God Keeps Receipts (Rich Wilkerson Jr.)

0:00:04.960 --> 0:00:06.200 Hey, this is Stephen Fernick. 0:00:06.240 --> 0:00:09.280 I'm the pastor of Elevation Church, and this is our podcast. 0:00:09.440 --> 0:00:11.600 Be sure to subscribe so we can get you these 0:00:11.640 --> 0:00:14.680 new sermons every week. I hope you're blessed. 0:00:14.680 --> 0:00:23.919 Today I'm worship and now I'm reminded how the Scripture 0:00:23.920 --> 0:00:26.840 says he inhabits the praises of his people. 0:00:28.080 --> 0:00:31.520 Notice what it doesn't say. It doesn't say inhabits the 0:00:31.560 --> 0:00:36.080 complaints of his people. It doesn't say inhabits the fears 0:00:36.120 --> 0:00:40.000 of his people. He doesn't inhabit the worries of his people. 0:00:40.840 --> 0:00:43.040 I don't know what your week has looked like. I 0:00:43.040 --> 0:00:44.880 don't know if it's been a good week, bad week, 0:00:45.000 --> 0:00:46.720 or tough week. In fact, I woke up this morning 0:00:46.760 --> 0:00:52.320 with some difficult sad news. But today is Sunday, and 0:00:52.360 --> 0:00:55.720 it's the first day of the week, and I'm gonna 0:00:55.720 --> 0:00:57.880 give God my best praise. I'm not to gonna tell 0:00:57.880 --> 0:01:00.840 God all about my problems. Come on, tell my problems 0:01:00.840 --> 0:01:05.120 all about my God. Somebody worship him here today. He's here. 0:01:08.319 --> 0:01:10.880 He's gonna speak to us. If you have a bible, 0:01:10.959 --> 0:01:13.200 quickly reached for it. Hebrews chapter six is where I 0:01:13.200 --> 0:01:14.800 want you to turn I've got a word on my 0:01:14.880 --> 0:01:16.720 heart and I'm excited to share it. We're gonna stand 0:01:17.160 --> 0:01:20.839 for the reading of God's Word. What a sweet sense 0:01:20.840 --> 0:01:24.080 of God's presence in the house today. As you're turning there, 0:01:24.120 --> 0:01:26.080 let me just say what a huge honor it always 0:01:26.120 --> 0:01:29.480 is to stand behind this pulpit, to come back year 0:01:29.520 --> 0:01:31.479 after year, to be here with all of you. When 0:01:31.520 --> 0:01:33.800 I come to elevation, I just feel like I'm at home. 0:01:35.240 --> 0:01:39.000 I love you, and I just I think it's just 0:01:39.040 --> 0:01:41.679 important that we just always take some time weekend and 0:01:41.720 --> 0:01:45.119 week out. I'm just more convinced the older I get, 0:01:45.160 --> 0:01:47.600 am more and more convinced that the greatest blessings in 0:01:47.680 --> 0:01:52.560 life they walk into your life on two legs. A 0:01:52.560 --> 0:01:55.559 lot of people praying for miracles and breakthroughs and resources. 0:01:55.600 --> 0:01:57.040 None of those things are bad to pray for. I 0:01:57.080 --> 0:01:59.360 just want to remind you that the greatest breakthroughs, the 0:01:59.360 --> 0:02:03.960 greatest mirrors, tend to be people. It's why it's important 0:02:04.000 --> 0:02:05.559 to come to church, because you don't know who's sitting 0:02:05.560 --> 0:02:07.760 in front of you, you don't know who's sitting next 0:02:07.800 --> 0:02:09.440 to you, don't know who's sitting behind you. In fact, 0:02:09.440 --> 0:02:10.920 just nudg your neighbors say, are you here from me? 0:02:11.320 --> 0:02:15.800 Maybe just are that God sends you for me? Because 0:02:15.840 --> 0:02:19.400 God blesses our life through people, through one another. And 0:02:19.480 --> 0:02:21.200 I would just be remiss if I did not tell 0:02:21.280 --> 0:02:24.480 you that one of the greatest gifts in my life 0:02:24.639 --> 0:02:28.440 is the friendship and the mentorship of Pastor Stephen Ferdict. 0:02:28.520 --> 0:02:33.520 Can we just thank God for Pastor Stephen and Holly. 0:02:34.840 --> 0:02:36.440 Here's what the Word of God says. It's important that 0:02:36.440 --> 0:02:38.200 you get this because this is not just what preachers do. 0:02:38.240 --> 0:02:40.040 It's not just cliche. The Word of God says that 0:02:40.080 --> 0:02:42.240 those that labor and teach and preach God's where they 0:02:42.440 --> 0:02:45.799 deserve double honor. And I just want to say, twenty 0:02:45.919 --> 0:02:48.680 years later, here they are still serving faithfully. Come on, 0:02:48.760 --> 0:02:50.280 whatever you were going to do, can you just double 0:02:50.320 --> 0:02:52.800 it right now? Can we tell Pastor Stephen and Holly 0:02:53.120 --> 0:02:55.880 we love you. We love you. In the chef tell 0:02:55.960 --> 0:02:58.720 them that you love I love you so much. Thank 0:02:58.760 --> 0:03:00.600 you for making my life so much better, and thank 0:03:00.639 --> 0:03:02.520 you for teaching and leading all of us. We're all 0:03:02.520 --> 0:03:05.000 better because of you. Today, I've got a message on 0:03:05.000 --> 0:03:06.720 my heart. Hebrews chapter six is whe I want to 0:03:06.720 --> 0:03:09.080 read from today. I don't know what you walked in 0:03:09.120 --> 0:03:10.400 here with today. I don't know what it is that 0:03:10.440 --> 0:03:13.600 you're carrying. The Book of Hebrews is one of these 0:03:13.760 --> 0:03:15.359 interesting books the Bible that we don't know who the 0:03:15.400 --> 0:03:17.840 author is. But that's okay because we know who the 0:03:17.919 --> 0:03:23.720 audience is. And the audience is believers that are being persecuted, 0:03:23.720 --> 0:03:26.600 that are tired, that are fatigued, that are thinking about 0:03:26.800 --> 0:03:29.040 going back to their old way, And here comes God 0:03:29.520 --> 0:03:31.320 and he wants to remind them of the fulfillment of 0:03:31.360 --> 0:03:34.120 who Jesus is. He wants to remind them that they 0:03:34.160 --> 0:03:36.240 are never alone. He wants to remind them that they 0:03:36.240 --> 0:03:39.280 have everything they need in Christ Jesus. This is Hebrews 0:03:39.360 --> 0:03:43.160 chapter six. I'm going to start in verse ten. God 0:03:43.800 --> 0:03:49.520 is not unjust. He will not forget your work and 0:03:49.560 --> 0:03:52.200 the love you have shown him as you have helped 0:03:52.240 --> 0:03:56.360 his people and continue to help them. We want each 0:03:56.440 --> 0:04:00.520 of you to show this same diligence to the very end, 0:04:01.080 --> 0:04:04.200 so that what you hope for may be fully realized. 0:04:05.560 --> 0:04:08.840 We do not want you to become lazy, but to 0:04:09.160 --> 0:04:15.680 imitate those who, through faith and patience, inherit what has 0:04:15.720 --> 0:04:20.840 been promised. I like that line, imitate those who through 0:04:20.880 --> 0:04:24.440 faith and patience inherit what has been promised. I want 0:04:24.440 --> 0:04:26.279 to take the next few moments if I can, and 0:04:26.360 --> 0:04:29.000 I want to preach to you from the subject God 0:04:29.480 --> 0:04:35.680 keeps receipts. Sometimes you can just close after the title, 0:04:36.680 --> 0:04:38.920 because that's a word for someone. God keeps receipts. Would 0:04:38.920 --> 0:04:41.839 you pray with the Lord, We thank you for your word. God. 0:04:41.839 --> 0:04:43.520 We thank you that today Lord, as we read it, Lord, 0:04:43.640 --> 0:04:46.400 it reads us. God. We've come into this place for 0:04:46.440 --> 0:04:50.479 one reason, which is to lift you up. It's to 0:04:50.520 --> 0:04:53.120 make much out of your name, the one name that 0:04:53.240 --> 0:04:55.880 at that name of Jesus, every knee, will bow, and 0:04:55.920 --> 0:04:59.040 every tongue will confess. Today, Lord, I pray that you 0:04:59.080 --> 0:05:02.240 would remind some people who they are in you. I 0:05:02.320 --> 0:05:04.560 pray that your word would jump into our hearts and 0:05:04.640 --> 0:05:07.480 we would leave here different from how we came. We 0:05:07.600 --> 0:05:09.920 thank you in advance for what you're about to do. 0:05:10.400 --> 0:05:12.159 We praise you in this place. And if you agree 0:05:12.160 --> 0:05:15.040 with that prayer, all of God's people said, all of 0:05:15.120 --> 0:05:17.719 God's people said, come on, makes some noise if you 0:05:17.760 --> 0:05:22.719 love Jesus. High five two or three people and say, 0:05:22.760 --> 0:05:27.680 God keeps receipts. God keeps receipts. Put that in the chat. 0:05:27.760 --> 0:05:37.960 God keeps receipts. This is a very special year for me. 0:05:38.960 --> 0:05:41.720 I know at Elevation, you guys have been celebrating twenty 0:05:41.800 --> 0:05:43.840 years as a church. We put our hands together for 0:05:43.920 --> 0:05:49.200 twenty years of faithfulness and service. But it's also a 0:05:49.240 --> 0:05:52.520 special year for me because not only does Elevation turn twenty, 0:05:52.560 --> 0:06:00.080 but this year I will celebrate my twenty year wedding anniversary. 