I Wasn’t Left, I Lingered (Stephen Chandler)

0:00:00.640 --> 0:00:07.000 I'm excited. God has something super natural in store for you, Elevation. 0:00:07.440 --> 0:00:13.400 Are y'all doing well today? Man? It is the honor 0:00:13.400 --> 0:00:16.079 of a lifetime to be with you guys today. I'm 0:00:16.079 --> 0:00:18.360 gonna have you stand for just a few more minutes 0:00:18.400 --> 0:00:20.759 because we're about to go crazy and honor your pastor's 0:00:20.800 --> 0:00:23.959 pastor Steven and pastor Hollyford. It come on, can you 0:00:24.000 --> 0:00:29.640 put your hands together? We're grateful, grateful, grateful, grateful for them. 0:00:29.880 --> 0:00:34.440 A few weeks back, Elevation Nights was in Washington, DC, 0:00:34.840 --> 0:00:37.159 which is kind of like my home region. So like 0:00:37.240 --> 0:00:40.400 a whole church all a Union church showed up, and 0:00:40.479 --> 0:00:44.639 I mean it was unbelievable. And I was in that 0:00:45.040 --> 0:00:47.080 atmosphere and I ain't gonna lie. I was bawling my 0:00:47.120 --> 0:00:50.240 eyes out. I was a complete mess. And I began 0:00:50.280 --> 0:00:53.880 to think in the Old Testament, every time God would 0:00:53.960 --> 0:00:57.920 do something amazing for people, they would grab stones and 0:00:57.960 --> 0:01:01.360 they would build an altar and they would worship in 0:01:01.480 --> 0:01:05.120 that moment. And what that altar was for is as 0:01:05.280 --> 0:01:09.319 years went by, when they walked past those stones, their 0:01:09.400 --> 0:01:12.919 kids would act, Dad, mom, what are those stones about? 0:01:13.400 --> 0:01:15.320 And Dad would say, let me tell you about the 0:01:15.440 --> 0:01:18.520 time when our God parted the ocean in front of us. 0:01:18.760 --> 0:01:22.200 Let me about how that time when giants fell, because 0:01:22.240 --> 0:01:26.720 our God is also Here's the thought that crossed my mind. 0:01:26.800 --> 0:01:30.959 Here here in the New Testament Church, we don't stack stones, 0:01:32.040 --> 0:01:38.280 but songs are almost like modern day altars. I promise 0:01:38.360 --> 0:01:41.679 you you have a worship song that's connected to a 0:01:41.800 --> 0:01:45.479 victory or a loss that you've experienced in your life. 0:01:45.480 --> 0:01:48.320 And when you hear that song, it brings you back 0:01:48.360 --> 0:01:51.400 to the place where God delivers you, where he covered you, 0:01:51.440 --> 0:01:54.360 where He kept you. And I was just thinking, I 0:01:54.400 --> 0:01:58.280 am so grateful for this house. I'm so grateful for 0:01:58.440 --> 0:02:02.080 Pastor Stephen and Pastor and the songs that have come 0:02:02.160 --> 0:02:05.560 out of this house has carried me and hundreds and 0:02:05.720 --> 0:02:10.720 thousands of people closer to God through trials, through hardship, 0:02:10.800 --> 0:02:14.720 through setbacks. And it's because you have pastors that hear 0:02:14.800 --> 0:02:17.480 from God, that are humbled before the Lord and are 0:02:17.639 --> 0:02:20.480 leading according to the will of God. So is one 0:02:20.480 --> 0:02:23.079 more time? Can you put your hands together? Can you? 0:02:23.160 --> 0:02:25.280 Can you go nuts for your pastor? We love you, 0:02:25.800 --> 0:02:29.480 Pastor Steve and Pastor Holly. All right, let's reach go ahead, 0:02:29.639 --> 0:02:32.040 grab your sea, grab your seat, turning your Bible to 0:02:32.160 --> 0:02:38.440 Luke Luke chapter two, Luke, chapter two, Verse forty one. 0:02:39.440 --> 0:02:42.679 I have with me the greatest thing that has ever 0:02:42.760 --> 0:02:46.160 happened to me on planet Earth, next to salvation, and 0:02:46.200 --> 0:02:50.800 that is my beautiful African clean side. Chandler is in 0:02:50.919 --> 0:02:54.799 the building, my beautiful wi y'all. Her birthday was on Friday. 0:02:54.919 --> 0:02:57.880 She just can y'all shout happen birthday? Come on type 0:02:57.919 --> 0:03:02.040 it in the chat whatever campus you make her blush. 0:03:02.120 --> 0:03:04.400 I think they have a picture of my family. You 0:03:04.440 --> 0:03:07.400 can see how much we love each other because we 0:03:07.480 --> 0:03:11.960 got cheering. And I always feel bad showing this picture 0:03:11.960 --> 0:03:14.160 because it makes everybody feel bad because they realize that 0:03:14.240 --> 0:03:18.079 my family is more beautiful than theirs, and that's really 0:03:18.120 --> 0:03:21.680 mean and offensive. But you see the picture, it's true. 0:03:22.639 --> 0:03:24.799 Standing next to me is my beautiful daughter. Her name 0:03:24.840 --> 0:03:28.600 is Zoe, she's five. On my lap is my twin, 0:03:28.840 --> 0:03:32.320 my homie, he's four. His name is Roman. And then 0:03:32.480 --> 0:03:36.920 holding my wife's holding our youngest are ten months old. 0:03:37.640 --> 0:03:40.520 She looks like an angel. She is a fallen angel. 0:03:40.600 --> 0:03:44.280 She does not know Jesus and she likes to remind us. 0:03:44.280 --> 0:03:47.240 At about three point thirty in the morning that she 0:03:47.400 --> 0:03:50.960 is a heathen. So pray for Jade Mariah that she 0:03:51.040 --> 0:03:53.960 would get some Jesus and some holy ghosts, or at 0:03:54.040 --> 0:03:56.839 least a little bit of sleep, so that we can 0:03:57.120 --> 0:04:01.480 enjoy enjoy our rest. We're blessed, we're grateful. We're really 0:04:01.520 --> 0:04:03.280 blessed because we left them home, so we are in 0:04:03.320 --> 0:04:07.760 great sleep. Oh, before I appreach, y'all, I've got a 0:04:07.920 --> 0:04:14.520 book coming out. Come on now. It's called Stop Waiting 0:04:14.800 --> 0:04:19.000 for Permission, and I'm asking man, grab that book. It 0:04:19.080 --> 0:04:22.280 will change your life. One of my favorite verses in 0:04:22.320 --> 0:04:26.000 all of Scripture is Proverbs twenty five to two. Proverbs 0:04:26.000 --> 0:04:28.520 twenty five to two says it's the glory of God 0:04:28.600 --> 0:04:32.000 to conceal a matter, and it's the glory of kings 0:04:32.080 --> 0:04:35.159 to reveal a matter. Here's how I interpret that verse. 0:04:35.640 --> 0:04:39.480 That God is hidden greatness inside of you. You may 0:04:39.480 --> 0:04:42.240 not realize this, but there's a genius inside of you. 0:04:42.279 --> 0:04:45.440 There's an anointing, there's a gifting, and God is hidden 0:04:45.520 --> 0:04:48.440 it inside. Why the hide it because if you find 0:04:48.480 --> 0:04:52.440 it without him, you'll abuse it. But when you find 0:04:52.480 --> 0:04:55.840 it in Him, you will realize that there's something inside 0:04:55.880 --> 0:05:00.000 of you that will transform this world. And that book 0:05:00.080 --> 0:05:02.400 literally is a step by step guide. It really is 0:05:02.400 --> 0:05:04.680 what God, the journey God took me on of just 0:05:04.720 --> 0:05:07.040 thinking that I'm kind of a nobody and invisible in 0:05:07.120 --> 0:05:09.840 all this, and then realizing that there's so much that 0:05:10.000 --> 0:05:12.880 God has placed inside of me. So you could pre 0:05:13.040 --> 0:05:15.040 order that wherever books are sold. All right, we're done 0:05:15.040 --> 0:05:18.320 with a QVC commercial. Here we go, Luke, Chapter two, 0:05:18.440 --> 0:05:21.719 verse forty one. If you're ready for the words, somebody say, yeah, 0:05:21.760 --> 0:05:24.680 come on, here we go. It says this his parents, 0:05:24.680 --> 0:05:27.880 and this is Jesus's parents, Mary and Joseph, went to 0:05:28.000 --> 0:05:31.719 Jerusalem every year at the feast of the Passover. When 0:05:31.720 --> 0:05:33.840 he was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem 0:05:33.839 --> 0:05:36.560 according to the custom of the feast. When they had 0:05:36.680 --> 0:05:43.280 finished the days, as they returned, the boy, Jesus lingered, No, 0:05:43.440 --> 0:05:45.800 I need you to say lingered. Somebody say lingered, Come on, 0:05:45.880 --> 0:05:48.479 type it in the chat. Somebody say, lingered. It's the 0:05:48.520 --> 0:05:54.599 whole message. Jesus lingered behind in Jerusalem, and Joseph and 0:05:54.640 --> 0:05:57.560 his mother did not know it, but supposing him to 0:05:57.640 --> 0:06:00.799 have been in the company, they went a day journey 0:06:01.120 --> 0:06:05.839 and sought him among their relatives and acquaintances. So when 0:06:05.839 --> 0:06:11.560 they did not find him. They returned to Jerusalem seeking him. 0:06:11.640 --> 