God Works In Mysterious Ways (Rich Wilkerson Jr.)

0:00:01.560 --> 0:00:02.840 Hey, this is Stephen Ferdick. 0:00:02.880 --> 0:00:05.840 I'm the pastor of Elevation Church and this is our podcast. 0:00:05.960 --> 0:00:07.800 I wanted to thank you for joining us today. 0:00:08.119 --> 0:00:10.720 Hope this inspires you. Hope it builds your faith. 0:00:10.800 --> 0:00:13.160 Hope it gives your perspective to see God is moving. 0:00:12.960 --> 0:00:19.560 In your life. Enjoy the message Elevation Church. How are 0:00:19.560 --> 0:00:21.720 we feeling on this Sunday morning? Can we go ahead 0:00:21.760 --> 0:00:24.560 and give God? Come on? Can we give God some 0:00:24.600 --> 0:00:27.000 praise on this Sunday morning? You add an extra hour 0:00:27.080 --> 0:00:31.920 of sleep? Come on, give him a shout today, Honelujah. 0:00:35.400 --> 0:00:38.400 I don't know about you, but are you feeling what 0:00:38.440 --> 0:00:43.159 I'm feeling today? It's not just some cool atmosphere. It 0:00:43.360 --> 0:00:46.840 is the very presence of God. And what I love 0:00:46.880 --> 0:00:49.800 about God's presence is when it comes to worship, it's 0:00:49.840 --> 0:00:53.239 not that God is not with you. He's always with you. 0:00:53.240 --> 0:00:55.279 You don't have to be at church to know that 0:00:55.320 --> 0:00:58.400 He's with you in your car, he's with you at work, 0:00:59.280 --> 0:01:02.440 He's with you in that difficulty. But the scripture says 0:01:02.480 --> 0:01:05.720 that He inhabits the praises of his people. And there's 0:01:05.800 --> 0:01:10.400 something about praise and worship that makes me aware. Come on, anybody, 0:01:10.440 --> 0:01:15.360 aware today that God is with us and God is working. 0:01:15.600 --> 0:01:17.720 Come on, I want you to clap your hands. I 0:01:17.760 --> 0:01:20.160 want you to behave today like you are, glad you're 0:01:20.160 --> 0:01:25.720 in the house of the Lord. What an honor it 0:01:25.800 --> 0:01:29.520 is to be back at Elevation Church and always just 0:01:29.560 --> 0:01:32.880 so grateful to stand behind this pulpit. It is never 0:01:32.920 --> 0:01:35.880 ever lost on me just the work that is taking 0:01:35.920 --> 0:01:38.679 place right here at Elevation Church as it goes from 0:01:38.720 --> 0:01:41.640 this room to all over the world. And it's not 0:01:41.720 --> 0:01:46.080 by coincidence, it's not by accident, it's by intentional leadership. 0:01:46.160 --> 0:01:49.080 And I'm so grateful, honestly, when I come. One of 0:01:49.160 --> 0:01:51.400 my greatest honors is just to get behind this pulpit 0:01:51.480 --> 0:01:53.880 and just to say thank you so much to I 0:01:53.920 --> 0:01:56.520 think two voices that have been raised up for such 0:01:56.560 --> 0:01:59.800 a time as this. Anybody thankful for Pastor Stephen and Hally. 0:02:02.360 --> 0:02:08.560 I'm telling y'all, these are two of God's finest and 0:02:09.800 --> 0:02:14.120 their life, their leadership has so impacted me, so changed me. 0:02:14.440 --> 0:02:17.120 I'm so thankful for who they are. I think they're trailblazers. 0:02:17.440 --> 0:02:19.440 What that means is that they go into the tough 0:02:19.480 --> 0:02:22.160 areas and they make a way for others to follow, 0:02:22.720 --> 0:02:25.280 and there's so many of us that are following behind them. 0:02:25.960 --> 0:02:28.040 I always just come to say, take good care of them, 0:02:28.800 --> 0:02:32.080 Pray for them, love on them. They're doing a lot 0:02:32.120 --> 0:02:34.480 of work. They need your prayers, they need your support, 0:02:34.840 --> 0:02:38.320 they need your encouragement. You are blessed with good leadership. 0:02:38.360 --> 0:02:39.799 Let me just tell you there's a blessing on them, 0:02:39.840 --> 0:02:41.840 and when you get under them, come on, that blessing 0:02:41.919 --> 0:02:44.960 flows on you. Let's clap our hands and thank God 0:02:45.880 --> 0:02:51.840 for amazing, amazing leadership. Hey, yo, what about this new song? 0:02:53.880 --> 0:02:59.639 I know when nay dead things coming back to life, 0:03:00.800 --> 0:03:04.120 I could just close right now. I already got more 0:03:04.160 --> 0:03:06.360 than what I came for. In fact, someone right now 0:03:06.400 --> 0:03:09.120 at Voo Church back in Miami's watching the service and 0:03:09.160 --> 0:03:11.440 we are illegally taking that song. It's gonna be in 0:03:11.480 --> 0:03:14.920 our worship set next week. No one can sing like Chris, 0:03:15.000 --> 0:03:17.040 but we're just gonna bring your vocals in and fake it, 0:03:17.160 --> 0:03:21.880 lip sync it. Anyone grateful for another brand new, beautiful 0:03:21.919 --> 0:03:26.560 song that just ministers to us. Who I know a name, 0:03:28.680 --> 0:03:30.359 I know a name. If you got a Bible, Luke, 0:03:30.440 --> 0:03:32.000 Chapter seven is where I want you to turn. You 0:03:32.040 --> 0:03:34.160 can stay standing for a moment as we read the 0:03:34.200 --> 0:03:42.160 word of God. Merry Christmas, everyone, Christmas came early. I'm 0:03:42.240 --> 0:03:46.000 covered by the blood of Jesus. This is very red, 0:03:46.080 --> 0:03:50.600 I think extremely red. But it's a bold move for 0:03:50.960 --> 0:03:55.840 a bold sermon. Luke Chapter seven, starting in verse eleven, 0:03:56.480 --> 0:04:01.320 it says this. Soon afterward, Jesus went to a town 0:04:01.400 --> 0:04:05.280 called Name, and his disciples and a large crowd went 0:04:05.320 --> 0:04:08.440 along with him. And as he approached the town gate, 0:04:08.920 --> 0:04:12.600 a dead person was being carried out, the only son 0:04:13.080 --> 0:04:16.400 of his mother. And she was a widow, and a 0:04:16.520 --> 0:04:18.919 large crowd from the town was with her. When the 0:04:18.960 --> 0:04:21.640 Lord saw her, his heart went out to her, and 0:04:21.680 --> 0:04:24.520 he said, don't cry. Can we just say that outloud? 0:04:24.600 --> 0:04:27.880 Say don't cry. Then he went up and he touched 0:04:27.920 --> 0:04:30.800 the beer they were carrying him on, and the bearers 0:04:30.800 --> 0:04:34.520 stood still. He said, young man, I say to you, 0:04:34.560 --> 0:04:38.239 get up. The dead man sat up and began to talk, 0:04:39.080 --> 0:04:42.000 and Jesus gave him back to his mother. They were 0:04:42.040 --> 0:04:45.239 all filled with awe and they praised God. A great 0:04:45.320 --> 0:04:49.279 prophet has appeared among us. They said, God has come 0:04:49.320 --> 0:04:54.200 to help his people. And the news about Jesus spread 0:04:54.520 --> 0:04:59.200 throughout Judea, and the surrounding country. I don't know about you, 0:04:59.200 --> 0:05:01.799 but I know a name today. I know a name today. 0:05:02.200 --> 0:05:04.000 I don't know what you walked in here with today, 0:05:04.000 --> 0:05:06.880 but I believe God's presence is here. God's power is 0:05:06.920 --> 0:05:09.640 here all of you watching online right now. I know 0:05:09.760 --> 0:05:13.000 a name today, and he's getting ready to reveal himself 0:05:13.080 --> 0:05:16.240 like never before in your life. I'm already getting excited 0:05:16.279 --> 0:05:18.800 just reading this passage. I got a good sermon today, 0:05:18.839 --> 0:05:21.160 but I already feel it springing up on the inside 0:05:21.160 --> 0:05:24.080 of me. I want to preach for a few moments 0:05:24.080 --> 0:05:27.960 if I can today from the subject. God works in 0:05:28.080 --> 0:05:34.800 mysterious ways. God works in mysterious ways, And would you 0:05:34.839 --> 0:05:37.000 pray me. Lord. We thank you for your word. We 0:05:37.040 --> 0:05:38.960 thank you that it's a lie, that it's active God. 0:05:38.960 --> 0:05:40.599 We thank you that it's more relevant today than it 0:05:40.600 --> 0:05:44.200 ever has been. God. In shaky times and scary times 0:05:44.200 --> 0:05:46.880 and uncertain times. Lord, we look to your word for 0:05:46.960 --> 0:05:50.159 something stable and true that we can stand upon. Lord. 0:05:50.200 --> 0:05:52.599 I pray for everybody that's here at Elevation today, the 0:05:52.720 --> 0:05:56.160 entire EPAM who's joined us by way of online. Lord. 0:05:56.240 --> 0:05:58.760 Today we asked that you'd minister to us, that you'd 0:05:58.800 --> 0:06:00.760 speak to us that you would remind us of that 0:06:00.880 --> 0:06:05.479 powerful name, the name of Jesus. We pray all these 0:06:05.480 --> 0:06:07.400 things in the name of Jesus. And if you agree 0:06:07.400 --> 0:06:09.919 with that prayer. All of God's people said, all of 0:06:09.920 --> 0:06:12.560 God's people said, if you love Jesus one more time, 0:06:12.640 --> 0:06:14.360 give him a big, big shout all over this place, 0:06:17.000 --> 0:06:19.560 all right, high five. A few people tell them God 0:06:19.640 --> 0:06:27.159 is working. Say God is working in the chat right now, 0:06:27.200 --> 0:06:32.520 tell him God is working. God is working. Would anybody 0:06:32.560 --> 0:06:37.600 agree with me that life is a mystery? I mean, 0:06:37.640 --> 0:06:40.800 life is a mysterious I think about that old expression. 