0:06:00.800 --> 0:06:02.919 I met my wife when I was seventeen years of 0:06:02.920 --> 0:06:05.600 age and we got married young. I said, girl, if 0:06:05.640 --> 0:06:11.040 you ever leave, I'm going with you, and I just 0:06:11.440 --> 0:06:14.520 I love being married's She sends her greetings my wife 0:06:14.600 --> 0:06:18.360 Dontrie are four little children. And it's funny, I want 0:06:18.400 --> 0:06:23.919 to say to all the guys, like fellas, women remember anniversaries, 0:06:25.040 --> 0:06:29.320 in fact, like women remember everything, like like my wife 0:06:29.400 --> 0:06:31.919 makes me laugh. She'd like, rich, do you know what 0:06:32.000 --> 0:06:36.680 today is? I'm like Tuesday? She's like, no, four years 0:06:36.720 --> 0:06:38.760 ago we sat in the parking lot after brunch and 0:06:38.760 --> 0:06:41.479 we drank sparkling water together. Remember that, No, I don't. 0:06:44.600 --> 0:06:47.720 I remember some years ago I was away preaching and 0:06:47.800 --> 0:06:50.359 teaching that I think I was in England and Dauntrey 0:06:50.520 --> 0:06:53.280 was back home and we were on different you know, 0:06:53.400 --> 0:06:56.039 time changes, and it was actually our anniversary day, and 0:06:56.320 --> 0:06:57.800 somehow we got on the phone that morning. We were 0:06:57.800 --> 0:06:59.800 talking chit chat and you know, all right, girl, yeah, 0:06:59.839 --> 0:07:01.800 I love you, you know I love you. Shut up, you know, 0:07:01.920 --> 0:07:06.560 just Christian toxic flirting. And we got off the phone, 0:07:07.200 --> 0:07:11.320 but never said happy anniversary. Dawntri immediately called me back. 0:07:11.600 --> 0:07:15.880 She said, Rich, did you forget our anniversary? I had 0:07:15.920 --> 0:07:20.000 to think quick, I said, girl, every day's our anniversary. 0:07:21.320 --> 0:07:23.680 Come on, somebody, that will work one time and one 0:07:23.720 --> 0:07:30.240 time only. But if you know, we are a forgetful people, 0:07:31.480 --> 0:07:34.440 and we don't just forget earthly relationships. Oftentimes, we have 0:07:34.480 --> 0:07:38.960 a tendency to forget our heavenly relationship. And what I 0:07:38.960 --> 0:07:44.160 want to remind you is that forgetfulness is expensive, because 0:07:44.280 --> 0:07:49.880 your faith fades when your memory fails. A lot of 0:07:49.960 --> 0:07:52.040 us we just have a tendency to forget all that 0:07:52.120 --> 0:07:55.920 God has done in our life over and over and 0:07:56.000 --> 0:07:59.880 over again. Our faith begins to suffer when we forget. 0:08:00.280 --> 0:08:03.040 It's funny because you go back into the Old Testament 0:08:03.080 --> 0:08:04.880 and you see time and time again, the Israelites they 0:08:04.920 --> 0:08:07.360 had the same problem. I mean, how may y'all know 0:08:07.440 --> 0:08:12.200 that yesterday's miracle becomes today's minimum requirement. I mean the Israelites. 0:08:12.240 --> 0:08:15.040 God parts a red sea, and then a couple days 0:08:15.080 --> 0:08:19.760 later they are actually complaining about the menu. What are 0:08:19.800 --> 0:08:23.120 we gonna eat? Dude, he parted the red sea. I 0:08:23.160 --> 0:08:27.000 think he can take care of breakfast. But we're so 0:08:27.120 --> 0:08:28.800 quick to judge them, but we do the same thing. 0:08:29.640 --> 0:08:31.280 God pays a bill, next wee thing we're going to 0:08:31.360 --> 0:08:34.000 what about the next bill? God heals your body, but 0:08:34.040 --> 0:08:37.079 now you're panicked about the future. God opens up a door. 0:08:37.160 --> 0:08:39.600 Now you're worried. Will he open up the next door? 0:08:39.720 --> 0:08:42.960 So often in life we are so good at remembering 0:08:42.960 --> 0:08:46.840 what hurt us, but we forget what held us. I 0:08:46.880 --> 0:08:48.720 wonder I'm not trying to come with shame today, but like, 0:08:49.160 --> 0:08:51.880 how much more does God have to bless you before 0:08:51.960 --> 0:08:57.200 you can be happy? How many more prayers does he 0:08:57.240 --> 0:08:58.880 have to answer before you don't have to go into 0:08:58.880 --> 0:09:02.080 the next season with anxiety? How many more times does 0:09:02.120 --> 0:09:04.600 God have to pull you out before you can trust 0:09:04.760 --> 0:09:07.079 He's gonna pull me through this one? Come on, somebody 0:09:07.160 --> 0:09:12.319 my preaching anybody today. We don't need more proof, We 0:09:12.360 --> 0:09:17.520 need a better memory. We have selective memory, and God 0:09:17.600 --> 0:09:19.480 knows this about us. Have you noticed that? Like when 0:09:19.480 --> 0:09:21.600 you read the Bible, what is God trying to do 0:09:21.760 --> 0:09:25.200 over and over again? God's like, remember, remember the Covenant, 0:09:25.240 --> 0:09:28.520 Remember the Sabbath. Remember I'm the one who brought you out. 0:09:28.840 --> 0:09:32.040 In fact, so much of the Old Testament is stories 0:09:32.040 --> 0:09:34.760 of traditions and rhythms and systems of God trying to 0:09:35.120 --> 0:09:38.760 systematically help you not forget. What do you think passover 0:09:38.800 --> 0:09:43.240 meal is? Passover meal is a systematic moment. It's not 0:09:43.520 --> 0:09:47.360 just a meal. It's memory training. God says, hey, for 0:09:47.400 --> 0:09:49.840 four hundred years you were in slavery, but I brought 0:09:49.880 --> 0:09:51.920 you up out of Egypt. Not just brought you out. 0:09:52.280 --> 0:09:55.200 You plunder the Egyptians when you left that place. So 0:09:55.280 --> 0:09:57.720 here's what I want you to do. Every year. I 0:09:57.760 --> 0:10:00.679 want you to put lamb on the table you drink 0:10:00.760 --> 0:10:03.000 the cup because I want you to tell your kids, 0:10:03.280 --> 0:10:06.440 once we were in slavery. But our God, he's the 0:10:06.440 --> 0:10:09.079 God who makes a way out of no way. Anybody 0:10:09.200 --> 0:10:12.760 thankful for a God who brings you out. Don't forget it, 0:10:13.720 --> 0:10:16.080 because your fate's gonna suffer if you forget. But then 0:10:16.160 --> 0:10:17.679 Jesus shows up on the scene, and all of a 0:10:17.720 --> 0:10:20.679 sudden he re enacts this entire moment. It's called communion. 0:10:20.880 --> 0:10:24.160 What does he do? He says, drink the cup and 0:10:24.240 --> 0:10:27.080 do this in remembrance of me. What I love about 0:10:27.080 --> 0:10:29.080 the New Testament version is that Jesus is at the 0:10:29.080 --> 0:10:31.280 Passover meal, but for the first time, there's not just 0:10:31.400 --> 0:10:35.960 lamb on the table. There's a lamb at the table. 