to prepare me for a new beginning?” Here’s what I would say: when God starts to speak to you more about what is next than he is even about what is now; when you go to be alone with him; that’s good; absolutely correct; and there’s a dot dot dot; and brings confirmation from others; I’m not talking about dreaming; no; absolutely; your flesh dreaming ably about what’s next; absolutely; I’m talking about, especially when your flesh doesn’t want to hear it; he starts talking about what’s next, and when you start to open up and go, “Okay, is this me?” And then he brings confirmation; you go to coffee with somebody later that week and they say, “Hey, I this is risky for me to say anything because on paper from the outside it looks like you are in the best season of your life; you’re in the best place you’ve ever been; I don’t want to stir anything up, but I’m just submitting; I was in my time with the Lord this morning, and I sensed him say, ‘A new beginning is coming.’ ” And you go, “Okay, all right.” And this happens time and time again; I believe one of God’s favorite gifts to give us is confirmation; absolutely; because he is not the author of confusion at all; he loves clarity; yep; he loves for it to be clear; yep; and I I think if we normalize, “Hey, it’s okay; you’re you’re not a bad servant if he is speaking to you, preparing your heart for something new; it’s okay,” but that’s one of the ways, Y; when you can’t shake it; yep; if it’s you, you’ll be able to shake it; absolutely correct; absolutely correct; if if God is with these people, you won’t be able to over they doing; so just step back; let it play out and see; and it’s like, “If you can’t shake what you’re hearing, it’s him.” Absolutely correct. And that’s absolutely correct; it doesn’t mean leave now, but it does mean open your heart up and your mind to be able to start yeah hearing his heart yep for what’s next; and then you’ll get an even greater burden for finishing well what is now. Well, that that’s the part that um I wanted to ensure was communicated is that when he gives you those type of words, it’s never for you to jump ship; it’s just preparing you; yep; it’s just him being kind enough to go, “Hey, I need you to start getting your stuff in order; you’re going to finish this well, but I got something else for you.” I mean, the Lord told me in November of 2008 to prepare for transition from Potter’s House, but my last day wasn’t until December 31st of 2010. From November of 2008, he told me in September of 2021 that my season as a lead Pastor was coming to an end; my last day was December 31st of 2022. Um, he gave me a burden for a Daily Show; I did not want it; like, basement was great; I love the one-on-one in person; let me do that; and he’s like, “Yeah, I want you to do it daily; m; 3 hours a day, 5 days a week.” And I was like, “N; massive commitment; I’m good.” That’s a life-changing rhythm, right? From doing what I’ve been doing; I can’t see myself not doing that show now. So he he prepares you for it, and um, it’s better to be obedient than to try to sacrifice and do something that you think you want to do or modify it; well, maybe I’ll do it, but I’ll only do it three days a week, or I’ll do it Mondays and Fridays; obedience better than sacrifice; and partial obedience is complete disobedience; 100%. So yeah, okay, as we round the corner towards the last lap, let’s give them some practical; whatever you do, make sure to do these things; what’s the first thing that comes to your mind if someone’s going to finish well, they got to do this? Uh, you got to talk five times more than you than you normally do; all transitions have embedded within them friction, frustration, and discomfort, and the people that make it through like lighter are the people that talk five times more than they usually do, because you just need to process more; if if you’re an internal processor, I guarantee you…

You need to verbally process, even if that's not your normal. You need to be communicating to your friends, your loved ones, whoever your mentors, whatever transitions require processing; they require verbal processing. And every time I've gone through a transition, I, I've needed to talk five times more than I usually talk. Hey, what's going on? Oh well, it's this, this, this, and this. But how do you feel about that? I need to start processing that. If you're married, how does your spouse feel about this? Because y'all could be having two different experiences. The burden might be lifted for you, and her burden might get doubled; vice versa. She might be feeling like, oh, I'm about to be free, and he's like, how can we leave while we still got all this to do? So you got to talk five times more, great than you usually do. Oh, I'll take the other side of that coin; I think you have to listen five times more, too. And I'm not just talking about to humans, cuz you're covering that part. Yep, to the voice of the Lord. Amen. The Lord starts the conversation, and the clock; you got to be listening. He has a very specific road map for your departure. Mh, he does. And I think here's how I'd say it: another thing you must do: figure out what pleases the Lord as you go. Make that your goal. Lord, I want to please you, no matter what happens. I'm, I'm not just going to set the goal; I'm not striking The Rock in the flesh. Yep. I'm going to go well beyond that. Yep. What is pleasing in your sight? What would bring that smile, that sideways grin, Lord, to your face? What are those steps with this person, with this person, with this department, with this company? MH, whatever he will lay out your steps. Yes, good. He orders the steps of the righteous. And so I, I think it's very important to—yes, we got to talk more, and we've got to be listening more. I agree.

