It's Mine To Manage

0:00:00.440 --> 0:00:02.240 Hey, don't start clicking off. I promise we're going to 0:00:02.320 --> 0:00:04.320 get to the preaching in just a moment. But I'm 0:00:04.360 --> 0:00:08.720 excited about this. This is a very special tradition at Elevation, 0:00:08.880 --> 0:00:10.440 and we want to speak to all of you who 0:00:10.760 --> 0:00:13.880 call our church home, especially our extended family, our EPAM 0:00:14.320 --> 0:00:17.680 around the world, because once a year we have a 0:00:17.720 --> 0:00:20.960 special series. It's really more than a collection of teachings. 0:00:21.000 --> 0:00:23.840 It's a faith experience for all of the people who 0:00:23.920 --> 0:00:26.560 are part of our ministry at Elevation, and this year 0:00:26.600 --> 0:00:29.760 our theme is game Changer. I think one of the 0:00:29.800 --> 0:00:33.280 most exciting things that God is doing in our ministry 0:00:33.840 --> 0:00:36.680 is to open the doors of our ministry beyond our walls. 0:00:36.720 --> 0:00:39.120 What I mean by that is we are amazed at 0:00:39.120 --> 0:00:42.360 the thousands and thousands and thousands of you who are 0:00:42.400 --> 0:00:46.120 letting us know that you're impacted by this ministry in 0:00:46.200 --> 0:00:50.760 another zip code, in another state, in another country, maybe 0:00:50.760 --> 0:00:53.520 eventually on another planet. But what I wanted to mention 0:00:53.600 --> 0:00:55.760 to you is that you can be a part of 0:00:55.800 --> 0:00:59.720 this beyond just consuming. Many of you have been blessed 0:00:59.720 --> 0:01:02.240 by God to be a blessing. Now I wanted to 0:01:02.600 --> 0:01:05.320 ask today, would you be willing during this special time 0:01:05.319 --> 0:01:08.399 of year to make a one time donation to the 0:01:08.440 --> 0:01:11.839 ministry or maybe partner with us on a monthly basis 0:01:11.920 --> 0:01:15.280 through recurring giving. I believe God could use your gift 0:01:15.360 --> 0:01:18.560 to enable this ministry to continue to reach, to continue 0:01:18.560 --> 0:01:21.920 to break paradigms, to continue to lift up Jesus. And 0:01:21.959 --> 0:01:24.480 I wanted to ask you personally to go to Elevationchurch 0:01:24.600 --> 0:01:26.800 dot org and you can see the ways to give there. 0:01:26.840 --> 0:01:30.520 But most importantly, know that we feel a tremendousness of 0:01:30.560 --> 0:01:33.840 responsibility to minister the word of God, not only to you, 0:01:34.240 --> 0:01:36.759 but to challenge you to partner with us in reaching 0:01:36.800 --> 0:01:39.400 people for the Gospel. I believe your gift today could 0:01:39.400 --> 0:01:42.280 be a game changer, so don't put it off right now. 0:01:42.640 --> 0:01:45.520 Elevation Church dot org you can find all of the details. 0:01:45.800 --> 0:01:47.920 I hope you enjoy this message and thank you for 0:01:47.960 --> 0:01:51.559 being a part of the family. I want to share 0:01:51.600 --> 0:01:57.440 with you from a scripture that really demonstrates something that 0:01:57.480 --> 0:02:00.440 I think is difficult to do in our lives will 0:02:00.480 --> 0:02:03.480 be so helpful to us. We're in a season called 0:02:03.480 --> 0:02:06.480 Game Changer, and so year in series, we're taking a 0:02:06.520 --> 0:02:09.960 moment to pause, reflect and respond to God's goodness in 0:02:10.000 --> 0:02:13.920 our lives, and so from the scriptural foundation today, I 0:02:13.960 --> 0:02:16.079 want to help you see something that I think will 0:02:16.080 --> 0:02:19.359 help you to carry forward with you into the next 0:02:19.400 --> 0:02:23.040 season of your life momentum. For what God has already 0:02:23.080 --> 0:02:27.080 done is something significant, and what he wants to do 0:02:27.240 --> 0:02:29.960 is even greater. And I believe that, believe that with 0:02:30.040 --> 0:02:32.600 all of my heart for myself and my family, and 0:02:32.639 --> 0:02:34.920 for you and your family, and for our church. And 0:02:34.960 --> 0:02:37.440 so with that spirit of faith, today let's go to 0:02:37.480 --> 0:02:42.079 the Word of God Joshua, chapter four, verses one through nine. 0:02:43.080 --> 0:02:46.000 And as I read this story to you over the 0:02:46.000 --> 0:02:48.160 next few moments, I want you pay attention to the 0:02:48.200 --> 0:02:51.400 details of it. Okay, because on the surface, the story 0:02:51.480 --> 0:02:55.080 is really very simple. The people of Israel are crossing 0:02:55.360 --> 0:02:58.400 into the Promised Land. They haven't fought any battles yet, 0:02:58.520 --> 0:03:01.639 but it's already theirs because God has promised to give 0:03:01.639 --> 0:03:04.840 it to them. So they're coming to realize what God 0:03:05.040 --> 0:03:08.200 has already revealed, and he showed it to them for 0:03:08.320 --> 0:03:12.360 many generations. But now they're coming into that moment where 0:03:12.440 --> 0:03:16.600 they're having to actually believe that what God spoke in 0:03:16.639 --> 0:03:20.480 their lives, and what God spoke that they haven't seen 0:03:20.520 --> 0:03:23.200 come to pass yet is about to happen. And so 0:03:23.320 --> 0:03:26.560 I think this is an appropriate scripture for where we 0:03:26.600 --> 0:03:29.240 are as a church, and maybe for where you are 0:03:29.240 --> 0:03:30.960 as well. And I pray that God will help me 0:03:31.000 --> 0:03:37.280 deliver it today. Are you excited? I'll be honest, it's 0:03:37.320 --> 0:03:39.440 not very convinced him, but I am. I'm excited enough 0:03:39.520 --> 0:03:41.600 for all of us, So we'll do it anyway. Joshua 0:03:41.680 --> 0:03:44.000 Chapter four, verse one. When the whole nation to finished 0:03:44.000 --> 0:03:46.080 crossing the Jordan, the Lord said to Joshua, what choose 0:03:46.120 --> 0:03:48.720 twelve men from among the people, one from each tribe, 0:03:48.720 --> 0:03:51.240 and tell them to take up twelve stones from the 0:03:51.240 --> 0:03:54.600 middle of the Jordan, from right where the priests are standing, 0:03:55.520 --> 0:03:58.160 and carry them over with you and put them down 0:03:58.200 --> 0:04:02.360 at the place where you stay. So Joshua call the 0:04:02.440 --> 0:04:04.840 twelve men he had appointed from the Israelites, one from 0:04:04.880 --> 0:04:08.200 each tribe, and said to them, go before the ark 0:04:08.240 --> 0:04:10.120 of the Lord your got into the middle of the Jordan. 0:04:11.040 --> 0:04:12.480 Each of you is to take up a stone on 0:04:12.520 --> 0:04:16.400 his shoulder, according to the number of tribes of the Israelites, 0:04:16.800 --> 0:04:21.880 to serve as a sign among you in the future, 0:04:22.320 --> 0:04:27.839 when your children ask you, what do these stones mean 0:04:29.240 --> 0:04:32.720 tell them that the flow of the Jordan was cut 0:04:32.760 --> 0:04:35.720 off before the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord. 0:04:36.520 --> 0:04:39.359 When it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan 0:04:39.400 --> 0:04:44.479 were cut off. These stones are to be a memorial 0:04:44.560 --> 0:04:48.760 to the people of Israel forever. So Israelites did as 0:04:48.839 --> 0:04:53.280 Joshua commanded them. They took twelve stones in the middle 0:04:53.320 --> 0:04:56.200 of the Jordan, according to the number of the tribes 0:04:56.240 --> 0:04:59.120 of the Israelites, as the Lord had told Joshua, and 0:04:59.160 --> 0:05:02.039 they carried them over with them to the camp where 0:05:02.120 --> 0:05:04.719 they put them down. Joshua was set up the twelve 0:05:04.760 --> 0:05:07.480 stones that had been in the middle of the Jordan 0:05:08.040 --> 0:05:10.800 at the spot where the priests who had carried the 0:05:10.920 --> 0:05:14.400 arc of the Covenant had stood, and they are there 0:05:15.360 --> 0:05:17.920 to this day. Would you look at the person next 0:05:17.960 --> 0:05:19.720 to you and give them my sermon title, tell them 0:05:19.720 --> 0:05:23.839 it's mine to manage. Look at your other neighbor. I 0:05:23.839 --> 0:05:25.839 know they were your second choice, but they're important to 0:05:25.839 --> 0:05:29.560 the Lord as well, and tell them it's mine to manage. 