Power Hour | Ep. 19 | Discovering Your Purpose in a Distracted World

In a world full of noise, pressure, and endless distractions, how do you actually discover the purpose God has called you to? 

In this episode, we unpack what it means to stay focused on your God-given assignment without getting pulled in every direction. We discuss why not every good opportunity is your opportunity, how to recognize the specific calling God has placed on your life, and why faithfulness often means doing what you can and trusting God with what you can’t. If you’ve been feeling overwhelmed, distracted, or unsure of your next step, this conversation will help you refocus on what truly matters.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:08

What's up, everybody? We are back for another episode of the Power Power. I'm Pastor Kyle. I'm Pastor Ty. And we are back, man. It's been a few episodes.

SPEAKER_01 0:19

I know. It's good to have you back, man. I try to hold it on the floor as much as I can, but it's just not the same without the dynamic duo.

SPEAKER_00 0:26

Man, I'm glad to be back for sure. Uh obviously, uh, for those that don't know, I have been uh kind of hopping around the world for the last few weeks. I was in uh Vietnam, Cambodia, and in Thailand. But I'll tell you, I have absolutely loved the episodes with Pastor Bambi and with Jeremy. They've just been fantastic.

SPEAKER_01 0:50

Hey man, we we did our best, we did our best. But man, I know I speak for everyone. I say, we're just glad you are back. Let's go.

SPEAKER_00 0:58

I am too, because I'll tell you, I have, even though I love going to Asia, I love the people, I love uh seeing the global workers there and the culture. Um, I there's just something about a good American cheeseburger that I just can't I can't get enough of. I can't live without. You know what I mean?

SPEAKER_01 1:17

I mean, I've never wanted to amen a statement more than I do right now. Amen. That's it. Amen. Come on.

SPEAKER_00 1:23

Well, I'm excited because we're about to get into uh a new thought that you actually had. You brought it to the table. So why don't you share that with everybody?

SPEAKER_01 1:32

Yeah, I was just thinking, you know, I know Pastor Kyle, you get a lot of opportunities for ministry. I know that I get offered a lot of opportunities for ministry. Yeah. And sometimes it's hard in our life, and I think a lot of people can relate to this. It's hard in our life to figure out what God's called us to do.

SPEAKER_00 1:49

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:49

You know, it's easy to look at all the problems of the world because we all know there's a thousand things to do. And it's hard to know, man, should I help here? Should I help there? Where should I go? What should I do? Sure. I'm sure there's a lot of people there that have friends that reach out, people that need their help, and they're just like, man, where do I draw those boundary lines? And so today I want to talk about taking all the problems, all the opportunity of the world, and really nailing down what has God called people to do? What has God called you, me, and everyone else to do?

SPEAKER_00 2:16

That's good because the temptation is you want you want to do everything because your heart obviously is in everything. You see missionaries coming and they're talking about different areas of uh that you can help with, and then you know, you turn on TV and you got different areas. Like if you're up late at night, I remember always seeing those like Sarah McLaughlin, like you know, the in the arms of an angel, you know, and it's like with the sad-looking pets, and it's like, man, I want to help those cute little dogs and cats, and right, you know, there's so much that we can just get inundated that we just want to help, and obviously we we can't. So I think it's so easy for people to start feeling guilty when they they can't do everything. So it's important to know what God wants us to do.

SPEAKER_01 3:06

Yeah, I think that even reflects in let's say our church world. Because we see, you know, there's a cafe team, there's a welcome team, there's the worship team, there's the preaching team, and it's like, man, do I need to volunteer for everything? Because everything needs to get done. How do I decide what I'm supposed to help with and what I'm not supposed to help with? And so today we had a couple of things I think that we some advice we can give, some tips we can give, some scriptures we want to share that will help you identify what are you really called to do, what does God ask you to do, and where do you need to set those boundaries? So let me just say this this is a big skin. Not every good work is your good work. That's good, man. We we see scriptures like Ephesians, there's like Ephesians 2, uh, eight through 10 that that talks about us being a new creation called by God. And I love in verse 10 where it talks about after we've been made new, that God had good things he planned for us to do long ago. Some translations say before we were even formed.

