Beta Blessings

0:00:02.120 --> 0:00:04.680 Hey, this is Stephen Ferdick. I'm the pastor of Elevation 0:00:04.960 --> 0:00:06.960 Church and this is our podcast and I wanted to 0:00:06.960 --> 0:00:09.880 thank you for joining us today. Hope this inspires you. 0:00:10.320 --> 0:00:12.480 Hope it builds your faith. Hope it gives your perspective 0:00:12.520 --> 0:00:15.280 to see God is moving in your life. Enjoy the message. 0:00:17.800 --> 0:00:20.800 This is very well known in church circles. I don't 0:00:20.800 --> 0:00:23.160 know if you've ever heard it before. I hope some 0:00:23.200 --> 0:00:24.840 of you haven't, because we want to reach people who 0:00:24.840 --> 0:00:28.160 have never gone to church before. And so don't feel 0:00:28.160 --> 0:00:29.560 bad if you don't know what this means. When I 0:00:29.600 --> 0:00:32.000 read it and the church people all start shouting and 0:00:32.040 --> 0:00:35.400 you're like, what, that's all right? But look at the 0:00:35.400 --> 0:00:40.640 scripture in Revelation chapter twenty two, verse twelve. Look, I 0:00:40.680 --> 0:00:45.080 am coming soon. My reward is with me, and I 0:00:45.159 --> 0:00:49.040 will give to each person according to what they have done. 0:00:49.400 --> 0:00:55.959 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and 0:00:56.080 --> 0:01:06.720 the last, the beginning and the end. I didn't give 0:01:06.760 --> 0:01:08.640 them verse fourteen, but I bet they can put it 0:01:08.680 --> 0:01:12.760 in after. Blessed are those who wash their robes. Verse 0:01:12.800 --> 0:01:18.080 thirteen says I am the Alpha and the Omega, the 0:01:18.120 --> 0:01:22.720 first and the last, the beginning, and the end blessed 0:01:22.720 --> 0:01:24.480 are those who wash their robes. And I want to 0:01:24.560 --> 0:01:27.760 preach about blessings today, but not just any kind of blessings. 0:01:27.800 --> 0:01:29.680 There's all kind of blessings. I want to talk to 0:01:29.720 --> 0:01:34.919 you very specifically about beta blessings. That's my subject today. 0:01:35.520 --> 0:01:41.480 Beta blessings, be eta beta blessings. And let's begin our 0:01:41.520 --> 0:01:43.319 study of the Word of God. You may be seated 0:01:44.200 --> 0:01:49.800 beta beta blessings. Put it in the chat, Beta blessings. 0:01:50.880 --> 0:01:54.800 Say it out loud, Beta blessings. Y'all in the room. 0:01:54.840 --> 0:01:56.480 When I say put it in the chat for y'all, 0:01:56.520 --> 0:01:58.440 you don't have a chat right now, so you could 0:01:58.440 --> 0:02:01.280 just say it all right, you can actual chat it. 0:02:01.280 --> 0:02:03.760 It's a substitute for people who can't say it out loud, 0:02:03.760 --> 0:02:05.440 but y'all can do it for real. So everybody say 0:02:05.680 --> 0:02:09.680 beta blessings. Some are using thumbs, some are using tongues. 0:02:09.720 --> 0:02:17.600 But beta, you know, Beta. I don't mean like a 0:02:17.639 --> 0:02:22.760 sorority or something like that, alpha beta gamma. I don't 0:02:22.760 --> 0:02:25.239 want to bring any flashbacks to the people of God. 0:02:26.760 --> 0:02:31.320 I don't mean like blood pressure, like beta blockers. I 0:02:31.360 --> 0:02:35.440 saw that on an infomercial. I don't mean that I 0:02:35.440 --> 0:02:40.079 don't mean like like in the stock market where where 0:02:40.120 --> 0:02:43.880 it measures the stock. Not that kind of beta. That's 0:02:43.880 --> 0:02:47.320 not what I'm thinking of. Not the beta club that 0:02:47.400 --> 0:02:49.520 I was in an eighth grade. How many y'all are 0:02:49.560 --> 0:02:51.440 in beta club? I was in beta club. But that's 0:02:51.440 --> 0:02:54.800 what I'm talking about. I'm talking like Chunks always does this. 0:02:55.320 --> 0:02:59.200 He always signs up for the beta versions of software. 0:03:00.200 --> 0:03:02.320 I guess he's like an early adapter. Which is so 0:03:02.520 --> 0:03:05.160 funny because when he first started the church, he didn't 0:03:05.160 --> 0:03:06.960 even know how to use a spreadsheet, and he was 0:03:07.000 --> 0:03:09.880 the CFO. He had a notebook with a golden Retriever 0:03:10.000 --> 0:03:12.120 on the cover of the notebook, and all the church 0:03:12.200 --> 0:03:14.679 finances were in it, and there wasn't much to write down, 0:03:14.680 --> 0:03:16.720 so it was all right. That was like the beta 0:03:16.800 --> 0:03:20.160 version of Elevation Church, right, the beta version of our bookkeeping. 0:03:20.280 --> 0:03:23.200 Now there's all this audits and committees and subcommittees and 0:03:23.240 --> 0:03:28.360 everything like that. But now he's like always telling me 0:03:28.360 --> 0:03:30.920 about the new software. Graham was laughing at me the 0:03:30.960 --> 0:03:35.080 other day. He said, I needed the new iPhone. I 0:03:35.080 --> 0:03:37.880 don't even know which one this is? Which one do 0:03:37.920 --> 0:03:43.440 I have? The ten? The X? Do you call it 0:03:43.440 --> 0:03:45.960 the X? Or the ten, and he was like, you 0:03:46.000 --> 0:03:47.360 need the twelve and I said, I didn't know that 0:03:47.400 --> 0:03:50.160 I missed eleven. He said, he said, you need the 0:03:50.360 --> 0:03:57.000 twelve junior. What's it called? The mini MENI I love 0:03:57.040 --> 0:03:59.560 to make them cringe. That's why I do that. I 0:03:59.600 --> 0:04:01.640 pick out stuff I can say to make them cringe. 0:04:02.040 --> 0:04:03.920 That's my favorite thing. It's just a privilege of being 0:04:03.920 --> 0:04:07.240 the pastor and having your kids in church. The iPhone 0:04:07.280 --> 0:04:13.960 twelve or they hated so much. I don't know. I'm 0:04:14.000 --> 0:04:16.160 not a beta guy. Chunks will get all this new software. 0:04:16.279 --> 0:04:18.800 It'll be the beta version, which means, of course it's 0:04:18.839 --> 0:04:21.760 still being tested. And he likes it. And I'll be like, 0:04:22.320 --> 0:04:26.160 is that good that new operating system? And he's like, 0:04:26.400 --> 0:04:31.560 I don't know yet. This in the beta version. So 0:04:32.960 --> 0:04:34.840 I put this sermon in my phone. I was looking 0:04:34.880 --> 0:04:42.760 at the note in my iPhone X Senior. I put 0:04:42.839 --> 0:04:46.479 this sermon in my phone beta blessings, and I checked 0:04:46.520 --> 0:04:48.960 on the info tab on my ever note and it 0:04:49.040 --> 0:04:54.240 said I put it in twenty eighteen, and it's been 0:04:54.720 --> 0:04:57.800 that long in my phone. And then there comes a 0:04:57.880 --> 0:05:01.160 time when God will ought me to release it and 0:05:01.240 --> 0:05:05.320 preach it. And when I put it in my phone 0:05:05.680 --> 0:05:08.479 Beta blessings. I was thinking about the things that God 0:05:08.560 --> 0:05:12.039 does in our lives in certain seasons that at first 0:05:12.200 --> 0:05:18.719 we're not sure if it's a blessing because it's in beta. 0:05:20.520 --> 0:05:23.520 When I wrote this sermon down in twenty eighteen and 0:05:23.640 --> 0:05:26.440 couldn't figure out exactly how to preach it, I thought 0:05:26.480 --> 0:05:34.279 it was wasted. It wasn't wasted. It was in beta. 0:05:35.720 --> 0:05:37.800 Can I preach like I've been waiting to preach us 0:05:37.880 --> 0:05:42.600 for three years. We've been following the Israelites through the 0:05:42.680 --> 0:05:46.960 wilderness and they are in between seasons. I read you 0:05:47.040 --> 0:05:51.440 a scripture where Jesus said, I'm the Alpha and Omega. 0:05:52.480 --> 0:05:55.440 That is the first letter of the Greek alphabet, Alpha 0:05:56.120 --> 0:05:58.920 and the last letter Omega. That's why he says I'm 0:05:58.960 --> 0:06:01.200 the beginning and the end the last book of the Bible. 0:06:01.960 --> 0:06:06.200 He says, I am Alpha and Omega. I want you 0:06:06.279 --> 0:06:07.680 to write this down. It's a little bit of a 0:06:07.760 --> 0:06:14.880 long sentence, but Jesus is the Alpha and Omega. But 0:06:15.120 --> 0:06:19.880 I need a beta blessing for the spaces in between. 