I'm Not Stuck Unless I Stop

0:00:02.120 --> 0:00:03.400 Hey, this is Stephen Ferdick. 0:00:03.400 --> 0:00:06.439 I'm the pastor of Elevation Church and this is our podcast. 0:00:06.480 --> 0:00:08.320 I wanted to thank you for joining us today. 0:00:08.680 --> 0:00:11.520 Hope this inspires you. Hope it builds your faith. Hope 0:00:11.560 --> 0:00:13.560 it gives your perspective to see God is moving in 0:00:13.600 --> 0:00:15.280 your life. Enjoy the message. 0:00:18.200 --> 0:00:34.960 This amazing, this amazing. 0:00:36.000 --> 0:00:36.680 This amazed. 0:00:38.360 --> 0:00:40.120 I just wanted to give you a chance, in case 0:00:40.159 --> 0:00:46.640 you're still amazed by the grace of God, to celebrate him. 0:00:46.760 --> 0:00:47.479 It's amazing. 0:00:49.920 --> 0:00:53.599 Tell your neighbor if you only knew, tell him, if 0:00:53.600 --> 0:00:58.440 you only knew what I've been through and the wrong 0:00:58.520 --> 0:01:04.280 things I've done, you'd be amazed that I'm still singing. 0:01:05.840 --> 0:01:10.160 Tell them what I am. I am what I am 0:01:10.280 --> 0:01:12.319 by the grace of God. I know that much. 0:01:13.520 --> 0:01:14.560 It's amazing. 0:01:15.800 --> 0:01:17.039 Come on, shout out loud. 0:01:17.080 --> 0:01:20.520 It's amazed. It's amazed. 0:01:21.640 --> 0:01:26.200 It's Amazay's amazed where he brought me from. 0:01:26.160 --> 0:01:26.960 It's amazed. 0:01:27.160 --> 0:01:28.080 It's amazed. 0:01:28.800 --> 0:01:32.960 Why the same messy easy, it's amazed. 0:01:36.480 --> 0:01:40.080 Glory to God. Well, let's lift up a praise like 0:01:40.160 --> 0:01:46.880 amazed people. How do amaze people praise God? Glory to God? 0:01:49.960 --> 0:01:51.240 Absolutely amazing. 0:01:52.360 --> 0:01:56.920 I thank God that I get the opportunity to shepherd 0:01:56.960 --> 0:01:57.760 you and to serve you. 0:01:58.200 --> 0:01:59.680 As a minister of the Word of God. 0:02:00.320 --> 0:02:02.840 My job is to put God's word in your heart 0:02:03.160 --> 0:02:06.280 in every way that I possibly can. If it needs 0:02:06.320 --> 0:02:08.320 a song, if it needs a sermon, if it needs 0:02:08.360 --> 0:02:10.720 a book, If God has it and he gives it 0:02:10.760 --> 0:02:12.920 to me, I won't even wrap it. 0:02:13.480 --> 0:02:18.040 I'll just give it to you unwrapped, out the box. 0:02:18.919 --> 0:02:23.120 How many love those out of the box words from God? Well, 0:02:23.160 --> 0:02:28.880 I've got one today. Yeah, I got one today. Oh, 0:02:28.919 --> 0:02:31.040 I'm excited what he shared with me to share with you. 0:02:31.360 --> 0:02:32.359 Be in prayer for us. 0:02:32.880 --> 0:02:37.200 We're due to be in Hershey, Pennsylvania, about sixty hours 0:02:37.240 --> 0:02:39.840 from now or so, maybe a little less than that. 0:02:40.880 --> 0:02:44.720 We're gonna be ministering to people all over the northeastern 0:02:44.880 --> 0:02:50.880 United States, and we're gonna be in Hershey, Pennsylvania, Bridgeport, Connecticut, Chicago, Illinois, Columbus, Ohio, 0:02:51.240 --> 0:02:56.480 Grand Rapids, Michigan, and three other places Boston and Philly. 0:02:56.200 --> 0:02:58.160 And Long Island. Now listen. 0:02:58.160 --> 0:03:01.200 If you can't come, you can stream it. You can 0:03:01.240 --> 0:03:03.119 stream the last night. This is the first time we've 0:03:03.160 --> 0:03:06.160 ever streamed an elevation night. So if you can't get there, 0:03:06.200 --> 0:03:08.440 if you can get there, go to Elevation Nights dot 0:03:08.480 --> 0:03:12.560 com and sled or ski or whatever that you need 0:03:12.600 --> 0:03:15.400 to do to get there. Elevation Nights dot com. Many 0:03:15.440 --> 0:03:17.160 of the nights are sold out. We're trying to add 0:03:17.200 --> 0:03:19.040 seats where we can, so go there and see if 0:03:19.040 --> 0:03:22.480 there's availability. If you can't get there, then you can 0:03:22.520 --> 0:03:25.800 find the information at Elevation Nights dot com and get 0:03:25.840 --> 0:03:27.400 a ticket to stream online. 0:03:27.600 --> 0:03:31.120 When you do, you will get the audiobook of. 0:03:31.080 --> 0:03:35.400 Do the New You for free, and that'll be great. 0:03:37.320 --> 0:03:39.640 So I'm excited those of you that will be seeing 0:03:39.680 --> 0:03:42.240 in the next few days. We're gonna sing and worship 0:03:42.280 --> 0:03:45.280 and pray. God is gonna move and break chains and 0:03:45.320 --> 0:03:48.520 part seas and lift the spirit of heaviness, and he's 0:03:48.520 --> 0:03:52.680 gonna save people and heal people and deliver people. And 0:03:52.720 --> 0:03:55.040 we're counting on our church family to pray for us 0:03:55.760 --> 0:03:57.720 and to lift us up before the throne and ask 0:03:57.800 --> 0:04:00.640 that God would use our entire teams, a whole army 0:04:00.680 --> 0:04:01.400 to go out there and do it. 0:04:01.440 --> 0:04:03.160 And thank you for having our back. Do you have 0:04:03.280 --> 0:04:06.200 our back? Do you have our back? 0:04:07.440 --> 0:04:07.960 All right? 0:04:08.080 --> 0:04:12.440 Then well I'm good. If you got my back, I'm good. 0:04:13.640 --> 0:04:15.600 Also I want to thank every single one of you 0:04:15.640 --> 0:04:19.000 who have supported the new book this week. Thank you 0:04:20.000 --> 0:04:22.800 if you bought it, if you shared about it, if 0:04:22.839 --> 0:04:29.520 you left a positive review, thank you. I believe the 0:04:29.560 --> 0:04:32.560 message is important. We're taking our time over the next 0:04:32.600 --> 0:04:35.760 few weeks because we're on a journey together, a journey 0:04:35.800 --> 0:04:39.240 to be more like Jesus, a journey to follow him 0:04:39.240 --> 0:04:44.880 into our future. And this journey of following Jesus cannot. 0:04:44.520 --> 0:04:45.280 Be done alone. 0:04:46.000 --> 0:04:48.000 And that's why I'm so grateful that we don't have 0:04:48.040 --> 0:04:51.360 to today. I want to pray one more time before 0:04:51.400 --> 0:04:54.159 we take our seat, that the Holy Spirit would be 0:04:54.200 --> 0:04:55.480 our guide. 0:04:55.600 --> 0:04:57.000 I also want to encourage you. 0:04:57.920 --> 0:05:00.000 Every single one of you, whether online or at a camp, 0:05:00.200 --> 0:05:02.719 has an opportunity to join what we call our E 0:05:02.800 --> 0:05:06.279 groups today. The E stands for empowerment. I bet you 0:05:06.279 --> 0:05:09.400 didn't know that. You thought it stood for elevation. Nope, 0:05:09.640 --> 0:05:13.640 it stands for empowerment because getting the instructions from God 0:05:14.240 --> 0:05:16.200 without having the empowerment to live them out. 0:05:16.120 --> 0:05:16.960 Will frustrate you. 0:05:18.200 --> 0:05:21.000 So these groups are our way of putting some very 0:05:21.040 --> 0:05:24.280 wonderful people in front of you who voluntarily have given 0:05:24.320 --> 0:05:28.760 their time, their homes, their caprice sons and their fudge 0:05:28.839 --> 0:05:34.320 rounds to feed you physically and spiritually. So please click 0:05:34.360 --> 0:05:39.560 on the link, stop by at the location. You cannot 0:05:40.040 --> 0:05:46.560 do the new you without the right y'all. You know 0:05:46.640 --> 0:05:53.839 that the Bible says you are a chosen people, people plural, 0:05:54.279 --> 0:05:55.520 you singular. 0:05:55.839 --> 0:05:57.400 You got to get around the right people. 0:05:58.200 --> 0:06:00.000 And this year, I'm looking for some people who are 0:06:00.160 --> 0:06:03.279 headed where I'm headed, and are hearing what I'm hearing, 0:06:04.440 --> 0:06:05.320 and who want to be like. 0:06:05.360 --> 0:06:08.279 Jesus with me. So let's follow Jesus together. 0:06:08.520 --> 0:06:11.480 Are you ready for mindset one? 0:06:12.000 --> 0:06:12.400 All right? 