I'm The One

0:00:00.520 --> 0:00:02.840 Holly, and I wanted to say a special hello to 0:00:02.960 --> 0:00:07.080 our Etham, our extended family around the world. Hey, before 0:00:07.080 --> 0:00:09.400 we get into the message, let me tell you about available. 0:00:09.440 --> 0:00:11.920 This is a special season for our church. It's a 0:00:11.960 --> 0:00:15.040 tradition for the people of Elevation. Every year we gather, 0:00:15.400 --> 0:00:19.000 we appreciate and anticipate, and we also give. This is 0:00:19.040 --> 0:00:23.000 our yearly time for everybody who receives from this ministry 0:00:23.200 --> 0:00:25.439 to give so that the ministry can go forth, and 0:00:25.440 --> 0:00:28.320 this year we've themed it around the word available. Available. 0:00:28.360 --> 0:00:30.680 That's all God has ever wanted is for us to 0:00:30.720 --> 0:00:33.159 say here I am, send me, use me. And you 0:00:33.200 --> 0:00:35.680 have the opportunity to do that. So if you've been 0:00:35.720 --> 0:00:39.640 blessed through the ministry, it's good to receive. It's even 0:00:39.720 --> 0:00:42.720 better to give. If you want to make a donation, 0:00:42.840 --> 0:00:45.320 a one time gift or a recurring gift, just be 0:00:45.360 --> 0:00:47.600 a part of what God is doing here. We so 0:00:47.760 --> 0:00:50.400 appreciate it. You can get all the details at Elevation 0:00:50.640 --> 0:00:53.480 Church dot org. I'm gonna sat Elevation Worship dot Com. 0:00:53.479 --> 0:00:55.440 I guess you could go there too, but the giving 0:00:55.520 --> 0:00:57.520 is at Elevation Church. What you just did, you have 0:00:57.560 --> 0:01:01.640 Elevation Worship on your sweatshirt. Hey, Elevationchurch dot org and 0:01:01.760 --> 0:01:04.400 you can select available. And we use all of these 0:01:04.480 --> 0:01:07.160 resources to continue to preach the gospel, not only in 0:01:07.480 --> 0:01:11.520 physical locations like this one, but through the amazing opportunity 0:01:11.560 --> 0:01:14.680 God has given us to impact the world through technology. 0:01:14.880 --> 0:01:16.840 And we want to thank all of you who are apart. 0:01:16.880 --> 0:01:19.360 We couldn't do it without you. Thank you for being 0:01:19.360 --> 0:01:21.520 a part of our family. Thank you for being a 0:01:21.520 --> 0:01:24.640 part of this move of God. Go to Elevationchurch dot 0:01:24.720 --> 0:01:27.160 org dot com if you're not already there and be 0:01:27.200 --> 0:01:30.400 a part. This is going to be an amazing, amazing season, 0:01:30.680 --> 0:01:33.360 and Holly and I are believing that your best is ahead. 0:01:35.200 --> 0:01:37.920 We bring you greetings from the greater Charlotte area where 0:01:37.959 --> 0:01:42.360 we broadcast this message. Welcome to this very special weekend 0:01:42.440 --> 0:01:53.480 worship experience at Elevation Church, where today thousands of us 0:01:53.560 --> 0:01:56.800 will not only give God our worship with our mouths 0:01:56.840 --> 0:01:58.560 and with the breadth that He put in our lungs, 0:01:59.080 --> 0:02:01.280 but there are many of us who came today to 0:02:01.360 --> 0:02:04.960 give God an offering from what He has blessed us with. 0:02:06.240 --> 0:02:10.080 And excuse us, but we're excited about it. I know 0:02:10.160 --> 0:02:13.040 it feels funny but we are excited to give back 0:02:13.080 --> 0:02:16.320 to God because of all that He's done for us. 0:02:19.880 --> 0:02:21.560 And just look at the person next to you and 0:02:21.560 --> 0:02:23.320 tell him, I know I'm good looking, but that's not 0:02:23.360 --> 0:02:28.400 why I'm so blessed. It's because of God's grace and mercy. 0:02:28.480 --> 0:02:31.320 And that's the only way I made it through the year. 0:02:31.720 --> 0:02:33.720 That's the only way I made it through the day. 0:02:34.160 --> 0:02:36.280 That's the only way I got up out of the bed. 0:02:36.960 --> 0:02:40.080 Come on, let everything that has spread praise the Lord. 0:02:41.040 --> 0:02:48.680 Welcome Columbia, Melbourne, Florida, Uptown Greensboro, Concord, you see Greenville, 0:02:48.720 --> 0:02:53.960 South Carolina, our EPHAM around the world. Go ahead right now. 0:02:54.000 --> 0:02:56.640 If you're watching on Facebook Live or YouTube live or 0:02:56.680 --> 0:03:01.080 the Elevation app or Elevation Church dot org or Church 0:03:01.240 --> 0:03:06.000 sermons dot com. However you found this just stumbling around 0:03:06.040 --> 0:03:08.720 looking for something on eBay and here we are by accident, 0:03:09.200 --> 0:03:11.680 Go ahead and put where you're watching from and why 0:03:11.720 --> 0:03:14.720 you're believing God for today. Because this is a series 0:03:14.760 --> 0:03:18.480 called Available, and this is the last week. And God 0:03:18.480 --> 0:03:21.360 has made his grace, his love, his mercy, his peace, 0:03:21.400 --> 0:03:23.799 his joy available to each and every one of us. 0:03:24.480 --> 0:03:26.880 And as we make more of ourselves available to him. 0:03:26.919 --> 0:03:30.160 We receive all that he is and we're so excited. 0:03:30.160 --> 0:03:32.440 We're so excited. Here's what we're going to do. Remain 0:03:32.480 --> 0:03:34.960 standing for one moment. I'm going to read you a scripture. 0:03:35.000 --> 0:03:37.480 I'll tell you why I'm reading this scripture. At the 0:03:37.680 --> 0:03:42.640 end of this short er message, we'll worship a little more. 0:03:43.280 --> 0:03:46.440 It'll be really beautiful. Nobody's leaving until the end. Many 0:03:46.480 --> 0:03:49.600 people are here today who flew in just to bring 0:03:49.640 --> 0:03:52.520 their offering because they connect with this ministry all around 0:03:52.520 --> 0:03:56.880 the world. And you don't even have to be in 0:03:56.920 --> 0:04:03.160 the building. There's no distance when it comes to worship, connection, 0:04:03.400 --> 0:04:07.160 prayer community. Thank God for that. So where you're watching 0:04:07.760 --> 0:04:12.000 in Minnesota, I just make up places randomly, but somebody's 0:04:12.040 --> 0:04:15.120 watching from Minnesota. It's the law of averages. I promise you, 0:04:15.160 --> 0:04:18.360 I don't want to be in Minnesota this December. How 0:04:18.360 --> 0:04:20.039 many just thank God if you don't think of anything 0:04:20.040 --> 0:04:24.400 else that you're not in Minnesota this December. Some of 0:04:24.520 --> 0:04:26.400 y'all are sitting there. You didn't clap the whole time 0:04:26.520 --> 0:04:29.440 till just now. Well, I'll praise him for that. That 0:04:29.600 --> 0:04:36.080 is praiseworthy, Brother Steve. And when we say that, people 0:04:36.160 --> 0:04:39.760 are online all around the world. You will participate as well. 0:04:39.839 --> 0:04:41.599 This will be the weekend that many will go from 0:04:41.600 --> 0:04:44.600 consumer to a contributor where it's like, oh man, I 0:04:44.680 --> 0:04:48.159 just watched this sermons. Love the worship. It's like, then 0:04:48.240 --> 0:04:52.280 you give God worship and it makes all of the 0:04:53.360 --> 0:04:57.080 goodness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ become flesh in 0:04:57.120 --> 0:04:59.599 your life. And we'll have time to do that. Everybody 0:04:59.680 --> 0:05:02.840 who prepared and offering, as well as even those who 0:05:02.839 --> 0:05:05.200 aren't giving. If you never give, you're welcome here. I 0:05:05.279 --> 0:05:08.440 never heard a country club say that. I never heard 0:05:08.440 --> 0:05:10.560 a restaurant say that. Starbucks will kick you out in 0:05:10.600 --> 0:05:15.640 thirty minutes just for the Wi Fi. But this will 0:05:15.640 --> 0:05:17.560 always be a place you could come. But thousands of 0:05:17.600 --> 0:05:20.839 people we love it. We love it, We love what 0:05:20.920 --> 0:05:22.880 God is doing. This is a move of God. It's 0:05:22.920 --> 0:05:26.680 a miracle and we want to get involved. So I 0:05:26.720 --> 0:05:29.040 know many of you have your offering prepared, many of 0:05:29.120 --> 0:05:31.520 you will prepare it, you'll give it online. We'll explain 0:05:31.560 --> 0:05:33.720 all of that. Also, we're going to give everybody the 0:05:33.760 --> 0:05:36.920 opportunity to choose a word that represents what you are 0:05:36.960 --> 0:05:39.960 believing God for in the coming year. And this is 0:05:40.000 --> 0:05:43.799 a little unique because we're setting off a new decade. 