0:06:22.720 --> 0:06:27.599 Helped me. Holy Spirit. When the Israelites were in the wilderness, 0:06:27.680 --> 0:06:30.640 God was with them. He never stopped being with you. 0:06:32.160 --> 0:06:35.560 He's not waiting for you at some future destination. I 0:06:35.680 --> 0:06:38.480 want to get closer to God this year. That doesn't 0:06:38.520 --> 0:06:42.880 come five Bible books that you've memorized later and then 0:06:42.920 --> 0:06:45.480 a lot of times we'll be like, God, bring me 0:06:45.600 --> 0:06:47.440 back to the love that I have when I first 0:06:47.600 --> 0:06:51.599 met you, which is typically overrated in our imagination because 0:06:51.600 --> 0:06:53.640 we weren't as holy as we like to tell ourselves 0:06:53.680 --> 0:06:57.400 that we were when we first met him. So when 0:06:57.480 --> 0:06:59.840 you say he's the alpha and the Omega, you've got 0:06:59.839 --> 0:07:05.680 to also mentioned right that he is also beta, that's 0:07:05.760 --> 0:07:09.520 in between alpha and omega, and that's where we need 0:07:09.600 --> 0:07:14.360 his presence the most. How many understand that when a 0:07:14.480 --> 0:07:17.280 new year changes and a new year begins and there's 0:07:17.320 --> 0:07:19.480 so much excitement, or when a new year ends and 0:07:19.520 --> 0:07:22.520 there's so much desperation, we've kind of missed the point 0:07:22.840 --> 0:07:29.080 that some of God's greatest blessings are beta. Some of 0:07:29.200 --> 0:07:34.080 God's greatest blessings are in the form of watch this Mana. 0:07:35.840 --> 0:07:37.640 I don't know if you've been watching the sermons or 0:07:37.680 --> 0:07:41.400 slacking off, but I'll catch you up real quick that 0:07:41.520 --> 0:07:44.360 I've been talking about Mana in the Wilderness that he 0:07:44.520 --> 0:07:47.960 gave them mana, which means what is it? In that 0:07:48.040 --> 0:07:51.280 cool they needed food and God gave them something, and 0:07:51.400 --> 0:07:57.200 they didn't recognize it as a blessing at first. What 0:07:57.440 --> 0:07:59.720 is it? That's what mana means. Everybody say what is it? 0:08:00.800 --> 0:08:04.080 What is it? And then mana also means what it is? 0:08:05.360 --> 0:08:09.520 It is? And I don't yet know what it's going 0:08:09.600 --> 0:08:13.320 to be. And that's true about your life. And that's 0:08:13.360 --> 0:08:15.400 true about the thing that you're praying about right now, 0:08:16.320 --> 0:08:19.280 and that's true about everything that God has put inside 0:08:19.320 --> 0:08:21.040 of you. I want to look at this real quick 0:08:21.440 --> 0:08:25.480 because it's so powerful. In Joshua chapter five, it gives 0:08:25.560 --> 0:08:28.040 us a picture of this transition. Put it on the 0:08:28.040 --> 0:08:30.240 screen for me. Joshua chapter five, I could find it 0:08:30.280 --> 0:08:32.080 in my Bible. We could do it quicker, it said 0:08:32.360 --> 0:08:35.360 the day after the Passover, This is the Israelites, after 0:08:35.559 --> 0:08:40.240 going through the wilderness for forty years, after dealing with 0:08:40.400 --> 0:08:44.960 the situation for forty years. The Bible says that they 0:08:45.080 --> 0:08:48.520 celebrated the passover and they ate some of the produce 0:08:48.679 --> 0:08:51.760 of the land that God had promised. What kind of bread? 0:08:53.520 --> 0:08:56.800 What did I preach about last week? I'm not going 0:08:56.840 --> 0:08:58.520 to invite y'all back if y'all don't help me preach 0:09:00.200 --> 0:09:03.760 about this last week, please tell me the sermons stuck 0:09:03.840 --> 0:09:07.920 that law. So they came out of Egypt with unleavened bread. 0:09:08.240 --> 0:09:11.160 They didn't have the time for it to rise, but 0:09:11.280 --> 0:09:14.240 they had to go. And sometimes you've got to set 0:09:14.320 --> 0:09:17.280 out with a word from God not knowing all of 0:09:17.320 --> 0:09:24.360 the details. Even Abraham had to do this. God set 0:09:24.400 --> 0:09:27.640 in Genesis chapter twelve to Abraham. This was before he 0:09:27.720 --> 0:09:30.800 even had an h in his name. This was before 0:09:31.160 --> 0:09:35.839 Vana White even sold him. This was before. This was 0:09:35.920 --> 0:09:38.400 back in the times when Vana White used to manually 0:09:38.800 --> 0:09:41.400 turn the letters. Some of y'all don't know, this was 0:09:41.480 --> 0:09:44.800 a long time ago. This is back in the very beginning. 0:09:45.200 --> 0:09:47.920 Did I just preach wheel of fortune by accident? Yes? 0:09:48.000 --> 0:09:51.040 I did, Yes, I did. I did it on purpose too, 0:09:51.800 --> 0:09:57.559 for the real ones. And watch this. Before Abraham knew 0:09:57.800 --> 0:10:00.720 where he was going, he had to leave what he knew. 0:10:00.920 --> 0:10:03.720 Don't quit your job, don't sign a divorce paper. That's 0:10:03.800 --> 0:10:06.920 not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about abandoning your 0:10:07.000 --> 0:10:13.360 way of thinking. And the Lord said in Genesis chapter twelve, 0:10:13.440 --> 0:10:20.240 verse one, go from your country, your people, your father's household, 0:10:20.520 --> 0:10:22.760 to the land. I will show you you notice how 0:10:22.800 --> 0:10:26.839 specific God was about what he was leaving from, and 0:10:26.960 --> 0:10:29.000 how vague God was about what he was going to. 0:10:30.720 --> 0:10:38.080 That's where beta blessings are required. That's the beta version 0:10:38.120 --> 0:10:40.240 of the blessing of God. And follow it a verse further. 0:10:40.559 --> 0:10:44.360 This is God's original blessing to his people, coming through Abraham, 0:10:44.400 --> 0:10:46.800 the father of our faith, to the nation of Israel. 0:10:46.840 --> 0:10:48.559 Would all come through this one man, but it was 0:10:48.600 --> 0:10:52.600 still in beta. It would all come through one man, 0:10:52.679 --> 0:10:55.640 but it was still in beta. And the Lord had 0:10:55.679 --> 0:10:58.120 such a big vision for how he wanted to use 0:10:58.160 --> 0:11:01.000 Abraham as a blessing. I will make you into a 0:11:01.040 --> 0:11:05.080 great nation. I'll bless you. I'll make your name great, 0:11:05.840 --> 0:11:08.400 and you will be a blessing. One more verse. Show 0:11:08.400 --> 0:11:10.400 you how big this is. Let me show you how 0:11:10.440 --> 0:11:13.599 big this is what God had in mind to do 0:11:13.720 --> 0:11:16.559 through Abraham. Let me show you how big this is 0:11:17.200 --> 0:11:19.319 what God had in mind to do when he created you. 0:11:20.040 --> 0:11:22.040 Let me show you how big the picture is that 0:11:22.200 --> 0:11:26.520 God sees while you're so zoomed in on the part 0:11:26.600 --> 0:11:31.160 of your life that you don't like. He said, I'll 0:11:31.200 --> 0:11:33.120 bless those who bless you, and curse those who curse 0:11:33.160 --> 0:11:36.719 you in all people's own earth will be blessed through you. 0:11:38.679 --> 0:11:42.160 You see how big that blessing was, But it was 0:11:42.240 --> 0:11:47.240 still in beta. Correct me if I'm wrong, Tesla. But 0:11:47.360 --> 0:11:50.319 when they have it in beta, they don't release it 0:11:50.400 --> 0:11:57.200 to everybody. You have to sign up for that. God 0:11:57.320 --> 0:12:01.000 was gonna bless the whole earth through Israel, not just them. 0:12:01.960 --> 0:12:04.199 But we encountered them the last few weeks in the 0:12:04.240 --> 0:12:08.920 wilderness while they were still in beta. The Lord told me, 0:12:09.000 --> 0:12:10.719 I'm preaching to some people today who are in the 0:12:10.760 --> 0:12:16.199 beta version, the beta version, and when it's in the 0:12:16.280 --> 0:12:26.520 beta version, they're usually working out some bugs. Ask somebody 0:12:26.679 --> 0:12:33.640 next to you, got bugs. That's why I don't put 0:12:33.679 --> 0:12:37.760 it on my phone until later, because I want to 0:12:37.800 --> 0:12:41.559 wait till they get all the bugs out. And I 0:12:41.720 --> 0:12:46.719 wonder did God take his people through the wilderness for 0:12:46.960 --> 0:12:54.559 forty years, around and around in circles to get the 0:12:54.640 --> 0:12:58.120 bugs out? And I wonder has God left some of 0:12:58.200 --> 0:13:02.040 the things in our life in a holding pattern or 0:13:02.120 --> 0:13:04.760 brought us into spaces where we're not getting what we're 0:13:04.800 --> 0:13:07.800 praying for, or it's not happening as fast as we 0:13:07.880 --> 0:13:12.360 wanted to, because maybe He wants to get the bugs out. 0:13:13.679 --> 0:13:17.160 So I'm praying a prayer over my life this week. God, 0:13:17.240 --> 0:13:20.760 get the bugs out, because I don't want to release 0:13:20.840 --> 0:13:24.800 a version to the world. See, before I preached this 0:13:25.000 --> 0:13:29.120 message to you, I preached it to myself so I 0:13:29.160 --> 0:13:32.760 could get the bugs out. Because before I release it, 0:13:33.400 --> 0:13:37.199 before I put it out on YouTube where everybody with 0:13:37.320 --> 0:13:41.040 the broadband connection and an opinion can judge it, I 0:13:41.120 --> 0:13:43.880 want to make sure it's what God wants to say. 0:13:44.960 --> 0:13:48.160 I had it in my phone three years to preach 0:13:48.240 --> 0:13:51.400 to you because God wanted you to have it right now. 0:13:52.080 --> 0:13:56.480 But it wasn't wasted. It was in beta. God said, 0:13:56.559 --> 0:14:00.120 there's some stuff you prayed for, there's some stuff you 0:14:00.240 --> 0:14:08.480 asked for. There's some stuff I know you need. It's 0:14:08.520 --> 0:14:14.239 in beta. It's in beta. It's in beta. This relationship 0:14:14.360 --> 0:14:18.720 isn't a bad relationship. It's in beta. It's in beta. 0:14:19.960 --> 0:14:23.400 This song I'm working on isn't a bad song. It's 0:14:23.480 --> 0:14:27.280 just in beta. That book I worked on last year 0:14:27.320 --> 0:14:29.800 that's not ready to be released yet, it wasn't a 0:14:29.920 --> 0:14:33.920 waste of time. It's in beta. I put it in 0:14:34.000 --> 0:14:37.400 a box in my room to remind myself that Lazarus 0:14:37.480 --> 0:14:39.360 might go in a box for a minute, but he 0:14:39.440 --> 0:14:46.600 will rise again. What was the Lord telling me? I 0:14:46.640 --> 0:14:49.200 gotta remember he was saying something about boxes in beta. 0:14:50.440 --> 0:14:53.600 He was telling me, oh, when we get too attached 0:14:53.640 --> 0:14:56.720 to the beta version, it puts God in a box. 0:15:01.720 --> 0:15:06.320 Let's go deeper. Sit down, look, I'm not even standing 0:15:06.400 --> 0:15:15.840 up well, and your step ahead. These aid Beta blessings, 0:15:17.040 --> 0:15:21.240 Beta blessings. The mana was not meant to be on 0:15:21.480 --> 0:15:30.320 the menu permanently. It was a seasonal provision. And when 0:15:30.360 --> 0:15:32.040 the mana went away. I don't know if you saw 0:15:32.080 --> 0:15:35.800 that in Joshua five. At first they thought this is 0:15:35.880 --> 0:15:39.480 really bad. This is really bad. How many of you 0:15:39.600 --> 0:15:41.400 had something in your life last year that you go, 0:15:41.560 --> 0:15:46.360 this is really bad. This is really bad, y'all. There's 0:15:46.360 --> 0:15:48.600 three people in the church who had a storm last year. 0:15:50.040 --> 0:15:53.680 These are some Caribbean crews. Christians in here. Come. I'm 0:15:53.680 --> 0:15:55.840 looking for some pirates of the Caribbean that had to 0:15:55.920 --> 0:16:04.360 fight some battle. Beta. The manner was what God gave 0:16:04.440 --> 0:16:06.920 them in between. That's what I mean by Beta blessings. 0:16:08.720 --> 0:16:11.640 I'm someone who really fights for my relationships. I don't 0:16:11.640 --> 0:16:15.360 throw people away. There's people in this room right now 0:16:16.120 --> 0:16:17.760 that are on my staff. I should have fired him 0:16:17.760 --> 0:16:24.120 fifteen times. I'm not looking at anybody more, and they 0:16:24.240 --> 0:16:26.480 probably should have not, you know, been mad at me 0:16:26.560 --> 0:16:31.720 and left. But you know I'm loyal. I really am loyal, true, 0:16:33.320 --> 0:16:42.320 you know me the whole time, all right. Sometimes in 0:16:42.440 --> 0:16:45.000 that effort to be loyal, not necessarily to a person, 0:16:45.040 --> 0:16:46.360 I always want to be good to people. If I'm 0:16:46.360 --> 0:16:52.200 your friend, I'm your friend. But sometimes I'm loyal to 0:16:52.320 --> 0:16:57.160 something that the Lord used in one season at the 0:16:57.240 --> 0:17:01.400 expense of something that he's bringing in this season. And 0:17:01.480 --> 0:17:02.960 I want to take that off of people, and I 0:17:03.040 --> 0:17:04.680 want to take that off of jobs. In all the 0:17:04.760 --> 0:17:07.200 ways that we use sermons as an excuse to not 0:17:07.320 --> 0:17:15.240 have perseverance, let us think in this is a This 0:17:15.400 --> 0:17:19.440 is not a confirmation for you to quit, but it 0:17:19.560 --> 0:17:23.400 is a command for you to grow, grow, grow, grow, 0:17:23.960 --> 0:17:29.320 grow grow. Elevation church. They used to call it evolution church. 0:17:29.400 --> 0:17:31.280 And I'm like, well, both are right. And I'm not 0:17:31.280 --> 0:17:33.879 talking about Darwin or something like that, or from the 0:17:33.920 --> 0:17:35.440 Goo to the Zoo to you or any of that. 0:17:36.960 --> 0:17:40.520 I'm saying like changeing. It always changes. But isn't there 0:17:40.560 --> 0:17:44.120 a temptation? I read this thing from a rabbi wrote 0:17:44.160 --> 0:17:48.800 this quote. He said that our wisdom is distinguishing between 0:17:48.840 --> 0:17:51.440 those things which must remain unchanging in our lives and 0:17:51.480 --> 0:17:54.680 those changes we should accept an embrace. I read it 0:17:54.760 --> 0:17:56.280 over and over again. I wrote it out, I read it, 0:17:56.359 --> 0:17:59.879 I wrote it, and I said, Lord, show me that 0:18:01.040 --> 0:18:05.200 because in Joshua five, once Moses had taken the people 0:18:05.200 --> 0:18:07.720 as far as they could go, he was I guess 0:18:07.720 --> 0:18:09.639 you could say, in some ways beta, not like a 0:18:09.680 --> 0:18:11.560 beta male. I don't mean it like that, like not 0:18:11.680 --> 0:18:14.680 that he was passive. I'm saying he was what God 0:18:14.760 --> 0:18:19.200 gave them to get them to a certain place. God 0:18:19.280 --> 0:18:24.760 gives you that, He gives you instruments, He gives you provisions, 0:18:24.920 --> 0:18:29.680 He gives you manna. When Joshua led the people to 0:18:29.760 --> 0:18:31.960 the edge of God's promise, the man of stop, that 0:18:32.160 --> 0:18:38.639 was bad. No, it wasn't. It was beta. And I 0:18:38.680 --> 0:18:41.480 want you to shift your mind this week and see 0:18:41.520 --> 0:18:43.600 things in your life that are in development and be 0:18:43.680 --> 0:18:52.080 able to say, it's not bad. It's in beta. It's 0:18:52.160 --> 0:18:58.600 not bad. It's in beta. And when the real product 0:18:58.640 --> 0:19:04.720 gets finished, they updated. You don't keep the beta version 0:19:04.800 --> 0:19:08.600 on your phone forever. When they came to the edge 0:19:08.640 --> 0:19:10.760 of Canaan when God gave them the ability to sow 0:19:10.800 --> 0:19:13.399 and reap, they couldn't go out their tents and just 0:19:13.440 --> 0:19:15.560 collect the man anymore. Oh and by the way, this 0:19:15.720 --> 0:19:20.280 is underscored so brilliantly in I believe it's Exodus chapter sixteen, 0:19:20.560 --> 0:19:22.880 where it said they were to go out and get 0:19:22.920 --> 0:19:26.000 the manna they needed for that day. When they tried 0:19:26.040 --> 0:19:28.480 to keep the mana too long for the next day 0:19:28.600 --> 0:19:30.320 and didn't have the faith that God would put it there, 0:19:30.840 --> 0:19:34.440 it would rot, it would stink, and there would be 0:19:34.680 --> 0:19:40.399 maggots in the manna, maggots in the mana. That what 0:19:40.800 --> 0:19:44.920 God gave them became infested with their lack of faith 0:19:49.240 --> 0:19:52.080 when they kept the mana too long, when they kept 0:19:52.119 --> 0:19:55.280 the beta too long, guess what got in it? Bugs? 0:19:57.720 --> 0:20:03.800 Bugs us, Do you see it? It said the maggots 0:20:03.840 --> 0:20:06.879 would eat the mana. But if they used what they 0:20:06.920 --> 0:20:09.320 were supposed to use, if they did what they were 0:20:09.359 --> 0:20:12.440 supposed to do, if they moved to the rhythm of 0:20:12.560 --> 0:20:16.119 the voice of God, there would always be more mana. 0:20:17.840 --> 0:20:19.720 And now, if we want to watch all of these 0:20:20.040 --> 0:20:22.400 economic predictors, and we want to watch all of these 0:20:22.880 --> 0:20:25.200 these social conclusions, and we want to watch all these 0:20:25.320 --> 0:20:29.520 talking heads who say the worst things to keep us watching. 