I Don't Think I'm Ready For This (Holly Furtick)

0:00:02.120 --> 0:00:04.680 Hey, this is Stephen Ferdick. I'm the pastor of Elevation 0:00:04.920 --> 0:00:07.160 Church and this is our podcast. I wanted to thank 0:00:07.200 --> 0:00:10.479 you for joining us today. Hope this inspires you. Hope 0:00:10.520 --> 0:00:12.559 it builds your faith. Hope it gives your perspective to 0:00:12.600 --> 0:00:17.560 see God is moving in your life. Enjoy the message. 0:00:17.600 --> 0:00:20.320 Holly is going to share our anniversary message. She's never 0:00:20.360 --> 0:00:25.280 preached on the church anniversary. She always makes me work 0:00:25.320 --> 0:00:28.360 on the church birthday because here it's her turn. All 0:00:28.360 --> 0:00:30.080 over the world right now, people are joining us and 0:00:30.600 --> 0:00:33.199 they're hungry to hear from God. And God has sent 0:00:33.280 --> 0:00:36.080 us somebody today who lives the Word of God, and 0:00:36.120 --> 0:00:38.559 that's going to make it so much more powerful. Her 0:00:38.640 --> 0:00:42.200 authenticity only gets deeper the closer that you come. Matter 0:00:42.240 --> 0:00:45.040 of fact, she was all this week watching old videos 0:00:45.040 --> 0:00:47.760 of the church crying, and we were sitting around a 0:00:47.800 --> 0:00:50.280 table and shall be North Carolina getting ready to get started, 0:00:50.280 --> 0:00:52.479 even before you were here autumn, and that's how you've 0:00:52.479 --> 0:00:55.040 been here a long time. But even before that, when 0:00:55.080 --> 0:00:57.640 we were sitting around the table and shall be North Carolina, 0:00:58.160 --> 0:01:00.280 and she said, come watch some of these. It'll touch 0:01:00.280 --> 0:01:01.920 your heart. I said, I don't want to watch it. 0:01:02.840 --> 0:01:04.600 I don't you know, like there's a there's a fine 0:01:04.600 --> 0:01:08.640 line between like getting back to your core and then 0:01:08.720 --> 0:01:12.160 cringing at everything that you know, like my how my 0:01:12.240 --> 0:01:14.959 voice sounded and everything. But I stuck in and watched 0:01:14.959 --> 0:01:17.400 one of the clips. I wanted them to show it 0:01:17.440 --> 0:01:19.160 real quick with mute. I'm not going to let them 0:01:19.200 --> 0:01:21.720 hear my voice or what I was saying. But what 0:01:21.760 --> 0:01:26.000 I want you to notice is that that guy in 0:01:26.040 --> 0:01:28.160 the three size is too big, button down, who didn't 0:01:28.200 --> 0:01:32.880 deserve this, this woman that God gave him notices on 0:01:32.920 --> 0:01:37.000 August fourteen, two thousand and five, just about six months 0:01:37.040 --> 0:01:40.360 before we had our first public service. I believe that 0:01:41.720 --> 0:01:44.560 in just a moment, here comes somebody in the room. 0:01:44.560 --> 0:01:48.440 What's he doing? He's he's moving back for the person 0:01:48.480 --> 0:01:51.520 who's supposed to be sitting beside him. And there's Elijah, 0:01:51.600 --> 0:01:56.720 who's fifteen now the OG of the Elevation Core team. 0:01:56.960 --> 0:01:59.080 And what I want you to see is her smile. 0:02:00.400 --> 0:02:06.240 And I want you to see how she carried Elijah, 0:02:06.280 --> 0:02:09.680 and how you've carried well. God has put in your 0:02:09.680 --> 0:02:12.200 heart for our ministry with grace and poise and dignity 0:02:12.240 --> 0:02:16.680 for fifteen years. You did it. Smiling, and you did 0:02:16.720 --> 0:02:20.040 it kindly, and we're thankful for the word that God 0:02:20.080 --> 0:02:24.440 gave you for us today. Last year Bishop Jakes preached 0:02:24.440 --> 0:02:28.520 my anniversary. There's only one person I'd rather hear from. 0:02:28.760 --> 0:02:47.040 Let's thank God for Hollyferdick. Happy birthday Church. I wish 0:02:47.080 --> 0:02:52.400 everybody could have Pastor Stephen Verdick introduced them. That's just 0:02:52.560 --> 0:03:00.239 the best. Welcome to everyone worship being with us, happy anniversary. 0:03:00.560 --> 0:03:03.840 I know you're worshiping from your campus, or your living 0:03:03.880 --> 0:03:07.640 room or your watch party all over the world. I 0:03:07.680 --> 0:03:10.040 know you may have already typed in the chat where 0:03:10.040 --> 0:03:13.000 you're joining us from, but let's do it again. Say 0:03:13.080 --> 0:03:19.560 hi to me, give me a little way. I'm just 0:03:19.560 --> 0:03:22.760 so excited to be here today and be celebrating the anniversary. 0:03:22.760 --> 0:03:26.200 It's always one of my favorite weeks in our church. 0:03:26.280 --> 0:03:30.079 You guys worship team, thank you, You're amazing. And by 0:03:30.120 --> 0:03:35.480 the way, Maverick City, you guys have led worship the 0:03:35.600 --> 0:03:38.800 last three times that I have preached, so I just 0:03:38.880 --> 0:03:42.800 want to say we should. You know, keep going. Can 0:03:42.840 --> 0:03:49.800 make it a thing, Make it a thing. And by 0:03:49.880 --> 0:03:54.920 the way, that little collab that he was talking about, 0:03:54.960 --> 0:04:02.200 can I say collaboration I can't wait for you to 0:04:02.240 --> 0:04:09.720 hear it. It is unlike anything out there. It is anointed, 0:04:09.840 --> 0:04:16.279 it is fresh, it is incredible, and I'm so excited 0:04:16.320 --> 0:04:19.760 for it. On's it coming out soon soon. That's all 0:04:19.800 --> 0:04:22.440 you need to know. Okay, if you're in the room, 0:04:22.480 --> 0:04:27.480 you can sit down. It's been fifteen years and earlier 0:04:27.600 --> 0:04:29.960 this week I got to spend some time with our 0:04:30.040 --> 0:04:34.520 staff just listening to stories and testimonies of how God 0:04:34.600 --> 0:04:37.279 has moved in each of our lives to this ministry, 0:04:37.320 --> 0:04:41.240 and I'm just I'm so grateful that I get to 0:04:41.240 --> 0:04:44.560 be a part of this church. And as I was 0:04:44.680 --> 0:04:48.480 personally reflecting this week, I was watching old videos and 0:04:48.520 --> 0:04:53.320 looking through old pictures, I just I couldn't be more 0:04:53.400 --> 0:04:58.880 grateful for the faith of our pastor, because he has 0:04:59.120 --> 0:05:04.600 taught me about what faith actually looks like more than 0:05:04.640 --> 0:05:08.360 any other person, more than any Bible verse. He has 0:05:08.440 --> 0:05:11.680 shown me that there are two sides to faith. That 0:05:11.720 --> 0:05:15.480 there's the faith that has the confidence to speak up 0:05:15.480 --> 0:05:20.000 in the moment and declare something or decide something like 0:05:20.080 --> 0:05:23.000 he just said, this is just the foundation. I can't 0:05:23.000 --> 0:05:25.400 tell you how many things I've heard him say from 0:05:25.400 --> 0:05:28.479 the front row that I was like whoa like. One 0:05:28.520 --> 0:05:30.360 time he said that we were going to give the 0:05:30.520 --> 0:05:34.719 entire weeks offering back into our community, and we didn't 0:05:34.800 --> 0:05:37.360 have a lot of extra money or any extra money 0:05:37.560 --> 0:05:40.360 in the bank at that time. One time he declared 0:05:40.600 --> 0:05:44.000 that we would reach ten thousand people by twenty ten, 0:05:44.120 --> 0:05:46.760 and I don't remember how many people we had at 0:05:46.760 --> 0:05:51.320 the time, but it wasn't close to ten thousand people 0:05:51.760 --> 0:05:55.000 in attendance. Or when he decided that we needed to 0:05:55.040 --> 0:05:58.960 move all of our online worship experiences to YouTube. There's 0:05:59.120 --> 0:06:02.000 all these decisions that I've watched him make over the years, 0:06:02.000 --> 0:06:04.080 and that's one side of faith, and it's the side 0:06:04.120 --> 0:06:08.200 of faith that's backed by an intimate relationship with God, 0:06:08.279 --> 0:06:13.320 one that here's an act. But then there's this other 0:06:13.480 --> 0:06:15.680 side of faith. And you get to see the hear 0:06:15.720 --> 0:06:18.240 and act side of Pastor Stephen. But there's this other 0:06:18.400 --> 0:06:21.080 side of faith, and we all experience it, but we 0:06:21.160 --> 0:06:25.560 don't know that it's normal. And that side of faith 0:06:25.680 --> 0:06:30.120 is the side that actually looks and feels like fear 0:06:30.680 --> 0:06:34.840 and doubt. And you don't know how many times I 0:06:34.920 --> 0:06:37.719 have heard my husband say, do you think we're doing 0:06:37.720 --> 0:06:41.960 the right thing? Is this irresponsible? Is this going to work? 0:06:42.760 --> 0:06:47.720 Is this gonna? Is this right? Why did I say that? 0:06:50.320 --> 0:06:52.960 And you've taught me over the past fifteen years that 0:06:53.400 --> 0:06:57.279 if there's no fear, it doesn't really require very much faith. 0:07:00.200 --> 0:07:04.880 And you've taught me that faith requires work, and it 0:07:04.960 --> 0:07:10.360 requires grit and perseverance even though you're throwing up behind 0:07:10.360 --> 0:07:13.920 closed doors when no one else knows. You've taught me 0:07:14.120 --> 0:07:18.000 that it's okay when what you believe you heard from 0:07:18.000 --> 0:07:21.600 God doesn't necessarily line up with what you feel or 0:07:21.720 --> 0:07:29.040 see in your current circumstances. I think about our Matthews campus. 