SPEAKER_00 4:01

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 4:01

And so what that tells us is if there's good works that God has called us to do, number one, there are things we're called to do.

SPEAKER_00 4:07

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 4:07

But number two, we're not called to do everything, right?

SPEAKER_00 4:09

That's right.

SPEAKER_01 4:10

We're called to do what God has called us to do. So we have to find freedom in that. Freedom to be who we are, to be who God's gifted us to be, but also freedom to realize what we're not. Yeah. What we're not called to be. You know, uh, Pastor Kyle, you just got back from Asia. I've never left the country, but I'll tell you, um, I don't wake up in the middle of the night thinking about people in New York that need to be saved. Sure. Yeah. I don't wake up thinking, man, I need to go over to Africa and help. When I wake up in the middle of the night, I'm thinking of where God's called me, and that's Idaho.

SPEAKER_00 4:41

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 4:41

I'm thinking, man, God has called me to reach the rural areas of Idaho, and that's where my passion is. That's where I feel like the most needed. And when missionaries come, man, I love them. I have a heart for where they're talking about, but I have no doubt in my heart that I'm not called to go there. I'm called to be here.

SPEAKER_00 4:58

Yeah. Well, I mean, James in his book, he talks about the fool is the man that says, I'm going to go here and do this, or I'm going to go over here and start doing this. He calls him a fool, not because it's not good for the person to do those kind of things, but because he's not consulting the Lord and he's not looking to the Holy Spirit for discernments to know specifically where he's going, where he should end up. And uh, you know, that that's convicting. Like anytime the Lord's like, hey, this is what a foolish man looks like, we have to pay really close attention. Because like I came out of a season where I could have gone to many different places. Like when I left my last church, I within 24 hours, I had multiple, multiple people reaching out out to me saying, apply here, do this. Like there was so much need in Oregon where I was at that I could have very easily slotted myself into whatever position and been a big benefit and a help to that community, wherever it may be. But after praying and seeking the Lord, I felt very strongly that God was sending me here to American Falls, here to Idaho, to help out with whatever I can over this next season. And if we don't rely on the Holy Spirit to tell us what we do next, we're gonna very often find ourselves outside of God's plan for our lives.

SPEAKER_01 6:33

Yeah, I I can think of so many times in my life where I was doing something that looking back in retrospect, I don't think the Lord had called me to do. Yeah. And there's even when things are going good in that season, there's always a tension. You can usually tell, you know what I mean? Yeah. And so for me, there's no greater place to be than in the will of God. And even when things are difficult, if you're in God's will, you know you're right where you should be. It's like the eye of the storm. Everything around you could be falling apart, going crazy, but you're like, man, am I in the right spot? Because I'm in the will of God.

SPEAKER_00 7:03

It's easy to forget that we are a part of a huge body of believers. And the only one that pretty much has the full scope, the full uh view of where everyone's going and every need and how to meet every need is the Lord. And we're we're uh we're a part of a body of millions and millions of believers around the world, and God sees that, and that's why I love Ephesians 2.10 specifically, is because it says a long time ago, He planned what He had for you. We're like a puzzle piece that we might not be able to see exactly how we fit into the puzzle, but I mean, I think anyone who's ever done a puzzle knows how annoying it is to get done with an entire puzzle and realize you're missing one piece.

SPEAKER_01 7:59

Yeah, yeah, I think that's so good. I want to I want to ask you a little bit about your your time and uh on your trip that and I think there's probably some correlation, but I know for me, before I came here, Idaho was the last place in my mind. I'd never really been to Idaho, never really, you know, thought about it, and I can't explain it other than like I think of like when Abraham was called, and God said, Hey, walk that direction, I'll tell you when to stop. Yeah, you know, when I was like knowing that God was leading me somewhere to ministry, this job became available. Someone called me, brought it up to me, and I was couldn't explain it other than I feel like God called me to go to a place I'd never been, yeah, to a culture I didn't know, to a people I'd never met, where I had no support, had no friends, had no family, and God's been a blessing. And sometimes we overcomplicate it where we think it's it's it's gotta be some grand thing when it's really just following those steps of the Lord step by step. What about you, Pastor Kyle? You got a story?