0:06:12.400 --> 0:06:14.760 Somebody shouted, and after you shout this, you can take 0:06:14.800 --> 0:06:15.239 your seat. 0:06:15.279 --> 0:06:21.800 Say I'm not stuck unless I stop now. High five 0:06:21.920 --> 0:06:27.320 six people say, don't stop now. The ain't mad. You 0:06:27.400 --> 0:06:28.159 may be seated. 0:06:28.200 --> 0:06:32.279 Bring the screen, let's teach, let's preach. Put it in 0:06:32.279 --> 0:06:38.039 the comments. I'm not stuck unless I stop. I'm not 0:06:38.200 --> 0:06:39.520 stuck unless I stop. 0:06:42.560 --> 0:06:46.560 Pray for my handwriting. I'm gonna put some words on 0:06:46.600 --> 0:06:47.159 that screen. 0:06:47.839 --> 0:06:50.039 First, I want to read this word to you from 0:06:50.040 --> 0:06:51.160 Matthew chapter twenty. 0:06:52.960 --> 0:07:01.240 There's some water, this sweater is in my mouth. Pomeranian anointing. 0:07:01.320 --> 0:07:20.520 Ah, thank you, Congratulations to Graham Ferdick State Champion. Congratulations 0:07:20.560 --> 0:07:25.480 to Elijah Ferdick, who released my most personal interview ever 0:07:25.600 --> 0:07:28.200 on the Youth Nation podcast. This league, we'll put it 0:07:28.240 --> 0:07:31.160 out together, and y'all have had some amazing guests, but 0:07:31.400 --> 0:07:33.240 I checked in mindus the highest of you y'all ever 0:07:33.240 --> 0:07:33.600 put out. 0:07:34.960 --> 0:07:41.040 It's congratulations. More so, congratulations to Abby who's taking pictures 0:07:41.040 --> 0:07:45.480 on the photography team somewhere. I asked her when I 0:07:45.480 --> 0:07:47.080 woke her up this morning, I said, how many smiles 0:07:47.080 --> 0:07:48.680 do you want during the sermon today because they have 0:07:48.680 --> 0:07:49.680 to get pictures of me smiling? 0:07:49.720 --> 0:07:51.160 And she says, sometimes I don't smile at them. She 0:07:51.160 --> 0:07:54.120 said ten, so we'll try to get there. 0:07:54.960 --> 0:07:56.440 She said, I need you to smile ten times, but 0:07:56.560 --> 0:08:03.960 not all in a row. Matthew Chapter twenty, Matthew Chapter twenty, 0:08:04.200 --> 0:08:05.840 verse twenty nine through thirty four. 0:08:07.280 --> 0:08:11.800 You know what, Let's do it on screen. Yeah, let's 0:08:11.840 --> 0:08:12.560 do it on the screen. 0:08:12.800 --> 0:08:14.840 I asked, Brody, can you put the whole Bible on 0:08:14.880 --> 0:08:16.880 the screen for me and I can just pull it 0:08:16.960 --> 0:08:17.520 up at will? 0:08:17.720 --> 0:08:19.240 And he did that for me. You'll give it up 0:08:19.240 --> 0:08:25.080 for Brody. Thank you, Brodie. 0:08:25.560 --> 0:08:30.400 Matthew Chapter twenty. What am I doing? I got a 0:08:30.440 --> 0:08:34.800 stylist back here. Aha, all the way down to verse 0:08:40.679 --> 0:08:43.720 twenty nine. Two blind men receive side. As Jesus and 0:08:43.720 --> 0:08:56.439 his disciples were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed him. 0:08:56.760 --> 0:09:08.880 Two blind men, we're sitting by the roadside, and when 0:09:08.920 --> 0:09:14.440 they heard that Jesus was going by. I think y'all 0:09:14.440 --> 0:09:17.000 need to get the whole thing on the screen, don't you. Yeah, 0:09:17.040 --> 0:09:19.400 there it is. You got to see all this. And 0:09:19.440 --> 0:09:21.760 those of you that are adjusting to the font size, 0:09:21.840 --> 0:09:25.560 you're old like me. This is like size five hundred 0:09:25.600 --> 0:09:27.040 font and some of us are still struggling. 0:09:28.880 --> 0:09:33.680 Happy birth, all right. 0:09:33.840 --> 0:09:36.560 Two blind men were sitting by the roadside, and when 0:09:36.559 --> 0:09:41.679 they heard that Jesus was going by, they shouted, Lord, 0:09:41.840 --> 0:09:43.640 Son of David. I'm not going to use my whole 0:09:43.720 --> 0:09:45.880 full shouting right now, not this early in the sermon. 0:09:46.440 --> 0:09:49.960 When they heard that Jesus was going by, they shouted, 0:09:50.520 --> 0:09:56.120 Lord Love, Lord son of David, have mercy on us. 0:09:57.040 --> 0:10:03.359 The crowd rebuked them and told them to be quiet. 0:10:04.080 --> 0:10:04.760 But they. 0:10:06.440 --> 0:10:09.439 Shouted all the louder. 0:10:10.440 --> 0:10:14.160 I like these guys, I said, I like these guys. 0:10:15.760 --> 0:10:18.400 The crowd told them to be quiet, but they shouted 0:10:18.800 --> 0:10:22.679 all the louder, Lord. 0:10:22.559 --> 0:10:25.520 Son of David, have mercy on us. 0:10:25.600 --> 0:10:31.000 Let's shout that, Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us. 0:10:31.080 --> 0:10:33.040 Now. If you don't need mercy, keep your mouth shut. 0:10:33.080 --> 0:10:35.360 But if you need mercy in your life because you're 0:10:35.360 --> 0:10:37.120 not always perfect, shout with me. 0:10:37.559 --> 0:10:43.280 Lord son of David, have mercy on us. Yeah. 0:10:43.320 --> 0:10:46.520 And Jesus stopped and called them, what do you want 0:10:46.559 --> 0:10:47.160 me to do for you? 0:10:47.240 --> 0:10:48.840 He asked Lord. 0:10:48.920 --> 0:10:54.640 They answered, we want our sight, and Jesus had compassion 0:10:54.679 --> 0:10:59.760 on them and touched their eyes. Immediately they received their 0:10:59.720 --> 0:11:03.480 sight and followed him. So say it again. I'm not 0:11:03.520 --> 0:11:07.680 stuck unless I stop. I want to make a connection. 0:11:08.000 --> 0:11:12.640 As we study this today where it says they received 0:11:14.160 --> 0:11:18.480 their sight and followed him, I want to draw your 0:11:18.520 --> 0:11:20.760 attention to something. Is that, if you go back to 0:11:20.800 --> 0:11:23.400 the beginning of the passage, these men have experienced an 0:11:23.440 --> 0:11:26.560 amazing change. How many believe that God can still change 0:11:26.600 --> 0:11:29.760 your life in an amazing way at any moment, at 0:11:29.800 --> 0:11:33.120 any age, at any stage, And it can come from 0:11:33.160 --> 0:11:35.840 a direction that you never see it coming. And it 0:11:35.840 --> 0:11:38.040 can happen at a time when you had convinced yourself 0:11:38.080 --> 0:11:41.400 that it was over, and when you feel the stuckest. 0:11:42.440 --> 0:11:45.400 That's when God does some of his best stuff. 0:11:46.520 --> 0:11:48.040 I had a friend in high school who had a 0:11:48.040 --> 0:11:51.520 big truck, and he just lived for when somebody got 0:11:51.559 --> 0:11:54.320 stuck so he could show off his truck. 0:11:55.240 --> 0:11:58.559 I got a God who has a big truck. 0:11:59.880 --> 0:12:04.439 He lives for the moments when somebody gets stuck so 0:12:04.520 --> 0:12:10.760 he can show what he's got. The stuck word is 0:12:10.840 --> 0:12:13.040 kind of a nice word to use to describe how 0:12:13.080 --> 0:12:16.600 we feel. Sometimes we could use a lot of other 0:12:16.640 --> 0:12:21.120 words as well, depression and anxiety, and states that we 0:12:21.200 --> 0:12:26.480 get stuck in situations and circumstances that seem insurmountable. Relational 0:12:26.520 --> 0:12:29.880 profiles that never seem to change though everyone else seems 0:12:29.920 --> 0:12:35.880 to change theirs, Monthly habits that seem unbreakable, in patterns 0:12:35.880 --> 0:12:38.160 of thought that seem to be embedded into the very 0:12:38.200 --> 0:12:39.000 way that you are. 0:12:39.800 --> 0:12:42.280 That's what we're challenging in this series. Do the new You. 0:12:43.240 --> 0:12:45.920 That's why I wrote the book. I don't just want 0:12:45.920 --> 0:12:48.559 to be your life coach. I want to be your 0:12:48.559 --> 0:12:52.079 holy ghost life coach. Can I be your holy ghost 0:12:52.120 --> 0:12:56.800 life coach for a few minutes today and talk about 0:12:56.800 --> 0:13:00.280 the way that discipleship, which is really what we're talking 0:13:00.320 --> 0:13:04.880 about following Jesus' discipleship. Put that word in the comments, please, discipleship. 