0:06:14.320 Now I gotta pause because y'all not catching the tension 0:06:14.360 --> 0:06:24.600 in this passage. Y'all marry and Joseph lost God. Now 0:06:24.640 --> 0:06:26.200 I don't know how you are. Maybe you're one of 0:06:26.200 --> 0:06:28.320 those people you don't lose anything. You know where your 0:06:28.320 --> 0:06:31.279 car keys are? Your wallet? All the time. I lose things, 0:06:31.839 --> 0:06:35.320 I lose car keys, I lose wallets, I lose children sometime, 0:06:35.800 --> 0:06:41.600 I have never lost God. Listen, you're panicking when you 0:06:41.680 --> 0:06:46.760 check your pockets and you realize God ain't there, says now. 0:06:46.839 --> 0:06:49.520 So it was that after three days that they found 0:06:49.600 --> 0:06:53.560 him in church. He was in the temple, sitting in 0:06:53.600 --> 0:06:56.320 the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and 0:06:56.480 --> 0:07:01.320 asking them questions. And all who heard him were astonished 0:07:01.720 --> 0:07:05.160 at his understanding and answers. So when they saw him, 0:07:05.200 --> 0:07:07.520 they were amazed. And his mother said to him, son, 0:07:08.080 --> 0:07:11.000 why have you why'd you put us through this? Why? 0:07:11.080 --> 0:07:13.960 Why get done this to us? Look, your father and 0:07:14.120 --> 0:07:18.320 I have sought you anxiously. And he said to them, Yo, 0:07:18.400 --> 0:07:20.680 you gotta understand he was God, but he was also twelve. 0:07:21.720 --> 0:07:24.520 He's like, what y'all looking for? He said, Why did 0:07:24.560 --> 0:07:28.200 you seek me? Did you not know that I must 0:07:28.320 --> 0:07:35.320 be about my father's business. This is a moment where 0:07:35.320 --> 0:07:37.480 Mary had to decide do I grab them Messiah by 0:07:37.520 --> 0:07:43.040 his ear or do I just say yes Lord? But 0:07:43.160 --> 0:07:45.760 they did not They didn't know what he was. They'd 0:07:45.840 --> 0:07:51.120 understand this statement which he spoke to them. Let's pray, Father, God. 0:07:51.160 --> 0:07:54.720 We're grateful. God, We're grateful, and we don't take for 0:07:54.800 --> 0:07:57.880 granted your presence. God. You said, wherever two or three 0:07:57.920 --> 0:07:59.640 are gothered in your name, there you'll be also. God, 0:07:59.640 --> 0:08:01.480 there's two in this room. This to what every campus. 0:08:01.480 --> 0:08:04.480 There's hundreds and thousands of people watching across the world. 0:08:04.560 --> 0:08:09.560 And God, you you wouldn't show up and not transform, 0:08:09.760 --> 0:08:13.000 and not speak and not heal. So God we say, 0:08:13.120 --> 0:08:19.160 have your way, and God, when you speak, we will obey. 0:08:20.000 --> 0:08:27.200 In Jesus' name, we pray. Somebody shout Amen. Amen. At 0:08:27.240 --> 0:08:30.440 the end of twenty twenty one, the last week of December, 0:08:30.560 --> 0:08:33.480 I've been doing this for years. I just took about 0:08:33.480 --> 0:08:35.880 a week off between Christmas in New Years and kind 0:08:35.880 --> 0:08:38.280 of just get some time away to pray, to plan 0:08:38.360 --> 0:08:40.439 my next year and all that other good stuff. And 0:08:41.360 --> 0:08:43.960 this year it was different. I'm fasting and praying, I'm 0:08:43.960 --> 0:08:47.319 spending time with God, and God gave me a specific 0:08:47.400 --> 0:08:50.680 word for twenty twenty two. Now. It's not super deep 0:08:50.720 --> 0:08:52.719 or super spiritual, whatever is. I don't want to set you. 0:08:52.720 --> 0:08:55.280 Oh you got a prophecy. It just God just gave 0:08:55.320 --> 0:08:57.360 me a word. And before I give you that, you 0:08:57.440 --> 0:08:59.680 just got to understand. This doesn't happen to me often. 0:09:00.280 --> 0:09:02.280 I'm not the guy that has a word for every 0:09:02.320 --> 0:09:05.200 single year. This is twenty nineteen the year of harvest, 0:09:05.200 --> 0:09:07.760 twenty twenty the year of abundance. Didn't see that come 0:09:07.800 --> 0:09:10.400 in twenty two. I'm just not the guy that gets 0:09:10.440 --> 0:09:13.320 a word every year. So this was just different for me. 0:09:13.440 --> 0:09:16.200 But I just felt this still small voice that God said. 0:09:16.240 --> 0:09:20.880 Twenty twenty two is the year of purpose. He says, Stephen, 0:09:20.960 --> 0:09:23.440 this is a year where you can't afford to waste 0:09:23.559 --> 0:09:26.200 a lot of time. This is a year where you 0:09:26.280 --> 0:09:29.320 have to be intentional. You have to be focused, you 0:09:29.440 --> 0:09:31.400 have to know what I've called you to do, and 0:09:31.440 --> 0:09:33.800 you have to be about. Twenty twenty two is the 0:09:33.920 --> 0:09:39.960 year of no. Come on out, that says some of y'all. Free. No, 0:09:40.000 --> 0:09:42.400 I'm sorry, I can't make it. No I'm sorry. I 0:09:42.440 --> 0:09:44.440 can't do that. No, I'm sorry. I'm not even sorry. 0:09:44.520 --> 0:09:48.240 Actually I won't be there. It's a year where God 0:09:48.280 --> 0:09:51.720 says if people would lock in on their calling, lock 0:09:51.800 --> 0:09:55.640 in on their purpose, would be intentional about their life, 0:09:55.760 --> 0:09:59.920 they would see a wind of favor sweep behind them. 0:10:00.520 --> 0:10:03.319 You'll see doors open that you didn't even know could 0:10:03.360 --> 0:10:06.800 open because you're not just living a happenstance life or 0:10:07.000 --> 0:10:09.840 let's see how it goes or what happens. But I'm 0:10:09.960 --> 0:10:13.000 locked in on who God's called me to be and 0:10:13.080 --> 0:10:17.160 what He's called me to do. Somebody say purpose. There's 0:10:17.200 --> 0:10:20.720 nobody that's walked the planet that has lived a life 0:10:20.760 --> 0:10:24.960 of more purpose than Jesus. You've got to understand. Even 0:10:25.080 --> 0:10:30.200 before he was born, it was documented and prophesied the 0:10:30.360 --> 0:10:33.559 purpose on his life. The Bible says this in Luke, 0:10:33.640 --> 0:10:37.079 chapter one, verse thirty two. Talking about Jesus, it says, 0:10:37.200 --> 0:10:41.160 he will be great. Let's not even go any further. 0:10:41.240 --> 0:10:45.800 Can you imagine the pressure? Hey, no pressure, but you 0:10:46.160 --> 0:10:49.560 have to be great. If you're not great, your life 0:10:49.679 --> 0:10:53.480 is a failure. He said he will be great and 0:10:53.520 --> 0:10:56.120 will be called the Son of the Most High. The 0:10:56.240 --> 0:10:59.600 Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 0:10:59.880 --> 0:11:04.640 and he will reign over Jacob's descendants. Watch this forever. 0:11:05.240 --> 0:11:10.520 His kingdom will never end. Now that's a great Bible, 0:11:11.160 --> 0:11:13.120 but that's a lot of pressure for a three year old. 0:11:14.640 --> 0:11:16.800 I mean, let's be real. You are the king of 0:11:16.880 --> 0:11:19.960 kings of Ludi Wars. You're taking over David's throne and 0:11:20.040 --> 0:11:24.560 your kingdom can never end. Could you imagine the pressure 0:11:24.600 --> 0:11:30.120 that Jesus lived under? Could you imagine the focus, the intentionality. 0:11:30.200 --> 0:11:33.040 Can you imagine he couldn't say what everybody else was saying, 0:11:33.720 --> 0:11:36.360 He couldn't go where everybody else was going, He couldn't 0:11:36.400 --> 0:11:39.800 do whatever. Could you imagine being fourteen knowing that there's 0:11:39.840 --> 0:11:44.920 a cross in your future? Can you imagine the pressure 0:11:45.040 --> 0:11:52.319 of being the Messiah and having to pick a prom date? Now, 0:11:52.360 --> 0:11:55.120 you can't just go to problem with anybody like, there's 0:11:55.160 --> 0:11:58.160 a calling on your life, there's purpose. You have to 0:11:58.320 --> 0:12:02.199 live with a focus and any No, here's the thing. 0:12:02.240 --> 0:12:04.080 We look at Jesus, we know he's the Missigh and 0:12:04.080 --> 0:12:06.120 we're like, well, of course he had to live with 0:12:06.240 --> 0:12:09.000 purpose because the whole world was counting on him. But 0:12:09.080 --> 0:12:12.240 what we don't realize is you have purpose as well, 0:12:13.480 --> 0:12:17.160 that God called you and knows you and has a specific, 0:12:17.400 --> 0:12:21.040 unique purpose for you here on earth. The Bible says 0:12:21.080 --> 0:12:24.559 in Acts seventeen that God picts your city, he picked 0:12:24.559 --> 0:12:26.839 the time in the calendar that you would be born. 0:12:27.120 --> 0:12:30.839 He picts your family. He sets you up for the 0:12:30.920 --> 0:12:34.360 kingdom purpose that he has for you. There's even prophecy 0:12:34.400 --> 0:12:36.880 about you in Scripture and Jeremiah one to five. It 0:12:36.960 --> 0:12:40.800 says this, God says, I knew you, Steven. I like 0:12:40.840 --> 0:12:43.000 doing it. Can you just put your name in the Bible, 0:12:43.360 --> 0:12:46.280 say I knew you, whatever your name is, Gabe or whatever. 