Kingdom Clout Part 1

0:00:01.960 --> 0:00:05.040 Hey, this is Stephen Ferdik. I'm the pastor of Elevation Church, 0:00:05.080 --> 0:00:07.000 and this is our podcast and I wanted to thank 0:00:07.040 --> 0:00:10.360 you for joining us today. Hope this inspires you. Hope 0:00:10.360 --> 0:00:12.399 it builds your faith. Hope it gives your perspective to 0:00:12.440 --> 0:00:15.160 see God is moving in your life. Enjoy the message, 0:00:17.400 --> 0:00:22.599 Matthew twenty verse twenty. I'd love to say that I 0:00:22.680 --> 0:00:25.040 planned to start the year twenty twenty with Matthew twenty 0:00:25.120 --> 0:00:28.400 verse twenty. I did not plan that that. Maybe God did. 0:00:28.400 --> 0:00:31.320 That was coincidental. I'm not that smart, but God is. 0:00:31.640 --> 0:00:34.800 Matthew twenty twenty is the verse I want to start 0:00:34.840 --> 0:00:37.760 with today, And let me read this in its entirety, 0:00:38.640 --> 0:00:41.879 and then come along and preach behind it and give 0:00:41.920 --> 0:00:45.320 you a little bit along and along, Matthew twenty verse twenty. 0:00:45.880 --> 0:00:48.519 Then the mother of Zebedee's sons came to Jesus with 0:00:48.600 --> 0:00:51.599 her sons and kneeling down as the favor of him. 0:00:51.640 --> 0:00:54.080 What is it you want, he asked, and she said, 0:00:54.120 --> 0:00:56.760 grant that one of these two sons of mine may 0:00:56.840 --> 0:00:59.800 sit at your right and the other at your left 0:01:00.400 --> 0:01:03.400 in your kingdom. You do not know what you are asking, 0:01:03.520 --> 0:01:06.800 Jesus said to them, can you drink the cup I 0:01:06.840 --> 0:01:13.280 am going to drink? We can? They answer, that's kind 0:01:13.280 --> 0:01:19.000 of cocky, you know we can. And Jesus said to them, 0:01:19.040 --> 0:01:21.520 you will indeed drink from my cup, But to sit 0:01:21.560 --> 0:01:24.040 at my right or left is not for me to grant. 0:01:24.880 --> 0:01:28.440 These places belonged to those for whom they have been 0:01:28.440 --> 0:01:31.880 prepared by my father. And when the ten heard about this, 0:01:32.440 --> 0:01:35.920 they were indignant with the two brothers. Jesus called them 0:01:35.920 --> 0:01:38.520 together and said, you know that the rulers of the 0:01:38.560 --> 0:01:42.880 gentiles lorded over them, and their high officials exercise authority 0:01:42.920 --> 0:01:47.680 over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to 0:01:47.800 --> 0:01:53.080 become great among you must be your servant, and whoever 0:01:53.160 --> 0:01:56.120 wants to be first, must be your slave, just as 0:01:56.160 --> 0:01:59.000 the Son of Men did not come to be served, 0:01:59.560 --> 0:02:02.600 but to and to give his life as a ransom 0:02:03.520 --> 0:02:09.080 for many. Amen. What a fascinating little story. What a 0:02:09.080 --> 0:02:12.360 great place to talk about this subject of kingdom clout 0:02:12.880 --> 0:02:15.640 And before I forget this, Holly said it stressed her 0:02:15.639 --> 0:02:17.520 out last night because I didn't give a title for 0:02:17.560 --> 0:02:20.840 the message. She said, she couldn't hardly listen to me 0:02:20.960 --> 0:02:23.200 or notice how attractive I look in this red track 0:02:23.320 --> 0:02:28.080 jacket because I didn't give a title. So for those 0:02:28.480 --> 0:02:34.920 OCD Saints, this is Kingdom Clout Part one. You good, 0:02:35.600 --> 0:02:42.360 Let's go. My series ideas don't come from brainstorming sessions. 0:02:42.400 --> 0:02:46.960 They come from conversations. And my favorite person to talk 0:02:47.000 --> 0:02:49.720 to about the sermons that I'm going to preach is 0:02:49.800 --> 0:02:54.000 not Bishop TD Jakes. He's my favorite preacher. I heard 0:02:54.000 --> 0:02:57.200 a rumor he might be coming to preach for our anniversary, 0:02:57.840 --> 0:03:01.080 but he's not my favorite per to talk to about 0:03:01.120 --> 0:03:03.880 my sermons. When I really want to talk about a sermon, 0:03:04.200 --> 0:03:06.840 I love to talk to my fourteen year old, my 0:03:06.960 --> 0:03:13.919 firstborn son, Elijah dash Beats on YouTube Thirdy. He is insightful. 0:03:14.880 --> 0:03:18.720 He helps me to understand concepts really through his eyes. 0:03:19.160 --> 0:03:21.760 That and he has such a great way of getting 0:03:21.840 --> 0:03:25.120 excited about what I'm preaching. He gets it quick before 0:03:25.120 --> 0:03:26.720 I even tell him what I'm going to preach. It's 0:03:26.760 --> 0:03:29.440 like we have this thing and he gets it. And 0:03:29.520 --> 0:03:32.080 my best sermons that I ever preached came from me 0:03:32.160 --> 0:03:34.600 talking to him. If I track them back, even if 0:03:34.639 --> 0:03:37.640 I go to on YouTube. The highest sermons that people 0:03:37.680 --> 0:03:39.960 watch and say it helped me came from talking to 0:03:40.040 --> 0:03:42.080 him and don't get any ideas that I'm gonna start 0:03:42.120 --> 0:03:44.560 giving you a cut or anything like that. But I 0:03:44.600 --> 0:03:47.640 really appreciate you earning your keep around the house because 0:03:49.280 --> 0:03:52.000 when you think about the ages of our children, it 0:03:52.040 --> 0:03:54.600 may help you to understand the subjects that I choose 0:03:54.920 --> 0:04:01.000 for my messages fourteen, twelve, and eight. Having a brilliant 0:04:01.000 --> 0:04:06.520 fourteen year old son affords you the ability to relive 0:04:06.760 --> 0:04:12.360 parts of your life through their eyes and really to 0:04:12.440 --> 0:04:15.120 give them advice that you didn't take when you were 0:04:15.120 --> 0:04:20.280 their age, either to tell them things you know that 0:04:21.480 --> 0:04:26.520 they need to do that you didn't do. And so 0:04:26.839 --> 0:04:31.560 when Elijah started talking to me about clout cloud chasers 0:04:32.160 --> 0:04:35.240 and how people do anything for clout, I think he 0:04:35.320 --> 0:04:38.799 was quoting Offset or one of the other theologians from 0:04:38.920 --> 0:04:44.880 those three Apostles, but he was saying, how you know 0:04:45.240 --> 0:04:47.680 cloud chasing because listen, how many of y'all are like me, 0:04:47.720 --> 0:04:51.520 you're thirty eight years old or older. Things are so 0:04:51.680 --> 0:04:56.000 different now for kids, they really are, like these days, 0:04:56.120 --> 0:05:01.000 kids are really obsessed with popularity. It's different than it 0:05:01.040 --> 0:05:03.880 was when we were kids. You know, we were focused 0:05:03.880 --> 0:05:09.320 on serving God and making a difference in our world. 