0:13:05.920 --> 0:13:13.320 Discipleship is always about redefinition. And I'll explain in the 0:13:13.360 --> 0:13:16.880 passage we just read. These two men had a physical problem. 0:13:16.880 --> 0:13:22.200 They were blind. This blindness is not only limited to 0:13:22.240 --> 0:13:26.160 the physical realm. The disciples who followed Jesus were blind 0:13:26.720 --> 0:13:29.960 not because they couldn't use their eyes, but because they 0:13:29.960 --> 0:13:33.120 could not see what he was doing even as he 0:13:33.200 --> 0:13:37.040 did it. They would fight over position. As he was 0:13:37.040 --> 0:13:41.000 speaking about purpose, and even as he was moving toward 0:13:41.040 --> 0:13:43.200 the cross to save the world from its sins, they 0:13:43.200 --> 0:13:46.800 were arguing about status and who gets the best seats 0:13:46.800 --> 0:13:50.440 in heaven? Can you believe that the disciples were blind? 0:13:51.200 --> 0:13:53.079 The men were blind? The Bible says that there were 0:13:53.120 --> 0:13:58.199 two blind men sitting by the roadside, probably begging, because 0:13:58.280 --> 0:14:01.599 the procession called Passover was happen. And now Passover was 0:14:01.640 --> 0:14:03.920 an annual feast for the Jews. This one was different. 0:14:05.080 --> 0:14:08.000 This one was different because Jesus was going not to 0:14:08.080 --> 0:14:11.560 see the lamb that was sacrificed in the Passover, but 0:14:11.640 --> 0:14:16.719 to be the lamb. He wasn't going just to commemorate 0:14:16.760 --> 0:14:21.160 an event in history. He was coming to redefine history 0:14:21.640 --> 0:14:25.440 as we knew it. It's a significant moment in Jesus's life, 0:14:25.440 --> 0:14:30.040 and yet everything in the passage screams of limitation. For 0:14:30.120 --> 0:14:33.280 although Jesus is fully God and able to do whatever 0:14:33.320 --> 0:14:36.280 he wants, he doesn't have much time left to walk 0:14:36.320 --> 0:14:40.120 the earth as a man. He's one week away from 0:14:40.120 --> 0:14:43.360 hanging on a cross, just a little bit over a 0:14:43.360 --> 0:14:45.320 week away from rising from the dead. 0:14:46.080 --> 0:14:47.760 He's headed to Jerusalem. 0:14:48.200 --> 0:14:51.440 He's headed to Jerusalem to face the cheers of the 0:14:51.480 --> 0:14:55.400 crowd when he arrives, riding on a donkey as they 0:14:55.560 --> 0:15:00.520 spread their palm branches on the road, saying Hosanna, Hosanna, which. 0:15:00.280 --> 0:15:01.480 Means save now. 0:15:02.480 --> 0:15:06.040 Yet days later, many of the same crowds that shouted Hosannah. 0:15:05.640 --> 0:15:07.440 Will be shouting crucify him. 0:15:09.120 --> 0:15:12.280 Don't ever commit your view of yourself to a crowd. 0:15:15.680 --> 0:15:17.000 If they like you, wonderful. 0:15:17.800 --> 0:15:20.200 If they don't like you, and God still loves you, 0:15:20.200 --> 0:15:22.560 you'll still have something to eat and somewhere to live 0:15:22.600 --> 0:15:25.680 in His presence. I don't know what I'm talking about, 0:15:26.960 --> 0:15:31.680 and therefore Jesus never committed his identity to the opinion 0:15:31.680 --> 0:15:34.280 of a crowd, and you can't either. I wish I 0:15:34.320 --> 0:15:37.400 was preaching just to the youth right now. I would 0:15:37.400 --> 0:15:40.880 talk to you about your crowd, and I would tell 0:15:40.920 --> 0:15:43.480 you that you are becoming too much like your crowd 0:15:44.240 --> 0:15:49.360 and too little like your Christ. Your Christ can help 0:15:49.440 --> 0:15:52.400 you stand out from the crowd. Your Christ can help 0:15:52.440 --> 0:15:54.480 you go the right way, even if the whole crowd 0:15:54.520 --> 0:15:57.440 goes the wrong way. But I'm getting ahead of myself, 0:15:57.480 --> 0:16:00.560 because I want to talk about the two men who 0:16:00.560 --> 0:16:03.120 were blind. And notice it says two things happened to 0:16:03.160 --> 0:16:09.760 them because they shouted. Everybody shouts, say whoo, everybody say, Lord, 0:16:11.200 --> 0:16:15.480 have mercy on me. That's what they shouted. And when 0:16:15.560 --> 0:16:18.600 they shouted, he called them. And when he called them, 0:16:18.840 --> 0:16:21.880 he touched them. And when he touched them, he healed them. 0:16:22.120 --> 0:16:24.080 And when he healed them, this is what I thought 0:16:24.120 --> 0:16:26.440 was the best part of the text. In verse thirty four, 0:16:26.480 --> 0:16:35.400 it said they received their site and followed him. Now 0:16:35.440 --> 0:16:37.400 all the way back to the beginning of the passage, 0:16:37.520 --> 0:16:40.640 you see this little chapter heading right here. 0:16:42.360 --> 0:16:44.040 That is not originally in the Bible. 0:16:45.120 --> 0:16:47.560 Okay, this is the part that is the word of 0:16:47.600 --> 0:16:50.760 God that was translated from the original language. 0:16:51.000 --> 0:16:52.400 This is something somebody put. 0:16:52.280 --> 0:16:53.960 In a study Bible to tell you this is a 0:16:54.000 --> 0:16:57.560 new section. But the Bible isn't like Netflix with chapter titles, 0:16:57.600 --> 0:16:59.800 and you know, the Bible doesn't have track ID. 0:17:00.560 --> 0:17:01.680 The Bible is just written. 0:17:01.680 --> 0:17:04.240 There's no chapter in verse divisions, and there are certainly 0:17:04.280 --> 0:17:07.800 no subject headings. So what was written here I want 0:17:07.800 --> 0:17:10.080 to talk about for a moment, and I want us 0:17:10.119 --> 0:17:12.199 to think about for a moment. And the reason that 0:17:12.280 --> 0:17:13.879 I wanted it to be on the screen is so 0:17:13.960 --> 0:17:18.520 that you can see it for yourself. And I have 0:17:18.560 --> 0:17:25.720 a question. It says two blind men receive site. And 0:17:25.760 --> 0:17:32.560 here's my question. If this happened, why are they still 0:17:32.640 --> 0:17:47.880 called that? If they received their site, it stands. 0:17:47.600 --> 0:17:52.119 The reason that they are no longer blind. 0:17:53.480 --> 0:17:57.680 I would like to suggest that we retitle this passage. 0:17:57.680 --> 0:18:01.600 Don't change the passage. Just call it what actually happened. 0:18:02.880 --> 0:18:07.479 Call it what actually happened. Maybe instead of calling this 0:18:07.600 --> 0:18:12.920 chapter two blind men received their sight, because if they see, 0:18:13.520 --> 0:18:18.080 they're no longer blind. But people will memorize how they 0:18:18.160 --> 0:18:21.399 met you and call you that for the rest of 0:18:21.440 --> 0:18:22.399 your natural days. 0:18:24.000 --> 0:18:27.760 I would suggest that God is the author of your story. 0:18:28.480 --> 0:18:32.159 I would suggest that he is the Alpha and Omega. 0:18:32.640 --> 0:18:36.520 I would suggest that it's him holding the pen. I'm smiling, Abby, 0:18:36.560 --> 0:18:39.439 Do you see me smiling. I'm smiling because I know 0:18:39.920 --> 0:18:43.000 he turned it around for me. I'm smiling because I 0:18:43.080 --> 0:18:46.520 know it doesn't matter what they called me. I'm smiling 0:18:46.600 --> 0:18:49.680 because I know he did some things for me. And 0:18:49.720 --> 0:18:53.840 it's amazing grace. How sweet the sound that saved a 0:18:53.960 --> 0:18:58.399 wretch like me? Hot once was lost, but now I'm found? 0:18:59.200 --> 0:19:04.359 Was blind West line? West line? 0:19:04.440 --> 0:19:08.000 Somebody shoutst line, I'm waiting. 0:19:07.680 --> 0:19:09.720 For this section. Y'all are sleeping touch. 0:19:09.800 --> 0:19:15.280 Somebody say I was line, but I'm not now now 0:19:15.359 --> 0:19:16.960 I see. 0:19:17.160 --> 0:19:17.840 How about we. 0:19:17.760 --> 0:19:21.800 Call this passage not two blind men received sidewatch this? 0:19:21.880 --> 0:19:23.679 Can I do this? Am I gonna get in trouble? 