I'm Glad It Happened

0:00:01.520 --> 0:00:02.800 Hey, this is Stephen Ferdick. 0:00:02.840 --> 0:00:05.280 I'm the pastor of Elevation Church and this is our 0:00:05.280 --> 0:00:07.760 podcast and I wanted to thank you for joining us today. 0:00:08.080 --> 0:00:10.959 Hope this inspires you. Hope it builds your faith. Hope 0:00:10.960 --> 0:00:13.080 it gives your perspective to see God is moving. 0:00:12.920 --> 0:00:18.960 In your life. Enjoy the message. 0:00:19.160 --> 0:00:22.560 I just want to share with you nine verses of 0:00:22.600 --> 0:00:28.120 scripture and finish something that I started back in twenty fourteen. 0:00:28.560 --> 0:00:31.479 It seems like to me that New Year's Eve is 0:00:31.520 --> 0:00:36.720 a perfect time to finish your business. And I started 0:00:36.760 --> 0:00:42.479 something in twenty fourteen. I preached a little message about 0:00:42.560 --> 0:00:46.159 holding on to the promise of God through the storms 0:00:46.159 --> 0:00:50.239 of life. And I called the message from something that 0:00:50.280 --> 0:00:54.000 the apostle Paul said during a shipwreck that he survived. 0:00:54.080 --> 0:01:00.920 I called the message it will happen the first message 0:01:01.520 --> 0:01:04.000 this year. God gave me a sequel to that message 0:01:04.080 --> 0:01:06.000 that I preached a few months ago in our church, 0:01:06.640 --> 0:01:11.600 and it was about making sense of setbacks and that 0:01:11.720 --> 0:01:14.160 after you have survived the storm, you have to find 0:01:14.240 --> 0:01:15.520 out why you survived. 0:01:16.840 --> 0:01:17.800 It was for a reason. 0:01:17.880 --> 0:01:20.399 So we followed Paul from the Adriatic Sea where he 0:01:20.520 --> 0:01:22.840 was adrift with no hope of being saved all the 0:01:22.880 --> 0:01:25.440 way to a little strange island called Malta, where God 0:01:25.520 --> 0:01:29.480 used him to perform miracles and release healing. Not without difficulty, 0:01:29.840 --> 0:01:36.640 but destiny never is. It's difficult by design that way, 0:01:37.160 --> 0:01:40.640 when God uses you, you won't get confused about who is 0:01:40.680 --> 0:01:46.480 doing the great things, and you'll give him the glory. 0:01:46.520 --> 0:01:49.080 And so we preached that message this year, and that 0:01:49.120 --> 0:01:54.640 message was called it had to Happen. And I've heard 0:01:54.680 --> 0:01:58.360 a lot of good feedback about those messages. But tonight 0:01:58.440 --> 0:02:02.160 I want to complete the trilogy, and I want to 0:02:02.200 --> 0:02:05.600 finish this series of messages from Philippians chapter one, verses 0:02:05.640 --> 0:02:08.840 twelve through twenty. We're going to follow Paul all the 0:02:08.840 --> 0:02:13.519 way to Rome. He's crossed the Mediterranean, he's left Malta 0:02:13.600 --> 0:02:20.120 after three months of ministry. He's now, according to many scholars, 0:02:21.240 --> 0:02:23.360 under house arrest in Rome, where the Book of Acts 0:02:23.360 --> 0:02:27.960 incidentally ends. But his ministry did an end where the 0:02:27.960 --> 0:02:31.000 book did. And I want to pick up on this 0:02:31.240 --> 0:02:36.760 letter that he wrote from the prison in Rome and 0:02:36.880 --> 0:02:38.640 just read it to you. I'm going to take my 0:02:38.680 --> 0:02:43.279 time to read it because the context of this message 0:02:43.520 --> 0:02:46.120 will determine whether or not you can receive it at 0:02:46.120 --> 0:02:49.040 a level that will make it effective in your life. 0:02:49.120 --> 0:02:51.919 And starting in verse twelve, Paul says, now I want 0:02:51.919 --> 0:02:54.520 you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened 0:02:54.600 --> 0:03:00.359 to me has actually served to advance the Gospel. As 0:03:00.400 --> 0:03:04.240 a result, it has become clear throughout the whole Palace 0:03:04.320 --> 0:03:06.920 Guard and to everyone else, that I am in chains 0:03:07.480 --> 0:03:12.120 for Christ and because of my chains. Not in spite 0:03:12.120 --> 0:03:18.720 of my chains, but the power of God is being 0:03:18.800 --> 0:03:21.680 released through the thing that you might pity me for 0:03:21.880 --> 0:03:26.440 because of my chains, because of my confinement, there is 0:03:26.680 --> 0:03:32.280 a great purpose unfolding where I am positioned. As a result, 0:03:32.320 --> 0:03:34.520 it has become clear throughout the whole Palace Guard and 0:03:34.560 --> 0:03:36.600 to everyone else that I am in Chaine for Christ, 0:03:36.680 --> 0:03:38.960 and because of my chains. Most of the brothers and 0:03:39.000 --> 0:03:42.960 sisters have become confident in the Lord and dare all 0:03:43.000 --> 0:03:47.200 the more to proclaim the Gospel without fear. It's true 0:03:47.320 --> 0:03:50.720 that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but 0:03:50.880 --> 0:03:54.040 others out of love, knowing that I am put here. 0:03:54.640 --> 0:03:56.280 See, when you understand. 0:03:55.800 --> 0:03:59.160 That God is positioning you, you don't fear what people 0:03:59.240 --> 0:04:02.840 might do to you, because there is not a situation 0:04:03.080 --> 0:04:04.720 that they can put you in that God will not 0:04:04.800 --> 0:04:09.760 show up in the midst of don't make me preach, 0:04:09.800 --> 0:04:11.360 because I'm just trying to read the scripture and I 0:04:11.400 --> 0:04:13.240 hadn't even really set it up appropriately yet, and I 0:04:13.280 --> 0:04:15.920 only got so long on this clock. But as those 0:04:15.960 --> 0:04:18.279 Hebrew boys who went into a fiery furnace, if a 0:04:18.320 --> 0:04:21.279 fourth man won't step in just when it gets cranked 0:04:21.360 --> 0:04:25.080 up seven times hotter than it's supposed to be, and 0:04:25.120 --> 0:04:27.240 the only thing that's gonna fall off in the fire 0:04:27.320 --> 0:04:30.120 is the ropes that had you bown. God lets you 0:04:30.200 --> 0:04:41.000 be in the fire to set you free. And so 0:04:41.040 --> 0:04:45.239 he said the former seventeen preached Christ out of selfish ambition, 0:04:45.360 --> 0:04:49.520 not sincerely supposing they can stir up trouble for me 0:04:49.600 --> 0:04:52.680 while I am in chains. This is a cool part 0:04:52.680 --> 0:04:56.000 that only an old man can say. But what does 0:04:56.040 --> 0:05:02.560 it matter. I live enough to let some of my 0:05:02.640 --> 0:05:08.640 concerns fall off of me. Now I have a sense 0:05:08.680 --> 0:05:12.040 of priority, and I'm not concerned about what they say, 0:05:13.000 --> 0:05:17.239 and I'm not concerned about their motives, because God's intention 0:05:18.240 --> 0:05:25.719 is always more powerful than human motive. The important thing 0:05:25.880 --> 0:05:28.840 is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, 0:05:28.920 --> 0:05:32.920 Christ is preached, and because of this. Because of this, 0:05:33.800 --> 0:05:37.799 I rejoice, not because of a new car, but because 0:05:37.800 --> 0:05:38.360 of a calling. 