0:05:44.040 --> 0:05:47.680 We're setting off a new decade, and we'll have our 0:05:48.360 --> 0:05:51.520 Christmas message next weekend, and then a Christmas program the 0:05:51.520 --> 0:05:54.479 following weekend, and then our New Year's praise party. And 0:05:54.560 --> 0:05:58.360 I've already heard from God concerning the series that I'm 0:05:58.400 --> 0:06:01.280 going to be teaching. I came invide and I don't 0:06:01.279 --> 0:06:03.320 know who else was in there. Tim Summers i think 0:06:03.440 --> 0:06:05.240 was in there. I told him this is what God 0:06:05.279 --> 0:06:07.600 has given me, and I'll be sharing that with you 0:06:07.800 --> 0:06:10.159 next weekend what I'm going to preach in the new year, 0:06:10.400 --> 0:06:14.839 and I'm excited about it. But today I was selecting God, 0:06:14.880 --> 0:06:17.840 what if there was one thing to say. We've talked 0:06:17.839 --> 0:06:22.040 about saying yes to God. We've talked about how I'm 0:06:22.080 --> 0:06:24.200 trying to remember all of them now. Oh, last time 0:06:24.240 --> 0:06:27.039 I was up here, I talked about having the right why, 0:06:28.320 --> 0:06:30.640 and I shared with you how I look at a 0:06:30.640 --> 0:06:33.080 picture of my kids when I think about the church 0:06:33.120 --> 0:06:34.320 that I want them to grow up in and the 0:06:34.320 --> 0:06:36.320 God that I want them to know, and that helps 0:06:36.320 --> 0:06:38.599 me as i'm given I'm like, well, I invest in 0:06:38.600 --> 0:06:42.680 them playing baseball. None of them are going pro I 0:06:42.800 --> 0:06:46.159 just figured that out early. But if I can get 0:06:46.160 --> 0:06:48.279 them ready to live this life with the assurance of 0:06:48.320 --> 0:06:51.799 Jesus Christ, to know their identity and him, that's something. 0:06:52.920 --> 0:06:59.080 And so we talked about that. I have a hard 0:06:59.080 --> 0:07:03.479 time often choosing between different messages. I'll usually prepare three 0:07:04.480 --> 0:07:08.279 and then pick one on Saturday. That's how I do it. 0:07:08.279 --> 0:07:10.200 It's probably the dumbest way in the world to do it, 0:07:10.240 --> 0:07:13.600 but that's what I do. I had one on Mary 0:07:14.040 --> 0:07:17.360 because I thought, well, she made herself available and God 0:07:17.360 --> 0:07:19.880 didn't even ask her permission, just showed up, like, you're pregnant, 0:07:19.960 --> 0:07:27.320 congratulations and how She said, how will this be? Since 0:07:27.360 --> 0:07:29.680 I'm a virgin and we often get stuck on how. 0:07:29.720 --> 0:07:31.360 But God didn't tell her how. He said who, the 0:07:31.440 --> 0:07:34.720 Holy Spirit will overpower you. And I thought we could 0:07:34.760 --> 0:07:38.640 talk about the Who, which is awesome, and I'll preach 0:07:38.680 --> 0:07:42.120 it one day. But then I moved on. I was 0:07:42.160 --> 0:07:44.440 flipping through I been feeling that one, and I said, 0:07:44.480 --> 0:07:46.440 all right, well, how about this one with the woman 0:07:46.480 --> 0:07:48.800 that had the jars and she needed God to provide 0:07:48.800 --> 0:07:51.800 for her. And she kept saying, next vessel, next vessel. 0:07:51.960 --> 0:07:54.480 You know, we're vessels of the Holy Spirit, And she 0:07:54.560 --> 0:07:56.800 kept saying, next vessel, next vessel, And when there wasn't 0:07:56.840 --> 0:08:00.720 another vessel, the oil stopped flowing. More oil was available, 0:08:00.720 --> 0:08:03.720 but the vessels ran out, and I thought we could 0:08:03.720 --> 0:08:05.960 talk about that, are you the next vessel that God 0:08:06.000 --> 0:08:11.160 wants to fill? But then I had this one other 0:08:11.240 --> 0:08:14.840 message that was just kind of I was thinking about 0:08:14.840 --> 0:08:16.800 it and never precied this passage before, and I was 0:08:16.840 --> 0:08:20.440 praying God, I have three which one? This has never 0:08:20.520 --> 0:08:23.880 happened before. Sometimes you'll hear someone say I was reading 0:08:23.920 --> 0:08:26.120 the Bible and the scripture just jumped off the page 0:08:26.120 --> 0:08:30.960 at me. That didn't happen, But something even crazier happened. 0:08:31.000 --> 0:08:32.840 This has never happened. I'm for since I was sixteen 0:08:32.920 --> 0:08:35.920 years old. Instead of the scripture jumping off the page, 0:08:36.280 --> 0:08:41.559 the page came out of the Bible. This Bible has 0:08:41.559 --> 0:08:45.319 been put to good use. And this is the first 0:08:45.360 --> 0:08:47.880 page that ever fell out. And look what the scripture was, 0:08:48.000 --> 0:08:50.400 Acts ten Because I'm praying which one? Which one? Look 0:08:50.400 --> 0:08:53.880 at Acts ten twenty one is said I'm the one 0:08:53.920 --> 0:08:59.920 you're looking for. I was like, okay, so this one 0:09:00.040 --> 0:09:02.040 we're going to talk about. Look at somebody and say 0:09:02.120 --> 0:09:05.520 I'm the one. I'm the one. I'm the one. You 0:09:05.679 --> 0:09:12.280 may be seated, God bless you. I'm the one. More specifically, 0:09:12.400 --> 0:09:17.400 verse twenty one, Peter went down and said to the men, 0:09:18.280 --> 0:09:22.000 I'm the one you're looking for. Why have you come? 0:09:22.920 --> 0:09:27.160 Peter went down and said to the men, I'm the 0:09:27.160 --> 0:09:31.400 one you're looking for. Why have you come? And if 0:09:31.400 --> 0:09:34.240 funny how you can have such confidence and uncertainty at 0:09:34.240 --> 0:09:38.200 the same time, I'm the one you're looking for? Why 0:09:38.200 --> 0:09:42.880 have you come? See? The scripture has a lot to 0:09:42.920 --> 0:09:46.760 say about the power of one. I used to hear 0:09:47.080 --> 0:09:50.240 preachers say if we had this whole church and it 0:09:50.280 --> 0:09:52.400 was just for one person to know Christ, it would 0:09:52.400 --> 0:09:55.600 have been worth it. And I do believe that. But 0:09:55.640 --> 0:09:58.000 we probably wouldn't like build this big of a building 0:09:58.040 --> 0:09:59.600 if it was just the one. We could probably meet 0:09:59.640 --> 0:10:02.760 up some a little bit more logically suited to the 0:10:02.760 --> 0:10:05.679 one on one relationship. This is a place where thousands 0:10:05.679 --> 0:10:09.040 get touched, but God is still about the one. I 0:10:09.040 --> 0:10:11.000 can even tell us sometimes