0:19:24.359 --> 0:19:26.200 In trouble? No, I don't think I'm gonna get in 0:19:26.240 --> 0:19:27.600 trouble because I think we need to. 0:19:27.560 --> 0:19:36.359 Call it too bold men. How you like that devil. 0:19:39.160 --> 0:19:42.840 I'm not gonna call them what their condition said they were. 0:19:44.520 --> 0:19:47.880 I'm not gonna call them what their past had them 0:19:47.920 --> 0:19:51.720 trapped in. I'm not gonna call them what they had 0:19:51.800 --> 0:19:54.320 known up to that point before they met the Savior 0:19:54.600 --> 0:19:58.320 who knew them from before they were born. How about 0:19:58.359 --> 0:20:19.960 we call this passage two, bold men become disciples because 0:20:20.000 --> 0:20:22.480 in verse twenty nine three people like it. 0:20:24.119 --> 0:20:25.120 You don't have to like it. 0:20:26.000 --> 0:20:30.040 God did it anyway. You don't have to love for it. 0:20:30.720 --> 0:20:34.320 God does what he wants to do. The whole crowd 0:20:34.440 --> 0:20:40.080 was telling them stop shouting. Stop that, that's ridiculous. Would 0:20:40.160 --> 0:20:42.520 you stomp that? Look at your never say stomp that? 0:20:44.280 --> 0:20:46.640 Do it like I did it with that whatever voice that. 0:20:46.640 --> 0:20:55.680 Was, stomp that na stomp that. The whole crowd told 0:20:55.720 --> 0:21:01.879 them to be quiet. The whole crowd told them to 0:21:01.960 --> 0:21:04.720 be quiet. I circled the phrase I'm looking for you 0:21:04.760 --> 0:21:10.560 there it is, told them, told them, let's circle it again. 0:21:12.600 --> 0:21:17.679 The whole crowd told them this is pointless. Don't you 0:21:18.000 --> 0:21:23.359 see you're blind. No making jokes. I'm just bringing the 0:21:23.400 --> 0:21:30.800 irony of it to the surface. But I love their boldness. Now, 0:21:31.119 --> 0:21:35.920 I just want to speculate that maybe their blindness contributed 0:21:35.960 --> 0:21:41.280 to their boldness. The Bible says that we walk by faith, 0:21:42.880 --> 0:21:46.200 not by sight, and maybe if they had seen how 0:21:46.200 --> 0:21:49.880 big the crowd was around Jesus, they wouldn't have had 0:21:49.880 --> 0:21:53.480 the faith to say anything about their own condition. For 0:21:53.600 --> 0:21:56.159 all of you who think that we shouldn't preach about 0:21:56.280 --> 0:21:59.879 personal growth from the pulpit. When Jesus asked them in 0:22:00.000 --> 0:22:03.280 and what do you want? They didn't pray about environmental 0:22:03.280 --> 0:22:09.719 pollution or carbon footprint or world hunger. They asked for 0:22:09.800 --> 0:22:13.520 something that they needed. And Jesus did not turn them 0:22:13.520 --> 0:22:18.000 away as selfish, but he enabled them to experience what 0:22:18.119 --> 0:22:22.360 their previous tradition had indicated was not possible. There are 0:22:22.440 --> 0:22:25.200 some of you here, and there is a whole crowd 0:22:25.280 --> 0:22:29.400 telling you just keep it down, don't even bother, don't 0:22:29.440 --> 0:22:32.399 even worry about it. But the interesting thing is not 0:22:32.640 --> 0:22:35.960 all crowds are outside. 0:22:36.240 --> 0:22:39.560 Some of the crowds that tell us to keep it down. 0:22:44.560 --> 0:22:48.640 Are the crowds you carry inside from. 0:22:48.480 --> 0:22:51.480 The voices of fear that you've accumulated in your life. 0:22:51.520 --> 0:22:54.720 I mean, you don't even really understand sometimes how the 0:22:54.800 --> 0:23:00.159 trauma of what you went through became your template for 0:23:00.200 --> 0:23:01.320 where you think God. 0:23:01.119 --> 0:23:01.639 Can take you. 0:23:03.240 --> 0:23:05.639 And here's the problem that I have when people say 0:23:06.080 --> 0:23:13.959 I'm finding myself. If I'm finding myself, it means I'm lost. 0:23:15.640 --> 0:23:19.720 If I'm lost, I need a guide. I have come 0:23:19.760 --> 0:23:23.200 to the point in my life that the only way 0:23:23.240 --> 0:23:30.240 I'm going to find me is to follow Jesus, because 0:23:30.320 --> 0:23:34.560 the only one who really knows what my life is 0:23:34.600 --> 0:23:39.680 supposed to be, or mean or produce is the manufacturer 0:23:40.320 --> 0:23:43.960 or the Bible calls the gardener who planted the potential 0:23:44.040 --> 0:23:47.040 in me to begin with, let's talk for a moment 0:23:47.080 --> 0:23:50.119 about this crowd that told them to be quiet. And 0:23:50.200 --> 0:23:52.560 I don't know what your insecurities are trying to tell 0:23:52.560 --> 0:23:55.600 you today. I don't know what your regrets are trying 0:23:55.640 --> 0:23:56.439 to tell you today. 0:23:56.880 --> 0:23:58.920 For some of you, it's this constant voice that. 0:23:58.880 --> 0:24:03.000 Says, you missed it, you blew it. It's over, you 0:24:03.119 --> 0:24:06.840 wasted it. It's gone, and you can't now if it 0:24:06.960 --> 0:24:09.800 was going to it would have by now. 0:24:10.520 --> 0:24:13.639 It's stronger than you and you can't go back now. 0:24:13.840 --> 0:24:16.400 And you shouldn't have done it, but you did do it, 0:24:16.520 --> 0:24:17.480 and now you have to. 0:24:17.520 --> 0:24:23.640 Keep doing it. It is the voice of the crowd 0:24:24.119 --> 0:24:25.119 telling you stop it. 0:24:26.359 --> 0:24:30.800 Even being at church today was a struggle for some 0:24:30.880 --> 0:24:34.480 of us, because while you want to hear God's voice, 0:24:34.480 --> 0:24:38.040 there's another voice telling you you really need to stop 0:24:38.040 --> 0:24:42.360 going to church. It's not changing your life anyway. Why 0:24:42.359 --> 0:24:45.160 do you keep serving God? Why do you keep trying 0:24:45.200 --> 0:24:47.119 to be a person of integrity? Don't you notice that 0:24:47.200 --> 0:24:49.000 the nice guy's finished last anyway? 0:24:49.800 --> 0:24:51.040 Why are you trying to be pure? 0:24:51.080 --> 0:24:52.760 Didn't you notice that all your friends who have no 0:24:52.840 --> 0:24:55.280 sexual morals are getting the girls and you're not. Why 0:24:55.320 --> 0:24:57.800 are you even trying to reclaim this part of your 0:24:57.840 --> 0:25:01.200 life when every time you try it only gets harder. 0:25:01.400 --> 0:25:04.000 Why are you even going back to rehab right now? 0:25:05.440 --> 0:25:09.480 Why would you even try again? Just stop, Just give 0:25:09.560 --> 0:25:13.320 up on yourself. Everybody else has given up on you. 0:25:15.000 --> 0:25:19.160 The voice of the crowd on the inside is louder 0:25:19.200 --> 0:25:22.840 than the voice of the crowd on the outside. There 0:25:22.920 --> 0:25:25.600 is no noise cancelation for the voice of the crowd 0:25:25.640 --> 0:25:29.080 on the outside. There is no numbing of the things 0:25:29.119 --> 0:25:32.600 that you say inside of yourself that keep you down. 0:25:33.400 --> 0:25:36.439 So I know that while the voice of God is 0:25:36.520 --> 0:25:40.919 going forth today, calling you forward into some things, calling 0:25:40.960 --> 0:25:44.320 you out of some things and into some others, calling 0:25:44.359 --> 0:25:47.000 you above some things, so that the things that are 0:25:47.080 --> 0:25:50.520 under your feet can stay there where they belong, and 0:25:50.560 --> 0:25:53.439 you can walk on ahead into your future, I know 0:25:53.560 --> 0:25:57.639 there is another voice telling you just stop. But I 0:25:57.760 --> 0:26:03.680 love these gold blind, these bold men. If you get 0:26:03.720 --> 0:26:05.440 to heaven and you want to meet these two men 0:26:05.480 --> 0:26:08.119 from Matthew twenty. Make sure you ask for them by 0:26:08.160 --> 0:26:10.879 the right name, because if you ask for the blind 0:26:10.920 --> 0:26:13.920 men in Matthew chapter twenty, nobody will come. 0:26:13.760 --> 0:26:15.920 To meet you and sign your book. 0:26:16.280 --> 0:26:19.480 So say, I want to meet those bold brothers from 0:26:19.560 --> 0:26:20.880 Matthew chapter twenty. 