0:05:38.920 --> 0:05:41.680 Because of this, I. 0:05:41.680 --> 0:05:47.840 Rejoice, yes, and I will continue to rejoice, for I 0:05:47.920 --> 0:05:51.279 know that, through your prayers and God's provision of the 0:05:51.320 --> 0:05:56.400 Spirit of Jesus Christ, what has happened to me will 0:05:56.480 --> 0:06:01.599 turn out for my deliverance. I eagerly expect and hope 0:06:02.360 --> 0:06:05.200 that I will in no way be ashamed, but will 0:06:05.320 --> 0:06:09.960 have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will 0:06:09.960 --> 0:06:15.320 be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. 0:06:16.279 --> 0:06:17.640 Now I read all that just to go back to 0:06:17.720 --> 0:06:20.840 verse twelve where I started. Now, I want you to know, 0:06:21.440 --> 0:06:26.080 brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me, what 0:06:26.160 --> 0:06:30.920 has happened to me, has actually served to advance the gospel. 0:06:32.800 --> 0:06:39.400 All right, it will happen. It had to happen. And 0:06:39.480 --> 0:06:41.640 my message for you tonight, if you can say it 0:06:41.680 --> 0:06:46.200 with Paul by faith, is this, it will happen. 0:06:47.320 --> 0:06:48.200 It had to happen. 0:06:49.279 --> 0:06:52.240 But tonight look at your neighbor and say, I want 0:06:52.240 --> 0:07:03.720 you to know I'm glad it happened. Now, this one's 0:07:03.760 --> 0:07:07.200 going to be kind of tough to get with this, 0:07:07.360 --> 0:07:09.640 because there are really two reasons that we put on 0:07:09.680 --> 0:07:12.920 this praise party. One year I turned to Holly, I said, 0:07:12.920 --> 0:07:14.600 we're getting too old to try to stay up on 0:07:14.640 --> 0:07:16.120 New Year's Eve without accountability. 0:07:16.200 --> 0:07:17.520 Let's have church on New Year's Eve. 0:07:20.080 --> 0:07:22.600 And it really serves two purposes if you allow it to. 0:07:22.840 --> 0:07:27.360 It serves the purpose of allowing you to reflect and expect. 0:07:28.760 --> 0:07:30.560 So two questions I want to hang over your head 0:07:30.560 --> 0:07:32.920 as you sit there tonight on whatever campus or around 0:07:32.960 --> 0:07:35.640 whatever screen, how are your viewing this? I want to 0:07:35.640 --> 0:07:39.800 ask you two things. Are you where you want to be? 0:07:41.960 --> 0:07:47.680 And are you ready for what's next? God brought you 0:07:47.720 --> 0:07:51.520 here tonight to give you the opportunity to reflect and 0:07:51.560 --> 0:07:55.360 to expect. So as I reflect, am I where I 0:07:55.440 --> 0:07:58.840 want to be? And as I expect, am I ready 0:07:59.520 --> 0:08:06.000 for what's next? Now, as you reflect, you've got to 0:08:06.080 --> 0:08:09.920 understand that reflection must be done correctly in order to 0:08:09.920 --> 0:08:14.200 be productive. There is a way of reflecting on your life, 0:08:14.240 --> 0:08:16.320 and I think this is why some of us avoid 0:08:16.480 --> 0:08:20.600 looking back that can leave you paralyzed in a sense. 0:08:22.000 --> 0:08:24.920 There is a type of reflection that does not energize you. 0:08:26.000 --> 0:08:28.400 There's a type of reflection that can. 0:08:28.480 --> 0:08:32.280 Bring you into a state of resentment. 0:08:33.640 --> 0:08:37.800 As you look back over what happened to you for 0:08:37.840 --> 0:08:43.640 you this year, there may be a temptation for you 0:08:43.720 --> 0:08:47.880 to reflect to the point of resentment. And there may 0:08:47.920 --> 0:08:51.480 be some people this year who were supposed to support you, 0:08:53.200 --> 0:08:55.560 and maybe you expected them to be standing by you, 0:08:55.640 --> 0:08:59.360 but you find yourself a little more lonely at the 0:08:59.440 --> 0:09:01.560 end of this year. You're even going through your photo 0:09:01.559 --> 0:09:03.840 stream on your phone. I found can be dangerous because 0:09:04.559 --> 0:09:06.880 some of the people that I'm scrolling through that I 0:09:06.920 --> 0:09:12.040 felt one way about in January, I feel differently about 0:09:12.080 --> 0:09:18.160 them in December because and you have to be careful. 0:09:18.200 --> 0:09:19.560 You have to be careful if you want to go 0:09:19.600 --> 0:09:23.240 back on the timeline. You may feel some things and 0:09:23.280 --> 0:09:28.480 when you reflect, it's important that you avoid resentment on 0:09:28.480 --> 0:09:31.160 one level. But I think also you should be very 0:09:31.160 --> 0:09:33.800 careful when you reflect, because not only can you begin 0:09:33.840 --> 0:09:39.280 to resent opportunities that you didn't get or maybe ways 0:09:39.320 --> 0:09:41.719 that you were not acknowledged, which can bring you into 0:09:41.720 --> 0:09:43.440 a state of resentment, but you also got to watch 0:09:43.440 --> 0:09:47.599 out for regret. This is like the devils are in 0:09:47.800 --> 0:09:52.800 r you know, regret and resentment, Now they're really the same. 0:09:53.440 --> 0:09:58.559 Regret is just resentment turned inward. It's when you take 0:09:58.559 --> 0:10:01.360 a look at where you said you would be on 0:10:01.400 --> 0:10:08.240 December thirty one, twenty seventeen, and the scale says something 0:10:08.280 --> 0:10:15.520 different than your list said three sixty five ago. Or 0:10:15.559 --> 0:10:22.559 it can be when you are thinking about all of the. 0:10:21.240 --> 0:10:22.960 Dance recitals that you missed. 0:10:23.240 --> 0:10:25.840 Or it could be that you think about how you 0:10:25.960 --> 0:10:28.400 promised to be more faithful in church this year, but 0:10:28.440 --> 0:10:30.400 you didn't quite make it happen. But you did get 0:10:30.400 --> 0:10:33.160 here tonight, high five of your neighbor and say you're 0:10:33.200 --> 0:10:35.880 ahead for twenty eighteen. You already got a gold star 0:10:36.559 --> 0:10:42.240 on the Jesus Christ chart. Now, there is a type 0:10:42.240 --> 0:10:45.959 of reflection that leads to regret. 0:10:46.000 --> 0:10:49.319 There is a type of reflection that leads to resentment. 0:10:50.559 --> 0:10:54.160 But the right kind of reflection will lead to resolution. 0:10:56.840 --> 0:11:00.400 The right kind of reflection as demonstrated by the apostle 0:11:00.440 --> 0:11:05.000 Paul in Philippians Chapter one from I Believe a Roman 0:11:05.600 --> 0:11:08.160 prison cell, which was really a rented home where. 0:11:07.960 --> 0:11:09.240 He was allowed to see people. 0:11:09.520 --> 0:11:14.680 But remember now he's been waiting for a trial for 0:11:14.760 --> 0:11:18.800 maybe as much as four years, and still after four 0:11:18.920 --> 0:11:22.400 years of bouncing around from prelate to pre late, from 0:11:22.480 --> 0:11:26.800 governor to governor, there's still no resolution for his situation. 0:11:28.000 --> 0:11:31.320 Yet Paul exhibits the kind of attitude in Philippians chapter 0:11:31.360 --> 0:11:33.800 one that I am striving to see. 0:11:33.679 --> 0:11:37.000 Manifest in my own life. As he reflects, he. 0:11:37.000 --> 0:11:42.080 Demonstrates that your spirit does not have to be a 0:11:42.120 --> 0:11:46.839 reflection of your situation. What I'm trying to say is 0:11:46.960 --> 0:11:49.440 you do not have to allow your outlook to be 0:11:49.559 --> 0:11:53.320 defined by the events that brought you to this point. 