0:05:31.560 --> 0:05:34.080 It's mine to manage. How many of you have children, 0:05:35.200 --> 0:05:37.360 How many of you have children who have a phone 0:05:37.920 --> 0:05:41.960 or an electronic device with a data plan. It's a 0:05:41.960 --> 0:05:44.479 big debate around my house, when will our children be 0:05:44.520 --> 0:05:50.000 old enough to be entrusted with data real first world problems. 0:05:50.000 --> 0:05:52.680 I get it, but you know, parenting is challenging. It's 0:05:52.680 --> 0:05:55.440 a great privilege, but I find it to be challenging, 0:05:55.920 --> 0:05:57.800 and I find it to be exhilarating, and I find 0:05:57.800 --> 0:06:00.360 it to be exhausting. And one woman rod me on 0:06:00.400 --> 0:06:02.360 YouTube and said, I think you had kids too soon. 0:06:02.400 --> 0:06:05.960 You're always complaining about them, And I prayed for her 0:06:06.360 --> 0:06:14.360 in tongues. But you know, the more of a privilege 0:06:14.400 --> 0:06:16.719 you see something to be, the more of a responsibility 0:06:16.760 --> 0:06:21.640 you feel toward it. So complaining isn't always a sign 0:06:21.720 --> 0:06:24.720 that you don't care, you're not grateful, you'd have an 0:06:24.720 --> 0:06:27.920 attitude of gratitude. Gratitude is not an attitude. Gratitude is 0:06:27.920 --> 0:06:32.119 an action. And then the action of being grateful leads 0:06:32.160 --> 0:06:35.440 to a feeling of gratitude. But God would not command 0:06:35.520 --> 0:06:39.839 you to be grateful if gratitude was a feeling, because 0:06:39.839 --> 0:06:43.200 you can't command a feeling. Doesn't work that way. God 0:06:43.240 --> 0:06:46.280 instead instructs you to praise him. Once ps Alma said 0:06:46.320 --> 0:06:50.080 it this way. He said, Ah, this is the day 0:06:50.240 --> 0:06:54.560 that the Lord has made I will rejoice and be 0:06:54.640 --> 0:06:58.960 glad in it. This is the day that the Lord 0:06:59.200 --> 0:07:05.400 has made. I will rejoice and be glad in it. Oh, 0:07:05.560 --> 0:07:10.280 this is the day. This is the day that the 0:07:10.560 --> 0:07:18.920 Lord has made. Hey, this is the day. This is 0:07:19.120 --> 0:07:22.880 the day that the Lord has made. Now who made it? 0:07:23.560 --> 0:07:30.160 Who made it? Now? I will rejoice. I will rejoice 0:07:30.480 --> 0:07:36.520 and be glad in it. So God made it, But 0:07:36.720 --> 0:07:39.280 I get to manage it. Touch somebody say it's mine 0:07:39.320 --> 0:07:42.400 to manage. And what I do with this day is 0:07:42.480 --> 0:07:45.920 up to me. So when I gave my oldest kid 0:07:46.120 --> 0:07:49.160 his phone, I said, I wrapped it. It was his birthday, 0:07:49.320 --> 0:07:51.640 and I rapped it, and I said, this phone has data, 0:07:52.040 --> 0:07:58.840 and this phone is is yours? Not really for your birthday. 0:07:58.880 --> 0:08:06.640 I am giving you my to use, which means that 0:08:06.760 --> 0:08:11.560 this phone, the contents thereof, and the communications that shall 0:08:11.600 --> 0:08:20.840 be initiated thereby, are under my jurisdiction. One good parent 0:08:20.920 --> 0:08:25.760 clapped when I said that, And I dare you to 0:08:25.760 --> 0:08:27.720 put a pass code on that phone that I don't know. 0:08:29.320 --> 0:08:31.560 I dare you to put a pass code on that phone. 0:08:31.600 --> 0:08:40.400 You change your passcode, and I will change your destiny. 0:08:41.160 --> 0:08:44.680 But it was a principle in the modern age of stewardship. 0:08:44.720 --> 0:08:47.720 That is really the same principle. You know that God 0:08:47.720 --> 0:08:50.280 has been trying to teach us all along that it's 0:08:50.320 --> 0:08:54.920 his to give and it's ours to manage. And the 0:08:54.960 --> 0:09:02.320 moment you begin to understand that about your life, your money, 0:09:03.360 --> 0:09:06.440 y'all don't like this sermon already. This is a motivational part. 0:09:08.200 --> 0:09:11.400 It takes some of the pressure off to realize that 0:09:11.480 --> 0:09:15.960 it's his to give, it's mine to manage. Say it 0:09:15.960 --> 0:09:19.880 out loud, it's his to give, mine to manage. So 0:09:19.920 --> 0:09:23.720 I didn't make the day, but I will rejoice in it. 0:09:23.880 --> 0:09:27.360 So he gave me the day, and now it's mine 0:09:27.520 --> 0:09:32.120 to manage. That's a really powerful distinction to know that 0:09:32.640 --> 0:09:35.400 there are certain things that God has given you under 0:09:35.600 --> 0:09:41.400 your jurisdiction. One of those things is your joy. I 0:09:41.440 --> 0:09:45.160 will rejoice and be glad in it. And so this 0:09:45.240 --> 0:09:46.679 is the day that the Lord has made, I will 0:09:46.720 --> 0:09:50.920 rejoice and be glad in it, regardless of if the 0:09:50.960 --> 0:09:56.480 traffic is congested. I don't manage the traffic, but am 0:09:56.920 --> 0:10:02.560 i am. I like it this way. My joy is 0:10:02.760 --> 0:10:07.040 my job. No matter what happens when I get to 0:10:07.120 --> 0:10:11.960 my job, no one can steal my joy because my 0:10:12.240 --> 0:10:17.280 joy is not under anyone else's jurisdiction. See what I'm saying. 0:10:17.600 --> 0:10:20.760 It's mine to manage. And one time I made the 0:10:20.760 --> 0:10:24.080 mistake of saying that somebody stole my joy, and the 0:10:24.120 --> 0:10:26.480 spear of the Lord really corrected me on that, like 0:10:26.679 --> 0:10:31.839 they stole your joy, your joy is not their job. 0:10:32.559 --> 0:10:34.320 And if they stole it, you should have done a 0:10:34.320 --> 0:10:36.400 better job locking the door so they couldn't get to it. 0:10:38.520 --> 0:10:41.079 You need a better security system. If someone else can 0:10:41.120 --> 0:10:44.160 steal your joy, then you've got your joy hiding out 0:10:44.160 --> 0:10:46.640 there in the open where anybody can see it and 0:10:46.679 --> 0:10:51.040 snatch it. And so this principle emerges in the Book 0:10:51.080 --> 0:10:52.880 of Joshua. Can I tell you a little bit about 0:10:52.920 --> 0:10:56.400 this historic incident. I'm so thankful for the gift of 0:10:56.440 --> 0:10:59.520 your attention today. I find it a great privilege that 0:10:59.840 --> 0:11:02.880 you would lean into the word of God and allow 0:11:02.920 --> 0:11:05.120 these words to be spoken. I think it's amazing. I 0:11:05.200 --> 0:11:06.199 want to make it worth your why I want to 0:11:06.200 --> 0:11:08.079 tell a little bit about this passage of scripture is 0:11:08.360 --> 0:11:10.920 really amazing. What God is doing for his people here 0:11:11.200 --> 0:11:15.959 because the nation of Israel is under new management, under 0:11:16.000 --> 0:11:22.760 new management, and this promise that God began making generations ago, 0:11:23.600 --> 0:11:27.079 is now about to come to pass. This land that 0:11:27.120 --> 0:11:30.880 they are going to possess is going to become theirs, 0:11:30.960 --> 0:11:33.679 but it's really God's, but it's theirs. It's theirs to possess, 0:11:33.720 --> 0:11:36.200 but it's God's to give. So it's Gods and it's theirs, 0:11:36.400 --> 0:11:39.360 and Joshua is the person God is using to bring 0:11:39.400 --> 0:11:43.360 it to pass. Now. Moses was the leader that brought 0:11:43.360 --> 0:11:46.840 the people out of Egypt, where they spent several centuries 0:11:47.000 --> 0:11:50.880 en slave to the systems