0:10:36.880 --> 0:10:38.920 Is that not what John said, Behold the Lamb of 0:10:38.960 --> 0:10:41.440 God who takes away the sins of the world. And 0:10:41.480 --> 0:10:43.320 as Jesus holds the cup and says, do this in 0:10:43.320 --> 0:10:45.959 remembrance of me, what is he saying. He's saying, Moses 0:10:46.000 --> 0:10:49.320 brought you out of physical slavery, but I'm getting ready 0:10:49.360 --> 0:10:53.280 to bring you out of spiritual slavery. Ooh, Lamb's blood 0:10:53.280 --> 0:10:55.800 on the door post protected you for the night. But 0:10:55.880 --> 0:10:59.400 when my blood is slain and scattered across the cross, 0:11:00.120 --> 0:11:03.080 you will be saved for eternity. I need you to 0:11:03.120 --> 0:11:06.040 take a moment right now and thank God for his grace, 0:11:06.440 --> 0:11:09.400 thank God for his goodness. If he doesn't do one 0:11:09.480 --> 0:11:12.880 more thing, come on, he's been good to you. I 0:11:12.960 --> 0:11:19.880 just can't to say thank you God. A generation who 0:11:19.920 --> 0:11:24.400 forgets deliverance is a generation who will quickly lose gratitude 0:11:24.440 --> 0:11:32.480 for freedom, and freedom forgotten is entitlement. May we never 0:11:32.600 --> 0:11:37.520 be entitled? May we remember? If all we did today 0:11:37.640 --> 0:11:40.000 was just remind you of what He's already done, it 0:11:40.080 --> 0:11:45.800 would be more than enough. I feel like preaching a 0:11:45.840 --> 0:11:49.400 little bit today because I could just land right there 0:11:49.400 --> 0:11:51.680 and just take you down memory lane. But I want 0:11:51.679 --> 0:11:54.840 to try to get personal with you, and I'll just 0:11:54.920 --> 0:11:57.760 use me as an example. I don't just forget my 0:11:57.800 --> 0:12:03.520 wife's anniversary or our anniversary. I forget God. But here's 0:12:03.559 --> 0:12:07.960 what's so good about the Gospel. Anybody thankful that although 0:12:08.000 --> 0:12:13.600 we forget God, God promises not to forget us. Anybody 0:12:13.600 --> 0:12:18.040 grateful that even when we're faithless, he is still faithful. 0:12:18.040 --> 0:12:22.120 Does anybody have a testimony of the faithfulness of God 0:12:28.080 --> 0:12:31.520 in so many ways? That's what's happening here. In the 0:12:31.559 --> 0:12:35.760 Book of Hebrews, you see there is this phrase in society, 0:12:35.840 --> 0:12:38.880 I got receipts. Have you heard this before? This isn't 0:12:38.920 --> 0:12:43.199 like grocery store language slang. Okay, I got receipts, me, 0:12:43.280 --> 0:12:46.400 I got proof, I got screenshots. I will expose you. 0:12:46.440 --> 0:12:55.199 I will go Candice owens on you. But God, he's 0:12:55.200 --> 0:13:00.240 got receipts. But God doesn't keep receipts to shame you. 0:13:01.200 --> 0:13:05.400 God keeps receipts to save you. The Bible says it 0:13:05.440 --> 0:13:07.920 this way, that he forgets our sins as far as 0:13:07.920 --> 0:13:10.760 the east is from the west. If you are in 0:13:10.840 --> 0:13:14.880 Christ Jesus, your sins are no more. But another Bible 0:13:14.920 --> 0:13:17.439 verse says that every one of your tears, he captures 0:13:17.480 --> 0:13:19.640 them and he puts them in his bottle. Who is 0:13:19.679 --> 0:13:24.800 this God who forgets my sins but records every one 0:13:24.840 --> 0:13:28.760 of my tears. He is a good father who loves 0:13:28.840 --> 0:13:32.959 us even when we don't feel lovable. No, God keeps 0:13:33.000 --> 0:13:36.480 receipts not to expose us, but to exonerate us. God 0:13:36.559 --> 0:13:38.760 keeps receipts not to punish you, but to promote you. 0:13:39.240 --> 0:13:42.160 God keeps receipts not because he wants to condemn you, 0:13:42.400 --> 0:13:45.840 but because he wants to commend you. Anybody thankful for 0:13:45.880 --> 0:13:51.520 a God who says I will not forget you. I 0:13:51.559 --> 0:13:53.440 won't forget you. And today I don't know who I'm 0:13:53.440 --> 0:13:54.800 preaching to, but I just have a sense of my 0:13:54.800 --> 0:13:56.960 heart that people have walked in. And maybe you're tired 0:13:57.040 --> 0:13:59.400 or you're fatigued, and maybe you're on your faith journey 0:13:59.400 --> 0:14:01.680 and you're having a difficult time. You're in a hard place, 0:14:01.679 --> 0:14:03.760 you're in a tired place, you're in a place about 0:14:03.760 --> 0:14:06.360 your thinking about giving up. I don't want to remind 0:14:06.400 --> 0:14:08.040 you of your strength. I want to remind you of 0:14:08.080 --> 0:14:10.520 his strength. I want to remind you of a God 0:14:10.559 --> 0:14:14.200 who promises, if you're in Christ Jesus, to remember you. 0:14:15.440 --> 0:14:17.160 I want to show you three things that God keeps 0:14:17.160 --> 0:14:20.480 receipts on. Number one, God keeps receipts on who you are. 0:14:21.360 --> 0:14:23.720 This is encouraging to me. This is Hebrews chapter six, 0:14:23.800 --> 0:14:26.560 Verse ten. God is not unjust. He will not forget 0:14:26.600 --> 0:14:31.400 your work and the love you have shown him. He 0:14:31.440 --> 0:14:33.520 doesn't look at these tired people and say, I won't 0:14:33.520 --> 0:14:36.040 forget the church. I won't forget the crowd, I won't 0:14:36.040 --> 0:14:40.240 forget the gathering. He says, I won't forget you. God 0:14:40.320 --> 0:14:44.360 is the god of individuals. Yes, he loves the world, 0:14:44.880 --> 0:14:47.600 but you are what make up the world. And I 0:14:47.600 --> 0:14:49.280 think today you've got to get some confidence in the 0:14:49.280 --> 0:14:51.480 fact that He sees you. He knows what's going on 0:14:51.600 --> 0:14:55.480 inside of your life. Every fear, every worry, every area 0:14:55.520 --> 0:14:58.120 of doubt. Today he sees you in that place and 0:14:58.200 --> 0:15:01.240 he cares about you. One of the greatest examples of 0:15:01.240 --> 0:15:02.880 this is that as you read the New Testament, if 0:15:02.920 --> 0:15:04.960 you ever get to the Book of Matthew, Matthew chapter 0:15:05.000 --> 0:15:08.000 one starts with the genealogy of Jesus. Now, a lot 0:15:08.040 --> 0:15:09.680 of us, if we have like a Bible reading plan, 0:15:09.920 --> 0:15:12.600 some of us we skip that part. It's like, I 0:15:12.600 --> 0:15:14.840 don't know about anybody who goes to the movies and 0:15:14.880 --> 0:15:16.840 the movie ends and you're like, hey, steak, stick around, 0:15:17.240 --> 0:15:21.880 Why I love the credits. No one really does that, 0:15:22.120 --> 0:15:25.520 But I guess God likes the credits because God lists 0:15:25.560 --> 0:15:30.760 out forty two different generations. Forty different names are enlisted 0:15:30.760 --> 0:15:33.520 in Matthew chapter one. What is he letting us know? 0:15:33.680 --> 0:15:37.560 He's letting us know I remember you, I remember names, 0:15:37.640 --> 0:15:41.160 I remember individuals. And the best part about Matthew Chapter 0:15:41.200 --> 0:15:43.600 one is not just the names. It's the names that 0:15:43.600 --> 0:15:47.520 are in Matthew chapter one. These are jacked up people. 0:15:49.120 --> 0:15:54.280 You think you think your family's dysfunctional, check out God's family. 0:15:55.920 --> 0:15:58.440 God is in the business of using the jokers, the smokers, 0:15:58.440 --> 0:16:03.360 even the midnight ookers. Sometimes he because God that had 0:16:03.400 --> 0:16:07.760 just come for sinners. Come on, he came through sinners. 0:16:08.040 --> 0:16:11.120 He said, I do not call the qualified, but I 0:16:11.240 --> 0:16:16.760 qualified the called God. God loves you. He loves every 0:16:16.920 --> 0:16:19.400 part of you. He loves you just the way that 0:16:19.480 --> 0:16:21.440 you are. But he loves you too much to let 0:16:21.440 --> 0:16:24.840 you stay the way that you are. God's greatest priority 0:16:24.920 --> 0:16:27.360 is to get his glory. But the way that he 0:16:27.400 --> 0:16:33.080 does that is by working with broken people. It's pretty practical. 0:16:33.160 --> 0:16:36.000 If you're not broken, how will his glory ever shine through? 0:16:37.280 --> 0:16:39.040 In fact, I'm gonna be careful today because I don't 0:16:39.040 --> 0:16:45.880 want to get into trouble. God is borderline obsessed with you. 0:16:45.960 --> 0:16:50.400 Like read the scriptures. He knew you before you were 0:16:50.440 --> 0:16:54.240 in your mother's womb. He niche you are fearfully and 0:16:54.480 --> 0:16:59.080 wonderfully made. All the days for you were written in 0:16:59.120 --> 0:17:03.000 his book before one of them came to be. The 0:17:03.000 --> 0:17:11.920 scripture says, he watches you while you sleep. What the 0:17:11.960 --> 0:17:18.520 scripture says, He knows every hair on your head, even 0:17:18.560 --> 0:17:28.920 the extensions, even the weave, even the turkey transplant. Come on, 0:17:29.119 --> 0:17:32.199 Come on, a God who loves you and sees you 0:17:32.320 --> 0:17:34.879 and cares about you. And if his eye is on 0:17:35.000 --> 0:17:40.159 the sparrow, come on his eyes on you today. God's 0:17:40.160 --> 0:17:42.439 in the business of working with broken people, into the Hebrew, 0:17:42.440 --> 0:17:45.480 people that are tired and fatigued and walking away. He says, 0:17:45.480 --> 0:17:49.360 I'm not unjust. I will not forget you. Go through 0:17:49.480 --> 0:17:53.760 history and see I'm the God who works with dysfunctional people. 