0:12:46.360 --> 0:12:50.240 I knew you before you were formed within your mother's womb, 0:12:50.920 --> 0:12:53.640 before you were born. I sanctified. What does that mean? 0:12:53.679 --> 0:12:57.400 He said, I set you aside for special use. He said, 0:12:57.440 --> 0:13:02.720 you are appointed as my spokesperson to the world. Listen 0:13:02.760 --> 0:13:06.480 to me. There is purpose on your life. God said, 0:13:06.520 --> 0:13:10.280 before you were even born, I knew you. I called you. 0:13:10.400 --> 0:13:14.160 I planned you to have an impact on earth that 0:13:14.360 --> 0:13:18.240 nobody else could have. I know your parents told you 0:13:18.280 --> 0:13:20.640 that you were a surprise. They didn't see you come in. 0:13:20.880 --> 0:13:23.839 But hear me, you were not a surprise to God. 0:13:26.400 --> 0:13:29.640 God had purpose for you before you knew you. Watch this, 0:13:30.200 --> 0:13:33.199 God had purpose for you before you made your biggest mistake. 0:13:34.920 --> 0:13:37.280 So many people, all we can see is the biggest 0:13:37.320 --> 0:13:39.600 moment of shame in our life. And we say, well, 0:13:39.640 --> 0:13:42.000 because of that, God can never use me. Watch this. 0:13:42.320 --> 0:13:45.600 God is all knowing, and he planned your purpose knowing 0:13:45.640 --> 0:13:48.720 that that mistake would be in your story. And yet 0:13:48.760 --> 0:13:51.199 he still said, I have purpose for you. He still 0:13:51.200 --> 0:13:53.920 said I want to use you in a way that 0:13:54.000 --> 0:13:58.880 you will not even imagine. Somebody say, there's purpose on 0:13:58.920 --> 0:14:06.120 my life. Now here's the problem with purpose. The problem 0:14:06.160 --> 0:14:09.240 with purpose is I don't get to do what everybody 0:14:09.240 --> 0:14:13.800 else does. The problem with purpose is I can't go 0:14:13.920 --> 0:14:18.200 where everybody else goes. I can't say what everybody else says. 0:14:18.240 --> 0:14:21.120 And watch this, I have to go through some things 0:14:21.880 --> 0:14:25.160 that other people don't have to go through because they 0:14:25.200 --> 0:14:29.480 don't have the same purpose on their life. So I 0:14:29.560 --> 0:14:32.800 have on my life. I'm a huge football fan. We're 0:14:32.800 --> 0:14:35.400 getting ready to go in a football season, and we 0:14:35.520 --> 0:14:37.560 like watching football on TV or high school games or 0:14:37.600 --> 0:14:40.200 whatever it may be. Before it gets to TV, before 0:14:40.240 --> 0:14:44.120 they get to the game, they have August, come on, 0:14:44.160 --> 0:14:46.800 how avery gonna play football? Back in the day, August 0:14:46.800 --> 0:14:48.760 there's the worst month of the year for a football player. 0:14:48.760 --> 0:14:52.560 Why because there's no games, there's no television, there's just 0:14:52.720 --> 0:14:56.880 heat and practice. My football coach, he would say, Steven, 0:14:57.160 --> 0:15:04.320 go run this hill until I remember you exist and 0:15:04.480 --> 0:15:09.040 we are out there suffering. Not everybody is going through 0:15:09.040 --> 0:15:12.400 what we're going through, but not everybody gets to play 0:15:12.440 --> 0:15:21.600 what we play. Hear me, I know I'm not. I'm like, 0:15:21.640 --> 0:15:23.160 three minutes in my message. I don't want to tick 0:15:23.200 --> 0:15:24.480 you off or anything like that. So I'm gonna talk 0:15:24.480 --> 0:15:26.440 about myself and instead of talk about you, I'm gonna 0:15:26.480 --> 0:15:28.040 throw myself unto the bus and you could jump under 0:15:28.080 --> 0:15:33.000 the bus with me. But I find myself complaining about 0:15:33.040 --> 0:15:37.840 how difficult life is. Sometimes the only bit I have 0:15:37.880 --> 0:15:41.360 to go through and it ain't up there pastor this church, 0:15:41.400 --> 0:15:45.600 and these people are crazy, you know what. I call 0:15:45.640 --> 0:15:52.080 it prayer time, But I'm actually I'm actually just complaining. 0:15:52.400 --> 0:15:54.960 And I feel like the Holy Spirit You've been jacked 0:15:55.000 --> 0:15:57.360 up in your prayer time at some point. I feel 0:15:57.360 --> 0:15:59.920 like the Holy Spirit said, yes, you're going through things 0:16:00.040 --> 0:16:02.200 that other people don't have to go through, but I'm 0:16:02.320 --> 0:16:05.280 using you in a way that I'm not using other people. 0:16:05.600 --> 0:16:08.680 So do you want to be normal and unused or 0:16:08.720 --> 0:16:11.560 do you want to go through some difficult seasons but 0:16:11.720 --> 0:16:16.480 be used by God in a great way? Hear me? 0:16:17.680 --> 0:16:19.880 Some of you have been looking around at your life 0:16:19.920 --> 0:16:23.080 and saying, my siblings aren't going through the same drama 0:16:23.120 --> 0:16:26.000 that I have to go through. My coworkers aren't running 0:16:26.040 --> 0:16:31.040 into the same setbacks. Why why? Here's why. Because you're cold, 0:16:31.280 --> 0:16:35.160 Because there's purpose, because there's destiny, because God's hand is 0:16:35.200 --> 0:16:38.720 on your life, because you're favored. Yeah, you're going through 0:16:38.760 --> 0:16:41.720 things that other people don't have to go through. But 0:16:41.800 --> 0:16:45.640 God's gonna use you in ways, and He's not using somebody. 0:16:45.720 --> 0:16:50.400 Shall I have purpose? I want to preach a message. 0:16:50.400 --> 0:16:51.760 You may have thought that I was preaching. I haven't 0:16:51.760 --> 0:16:55.840 started preaching yet, but I want to preach the message 0:16:55.840 --> 0:17:03.600 today called I wasn't Left. I lingered. I wasn't left. 0:17:03.920 --> 0:17:08.600 I lingered. My sophomore year in college at the University 0:17:08.640 --> 0:17:11.280 of Maryland College Park, the greatest university on planet Earth. 0:17:11.520 --> 0:17:19.879 Fear the Turtle. It's like the worst mascot ever. But 0:17:20.000 --> 0:17:23.720 sophomore year in college, it was just I was running 0:17:24.320 --> 0:17:27.720 like a madman. I was taken to over twenty credits 0:17:27.760 --> 0:17:29.800 because I was trying to get out of school as 0:17:29.880 --> 0:17:32.800 fast as possible. I was working for my dad's company, 0:17:32.880 --> 0:17:35.520 like twenty five hours. I was the student pastor at 0:17:35.560 --> 0:17:38.159 the church forty five minutes away, so I'm driving up 0:17:38.160 --> 0:17:41.600 to Maryland. So it was just kind of running racket. 0:17:41.800 --> 0:17:45.720 Plus I loved Jesus. What do you mean by that? 0:17:45.840 --> 0:17:49.640 I mean that my idea of college was not being 0:17:49.720 --> 0:17:53.160 drunk every Friday, laying in a bush on Root one 0:17:53.600 --> 0:17:56.919 on campus, wondering where my room key was. That just 0:17:57.040 --> 0:18:00.760 wasn't my idea of a college experience. And sophomore year, 0:18:00.800 --> 0:18:03.560 I didn't have classes on Friday. So every Thursday night 0:18:03.600 --> 0:18:05.600 I'd jump in my car, i'd go to work. I'd 0:18:05.680 --> 0:18:08.159 go home, and I'd be at church leading worship over 0:18:08.240 --> 0:18:09.959 the weekend and all that kind of stuff that I'd 0:18:10.000 --> 0:18:13.680 come back Monday morning. And almost every single Monday morning, 0:18:13.680 --> 0:18:16.160 when I come back to my dorm, my roommates says 0:18:16.400 --> 0:18:24.680 Stephen Man, you missed a party. Man. This weekend was crazy. 0:18:24.720 --> 0:18:27.359 I mean, the party was lit, the cops showed up, 0:18:27.400 --> 0:18:31.000 they were shooting rubber bullets. It was I don't know 0:18:31.040 --> 0:18:33.920 why every party in Maryland ended with rubber bullets from 0:18:33.920 --> 0:18:38.080 the like you. He's like, where where you? And it 0:18:38.160 --> 0:18:42.199 happened week after week, and he got so frustrated that 0:18:42.320 --> 0:18:48.320 I was missing all these parties, y'all. They staged an intervention, y'all. 0:18:48.359 --> 0:18:50.600 I walked in my door one Monday. There's a bunch 0:18:50.600 --> 0:18:56.280 of dudes that Steven, sit down. What's going on? So, Stephen, 0:18:56.560 --> 0:19:01.479 we're worried about you. You're you're missing out on the 0:19:01.560 --> 0:19:06.000 college experience, You're missing out on life. And I'm like, 0:19:06.240 --> 0:19:08.920 I'm having a college experience. I'm can season. D's just like, y'all, 0:19:08.920 --> 0:19:12.480 I'm in the professor's office begging for seven percentage points. 