Just because God says it's time to go doesn't mean God's already moved. If he still has you there and says, like, for you it's happened so clearly, this is your end date, and it would be months, and with the last one, a year plus in advance. Yep. Well, the Lord started the conversation saying it's time to go, yeah, but then he gave you all of this time to, to go. That's right. Well, go well. Absolutely. And that involves a lot of practical steps. That's absolutely correct. That he knows, and we don't. Yeah, absolutely correct. So I think dialing up a listening ear in the secret place to know, am I, am I taking the steps he is asking me for? And someone might ask, well, how do I know I'm taking the steps he's asking for? Here's what I would say: close to half of your steps, at least, would be steps you would not have chosen to take. That's how you know he handed you his rope, right? And you're not taking out your joystick to just play this game out the way you want to play and go, oh, I'm going to kind of do this over here, I want to do that over there. No. When about half of my steps or more are steps I wouldn't have chosen to take, we know we are finishing well. That's fire, because that, that's not the finish of the flesh, right? Absolutely not. That is the Finish from the Father's Heart. That's right. That's so good. And I'm doing less of what I want to do. Yes, I know. I'm doing more of what he's wanting to be done. Die out of the position; just die out. Bleed your way out that front door. That's how you started this entire episode. That's exactly right. Bleed your way—that's exact right—the door. That's exactly right. The fastest way into a reservoir of oil is to bleed your way [Music] there. Okay, somebody needs to sit in that for a second. They are crying out for more oil, and the king is saying, I'm sorry, have you eaten my flesh? Yes, that part. Have, have you been drinking my blood? To which we say, I received what you did on the cross, Jesus. And he says, but are you carrying yours? Okay, okay. Just in—look in the camera in the episode like you do. You're protein house? No, you're—that's what I know. No, that was—that's a WP. I know that's not a—are you kidding me right now? This is the way. This is the way. And it is amazing that the way loves to step by step pave our way as we wrap up one season. Mhm. In order to be anointed as we step into the next one. This is the heart of the Father. It is. We don't have to hurt people on the way. We don't. We really don't. And why would the shepherd ever entrust any sheep—and we're not just talking about Ministry—why would he—the Sheep are his people everywhere, in every business. Absolutely. And everybody else. Yeah, is someone he died for. Yeah, that he longs to see become a sheep. Yeah, buddy. We don't have to hurt. And don't assume that you can just act a fool as you finish and step into the mantle of the wise. It's not going to happen as your reward. All right, so then whatever you do, finish strong. Just finish strong. Go above and beyond. Make them miss you. It's great. Make them—that is a great word right there—miss you. Finish strong. You're, you're not doing the 100-meter dash and easing up on the last 5 meters, coasting through the line, leaning in. You are pulling your Achilles at the Finish Line. Why? Because I want to finish strong. Like I gave my all to Potter's House up until the last day. I gave my all to Gateway up until the last day. North Richland Hills, that's my hood. That was the campus I was at. Them people still remember them hugs to this day. Oh my God, we still miss your hugs to this day. That's right. You do. Yeah, I finish strong. I finish Embassy City strong. I can walk back in there anytime I want to. That, that's how you want to finish. Yeah, finish every season strong. You're either going to make them hate you on your way out, or you're going to behave in a way where you make them miss you. Let it be the latter. There is not a third option. There isn't. There is not. Beautiful. Again, if they're going to say something bad, let it be something they have to make up. Make it up because you did everything you—before the Lord and them—everything you knew to do to be right. This never gets old. It's never going to get old. I imagine the some sweet tea on out on the front porch when we get into the new Heaven and the new Earth. You and I will be in a cul-de-sac doing this. We did it before, and we'll do it again, and we will continue to do it. They did it. We did it before they knew our names. We're going to do it long after they forget our names. Absolutely, because it's true. It was never about anybody watching; it was about sitting at that table for 3 or 4 hours. That's right. And always knowing the king of the universe, Amen, was giving us access and showing us sides of himself. So I will never get over this. I just want you to know. Never me either. Never ever.