0:17:54.640 --> 0:17:57.720 Anybody who says God can't use me as somebody who's 0:17:57.840 --> 0:18:02.879 never read the Bible, You never read it. Because the 0:18:03.000 --> 0:18:06.920 whole book is a story of broken people being used 0:18:06.960 --> 0:18:10.400 by a perfect God that when his grace comes upon you, 0:18:10.800 --> 0:18:17.639 even in your weakness, he is strong. I mean for 0:18:17.720 --> 0:18:21.840 goodness sake. Noah was a drunk, Abraham was way too 0:18:21.880 --> 0:18:24.919 old to be used by God. Isaac was a daydreamer, 0:18:25.720 --> 0:18:31.480 Jacob was a liar, Joseph was abused. Moses had a 0:18:31.480 --> 0:18:37.439 stuttering problem. Gideon was afraid. Samson had long hair and 0:18:37.520 --> 0:18:44.679 was a womanizer. Rayhabb was a prostitute. Jeremiah was too young. 0:18:46.280 --> 0:18:49.960 David was a murderer and he had an affair. Elijah 0:18:50.080 --> 0:19:02.680 was suicidal. Isaiah preached naked, Jonah ran from God. Naomi 0:19:02.760 --> 0:19:06.840 was a widow. Job went bankrupt, Peter denied Christ, the 0:19:06.840 --> 0:19:10.159 Disciples fell asleep while praying. John the Baptist. He ate 0:19:10.320 --> 0:19:14.640 bugs for goodness sakes, Martha worried about everything. This Samaritan 0:19:14.680 --> 0:19:18.560 woman was divorced more than once. Zach Chius was too small, 0:19:18.880 --> 0:19:23.280 Paul was too religious, Timothy had an ulcer, and Lazarus, 0:19:25.000 --> 0:19:29.399 Lazarus was dead. Everybody, come on, I'm trying to tell 0:19:29.440 --> 0:19:32.480 you about a God who's dying. Take it back. God 0:19:32.640 --> 0:19:37.760 died to use you. He sees you. He's got receipts 0:19:37.800 --> 0:19:47.200 on who you are. He knows who you are. We forget, 0:19:47.200 --> 0:19:51.120 but he don't forget. God keeps receipts on who you are. 0:19:51.160 --> 0:19:53.159 But look what the passage says, because it continues. This 0:19:53.240 --> 0:19:57.879 is just good, good Bible study. God is don unjust. 0:19:57.920 --> 0:20:00.119 He will not forget your work. I love this and 0:20:00.160 --> 0:20:02.919 the love you have shown him as you have helped 0:20:03.240 --> 0:20:07.359 his people. God's heart is for his church and his people. 0:20:07.520 --> 0:20:10.280 His priority is his glory, the vehicle, and how he 0:20:10.320 --> 0:20:13.480 does that is through his body his people. So God 0:20:13.480 --> 0:20:15.600 doesn't forget your work or the love you've shown him 0:20:15.600 --> 0:20:17.879 as you have helped his people. And here's the keyword, 0:20:18.160 --> 0:20:22.880 and continue to help them. See, God keeps receipts on 0:20:23.200 --> 0:20:27.159 what you do. And this is very, very encouraging me 0:20:27.400 --> 0:20:30.400 because he doesn't just see me. He sees what I do. 0:20:30.800 --> 0:20:34.320 He's recording what I do. God cares about what I do. 0:20:34.359 --> 0:20:36.800 He says, I see your work, I see your love 0:20:36.840 --> 0:20:39.720 for me, I see your love for my people, and 0:20:39.760 --> 0:20:42.080 I see how you continue in it. I think the 0:20:42.119 --> 0:20:44.359 keyword is continue because time y'all know, we're good at 0:20:44.359 --> 0:20:49.600 starting things, but we're not always good at continuing things. 0:20:50.080 --> 0:20:52.240 It's not hard to have faith at the start. It's 0:20:52.240 --> 0:20:57.640 hard to have faith in the middle. The middle. Nobody 0:20:57.840 --> 0:21:01.359 likes the middle. We like the beginning of something. But 0:21:01.480 --> 0:21:04.439 this is where perseverance sets in. I think this is 0:21:04.440 --> 0:21:06.240 so important because we live in a time right now 0:21:06.240 --> 0:21:10.720 that we overestimate intensity, but we underestimate consistency. Let me 0:21:10.760 --> 0:21:12.800 say to all my gen Z friends and all of 0:21:12.840 --> 0:21:15.400 young Alpha out there, you want to be taken seriously 0:21:15.440 --> 0:21:19.879 in life, be consistent. I need some parents to clap 0:21:19.920 --> 0:21:22.159 their hands a little bit. Where's all the boomers that 0:21:22.280 --> 0:21:28.880 come on, yes, preach the word pastor. It's not what 0:21:28.920 --> 0:21:33.840 you do occasionally, it's what you do consistently in fact, 0:21:33.880 --> 0:21:40.960 that would it. This way, repetition creates reputation. You will 0:21:41.000 --> 0:21:46.080 be known for what you repeat repetition. Do it again 0:21:46.640 --> 0:21:51.879 and again and again. Watch this. Your gain is in 0:21:51.960 --> 0:21:58.359 your again. You want gains in life? Do it again. 0:21:59.640 --> 0:22:02.959 You want to grow in life? Do it again. You 0:22:03.000 --> 0:22:05.879 want to get stronger in life? Do it again. You 0:22:05.920 --> 0:22:08.920 want your faith to increase this year? Do it again? 0:22:09.000 --> 0:22:11.359 Are there any do it again people in the house today? 0:22:11.400 --> 0:22:18.000 Do it again? Anybody can start something. Anybody can start 0:22:18.080 --> 0:22:21.600 a marriage. Can you continue in a marriage. Anybody can 0:22:21.600 --> 0:22:23.040 start a family. I don't want to break down how 0:22:23.040 --> 0:22:26.520 that works, but anybody can start that. Can you continue 0:22:26.520 --> 0:22:30.200 being a father? Shout out to all the dads out 0:22:30.200 --> 0:22:32.480 there that are just in the middle of it, staying 0:22:32.520 --> 0:22:34.080 in it. Come on, can we applaud every man in 0:22:34.119 --> 0:22:37.040 this house, every man watching online? We salute you, We 0:22:37.160 --> 0:22:41.760 honor you, great men of God. Anybody can start a business? 0:22:41.800 --> 0:22:45.200 Can you continue? Anybody can start going to church? Woo? 0:22:48.640 --> 0:22:53.919 Can you continue faithfully serving? I gotta be honest with you, 0:22:54.000 --> 0:22:57.520 Like when I come to elevation, I'm always blown away 0:22:57.320 --> 0:22:59.960 by just the beauty of this place and the people 0:23:00.160 --> 0:23:02.040 come from all over the world, and how this ministry 0:23:02.280 --> 0:23:05.280 touches the world. But the thing that I can't get 0:23:05.320 --> 0:23:09.240 over is a man and a woman. Stephen and Hawley 0:23:09.359 --> 0:23:12.879 some twenty years ago got a vision from God, and 0:23:12.920 --> 0:23:15.240 they said, we're not just gonna do it one Sunday, 0:23:15.480 --> 0:23:20.159 but twenty years later, we're gonna continue to persevere because 0:23:20.200 --> 0:23:23.720 we believe God is watching what we do. One more time. 0:23:23.840 --> 0:23:30.840 Let's thank God for Godly leadership. What a blessing wisdom 0:23:30.880 --> 0:23:34.720 will be proven right by all her children. I'm sitting 0:23:34.760 --> 0:23:36.240 here that I got a vision for my life. My 0:23:36.280 --> 0:23:39.000 son Wyat's with me, eight years of age. Billy Graham 0:23:39.000 --> 0:23:41.960 Ferdick walked up here, said, Jesus, I'm gonna get Graham 0:23:42.000 --> 0:23:48.200 to lay hands on Wyat after this service, because it's 0:23:48.240 --> 0:23:53.600 people that are persevering, not just starting, but continuing. God 0:23:54.000 --> 0:23:56.760 keeps receipts on what you do, even if you think 0:23:56.800 --> 0:23:59.520 it's small, even if you think it's insignificant, even if 0:23:59.520 --> 0:24:02.000 you think it's mundane, even if you think it's average, 0:24:02.040 --> 0:24:04.520 even if you think it's mediocre, He's watching. One of 0:24:04.520 --> 0:24:06.879 my favorite illustrations is the Book of Nehemiah. If you 0:24:06.920 --> 0:24:10.359 know the story Nehemiah, well, Neomyah was living the time 0:24:10.520 --> 0:24:14.200 that Israel had been sieged and they were no more, 0:24:14.280 --> 0:24:18.320 and he was actually a cup bearer to the king. Now, 0:24:18.680 --> 0:24:21.240 if you don't know what a cup bearer is, a 0:24:21.280 --> 0:24:24.840 cup bearer with somebody who would test the king's drink 0:24:24.960 --> 0:24:33.920 for poison. So you think your job is bad, Hey, Nehemiah, man, 0:24:34.040 --> 0:24:40.520 how's your job going so far? Pretty good? This dude 0:24:40.560 --> 0:24:43.719 was a cup bearer and one day he hears the 0:24:43.760 --> 0:24:47.480 news that his walls and the temple have been destroyed, 0:24:47.680 --> 0:24:50.000 and although it had happened hundreds of years before, his 0:24:50.119 --> 0:24:53.479 heart begins to break and he finds himself before the 0:24:53.520 --> 0:24:56.200 Lord and a passion begins to emerge, and he has 0:24:56.240 --> 0:24:59.520 this desire to go back to Jerusalem and rebuild the walls. 