0:05:09.520 --> 0:05:16.480 These days, kids will do anything for clout. They're driven 0:05:16.800 --> 0:05:21.280 and obsessed by what people think about them. They spend 0:05:21.320 --> 0:05:24.680 their time trying to prove stuff to people who aren't 0:05:24.720 --> 0:05:32.920 even paying attention. It's different than it is. Wait a minute, 0:05:33.440 --> 0:05:37.159 you know, for all of us who have ever said 0:05:37.160 --> 0:05:41.159 something stupid like you shouldn't care what people think about you, 0:05:42.200 --> 0:05:46.360 that is the worst advice that you could ever give. 0:05:47.640 --> 0:05:51.479 Please care what people think about you. Please brush your teeth, 0:05:52.160 --> 0:05:57.479 Please wear the odoran, please smile, please be nice. It's 0:05:57.560 --> 0:06:00.520 okay to care what people think about you, is not 0:06:01.240 --> 0:06:05.080 okay to be controlled by what people think about you. 0:06:10.240 --> 0:06:14.479 In Matthew Chapter twenty, Jesus has just finished giving his 0:06:14.600 --> 0:06:19.919 disciples two consecutive lessons on the Kingdom of God. The 0:06:20.040 --> 0:06:23.920 Kingdom of God was not a new concept, but Jesus 0:06:24.000 --> 0:06:28.040 was the first one who called it that. In Matthew's Gospel, 0:06:28.120 --> 0:06:31.559 you'll see the phrase the Kingdom of the heavens. Because 0:06:31.600 --> 0:06:34.599 the Jewish audience that Matthew was writing to would be 0:06:34.640 --> 0:06:37.760 offended if he used the name of God. It was 0:06:37.800 --> 0:06:40.680 not to be spoken, so he referenced it in a 0:06:40.720 --> 0:06:44.840 more abstract way, the Kingdom of the heavens. You'll see 0:06:44.880 --> 0:06:48.520 it in other Gospels. The Kingdom of God. It was 0:06:48.560 --> 0:06:52.440 preached about over one hundred times through the mouth of Jesus. 0:06:53.080 --> 0:06:56.360 But he didn't just preach about it. He demonstrated it 0:06:57.560 --> 0:07:01.120 everywhere he went. He taught the Kingdom of God, not 0:07:01.240 --> 0:07:03.720 so much that they could learn it by principle, but 0:07:03.760 --> 0:07:07.279 so that they could observe it by demonstration. How many 0:07:07.360 --> 0:07:09.840 know a good sermon is one you can see and hear, 0:07:11.200 --> 0:07:13.840 and Jesus did just that. He would teach it, and 0:07:13.880 --> 0:07:16.200 then he would do it. He would talk about it, 0:07:16.520 --> 0:07:19.800 and then he would transformatively heal or bless or forgive. 0:07:20.280 --> 0:07:24.080 And he was demonstrating everywhere he went this Kingdom of God. 0:07:24.680 --> 0:07:29.040 It was not the kingdom that his disciples expected. It 0:07:29.080 --> 0:07:32.120 was not a kingdom that delivered them from Roman oppression. 0:07:32.560 --> 0:07:36.160 That's what they wanted, that's what they prayed for. And 0:07:36.200 --> 0:07:39.120 you could make the case that for the twelve disciples 0:07:39.120 --> 0:07:43.119 that he chose, they signed up to see his kingdom come. 0:07:43.680 --> 0:07:48.200 They signed up that they could witness his kingdom, But 0:07:48.400 --> 0:07:52.200 when they saw it, they almost missed it because they 0:07:52.200 --> 0:07:55.120 were looking for something so different than what he came 0:07:55.160 --> 0:07:58.280 to bring that it was right in front of them, 0:07:58.680 --> 0:08:01.920 but they were looking past to something in the future 0:08:02.600 --> 0:08:06.040 that Jesus did not even intend to bring, which was 0:08:06.120 --> 0:08:11.520 political deliverance, which was an economic deliverance, which was a 0:08:11.680 --> 0:08:15.440 military reign or rule. But Jesus came to preach the 0:08:15.560 --> 0:08:20.520 Kingdom of God. This particular instance in the ministry of 0:08:20.600 --> 0:08:24.240 Jesus did not happen at the beginning, but it was 0:08:24.360 --> 0:08:27.520 just before his ministry would start to come to a 0:08:27.560 --> 0:08:32.800 close on Earth. The Bible says that this mother of 0:08:32.920 --> 0:08:37.040 Zebede's sons came to Jesus with their sons and kneeling down, 0:08:37.200 --> 0:08:41.360 asked the favor of him. I think the most profound 0:08:41.440 --> 0:08:45.600 question is the one that Jesus asked next. And the 0:08:45.679 --> 0:08:48.880 question sounds simple on the surface, but let's take a 0:08:48.920 --> 0:08:51.319 moment and think about it. As a new year begins, 0:08:51.400 --> 0:08:56.600 Jesus asked this mother, what is it you want? What 0:08:56.880 --> 0:09:01.960 is it you want? We all have a list, but 0:09:02.120 --> 0:09:06.000 usually in church we are taught to downplay our desires 0:09:07.240 --> 0:09:09.559 and to pray prayers that we don't really mean because 0:09:09.559 --> 0:09:15.000 they sound good, but they're plastic. What I admire about 0:09:15.000 --> 0:09:19.040 this mother in the passage is that she got honest 0:09:19.120 --> 0:09:23.560 with Jesus and said, I want my boys to have 0:09:23.800 --> 0:09:28.920 vip seating in your kingdom. Don't you love somebody who 0:09:29.000 --> 0:09:33.080 will be honest about what they want. Don't you ever 0:09:33.120 --> 0:09:35.400 have people who call you on the phone and you 0:09:35.520 --> 0:09:37.800 just want to tell them cut the crap and tell 