I hope this was beneficial for you. It was definitely beneficial for me. I felt like I got tweaked about halfway through this thing, and my man started calling me and calling my number, uh, but I trust, and we trust that the spirit of God was speaking to you even more loudly and clearly than you were able to hear the sound of our voice. And so would you, as we wrap up, would you just pray? You, you, you're a wonderful finisher in the midst of really hard finishes. Thank you. Will you just pray, especially over those who are coming closer to a Finish Line? Absolutely correct. I would love to. Okay, so, uh, God, I thank you so much for my brothers and sisters, your sons and daughters. I thank you for the seasons that you bring us in and out of. You are the god of each and every one of our Seasons: spring, summer, fall, and winter. God, whether you are navigating us through the coldest season of our life or bringing us into the warmest season of our life, we trust you, and we follow you. You are the pillar that we follow. God, I pray that everyone that has listened to the Holy Spirit through PR and myself would be acutely attuned to the voice of the Lord for each and every one of their steps. Yes, Lord. And no matter what aspect of this conversation that they needed, I pray that they're able to implement it and see the results that we've seen. God, thank you that you are taking us from here to there, and more than anything, you are allowing us to get to know you in a different way. Thank you, Lord, as a result of every transition that we make, that everything that we do before For Your Glory and not for our credit, in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. Let's do this real fast because right before we were going to pray, I just sensed a little something. Let's just, in 75 seconds or less, as we wrap, let's prophetically encourage the young you. You encourage the young you as though he were entering his last transition, not knowing how everything was going to go. And I prophetically encourage the young me standing before they finish. So let me tell you something, young me, young you: um, your Provisions have already been laid out, and all you have to do is walk into them. I'm going to say it again: all of your Provisions have been laid out, like your clothes before the first day of school. The God that is drawing you out is not playing with your emotions; he is not trying to okey-doke you; he is trying to prove to you that he has always been your source. So do not White Knuckle the season that you're in. Release it. Let it go. You don't want him to have to do this—get your hands—he wants to prove to you that he has always been the source, and every season of your life is a re-Source. Follow the cloud. I love it. I think I would say to the young me, I know you don't understand why this had to happen, but in time you will look back with Divine Clarity, understanding exactly why it went the way it went. Just because you don't understand why it has to happen does not give you the right to behave however you want. You're being tested, and it doesn't matter who around you is choosing not to play by the rules. Don't burn the rule book. You are being tested. You are being watched by the one seated on the throne, peering over the balcony of Heaven, watching your every move. Don't shortcut a single move. Don't cheat your way through this test, for when you pass, a Divine response is awaiting you, and it's going to render you speechless. Where you've been was always meant to be your place of preparation, never your long-term source of provision. Don't be scared. Like my twin just said, God's already set aside everything you're going to need. Go and do so well. This is, bro, what—this is what we always dreamt of. Yeah, it is. It was never being n—no—or to, to get to sit with absolutely our brothers and sisters and just go and encourage them and save them time. That's the best part of getting older is to cheat code a 20-year-old. It's to cheat code a 19-year-old. It's a cheat code, a 27-year-old, 30-year-old. I love it. Ah, thanks for running up with us for the last nearly hour and a half of your life. This, this is just fun. I hope you enjoyed it. I know the spirit of God spoke to you at least at some point, because I love it when he steps into this, and I just felt it for me personally all throughout this episode. I love you so much. We love you so much. I cannot wait to sit with you again, but until then, don't forget he loves you far more than I do. I will see you next time. [Music] Thanks for joining me for this episode of The Leader scut. I pray you sense God speak directly to you through it. Before you leave, make sure you hit the Subscribe button and tap the Bell icon so you're notified every time a new episode is posted. And be sure to share your takeaways and favorite one-liners in the comments. And if you think it could help a friend or two, I'd love it if you would send them the link to share it with them. Thanks again for watching. We'll see you next time.