0:25:00.000 --> 0:25:01.920 I want to encourage some people out there that many 0:25:01.920 --> 0:25:06.360 times your burden is actually your assignment. The very thing 0:25:06.359 --> 0:25:09.560 that's moving your heart, the very thing that feels like frustration, 0:25:09.800 --> 0:25:13.800 is actually vision in disguise. God is telling you that 0:25:13.880 --> 0:25:15.560 I put you on the earth to solve that. And 0:25:15.600 --> 0:25:18.879 the Bible says that Neomiyah. He goes back to Jerusalem 0:25:18.920 --> 0:25:21.360 and he begins to survey the rubble and the ruins, 0:25:21.520 --> 0:25:23.560 and people are walking over the walls day in and 0:25:23.640 --> 0:25:26.240 day out, because oftentimes we live in a place that 0:25:26.320 --> 0:25:28.920 we just begin to lower our standards, and you get 0:25:28.920 --> 0:25:31.920 what you allow. You cannot change that which you tolerate. 0:25:32.240 --> 0:25:34.040 And so people have just been walking over the walls. 0:25:34.040 --> 0:25:36.000 But Neomia said, no, it can't happen this way, and 0:25:36.000 --> 0:25:38.600 so he assembles a team and he puts people together, 0:25:38.920 --> 0:25:41.439 and the Bible says, they start building the walls. And 0:25:41.560 --> 0:25:44.439 as you would understand, a great vision always comes with 0:25:44.440 --> 0:25:48.800 great opposition. As Neomiah is building, here comes the critics 0:25:49.080 --> 0:25:51.840 Sanballat and Tobias, and they come over there and they 0:25:51.840 --> 0:25:55.119 try to put fear. They try to put comments out there, 0:25:55.480 --> 0:25:58.840 they try to make videos, they try to hate on Neomyah. 0:25:59.000 --> 0:26:01.480 And I like Neomiah because Neomiah is up on that wall. 0:26:01.520 --> 0:26:03.640 He's got a sword in one hand and he's got 0:26:03.640 --> 0:26:07.280 a hammer in the other, thick skin and soft heart. 0:26:07.600 --> 0:26:10.240 I want to encourage some people. If you ever build 0:26:10.240 --> 0:26:16.800 anything worth building, you will attract critics worth ignoring. And 0:26:16.840 --> 0:26:19.840 they say, Neomyah, come down, we gotta talk to you. 0:26:20.280 --> 0:26:24.720 But I like Neamiah's response. I'm sorry, I am doing 0:26:24.760 --> 0:26:27.960 a great work and I cannot come down to you. 0:26:28.800 --> 0:26:30.520 Some of y'all need to tattoo this on your soul 0:26:30.640 --> 0:26:34.359 this year. I'm sorry, I'm building something great. I can't 0:26:34.359 --> 0:26:36.760 come down to your pettiness. I can't come down to 0:26:36.800 --> 0:26:40.320 your drama. I come down to your issues. Come on, somebody, 0:26:40.560 --> 0:26:49.719 anybody building something worth building. And the Bible says in 0:26:50.000 --> 0:26:55.080 fifty two days they rebuild those walls. Here's what's interesting 0:26:55.080 --> 0:26:59.400 abot the book of Neimiah. There is not one supernatural miracle. 0:27:01.080 --> 0:27:07.399 All there is is a submitted man. Sometimes. The greatest 0:27:07.440 --> 0:27:10.360 testimony and the greatest miracle that people are looking for 0:27:11.000 --> 0:27:12.840 is that when you step out and you start, and 0:27:12.880 --> 0:27:15.639 you begin something, when you face all hell and high water, 0:27:15.680 --> 0:27:18.920 when you face backlash, when you begin to face things 0:27:18.920 --> 0:27:20.879 that are trying to oppose you, the fact that you 0:27:20.960 --> 0:27:23.560 stay standing and keep on building. Let me tell you 0:27:23.600 --> 0:27:30.680 what that is a work of God. In the summer, 0:27:30.720 --> 0:27:32.400 I was studying the book of Nemi, and I never 0:27:32.440 --> 0:27:35.000 noticed it before. But I got to DMI chapter three 0:27:35.760 --> 0:27:39.200 and Nami chapter three. This is interesting. It records it's 0:27:39.240 --> 0:27:42.120 God's receipts on everybody who was a part of rebuilding 0:27:42.160 --> 0:27:45.120 the temple and the walls. And one guy stood out 0:27:45.119 --> 0:27:49.160 to me, this is Neami chapter three, verse fourteen. The 0:27:49.320 --> 0:27:54.840 dung gate was repaired by Malcajah, son of Racab. Let's 0:27:54.840 --> 0:27:59.920 just stop right there. Do you know what the dung 0:28:00.359 --> 0:28:07.239 is as God's toilet? The dumbgate is the bathroom. And 0:28:07.280 --> 0:28:09.880 I had to stop. I said, oh my God. If 0:28:09.920 --> 0:28:15.280 God keeps receipts on who rebuilt his toilet, if God's 0:28:15.320 --> 0:28:17.879 got a record of his plumber, don't you think he 0:28:17.960 --> 0:28:22.040 sees you today raising those kids? If God remembers who 0:28:22.040 --> 0:28:24.119 built his toilet, don't you think he sees you ushering today? 0:28:24.359 --> 0:28:26.720 Don't you think he sees everybody in the parking lot, 0:28:27.119 --> 0:28:29.800 every person who's in our kids ministry right now, every 0:28:29.800 --> 0:28:32.800 person who's persevering and continuing. Come on, why don't we 0:28:32.800 --> 0:28:36.000 clap our hands and thank God that he keeps receipts 0:28:36.040 --> 0:28:44.560 on what we do. What you repeat is what you 0:28:44.640 --> 0:28:49.400 become known for. And today, as we often can forget God, 0:28:49.440 --> 0:28:51.400 God says, I remember you. I see you for who 0:28:51.440 --> 0:28:54.480 you are, but I also see what you do. Look 0:28:54.520 --> 0:28:56.440 at As the passage continues, he says it this way. 0:28:57.080 --> 0:29:01.240 We want each of you to show this same diligence, 0:29:01.360 --> 0:29:04.840 keyword to the very end, so that what you hope 0:29:04.840 --> 0:29:08.720 for may be fully realized. We do not want you 0:29:08.760 --> 0:29:13.480 to become lazy, but to imitate those who, through faith 0:29:13.520 --> 0:29:17.600 and patience inherit what has been promised. So God keeps 0:29:17.600 --> 0:29:19.440 your seats on who you are. God keeps your seats 0:29:19.440 --> 0:29:21.440 on what you do. Lastly, God keeps your seats on 0:29:21.680 --> 0:29:27.200 how you do it. He says, we don't want you 0:29:27.600 --> 0:29:31.600 to become lazy. We want you to be diligent. He's 0:29:31.600 --> 0:29:34.000 saying it's not enough just to do the right thing. 0:29:35.120 --> 0:29:37.720 There's a right thing to do in the right way. 0:29:38.920 --> 0:29:42.000 That God doesn't just care about what he cares about. 0:29:42.000 --> 0:29:45.920 How I'm twenty years married and I'm still learning this 0:29:46.000 --> 0:29:50.520 principle my wife taught me early on. Rich is not 0:29:51.040 --> 0:29:57.400 what you say I want to help some of the 0:29:57.480 --> 0:30:02.880 single guys in this house today is how you say it? Ladies, 0:30:02.920 --> 0:30:04.200 can you help me? Is that? Is that true? It's 0:30:04.200 --> 0:30:05.960 not just what you say? Is how you said? Listen 0:30:06.040 --> 0:30:08.040 to a man who's been married for almost twenty years. 0:30:08.800 --> 0:30:13.040 I remember when I first, you know, got married to Downtree. 0:30:13.080 --> 0:30:14.560 We would go shopping. In fact, it happened just this 0:30:14.600 --> 0:30:17.520 past week, but I'll take her shopping somewhere. It's always 0:30:17.560 --> 0:30:19.920 kind of a strange deal, you know, as a dude, 0:30:20.000 --> 0:30:22.200 like going shopping with your wife. You need picking out 0:30:22.200 --> 0:30:24.440 some jeans, and you know, she gets three pairs of 0:30:24.520 --> 0:30:26.720 jeans and you go over to like the dressing room, 0:30:26.760 --> 0:30:28.360 and then you have to sit there in that little 0:30:28.440 --> 0:30:31.560 stool outside the dressing room. People walk by you look 0:30:31.600 --> 0:30:37.240 really Creepy're like, no, I promise, I'm here with somebody. 