of that nation. And now 0:11:50.920 --> 0:11:53.920 they're no longer just wandering around in the wilderness like 0:11:53.960 --> 0:11:57.560 they did under Moses for over forty years. But they're 0:11:57.559 --> 0:12:02.480 coming into their own land. They're coming into their own 0:12:02.640 --> 0:12:06.920 spacious place. They're coming into their own homes, and they're 0:12:06.920 --> 0:12:10.920 coming into their own community that God has been in 0:12:10.920 --> 0:12:13.599 the process of forming. But it's going to require a 0:12:13.600 --> 0:12:17.840 different mindset because up until this point in their life, 0:12:18.280 --> 0:12:21.880 they have existed on the miracles that God provided, Like 0:12:22.200 --> 0:12:24.520 God gave them mana when they were in the wilderness 0:12:24.559 --> 0:12:27.440 because they didn't have quail like they had in Egypt, 0:12:27.800 --> 0:12:29.840 that their masters would give them to feed them. But 0:12:29.920 --> 0:12:34.000 now they're coming into their own and the mana that 0:12:34.120 --> 0:12:36.920 used to fall from the sky. It was miraculous how 0:12:36.920 --> 0:12:39.200 it came down. They would just walk out their front 0:12:39.280 --> 0:12:42.439 door and there it would be Amazon Prime on the doorstep. 0:12:43.280 --> 0:12:45.920 The drone would drop it off and they would have 0:12:46.040 --> 0:12:48.800 enough for the day. But the thing that's about to 0:12:48.800 --> 0:12:51.240 happen to them in just a moment is that they're 0:12:51.240 --> 0:12:54.120 going to cross over into this land where the mana 0:12:54.240 --> 0:12:56.760 is going to stop coming, and they are going to 0:12:56.800 --> 0:13:00.160 have to learn to manage in a different way. So 0:13:00.200 --> 0:13:03.240 they're going to have to mature in their mindset. And 0:13:03.280 --> 0:13:04.840 I guess one way that you could say it is 0:13:04.840 --> 0:13:09.680 they're having to learn how to manage their miracle. And 0:13:09.760 --> 0:13:14.600 this is something you don't hear taught enough in settings 0:13:14.640 --> 0:13:19.360 like these, because we often tell you to expect a 0:13:19.400 --> 0:13:24.160 miracle and to believe for a miracle, and to receive 0:13:24.280 --> 0:13:27.679 for a miracle. But how many know that you are 0:13:27.840 --> 0:13:33.920 responsible to manage your miracles. I'll prove it to you 0:13:33.960 --> 0:13:36.199 from the text, because you're acting kind of suspicious, and 0:13:36.240 --> 0:13:38.480 I don't blame you. It sounds weird because a miracle 0:13:38.559 --> 0:13:41.840 is something that God does. It's something that God gives. 0:13:42.720 --> 0:13:48.199 But the cooperation between Heaven and humanity has always been this. 0:13:48.920 --> 0:13:53.760 It's God's to give, but it's mine to manage. It's 0:13:53.840 --> 0:13:58.120 my father's to give, but it's mine to manage. And 0:13:58.160 --> 0:14:01.000 so God is bringing his people through the Jordan River. 0:14:01.000 --> 0:14:02.600 How many of you have something God has brought you 0:14:02.640 --> 0:14:06.839 through this year? Did God bring you through it? I'm 0:14:06.840 --> 0:14:08.680 gonna give you twelve seconds to praise Him for something 0:14:08.720 --> 0:14:19.480 that he brought you through. We all have a Jordan 0:14:20.120 --> 0:14:22.840 that we came through. And the interesting thing about the 0:14:22.920 --> 0:14:25.880 Jordan River is it's mentioned a lot in scripture, but 0:14:25.960 --> 0:14:28.760 not because it's a big body of water. It's only 0:14:28.880 --> 0:14:33.440 like fifteen yards wide at its widest points, and it's 0:14:33.440 --> 0:14:36.000 not the deepest body of water. That's not what makes 0:14:36.040 --> 0:14:42.040 it significant. What it symbolizes gives its biblical significance in 0:14:42.080 --> 0:14:45.280 that the people of God saw the Jordan River as 0:14:45.360 --> 0:14:50.760 representing transitions and new beginnings. You see it a lot 0:14:50.760 --> 0:14:54.880 in the prophetic record, like Elisha God Elijah's mantle in 0:14:54.960 --> 0:14:58.360 the Old Testament, and he crossed the Jordan River. It's 0:14:58.400 --> 0:15:02.440 not a big river, but it's symbolic. It's significant not 0:15:02.520 --> 0:15:05.960 because of its size, not because of its scope physically, 0:15:06.040 --> 0:15:09.600 and not because of its geographical implications. But because of 0:15:09.640 --> 0:15:13.840 what God did there. Now they're standing at this place, 0:15:13.920 --> 0:15:18.000 this body of water, and God does something amazing and 0:15:18.080 --> 0:15:20.680 does it in a very particular way. He tells the 0:15:20.720 --> 0:15:22.760 priest to stand in the middle of the Jordan with 0:15:22.840 --> 0:15:26.520 the arc of the Covenant. That's where they kept the 0:15:26.640 --> 0:15:31.480 Ten Commandments. It represented the presence of God. And when 0:15:31.480 --> 0:15:36.920 the priest put their foot in the water, the water 0:15:37.000 --> 0:15:43.240 stopped flowing to provide passageway for the people to cross through. 0:15:44.600 --> 0:15:50.120 God did not carry his people across the Jordan. He 0:15:50.280 --> 0:15:59.520 enabled his people to cross over. This is how a 0:15:59.520 --> 0:16:02.840 lot of us live, our lives waiting for God to 0:16:03.000 --> 0:16:08.320 carry us over something when He is waiting for us 0:16:08.440 --> 0:16:13.840 to cross you see me, def Leppard, It is true. 0:16:13.960 --> 0:16:16.640 My kids one time, when they were real little, we 0:16:16.640 --> 0:16:19.360 were at a public restroom and they were washing their 0:16:19.400 --> 0:16:21.480 hands and they had their hands out like this, and 0:16:21.560 --> 0:16:24.880 nothing was happening, because I realized they were used to 0:16:24.920 --> 0:16:28.720 the fawcet being automatic, and it wasn't an automatic faucet. 0:16:29.880 --> 0:16:31.840 And I watched, and I stood back to see how 0:16:31.880 --> 0:16:35.040 long they would stand there with their hands under the faucet, 0:16:35.640 --> 0:16:38.800 waiting for something to happen without turning the fascet on 0:16:39.640 --> 0:16:43.600 and finally, in compassion, I told I told my oldest child, 0:16:43.840 --> 0:16:47.520 I said, this is not an automatic faucet. I know 0:16:48.120 --> 0:16:50.480 that you're used to the water just coming on like this, 0:16:50.600 --> 0:16:52.880 seeing when you've had Man'm falling out of the sky 0:16:53.280 --> 0:16:56.480 for so many years, You're used to just something falling 0:16:56.520 --> 0:16:58.800 down out of the just because you put your hand there. 0:16:59.160 --> 0:17:06.480 But it is going to require an action. It's gonna 0:17:06.520 --> 0:17:10.960 require So the water didn't stuff flow until people start walking, 0:17:11.000 --> 0:17:12.840 And when they start walking, the water stuff flowing. And 0:17:12.840 --> 0:17:14.600 the people passed through, and the priests stood in the 0:17:14.600 --> 0:17:16.399 middle of the Jordan, which must have taken faith for 0:17:16.440 --> 0:17:18.159 them to stand in the middle of the Jordan, not 0:17:18.280 --> 0:17:20.199 knowing if it was going to continue to pile up 0:17:20.240 --> 0:17:21.960 in a heap or if it was going to flood 0:17:22.000 --> 0:17:24.680 over them. But the leaders had the faith to stand 0:17:24.960 --> 0:17:27.840 in the middle of the Jordan. In't that significant that 0:17:27.880 --> 0:17:30.040 it said it was in the middle of the Jordan. 