0:07:29.080 --> 0:07:31.080 If you're part of our Matthew's campus and you don't 0:07:31.080 --> 0:07:33.560 know the story of your campus, you'd better ask Larry Brye, 0:07:33.840 --> 0:07:36.360 because I don't know. I have so many memories. But 0:07:37.200 --> 0:07:39.360 I'm also thankful for all the people who have come 0:07:39.400 --> 0:07:43.280 alongside us over the years and have joined their faith 0:07:43.760 --> 0:07:47.280 with ours, whether it's people who are on our staff 0:07:47.320 --> 0:07:49.880 and who have come alongside or people who've just given 0:07:50.000 --> 0:07:54.320 faithfully and volunteered week after week. And I just know 0:07:54.440 --> 0:07:58.840 that you would agree with me that as I stand 0:07:58.920 --> 0:08:02.720 here and say faith, thank you, Pastor Stephen, for letting 0:08:02.800 --> 0:08:09.920 us ride your spiritual coattails. Your faith has allowed us 0:08:09.960 --> 0:08:13.080 to see what God can do through us. Type it 0:08:13.120 --> 0:08:16.880 in the chat. If you're watching, God is just getting started, 0:08:18.280 --> 0:08:21.000 and I believe that the next fifteen years is going 0:08:21.040 --> 0:08:30.680 to be just as extraordinary as the last. I love you? Okay? 0:08:30.720 --> 0:08:35.520 Can I preach today? I cannot wait to share with 0:08:35.559 --> 0:08:38.480 you the things that God has been teaching me. I 0:08:38.559 --> 0:08:41.200 knew that I wanted to preach this when I read 0:08:41.200 --> 0:08:44.400 this story, and literally everything that Steven has been preaching 0:08:44.440 --> 0:08:46.560 for the last two months just kept leaping off the 0:08:46.600 --> 0:08:49.240 page at me, like something from every sermon. So I'm 0:08:49.240 --> 0:08:52.080 so excited. Are you ready? Okay, I got my my 0:08:52.080 --> 0:08:58.280 preaching pans. I'm gonna tighten my belt. Let's pray. Lord. 0:08:59.120 --> 0:09:02.120 We thank you for this church. We thank you for 0:09:02.240 --> 0:09:07.160 your church. Fifteen years seems like a lifetime when we 0:09:07.240 --> 0:09:11.760 think about all that you have done. Most of all, 0:09:11.800 --> 0:09:14.360 we thank you that this is the place. I thank 0:09:14.400 --> 0:09:16.360 you that this is the place where you speak to me. 0:09:17.960 --> 0:09:20.640 And no matter where we're watching from, whether it's in 0:09:20.679 --> 0:09:24.720 our living rooms or on our computers, driving in our cars, God, 0:09:24.800 --> 0:09:29.880 we're here, We're here, We're listening. Would you comfort us, 0:09:29.920 --> 0:09:32.880 would you encourage us? Would you inspire us? Would you 0:09:33.040 --> 0:09:37.800 challenge us? Today? We want a touch from you, Lord, 0:09:38.559 --> 0:09:40.559 We want to hear from you. Speak through me. Now. 0:09:40.600 --> 0:09:45.080 It's in Jesus name. I pray Amen before I read 0:09:45.320 --> 0:09:47.800 our scriptures. Judge is six. You can make your way there. 0:09:47.800 --> 0:09:50.800 It's in the beginning of the Bible. I want to 0:09:50.800 --> 0:09:53.480 take a poll, so let me know in the chat. 0:09:54.280 --> 0:09:58.480 Do you put stickers on your car? Just give me 0:09:58.520 --> 0:10:01.559 a thumbs up or a thumbs down. My dad never 0:10:01.920 --> 0:10:05.959 ever let us put stickers, you bumper stickers on his 0:10:06.000 --> 0:10:09.640 car and I so I never put stickers on my 0:10:09.679 --> 0:10:15.160 car until until this sticker. All, well, that's your folder, 0:10:15.760 --> 0:10:23.840 this one's mine. Tell this one. By the way, these 0:10:23.840 --> 0:10:26.880 are free if you ask your campus pastor from one, 0:10:27.000 --> 0:10:29.360 or you can order one online. I don't know if 0:10:29.360 --> 0:10:34.079 they're free online, but they're free, I guess. Anyway. Nothing 0:10:34.080 --> 0:10:37.839 against all other stickers, And sorry dad, but I had 0:10:37.840 --> 0:10:40.640 to put a sticker on my car, and I started 0:10:40.640 --> 0:10:43.360 thinking about other stickers that people put on your car, 0:10:43.480 --> 0:10:46.640 on their cars. It's kind of funny what made you 0:10:46.679 --> 0:10:49.320 When you see people stickers, you're like, what made you 0:10:49.320 --> 0:10:51.080 want to put that on your car? So some of 0:10:51.080 --> 0:10:53.320 them you can understand, you know, like like this, I 0:10:53.360 --> 0:10:55.160 never put one of these on my car, but let 0:10:55.200 --> 0:10:57.040 me know in the chat if you ever put one 0:10:57.040 --> 0:10:59.079 of these on your car. Most of these belonged to 0:10:59.120 --> 0:11:05.000 first time parents. Then you move up in the world 0:11:05.040 --> 0:11:11.320 and you get one of these and well, we don't 0:11:11.320 --> 0:11:15.160 have a dog. But here's the funny thing about these, 0:11:15.200 --> 0:11:18.640 like these are cute, you know, but then some people 0:11:18.679 --> 0:11:28.640 get really carried away with these, like the fish, the 0:11:28.800 --> 0:11:33.800 sound really permanent. You know, this is your car. Okay, sorry, 0:11:33.840 --> 0:11:35.559 I got a couple more. I'm gonna go a little faster. 0:11:36.160 --> 0:11:47.840 We have these, no comment, Just here's when I'm never 0:11:47.880 --> 0:11:54.400 gonna put on my car. If you have one of 0:11:54.480 --> 0:11:58.360 these on your car, congratulations, we are so proud of you. 0:11:58.960 --> 0:12:01.400 That ain't happening for me. And then okay, here's here's 0:12:01.440 --> 0:12:04.560 one more, because you know, you see these statements that 0:12:04.600 --> 0:12:07.560 people put on their cars and you just wonder, like here, 0:12:07.600 --> 0:12:10.760 I'm gonna show it to you first, see if you 0:12:10.800 --> 0:12:17.360 can the standstill, like what happened to this guy? What 0:12:17.559 --> 0:12:19.720 happened to him that he was like, I'm getting a 0:12:19.880 --> 0:12:29.520 freaking sticker. So recently though, I joined like a club 0:12:29.559 --> 0:12:32.920 of sorts and I had to put another sticker on 0:12:32.960 --> 0:12:45.320 my car next to my elevation one and it's this one. 0:12:45.920 --> 0:12:51.200 God as my witness. No one could have prepared me 0:12:51.360 --> 0:12:56.280 for this stage of parenting. I've heard people say that 0:12:56.440 --> 0:12:59.280 teaching your kids to drive is hard and scary, and 0:12:59.280 --> 0:13:05.400 there's a lot of yell But guys, to date, fifteen 0:13:05.480 --> 0:13:07.800 years I've been a mom. To date, this is the 0:13:07.840 --> 0:13:10.320 hardest thing that I have done. I'm not throwing Elijah 0:13:10.360 --> 0:13:14.559 under the bus. He's doing a great job, but this 0:13:14.679 --> 0:13:19.040 is like, it's like getting in a roller coaster, getting 0:13:19.040 --> 0:13:24.640 on a roller coaster that could actually crash, and we 0:13:24.720 --> 0:13:28.880 have three kids. Thank god we stopped at three because 0:13:28.880 --> 0:13:30.880 I have to do this two more times. And I 0:13:30.880 --> 0:13:33.680 will never forget the day that we walked out of 0:13:33.720 --> 0:13:36.640 the DMV. I don't know who was more proud of 0:13:37.000 --> 0:13:39.319 Elijah or me. It was such a great moment, a 0:13:39.360 --> 0:13:42.640 little bit drama because you know, there's a pandemic going on, 0:13:43.240 --> 0:13:49.720 and let's just be honest, the DMV was rough before COVID. 0:13:52.200 --> 0:13:56.079 So this was our second trip to the DMV, and 0:13:57.280 --> 0:13:58.840 I just I'm not gonna go into deals about why 0:13:58.840 --> 0:14:00.520 it was a second trip, but it just say I 0:14:02.520 --> 0:14:05.280 did go back in. The sign said do not come 0:14:05.320 --> 0:14:06.760 in because you had wait outside, and I did go 0:14:06.800 --> 0:14:10.160 back in. I was like, I need help because it's 0:14:10.280 --> 0:14:14.680 just anyway. So Elijah gets his permit and he's completed 0:14:14.720 --> 0:14:18.400 the states required thirty hours in the classroom, he's done 0:14:18.520 --> 0:14:21.800 six hours behind the wheel with the instructor. He's passed 0:14:21.800 --> 0:14:24.400 his test, and he was ready to get behind the wheel. 