when I'm preaching, I can 0:10:11.040 --> 0:10:13.680 look around and go, God probably gave you this part 0:10:13.679 --> 0:10:15.960 of the message for them, and it's weird. Don't be 0:10:16.040 --> 0:10:18.080 freaked out about it. I promise you. I don't have 0:10:18.080 --> 0:10:20.280 some kind of spooky powers or anything. You can just 0:10:20.320 --> 0:10:24.959 tell sometimes like that's what they needed. Somebody say, I'm 0:10:24.960 --> 0:10:30.000 the one. I'm the one. And Peter, of course, Jesus 0:10:30.080 --> 0:10:35.040 had twelve disciples, eleven after Judas was kind of moved 0:10:35.080 --> 0:10:41.680 on but transitioned, you know, was transferred. But Peter was 0:10:41.720 --> 0:10:45.640 that one. There's always the one. Peter was the one. 0:10:45.760 --> 0:10:48.440 He speak up, you know, he'd be like, you are 0:10:48.480 --> 0:10:50.440 the Christ, the son of the living God. He was 0:10:50.520 --> 0:10:53.480 the one who made the first confession of who Christ was. 0:10:53.520 --> 0:10:58.080 He was the one. He was also the one who, 0:10:58.240 --> 0:11:00.760 just a few verses later was telling Jesus, you don't 0:11:00.760 --> 0:11:03.480 need to go to the cross, that's bad for your clout. 0:11:04.880 --> 0:11:08.040 And then Jesus said, get behind me, Satan. Same one, 0:11:09.040 --> 0:11:11.640 but depending on when you caught him, he was either 0:11:11.720 --> 0:11:15.800 wildly obstinate or obedient, and we just happened to catch 0:11:15.880 --> 0:11:18.080 him at a good time in Acts chapter twelve, because 0:11:18.640 --> 0:11:23.160 he has learned the value of obedience. Have you have 0:11:23.240 --> 0:11:27.440 you learned the value of doing what God says even 0:11:27.480 --> 0:11:32.000 when you don't fully understand it. I think that's really important. 0:11:32.000 --> 0:11:34.880 As we give today, many of us are giving, and 0:11:35.000 --> 0:11:37.040 you start doing the math, and you're like, well, you know, 0:11:37.679 --> 0:11:39.600 I could buy this, or I could buy that or 0:11:40.640 --> 0:11:43.600 And that's probably not God telling you not to give 0:11:45.200 --> 0:11:47.920 to help people. But it's weird because you have to 0:11:48.440 --> 0:11:50.440 you have to learn how to discern. Now, now, in 0:11:50.480 --> 0:11:52.400 this particular passag I'm gonna tell you litt bit about it, 0:11:52.800 --> 0:11:56.080 Peter went down and said to the men, I'm the 0:11:56.120 --> 0:12:01.120 one you're looking for. Why have you come? I'm the one. 0:12:01.360 --> 0:12:05.160 Why have you come? Who are the men? And why 0:12:05.160 --> 0:12:09.440 have they come? Which takes us back to what Pastor 0:12:09.600 --> 0:12:14.080 Levi Lusco was sharing last weekend. He talked about Dorcas. 0:12:14.640 --> 0:12:23.240 That baby name is available, and when he was preaching 0:12:23.280 --> 0:12:26.280 on Dorcas and he left us in Acts chapter ten, 0:12:26.440 --> 0:12:28.200 I realized this is the one. This is what I 0:12:28.200 --> 0:12:31.080 need to preach about when we bring our offerings in 0:12:30.800 --> 0:12:34.000 just a few moments, because the scripture says an X 0:12:34.120 --> 0:12:36.920 chapter ten, verse one at cesarea. Now that's not where 0:12:36.960 --> 0:12:39.720 Peter is. Peter is in Jappa because he just raised 0:12:39.720 --> 0:12:42.320 somebody from the dead. You thought you had a good week, 0:12:43.360 --> 0:12:46.200 and Peter had been praying, but so had somebody else. 0:12:46.240 --> 0:12:49.040 And see what God is always doing. He's trying to 0:12:49.120 --> 0:12:54.880 align opportunity with obedience, and there are opportunities that God 0:12:54.920 --> 0:12:58.200 will give to someone who has learned to be obedient. 0:12:58.800 --> 0:13:01.520 Now Peter has learned obedience the hard way, but he's 0:13:01.559 --> 0:13:03.320 come to the point where he says, I'm the one. 0:13:03.400 --> 0:13:06.640 Now what are we doing? God? You fill in the blank. 0:13:06.840 --> 0:13:09.520 I'm the one where we're going? Because he knew this 0:13:09.600 --> 0:13:11.440 was God, but he didn't know the details. I need 0:13:11.480 --> 0:13:14.880 you to write this down. Obedience is letting God set 0:13:14.880 --> 0:13:17.920 the direction even if he doesn't give you the details. 0:13:19.480 --> 0:13:23.320 Can I preach like I'm from Monk's Corner, South Carolina. 0:13:23.559 --> 0:13:27.560 Monk's Corner has like four stoplights. When I came to Charlotte, 0:13:27.600 --> 0:13:30.319 I was lost all the time. I got a tom 0:13:30.400 --> 0:13:33.600 Tom GPS for my dash. You don't know about the 0:13:33.679 --> 0:13:37.880 tom Tom. This was a prehistoric device, but now they 0:13:37.880 --> 0:13:41.000 have Google maps and maps and ways. But it always 0:13:41.120 --> 0:13:44.160 tells me turn by turn, and then it says, beneath 0:13:44.200 --> 0:13:47.320 that details, if you want to see all of the urns, well, 0:13:47.360 --> 0:13:50.400 I never click on the details because I can't handle 0:13:50.480 --> 0:13:54.040 the details. Look at somebody and say you can't handle 0:13:54.080 --> 0:13:59.280 the details. I promise you can't. So walking with God 0:13:59.280 --> 0:14:01.800 and listening to a Holy Spirit. I've just had to 0:14:01.880 --> 0:14:05.640 learn to let him take me turn by turn. And 0:14:05.720 --> 0:14:08.600 some of us will put a location in our GPS 0:14:08.960 --> 0:14:11.880 and trust it on our dash more than we will 0:14:11.920 --> 0:14:17.040 trust our Father in Heaven. Come on, y'all shot me 0:14:17.120 --> 0:14:20.720 down before we give in a minute. It's so important 0:14:20.760 --> 0:14:24.400 that we learn that obedience is walking in a direction 0:14:24.520 --> 0:14:27.160 that God has called you to walk, even when you 0:14:27.200 --> 0:14:31.600 don't understand the details. So there's this man right. What 0:14:31.720 --> 0:14:35.840 had happened was while Peter was praying in Joppa, there 0:14:35.880 --> 0:14:38.480 was this other man who was not a Jew, he 0:14:38.560 --> 0:14:40.640 was not a Christian. He was what is known as 0:14:40.680 --> 0:14:43.560 a God fearer. And he was also a commander of 0:14:43.560 --> 0:14:47.120 a hundred soldiers that's called a centurion. He was posted 0:14:47.240 --> 0:14:49.920 in Cesarea, which is a place that the Jews hated. 0:14:50.680 --> 0:14:54.520 Oh they hated Cesarea. It represented Roman oppression to them, 0:14:54.920 --> 0:15:00.520 and there was a lot of racism back then. And 0:15:00.560 --> 0:15:03.360 what God is doing in Acts chapter ten, and I 0:15:03.400 --> 0:15:07.960 believe what God is doing in this day is breaking barriers. 0:15:10.800 --> 0:15:16.560 Breaking barriers. God, if you need a church to stand 0:15:16.680 --> 0:15:20.000 up and show the world what it looks like when 0:15:20.040 --> 0:15:29.320 we come together from different backgrounds, different battles, look up 0:15:29.360 --> 0:15:32.360 and down your row. I promise you you will see 0:15:32.360 --> 0:15:35.880 somebody that does not look like you. And I'm glad 0:15:35.880 --> 0:15:39.600 about that because what God is doing in this day 0:15:40.280 --> 0:15:44.120 is killing our categories. So we can't be a black 0:15:44.240 --> 0:15:47.880 church or a white church, or a Hispanic church or 0:15:47.920 --> 0:15:51.800 a Latino church. Is it Baptist? Is it Methodist? Isn't Pentecostal? 