0:17:31.440 --> 0:17:33.639 Isn't that the hardest thing in life to do is 0:17:33.720 --> 0:17:40.040 to manage the middle? Because I understand that God has 0:17:40.119 --> 0:17:44.240 made me promises and that he knows the end from 0:17:44.240 --> 0:17:49.280 the beginning, But I don't I don't know the end 0:17:49.480 --> 0:17:53.520 from the beginning. I know the plans I have for you, 0:17:53.960 --> 0:17:57.040 declares the Lord plans to pross for you and not 0:17:57.119 --> 0:18:00.920 to harm you, plans to give you hope and future. Well, 0:18:00.960 --> 0:18:03.840 I'm glad that God knows the plans he had for me, 0:18:04.000 --> 0:18:06.720 but I don't know the plans He has for me. 0:18:07.040 --> 0:18:10.520 And so the challenge isn't believing that he knows how 0:18:10.560 --> 0:18:18.159 this is going to end. My challenge is standing in 0:18:18.200 --> 0:18:24.480 the middle and believing that what he spoke is indeed significant. 0:18:26.119 --> 0:18:29.840 It's different when you're in the middle. It's a lot different. 0:18:30.880 --> 0:18:35.040 It was. It was weird. A few weeks ago, they 0:18:35.040 --> 0:18:37.960 had a baptism testimony on the on the screens, and 0:18:38.000 --> 0:18:40.480 I love the baptism stories. Do you love those stories 0:18:40.480 --> 0:18:45.720 that they tell? If it was your child, you might 0:18:45.760 --> 0:18:47.760 love it, you know what I'm saying, Like if it 0:18:47.800 --> 0:18:50.080 was somebody that you knew and loved. I try to 0:18:50.119 --> 0:18:52.600 always picture like I always picture if that was my 0:18:52.680 --> 0:18:56.879 brother or if that was my sister. And when I 0:18:56.920 --> 0:18:59.919 hear somebody share his testimony, I always listen for the details. 0:19:00.960 --> 0:19:04.040 And one thing that I noticed that they normally share 0:19:04.080 --> 0:19:08.400 in their story. They'll share a sermon that where God 0:19:08.480 --> 0:19:12.160 spoke to them, and a few weeks ago, the young 0:19:12.240 --> 0:19:16.399 lady sharing the sermon that she shared shared a sermon 0:19:16.520 --> 0:19:18.840 that I remember preaching and thinking that it was the 0:19:18.880 --> 0:19:22.360 worst sermon that I ever preached, because it's different when 0:19:22.440 --> 0:19:27.119 you're doing it. Now, it was a year later and 0:19:27.200 --> 0:19:30.320 she was talking about that story, that sermon, and in 0:19:30.359 --> 0:19:35.200 her story she referenced that sermon as a turning point 0:19:35.640 --> 0:19:38.159 in her relationship with God. And here's what I remember. 0:19:38.480 --> 0:19:42.280 I remember how I felt while I was doing it, 0:19:43.200 --> 0:19:47.080 and I realized that even though I felt nothing while 0:19:47.119 --> 0:19:52.240 I was preaching it, she was sitting somewhere in that room, 0:19:52.320 --> 0:19:54.720 maybe not even in the room where I was preaching it, 0:19:55.320 --> 0:20:00.600 and she was having a completely different experience hearing it 0:20:01.080 --> 0:20:04.920 than I was preaching it. But it's different when you're 0:20:04.960 --> 0:20:09.880 in the middle of it, Huh. It's different when you're 0:20:09.960 --> 0:20:14.720 raising your kids believing that they're receiving the values that 0:20:14.760 --> 0:20:17.840 you're trying to impart to them. Because when you are 0:20:17.880 --> 0:20:20.760 teaching your kids' responsibility, they do not thank you and 0:20:20.800 --> 0:20:24.000 recognize you for being a voice of wisdom and an 0:20:24.080 --> 0:20:27.840 encouraging force of good in their lives. Is different when 0:20:27.880 --> 0:20:30.600 you're in the middle of it and see. The reason 0:20:30.680 --> 0:20:34.000 that we can sometimes look at the biblical miracles and 0:20:34.119 --> 0:20:38.200 experience them and celebrate them is because we know how 0:20:38.240 --> 0:20:41.879 they end. But it's different when you're in the middle 0:20:41.880 --> 0:20:45.320 of it. It's different when you're in the middle of it, 0:20:45.359 --> 0:20:47.800 when you are having to stand in the middle of 0:20:47.880 --> 0:20:51.440 something and say, no, God, I know that you're faithful, 0:20:51.760 --> 0:20:54.000 and I know that you're good, but I don't feel 0:20:54.040 --> 0:20:56.480 that you're faithful, and I don't feel that you're good 0:20:56.560 --> 0:21:00.480 right now. That's called a sacrifice of praise. That's where 0:21:00.480 --> 0:21:03.560 you have to dig somewhere deeper than your feelings or 0:21:03.600 --> 0:21:10.000 your knowledge, or your certainty, or your circumstance or your 0:21:10.040 --> 0:21:17.159 bank account. God, show me how to manage the middle. 0:21:18.960 --> 0:21:20.439 I have a hard time with that. I don't have 0:21:20.480 --> 0:21:25.919 a hard time being excited about the beginning, and I 0:21:25.920 --> 0:21:29.560 don't have a hard time celebrating the end. But this middle. 0:21:31.000 --> 0:21:36.000 Teach me how to manage the middle. Ooh, ooh. One 0:21:36.040 --> 0:21:38.119 of my best friends pastors of big church, and they 0:21:38.160 --> 0:21:41.160 had three years where they didn't grow. In fact, they 0:21:41.240 --> 0:21:44.440 went backward. I said, what was the problem in those 0:21:44.440 --> 0:21:46.840 three years when you didn't grow? He said, middle management. 0:21:49.160 --> 0:21:54.400 We got so large the organization got so big that 0:21:54.440 --> 0:21:58.959 there was a layer of people in the middle who 0:21:59.440 --> 0:22:03.280 started to block the values that were a part of 0:22:03.320 --> 0:22:07.520 the organization in the early days. And it was middle management. 0:22:08.080 --> 0:22:10.639 It wasn't the people that were executing the job. It 0:22:10.720 --> 0:22:14.040 wasn't the vision had changed. It was what happened in 0:22:14.080 --> 0:22:18.800 the middle that almost cost us the momentum of what 0:22:18.880 --> 0:22:21.520 God was doing. I wonder is that how it happens 0:22:21.520 --> 0:22:25.760 in our lives. I wonder if sometimes the reason that 0:22:25.960 --> 0:22:30.199 joy stops flowing, the reason that faith stops growing, the 0:22:30.240 --> 0:22:34.080 reason that sometimes we lose our sense of perspective about 0:22:34.240 --> 0:22:38.080 who God is, is not the end. It's not the beginning. 0:22:38.320 --> 0:22:41.639 It's middle management. We don't know how to manage the middle. 0:22:41.880 --> 0:22:44.479 We don't know how to deal with Monday. So we 0:22:44.600 --> 0:22:47.439 shout good on Sunday. But I need a sermon. I 0:22:47.480 --> 0:22:50.960 need an mma sermon. I need some Monday morning application. 0:22:51.440 --> 0:22:54.320 I need something to help me manage this middle because 0:22:54.880 --> 0:22:58.000 I'm not fighting the devil on Sunday morning. I'm fighting 0:22:58.080 --> 0:23:04.399 him on Tuesday at three point thirty seventh. So the 0:23:04.480 --> 0:23:09.680 key to this, Joshua says, take twelve stones. Twelve stones. 0:23:09.800 --> 0:23:15.280 January February March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December, 0:23:15.440 --> 0:23:18.600 twelve months, twelve stones, twelve tribes, twelve disciples, twelve everybody 0:23:18.600 --> 0:23:23.080 say twelve, take twelve, Pile them up. And in the future, 0:23:24.040 --> 0:23:28.359 when your children ask you, what's up with these stones? 0:23:30.000 --> 0:23:32.960 Or like my kids ask me, what's up with these 0:23:33.040 --> 0:23:38.480 cassette tapes? I still got some. When your children ask you, 0:23:39.480 --> 0:23:47.919 tell them what the Lord did. Tell them, tell them, 0:23:48.160 --> 0:23:51.120 take them to the show the stones and tell them, 0:23:52.280 --> 0:23:55.080 we didn't know if we were going to make it through. 0:23:56.760 --> 0:24:00.439 But God did something only he could do. He made it. 0:24:00.480 --> 0:24:03.760 Somebody shot, I made it. Tell the person next to 0:24:03.800 --> 0:24:09.360 you you have no idea what I've been through. Look 0:24:09.400 --> 0:24:11.160 at them right in the eye and say, and God 0:24:11.160 --> 0:24:16.200 brought me over. And look at them one more time 0:24:16.240 --> 0:24:20.439 and say, how about you ask them, have you been 0:24:20.480 --> 0:24:27.320 through anything? Imagine this? Imagine this. They come through the Jordan. 