0:20:30.680 --> 0:20:42.600 Then we will have maggots in our manna. God gave 0:20:42.840 --> 0:20:48.400 us certain things for seasons, seasons, seasons, and it's time 0:20:48.480 --> 0:20:52.320 to grow up. Y'all. Didn't shout over that. Y'all like 0:20:52.359 --> 0:21:02.000 the magots better, y'all like the maggots better than the maturity. Oh, 0:21:02.040 --> 0:21:04.800 I'm the worst about this. I'll find something that works 0:21:06.080 --> 0:21:11.680 and I'll just keep doing it. I mean, when I 0:21:11.800 --> 0:21:14.840 used to preach sermons series. I mentioned this earlier. There 0:21:14.920 --> 0:21:16.920 came a time where that was that was a blessing. 0:21:17.280 --> 0:21:19.359 I told Holly the other day. I used to need 0:21:19.480 --> 0:21:22.959 to plan my sermon series twelve weeks in advance when 0:21:23.000 --> 0:21:24.760 I started, so I could have time to study. I 0:21:24.760 --> 0:21:27.560 didn't know what I was doing. You still don't, thanks 0:21:27.600 --> 0:21:32.440 a lot. I just say what. I just say it 0:21:32.520 --> 0:21:37.159 so nobody else can't. It's a deeply embedded insecurity that 0:21:37.359 --> 0:21:40.920 manifested me being sarcastic on stage in front of thousands 0:21:40.960 --> 0:21:46.000 of people, and so I used that as a way 0:21:46.160 --> 0:21:48.080 to study. Okay, I'm going to preach on this and 0:21:48.200 --> 0:21:50.800 that and the other, and it let me study over 0:21:50.840 --> 0:21:53.320 the course of years. Though the way God began to 0:21:53.359 --> 0:21:55.439 speak to me, and I'm just using this as an example. 0:21:55.480 --> 0:21:58.280 You would have your own I would start to use 0:21:58.359 --> 0:22:02.560 that as a crutch, and it would keep me from 0:22:02.600 --> 0:22:05.920 speaking what God was saying to me right now and 0:22:06.040 --> 0:22:08.440 trusting Him in the moment, because I would rely on 0:22:09.320 --> 0:22:17.199 the structure, not the spirit. There's nothing wrong with sermons series, 0:22:17.240 --> 0:22:19.480 and maybe God will use that again one day, But 0:22:19.680 --> 0:22:21.440 right now, I've noticed that the Lord has me in 0:22:21.480 --> 0:22:26.680 a different place, and to do that takes trust. Do 0:22:26.720 --> 0:22:30.440 you remember Malachi three, Bring the tithe into the storehouse. 0:22:31.080 --> 0:22:35.560 Some of y'all have PTSD over that scripture. You know, 0:22:35.680 --> 0:22:38.040 bring the tithe or God's gonna curse you. Bring the tithether, 0:22:38.119 --> 0:22:40.080 God's gonna puncture your lung. Bring the tithe and you 0:22:40.200 --> 0:22:42.880 have flat tire. It's been all been done. I don't 0:22:42.880 --> 0:22:45.639 think that scripture is about just tithing ten percent. It 0:22:45.760 --> 0:22:51.439 is about that, but it's about trust. It's about trusting 0:22:51.480 --> 0:22:53.720 God to transform you. It's about trusting God to teach you. 0:22:53.760 --> 0:22:55.840 It's about trusting God and the transitions of your life. 0:22:56.119 --> 0:22:59.560 So He's saying to the nation, I couldn't believe when 0:22:59.560 --> 0:23:01.639 I saw this, this is what set it off for me. 0:23:02.800 --> 0:23:04.800 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may 0:23:04.840 --> 0:23:08.840 be food in my house. Test me in this test. 0:23:10.400 --> 0:23:15.400 That's an important word. Test. That's what they do in beta, 0:23:15.480 --> 0:23:19.560 they test the product. That's what God did in the wilderness. 0:23:19.640 --> 0:23:25.359 He tested his people, not because he didn't know. He 0:23:25.560 --> 0:23:29.200 wasn't trying to get information about him. He wasn't doing 0:23:29.320 --> 0:23:36.560 any at Graham on the Israelites. It's testing where the 0:23:36.600 --> 0:23:40.359 bugs get worked out, where I learned not to be petty, 0:23:41.400 --> 0:23:50.399 offended and paranoid, and to rely on God as my source. 0:23:52.280 --> 0:23:59.040 He said, test me, test me, test me, He said, 0:23:59.119 --> 0:24:01.560 test me. No, you test us. He's like, no, no, no, 0:24:02.320 --> 0:24:04.879 I'm not the one who has bugs to begin with. 0:24:06.680 --> 0:24:09.200 I'm just getting things out of you. Why why is God? 0:24:09.440 --> 0:24:11.080 Why is God getting the bugs out of me? Right 0:24:11.119 --> 0:24:13.400 now here? It is. See if I'm not throw open 0:24:13.400 --> 0:24:17.320 the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing. 0:24:19.400 --> 0:24:23.800 The test is to create space in my life, and 0:24:23.880 --> 0:24:26.320 I'll put so much blessing that there will not be 0:24:26.760 --> 0:24:35.760 room enough to receive it. Now, So Lord, I want 0:24:35.800 --> 0:24:39.120 to have room to receive anything you bring into my life. 0:24:39.280 --> 0:24:41.200 I want to have room to receive it. And I 0:24:41.359 --> 0:24:45.600 can't do that. I can't have room to receive what 0:24:45.720 --> 0:24:49.119 you're bringing in my life if every square inch of 0:24:49.240 --> 0:24:54.560 my mind is occupied. And then the next verse said 0:24:54.640 --> 0:24:57.880 something crazier. He said, test me. See if I won't 0:24:57.920 --> 0:25:00.840 bless you and I verse eleven, you're not gonna believe 0:25:00.880 --> 0:25:07.040 this will prevent pests. There's the bugs again. I'll get 0:25:07.160 --> 0:25:10.880 the pest out of your crops. I'll get the bugs 0:25:10.920 --> 0:25:14.480 out of your thinking. I'm working things out of you, see, 0:25:14.560 --> 0:25:18.240 because if I release it too soon, you won't be ready. 0:25:18.680 --> 0:25:26.000 So trust me. In this space called the wilderness, God's 0:25:26.040 --> 0:25:29.520 getting the bugs out. God's getting the bugs out. Some 0:25:29.720 --> 0:25:36.320 of you have really good kids, they're just buggy. I asked, Chunks, 0:25:36.560 --> 0:25:38.600 is that software good? Should I get it? He's like, 0:25:38.680 --> 0:25:41.639 I don't know yet. It's buggy right now. But just 0:25:41.760 --> 0:25:44.920 because it's buggy in beta doesn't mean it's not good. 0:25:48.440 --> 0:25:51.879 And when God gets done getting the bugs out of 0:25:51.960 --> 0:25:54.960 your kids, the things that you spank them over, the 0:25:55.040 --> 0:25:56.920 things that you put them in time out over, I'm sorry, 0:25:57.000 --> 0:25:59.040 this is very politically correct Culture twenty twenty one. I 0:25:59.040 --> 0:26:04.040 don't want to be canceled, uh, the things that you 0:26:04.280 --> 0:26:12.520 encouraging them strongly to modify in their behavior. See how 0:26:12.560 --> 0:26:14.720 many y'all raise your hand. We're just gonna do it. 0:26:14.800 --> 0:26:16.720 Have a strong willed kid, at least one in your family. 0:26:16.800 --> 0:26:19.520 Parents Fars Fars, Fars Fars fans, parents are how many 0:26:19.560 --> 0:26:22.280 would say they're even borderline stubborn, borderline stubbornlin? Can I 0:26:22.280 --> 0:26:23.639 get a stomer? Can I get a border lin stubber? 0:26:23.640 --> 0:26:25.399 Can I get a word line stubber online online stubborn 0:26:25.400 --> 0:26:28.120 stumber and stubborn, strong, wild strong one? Okay, okay, okay, 0:26:28.160 --> 0:26:30.159 you know how right now it's an immature form, but 0:26:30.280 --> 0:26:37.320 it's gonna be boldness. It's just in beta. It's in beta. 0:26:38.600 --> 0:26:43.120 It's in beta. I got some bless ads, but they're 0:26:43.240 --> 0:26:47.320 in beda right now. They feel like a burdad, but 0:26:47.480 --> 0:26:51.600 it's a blessed God's getting the bugs out of my crops. 