0:09:37.840 --> 0:09:39.640 me what you want. I know you're not calling to 0:09:39.720 --> 0:09:41.720 check on me. You never do. Do you need twenty 0:09:41.760 --> 0:09:43.400 dollars I'll cash ap you just to get off this 0:09:43.440 --> 0:09:47.600 phone right now? What do you want? Or even with 0:09:47.720 --> 0:09:49.360 my kids, you know, I love being a dad, but 0:09:49.400 --> 0:09:53.560 when they're being too nice, there's something behind it. How 0:09:53.640 --> 0:09:55.880 was your day, dad? Okay, you can have more video 0:09:55.960 --> 0:09:57.720 game time, blah blah blah blah blah. Well you want, 0:09:57.840 --> 0:10:00.720 let's just get to it. But Jesus is asking the 0:10:00.800 --> 0:10:04.080 question not on the level of inconvenience, like what do 0:10:04.160 --> 0:10:07.840 you want? Because everything the woman is doing, this mother 0:10:07.920 --> 0:10:11.839 of Zebede's sons, is on the surface exactly what you 0:10:11.880 --> 0:10:14.880 should do. Let's look at it real quick. She comes 0:10:14.880 --> 0:10:18.840 to Jesus, that's what you're supposed to do. I think 0:10:19.520 --> 0:10:21.960 I don't know where else to go. How many have 0:10:22.040 --> 0:10:23.440 something in your life that people can't do for you 0:10:23.440 --> 0:10:24.600 and only God can do for you? And the only 0:10:24.640 --> 0:10:26.040 way you're gonna get it is. God gets it to 0:10:26.080 --> 0:10:28.720 you when you come to him. That's why I came 0:10:28.760 --> 0:10:31.480 to church to get something from God. I didn't come 0:10:31.520 --> 0:10:33.200 here to hear the same thing I hear on the 0:10:33.240 --> 0:10:35.720 news that the world has falling apart. I came for 0:10:35.800 --> 0:10:39.400 a gospel message, that there's something greater than who sits 0:10:39.440 --> 0:10:42.640 in an office, that there is a kingdom that cannot 0:10:42.640 --> 0:10:47.800 be saken. Have we gotta access. I'm sorry trying to 0:10:47.840 --> 0:10:55.240 pace myself. So she came to Jesus. She came to 0:10:55.280 --> 0:10:59.640 the right person. She knelt before him, she had the 0:10:59.720 --> 0:11:03.600 right place posture, she brought her sons, she had the 0:11:03.679 --> 0:11:07.160 right priorities. What parent doesn't want their kids to go 0:11:07.200 --> 0:11:11.520 to the best school. But this takes helicopter Mom to 0:11:11.559 --> 0:11:14.960 a whole new level, because these boys are thirty years old, 0:11:19.400 --> 0:11:25.320 still setting up play dates, and they got a beard. 0:11:24.760 --> 0:11:29.640 And these disciples, these are not just any disciples. I 0:11:29.679 --> 0:11:31.439 want to show you something. Can I show you something? 0:11:31.960 --> 0:11:35.560 I'm gonna do it anyway. Mark Chapter three. The Bible 0:11:35.600 --> 0:11:39.120 gives an indication of who Jesus chose when he came 0:11:39.160 --> 0:11:42.719 to set up his kingdom. Notice this, the Kingdom of 0:11:42.760 --> 0:11:46.600 God had already been established, but it had never been 0:11:46.640 --> 0:11:50.640 reflected in human form. And so when Jesus got ready 0:11:50.679 --> 0:11:53.400 to show what the Kingdom of God looked like, he 0:11:53.440 --> 0:11:56.640 could have come looking like thor he could have come 0:11:56.720 --> 0:12:00.840 looking like Dwayne Johnson. He could have come with biceps. 0:12:01.240 --> 0:12:04.680 But he came as a baby. That's fascinating to me 0:12:05.080 --> 0:12:07.800 to know that when he wanted to show us the kingdom, 0:12:08.080 --> 0:12:12.000 he started with the ultimate emblem of weakness. He did 0:12:12.040 --> 0:12:16.240 not start with deliverance. He started with diapers. Because everything 0:12:16.360 --> 0:12:19.720 God brings into your life will come in a small form. 0:12:20.160 --> 0:12:24.240 It will seem insignificant in the beginning stages. That's why 0:12:24.280 --> 0:12:27.880 you can't despise the day of small beginnings. You gotta 0:12:28.000 --> 0:12:31.600 celebrate some baby steps this year. You got to realize 0:12:31.720 --> 0:12:35.280 God is working in my life even if people don't 0:12:35.280 --> 0:12:38.439 see it. To celebrate it. People don't know to celebrate 0:12:38.520 --> 0:12:42.240 what they can't see. So celebrate yourself for a moment 0:12:42.559 --> 0:12:46.120 that you came to church on this weekend to get 0:12:46.160 --> 0:12:52.840 a word from God. I said, celebrate yourself that you 0:12:53.040 --> 0:13:03.720 came to church this weekend. I need you to know 0:13:03.760 --> 0:13:14.400 that Jesus picks people who have problems. Peter Andrew, James 0:13:14.440 --> 0:13:17.960 and John look at this passage in Mark three. And 0:13:18.000 --> 0:13:21.560 I still haven't gotten over this. So if I read 0:13:21.600 --> 0:13:25.400 it slow is to keep from getting choked up, because 0:13:25.440 --> 0:13:28.880 I am someone who struggles a lot of times with 0:13:29.040 --> 0:13:34.480 believing that God chose me. And when I read this 0:13:34.679 --> 0:13:40.000 about how Jesus was calling his disciples to establish his kingdom, 0:13:40.880 --> 0:13:47.560 he didn't go to a seminary. He went to the 0:13:47.640 --> 0:13:55.960 sea found four fishermen. The first four Peter, Andrew, James, 0:13:56.679 --> 0:14:00.480 and John. And it says that in March three, in 0:14:00.520 --> 0:14:03.880 such a beautiful way, that Jesus went up on a 0:14:03.920 --> 0:14:07.280 mountain side and called to him those he wanted, and 0:14:07.320 --> 0:14:12.079 they came to him. He appointed twelve, designating them apostles, 0:14:12.480 --> 0:14:15.040 that they might be with him, and that he might 0:14:15.160 --> 0:14:18.840 send them out to preach and to have authority to 0:14:18.960 --> 0:14:24.840 drive out demons. I said, to have authority, not just 0:14:24.880 --> 0:14:30.000 to get attention. We live in a time where people 0:14:30.040 --> 0:14:36.360 don't know the difference between attention