0:30:37.400 --> 0:30:37.560 You know. 0:30:39.760 --> 0:30:43.920 It's like, there's a guy my wife and this is 0:30:43.960 --> 0:30:45.240 what my wife does. My wife comes out of the 0:30:45.280 --> 0:30:52.640 dressing room barefoot and she's always on her tippy does Babe, babe, babe, babe, babe, 0:30:53.160 --> 0:30:56.320 how did the jeans look? I'm like, why is she 0:30:56.360 --> 0:30:59.960 standing on her tippy toes? And as a young man, 0:31:00.160 --> 0:31:04.440 stupid man, I used to respond, Babe, the genes look 0:31:04.560 --> 0:31:17.959 good because good to a man means good. I mean, 0:31:17.960 --> 0:31:22.360 if good was good for God in the beginning, God 0:31:22.360 --> 0:31:23.840 created the heavens on the earth, and he said it 0:31:23.920 --> 0:31:28.360 is good. You would think good is good for girls. 0:31:28.360 --> 0:31:31.080 But good does not mean good to women. Good to 0:31:31.160 --> 0:31:36.360 women means average mediocre. Oh so you think I look 0:31:36.480 --> 0:31:45.239 fat in these genes, Jesus, I've had to learn that 0:31:45.280 --> 0:31:47.360 if not just what I say, it's how I say it. 0:31:47.480 --> 0:31:50.080 So now when we go shopping and she comes out 0:31:50.080 --> 0:31:52.080 in a pair of gens. Babe, do they look good? 0:31:52.320 --> 0:31:55.280 If I like the genes, I have to lose my 0:31:55.440 --> 0:32:06.440 ever loving mind. What ah, there is a god somewhere. 0:32:07.560 --> 0:32:12.400 I gotta go he shandoobo shinda a bahia. I gotta 0:32:12.440 --> 0:32:24.360 do a praise break in the department store. My wife, Babe, 0:32:24.680 --> 0:32:30.880 you like, oh, yes, yes, yes, yes, I love him. 0:32:30.880 --> 0:32:37.240 Get him, get them all. Because it's not just what, 0:32:37.440 --> 0:32:41.840 it's how. And I'm telling you our god, this is 0:32:41.880 --> 0:32:43.440 our God. You want to know the difference between a 0:32:43.480 --> 0:32:46.920 relationship and religion. It's the motivation of your heart. It's 0:32:46.920 --> 0:32:49.600 the intention of why you do something. And here's God. 0:32:49.960 --> 0:32:51.800 He said, I want you to be diligent. I want 0:32:51.800 --> 0:32:54.400 you to do it with the right attitude. Do not 0:32:54.640 --> 0:32:58.880 be lazy. Lazy doesn't mean that you couldn't do it. 0:32:58.960 --> 0:33:01.080 Lazy means you could done it, but you chose not 0:33:01.160 --> 0:33:05.400 to do it. Lazy means you chose not to put 0:33:05.400 --> 0:33:08.120 forth the effort. It was within my power, but but 0:33:08.200 --> 0:33:10.960 I stayed back. I could have, I should have, but 0:33:11.080 --> 0:33:14.440 I didn't. I was lazy. I was apathetic. And sometimes 0:33:14.480 --> 0:33:17.320 be honest with you. Sometimes lazy is just unawareness. Sometimes 0:33:17.520 --> 0:33:21.880 lazy is just assumption. Some years ago, I was with 0:33:21.880 --> 0:33:25.040 some pastor friends after church, and we were our couples, 0:33:25.040 --> 0:33:27.360 and we were eating some dinner afterwards at the world 0:33:27.360 --> 0:33:31.760 famous cheesecake Factory because I like to drink my calorie 0:33:31.800 --> 0:33:34.959 strawberry lemon hay shout out. And we're having the best night, 0:33:35.000 --> 0:33:36.360 you know those nights where you're just hanging out and 0:33:36.480 --> 0:33:38.480 just talking and we're just enjoying each other. And we 0:33:38.520 --> 0:33:41.160 had been at a meeting and we're laughing and we're 0:33:41.200 --> 0:33:44.720 reminiscing and Wow, God moved, and we're telling jokes, and 0:33:44.760 --> 0:33:48.160 we get up from the dinner table and we walk 0:33:48.240 --> 0:33:50.560 out and we're still laughing, when all of a sudden 0:33:50.600 --> 0:33:55.320 we hear excuse me, and we turn around and there 0:33:55.360 --> 0:33:59.800 is the waitress holding the receipt and she said, you 0:33:59.840 --> 0:34:04.920 for o God to pay your bill, to which I'm 0:34:05.120 --> 0:34:07.720 quickly mortified because I can just already see the Miami Herald. 0:34:07.800 --> 0:34:12.520 Pastor and his friends skips out on meal take it. 0:34:13.600 --> 0:34:15.360 But we looked at each other and sayd whoa, whohoa, 0:34:15.920 --> 0:34:18.600 I thought you paid for it. Well, whahoah, I thought 0:34:18.640 --> 0:34:20.879 you were going to take care of it. I thought 0:34:20.880 --> 0:34:22.480 you had paid it no, no, no, and all of 0:34:22.560 --> 0:34:25.640 us watch this. All of us had the ability. We 0:34:25.760 --> 0:34:28.279 all reached for our wall and said no, no, let me pay. 0:34:28.600 --> 0:34:30.960 We had just assumed that the other had done it. 0:34:32.120 --> 0:34:33.960 Can I just speak at the twenty year mark of 0:34:34.000 --> 0:34:37.920 Elevation Church. If we're not careful, we will just assume 0:34:37.960 --> 0:34:39.680 that somebody else is going to pick up the bill. 0:34:40.280 --> 0:34:42.440 We'll just assume man the parking lot, they got the workers. 0:34:42.440 --> 0:34:44.400 That's already good. They don't need any more help in 0:34:44.440 --> 0:34:46.560 the kids ministry. I want to say it this way, 0:34:46.760 --> 0:34:50.799 if everybody behaved like you at Elevation Church, would we 0:34:50.840 --> 0:34:53.480 be better or would we be worse? Come on? May 0:34:53.520 --> 0:34:55.960 we be a church that we say we want to 0:34:56.000 --> 0:35:03.080 play our part? I want to play my part because 0:35:03.120 --> 0:35:06.719 God's paying attention to how in which I do it. 0:35:09.840 --> 0:35:15.080 How's your soul today? Where are you at with God? 0:35:16.040 --> 0:35:19.920 I know we came out praising God loudly, but sometimes 0:35:19.960 --> 0:35:22.440 we can gather corporately and we can worship Him with 0:35:22.560 --> 0:35:24.319 might and strength. But we can walk out of these 0:35:24.320 --> 0:35:27.080 doors and we can begin to live these quiet lives 0:35:27.080 --> 0:35:30.960 of desperation. Does my life matter? Do I have purpose? 0:35:31.320 --> 0:35:35.160 What's going on? How do I fit into the story. 0:35:36.120 --> 0:35:38.000 And I love what the writer of Hebrews does here 0:35:38.880 --> 0:35:42.680 because as he is reminding them that God doesn't forget them, 0:35:43.239 --> 0:35:45.520 he gives them a practical application. I want to give 0:35:45.520 --> 0:35:51.319 you the practical application today. He says, be imitators. Important word, 0:35:52.040 --> 0:35:56.680 Imitate those who've come before you. Important principle life. What 0:35:56.760 --> 0:36:01.520 you behold is what you become. He says, imitate those 0:36:01.560 --> 0:36:05.919 who have gone before you. One theological Christian writer said 0:36:05.920 --> 0:36:08.279 this that the great demise of the day is that 0:36:08.320 --> 0:36:10.319 we are going through a time of what we call 0:36:10.680 --> 0:36:15.239 historical dislocation. And let me just make that statement very, 0:36:15.320 --> 0:36:18.560 very practical for you. All that simply means is is 0:36:18.560 --> 0:36:21.400 that if you don't understand your history, you will not 0:36:21.440 --> 0:36:25.600 care about your destiny. If you don't know where you 0:36:26.040 --> 0:36:29.280 come from, you will not care where you are going. 0:36:30.960 --> 0:36:33.280 And so what we must do is we must imitate 0:36:33.360 --> 0:36:37.399 those who've gone before us. The Church of Jesus Christ 0:36:37.520 --> 0:36:40.200 at large has not moved forward from success to success. 0:36:40.600 --> 0:36:43.440 It hasn't moved forward from event to event. It hasn't 0:36:43.480 --> 0:36:46.640 moved forward from concert to concert. It hasn't moved forward 0:36:46.640 --> 0:36:48.920 from thing to thing. It has moved forward from sacrifice 0:36:48.960 --> 0:36:53.120 to sacrifice. It's moved forward through blood, sweat and tears, 0:36:53.120 --> 0:36:56.840 from grace to grace, strength to strength, and glory to glory. 