0:06:41.240 --> 0:06:45.200 The more I know, the less I understand. Some of 0:06:45.240 --> 0:06:48.800 you all say amen, pastor honestly. It's like I just 0:06:48.839 --> 0:06:55.440 turned forty this past year. Thank you, Honestly. Even though 0:06:55.440 --> 0:06:57.320 older I get sometimes I'm like, man, some things are 0:06:57.360 --> 0:07:00.000 just still complicated. I'm still learning stuff. I'm still trying 0:07:00.200 --> 0:07:02.320 to understand stuff. And I could give you a lot 0:07:02.360 --> 0:07:04.680 of examples, but let's just use one right down in 0:07:04.680 --> 0:07:07.680 front of us. It's like airplanes, for instance. H I 0:07:07.720 --> 0:07:10.840 fly on airplanes a whole lot. In fact, I have 0:07:10.920 --> 0:07:16.280 flown three million air miles with American Airlines. I'm pretty 0:07:16.320 --> 0:07:20.000 much on staff except I pay them and they don't 0:07:20.000 --> 0:07:23.520 pay me. And uh. But it's like like I fly 0:07:23.600 --> 0:07:25.320 all the time, but I'm still like, I still don't 0:07:25.360 --> 0:07:27.400 guess if I still have questions. That's probably a good 0:07:27.440 --> 0:07:28.480 way to say it. At the end of the day, 0:07:28.480 --> 0:07:30.600 I was flying and this was just like two weeks ago, 0:07:30.640 --> 0:07:32.160 and I had my iPad. My iPad is one of 0:07:32.160 --> 0:07:34.920 those keyboards and I'm out typing on my iPad and 0:07:34.960 --> 0:07:37.320 the stewardess she walks by and she says, sir, you're 0:07:37.360 --> 0:07:39.480 gonna we're getting ready for landing. You got to put 0:07:39.480 --> 0:07:40.960 the iPad. You can keep the iPad out, but you 0:07:40.960 --> 0:07:44.280 got to put the keyboard away. And I was like why, 0:07:44.760 --> 0:07:48.360 and she goes, oh, it's not safe. I go, not safe. 0:07:49.200 --> 0:07:51.640 I don't understand. What's what's that jeopardy here with the 0:07:51.680 --> 0:07:54.280 keyboard being out? But this happens all the play. Great 0:07:54.280 --> 0:07:57.040 thing about like I usually fly, I don't fly. I 0:07:57.080 --> 0:07:59.280 usually fly second class. You know, don't talking about in 0:07:59.320 --> 0:08:04.080 the back hello second class? And uh sometimes when you're 0:08:04.120 --> 0:08:06.240 in second class, you know, you got the seats and 0:08:06.280 --> 0:08:08.360 they don't give you much room. Right, It's like here 0:08:08.880 --> 0:08:14.240 and here preaching to someone to day here and here 0:08:14.880 --> 0:08:17.080 same thing. I got questions. They walked by, Sir, you 0:08:17.240 --> 0:08:22.120 have to put your seat up for landing. Why, oh, 0:08:22.200 --> 0:08:25.600 it's not safe. Excuse me, Yeah, it's not safe. You 0:08:25.680 --> 0:08:35.319 mean safe, unsafe, safe, unsafe. These are questions. Just a 0:08:35.360 --> 0:08:39.240 few weeks ago, I took off forty five minutes late, 0:08:40.600 --> 0:08:48.880 but we landed on time. I'm walking out. I say, oh, man, 0:08:49.000 --> 0:08:50.480 we took off forty five minutes late. How did we 0:08:50.480 --> 0:08:52.800 get here on time? She said, Oh, that's easy. The 0:08:52.840 --> 0:08:59.040 pilot just flew faster. He can do that. How come 0:08:59.080 --> 0:09:02.360 he doesn't always do that? Is there a speed limit 0:09:02.360 --> 0:09:06.600 we're all unaware of? All right, So so four weeks ago, 0:09:06.640 --> 0:09:08.319 I'm flying back from Birmingham. It is a true story. 0:09:08.640 --> 0:09:11.800 The unthinkable, the unmanageable, the unexpected took place. This has 0:09:11.840 --> 0:09:13.800 never happened to me. I've been flying with this airline 0:09:13.800 --> 0:09:15.719 for twenty some years. I get up to go to 0:09:15.800 --> 0:09:17.680 the bathroom, and friends, when I go into the bathroom, 0:09:17.840 --> 0:09:22.440 I get locked in the bathroom. Now, let's just be honest, like, 0:09:22.480 --> 0:09:23.840 none of us are usually go to the bathroom. One Oh, 0:09:23.840 --> 0:09:27.000 I'm never gonna get out of here. I'm in the lavatory, 0:09:27.000 --> 0:09:29.960 that's what they call it. On an airplane and I'm stuck. 0:09:29.960 --> 0:09:32.280 I'm trying to get out, but like I'm kind of 0:09:32.600 --> 0:09:34.920 putting some pressure on the door and like I don't 0:09:34.920 --> 0:09:37.160 know for you, like how long before you cry out 0:09:37.160 --> 0:09:43.400 for help? I'm like, I can figure this out. I 0:09:43.400 --> 0:09:45.480 can figure this out. Well, I don't know. It's probably 0:09:45.520 --> 0:09:47.360 only like a minute, but it felt like I start 0:09:47.400 --> 0:09:49.320 having a panic attack, like I gotta get out of here. 0:09:50.000 --> 0:09:55.079 I start, you, guys, I start screaming out, somebody help me. 0:09:56.280 --> 0:10:01.440 I'm stuck in the bathroom. To my amazement, and to 0:10:01.600 --> 0:10:06.360 my shock, an elderly woman flat attendant came and I 0:10:06.400 --> 0:10:08.520 don't know if she was like a she starts hitting 0:10:08.520 --> 0:10:11.079 this door with a with a force that like boom, 0:10:11.400 --> 0:10:14.480 but she breaks through the door. You guys, When I 0:10:14.520 --> 0:10:16.880 come out of the bathroom, the entire plane is clapping. 0:10:21.040 --> 0:10:22.520 I didn't know what to do. I just embraced her 0:10:22.520 --> 0:10:28.839 and said, thank you, my savior. Questions things, this is 0:10:28.880 --> 0:10:32.160 a mystery. How come the more I know, the less 0:10:32.320 --> 0:10:36.040 I understand, and it leaves me in this place. And honestly, 0:10:36.200 --> 0:10:38.720 it's funny, but this is sort of how life works, 0:10:38.720 --> 0:10:40.240 that you can just kind of be going on your 0:10:40.320 --> 0:10:43.720 journey thirty years, forty years, fifty years, sixty years, and 0:10:43.760 --> 0:10:45.679 you might be getting a handle on life. Then all 0:10:45.720 --> 0:10:48.720 of a sudden, something comes, something happens, and you find 0:10:48.760 --> 0:10:52.000 yourself stuck. You find yourself trapped, You find yourself in 0:10:52.040 --> 0:10:55.200 a place. And sometimes we have the strength to break 0:10:55.200 --> 0:10:57.600 through the silence. But some of us, even in this 0:10:57.640 --> 0:10:59.600 room today and some of us watching online right now, 0:11:00.080 --> 0:11:02.320 we find ourselves in a place that what we're going 0:11:02.360 --> 0:11:04.480 through is so difficult that we can't even muster out 0:11:04.600 --> 0:11:08.800 a whisper. It's not just life that's mysterious. I mean, 0:11:08.840 --> 0:11:12.680 I know faith is mysterious. Like what I'm discovering is 0:11:12.679 --> 0:11:15.240 that the closer I get to God, the more I 0:11:15.240 --> 0:11:17.400 recognize just how far away I was to begin with, 0:11:19.600 --> 0:11:23.800 which means that, like maturity in Jesus ought not to 0:11:23.880 --> 0:11:28.160 lead to spiritual superiority, maturity in Jesus leads us to 0:11:28.200 --> 0:11:32.080 a place of deep humility. And I think a humble 0:11:32.160 --> 0:11:34.839 thing that you and I both can do is humility, 0:11:35.320 --> 0:11:38.440 is when our faith actually has questions. Maybe you're here 0:11:38.440 --> 0:11:40.240 today and you are going I'm going through life and 0:11:40.280 --> 0:11:43.200 I have faith, but I have questions, So do I 0:11:43.200 --> 0:11:46.120 I do this for a living I have questions sometimes 0:11:46.120 --> 0:11:48.760 I look around and going, yeah, why do bad things 0:11:48.840 --> 0:11:51.839 happen to good people? How about this? Why do good 0:11:51.920 --> 0:11:57.160 things happen to bad people? How Come some doors open 0:11:57.200 --> 0:12:00.559 automatically and then some just stay shut It seems like forever. 