0:11:54.480 --> 0:11:58.560 Paul proves it clearly in Philippians chapter one, verse twelve 0:11:58.880 --> 0:12:02.640 through twenty. And really I see him in Philippians chapter one, 0:12:02.760 --> 0:12:07.880 verses twelve through twenty, correcting some of the rumors that 0:12:07.960 --> 0:12:11.199 have apparently begun to surface in ephesis about his situation. 0:12:13.480 --> 0:12:15.600 I don't mean to say ephesis, I mean to say Philippi. 0:12:15.679 --> 0:12:18.920 But really, everybody, every church that Paul started has started 0:12:18.920 --> 0:12:20.719 to talk a little bit. I can almost hear them 0:12:20.760 --> 0:12:22.040 whispering behind his back. 0:12:22.960 --> 0:12:24.079 Did you hear about Paul. 0:12:25.280 --> 0:12:28.800 He still hasn't had his trial yet, looks like his 0:12:28.920 --> 0:12:29.840 ministry is over. 0:12:31.360 --> 0:12:32.839 It's horrible what happened to Paul. 0:12:33.920 --> 0:12:37.200 He was only trying to help, but you know, he 0:12:37.280 --> 0:12:40.520 probably pushed it a little too far. He kept on 0:12:40.600 --> 0:12:43.679 preaching to the Gentiles, and the Jews told him to 0:12:43.720 --> 0:12:45.800 stop it, but he wouldn't stop it, and then he 0:12:45.840 --> 0:12:48.920 told those gentiles they didn't have to get circumcised. And well, 0:12:49.600 --> 0:12:53.600 you know, he probably if he would have toned it 0:12:53.640 --> 0:12:55.720 down a little bit, you know, if he wouldn't have 0:12:55.760 --> 0:12:58.120 appealed his case to Caesar, he might have got set 0:12:58.160 --> 0:13:00.720 free by Festus. Did you hear what happened to Paul? 0:13:01.720 --> 0:13:05.520 It's horrible what happened to Paul. Terrible thing what happened 0:13:05.520 --> 0:13:09.000 to Paul. You can almost hear them whispering from the 0:13:09.080 --> 0:13:11.920 church at Philippi, which Paul founded a decade earlier. 0:13:11.920 --> 0:13:14.080 But now some things have happened. 0:13:14.960 --> 0:13:17.240 And not only has time passed, but it seems that 0:13:17.280 --> 0:13:18.920 Paul's ministry has come. 0:13:18.720 --> 0:13:19.800 To a grinding hall. 0:13:21.040 --> 0:13:24.040 There is to be no more movement during this period. 0:13:24.240 --> 0:13:26.040 And I can almost hear. 0:13:25.920 --> 0:13:29.440 The whispers from the Church at Philippi when Paul speaks 0:13:29.520 --> 0:13:32.720 up in verse twelve and says, now, I want you 0:13:32.800 --> 0:13:37.640 to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to 0:13:37.720 --> 0:13:44.040 me has actually somebody say, actually, actually I know what 0:13:44.120 --> 0:13:46.520 you heard. But forget what you heard for a minute. 0:13:46.920 --> 0:13:49.640 Let me set the record straight and you know, I 0:13:49.679 --> 0:13:51.960 hear the spirit of the Lord saying tonight that before 0:13:52.000 --> 0:13:55.840 you leave twenty seventeen, you need to set the record 0:13:55.960 --> 0:13:58.040 straight about. 0:13:57.679 --> 0:14:01.400 What really went down this year. You need to set 0:14:01.400 --> 0:14:01.960 the record straight. 0:14:01.960 --> 0:14:04.120 As a matter of fact, we came tonight to give 0:14:04.120 --> 0:14:08.560 God praise for what he brought us through, and we 0:14:08.640 --> 0:14:10.720 came tonight to make our commitment to Him that we 0:14:10.760 --> 0:14:13.600 will follow him throughout the course of this year, no 0:14:13.600 --> 0:14:15.560 matter how the road might wind or where it might 0:14:15.679 --> 0:14:19.720 lead us. But we also came to set the record straight, 0:14:20.080 --> 0:14:23.320 to let the devil know that everything we went through 0:14:23.360 --> 0:14:27.560 this year was a scroof of the promise and the 0:14:27.600 --> 0:14:32.880 power and the unlimited potential of the ever ruling, ever rating, 0:14:33.200 --> 0:14:38.800 ever present. God, tell your neighbor, I came to set 0:14:38.800 --> 0:14:42.800 the record straight. I don't know what you heard. You 0:14:42.880 --> 0:14:45.080 might have heard that I was on the way down, 0:14:45.520 --> 0:14:48.400 but I came to set the record straight. There's some 0:14:48.480 --> 0:14:49.680 things I need you to. 0:14:49.680 --> 0:14:52.680 Know before January hits my watch. 0:14:58.920 --> 0:15:01.120 So one thing I'm trying to before I make a 0:15:01.160 --> 0:15:05.320 New Year's resolution, I want to make a few revisions. 0:15:08.920 --> 0:15:11.640 Paul wants to make a few revisions. Let's talk for 0:15:11.680 --> 0:15:17.480 a moment about the revision. The revision. I've noticed a 0:15:17.480 --> 0:15:20.000 lot of times that when we write a song or 0:15:20.080 --> 0:15:24.280 when I write a sermon, the magic happens not on 0:15:24.320 --> 0:15:29.840 the first draft or the second draft or the third draft, 0:15:31.200 --> 0:15:35.120 but it is in the revision that the potential of 0:15:35.160 --> 0:15:39.000 the song or the sermon is revealed. Oh. I love that, 0:15:39.040 --> 0:15:42.160 because when I think about it, I think that maybe 0:15:42.200 --> 0:15:45.520 there are some things this year where I'm getting the 0:15:45.600 --> 0:15:52.800 story wrong and I need to see it differently. He's 0:15:52.800 --> 0:15:56.440 not looking good for Paul. That looks like he's gonna 0:15:56.480 --> 0:16:00.520 make it. It doesn't look like it's embarrassing when your 0:16:00.560 --> 0:16:01.600 pastor is in jail. 0:16:02.840 --> 0:16:05.760 I would imagine. 0:16:06.400 --> 0:16:08.560 I hope you never have to find out firsthand what 0:16:08.640 --> 0:16:11.640 that's like, not planning that. 0:16:13.760 --> 0:16:15.240 But remember, now. 0:16:15.280 --> 0:16:19.720 He's been driven across the Adriatic Sea, three months in Malta. 0:16:20.560 --> 0:16:23.760 Now he finds himself in Rome and he's still waiting, 0:16:23.960 --> 0:16:27.600 and the situation is still unresolved. 0:16:28.240 --> 0:16:28.840 But he's not. 0:16:32.000 --> 0:16:39.000 Resolution is not an event, It is a decision. And 0:16:39.000 --> 0:16:42.720 as Paul reflects from Rome and looks at what's happening, 0:16:43.000 --> 0:16:47.840 he understands that, Well, sometimes people will misjudge your situation 0:16:48.480 --> 0:16:52.400 because they do not know the backstory, and so he 0:16:52.480 --> 0:16:56.080 is informing them. He's taking the opportunity to inform them 0:16:56.440 --> 0:17:01.400 about what is apparent and what is actual. I love 0:17:01.440 --> 0:17:04.920 it because sometimes what's happening on the surface is not 0:17:05.080 --> 0:17:09.320 the real story. And so Paul is focusing here not 0:17:09.480 --> 0:17:13.760 on what is happening to him, but what is happening 0:17:14.040 --> 0:17:18.320 through him. The story that you tell is dependent on 0:17:18.400 --> 0:17:22.120 the point of view that you have. So while others 0:17:22.200 --> 0:17:24.800 are looking at Paul's life from the outside end, they 0:17:24.800 --> 0:17:26.240 are judging him a failure. 