0:14:24.640 --> 0:14:27.800 And as we walked to the car, I just confidently said, 0:14:27.840 --> 0:14:31.560 all right, you're driving us home. And he looked at 0:14:31.560 --> 0:14:34.200 me and he said, I don't think I'm ready for this. 0:14:35.520 --> 0:14:39.160 So inside I was not confident at all. But I 0:14:39.280 --> 0:14:41.760 really I got in my head that I wanted him 0:14:41.760 --> 0:14:45.280 to have this memory of us, of him driving away 0:14:45.560 --> 0:14:49.000 from the DMV. So I mustered up all my courage 0:14:49.000 --> 0:14:51.480 and I said, of course you're ready. This is how 0:14:51.520 --> 0:14:55.040 you learn to drive. Let's go. So we got in 0:14:55.040 --> 0:14:58.960 the car and he adjusted his seat and we made 0:14:58.960 --> 0:15:02.120 sure the mirrors you were right, and he put the 0:15:02.160 --> 0:15:07.360 car in drive. And I just, seriously, I cannot cannot 0:15:07.480 --> 0:15:12.800 reiterate enough. Handing your child the keys to your own 0:15:12.880 --> 0:15:17.560 vehicle you've paid money for and letting them drive you 0:15:17.720 --> 0:15:20.520 is it's like a loss of control that can only 0:15:20.560 --> 0:15:23.920 be experienced. But I put on a smile and I 0:15:23.960 --> 0:15:27.800 was like, you got this. But I didn't really think 0:15:27.800 --> 0:15:29.440 it all the way through because I don't. That's I 0:15:29.480 --> 0:15:31.960 don't always think things all the way through. And we 0:15:32.000 --> 0:15:33.800 had to get on I eighty five to go home, 0:15:35.320 --> 0:15:40.120 so I'm like, it's okay, it's okay, everything's okay. And 0:15:40.200 --> 0:15:43.720 so our entrance came up, and I prayed and I 0:15:43.800 --> 0:15:47.320 stayed calm, and I talked him through it, because that's 0:15:47.320 --> 0:15:48.760 what you have to do when you're teaching a kid 0:15:48.760 --> 0:15:50.960 how to drive. You have no idea how much stuff 0:15:51.000 --> 0:15:53.320 you do without thinking while you're driving. So I'm like, 0:15:53.560 --> 0:15:56.360 speed up, not that fast, slow down, but don't break. 0:15:56.520 --> 0:15:59.360 Look to see if anyone's coming, and remerg And so 0:16:00.120 --> 0:16:04.280 we picked up speed and we're going. And just when 0:16:04.760 --> 0:16:07.200 I was at a level of threshold of fear and 0:16:07.280 --> 0:16:11.840 anxiety that I could possibly stand, it started to rain. 0:16:12.040 --> 0:16:15.440 I promise you, and I said, pull over. I'm not 0:16:15.560 --> 0:16:20.000 ready for this. That's the title of my message today. 0:16:20.400 --> 0:16:26.400 I don't think I'm ready for this. Have you ever 0:16:26.560 --> 0:16:29.120 felt like you had to do something that you were 0:16:29.160 --> 0:16:32.720 not ready for, but like you're already in it. We 0:16:33.080 --> 0:16:36.320 encounter situations like this every day. Sometimes it's a season 0:16:36.360 --> 0:16:39.440 of life that you weren't ready for, but here you are. 0:16:40.080 --> 0:16:43.520 Sometimes it's a pandemic and you find yourself doing a 0:16:43.600 --> 0:16:46.840 job that you weren't really hired to do. Sometimes it's 0:16:46.840 --> 0:16:50.120 things beyond your control that happened. Maybe you're now caring 0:16:50.160 --> 0:16:52.560 for an elderly parent or fighting an illness that you 0:16:52.600 --> 0:16:56.960 didn't expect. How many of you would agree that if 0:16:57.000 --> 0:17:01.080 you waited until you feel ready or qualify to do something, 0:17:01.240 --> 0:17:09.240 you're never gonna do it. This is life. So today 0:17:09.240 --> 0:17:12.680 we're gonna look at the life of Gideon, a young 0:17:12.800 --> 0:17:17.880 man who was minding his own business. He was trying 0:17:17.920 --> 0:17:21.680 to survive, just like everyone around him. But God came 0:17:21.720 --> 0:17:25.720 to him and he called him out to lead his nation, 0:17:26.440 --> 0:17:32.400 even though he didn't think he was ready. Let's look 0:17:32.440 --> 0:17:39.360 at this Judges, chapter six, verse one. The Israelites did 0:17:39.440 --> 0:17:42.520 evil in the Lord's sight, so the Lord handed them 0:17:42.520 --> 0:17:46.560 over to the Midianites for seven years. The Midianites were 0:17:46.640 --> 0:17:50.800 so cruel that the Israelites made hiding places for themselves 0:17:50.840 --> 0:17:55.320 in the mountains, caves, and strongholds. Whenever the Israelites planted crops. 0:17:55.400 --> 0:17:58.400 Marauders from Midian Amelek and the people of the East 0:17:58.400 --> 0:18:03.120 would attack Israel in the land and destroying crops as 0:18:03.160 --> 0:18:07.240 far away as Gaza. They left the Israelites with nothing 0:18:07.280 --> 0:18:11.919 to eat, taking all of the sheep, goats, cattle, and donkeys. 0:18:12.280 --> 0:18:15.560 These enemy hordes, coming with their livestock and tents, were 0:18:15.600 --> 0:18:19.880 as thick as locusts. They arrived on droves of camels 0:18:19.920 --> 0:18:22.800 too numerous to count, and they stayed until the land 0:18:22.960 --> 0:18:29.520 was stripped bear. So Israel was reduced to starvation by 0:18:29.520 --> 0:18:34.159 the Midianites. Then the Israelites cried out to the Lord 0:18:34.640 --> 0:18:41.920 for help. Stripped bear, reduced to starvation, they cried out. 0:18:42.960 --> 0:18:45.960 Sad thing about this is that it's only a few 0:18:46.119 --> 0:18:52.440 generations after Israel fled slavery in Egypt, and here we 0:18:52.560 --> 0:18:57.879 find them hungry and hiding in their own land. Have 0:18:57.960 --> 0:19:01.200 you ever been hungry and hiding when you were supposed 0:19:01.240 --> 0:19:05.760 to be flourishing and free. Maybe something happened to you 0:19:05.800 --> 0:19:12.600 and you feel stripped bare. It's funny how unexpected circumstances 0:19:12.640 --> 0:19:14.600 can just come and knock us off our feet. They 0:19:14.640 --> 0:19:18.000 just come from nowhere, and it can be a job. 0:19:18.040 --> 0:19:20.880 It could be an illness. It could be the end 0:19:20.920 --> 0:19:24.439 of a relationship, or some of us have experienced a 0:19:24.480 --> 0:19:29.000 sudden onset of anxiety, and it could It could even 0:19:29.040 --> 0:19:32.000 be a change that you thought was gonna be awesome, 0:19:32.560 --> 0:19:34.960 like maybe you went away to college, but now you're 0:19:35.000 --> 0:19:36.879 just struggling to find your place, like you thought this 0:19:37.000 --> 0:19:39.360 was gonna be amazing, and how you're like lonely and 0:19:39.960 --> 0:19:42.000 maybe maybe this isn't where I was supposed to be 0:19:42.040 --> 0:19:46.520 and could be even like Israel, a series of your 0:19:46.520 --> 0:19:52.080 own poor decisions that led you to this place of 0:19:52.600 --> 0:19:57.959 confusion and pain. And I think when things like this happen, 0:19:58.440 --> 0:20:03.320 our natural instant is to withdraw. I don't want to 0:20:03.359 --> 0:20:06.320 admit to others that I need help. I don't even 0:20:06.359 --> 0:20:08.359 want to cry out to God because I feel like 0:20:08.480 --> 0:20:12.080 I should be doing better than this. We feel like 0:20:12.119 --> 0:20:16.080 it's our own fault that we're suffering. And the thing 0:20:16.119 --> 0:20:20.480 about hiding is that it feels right at the time, 0:20:20.520 --> 0:20:24.240 but then it only makes you feel more isolated and alone. 0:20:24.400 --> 0:20:27.560 And for whatever reason that we find ourselves in this place, 0:20:27.640 --> 0:20:30.679 we start to convince ourselves that no one understands, no 0:20:30.760 --> 0:20:34.359 one cares, and so we just pull away even more 0:20:35.520 --> 0:20:40.639 and we become starved for meaningful interaction with others, in 0:20:40.840 --> 0:20:44.960 hungri or acceptance, and it makes you kick into scavenger mode. 0:20:45.000 --> 0:20:48.120 You've ever been in scavenger mode and you're mad at everyone, 0:20:48.240 --> 0:20:51.760 You're mad at the world, and you're trying to satisfy 0:20:51.760 --> 0:20:55.399 your soul and all the places that never really fulfill you. 0:20:55.720 --> 0:20:58.320 And that's where we find Israel at the moment. I 0:20:58.400 --> 0:21:01.200 just wonder if you can relate, if you've ever experience 0:21:01.320 --> 0:21:05.280 this feeling. They know they shouldn't be in this place. 0:21:06.480 --> 0:21:10.720 They know they don't have to continue to live this way, 0:21:11.560 --> 0:21:13.720 and the Bible tells us that they got to the 0:21:13.760 --> 0:21:17.440 point where they were so impoverished that they cried out 0:21:17.480 --> 0:21:19.600 to the Lord for help. And I think it's so 0:21:19.840 --> 0:21:24.240 interesting that sometimes we have to get so low before 0:21:24.280 --> 0:21:28.560 we finally cry out to God. Don't worry, this sermon 0:21:28.640 --> 0:21:34.000 is not depressing, because God hears our Christ. That's what 0:21:34.080 --> 0:21:38.840 you have to know today. And in my experience, God 0:21:38.880 --> 0:21:43.600 here is my cries. But usually relief comes in the 0:21:43.640 --> 0:21:47.359 form of action on my part, something I'm gonna have 0:21:47.440 --> 0:21:49.080 to do, and that's where I want to spend the 0:21:49.080 --> 0:21:52.360 bulk of our time today. An angel comes to Gideon, 0:21:52.840 --> 0:21:57.480 and he's gonna call him to action. Gideon is going 0:21:57.560 --> 0:22:01.400 to be the one to lead the nation of Israel 0:22:01.680 --> 0:22:05.760 in a fight against their oppressors. And their oppressors are big, 0:22:06.400 --> 0:22:10.640 and we're gonna watch Gideon question and doubt, but then 0:22:10.680 --> 0:22:13.399 we're ultimately going to see him put his faith into 0:22:13.480 --> 0:22:17.040 action in an incredible way. Spoiler alert, because I'm not 0:22:17.080 --> 0:22:18.440 going to get to the end of the story. I'm 0:22:18.440 --> 0:22:21.240 just going to tell you about it now. Gideon and 0:22:21.359 --> 0:22:26.600 only three hundred men defeat the Midianite army of over 0:22:26.680 --> 0:22:31.960 one hundred and