0:26:21.160 --> 0:26:23.840 I want to meet those bold brothers who. 0:26:23.760 --> 0:26:27.560 Decided I'm leaving the life I knew and following into 0:26:27.600 --> 0:26:37.760 the new, I'm going forward. They shouted, and the crowd 0:26:37.800 --> 0:26:45.120 said stop. They shouted, Lord, have mercy on us. 0:26:46.119 --> 0:26:50.800 They shouted. Everybody say they shouted. Nobody shouted saying they shouted, 0:26:52.240 --> 0:26:53.720 And I love that they shouted. 0:26:54.520 --> 0:26:57.480 Don't you everybody shout some kind of way, Just shout 0:26:57.480 --> 0:27:03.479 some kind of way. What is amazing about their shout. 0:27:04.800 --> 0:27:08.800 What is amazing about their shout is that it indicates 0:27:08.800 --> 0:27:11.240 a principle that I think will be very important to 0:27:11.320 --> 0:27:15.800 you in this season of your life. Don't ever let 0:27:16.480 --> 0:27:27.160 what you don't have keep you from using what you do. Remember, Saints, 0:27:27.760 --> 0:27:32.520 they couldn't see, but you don't have to see the shout. 0:27:34.920 --> 0:27:40.479 I said, you don't have to see to shout. Not 0:27:40.520 --> 0:27:45.320 only did they shout, but watch this when Jesus called, 0:27:45.359 --> 0:27:50.720 they came because you don't have to see to step. 0:27:53.760 --> 0:27:58.840 It's harder, but you can still do it. I came 0:27:58.880 --> 0:28:03.119 to preach to somebody today who feels stuck. And the 0:28:03.200 --> 0:28:07.040 issue is not that you're stuck. The issue is that 0:28:07.080 --> 0:28:11.440 you've stopped. The issue is not. 0:28:11.480 --> 0:28:13.960 That God has done with you, not by a long shot. 0:28:15.080 --> 0:28:18.359 The issue is that you have allowed what you don't have, 0:28:19.280 --> 0:28:22.959 your sight, to keep you from using what you do have, 0:28:23.720 --> 0:28:28.520 your shout and your steps. Because even if I have 0:28:28.600 --> 0:28:34.719 to shout and stumble and shout and stumble and shout 0:28:35.480 --> 0:28:40.120 and stumble, I can still get there, even if I 0:28:40.200 --> 0:28:43.200 have to proclaim I am the righteousness of God, and 0:28:43.320 --> 0:28:46.400 stumble and sin and proclaim that I am the righteousness 0:28:46.480 --> 0:28:49.600 of God, and stumble and sin and proclaim that I 0:28:49.640 --> 0:28:52.280 am the righteousness of God because Jesus died for me, 0:28:52.680 --> 0:28:56.080 and stumble and sin and carry the heavy burden of 0:28:56.080 --> 0:28:59.280 my habits. But know that every day He's transforming me. 0:29:00.000 --> 0:29:03.000 And if I have to stumble, a stumble is still 0:29:03.040 --> 0:29:08.320 a step. Put it in the chat right now while 0:29:08.320 --> 0:29:09.000 it's fresh. 0:29:09.640 --> 0:29:14.640 A stumble is still a step, and a shout is 0:29:14.680 --> 0:29:18.840 still a shout. Even if I shout with my eyes closed, 0:29:18.920 --> 0:29:28.040 Watch this, Lord, I close my eyes, I couldn't see, 0:29:28.200 --> 0:29:32.400 but I could shout. Right now, I'm in the season 0:29:32.440 --> 0:29:34.960 of my life where there are some things. 0:29:34.720 --> 0:29:37.680 I can't see clearly. I don't know which one God 0:29:37.720 --> 0:29:40.040 wants me to do next. I don't know how God's 0:29:40.080 --> 0:29:41.120 gonna make away on this. 0:29:41.560 --> 0:29:43.640 I don't know how he's gonna help me pay it off. 0:29:44.000 --> 0:29:45.960 I don't know how I'm gonna bounce back from it. 0:29:46.240 --> 0:29:48.080 I really don't know who's gonna be with me in 0:29:48.160 --> 0:29:52.880 this season. But the fact that I can't see it 0:29:52.920 --> 0:29:55.560 will not stop me from shouting about it. 0:29:57.200 --> 0:30:01.920 That's my decision. Come on, tell somebody you're not stuck. 0:30:03.360 --> 0:30:07.640 You just stopped. You just stopped. You just stopped. 0:30:07.840 --> 0:30:10.800 You Stop being optimistic because you didn't see any evidence. 0:30:11.040 --> 0:30:13.760 You stop believing you could rise above it because nobody 0:30:13.800 --> 0:30:16.560 in your family ever had. You'll stop believing that it 0:30:16.560 --> 0:30:19.640 could really be true for you, even though God spoke it. 0:30:21.120 --> 0:30:21.280 Now. 0:30:21.320 --> 0:30:26.120 I'm not trying to be ignorant about the challenges that 0:30:26.160 --> 0:30:31.600 you face. I'm just trying to issue a higher point 0:30:31.600 --> 0:30:36.160 of view than the one you've been living with. They 0:30:36.280 --> 0:30:42.000 heard that Jesus was coming and they shouted, I'm gonna 0:30:42.040 --> 0:30:44.560 take this message to a Pentecostal church and preach it 0:30:44.600 --> 0:30:49.520 like it needs to be preached. This bapt Episcopalian community 0:30:50.120 --> 0:30:52.280 fellowship don't know how to preach for the Word of 0:30:52.320 --> 0:30:57.160 God because we would have shouted. We would have shouted 0:30:57.200 --> 0:31:01.760 seven times by now have we really been listening? Yeah, 0:31:04.160 --> 0:31:08.680 I'm getting warmed up. I need you to know something. 0:31:09.640 --> 0:31:12.640 I need you to know something. There is nothing that 0:31:12.680 --> 0:31:16.880 you're not that God will require to do what He 0:31:16.920 --> 0:31:22.760 intends to do through your life. You know how many 0:31:22.800 --> 0:31:26.280 people give up and stop on something that God spoke 0:31:26.360 --> 0:31:28.920 to them just because they don't see I talked to one. 0:31:28.880 --> 0:31:30.760 Guy who told me I would have started at church. 0:31:30.800 --> 0:31:31.480 He's seventy. 0:31:31.640 --> 0:31:33.200 He said I would have started at church, but I 0:31:33.200 --> 0:31:34.840 didn't know how to do children's ministry. 0:31:36.080 --> 0:31:38.440 It would surprise you what stops people. 0:31:39.280 --> 0:31:42.680 He was anointed to preach, he was anointed to teach, 0:31:42.960 --> 0:31:46.160 he was anointed to lead, and yet he couldn't see 0:31:46.200 --> 0:31:48.680 that in leading someone else to do what they were 0:31:48.680 --> 0:31:52.080 gifted to do children's ministry, he could have moved past 0:31:52.120 --> 0:31:55.920 the limitation. The key premise of my message is this 0:31:56.280 --> 0:31:57.640 and the mindset that I'm. 0:31:57.440 --> 0:32:02.440 Not stuck unless I stop. It's very simple but I 0:32:02.480 --> 0:32:03.920 feel like I should break it down for you. 0:32:31.160 --> 0:32:31.560 And so. 0:32:38.120 --> 0:32:51.760 What what what? What? What? What? Why? Well, maybe that's 0:32:51.760 --> 0:32:54.880 the word God wanted you to get to today. You're 0:32:54.960 --> 0:32:56.680 telling me, and I'm. 0:32:56.480 --> 0:33:01.640 Telling you, I'm ded knowing, get go ahead. 0:33:03.280 --> 0:33:07.920 Through the valley, through the storm. I'm the worship it 0:33:08.560 --> 0:33:12.880 all the more. Raise is a weapon. It's more than 0:33:12.920 --> 0:33:13.680 a sound. 0:33:14.240 --> 0:33:18.560 Raise this the water my enemy's drout is I'm not 0:33:18.800 --> 0:33:23.320 dying in this red sea. Pharaoh is, I'm not dying 0:33:23.440 --> 0:33:27.640 in this red seat. Fear is, I'm not dying in 0:33:27.760 --> 0:33:30.000 this red sea. See it is. 0:33:30.760 --> 0:33:34.600 Shame is just races getting praise. 0:33:34.720 --> 0:33:39.680 If you know how to shout, do it now? How 0:33:39.760 --> 0:33:40.840 abom now? 0:33:41.960 --> 0:33:42.640 How of them? 0:33:42.840 --> 0:33:43.320 Now? 0:33:44.080 --> 0:33:52.720 Would be a very good time the show. No, no, 0:33:52.760 --> 0:33:56.800 don't shout now. Save it for a football game. No no, 0:33:56.880 --> 0:33:59.920 don't shout now, Save it for a baseball game. 0:34:00.720 --> 0:34:04.400 No, don't shout now, say that for march madness. It's 0:34:04.440 --> 0:34:06.600 not like God brought through this far. 0:34:07.080 --> 0:34:10.160 It's not like hey, mad way after a way. 0:34:10.800 --> 0:34:15.399 It's not like he's for a com miracol sh after miracle. 