0:36:57.719 --> 0:36:59.960 And we got here because of the faithfulness of many 0:37:00.040 --> 0:37:03.000 who went before us, many who know exactly how you 0:37:03.040 --> 0:37:05.560 feel today, Many who are in a hard place even 0:37:05.680 --> 0:37:09.120 right now, Many who felt the discouragement, who were tempted 0:37:09.160 --> 0:37:12.080 to go backwards, but instead they leaned in and they 0:37:12.160 --> 0:37:15.360 moved forward. The question is do you know your story? 0:37:16.200 --> 0:37:18.040 And maybe you're hearing you're like, oh, but rich, I 0:37:18.040 --> 0:37:20.640 don't have a story like yours. I don't come from 0:37:20.840 --> 0:37:24.160 four generations of Pentecostal preachers. Maybe you're like, I see 0:37:24.160 --> 0:37:25.640 Graham Ferdick up there on the stage, but that's not 0:37:25.680 --> 0:37:27.960 my story. I didn't have a dad like Stephen Ferdick. 0:37:28.520 --> 0:37:30.600 I didn't have a family of origin quite like that. 0:37:30.880 --> 0:37:33.200 I hear you, and that is important, and I'm sorry 0:37:33.280 --> 0:37:35.400 you did not get that gift. But I want to 0:37:35.400 --> 0:37:38.440 remind you that equally powerful is not just your family 0:37:38.480 --> 0:37:41.400 of origin, but it is your family of choice. And 0:37:41.440 --> 0:37:43.319 that is the power of the Body of Christ, that 0:37:43.400 --> 0:37:51.720 is the power of the Church. That maybe your daddy 0:37:51.800 --> 0:37:57.000 wasn't there, but I'm grateful for this writer in Hebrews. 0:37:57.040 --> 0:37:58.920 As he moves on from chapter six, he gets to 0:37:59.040 --> 0:38:02.120 chapter twelve, and he gives us a picture of who 0:38:02.160 --> 0:38:06.680 to imitate. He says in chapter twelve, Therefore, since we 0:38:06.719 --> 0:38:12.880 are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses, let us 0:38:12.880 --> 0:38:15.319 throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so 0:38:15.560 --> 0:38:20.520 easily entangles. Maybe you feel alone today, but can I 0:38:20.560 --> 0:38:23.279 remind you? You might feel secluded, but in reality you 0:38:23.320 --> 0:38:28.040 are surrounded. All of Heaven is watching you, All of 0:38:28.120 --> 0:38:31.640 Heaven is looking down upon you. All of Heaven is 0:38:31.680 --> 0:38:34.360 seeing you run this race. I don't know if you 0:38:34.360 --> 0:38:36.200 ever ran a race before. It's one thing to run 0:38:36.200 --> 0:38:38.200 a race in the woods with no one looking. It's 0:38:38.239 --> 0:38:40.000 another thing when you're getting close to the finish line 0:38:40.000 --> 0:38:42.200 and the crowd is out there. You start running with 0:38:42.280 --> 0:38:48.680 a whole brand new swag. Hey, and all of heaven 0:38:48.760 --> 0:38:51.680 is watching you. Well, who's watching me? Rich? The Bible 0:38:51.719 --> 0:38:54.080 tells you in Hebrews chapter eleven. It's called the Hall 0:38:54.120 --> 0:38:56.480 of faith. It's men and women who died before us. 0:38:56.560 --> 0:38:59.360 They die without ever seeing the promise. Enoch is watching you, 0:39:00.239 --> 0:39:04.080 and Abel is watching you. Father Abraham, he's watching you, 0:39:04.560 --> 0:39:08.120 and Isaac's watching you, and Jacob's watching you, and Joseph's 0:39:08.160 --> 0:39:10.600 watching you, and Moses is watching you, and Samson is 0:39:10.640 --> 0:39:15.200 watching you, and they are saying, run your race. Press on. 0:39:15.600 --> 0:39:18.719 I know you're tired, but do not grow weary in 0:39:18.840 --> 0:39:22.680 doing good, for at the proper time you will reap 0:39:22.960 --> 0:39:41.680 a harvest. God is faithful. Sometimes when I'm weak, sometimes 0:39:43.040 --> 0:39:49.640 when I'm tempted to quit, I pray to Jesus no doubt, 0:39:50.840 --> 0:39:54.400 but I can hear the voices in my head of 0:39:54.520 --> 0:40:00.479 my grandfather and my uncle's. I can hear my grain father, 0:40:00.920 --> 0:40:03.359 Fulton Bontege passion the same church. You don't know his name, 0:40:03.400 --> 0:40:09.359 but for forty years he preached really simple messages, short sermons. 0:40:10.280 --> 0:40:13.959 He preached a message, crier river, build a bridge, get 0:40:14.000 --> 0:40:18.960 over it. And I can hear the voice of Fulton 0:40:19.000 --> 0:40:21.600 Bontang when I feel like quitting, when I feel overlooked, 0:40:21.600 --> 0:40:23.239 when I feel not seen, I can hear him saying, rich, 0:40:23.239 --> 0:40:26.239 it's always too soon to quit. I can hear my 0:40:26.320 --> 0:40:29.440 uncle Mark Bonteyn, who gave his life in Calcutta, India, 0:40:29.520 --> 0:40:32.480 worked with mother Teresa, built a hospital, built a church. 0:40:32.520 --> 0:40:35.080 You don't know his name, but he gave his life 0:40:35.080 --> 0:40:38.480 for the gospel and for the mission. I can hear 0:40:38.520 --> 0:40:40.960 him quoting the words of Mother Teresa. Rich is not 0:40:41.040 --> 0:40:45.640 about being successful, it's about being faithful. I can hear 0:40:45.680 --> 0:40:49.880 My uncle David Wilkerson, who started Times Square Church and 0:40:50.239 --> 0:40:53.680 who initiated and began Teen Challenge, the world's largest drug 0:40:53.719 --> 0:40:57.400 rehab program in the world, went to New York as 0:40:57.440 --> 0:41:00.680 a young man, stood in the face of adversity and opposition, 0:41:00.960 --> 0:41:03.359 looked at gang members one time with a switch plate 0:41:03.440 --> 0:41:06.160 to his throat. They said, preacher, if you don't stop preaching, 0:41:06.520 --> 0:41:09.040 we're gonna cut you up into a million pieces. But 0:41:09.120 --> 0:41:11.440 with the conviction and the courage of the Holy Spirit, 0:41:11.719 --> 0:41:13.440 he looked back and said, you could cut me into 0:41:13.480 --> 0:41:15.879 a million pieces, but every one of those pieces will 0:41:15.880 --> 0:41:17.960 look back up at you and say I love you, 0:41:18.239 --> 0:41:27.279 and Jesus Christ loves you as well. I hear his voice. Rich, 0:41:27.320 --> 0:41:29.759 You're not called to a life of convenience. You're called 0:41:29.800 --> 0:41:37.319 to a life of conviction. These voices are cheering me on. 0:41:37.719 --> 0:41:42.279 Although at times I get tired and weary, I'm reminded 0:41:42.440 --> 0:41:48.040 God is not unjust. He will not forget us. And 0:41:48.120 --> 0:41:51.520 so today it's out of his strength and out of 0:41:51.600 --> 0:41:54.080 his reminder and through the power of His Holy Spirit, 0:41:54.360 --> 0:41:58.600 that we move forward. And you're saying, but Rich, that's 0:41:58.600 --> 0:42:01.480 not my story. Oh, but you've been grafted into the 0:42:01.480 --> 0:42:04.279 family of God. And because of what Jesus did on 0:42:04.320 --> 0:42:07.240 across two thousand years ago, when his blood was shed, 0:42:07.480 --> 0:42:11.120 that became your spiritual DNA. And now you got a 0:42:11.160 --> 0:42:14.160 great great, great, great great great great granddaddy called Abraham, 0:42:14.400 --> 0:42:16.640 who stepped out into the unknown, and it was there 0:42:16.680 --> 0:42:24.560 in the unknown that all things became known. Moses, is 0:42:24.560 --> 0:42:29.640 a part of your legacy. I can't do it. I'm 0:42:29.680 --> 0:42:32.640 not qualified. But here comes God. He's looking at you 0:42:32.719 --> 0:42:38.839 and saying, all I need is somebody who's available. I've 0:42:38.840 --> 0:42:46.920 made so many mistakes, Yo, Samson. Samson made it him 0:42:46.960 --> 0:42:50.560 to Hebrews eleven, because it reminds me it's not how 0:42:50.600 --> 0:42:54.279 you start. Ooh, it is not about how you start. 