0:26:52.760 --> 0:26:59.440 This here, my build will be a delightful wand my vine, well, 0:27:00.680 --> 0:27:06.399 it's truth in season. How many of y'all got a 0:27:06.440 --> 0:27:10.080 beta blessing right now? Something God is working on something. 0:27:10.160 --> 0:27:13.879 God is doing something. God is perfecting something. God is 0:27:14.080 --> 0:27:19.480 establishing something. He's completing something, he's revealing something, he's revising. 0:27:19.840 --> 0:27:22.159 You got it? You got it. I got it in 0:27:22.320 --> 0:27:29.680 beta already, know alpha. I know who started it already, 0:27:29.760 --> 0:27:33.560 know Omega, I know who's gonna finish it. But watch 0:27:33.680 --> 0:27:38.320 me right now, praise God. In the beta stage. Work 0:27:38.440 --> 0:27:45.680 the fucks out, get the bitterness out, get the unbelievable, 0:27:47.119 --> 0:27:52.160 get it out so that you will have room too 0:27:55.400 --> 0:28:01.159 receive it. It's something in beta. It's just in between. 0:28:02.080 --> 0:28:06.200 It's just in beta. It's just in between. It's just 0:28:06.320 --> 0:28:09.920 in beta. It's in beta. Are you blessed? Yeah, it's 0:28:09.960 --> 0:28:17.920 in beta. Doesn't look like you're blessed. Doesn't look like 0:28:18.000 --> 0:28:20.960 a blessing. Watch this some of the things that turn 0:28:21.000 --> 0:28:23.160 out to be the biggest blessings when they're in beta, 0:28:23.359 --> 0:28:31.440 they're the buggiest. How ma, y'all ever bought a boat? 0:28:35.000 --> 0:28:39.400 It was a blessing for a minute, wasn't it. Back 0:28:39.440 --> 0:28:42.600 when I was a little listen, we had a subscription 0:28:42.760 --> 0:28:51.640 service for music called not Spotify, Columbia House, Oh my 0:28:51.680 --> 0:28:54.280 wheel of fortune, Columbia House, saying shout him to God 0:28:55.360 --> 0:28:59.120 with a voice of oldness, because they would sell you 0:28:59.240 --> 0:29:04.600 twelve CDs p for a penny, that's practically free. I 0:29:04.720 --> 0:29:06.960 heard the Israelites in Egypt talking about we had fish 0:29:07.040 --> 0:29:10.000 for free in Egypt. Numbers eleven five. We had fish 0:29:10.040 --> 0:29:12.280 for free in Egypt. We had fish for free, and 0:29:12.440 --> 0:29:16.440 we also got beat half to death in Egypt. It 0:29:16.600 --> 0:29:24.720 was free at first. You've already heard the masterful speech. 0:29:24.800 --> 0:29:29.920 Free at last, but free at first. That's the things 0:29:29.960 --> 0:29:35.080 that come into your life looking like a blessing, but 0:29:35.240 --> 0:29:44.280 it's not. You would send off this little card, you know, 0:29:44.400 --> 0:29:46.360 when you were sending off that car. It was the 0:29:46.400 --> 0:29:49.920 first step toward a collection agency. I had a collection 0:29:50.080 --> 0:29:58.080 agency on my back at age thirteen, twelve CDs for free, 0:29:58.200 --> 0:30:04.320 and they were free at first, but then there was 0:30:04.400 --> 0:30:08.400 a selection of the month. It was a negative billing 0:30:08.480 --> 0:30:11.680 kind of situation where if you didn't send back this 0:30:11.960 --> 0:30:15.400 card automatically here comes to your mailbox, not the CDs 0:30:15.480 --> 0:30:21.520 that you wanted. Go to your mailbox, like, what's this? 0:30:22.240 --> 0:30:27.200 Open it up? This is Michael Bolton? Who want Michael Bolton? 0:30:29.200 --> 0:30:31.320 It was free at first. The Michael Bolton CD is 0:30:31.480 --> 0:30:38.200 twenty five dollars. Going to your mailbox, open up the 0:30:38.360 --> 0:30:43.480 package and they sent you Ace of Base, Like no, 0:30:43.800 --> 0:30:46.240 I want a motor at Ace of Spades. This is 0:30:46.320 --> 0:30:50.200 Ace of Base. Oh that she wants is you know 0:30:52.760 --> 0:30:56.760 this is terrible, but it was free at first. It 0:30:56.920 --> 0:31:00.360 was free at first. It was free at first. Then 0:31:00.400 --> 0:31:02.240 they keep sending you stuff that you didn't ask for. 0:31:02.840 --> 0:31:04.960 It was free at first. I don't mean to get 0:31:05.040 --> 0:31:11.400 up in your fortnication. It was free at first. I 0:31:11.440 --> 0:31:13.960 don't mean to get up into things that you do 0:31:14.320 --> 0:31:16.160 that are free at first. It could be a lot 0:31:16.200 --> 0:31:18.200 of things. Let's just don't get on the sex stuff. 0:31:18.360 --> 0:31:22.720 I could talk about manipulation, y'all like me saying fortnication 0:31:22.840 --> 0:31:26.080 better than manipulation, because everybody in this room has tried 0:31:26.160 --> 0:31:28.400 to manipulate what God gave you at one point in time. 0:31:29.520 --> 0:31:35.040 And it works at first. It works at first until 0:31:35.080 --> 0:31:40.400 you're looking down spice girls, wondering how am I going 0:31:40.480 --> 0:31:45.840 to pay for this? The fish for free at first, 0:31:49.960 --> 0:31:52.600 and they said fish in Egypt. Now my mind is 0:31:52.760 --> 0:31:54.520 really weird. So I get on a theme and I 0:31:54.640 --> 0:31:56.960 just stayed there until almost wear it out to death. 0:32:00.040 --> 0:32:01.680 The fish in Egypt is what they wanted to go 0:32:01.800 --> 0:32:06.360 back to. Right, that's the same thing from the twelve 0:32:06.440 --> 0:32:10.200 Tribes of Israel as the twelve Disciples. And I want 0:32:10.240 --> 0:32:12.640 to show you this continuity, to show you a beta blessing. 0:32:14.160 --> 0:32:17.800 Do you remember when Peter and I'll teach you this 0:32:17.840 --> 0:32:20.120 story real quick. It's a good one. And Luke five 0:32:20.680 --> 0:32:26.360 was fishing all night and caught nothing. That was a 0:32:26.440 --> 0:32:33.560 really frustrating thing, but his lack of success was actually 0:32:33.640 --> 0:32:38.080 a blessing because it set the stage for him to 0:32:38.120 --> 0:32:43.160 meet Jesus. At that exact moment, he's putting the boat up, 0:32:43.200 --> 0:32:44.600 and I know a lot of us have failed at 0:32:44.640 --> 0:32:47.160 things I have, you have, and it's hard to see 0:32:47.200 --> 0:32:51.880 those things as a blessing when they're in beta. And 0:32:52.000 --> 0:32:54.280 while he's washing his nets and cleaning out all of 0:32:54.320 --> 0:32:56.840 the particles that would brought the nets so couldn't use 0:32:56.880 --> 0:32:59.720 them again, the Lord goes and preaches in his boat 0:33:00.400 --> 0:33:03.280 to be a disciple, and they went, listen, you want 0:33:03.280 --> 0:33:05.920 to talk about a blessing. They went from empty nets 0:33:06.880 --> 0:33:10.440 to sinking boats, and for some of you this is 0:33:10.520 --> 0:33:15.680 going to be a year of boat sinking blessings. Do 0:33:15.800 --> 0:33:21.800 you receive that some of those blessings will not come 0:33:21.840 --> 0:33:25.000 in the form of material possessions, although if you need that, 0:33:25.200 --> 0:33:28.120 may God do it for you. But some of those 0:33:28.240 --> 0:33:30.840 blessings will come in the form of things that no 0:33:31.000 --> 0:33:34.240 material possession can be exchanged for and it is going 0:33:34.280 --> 0:33:36.920 to be a year for some of us. I declare 0:33:37.000 --> 0:33:40.440 this over your life, with no trace of sarcasm or manipulation. 0:33:41.040 --> 0:33:44.240 This is going to be a year of boat sinking 0:33:44.800 --> 0:33:51.560 blessings in your life, boat sinking blessings in your life. 0:33:53.240 --> 0:33:55.280 And you know how they're going to come. Not when 0:33:55.360 --> 0:34:02.600 you pray for a blessing, but when you obey. What 0:34:02.800 --> 0:34:05.800 took the nets from being empty to being so fool 0:34:05.920 --> 0:34:09.439 that they couldn't even stand the catch was when Peter said, 0:34:09.520 --> 0:34:12.840 look at verse five, We've worked hard all night. This 0:34:13.000 --> 0:34:18.240 isn't working. But because you say so, pray to be blessed, fine, 0:34:18.280 --> 0:34:26.920 pray about it, but obey to be blessed. Obey so 0:34:27.960 --> 0:34:33.440 beta blessing works better. Obey to be blessed. Right, Not, 0:34:33.680 --> 0:34:36.480 I'll obey this when you bless me, lord, not if 0:34:36.520 --> 0:34:39.000 you bless me Lord. No, just because it's the right thing, 0:34:39.280 --> 0:34:41.120 just because it's who I want to be, just because 0:34:41.160 --> 0:34:44.360 that's what I'm supposed to do, not because of something external. 