Come To Your Senses (Tim Somers)

0:00:01.160 --> 0:00:05.280 As you can tell, I am not Pastor Stephen. I'm 0:00:05.320 --> 0:00:12.120 a little taller. If we haven't had the privilege of meeting, 0:00:12.200 --> 0:00:14.640 my name is Tim Summers, and I get the honor 0:00:14.680 --> 0:00:18.320 and privilege of being the youth pastor here at elevation. 0:00:23.440 --> 0:00:26.000 I love saying that chunks because you can see like 0:00:26.040 --> 0:00:29.600 thirty percent of the room timid like, Oh, here's this guy, 0:00:30.480 --> 0:00:34.760 the youth pastor. Look at that blonde hair. Is he 0:00:34.880 --> 0:00:40.159 forcing it? No, I've had it for years. Okay, but 0:00:40.400 --> 0:00:43.640 I would be remiss if I didn't honor this house 0:00:43.720 --> 0:00:46.000 and honor our pastors. How many of you have ever 0:00:46.040 --> 0:00:50.200 heard the parable of the sewer? Anyone ever heard this? Right? 0:00:50.520 --> 0:00:53.159 When the farmer throws the seed, he throws it on 0:00:53.280 --> 0:00:55.880 like four different areas. Right, You've got the rocky place, 0:00:55.960 --> 0:00:58.080 the thorny place, the shallow place. But then there's that 0:00:58.160 --> 0:01:01.840 good soil where that sea takes root and then it 0:01:01.920 --> 0:01:04.280 multiplies one hundredfold. How many you know that you've got 0:01:04.360 --> 0:01:10.520 a good soil church and a good soil pastor. Hey, 0:01:12.040 --> 0:01:15.320 you can find a leader anywhere. You can find a 0:01:15.400 --> 0:01:18.119 leader anywhere. There's millions of leaders. But you know what's 0:01:18.200 --> 0:01:24.200 incredible about our pastors? Is they are incredible stewards. Incredible stewards, 0:01:24.200 --> 0:01:26.480 and so can we give it up for our pastors, 0:01:26.520 --> 0:01:31.759 Pastor Steven, Pastor Holly, the entire family, Grandma life Abby, 0:01:31.800 --> 0:01:37.120 we love you. I believe that this is the greatest 0:01:37.200 --> 0:01:40.080 move of God in our generation. I wholeheartedly believe that. 0:01:41.280 --> 0:01:44.280 I say that without a doubt. Okay, so look at 0:01:44.280 --> 0:01:47.560 your neighbor and say I believe that too. Even if 0:01:47.600 --> 0:01:50.520 you don't, you're gonna say it. Even if you don't, 0:01:50.560 --> 0:01:53.480 you're gonna say it. You could take a seat. I 0:01:53.520 --> 0:01:56.480 wanted to show you my family real quick because I 0:01:57.160 --> 0:02:00.760 know a lot of you haven't been backed since COVID, 0:02:00.800 --> 0:02:03.200 so you don't even know who I am. And so 0:02:03.400 --> 0:02:05.760 that's totally fine. I want you to put my beautiful 0:02:05.760 --> 0:02:08.359 family out there real quick. Okay, let's look at this. 0:02:10.280 --> 0:02:14.120 You see the big the big man, No, not me, 0:02:14.240 --> 0:02:20.160 the other one. That's my fifteen year old son. Yeah. 0:02:20.200 --> 0:02:23.560 I know what you're thinking. Wow, he has a fifteen 0:02:23.639 --> 0:02:28.680 year old son. He does not look that old, thank you. 0:02:29.360 --> 0:02:33.200 That's Brodie. And he is bigger than me. Like he's 0:02:33.200 --> 0:02:35.160 not as tall as me, but he's got more muscle 0:02:35.200 --> 0:02:39.400 mass than me. And so pray for me because my 0:02:39.480 --> 0:02:42.560 ego has been shot for two years. And then you 0:02:42.600 --> 0:02:44.919 see the one with the smoke face. That's Genesis, our 0:02:44.960 --> 0:02:49.240 five year old. And imagine everyone's energy combined in this room. 0:02:49.600 --> 0:02:58.400 He has more than that and he's not saved. I'm serious, 0:02:58.600 --> 0:03:01.680 like Journey, I'm for real. Thank you God for you kids, volunteers. 0:03:01.720 --> 0:03:10.520 I'm just praying one day to get that text. And 0:03:10.520 --> 0:03:14.720 then my littlest one, Laney Dior Klein. I tell you 0:03:14.760 --> 0:03:17.440 his full name because it means small golden servant and 0:03:17.480 --> 0:03:22.440 he's the only one with blonde hair. I didn't even 0:03:22.520 --> 0:03:24.800 know it. I didn't even know that's what it meant, 0:03:24.880 --> 0:03:26.800 but that's exactly what it means, small gold And so 0:03:26.960 --> 0:03:31.600 that's my that's my little guy. And then my beautiful wife, Rebecca, 0:03:32.600 --> 0:03:39.360 and she really is so beautiful, and she she's our 0:03:39.440 --> 0:03:43.040 online campus pastor. She she works here as well, so 0:03:43.480 --> 0:03:47.720 we carry that mantle together. But you know what's really amazing. 0:03:48.720 --> 0:03:50.480 You know, she does a lot of cool stuff. She 0:03:50.520 --> 0:03:55.280 really does. She's she's brilliant, she's bright, she's phenomenal. She 0:03:55.320 --> 0:03:58.080 does she goes above and beyond. But just put that 0:03:58.120 --> 0:04:03.560 picture up there real quick. Nice, there goes the most 0:04:03.560 --> 0:04:07.840 incredible thing is how she has brought to life those 0:04:07.880 --> 0:04:14.160 three boys right there, and she said, let's do it again. 0:04:14.280 --> 0:04:20.279 And so we're having our first girl in September. Are 0:04:20.279 --> 0:04:26.279 you seriousss? I gotta go. I don't know how, but 0:04:26.400 --> 0:04:30.000 it worked. I was like, Oh my goodness, it's just 0:04:30.040 --> 0:04:33.839 gonna be boys. Just a bunch of deodorant and that's it. 0:04:34.320 --> 0:04:37.600 That's all we need. We got our first girl, and 0:04:38.120 --> 0:04:41.680 she's due September fifteenth. And so people keep asking me, 0:04:41.720 --> 0:04:45.279 are you done? And I keep saying, we'll pray about it. 0:04:47.200 --> 0:04:50.200 So praying about it, we'll see what happens. We'll see 0:04:50.200 --> 0:04:51.800 what happens. How many of you ready for the word? 0:04:51.800 --> 0:04:54.480 All right, you're ready for the word. Good, You're ready, 0:04:55.560 --> 0:04:57.600 You're ready. I'm ready for the word. Really believe that 0:04:57.600 --> 0:05:03.360 God wants to speak to you today, Acts twelve, Acts twelve. 0:05:04.080 --> 0:05:06.960 And if you brought your bibles, make sure you open 0:05:07.040 --> 0:05:10.200 it up. If not, we were thinking about you all week. 0:05:10.240 --> 0:05:12.560 We were praying for you. We love you. We got 0:05:12.600 --> 0:05:15.839 it prepared ready for you on the screens. Acts twelve, 0:05:17.960 --> 0:05:21.640 Verse one. This is what it says. It says it 0:05:21.680 --> 0:05:25.080 was about this time the King Herod arrested some who 0:05:25.120 --> 0:05:30.200 belonged to the church, intending to persecute them. He had James, 0:05:30.240 --> 0:05:32.200 the brother of John, put to death with the sword, 0:05:32.560 --> 0:05:34.960 and when he saw that this met with approval among 0:05:35.000 --> 0:05:39.799 the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter. Also, they reminds 0:05:39.800 --> 0:05:43.280 you something real quick, everyone. Most times the need of 0:05:43.360 --> 0:05:50.839 approval for men proceeds bad intentions. We only two verses 0:05:50.920 --> 0:05:57.839 in homies and we learning something. Okay. This happened during 0:05:57.839 --> 0:06:00.400 the Festival of unlevin Brannon. After arresting it, he put 0:06:00.440 --> 0:06:02.880 him in prison, handing him over to the garden by 0:06:03.120 --> 0:06:05.960 four squads of four soldiers. If you know how to 0:06:06.000 --> 0:06:10.360 do math four times four, it is And Herod intended 0:06:10.360 --> 0:06:13.240 to bring him out for public trial after the passover. 