Key points
1Success is about the goal, not the gain
Pastor Bill opens with the story of Bartholomew Roberts, an extraordinarily effective sea captain who was actually the pirate Black Bart — the most successful pirate in history, but successful at stealing, robbing, and murdering. He uses this to introduce the big idea and a Thomas Merton quote about spending a lifetime climbing a ladder only to find it's leaning against the wrong wall.
2We naturally order life our own way and then ask God to bless it
Working through Proverbs 16:1-3, Pastor Bill explains that 'we make our own plans' really means we order life the way we think it should work, but the Lord examines the heart and motives, not just the outward action. He illustrates with the absurd picture of ordering unhealthy fast food and then praying for it to be healthy, and warns that people can look like faithful churchgoers — 'pirate Christians' — while still chasing the wrong goal.
Success is about the goal, not the gain
People may spend their whole lives climbing the ladder of success only to find once they reach the top that the ladder is leaning against the wrong wall
There is a difference between not listening and saying no
3Even devoted followers of Jesus can chase Him for the wrong reasons
He walks through John 6, after the feeding of the 5,000, where the crowd tracks Jesus down because they want more free food, not because they understood the miracle's meaning. Jesus repeatedly throat-punches them with truth, telling them not to seek perishable food but the eternal life only He can give, and reveals He is the bread of life who gives His flesh for the world.
4Many who look like disciples desert Jesus when His goal doesn't match theirs
Pastor Bill notes these were church people, synagogue-goers, even Jesus' disciples beyond the Twelve — and John 6:66 records that many of them turned away and deserted Him because they wanted a political or physical rescue, not a Savior who called them to trust and sacrifice.
If you don't surrender to Jesus, you will surrender trying to follow Jesus
5The world's version of success — possessions, power, and prestige — can never satisfy
He names the 'big three' the world chases and says they aren't bad in themselves, but they're not adequate to fill the eternity God placed in our hearts (Ecclesiastes). He compares them to chips and salsa — enjoyable but never truly filling — and warns that when they become the goal instead of a byproduct, they turn into idolatry and identity, especially through the comparison trap of social media.
you are comparing your worst parts of you to everyone else's projected best parts
6Peter's answer models the only real response: there's nowhere else to go
When Jesus asks the Twelve if they will leave too, Peter answers that Jesus alone has the words of eternal life. Pastor Bill contrasts this with the crowd who wanted a political Messiah to fix Rome, noting many Christians still want a political savior today instead of trusting who is really in control.
A story from life
Pastor Bill's wife and family travel to Albania to serve missionaries' children; a series of flight delays and lost luggage leads to an unexpected blessing for a local shopkeeper
A story from life
Pastor Bill shares his own recent struggle with spiritual complacency and dryness, and an internal conversation with God using the workout analogy
7True success is knowing and showing the love of Jesus, even when it looks like failure
Pastor Bill shares his own struggle to feel close to God and a sense that God told him he works out even when he doesn't feel like it, applying that to spiritual endurance (Hebrews 12). He then tells the story of his family's disaster-plagued Albania mission trip, where lost luggage and missed flights turned into an unexpected blessing for a shopkeeper — proof that faithfulness, not outward success, is what God actually measures.
You can end with a cannon or you can live forever by going to the cross
Application
Pastor Bill's charge is to quit trying to get God to bless your mess and instead surrender fully to His love as the goal itself.
Check what your prayer life is really about
Ask whether your prayers are only 'God, give me this' or 'God, take this away' with nothing about what God wants to teach or change in you — that's treating God like a waiter instead of Lord.
Stop listening to the lies about identity
Quit looking for identity in status, job, money, friends, sexuality, or gender identity; those things were never designed to hold it, and chasing them only leaves you feeling inadequate.
Make a real decision about Jesus this week
Pastor Bill says some in the room are drifting toward deserting Jesus while still attending church; he asks everyone to decide what they truly believe about God's love rather than staying stuck.
Trust God even when the trip goes wrong
Like his family's disaster-filled Albania trip that still produced a God-sized blessing, lean into faithfulness over outcomes, trusting there's something God is doing even when circumstances make no sense.
Give sacrificially toward the church's mission
Pastor Bill directly asks the congregation to give toward expanding the special needs ministry, noting the church has enough in the room to meet the need if people get serious about giving.
Take it into your week
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