0:24:28.359 --> 0:24:30.720 Let's play the story out for a moment. They come 0:24:30.720 --> 0:24:34.320 through the Jordan. God brings them through. They set up 0:24:34.320 --> 0:24:37.919 the stones. God does a great miracle. They go on 0:24:37.960 --> 0:24:41.040 to fight battles, but they set up the stones to 0:24:41.119 --> 0:24:44.560 remember what God did in that moment. It's very beautiful. 0:24:45.000 --> 0:24:48.520 And then they go forward into the land and they fight. 0:24:48.560 --> 0:24:50.760 They fight many battles, and God gives them any victories. 0:24:50.800 --> 0:24:53.720 But every once in a while, maybe they come back 0:24:53.720 --> 0:24:57.440 with their kids and they show them the stones, because 0:24:57.480 --> 0:24:59.719 they left the stones in Gilgal, and then they moved 0:24:59.720 --> 0:25:03.239 on to conqurecate it. And you know how it is 0:25:03.280 --> 0:25:08.680 when somebody is reflecting on something and they get nostalgic. 0:25:10.200 --> 0:25:14.800 Maybe the parents start telling the children. We didn't know 0:25:14.840 --> 0:25:18.480 if we were going to make it. Joshua was our 0:25:18.520 --> 0:25:22.679 new leader, and we had never we'd never been this 0:25:22.760 --> 0:25:27.080 way before. And he told us. He told us that 0:25:27.840 --> 0:25:29.840 if the priest would stand in the middle, the waters 0:25:29.880 --> 0:25:34.040 would stand at attention until the people passed through. So 0:25:34.119 --> 0:25:36.400 we hurried through as fast as we could. We ran through. 0:25:36.480 --> 0:25:38.760 The Bible says in Joshua, chapter four, verse twenty one. 0:25:38.800 --> 0:25:40.880 They hurried through. They didn't have a whole lot of faith, 0:25:40.960 --> 0:25:45.240 just enough to get through it. They were dancing through 0:25:45.280 --> 0:25:47.800 the middle. They were running through the middle. Let me 0:25:47.840 --> 0:25:49.639 tell you something, when you got the devil chasing you, 0:25:49.880 --> 0:25:51.960 sometimes all you can do is get through it. You 0:25:52.000 --> 0:25:55.920 don't look flashy, you're not shooting, you're not flossing. You're 0:25:55.920 --> 0:25:58.240 not doing nothing but running for your life. So they 0:25:58.240 --> 0:26:02.560 got through it, but they say, God got us through it. 0:26:03.080 --> 0:26:06.280 That was amazing, amazing because we didn't know. It was 0:26:06.359 --> 0:26:08.359 amazing and the arc was there and it represented the 0:26:08.400 --> 0:26:10.480 presence of God. Oh I wish you could have been 0:26:10.520 --> 0:26:13.920 their son. It was just so amazing and we didn't 0:26:13.920 --> 0:26:15.359 know if we were going to be able to do it, 0:26:15.359 --> 0:26:17.040 but we did. God did it. God it wasn't us. 0:26:17.040 --> 0:26:19.240 Say God did it, okay, and they and they say that. 0:26:19.320 --> 0:26:23.520 And then so maybe a few years go by, maybe 0:26:23.520 --> 0:26:26.840 they go back to the place again and they look 0:26:26.880 --> 0:26:30.480 at the stones, but you know, maybe maybe the stones 0:26:30.520 --> 0:26:33.280 are they're still there, they haven't gone anywhere. But the 0:26:33.359 --> 0:26:38.000 story starts to get lost a little bit, and maybe 0:26:38.480 --> 0:26:40.960 a few years later they're telling their children. They're like, oh, yes, 0:26:40.960 --> 0:26:44.520 it's pretty cool. I mean we got through it. I 0:26:44.560 --> 0:26:46.359 mean God did it, but we were the ones who 0:26:46.400 --> 0:26:48.360 had to walk because you know, like God didn't. God 0:26:48.400 --> 0:26:52.200 didn't carry us through. But but we got through it. 0:26:52.600 --> 0:26:54.520 And then a few more years passed and maybe they're 0:26:54.560 --> 0:26:57.800 telling their kids again, making another trip and they're telling them, yeah, 0:26:57.800 --> 0:27:00.280 those stones they're they're cool. Joshua made us get'm out 0:27:00.280 --> 0:27:02.719 the middle of the Jordan. It was weird. We were 0:27:02.760 --> 0:27:04.960 ready to move on. But Joshua, let me tell you 0:27:05.000 --> 0:27:08.640 how I know that the story stopped being told because 0:27:08.680 --> 0:27:11.879 when you get to the end of Joshua's life, you 0:27:11.920 --> 0:27:15.280 read in Judges chapter to verse ten, just as verse, 0:27:15.400 --> 0:27:18.000 just as verse. I want to show you, and I 0:27:18.040 --> 0:27:22.600 want you to think about the space between when Joshua 0:27:22.800 --> 0:27:26.000 led the people through the Jordan and when the next 0:27:26.000 --> 0:27:31.600 generation arose. Says it. After that whole generation, Joshua's generation 0:27:32.560 --> 0:27:36.840 had been gathered to their ancestors, another generation grew up 0:27:37.760 --> 0:27:41.320 who knew neither the Lord nor what he had done 0:27:41.359 --> 0:27:50.359 for Israel. Joshua's generation set up the stones. The next 0:27:50.400 --> 0:27:56.600 generation didn't even know the story. What happened. Somewhere along 0:27:56.680 --> 0:28:01.240 the way between Joshua Chapter four and Judges chapter two, 0:28:02.359 --> 0:28:07.080 they stopped telling the story. Something changed about the story 0:28:07.880 --> 0:28:10.560 somewhere in that space. And God, if I'm just preaching 0:28:10.600 --> 0:28:13.200 this for one person, help me to do it now, 0:28:13.480 --> 0:28:18.280 because they have been telling themselves the wrong story, and 0:28:18.320 --> 0:28:22.359 now their faith is feeling feeble, and now their worship 0:28:22.440 --> 0:28:25.600 has been weakened, and they are in a cycle of 0:28:25.640 --> 0:28:31.800 dependence on false gods because they stopped telling the story. 0:28:32.320 --> 0:28:36.960 The story of salvation is this. I was lost and 0:28:37.119 --> 0:28:41.000 dead in my sin. I had no hope in myself. 0:28:41.400 --> 0:28:46.080 I could not save myself. I could not help myself. 0:28:46.400 --> 0:28:50.240 I could not lift myself. I would not have made 0:28:50.240 --> 0:28:53.120 it if He had not reached down and with a 0:28:53.240 --> 0:28:57.200 mighty hand and an outstretched arm, he died for me. 0:28:57.800 --> 0:29:01.560 He came into my life, intersected me at the point 0:29:01.600 --> 0:29:04.440 of my sin, and while I was still a sinner, 0:29:04.760 --> 0:29:08.200 Christ died for me. Why are you screaming? Because I've 0:29:08.240 --> 0:29:11.920 got a story that didn't start with me. It started 0:29:11.960 --> 0:29:26.440 with the mercy of God. And the enemy doesn't want 0:29:26.520 --> 0:29:29.080 you to tell this story. See he wants He wants 0:29:29.120 --> 0:29:33.480 you to lose your testimony. They kept the stones, the 0:29:33.560 --> 0:29:37.280 stones are still there to this day, but they stopped 0:29:37.400 --> 0:29:42.320 telling the story. You know, you can have all of 0:29:42.320 --> 0:29:50.960 of the the monuments of religion but lose your relationship 0:29:51.680 --> 0:29:56.640 with God. You can have all the stones in the world. 0:29:57.040 --> 0:29:59.680 You can come to church, you can you can still 0:29:59.680 --> 0:30:03.080 live a a live this between the lines. But if 0:30:03.080 --> 0:30:06.800 the truth we're told today some of us have stopped 0:30:07.200 --> 0:30:13.600 telling the story, We've lost our testimony. You have a testimony. 0:30:13.840 --> 0:30:16.120 There are things that God has done for you that 0:30:16.240 --> 0:30:18.840 only He could do, and nobody else can tell it 0:30:18.920 --> 0:30:21.880 for you, and nobody else can tell it like you. 0:30:25.280 --> 0:30:28.040 It can happen. It can happen in your own heart. 