0:34:15.840 --> 0:34:20.960 It's not like he open no after floor watch this 0:34:21.160 --> 0:34:22.759 dun for many. 0:34:30.880 --> 0:34:31.360 Southing. 0:34:39.080 --> 0:34:43.480 I'm like those two bold men. I'm shouting before I 0:34:43.920 --> 0:34:53.680 can see it. Oh, I saw something, y'all. I saw something, y'all. 0:34:54.120 --> 0:34:57.680 I saw something in my Bible. I brought this Bible 0:34:57.800 --> 0:35:00.080 up here on this screen to show you something. I 0:35:00.160 --> 0:35:02.080 want to show it to you right now. I've been 0:35:02.160 --> 0:35:05.440 saving this. I'm excited about it. I'm excited about what 0:35:05.640 --> 0:35:07.920 God did. I'm excited about who he did it for. 0:35:08.360 --> 0:35:10.000 He did it for the ones that no one else 0:35:10.160 --> 0:35:12.359 was paying attention to. He did it for the ones 0:35:12.400 --> 0:35:15.120 who are in the most desperate situation. He's gonna do 0:35:15.200 --> 0:35:17.239 it for the one here today who's hurting the most. 0:35:17.640 --> 0:35:19.400 He's gonna do it for the one here today who 0:35:19.520 --> 0:35:21.839 is confused. He's gonna do it here for the one 0:35:21.920 --> 0:35:24.840 today who is reaching out to him. He's gonna do 0:35:24.920 --> 0:35:27.359 it for the one today who doesn't have much time left. 0:35:27.640 --> 0:35:29.840 He's gonna do it for the one today who wasted 0:35:29.920 --> 0:35:32.319 some of the good seasons. He's gonna do it here 0:35:32.400 --> 0:35:35.480 today for somebody who's weak in your body. He's gonna 0:35:35.520 --> 0:35:38.320 do it for somebody who's stuck. Because he's got a 0:35:38.400 --> 0:35:41.279 really big truck and he likes to show you what 0:35:41.400 --> 0:35:42.640 he can pull you out off. 0:35:43.040 --> 0:35:47.840 So, if you've been in something, the. 0:35:47.920 --> 0:35:52.719 Bible says that Jesus did it for the blind men, 0:35:53.520 --> 0:35:58.080 and he did it instantly, and he did it compassionately, 0:35:58.719 --> 0:36:01.920 and he touched them. And when he touched them, did 0:36:01.960 --> 0:36:05.000 you see that he touched them? He didn't need to 0:36:05.160 --> 0:36:07.640 shout anymore because God doesn't have. 0:36:07.760 --> 0:36:10.560 To shout when he's close to you. 0:36:11.480 --> 0:36:14.520 So if you can't hear him right now, if you 0:36:14.680 --> 0:36:17.799 can't feel him right now, if you can't see him 0:36:18.000 --> 0:36:21.080 right now, maybe you will hear the still small voice 0:36:21.400 --> 0:36:25.200 and feel a touch and of a sudden what the 0:36:25.400 --> 0:36:29.359 crowd told them had no power over the Savior who 0:36:29.480 --> 0:36:34.720 touched them. When God touches you, no matter what fear 0:36:34.840 --> 0:36:38.319 tells you, no matter what the enemy tells you, tim 0:36:38.640 --> 0:36:41.560 no matter what he told you, when God touches you, 0:36:41.760 --> 0:36:43.800 did you wear those sunglasses to help me illustrate this 0:36:43.880 --> 0:36:47.239 sermon today? When God touches you, and he says, I 0:36:47.280 --> 0:36:49.600 don't care what they've told you. I don't care what 0:36:49.760 --> 0:36:52.680 they've called you. I don't care how they've labeled you. 0:36:53.040 --> 0:36:55.520 I don't care if they said it's a learning disability. 0:36:55.800 --> 0:37:00.080 Knock. When this ability meets the disability, God. 0:37:00.080 --> 0:37:06.879 Will raise up something that is absolutely race compounding amazing. 0:37:08.160 --> 0:37:09.360 It's amazing grace. 0:37:14.160 --> 0:37:16.120 And he did it for people who couldn't see it, 0:37:17.239 --> 0:37:19.759 and he didn't for people who couldn't do it for themself. 0:37:20.760 --> 0:37:23.320 And he called them and they followed. And I was 0:37:23.440 --> 0:37:26.920 reading this passage over and over again, and I realized 0:37:26.960 --> 0:37:28.759 that he did not come to them. 0:37:30.239 --> 0:37:38.440 He called them because when he found them, they were sitting. 0:37:40.440 --> 0:37:44.640 But he didn't want to leave them sitting in Jericho. 0:37:47.040 --> 0:37:53.600 He wanted to get them stepping toward Jerusalem. This is 0:37:53.680 --> 0:37:57.360 why God doesn't always make it easy for you. This 0:37:57.520 --> 0:37:59.880 is why even in the moments where he has compassion, 0:38:01.040 --> 0:38:05.359 sometimes in his compassion, he'll tell you come. It does 0:38:05.480 --> 0:38:08.879 not say Jesus went to them. As a matter of fact, 0:38:08.960 --> 0:38:14.120 what it says is absolutely amazing. Everybody say amazing. I 0:38:14.239 --> 0:38:17.440 want y'all to love this Bible. I want y'all to 0:38:17.480 --> 0:38:19.400 get a highlight or a blue one and a yellow one, 0:38:19.440 --> 0:38:21.400 and a pink one, and a raspberry one and a 0:38:21.480 --> 0:38:22.040 scented one. 0:38:22.280 --> 0:38:24.680 Then I want you to sniff that raspberry in the morning. 0:38:24.640 --> 0:38:26.800 And start looking for the righteousness of God in the 0:38:26.840 --> 0:38:29.359 Word of God and the revelation of God with your 0:38:29.480 --> 0:38:33.480 raspberry highlighter and start circling stuff that God speaks to 0:38:33.560 --> 0:38:36.320 you so you can get a better word over your family. 0:38:37.560 --> 0:38:39.799 Yeah, got ge go, got got go, get y'all. 0:38:39.800 --> 0:38:41.560 I'm shutting upbout what I'll see. 0:38:45.360 --> 0:38:50.239 Everybody shout Lord, say Lord, and now be the crowd 0:38:50.320 --> 0:38:54.760 say stop, say Lord, not be the crowd say stop. 0:38:55.640 --> 0:39:00.560 Desides say Lord, say loud, loud. By the way, I'm 0:39:00.560 --> 0:39:03.160 gonna say something. I love these guys, it says. When 0:39:03.200 --> 0:39:06.759 the crowd told them to be quiet, they shouted all 0:39:06.920 --> 0:39:11.359 the louder. So let's practice. Everybody say stop on this side. 0:39:12.400 --> 0:39:19.040 Now say Lord. Now say stop louder, louder, louder, say stop. 0:39:22.600 --> 0:39:29.200 Now watch this stop. Crowd says stop. Fear says stop. 0:39:29.280 --> 0:39:31.799 Insecurity says stop past that stop did she says stop? 0:39:31.840 --> 0:39:35.279 The pressure say stop. Anxiety says stop. And because they 0:39:35.400 --> 0:39:51.799 didn't stop, because put it back on the screen, tech team. 0:39:51.840 --> 0:39:54.839 I gotta show this to my Epham. I gotta show 0:39:54.920 --> 0:39:56.520 this to somebody who has made. 0:39:56.400 --> 0:39:57.000 Up your mind. 0:39:57.360 --> 0:40:00.719 I'm not gonna stop following Jesus. I'm not gonna stop 0:40:00.760 --> 0:40:03.960 praying about it. I'm not gonna stop seeking him. I'm 0:40:04.000 --> 0:40:07.640 not gonna stop encouraging. I'm not gonna stop using my gift. 0:40:07.920 --> 0:40:10.800 I'm not gonna stop using this annoying thing. I'm not 0:40:10.920 --> 0:40:14.359 gonna stop speaking life. I'm not gonna stop praising him. 0:40:14.680 --> 0:40:17.880 I'm not gonna stop trusting him. I'm not gonna stop. 0:40:17.960 --> 0:40:27.480 I'm not gonna stop. And because they didn't stop, Jesus did. 0:40:31.400 --> 0:40:31.839 He did. 0:40:35.880 --> 0:40:39.480 Because they didn't stop, they just shouted, louder I love him. 0:40:39.840 --> 0:40:41.320 Not only did they not stop, they took it to 0:40:41.360 --> 0:40:47.279 another level. Not only did they not stop, they took 0:40:47.320 --> 0:40:51.920 it to another level. And not only did they get here, 0:40:53.239 --> 0:40:58.880 they followed Jesus and they didn't go back to Jericho. 