0:06:13.680 --> 0:06:17.640 So Peter was kept in prison. But the church, everyone say, 0:06:17.720 --> 0:06:22.719 but the church, remember when Pastor preached on but God. 0:06:23.440 --> 0:06:25.120 I'll tell your neighbors, say, you gotta roll to play 0:06:25.120 --> 0:06:28.680 in this too. You gotta roll to play in this too. 0:06:29.120 --> 0:06:32.599 But the church was earnestly praying to God for him. 0:06:32.960 --> 0:06:35.200 And the night before Herod was to bring in the trial, 0:06:35.240 --> 0:06:38.960 Peter was sleeping between two soldiers bound with two chains, 0:06:39.000 --> 0:06:42.960 and centuries stood guard at the entrance. Suddenly, the Angel 0:06:42.960 --> 0:06:45.000 of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. 0:06:45.080 --> 0:06:47.440 He struck Peter on the side and woke him up, 0:06:47.480 --> 0:06:51.640 and he said, quick, get up. Look at that. A light, 0:06:51.760 --> 0:06:53.960 an alarm clock, and a swift kick to the kidneys. 0:06:54.000 --> 0:07:00.320 That's how you wake up a teenager. The Bible's got everything. Okay, 0:07:00.520 --> 0:07:02.240 I saw it in the Bible, sweetheart, this is what 0:07:02.279 --> 0:07:06.520 you're supposed to do. He said, quick, get up, and 0:07:06.560 --> 0:07:10.160 the chains fell off of Peter's wrist. Then the angel 0:07:10.200 --> 0:07:12.000 said to him, put on your clothing sandals, and Peter 0:07:12.080 --> 0:07:14.360 did so. Wrap your cloak around you and follow me, 0:07:14.400 --> 0:07:16.800 the angel told him, and Peter followed him out of 0:07:16.800 --> 0:07:19.960 the prison. But he had no idea that what the 0:07:20.000 --> 0:07:24.320 angel was doing was really happening. He thought he was 0:07:24.320 --> 0:07:27.640 seeing a vision. Let me stop right there, because sometimes 0:07:27.680 --> 0:07:34.200 you are free before you even know it. He was freed. 0:07:34.400 --> 0:07:36.800 He went through a prep season. He went through the journey. 0:07:36.960 --> 0:07:38.840 And some of you might be looking at the situation 0:07:38.960 --> 0:07:41.000 that you're in right now and you're thinking, ah, God's 0:07:41.000 --> 0:07:42.880 got me in a prep season. I'm here to remind 0:07:42.920 --> 0:07:47.080 you he's also got you in a free season. You're 0:07:47.120 --> 0:07:49.600 in a free season. So they passed the first of 0:07:49.680 --> 0:07:51.600 second guards and came to the iron gate leading to 0:07:51.640 --> 0:07:54.000 the city had opened for them by hisself, and they 0:07:54.040 --> 0:07:56.240 went through it. And when they had walked the length 0:07:56.280 --> 0:08:00.840 of one street, suddenly the angel left him. Then Peter 0:08:00.960 --> 0:08:02.800 came to himself and said, now I know without a 0:08:02.880 --> 0:08:05.280 doubt that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued 0:08:05.360 --> 0:08:08.360 me from Herod's clutches and from everything the Jewish people 0:08:08.360 --> 0:08:10.920 were hoping would happen verse twelve. When this had dawned 0:08:10.960 --> 0:08:13.680 on him, he went to the house of Mary, the 0:08:13.680 --> 0:08:16.160 mother of John, also called Mark, where many people had 0:08:16.160 --> 0:08:19.400 gathered and were praying. Peter knocked at the outer entrance, 0:08:19.400 --> 0:08:22.239 and a servant named Rhoda came to answer the door, 0:08:22.600 --> 0:08:25.280 and when she recognized Peter's voice, she was so overjoyed 0:08:25.280 --> 0:08:29.680 she ran back without opening it and exclaimed, Peter is 0:08:29.720 --> 0:08:34.240 at the door last two verses. You're out of your mind, 0:08:34.320 --> 0:08:37.959 they told her. When she kept insisting that it was so, 0:08:38.559 --> 0:08:45.120 they said it must be his angel. But Peter kept 0:08:45.200 --> 0:08:49.280 on knocking, and when they opened the door and saw him, 0:08:49.720 --> 0:08:54.480 they were astonished. I've heard so many preachers preach on 0:08:54.679 --> 0:08:57.800 that verse right there. Verse sixteen, and I'm not going 0:08:57.880 --> 0:09:01.760 to do that today. I want to focus on verse eleven. 0:09:02.000 --> 0:09:05.280 This is what it says in verse eleven, Then Peter 0:09:06.160 --> 0:09:11.280 came to himself. I love the New Living translation. It says, 0:09:11.360 --> 0:09:19.000 then Peter came to his senses. He came to his senses. 0:09:19.640 --> 0:09:21.600 If I were to title this, I would title it 0:09:21.679 --> 0:09:31.560 come to your senses, Come to your senses, Come to 0:09:31.600 --> 0:09:35.600 your senses. I was showing you my family earlier because 0:09:37.480 --> 0:09:40.600 I really wanted to kind of set up this story here, 0:09:41.200 --> 0:09:43.079 and I wanted you to be able to see the 0:09:43.080 --> 0:09:46.280 difference between my fifteen year old and my five year old. 0:09:46.600 --> 0:09:49.160 It's kind of self explanatory, but he is bigger than 0:09:49.200 --> 0:09:53.600 most fifteen year olds. And here's the deal. I don't 0:09:53.600 --> 0:09:55.200 know if you have boys, how many parents we have 0:09:55.280 --> 0:09:58.080 in the house today. Okay, fantastic, you're going to relate 0:09:58.120 --> 0:10:01.839 to this. If you have always you understand that wrestling 0:10:02.000 --> 0:10:07.840 is an event in our in our home. Okay, it 0:10:07.920 --> 0:10:10.680 always happens, but it has to be an event. It 0:10:10.720 --> 0:10:13.200 has to be a big deal. So we move the 0:10:13.240 --> 0:10:16.559 ottomans out of the way, we put pillows on everything, 0:10:16.840 --> 0:10:19.920 we lay down four blankets. I mean, it's a whole 0:10:20.040 --> 0:10:24.160 ordeal even in fact, uh, Genesis had learned has learned 0:10:24.160 --> 0:10:31.800 about Alexa, and he's like, Alexa play rock music and 0:10:31.880 --> 0:10:34.840 literally it's like the rock music, you know what I mean, 0:10:34.920 --> 0:10:37.280 Like it's just like his theme song to come out 0:10:37.320 --> 0:10:41.720 to wrestle. Now, here's the deal about Genesis. Genesis thinks 0:10:41.760 --> 0:10:47.160 that he can be brody every single time. No, I'm serious, 0:10:47.240 --> 0:10:49.800 every time he thinks he can be brody. He's got 0:10:49.840 --> 0:10:56.880 more confidence than Lebron. I don't know, I don't know. 0:10:56.920 --> 0:11:00.280 I don't think about that beforehand. But he he's got 0:11:00.280 --> 0:11:03.000 a lot of confidence. Okay, he's very arrogant, but it's 0:11:03.000 --> 0:11:04.760 cute right now. You know, like when does that grow? 0:11:04.800 --> 0:11:06.320 When you grow out of that? I don't know, but 0:11:06.960 --> 0:11:09.120 he's cute. And here's they He's got a lot of 0:11:09.120 --> 0:11:11.000 comments and he thinks he could be brody every single time. 0:11:11.280 --> 0:11:14.000 And we have a rule in the house that if 0:11:14.679 --> 0:11:20.960 you hurt Genesis, you then have to wrestle Dad. That's 0:11:21.040 --> 0:11:24.680 just a rule. It's just a rule. Okay, just a rule. 0:11:24.840 --> 0:11:28.360 But they wrestle all the time. Well after every time 0:11:28.400 --> 0:11:30.800 they wrestle, tell me if I'm lying. After every time 0:11:30.840 --> 0:11:36.319 and the wrestle Brody never lets him win ever. I mean, 0:11:36.400 --> 0:11:40.680 it doesn't matter. He will always take the win. Okay, 0:11:40.920 --> 0:11:43.640 it's okay. He's fifteen, right, he's going through his you know, 0:11:43.679 --> 0:11:46.120 hormones and egos and all that kind of stuff. He's 0:11:46.160 --> 0:11:49.080 learning about pride. It's fine, but he would never let 0:11:49.160 --> 0:11:51.760 him win. He ain't gonna let him get a win whatsoever. 