0:19:12.480 --> 0:19:16.200 So I'm having a college experience. And he's like, no, no, no, 0:19:16.240 --> 0:19:18.480 He said, You'll never get to have this season of 0:19:18.480 --> 0:19:21.280 your life. He said. He got so mad. He said, Steven, 0:19:21.560 --> 0:19:24.560 this is you, and this is life passing you by. 0:19:26.800 --> 0:19:33.080 He said, you're getting left behind. I think I ticked 0:19:33.119 --> 0:19:35.840 them off because I started laughing, and I don't think 0:19:35.840 --> 0:19:38.119 that's the response that he wanted. But I didn't know 0:19:38.200 --> 0:19:43.240 how to explain to him, Hey, my entire existence doesn't 0:19:43.280 --> 0:19:47.000 revolve around four years at this university. Like I'm glad 0:19:47.040 --> 0:19:48.480 that I'm here, and I'm gonna have a good time, 0:19:48.520 --> 0:19:50.600 and I'm actually having more fun than you think I am. 0:19:50.840 --> 0:19:54.639 But I have purpose, I have focused. There's some I 0:19:54.680 --> 0:19:56.600 wanted to tell him my life is going somewhere, but 0:19:56.680 --> 0:19:58.520 that was a little bit ignorantcause then it would imply 0:19:58.760 --> 0:20:06.560 so I didn't. But I kind of did because I 0:20:06.640 --> 0:20:12.400 had seen something further ahead. I wasn't overwhelmed with the 0:20:12.440 --> 0:20:16.800 fact that I may have been missing out on what 0:20:16.880 --> 0:20:20.600 everybody thought that this moment was all about. Here's what 0:20:20.720 --> 0:20:25.920 I've discovered. People of purpose are not concerned about being 0:20:25.960 --> 0:20:32.320 left behind. There's this anks, there's this anxiety of men, 0:20:32.560 --> 0:20:34.960 I gotta keep up with life. I gotta make sure 0:20:35.000 --> 0:20:37.240 that I'm relevant. I gotta make sure that I don't 0:20:37.359 --> 0:20:40.679 get left behind. But when you realize that there's a 0:20:40.840 --> 0:20:45.000 purpose on your life, being left behind is no longer 0:20:45.080 --> 0:20:49.119 your concern. And this passage, it says that Mary and 0:20:49.200 --> 0:20:52.400 Joseph went to Jerusalem for the Passover celebration. They were 0:20:52.440 --> 0:20:55.840 there for seven days, which lets us know that Mary 0:20:55.880 --> 0:20:58.880 and Joseph they were church folks, not church folks. They 0:20:58.920 --> 0:21:03.720 were church folks. The religious law only required to beat 0:21:03.760 --> 0:21:06.440 them to be there for two days, so for them 0:21:06.480 --> 0:21:09.080 to have been there for seven days, they were like, oh, 0:21:09.119 --> 0:21:12.639 we going to church every time the doors are open. 0:21:12.800 --> 0:21:15.399 Seven days they would feast and they would worship, and 0:21:15.400 --> 0:21:17.800 then they would celebrate. And then the last day it 0:21:17.880 --> 0:21:22.720 says that they left, but Jesus lingered behind. Now, because 0:21:22.760 --> 0:21:24.280 we have all the scriptus, we're able to look at it. 0:21:24.359 --> 0:21:26.240 It's very easy to judge people in the Bible that, 0:21:26.280 --> 0:21:29.320 come on, now, how do you lose God? Like, that's 0:21:29.359 --> 0:21:32.120 not that that just just keep an eye on God. 0:21:32.160 --> 0:21:35.560 But you gotta understand. Because it was such a long journey, 0:21:35.800 --> 0:21:39.200 they were probably traveling with aunts and uncles and cousins 0:21:39.200 --> 0:21:42.159 and grant, there's probably fifty to one hundred people they 0:21:42.200 --> 0:21:45.520 were traveling with. They probably just assumed, oh, Jesus is 0:21:45.520 --> 0:21:47.919 with his uncle, Jesus is with his aunt. And it 0:21:47.960 --> 0:21:50.959 wasn't until three days went back and Jesus didn't come 0:21:51.000 --> 0:21:52.840 to bathe, he didn't come to brush their teeth, he 0:21:52.880 --> 0:21:55.359 didn't come asking for more money. That they're like, okay, 0:21:55.400 --> 0:21:59.800 there's a problem here. Three days they search all of 0:22:00.040 --> 0:22:04.199 Jerusalem and they find him sitting in a temple talking 0:22:04.200 --> 0:22:09.840 to adults rabbis and explaining scripture, debating theology, and Mary said, 0:22:10.200 --> 0:22:13.640 how could you do this time? And Jesus says a statement. 0:22:15.280 --> 0:22:18.679 He said, don't you know, I must be about my 0:22:18.880 --> 0:22:22.120 father's business. Here's what he was saying. He said, there's 0:22:22.160 --> 0:22:25.159 a purpose on my life. You gotta understand. I'm a 0:22:25.160 --> 0:22:27.760 little ignorant, so I only see ignorant things in scripture. 0:22:28.280 --> 0:22:31.040 I feel like Jesus was saying, and making my mama 0:22:31.119 --> 0:22:36.679 happy is not the number one purpose in my life. 0:22:37.640 --> 0:22:40.520 You gotta see the awkwardness of this moment. He said, 0:22:40.640 --> 0:22:52.159 I must be about my father's business. And Joseph do 0:22:52.280 --> 0:22:57.960 we call him stepfather? Joseph was like, I've got no business. 0:23:02.640 --> 0:23:04.960 Jesus understood there's a call of God on my life, 0:23:04.960 --> 0:23:09.199 and everybody around me may not always understand it. But 0:23:09.240 --> 0:23:11.960 that's not my problem. A problem is to be locked 0:23:12.000 --> 0:23:14.399 in on what God's called me. I'm gonna give you 0:23:14.400 --> 0:23:16.239 just three quick thoughts, three quick thoughts of how do 0:23:16.320 --> 0:23:19.080 I stay locked in on the purpose that God has 0:23:19.200 --> 0:23:22.080 for me? If you're taking notes, write this down. If 0:23:22.119 --> 0:23:27.040 you are not taking notes, write this down. First thing 0:23:27.080 --> 0:23:33.560 is this purpose cannot be left behind. Purpose cannot be 0:23:33.760 --> 0:23:36.600 left behind you. You may not realize it that they 0:23:36.920 --> 0:23:41.720 all live, but this anxiety of next, next, next, next, next, 0:23:41.880 --> 0:23:44.359 what's gonna happen next? Where do I go next? What's 0:23:44.359 --> 0:23:48.640 my next opportunity? And that cycle started before you even 0:23:48.680 --> 0:23:52.000 realized it. You remember being twelve years old. Somebody's twelve. 0:23:52.160 --> 0:23:54.879 I am twelve right now. I remember being twelve. The 0:23:54.880 --> 0:23:56.160 only thing you can think about is I can't wait 0:23:56.160 --> 0:24:00.199 to be thirteen. I'm a teenager, I'm a teen. You 0:24:00.200 --> 0:24:02.320 go from twelve to thirteen, you realize that you are 0:24:02.359 --> 0:24:07.760 thirteen and powerless. Being thirteen is about as useless as 0:24:07.760 --> 0:24:11.480 being twelve. Now, I can't wait to be sixteen because 0:24:11.480 --> 0:24:13.560 I'm gonna get a driver's license and I'm gonna get 0:24:13.560 --> 0:24:16.320 my freedom. And then you turn sixteen. You have a 0:24:16.400 --> 0:24:21.720 driver's license and a curfew. You realize sixteen ain't all 0:24:21.760 --> 0:24:24.840 that great. Can't wait to be eighteen because when I'm eighteen, 0:24:24.880 --> 0:24:27.200 I'm out of here. I'm going to college, no more curfew, 0:24:27.240 --> 0:24:29.600 I'm free. And you turn out to be eighteen and 0:24:29.640 --> 0:24:36.080 you have freedom and you're broke. All of a sudden, 0:24:36.119 --> 0:24:39.159 you realize eighteen ain't all that great now. I was like, 0:24:39.200 --> 0:24:41.000 I can't wait to be twenty two because I'm gonna 0:24:41.000 --> 0:24:42.760 get out of college. I'm gonna get a job. You 0:24:42.800 --> 0:24:44.760 get out of college, you got a job, and you 0:24:44.840 --> 0:24:51.720 got bills, and you're still broke. Two. Ain't that great? Okay? 0:24:51.720 --> 0:24:53.600 Now I need to get married so I get somebody 0:24:53.640 --> 0:24:57.600 else to help me pay these bills. The only reason 0:24:57.640 --> 0:25:02.639 you get married. And then the second you get married, 0:25:02.800 --> 0:25:06.439 you sign that marriage certificate. The ink isn't even dry. 0:25:07.359 --> 