0:12:01.720 --> 0:12:05.960 How Come sometimes I can pray and pray and pray 0:12:06.200 --> 0:12:08.840 and nothing turns around. But then there's other areas of 0:12:08.840 --> 0:12:11.960 my life where there's great breakthrough or great miracles and 0:12:12.000 --> 0:12:16.360 there wasn't even a petition uttered. How about this? This 0:12:16.400 --> 0:12:18.679 one hits home for me? How Come I can go 0:12:18.920 --> 0:12:22.439 and preach on stages of thousands of people and watch 0:12:22.520 --> 0:12:26.080 hundreds of people respond to the gospel. It's sometimes the 0:12:26.080 --> 0:12:30.360 people closest to my life, it's like their heart stays hard. 0:12:31.960 --> 0:12:34.080 Come on, anybody ever got some questions when it comes 0:12:34.160 --> 0:12:40.200 to faith? I do not think that questions are offensive 0:12:40.280 --> 0:12:42.719 to God. I want to encourage someone the day who 0:12:42.720 --> 0:12:44.760 walked in here with some questions in their faith. That 0:12:44.760 --> 0:12:47.360 you're going through a difficult time. God is not intimidated 0:12:47.400 --> 0:12:49.559 by your questions. In fact, as you begin to serve 0:12:49.600 --> 0:12:51.320 the Lord, what you'll realize is that questions don't have 0:12:51.320 --> 0:12:54.680 to define your faith. They can refine your faith. In fact, 0:12:54.720 --> 0:12:56.960 when it comes to questions, it's that yo. Faith does 0:12:57.000 --> 0:13:00.480 not eliminate questions, but faith re routes where I take 0:13:00.520 --> 0:13:03.960 my questions too. Come on, anybody believe that we have 0:13:04.080 --> 0:13:06.920 the answer, we have the hope, we can bring them 0:13:06.960 --> 0:13:10.360 to God. After all, a question mark is just an 0:13:10.360 --> 0:13:15.800 exclamation mark been out of shape. I'm hoping by the 0:13:15.880 --> 0:13:17.520 end of this message that some of you who've walked 0:13:17.520 --> 0:13:20.079 in here with questions. It's not that your question will 0:13:20.120 --> 0:13:22.640 be immediately removed, but you might be saying why am 0:13:22.720 --> 0:13:24.520 I here? But by the end of this message, you're 0:13:24.520 --> 0:13:27.000 going to take that question and turn it into a declaration. 0:13:27.440 --> 0:13:31.280 I am here for such a time as this. Can 0:13:31.320 --> 0:13:33.360 I get a witness in this house if you got 0:13:33.360 --> 0:13:38.640 some faith in the room today. Life is a mystery. 0:13:38.679 --> 0:13:42.640 Faith is a mystery, and really all of meaning in 0:13:42.720 --> 0:13:46.560 life is when you lean into the mysteries, when you 0:13:46.600 --> 0:13:50.320 bring your questions before God and you find meaning in 0:13:50.360 --> 0:13:53.360 whatever mystery you are up against. I believe our text 0:13:53.360 --> 0:13:58.800 today is a beautiful, beautiful story around the mystery of God. 0:14:00.120 --> 0:14:02.160 To put into some context really quick, Luke, chapter seven, 0:14:02.160 --> 0:14:05.200 our texts begin saying soon afterward, and I think that's 0:14:05.240 --> 0:14:07.000 important that when you start studying the Bible, you always 0:14:07.040 --> 0:14:10.360 go what just happened? Well, Jesus was in Capernaum. We 0:14:10.400 --> 0:14:12.280 didn't read it today, but he was in Capernaum. And 0:14:12.480 --> 0:14:15.240 while he was there, that's his ministry headquarters. He's preaching 0:14:15.280 --> 0:14:20.160 and teaching. And a Roman official centurion sends word to 0:14:20.240 --> 0:14:22.960 Jesus that his servant is sick, and he says, can 0:14:23.000 --> 0:14:26.040 you come to my house. Well, Jesus starts making his 0:14:26.120 --> 0:14:28.800 way to the centurion's house, and then all of a sudden, 0:14:28.840 --> 0:14:32.760 the centurion sends out more leaders or servants, and he 0:14:32.840 --> 0:14:34.920 sends the word and saying, hey, I know who you are, 0:14:35.520 --> 0:14:38.400 and I believe you have great authority. And I don't 0:14:38.400 --> 0:14:39.960 even need you to come to my roof. If you'll 0:14:40.040 --> 0:14:43.360 just say the word, I believe my servant can be 0:14:43.360 --> 0:14:46.120 made well. Which, by the way, this is a great lesson, 0:14:46.560 --> 0:14:49.520 because leadership is never seen in your presence. It's always 0:14:49.560 --> 0:14:53.880 seen in your absence. Great power is not that I 0:14:53.920 --> 0:14:56.000 have to shout and yell at someone. Great power is 0:14:56.000 --> 0:14:59.880 when I can whisper and it begins to change things around. 0:15:00.440 --> 0:15:04.680 The Bible says that Jesus was amazed at this man's faith. 0:15:05.680 --> 0:15:08.840 In fact, he's so amazed that instantly he heals the man, 0:15:08.920 --> 0:15:11.040 although he doesn't even go and pray for the man. 0:15:11.760 --> 0:15:13.760 Would you believe there's only two times in scripture that 0:15:13.840 --> 0:15:16.600 Jesus is amazed. It's this moment right here. The second 0:15:16.640 --> 0:15:19.720 time is in Mark chapter six. He's amazed because he's 0:15:19.720 --> 0:15:22.920 in his hometown, and in his hometown they're very familiar 0:15:22.920 --> 0:15:26.280 with him, and they got questions, isn't this the carpenter's boy. 0:15:26.920 --> 0:15:29.880 Isn't this the guy who is from Nazareth? He can't 0:15:29.880 --> 0:15:33.000 be the Messiah? And the Bible says that Jesus was 0:15:33.160 --> 0:15:36.800 unable to do many miracles and he was amazed. Listen 0:15:36.800 --> 0:15:40.600 to this at their lack of faith. There's only two 0:15:40.600 --> 0:15:45.320 ways that you amaze Jesus. It's either faith or no faith. 0:15:46.160 --> 0:15:48.240 And I want to encourage someone because maybe you think 0:15:48.360 --> 0:15:51.400 faith is measured by your church attendants. Maybe you think 0:15:51.520 --> 0:15:54.359 faith is measured by how many scriptures you have memorized. 0:15:54.640 --> 0:15:57.240 Maybe you think faith means I never fall or never 0:15:57.280 --> 0:15:59.760 have a question. No, my friend, that is not the 0:16:00.000 --> 0:16:03.440 surement of great faith. Great faith is simply measured when 0:16:03.480 --> 0:16:07.240 you take God at his word. God, if you said it, 0:16:07.560 --> 0:16:09.880 I believe it. Jesus, if you said I could do it, 0:16:10.160 --> 0:16:13.160 I want to do it. I believe today that in 0:16:13.200 --> 0:16:15.800 this room there is great faith. If that's you in 0:16:15.880 --> 0:16:19.080 this house, clap your hands, make a little bit of noise. 0:16:20.640 --> 0:16:26.280 I want great faith. If you said it, I believe 0:16:26.280 --> 0:16:28.640 it's going to happen. And so the Bible says that 0:16:28.720 --> 0:16:31.760 soon after this moment, this great miracle, Jesus and his 0:16:31.920 --> 0:16:35.600 crew start heading twenty miles away to another town. And 0:16:35.640 --> 0:16:39.240 the town is called name. Everyone say name. And as 0:16:39.360 --> 0:16:42.080 Jesus is entering into the town of Name, there is 0:16:42.200 --> 0:16:45.960 another crew exiting the city. So just get this picture. 0:16:46.720 --> 0:16:50.320 Jesus's party is entering the city, and then we see 0:16:50.320 --> 0:16:56.880 there's a funeral party exiting the city. Two conflicting crowds colliding. 