0:34:44.680 --> 0:34:48.359 This is who I am. That's why I'm kind, That's 0:34:48.400 --> 0:34:50.680 why I'm going after it, That's why I'm still doing it. 0:34:50.960 --> 0:34:54.320 That's why I'm still surfing right out of obedience. And 0:34:54.440 --> 0:34:57.480 this is so awesome because they went from empty nets 0:34:57.800 --> 0:35:01.200 to boats sinking blessings. And the the question is will 0:35:01.280 --> 0:35:04.920 you have room to receive it? Peter didn't. He needed 0:35:05.120 --> 0:35:11.520 another boat, He needed more room to receive. When the 0:35:11.600 --> 0:35:14.440 boats were so full of fish that they couldn't hold him, 0:35:14.719 --> 0:35:17.880 he had to signal his partner. And for this stage 0:35:17.920 --> 0:35:20.200 of your life, you are not going to be able 0:35:20.280 --> 0:35:23.239 to stay in isolation. I know you used to do that. 0:35:23.760 --> 0:35:26.000 You did that to survive. That's how you did it. 0:35:26.200 --> 0:35:28.279 You were a fighter and you kept people off of you, 0:35:28.480 --> 0:35:30.720 and you did that, but that is going to prohibit 0:35:30.800 --> 0:35:34.120 you from receiving in this season. You've got to signal 0:35:34.200 --> 0:35:44.239 the other boat in this ridge. You tom been thinking 0:35:44.280 --> 0:35:47.640 about this in beta for three years just so God 0:35:47.719 --> 0:35:50.880 could release it to us today. Because we're in beta, 0:35:52.400 --> 0:35:56.959 aren't we come on with your buggy self, your little 0:35:57.080 --> 0:36:03.640 buggy beta behind looking at me all angelic celestial. I 0:36:03.719 --> 0:36:10.040 bet you were a beta boyfriend, JT. So wonder, Brittany, 0:36:10.200 --> 0:36:15.600 aren't you glad that she looked past the bugs and 0:36:15.760 --> 0:36:20.640 saw the beta that you could be. I'm in beta. 0:36:22.440 --> 0:36:25.040 By the way, buggy boyfriends turn into messy men. So 0:36:25.160 --> 0:36:26.799 watch it, watch it, watch it, watch it. But should 0:36:26.800 --> 0:36:30.560 we do with homework and all that? What a blessing 0:36:30.640 --> 0:36:33.040 he is to you? What a blessing she is to you. 0:36:34.080 --> 0:36:36.040 And the more we allow God to do in our 0:36:36.040 --> 0:36:38.719 own lives, the more ready we are to receive from partnership. 0:36:43.920 --> 0:36:47.000 So much to it. They haul in all these fish, right, 0:36:47.200 --> 0:36:51.560 what a blessing. And then the craziest part of the text, 0:36:52.120 --> 0:36:53.719 I need you ready to receive this. Do you have 0:36:53.840 --> 0:36:56.360 room for a little more? Come on, say, I have 0:36:56.480 --> 0:37:01.120 room to receive. I have room to receive it. So 0:37:01.960 --> 0:37:04.520 when they caught the fish, they saw Jesus for who 0:37:04.560 --> 0:37:08.000 he was. When they caught the fish, he gave them 0:37:08.040 --> 0:37:11.879 a calling. They tried to push Jesus away. Peter said, 0:37:11.880 --> 0:37:15.040 I'm a sinful man. Look at verse nine. I'm a 0:37:15.120 --> 0:37:18.480 sinful man. I'm a sinful man. Luke five nine, I'm 0:37:18.520 --> 0:37:24.160 a sinful man. No, you're not a bad man. You're 0:37:24.239 --> 0:37:28.759 just in beta. I got a plan for you. I 0:37:28.840 --> 0:37:31.439 got a work to do in you. You're just in beta. 0:37:31.480 --> 0:37:36.600 Don't give up on yourself. You just in beta. I 0:37:36.680 --> 0:37:47.560 know you're buggy and whiney, but I'm just in beta. 0:37:47.800 --> 0:37:50.000 He's the Alpha and the Omega, and I'm in Beda 0:37:50.080 --> 0:37:56.360 and I'm blessed. Now what I saw next challenged everything 0:37:56.440 --> 0:38:00.000 I thought I knew about the Bible, because I thought 0:38:00.360 --> 0:38:05.200 that Jesus blessed them to catch the fish. And then 0:38:05.239 --> 0:38:11.200 what happened in verse ten, You got it. They were 0:38:11.239 --> 0:38:14.640 astonished by the catch of fish, and so were the partners, 0:38:15.440 --> 0:38:17.480 and he said, don't be afraid. From now on you 0:38:17.560 --> 0:38:20.239 a fish for people. Verse eleven got me. They pulled 0:38:20.280 --> 0:38:24.160 up their boats and left everything the blessing that they 0:38:24.320 --> 0:38:30.000 just had. And I read it, and the Lord said, 0:38:30.080 --> 0:38:38.640 that's because the fish wasn't the blessing. That wasn't the blessing. 0:38:39.560 --> 0:38:48.600 That was the bait. Coming right up in your kitchen. 0:38:49.320 --> 0:38:54.040 I'm coming right up in your kitchen. See that miracle 0:38:54.080 --> 0:38:56.719 that Jesus gave them. That wasn't the blessing. That was 0:38:56.840 --> 0:39:02.000 the Now talking about beta, I'm talking about bait. Be a. 0:39:03.640 --> 0:39:09.640 I thank you, little buddy, of I said, what do 0:39:09.719 --> 0:39:11.960 you mean. It's like I'm having this conversation with the 0:39:12.000 --> 0:39:14.160 Holy Spirit, not out loud, but just thinking about it, 0:39:14.239 --> 0:39:16.040 you know, just thinking about it, trying to go deeper 0:39:16.080 --> 0:39:18.480 in it and go how did they leave the blessing 0:39:18.560 --> 0:39:20.279 that they just had, and how can we do that? 0:39:20.560 --> 0:39:22.399 And how can things be moving around in our life 0:39:22.400 --> 0:39:24.200 and it seems like good things are going away? And 0:39:24.280 --> 0:39:26.120 how can I be okay with that? How can I 0:39:26.239 --> 0:39:28.200 move forward in that? How can I do it? See, 0:39:28.640 --> 0:39:31.000 the ketch a fish was just what God used to 0:39:31.040 --> 0:39:35.440 get them to their calling. It wasn't really the blessing. 0:39:37.040 --> 0:39:40.360 It was just the bait. The man of was just 0:39:40.480 --> 0:39:44.719 the means to get them to Canaan. That's all it was. 0:39:46.280 --> 0:39:50.399 It was just the beta, the bait, the beta, the bait. 0:39:51.360 --> 0:39:54.040 It was the bait that God used. Like when I 0:39:54.120 --> 0:39:57.440 went to college, I got a scholarship, not a full scholarship, 0:39:57.680 --> 0:39:59.960 but enough scholarship that God gave me to get there, 0:40:00.360 --> 0:40:02.719 and I thought that was a blessing and it was, 0:40:03.400 --> 0:40:07.120 but it wasn't just a blessing. It was bait. Because 0:40:07.120 --> 0:40:09.719 when I got to college, I went to BSU, which 0:40:09.760 --> 0:40:11.759 was the Baptist Student Union, and they asked me to 0:40:11.800 --> 0:40:13.719 be the greeter on the team. And I thought that 0:40:13.880 --> 0:40:16.000 was good. I have a good personality. What a blessing 0:40:16.080 --> 0:40:18.000 that they want me to be a greeter. And it was, 0:40:18.160 --> 0:40:20.880 but it was also a debate because another person on 0:40:21.000 --> 0:40:23.720 the Greeter team, her name was Holly Boyknot, the artist 0:40:23.800 --> 0:40:28.640 formerly known as Holly Boy Knot. And so when I 0:40:28.719 --> 0:40:31.120 met Holly boy Not, I figured, what a blessing to 0:40:31.200 --> 0:40:34.239 be on the welcome team of BSU with Holly boy Not. 0:40:35.600 --> 0:40:38.200 But that wasn't really the blessing. That was just the 0:40:38.280 --> 0:40:40.959 bait because then they asked me to be the leader 0:40:41.000 --> 0:40:43.520 of a summer ministry impact team that would go across 0:40:43.560 --> 0:40:45.919 the state of South Carolina to preach to people. I thought, 0:40:46.080 --> 0:40:48.840 what a blessing. I'm the only freshman that Mason Easterlink 0:40:48.880 --> 0:40:51.040 ever asked to do this. What a blessing did I 0:40:51.080 --> 0:40:53.400 get to do it? But that wasn't even just the blessing. 