0:41:00.239 --> 0:41:08.960 All of this started with a shout. I'm not going 0:41:09.040 --> 0:41:15.839 back to Jericho. And it started with a shout. Now, 0:41:15.880 --> 0:41:20.319 I seem to remember something in the Bible. I don't 0:41:20.360 --> 0:41:24.960 know if you can help me pull it on about 0:41:25.880 --> 0:41:29.000 a shout in Jericho. 0:41:32.840 --> 0:41:36.640 I seem to remember something. Can we find it in 0:41:36.719 --> 0:41:40.319 the Bible? Come on, everybody who wants this good part 0:41:40.400 --> 0:41:44.879 of the words, shout right now, shout lader. Everybody who 0:41:44.960 --> 0:41:47.759 wants God to give you an update and make you 0:41:47.840 --> 0:41:51.839 a disciple, and purge you, and purify you and get 0:41:51.880 --> 0:41:55.040 your mind right and bring his spirit to break change, 0:41:55.560 --> 0:42:06.360 make some noose. This is not the first shout in Jericho. 0:42:07.920 --> 0:42:15.799 The Bible says in Joshua, chapter six, verse number. 0:42:17.040 --> 0:42:23.840 One, somebody shout. Now the gates of Jericho were securely barred. 0:42:23.920 --> 0:42:29.040 You remember Jericho. You remember Jericho. It was the first 0:42:29.120 --> 0:42:32.399 city that God called his people to take over. After 0:42:32.800 --> 0:42:36.680 forty years of stuck in the wilderness, after forty years 0:42:36.760 --> 0:42:40.400 of going in circles, after forty years of saying. 0:42:40.200 --> 0:42:41.640 Those giants are bigger. 0:42:41.440 --> 0:42:45.680 Than us, after a whole generation complained and wasted away 0:42:46.080 --> 0:42:48.399 and waged not a war against. 0:42:48.080 --> 0:42:52.279 Their enemies, but a war against their own destiny. Now 0:42:52.480 --> 0:42:55.520 Jericho was securely barred up. 0:42:56.560 --> 0:42:58.880 Talk about stuck. You're standing at the edge of something. 0:42:59.080 --> 0:43:00.880 How many feel like this. I'm at the edge of 0:43:00.960 --> 0:43:03.200 something and I can't get in. I'm at the edge 0:43:03.239 --> 0:43:05.239 of joy, but I can't keep it. I'm at the 0:43:05.360 --> 0:43:07.480 edge of a blessing, but I keep messing it up. 0:43:07.600 --> 0:43:09.600 And I get a little bit, and I spend more, 0:43:09.800 --> 0:43:11.640 and I get a little bit, and I eat more, 0:43:11.840 --> 0:43:14.200 and I stuff in a numb and I don't understand why. 0:43:15.640 --> 0:43:18.880 Now Jericho was securely barred because. 0:43:18.680 --> 0:43:21.600 Of the Israelites. Remember, the enemy is intimidated by you 0:43:24.400 --> 0:43:25.719 because he knows who's fighting for you. 0:43:27.560 --> 0:43:30.320 No one went in, no one came out. They are stuck. 0:43:31.440 --> 0:43:35.160 But where the previous generation stopped, they didn't, The Bible 0:43:35.160 --> 0:43:35.879 says in verse two. 0:43:35.920 --> 0:43:39.200 Then the Lord said to Joshua, see, I have delivered 0:43:39.480 --> 0:43:43.799 past tense Jericho into your hands, along with its king 0:43:44.880 --> 0:43:51.640 and it's fighting men. March around the city once. Oh cool, Okay, 0:43:51.800 --> 0:43:56.400 I could do that. Yeah, I'll march around the city once. 0:43:56.440 --> 0:43:57.719 You're gonna give me the victory. If I just march 0:43:57.719 --> 0:43:58.359 around the city once. 0:43:58.480 --> 0:44:02.759 That sign me. I'm doing to do it. Absolutely do. 0:44:02.840 --> 0:44:05.759 I'm join Jim and I'm gonna meditation app on my 0:44:05.800 --> 0:44:07.799 phone as well in a Bible blam, the Bible blam. 0:44:07.840 --> 0:44:09.400 I'm gonna reading the message Bible. I really like the 0:44:09.440 --> 0:44:15.359 message Bible. That's great. But nothing happened once. March around 0:44:15.360 --> 0:44:16.840 the city once. Is what I told Josha. What this 0:44:16.880 --> 0:44:18.440 is what I told you. March aro on once with 0:44:18.480 --> 0:44:18.960 all the arm men. 0:44:19.080 --> 0:44:19.560 Do this for. 0:44:21.239 --> 0:44:21.920 Six days. 0:44:23.880 --> 0:44:26.520 Have seven priests carry trumpets of rams horns in front 0:44:26.520 --> 0:44:31.640 of the art. Now on the seventh day, take a 0:44:31.680 --> 0:44:33.359 few deep breaks because you're about to shot again. 0:44:35.520 --> 0:44:38.279 Tell the people in your apartment. Don't get nervous. I'm 0:44:38.320 --> 0:44:40.400 about to shot again, though. Just tell them, Just tell them, Hey, 0:44:40.400 --> 0:44:42.160 you're gonna hear me holler. But don't call nine one one. 0:44:42.880 --> 0:44:45.439 Don't call nine one one, Just call Joshua was six. 0:44:46.440 --> 0:44:50.160 Because I'm shouting about something that I can't see right now, because. 0:44:49.920 --> 0:44:51.479 I'm shouting about something I can't feel. 0:44:51.560 --> 0:44:53.960 I'm shouting about something I don't have the factual backing 0:44:54.040 --> 0:44:54.719 for right now. 0:44:56.320 --> 0:44:58.600 Eh, I'm shouting about something you can't see right now. 0:44:59.640 --> 0:45:02.560 Have them march around seven times with the priest blowing 0:45:02.640 --> 0:45:06.280 the trumpets. Remember every day they marched and nothing happened. 0:45:06.760 --> 0:45:07.279 Took faith. 0:45:09.280 --> 0:45:12.799 Every day you pray and believe and nothing comes back 0:45:12.880 --> 0:45:14.560 in the form of love toward your life. 0:45:15.840 --> 0:45:20.320 Is a day that takes faith. Every day that the desire. 0:45:19.920 --> 0:45:23.000 Doesn't leave you, but you commit to get back up 0:45:23.280 --> 0:45:23.799 even though. 0:45:23.719 --> 0:45:25.120 You slip, takes faith. 0:45:27.520 --> 0:45:31.600 And so you're waiting for the walls to fall, and 0:45:31.719 --> 0:45:35.160 so you're waiting for the pain to go away, and 0:45:35.239 --> 0:45:37.960 so you're waiting for it to get easier, and so 0:45:38.080 --> 0:45:41.040 you're waiting for the right pill to fix it. And 0:45:41.120 --> 0:45:43.320 so you're waiting for the right key to break it 0:45:43.480 --> 0:45:47.640 and unlock it forever. But the Bible says that it 0:45:47.719 --> 0:45:53.600 took six days of stuck, and on the seventh day, 0:45:54.640 --> 0:45:57.839 I appreached a message one time called don't stop on six. 0:46:00.040 --> 0:46:02.439 I preached that message when I was going through hell. 0:46:02.840 --> 0:46:05.120 I preached that message when the media was saying that 0:46:05.200 --> 0:46:07.360 I was a liar and a hypocrite and that I 0:46:07.520 --> 0:46:09.600 was buying my way onto a bestseller list with my 0:46:09.640 --> 0:46:12.359 book that I never did, and that we were faking baptisms, 0:46:12.480 --> 0:46:14.799 and that I preached that message don't stop on six. 0:46:15.120 --> 0:46:17.440 And I walked around the podium and I got down 0:46:17.520 --> 0:46:18.040 on my face. 0:46:18.320 --> 0:46:19.960 And I'm forty four now, so I'm not going to 0:46:20.040 --> 0:46:22.840 do that part anymore because getting up is different. But 0:46:22.960 --> 0:46:25.160 I got down on my face and I talked about 0:46:25.200 --> 0:46:27.439 the lapse where you have to crawl, and I talked 0:46:27.440 --> 0:46:29.440 about the nights where you have to fake it, and 0:46:29.520 --> 0:46:31.200 I talked about the days where you have to go 0:46:31.280 --> 0:46:33.600 in the bathroom at work and cry and go I 0:46:33.680 --> 0:46:34.879 can't even get through the day. 0:46:35.160 --> 0:46:37.480 And it's nine forty five in the morning, and the 0:46:37.600 --> 0:46:38.760 Bible seems it's. 0:46:38.680 --> 0:46:41.560 Just hieroglyphics to me right now, and the impulse is 0:46:41.560 --> 0:46:43.200 stronger than my integrity right now. 0:46:43.520 --> 0:46:44.400 And I preached and I. 0:46:44.440 --> 0:46:47.799 Said, don't stop on six because on the seventh day, 0:46:48.200 --> 0:46:48.840 you never. 