0:25:09.200 And that aunt, he's saying, so where the baby's at? 0:25:11.280 --> 0:25:13.800 Even made it to our honeymoon yet? And as soon 0:25:13.800 --> 0:25:16.240 as the babies come, then you want them to grow up. 0:25:17.560 --> 0:25:21.639 Can't wait till they leave? Wait, I thought you couldn't 0:25:21.640 --> 0:25:24.360 wait for them to come. And then as soon as 0:25:24.359 --> 0:25:27.240 they leave, when y'all gonna get married, And as soon 0:25:27.240 --> 0:25:28.560 as they get married, when you're gonna make me some 0:25:28.560 --> 0:25:31.520 grand babies. And it goes on and on and on 0:25:31.880 --> 0:25:35.480 and on. It doesn't matter where we are. We're always 0:25:35.680 --> 0:25:40.600 looking at next. Come on, now, you you just got 0:25:40.640 --> 0:25:44.120 a promotion, and you're already thinking about what the next 0:25:44.119 --> 0:25:47.600 one is. You're making more money today than you've ever 0:25:47.680 --> 0:25:50.119 made in your life. But you can only obsess on 0:25:50.200 --> 0:25:53.439 the next thing that you can afford. It's next, It's next, 0:25:53.880 --> 0:25:56.960 and here's what we don't really. It's a prison that 0:25:57.280 --> 0:26:01.800 torments us, and then we beg an obsess over why 0:26:01.880 --> 0:26:05.600 I haven't I made it over there yet? Why hasn't 0:26:05.640 --> 0:26:09.120 this opportunity I was just thinking. This prison of next, 0:26:09.960 --> 0:26:13.400 it's literally a jail cell that has four walls. One 0:26:13.400 --> 0:26:15.800 of the walls of that tormenting prison is the wall 0:26:15.840 --> 0:26:20.760 of delay. It's just this nauseous feeling of I should 0:26:20.840 --> 0:26:24.080 be further than I am right now. Man, If only 0:26:24.160 --> 0:26:27.240 I had taken that opportunity, if only I had that favor, 0:26:27.240 --> 0:26:29.719 if only this, if only that, and we end up 0:26:29.800 --> 0:26:33.240 obsessing over why we aren't where we should be. We 0:26:33.440 --> 0:26:38.000 feel delayed. Another wall of that prison is the wall 0:26:38.040 --> 0:26:42.480 that I call of denied. Man, that person turned me down, 0:26:43.400 --> 0:26:45.440 I'd be further along. If they had hired me, I'd 0:26:45.440 --> 0:26:47.480 be further along. If they had opened that door, I'd 0:26:47.480 --> 0:26:49.920 be further along. They just didn't like me, and that's 0:26:49.960 --> 0:26:56.840 why I'm stuck here. Another wall of that prison next 0:26:56.960 --> 0:27:01.040 is the wall that I call destroyed. They had not 0:27:01.119 --> 0:27:04.160 been for that car accident, if I hadn't gone through 0:27:04.160 --> 0:27:07.080 that sickness, if that divorce hadn't taken place, if we 0:27:07.160 --> 0:27:09.680 hadn't gone through that pandemic. God still have my business 0:27:09.760 --> 0:27:12.959 or whatever it. Maybe there's some event in my life 0:27:13.040 --> 0:27:15.520 that has kept me from the next that I think 0:27:15.560 --> 0:27:19.160 I deserve, and then the last, Well, I'm doing well, y'all, 0:27:19.200 --> 0:27:21.000 they're all d's. You see this. I put my work 0:27:21.040 --> 0:27:29.679 in today, delayed, denied, destroyed, and discouraged. I don't deserve next. 0:27:30.560 --> 0:27:34.239 I've made too many mistakes. I've blown it too badly up. 0:27:34.320 --> 0:27:36.560 I've messed us up. I've messed that up. I've messed 0:27:36.640 --> 0:27:39.640 us up. I've messed that up. And we find ourselves 0:27:39.720 --> 0:27:43.720 in this prison of obsessing over where we think we 0:27:43.840 --> 0:27:48.080 should be instead of looking around and seeing, Wait, where 0:27:48.160 --> 0:27:51.560 am I right now? Hear me, elevation. If God has 0:27:51.600 --> 0:27:54.440 not moved you to a new season, it's because there's 0:27:54.440 --> 0:28:00.240 still miracles that are untapped in your current season. God 0:28:00.320 --> 0:28:03.560 hasn't opened the door for next. It's because there's more 0:28:03.640 --> 0:28:06.760 that He has in the now that he desires to 0:28:06.880 --> 0:28:09.959 do in your life. Hear me. There's miracles that are 0:28:09.960 --> 0:28:13.040 waiting for you in July. There's miracles that are ahead 0:28:13.040 --> 0:28:15.880 of you in twenty twenty three. But June's still got 0:28:15.920 --> 0:28:19.160 some miracles in it. I'm telling you God still has 0:28:19.200 --> 0:28:22.240 some open doors that he's bringing in twenty twenty two. 0:28:22.480 --> 0:28:25.520 There are some things that God is looking to do 0:28:25.760 --> 0:28:30.400 in your life, somebody say now, But so often we're 0:28:30.440 --> 0:28:34.320 so obsessed over next we miss the fact that there's 0:28:34.359 --> 0:28:39.520 a supernatural move of God in the now. People who 0:28:39.560 --> 0:28:43.480 don't realize that there's purpose on their life, they will 0:28:43.520 --> 0:28:49.320 actually leave the call of God just to stay relevant, 0:28:50.920 --> 0:28:54.000 just to feel like that. They will leave where God 0:28:54.080 --> 0:28:58.120 told them to be, just because I've found something that 0:28:58.200 --> 0:29:00.640 looks like it'll take me forward and move me where 0:29:00.680 --> 0:29:03.959 I want to go. People of purpose are not concerned 0:29:04.000 --> 0:29:07.480 about keeping up with the Joneses, but realize that if 0:29:07.520 --> 0:29:11.200 this is where God has me, there's something that he's 0:29:11.360 --> 0:29:15.560 looking to do now. Ecclesiastpes. Three one says this to 0:29:15.800 --> 0:29:21.840 everything there is a season, a time for every purpose 0:29:22.320 --> 0:29:25.320 under the sun. If God hasn't opened the next door 0:29:25.360 --> 0:29:28.080 for you, it's because there's something that he's looking to 0:29:28.120 --> 0:29:30.840 do right now. As I was in college, I knew 0:29:30.880 --> 0:29:32.560 that God had called me to the ministry. I knew 0:29:32.600 --> 0:29:33.760 that this is what I was going to do for 0:29:33.800 --> 0:29:35.720 the rest of my life. I just didn't know what 0:29:35.760 --> 0:29:37.960 doors would open or how it would happen or whatever. 0:29:38.000 --> 0:29:41.040 So I just started looking for jobs after college. Now 0:29:41.280 --> 0:29:43.360 now everyone's like, you know, what were you passionate about? 0:29:43.360 --> 0:29:46.040 What was your purpose? What were you going after? I 0:29:46.120 --> 0:29:52.000 was passionate about a paycheck. What industry were you called to? 0:29:52.080 --> 0:29:56.760 Whichever industry would pay me. I applied to every single 0:29:56.840 --> 0:29:59.480 company that showed up at that job fair, and I'm 0:29:59.520 --> 0:30:02.120 telling you in that interview, I was so passionate about 0:30:02.160 --> 0:30:04.120 what they were doing and building it with Oh I 0:30:04.160 --> 0:30:08.400 loved it. I'm giving my life to this on my 0:30:08.440 --> 0:30:11.960 paycheck shows up on the first and the fifteenth, and 0:30:12.040 --> 0:30:14.960 I actually got a job that was and I'm not 0:30:14.960 --> 0:30:16.920 trying to put myself down, but if you see my GPA, 0:30:17.000 --> 0:30:19.600 you'll see he's telling the truth. That was beat on 0:30:19.920 --> 0:30:22.880 my resume like it was a miracle. I got a 0:30:22.960 --> 0:30:25.400 job from one of the top oil companies in America 0:30:25.680 --> 0:30:28.520 and they, I mean, the job was so sweet. The 0:30:28.760 --> 0:30:33.680 salary came with a signing bonus. I thought only athletes 0:30:33.720 --> 0:30:37.479 got signing bonuses. I'm I'm looking at this paper like, Mama, 0:30:37.720 --> 0:30:43.840 we made I mean, biggest salary I've ever seen company 0:30:43.920 --> 0:30:48.640 cars say it was amazing. Only problem was I had 0:30:48.680 --> 0:30:52.200 to move to Louisiana. That's where the message is a 0:30:52.480 --> 0:30:55.280 little icky, because I could start trashing Louisiana right now 0:30:55.320 --> 0:30:56.760 and get a lot of emails and all that other 0:30:56.760 --> 0:30:59.040 good stuff. There's nothing wrong with Louisiana. I love Louisian 0:30:59.040 --> 0:31:01.520 I'm good friends, they're great food, cost of living is 0:31:01.600 --> 0:31:05.440 less than DC. The only problem is God told me 0:31:05.440 --> 0:31:09.880 to stay in Maryland. The problem is the only Spiry 0:31:09.920 --> 0:31:12.200 said there's something I've called you to do here in Maryland, 0:31:12.200 --> 0:31:14.080 and I'm sitting and wrestling. I'm like, God, look at 0:31:14.080 --> 0:31:18.880 this job. I could tithe off of this job. You 0:31:18.880 --> 0:31:22.680 can always bribe God with money, right. I was like, clearly, 0:31:22.760 --> 0:31:24.960 this is the will of God. And the more I 0:31:25.080 --> 0:31:28.320 tried to pray my way into it, the more discontent 0:31:28.480 --> 0:31:31.200 I felt. And then I said, Okay, God, you told 0:31:31.200 --> 0:31:34.480 me to stay, Fine, I'll stay. Where's the other job 0:31:34.600 --> 0:31:44.719 in Maryland with a comparable salary and my signing bonus? Silence? 