fifty thousand men, and Gideon lives to 0:22:32.000 --> 0:22:35.280 be an old man today. I want to talk through 0:22:35.320 --> 0:22:39.160 the events that led up to this epic victory because 0:22:39.160 --> 0:22:40.960 you know, we love to sing I'm going to see 0:22:40.960 --> 0:22:45.240 a victory for the battle. You know, we like the 0:22:45.280 --> 0:22:48.760 battle does belong to the Lord. But that doesn't mean 0:22:49.359 --> 0:22:52.679 that you get to sit up in the stands and 0:22:52.840 --> 0:23:00.680 watch like a spectator. So what do you do when 0:23:00.720 --> 0:23:03.879 you know your entery into a new season, a new battle, 0:23:03.920 --> 0:23:07.280 a new calling, a new role. How do you shift 0:23:07.880 --> 0:23:12.760 from how you're currently surviving to actually living out that 0:23:13.040 --> 0:23:16.679 faith that's inside of you. God never wants us to 0:23:16.720 --> 0:23:19.840 live in hiding. He never intended us to live with 0:23:19.960 --> 0:23:23.680 fear looking around every corner. He doesn't want us scavenging 0:23:23.760 --> 0:23:28.840 for scraps of encouragement on social media. When you cry 0:23:28.840 --> 0:23:33.240 out to him, he hears you and he helps you, 0:23:34.119 --> 0:23:40.040 but he doesn't do it for you. Because it's in 0:23:40.119 --> 0:23:44.200 that place of crying out and questioning and acting even 0:23:44.200 --> 0:23:46.639 when we aren't sure, even when we don't feel ready. 0:23:46.920 --> 0:23:50.200 That's where God does some of his greatest work within us. 0:23:51.920 --> 0:23:56.160 And as we talk through this story today, I'm going 0:23:56.240 --> 0:24:01.240 to give you four things to remind yourself about God 0:24:01.960 --> 0:24:04.480 when you're facing a new situation and you don't feel ready. 0:24:05.400 --> 0:24:07.719 Not for things to remember about yourself. Yes, you can 0:24:07.760 --> 0:24:10.119 do all things through Christ's strengthens you, but when it 0:24:10.160 --> 0:24:13.679 comes time to put your faith into action, we have 0:24:13.800 --> 0:24:18.399 to remember who is really on our side. That's what 0:24:18.440 --> 0:24:20.280 I want to talk about today, So let's get down 0:24:20.680 --> 0:24:24.280 verse eleven. Then the Angel of the Lord came and 0:24:24.320 --> 0:24:27.440 sat beneath the great tree at Oprah, which belonged to 0:24:27.520 --> 0:24:30.840 joe Ash of the clan of Abiazar. Gideon, son of 0:24:30.920 --> 0:24:33.480 joe Ash, was threshing wheat at the bottom of a 0:24:33.520 --> 0:24:36.760 wine press, to hide the grain from the Midianites. The 0:24:36.840 --> 0:24:40.000 Angel of the Lord appeared to him and said, mighty hero, 0:24:40.720 --> 0:24:45.120 the Lord is with you. First thing that you must 0:24:45.160 --> 0:24:50.879 remember is that when God calls you, he calls according 0:24:51.080 --> 0:24:57.479 to your potential. I don't know much about wheat, I 0:24:57.600 --> 0:25:01.280 like to eat it or wine presses, but I'm pretty 0:25:01.320 --> 0:25:05.159 sure that you're not supposed to thresh wheat in a 0:25:05.160 --> 0:25:10.160 wine press. Gideon was hiding from the enemy, and he 0:25:10.280 --> 0:25:13.960 was just trying to get enough food, enough wheat to 0:25:14.040 --> 0:25:17.240 feed his family. He was just trying to get by 0:25:17.640 --> 0:25:21.159 one more day, just an ordinary day for him in hiding, 0:25:21.960 --> 0:25:25.160 and an angel comes to him, and some translations say 0:25:25.359 --> 0:25:31.720 that the angel calls him mighty warrior. There's nothing mighty 0:25:31.920 --> 0:25:37.760 or warrior about Gideon in this moment. He's hiding, he's starving. 0:25:39.200 --> 0:25:43.639 Aren't you grateful that God calls us according to the 0:25:43.680 --> 0:25:48.639 potential He sees in us, not our past decisions, not 0:25:48.800 --> 0:25:53.560 our present circumstances. Don't you wish you could actually see 0:25:53.600 --> 0:25:57.120 yourself the way God sees you? And I think back 0:25:57.119 --> 0:26:01.560 to starting this church. I remember Stephen and I dreaming 0:26:01.640 --> 0:26:06.440 and planting, planting, dreaming and planning about one day planting 0:26:06.480 --> 0:26:08.800 a church, and we would say things like, you know, 0:26:08.840 --> 0:26:11.840 one day when we're older, maybe when we're forty, maybe 0:26:11.880 --> 0:26:15.040 when we're wiser, when people would actually want to follow us. 0:26:16.080 --> 0:26:20.399 But very clearly God just spoke to us and he 0:26:21.640 --> 0:26:26.119 was just we just knew it was time for us 0:26:26.200 --> 0:26:29.720 to start this church. We were twenty five years old, 0:26:30.680 --> 0:26:32.600 and we put that into perspective. For some of you, 0:26:33.280 --> 0:26:35.359 we'd only been out of the college dorm room for 0:26:35.400 --> 0:26:39.800 three years. We were not pastors, we were not church 0:26:39.920 --> 0:26:48.320 planning experts. We were children. God doesn't see you as unemployed. 0:26:49.320 --> 0:26:54.240 He sees you as a provider. God doesn't see you 0:26:54.320 --> 0:26:57.480 as a stressed out mom. He sees you as a nurturer. 0:26:59.400 --> 0:27:02.200 He doesn't he you as insecure. He sees you as 0:27:02.320 --> 0:27:09.479 confident in your own personality, in your own skin. You 0:27:09.840 --> 0:27:14.080 might be hiding, but that's not who you really are. 0:27:15.960 --> 0:27:19.679 And God is not looking for perfection, because if he was, 0:27:19.720 --> 0:27:22.920 he wouldn't have picked us. He wouldn't have picked me, 0:27:23.000 --> 0:27:26.000 and he wouldn't have picked you. He's looking for potential. 0:27:27.280 --> 0:27:32.040 He is perfectly okay with the space between who you 0:27:32.119 --> 0:27:35.440 are right now in this moment and who you're going 0:27:35.520 --> 0:27:40.720 to become. Because he sees the fighter in you deep inside. 0:27:40.920 --> 0:27:44.800 He sees a person who will fight for progress. He 0:27:44.880 --> 0:27:48.720 sees a person who will fight for their family. He 0:27:48.800 --> 0:27:51.280 sees a person who will fight to keep their integrity 0:27:51.440 --> 0:27:54.320 and their honesty even when it gets hard in their job. 0:27:54.400 --> 0:27:57.120 A person who will fight to do the right thing 0:27:57.520 --> 0:28:00.160 even when it feels like everyone else is doing that's 0:28:00.160 --> 0:28:05.639 the wrong thing. That's who you are. The thing is 0:28:06.160 --> 0:28:11.719 in Gideon's current state, he's so bitter about his situation. 0:28:12.240 --> 0:28:15.240 I don't even think he heard the Mighty Warrior part 0:28:15.720 --> 0:28:18.000 because he got caught up on the part where the 0:28:18.040 --> 0:28:21.120 Lord the Lord says, hold on, well, let me get 0:28:21.280 --> 0:28:23.439 let me bit back to it. He got caught up 0:28:23.440 --> 0:28:24.920 on the part look at what the Angel says, this 0:28:24.960 --> 0:28:31.359 is verse thirteen. Sir Gideon replied, if the Lord is 0:28:31.480 --> 0:28:37.159 with us, why has all this happened to us? And 0:28:37.280 --> 0:28:40.240 where are the miracles our ancestors told us about? Didn't 0:28:40.240 --> 0:28:43.000 they say? The Lord brought us up out of Egypt, 0:28:43.240 --> 0:28:46.600 But now the Lord has abandoned us and handed us 0:28:46.680 --> 0:28:49.960 over to Midian. Gidding got caught up on the Lord 0:28:50.000 --> 0:28:53.360 is with you part. He's like, what kind of promised 0:28:53.400 --> 0:28:58.840 land is this that's what he wants to know. This 0:28:58.920 --> 0:29:02.200 is a Bible amazing because don't tell me that you've 0:29:02.240 --> 0:29:06.920 never spoken to God like that. Don't tell me you've 0:29:06.960 --> 0:29:10.600 never prayed? Where are you? And why is this happening 0:29:10.640 --> 0:29:15.720 to me? Have you ever thought? Have you ever prayed? 0:29:16.680 --> 0:29:21.160 Have you ever thought? Everyone else is getting a breakthrough 0:29:21.240 --> 0:29:25.480 but me and my family can be honest with you. 0:29:26.680 --> 0:29:31.040 I have prayed some prayers to God that I really 0:29:31.080 --> 0:29:37.400 hope he wasn't listening. I've said things like, seriously, God, 0:29:37.440 --> 0:29:44.000 you're gonna bless them? God, where have you been? This 0:29:44.120 --> 0:29:47.440 was supposed to be my dream job. This was supposed 0:29:47.440 --> 0:29:52.480 to be ministry, and it feels like everything's falling apart. God, 0:29:52.600 --> 0:29:55.360 where are you? This is not how I thought it 0:29:55.400 --> 0:29:59.400 would go. And you say you're with me, but I 0:29:59.440 --> 0:30:05.120 can't feel right now. Hey, God is so good because 0:30:05.120 --> 0:30:09.360 he's like that parent that completely ignores his kid's tantrum 0:30:09.400 --> 0:30:11.960 and he just moves right on with his instruction. What 0:30:12.040 --> 0:30:15.040 he says to Gideon, the Lord turned to him and said, 0:30:15.520 --> 0:30:19.320 go in the strength that you have and save Israel 0:30:19.400 --> 0:30:23.840 out of Midian's hand. Am I not sending you? God 0:30:23.880 --> 0:30:28.360 says to Gideon, Let's go get up. I'm gonna use you. 0:30:28.600 --> 0:30:33.320 Yes you put it in a chat. Yes you, but 0:30:33.440 --> 0:30:36.680 I'm not good enough. Yes you but I'm not old enough. 