0:15:52.040 --> 0:15:56.480 Is it non denominational? Yes to all, we are the one. 0:15:56.840 --> 0:15:59.680 We are the Church. We are the living expression of 0:15:59.720 --> 0:16:02.600 the Body of Christ. We are the Hope, we are 0:16:02.640 --> 0:16:05.840 the light, we are the salt, we are the preservative. 0:16:13.240 --> 0:16:18.000 So at Sasarea, there was a man named Cornelius, a 0:16:18.080 --> 0:16:21.160 centurion in what was known as the Italian Regiment. He 0:16:21.240 --> 0:16:24.480 and his family were devout and god fary. It means 0:16:24.520 --> 0:16:28.680 that they they were attracted to the Jewish ethic and 0:16:28.760 --> 0:16:31.520 even embraced some of the practices like giving alms and 0:16:31.520 --> 0:16:35.680 praying it at nine am or actually at sunrise and 0:16:35.720 --> 0:16:38.280 then at three pm and then at sunset. But they 0:16:38.320 --> 0:16:43.240 weren't Jews genetically, and so it gives us that background 0:16:43.320 --> 0:16:46.920 to let us know that they were devout, God fearing. 0:16:47.960 --> 0:16:52.120 He gave generously to those in need and prayed to 0:16:52.200 --> 0:17:02.280 God occasionally. He showed up for E Kids every week, 0:17:03.720 --> 0:17:05.760 and the color of the E Kids shirt didn't even 0:17:05.760 --> 0:17:09.040 look good with his skin complexion. He showed up to 0:17:09.080 --> 0:17:12.680 serve every week, even when the temperature hit under forty five. 0:17:13.080 --> 0:17:15.680 He showed up and served every week in a chat 0:17:15.760 --> 0:17:18.600 room online, had to wake up in a different time zone. 0:17:18.680 --> 0:17:21.320 He was devout, and he was regular, and he was routine. 0:17:22.000 --> 0:17:23.960 You could say he was like the Tithers who get 0:17:24.000 --> 0:17:30.320 at this church, who just do it now one day. Yeah, 0:17:30.359 --> 0:17:32.920 he was a regular, good, good good who said that 0:17:33.520 --> 0:17:35.479 he was a regular? Touch somebody say, I'm a regular. 0:17:36.720 --> 0:17:38.399 I come to church on the good weeks and the 0:17:38.400 --> 0:17:42.359 bad weeks. I bless him when I forgot the joy, 0:17:42.400 --> 0:17:44.760 and I bless him when I need some more. I'm 0:17:44.800 --> 0:17:52.959 a regular. Ask somebody, are you a regular? So when 0:17:53.040 --> 0:17:55.240 you show up regularly like that one day and you 0:17:55.280 --> 0:17:58.200 never know when this is going to be skinner? One day, 0:17:58.760 --> 0:18:01.080 at about three in the afternoon, he had a vision. 0:18:01.480 --> 0:18:03.760 He distinctly saw an angel of God who came to 0:18:03.840 --> 0:18:09.679 him and said Cornelius, and Cornelius stared at him in fear, 0:18:10.160 --> 0:18:17.159 and so would you. When God speaks, usually your first 0:18:18.200 --> 0:18:23.160 response is going to be fear not me. I walk 0:18:23.280 --> 0:18:27.600 by faith, perfect glove, cast out fear. Well, you never 0:18:27.640 --> 0:18:32.439 really heard God tell you to do anything. When He 0:18:32.480 --> 0:18:35.240 shows you something to do and it's really him, it'll 0:18:35.240 --> 0:18:38.040 be so big. You will be praying a prayer of 0:18:38.160 --> 0:18:46.360 acid reflux and indigestion. I always say that I love 0:18:46.440 --> 0:18:50.960 this giving series, and I do when it's over. But 0:18:51.040 --> 0:18:53.000 when I'm doing it, I'm sitting down and I'm going, 0:18:53.000 --> 0:18:55.080 all right, God, what should we give now? Elijah. We've 0:18:55.080 --> 0:18:57.040 been given in this offering since you were a baby, 0:18:58.160 --> 0:19:00.560 and in some years God has really stretched us to 0:19:00.880 --> 0:19:05.200 give in ways that were sacrificial. And then you come 0:19:05.240 --> 0:19:07.160 to another year and you're like, well, I did that already. 0:19:08.560 --> 0:19:11.199 It's time for somebody else to do it. You're the 0:19:11.200 --> 0:19:14.760 one this time. I was the one back in twenty eleven. 0:19:15.920 --> 0:19:17.680 But then you keep on wanting to say, Okay, God, 0:19:17.840 --> 0:19:19.679 I'm available. You can use me, you can use me, 0:19:19.920 --> 0:19:23.040 And you come to this point and you feel fear. 0:19:23.720 --> 0:19:28.240 But the Angel answered your prayers and gifts to the 0:19:28.320 --> 0:19:31.680 poor have come up as a memorial offering before God. 0:19:31.680 --> 0:19:35.040 This is sacrificial terminology like the Jewish cult system would 0:19:35.040 --> 0:19:38.719 have had it rises before the Lord, and the Angel 0:19:38.720 --> 0:19:40.320 answered your prayers and gifts to the poor has come 0:19:40.400 --> 0:19:46.639 up as a memorial offering before God. All right, now, 0:19:48.040 --> 0:19:49.800 you know how I said. God doesn't give the details, 0:19:49.800 --> 0:19:53.160 He just sets the direction. Listen how little Cornelius knew. 0:19:53.240 --> 0:19:54.400 And this will make you feel good. If you don't 0:19:54.400 --> 0:19:55.560 know how to raise your kids, you don't know how 0:19:55.560 --> 0:19:56.840 to be a good husband, You don't know what you're 0:19:56.840 --> 0:19:58.640 going to do next in your business, your career, your life, 0:19:58.640 --> 0:20:01.920 your college, anything like that. All he said was this, Now, 0:20:01.960 --> 0:20:04.680 send men to Joppa to bring back a man named 0:20:04.720 --> 0:20:08.479 Simon who is called Peter. He is staying with Simon, 0:20:08.520 --> 0:20:12.199 the Tanner, whose house is by the sea. This is 0:20:12.240 --> 0:20:15.520 so confusing. Don't even get me started. It's a man 0:20:15.560 --> 0:20:18.879 called imagine this conversation. Go get a man named Simon, 0:20:18.920 --> 0:20:20.960 but they call him Peter. He's staying with Simon. Simon's 0:20:20.960 --> 0:20:22.840 a Tanner. I know that Jews normally don't stay with 0:20:22.840 --> 0:20:24.639 tanner's because they touch dead things and it is considered 0:20:24.640 --> 0:20:26.840 ceremonially unclean and tanners and kept on the outskirts of town. 0:20:26.880 --> 0:20:28.040 So he's going to be out of the way. But 0:20:28.080 --> 0:20:29.320 go get him in the out of the way. Place 0:20:29.440 --> 0:20:31.360 because he's staying at the house of Simon the Tanner. Okay, see, 0:20:31.359 --> 0:20:32.480 you want me to go get Simon the Tanner. Don't 0:20:32.520 --> 0:20:33.760 want you to go get Simon Peter. You're gonna get 0:20:33.760 --> 0:20:35.199 Simon near you get Peter. It's the same guy, but 0:20:35.280 --> 0:20:37.399 he had this thing or Jesus told him. You are Simon, 0:20:37.400 --> 0:20:39.160 but I call you Peter because you're the rock im Bill. 0:20:39.280 --> 0:20:40.919 They're on Church On. You're gonna be the one. I'm 0:20:40.960 --> 0:20:43.280 gonna use you even though you've had some shakiness. I'm 0:20:43.280 --> 0:20:45.439 gonna use you, even though you've had some trumple. I'm 0:20:45.440 --> 0:20:47.520 gonna use you, even though you got it wrong. Sometimes 0:20:47.720 --> 0:20:51.560 somebody shout I'm the one. I'm the one, So he 0:20:51.560 --> 0:20:53.080 tells him who to go get, but he doesn't tell 0:20:53.160 --> 0:20:56.639 him why. The only way you find out why is 0:20:56.680 --> 0:21:01.400 to respond. God doesn't show you the until you respond, 0:21:02.560 --> 0:21:06.600 and then you understand in reverse why God did what 0:21:06.640 --> 