and authority. Can I 0:14:36.440 --> 0:14:44.360 preach like I'm sixty five. It's embarrassing to me that 0:14:44.400 --> 0:14:48.040 we have created a generational perspective that doesn't know the 0:14:48.080 --> 0:14:57.480 difference between greatness and fame, And now it's coming up 0:14:57.520 --> 0:14:59.960 in a time and if you don't believe me, grabs 0:15:00.120 --> 0:15:03.320 somebody that looks like they're younger than you and ask them, 0:15:03.400 --> 0:15:06.960 would you rather be rich or famous? Don't even put 0:15:07.000 --> 0:15:10.400 God in the question, save that for later. Would you 0:15:10.520 --> 0:15:14.400 rather have money or followers? And if they really get 0:15:14.440 --> 0:15:16.760 honest about what they want, they will tell you. It 0:15:16.840 --> 0:15:19.920 is a culturally pervasive issue of our day and it's 0:15:20.000 --> 0:15:22.640 the devil and is short sighted. And I came to 0:15:22.680 --> 0:15:26.080 preach about it. And I'm not salty, but I am serious. 0:15:26.680 --> 0:15:38.040 Everybody famous isn't great, and you're ready. Everybody great ain't famous, 0:15:40.120 --> 0:15:44.440 So somebody on your row might be great and you 0:15:44.560 --> 0:15:49.440 don't even know their name. I came to preach about 0:15:49.600 --> 0:15:54.080 Kingdom Cloud. I have a name that's registered in heaven. 0:15:54.800 --> 0:15:58.479 My name is written in the Lamb's Book of Life. 0:15:58.640 --> 0:16:02.400 And I might not have Alu, but he set his 0:16:02.680 --> 0:16:10.360 red blood for me and I'm his. But I'm getting 0:16:10.360 --> 0:16:15.200 ahead of myself. This is a five week series, and 0:16:15.240 --> 0:16:20.320 I gotta go slow. It said he chose them to 0:16:20.400 --> 0:16:25.200 be with him and to preach. He chose them to 0:16:25.280 --> 0:16:29.280 be with him and to preach. When we meet somebody, 0:16:29.320 --> 0:16:33.560 we identify them by what they do. Hey, I'm Jerry, 0:16:33.960 --> 0:16:38.400 I'm Stephen. What do you do? He called them notice 0:16:38.440 --> 0:16:44.000 the order, to be with him and to preach, so 0:16:44.080 --> 0:16:46.000 that what they do would flow out of who they were. 0:16:47.680 --> 0:16:50.080 But when you define who you are by what you do, 0:16:52.040 --> 0:16:56.360 it's shaky ground. So before he called them to do it, 0:16:56.400 --> 0:16:59.840 he called them to be it, and real kingdom authority 0:17:00.280 --> 0:17:05.879 from knowing who you are, whose you are, and not 0:17:06.040 --> 0:17:09.920 allowing this crazy world to define you by what you do, 0:17:10.800 --> 0:17:17.119 what you have, what you wear. So let me tell 0:17:17.119 --> 0:17:20.639 you somebod didn't tellhim last night. There was a preacher 0:17:20.640 --> 0:17:22.640 that was talking to me the other day about my shoes. 0:17:25.280 --> 0:17:30.359 He didn't ask me anything about a sermon, exegesis, insight 0:17:30.440 --> 0:17:33.720 from the text, or the Holy Ghost. He wanted to 0:17:33.720 --> 0:17:37.840 know about sneakers. How about these? How about those? I said, Man, 0:17:37.880 --> 0:17:40.959 I don't know. Most of the stuff I wear somebody 0:17:40.960 --> 0:17:42.840 gave to me. I don't even know what it's called. 0:17:43.359 --> 0:17:45.560 And now half of it's an Elijah's closet because he's 0:17:45.560 --> 0:17:47.040 my size, and I don't even get to wear it 0:17:47.080 --> 0:17:52.880 before he steals it. And it bothered me because when 0:17:52.880 --> 0:17:58.320 we started the church, Hollywood, go buy me button down 0:17:58.640 --> 0:18:01.080 a shirt because I had a superition. Every weekend. I 0:18:01.080 --> 0:18:02.920 wanted to wear something new, but we didn't have any money, 0:18:03.119 --> 0:18:05.920 so she would find a two ninety nine clearance at Dillers. 0:18:07.040 --> 0:18:09.880 But I was proud of it because when I would 0:18:09.880 --> 0:18:11.720 put it on and i'ld give myself a haircut, and 0:18:11.760 --> 0:18:13.680 I didn't know how to fade my hair, I only 0:18:13.720 --> 0:18:15.479 had one guard on the thing. I didn't know how 0:18:15.520 --> 0:18:17.720 to fade. I didn't know how to dress. I didn't 0:18:17.760 --> 0:18:21.919 know how to do anything. But I was called anointed, appointed, passionate, 0:18:22.080 --> 0:18:25.919 fired up, charged up, I was, I was, I was, 0:18:26.160 --> 0:18:30.199 I was set apart. And what I wanted you to know. 0:18:30.680 --> 0:18:35.040 I was so proud of those three dollar shirts from dollars. 0:18:35.960 --> 0:18:41.240 I was anointed in those three dollars shirts from Dillers. See, 0:18:41.440 --> 0:18:45.199 when you really got something from God, it is not 0:18:45.359 --> 0:18:50.359 about externals. The external is fine, but it is the 0:18:50.400 --> 0:18:53.560 spirit of God that makes you gring. It is not 0:18:53.680 --> 0:18:57.320 an income level. It is not a number of followers. 0:18:57.640 --> 0:19:01.320 It is not clicks and comments and all this crap 0:19:01.400 --> 0:19:04.760 that the world calls cloud. When you have a father 0:19:05.240 --> 0:19:09.399 who is in heaven, who knows your name, who chose you, 0:19:09.760 --> 0:19:12.600 who called you, you can do what you gotta do 0:19:12.920 --> 0:19:30.200 because it's in you. And he called to him those 0:19:30.240 --> 0:19:34.720 he wanted. Did you see that he called those he wanted? 0:19:36.720 --> 0:19:43.680 He called those he wanted because God has options. There's 0:19:43.680 --> 0:19:51.119 a difference between having clout and being chosen clout. People 0:19:51.160 --> 0:19:59.320 can give it, they can take it away. Josennah, Josnnah, 0:20:00.240 --> 0:20:05.720 crucify him within a seventy two hour period. They will 0:20:05.800 --> 0:20:12.520 change their mind. Oh God, they'll change their mind. But 0:20:12.640 --> 0:20:19.120 when you're called and chosen, he called Look at verse thirteen, 0:20:19.560 --> 0:20:23.879 those he wanted. What does it feel like to be 0:20:23.960 --> 0:20:34.720 wanted like that? See how happy you get? See? God 0:20:34.880 --> 0:20:39.719 has options. Sometimes you don't be honest. Sometimes you hang 0:20:39.760 --> 0:20:41.560 out with people because they were the only one available. 