0:31:46.680 --> 0:31:50.640 God didn't even say wait six months, He said nothing. 0:31:51.760 --> 0:31:53.600 Do you know how awkward it is turning down a 0:31:53.720 --> 0:31:58.960 job and you don't have a good reason. They literally said, 0:31:59.120 --> 0:32:01.440 tell us what the other their company offered you, and 0:32:01.480 --> 0:32:13.520 will beat their offer. They offered me half. You want 0:32:13.640 --> 0:32:17.920 half more? No, the job of taking is paying me half. 0:32:19.680 --> 0:32:21.800 They're like, this guy's not bright enough to hire. I'm 0:32:21.800 --> 0:32:27.920 glad we missed that. And I'm always in trouble. Is 0:32:28.000 --> 0:32:31.240 it bad to say that God's annoying? It is? It is, 0:32:31.520 --> 0:32:33.600 I'll say it. You won't if he hits me with lightning. 0:32:34.040 --> 0:32:37.520 You're far enough away. Here's the annoying thing about God. 0:32:37.560 --> 0:32:39.600 And I say that with all reverence and all fear. 0:32:42.240 --> 0:32:49.120 He never gives you all the details. Steven, stay in Maryland, 0:32:49.320 --> 0:32:57.960 don't leave the state. Why Abram go to a land? 0:32:58.680 --> 0:33:05.520 What land? I'll show you? How do I know what 0:33:05.640 --> 0:33:11.120 I'm there? You know? I mean here eight years or 0:33:11.160 --> 0:33:13.680 twelve years later? How many of the years has been union, 0:33:13.760 --> 0:33:16.600 church people, campuses and all that. Now it makes sense 0:33:16.640 --> 0:33:18.840 why he had me stay in Maryland. But back then, 0:33:18.920 --> 0:33:24.520 when when I say nothing was going on, It's just 0:33:24.600 --> 0:33:30.080 like and I realized that people of purpose are willing 0:33:30.160 --> 0:33:34.720 to be left behind just because God said I have 0:33:34.840 --> 0:33:38.000 something for you here. If I live in it, think 0:33:38.080 --> 0:33:39.560 so got to get to next, got to get to 0:33:39.600 --> 0:33:44.040 the next. God get I will find myself outside of 0:33:44.280 --> 0:33:46.520 the will of God. Here's what the Bible says in 0:33:46.560 --> 0:33:50.360 Matthew chapter six, verse thirty four. Give your entire attention 0:33:50.760 --> 0:33:55.600 to what God is doing right now, and don't get 0:33:55.680 --> 0:33:59.560 worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. 0:34:00.520 --> 0:34:06.320 God will help you deal with whatever hard things come 0:34:06.400 --> 0:34:08.400 up when the time comes. I feel like God is 0:34:08.400 --> 0:34:11.240 saying through this verse, why are you so excited about tomorrow? 0:34:11.920 --> 0:34:15.880 It doesn't get easier because not like tomorrow's a cakewalk. 0:34:16.040 --> 0:34:18.560 I'll help you with tomorrow when we get till tomorrow. 0:34:18.719 --> 0:34:23.680 But there's a miracle that is still here today. Y'all 0:34:23.680 --> 0:34:27.000 want to have some fun. Y'all ready to shout. I'm 0:34:27.000 --> 0:34:29.600 reading this passage and here's the thing that blows my mind. 0:34:31.160 --> 0:34:38.360 Jesus wasn't left he lingered. Here is Mary and Joseph 0:34:38.440 --> 0:34:42.279 feeling guilty that they lost God. They didn't lose him. 0:34:42.320 --> 0:34:46.360 He ditched them. He probably acted like he was in 0:34:46.400 --> 0:34:51.680 the caravan, and when they weren't looking, he slipped away. 0:34:52.080 --> 0:34:57.840 Jesus wasn't left lingered. I find there's so many people 0:34:57.880 --> 0:35:00.480 that they live in this position of guilt, They live 0:35:00.480 --> 0:35:03.839 in this position of regret because there's an opportunity that 0:35:03.880 --> 0:35:07.480 you missed out on man, if I had just taken 0:35:07.480 --> 0:35:09.479 that job, if I had just moved to that city, 0:35:09.640 --> 0:35:11.400 if I had just done this, if I had just 0:35:11.440 --> 0:35:14.279 done that, man, I wish I could have that chance back. 0:35:14.480 --> 0:35:19.120 I would do it differently. Three days into their journey, 0:35:19.600 --> 0:35:23.799 when they realized that Jesus wasn't with them, what did 0:35:23.920 --> 0:35:29.680 purpose to purpose turned around and it went back to 0:35:29.800 --> 0:35:33.279 get what it left because it realized, I can't go 0:35:33.360 --> 0:35:36.200 where I'm going without the person that God has called 0:35:36.239 --> 0:35:38.239 me to go there with. Here's what you need to 0:35:38.320 --> 0:35:42.480 understand elevation. When there's purpose on your life, your opportunity 0:35:42.520 --> 0:35:46.160 cannot leave you behind. And even if it does leave 0:35:46.200 --> 0:35:48.759 you behind, it's got to come back and get you 0:35:49.040 --> 0:35:52.120 because God has called that for you. And when God 0:35:52.160 --> 0:35:55.000 says it's for you, it doesn't matter who says that 0:35:55.120 --> 0:35:59.600 it's not. Hear me. There's some opportunities that you missed 0:35:59.640 --> 0:36:02.160 out on that are gonna come back and find you. 0:36:02.440 --> 0:36:06.040 There's some open doors that you walk by ten years ago, 0:36:06.280 --> 0:36:09.239 and that door is gonna open again if it's the 0:36:09.400 --> 0:36:14.239 door that God has for you. There's some dreams that 0:36:14.320 --> 0:36:18.320 you've given up on, and I'm telling you, God's gonna 0:36:18.360 --> 0:36:23.040 start stirring that dream in your heart again. Because when 0:36:23.080 --> 0:36:27.400 you're a person of purpose, somebody say I can't be 0:36:27.520 --> 0:36:31.480 left behind. Destiny has to come back and get you 0:36:32.560 --> 0:36:34.000 because it's the call of God in your left. The 0:36:34.000 --> 0:36:35.600 second thing is this, write this down, Write this down. 0:36:35.920 --> 0:36:42.120 Purpose leads you to learn. Purpose leads you to learn. Now, 0:36:42.280 --> 0:36:47.200 now here's the fun thing about preaching. Every time you preach, 0:36:47.239 --> 0:36:51.160 your preaching to different people. Not everybody in the room 0:36:51.200 --> 0:36:53.440 has the same personality, the same place, all that other 0:36:53.520 --> 0:36:57.040 good stuff. So when people are shouting, everybody's shouting for 0:36:57.080 --> 0:37:01.759 a different reason. And when people are shouting, they're not 0:37:01.840 --> 0:37:04.480 shouting for a different reason. Now there's some of you 0:37:04.520 --> 0:37:06.720 that you're you're like me, You're just like moving forward. 0:37:06.719 --> 0:37:09.440 You're you're ambitious, you like kicking indoors. And then I'm 0:37:09.440 --> 0:37:11.320 telling you to get left behind, and you're like, I 0:37:11.320 --> 0:37:14.040 don't know who these guy is. Bring back the real Stephen, 0:37:14.080 --> 0:37:20.360 this isn't black, And then I want to move forward. 0:37:20.560 --> 0:37:23.719 For some people that are shouting yeah, I don't mind 0:37:23.760 --> 0:37:27.280 being left behind, You're not shouting yeah out of faith. 0:37:27.320 --> 0:37:34.200 You're shouting yeah out of complacency. They're not gonna like 0:37:34.239 --> 0:37:39.160 me after this one because being left behind is different 0:37:39.239 --> 0:37:43.360 than hanging behind. And it's one thing to say I 0:37:43.400 --> 0:37:46.800 don't need more to define me. It's a completely different 0:37:46.800 --> 0:37:51.200 thing to say I don't want more. See, there's a 0:37:51.280 --> 0:37:58.440 major difference between complacency and contentment. Contentment is the next 0:37:58.480 --> 0:38:02.440 promotion doesn't define me. I'm defined in Christ and I 0:38:02.480 --> 0:38:06.160 am complete and satisfied in who I am today. But 0:38:06.320 --> 0:38:08.960 I will take that next promotion and when that door opens. 0:38:12.560 --> 0:38:17.480 Complacency is I don't want anything else out of life. 0:38:17.719 --> 0:38:21.719 And hear me, complacency is not of God. Psalm says this. 0:38:21.800 --> 0:38:24.080 He said, asks me, and I will give you the 0:38:24.280 --> 0:38:28.120 nations as your inheritance. If I did not withhold my son, 0:38:28.360 --> 0:38:31.960 how much more will I not freely give you all things? 