0:11:52.200 --> 0:11:56.080 And and and one day my Genesis came up to me. 0:11:56.080 --> 0:12:00.839 He's like, Dad, Prunin never lets you win. He not 0:12:01.040 --> 0:12:05.080 relaxing you. And I can never get a win Dad. 0:12:05.720 --> 0:12:07.840 And I'm like, I'm like teaching my son. I'm like, 0:12:07.880 --> 0:12:17.880 look he's got long hair pull it. I'm like, look 0:12:17.920 --> 0:12:21.760 he's so proud of his leg. Hair pull it. You 0:12:21.840 --> 0:12:23.800 do whatever you gotta do to win. I'm not kidding 0:12:23.840 --> 0:12:25.719 you do I do this, baby, I swear I do. 0:12:25.920 --> 0:12:27.800 I'm like, on this guy's side, I just want him 0:12:27.800 --> 0:12:29.280 to win, you know. But I like when they wrestle 0:12:29.280 --> 0:12:31.520 because it toughens him up. Okay, it toughens him up. 0:12:31.520 --> 0:12:34.760 It's it's fine, uh to me. And and and in 0:12:34.920 --> 0:12:42.120 one day Genesis comes down his dad Brody hurt my elbow, 0:12:44.160 --> 0:12:45.600 and I went, well, we know we have a rule 0:12:45.679 --> 0:12:51.920 for that. Don't we. He goes, yeah, what's the rule 0:12:52.000 --> 0:12:55.360 Dad that I guess it's time for me to wrestle Brody. 0:12:55.400 --> 0:13:03.800 He's like, Browdy, you gotta wrestle Dad. Brody comes down, 0:13:03.920 --> 0:13:06.040 you know, like he's like, all right, let's do this. 0:13:06.440 --> 0:13:12.720 You know, he's like, I've been waiting for this. I'm like, yo, okay. 0:13:13.000 --> 0:13:17.360 Twenty seconds later had him tapping out. Now I'm not 0:13:17.400 --> 0:13:19.600 here to boast about any of that. I'm thirty two, 0:13:19.679 --> 0:13:22.000 he's fifteen. You know. It's not like he's bigger than 0:13:22.000 --> 0:13:25.200 me or anything like that. We'll move on past that. 0:13:25.880 --> 0:13:28.600 But it was funny because afterwards it kind of hit 0:13:28.600 --> 0:13:30.439 his pride a little bit. You know what I'm saying, 0:13:30.480 --> 0:13:34.120 like hit his pride. He like, I look tall, but 0:13:34.200 --> 0:13:38.079 I'm look scrawny. Okay, I know I'm lanky, all right. 0:13:38.120 --> 0:13:42.320 I know I'm like KD okay, And I get it. 0:13:42.400 --> 0:13:45.760 I get it, and it's and it's fine. But you see, 0:13:46.600 --> 0:13:49.600 Brody underestimates this thing. And I like to call it 0:13:49.679 --> 0:13:53.800 the sixth sense. It's that dad's strength, you know what 0:13:53.880 --> 0:13:55.920 I'm saying, Like, when you become a dad, it's like, yeah, 0:13:56.000 --> 0:14:01.880 nothing can stop me. Like watch boy, Well, I don't care. 0:14:02.640 --> 0:14:06.320 Twenty seconds, I have your boom. How do you like that? 0:14:07.240 --> 0:14:08.920 He's like, Dad, I got it. Okay, okay, I'm tapping. 0:14:08.920 --> 0:14:11.200 I'm tapping. I said, no, you're not. You're talking. You 0:14:11.240 --> 0:14:15.720 ain't tapping. Tapping down, I tapping. And I looked at 0:14:15.800 --> 0:14:18.920 him and and something that Brody always says to Genesis. 0:14:19.000 --> 0:14:26.080 It's like, hey, Bud, you can't win them all. So man, 0:14:26.160 --> 0:14:28.640 I was ready. You thought that getting him the top 0:14:28.680 --> 0:14:31.240 out was a big deal for me. I was like, no, hey, Brody. 0:14:31.400 --> 0:14:36.080 He's like what Dad. He wasn't crying, but he's like, yeah, 0:14:36.600 --> 0:14:39.240 was up. I said, hey, you can't win them all, 0:14:39.280 --> 0:14:44.840 big dog. I thought that was a great moment. And 0:14:44.880 --> 0:14:51.920 then Genesis comes up. He's like, hey, Brody, I guess 0:14:51.960 --> 0:14:57.120 you just gotta roll with the punches. I was like, 0:14:57.840 --> 0:15:03.040 what row with the Like? I thought to myself, man, 0:15:03.520 --> 0:15:07.320 that's so true. You never know what life's gonna hand you, right, 0:15:07.360 --> 0:15:10.040 and sometimes you just got to learn how to roll 0:15:10.440 --> 0:15:13.080 with the punches. Have you ever heard this phrase before? 0:15:13.320 --> 0:15:15.480 Your parents? Ever tell you this? But like, yeah, I 0:15:15.480 --> 0:15:17.440 didn't make the team, Like, yeah, man, I know, just 0:15:17.480 --> 0:15:20.840 gotta roll with the punches, right, You just gotta roll 0:15:21.280 --> 0:15:26.840 with the punches. Have you ever been in a season, Well, 0:15:26.880 --> 0:15:31.920 you feel like all you're doing is rolling with the punches. 0:15:33.400 --> 0:15:37.080 I'm like, I'm done getting punched. I'm not floyme Weather, 0:15:37.880 --> 0:15:41.000 i ain't illt for this, you know what I'm saying? Right, 0:15:41.120 --> 0:15:43.120 Or maybe you feel like you're in the season that 0:15:43.200 --> 0:15:45.600 you just can never get a win at all. You 0:15:45.640 --> 0:15:49.440 feel like Genesis, I just can't get a win? Can 0:15:49.480 --> 0:15:55.560 I just get a win today? I feel for my 0:15:55.600 --> 0:15:58.800 guy Peter in this passage, in fact, in every passage 0:15:58.840 --> 0:16:02.120 when I read about Peter, Peter is I mean he 0:16:02.320 --> 0:16:07.920 is learning something every single time. Like literally the passages 0:16:07.960 --> 0:16:12.680 are littered with teaching moments. Right, You've got him learning 0:16:12.960 --> 0:16:16.680 how to walk on water from the place of drowning. Right, 0:16:16.960 --> 0:16:24.240 he denies Christ not once, not twice, but three times. Right, 0:16:24.280 --> 0:16:26.800 and now in this passage you see him seized, you 0:16:26.840 --> 0:16:29.840 see him arrested, You see his friend James die, you 0:16:29.840 --> 0:16:32.160 see him put it be put into prison, you see 0:16:32.240 --> 0:16:35.160 him guarded by sixteen soldiers, and now you see him 0:16:35.200 --> 0:16:39.960 about to be put on trial. This is a big 0:16:40.080 --> 0:16:41.960 This is a this is a big deal. And you're saying, 0:16:42.000 --> 0:16:43.560 how does this relate to me, Well, I don't know. 0:16:43.760 --> 0:16:49.920 Maybe you're going through your second divorce. Maybe for you, 0:16:49.520 --> 0:16:53.320 you're dealing with this addiction for the last ten years 0:16:53.320 --> 0:16:56.240 that you thought you would never still be dealing with. 0:16:57.320 --> 0:17:00.320 Maybe you're walking in every Friday and you'll have been 0:17:00.360 --> 0:17:04.520 paycheck to paycheck to paycheck to paycheck, and you thought, man, 0:17:04.560 --> 0:17:06.439 I thought this was gonna be over. When when are 0:17:06.480 --> 0:17:08.080 we When are we gonna get to the other side? 0:17:08.359 --> 0:17:10.280 When is it gonna get better? Have you ever been 0:17:10.280 --> 0:17:13.520 there before? Have you ever asked questions like this, like, God, 0:17:13.520 --> 0:17:17.040 what's happening? I feel like I can't win at all? 0:17:17.119 --> 0:17:21.280 And I'm just rolling with the punches and I'm looking 0:17:21.320 --> 0:17:25.479 at Peter and I'm like, man, there's some things that 0:17:25.560 --> 0:17:29.200 we can learn from Peter. Because Peter had a lot 0:17:29.200 --> 0:17:31.960 of teaching moments. He went through a lot of stuff. 