0:46:48.880 --> 0:46:51.120 Know, this might be the one. 0:46:51.560 --> 0:46:54.440 I mean, this might be the time, and this might 0:46:54.600 --> 0:46:57.279 be the day, and this might be the seed, and 0:46:57.440 --> 0:47:00.480 this might be the season, and this might be the moment, 0:47:00.719 --> 0:47:03.319 and you might be the one to break it off 0:47:03.400 --> 0:47:05.040 of everybody with your last. 0:47:04.920 --> 0:47:07.960 Name who is yet to be born. So don't stop. 0:47:11.880 --> 0:47:16.000 And the Bible says when you march around the city 0:47:16.200 --> 0:47:19.400 seven times, everybody shouts seven. 0:47:20.480 --> 0:47:22.000 That's the number of completion. 0:47:22.800 --> 0:47:25.240 Now high five to seven people and say, I'm getting 0:47:25.280 --> 0:47:25.759 this done. 0:47:26.800 --> 0:47:31.120 I'm getting this done. I'm getting this done. I'm getting 0:47:31.200 --> 0:47:31.680 this done. 0:47:32.080 --> 0:47:38.000 What you say, kid going, keep going, keep going, kid going? 0:47:38.880 --> 0:47:43.719 Yeah, stumble yeah, slip, Yeah, I did it. Yeah. I 0:47:43.840 --> 0:47:45.840 struggle with it, but I'm done it. 0:47:46.680 --> 0:47:47.400 No, I'm not it. 0:47:48.200 --> 0:47:51.319 No, I'm not in. I got a new man. I'm 0:47:51.400 --> 0:47:54.000 not a blond man. I'm a bold man. 0:47:54.280 --> 0:47:55.480 I'm not the old man. 0:47:56.040 --> 0:47:59.440 I'm a new man. I'm a new man. I'm a 0:47:59.560 --> 0:48:01.680 new man. Yeah, I'm an man. 0:48:01.800 --> 0:48:02.200 Watch this. 0:48:07.760 --> 0:48:10.399 Verse five is my verse. Verse five is my verse. 0:48:10.800 --> 0:48:12.920 Put it on the lower thirds, so I can preach it. 0:48:13.440 --> 0:48:14.760 Somebody shout, don't stop. 0:48:16.280 --> 0:48:20.840 They didn't stop shouting, and Jesus stopped in the middle 0:48:20.920 --> 0:48:23.080 of the street on the way to the cross to 0:48:23.200 --> 0:48:26.200 save the world, and he's calling you right now. 0:48:28.200 --> 0:48:29.680 He stopped this moment in time. 0:48:31.280 --> 0:48:33.560 Some of you, God stopped the relationship that you were 0:48:33.560 --> 0:48:36.759 addicted to so he could open your eyes to who 0:48:36.800 --> 0:48:40.799 you really are. Some of you, God stopped the job 0:48:40.920 --> 0:48:44.080 that you were greater than, so that you would develop 0:48:44.160 --> 0:48:46.520 your skill and humility to go to the next level 0:48:46.560 --> 0:48:47.640 and learn from the mistake. 0:48:48.880 --> 0:48:52.279 When you don't stop, God does. 0:48:53.520 --> 0:48:56.719 A silence, accusation, A silence condemnation. 0:48:57.160 --> 0:48:57.840 I silence. 0:48:57.960 --> 0:49:01.560 What the crowd says, I what your instagram feed says 0:49:01.840 --> 0:49:02.520 I silence? 0:49:02.600 --> 0:49:04.920 What your negative result says? Silence. 0:49:06.880 --> 0:49:10.320 Now that the crowd has to be quiet, and the 0:49:10.440 --> 0:49:16.200 Christ has called you, let's look at this Jericho shout. 0:49:17.000 --> 0:49:19.120 I didn't realize when I read about the blind Man 0:49:20.480 --> 0:49:24.799 that the shout that they released in Jericho was an echo. 0:49:31.000 --> 0:49:34.160 It was the echo in Jericho. 0:49:35.600 --> 0:49:38.239 And if you know anything about what happens next in 0:49:38.320 --> 0:49:43.319 this passage in chapter six, verse five of Joshua, now 0:49:43.400 --> 0:49:48.200 we're ready. The Bible says, when you hear them, sound 0:49:48.920 --> 0:49:55.000 a long blast on the trumpets, have the whole army 0:49:56.000 --> 0:49:56.400 give a. 0:49:58.920 --> 0:50:08.640 What you're gonna do? You mean I preached an hour 0:50:09.840 --> 0:50:12.400 in this heavy sweater and you still don't know what 0:50:12.560 --> 0:50:15.239 to do? Are you kidding me? 0:50:16.680 --> 0:50:20.040 You mean I wrote a whole book, I've been pastor 0:50:20.280 --> 0:50:25.680 a whole trip, and you still eighteen years and we 0:50:25.920 --> 0:50:28.000 still don't know what to do with the wall. 0:50:28.600 --> 0:50:29.359 What's this thing? 0:50:30.560 --> 0:50:32.480 What's a wall? To away? Megger? 0:50:33.680 --> 0:50:35.600 What's a wall to away? Meger? 0:50:36.800 --> 0:50:37.480 What's a day? 0:50:37.680 --> 0:50:41.960 Joza Bregger? What's a day? Joazagleger? 0:50:42.320 --> 0:50:47.560 Shut down? What's a wall? What's a wa way? 0:50:47.719 --> 0:50:48.040 Mega? 0:50:50.239 --> 0:50:50.800 And here it is? 0:50:52.440 --> 0:50:56.959 The Bible says, when you hear them, sound a long 0:50:57.200 --> 0:51:02.040 blast on the trumpets, have the whole army gives. 0:51:02.719 --> 0:51:03.640 A loud. 0:51:04.920 --> 0:51:13.520 Shout. Watch this wats this? No, no, no, stop stop. 0:51:13.600 --> 0:51:16.560 If you shout, you might get joy. If you shout, 0:51:16.840 --> 0:51:17.880 you might get an answer. 0:51:18.200 --> 0:51:20.520 If you shout, can I get out of your self 0:51:20.600 --> 0:51:22.920 consciousness and get Christ's conscious? 0:51:23.320 --> 0:51:24.440 Go shout loud. 0:51:33.800 --> 0:51:37.880 Have the whole army give a loud shout, And it says, 0:51:38.920 --> 0:51:43.080 then the wall will collapse. 0:51:44.000 --> 0:51:53.040 Watch this, not shout? Win? Can you read that well, look, 0:51:53.080 --> 0:51:54.719 I think it's got an eraser. I'll do it again. 0:51:55.680 --> 0:52:11.520 Not shout win the wall collapses, shout, shout what you're 0:52:11.520 --> 0:52:17.600 showing about? What your showing about? Something I can't see. 0:52:18.719 --> 0:52:22.759 But they stop at and it's gotta cook down. 0:52:23.719 --> 0:52:28.160 It's gotta clok down, saying it's gotta come down. 0:52:29.080 --> 0:52:31.280 I said this gotta cook down. 0:52:32.440 --> 0:52:36.760 Stop this gotta pump down. Tell your neighbor it's kinda 0:52:36.880 --> 0:52:43.880 come down. It's gotta come down. It's gotta colm down. 0:52:45.680 --> 0:52:50.160 It's gotta come down. When we show this, gotta come down. 0:52:50.920 --> 0:52:55.600 When your sad gotta come down. I said this gotta 0:52:55.719 --> 0:52:59.399 bump down, it's gotta come down, gotta come down. 0:53:01.360 --> 0:53:02.799 I praise when outnumbered. 0:53:04.560 --> 0:53:12.200 I praise when surrounded, because praises the waters my enemy's drowning. 0:53:13.960 --> 0:53:18.160 I praise when I feel it. I praise when I go. 0:53:20.160 --> 0:53:24.600 I praise because I know what. You're still in control. 0:53:25.040 --> 0:53:25.520 I'm on this. 0:53:26.480 --> 0:53:31.000 I praise because you're faithful. I praise because you're true 0:53:31.080 --> 0:53:33.760 what you're shouting about. I praise gous. 0:53:33.640 --> 0:53:36.719 Sais nobody come here, Chris greater than you? 0:53:37.239 --> 0:53:40.360 Not give him the good purse. My praise is a weapon. 0:53:40.840 --> 0:53:44.680 Yeah, yeah, yeah, he's lolling in a sound Why Why. 0:53:45.239 --> 0:53:52.200 My praise is a show down that breaks caer coo down. Yeah, Chios, 0:53:52.239 --> 0:53:55.400 cool down, that breaks carriers? 0:53:55.480 --> 0:53:59.480 Cool down. Yeah, my praise is a show. 0:54:04.120 --> 0:54:06.600 Thank you for joining us. Special thanks to those of 0:54:06.680 --> 0:54:09.600 you who give generously to this ministry. Is because of 0:54:09.719 --> 0:54:12.600 you that this ministry is possible. You can click the 0:54:12.680 --> 0:54:16.360 link in the description to give now or visit Elevationchurch 0:54:16.560 --> 0:54:19.800 dot org slash podcast for more information and if you 0:54:19.920 --> 0:54:22.040 enjoyed the podcast, you can subscribe. 0:54:22.520 --> 0:54:23.800 You can share it with your friends. 0:54:24.120 --> 0:54:26.400 You can click the share button, take a screenshot and 0:54:26.480 --> 0:54:28.520 share it on your social stories and tag us at 0:54:28.600 --> 0:54:29.439 Elevation Church. 0:54:29.520 --> 0:54:31.120 Thanks again for listening. God bless you.