0:30:28.240 --> 0:30:30.880 It can happen in a generation. It can happen within 0:30:30.920 --> 0:30:34.200 a lifetime. It could happen within three years. You can 0:30:34.280 --> 0:30:38.000 actually have God do something amazing for you and have 0:30:38.120 --> 0:30:42.120 the stones to prove it. Some of you are sitting 0:30:42.200 --> 0:30:45.160 next to the woman that you ask God to give you, 0:30:47.720 --> 0:30:51.240 but now you want out of your marriage. The problem 0:30:51.280 --> 0:30:56.280 is in your marriage. It's your management. I'll go back 0:30:56.320 --> 0:31:02.120 here because I'm not scared to say this stuff. We 0:31:02.160 --> 0:31:06.000 need to manage our miracles. God has been good to us. 0:31:06.520 --> 0:31:09.760 God has been more than enough. He is a provider, 0:31:10.080 --> 0:31:13.240 He is the hope of Tyr. He did bring you through, 0:31:13.560 --> 0:31:16.640 He did bless you, he did make a way. He 0:31:16.880 --> 0:31:20.040 is more than enough. He is else to die. He 0:31:20.240 --> 0:31:27.840 is a great king. He is a good father. Touch somebody, say, 0:31:27.920 --> 0:31:43.640 manage your miracle. It compsta can't put us yours to manage. 0:31:45.720 --> 0:31:48.720 I told Elijah, if you crack the screen, I'm not 0:31:48.840 --> 0:31:54.080 replacing it. It's yours to manage. If you crack the 0:31:54.120 --> 0:31:57.520 screen or if you here's here's what happens to me, 0:31:58.040 --> 0:32:03.719 let me tell you something. Say so that's tall. I 0:32:03.840 --> 0:32:12.600 sometimes I stopped telling myself the testimony because to me 0:32:13.320 --> 0:32:18.360 sometimes it seems small. You know, something happened between when 0:32:18.360 --> 0:32:20.400 they crossed the Jordan. I don't know exactly what it is. 0:32:21.600 --> 0:32:25.560 I think there's evidence to support this hypothesis. They fought 0:32:25.600 --> 0:32:29.880 a lot of battles between Joshua before and judges too. 0:32:30.760 --> 0:32:35.320 And I wonder if the battles became bigger in their 0:32:35.360 --> 0:32:42.280 minds than the blessings. And I wonder if they started 0:32:42.480 --> 0:32:45.880 telling themselves the stories that centered around their struggles rather 0:32:45.920 --> 0:32:49.160 than God's sovereign hand that saw them through the struggles. 0:32:51.720 --> 0:32:53.840 I wonder if they got in survival mode to the 0:32:53.840 --> 0:32:57.960 point that they stopped telling the story. And I wonder 0:32:58.000 --> 0:33:00.960 if when they saw God do all these other things, 0:33:01.000 --> 0:33:03.760 I wonder I wonder if they just didn't go back 0:33:04.000 --> 0:33:07.240 to the stones they were placed on the bank of 0:33:07.280 --> 0:33:11.520 the Jordan, back where they started. And sometimes when you 0:33:11.560 --> 0:33:14.920 don't go back where you started and remember what God 0:33:14.960 --> 0:33:20.000 did where you started, you lose perspective. When you get 0:33:20.000 --> 0:33:23.719 where you're going, Oh, man, I feel so guilty preaching 0:33:23.760 --> 0:33:28.240 this point. It is so easy for me to get 0:33:28.280 --> 0:33:34.360 caught up and consumed in my own convenience, my own drama, 0:33:35.120 --> 0:33:40.080 my own insecurities, my own dysfunction, and a lot of times, 0:33:40.720 --> 0:33:43.800 I'll be honest with you, I don't share what God 0:33:43.880 --> 0:33:46.040 is doing in my life because it doesn't seem big, 0:33:47.120 --> 0:33:49.720 because I can compare it to something else and it 0:33:49.800 --> 0:33:54.800 seems small. It seems small like these stones. You know, 0:33:54.840 --> 0:33:57.320 at one point in your life you're really grateful for it, 0:33:57.400 --> 0:34:00.400 but then at some point it can lose its significants. 0:34:02.480 --> 0:34:05.360 I was asking somebody the other day if I could 0:34:05.360 --> 0:34:10.239 hear their testimony, and it's a church word, right, testimony. 0:34:10.280 --> 0:34:12.640 People don't really talk like that except in courts and church, 0:34:12.680 --> 0:34:14.319 you know what I mean. Like it's just a real 0:34:14.400 --> 0:34:16.600 churchy thing to say. And they were like, well when 0:34:16.640 --> 0:34:18.759 I was twelve and they were fifty three, I was like, 0:34:18.800 --> 0:34:25.280 not that testimony. I know, you can't fight today's devils 0:34:26.000 --> 0:34:30.040 if you don't have today's testimony. There needs to be 0:34:30.120 --> 0:34:33.239 a current work that God is doing in your life. Yet, Yes, 0:34:33.280 --> 0:34:35.120 he saved me, and I want to talk about that, 0:34:35.360 --> 0:34:38.400 but what is he doing in my life today, another 0:34:38.440 --> 0:34:40.759 generation that knew not the Lord nor what he had 0:34:40.760 --> 0:34:45.799 done for Israel. This is your testimony. You know, it 0:34:45.840 --> 0:34:48.920 can be a tiny testimony. It doesn't have to be 0:34:49.000 --> 0:34:51.319 a big rock. You can fight the devil with a 0:34:51.360 --> 0:34:56.520 little rock. Ask David, you can fight a big giant 0:34:56.840 --> 0:34:59.399 with a little rock if you know how to throw it. 0:35:01.080 --> 0:35:04.200 I said, you can fight depression with a little rock 0:35:04.560 --> 0:35:07.160 if you know how to throw it. You can fight 0:35:07.239 --> 0:35:15.440 discouragement with a lid, a tiny lid, a tiny testimony. 0:35:16.400 --> 0:35:19.279 I don't have a big testimony. I do pretty much 0:35:19.320 --> 0:35:22.600 on my life. I've been serving the Lord. I never 0:35:22.800 --> 0:35:26.800 was owned the drugs and women and running around pretty 0:35:26.880 --> 0:35:30.759 much grew up and come on, man, you don't have 0:35:30.800 --> 0:35:34.160 to have a met lab in your garage to have 0:35:34.239 --> 0:35:38.400 a testimony. You don't have to be fresh off death 0:35:38.480 --> 0:35:42.319 row to have a testimony. You don't have to have 0:35:42.440 --> 0:35:48.839 fourteen children by fourteen women to have a testimony. A testimony, 0:35:49.239 --> 0:35:52.560 it can be the smallest thing. Like a few weeks ago, 0:35:52.600 --> 0:35:54.200 I's getting ready come out and preach. I don't want 0:35:54.200 --> 0:35:57.840 to tell you this because Joshua said, tell them, tell 0:35:57.920 --> 0:36:00.719 them what God did for you, tell them him tell 0:36:00.760 --> 0:36:04.000 them about it. Preach it, teach it. You overcome by 0:36:04.040 --> 0:36:07.480 the blood of the Lamb and the word of your testimony. 0:36:07.680 --> 0:36:12.000 There is power in your personal testimony. So a few 0:36:12.040 --> 0:36:14.479 weeks ago, I was getting ready to preach. I didn't 0:36:14.480 --> 0:36:22.320 feel like preaching. Wo I love the Lord, I believe 0:36:22.320 --> 0:36:24.520 his word, and I believe he's coming again. I just 0:36:24.520 --> 0:36:28.120 didn't feel like preaching. On that Saturday night weather's nasty. 0:36:28.160 --> 0:36:32.160 I didn't feel like preaching. So I was having a 0:36:32.200 --> 0:36:36.640 little pity party. I hate to tell you this, but 0:36:36.760 --> 0:36:43.200 I was. I was being so childish, and but then 0:36:43.200 --> 0:36:45.400 I had this moment. I was like, FaceTime one of 0:36:45.400 --> 0:36:47.240 your friends and get him to pray for you, because 0:36:47.280 --> 0:36:50.799 the service was about to start, so the staff was 0:36:50.840 --> 0:36:53.560 out doing staff stuff so they couldn't come pray for me. 0:36:54.239 --> 0:36:55.480 So I was gonna facet one of my friends who 0:36:55.520 --> 0:36:59.400 didn't have a Saturday night service, and he didn't answer. Apparently, 0:36:59.480 --> 0:37:01.160 Judas Smith, I had better things to do than pray 0:37:01.200 --> 0:37:05.640 for his friend. Pray that the Carolina Panthers will wreak 0:37:05.680 --> 0:37:08.320 havoc upon the Seattle Seahawks today to punish him for 0:37:08.440 --> 0:37:10.880 not being there. In my time of FaceTime, need you 0:37:10.880 --> 0:37:13.040 don't want to FaceTime forerdict. I hope you go down 0:37:13.080 --> 0:37:20.040 today royally. Then I called Craig Groschell, that's my pastor, 0:37:20.080 --> 0:37:23.800 that's my guy. And he didn't answer, and he always answers. 