0:17:32.440 --> 0:17:35.000 But you know what, you know how good this man 0:17:35.280 --> 0:17:40.760 was at rolling with the punches. This is a this 0:17:40.840 --> 0:17:43.280 is a this is a big deal. Because Peter's got doubts, 0:17:43.280 --> 0:17:47.160 he's got questions, he's got confusion. Have you ever had doubts? 0:17:48.080 --> 0:17:51.160 Have you ever had questions? Have you ever been confused? 0:17:53.080 --> 0:17:56.840 But Peter's so good at rolling with the punches. So 0:17:56.880 --> 0:17:59.600 how do I begin to roll with the punches? Do 0:17:59.680 --> 0:18:04.679 I have what it takes? Can I go through this? Again? 0:18:05.400 --> 0:18:08.080 Is what I need? Actually inside me? Here's what I 0:18:08.119 --> 0:18:12.399 believe that Verse five. Everyone'll say five. Verse five is 0:18:12.440 --> 0:18:17.480 a great starting point and it would be considered my 0:18:17.560 --> 0:18:21.760 first point. Okay, if you want to be able to 0:18:21.840 --> 0:18:25.200 roll with the punches, you have to remember the church. 0:18:27.160 --> 0:18:29.720 Remember the church. Verse five. So Peter was kept in prison, 0:18:29.720 --> 0:18:33.280 but the church was earnestly praying to God for him. 0:18:33.440 --> 0:18:38.520 This is important because he's he's intensely seeking after God's 0:18:38.560 --> 0:18:42.520 the last time that you intensely sought after God? Was 0:18:42.560 --> 0:18:46.800 it two minutes ago? Or did you miss it? When's 0:18:46.840 --> 0:18:51.080 the last time that you intensely sought after God? This 0:18:51.119 --> 0:18:53.119 is why I got into youth ministry, and this is 0:18:53.119 --> 0:18:56.120 why I love youth ministry because we are teaching teenagers 0:18:56.160 --> 0:19:02.320 how to earnestly seek after God at a young age, right, 0:19:03.040 --> 0:19:06.960 so that when life goes and punches, they can go 0:19:07.119 --> 0:19:10.879 back to the positive influences, the positive experiences that have 0:19:10.960 --> 0:19:12.800 happened in their life and go, you know what, I'm 0:19:12.840 --> 0:19:17.639 prepared for this. I'm ready for this. So we're creating 0:19:18.040 --> 0:19:21.320 those moments and shameless plug right here for real, Like, 0:19:21.400 --> 0:19:23.560 if your kid is not going to youth X, what 0:19:23.640 --> 0:19:27.479 are you doing? Right? Like youth X this is our 0:19:27.520 --> 0:19:29.600 summer camp. If you don't know anything about a July 0:19:29.680 --> 0:19:32.000 thirteenth through the fifteenth, it's two hundred dollars. But we 0:19:32.080 --> 0:19:36.480 got financial aid available and literally this entire room we 0:19:36.520 --> 0:19:48.239 will have two thousand teenagers earnestly seeking after God. So 0:19:48.280 --> 0:19:52.320 go to youth X twenty two our common register. But 0:19:52.400 --> 0:19:54.840 here's the deal. For real, I will I will have 0:19:54.920 --> 0:19:57.040 parents come up to me and they're like, well, I'm 0:19:57.040 --> 0:19:59.320 gonna let my kid decide if they want to go. 0:20:01.520 --> 0:20:05.640 And I'm like, okay, would you let your kid walk 0:20:05.680 --> 0:20:12.000 in the highway with the blindfold on? No? So why 0:20:12.040 --> 0:20:14.800 do we keep our kids till eighteen but we stop 0:20:14.880 --> 0:20:22.520 parenting them at fifteen? Why do we do this? Now? Look? Look, look, 0:20:22.560 --> 0:20:25.879 I'm fairly new at the parenting thing, so so I 0:20:25.920 --> 0:20:28.960 want you to understand, like I'm learning even right now 0:20:29.160 --> 0:20:32.600 on how to help them make their decisions right. But 0:20:32.600 --> 0:20:33.919 here's what I'm gonna let you know. I'm gonna make 0:20:33.920 --> 0:20:37.359 it easy for you. Just say it's my fault, Just 0:20:37.359 --> 0:20:39.480 say it's my fault. Well, youth pastor Tim told me 0:20:39.560 --> 0:20:43.639 to sign you up for camp. He's your youth pastor, 0:20:43.680 --> 0:20:47.159 he's my youth pastor, So I gotta do it. Just 0:20:47.240 --> 0:20:51.000 do it. We're on the same team. Let's rocket take 0:20:51.080 --> 0:20:54.400 them over, tag team. We know how to do this. 0:20:56.320 --> 0:20:59.399 We make it so hard, right, I think it's I 0:20:59.440 --> 0:21:02.760 think it's a maz A couple thousand teenagers will earnestly 0:21:03.119 --> 0:21:05.480 seek God and we'll be able to watch it right 0:21:05.520 --> 0:21:08.600 there in July, and and and and and you know 0:21:08.640 --> 0:21:12.119 what's wild? Why do we do it because it's important? 0:21:13.640 --> 0:21:17.560 Why Why do we do it because it's vital? Why 0:21:17.600 --> 0:21:19.680 do we do it? Because the church is the bride 0:21:19.720 --> 0:21:21.639 of Christ. And if you say you love Jesus, you 0:21:21.640 --> 0:21:28.560 can't hate the church. The church is the community. Everyone 0:21:28.680 --> 0:21:33.280 say we are the church. Ultimately, my shameless pup plug 0:21:33.640 --> 0:21:37.200 is reminding you that you have to remember the church. 0:21:38.280 --> 0:21:40.080 The truth of the matter is we will forget the 0:21:40.119 --> 0:21:42.119 importance of the church and try to use it like 0:21:42.200 --> 0:21:46.040 jewelry and not like oxygen, only just to enhance our life, 0:21:46.080 --> 0:21:48.199 when the reality is that the Church was meant to 0:21:48.200 --> 0:21:53.560 be life. It was meant to be life. Man can 0:21:53.600 --> 0:21:57.359 I be honest with you. For some of you, church 0:21:57.520 --> 0:22:00.520 used to be a lifestyle and then the punch of 0:22:00.560 --> 0:22:06.120 COVID can and you've ventured your way out of serving, 0:22:07.520 --> 0:22:10.480 You've walked your way out of groups, and you roll 0:22:10.560 --> 0:22:14.280 yourself out of bed maybe one time a month instead 0:22:14.280 --> 0:22:18.359 of four times in a month. Let me tell you something. 0:22:18.480 --> 0:22:23.399 If we forget the power of the church, woo. You 0:22:23.440 --> 0:22:26.760 think we in trouble now, oh we're gonna be a 0:22:26.920 --> 0:22:31.159 big trouble. Then this is this is important because we 0:22:31.200 --> 0:22:35.600 gotta be careful. That's the opposite of earnestly seeking after God. 0:22:35.600 --> 0:22:37.040 And you can't get upset with me because this is 0:22:37.080 --> 0:22:40.080 what I believe. You know what I mean, like like 0:22:40.119 --> 0:22:44.080 look like like like if you're not vocal about it 0:22:44.359 --> 0:22:49.720 and it ain't visible, then it ain't a value. Then 0:22:50.119 --> 0:22:53.760 it ain't a value. You're saying our kids, Yeah, church 0:22:53.880 --> 0:22:56.600 is a value. Well, mam, why we only go once 0:22:56.640 --> 0:23:02.240 every six weeks? I'm just saying, right, And here's the deal. 0:23:03.400 --> 0:23:07.159 I get it. I understand. Like if I said, Joe, 0:23:07.200 --> 0:23:08.919 you know you are on staff, I'm like, yeah. But 0:23:08.920 --> 0:23:14.840 there's sometimes where Epham just feels like, yes, this is 0:23:14.880 --> 0:23:18.000 what I want to be today, right, And I lived 0:23:18.040 --> 0:23:22.560 ten minutes away, and I'm like, well, maybe right. I'm 0:23:22.560 --> 0:23:24.119 not here to shame you. I'm here to let you 0:23:24.200 --> 0:23:29.679 know that. Look, I'm very new at this trying to 0:23:29.720 --> 0:23:33.280 make decisions where he's trying to make help your teenagers 0:23:33.320 --> 0:23:36.520 make decisions for them. But what you've got to understand 0:23:36.560 --> 0:23:38.640 is you cannot forget the power of the church. That's 0:23:38.640 --> 0:23:41.880 why it says remember the church. Because when you look 0:23:41.880 --> 0:23:45.479 at verse twelve, after Peter gets out of prison, but 0:23:45.560 --> 0:23:47.639 where's the first place that he goes? He goes to 0:23:47.680 --> 0:23:51.280 Mary's house. It is said that the church was meeting 0:23:51.440 --> 0:23:58.560 at Mary's house and it was midnight. That means it 0:23:58.600 --> 0:24:02.320 was like eagre time or summer camp. You know, I 0:24:02.320 --> 0:24:03.880 don't know if any he grews meet at midnight, I'd 0:24:03.880 --> 0:24:09.000 be weird. Right, Like he remembered, he knew the church 0:24:09.080 --> 0:24:10.840 was praying for me. And the first thing that he 0:24:10.920 --> 0:24:15.520 does goes to the church. He had remembered the church, 0:24:16.640 --> 0:24:18.720 which leads me to my second point. If you want 0:24:18.760 --> 0:24:20.440 to roll with the punches, you got to remember the church. 