SPEAKER_00 8:54

Yeah, so it was really cool. I was in Vietnam, I was in Ho Chi Minh uh city. Uh so for those that don't know, Ho Chi Minh, uh it got its name was changed to Ho Chi Minh from Saigon. So if you are a history buff and you know like during the Vietnam War, we were stationed mostly headquarters-wise as the United States in Saigon. Well, that name got changed to Ho Chi Minh. I had no idea until I went there and was like, oh, so this is basically Saigon. They just changed the name. And it was cool because this is a this is a closed country. This is a communist country. Uh Christianity is not illegal there, um, which is which is great, but they're very uh the government is very limiting with what you are allowed to do there. Um they're they're very controlling as a communist country. And uh I was able to meet many uh global global workers. Obviously, I won't say their names because um they're kind of incognito there, but I was able to have great conversations with them. And it's amazing. You talk to each person and there's there's need, there's need in the ministry. I think even here in the church, you would talk to uh like our security team or our worship team or especially our kids' ministry. Like there is always going to be need. And uh when I was in Vietnam, I went to this church. It was called, it's called River Church. They're in Ho Chi Minh, uh, Vietnam. They they actually have a Facebook, they're not they're not hiding from anything, so you can go and check them out. But they are an international church, so a lot of the people that come are international expats uh who are coming to live and work in Vietnam and they wanted to attend a church. And uh this River Church is one of the few churches. Um uh they have a single pastor there as well, only one on staff, and they are running right now. Um, I think it's it's either three or four services. Wow, they got a building, their sanctuary is half the size of our sanctuary, which says a lot, uh, really, really small. And they got chairs packed in there, absolutely packed in there. And she was just saying, she's like, Man, if you know a anybody who is interested in an associate pastor role, like we we need an associate pastor so badly. I'm the only one that preaches. Obviously, she's preaching three to four times a week. She she also does other global work in the community as well, and they do counseling and different things like that. And she's she's honestly swamped. And it's like it's a cool church, it's a cool vibe. And you know, if I was just going off of emotions, if I was going off of uh, you know, just my own personal whims, like yeah, it it would be cool to go to Vietnam. Uh, it'd be cool to live there for for a season. It's an awesome area. Like the town is beautiful, it's clean, it's safe. Um, it's a town like, yeah, I could totally see myself in a place like that. Very, very cool. But if I allowed my emotions to get the best of me and I just go, I would immediately find myself outside of the will of God very, very quickly. And I think that's something that gets us so bad. Like, like, could I go and help this church out as a pastor a hundred percent? I could help them out a hundred percent, but then I would also be taking a position away from someone that God has actually called to go there and work there, and I would be outside of God's will and outside of his plan and screwing up the plan for other people as well, and that's why it's so important just to focus on the Holy Spirit as far as that goes. Kind of brings us to the second point we wanted to talk about. We are called to the assignment God has given us, right?

SPEAKER_01 13:01

No, that's that's so true. And let me just say, Pastor Kyle, that I mean, I know it'd been great to say good morning, Vietnam, every morning, but and I did every morning. I believe it, I believe it, but no, we're thankful you're here, we're thankful you're here. But um, no, I think that's so true is we are called to the assignment God has given us, and that's that should be both a comfort and a challenge. Yeah, is you know, we're not called to everything, but what we're called to do, we need to give our life away to. Yeah, and I don't know about you, but man, I I at the end of my life, I want to hear well done, good, and faithful servant. That's right. And so I spend my life saying, Man, whatever God has given me, I want to multiply, make fruitful, and give it back to Him. And so in my uh, you know, Book of Ecclesiastes calls our life a vapor. It's very short. Yeah. My vapor here on earth, in my little time here on earth, I just want to be faithful, to be fruitful and multiply, to take what God has entrusted me with and give him back something bigger and better. Yes. And for me, that's right now it's it's my assignment here at uh at my church powerhouse where I'm we're seeing people saved, we're seeing people raised up, we're seeing leaders sent, we're opening up campuses, we're seeing lives changed. And it's like, man, when God entrusted me with this church, with this ministry, I wanted to one day hand it back in a place that has been more fruitful, uh larger, more multiplied, reaching more lives, changing, changing more lives than ever before. Because man, God gave me an assignment. You know, what I love about that is I feel the I feel the weight of that, you know what I mean, the responsibility of that, and I love it, but I also feel the freedom of that, where man, I'm not I'm not too worried about what other pastors are doing. I'm not too worried about how other churches are doing, other countries are doing, other states are doing. I'm like, God, I I know what you're doing here, and I'm thankful for that. And I'm thankful for what God's doing all over the world, all through pastors, ministries, all things. I'm thankful for churches that are doing things that we're not doing, but I am so thankful that God calls me to be who He's called me to be and what He's called me to do. And that, man, if we were just faithful to that, whatever you're called to do, whether you're, you know, you're a mom, whether you're a teacher, whether you're a plumber, whether you're serving in your church, whatever it is you feel like God's called you to do, I'm just saying, man, if we fully embrace that assignment, live it out the best we can, we will be shocked what God does with us.