0:20:43.520 --> 0:20:47.440 Sometimes you hire somebody because they were the best available candidate. 0:20:47.680 --> 0:20:51.560 You make it work. God looks for exactly what he wants. 0:20:52.240 --> 0:20:55.359 And I don't mean to get biological, but he fertilizes 0:20:55.480 --> 0:20:58.160 the right egg at the right moment. Do you realize 0:20:58.200 --> 0:21:00.840 the percentage chance of you being being born when you 0:21:00.880 --> 0:21:03.280 were born to do what you do? And you're gonna 0:21:03.320 --> 0:21:06.440 walk around in self doubt trying to figure out if 0:21:06.480 --> 0:21:09.920 God chose you. You ought to know. God shows you 0:21:09.920 --> 0:21:12.520 you ought to believe God shows you, and you ought 0:21:12.520 --> 0:21:15.680 to go through your light with your head held high, 0:21:15.920 --> 0:21:19.120 no matter what is in your bank account. Because I'm 0:21:19.280 --> 0:21:28.520 so sick. Where's Eric? I know he had to sit 0:21:28.560 --> 0:21:30.760 in the back today because something. Yeah, he used to 0:21:30.760 --> 0:21:32.640 always tell them, because they would make fun of him 0:21:32.640 --> 0:21:34.639 for being adopted when we were in high school. And 0:21:34.680 --> 0:21:42.080 he say, my parents picked me, yours got stuck and 0:21:42.160 --> 0:21:47.359 shut him up real quick too. My father picked me. 0:21:52.320 --> 0:21:56.960 He wanted you in the earth right now, and he 0:21:57.000 --> 0:22:00.600 wanted you short, or he wanted you tall, or he 0:22:01.119 --> 0:22:05.280 wanted you to have experienced this set of circumstances or 0:22:05.359 --> 0:22:09.639 the other. And he got what he wanted, and he 0:22:09.720 --> 0:22:15.800 called what he wanted. He called what he wanted beautiful. Man. 0:22:16.600 --> 0:22:18.520 Let's stay in it for a moment. Sometimes we rush 0:22:18.560 --> 0:22:22.640 past stuff too quick. Who did he choose? It lists them, 0:22:22.720 --> 0:22:24.400 It lists them, It listened them. No, I'm talking about 0:22:24.400 --> 0:22:30.080 the twelve Disciples, not you right now. Uh, it gives 0:22:30.119 --> 0:22:34.040 a list. These are the twelve. Everybody say, twelve twenty 0:22:34.080 --> 0:22:36.000 two minutes to do this, y'all pray for me. All right, 0:22:36.480 --> 0:22:38.480 we'll pick it up next week. I'll do what I 0:22:38.480 --> 0:22:40.159 can do this week. Clear the parking lots so we 0:22:40.200 --> 0:22:43.280 don't have any fistfights, and then we'll come back next week. 0:22:43.840 --> 0:22:46.919 Come every week for the series. We're gonna build on it. 0:22:47.640 --> 0:22:49.840 We're gonna build on this. Don't come to me like 0:22:50.040 --> 0:22:52.640 once every four weeks and then wonder why you don't 0:22:52.640 --> 0:22:56.280 get any stronger. I'm gonna need you to come regularly 0:22:56.320 --> 0:22:58.479 so we can build on this, and then we can 0:22:58.520 --> 0:23:00.480 get it in with repetition to talk about the Kingdom 0:23:00.520 --> 0:23:04.720 of God. It's always invisible to the human eye, it's 0:23:04.760 --> 0:23:09.520 always insignificant to the human mind, and it is always immediate. 0:23:10.160 --> 0:23:14.480 It's right now. The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand. 0:23:15.400 --> 0:23:18.760 That was the first message Jesus preached. He said, repent, 0:23:19.040 --> 0:23:22.240 change your mind medanoia in the Greek for the Kingdom 0:23:22.400 --> 0:23:27.399 of Heaven is at hand. And when he established his kingdom, 0:23:27.680 --> 0:23:34.520 he chose certain candidates, and he chose twelve. He chose twelve, 0:23:35.200 --> 0:23:43.600 and he appointed those he wanted. He made you her mom, 0:23:43.680 --> 0:23:48.520 he made you her daughter. He put you in that. 0:23:48.640 --> 0:23:51.280 He let you have that because he believes in you 0:23:51.359 --> 0:23:58.680 that much. He called those he wanted, and who did 0:23:58.680 --> 0:24:03.600 he want, Simon, to whom he gave the name Peter. 0:24:04.640 --> 0:24:07.080 You may know him for his profanity more than for 0:24:07.160 --> 0:24:09.960 his preaching, because he was cussing when Jesus was about 0:24:10.000 --> 0:24:12.960 to go to the cross. That's the first round draft 0:24:12.960 --> 0:24:20.800 pick two. People never pick correctly. People never do. They 0:24:20.920 --> 0:24:23.200 never picked Tom Brady first. People never know what they're 0:24:23.240 --> 0:24:27.600 looking for. People never see what's inside. And people will 0:24:27.600 --> 0:24:32.280 celebrate all the wrong stuff. People will celebrate when you 0:24:32.359 --> 0:24:34.920 lose weight, Wow, you've lost weight, but keep it off. 0:24:34.960 --> 0:24:41.639 They won't say anything. Who we don't celebrate consistency. You 0:24:41.680 --> 0:24:44.120 know another thing about people. I'm getting into week two already. 