0:16:57.840 --> 0:17:00.440 This crowd that Jesus is encountering is far different from 0:17:00.480 --> 0:17:04.520 his crowd. Jesus' crowd is celebrating, they're happy, they're excited, 0:17:04.560 --> 0:17:09.720 but this other crowd is a funeral procession. Nine, by 0:17:09.760 --> 0:17:13.800 definition means a beautiful place. And I think sometimes about 0:17:13.800 --> 0:17:17.719 my city. They say about Miami that Miami is sonny 0:17:17.760 --> 0:17:23.159 on the outside but shady on the inside. But I 0:17:23.160 --> 0:17:26.480 think Nane like Miami like Charlotte, like wherever you're tuning 0:17:26.520 --> 0:17:30.040 in from today is a picture of life that so 0:17:30.160 --> 0:17:33.080 often we can look good on the outside, but on 0:17:33.119 --> 0:17:37.960 the inside there's deep affliction. There's deep brokenness, there's deep 0:17:38.240 --> 0:17:44.359 affliction by definition means be stuck in a state of suffering. Help, 0:17:45.240 --> 0:17:51.040 I'm locked in the bathroom. Are you afflicted today? Are 0:17:51.080 --> 0:17:55.440 you stuck in something today? I want to remind people 0:17:55.520 --> 0:17:57.440 I love the spirit in this house, and I love 0:17:57.480 --> 0:18:00.399 the spirit that's honestly right now going through these cameras 0:18:00.440 --> 0:18:04.000 as people are watching, but we're living in name that 0:18:04.200 --> 0:18:06.439 in this room, even right now, this is life. Someone 0:18:06.480 --> 0:18:10.000 can be winning, and someone can be losing. Someone could 0:18:10.000 --> 0:18:12.480 be really happy, and someone can also be really hurting. 0:18:13.440 --> 0:18:17.720 Someone can be celebrating, and somebody can be mourning. I 0:18:17.800 --> 0:18:19.199 think about some of you just here right now, Like, 0:18:19.280 --> 0:18:21.800 let's just never ever forget all the people in the room. 0:18:22.040 --> 0:18:24.240 Let's never forget all the people that are getting this 0:18:24.440 --> 0:18:28.480 ministry today. Someone today, a baby is being born while 0:18:28.520 --> 0:18:32.000 somebody else is burying their father. Someone's getting ready for 0:18:32.080 --> 0:18:35.199 a marriage this week, and somebody else just got a 0:18:35.280 --> 0:18:39.439 divorce this week. Somebody is celebrating a birthday and somebody 0:18:39.440 --> 0:18:44.200 else is headed to a funeral. I see it because 0:18:44.200 --> 0:18:46.280 it hits me. And every time we walk into a 0:18:46.359 --> 0:18:48.040 room like this, we've got to be aware that there's 0:18:48.080 --> 0:18:51.960 all sorts of different stories colliding and conflicting. But I 0:18:51.960 --> 0:18:54.320 don't know about you. If you're like me, I'm looking 0:18:54.359 --> 0:18:57.639 at this story and I'm saying, Yo, what a divine appointment? 0:18:58.480 --> 0:19:02.280 Because if you're headed to a funeral, can you imagine 0:19:03.119 --> 0:19:05.760 you're headed to a funeral that somehow you have a 0:19:05.840 --> 0:19:10.760 collision with Christ. See this is prophetic for someone today 0:19:11.359 --> 0:19:14.600 because many times when you collide with Jesus, you don't 0:19:14.640 --> 0:19:17.520 even know that he's on the way to you. You're 0:19:17.600 --> 0:19:22.920 headed to the funeral, but he's headed to invade your life. 0:19:24.280 --> 0:19:27.240 See today, we didn't come just to tell you about 0:19:27.240 --> 0:19:30.120 the problem. We didn't just come to talk about your affliction. 0:19:30.640 --> 0:19:32.920 We came to remind you that there is an answer 0:19:33.160 --> 0:19:37.480 to your affliction. Come on, there's an anecdote to your affliction. Oh. 0:19:37.600 --> 0:19:40.840 I know a name, and his name is Jesus Christ, 0:19:41.160 --> 0:19:44.919 King of Kings, and he can turn your story around. 0:19:45.920 --> 0:19:48.439 I want to encourage you. Maybe today you're stuck in 0:19:48.480 --> 0:19:52.000 something and you feel like I don't see any help 0:19:52.040 --> 0:19:54.199 on the way. I remember when I was in college, 0:19:54.320 --> 0:19:57.440 I had this experience where I saw this, I saw 0:19:57.480 --> 0:20:00.359 this guy get hit by a car. Now that doesn't 0:20:00.359 --> 0:20:04.320 sound funny, but it was actually hilarious. He said, tell me, well, okay, 0:20:04.359 --> 0:20:06.800 so here's the story. So I'm in college, probably my 0:20:06.880 --> 0:20:09.359 sophomore year, and this dude is walking with his with 0:20:09.440 --> 0:20:12.040 his girlfriend, and I can tell just by the way 0:20:12.080 --> 0:20:15.199 he's walking that it's like puppy dog love, you know, 0:20:15.240 --> 0:20:17.680 those early stages love. That that that's a real mystery right there, 0:20:17.720 --> 0:20:20.359 that kind of love. You know, they're walking and you 0:20:20.400 --> 0:20:22.639 know he's just got way too much swagging his step. 0:20:22.720 --> 0:20:26.359 You know, falling in love is is crazy because how 0:20:26.359 --> 0:20:28.240 many you know, like guys, we all have a different 0:20:28.280 --> 0:20:31.280 voice when we're falling in love dudes. Where I was like, 0:20:31.320 --> 0:20:31.919 yeah it, what's up? 0:20:31.960 --> 0:20:34.159 Bro? All right? 0:20:34.280 --> 0:20:41.960 All right? Yeah, yeah, yeah, what are yea? By the way, 0:20:41.960 --> 0:20:43.359 you like, what do you just say? Every guy in 0:20:43.359 --> 0:20:48.480 this room knows what I just said. But all of 0:20:48.480 --> 0:20:49.960 a sudden, the phone rings, you know, and it's like 0:20:50.000 --> 0:20:53.119 his it's like his new girlfriend. Ha ha ha oh 0:20:53.240 --> 0:20:59.440 yeah yeah, ring ring, Hey babe, what's up? Have you 0:20:59.520 --> 0:21:02.080 experienced it like an upper octave. Hey, what's going on? Yeah? 0:21:02.359 --> 0:21:04.600 Hey cool, Yeah, No, I'm just hanging with the guys. Yeah, 0:21:04.680 --> 0:21:07.280 just hang with the guys. My wife and I we 0:21:07.320 --> 0:21:11.920 just celebrated eighteen years of marriage. Holler at your boy. 0:21:14.000 --> 0:21:15.679 And I remember when I was an eighteen year old 0:21:15.720 --> 0:21:17.600 fallen in love with her. We're on the phone at night. Yeah, 0:21:17.600 --> 0:21:20.760 I miss you, No, I miss you. It's like, all right, 0:21:20.800 --> 0:21:27.000 we gotta go. No, no, no, no, never say no no, 0:21:27.080 --> 0:21:29.880 don't go. All right, we gotta hang up. Oh I 0:21:29.920 --> 0:21:34.800 hate it. Okay, on three, we're gonna hang up. You promise, 0:21:35.800 --> 0:21:45.520 I promise. Okay, babe, No, I miss you? Okay, ready? One? Two, three? 0:21:45.920 --> 0:21:51.600 Are you still there? It's fall in love. It's mysterious. 0:21:51.600 --> 0:21:54.399 So so this dude is totally in love. Okay, they're walking. 0:21:54.640 --> 0:21:56.199 How do I know their love? Because he's walk They 0:21:56.240 --> 0:22:00.399 got their fingers laced. That's always a sign, right, how man, 0:22:00.440 --> 0:22:02.520 y'all know you you only laced fingers with your girl. 0:22:03.520 --> 0:22:05.119 You ever been in a church service the pastor's like, hey, 0:22:05.200 --> 0:22:08.520 join hands with your neighbor. You're like, nah, bro, married, 0:22:08.520 --> 0:22:10.439 I don't want to. Don't lace fingers with me? You know, 0:22:10.560 --> 0:22:14.520 like that's stop there. They're walking. This this is true story. 0:22:14.720 --> 0:22:21.240 They're walking. Gets to the crosswalk, He's like, all right, 0:22:21.400 --> 0:22:26.119 I'm across the street. Bye. Girl walks out on the crosswalk. 0:22:26.280 --> 0:22:32.800 Way too cool. A car. A car hits this man. 0:22:33.400 --> 0:22:38.320 When it hits him, he rolls over the hood, falls 0:22:38.400 --> 0:22:42.040 and somehow, by the grace of God, lands on his feet. 0:22:42.960 --> 0:22:46.040 The only thing is is he tried to act like 0:22:46.080 --> 0:22:48.679 he didn't get hit by a car. He tried to 0:22:48.680 --> 0:22:53.720 walk it out like nothing just happened. Yo, you can't 0:22:53.720 --> 0:22:57.120 do that. You can't be walking up over the thing. 0:22:57.400 --> 0:23:00.480 Land on your feet. Now, walk it out, get out. 0:23:02.240 --> 0:23:03.640 I'm way too petty for that. I had to run 0:23:03.640 --> 0:23:06.119 across the here like grow you just got hit by 0:23:06.119 --> 0:23:10.560 a car. And what he said to me has always 0:23:10.560 --> 0:23:13.680 stuck with me. He said, I know, I didn't see 0:23:13.720 --> 0:23:20.840 it coming, and so many of us that's how life happens. 