0:30:36.800 --> 0:30:41.120 Yes you but I'm too old. Yes you, I'm not 0:30:41.200 --> 0:30:50.240 strong enough. Yes you you wherever you're watching from God 0:30:50.480 --> 0:30:57.440 wants to use you. Sit down. My second point is this, 0:31:01.120 --> 0:31:07.400 God prepares you along the way. I'm just gonna tell 0:31:07.440 --> 0:31:12.320 you right now, Yes you, but you're never gonna feel ready, 0:31:12.640 --> 0:31:15.560 and you're never gonna feel full of faith all the time. 0:31:15.960 --> 0:31:19.520 Feeling full only last momentarily, and then the fear sets in, 0:31:20.080 --> 0:31:23.400 and then the doubt, and then the hard stuff like 0:31:23.520 --> 0:31:29.680 the people come along, the baby actually comes, you actually 0:31:29.680 --> 0:31:33.760 have a roommain in college. Stop waiting to feel ready, 0:31:34.680 --> 0:31:38.280 Stop making excuses for why you can't do the things 0:31:38.320 --> 0:31:41.360 you're called to do, And let me be a little 0:31:41.400 --> 0:31:44.960 bit more clear. Most of the time, in my experience, 0:31:45.640 --> 0:31:49.680 God doesn't call me to do something new. He calls 0:31:49.720 --> 0:31:52.719 me to do something that I'm already doing with a 0:31:52.720 --> 0:32:00.719 better attitude and a bigger purpose. And the temptation is 0:32:00.800 --> 0:32:04.920 to walk away from what you're doing and start something new. 0:32:06.440 --> 0:32:09.160 I think I need a new marriage, a new church, 0:32:09.760 --> 0:32:13.000 a new job. I can't do this anymore. I don't 0:32:13.000 --> 0:32:17.040 have the strength to keep going in this relationship any longer. 0:32:17.080 --> 0:32:21.120 But God told Gideon, let's go. The strength that you 0:32:21.320 --> 0:32:26.720 have is enough for this moment. When God gives you 0:32:26.760 --> 0:32:30.080 an assignment, he makes it big enough for you to 0:32:30.160 --> 0:32:33.600 question it and small enough for you to take the 0:32:33.640 --> 0:32:39.560 first step. You have the strength that you need for 0:32:39.640 --> 0:32:44.240 the task that you've been given today. If your child 0:32:44.320 --> 0:32:46.800 is three, you have what you need to raise a 0:32:46.840 --> 0:32:49.640 three year old. And when they're thirteen, you still won't 0:32:49.640 --> 0:32:55.280 feel ready, but you'll be stronger and you'll be wiser 0:32:55.320 --> 0:32:58.800 than you were ten years before. God's not going to 0:32:58.920 --> 0:33:01.480 lay your future out in front of you. If he did, 0:33:01.680 --> 0:33:05.040 you would never come out of hiding. And it's not 0:33:05.240 --> 0:33:09.720 because there's this big, bad, terrible situation it's gonna happen 0:33:09.800 --> 0:33:13.240 to you. It's because it's more than you could ask 0:33:13.600 --> 0:33:23.280 or imagine. We're celebrating our church's fifteenth anniversary today and 0:33:23.400 --> 0:33:26.040 I've been thinking back on all the amazing things that 0:33:26.560 --> 0:33:29.520 God's done. I can't stop thinking about how we only 0:33:29.600 --> 0:33:34.480 had to have enough faith to start, not to finish. 0:33:34.920 --> 0:33:39.280 Starting faith type that in the chat Starting faith, that's 0:33:39.280 --> 0:33:44.080 all you need the courage to start this week. My husband, 0:33:44.080 --> 0:33:47.080 he already told you this. But I when I am 0:33:47.080 --> 0:33:50.880 preparing for a sermon, I get in these rabbit holes 0:33:51.320 --> 0:33:54.760 and sometimes it's I mean, it can be anything. I think. 0:33:54.760 --> 0:33:57.280 At one point I was looking at camping gear this week. 0:33:57.320 --> 0:34:02.200 I don't like camping CAMPI here and so. But one 0:34:02.240 --> 0:34:04.240 of the rabbit holes that I went in was watching 0:34:04.360 --> 0:34:07.040 old videos of our court team meetings. I think I 0:34:07.080 --> 0:34:11.400 have a picture for you. Okay, Chunks and Navy, this 0:34:11.440 --> 0:34:13.239 is your living room. This is a picture that I 0:34:13.239 --> 0:34:16.920 don't think we've ever shown anyone before. Remember that chair 0:34:17.040 --> 0:34:22.439 with the fish on it. So here's Stephen preaching. He's 0:34:22.480 --> 0:34:25.799 preaching his heart out to about fifteen people, and he's 0:34:25.840 --> 0:34:29.120 telling them how we're going to start a church and 0:34:29.160 --> 0:34:32.239 how the worship is going to draw people in and 0:34:32.280 --> 0:34:37.000 the sermons are are going to be relevant and people 0:34:37.000 --> 0:34:40.000 are going to want to invite their friends. And then 0:34:40.400 --> 0:34:44.200 with all the passion that you can imagine, Pastor Stephen 0:34:44.239 --> 0:34:48.040 Furdick at age twenty five, he says, and I believe 0:34:48.440 --> 0:34:51.200 he has this country accent back then. It's really funny. 0:34:51.239 --> 0:34:54.640 And I believe with all my heart that we are 0:34:54.680 --> 0:34:59.600 going to impact the city of Charlotte, and I watched 0:34:59.600 --> 0:35:01.640 that this week and I thought when he was like, 0:35:01.680 --> 0:35:05.160 we are going to impact them, my thinking the world 0:35:05.600 --> 0:35:13.880 and he's just Charlotte. You're telling me God gave this 0:35:13.960 --> 0:35:17.440 man a vision to impact a medium sized city in 0:35:17.520 --> 0:35:23.319 the southwestern southwestern southeastern United States. Division. Wasn't that we 0:35:23.320 --> 0:35:26.799 would be the fastest growing church plant Division. Wasn't that 0:35:26.840 --> 0:35:30.360 we would write songs that other churches would sing. Division. 0:35:30.600 --> 0:35:33.840 Wasn't that we would have a global online ministry that 0:35:33.880 --> 0:35:38.560 would impact people all over the world. He didn't proclaim 0:35:38.600 --> 0:35:43.719 passionately that we would have multiple locations. It's easy for 0:35:43.800 --> 0:35:47.480 me to look back now and just Charlotte, But at 0:35:47.520 --> 0:35:57.040 the time, Charlotte was massive to us. But today, let's 0:35:57.080 --> 0:35:59.840 just do a little experiment. Let me know in that 0:36:00.680 --> 0:36:04.680 where are you watching from, even if you're watching later 0:36:04.760 --> 0:36:07.600 in the archive, type it in the chat. Let me 0:36:07.680 --> 0:36:10.560 know if your life has been touched by this ministry. 0:36:10.840 --> 0:36:19.120 Let me know where you were watching from. Phoenix, Nigeria, Singapore, Atlanta, Jamaica, 0:36:19.560 --> 0:36:24.200 New York, Cape Town. Not to mention all the people 0:36:24.239 --> 0:36:30.759 in Charlotte. I hope you're clapping your hands wherever you 0:36:30.800 --> 0:36:34.480 are because God wants to do more than you can 0:36:34.600 --> 0:36:40.759 ask or imagine. But for today, he gives you the 0:36:40.800 --> 0:36:45.200 strength that you need right now. That's it, because the 0:36:45.239 --> 0:36:51.200 thing about strength is is developed along the way, get 0:36:51.200 --> 0:36:56.240 a little bit stronger. That's how faith grows. The point 0:36:56.239 --> 0:37:00.760 of faith is for you to look back and see 0:37:00.960 --> 0:37:04.680 how far you've come, but to look forward and feel 0:37:04.680 --> 0:37:08.280 a little bit afraid. I love that surm this past 0:37:08.280 --> 0:37:11.200 weekend from Pastor Stephens so much. He said, same devils, 0:37:11.480 --> 0:37:15.000 new levels. But he told us you might be fighting 0:37:15.040 --> 0:37:18.040 the same battles, but it's a stronger you that's fighting 0:37:18.080 --> 0:37:24.600 each time, and you're not fighting this battle alone. Over 0:37:25.080 --> 0:37:31.400 and over, God keeps telling Gideon, I will be with 0:37:31.800 --> 0:37:38.120 you Verse fifteen. But Lord Gideon replied, how can I 0:37:38.160 --> 0:37:41.040 rescue Israel? My clan is the weakest in the whole 0:37:41.080 --> 0:37:43.680 tribe of Manassa, and I'm the least in my family. 0:37:43.719 --> 0:37:47.520 Gideon is still not on board with this plan. He's 0:37:47.560 --> 0:37:49.880 still telling God that he's not the right person for this, 0:37:50.160 --> 0:37:52.480 that he's not good enough, that he doesn't come from 0:37:52.480 --> 0:37:57.040 a strong family background. And again God does not answer 0:37:57.080 --> 0:38:03.759 these questions. He simply says, I will be with you, 0:38:04.760 --> 0:38:07.440 and you will destroy the Midianites as if you were 0:38:07.480 --> 0:38:10.120 fighting against one man. See, he doesn't tell him it's 0:38:10.160 --> 0:38:12.000 he's only gonna have three hundred people helping him. He 0:38:12.040 --> 0:38:16.680 doesn't need to know that part. Gideon replied, if you're 0:38:16.800 --> 0:38:19.600 truly going to help me, show me a sign to 0:38:19.719 --> 0:38:21.840 prove that it is really the Lord speaking to me. 0:38:22.440 --> 0:38:26.560 Don't go away until I come back and bring my 0:38:26.719 --> 0:38:31.399 offering to you. And he answered, I will stay here 0:38:31.560 --> 0:38:36.200 until you return. You got to remember that God is patient. 