0:17:26.960 --> 0:17:27.760 While others are. 0:17:27.680 --> 0:17:30.320 Looking at Paul's life from the outside end, they're saying 0:17:30.320 --> 0:17:33.959 he's going down now. While others are looking at Paul's 0:17:34.000 --> 0:17:37.640 life from the outside end far away from Philippi across 0:17:37.680 --> 0:17:39.919 the Mediterranean Sea, it doesn't look. 0:17:39.800 --> 0:17:40.480 Good from Paul. 0:17:40.600 --> 0:17:43.359 But Paul is not looking at his situation from the 0:17:43.400 --> 0:17:47.200 outside end. He's looking at his situation from. 0:17:47.000 --> 0:17:47.920 The inside out. 0:17:48.640 --> 0:17:51.240 Now, the inside is where the spirit of God lives, 0:17:51.720 --> 0:17:53.960 and the spirit of God lives in you. Greater is 0:17:54.000 --> 0:17:56.080 he that is in you than he that is in 0:17:56.119 --> 0:17:59.640 the world. So it means that no matter what resistance 0:17:59.760 --> 0:18:05.600 is against me, somebody shot, I'm glad it happened. There 0:18:05.640 --> 0:18:08.280 are some things that I went through this year that 0:18:08.400 --> 0:18:11.320 I didn't like. There are some things that I went 0:18:11.359 --> 0:18:14.199 through this year that hurt. And I'm not saying that 0:18:14.280 --> 0:18:17.480 they didn't hurt. They hurt. I'm not saying that they 0:18:17.480 --> 0:18:20.679 didn't hurt. They hurt, Like hell, you should have. 0:18:20.680 --> 0:18:23.080 Left your kids home. It's New Year's Eve. I'm not 0:18:23.240 --> 0:18:25.520 saying that I would have chosen. 0:18:25.119 --> 0:18:28.199 Them if I had had the opportunity. But now that 0:18:28.280 --> 0:18:31.359 I've been through it, there is something that I learned 0:18:31.400 --> 0:18:34.960 through what I went through that made me who I am, 0:18:35.359 --> 0:18:38.919 and I'm standing to take John didn't come to given praise. 0:18:39.400 --> 0:18:41.280 Somebody shot. I'm glad. 0:18:51.640 --> 0:18:55.159 They probably felt sorry for Paul. They were probably signing 0:18:55.280 --> 0:18:59.639 petitions to their senators to get Paul out of prison. 0:19:01.640 --> 0:19:06.560 Paul said, stop all your petitions. Don't feel sorry for me. 0:19:08.280 --> 0:19:10.280 I know I got these chains on me. 0:19:11.440 --> 0:19:13.040 But I'm freer than all y'all. 0:19:17.280 --> 0:19:20.600 Now. I didn't like it at the time. I didn't 0:19:20.640 --> 0:19:21.720 get it at the time. 0:19:22.560 --> 0:19:23.640 It didn't make. 0:19:23.520 --> 0:19:26.880 Sense while I was in it. But I've been here 0:19:26.920 --> 0:19:30.919 long enough to recognize, and I've been through enough storms 0:19:31.000 --> 0:19:33.720 to know. And I held on to the planks of 0:19:33.760 --> 0:19:36.960 the boat and made it across the sea and saw 0:19:37.080 --> 0:19:41.680 Gods provision at a level that now I can tell 0:19:41.720 --> 0:19:50.720 you that actually God is up to something. Vaul says, 0:19:52.080 --> 0:19:55.679 I'm not a hostage. I want you to say that 0:19:55.720 --> 0:19:57.400 because this is a revision that you need to make, 0:19:57.440 --> 0:20:01.199 because some of you have made yourself the victim of 0:20:01.240 --> 0:20:04.320 twenty seventeen, and we need to. 0:20:04.240 --> 0:20:05.960 Make some revisions. 0:20:07.000 --> 0:20:11.000 Because you cannot leave twenty seventeen like a victim and 0:20:11.040 --> 0:20:15.040 go into twenty eighteen like a victor. And you've got 0:20:15.080 --> 0:20:19.639 to make a decision tonight. You've got to revise some 0:20:19.760 --> 0:20:22.720 of the stuff in your story and take a cue 0:20:22.720 --> 0:20:25.120 from Paul. I was confused at first because he said, 0:20:25.119 --> 0:20:28.080 I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has. 0:20:27.960 --> 0:20:28.560 Happened to me. 0:20:28.640 --> 0:20:31.000 But then he gives no detail about what actually happened 0:20:31.040 --> 0:20:36.200 to him. All he talks about is what God did 0:20:36.359 --> 0:20:39.720 through the events that he could have been bitter about. 0:20:41.560 --> 0:20:43.160 I'm not a hostage. 0:20:43.720 --> 0:20:47.919 Don't feel sorry for me. In fact, Paul might say, 0:20:48.119 --> 0:20:51.040 I always wanted to go to Rome to preach the gospel. 0:20:53.400 --> 0:20:56.400 I didn't think I'd have to drag these shackles through 0:20:56.440 --> 0:20:57.400 the streets to do it. 0:20:58.560 --> 0:20:59.600 But it actually works out. 0:20:59.640 --> 0:21:03.040 Pretty good, because all these guards have to listen to 0:21:03.080 --> 0:21:10.120 me preach anytime I open my mouth. I'm not a hostage. 0:21:10.400 --> 0:21:14.760 I'm not a hostage to your opinions. I'm not a 0:21:14.800 --> 0:21:20.200 hostage to what went wrong. I hear Paul saying all 0:21:20.240 --> 0:21:24.760 the way from Rome, shouting across the Mediterranean Sea, shouting 0:21:24.800 --> 0:21:28.880 all the way into twenty seventeen, just before midnight Eastern 0:21:28.920 --> 0:21:33.840 Standard time, shouting to Elevation Blakeney, shouting to University City, 0:21:34.200 --> 0:21:38.640 shouting to Lake Norman, shouting to the overflowing Valentine, shouting 0:21:38.640 --> 0:21:42.040 to the epham watching online. I hear God shouting into 0:21:42.080 --> 0:21:42.840 your iPhone. 0:21:42.880 --> 0:21:43.080 Ten. 0:21:43.400 --> 0:21:46.199 I hear this message. I hear Paul saying, I'm not 0:21:46.320 --> 0:21:49.800 a hostage. I'm a weapon. See, I'm made up my 0:21:49.880 --> 0:21:57.359 mind anywhere God puts me, there's no purpose for it. 0:21:58.600 --> 0:22:01.680 I'm not a hostage. You better stuff your neighbor right now. 0:22:01.760 --> 0:22:06.560 Say I'm not a hostage. I'm a weapon, formed in 0:22:06.640 --> 0:22:08.640 the fire hell, steady, in. 0:22:08.640 --> 0:22:11.320 The hands of God. And it ain't nothing dark it. 0:22:13.680 --> 0:22:17.240 Somebody shut out a weapon, wats out devil. 0:22:17.640 --> 0:22:19.119 Every time he'll cut on me. 0:22:19.680 --> 0:22:21.040 You make me sharper. 0:22:24.600 --> 0:22:29.119 I'm loading now, I'm focused now I mean, now I 0:22:29.280 --> 0:22:37.119 know what matters now. He was like a sphirit of 0:22:37.200 --> 0:22:40.359 God is breaking out on this side of the church. 0:22:40.880 --> 0:22:44.159 Somebody thoughts you were trapped. It's not you this trapped. 0:22:44.440 --> 0:22:47.080 It's the enemy. If you got the devil on the run, 0:22:47.600 --> 0:22:48.200 come to your. 0:22:48.200 --> 0:22:59.840 Back town, go set the record straight. I came here 0:23:00.119 --> 0:23:00.720 and change. 0:23:02.560 --> 0:23:06.120 But because I'm here, somebody's gonna get set free. 0:23:06.640 --> 0:23:12.639 God would be here, not Caesar, not Festus. 0:23:15.080 --> 0:23:16.879 It wasn't the boat that brought me here. It was 0:23:16.960 --> 0:23:21.160 the purpose of God. People goes. 0:23:21.200 --> 0:23:24.280 I thought something out. I found out that I found out. 0:23:24.400 --> 0:23:27.240 I got like twenty six minutes. I found out. 0:23:28.920 --> 0:23:39.440 That that progress is relative to priorities. I'll ask a question. 0:23:40.520 --> 0:23:46.240 It's kind of stupid illustration, but it's late. Uh what 0:23:46.359 --> 0:23:50.800 was that progress? Come on? Now, it depends on what 0:23:51.080 --> 0:23:56.760 destination I intended to arrive at. Just because I stepped 0:23:56.800 --> 0:23:59.960 toward you doesn't mean that's where I had in mind 0:24:00.200 --> 0:24:03.680 to go. So I might have been going the wrong 0:24:03.760 --> 0:24:06.560 way if I really needed to get over here, because 0:24:06.600 --> 0:24:08.639 I was thinking all night how cool it would be 0:24:08.920 --> 0:24:12.320 to preach from up here, just all the way up 0:24:12.400 --> 0:24:12.960 at the top. 0:24:14.840 --> 0:24:16.440 Let's see, this might be progress. 