0:23:22.320 --> 0:23:26.119 I didn't see it coming. I wasn't expecting it. I 0:23:26.160 --> 0:23:29.120 didn't anticipate it. I didn't see that suffering. I didn't 0:23:29.160 --> 0:23:32.560 see that pain. I didn't see that affliction. And there 0:23:32.640 --> 0:23:35.760 is no doubt that pain can hit your life fast. 0:23:36.280 --> 0:23:38.840 But I want to encourage you today that God can 0:23:38.920 --> 0:23:44.320 hit your life even faster. Do you know we serve 0:23:44.400 --> 0:23:49.080 the God of suddenly that when God shows up, he 0:23:49.119 --> 0:23:52.520 shows up without warning. When God wants to do something 0:23:52.560 --> 0:23:55.600 in your life, he does so in an unexpected way, 0:23:56.280 --> 0:23:59.760 in an instant. He can invade your darkness all at once. 0:24:00.119 --> 0:24:02.919 He can interrupt your funeral, and he can show up 0:24:02.960 --> 0:24:06.960 and say, I've come to cancel the funeral. Somebody give 0:24:06.960 --> 0:24:10.680 God some praise in this place. He cancels funerals and 0:24:10.880 --> 0:24:18.080 know a name. So here's this moment. It's not a coincidence. 0:24:18.119 --> 0:24:21.920 Fifteen minutes earlier, fifteen minutes later, he would have missed them. 0:24:22.200 --> 0:24:25.439 One crowd's headed to the cemetery. Jesus is headed to 0:24:25.480 --> 0:24:28.720 the city, and it's not a car crash, but rather 0:24:28.800 --> 0:24:32.119 it's a collision with Christ. She didn't even see it coming. 0:24:32.480 --> 0:24:35.000 She wasn't even expecting it. And the Bible says that 0:24:35.040 --> 0:24:38.640 when Jesus sees her, his heart begins to break for her. 0:24:39.680 --> 0:24:41.480 In fact, he looks at this woman and he says, 0:24:42.040 --> 0:24:45.760 don't cry. This is the heart of Jesus. Please notice 0:24:45.920 --> 0:24:50.560 she hasn't even opened up her mouth. This woman's crying, 0:24:50.560 --> 0:24:51.720 and I think that we ought to just take a 0:24:51.720 --> 0:24:55.200 moment and say, she's got good reason to cry as 0:24:55.240 --> 0:24:58.440 we find out this isn't our first funeral, this isn't 0:24:58.480 --> 0:25:02.520 her first setback. She's already buried her husband, which in 0:25:02.520 --> 0:25:05.040 that time period, to not have a husband is one 0:25:05.080 --> 0:25:07.000 of the most difficult, tragic things you could go through 0:25:07.000 --> 0:25:09.640 because all of your power, position, all of your livelihood 0:25:09.680 --> 0:25:12.840 would have come from your husband. But this woman has 0:25:12.840 --> 0:25:16.520 a plan. She has a one and only son that 0:25:16.640 --> 0:25:18.399 all of her hopes, all of her dreams are in 0:25:18.480 --> 0:25:22.960 this boy. But now her plans have died. What do 0:25:23.040 --> 0:25:26.399 you do when your plans and your dreams die? 0:25:27.760 --> 0:25:27.920 Oh? 0:25:27.960 --> 0:25:30.959 Can I encourage you today? As believers in Jesus. Our 0:25:31.000 --> 0:25:34.240 trust is not in a plan. Our trust is in 0:25:34.280 --> 0:25:41.159 a man. I know his name because watch this. This 0:25:41.200 --> 0:25:44.960 woman doesn't know it. But her only son is getting 0:25:44.960 --> 0:25:50.760 ready to meet God's only son. One is alive and 0:25:50.800 --> 0:25:55.000 he's destined to die. The other is dead, but he's 0:25:55.080 --> 0:26:02.040 destined to live. Oh, the mysteries of God. God works 0:26:02.880 --> 0:26:07.280 in mysterious ways. Someone's like, that's right, Pastor, my Bible 0:26:07.400 --> 0:26:12.480 says God works in mysterious ways, except for the fact 0:26:12.480 --> 0:26:18.160 that he doesn't say that. That's nowhere actually in the Bible. Now, 0:26:18.200 --> 0:26:21.440 the word mysteries all over the Bible. Colossians would remind 0:26:21.520 --> 0:26:25.440 us that we have this mystery, which is Christ in us. 0:26:25.720 --> 0:26:29.280 Revelation would remind us that God will accomplish his will, 0:26:29.320 --> 0:26:31.879 and it's a mystery. Mysteries all throughout the Bible. And 0:26:31.960 --> 0:26:34.960 although this phrase never shows up in the text, we 0:26:35.080 --> 0:26:38.360 can see this truth all over it. The phrase actually 0:26:38.359 --> 0:26:41.800 comes from an English poet in the late seventeen hundreds. 0:26:41.840 --> 0:26:44.960 His name was William Cowper, and William Kwper, as he 0:26:45.000 --> 0:26:47.920 tells his own story, was dealing with a deep depression. 0:26:47.920 --> 0:26:50.679 He was stuck in affliction, and one night he decided 0:26:50.720 --> 0:26:52.080 he was going to end his life, and so he 0:26:52.160 --> 0:26:54.199 marched down to the River Thames and he was going 0:26:54.240 --> 0:26:56.680 to drown himself. But while he was there, he kept 0:26:56.720 --> 0:27:00.399 seeing a figure walk on the ridge line. Somewhat feeling 0:27:00.400 --> 0:27:02.280 like he wasn't in a place of privacy, he decided, 0:27:02.280 --> 0:27:03.880 I'm going to go back to my house and I'll 0:27:03.880 --> 0:27:06.280 do the deed in my own home. And as he 0:27:06.320 --> 0:27:08.520 recounts his story, he would say that three different times 0:27:08.560 --> 0:27:11.600 he tried to take his life, but every time listen this, 0:27:12.080 --> 0:27:14.920 Every time he attempted to take his life. He said 0:27:14.920 --> 0:27:18.199 something was stopping him from doing it. He described it 0:27:18.240 --> 0:27:23.720 as the invisible hand. Some years later he got saved. 0:27:23.920 --> 0:27:26.480 He ended up being discipled by Jonathan Newton, the writer 0:27:26.560 --> 0:27:29.640 of Amazing Grace, and Newton would encourage him to take 0:27:29.640 --> 0:27:32.280 his gift of poetry and give it back over to 0:27:32.359 --> 0:27:35.720 God and to begin to write melodies by putting theology 0:27:35.760 --> 0:27:38.440 to melody. And his greatest hymn is a hymn called 0:27:38.680 --> 0:27:41.240 God Moves. And the first stands of that hymn is 0:27:41.640 --> 0:27:45.720 God works in mysterious ways. I don't know if it 0:27:45.760 --> 0:27:47.800 ministers to you, but it ministers to me, because the 0:27:47.880 --> 0:27:51.560 invisible hand is a great way to describe God at work. 0:27:51.880 --> 0:27:55.840 Who else placed the stars in the sky the invisible hand? 0:27:56.400 --> 0:28:00.800 Come on? Who else sets the tides in mo Who 0:28:00.800 --> 0:28:04.639 else has them rise and fall perfectly? Who set the 0:28:04.680 --> 0:28:09.679 clock the invisible hand did? God is at work? I 0:28:09.800 --> 0:28:11.760 just look all over nature and see the mystery. You 0:28:11.800 --> 0:28:14.399 ever thought about a butterfly? I don't know if you know. 0:28:14.520 --> 0:28:16.920 You know a butterfly starts as a caterpillar. No, rich, 0:28:16.960 --> 0:28:18.240 we didn't know that. Well you ought to know it. 0:28:19.560 --> 0:28:21.240 But who told this this caterpillar? 0:28:21.320 --> 0:28:21.439 Yoh? 0:28:22.240 --> 0:28:24.280 Can you see the cabin. I don't think I belong 0:28:24.359 --> 0:28:27.840 in the dirt. I think I'm called the fly. Really, 0:28:28.320 --> 0:28:31.640 who told you that? And then the caterpillar goes from 0:28:31.640 --> 0:28:34.120 the dirt and he wraps himself up in a cocoon. 0:28:34.160 --> 0:28:36.399 But it's the invisible hand. And after twenty one days, 0:28:36.720 --> 0:28:41.000 this ground little insect comes out like a beautiful, colorful 0:28:41.200 --> 0:28:45.960 butterfly flying in the air. What about a seed? A 0:28:46.000 --> 0:28:49.320 seed gets buried in the dirt, and it looks like 0:28:49.400 --> 0:28:52.720 the story is all over. But then the invisible hand 0:28:52.760 --> 0:28:55.800 reaches down into that dirt and reminds that seed, you're 0:28:55.840 --> 0:28:59.920 not buried. Come on, somebody, you're planted, and I will 0:29:00.120 --> 0:29:04.800 bring you out, David said. And he lifted me out 0:29:04.840 --> 0:29:07.800 of the myrie pit, out of that slimy pit. He'd 0:29:07.800 --> 0:29:10.479 put my feet on a solid rock. He put a 0:29:10.520 --> 0:29:13.800 new song in my mouth. Anybody got a new song today? 0:29:14.160 --> 0:29:16.280 Go ahead, lift up your praise. 0:29:16.720 --> 0:29:23.440 The invisible hand is always ad work, it's mysterious. But 0:29:23.560 --> 0:29:28.400 in Luke seven, the invisible hand materializes into the physical 0:29:28.440 --> 0:29:32.480 hand of Jesus Christ. Fret just the right moment, in 0:29:32.520 --> 0:29:36.560 this mysterious way, he shows up to this funeral party, and. 0:29:36.560 --> 0:29:38.600 He looks at this woman, and he says, don't cry. 0:29:39.360 --> 0:29:41.920 That I would encourage you if you go to a funeral, 0:29:42.160 --> 0:29:46.120 don't look at somebody unel him not to cry. That 0:29:46.160 --> 0:29:50.080 would be insensitive. But when Jesus says it, he's not 0:29:50.200 --> 0:29:55.560 being insensitive. It's because he plans to turn the situation around. 