0:38:37.719 --> 0:38:40.600 That's my third thing, and I want to make sure 0:38:40.640 --> 0:38:42.640 you get it. If you only hear me say one 0:38:42.680 --> 0:38:46.440 thing today, I want you to hear this. God is 0:38:46.520 --> 0:38:50.279 patient with you. In church, we love to talk about 0:38:50.280 --> 0:38:53.399 waiting on God, and we should. We should definitely wait 0:38:53.440 --> 0:38:55.279 on God. The Bible tells us wait on the Lord, 0:38:55.360 --> 0:38:57.439 be of good courage, and he will strengthen your heart. 0:38:57.480 --> 0:38:59.839 And I say a forty thirty one. They will wait 0:38:59.840 --> 0:39:02.120 on the Lord will renew their strength. They will mount 0:39:02.200 --> 0:39:04.520 up on wings like eagles. They will run and not 0:39:04.600 --> 0:39:07.560 be weary. They will walk and not be faint. But 0:39:07.640 --> 0:39:12.440 Gideon wasn't soaring on eagles wings. He was weary, he 0:39:12.520 --> 0:39:16.640 was hungry, he was fainting. He was out of patience 0:39:16.880 --> 0:39:22.920 for God. For seven years, Israel was oppressed by Midian. 0:39:23.040 --> 0:39:27.480 Seven years is a long time, and Gideon had given 0:39:27.560 --> 0:39:30.719 up on God. But aren't you glad that we serve 0:39:30.760 --> 0:39:34.680 a God. He never gives up on us. He's so patient. 0:39:35.280 --> 0:39:38.120 Everyone loves to quote Isaiah forty thirty one. You know 0:39:38.160 --> 0:39:40.040 what Verse twenty eight says, I gotta show it to you. 0:39:41.080 --> 0:39:44.760 It says, do you not know? Have you not heard? 0:39:45.320 --> 0:39:48.759 The Lord is the everlasting God, creator of the ends 0:39:48.840 --> 0:39:52.120 of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, 0:39:52.760 --> 0:39:58.480 and his understanding no man can fathom. The Angel told Gideon, 0:39:59.560 --> 0:40:02.600 I al ways here for you to return. And I 0:40:02.719 --> 0:40:07.319 believe that God is waiting for you right where you 0:40:07.440 --> 0:40:10.640 left off. He's waiting for you to return to him. 0:40:11.719 --> 0:40:15.600 He's patient with your questions, he's patient with your fear, 0:40:16.680 --> 0:40:20.360 he's patient with your poor decisions. He's waiting for you 0:40:20.400 --> 0:40:23.840 to come back to him. I struggled so much with 0:40:23.920 --> 0:40:27.040 this message because I kept asking God, Gideon's he's gonna 0:40:27.080 --> 0:40:30.120 go and he's going to make this sacrifice, and God's 0:40:30.160 --> 0:40:32.279 calling him to do something, And I kept asking God, 0:40:32.320 --> 0:40:36.719 what does calling mean to us? Right now? Today in 0:40:36.760 --> 0:40:39.120 twenty twenty one, because calling is such a religious word. 0:40:39.160 --> 0:40:40.880 You know, I grew up in a good old Southern 0:40:40.880 --> 0:40:45.839 Baptist church and we love to talk about calling. Like 0:40:45.920 --> 0:40:48.880 when you were about to get a new pastor, they 0:40:48.920 --> 0:40:51.440 would come and preach to the congregation and it was 0:40:51.520 --> 0:40:54.560 called in view of a call. I never really knew 0:40:54.600 --> 0:40:57.640 what that meant, but I do not. But then that 0:40:57.800 --> 0:41:02.080 pastor who's preaching in view of a call would give 0:41:02.120 --> 0:41:05.720 an invitation for you to accept God's call. And usually 0:41:05.760 --> 0:41:08.360 this meant things like a call to join our church, 0:41:08.600 --> 0:41:11.239 or a call to the mission field, or a call 0:41:11.320 --> 0:41:15.080 the full time ministry, or it could mean a call 0:41:15.440 --> 0:41:21.120 to simply surrender your life to Jesus. God can call 0:41:21.160 --> 0:41:23.919 you to do a lot of things, but the most 0:41:24.000 --> 0:41:28.440 important call is the one where you decide to surrender 0:41:28.480 --> 0:41:32.080 your life to Him. And that's what I really think 0:41:32.120 --> 0:41:35.480 God was calling Gideon to do. He was calling him 0:41:35.480 --> 0:41:39.200 to a specific task, but he was also calling him 0:41:39.239 --> 0:41:43.239 out of survival mode and into a relationship with him. 0:41:44.080 --> 0:41:45.680 He keeps telling him over and over again, I will 0:41:45.719 --> 0:41:50.080 be with you, Yes, you, I have a lot that 0:41:50.120 --> 0:41:53.799 I want to do through you. And the Bible tells 0:41:53.840 --> 0:41:57.920 us that. Gideon hurried home and he started to gather 0:41:58.040 --> 0:42:00.160 up a sacrifice for the Lord, and he could the 0:42:00.239 --> 0:42:06.560 goat and he made some bread without yeast. Gideon had 0:42:06.560 --> 0:42:11.040 that flat bread faith, just like his ancestors a few 0:42:11.080 --> 0:42:15.040 generations back. Gideon didn't have time for the bread to rise. 0:42:15.840 --> 0:42:19.319 God was waiting on him. And more than that, you know, 0:42:19.440 --> 0:42:24.920 unlevined bread. It had a significance. It represented freedom from oppression. 0:42:25.760 --> 0:42:27.799 So that's the gift that he's going to bring to God. 0:42:29.640 --> 0:42:32.560 So he gets back to the angel and he brings 0:42:32.960 --> 0:42:37.160 his sacrifice. And I gotta tell you, I thought about this. 0:42:37.200 --> 0:42:40.040 I was like, God, why did Why did Gideon bring 0:42:40.080 --> 0:42:43.839 a sacrifice? What does this mean? Does God require some 0:42:43.880 --> 0:42:46.919 sort of sacrifice from us when we come to him? 0:42:48.120 --> 0:42:51.520 Does he call us to sacrifice our gifts, our money, 0:42:52.080 --> 0:42:58.319 our time? And then I remembered what Paul said in 0:42:58.400 --> 0:43:02.840 Romans twelfth. Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in 0:43:02.920 --> 0:43:06.239 view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as a 0:43:06.280 --> 0:43:10.839 living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God. This is your 0:43:10.880 --> 0:43:17.880 true and proper worship. What God wants for me is me, 0:43:20.040 --> 0:43:27.040 all of me. He wants my whole life a living sacrifice, 0:43:28.360 --> 0:43:32.520 one that understands that the purpose of my life is 0:43:32.560 --> 0:43:36.359 not what I accomplish, it's who I accomplish it with. 0:43:38.000 --> 0:43:39.880 That's why God kept telling Gideon over and over again, 0:43:39.920 --> 0:43:43.560 I will be with you. Yes, he was calling him 0:43:43.600 --> 0:43:47.399 to accomplish something, but I think the point was that 0:43:47.440 --> 0:43:51.680 Gideon understood that God wanted him, and that God was 0:43:51.719 --> 0:43:55.960 going to wait patiently for Gideon to accept this calling. 0:43:57.080 --> 0:44:01.040 So Gideon brings this sacrifice. It was costly, though it's 0:44:01.080 --> 0:44:03.560 costly to give God your life. He brought him a 0:44:03.560 --> 0:44:07.520 goat and bread. Remember they were starving. And to me, 0:44:07.600 --> 0:44:11.520 I think Gideon's sacrifice was saying, God, here's everything I have, 0:44:12.680 --> 0:44:15.359 because I know that you're the one who truly fills me. 0:44:18.320 --> 0:44:20.640 I gotta tell you again, God is waiting for you 0:44:21.600 --> 0:44:30.120 right now, not future. You, not skinny, you, not married, you, 0:44:30.160 --> 0:44:33.520 certainly not famous you. God doesn't need you to be 0:44:33.600 --> 0:44:36.560 famous to use you. He's waiting for you to come 0:44:36.600 --> 0:44:40.080 to him with everything that you don't like about yourself, 0:44:41.200 --> 0:44:45.600 everything that you don't understand about him, and just surrender 0:44:45.680 --> 0:44:53.960 yourself in faith anyway, softly and tenderly. Jesus is calling 0:44:55.080 --> 0:45:01.359 the God of the universe he's waiting for you. He's 0:45:01.400 --> 0:45:07.960 waiting for you. Gideon offers up his sacrifice. I mean 0:45:08.080 --> 0:45:10.839 that's when he finally realizes that it was in fact 0:45:11.160 --> 0:45:15.200 an angel of the Lord all along. And the Bible 0:45:15.239 --> 0:45:20.640 tells us that the Lord says to him, do not 0:45:20.760 --> 0:45:26.000 be afraid, you will not die. And Gideon built an 0:45:26.000 --> 0:45:32.000 altar to the Lord, and there he named it Yahweh Shalom, 0:45:32.680 --> 0:45:37.920 which means the Lord is Peace. The altar remains in Ophrah, 0:45:38.080 --> 0:45:39.719 in the land of the clan of bias Are to 0:45:39.960 --> 0:45:44.440 this day. When you say yes to God, he gives 0:45:44.440 --> 0:45:52.240 you peace markers. I didn't say peace makers, peace markers. 0:45:53.280 --> 0:45:57.040 God is calling Gideon to fight, but he wants him 0:45:57.040 --> 0:45:59.120 to mark the peace that he has in that moment. 0:46:00.440 --> 0:46:05.440 Yahweih shalom, the Lord is peace. This piece was not 0:46:05.520 --> 0:46:09.120 a call to the end of conflict. The fight hadn't 0:46:09.120 --> 0:46:13.919 even started yet. This is shalom. This is a sense 0:46:13.960 --> 0:46:19.359 of completeness, wholeness, and it points to the presence of 0:46:19.480 --> 0:46:23.200 something you can't put your finger on. And when Gideon 0:46:23.320 --> 0:46:27.719 experienced it, God spoke loud and clear to him, do 0:46:27.880 --> 0:46:31.879 not be afraid. You're not gonna die. He made sure 0:46:31.920 --> 0:46:34.560 he didn't want to forget that, so he built an 0:46:34.600 --> 0:46:38.640 altar right there that he could look back to. Can 0:46:38.640 --> 0:46:41.680 you think of any peace markers along your faith journey? 