0:24:17.720 --> 0:24:25.639 I can't tell yet because progress is relative to priorities. Now, 0:24:25.680 --> 0:24:27.560 I didn't come tonight to do cardio. I already got 0:24:27.600 --> 0:24:31.960 my workout before we came, right right down the word, 0:24:32.000 --> 0:24:34.960 did you write down revision? Because there's some parts of 0:24:35.000 --> 0:24:36.800 your story you need to rewrite before we go into 0:24:36.840 --> 0:24:39.200 a new year, because if you carry the mentality that 0:24:39.320 --> 0:24:42.040 you are trapped in a situation, or trapped in what 0:24:42.160 --> 0:24:44.080 they thought, or trapped in what they did, or trapped 0:24:44.119 --> 0:24:47.200 in the event, somebody shot, I'm glad it happened. And 0:24:47.320 --> 0:24:50.280 here's why number two, Because I'm focused on the results. 0:24:54.200 --> 0:24:58.080 I don't have to like the event to celebrate the result. 0:24:59.480 --> 0:25:01.600 And I if you saw it, but Paul said it clearly. 0:25:01.680 --> 0:25:06.160 He said, as a result, that's thirteen as they want 0:25:06.200 --> 0:25:12.920 to reinforce it with screen support. As a result. I 0:25:13.119 --> 0:25:15.080 was talking to one CrossFit dude. We were talking about 0:25:15.080 --> 0:25:18.639 exercise a minute ago. One crossfitter in the whole New 0:25:18.720 --> 0:25:25.119 Year's Eve praise party, and he was meeting me at 0:25:25.160 --> 0:25:26.960 an event that I was preaching at. He said he 0:25:27.040 --> 0:25:28.800 was coming. He was a little lady, wasn't too late. 0:25:29.359 --> 0:25:32.160 But he was apologizing because apparently he likes to be prompt. 0:25:32.200 --> 0:25:36.200 He said, so sorry, I just had a great workout. Now, 0:25:36.920 --> 0:25:39.720 to me, that's paradoxical in nature great workout. I never 0:25:39.800 --> 0:25:44.399 felt that way about a workout. I said, what was 0:25:44.440 --> 0:25:46.560 a great workout? What made it great? He said, I 0:25:46.600 --> 0:25:55.440 threw up three times. Now, brain damage twisted value system. 0:25:56.480 --> 0:25:57.000 But I get it. 0:25:58.240 --> 0:26:03.760 What he enjoyed wasn't how he felt during the routine 0:26:03.760 --> 0:26:08.600 of working out. You don't have to like what it 0:26:08.680 --> 0:26:13.800 felt like to appreciate the change that it is creating. 0:26:17.680 --> 0:26:20.360 And a lot of us when we assess a year, 0:26:21.680 --> 0:26:24.040 we assess it by how much we enjoyed the different 0:26:24.119 --> 0:26:27.160 experiences in that year. I was reading an interesting book 0:26:27.280 --> 0:26:31.360 by the Heath Brothers. They have written several books. They're 0:26:31.680 --> 0:26:34.760 more sociological in nature, but they're also good for businesses. 0:26:34.880 --> 0:26:37.520 Most recent book The Power of Moments. It gave a 0:26:37.600 --> 0:26:42.840 snapshot of what psychologists call the peak ind theory. And 0:26:42.920 --> 0:26:45.840 here's what they say. When we assess our experiences, we 0:26:45.960 --> 0:26:52.520 don't average our minute by minute sensations. Rather, we tend 0:26:52.760 --> 0:26:59.240 to remember flagship moments. That's the peaks, the pits, and 0:26:59.359 --> 0:27:04.560 the transition. They used the example of Disney World. They said, 0:27:04.760 --> 0:27:08.679 if you were rating your experience at Disney World minute 0:27:08.760 --> 0:27:12.679 by minute on a scale of one to ten, your 0:27:12.760 --> 0:27:16.040 average rating would probably be one point seven, and no 0:27:16.160 --> 0:27:18.520 one would ever go if you think of all the 0:27:18.600 --> 0:27:20.960 lines that you stand in and all of the heat 0:27:21.000 --> 0:27:24.400 that you endure, and it's a small, small world after all, 0:27:24.680 --> 0:27:31.320 what a blessing. But you don't assess the experience by 0:27:31.480 --> 0:27:34.440 what did they say? Your minute by minute sensations. Rather, 0:27:35.040 --> 0:27:39.480 we tend to remember the peak and the end, or 0:27:39.720 --> 0:27:43.159 the peaks, the pits and the transition. So when I 0:27:43.200 --> 0:27:48.840 say to you, how was this year for you, don't 0:27:48.880 --> 0:27:52.639 be so quick to call it a bad year just 0:27:52.720 --> 0:27:54.960 because you went through some hard things. 0:27:57.640 --> 0:27:58.199 I'm trying to. 0:27:58.200 --> 0:28:06.080 Get you, by faith to accept whatever God allowed, and 0:28:06.200 --> 0:28:11.000 not only that, but to now see how it actually 0:28:11.760 --> 0:28:20.200 can serve to advance the gospel. If that's not your priority, 0:28:21.480 --> 0:28:24.680 if God is not your focus, then you have no 0:28:24.760 --> 0:28:27.399 way of measuring your progress against a standard that you 0:28:27.520 --> 0:28:32.320 have not set for your life. Paul isn't writing about 0:28:32.359 --> 0:28:36.359 how wonderful the food is. Paul is not writing about 0:28:36.440 --> 0:28:40.640 how strong the Wi Fi signal is in the Roman 0:28:40.680 --> 0:28:47.000 prison system. What he's talking about is the results. He's saying, 0:28:47.800 --> 0:28:50.160 I don't necessarily like what I'm going through. And I'm 0:28:50.200 --> 0:28:53.160 not saying that it's fair. That's not the point. The 0:28:53.280 --> 0:28:55.960 point is that God is achieving a purpose through this 0:28:57.160 --> 0:29:00.160 that is making it clearer and clearer what he put 0:29:00.200 --> 0:29:02.680 me on the earth for. So touch somebody and say 0:29:02.680 --> 0:29:07.400 I'm making progress. I'm making progress, And as long as 0:29:07.440 --> 0:29:09.800 I know I'm making progress, I can endure anything. 0:29:10.640 --> 0:29:11.760 I'm glad it happened. 0:29:12.160 --> 0:29:15.240 I was reminiscent with a friend about something that happened 0:29:15.240 --> 0:29:18.120 earlier this year. What happened was so horrible. At the time, 0:29:18.160 --> 0:29:20.120 we didn't think we could make it through. But you know, 0:29:20.160 --> 0:29:22.200 when we were talking about it and looking back on it, 0:29:22.560 --> 0:29:25.040 we realized that some things are so much better. Now. 0:29:25.120 --> 0:29:26.360 Come on, now, how many of you can relate? 0:29:26.600 --> 0:29:29.320 Somebody broke up with you and you thought you couldn't 0:29:29.320 --> 0:29:31.560 make it without them, And then you looked them up 0:29:31.600 --> 0:29:34.560 on Facebook and you fell on your knees and thank 0:29:34.800 --> 0:29:35.720 God that. 0:29:35.840 --> 0:29:37.040 They broke your heart. 0:29:37.400 --> 0:29:43.080 Oh, thank God they weren't interested in me. Look what 0:29:43.320 --> 0:29:51.360 could have been. Look what the Lord has done. I 0:29:51.440 --> 0:29:55.360 don't always understand the reason, but I praise God for 0:29:55.440 --> 0:29:55.959 the result. 0:29:57.320 --> 0:29:58.520 This takes faith. 