0:29:57.160 --> 0:30:00.720 He plans to turn it around. Here's what I notice. 0:30:01.560 --> 0:30:02.960 I don't know if this will minister to you, but 0:30:03.000 --> 0:30:06.920 it so speaks to me. This woman never even asked 0:30:07.200 --> 0:30:12.160 Jesus for help. What if I told you his love 0:30:12.200 --> 0:30:16.480 for you outweighs your faith in him. What if I 0:30:16.560 --> 0:30:19.520 told you that Jesus even acts even when you don't ask. 0:30:20.760 --> 0:30:23.560 My Bible says he's close to the broken hearted. He's 0:30:23.560 --> 0:30:25.240 always with us. But I think when you're in pain, 0:30:25.440 --> 0:30:28.959 when you're in suffering, he gets even closer than some 0:30:29.000 --> 0:30:31.560 of us today were people of faith. I believe faith speaks, 0:30:31.600 --> 0:30:34.239 I believe faith talks, I believe faith proclaims. But I 0:30:34.280 --> 0:30:37.120 just want to remind you about a God who's always 0:30:37.160 --> 0:30:40.040 been acting on your behalf, long before you ever asked 0:30:40.120 --> 0:30:42.960 him to do anything. You didn't ask him to rise 0:30:43.000 --> 0:30:45.600 the sun this morning. My Bible says it rains on 0:30:45.640 --> 0:30:48.960 the just and the unjust. You didn't ask him to 0:30:48.960 --> 0:30:51.640 put air in your lungs, but every breath you take, 0:30:51.760 --> 0:30:54.120 he put it there. That's what I love about praise 0:30:54.120 --> 0:30:56.880 and worship. We're just giving God his breath back. That's 0:30:56.920 --> 0:30:59.800 why I gotta say something. That's why I gotta sing. 0:31:01.200 --> 0:31:06.120 While we were yet sinners, Christ died for the ungodly, 0:31:06.480 --> 0:31:09.040 when we were cursing his name, when we were running 0:31:09.040 --> 0:31:13.520 from him. Jesus Christ hung from that tree, shed his blood. 0:31:13.720 --> 0:31:17.280 We stretched him wide, we hung him high, But he said, Father, 0:31:17.720 --> 0:31:21.360 forgive them, for they know not what they're doing. Somebody, 0:31:21.400 --> 0:31:24.920 thank God. If you're grateful, then he acts even when 0:31:24.920 --> 0:31:30.280 you don't have to strength to ask. And he walks over. 0:31:30.800 --> 0:31:32.640 And as he walks over, the Bible says that he 0:31:33.520 --> 0:31:38.240 touches the stretcher. The invisible hand becomes the physical hand. 0:31:38.520 --> 0:31:43.560 It's mysterious, and everybody stops. What's happening. Wait a minute, 0:31:43.880 --> 0:31:47.400 you can't touch this dead thing. This is the theology 0:31:47.440 --> 0:31:51.640 of the day. That a rabbi can't touch something dead 0:31:51.680 --> 0:31:55.440 because that would make them unclean. The only thing is 0:31:55.480 --> 0:31:59.480 that Jesus is not some regular rabbi. The only thing 0:31:59.560 --> 0:32:01.560 is that ge Esus is not just some mere man. 0:32:02.000 --> 0:32:04.520 The only thing today is that we haven't gathered for principles, 0:32:04.680 --> 0:32:08.280 we haven't gathered for philosophy. We've gathered to encounter the 0:32:08.360 --> 0:32:10.960 living God. That Jesus Christ is the son of God 0:32:11.240 --> 0:32:15.760 and he can do what he pleases. And when he 0:32:15.840 --> 0:32:19.040 touches the stretcher, he's telling you and I I'm not 0:32:19.160 --> 0:32:23.360 afraid of your affliction. I'm not afraid of the thing 0:32:23.360 --> 0:32:25.120 that's decayed, the thing that you've been hiding. I know 0:32:25.160 --> 0:32:27.760 some of us, we've exposed our hurts, we've exposed our pains, 0:32:27.760 --> 0:32:30.120 and people have run from it. But Jesus says, with 0:32:30.320 --> 0:32:34.360 just one touch, I can handle your pain. I can 0:32:34.440 --> 0:32:39.000 touch your mess. In fact, God works greatness through our mess. 0:32:39.920 --> 0:32:44.479 And he touches the stretcher, and everyone stops. Watch what 0:32:44.600 --> 0:32:48.960 Jesus says. Jesus says, get up. Someone say get up, 0:32:49.960 --> 0:32:53.040 someone say get up, because this is a prophecy for 0:32:53.080 --> 0:32:57.920 your life today. Get up. You do know that when 0:32:57.920 --> 0:33:04.760 God wants something done, he just speaks. Like when God 0:33:04.760 --> 0:33:07.880 wants to create something, he speaks it to you. In 0:33:07.920 --> 0:33:11.280 the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth, and 0:33:11.320 --> 0:33:13.680 the earth was formless and void, and darkness was over 0:33:13.720 --> 0:33:15.840 the earth. And what did God do? God said, let 0:33:15.880 --> 0:33:22.840 there be and with his words nothing became something. One 0:33:22.880 --> 0:33:25.440 that he's on a storm and he's asleep on a cushion, 0:33:25.520 --> 0:33:28.360 and the disciples are freaking out. Oh, we're gonna die. 0:33:28.520 --> 0:33:32.160 We're stuck, We're stuck. This is bad. Where's Jesus? They 0:33:32.200 --> 0:33:36.120 find Jesus asleep? Do you even care if we drown? 0:33:37.080 --> 0:33:42.120 Jesus wakes up, doesn't shout comes out in the front 0:33:42.120 --> 0:33:48.440 of the boat. Peace be still and immediately, someone say, 0:33:48.480 --> 0:33:52.440 immediately the storm settles. In fact, the text says that 0:33:52.480 --> 0:33:55.320 they were afraid in the storm, but then they became 0:33:55.560 --> 0:34:03.920 terrified when it was completely calm. Afraid in the storm, 0:34:04.000 --> 0:34:07.840 terrified in the calm. Why would that be. Maybe it's 0:34:07.840 --> 0:34:16.680 because they just witnessed the storm's match. I need to 0:34:16.680 --> 0:34:19.080 speak to someone today who's hurting. God is not mean, 0:34:19.120 --> 0:34:23.239 but he is dangerous, and storms have to stop. When 0:34:23.239 --> 0:34:25.400 he simply speaks. He doesn't have to let out more 0:34:25.440 --> 0:34:28.200 than a whisper. But if he whispers into your situation, 0:34:28.480 --> 0:34:30.960 that which is turbulent, that which is full of obstacles, 0:34:31.040 --> 0:34:33.840 that which looks like it is dead, Jesus can whisper, 0:34:34.040 --> 0:34:36.640 and that thing can settle, that thing can come back 0:34:36.680 --> 0:34:39.040 to life. I need to build your faith today. Can 0:34:39.080 --> 0:34:40.600 you clap your hands and make a little bit of 0:34:40.640 --> 0:34:47.719 noise if you're receiving this word. Jesus gets word that 0:34:47.840 --> 0:34:50.640 his best friend is so sick he's about to die. 0:34:51.000 --> 0:34:54.000 They send a letter the one you love is about 0:34:54.040 --> 0:34:56.759 to die, and Jesus says, this sickness will not end 0:34:56.760 --> 0:35:01.879 in death, and then he waits two more days. Can 0:35:01.960 --> 0:35:04.320 you trust that God is working even while you're waiting. 0:35:06.480 --> 0:35:08.960 He waits two more days. When he finally shows up 0:35:09.160 --> 0:35:11.759 to the home of Lazarus, we discover that Lazarus has 0:35:11.760 --> 0:35:15.319 been dead for four days. And when he gets there, 0:35:16.080 --> 0:35:18.480 Martha's one. If you had only been here, my brother 0:35:18.520 --> 0:35:21.560 would not have died. I love the scripture. It's the 0:35:21.560 --> 0:35:23.680 shortest scripture for looking one to memorize. You can still 0:35:23.719 --> 0:35:28.160 memorize one in twenty twenty four. Jesus wept. It's a 0:35:28.160 --> 0:35:31.480 powerful scripture because what you see as you see Jesus say, 0:35:31.640 --> 0:35:36.080 before I exercise my authority, I'm going to exercise my empathy, 0:35:37.320 --> 0:35:41.640 because authority without empathy is cheap. I don't know what 0:35:41.680 --> 0:35:43.879 you're going through, but Jesus weeps. You might be going 0:35:43.880 --> 0:35:46.240 through hell and high water, but Jesus weeps. He knows 0:35:46.280 --> 0:35:50.160 how you feel. He senses your pain. He's drawn to it. 0:35:50.360 --> 0:35:54.120 He cares about it. And he looks at Martha and says, Yo, Martha, 0:35:54.440 --> 0:35:57.759 I am the resurrection and the life. What does that mean? 0:35:57.840 --> 0:36:00.719 It means I don't just do resurrection. No, it's my 0:36:00.960 --> 0:36:03.759 very nature. When things get around me, I don't care 0:36:03.800 --> 0:36:07.920 how long they've been dead, four days, fifty days, twenty years. 