0:38:32.000 --> 0:38:37.720 God has more for you. So if I've been left behind, 0:38:37.760 --> 0:38:40.120 if doors aren't opening, if if I'm in a season 0:38:40.160 --> 0:38:43.440 of waiting, it's not a season of complacency, it's a 0:38:43.480 --> 0:38:46.560 season of God. What are you looking to do in 0:38:46.760 --> 0:38:51.880 this season? How can I maximize this season until next comes? 0:38:52.000 --> 0:38:57.000 And here's what Jesus did. Jesus learned. Jesus didn't just 0:38:57.080 --> 0:38:59.520 hang back and you know, just just eat food and 0:38:59.520 --> 0:39:01.600 hang out. No, no no, no, no, Jesus went to the 0:39:01.640 --> 0:39:04.640 temple and he began to learn from the rabbis. He 0:39:04.719 --> 0:39:07.920 began to debate, He began to unpack scripture. He began 0:39:08.040 --> 0:39:12.040 to learn and develop himself. Hear me, if next hasn't come, 0:39:12.239 --> 0:39:14.399 there's something that God's trying to teach you in the now, 0:39:15.960 --> 0:39:18.560 if a new opportunity, if a door hasn't opened up 0:39:18.560 --> 0:39:21.040 in front of you, there's something that God is trying 0:39:21.040 --> 0:39:24.600 to unpack in your life right now. If there's something 0:39:24.680 --> 0:39:27.560 that you want, you don't have it, Ask God, what 0:39:27.640 --> 0:39:31.960 do I need to learn? What revelation am I missing? 0:39:32.640 --> 0:39:35.200 What Kingdom purpose in this area? Have I not been 0:39:35.200 --> 0:39:38.040 made aware of? What am I not seeing here? That 0:39:38.160 --> 0:39:41.000 You're trying to show me? And help me see it? 0:39:41.160 --> 0:39:43.840 Because as soon as I see it, I can get 0:39:43.880 --> 0:39:47.040 to where I need to go. If God's left you behind, 0:39:47.080 --> 0:39:51.399 it's because He's trying to teach you something where you are. 0:39:52.400 --> 0:39:54.520 I should stay out of trouble right not I like too. 0:39:54.560 --> 0:39:56.920 Let's just let's just go right up to the edge. 0:39:57.680 --> 0:39:59.960 We all were locked down in this pandemic for twelve months, 0:40:00.040 --> 0:40:02.520 twenty four months, or whatever it may be. Here's what happened. 0:40:03.440 --> 0:40:09.600 Some people sat, and some people grew. Some people sat 0:40:09.600 --> 0:40:13.200 in their house and twiddled their thumbs and did nothing. 0:40:14.040 --> 0:40:15.759 Other people said, well, since I can't get on the 0:40:15.760 --> 0:40:17.520 plane and I can't go all these wis God, what 0:40:17.600 --> 0:40:19.000 is it that you're trying to do in me? What 0:40:19.040 --> 0:40:21.200 are you trying to develop in me? What are you 0:40:21.239 --> 0:40:23.600 trying to heal me off? What are you trying to 0:40:23.640 --> 0:40:26.319 grow me in? God? Since I got a halftime on 0:40:26.400 --> 0:40:29.319 my life, let me use this time to grow so 0:40:29.360 --> 0:40:32.279 that when the doors finally do open back up, I'm 0:40:32.280 --> 0:40:34.839 not the same person that went in. And now that 0:40:34.920 --> 0:40:38.080 things are opening up, we're beginning to see not everybody 0:40:38.200 --> 0:40:42.319 spent the last three years the same way. I can 0:40:42.440 --> 0:40:46.080 either sit and complain about what opportunities are not coming 0:40:46.120 --> 0:40:49.040 my way, or, like I said, God, you're trying to 0:40:49.080 --> 0:40:52.480 do something in this moment, and you gotta catch this picture. 0:40:52.680 --> 0:40:58.080 There's a twelve year old kid sitting with grown men. 0:40:59.239 --> 0:41:02.839 These were the educated of the land, These were the 0:41:02.840 --> 0:41:06.200 most learned of the land. And he was holding his 0:41:06.400 --> 0:41:11.640 own Why Because purpose will always put you in rooms 0:41:13.160 --> 0:41:17.640 that are above your head. And when purpose puts you 0:41:17.680 --> 0:41:20.719 in a room that's above your head, you have two choices. 0:41:21.320 --> 0:41:25.560 You could either let insecurity overwhelm you, or you could 0:41:25.560 --> 0:41:27.120 say God has me here because he's trying to teach 0:41:27.160 --> 0:41:30.000 me something. I got to learn something, I gotta see 0:41:30.040 --> 0:41:32.560 something because he's trying to take me somewhere. I remember 0:41:32.640 --> 0:41:35.560 about eight years ago, I was at a pastor's round 0:41:35.600 --> 0:41:39.600 table at one of the largest churches in America, probably 0:41:39.640 --> 0:41:42.520 about sixteen pastors, and I'm telling you, look around these table, 0:41:42.719 --> 0:41:44.560 and it was like the up and coming who's who. 0:41:45.080 --> 0:41:46.960 This guy got four thousand people in his church. This 0:41:46.960 --> 0:41:48.840 guy got ten thousand, this guy got six thousand, this 0:41:48.880 --> 0:41:50.880 guy got eight thousands. I had two hundred fifty people. 0:41:53.360 --> 0:41:55.440 You ever, you know one of these things are not 0:41:55.480 --> 0:41:58.960 like the other. I missed half of the round table 0:41:59.000 --> 0:42:00.799 because I'm just trying to figure out why I was there. 0:42:02.080 --> 0:42:05.040 And I'm sitting at this table, and y'all they were 0:42:05.280 --> 0:42:11.279 talking about concepts that I didn't even know existed. Even 0:42:11.280 --> 0:42:14.160 in a position where people are answering questions that you're 0:42:14.160 --> 0:42:18.480 not even smart enough to ask, they're sitting there talk 0:42:18.480 --> 0:42:20.040 about Yeah, we're going going, We're gona build this campus. 0:42:20.040 --> 0:42:21.880 There's gonna be twenty million dollars, and we're building this 0:42:21.920 --> 0:42:24.840 location that's thirty million dollars and fifty million dollars. And 0:42:24.880 --> 0:42:27.280 I just needed three hundred bucks to make the payment 0:42:27.320 --> 0:42:30.240 on the church's copy machine so the church's coffee machine 0:42:30.239 --> 0:42:33.040 didn't get repossessed. And I'm just like, I'm grabbing for 0:42:33.120 --> 0:42:35.880 twenty million dollars, bilding, But how do I get three 0:42:35.920 --> 0:42:37.919 hundred dollars so I could pay this copy machine bill 0:42:38.040 --> 0:42:40.120 so that we could keep on printing all the bulletins 0:42:40.160 --> 0:42:41.800 that we can hang on people as they walked to 0:42:41.920 --> 0:42:48.640 the door. Can somebody answer that question? They got to 0:42:48.680 --> 0:42:50.600 this one moment in the round table. We're saying, you 0:42:50.640 --> 0:42:53.480 need to understand the demonic principalities of your city and 0:42:53.520 --> 0:42:56.840 begin in per circles around the demonic principalities of your city. 0:42:56.880 --> 0:42:59.120 And when you bind those principalities, you will be able 0:42:59.160 --> 0:43:06.080 to see growth from if your church, I said, princip Prince, Prince, Prince, Prince, 0:43:07.840 --> 0:43:09.600 I got a demon in my sound system. How do 0:43:09.600 --> 0:43:15.680 you catch how do you cast that out? How do 0:43:15.719 --> 0:43:25.440 you make the feedback stop? But y'all, I'm sitting in 0:43:25.480 --> 0:43:31.480 that room and over three days I took eight pages 0:43:31.560 --> 0:43:39.360 of notes, no exactly. For the next three years, I 0:43:39.560 --> 0:43:45.279 just applied, applied, applied, applied, applied, applied, applied, And next 0:43:45.280 --> 0:43:48.719 thing you know, hundreds are coming, thousands are coming, Revival 0:43:48.760 --> 0:43:51.640 breaks out. I learned what a principality was. I start 0:43:51.680 --> 0:44:00.239 prayer marching instead of obsessing how everybody around tell me 0:44:00.360 --> 0:44:05.520 was ahead of me. I realized that we're not in 0:44:05.560 --> 0:44:09.640 a competition. This is not a race. I have my calling, 0:44:09.880 --> 0:44:12.880 you have yours. I have my purpose, you have yours. 0:44:13.160 --> 0:44:18.560 Your success doesn't intimidate me. Your success inspires me, because 0:44:18.600 --> 0:44:21.000 if God can do it through you, then God can 0:44:21.040 --> 0:44:23.360 do it through me. So I know you're ahead of me, 0:44:23.600 --> 0:44:26.840 But do you mind just pausing for one second and 0:44:27.000 --> 0:44:29.960 teach me something You've got to teach me much, Just 0:44:30.040 --> 0:44:33.400 teach me. I promise you I'll apply it. Last thing? 