0:37:24.920 --> 0:37:27.839 He didn't answer, and I was running out of time 0:37:27.880 --> 0:37:30.400 because I needed to get out there and preach. So 0:37:30.440 --> 0:37:33.400 I said this little pitiful prayer, you know, not the 0:37:33.480 --> 0:37:39.000 kind I pray in front of people. I was like, 0:37:39.120 --> 0:37:47.319 oh Lord, since nobody wants to pray for me, I'm 0:37:47.360 --> 0:37:51.200 always praying for everybody else. I guess I'll go out free, 0:37:51.239 --> 0:37:54.960 shall I pray for myself? And I start praying. You know, 0:37:55.000 --> 0:37:58.520 this real mumbly, grumbly, grumpy prayer, A little bad attitude prayer, 0:37:58.560 --> 0:38:00.480 A little like kids going to make up to bed 0:38:00.719 --> 0:38:04.680 fun that kind of prayer. Have you ever had that 0:38:04.800 --> 0:38:10.080 level of faith where it's like, fine, faith, fine God, Fine, 0:38:10.120 --> 0:38:14.040 I pray for myself. So I start praying Father in 0:38:14.080 --> 0:38:17.399 the Images out loud. I say that when I said 0:38:17.440 --> 0:38:19.839 Father in the name of Jesus the moment I got 0:38:19.840 --> 0:38:22.080 it out of my mouth, Father name of my phone 0:38:22.120 --> 0:38:27.040 rang my phone hardly ever, rang rings my phone. I 0:38:27.120 --> 0:38:29.720 mostly communicate my text I don't do a lot talking 0:38:29.719 --> 0:38:32.480 on the phone, and my phone rings and it hardly 0:38:32.480 --> 0:38:34.480 ever rings. It never rings at that time of day. 0:38:35.760 --> 0:38:43.400 And it said no caller id I but I'm not 0:38:43.480 --> 0:38:51.279 making this up. I said, I should answer this. I said, Hello, 0:38:52.680 --> 0:38:55.800 there's deep voice comes on the phone. What are you doing? 0:38:57.480 --> 0:39:00.400 The voice of none other? It could only be Bishop 0:39:00.440 --> 0:39:05.480 TD Jakes. That's like my favorite preacher. Since I'm like 0:39:05.560 --> 0:39:09.680 this big, since I started wanting to be a preacher, 0:39:09.840 --> 0:39:13.680 this was my favorite preacher. And here he is calling me, 0:39:13.880 --> 0:39:18.439 what do you deal with? And I was like, hey, 0:39:18.480 --> 0:39:21.719 mis Jakes knows he is going on the preacher from 0:39:21.840 --> 0:39:26.880 Saturday night service. He said, oh, well, since this is 0:39:26.920 --> 0:39:29.800 a bad time, let me just pray for you before 0:39:29.840 --> 0:39:32.799 you go out there and preach real quick. Father, in 0:39:32.840 --> 0:39:35.520 the name of Jesus, but knowing him with your spirit 0:39:35.560 --> 0:39:38.120 and fill up with your wisdom, give him words to 0:39:38.200 --> 0:39:44.959 say from him. I'm telling you, I'm telling you, I'm 0:39:45.000 --> 0:39:49.640 not waiting until something to me. I need to fight 0:39:49.680 --> 0:39:53.480 the devil. Sometimes with a phone call. There are little 0:39:53.480 --> 0:39:56.520 things that God has done for me. Moments where I 0:39:56.680 --> 0:40:00.359 called his name and there was nobody there to add sir, 0:40:00.719 --> 0:40:03.360 And then all of a sudden something from heaven with 0:40:03.560 --> 0:40:07.839 no caller id and God reached out, and God dried 0:40:07.960 --> 0:40:12.000 my tears, and God strengthened me, and God upheld me 0:40:12.520 --> 0:40:24.640 who in a mighty hand in and out stretched arm. 0:40:24.680 --> 0:40:28.080 You need to tell these stories. You need to tell 0:40:28.120 --> 0:40:31.960 these stories. Stop telling yourself the story that nobody cares 0:40:32.000 --> 0:40:34.600 about you and that you're alone, and that it doesn't 0:40:34.600 --> 0:40:37.399 matter another generation who didn't know what the Lord had 0:40:37.400 --> 0:40:42.560 done for Israel because they stopped telling the story. And 0:40:42.600 --> 0:40:46.839 when you stop preaching the gospel to yourself and reminding 0:40:46.920 --> 0:40:50.920 yourself that the Son of God accepted and chose you, 0:40:52.160 --> 0:40:55.640 and brought you out of Egypt, and brought you out 0:40:55.640 --> 0:40:59.080 of sin, and brought you through the Red Seat, and 0:40:59.360 --> 0:41:04.800 brought you through the Jordan, and brought down the Jericho walls, 0:41:04.840 --> 0:41:08.160 and brought you out of bondage, and brought you out 0:41:08.200 --> 0:41:16.800 of fear. Please hear me. When you stop telling that story, 0:41:17.400 --> 0:41:22.880 you lose your strength. The children of Israel went through 0:41:23.800 --> 0:41:31.600 fifteen cycles of disobedience to God. And not only did 0:41:31.640 --> 0:41:34.520 they go through fifteen cycles of disobedience to God through 0:41:34.520 --> 0:41:38.520 fifteen different judges, but they went through four hundred and 0:41:38.560 --> 0:41:43.560 twenty years of dependence on gods that could not save 0:41:43.680 --> 0:41:53.160 them because they stopped telling the story. What story have 0:41:53.280 --> 0:41:57.800 you been telling yourself? What story have you been telling 0:41:58.600 --> 0:42:02.520 your children? What story? You know? What? I was thinking, 0:42:03.000 --> 0:42:08.240 what story is our church telling in this day? Because 0:42:08.719 --> 0:42:13.120 God has done amazing things for us. But sometimes it 0:42:13.239 --> 0:42:17.000 really rips my heart out when I see a campus 0:42:17.000 --> 0:42:22.160 pastor giving an invitation in our church and people get 0:42:22.239 --> 0:42:24.359 up and start leaving so they can beat traffic out 0:42:24.400 --> 0:42:26.840 the parking lot while somebody's soul is on the line. 0:42:27.360 --> 0:42:30.160 That really hurts my heart because when we started the church, 0:42:30.920 --> 0:42:33.480 we weren't starting the church to have a Christian entertainment 0:42:33.560 --> 0:42:37.480 center where we could give people a little anecdote and 0:42:37.520 --> 0:42:39.920 a little song and a little goosebump and they could 0:42:39.960 --> 0:42:45.160 get to lunch. Is that the story we're telling that 0:42:45.239 --> 0:42:49.400 we gather together when it's convenient and we consume spiritual food, 0:42:49.440 --> 0:42:52.960 but we never contribute. This is why I think it's 0:42:52.960 --> 0:42:57.960 important that we have traditions like our year end offering, 0:42:58.080 --> 0:43:05.120 because God is inviting a new generation to tell the story. 0:43:05.960 --> 0:43:12.320 And it's so vital in this moment that you realize 0:43:12.360 --> 0:43:17.440 that the gospel is God's story, but it's ours to 0:43:17.520 --> 0:43:22.239 manage we are stewards of the story that God is 0:43:22.280 --> 0:43:24.960 telling in the world today. What a privilege it is. 0:43:27.200 --> 0:43:34.120 Come on, can we praise Him for the privilege? Do 0:43:34.200 --> 0:43:39.760 you do? You know the hemn? This is my story, 0:43:41.760 --> 0:43:56.960 This is my song praising my avery, this is my 0:43:57.520 --> 0:44:14.399 sor this is my crazy mis say, stand to your feet. 0:44:14.400 --> 0:44:19.680 I want to pray with you. Now, just give me 0:44:19.719 --> 0:44:24.200 a path. You're in the middle of a story right 0:44:24.239 --> 0:44:28.080 now that God is telling through your life. You're in 0:44:28.080 --> 0:44:31.760 the middle of it. The priests stood in the middle. 