0:24:44.720 --> 0:24:47.520 They will celebrate a talent or a gift, but not 0:24:47.600 --> 0:24:57.400 effort because we're crazy, because we need Grammys and Academy 0:24:57.400 --> 0:25:03.720 awards and compliments from people who are insecure themselves. And 0:25:03.760 --> 0:25:05.280 then if they don't give us a compliment, we don't 0:25:05.320 --> 0:25:07.440 think we did anything. But it's their insecurity that kept 0:25:07.440 --> 0:25:09.800 them from giving a compliment, not anything deficient in us. 0:25:10.040 --> 0:25:15.359 And people don't know what to celebrate. Even in a 0:25:15.400 --> 0:25:21.080 good sermon, people clap at the wrong times. And so 0:25:21.560 --> 0:25:24.320 when Jesus was choosing, he chose on the basis of 0:25:24.359 --> 0:25:26.439 something that he could see that they couldn't. And so 0:25:26.480 --> 0:25:29.120 the scripture says he chose Simon, to whom he gave 0:25:29.160 --> 0:25:32.919 the name Peter. He liked the nickname people. Everybody in 0:25:32.960 --> 0:25:35.000 our family has a nickname. I don't call any of 0:25:35.000 --> 0:25:36.760 my kids by their real name. And they don't even 0:25:36.800 --> 0:25:38.520 call me dad. They call me much. And it's a 0:25:38.520 --> 0:25:40.439 long story. I don't have time to explain it. But 0:25:40.560 --> 0:25:43.680 Jesus started that. He called people stuff that he knew 0:25:43.720 --> 0:25:52.040 they were, that they didn't know yet. So he'll call 0:25:52.080 --> 0:25:56.320 you righteous while you're still struggling with addiction. So he'll 0:25:56.320 --> 0:25:59.520 call you an influencer when nobody else knows your name. 0:26:00.520 --> 0:26:02.920 So he will call you great when the world will 0:26:02.960 --> 0:26:05.560 trample over you to get what they think is great. 0:26:06.640 --> 0:26:09.160 And he called those he wanted, and he called them 0:26:09.160 --> 0:26:11.040 to be with him. And when he called them, he 0:26:11.080 --> 0:26:14.480 called Simon and he said, you're Peter petross Rock. Youre's 0:26:14.480 --> 0:26:17.920 something I can build on. Here's something I can build on. 0:26:18.840 --> 0:26:23.240 Then he called James, son of Zebedee, the one from 0:26:23.280 --> 0:26:28.199 Matthew twenty. Remember he chose him and his brother John. 0:26:28.760 --> 0:26:32.280 You may recognize him because he had a whole gospel 0:26:32.320 --> 0:26:40.240 called John. Not a trick question. You'll think I'm messing 0:26:40.280 --> 0:26:42.760 with you. He wrote the Gospel of John, and he 0:26:42.840 --> 0:26:46.000 always called himself the disciple Jesus loved. That's not what 0:26:46.119 --> 0:26:49.560 Jesus called him. Look what Jesus called him, James son 0:26:49.600 --> 0:26:51.600 of Zebede, and his brother John. To them, he gave 0:26:51.640 --> 0:26:57.720 the name bo and air jes That's Greek for hot tempered. 0:27:00.359 --> 0:27:08.400 It also means disturbance. He called them that, and then 0:27:08.480 --> 0:27:14.840 he still chose them. Who in here struggles with something 0:27:15.840 --> 0:27:20.240 like a temper or an issue. I swear your wife 0:27:20.280 --> 0:27:21.920 is gonna raise your hand for you if you don't 0:27:21.920 --> 0:27:23.679 get it up real quick. I'm trying to spare you 0:27:23.760 --> 0:27:27.080 some embarrassment. How many of you struggle with something? And 0:27:27.200 --> 0:27:31.400 God can look right past what people trip over and say, 0:27:31.440 --> 0:27:34.480 come on, go with me. We've got a job to do. 0:27:35.080 --> 0:27:37.720 I know you don't see it. I know you don't 0:27:37.760 --> 0:27:45.679 feel it. But the Kingdom of God is at hand, Yes, Lord, 0:27:49.760 --> 0:27:53.280 booing energies, which means sons of thunder. That's a nice translation. 0:27:55.280 --> 0:27:59.680 That's a nice translation. And so these boys they follow 0:27:59.760 --> 0:28:05.120 Jesus for three years. They left their father's fishing business, 0:28:06.119 --> 0:28:09.159 which was successful. I know it was successful because when 0:28:09.200 --> 0:28:12.160 he called them, they had hired men helping them Zebedee 0:28:12.400 --> 0:28:16.760 their dad. He had servants on the boat, so they 0:28:16.840 --> 0:28:22.840 left something where they had servants to become servants. Kingdom clout, 0:28:24.640 --> 0:28:26.760 when you stop worrying about what looks good to people 0:28:26.760 --> 0:28:29.800 because you want to be right with God. Kingdom Cloud. 0:28:32.640 --> 0:28:38.000 We need this message, man, our children need it. We 0:28:38.120 --> 0:28:43.800 need it. We're still teenagers dressing for everybody else, spending 0:28:43.880 --> 0:28:46.680 for everybody else. And then the credit they're not there 0:28:46.680 --> 0:28:49.600 to pay off the credit card, and they didn't even 0:28:49.640 --> 0:28:54.280 notice that we wore it. Jesus said, what do you 0:28:54.360 --> 0:28:58.720 want now? Remember what they've seen. They've seen miracles, they've 0:28:58.760 --> 0:29:05.840 heard sermons, they've seen his compassion, and they've seen his 0:29:07.320 --> 0:29:11.560 How should I say this other side? When he flipped 0:29:11.560 --> 0:29:14.880 over the tables in the temple because they had started 0:29:14.880 --> 0:29:18.640 making it about clout rather than kingdom, he didn't like that. 0:29:19.920 --> 0:29:22.360 He didn't like that exclusivity where it's like, these kind 0:29:22.400 --> 0:29:25.080 of people are the people God can use and these 0:29:25.160 --> 0:29:27.600 can't because they're this and they're that. He didn't like that, 0:29:28.520 --> 0:29:33.560 and he taught them and showed him. But then just 0:29:33.560 --> 0:29:37.080 before the last week of his life, James and John 0:29:37.800 --> 0:29:43.240 and their mom come to Jesus and they're like ah, 0:29:45.080 --> 0:29:52.440 we want you to give us VP seed in the kingdom. 