0:44:33.440 --> 0:44:35.120 Is this right? This time? Right? Just down right? Next end? 0:44:35.440 --> 0:44:40.600 All right? That isn't even the best part. Number three. 0:44:42.000 --> 0:44:50.520 Purpose doesn't take things personally. I wanted to say purpose 0:44:50.520 --> 0:44:54.879 doesn't get offended, but I didn't. I said this. Luke 0:44:54.920 --> 0:44:56.799 two forty says this. So when they saw him, they 0:44:56.800 --> 0:45:00.480 were amazed. And his mother said to him, son, why 0:45:00.520 --> 0:45:07.560 have you done this to us? Look your father who's 0:45:07.560 --> 0:45:13.480 standing here, and won't say a word. You ever noticed 0:45:13.480 --> 0:45:20.120 how Joseph never speaks Your father and I have sought you. 0:45:20.840 --> 0:45:24.160 Here's what Mary, she said, Jesus, why did you put 0:45:24.239 --> 0:45:30.239 us through this? It says Mary, was when they walked in. 0:45:30.360 --> 0:45:33.120 Obviously it's church. They're not gonna interrupt. They're watching from 0:45:33.120 --> 0:45:35.960 the side for a moment, and they see Jesus going 0:45:36.080 --> 0:45:38.920 back and forth with the rabbis, and he is holding 0:45:39.000 --> 0:45:45.040 his own It says Mary was amazed. Here's a problem 0:45:45.080 --> 0:45:49.200 with having purpose on your life. People who don't have 0:45:49.280 --> 0:45:52.640 purpose will be amazed at God's hand on your life 0:45:53.080 --> 0:45:59.560 and offended by it at the same time. Wow, it's 0:45:59.600 --> 0:46:02.680 amazing in what God is doing through you, but you've 0:46:02.719 --> 0:46:06.560 forgotten who you are. Well, look at the doors that 0:46:06.600 --> 0:46:11.439 are opening up. Don't get a big head now, Wow, 0:46:11.640 --> 0:46:13.880 look at your family, Look at the peace, Look at 0:46:13.880 --> 0:46:15.799 the joy. I wish I had a family like that. 0:46:15.920 --> 0:46:20.760 But you think you're better than us. People who don't 0:46:20.840 --> 0:46:28.760 have purpose are always offended by those who do. Here's 0:46:28.800 --> 0:46:36.200 the problem. If I'm a people pleaser and the purpose 0:46:36.320 --> 0:46:40.320 on my life is offensive to others, I will always 0:46:40.400 --> 0:46:47.160 live an apologetic life instead of a boldness of who 0:46:47.200 --> 0:46:51.719 God's called me to be Jesus said, Mom, is not 0:46:51.760 --> 0:46:54.920 about you. I'm not trying to cause you anxiety. I'm 0:46:54.920 --> 0:46:56.200 not trying to cause you for I'm not trying to 0:46:56.239 --> 0:46:58.000 do it. No, no no, no, no no, no no. This is 0:46:58.040 --> 0:47:02.520 because that's my father's I'm trying to set you up 0:47:02.640 --> 0:47:04.919 that if you're gonna live a life of purpose, you're 0:47:04.960 --> 0:47:09.319 gonna have to be okay with some awkward encounters. You're 0:47:09.320 --> 0:47:11.520 gonna people go coming in, Hey, hey, hey, I got 0:47:11.520 --> 0:47:14.919 this business opportunity. We gotta go fifty to fifty. I'll 0:47:14.920 --> 0:47:17.080 put in half to We'll triple our money in the 0:47:17.080 --> 0:47:23.200 next six months. We gotta do it. You got the money? 0:47:23.920 --> 0:47:27.560 M h. Are you doing something else with it? M? 0:47:30.040 --> 0:47:33.680 Do you think this is gonna work? M hm? And 0:47:33.719 --> 0:47:38.319 you're still not gonna do it? You don't think I'm 0:47:38.320 --> 0:47:42.719 good at what? You don't like you? No, that's not 0:47:42.719 --> 0:47:46.200 what God told me to do. No, he has something 0:47:46.200 --> 0:47:49.080 else for me. I can't even explain it more than 0:47:49.080 --> 0:47:50.680 that because he hasn't really give me all the information. 0:47:50.760 --> 0:47:56.600 But there's a different purpose of my life. Hey call 0:47:56.640 --> 0:48:04.920 a sinophorees. Hey we should day. M Do you like me? 0:48:07.200 --> 0:48:15.759 You think I'm attractive? Do you have any other options, HM, 0:48:18.280 --> 0:48:23.799 then what's the problem. You're not who God promised to me. 0:48:27.880 --> 0:48:33.880 Living a life of purpose is awkward. If you're a 0:48:33.920 --> 0:48:38.440 person that likes every dead body to be happy with you, 0:48:38.440 --> 0:48:43.279 you will compromise on your purpose. But if you live 0:48:43.320 --> 0:48:47.759 a life like Jesus lived. I love my mother and 0:48:47.760 --> 0:48:49.279 I want her to be happy, but that's not the 0:48:49.320 --> 0:48:54.120 primary purpose of my life. I love my kids and 0:48:54.120 --> 0:48:55.920 I want them to be great men and women of God, 0:48:55.960 --> 0:49:00.120 but not the totality of the purpose of my life. 0:49:00.760 --> 0:49:03.840 I like when people like me, but it's not the 0:49:03.840 --> 0:49:07.560 purpose of my life. I'm like everybody else. I love promotion, 0:49:07.640 --> 0:49:12.759 I love new titles, but that's not my purpose. A 0:49:12.920 --> 0:49:23.200 purpose is to hear well done, that good and faithful servant. 0:49:26.400 --> 0:49:28.120 When you make a decision, I'm gonna live a life 0:49:28.200 --> 0:49:32.080 to fulfill why he placed me here on earth. You're 0:49:32.080 --> 0:49:35.480 gonna see a peace of joy and a purpose that 0:49:35.560 --> 0:49:40.080 you never thought possible. Father God, we're grateful. God, We're thankful. 0:49:43.200 --> 0:49:45.399 God out of billions of people, got you know us, 0:49:45.400 --> 0:49:49.080 You called us, you set us apart, You put purpose 0:49:49.800 --> 0:49:55.120 on our life. Right where you're sitting watching online, whatever 0:49:55.160 --> 0:49:57.440 location that you're at can you can you pray this 0:49:57.480 --> 0:50:01.799 perth me say, Holy Spirit, what are you saying to me? 0:50:03.080 --> 0:50:05.280 And just give God a moment to make this message 0:50:05.320 --> 0:50:09.440 personal to you. Maybe you're all stressed out about an 0:50:09.440 --> 0:50:12.080 opportunity that you're missing. God says you haven't missed anything. 0:50:14.120 --> 0:50:16.640 Maybe you're complacent in God's saying it's time to learn. 0:50:18.520 --> 0:50:20.439 Maybe you're worried about who doesn't like you or who's 0:50:20.480 --> 0:50:22.360 not pleased with your decisions, and God says it's not 0:50:22.440 --> 0:50:27.960 about that. Or maybe if you'd be honest, you would say, Pastor, 0:50:28.080 --> 0:50:31.600 I don't know this God that you're talking about, that 0:50:31.680 --> 0:50:35.800 you say has a purpose for my life. Here's a reality. 0:50:35.880 --> 0:50:39.319 There's a great purpose for your life. But you will 0:50:39.320 --> 0:50:43.480 never discover that purpose until you discover the God of purpose, 0:50:45.080 --> 0:50:47.319 because your greatest existence is only in the palm of 0:50:47.360 --> 0:50:50.759 His hand. Wherever you find yourself. You say, Pastor, I 0:50:50.840 --> 0:50:52.879 can't say that I know God the way that you're 0:50:52.880 --> 0:50:55.200 talking about, but I want to know this God who 0:50:55.440 --> 0:50:57.560 loves me and knows me and has a purpose for 0:50:57.680 --> 0:51:00.600 my life. You can make that decision right where you 0:51:00.640 --> 0:51:04.040 are not going to have you raise your hand or 0:51:04.040 --> 0:51:05.480 type in the chat or anything like that. But write 0:51:05.480 --> 0:51:09.520 where you are. Just pray this perth me say, Father God, 0:51:10.680 --> 0:51:16.440 thank you for seeing me, for wanting me, thank you 0:51:17.320 --> 0:51:20.840 for sending your son Jesus to die on the cross 0:51:21.640 --> 0:51:26.920 so that all my mistakes, all my sin can be raised. Today. 0:51:27.800 --> 0:51:32.960 Right now, I surrender, I give you all of me. 0:51:33.760 --> 0:51:38.759 Be my Lord, be my savior, and use me for 0:51:38.880 --> 0:51:44.120 your glory in Jesus' name. Amen and amen and amen. Hey, 0:51:44.280 --> 0:51:46.880 can you celebrate for every single person that made the 0:51:46.920 --> 0:51:54.319 greatest decision ever? Well, if you enjoyed today's podcast, there 0:51:54.320 --> 0:51:56.279 are a couple of things I'd love for you to do. 0:51:56.400 --> 0:52:00.759 Make sure to subscribe, rate, and review this podcast. You 0:52:00.800 --> 0:52:03.200 can also help us reach others by investing today at 0:52:03.239 --> 0:52:07.240 Elevationchurch dot org, slash give and thanks again for joining 0:52:07.320 --> 0:52:08.880 us on the Elevation Podcast