0:21:09.560 he did. And then you get to help somebody out 0:21:09.600 --> 0:21:12.680 of your own pain and you realize maybe that was why. 0:21:13.560 --> 0:21:15.600 Or you're stronger and you find out that you have 0:21:15.760 --> 0:21:19.000 character you didn't even know until the storm shook away 0:21:19.080 --> 0:21:21.879 all that shaky stuff, and now you know why I 0:21:21.920 --> 0:21:24.040 had to go through it so I could see that 0:21:24.119 --> 0:21:27.000 my foundation was on the rock. But you do not 0:21:27.320 --> 0:21:30.280 know why God does not give reasons to people who 0:21:30.320 --> 0:21:38.200 do not respond. So when the angel who had spoke 0:21:38.240 --> 0:21:41.840 to him had gone verse seven, Notice it is not 0:21:41.880 --> 0:21:44.679 what God says to you that sets the direction for 0:21:44.720 --> 0:21:47.680 your life. It is what you do with what God 0:21:47.720 --> 0:21:50.960 says to you. After the angel who spoke to him 0:21:51.040 --> 0:21:54.199 had gone, Cornelius called two of his servants and an 0:21:54.240 --> 0:21:57.000 avout soldier who was one of his attendants, and he 0:21:57.080 --> 0:22:00.000 told them everything that had happened. I saw an angel, 0:22:00.040 --> 0:22:02.040 I promise, y'all, I know why I didn't smoke nothing. 0:22:02.160 --> 0:22:04.600 I saw an angel. I'm a good god fear and 0:22:04.640 --> 0:22:09.400 I saw an angel, and he said to go to Joppa. Now, 0:22:09.440 --> 0:22:13.159 at the time that the men got there to Joppa, 0:22:14.040 --> 0:22:20.040 Peter was praying when opportunity meets obedience. Remember, up until 0:22:20.040 --> 0:22:24.000 this point, the Gospel has only been for the people 0:22:24.240 --> 0:22:27.840 who are within the Jewish community, But that was never 0:22:27.880 --> 0:22:31.840 God's full intention. When God called Abraham, he said, go 0:22:31.880 --> 0:22:34.239 to the land. I will show you. I'm gonna give 0:22:34.280 --> 0:22:37.719 you the direction, not the details, and I'm gonna bless you. 0:22:38.400 --> 0:22:40.399 But the reason I'm gonna bless you is so you 0:22:40.400 --> 0:22:43.960 can be a blessing. That's why God gave you your gifts, 0:22:44.119 --> 0:22:47.280 your intellect, your capacity, so you could be a blessing. 0:22:47.560 --> 0:22:50.879 That's the real reason. That's the why. But it takes 0:22:50.920 --> 0:22:54.240 time to realize why. At first you think it's for you, 0:22:55.040 --> 0:22:57.320 and then you realize that God really just made you 0:22:57.400 --> 0:22:59.959 a vessel for what he wants to bring into the world. 0:23:01.560 --> 0:23:05.640 But Peter, look at this how God aligns things. As 0:23:05.680 --> 0:23:09.560 the men are coming to Joppa verse nine, about noon 0:23:09.600 --> 0:23:12.320 the following day, that's not even a schedule time of prayer. 0:23:13.400 --> 0:23:17.200 His sun rise three pm and then sunset. Peter's getting 0:23:17.200 --> 0:23:20.399 in a little extra prayer. He wants to get in 0:23:20.400 --> 0:23:23.200 a little extra prayer. And he's preying on the roof 0:23:23.240 --> 0:23:24.960 so he can catch the breeze. It's a good place 0:23:25.000 --> 0:23:27.239 to pray, so he can get altitude. He goes up 0:23:27.280 --> 0:23:30.800 to Simon the Tanner's roof in Joppa, and they were 0:23:30.800 --> 0:23:32.640 on their journey, and he went up on the roof 0:23:32.680 --> 0:23:37.240 to pray, and he became hungry and wanted something to eat. 0:23:37.800 --> 0:23:40.240 And while the meal was being prepared, he fell into 0:23:40.280 --> 0:23:45.879 a trance, and he saw heaven open and something like 0:23:45.920 --> 0:23:49.600 a large sheet being let down to earth by its 0:23:49.640 --> 0:23:54.080 four corners. It contained all kinds of four footed animals, 0:23:54.760 --> 0:23:57.320 as well as reptiles of the earth and birds of 0:23:57.359 --> 0:24:00.960 the air. Then a voice told him when he was 0:24:01.000 --> 0:24:04.959 in the position to pray was when he was set apart, 0:24:05.000 --> 0:24:08.800 when he was above just you know, the everyday affairs 0:24:08.840 --> 0:24:11.280 of life and just seeking God, like like we came 0:24:11.320 --> 0:24:13.800 to see God today. And he was up there and 0:24:13.840 --> 0:24:16.320 he saw something and it looked crazy to him, didn't 0:24:16.320 --> 0:24:22.360 make sense to him because it had reptiles, birds, pigs. 0:24:23.880 --> 0:24:28.800 Peter's a good jew and he's not eating pork chops 0:24:28.800 --> 0:24:32.800 for lunch because he's not supposed to. But he hears 0:24:32.840 --> 0:24:35.920 the voice from heaven say something in verse thirteen. Get up, Peter, 0:24:36.320 --> 0:24:38.880 kill and eat. And then Peter's still kind of stubborn. 0:24:38.920 --> 0:24:42.520 You know, surely not, Lord, Peter replied, how are you 0:24:42.520 --> 0:24:49.360 going to tell him no and call him lord? I'm 0:24:49.600 --> 0:24:51.919 no Lord. No to your will and to your ways. 0:24:52.760 --> 0:24:57.399 That's the remix. That's the Peter remix. No, Lord, I 0:24:57.480 --> 0:24:59.399 know better what I'm supposed to do than you do. 0:25:00.119 --> 0:25:03.679 Never eaten anything impure or unclean. The voice spoke to him, 0:25:03.720 --> 0:25:06.320 a second time. How many are grateful? God will give 0:25:06.359 --> 0:25:11.200 you a second chance? Yeah, third chance? Any fourth chance? People, 0:25:11.880 --> 0:25:14.720 fifth chance, sixth chance. Do I have a seventh chance? 0:25:15.280 --> 0:25:17.680 Go ahead and praise him if he gave you an 0:25:17.680 --> 0:25:21.800 everlasting chance. And every time you need to me speaks, 0:25:22.200 --> 0:25:30.800 and every time you needed me, he comes. He said, 0:25:30.800 --> 0:25:33.440 do not call anything impure that God has made clean. 0:25:34.280 --> 0:25:37.439 Stop thinking you know better than God. Stop trying to 0:25:37.480 --> 0:25:42.760 live your life by reason, and receive the revelation because 0:25:42.800 --> 0:25:48.399 God's trying to show him. I'm a barrier breaker. I 0:25:48.440 --> 0:25:51.400 want to break the barriers of what you thought was possible. 0:25:51.440 --> 0:25:55.320 This is a barrier breaking weekend, so that everything that 0:25:55.359 --> 0:25:57.920 God is can get into your house and your life 0:25:58.400 --> 0:26:04.600 and our community. The literal translation here is stop considering 0:26:04.720 --> 0:26:11.000 it common. Peter thought certain animals were clean, certain were unclean, 0:26:11.040 --> 0:26:14.240 certain people were common. The Jewish people were uncommon. God said, 0:26:14.240 --> 0:26:17.359 I want to bless the whole earth through you. I 0:26:17.400 --> 0:26:21.080 want to do something bigger then your little mind can comprehend. 