0:29:53.280 --> 0:29:57.680 At least that's how I always read it. But I 0:29:57.720 --> 0:30:01.440 realized something that it wasn't just important what they asked for. 0:30:02.280 --> 0:30:05.720 Listen to me. You can't understand what they ask unless 0:30:05.720 --> 0:30:11.280 you understand when they asked it. Okay. And the verses 0:30:11.440 --> 0:30:15.480 just before the verses that I read you where this 0:30:15.640 --> 0:30:18.120 mom comes up to Jesus and kneels down and says, 0:30:19.640 --> 0:30:23.440 I want my boys to be okay, He had just 0:30:23.560 --> 0:30:28.560 for the third time told them about his death. They 0:30:28.600 --> 0:30:32.200 didn't want to hear it because it meant that in 0:30:32.280 --> 0:30:35.160 order for God to bring about what they wanted him 0:30:35.200 --> 0:30:37.600 to bring about, they would have to go through what 0:30:37.640 --> 0:30:41.560 they didn't want to go through. And when he talked 0:30:41.560 --> 0:30:46.080 about the Cross, he did it in dramatic language, but 0:30:46.120 --> 0:30:49.840 they couldn't hear it. They didn't want to hear it. 0:30:50.840 --> 0:30:55.080 They rejected it. They rejected that message because it did 0:30:55.120 --> 0:30:57.800 not fit with their expectation of what the kingdom would be. 0:30:59.560 --> 0:31:01.360 When God does something in our life that does not 0:31:01.440 --> 0:31:04.880 conform with our expectation of how we wanted him to work, 0:31:05.120 --> 0:31:08.920 we will tend to reject it. When someone that God 0:31:08.960 --> 0:31:11.520 wants to use is raised up in our life that 0:31:11.560 --> 0:31:15.560 we don't we don't really have different values than the 0:31:15.600 --> 0:31:21.520 world because we think that in order for the Gospel 0:31:21.560 --> 0:31:27.880 to go forward, we need celebrities to get saved. That's 0:31:28.240 --> 0:31:30.480 that's the kingdoms of this world, not the kingdom of 0:31:30.520 --> 0:31:35.640 our God. God calls the known and the unknown. And 0:31:35.680 --> 0:31:40.880 I need to preach this message because just Friday, I 0:31:40.960 --> 0:31:44.959 went to Cheesecake Factory. It's been a minute since I 0:31:45.000 --> 0:31:48.520 did that, and one reason I quit going is the 0:31:48.560 --> 0:31:51.239 menu gives me a panic attack. It's so big. It's like, 0:31:51.560 --> 0:31:55.680 y'all remember Encyclopedia Britannica. The menu is like chapter seven, 0:31:55.840 --> 0:31:59.920 verse three on the Yeah. So, but after we ordered, 0:32:00.320 --> 0:32:01.960 and let me tell you, were talking about choosing. You 0:32:02.040 --> 0:32:06.120 got options at Cheesecake Factory, seventeen different kinds of ways 0:32:06.160 --> 0:32:11.600 to die early and all of that. But we finished eating. 0:32:11.920 --> 0:32:13.880 We were sitting there a moment and I was telling 0:32:13.920 --> 0:32:16.600 Elijah Kingdom Cloud, I'm so excited. He's like me too, 0:32:16.800 --> 0:32:19.480 it's gonna be awesome. What's gonna be the first message? 0:32:19.720 --> 0:32:22.560 And the server not the one that had taken care 0:32:22.600 --> 0:32:24.720 of us during the meal, but somebody I had noticed 0:32:24.760 --> 0:32:26.640 a few times and we both talked about it. He 0:32:26.760 --> 0:32:29.480 just had something special about him. Both of us noticed, 0:32:29.560 --> 0:32:30.960 and he came over and said, I don't want to 0:32:30.960 --> 0:32:35.360 disturb you, but this meal I've been the whole time. 0:32:35.400 --> 0:32:40.840 I thank you. He said that our messages have helped him, 0:32:41.520 --> 0:32:44.160 encouraged him, and somehow he thought that would bother me 0:32:44.240 --> 0:32:47.560 to tell me that. I was like, oh, man, thank you, 0:32:47.600 --> 0:32:50.520 so thank you. Man. That means the world really does. 0:32:51.800 --> 0:32:53.000 And he went to walk away. He's like, I don't 0:32:53.000 --> 0:32:54.600 want to bother I said, nook, come on, what was 0:32:54.640 --> 0:32:59.400 your name? He said his name? He said, my name 0:32:59.440 --> 0:33:10.720 is Mike, but I'm nobody. And I said something to 0:33:10.800 --> 0:33:15.040 him just to say no man. And then and then 0:33:15.080 --> 0:33:16.959 after he left, I totally jo I was like, that's 0:33:17.000 --> 0:33:22.520 why I got to preach this, because most everybody feels 0:33:22.520 --> 0:33:29.160 that way. Play me off if you want to. I know. 0:33:29.240 --> 0:33:35.680 That's the same thing you walk around telling yourself I'm nobody. 0:33:35.840 --> 0:33:39.680 I'm nobody, because y'all will have the nerve to say 0:33:39.720 --> 0:33:43.000 stuff to me like this. Like one woman in the 0:33:43.080 --> 0:33:45.120 church said the other day, she said, I'm just to 0:33:45.200 --> 0:33:50.000 stay at home mom. If you ever say something like 0:33:50.040 --> 0:33:53.760 that to me, I will find the nearest elevation pin 0:33:53.960 --> 0:33:57.240 and throw it at your forehead like a death star. 0:33:57.960 --> 0:34:02.080 Stop saying stuff like that. You are just a what 0:34:02.880 --> 0:34:05.080 if you are a stay at home mom. Let's do 0:34:05.160 --> 0:34:12.800 the man. You are a doctor, a lawyer, an uber, 0:34:15.040 --> 0:34:18.640 a UFC referee, if you got more than one of them. 0:34:19.719 --> 0:34:23.080 I'm not just a nothing. Oh that wasn't good grammar, 0:34:23.120 --> 0:34:26.400 but it felt like God. I'm not just a student. 0:34:26.840 --> 0:34:30.560 I'm not just a teenager. I'm not just a woman. 0:34:31.080 --> 0:34:34.560 I'm not just a nothing. Get your hands off my 0:34:34.760 --> 0:34:38.719 calling devil. He called who he wanted. He shows me 0:34:39.000 --> 0:34:46.920 for it. I'm important because he made me. You don't 0:34:47.000 --> 0:34:50.880 have to know my name. I know a name that 0:34:51.080 --> 0:35:01.000 is above every name, kingdom in the kingdom. I'm somebody 0:35:01.120 --> 0:35:04.440 in the kingdom. I have a father. He knows every 0:35:04.520 --> 0:35:07.680 hair on my head. Robert, that don't take much for you. 0:35:08.200 --> 0:35:11.640 He knows when I'm hungry. He knows when I'm thirsty. 0:35:12.080 --> 0:35:17.319 He knows what I secretly wish I had, And if 0:35:17.320 --> 0:35:20.960 we will get honest about it. When he said what 0:35:21.080 --> 0:35:25.600 do you want? We really all want the same things. 0:35:27.239 --> 0:35:29.520 There's only two things we really want. There's a lot 0:35:29.560 --> 0:35:32.160 of ways we try to get it. Some try drugs. 