0:24:21.040 --> 0:24:24.960 And number two, you got to remember your humanity. So 0:24:25.080 --> 0:24:27.720 if we all need the first point the church, we 0:24:27.800 --> 0:24:33.880 all have the second point, our humanity, right, our humanity, 0:24:34.760 --> 0:24:37.280 It says in verse seven, Suddenly an angel of the 0:24:37.320 --> 0:24:39.119 Lord appeared in a light shone in the cell, and 0:24:39.119 --> 0:24:41.000 he struck Peter on the side and woke him up, quick, 0:24:41.040 --> 0:24:43.280 get up, and the chains fell off of his wrist. 0:24:43.359 --> 0:24:46.600 What would you be thinking in that moment? That's wild? Right? 0:24:48.280 --> 0:24:50.280 Then the angel said to him, put on your clothing sandals, 0:24:50.320 --> 0:24:52.080 and Peter did so, wrap your cloak around you and 0:24:52.119 --> 0:24:54.679 follow me. And Peter followed him out of the prison. 0:24:54.880 --> 0:24:58.720 That's crazy, right, I'd have some questions. But he had 0:24:58.720 --> 0:25:01.880 no idea that what the angel was doing was really happening. See, 0:25:02.080 --> 0:25:05.480 he's confused. Then it goes on to say he thought 0:25:05.520 --> 0:25:09.280 he was seeing a vision. Nope, wasn't a vision. He's confused, 0:25:09.720 --> 0:25:12.080 he's got some doubt. They passed the first and second 0:25:12.119 --> 0:25:13.600 guards and came to the iron gate leading to the 0:25:13.600 --> 0:25:22.600 city open for them by itself myself. He's confused, he's wondering, 0:25:22.800 --> 0:25:25.680 how is this all happening? And when they had walked 0:25:25.720 --> 0:25:30.040 the length of one street, suddenly the angel left him. Right, 0:25:30.200 --> 0:25:32.560 do you have some questions at this point if you 0:25:32.600 --> 0:25:36.880 are Peter in this story, right, like the amount of questions, 0:25:36.920 --> 0:25:39.919 the amount of anxiety, the amount of doubt, the amount 0:25:39.960 --> 0:25:44.200 of worry, and maybe even the amount of pause had 0:25:44.240 --> 0:25:49.560 to feel make Peter feel that he was out of control. 0:25:49.720 --> 0:25:51.159 And I look at this passage and I'm like, why 0:25:51.200 --> 0:25:53.160 can't I get a step by step playbook on life? 0:25:54.359 --> 0:25:56.720 You know what I'm saying. I'm like, what the heck? 0:25:57.000 --> 0:25:59.720 It's like Pastor Holly talked about last week, but the 0:25:59.720 --> 0:26:02.159 whole you know, heaven out, you know what I mean? 0:26:02.160 --> 0:26:04.600 Why can't I get a step by step playbook on what? 0:26:04.640 --> 0:26:06.720 This looks like? I can't get out of a parking violation, 0:26:07.080 --> 0:26:09.280 but this homie's getting a first class ride out of prison. 0:26:10.600 --> 0:26:13.960 You know, like, this is wild to me, right, But 0:26:14.040 --> 0:26:17.440 he's got questions, He's got questions. You know what's interesting 0:26:17.880 --> 0:26:20.639 is that angels will do things for people that people 0:26:20.720 --> 0:26:25.040 can't do for themselves. Okay, you don't believe me based 0:26:25.040 --> 0:26:27.520 off of that clap, all right? The angel made Peter's 0:26:27.600 --> 0:26:29.840 chains fall off, but he told Peter to put his 0:26:29.880 --> 0:26:33.280 clothes and sandals on all by himself. The angel led 0:26:33.320 --> 0:26:36.040 Peter through the locked doors, past the vigil and guards, 0:26:36.040 --> 0:26:38.400 and through an iron gate, but he still expected Peter 0:26:38.480 --> 0:26:40.760 to walk on his own two feet. The angel took 0:26:40.800 --> 0:26:43.639 Peter down one street only and then let them alone 0:26:43.640 --> 0:26:46.919 to use his own wits. Don't expect angels to do 0:26:47.040 --> 0:26:52.880 for you what you can do for yourself. You can't, right, 0:26:53.160 --> 0:26:56.919 Jesus raised Lazarus for only he could do that, and 0:26:56.960 --> 0:27:00.359 then he said, all you other people, you got loose 0:27:00.440 --> 0:27:04.679 him and let him go. Jesus gave life to Gyrus's daughter, 0:27:05.280 --> 0:27:08.800 and then he said, now give her something to eat. Right, 0:27:08.880 --> 0:27:13.160 this is very very important for us to understand this passage. 0:27:13.240 --> 0:27:15.840 And I want you to see yourself in Peter. He 0:27:15.920 --> 0:27:19.080 had all the same questions, all the same doubts, all 0:27:19.119 --> 0:27:23.160 the same worries, all the same confusion. And Peter got 0:27:23.200 --> 0:27:30.320 it wrong. He got it wrong, he got it wrong. 0:27:32.400 --> 0:27:34.960 If the Bible was written now, it might be saying 0:27:35.000 --> 0:27:40.840 that Peter failed, he got it wrong. This is interesting 0:27:40.920 --> 0:27:44.080 to me because in the Christian life, a lot of 0:27:44.080 --> 0:27:49.320 times we think we can't fail, we can't get it wrong. Well, 0:27:49.359 --> 0:27:52.639 when I read about Peter, homie got it wrong. He 0:27:52.760 --> 0:27:58.040 thought he was seeing a vision. No, it's a miracle, right, 0:27:59.000 --> 0:28:03.800 it's a miracle. And then verse eleven comes around and says, 0:28:03.840 --> 0:28:06.240 then Peter came to himself and said, now I know 0:28:06.840 --> 0:28:09.680 without a doubt. And we'll say without a doubt. Can 0:28:09.720 --> 0:28:13.320 you think of a time when you experience without a doubt? 0:28:15.000 --> 0:28:19.280 Think about it without a doubt? Right, that's a different 0:28:19.359 --> 0:28:21.960 kind of statement. And this is what you have to remember. 