0:36:08.080 --> 0:36:11.160 They have to come back to life. Am I preaching 0:36:11.360 --> 0:36:16.399 to anybody? On a Sunday morning? Dead things coming back 0:36:16.400 --> 0:36:20.520 to life? And he gets to the cemetery and he says, 0:36:20.680 --> 0:36:24.799 roll the stone away, and then he looks into that 0:36:24.880 --> 0:36:30.160 tomb and what does he say? Lazarus come forth. It's 0:36:30.280 --> 0:36:34.879 important that he was so specific with naming Lazarus. Had 0:36:34.880 --> 0:36:39.839 he not named Lazarus, every dead thing in that cemetery 0:36:40.200 --> 0:36:43.640 would to come walking out like a Michael Jackson thriller video. 0:36:44.080 --> 0:36:47.520 I'm trying to preach to someone dead things are coming 0:36:47.560 --> 0:36:48.200 back to life. 0:36:48.840 --> 0:36:56.240 At his word, it's mysterious. 0:36:56.920 --> 0:37:02.240 I can't explain it. It's unsinkable, it's unmade God works 0:37:02.280 --> 0:37:05.200 in mysterious ways. And what does he say? He says, 0:37:05.280 --> 0:37:09.400 get up? Can imagine that boy just set up? Whoa 0:37:10.760 --> 0:37:14.040 notice this? Because this is practical that many times when 0:37:14.040 --> 0:37:16.399 God says get up, what is he saying? He's saying, 0:37:16.440 --> 0:37:22.480 you have to change your position so I can shift 0:37:22.520 --> 0:37:26.120 your perspective. See there's some people in this room that 0:37:26.120 --> 0:37:29.359 have caught a revelation that I clap my hands, I 0:37:29.400 --> 0:37:31.640 lift my hands, sometimes I stand up on my feet. 0:37:31.640 --> 0:37:34.600 Why am I doing I'm changing my position so I 0:37:34.600 --> 0:37:38.600 can shift my perspective. So much of life wants to 0:37:38.640 --> 0:37:41.600 bury you, So much of life wants to USh you 0:37:41.640 --> 0:37:44.160 to the funeral. But if you're notice like down here, 0:37:46.360 --> 0:37:51.720 down here, I can't see all that good down here. 0:37:52.640 --> 0:37:56.120 I have one perspective. Down here, I feel the weight 0:37:56.160 --> 0:37:59.759 of the world. I'm not gonna make it. I'm over 0:37:59.800 --> 0:38:02.879 whe But then God says get up, and I get up. 0:38:03.880 --> 0:38:05.480 Can I say, wait a minute, Greater is he that 0:38:05.600 --> 0:38:08.520 is in me than he that is in the world. 0:38:11.840 --> 0:38:19.040 Down here, I'm just trying to survive. Oh Jesus, bring Friday. 0:38:19.760 --> 0:38:22.640 I gotta get to the weekend. Yo, I'm not gonna 0:38:22.680 --> 0:38:25.840 make it. But then God says, get up, and I go, 0:38:25.880 --> 0:38:29.000 wait a minute, I'm not a survivor. I'm more than 0:38:29.040 --> 0:38:34.120 a conqueror. I'm appreciate it till somebody else feels this. 0:38:34.400 --> 0:38:38.400 Down here, I don't have the strength. I'm not enough. 0:38:38.840 --> 0:38:41.920 I feel thin, I feel anxious. I'm too weak. But 0:38:41.960 --> 0:38:44.400 then God says, get up, and when I get up, 0:38:44.400 --> 0:38:47.160 I get his perspective. Wait a minute, I can do 0:38:47.360 --> 0:38:54.160 all I said, all things through Christ, who strengthens me. Oh, 0:38:54.160 --> 0:38:57.200 we're gonna get someone that I Down here, I'm overcome 0:38:57.280 --> 0:39:01.120 by fear down here. I don't know what's gonna happen 0:39:01.200 --> 0:39:03.600 to America. Down here, I don't know what's gonna happen 0:39:03.640 --> 0:39:05.879 to my family. Down here, I don't know what's gonna 0:39:05.880 --> 0:39:08.480 happen to my kids. But then God says, get up, 0:39:08.719 --> 0:39:11.759 and when I get up, my perspective is shifted. Yay. 0:39:11.920 --> 0:39:16.840 Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of Death, 0:39:17.800 --> 0:39:20.600 I will fear no evil. God has not given me 0:39:20.640 --> 0:39:24.440 a spirit of fear, but of love and of power 0:39:25.000 --> 0:39:32.480 and a sarmind baby, Someone say it up. Oh, I 0:39:32.600 --> 0:39:35.480 know about a God who's taken me to mountaintops. I 0:39:35.600 --> 0:39:37.960 know about a God who's taken me to grace. I 0:39:38.040 --> 0:39:40.480 know about a God who's taken me to miracles. But 0:39:40.560 --> 0:39:42.919 I also know about a God who's taken me down 0:39:42.960 --> 0:39:45.800 into the valley. But let me testify from the valley. 0:39:46.080 --> 0:39:49.200 He's only ever taken me to the valley. He always 0:39:49.440 --> 0:39:52.960 has brought me through. He always brings me to the 0:39:52.960 --> 0:39:56.600 other side. Anybody got some faith God's bringing you through? 0:40:00.719 --> 0:40:06.000 Someone say, get up. You gotta get up to get 0:40:06.000 --> 0:40:08.839 a new perspective. You can grab a seat. I promise 0:40:08.840 --> 0:40:10.520 I'm finished. I'm finished, but grab a seat because I'm 0:40:10.520 --> 0:40:15.319 gonna really preach it. Get up, Get up, Get up, 0:40:15.320 --> 0:40:16.799 Get up, Get up, Get up, Get up, get up. 0:40:18.320 --> 0:40:21.040 I can't help but lift my hands. I'm not lifting 0:40:21.080 --> 0:40:23.239 my hands because I feel it. I'm lifting my hands 0:40:23.239 --> 0:40:27.040 because I know it. I can't help but shout. I'm 0:40:27.040 --> 0:40:30.759 not shouting because I've got goosebumps. I'm shouting because I'm 0:40:30.760 --> 0:40:34.200 putting my faith as an exclamation mark in a declaration that, 0:40:34.360 --> 0:40:37.720 although it's not done yet, I believe God is working. 0:40:38.320 --> 0:40:42.480 He's mysterious. And the Bible says the boy starts talking. 0:40:44.000 --> 0:40:46.080 I don't know what he said, doesn't tell us in 0:40:46.080 --> 0:40:49.399 the scripture, but I imagine it's something like this. Thank you 0:40:52.520 --> 0:40:54.720 for all of our Spanish speakers. Can I see as 0:40:58.320 --> 0:41:02.719 my favorite nation in Brazil? But all put that in 0:41:02.719 --> 0:41:05.000 the chat right now? How about of God? Oh, Brazilian 0:41:05.040 --> 0:41:08.120 flags all over the chat. Thank you, thank you, thank you, 0:41:08.760 --> 0:41:10.839 thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, 0:41:10.920 --> 0:41:14.440 thank you. They all started worshiping. The boy was resurrected, 0:41:14.920 --> 0:41:21.080 the funeral was canceled, and the future was conceived. It's mysterious, 0:41:21.560 --> 0:41:23.399 and the Bible says. They all begin to praise God, 0:41:23.440 --> 0:41:27.200 because that's what you do. That's what we do on 0:41:27.280 --> 0:41:34.239 Sundays when Jesus acts, praise reacts. I don't care if 0:41:34.280 --> 0:41:36.959 it's a new song or not. I got a song 0:41:37.080 --> 0:41:40.560 in my heart. It's not my song, it's God's song. 0:41:41.000 --> 0:41:44.160 I can't stay quiet. I gotta lift my hands, I 0:41:44.200 --> 0:41:50.920 gotta lift my voice. Jesus has acted mightily in my life. 0:41:52.880 --> 0:41:55.040 They begin to praise, saying, a great prophet has come. 0:41:55.440 --> 0:41:57.160 Let me draw your attention to Luke chapter seven. This 0:41:57.200 --> 0:42:00.640 is Eugene Peterson's paraphrase, and it just spoke to me. 0:42:01.200 --> 0:42:03.880 I think it's gonna speak to you Luke chapter seven. 0:42:04.040 --> 0:42:07.200 See if you catch it. Verse sixteen. They all realized 0:42:08.200 --> 0:42:13.439 they were in a place of holy mystery, that God 0:42:13.560 --> 0:42:17.440 was at work among them. Watch this, they were quietly worshipful, 0:42:18.400 --> 0:42:23.560 and then noisily grateful, calling out among themselves. God is back, 0:42:23.960 --> 0:42:27.200 looking after the needs of his people. And then the 0:42:27.320 --> 0:42:31.520 news of Jesus spread. It just lands right there for 0:42:31.600 --> 0:42:36.360 me that every week we gather this is mysterious. We 0:42:36.480 --> 0:42:38.400 have no idea what God is doing right now in 0:42:38.440 --> 0:42:41.479 the supernatural. We have no idea the seed of faith 0:42:41.480 --> 0:42:44.279 that's being planted in your heart wherever you're tuning in 0:42:44.320 --> 0:42:47.480 from right now. It's a mystery. It's a holy mystery. 