0:26:22.600 --> 0:26:26.600 This happened three times verse sixteen, and immediately the sheep 0:26:26.680 --> 0:26:30.200 was taken back to heaven. While Peter was wondering about 0:26:30.200 --> 0:26:33.480 the meaning of the vision, the men sent by Cornelius 0:26:33.480 --> 0:26:37.680 found out where Simon's house was and stopped at the gate. 0:26:38.720 --> 0:26:41.040 They called out, asking if Simon, who was known as Peter, 0:26:41.200 --> 0:26:44.720 was staying there. Simon there, Yeah, this is his house. No, 0:26:44.760 --> 0:26:46.600 not that one, the one they called Peter. Oh, yeah, 0:26:46.640 --> 0:26:50.320 he's on the roof. They don't know. He's on the 0:26:50.400 --> 0:26:54.720 verge of hallucination. He is somewhere between losing his mind 0:26:55.080 --> 0:26:58.240 and hearing from God, and he doesn't know which one yet. 0:27:00.080 --> 0:27:03.639 While Peter verse nineteen, was still thinking about the vision, 0:27:03.680 --> 0:27:07.000 the spirit said to him, Simon, three men are looking 0:27:07.080 --> 0:27:13.480 for you, so get up, go downstairs. Do not hesitate 0:27:13.520 --> 0:27:17.880 to go with them, for I have sent them. Verse 0:27:17.880 --> 0:27:19.840 twenty one This one that came out my Bible, so 0:27:19.840 --> 0:27:22.199 I can preach it to you. Peter went down and 0:27:22.240 --> 0:27:24.920 said to the man, I'm the one you're looking for. 0:27:26.119 --> 0:27:31.320 Why have you come? Well, he's about to find out why, 0:27:31.440 --> 0:27:34.560 because he's going to go back with these men to 0:27:34.720 --> 0:27:42.200 Cornelius's house. Cornelius has a watch party gathered in cesarea, 0:27:43.800 --> 0:27:47.159 and when Peter gets there, Cornelius has enough faith to 0:27:47.200 --> 0:27:50.399 be like, say whatever you want. Peter did not know 0:27:50.480 --> 0:27:53.359 that until he went and here's what I want you 0:27:53.440 --> 0:27:57.040 to know the gospel went to the gentiles. How many 0:27:57.040 --> 0:28:01.280 gentiles we got in the house. The gospel came to 0:28:01.359 --> 0:28:12.320 you because Peter obeyed the voice from God. But you 0:28:12.320 --> 0:28:17.880 don't know why. Until you respond, you don't know why. 0:28:18.440 --> 0:28:20.879 And knowing that God has chosen you is difficult because 0:28:20.920 --> 0:28:24.200 you have to know that you're chosen even when you're uncertain. 0:28:25.359 --> 0:28:27.800 You have to know that you're chosen, even when you 0:28:27.920 --> 0:28:32.640 feel incompetent. You got to know that you're chosen even 0:28:32.640 --> 0:28:35.679 when you don't like how God has u said you. 0:28:35.760 --> 0:28:38.880 Never Lord, I will never eat unclean animals. It's not 0:28:39.000 --> 0:28:45.360 about the animal's dummy. It's about the gospel. It's not 0:28:45.480 --> 0:28:49.320 about the bacon. It's about the barriers that God wants 0:28:49.360 --> 0:28:51.479 to break. Can I tell you something about the offering. 0:28:51.720 --> 0:28:57.920 It's not about the money. It's about your heart. It's 0:28:57.960 --> 0:29:04.240 about what God wants to do through you. That's why 0:29:06.560 --> 0:29:09.200 y'all come on up here. We got to do this quick. 0:29:09.240 --> 0:29:13.000 But clap your hands. These are these are five? Uh, 0:29:13.120 --> 0:29:17.480 there's five. I think I like how much I'll trust me. 0:29:17.560 --> 0:29:19.760 I'll just clap for people before you even know they 0:29:19.800 --> 0:29:23.840 are There's there's five. I set this up earlier this week, 0:29:23.920 --> 0:29:27.840 I said, I want before we give our offering, I 0:29:27.880 --> 0:29:34.800 want five whys, uh five people or families to say, 0:29:34.920 --> 0:29:38.720 here's my why. When you find the why, the what 0:29:38.960 --> 0:29:42.479 is no problem. When you find the why, you can 0:29:42.520 --> 0:29:44.480 trust God with the how and the where and the when. 0:29:44.720 --> 0:29:48.040 When you find the why. And I held up that 0:29:48.080 --> 0:29:51.720 little picture frame a couple of weeks ago and I 0:29:51.760 --> 0:29:55.080 shared with you a little bit about my why. But 0:29:55.120 --> 0:29:58.560 there are thousands of people, including these behind me, that 0:29:58.600 --> 0:30:01.240 represent so many of you in the room, who give 0:30:01.360 --> 0:30:07.000 like this regularly, weekly, monthly, yearly, in this offering, and 0:30:07.160 --> 0:30:08.880 I just want them to take a moment and share 0:30:09.720 --> 0:30:12.440 one minute each. It's going to be a showtime at 0:30:12.480 --> 0:30:14.160 the Apollo hook bring you off the stage if you 0:30:14.160 --> 0:30:19.160 go over a minute, hector. But this is just in 0:30:19.240 --> 0:30:22.280 one minute why I give. And I think your faith 0:30:22.320 --> 0:30:24.440 will be built as you find your why and think 0:30:24.480 --> 0:30:27.680 about your act of worship today. I know you can't 0:30:27.680 --> 0:30:29.920 tell all of it, but just give one minute of 0:30:29.960 --> 0:30:34.040 your why. In twenty thirteen, we were living in California 0:30:34.080 --> 0:30:37.440 and came across Elevation online and we were instantly drawn 0:30:37.480 --> 0:30:39.360 to the ministry and the impact it was having on 0:30:39.440 --> 0:30:42.560 people all over. A couple of years later, we came 0:30:42.600 --> 0:30:45.520 to a crossroads in our marriage and we were both 0:30:45.800 --> 0:30:53.600 sure our marriage was over, but we both agreed if 0:30:53.640 --> 0:30:56.480 our marriage had a chance to survive, we knew we 0:30:56.520 --> 0:30:59.960 needed to get to Charlotte. We both grew up as pKas, 0:31:01.080 --> 0:31:03.320 but that didn't make us immune to the struggles we 0:31:03.440 --> 0:31:08.200 faced in our marriage. Once we arrived in Charlotte with 0:31:08.240 --> 0:31:12.160 our four kids, we immediately felt God prompting us to 0:31:12.200 --> 0:31:17.760 not just tithe like we've done in the past, but 0:31:17.840 --> 0:31:23.040 to give above and beyond to God in this new season. 0:31:23.240 --> 0:31:26.360 If we wanted to experience something new in our lives 0:31:26.400 --> 0:31:30.160 and in our marriage, God stretched us financially and personally. 0:31:30.240 --> 0:31:33.960 It wasn't easy. There were times our finances were down 0:31:34.000 --> 0:31:37.000 and we questioned if we would move past the difficult days, 0:31:37.040 --> 0:31:40.240 but God challenged us to keep the sacrifice high. We 0:31:40.360 --> 0:31:42.840 learned that the more obedient we were, the more we 0:31:42.880 --> 0:31:53.240 saw God blessing us. God has blessed my career finances, 0:31:53.880 --> 0:31:56.720 but above that, we have seen God's blessings by renewing 0:31:56.760 --> 0:32:07.400 our marriage, seeing seeing our kids experience God in the 0:32:07.480 --> 0:32:12.120 new and more personal way, and watching lives transformed right 0:32:12.160 --> 0:32:15.240 in front of us every week. This past April, we 0:32:15.280 --> 0:32:25.680 celebrated twenty years of marriage. Oh you're done. I wanted 0:32:25.720 --> 0:32:30.760 you to keep going, he said. We moved to Charlotte 0:32:30.960 --> 0:32:33.240 to be a part You know, that's just amazing. People 0:32:33.240 --> 0:32:37.200 will move to a city for a job, moved to 0:32:37.240 --> 0:32:40.920 a city for a climate, but to really prioritize God 0:32:40.960 --> 0:32:43.440 in that way, and now not just people moving anyway. 