0:28:22.320 --> 0:28:24.879 Reflection discovers more of Heaven and of God and the 0:28:24.880 --> 0:28:27.840 great moments of our lives than what was visible to 0:28:27.920 --> 0:28:31.680 us while we were actually living through them. I'm gonna 0:28:31.680 --> 0:28:34.080 say it again. Reflection discovers more of Heaven and of 0:28:34.119 --> 0:28:36.760 God and the great moments of our lives than what 0:28:36.840 --> 0:28:40.320 was visible to us while we were actually living through them. 0:28:40.600 --> 0:28:43.080 You know what without a doubt can mean with faith, 0:28:45.040 --> 0:28:47.400 with faith, or with full assurance of faith if you 0:28:47.440 --> 0:28:49.760 don't believe me Hebrews eleven one. Faith is the confidence 0:28:49.760 --> 0:28:55.240 in what we hope for and the assurance of things unseen, 0:28:55.920 --> 0:29:01.400 aka without a doubt, Because doubt deals with you. That's 0:29:01.400 --> 0:29:05.480 why the letter used in the middle of it. Faith 0:29:05.520 --> 0:29:10.320 deals with the great I am right. This is interesting 0:29:10.320 --> 0:29:13.640 because the question isn't can you live without a doubt? No, 0:29:13.800 --> 0:29:16.040 we already know that because Peter said so. He said, 0:29:16.040 --> 0:29:19.560 now I know without a doubt. So you can live 0:29:19.600 --> 0:29:22.400 like that now, I know without a doubt. The question 0:29:22.560 --> 0:29:29.400 is do you know how to identify without a doubt? Huh? 0:29:29.520 --> 0:29:34.680 Do you not identify it without a doubt? Okay, let's 0:29:34.680 --> 0:29:38.160 try this. If everyone in the room, everyone watching online, 0:29:38.200 --> 0:29:39.600 if you can and if it's safe, and if you're 0:29:39.640 --> 0:29:42.040 capable and you're comfortable, can can you just stand up? 0:29:48.800 --> 0:29:52.360 It's crazy how long it takes y'all to do that. Like, 0:29:52.520 --> 0:29:59.760 it's fine. I'm not just getting crazy, Like wow, okay, okay, 0:30:00.600 --> 0:30:16.040 you ready? Are you ready? Okay? Take a seat? Did 0:30:16.080 --> 0:30:22.719 you feel it? Did you? Did you? Did you feel it? 0:30:24.120 --> 0:30:27.400 Did you? Did you? Did you see it? Not for 0:30:27.480 --> 0:30:29.520 one second? Did you think that that chair wasn't going 0:30:29.600 --> 0:30:35.600 to hold you up? Not for one second? Did you 0:30:35.640 --> 0:30:38.880 think I don't know if I should sit here? Uh? 0:30:38.960 --> 0:30:40.800 I don't know if it's gonna hold me up here? 0:30:41.040 --> 0:30:43.400 Now you're like, take a seat. What is this youth 0:30:43.440 --> 0:30:48.240 pastor doing? And you took a seat. Not for one 0:30:48.360 --> 0:30:53.920 second did you worry about it? If that chair is 0:30:54.000 --> 0:30:57.520 gonna hold you and you believe that without a doubt 0:30:57.800 --> 0:31:00.400 and with full assurance of faith, yep, this chair gonna 0:31:00.400 --> 0:31:03.920 howe me? Well, then why don't we look at the 0:31:03.960 --> 0:31:07.800 creator of the universe in the middle of our dark times, 0:31:08.080 --> 0:31:12.240 in the middle of our valley, and we start questioning him, 0:31:12.280 --> 0:31:15.360 like God, why am I here? Why did you choose me? 0:31:15.880 --> 0:31:19.200 Why did I have to go through this? What the 0:31:19.400 --> 0:31:25.000 how is this gonna happen? Look, it's not about strong 0:31:25.040 --> 0:31:28.920 faith or weak faith. It's not about which one's better 0:31:28.960 --> 0:31:32.040 than the other. You all have faith, you just might 0:31:32.080 --> 0:31:40.680 be putting it in the wrong things. Because the reality 0:31:40.760 --> 0:31:44.200 chunks is that look at me without a doubt only 0:31:44.240 --> 0:31:57.240 happens in hindsight. No, that's good, that's from the Lord, 0:31:57.320 --> 0:32:01.400 not me without a doubt only happens in hindsight. Look 0:32:01.960 --> 0:32:06.600 at the passage. Look at the passage. Right. This is 0:32:06.600 --> 0:32:09.640 interesting because it says in verse twelve, he goes to 0:32:09.720 --> 0:32:12.680 the house of Mary. And this only happens because he 0:32:12.720 --> 0:32:17.040 came to himself, because he came to his senses, right, 0:32:17.880 --> 0:32:19.640 because he had looked back at all the things that 0:32:19.680 --> 0:32:22.160 had happened. Right, he looked at the moment that had 0:32:22.200 --> 0:32:24.120 already passed, all the doubt in the confusion, and all 0:32:24.160 --> 0:32:28.240 that because he then him looking back, he knew now 0:32:28.680 --> 0:32:32.600 without a doubt, after all the confusion, right, Like Hindsight's 0:32:32.640 --> 0:32:36.640 twenty twenty. I'm sorry, I scared all its twenty twenty two. 0:32:36.680 --> 0:32:43.760 Don't worry, It's okay. Woh, whiplast just happened. He's like, 0:32:44.080 --> 0:32:47.720 twenty tony, what do you say? What? I don't want 0:32:47.720 --> 0:32:50.440 to go back. I don't want to go back. God, 0:32:51.640 --> 0:32:54.760 why can I get away? Right? But when you look 0:32:54.800 --> 0:32:58.360 back at COVID, there's so many things that you can 0:32:58.400 --> 0:33:01.480 look back and go. Man, if God can get me 0:33:02.360 --> 0:33:06.040 out of that, he gonna take care of me no 0:33:06.040 --> 0:33:13.320 matter what happens. Now, Hindsight is twenty twenty. I title 0:33:13.400 --> 0:33:15.120 this message come to your senses, and I want you 0:33:15.160 --> 0:33:17.760 to put that title real quick, and I want you to. 0:33:18.520 --> 0:33:20.960 I want to let you know that I didn't they 0:33:21.000 --> 0:33:24.560 got they got it. They misspelled it. Do you see 0:33:24.560 --> 0:33:29.880 the misspelling? Do you see it? Do you see what 0:33:30.000 --> 0:33:36.440 I see? No? No, okay, it's supposed to be come 0:33:36.880 --> 0:33:56.040 to your senses. There it is. Since the angel came 0:33:56.080 --> 0:34:01.880 to prison, Peter knew, since the chains fell off my wrists, 0:34:02.880 --> 0:34:08.800 Peter Peter knew, since everyone say, since since he brought 0:34:08.840 --> 0:34:11.880 me out of prison. Now God can do. Since God 0:34:11.920 --> 0:34:16.160 healed my sickness, Since God resurrected my marriage. Since God 0:34:16.239 --> 0:34:20.479 protected me during COVID, since God healed me, since God 0:34:20.640 --> 0:34:23.640 graced me for this, I know that no matter what 0:34:23.800 --> 0:34:31.000 comes my way, God pass me under his hand. Wooh, 0:34:31.480 --> 0:34:36.000 you gotta come to your senses. You gotta look back. Woo, 0:34:37.760 --> 0:34:41.880 you gotta come to your senses. I want to remind 0:34:41.920 --> 0:34:44.400 you your doubts are not a disqualification of your faith. 0:34:46.320 --> 0:34:49.520 They're not. Verse sixteen. It says, but Peter kept on knocking, 0:34:49.560 --> 0:34:51.560 and when they opened the door and saw him, they 0:34:51.560 --> 0:34:53.560 were astonished. I'll end with this and the band can 0:34:53.560 --> 0:34:57.680 start to come out. This leads me to my final point. 0:34:58.160 --> 0:34:59.400 If you want to learn how to roll with the 0:34:59.400 --> 0:35:01.960 punches like Peter did, you got to remember the church. 0:35:02.840 --> 0:35:05.719 You got to remember your humanity, and the final one 0:35:05.760 --> 0:35:11.080 you have to remember to keep going. It says, but 0:35:11.239 --> 0:35:15.600 Peter kept on knocking, Right, Peter kept on knocking on 0:35:15.640 --> 0:35:19.200 the door even after Rhoda had answered and then left him. 0:35:19.760 --> 0:35:25.440 Loki dipped on this dude, Right, He kept on knocking 0:35:25.680 --> 0:35:28.360 when she was getting told she was out of her mind. 0:35:29.400 --> 0:35:32.600 He kept on knocking when they insisted he was dead 0:35:32.680 --> 0:35:35.799 and had it had to have been an angel, right, 0:35:35.920 --> 0:35:38.239 This was easy compared to everything else that Peter had 0:35:38.239 --> 0:35:41.360 been going through. What was a little more knocking at 0:35:41.360 --> 0:35:46.040 midnight and praying and hoping that there was church people 0:35:46.080 --> 0:35:47.799 in that one house you just so happened to go 0:35:47.840 --> 0:35:51.479 to side. Note everything starts aligning with the Holy Spirit 0:35:51.560 --> 0:35:53.680 when you operate in full assurance and without a doubt, 0:35:55.320 --> 0:35:59.640 it starts to make a lo more sense. I didn't 0:35:59.640 --> 0:36:02.200 think it was going to happen this way exactly. Let's 0:36:02.200 --> 0:36:06.360 call without a doubt. That's called with full assurance of faith. 