0:29:59.440 --> 0:30:03.480 Can you praise God for the result of a situation 0:30:03.680 --> 0:30:09.440 that has not yet resolved, not to say ten years later. 0:30:09.320 --> 0:30:10.280 I'm glad it happened. 0:30:10.960 --> 0:30:15.400 But while you are still sitting in a Roman prison self, 0:30:15.760 --> 0:30:20.160 can you say, God, if you're gonna get some glory 0:30:20.720 --> 0:30:22.520 out of this, I'm glad. 0:30:29.800 --> 0:30:31.360 Paul might have talked to Lazarus. 0:30:32.520 --> 0:30:35.760 He might have. I don't know when Lazarus died the 0:30:35.840 --> 0:30:36.360 second time. 0:30:36.560 --> 0:30:38.440 Now, the first time he died was weird. 0:30:39.680 --> 0:30:42.520 Because Jesus knew he was sick, and he was about 0:30:42.520 --> 0:30:44.680 to go to him, but he delayed his trip to 0:30:44.760 --> 0:30:48.680 let him die. Weirdest thing in the world for the 0:30:48.800 --> 0:30:52.960 Son of God, the savior of a humankind, the compassionate Christ, 0:30:53.280 --> 0:30:55.800 the one who comes the hair of lambs on his 0:30:55.960 --> 0:30:58.520 lap as he sings lullabies to the lambs. You know, 0:30:58.600 --> 0:31:01.240 the Jesus you always hear about. He says something so 0:31:01.440 --> 0:31:04.040 shocking to his disciples when they came to him with 0:31:04.080 --> 0:31:06.680 the news that Lazarus, who he loved, had died. And 0:31:06.720 --> 0:31:07.920 I want to put it on the screen because you 0:31:07.920 --> 0:31:09.440 won't believe it's in the Bible if I don't show 0:31:09.480 --> 0:31:15.040 it to you, He told his disciples plainly, Lazarus is dead. 0:31:15.280 --> 0:31:21.680 Watch what comes next. Not weeping, not tears, but for 0:31:21.800 --> 0:31:35.520 your sake. I'm glad. I'm glad it happened. I'm glad 0:31:35.560 --> 0:31:40.360 I didn't get there in time to heal him. I'm 0:31:40.400 --> 0:31:46.040 glad because now I get to show you a level 0:31:48.280 --> 0:31:56.440 of my glory that you could not see if I 0:31:56.520 --> 0:31:59.120 had shown up and done what you thought I should do. 0:32:02.880 --> 0:32:06.280 I'm glad it happened. I looked at my friend. I said, 0:32:06.320 --> 0:32:13.120 you know, I wouldn't choose what we went through, but 0:32:13.200 --> 0:32:18.200 I don't think i'd change it either. I don't think 0:32:18.240 --> 0:32:23.920 I would change it. See, I'm glad it happened, whatever 0:32:24.040 --> 0:32:27.000 it may be for you. I'm not talking about the promotion. 0:32:27.120 --> 0:32:30.880 Of course you're glad that happened. I'm not talking about 0:32:30.880 --> 0:32:33.160 the miracle breakthrough that you got to check in the mail, 0:32:33.200 --> 0:32:34.000 the tax refund. 0:32:34.040 --> 0:32:35.240 Of course you're glad that happened. 0:32:37.960 --> 0:32:41.320 I'm talking about the thing that other people feel sorry 0:32:41.360 --> 0:32:46.440 for you about having the faith to say, I'm glad 0:32:47.200 --> 0:32:53.240 for my weakness. It led me to deeper strength. Getting 0:32:53.320 --> 0:32:57.320 quiet at the praise party. I know how to preacher 0:32:57.360 --> 0:32:59.040 you into a little bit of frenzy. I can do 0:32:59.120 --> 0:33:04.360 that anytime. This is the deep work that requires mature 0:33:04.400 --> 0:33:06.120 faith to. 0:33:06.160 --> 0:33:07.280 Be able to look at something. 0:33:07.280 --> 0:33:09.040 When I grew up in the Methodist Church, we used 0:33:09.080 --> 0:33:11.240 to have in the youth group, we had prayer request 0:33:11.280 --> 0:33:12.160 and praise reports. 0:33:13.840 --> 0:33:17.440 This is old school. Why don't we bring that back 0:33:17.480 --> 0:33:18.920 into church. That would be wonderful. 0:33:18.960 --> 0:33:21.200 Pastor Steven though people are too crazy and I will 0:33:21.240 --> 0:33:22.000 not give them the mic. 0:33:22.080 --> 0:33:23.880 Okay, all right, that's great. 0:33:29.840 --> 0:33:32.520 But Paul would have messed up praise reports and prayer 0:33:32.560 --> 0:33:34.400 requests because the praise reports is where you put the 0:33:34.480 --> 0:33:37.240 good stuff and the prayer request is where you put 0:33:37.240 --> 0:33:37.840 the bad stuff. 0:33:39.640 --> 0:33:40.520 But Paul has. 0:33:40.400 --> 0:33:42.560 Reached the point in his life now where he said, 0:33:45.480 --> 0:33:51.560 I don't know the difference anymore. My prayer requests have 0:33:51.760 --> 0:33:58.000 become my praise reports because I know y'all are praying 0:33:58.080 --> 0:34:00.560 for me to get out of prison, and I gotta be. 0:34:00.600 --> 0:34:01.160 Honest with you. 0:34:01.720 --> 0:34:03.960 I'm running a revival and I'm not sure I'm ready 0:34:04.000 --> 0:34:06.400 to leave yet. So could y'all bring the prayers down 0:34:06.440 --> 0:34:09.000 a little bit, because I think there's something God still 0:34:09.080 --> 0:34:11.400 wants to do while I'm in this prison. 0:34:12.840 --> 0:34:13.719 Are y'all clapping to. 0:34:13.760 --> 0:34:16.680 Be polite or do you really believe that some of 0:34:16.760 --> 0:34:17.400 the things. 0:34:17.239 --> 0:34:23.120 You would have prayed away are the instruments of change. 0:34:25.920 --> 0:34:30.480 And see Paul has no problem rejoicing because he knows 0:34:30.560 --> 0:34:31.160 the result. 0:34:32.520 --> 0:34:34.800 He knows the result when I showed. 0:34:34.680 --> 0:34:38.040 Graham Rockie for I wasn't nervous when Drugo won the 0:34:38.120 --> 0:34:39.080 first three rounds. 0:34:39.120 --> 0:34:41.239 Why I know how this ends. 0:34:42.640 --> 0:34:45.400 Some of y'all need to look at twenty eighteen before 0:34:45.480 --> 0:34:48.880 it even gets started and declare, in the face of the. 0:34:49.000 --> 0:34:53.400 Devil, I'm not nervous. I'm not worried. I'm not anxious. 0:34:53.680 --> 0:34:56.880 I'm not freaked down, stess down, nutched out, I know 0:34:57.040 --> 0:35:01.239 how this is. That take a teen seconds right here 0:35:01.600 --> 0:35:05.200 and brace him for how it is before it even 0:35:12.960 --> 0:35:17.399 on the temple. Hanks says he hates when you get 0:35:17.560 --> 0:35:22.399 glad about what's your eyes have not seen and your 0:35:22.520 --> 0:35:32.600 ears have not heard. God is going to get some 0:35:32.880 --> 0:35:39.000 glory out of everything I've gone through, and the more 0:35:39.080 --> 0:35:41.680 I've gone through, the greater the glory. 