0:32:43.480 --> 0:32:45.440 I gotta shut up, All right, Let's move on to 0:32:45.840 --> 0:32:51.280 Jason and Susan elevision. Church felt so big back in 0:32:51.280 --> 0:32:53.360 two thousand and eight when we visited Providence for the 0:32:53.400 --> 0:32:56.200 first time, but we loved it. We soon found ourselves 0:32:56.240 --> 0:32:59.720 there every weekend. Initially thought it was so big that 0:33:00.240 --> 0:33:03.360 our little contributions would make a difference. Then one Sunday 0:33:03.360 --> 0:33:05.480 and December, a group of people came out on stage 0:33:05.520 --> 0:33:08.640 holding cards. One side had a word representing a struggle 0:33:08.680 --> 0:33:11.560 or pain they had gone through, the other word representing 0:33:11.600 --> 0:33:15.440 how God had overcome that battle. When I remember, in particular, 0:33:15.560 --> 0:33:18.040 is a woman that had written infertility and then the 0:33:18.120 --> 0:33:21.080 name of her child. That one moment impacted me so 0:33:21.240 --> 0:33:24.360 much because I had miscarried the previous December and was 0:33:24.400 --> 0:33:28.560 struggling with infertility. That year. As a result of that moment, 0:33:28.600 --> 0:33:31.280 we then realized how God is changing people's lives at 0:33:31.320 --> 0:33:33.800 our church, and we wanted to give. We believe God 0:33:33.920 --> 0:33:38.080 was just getting started and have been tithing ever since. However, 0:33:38.240 --> 0:33:41.000 the same time, we still had a private pain of 0:33:41.040 --> 0:33:45.800 infertility after our miscarriage and many failed infertility treatments. We 0:33:45.840 --> 0:33:48.360 still had faith in God, but when I turned forty three, 0:33:48.520 --> 0:33:53.120 we then started to lose hope. After trying for six years, 0:33:53.120 --> 0:33:55.360 we had finally stopped believing we'd ever have a child 0:33:55.400 --> 0:33:57.560 of our own and had started trying to accept this. 0:33:58.320 --> 0:34:00.280 It was then at reflect that same time here in 0:34:00.320 --> 0:34:03.280 twenty eighteen, that God broke me down to start believing 0:34:03.320 --> 0:34:07.160 for our family again. Then, in December, a game changer. 0:34:07.200 --> 0:34:10.239 We both felt we should write the word miracle. On 0:34:10.360 --> 0:34:12.920 January first, for no real reason, I took a pregnancy 0:34:12.960 --> 0:34:25.080 test and was shocked it was positive. So Savannah Faith 0:34:25.440 --> 0:34:29.320 was born September fourth, twenty nineteen. We are forever grateful 0:34:29.320 --> 0:34:36.239 to God for our game changer miracle, which we call 0:34:36.280 --> 0:34:39.480 her game changer miracle. We give to God an elevation 0:34:39.560 --> 0:34:42.280 because we know God is changing lives at our church 0:34:42.320 --> 0:34:50.839 and does perform miracles unbelievable. You got to give flow 0:34:50.840 --> 0:35:11.520 of the mic. Now, y'all know flow I give because 0:35:11.560 --> 0:35:14.600 two years ago I lost my husband due to a 0:35:14.640 --> 0:35:19.040 heart attack, and my church was there for me. The 0:35:19.080 --> 0:35:22.640 news that my husband was gone was paralyzing, and all 0:35:22.640 --> 0:35:25.680 I could remember is just sitting in the hospital parking 0:35:25.719 --> 0:35:28.360 lot and I didn't know how to drive back home 0:35:28.960 --> 0:35:31.000 to a place where I would never see him again. 0:35:32.480 --> 0:35:35.279 It was in that moment that guy used our very 0:35:35.280 --> 0:35:39.279 own pastor Stephen his sermon about GPS to give me 0:35:39.480 --> 0:35:43.200 enough strength to put the car in drive. He said, 0:35:43.200 --> 0:35:47.640 wherever you go, God has gone before you. And every 0:35:47.680 --> 0:35:51.600 day since I've experienced that truth, and He has done 0:35:51.640 --> 0:35:58.200 so much of it through my UC family. You see, 0:36:00.040 --> 0:36:03.520 the support I received was overwhelming. They not only showed 0:36:03.600 --> 0:36:08.880 up emotionally and spiritually, but financially as well. Probably the 0:36:08.960 --> 0:36:12.359 area where God has shown up the most has been 0:36:12.400 --> 0:36:21.760 in my son, Little Omar. The summer after my husband's passing, 0:36:22.160 --> 0:36:25.440 I sent Little to Youth X, thinking that being with 0:36:25.480 --> 0:36:28.040 his friends would help him to process the loss of 0:36:28.080 --> 0:36:31.080 his father. But God did so much more than that, 0:36:32.080 --> 0:36:34.600 because he came home with an orange Bible after giving 0:36:34.600 --> 0:36:45.279 his life to Christ and even more than that. He 0:36:45.360 --> 0:36:52.279 made a decision to get baptized in September. So I 0:36:52.400 --> 0:36:55.920 give to my church so that we can continue to 0:36:55.920 --> 0:36:58.279 give hopes to families who are going through the same 0:36:58.360 --> 0:37:06.759 unbearable pain. Amazing, she said the Orange Bible. I don't 0:37:06.760 --> 0:37:09.080 know if you know this. We just crossed over for 0:37:09.160 --> 0:37:11.040 people who have raised their hands to give their life 0:37:11.040 --> 0:37:14.640 to Christ, just in our physical locations. Over one hundred 0:37:14.680 --> 0:37:16.680 thousand of those Bibles that we've given out in the 0:37:16.680 --> 0:37:27.960 lifetime of the ministry. Amazing. You better keep living for 0:37:28.040 --> 0:37:31.680 Jesus Omar. I'm gonna come chop you down and taller 0:37:31.719 --> 0:37:35.959 than me, but I can binge press you, man of God. 0:37:38.440 --> 0:37:42.239 They got one person on Skype from the United Kingdom. 0:37:43.719 --> 0:37:47.120 I have no idea how to pronounce her name. I'm 0:37:47.160 --> 0:37:49.319 gonna let her do that. But I thought you needed 0:37:49.320 --> 0:37:52.439 to see. It's just beyond the walls of what God 0:37:52.520 --> 0:37:55.000 is doing. But go ahead and introduce yourself in Share 0:37:55.239 --> 0:37:58.600 and Share. Why no, not the United Kings. Everybody my 0:37:58.680 --> 0:38:03.080 name is in a bouquet the United Kingdom. But from Ghana. 0:38:03.239 --> 0:38:12.680 Oh that's so confusing. I must tell you ya. Stretch 0:38:12.680 --> 0:38:18.080 your hand towards the sky. My name is I think 0:38:18.080 --> 0:38:24.000 I'm on, Now You're on? Okay, my name is Dubuquet. 0:38:24.800 --> 0:38:26.879 I've struggled in my life to feel like I had 0:38:26.880 --> 0:38:30.160 a real connection to God. It was a constant searching 0:38:30.239 --> 0:38:32.799 for someone who in theory I knew was real, but 0:38:32.880 --> 0:38:35.120 couldn't feel in a lot of the spaces I was in. 0:38:35.719 --> 0:38:38.319 More So, I longed for a community to share it with. 0:38:38.960 --> 0:38:41.319 So when a friend shared a sermon link with me 0:38:41.400 --> 0:38:43.200 in college, I didn't know it would be one of 0:38:43.239 --> 0:38:46.200 the most important cliques of my life. The sermons were 0:38:46.200 --> 0:38:49.040 amazing and the worship had me in tears, but it 0:38:49.120 --> 0:38:52.160 was the online community that kept me coming back each week. 0:38:52.719 --> 0:38:54.680 To think I could be a part of elevation from 0:38:54.719 --> 0:38:58.120 the UK was crazy, but it was actually happening. I 0:38:58.160 --> 0:39:01.080 started tithing and decided to lead an e group, and 0:39:01.120 --> 0:39:03.880 that's when it really flipped. God showed me that the 0:39:03.920 --> 0:39:07.480 thing I longed for, community, I'd actually create for myself 0:39:07.520 --> 0:39:10.360 by being that for someone else. I give because this 0:39:10.520 --> 0:39:12.680 is my family and I want people around the world 0:39:12.760 --> 0:39:16.959 to find their home just like I did. No book 0:39:18.840 --> 0:39:26.640 Now Bookayo Bouquet scale one to ten? How did I 0:39:26.680 --> 0:39:39.800 do a terrible one? Let's get it right. New book, 0:39:40.560 --> 0:39:50.280 new bouquet, yes, k new book, new boo kay, now, okay, 