0:42:47.800 --> 0:42:50.719 It's a mystery in Charlotte. It's a mystery in the Epham, 0:42:50.880 --> 0:42:53.560 It's a mystery in Miami. And notice the marks of 0:42:53.600 --> 0:43:00.719 a mystery. Quietly worshipful and then noisily grateful. Do you 0:43:00.760 --> 0:43:03.160 ever notice this in worship? You ever noticed this? When 0:43:03.200 --> 0:43:05.880 God shows up? There's these times where it's just a whisper, 0:43:07.000 --> 0:43:13.080 Oh God, God, thank you, God, thank you. You saved 0:43:13.120 --> 0:43:17.600 my marriage. God, you saved my kids. Oh God, thank you. 0:43:18.080 --> 0:43:19.680 But then there's other times I don't care if you're 0:43:19.680 --> 0:43:24.320 a Pentecostal or not, that you start getting noisily grateful. 0:43:24.360 --> 0:43:28.880 I can't help it. I've gotta testify. I have a 0:43:29.040 --> 0:43:32.640 reason to praise God. If I don't praise him, whoa, 0:43:33.320 --> 0:43:38.520 the rocks will cry out in my place. But other times, othertimes, 0:43:39.000 --> 0:43:44.440 Oh God, oh Jesus, be still A. No, I know 0:43:44.560 --> 0:43:47.120 you're with me. I know you're here. I know you're 0:43:47.160 --> 0:43:49.600 at work. It's mysterious. I know I can't see it 0:43:49.680 --> 0:43:51.680 right now. I know I feel stuck. I know I 0:43:51.680 --> 0:43:54.200 don't have to strength to show. But God, I sense you. 0:43:54.760 --> 0:43:56.760 And then all of a sudden it flips around into 0:43:56.800 --> 0:43:59.960 a noisily grateful moment. Oh, I might not be where 0:44:00.000 --> 0:44:03.480 where I want to be, but thank God, I'm not 0:44:03.520 --> 0:44:06.759 where I used to be. I was dead, but now 0:44:06.840 --> 0:44:11.319 I hear. I was blind, but now I see. I 0:44:11.360 --> 0:44:13.520 was lost, but I've been found. 0:44:13.760 --> 0:44:16.960 I was dead, but I'm alive. 0:44:22.280 --> 0:44:31.440 It's mysterious. It's mysterious. Don't underestimate it. It's not hype. 0:44:31.440 --> 0:44:34.520 It's not sensationalism. It's not emotionalism. It's the mystery of 0:44:34.600 --> 0:44:38.160 God at work. It's the invisible hand sweeping through the room. 0:44:38.640 --> 0:44:43.040 It's touching you, it's catching your tears. God is here. 0:44:44.360 --> 0:44:50.640 God is working. God is here. God is working. If 0:44:50.640 --> 0:44:53.200 that can you help me prepacy, We're done. We're done. 0:44:53.239 --> 0:44:55.640 I promise, I promise. I follow this up claw. I 0:44:55.680 --> 0:44:57.160 just want to try to illustrate this for somebody. This 0:44:57.200 --> 0:44:58.640 hide the room. You're gonna help me preach this t 0:44:58.760 --> 0:45:03.160 right here. Try to say God is here, and no whisper. 0:45:03.160 --> 0:45:07.360 Not you guys, you're way too aggressive. Say God is 0:45:07.400 --> 0:45:13.640 here one more time. Any Pentecostals in the room today, 0:45:15.360 --> 0:45:20.680 All right, you know your part. God is working one 0:45:20.719 --> 0:45:35.640 more time this side, Pentecostals. I'm doing that because I 0:45:35.640 --> 0:45:46.319 don't know how you need to hear it today. But 0:45:46.440 --> 0:45:48.680 God sent me from Miami to tell you. Whether it's 0:45:48.680 --> 0:45:52.400 a whisper or a shout, He's going to remind you 0:45:53.120 --> 0:45:55.359 he's mysterious. This is my life, this is your life. 0:45:56.040 --> 0:45:58.000 I remember when we first started our church. We couldn't 0:45:58.000 --> 0:46:00.000 find a place to meet. We're up in my apartment 0:46:00.320 --> 0:46:02.520 just trying to start a church, and it was scary, 0:46:02.560 --> 0:46:07.080 it was frightening, but we had this sense. We were praying, 0:46:07.120 --> 0:46:11.440 we were hoping. All we can say is God is here. 0:46:11.920 --> 0:46:14.560 We finally found a building. We were so grateful, little 0:46:14.560 --> 0:46:17.040 middle school in Wynwood. We started with one service and 0:46:17.080 --> 0:46:20.960 all we could say was God is here, but that 0:46:20.960 --> 0:46:23.560 thing began to grow in the invisible hand started to 0:46:23.560 --> 0:46:26.200 build that church. For if we labor in vain, it 0:46:26.239 --> 0:46:27.920 won't work, but God builds his house. They went from 0:46:27.920 --> 0:46:30.960 one service to two service, three, four, five, six. We 0:46:31.000 --> 0:46:34.040 had an eight pm cert. Y'all, you haven't been to 0:46:34.160 --> 0:46:37.600 church until you went to church at eight pm at night. 0:46:37.640 --> 0:46:41.720 Trust me. Everybody at Vood Church was shouting. I remember 0:46:41.760 --> 0:46:43.560 my wife when she turned twenty five years of age. 0:46:43.640 --> 0:46:45.279 The doctor said, it's going to be almost impossible for 0:46:45.280 --> 0:46:47.840 you to have children. It was crazy for us to 0:46:47.880 --> 0:46:50.399 hear it because she's one of seven. I'm one of four, 0:46:51.680 --> 0:46:53.560 and it was scary and we were crying and we 0:46:53.560 --> 0:46:58.000 were worried, but we had this sense God is here. 0:47:00.000 --> 0:47:03.839 Here's went by. It wasn't like one Sunday and wow good. 0:47:03.920 --> 0:47:07.479 It was word after word. It was Pastor Stephen, write 0:47:07.480 --> 0:47:11.520 another song, Pastor Stephen, I need another word. But we 0:47:11.560 --> 0:47:16.080 just kept saying God is here. But after eight years, 0:47:17.320 --> 0:47:20.799 eight is the number of new beginnings. New beginnings hit 0:47:20.840 --> 0:47:26.560 our house. My wife became pregnant. We were shouting and 0:47:26.680 --> 0:47:29.240 cannot just testify today at the ripe age of forty 0:47:29.360 --> 0:47:32.560 years of age. Four weeks from today, my wife will 0:47:32.560 --> 0:47:34.400 give birth to our fourth. 0:47:35.920 --> 0:47:36.080 Oh. 0:47:36.120 --> 0:47:50.759 We could shout this time. Last year, my father, my hero, 0:47:50.920 --> 0:47:54.799 my pastor, the man of OH always wanted to be like, 0:47:55.360 --> 0:47:59.280 got diagnosed with a rare blood cancer. It was scary. 0:48:00.880 --> 0:48:04.360 Who's to take care of my mom? What's gonna happen 0:48:04.400 --> 0:48:08.840 to his church? I'm not enough, But there was this sense. 0:48:08.920 --> 0:48:13.120 It wasn't a shout, it was a whisper. And we 0:48:13.239 --> 0:48:15.160 pray and we fasted, and all we can say is 0:48:17.880 --> 0:48:24.799 God is here. God is here. He went into a 0:48:25.120 --> 0:48:30.160 six month quarantine. He had a stem cell transplant in 0:48:30.239 --> 0:48:39.280 this past August. The doctors not understanding at all, unexplainable, unexpected, 0:48:39.760 --> 0:48:42.680 they gave him a clean bill of health. Trust me, 0:48:43.080 --> 0:48:45.400 everybody in Miami and all of the world is shouting. 0:48:46.719 --> 0:48:50.640 What are we shouting? What do you say? What do 0:48:50.680 --> 0:48:55.080 you believe? Say it louda say it so somebody could hear. 0:48:56.160 --> 0:49:03.560 God is working. God it is here, do works in 0:49:03.640 --> 0:49:07.160 my serious ways. And I've said something dead. It's coming 0:49:07.200 --> 0:49:11.399 back to life today. I know what Nay, hey, sit 0:49:11.480 --> 0:49:18.120 your hand may thank you for joining us. 0:49:18.440 --> 0:49:20.880 Special thanks to those of you who give generously to 0:49:20.960 --> 0:49:24.440 this ministry is because of you that this ministry is possible. 0:49:24.920 --> 0:49:27.080 You can click the link in the description to give 0:49:27.200 --> 0:49:31.440 now or visit Elevation Church dot org slash podcast. 0:49:31.040 --> 0:49:34.120 For more information and if you enjoyed the podcast, you 0:49:34.160 --> 0:49:34.960 can subscribe. 0:49:35.440 --> 0:49:37.520 You can share it with your friends. You can click 0:49:37.520 --> 0:49:39.759 the share button, take a screenshot and share it on 0:49:39.800 --> 0:49:42.680 your social stories and tag us at Elevation Church. Thanks 0:49:42.680 --> 0:49:43.440 again for listening. 0:49:43.480 --> 0:49:44.080 God bless you.