0:35:42.120 --> 0:35:51.000 Shout about that this is a resurrection moment. Glad about it. 0:35:51.920 --> 0:35:55.560 I'm glad about it. I'm not glad about the pain. 0:35:56.280 --> 0:35:59.560 I'm glad that in the pain is a purpose. I'm 0:35:59.640 --> 0:36:04.439 glad about it. Somebody say I'm glad about it, I'm 0:36:04.520 --> 0:36:07.319 glad about it. I cried enough about it. I spent 0:36:07.520 --> 0:36:09.200 enough time wishing it would go away. 0:36:09.600 --> 0:36:13.360 But now I'm standing here with my praise intact in 0:36:13.520 --> 0:36:26.600 my right mind, I'm glad about it. I'm glad. I'm 0:36:26.640 --> 0:36:31.879 glad they rejected me, showed me that God was enough 0:36:31.920 --> 0:36:32.680 and I don't need them. 0:36:37.440 --> 0:36:38.960 Where'd y'all go on that one? Where did you go? 0:36:39.040 --> 0:36:46.399 IU? Didn't hear anything on that one? And so Paul 0:36:46.480 --> 0:36:50.000 makes a resolution. Now he made the revision. He set 0:36:50.040 --> 0:36:53.520 the record straight. He said, I want you to know 0:36:53.600 --> 0:36:55.839 what really was really happening here, because y'all are feeling 0:36:55.880 --> 0:36:58.440 sorry for me, but don't don't feel sorry for me, 0:37:00.080 --> 0:37:08.000 and results God's getting some glory through my life. Don't 0:37:08.000 --> 0:37:10.839 feel sorry for me. Some of y'all need to call 0:37:10.920 --> 0:37:14.239 some people and say, uh, I don't need you to apologize, 0:37:18.480 --> 0:37:21.720 and then if you want to mess with their whole 0:37:22.239 --> 0:37:30.600 mental statement, send them a gift card. Whoever hurts you. No, 0:37:30.800 --> 0:37:35.520 I'm serious about it. When I first preached it will happen, 0:37:35.920 --> 0:37:38.040 I told you about that message. Did I tell you 0:37:38.080 --> 0:37:41.040 about it? I can't remember. It was a It was 0:37:41.120 --> 0:37:43.480 a It was a real tough message to preach because 0:37:44.200 --> 0:37:47.000 I appreciate it. Under attack, for our church was under 0:37:47.040 --> 0:37:49.560 attack about something that was very important to us, which 0:37:49.640 --> 0:37:53.799 was our baptisms. And there was a fictitious story run 0:37:53.920 --> 0:38:00.160 by a very unethical and scrupulous journalist who insinuated that we. 0:38:00.200 --> 0:38:02.879 Fake baptisms in our church. 0:38:03.840 --> 0:38:05.800 Now, I got to be careful right now because this 0:38:05.960 --> 0:38:07.719 is on tape and everything like that, and it's in 0:38:07.800 --> 0:38:10.680 the archives forever, and I don't want to say anything 0:38:10.760 --> 0:38:12.839 right here that could hurt me at a future point. 0:38:16.000 --> 0:38:17.600 Can I tell you I'm actually. 0:38:17.360 --> 0:38:21.400 Glad that he did what he did because when he 0:38:21.520 --> 0:38:23.759 ran that story at the time, he ran the story 0:38:23.760 --> 0:38:26.600 and said we faked our baptisms, we did baptisms only 0:38:26.719 --> 0:38:31.239 once a year and occasionally throughout. But when he ran 0:38:31.320 --> 0:38:36.600 the story, I got the idea that maybe the area 0:38:36.680 --> 0:38:41.800 that they're attacking us is the area where we should advance. 0:38:44.440 --> 0:38:44.960 And now. 0:38:48.520 --> 0:38:50.439 Now we do baptisms every week. 0:38:53.000 --> 0:38:58.200 So now, please, I am not asking for another story, 0:39:02.600 --> 0:39:03.960 but I can say about that one. 0:39:05.719 --> 0:39:08.480 I'm glad it happened. 0:39:09.600 --> 0:39:09.920 I am. 0:39:10.520 --> 0:39:11.160 I'm sorry. 0:39:11.600 --> 0:39:14.880 I know it sounds kind of sadistic. I know it 0:39:15.000 --> 0:39:17.359 sounds kind of weird to be glad that somebody came 0:39:17.440 --> 0:39:21.360 against me. But I'm glad it happened, aren't Aren't you 0:39:21.560 --> 0:39:24.520 glad that the storm stripped away everything that you really 0:39:24.600 --> 0:39:27.080 didn't need so you could know what was core to 0:39:27.200 --> 0:39:29.960 the essential nature of who Christ made you to be. 0:39:32.000 --> 0:39:35.239 Aren't you glad that you're not going into the next 0:39:35.360 --> 0:39:44.680 year carrying dead weight of workless relationships? Aren't you glad 0:39:44.880 --> 0:39:48.920 that God closed some doors so that you wouldn't spend 0:39:49.040 --> 0:39:50.759 years of your life in the wrong room. 0:39:54.840 --> 0:40:01.600 I'm glad it happened. I am glad it happened. I'm glad. 0:40:02.360 --> 0:40:04.160 I might not be able to smile when I say it, 0:40:04.280 --> 0:40:11.120 but I'm getting there. I'm glad. I'm glad it happened. 0:40:13.200 --> 0:40:18.600 He said, I made a resolution. How about this just 0:40:18.680 --> 0:40:20.640 one New Year's resolution. This is the only one you 0:40:20.719 --> 0:40:21.120 really need. 0:40:21.920 --> 0:40:23.440 I mean, do everything else you want to do to 0:40:23.600 --> 0:40:26.320 save the money, put the kids to college fund, go 0:40:26.440 --> 0:40:28.320 to the moon with Elon Musk. I don't care what 0:40:28.400 --> 0:40:33.279 you do, but do this too. This is eighteen b yes, 0:40:35.120 --> 0:40:40.640 and I will continue to rejoice. Now that's the resolution. 0:40:44.920 --> 0:40:47.840 I worry about that word rejoice because. 0:40:47.600 --> 0:40:51.279 I think that you might think that it only means this. 0:40:53.880 --> 0:40:59.520 Or this. No, he's making a decision or a resolution, 0:41:00.080 --> 0:41:06.359 because remember, resolution is a decision, not an event. I'm 0:41:06.400 --> 0:41:09.520 not waiting to see how this turns out before I 0:41:09.640 --> 0:41:16.279 make my decision about my faith. So I reflect and 0:41:16.400 --> 0:41:19.840 I expect, and Paul says, I don't know how this 0:41:19.960 --> 0:41:21.719 is going to turn out. Yet they might kill me. 0:41:22.080 --> 0:41:23.880 I don't know what you're going through this right now, 0:41:24.120 --> 0:41:26.919 but it ain't this bad. That's why I brought Paul 0:41:27.000 --> 0:41:30.879 to the praise party, because if I say this crap, 0:41:30.920 --> 0:41:32.480 you might just think I had never been through anything. 0:41:32.719 --> 0:41:35.080 But you haven't been through You haven't had your life 0:41:35.120 --> 0:41:39.959 on the line for the gospel, not yet. So Paul says, 0:41:40.320 --> 0:41:42.560 I want you to know I've made my resolution and 0:41:42.840 --> 0:41:44.360 I will continue to rejoice. 0:41:44.480 --> 0:41:46.600 Oh Paul, did you get good news? Are they about 0:41:46.600 --> 0:41:47.040 to release it? 0:41:47.200 --> 0:41:52.120 Don't know. Resolution is not an event, it's a decision. 0:41:53.320 --> 0:42:00.160 Now watch the decision. It's verse twenty, verse twenty. He says, Oh, 0:42:00.200 --> 0:42:02.080 we get it. We gotta get nineteen as well. It's 0:42:02.160 --> 0:42:03.919 just too good. I can't do this to nineteen, can't. 0:42:03.960 --> 0:42:06.040 I can't leave nineteen sitting right there just looking all 0:42:06.120 --> 0:42:11.840 pretty for I know that through your prayers and God's 0:42:11.920 --> 0:42:15.880 provision of the spirit of Jesus Christ. What has happened? 0:42:15.960 --> 0:42:19.359 Somebody say, I'm glad it happened. I want that ringing 0:42:19.440 --> 0:42:21.800 in your spirit. So you go out really confessing it 0:42:22.040 --> 0:42:24.359 and really declaring it, and really living in that state 0:42:24.400 --> 0:42:27.960 of rejoicing that is not dependent on the outcome of 0:42:28.080 --> 0:42:31.160 your situation. I know that what has happened to me 0:42:31.760 --> 0:42:38.879 will turn out for my deliverance. And here's the word 0:42:39.400 --> 0:42:44.000 I eagerly expect. How many remember I preached a whole 0:42:44.120 --> 0:42:48.320 sermon on the Greek word that Paul made up because 0:42:48.360 --> 0:42:51.799 he couldn't find a word in the lexicon that described 0:42:51.840 --> 0:42:54.799 how he felt about the situation, because he couldn't say 0:42:55.000 --> 0:42:57.719 I have a good feeling about this. Oh no, no, 0:42:57.880 --> 0:43:01.400 I'm enthusiastic, Bill. It wasn't one of those things. It 0:43:01.560 --> 0:43:04.600 was a from the gut gladness that only comes when 0:43:04.680 --> 0:43:07.680 your sole priority is the glory of God and nothing 0:43:07.719 --> 0:43:12.080 else holds weight in the court of your reasoning. So 0:43:12.239 --> 0:43:15.240 he made up a word from three different words. Remember apo, 0:43:15.680 --> 0:43:24.760 kara dokia three words apo to look away, kara, head, dokia, stretch. 