0:36:07.600 --> 0:36:10.080 Let me give you a disclaimer here. Several times the 0:36:10.080 --> 0:36:13.200 Bible says that belief is an essential step in receiving 0:36:13.239 --> 0:36:16.879 a positive answer to prayer. It says in Matthew twenty 0:36:16.880 --> 0:36:18.960 one to twenty two Jesus told the disciples, and whatever 0:36:19.000 --> 0:36:23.319 you ask in prayer, you will receive if you have faith. Now, 0:36:23.360 --> 0:36:26.120 this doesn't mean that we can receive anything we want 0:36:26.160 --> 0:36:28.480 if we were only to have enough faith, because first 0:36:28.560 --> 0:36:31.759 John five point fourteen also says we also must pray 0:36:31.800 --> 0:36:36.800 according to God's will. So in this case, in this passage, 0:36:36.840 --> 0:36:41.759 Peter's release is in God's plan. That new Tesla might 0:36:41.800 --> 0:36:47.360 not be in your new plan. Private school might not 0:36:47.480 --> 0:36:51.880 be the new plan. It might not be in God's 0:36:51.960 --> 0:36:57.920 plan for your life. That promotion might not be. It 0:36:58.040 --> 0:37:02.560 might not be for you. But I think it's interesting 0:37:02.680 --> 0:37:06.279 because even the church who was in Mary's house had 0:37:06.360 --> 0:37:10.640 doubts until they kept going to the gate. Remember to 0:37:10.719 --> 0:37:13.000 keep going, just like Peter kept knocking. The church had 0:37:13.000 --> 0:37:14.839 to keep going while they were praying in Mary's house 0:37:14.880 --> 0:37:17.520 to the gate. This wasn't like the front door, it 0:37:17.520 --> 0:37:23.000 says the outer entrance. So they walking outside in Camel's stuff. 0:37:25.840 --> 0:37:30.760 That's do do Cam? Well? Do? Okay, it's nasty, right. 0:37:31.239 --> 0:37:33.759 They had to keep going. Look at your neighbor and say, 0:37:33.840 --> 0:37:40.799 keep going, keep going, because your doubts ensure that God 0:37:40.840 --> 0:37:46.080 gets the credit and glory in the end. Isn't it 0:37:46.160 --> 0:37:50.759 crazy that the church thought it was Peter's angel that 0:37:50.800 --> 0:37:55.399 was knocking on the door. They thought he had died 0:37:55.480 --> 0:37:57.759 and thought it was Peter's angel that was knocking on 0:37:57.800 --> 0:38:01.000 the door. If we're not careful, we'll believe stuffdn't even 0:38:01.000 --> 0:38:06.200 crazier just to not give God the glory? Do what 0:38:06.280 --> 0:38:09.360 I find A lot of people do. I do it. 0:38:09.520 --> 0:38:13.200 I'm like, oh my goodness, this has happened. My wife's like, no, 0:38:13.760 --> 0:38:18.200 that's that's not right, that's not it. I'm so grateful 0:38:18.239 --> 0:38:22.799 for my wife because six years ago we were living 0:38:22.840 --> 0:38:25.680 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and we had just been married 0:38:25.680 --> 0:38:28.640 for four months, and we loved the church that we 0:38:28.640 --> 0:38:30.720 were at. We loved the pastors there, loved the city, 0:38:30.840 --> 0:38:32.120 loved the people. We thought we'd be there for a 0:38:32.160 --> 0:38:36.200 whole decade, no joke, seriously. And then Elevation Church opened 0:38:36.239 --> 0:38:37.799 up their doors for their very first time, and the 0:38:37.800 --> 0:38:40.200 thing called inside Elevation and this is the first time 0:38:40.239 --> 0:38:43.400 that as like ministry, you could like go there and 0:38:43.440 --> 0:38:47.719 like learn about all the amazingness of Elevation Church, right, 0:38:48.200 --> 0:38:51.840 And I remember, I'm getting eight tickets. Little did I 0:38:51.880 --> 0:38:56.000 know that eight means new beginnings. But I got eight tickets. 0:38:56.320 --> 0:38:59.400 I don't even know why. We didn't have a team 0:39:00.200 --> 0:39:05.120 like eight tickets, don't get them. And we get the 0:39:05.120 --> 0:39:07.359 eight tickets. We drive up. The moment we stepped foot 0:39:07.360 --> 0:39:11.239 on the Lake Norman campus, I knew, oh gosh, this 0:39:11.239 --> 0:39:13.480 is where we're supposed to plan our family. This is 0:39:13.480 --> 0:39:16.600 where we're supposed to be. And I might never do 0:39:16.680 --> 0:39:19.279 full time ministry again. If I work at Lows, I'll 0:39:19.280 --> 0:39:21.960 be a manager, not like lower level. I'll be a manager. 0:39:26.480 --> 0:39:30.600 I'll be I'll be a manager. And I'm okay with that. 0:39:30.640 --> 0:39:31.919 I'm okay with that. I'm okay with that. I don't 0:39:31.920 --> 0:39:33.600 know what mo wife thinks, you know, like, oh my goodness. 0:39:33.680 --> 0:39:36.759 We drive home. I get We get home, and it's 0:39:36.800 --> 0:39:38.400 a twenty six hour drive by the way for a 0:39:38.400 --> 0:39:42.960 twenty four hour event. And I'm not saying it was smart. 0:39:43.000 --> 0:39:51.640 I'm just saying senior airline prices. Oh my god. I 0:39:51.640 --> 0:39:53.960 remember getting I remember getting home and I said, Babe, 0:39:53.960 --> 0:39:56.759 I got to tell you something, but don't say anything 0:39:56.840 --> 0:40:00.359 until I'm done. For the next ninety minutes. I began 0:40:00.480 --> 0:40:03.839 to download everything that God had downloaded to me. After 0:40:03.880 --> 0:40:07.120 the ninety minutes was done, it's dark in our room, 0:40:07.280 --> 0:40:09.239 you know, We're just laying in the bed, and she goes, 0:40:15.440 --> 0:40:19.320 I said, woman, I'm sorry, let me start over. Babe. 0:40:19.320 --> 0:40:25.680 Why are you giggling? Why are you giggling? I just 0:40:25.680 --> 0:40:28.600 shared my whole heart. She goes, That's exactly what God 0:40:28.680 --> 0:40:39.640 told me, is it really? She's like, yeah, So we 0:40:39.640 --> 0:40:42.040 started just continue to pray. We start telling people about it, 0:40:42.080 --> 0:40:44.440 just like our close friends and family, and I remember, 0:40:44.960 --> 0:40:47.640 I think this is very interesting. I remember that, without 0:40:47.680 --> 0:40:49.520 a doubt, we knew this is where we were supposed 0:40:49.560 --> 0:40:55.640 to be. Without a doubt. And after telling some family 0:40:55.719 --> 0:40:58.920 members and some friends, I had one other person in 0:40:58.960 --> 0:41:02.720 my life that said this was a good idea. Everyone 0:41:02.760 --> 0:41:06.480 else told me I was stupid. Everyone else told me 0:41:06.520 --> 0:41:12.560 I was crazy. Every single person except one outside of 0:41:12.600 --> 0:41:16.000 my wife, looked at me and said, you're obliterating the 0:41:16.000 --> 0:41:18.600 ministry you're building. Now. I remember looking at my wife 0:41:18.600 --> 0:41:20.799 and said, well, I'm glad I'm not trying to build 0:41:20.800 --> 0:41:24.959 my own ministry. I want to do what God wants 0:41:25.000 --> 0:41:29.840 to do in my life. I tell you this because 0:41:29.840 --> 0:41:33.439 the day we're about to resign, I wake up that morning, 0:41:33.480 --> 0:41:36.480 I'm alay a little nervous about to resign. It's two 0:41:36.520 --> 0:41:41.080 weeks after that moment. I reacted immediately. Okay, some of y'all, 0:41:41.080 --> 0:41:45.680 wait in two years, two weeks boom, something of y'all 0:41:45.719 --> 0:41:47.480 do with two days. Y'all need to pray a little longer. 