0:46:42.640 --> 0:46:44.399 You spent some time writing a few of mine out 0:46:44.440 --> 0:46:48.759 this week, moments that I look back to when I 0:46:48.880 --> 0:46:52.440 begin to wonder if God is really with me. Peace 0:46:52.480 --> 0:46:56.440 Markers can be an answer to prayer. They can be 0:46:56.680 --> 0:46:59.560 a timely call or a text from a friend that 0:46:59.719 --> 0:47:04.399 just felt like they must God must have told them. 0:47:04.920 --> 0:47:07.680 It can be a sermon, you know those sermons when 0:47:07.719 --> 0:47:10.959 you feel like your pastor got hijacked your pastor's mouth 0:47:11.280 --> 0:47:14.240 and just spoke directly to you when you were about 0:47:14.239 --> 0:47:17.000 to give up. I love all the stories of our 0:47:17.080 --> 0:47:20.759 church when people say I was done, and then I 0:47:20.800 --> 0:47:24.640 heard God say, and when you get one, you got 0:47:24.640 --> 0:47:27.400 to make sure you don't forget it. You got to 0:47:27.440 --> 0:47:30.480 write it down, you got to tell someone. A peace 0:47:30.520 --> 0:47:34.560 marker can be a song. Not too long ago, I 0:47:34.600 --> 0:47:40.120 came to church feeling really heavy with doubt over a 0:47:40.160 --> 0:47:43.680 decision that we had made for about one of our kids. 0:47:44.320 --> 0:47:46.360 And at the time when we made the decision, it 0:47:46.400 --> 0:47:49.680 felt right in the moment, it felt like, yes, we're 0:47:49.680 --> 0:47:52.320 going to do this. But then a series of events 0:47:52.320 --> 0:47:54.919 had me doubting and I was on the front row 0:47:55.880 --> 0:47:58.560 just trying to hold back tears. So this is why 0:47:58.600 --> 0:48:02.840 you got to come to church, because they sang a song. 0:48:06.400 --> 0:48:10.080 They sang that song, this is how you walk on water. 0:48:11.160 --> 0:48:13.279 And I know God doesn't speak out loud, but he 0:48:13.520 --> 0:48:15.720 was speaking loud and clear to me in that moment. 0:48:16.200 --> 0:48:18.680 He was telling me, one foot in front of the other, 0:48:20.239 --> 0:48:25.200 one day at a time, little by little, I'm gonna 0:48:25.280 --> 0:48:27.759 lead you. I'm gonna give you the strength that you 0:48:27.760 --> 0:48:29.800 need right now in this moment to get you through. 0:48:30.239 --> 0:48:32.640 And you know, that decision turned out to be exactly 0:48:32.760 --> 0:48:36.319 right for that child. But I didn't know it. But 0:48:36.360 --> 0:48:38.759 God spoke to me in that moment and I could 0:48:38.800 --> 0:48:40.760 go back to it. Peace markers can be an event. 0:48:41.600 --> 0:48:45.759 I remember when we emptied the bank account. We when 0:48:45.800 --> 0:48:48.000 we say we emptied the bank account, there wasn't that 0:48:48.080 --> 0:48:50.759 much in it. Did it a couple of times, but 0:48:50.760 --> 0:48:53.360 it wasn't, you know whatever, But we emptied the bank account. 0:48:53.400 --> 0:48:56.560 It was all that we had to drop eggs out 0:48:56.600 --> 0:49:01.640 of a helicopter and we found out the day before 0:49:01.760 --> 0:49:05.000 the event that the mailer wasn't going to make it 0:49:05.040 --> 0:49:07.120 to people's mailboxes in time, and this is how we 0:49:07.120 --> 0:49:09.200 were going to invite people to come back. Then that's 0:49:09.200 --> 0:49:12.240 what you did, you put junk mail in people's boxes. 0:49:13.640 --> 0:49:15.760 It was going to be our first Easter at Elevation, 0:49:16.400 --> 0:49:18.399 and we were going to use this event to get 0:49:18.440 --> 0:49:21.840 people to hear about our church and to maybe come 0:49:21.880 --> 0:49:24.120 because more people come to church on Easter, you know. 0:49:24.160 --> 0:49:27.719 And it's a story that we have told a thousand 0:49:27.800 --> 0:49:30.040 times in the history of this church, but it never 0:49:30.120 --> 0:49:35.880 gets old because I was there and I vividly remember thinking, 0:49:36.960 --> 0:49:38.799 no one's going to show up. How are they going 0:49:38.880 --> 0:49:42.399 to know about this event? We wasted all of our money, 0:49:42.520 --> 0:49:47.080 so we had a pity party in our house. I 0:49:47.160 --> 0:49:48.920 don't need to tell you what pity parties like. It's 0:49:48.920 --> 0:49:54.400 pretty quiet. And after a while Stephen came downstairs and 0:49:54.440 --> 0:49:56.759 he said, me and Chunks are going to Kinkos. We're 0:49:56.760 --> 0:50:00.520 going to pronounce some flyers. Because he wasn't gonna just 0:50:00.600 --> 0:50:03.680 sit around while there was still time to do something. 0:50:05.840 --> 0:50:09.480 So we printed off flyers and we went to Walmart 0:50:10.040 --> 0:50:13.640 and we put flyers on people's cars that night before 0:50:13.680 --> 0:50:17.759 the event. Sorry, it was all we had. It was 0:50:17.800 --> 0:50:19.719 all we could do was all we could think of, 0:50:20.080 --> 0:50:25.120 and the next day more people came than we could handle. 0:50:25.600 --> 0:50:29.240 I have no idea where all those people came from. 0:50:29.520 --> 0:50:33.319 I mean, I don't know. Maybe thousands, hundreds, I don't know. 0:50:33.400 --> 0:50:35.640 It was a lot at the time, because we had 0:50:35.680 --> 0:50:38.719 like sixteen people at the time. But the event was 0:50:38.760 --> 0:50:42.960 a huge success. And that night we sat in our 0:50:43.000 --> 0:50:46.640 living room and we watched the story on the local 0:50:46.680 --> 0:50:52.520 news about our church, our little church, and we were 0:50:52.680 --> 0:50:57.200 blown away. We didn't know where all those people had 0:50:57.239 --> 0:51:00.000 come from. We certainly didn't put out that many flyers. 0:51:00.800 --> 0:51:02.880 How did all those people hear about our little event? 0:51:04.239 --> 0:51:07.680 We couldn't stop talking about it, and there was this 0:51:07.960 --> 0:51:12.880 peace God was with us in this. You know how 0:51:12.880 --> 0:51:16.520 many times over the past fifteen years we've wondered if 0:51:16.560 --> 0:51:20.200 people were gonna come. Every time we opened a new campus, 0:51:20.640 --> 0:51:22.600 my husband would asked me, you think people are gonna come? 0:51:24.920 --> 0:51:27.719 If my husband asked me one time, he asked me 0:51:27.719 --> 0:51:29.759 a thousand times, you think people are gonna come? Every 0:51:29.760 --> 0:51:33.960 time we started something new, and when our fear felt 0:51:34.040 --> 0:51:38.919 like more than we could handle, we focused on those 0:51:39.000 --> 0:51:45.600 peace markers. So the fear never goes away. You just 0:51:45.640 --> 0:51:48.440 get a little bit stronger along the way. And there 0:51:48.440 --> 0:51:51.640 were so many times that we stepped out in faith 0:51:51.719 --> 0:51:53.759 to do something that we thought God was calling us 0:51:53.800 --> 0:51:57.200 to do. We had to look back and remember the 0:51:57.239 --> 0:52:02.480 egg drop and remember all the other things along the way. 0:52:03.080 --> 0:52:07.080 You know, on March fourteenth, twenty twenty, when shelter in 0:52:07.160 --> 0:52:12.480 Place was declared, the fear was back in full force. 0:52:13.360 --> 0:52:16.160 The pity party was back in our house. And you 0:52:16.239 --> 0:52:20.120 can bet as Stephen Verdick was pacing the halls of 0:52:20.160 --> 0:52:23.680 our house because the doors of our church were gonna 0:52:23.680 --> 0:52:27.400 close and the people were still gonna need the message 0:52:27.400 --> 0:52:31.800 of Jesus Christ more than ever. And he was afraid 0:52:31.840 --> 0:52:35.319 about preaching in an empty room with a message still translate. 0:52:39.600 --> 0:52:43.319 But our people still showed up. You showed up in 0:52:43.360 --> 0:52:48.879 the chat, you kept giving. And you know, over the 0:52:48.920 --> 0:52:54.200 past year, our campus pastors and our staff, we'd had 0:52:54.239 --> 0:52:57.480 to fight to reinvent the way that we do church. 0:52:58.520 --> 0:53:00.920 We'd had to learn how to lead us from zoom. 0:53:01.280 --> 0:53:04.759 We'd had to pastor people over Facebook groups. We'd had 0:53:04.800 --> 0:53:08.400 to figure out how to open up our buildings again safely. 0:53:08.480 --> 0:53:14.800 And it's scary, But if you're not a little bit scary, 0:53:14.840 --> 0:53:20.239 you don't need any faith fifteen years. God has been 0:53:20.280 --> 0:53:23.280 with us every step of the way, because the strength 0:53:23.560 --> 0:53:26.680 that we have is enough for today. It's like manna. 