0:44:31.800 --> 0:44:34.160 The stones came from the middle. Everything good that God 0:44:34.200 --> 0:44:36.600 does in our life comes from our ability to recognize 0:44:36.600 --> 0:44:41.480 it in the middle. And sometimes what happens, I know, 0:44:42.960 --> 0:44:45.160 you feel like you've come to the end. You feel 0:44:45.200 --> 0:44:49.000 like is this for you? You feel like you get 0:44:49.040 --> 0:44:50.560 to the end of something, You get to the end 0:44:50.640 --> 0:44:52.440 of your own strength. You get to the end. And 0:44:52.520 --> 0:44:55.560 sometimes the season shifts in your life, and and something 0:44:55.640 --> 0:44:58.080 is always ending as something else is beginning. The Jordan 0:44:58.239 --> 0:45:01.200 is both it's it's their egg, it is from the wilderness, 0:45:01.560 --> 0:45:04.160 and it's their entrance into Canaan. It's happening all at 0:45:04.200 --> 0:45:07.400 the same time, right, and so you think you're at 0:45:07.440 --> 0:45:13.200 the end of something. Your ability to manage that emotion 0:45:14.040 --> 0:45:17.839 in the middle of it determines what happens next in 0:45:17.880 --> 0:45:23.839 your life. Remember this, Moses died on Mountain Nebo looking 0:45:23.920 --> 0:45:28.440 at the promised land. Joshua led the people into the 0:45:28.520 --> 0:45:32.960 land that God had promised Moses. The difference wasn't what 0:45:33.080 --> 0:45:37.720 God had promised. God promised Moses and Joshua the same result. 0:45:38.560 --> 0:45:43.240 The difference wasn't the promise. The difference was how they 0:45:43.280 --> 0:45:47.759 managed the miracle in the middle of it. God gave 0:45:47.840 --> 0:45:51.240 Moses a miracle, he parted the Red Sea, but Moses 0:45:51.280 --> 0:45:54.760 stayed stuck in what other people said, Moses managed according 0:45:54.800 --> 0:45:57.600 to his fear, not his faith. God gave Joshua the 0:45:57.640 --> 0:46:00.600 same promise, and Joshua said, even in spite of our fear, 0:46:01.040 --> 0:46:03.719 even in spite of our failures, even in spite of 0:46:03.760 --> 0:46:05.920 the fact that they're more out there than there are 0:46:06.000 --> 0:46:08.720 in here, we're going forward in the name of the Lord, 0:46:08.760 --> 0:46:11.600 with his presence as our banner. And we are standing 0:46:11.640 --> 0:46:13.880 in the middle, and we will stand in the middle 0:46:14.080 --> 0:46:18.400 until everything that God has spoken comes to pass. I wonder, 0:46:18.440 --> 0:46:21.000 is there anybody who's willing to get in the middle 0:46:21.040 --> 0:46:24.800 of it and take your stand and declare, I will 0:46:24.920 --> 0:46:28.759 see the goodness of the Lord in my generation, in 0:46:28.800 --> 0:46:36.080 my life. That's what I want to pray for you about. 0:46:36.880 --> 0:46:38.520 And if you lift your hands right now, I'll do 0:46:38.600 --> 0:46:43.560 it because the Lord is in this moment. The Lord 0:46:43.640 --> 0:46:49.759 is very present even in your pain, and I believe 0:46:49.840 --> 0:46:52.400 that God is even present in some of the mistakes 0:46:52.440 --> 0:46:56.600 that you've made. Lord, right now, would you visit the 0:46:56.640 --> 0:47:02.760 heart of each of your sons and daughters with a reminder, maybe, 0:47:02.800 --> 0:47:06.879 like those twelve rocks that the people piled up, give 0:47:06.960 --> 0:47:09.680 us a rock of remembrance today that we can build 0:47:10.000 --> 0:47:16.440 on the firm foundation of your faithfulness. The victory is 0:47:16.480 --> 0:47:24.000 yours to give, but it's mine to manage. God, remind 0:47:24.080 --> 0:47:26.800 me of the responsibility that you have given me, and 0:47:28.200 --> 0:47:31.239 teach me to lean on your grace as I do. 0:47:34.080 --> 0:47:36.000 Give me the faith to stay standing in the middle 0:47:36.040 --> 0:47:40.160 with the waters all around me, and to worship You 0:47:41.520 --> 0:47:46.320 in this moment, with our heads bowed and our eyes closed. 0:47:47.040 --> 0:47:50.920 I wonder if there's somebody here today who needs to 0:47:50.960 --> 0:47:56.200 receive the grace of God for the salvation of your soul, 0:47:56.440 --> 0:47:59.880 the forgiveness of your sin. I wonder if there's some 0:48:00.000 --> 0:48:03.479 one here today who needs to begin a relationship with God, 0:48:03.560 --> 0:48:07.560 or maybe you want to reconnect in that relationship with God. 0:48:08.640 --> 0:48:10.600 You've been feeling for a long time like you're far 0:48:10.640 --> 0:48:15.719 from him, but it's not true. He's near and if 0:48:15.760 --> 0:48:18.480 you call on his name, he is in this moment, 0:48:19.600 --> 0:48:22.400 and he longs to come and live inside of you. 0:48:24.640 --> 0:48:27.239 He longs to allow you to follow him, even when 0:48:27.320 --> 0:48:34.200 you don't know what's next. It's very simple what the 0:48:34.239 --> 0:48:38.800 Bible says about salvation. It is by grace that you 0:48:38.840 --> 0:48:41.120 are saved through faith. It's the gift of God. It's 0:48:41.120 --> 0:48:45.319 not of works, so that no one can boast that. 0:48:45.400 --> 0:48:47.759 If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, 0:48:47.760 --> 0:48:49.879 and believe in your heart God raised him from the dead, 0:48:49.920 --> 0:48:54.360 you will be saved. As the promise of God doesn't 0:48:54.440 --> 0:48:58.320 require good works. You can't stack enough stones to climb 0:48:58.400 --> 0:49:00.160 your way to heaven and it doesn't work like that. 0:49:01.600 --> 0:49:04.200 God's not watching your behavior to see whether or not 0:49:04.239 --> 0:49:07.120 he will relate to you. He's already done through the 0:49:07.120 --> 0:49:09.239 person of his son Jesus. All that needs to be 0:49:09.320 --> 0:49:11.960 done for you to have a right relationship with Him. 0:49:12.719 --> 0:49:14.239 And right now, in this moment, I want to pray 0:49:14.280 --> 0:49:19.080 with you. At every location. We're going to pray out 0:49:19.080 --> 0:49:21.239 loud as a church family for the benefit of those 0:49:21.280 --> 0:49:24.759 who are coming to God or coming back to God. 0:49:25.480 --> 0:49:29.319 But we'll all pray out loud together. Repeat after me, 0:49:29.360 --> 0:49:34.960 Heavenly Father. I believe in Jesus Christ is the Son 0:49:35.000 --> 0:49:39.840 of God. And today I make Jesus the Lord of 0:49:39.840 --> 0:49:43.919 my life. I believe he die to forgive my sin 0:49:44.719 --> 0:49:49.560 and rose again to give me life. I receive this 0:49:49.640 --> 0:49:54.279 new life. This is my new beginning. On the count 0:49:54.320 --> 0:49:56.200 of three, if you just prayed that prayer, shoot your 0:49:56.200 --> 0:49:59.239 hand up. I want to celebrate with you. One, two, three, 0:49:59.320 --> 0:50:02.680 come on as a testimony. Shut your hand on. That's 0:50:02.680 --> 0:50:06.839 a lot of hands. That's a lot of hands. Let's 0:50:06.920 --> 0:50:11.200 praise God for it. Come on, let's praise God for it. 0:50:12.560 --> 0:50:16.320 I said, let's praise God for it. Today is today 0:50:16.320 --> 0:50:23.640 of salvation. Said, let's praise God for it. Well, I 0:50:23.719 --> 0:50:26.160 hope you enjoyed the podcast today. If you did, there 0:50:26.160 --> 0:50:28.440 are just a couple things I'd love for you to do. 0:50:28.680 --> 0:50:32.160 Number One, subscribe to our show. That way, the most 0:50:32.200 --> 0:50:35.400 recent episode will always be in your feed, waiting for 0:50:35.520 --> 0:50:39.000 you ready when you are. And Secondly, if this ministry 0:50:39.040 --> 0:50:41.480 has impacted you, and you'd like to help us continue 0:50:41.520 --> 0:50:43.560 to reach others. You can click the link in the 0:50:43.600 --> 0:50:46.480 description and you can give now and I'll see you 0:50:46.600 --> 0:50:49.120 next time on the Elevation podcast.