0:41:49.840 --> 0:41:53.719 I don't know if you should do that. Yeah, the 0:41:53.800 --> 0:41:55.960 day we were resigning, my wife comes to me right 0:41:55.960 --> 0:41:59.719 before we leave, and she goes, Babe, I need to 0:41:59.719 --> 0:42:07.239 tell you something. We're pregnant. And I did, what the 0:42:07.280 --> 0:42:10.640 worst thing that you could ever do with your life 0:42:10.640 --> 0:42:14.520 When your wife tells you that you're pregnant. I lean 0:42:14.600 --> 0:42:17.640 back on the on the tell me online, I lean 0:42:17.760 --> 0:42:22.400 back on the wall. I fell to the ground, hands 0:42:22.400 --> 0:42:27.759 on my face, and I said this, So does that 0:42:27.800 --> 0:42:35.600 mean we're not going to North Carolina. That's why I 0:42:35.640 --> 0:42:37.560 keep having so many babies so I can make up 0:42:37.560 --> 0:42:45.719 for that. I remember telling our pastors. Two weeks later, 0:42:45.760 --> 0:42:48.640 we picked up. We moved. No job, no place to stay, 0:42:49.040 --> 0:42:52.200 no nothing, no friends, no family. We had forty three 0:42:52.480 --> 0:42:58.359 dollars in the account. I remember getting a tweet from LB. 0:42:59.440 --> 0:43:02.080 He said, hey, I heard your moving to Charlotte. Loved 0:43:02.080 --> 0:43:05.680 to take out for lunch. I said, free lunch, Okay, 0:43:06.440 --> 0:43:10.160 I'm in Loew's hasn't accepted. Don't know why, but Low's 0:43:10.200 --> 0:43:15.719 hasn't accepted. He started to tell me everything about the church. 0:43:15.719 --> 0:43:17.520 She's like, I think you might be interested in doing 0:43:17.560 --> 0:43:20.480 this thing. And anyways, it gets to the place where 0:43:20.480 --> 0:43:24.080 I can interview and be a part of Elevation Church. 0:43:24.120 --> 0:43:25.719 And now the rest is history. I've been a part 0:43:25.760 --> 0:43:28.800 of this staff for six years and I plan to 0:43:28.840 --> 0:43:35.000 be here for the rest of my life. I tell 0:43:35.080 --> 0:43:39.279 you that story to let you know that even though 0:43:39.320 --> 0:43:41.400 without a doubt, we knew we were supposed to be 0:43:41.480 --> 0:43:50.600 there everything afterwards, I was like, did God really say, 0:43:51.480 --> 0:43:54.160 because Walmart says I can't live off of forty three dollars? 0:43:56.160 --> 0:44:02.759 Did God really say? She just kept me back to 0:44:02.840 --> 0:44:07.399 that ninety minutes where I just downloaded everything, and she says, hey, 0:44:07.800 --> 0:44:11.400 since he told you this, we know he's going to 0:44:11.440 --> 0:44:15.000 take care of this. And since he did this, we 0:44:15.080 --> 0:44:22.200 know he's going to take care of this. With everybody 0:44:22.239 --> 0:44:28.239 standing for these last few moments, I want you to 0:44:28.239 --> 0:44:31.320 know that some of you might be in a situation 0:44:31.440 --> 0:44:34.400 that seems bleak. It seems like you're never going to 0:44:34.440 --> 0:44:35.880 be able to get out of it. You feel like 0:44:35.960 --> 0:44:40.600 it's one hit after another. Others of you need to 0:44:40.640 --> 0:44:42.239 be like the church and go to the gate and 0:44:42.280 --> 0:44:47.440 look because something's been knocking and they're just waiting for 0:44:47.520 --> 0:44:50.160 you to open the door, so you can be astonished, 0:44:50.960 --> 0:44:53.600 so that you can be amazed, so that you can 0:44:54.520 --> 0:44:59.600 know without a doubt that God is with you. My 0:44:59.640 --> 0:45:02.120 favorite statement of all time the pastors ever said, while 0:45:02.160 --> 0:45:04.000 I've been here for the last six years and being 0:45:04.080 --> 0:45:06.680 under his leadership, is the only way to truly fail 0:45:07.560 --> 0:45:18.840 is to quit. That's the story of Peter. He never failed. 0:45:20.600 --> 0:45:27.239 He never quit. Every single one of you in this room, congratulations. 0:45:28.960 --> 0:45:35.680 You're still here, in the midst of a doubt, in 0:45:35.680 --> 0:45:39.120 the midst of a confusion, the questions, the worry, the pause, 0:45:39.480 --> 0:45:42.080 you are still here. What does that mean that? Since 0:45:42.120 --> 0:45:45.279 God took care of everything before, even while in the 0:45:45.280 --> 0:45:47.400 middle of it it didn't feel like it, He's going 0:45:47.480 --> 0:45:56.080 to continue to hold you up now with every head 0:45:56.080 --> 0:45:57.680 bow and every eye clothes. I want to give people 0:45:57.680 --> 0:46:00.520 the opportunity to come into a right relationship with you Christ. 0:46:00.560 --> 0:46:03.120 You are saying in this moment that without a doubt, 0:46:03.760 --> 0:46:06.520 now I know God is with me, and I want 0:46:06.560 --> 0:46:10.040 to make him the center of my life, not just 0:46:10.080 --> 0:46:13.200 a priority, but the center of my life. We're going 0:46:13.280 --> 0:46:15.440 to ask you to pray this prayer because I believe 0:46:15.480 --> 0:46:18.720 that there are people all over the world watching online 0:46:18.800 --> 0:46:20.799 right now and in this room that are saying, you 0:46:20.840 --> 0:46:24.800 know what, I've questioned, I've worried, I've doubted, But today 0:46:25.520 --> 0:46:29.000 I remember the Church. Today I remember my humanity. I 0:46:29.040 --> 0:46:31.799 am not God, I am just human, and today I'm 0:46:31.800 --> 0:46:34.880 going to remember to keep going. I want you to 0:46:34.920 --> 0:46:38.040 pray this prayer along with me. Say, dear Jesus, I 0:46:38.080 --> 0:46:41.320 thank you for who you are. Come into my life, 0:46:42.280 --> 0:46:45.640 make me a new creation, and I will follow you 0:46:46.800 --> 0:46:50.560 all the days of my life. I believe that you 0:46:50.640 --> 0:46:54.560 died on the cross, you rose from the grave, defeating 0:46:54.640 --> 0:47:03.120 all sin, feeding all shame, and defeating all doubt in Jesus' name. 0:47:04.840 --> 0:47:07.520 If you just pray that prayer for the very first time, 0:47:07.840 --> 0:47:11.320 or now you're saying, you know what, Nope, I'm coming 0:47:11.360 --> 0:47:14.840 back to the gate. I'm remembering right now why I 0:47:14.880 --> 0:47:18.040 gave my life to Christ years ago, and you're saying, 0:47:18.239 --> 0:47:20.759 I'm rededicating my life. On the count of three. We 0:47:20.800 --> 0:47:22.800 want you to raise your hand and we're gonna celebrate 0:47:22.800 --> 0:47:24.840 with you. We believe it's the best decision that you 0:47:24.880 --> 0:47:28.480 could ever make with your life. One, two, three, hands 0:47:28.480 --> 0:47:32.080 going up all over the place. Come on, can you shout? 0:47:32.840 --> 0:47:35.600 Can you get excited? Come on, keep your hand up. 0:47:36.160 --> 0:47:38.919 If you just gave your life to Christ, you're saying, 0:47:38.960 --> 0:47:42.319 I make it in the sense of everything that I do. Hey, man, 0:47:43.160 --> 0:47:48.839 come on, church, let's earnestly begin to praise God who 0:47:49.040 --> 0:47:53.360 he is. Well. If you enjoyed today's podcast, there are 0:47:53.360 --> 0:47:55.279 a couple of things I'd love for you to do. 0:47:55.360 --> 0:48:00.160 Make sure to subscribe, rate, and review this podcast so 0:48:00.160 --> 0:48:03.120 to help us reach others by investing today at Elevationchurch 0:48:03.320 --> 0:48:06.360 dot org, slash give and thanks again for joining us 0:48:06.440 --> 0:48:07.840 on the Elevation Podcast