SPEAKER_00 15:18

And I think there's there's roles that we know for sure that God has called each one of us to. Uh, like I look at First Corinthians 12, 27, it says, now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is is part of that. And then verse 18, going a step before, uh, tells us that God has placed the parts in the body, which is us, into the local church, every one of them just as he wanted them to be. I know the the two areas that I say every believer is called to is number one, you are called to your local church.

SPEAKER_01 15:52

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 15:52

I think that that is the foundation that God has put each of us, us in, submitting to our lead pastors, submitting to our leadership in that role, in a healthy um role that we are able to build up, that Hebrews 10 do not neglect meeting together, but uh encourage one another as we build ourselves up until the day of the Lord. Um, so we are called number one to the local church. So whatever you where whatever position uh you find yourself, you you should at some point find a role in a church to be able to plant yourself and to be able to serve. Whether, you know, the Bible doesn't say, hey, you have to serve every week, it doesn't say you have to uh serve twice a week or something like that, but it does say to plant yourself in the local church. Uh like here at Powerhouse, we have uh worship ministry, for instance, which is definitely not for everybody. I know if you gave me a mic and you put me up there to sing, um, it would not be a blessing to a lot of people.

SPEAKER_01 16:59

But it'd be just the voice of the Lord, right?

SPEAKER_00 17:01

That's right. Like I can play, I can play the bass, uh, but you wouldn't want to put me on drums, for instance. Um, but at the same point, I I can serve in the role that I'm in. I know we have uh need for people to help run pro presenter or sound or cameras. Um, we have people that all they do is they pass the offering buckets, and that's a huge, huge need. Security team, um, the kids' ministry. Like there's so many places that you can find that you naturally are gifted in. And usually that natural gift is is kind of a telltale sign of where God has for you. But just finding a ministry of some point to serve in in some capacity, and then the other area, which I know you're really passionate about, is serving when it comes down to kingdom builders.

SPEAKER_01 17:50

Yeah, is you know, not always can we give our our talents, not always can we give our time, but we can always support with our treasure.

SPEAKER_00 17:58

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 17:58

And you know, one of my favorite things about kingdom builders, about giving to missions, is man, we're giving to people that are gonna go make an impact in a place that I'll never go.

SPEAKER_00 18:07

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 18:07

But one day I'm gonna stand there with Jesus and I'm gonna hear testimony after testimony of people whose lives are changed, and I got to be a part of it because I just faithfully gave.

SPEAKER_00 18:15

That we never met.

SPEAKER_01 18:16

Yeah, exactly. And I think of that when we give to kingdom builders and we plant churches, when we give to kingdom builders and we send missionaries, and even when we give the kingdom builders and we do VBS here locally, yeah, coming up as we see people's lives transformed and lives changed because of our generosity.