0:42:54.320 --> 0:43:03.319 Come on, somebody, it is about how you finish. Bring 0:43:03.400 --> 0:43:06.920 up that verse. Therefore, since we are surrounded by such 0:43:06.960 --> 0:43:09.560 a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything 0:43:09.600 --> 0:43:13.000 that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and 0:43:13.120 --> 0:43:17.080 let us run with perseverance. Someone say, perseverance. The race 0:43:17.200 --> 0:43:22.000 marked out for us fixing our eyes on Jesus, the 0:43:22.120 --> 0:43:26.400 pioneer and perfector of faith. Watch this, for the joy 0:43:26.680 --> 0:43:29.440 set before him. He endured the cross. You know what 0:43:29.440 --> 0:43:32.560 the joy set before him was relationship with you. For 0:43:32.640 --> 0:43:35.280 the joy set before him, he endured the cross, scorning 0:43:35.320 --> 0:43:38.960 its shame and sat down at the right hand of 0:43:39.040 --> 0:43:42.760 the throne of God. If you're grateful for Jesus today, 0:43:42.960 --> 0:43:45.200 can you go ahead and clap your hands and give 0:43:45.239 --> 0:43:47.319 him praise all over this house? Come on, stand up 0:43:47.360 --> 0:43:50.040 on your feet. This is a God who keeps your seats. 0:43:50.880 --> 0:43:54.440 This is a God who doesn't forget. This is a 0:43:54.440 --> 0:43:56.919 God who'll never leave you nor forsake you. He's with 0:43:56.960 --> 0:44:02.439 you today, all over this house. Can we just shut 0:44:02.440 --> 0:44:05.960 ourselves away? If you're at home watching right now, if 0:44:06.000 --> 0:44:08.799 you're at one of our other locations. I just believe 0:44:08.840 --> 0:44:12.720 it's a sweet moment in God's presence. God is faithful, 0:44:12.760 --> 0:44:17.560 God is just. He knows your name. He picked you. 0:44:17.840 --> 0:44:19.279 Don't you know that when he picked you, he knew 0:44:19.320 --> 0:44:24.400 your flaws. He's not surprised by you. Oh but rich, 0:44:24.440 --> 0:44:26.200 I feel like I let him down. You can't let 0:44:26.280 --> 0:44:28.040 him down. You were never holding him up to begin with. 0:44:31.360 --> 0:44:33.560 Some of us are. God's too small. He's big man. 0:44:35.239 --> 0:44:38.920 He sees what you're doing. Don't grow weary in doing good. 0:44:39.840 --> 0:44:44.560 He's faithful, he loves you, he sees how you're doing it. 0:44:47.040 --> 0:44:49.120 Holy Spirit, would you begin to move in this place, 0:44:49.160 --> 0:44:52.680 even right here, right now, just if you're hearing the 0:44:52.760 --> 0:44:55.040 room today and you'd say, Rich, you're preaching to me today. 0:44:55.680 --> 0:44:59.759 I'm tired, I feel overlooked. I don't know what this 0:44:59.800 --> 0:45:02.040 say anario is or the sequence. If that's you, day, 0:45:02.080 --> 0:45:03.279 would you just lift both your hands. I just want 0:45:03.280 --> 0:45:04.880 to pray for you right where you are today. If 0:45:04.880 --> 0:45:07.120 that's you, Yep, the hands are going up. That's me, Rich, 0:45:07.080 --> 0:45:10.000 you're preaching to me. I need God to remind me today. 0:45:10.040 --> 0:45:11.319 I want God to remind me. That's what the Holy 0:45:11.320 --> 0:45:13.560 Spirit does. He's a reminder. He will come in and 0:45:13.600 --> 0:45:17.400 remind you. Thank you, Holy Spirit, God, I thank you 0:45:17.480 --> 0:45:19.080 every hand that's lifted right now. At the sound of 0:45:19.120 --> 0:45:25.399 my voice, I decree and I declare Lord, Peace, refreshment, encouragement. Lord. 0:45:25.400 --> 0:45:28.839 From the inside out. May they sense you even here 0:45:28.960 --> 0:45:31.960 right now, that you are close God. That when we're 0:45:31.960 --> 0:45:35.680 broken God, that's where you get really close God. Today 0:45:35.680 --> 0:45:37.960 we've come into your house to worship you, that God. 0:45:38.000 --> 0:45:39.759 We might be going through something bad, but we still 0:45:39.800 --> 0:45:44.839 declare You are God. So Lord, when our words run out, 0:45:44.880 --> 0:45:47.680 we lift our hands as a sign that we are surrendering, 0:45:48.120 --> 0:45:50.719 that we need a supernatural Touchday, Holy Spirit, Would you 0:45:50.760 --> 0:45:55.000 rush through this room like a rushing wind fire of 0:45:55.080 --> 0:46:01.279 God fall in this place. Redefine priorities, remind us, remind 0:46:01.360 --> 0:46:06.600 us we are your children. We're not forsaken, We're not forgotten. 0:46:06.680 --> 0:46:13.040 We are remembered, sin forgotten, tears recorded. Who is this God? 0:46:13.960 --> 0:46:15.840 Hallylujah today with your head bowed, your eyes closed. If 0:46:15.840 --> 0:46:17.520 you're hearing this room today, or you're watching online and 0:46:17.520 --> 0:46:20.120 you never given your life to Jesus before we worship, 0:46:20.160 --> 0:46:23.080 before we sing, if that's you, if you say that's me, 0:46:23.600 --> 0:46:26.239 I want to surrender my life to Jesus. For God 0:46:26.360 --> 0:46:28.719 so loved the world. You're in the world. He gave 0:46:28.760 --> 0:46:31.360 his one and only son that whoever believes that it 0:46:31.400 --> 0:46:34.239 will not perish. But I've everlasting life, for God did 0:46:34.239 --> 0:46:36.080 not send us und the world to condemned the world, 0:46:36.120 --> 0:46:39.480 but to save the world. God wants to save your soul, 0:46:40.480 --> 0:46:41.919 but he doesn't just want to get you to heaven. 0:46:42.080 --> 0:46:44.279 He wants to walk with you through every trial and 0:46:44.400 --> 0:46:46.680 every challenge. The Gospel is not a promise of a 0:46:46.680 --> 0:46:49.279 problem free life. The gospel is a promise that every 0:46:49.280 --> 0:46:52.719 problem you come up against, he will be there with you. 0:46:52.760 --> 0:46:54.120 So your head is bout and your eyes are closed. 0:46:54.120 --> 0:46:55.839 That's you today, you say, rich, that's me. What would 0:46:55.840 --> 0:46:56.200 you pray with me? 0:46:56.200 --> 0:46:56.359 Now? 0:46:56.600 --> 0:46:58.800 I want to be included in this prayer of salvation. 0:46:58.920 --> 0:47:01.440 I want to be in the face of God. I 0:47:01.520 --> 0:47:03.800 believe Jesus is my lord, saying if that's you, on 0:47:03.840 --> 0:47:05.319 the count of three, would you be bold with your 0:47:05.360 --> 0:47:07.239 hand up high enough and long enough, and I'm gonna 0:47:07.280 --> 0:47:08.920 lead you in a prayer, and then we're gonna give 0:47:08.960 --> 0:47:10.919 glory to God in this place. Ready. One, the Bible says, 0:47:10.960 --> 0:47:13.560 today's that day. Two, don't look at your Neighbor's not 0:47:13.600 --> 0:47:17.200 about your neighbors. Between you and Jesus. Ready, one, two, three, 0:47:17.200 --> 0:47:19.000 attach you lift up. That's me, that's me, that's me, 0:47:19.120 --> 0:47:22.600 that's me. Thank you, Jesus, Thank you, Jesus, Thank you, Jesus, 0:47:24.360 --> 0:47:29.440 Thank you God. Come on, evition, can we lift our 0:47:29.440 --> 0:47:31.799 hands towards seven? The Bible says, believe in your heart, 0:47:32.400 --> 0:47:35.640 confess with your mouth, and you will be saved. Say 0:47:35.680 --> 0:47:41.879 dear Jesus, today, Lord, I surrender all of me over 0:47:41.920 --> 0:47:46.319 to you. I believe and I confess that you are 0:47:46.960 --> 0:47:50.840 who you said that you are. Forgive me. I receive 0:47:51.640 --> 0:47:57.360 your salvation. Today. I declare I am yours. You're my Lord, 0:47:57.719 --> 0:48:03.080 You're my savior. In Jesus' name, everybody said, come on church, 0:48:03.560 --> 0:48:06.120 let's give God praise. Come. Hey. 0:48:06.160 --> 0:48:08.479 I hope you enjoyed the podcast, and if you did, 0:48:09.040 --> 0:48:11.640 make sure to share it and subscribe so we can 0:48:11.680 --> 0:48:14.239 get you all of these new messages as soon as 0:48:14.280 --> 0:48:17.080 they're available. I also want to take a moment and 0:48:17.160 --> 0:48:18.920 thank all of you who are a part of Elevation. 0:48:19.440 --> 0:48:22.799 Whether you support us financially, or serve with us, or 0:48:23.200 --> 0:48:25.879 just share these messages, it's because of you that we're 0:48:25.920 --> 0:48:28.360 able to reach people all around the world. 0:48:28.600 --> 0:48:31.080 And if you want more information on how to be 0:48:31.120 --> 0:48:34.280 a part of Elevation, click the link in the description. 0:48:34.800 --> 0:48:35.800 Thanks again for listening. 0:48:35.800 --> 0:48:39.200 Make sure to leave a review, share the message, and subscribe. 0:48:39.480 --> 0:48:48.840 God bless you.