0:53:28.080 --> 0:53:31.759 God gave us all the strength that we needed at 0:53:31.760 --> 0:53:34.000 the time. If He gave us all the strength at once, 0:53:34.680 --> 0:53:38.920 we never need him. You can go and read the 0:53:38.920 --> 0:53:41.480 rest of Gideon's story. He went on to lead Israel 0:53:41.760 --> 0:53:46.120 to freedom. In fact, the Bible says that the Israelites 0:53:46.160 --> 0:53:52.080 never fought Midian again. And I believe that the message 0:53:52.120 --> 0:53:58.120 today it's not about Gideon's battle with Midian. It's about 0:53:58.120 --> 0:54:04.000 his battle to restore his faith than God. It's about 0:54:04.000 --> 0:54:09.200 his fight to become that mighty warrior that God saw 0:54:09.280 --> 0:54:14.040 in him all along. And I believe that God stands 0:54:14.040 --> 0:54:20.880 before us today, patiently waiting for you to come back 0:54:20.920 --> 0:54:26.360 to him. He wants you to experience his presence in 0:54:26.640 --> 0:54:31.080 our day to day lives. He wants you to see 0:54:31.360 --> 0:54:36.880 that He's with you, even when your circumstances suggest otherwise. 0:54:37.120 --> 0:54:43.040 He waits with a great feast for you. You don't 0:54:43.080 --> 0:54:48.040 have to be hungry anymore. And all he wants from 0:54:48.040 --> 0:54:55.560 you is your life. He wants all of it, your pain, 0:54:56.480 --> 0:55:02.120 your fear, your questions, your faults, your secrets. He wants 0:55:02.120 --> 0:55:05.160 your gifts and talents too. Sometimes I think it takes 0:55:05.200 --> 0:55:07.680 more faith for me to give God the ugly places, 0:55:09.600 --> 0:55:14.680 because God would what do you possibly want with those? 0:55:17.040 --> 0:55:21.000 He delights in you. You're his child, all of you. 0:55:22.719 --> 0:55:25.840 Right now, He's going to give you the strength that 0:55:25.880 --> 0:55:30.040 you need for every situation that lies ahead. But most 0:55:30.080 --> 0:55:32.640 of all, He's going to be with you every step 0:55:32.680 --> 0:55:45.080 of the way, every single step. Let's pray. Lord, What 0:55:45.160 --> 0:55:51.160 can we say but thank you? And also God, we're 0:55:51.200 --> 0:55:55.319 coming back to right now in this moment. Some of 0:55:55.400 --> 0:55:57.960 us are coming back for the first time. Some of 0:55:58.000 --> 0:56:03.200 us are coming back for the one thousand time. We're offering, 0:56:03.640 --> 0:56:09.440 we're offering are all to you right now. God, I 0:56:09.440 --> 0:56:12.880 don't know why you want me, but if you want me, 0:56:12.920 --> 0:56:16.839 you've got me. This is all you want. I can 0:56:16.880 --> 0:56:21.400 give you that. God, would you minister to us in 0:56:21.520 --> 0:56:28.239 this moment, help us to maybe just fear your presence, 0:56:29.160 --> 0:56:31.880 to remind us of those peace markers that you've given 0:56:31.960 --> 0:56:38.320 us all along the journey. Thank you for your patience, 0:56:40.320 --> 0:56:46.080 Thank you for your strength. Just take a minute, think 0:56:46.120 --> 0:56:48.839 about it. Think about the times that He's come through 0:56:48.840 --> 0:56:58.120 for you. Think about the moments when you felt so alone. 0:56:58.760 --> 0:57:01.719 But now that you look back, he was with you 0:57:01.800 --> 0:57:05.400 the whole time. There's moments when he spoke to you. 0:57:08.920 --> 0:57:20.120 Do not be afraid, you will not die. Got you, 0:57:22.000 --> 0:57:28.200 here's my life. Thank you that you're going to give 0:57:28.200 --> 0:57:30.400 me the strength to do everything that you're calling me 0:57:30.480 --> 0:58:29.840 to do. O little, she said, She's suicide makes so 0:58:34.520 --> 0:59:17.200 she shows to suicide shore. She shot that figue gee 0:59:37.360 --> 0:59:47.800 yes you, yes you, yes you not me. Couldn't be me. 0:59:48.640 --> 0:59:53.000 He couldn't choose me, he couldn't use me. I'm not 0:59:53.160 --> 0:59:57.080 so smart like other people. I didn't come from a 0:59:57.160 --> 1:00:06.840 good home. Yes you what man rejects God selects. Yes you. 1:00:11.640 --> 1:00:14.440 You might be the littlest, you might be the loneliest, 1:00:14.480 --> 1:00:16.600 You might be in the lowest place of your life. 1:00:17.560 --> 1:00:21.960 But like Holly said, Jesus is calling right now. Would 1:00:22.000 --> 1:00:27.240 you bow your head, close your eyes, put the distractions aside, 1:00:28.320 --> 1:00:33.680 and listen to that voice. It's a whisper. You won't 1:00:33.720 --> 1:00:35.880 hear it with your ears, You'll hear it with your spirit. 1:00:37.400 --> 1:00:39.840 It'll be the voice that's been with you your whole life. 1:00:40.040 --> 1:00:45.600 Before the other voices took over the voice of the Father. 1:00:48.040 --> 1:00:52.280 Welcoming you back home right now. I want to make 1:00:52.320 --> 1:00:55.280 a call all over the world on our church's anniversary 1:00:56.800 --> 1:01:00.240 for everyone who has never made the decision to place 1:01:00.320 --> 1:01:04.160 your faith in Jesus Christ, or you made that decision, 1:01:04.960 --> 1:01:08.640 but you've been in hiding. I want to issue a 1:01:08.720 --> 1:01:13.840 homecoming invitation and tell you that the table is already spread, 1:01:14.880 --> 1:01:19.120 and the dead is already settled, and Christ already died. 1:01:19.160 --> 1:01:23.760 It's already covered, it's already done. The only thing left 1:01:23.800 --> 1:01:27.160 for you to do is receive it. So right now, 1:01:27.280 --> 1:01:30.560 pray with me out loud wherever you are, everyone in 1:01:30.640 --> 1:01:32.560 the room, praying out loud for the benefit of those 1:01:32.600 --> 1:01:35.360 who are coming to God or coming back to God. 1:01:35.680 --> 1:01:40.360 Pray with me right now, Heavenly Father, today is my 1:01:40.640 --> 1:01:47.600 day of salvation. I believe that Jesus Christ is the 1:01:47.720 --> 1:01:51.880 Son of God and the savior of the world. I 1:01:52.080 --> 1:01:58.720 believe Jesus died for my sin and rose again to 1:01:58.840 --> 1:02:04.440 give me life. I receive this new life, make me 1:02:05.280 --> 1:02:10.520 a new creation. I am a child of God on 1:02:10.680 --> 1:02:12.720 account of three. If you just pray that with me, 1:02:12.920 --> 1:02:17.200 say it in the chat. I receive Jesus one, two, three, 1:02:17.480 --> 1:02:20.120 I receive Jesus. If you're in the room. Shoot your 1:02:20.160 --> 1:02:22.880 hand up right now, shut your hand up right now. 1:02:24.400 --> 1:02:29.480 I'm coming just as I am without one. Please, but 1:02:29.640 --> 1:02:32.760 that the blood of Jesus was shit for me. And 1:02:32.920 --> 1:02:38.600 he is enough. And you are enough. Yes you, yes, now, 1:02:39.560 --> 1:02:44.520 yes here. Today is the day. You're a new creation. 1:02:45.600 --> 1:02:50.800 You're a child of God. You are love, you are accepted, 1:02:51.600 --> 1:02:56.200 you are Solecians. Come on celebrating with your hands lifted 1:02:56.280 --> 1:03:29.760 to heaven. Let's celebrate that homecoming. Thank you did. Listens, 1:03:35.640 --> 1:03:39.520 come on, let's thank God for his amazing love, his 1:03:39.720 --> 1:03:48.000 amazing grace that saved a wretch like me, a wretch 1:03:48.280 --> 1:03:52.920 like you. Yes you. I know you're not perfect, but 1:03:53.040 --> 1:03:55.680 there's grace. There's room for you and the family of God. 1:03:56.520 --> 1:03:58.200 We want you to be a part of our church. 1:03:58.960 --> 1:04:02.800 You're like who me? Yes you? Somebody say, yes you. 1:04:03.800 --> 1:04:05.640 But I don't live in Charlotte. You don't have to 1:04:06.080 --> 1:04:09.240 look at this miracle. We're all over the world. We 1:04:09.480 --> 1:04:13.520 welcome you. We call it EPHAM doesn't stand for extended. 1:04:13.880 --> 1:04:19.560 It stands for everyone. Whosoever will let him come. I said, 1:04:19.720 --> 1:04:27.000 whosoever will let him call. Thank you, Jesus, We love you. 1:04:27.960 --> 1:04:30.480 Make sure you leave us a comment this week, make 1:04:30.520 --> 1:04:33.360 sure you say there I received Jesus. If you gave 1:04:33.400 --> 1:04:36.000 your life to Christ, make sure you say that was 1:04:36.120 --> 1:04:38.480 for me, Holly. If she preached the word that you 1:04:38.640 --> 1:04:41.200 needed to hear, but you're gonna be wrong because it 1:04:41.360 --> 1:04:43.600 wasn't for you. It was for me. She preached that 1:04:43.720 --> 1:04:45.560 to me, But I'm glad you got to hear it. 1:04:46.040 --> 1:04:49.400 Praise the Lord. How many receive what God gave us 1:04:49.400 --> 1:04:58.040 today through Holly? Yes you, thank you for joining us. 1:04:58.400 --> 1:05:00.840 Special thanks to those of you who give generously to 1:05:00.920 --> 1:05:04.360 this ministry. Is because of you that this ministry is possible. 1:05:04.880 --> 1:05:07.040 You can click the link in the description to give 1:05:07.160 --> 1:05:11.280 now or visit Elevationchurch dot org slash podcast for more 1:05:11.320 --> 1:05:14.920 information and if you enjoyed the podcast, you can subscribe. 1:05:15.400 --> 1:05:17.439 You can share it with your friends. You can click 1:05:17.520 --> 1:05:19.720 the share button, take a screenshot and share it on 1:05:19.760 --> 1:05:22.640 your social stories and tag us at Elevation Church. Thanks 1:05:22.640 --> 1:05:24.000 again for listening. God bless you.