0:43:25.800 --> 0:43:29.880 Paul said, I'm chained to the floor, but these chains 0:43:29.920 --> 0:43:34.040 make a good sermon prop because my feet are bound, 0:43:34.200 --> 0:43:39.400 but my mind is free. And I can't change my 0:43:39.560 --> 0:43:42.720 situation right now, but I can make up my mind. 0:43:43.080 --> 0:43:45.600 And here's when I've decided, and I need about one 0:43:45.719 --> 0:43:48.400 hundred and thirty people who will make this decision. 0:43:48.920 --> 0:43:53.799 I eagerly expect. In other words, I stretch my. 0:43:54.000 --> 0:44:03.239 Head toward my future. I can see we need some exercise. 0:44:03.280 --> 0:44:06.600 Stand up. I'm gonna help you with your New Year's resolution. 0:44:06.760 --> 0:44:09.160 You wanted to exercise more. We're gonna do it before 0:44:09.200 --> 0:44:12.000 you hit the parking lot tonight. High five your neighbors say, 0:44:12.000 --> 0:44:12.960 I'm glad it happened. 0:44:14.040 --> 0:44:18.719 I'm glad it happened. I'm glad it happened. Now I 0:44:18.760 --> 0:44:19.840 want you to do me a favor. 0:44:20.040 --> 0:44:22.279 Everybody, every campus, even the cool people who are too 0:44:22.320 --> 0:44:23.839 cool to high five your neighbor. Every time I tell 0:44:23.880 --> 0:44:27.840 you to high five your neighbor, I want you to 0:44:27.920 --> 0:44:36.400 turn around one hundred and eighty degrees now. If you 0:44:36.480 --> 0:44:39.960 are geometrically challenged, you should be facing the opposite direction 0:44:41.000 --> 0:44:41.680 a moment ago. 0:44:45.120 --> 0:44:45.440 All right. 0:44:51.120 --> 0:44:54.360 The word of God on this pulpit represents the promises 0:44:54.440 --> 0:44:55.920 that God has made to you in the future that 0:44:55.960 --> 0:44:56.720 He has in store. 0:44:57.880 --> 0:45:01.800 And we came to night, to reflect, but also to expect. 0:45:06.760 --> 0:45:07.600 You can't. 0:45:09.800 --> 0:45:12.080 Go into what's next that has your name on it, 0:45:13.280 --> 0:45:19.000 your next assignment, your next breakthrough, your next level of influence, 0:45:20.520 --> 0:45:24.520 your next season of real joy. You can't go into 0:45:24.640 --> 0:45:38.399 it facing this way. What happened happened. It happened, whether 0:45:38.440 --> 0:45:42.759 you wanted it to or not, Whether it was your 0:45:42.800 --> 0:45:51.279 fault or not, happen. Acknowledge it. There were some disappointments 0:45:51.320 --> 0:46:02.800 this year, some stuff that broke your heart. But you 0:46:02.920 --> 0:46:07.760 cannot experience the purpose of God in twenty eighteen. 0:46:09.640 --> 0:46:10.760 With your head in your past. 0:46:14.760 --> 0:46:18.640 I hear the spirit of God saying, tonight's turnaround time. 0:46:24.360 --> 0:46:30.359 It's turn around time. Don't turn around yet, messing up 0:46:30.360 --> 0:46:37.400 my illustration, Paul said, I eagerly expect that what has 0:46:37.480 --> 0:46:41.400 happened to me will turn out for my deliverance. No, 0:46:41.400 --> 0:46:44.280 I want you to turn ninety degrees, ninety degrees, just ninety, 0:46:44.400 --> 0:46:48.360 just ninety, just ninety degrees. I don't care which ninety, 0:46:48.480 --> 0:46:52.239 just ninety, preferably so you're facing someone else? Could you 0:46:52.320 --> 0:46:59.759 face somebody? Hey, now shut up, don't strike up a conversation. 0:47:01.360 --> 0:47:02.480 But listen. Listen to me. 0:47:04.200 --> 0:47:06.560 You can't go into this next year facing your past, 0:47:06.680 --> 0:47:09.520 and you can't go into this next year facing other people. 0:47:12.080 --> 0:47:15.759 You cannot look to them and compare yourself to them 0:47:16.440 --> 0:47:18.240 and compare your situation to theirs. 0:47:19.480 --> 0:47:21.440 Not in going to the future that God has for you. 0:47:21.680 --> 0:47:23.640 Paul said, I want you to know that what has 0:47:23.760 --> 0:47:26.840 happened to me, what God has for me, is for me. 0:47:28.440 --> 0:47:33.279 And sometimes we are so busy comparing our situation to 0:47:33.360 --> 0:47:37.040 the situation of others. We are locked in cycles of 0:47:37.120 --> 0:47:43.160 resentment and regret. But it's turnaround time. Somebody shouts, turn 0:47:43.239 --> 0:47:43.719 around time. 0:47:45.600 --> 0:47:45.719 Now. 0:47:45.719 --> 0:47:47.800 I want you to turn another ninety degrees and we 0:47:47.960 --> 0:47:50.160 all should be facing forward. 0:47:52.960 --> 0:47:57.200 This is where, this is where I'm facing. 0:47:59.320 --> 0:48:04.080 I got my eyes, put the camera on the put 0:48:04.120 --> 0:48:05.160 the camera on the puppet. 0:48:05.680 --> 0:48:10.320 I got my eyes on the word that God spoke 0:48:10.800 --> 0:48:11.080 to me. 0:48:11.840 --> 0:48:16.080 My eyes are on the high calling of God. 0:48:16.560 --> 0:48:17.840 In Christ Jesus. 0:48:18.480 --> 0:48:21.719 I got my head out my past, I got my 0:48:21.920 --> 0:48:23.040 feet in my lane. 0:48:23.600 --> 0:48:24.880 I got my eyes on. 0:48:24.960 --> 0:48:29.360 The prize for which God called me heaven word in Christ. 0:48:32.040 --> 0:48:35.920 I'm glad it happened. I'm glad it happened. 0:48:37.000 --> 0:48:41.839 I'm glad for the dangers, the toils, the snares. I'm 0:48:41.920 --> 0:48:45.360 glad for the battles. I'm glad for the blessings. I 0:48:45.560 --> 0:48:48.000 came tonight to give you praise. 0:48:48.200 --> 0:48:48.960 For all of it. 0:48:49.160 --> 0:48:55.560 God, all things work together for the good because I'm called. 0:48:58.800 --> 0:49:00.719 Come on. We only got a few minutes to get 0:49:00.800 --> 0:49:01.959 ready for what's next. 0:49:04.040 --> 0:49:07.919 We only got a few minutes to get ready. Somebody's shot. 0:49:07.960 --> 0:49:12.360 I'm ready now. I've made peace with what's behind me. 0:49:12.920 --> 0:49:15.960 My eyes are all the choice set before me, and 0:49:16.120 --> 0:49:18.200 there is a thought who reads upub me. 0:49:21.880 --> 0:49:22.960 Thank you for joining us. 0:49:23.320 --> 0:49:25.719 Special thanks to those of you who give generously to 0:49:25.840 --> 0:49:29.280 this ministry. Is because of you that this ministry is possible. 0:49:29.760 --> 0:49:31.960 You can click the link in the description to give 0:49:32.080 --> 0:49:35.960 now or visit Elevation Church dot org slash podcast for 0:49:36.080 --> 0:49:39.839 more information and if you enjoyed the podcast, you can subscribe. 0:49:40.320 --> 0:49:41.600 You can share it with your friends. 0:49:41.920 --> 0:49:44.160 You can click the share button, take a screenshot and 0:49:44.239 --> 0:49:46.319 share it on your social stories and tag us at 0:49:46.400 --> 0:49:47.239 Elevation Church. 0:49:47.320 --> 0:49:48.920 Thanks again for listening. God bless you.