0:40:53.800 --> 0:40:56.040 That was the bait because he also said I get 0:40:56.080 --> 0:40:59.200 to pick my team members. So I circled back to 0:40:59.320 --> 0:41:02.880 the welcome Somebody, shout over your beta blessing right now, 0:41:03.040 --> 0:41:07.560 because I promise you God knows how to get you 0:41:08.080 --> 0:41:10.960 where he wants you to go. So I want you 0:41:11.120 --> 0:41:14.320 to know the thing that you thought was the blessing, 0:41:14.920 --> 0:41:20.480 that wasn't even it. That wasn't even all. That was 0:41:21.040 --> 0:41:25.480 just the but dning. I have the OUTBA have the 0:41:25.640 --> 0:41:31.320 old man. God, that's just the bait. That's just the beta. 0:41:31.960 --> 0:41:35.719 You haven't seen your best self yet. You haven't seen 0:41:35.880 --> 0:41:41.800 your risen self yet. This is just a rough draft. 0:41:42.520 --> 0:41:51.000 There will be revisions. I'm in beta, God said beta blessing. 0:41:51.719 --> 0:41:53.880 He said, I got blessings I want to bring to you. 0:41:54.440 --> 0:41:57.680 So I'm using things to to bait to get you 0:41:57.800 --> 0:42:01.640 in the places where I want you to be. I'm 0:42:01.760 --> 0:42:06.719 using the things that you hate to bring you into 0:42:06.800 --> 0:42:15.080 the blessings that you prayed for. It wasn't even the blessing. 0:42:16.120 --> 0:42:19.400 That was just the bait. It does not yet appear 0:42:19.440 --> 0:42:22.160 what we shall be. I just got a glimpse of 0:42:22.200 --> 0:42:28.040 it right now. You think that acorn is sexy, there's 0:42:28.080 --> 0:42:38.480 an oak inside that acorn. Oh you thought you thought 0:42:38.560 --> 0:42:41.799 the beta was good, Wait till God gets thees bugs out. 0:42:42.080 --> 0:42:44.240 And that's why you have to keep surviving and living 0:42:44.400 --> 0:42:48.520 and not kill yourself and not give into it. That's why, 0:42:52.080 --> 0:42:55.920 because there is a blessing so big for Abraham, there 0:42:56.000 --> 0:42:58.239 is a blessing so big for you that you are 0:42:58.280 --> 0:43:01.000 a part of, not just to you, but through you, 0:43:02.600 --> 0:43:08.960 for your family and your children and their children. And 0:43:09.160 --> 0:43:16.680 so God, if you want to release me into the world. God, 0:43:16.719 --> 0:43:20.400 I want you to get the bugs out, not to 0:43:20.480 --> 0:43:26.399 make me perfect. I'll never be perfect. Peter walked away 0:43:26.400 --> 0:43:35.040 from the fish, followed Jesus, saw miracles, lost his faith 0:43:35.120 --> 0:43:40.960 at the cross, met him again after the resurrection. He's 0:43:41.000 --> 0:43:45.000 still in Beda, after all he saw. He's still in Beda. 0:43:45.920 --> 0:43:49.279 And you think you're supposed to be arrived by now, 0:43:52.680 --> 0:43:57.759 Please don't, please, don't put that pressure on yourself. I'm 0:43:57.800 --> 0:44:03.000 in Beda data. That's not an excuse for me not 0:44:03.120 --> 0:44:07.840 to grow. It's the reason why I have to because 0:44:07.840 --> 0:44:09.319 I want to see, don't you. I want to see. 0:44:09.320 --> 0:44:10.920 I want to see what I can be if I'm 0:44:10.960 --> 0:44:19.359 really free. Minister LJ. It took me all the way 0:44:19.400 --> 0:44:24.680 to John twenty one, and something real strange occurs in 0:44:24.760 --> 0:44:28.480 the text, because it seems like in the Bible that 0:44:28.600 --> 0:44:33.400 Israelites want to go back to the fish, that we're familiar, 0:44:34.800 --> 0:44:39.200 and it seemed like so did the disciples. And in 0:44:39.320 --> 0:44:44.800 John twenty one, the Peter who would receive Holy Spirit 0:44:44.880 --> 0:44:48.200 power and preach on the day of Pentecost. Stop. You 0:44:48.320 --> 0:44:49.800 have no idea what God is going to use you 0:44:49.880 --> 0:44:54.800 to do. You just don't know. You can't know what 0:44:54.920 --> 0:44:57.399 he's already done through you that you don't even know about. 0:44:59.360 --> 0:45:02.560 But Peter did what we always do in that beta 0:45:02.640 --> 0:45:05.360 stage of our life, you know, the in between the beta. 0:45:06.120 --> 0:45:09.840 Alpha is great, it's exciting. Omega is great, it's fulfilling. 0:45:11.160 --> 0:45:19.719 But beta, that's really different. Middle school, mid life. What 0:45:19.920 --> 0:45:24.560 do these things have in common? They are both the 0:45:24.640 --> 0:45:27.399 stages of life where we talk about people losing their minds. 0:45:27.480 --> 0:45:35.920 Why because it's the beta stage, the in between stage. 0:45:38.320 --> 0:45:40.239 So when I saw this in John twenty one three, 0:45:40.280 --> 0:45:43.360 I judged Peter because it said he'd already seen the 0:45:43.440 --> 0:45:47.640 risen Lord, and he said to his companions verse three, 0:45:48.360 --> 0:45:55.439 I'm going fishing. I'm going fishing, all right. The fish 0:45:55.560 --> 0:45:57.440 represents what he was familiar with and what he was 0:45:57.480 --> 0:46:06.800 good at. He's trying to go back to beta. Peter's 0:46:06.840 --> 0:46:10.920 trying to be Simon again, fighting the battles like you 0:46:11.000 --> 0:46:12.879 used to fight, doing it in your own strength, going 0:46:12.920 --> 0:46:15.120 back to old stuff, old old stuff that's not even 0:46:15.160 --> 0:46:17.880 part of the new creation. It's not even part of 0:46:17.920 --> 0:46:25.000 the original you. It's just layers. And I don't want 0:46:25.040 --> 0:46:26.680 to judge him over a fishing trip. It didn't like 0:46:26.719 --> 0:46:30.760 he went to the strip club. He just went fishing. 0:46:33.719 --> 0:46:35.560 So I want to read it to you. Stand where 0:46:35.600 --> 0:46:37.719 you are received this work. I want you to put 0:46:37.760 --> 0:46:39.479 your body in a posture that you're going to receive 0:46:39.560 --> 0:46:44.680 what I want to show you. They went out and 0:46:44.760 --> 0:46:48.640 got in the boat that night. They call it not 0:46:48.800 --> 0:46:55.400 that sounds familiar, sounds like luke Fi. Sounds like a 0:46:55.440 --> 0:47:00.680 few years ago, sounds like the wilderness, sounds like our 0:47:00.719 --> 0:47:03.760 habits are addictions twenty twenty, twenty twenty one, twenty nineteen, 0:47:03.800 --> 0:47:09.319 sounds like that you well. Jesus shows up again at 0:47:09.360 --> 0:47:11.560 the point of what they've perceived to be their failure, 0:47:13.000 --> 0:47:15.960 but it was really his whole point. I speak it 0:47:16.040 --> 0:47:24.600 over your life. Sometimes the failure is the goal because 0:47:24.600 --> 0:47:31.279 of how positions you and the Lord waited till the 0:47:31.360 --> 0:47:36.480 last man, till they got all the bugs out, till 0:47:36.480 --> 0:47:38.560 they got their muscles sore, till they've done all they 0:47:38.600 --> 0:47:44.319 could do. Jesus stood on the shore. The disciples did 0:47:44.400 --> 0:47:48.880 not realize it was Jesus, and he called out to them, friends, 0:47:50.880 --> 0:47:55.440 haven't you any fish? Pay attention to this verse? No, 0:47:55.600 --> 0:48:00.200 they answered. Then he said, throw your net on the 0:48:00.320 --> 0:48:02.840 right side of the boat, and you will find some. 0:48:03.120 --> 0:48:06.799 When they did when they did something different, when they 0:48:06.840 --> 0:48:08.880 did it a different way. God is saying, do it 0:48:09.000 --> 0:48:14.400 a different way, do it a different way. This is 0:48:14.440 --> 0:48:16.239 what we've been talking about. This is what God has 0:48:16.280 --> 0:48:18.839 had me walking us through. Do it a different way, 0:48:19.280 --> 0:48:21.839 a different way, a different way to meet those needs 0:48:21.880 --> 0:48:23.879 that were put there by God. One that doesn't push 0:48:23.920 --> 0:48:27.759 him out of the picture. One that doesn't leave you 0:48:27.840 --> 0:48:31.680 feeling worse. Fish you can eat that you don't choke 0:48:31.760 --> 0:48:35.560 on the bones, things that don't make you feel like 0:48:35.640 --> 0:48:38.640 crap in the morning, things that don't make you go 0:48:38.800 --> 0:48:44.200 further and further into isolation. He said, friends, haven't you 0:48:44.239 --> 0:48:47.320 any fish? And then when they threw it on the 0:48:47.400 --> 0:48:50.640 other side, they were unable to haul in the net 0:48:50.680 --> 0:48:56.040 because the large number of fish boats sinking. Blessing. But 0:48:56.160 --> 0:48:58.520 then the disciple whom Jesus loves said to Peter, it 0:48:58.680 --> 0:49:01.719 is the Lord. And as soon as Simon Peter heard 0:49:01.800 --> 0:49:03.800 him say his the Lord, he wrapped his outo garment 0:49:04.160 --> 0:49:05.719 round for you, taking off jumped in the water. I 0:49:05.800 --> 0:49:07.279 want to preach about that. I don't preach about this. 0:49:07.719 --> 0:49:09.520 The other disciple following in the boat towing the net 0:49:09.560 --> 0:49:13.600 full of fish. The fish the blessing. They were not 0:49:13.680 --> 0:49:15.799 far from the shore, about one hundred yards football field. 