SPEAKER_00 18:32

That's right. That's so good. I think of the verse, uh 1 Peter 4 10, that it says, each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others as faithful stewards of God's grace. I know that's not just serving as far as um just on a weekly basis in a ministry, but that also talks about our finances as well and being a blessing to others. Like obviously, I I'm not going to be moving to Vietnam, but they need your support, they need your finances as well, and just being able to give, and that's why it's so important to have that relationship with the Holy Spirit, to understand what the Holy Spirit is directing. Because obviously, our finances are in a finite state. Like, if you don't have a finite amount of funds and you have an infinite, then God bless you. Like, do the work of the Lord, but like my funds are finite, so I have to be very, very careful to use my money in a way that I'm a good steward for the kingdom. And uh, you know, if I I was to give and give and give, and next thing you know, I don't have food to put on my my kids' table, that's not good, also. So that's why it's so important to have that have that discernment and know what is God calling me to do. Um, we know He He calls us to be generous, but from there, a lot of it's a very personal estate and knowing what God is is directing us one way or another. I know here in a few weeks we are going to have uh VBS. It's an absolutely huge need. I would argue that is probably our biggest outreach that we do every single year for the community. We are talking about hundreds of kids that are going to come through these doors. Uh, the bulk of them don't go to church on a regular basis. They will be able to hear about Jesus, learn about him. The the parents will be able to come in on the last night, also hear about Jesus, also feel the love, uh, feel get somewhat connected to the church in a way that they might not of other ways. I mean, the uh not to use a business term, but the ROI of something like BBS is is honestly absolutely outmatched. What do you say?

SPEAKER_01 20:52

Yes, yes. And I think that's a good tie-in to even our our third and final point is we'll we do what we can and we trust God with the rest.

SPEAKER_00 21:00

Yeah, that's right.

SPEAKER_01 21:01

Is man, we felt like we were called to reach kids and we did a VBS, knowing that God was gonna change the community through it. This guy, it's so easy to get bogged down on like, yeah, but if we do VBS, what about, you know, what about youth camp? Or what about, you know, a singles group, or what about this? And it's like, man, we have to really lock into what is God called us to do, and whatever he's called to do will be faithful, and he will be faithful with everything else. You know, when I first uh became a pastor, it was hard for me to even sleep at night sometimes because I'd be up so so often in the middle of the night, stressed out and praying and not knowing what to do. And it's only when I embrace the fact that God is God and I am not, that I am finite and I can't do everything, can't be everything, that I truly understood that God's got this. Yeah, that God was changing humanity before I even got here, and God will be changing humanity even after I leave. That's right. And I just get to play my part. And I think for us, it's it's it's embracing that humility of man, I'm gonna do what I can while I'm here, but I'm gonna try. God with everything else, you know what I mean? It's like work hard, pray hard, sleep good.

SPEAKER_00 22:06

Yeah. I mean it goes back to what First Corinthians talks about being a part of the body. A nose can't serve as a thumb. Um a foot can't serve as a liver. They each have a specific role, and we have to trust God in that. Uh, like I look at First Corinthians 7, 17. Only let each person lead the life that the Lord has assigned to him. We each have a purpose, we each have a good work as far as that goes. And our job is to pray and to seek the Holy Spirit, that He can give us the discernment to know what our role is going to be, and then to just to trust Him in the rest and know that He has called people to Vietnam. He's He's called someone to be an associate pastor, he has called people to New York and to Africa. And our job right now, we are called to Idaho. And that is our current position that we serve in as this community and the this communities around us. And then just be as much of a blessing as possible when it comes down to kingdom voters, because that really is the external arm that reaches us, not just into our community, but around the world as well. Well, that is such a powerful word. Uh that's pretty much all we have for today. So we just we pray that this uh was a blessing for you. Pray that as you are seeking the Lord, feel free to come and talk to us, and we can help direct you as needed. Uh, but spending time in the word, there's nothing that beats that. Spending time with the Holy Spirit and just asking him, uh, what is the good work that you have for me? What is my purpose? What is my duty in life that I can step into? Because I tell you, there is no greater joy, no greater pleasure, um, no greater sense of uh purpose and achievement as to someone who is walking in step with the Lord and knows exactly what he wants them to do. So, hey, we absolutely love you guys, and uh, we got a special guest for next week, so stay tuned for that. That's going to be amazing. But until next week, God bless you and have a great day.