0:39:50.760 --> 0:39:55.440 come on, let's give her how far he fail? We 0:39:55.640 --> 0:39:58.520 love you. I'll see you in a couple of hours 0:39:58.560 --> 0:40:02.800 when we do this again. All right, Jim and Olivia 0:40:02.840 --> 0:40:06.080 have been with me forever. What do you give? Having 0:40:06.200 --> 0:40:10.160 moved over twenty times with Jim's career since being married, 0:40:10.239 --> 0:40:13.000 we knew all along it was God's hand guiding our 0:40:13.080 --> 0:40:16.800 steps in each place He let us. We placed ourselves 0:40:16.920 --> 0:40:19.360 in the local church where we could be fed and 0:40:19.480 --> 0:40:23.359 also serve. Although I always felt inclined in my heart 0:40:23.480 --> 0:40:27.480 towards living generously, I didn't grow up with a biblical 0:40:27.640 --> 0:40:32.040 understanding of the tithe But everything we have belongs to 0:40:32.160 --> 0:40:35.719 God already, and that we are called to get back 0:40:35.800 --> 0:40:39.560 to Him through the church. Early on in our marriage 0:40:39.640 --> 0:40:42.480 we made the decision that we would give in whatever 0:40:42.640 --> 0:40:45.920 way God enabled us, to the church that we were 0:40:46.000 --> 0:40:49.040 a part of. We've been so blessed to be a 0:40:49.120 --> 0:40:52.600 part of many churches around the world, each of which 0:40:52.719 --> 0:40:57.000 God has used in our lives. When we retired, and 0:40:57.120 --> 0:40:59.200 I like to say, Jim says that words not in 0:40:59.280 --> 0:41:04.520 the Bible, we moved to Charlotte. We had no idea 0:41:04.680 --> 0:41:10.680 that we would end up in a church like Elevation. Elevation, though, 0:41:10.800 --> 0:41:15.200 has been our church home since twenty ten, and it's 0:41:15.239 --> 0:41:19.080 been a privilege for us to continue to give towards 0:41:19.160 --> 0:41:22.799 the work that God is doing here. We never grow 0:41:22.960 --> 0:41:26.400 tired of seeing people fall in love with Jesus and 0:41:26.600 --> 0:41:29.000 being a part of helping them grow in their faith. 0:41:40.200 --> 0:41:42.600 So I don if you remember telling me this, Livy 0:41:42.680 --> 0:41:44.840 one time she told me, if you ever see me 0:41:44.920 --> 0:41:47.000 in my in your sermon and I look like I'm 0:41:47.040 --> 0:41:52.160 not paying attention, I'm praying for you, she says. Sometimes 0:41:52.200 --> 0:41:53.840 I just pray for you. Do you remember telling me that? 0:41:55.160 --> 0:41:57.680 She is like, just want to make sure you don't 0:41:57.680 --> 0:42:01.440 think I'm bored sleeping. I'm praying for you, that God 0:42:01.480 --> 0:42:05.600 would use you as a vessel. And yet, the crazy 0:42:05.680 --> 0:42:10.440 thing about it is it's not lectures or music that 0:42:10.560 --> 0:42:16.400 God uses to touch lives. It is the faithfulness of 0:42:16.640 --> 0:42:21.160 thousands of people who now believe that I'm the one. 0:42:22.560 --> 0:42:24.719 I'm the one God. If you want to use me, 0:42:24.840 --> 0:42:29.880 you can use me. I'm the one, and each of 0:42:29.960 --> 0:42:34.560 you shared beautifully why you give from your perspective, But 0:42:34.600 --> 0:42:36.439 I want to give you one more perspective, real quick 0:42:37.800 --> 0:42:41.360 of why you give something that you can't fit in 0:42:41.400 --> 0:42:46.520 a picture frame. If you either came to faith in 0:42:46.600 --> 0:42:51.000 Christ through this ministry or reconnected your faith in Christ 0:42:51.560 --> 0:42:54.200 through this ministry, at every location, I want you to 0:42:54.239 --> 0:43:04.839 stand for a moment. So I want you to see 0:43:04.880 --> 0:43:15.200 why you see that Omar, Stay standing, Stay standing. If 0:43:15.280 --> 0:43:19.000 somebody in your family or somebody that you love came 0:43:19.080 --> 0:43:21.520 to Christ or came back to Christ through this ministry, 0:43:21.680 --> 0:43:35.520 joined them on your feet. That's why if you were 0:43:35.520 --> 0:43:39.160 ever going through a season of depression that was dark 0:43:39.200 --> 0:43:42.440 in your life and God used the ministry of this 0:43:42.640 --> 0:43:46.520 church to get you through that season like oxygen for 0:43:46.680 --> 0:43:51.680 your soul, stand up on your feet. And that's why 0:43:55.040 --> 0:43:58.359 it's not for some building. We build buildings. But that's 0:43:58.480 --> 0:44:07.839 why that's why I think that's everybody in the whole 0:44:07.920 --> 0:44:12.800 church standing. But if if you want to be the 0:44:12.840 --> 0:44:15.160 one that God is looking for, somebody shot I'm the one. 0:44:17.840 --> 0:44:20.160 Shout back at these people who gave to this ministry, 0:44:20.200 --> 0:44:22.000 Say I'm the one you were given for. Say I'm 0:44:22.040 --> 0:44:27.800 the one. I'm the one. And now, in a beautiful 0:44:27.840 --> 0:44:30.200 turn of events, God allows you to be the one 0:44:31.120 --> 0:44:36.600 who gets to give to invest into His kingdom. I'm 0:44:36.640 --> 0:44:43.120 the one. Now. As a church family, we get to 0:44:43.160 --> 0:44:45.200 be a part of what God is doing right here 0:44:45.280 --> 0:44:47.680 through our expansion offering. The very first thing we would 0:44:47.719 --> 0:44:49.759 love for you to do is share the word that 0:44:49.840 --> 0:44:52.200 God's put on your heart with us. We would love 0:44:52.280 --> 0:44:54.200 to be able to come alongside you and pray and 0:44:54.320 --> 0:44:56.759 believe with you for what God's laid on your heart. 0:44:57.160 --> 0:45:00.960 Head to myword dot Elevation Church dot com. Write your 0:45:01.000 --> 0:45:03.640 word on that side there and download a background that 0:45:03.719 --> 0:45:05.759 you can put on your phone or your computer to 0:45:05.840 --> 0:45:08.080 serve as a reminder to you to keep in front 0:45:08.080 --> 0:45:10.480 of you every single day what it is that you're believing, 0:45:10.760 --> 0:45:13.600 maybe personally for or as a family for the next 0:45:13.640 --> 0:45:15.360 thing is as we'd love for you to give and 0:45:15.440 --> 0:45:19.200 participate in the offering itself. Head to Elevationchurch dot org 0:45:19.520 --> 0:45:21.560 and then on that page you can give at the 0:45:21.600 --> 0:45:23.880 top of the page and find the options available to 0:45:24.000 --> 0:45:26.440 be a part of this offering. Make sure you select 0:45:26.480 --> 0:45:29.080 your campus. If you do attend a physical location, select 0:45:29.120 --> 0:45:31.640 that campus, and for all of our efam our extended 0:45:31.719 --> 0:45:35.160 family online, select online as your campus. You can write 0:45:35.200 --> 0:45:37.759 in the amount that you'd like to give to participate 0:45:37.840 --> 0:45:39.920 in this year and offering, and make sure you designate 0:45:40.000 --> 0:45:43.480 available year end expansion offering as the type of offering 0:45:43.520 --> 0:45:46.919 whether you're bringing your very first hive or you're giving 0:45:46.960 --> 0:45:49.399 an offering above and beyond. We can't wait to see 0:45:49.440 --> 0:45:52.160 what God does through you as we join together with 0:45:52.360 --> 0:45:55.520 locations and family all around the world to continue pushing 0:45:55.600 --> 0:45:57.719 forward the message of Jesus. Thank you for being a 0:45:57.760 --> 0:46:01.040 part of Elevation Church, and we believe the best is ahead.