0:49:16.000 --> 0:49:18.880 Now verse nine, when they landed they saw a fire 0:49:20.000 --> 0:49:24.320 of burning coals there with fish on it and some bread. 0:49:26.719 --> 0:49:28.480 I don't want you to miss the significant of this 0:49:28.600 --> 0:49:35.160 for your life. Verse eight says they towed the net 0:49:35.239 --> 0:49:38.800 full of fish, and verse nine says when they landed 0:49:39.520 --> 0:49:45.200 they saw burning coals with fish already on it. So 0:49:45.360 --> 0:49:48.200 then Jesus in verse ten says, bring some of the 0:49:48.280 --> 0:49:52.680 fish you have just caught. Bring the blessing I just 0:49:52.760 --> 0:49:57.160 gave you. Next verse, Peter climbed back in the boat 0:49:57.200 --> 0:50:02.520 and dragged the net ashore. Peter's alpha male, Ah ah, 0:50:02.640 --> 0:50:05.560 I got a whole net. Ah ah. Always struggling this 0:50:05.719 --> 0:50:10.200 you always trying. Ah. It was full of large fish 0:50:11.000 --> 0:50:14.640 one hundred and fifty three, who's counting. But even with 0:50:14.800 --> 0:50:17.120 so many, This is the thing about God's blessing. It 0:50:17.239 --> 0:50:20.800 didn't break the net. That's the thing about God's blessing. 0:50:20.880 --> 0:50:28.800 It doesn't break the net. And I'll leave you with 0:50:28.880 --> 0:50:32.759 this thought because I know you're full now and I 0:50:32.880 --> 0:50:34.839 want you to be able to digest what you heard. 0:50:36.239 --> 0:50:39.719 But I should show you this. Jesus said, come and 0:50:39.840 --> 0:50:43.319 have breakfast. None of the disciples dared ask him, who 0:50:43.360 --> 0:50:45.879 are you? They knew it was the Lord. In Verse 0:50:45.920 --> 0:50:50.360 thirteen says Jesus came, took the bread and gave it 0:50:50.440 --> 0:50:56.080 to them, and did the same with the fish. So 0:50:56.239 --> 0:51:01.839 the question is which fish? The ones they had just caught, 0:51:03.080 --> 0:51:07.200 are the ones that he had already cooked. All the 0:51:07.320 --> 0:51:10.239 things we bring to God in our effort to do better, 0:51:11.280 --> 0:51:15.319 in our effort to be blessed, we find that when 0:51:15.320 --> 0:51:18.279 we get to the shore and recognize him for who 0:51:18.360 --> 0:51:24.480 he is, he's already cooking while we couldn't catch all night. 0:51:30.480 --> 0:51:32.640 I don't know what our global church family is going 0:51:32.719 --> 0:51:36.080 through because God doesn't see crowds. He sees people. But 0:51:36.239 --> 0:51:39.279 he must see someone who has been fishing all night 0:51:39.360 --> 0:51:42.120 and catching nothing. He must see somebody that's so frustrated 0:51:42.120 --> 0:51:44.200 you're about ready to just put the nets up, go home, 0:51:44.400 --> 0:51:46.880 quit quit being present, and all of that. Or he 0:51:47.000 --> 0:51:50.719 must see somebody who's stuck in a version of you 0:51:51.840 --> 0:51:56.360 that isn't really you. Because he had this message in 0:51:56.440 --> 0:52:01.560 my heart for three years, but today this is the 0:52:01.680 --> 0:52:08.000 release date for you for what you've been holding, for 0:52:08.120 --> 0:52:11.000 the expectation you put on yourself that doesn't come from God. 0:52:12.480 --> 0:52:15.680 Right now, with your hands to heaven, and I lift 0:52:15.760 --> 0:52:24.080 mine too, let's just decide that. Let's just decide that 0:52:24.120 --> 0:52:27.080 we're not going to let the blessing of God that's 0:52:27.120 --> 0:52:34.600 in our life right now die in the wilderness. Lord, 0:52:34.680 --> 0:52:38.879 I'm really thankful that you're the Alpha because you begin 0:52:38.960 --> 0:52:42.239 the good work in me. I'm really thankful that you're 0:52:42.320 --> 0:52:46.600 the Omega because you'll finish today. I want to praise 0:52:46.640 --> 0:52:51.200 you for Beta, the second letter of the Greek alphabet, 0:52:52.200 --> 0:52:55.440 the one that lets me know you're every step in between. 0:52:56.640 --> 0:52:59.680 I pray right now for every man, woman, boy and 0:52:59.719 --> 0:53:03.520 girl who's been in beta. Oh i've got this issue, 0:53:03.600 --> 0:53:06.320 I've got this insecurity. Oh I've got this. I got it, 0:53:06.400 --> 0:53:08.239 I got it. It's all right, it's all right, it's 0:53:08.239 --> 0:53:12.200 all right, it's all right, it's all right, it's just Beta. 0:53:14.640 --> 0:53:16.680 I thank you that your blessings are more than fish. 0:53:18.000 --> 0:53:19.960 I thank you that your blessings are more than feelings. 0:53:22.040 --> 0:53:26.960 How we long, Lord to eat the bread that doesn't perish, 0:53:27.239 --> 0:53:30.600 the food that doesn't spoil, and that's your word. I 0:53:30.680 --> 0:53:34.319 thank you for every blessing that you used and every 0:53:34.400 --> 0:53:37.200 battle to bring us to the place where we are 0:53:37.320 --> 0:53:40.000 right now. This is where we are supposed to be. 0:53:41.760 --> 0:53:46.680 We praise you right now. We praise you with our mouths, 0:53:46.800 --> 0:53:51.960 we praise you with our hands. We praise you for 0:53:52.080 --> 0:54:00.239 the beta blessings. We worship you, We worship uke. That 0:54:00.400 --> 0:54:04.920 nothing is wasted, not a crawl, not one jot, not 0:54:05.200 --> 0:54:09.880 one tittle, not one word falls from your mouth that 0:54:10.040 --> 0:54:13.719 it does not produce. We thank you. Were on the 0:54:13.880 --> 0:54:18.080 edge of Canaan. We are stepping into exceeding great and 0:54:18.200 --> 0:54:22.759 precious promises. When that which is perfect has called, that 0:54:22.920 --> 0:54:26.600 which is incomplete goes away. Oh God, we thank you 0:54:26.760 --> 0:54:30.719 for the Manna. But today we're eating grapes. We thank 0:54:30.800 --> 0:54:35.000 you God. We thank you God. We thank you God. 0:54:35.680 --> 0:54:39.320 We thank you for the Law. But we're under grace. 0:54:40.400 --> 0:54:44.960 We thank you for Moses. But Jesus is our Josuah. 0:54:45.640 --> 0:54:57.120 We thank you, we honor you, we worship you. I 0:54:57.200 --> 0:54:59.400 hope you received that blessing today and walk in it 0:55:00.200 --> 0:55:03.439 the blessing in between, not waiting on a future state 0:55:03.719 --> 0:55:07.600 to celebrate, not living in a past that's never coming back, 0:55:08.239 --> 0:55:11.640 but celebrating God's presence with you right now. I bless 0:55:11.680 --> 0:55:15.320 you in Jesus' name, His favor upon you, his presence 0:55:15.400 --> 0:55:19.240 before you, his power within you. God is for you today. 0:55:19.800 --> 0:55:23.040 Receive this blessing. Thank you for being a part of 0:55:23.120 --> 0:55:26.280 our family. Thank you for giving to support this ministry. 0:55:26.760 --> 0:55:29.759 Thank you for sharing the messages. You say it every week, God, 0:55:29.760 --> 0:55:32.440 I mean it every week. It's such a blessing to 0:55:32.520 --> 0:55:35.200 be joined with you and connected in ministry. I'll see 0:55:35.239 --> 0:55:37.600 you next time. Make sure to subscribe. We love you, 0:55:38.120 --> 0:55:38.640 We bless you.