0:35:35.520 --> 0:35:40.879 Some try sex, but that's not really what you want. 0:35:43.160 --> 0:35:45.800 Whether you drink something or eat something, that's not really 0:35:46.239 --> 0:35:52.279 what you want. What you want it's significance. What you 0:35:52.440 --> 0:35:58.840 want is security. But here's what I want to say. 0:35:59.320 --> 0:36:02.919 Under the unction of the spirit of God. Somebody share 0:36:02.920 --> 0:36:05.480 this message online right now. Share it online, because what 0:36:05.520 --> 0:36:07.320 I'm about to say is going to set somebody free. 0:36:07.800 --> 0:36:14.400 When you attach your significance to status, or when you 0:36:14.560 --> 0:36:23.920 attach your security to stuff, it's never enough. It is 0:36:24.000 --> 0:36:32.320 never enough. So if it's four figures, five figures, six figures, 0:36:32.360 --> 0:36:36.000 seven figures, eight figures, if you get it, you'll be 0:36:36.080 --> 0:36:40.840 worried about losing it. If you have to have it 0:36:40.880 --> 0:36:46.759 to make you somebody, I'm not mad. I've got an 0:36:46.760 --> 0:36:50.279 Instagram account to post on it and swipe up about 0:36:50.320 --> 0:36:53.520 it and share it with a friend. But if I 0:36:53.640 --> 0:36:58.520 need that to be me, it's just a matter of 0:36:58.560 --> 0:37:02.759 time and I'll prove it to you. Out of all 0:37:02.800 --> 0:37:08.880 the fishermen in the Sea of Galilee, Jesus chose four. Okay, 0:37:09.840 --> 0:37:14.480 out of those four, he had a favorite three. Andrew 0:37:14.480 --> 0:37:17.000 didn't even make the three. He's the one that brought 0:37:17.000 --> 0:37:20.239 Peter to Jesus. Some of us will be defined not 0:37:20.400 --> 0:37:23.440 by what we do, but what we empower others to do, 0:37:23.680 --> 0:37:27.160 and it will be the greatest contribution of our lives. 0:37:27.600 --> 0:37:37.160 Somebody shout about that, Yeah, you don't even know. You 0:37:37.200 --> 0:37:40.960 don't even know how God is using you. That parking 0:37:41.880 --> 0:37:44.400 dude out there this morning, jumping up and down. He 0:37:44.480 --> 0:37:46.600 made me so happy to preach to you. He didn't 0:37:46.600 --> 0:37:50.200 even know I start. He was doing all this stuff, 0:37:50.280 --> 0:37:52.520 all this throwing up stuff. Kat I didn't know what 0:37:52.560 --> 0:37:56.360 he was doing. It made me happy, helped me preach. 0:37:57.480 --> 0:38:01.560 You don't know, because the kingdom of this world only 0:38:01.640 --> 0:38:10.840 celebrates what is seen. And out of the four he 0:38:10.880 --> 0:38:14.719 had a favorite three, Peter, James and John. But it's 0:38:14.760 --> 0:38:19.080 never enough. Out of all the people he could have chosen, 0:38:19.120 --> 0:38:21.600 he chose twelve. They were two of the twelve. Out 0:38:21.640 --> 0:38:23.759 of the twelve that he chose, there were three. They 0:38:23.800 --> 0:38:27.520 were two of the three. But it's not enough. It's 0:38:27.560 --> 0:38:30.799 never enough. So they come to him and they're like, 0:38:30.840 --> 0:38:36.200 a mom, you do it. You know all the ways 0:38:36.239 --> 0:38:44.680 we used to mask our real motives. Mom, Now it's 0:38:44.719 --> 0:38:47.120 not so much what they asked, it's when they asked it. 0:38:47.680 --> 0:38:50.560 He had just told them, I'm going to the Cross. 0:38:52.920 --> 0:38:55.280 I used to think they were selfish. They weren't selfish. 0:38:55.320 --> 0:39:02.080 They were scared. When you are scared, when you are fearful, 0:39:03.080 --> 0:39:05.520 when you secretly think you don't have what it takes, 0:39:06.080 --> 0:39:08.720 it causes you to do crazy stuff to get attention. 0:39:09.040 --> 0:39:16.520 It's not really attention that you want, it's intimacy. This 0:39:16.600 --> 0:39:19.719 is getting good. This is getting good. Let's do the 0:39:19.840 --> 0:39:22.480 series for the rest of the year. It's not really 0:39:22.719 --> 0:39:27.719 to be noticed, it's to be known. That's what we 0:39:27.880 --> 0:39:30.840 really want. It takes you a lot of your life 0:39:31.480 --> 0:39:35.000 to figure out what you really want before you realize. 0:39:35.040 --> 0:39:37.000 What I really want is to be connected to God. 0:39:37.200 --> 0:39:39.560 And when when they came to him, they came to 0:39:39.640 --> 0:39:42.839 him honestly. And I need to illustrate this. Come here, JJ, 0:39:43.960 --> 0:39:46.839 who else who wants to help me preach? Will you 0:39:46.840 --> 0:39:48.239 help me? Help me? Help me, help me, help me, 0:39:48.400 --> 0:39:51.560 help me, help me? So come here. I need one more, 0:39:52.600 --> 0:39:55.520 I need one more. You look a little too anxious. 0:39:55.560 --> 0:39:57.920 I'm scared you're gonna steal the spotlight. Yeah, come on, 0:39:58.000 --> 0:40:00.319 come on, come on, go, you'd be good. We just 0:40:00.320 --> 0:40:02.520 acted out real quick. And I'm going to leave you 0:40:02.560 --> 0:40:04.880 with this because it's powerful. It's the way my mind 0:40:05.400 --> 0:40:09.000 imagines the scriptures and the way I see things. And 0:40:09.200 --> 0:40:11.000 I want you to be thinking about this this week. 0:40:11.040 --> 0:40:14.200 Somebody say I already got it. I already got it. 0:40:14.840 --> 0:40:16.800 Say it again, I already got it, already got it, 0:40:16.880 --> 0:40:19.080 already got it, already got it, already got it. Because 0:40:19.080 --> 0:40:24.160 the kingdom of this world is all about arrival. The 0:40:24.239 --> 0:40:31.600 Kingdom of Heaven is all about awareness. The kingdoms of 0:40:31.640 --> 0:40:35.080 this world are all about achievement. When I get that, 0:40:35.480 --> 0:40:38.000 when I have that, when I get there, when I 0:40:38.080 --> 0:40:41.560 lose that, when I gain that, that is the world's 0:40:41.640 --> 0:40:45.960 definition of greatness. When will we stop allowing the world 0:40:46.280 --> 0:40:51.839 to define what God created? God makes you great, God's approval, 0:40:52.280 --> 0:40:58.040 God's authority, God seal, God's ownership. You are not a nobody. 0:40:58.360 --> 0:41:02.560 He didn't die for nobody, He didn't set his lifeblood 0:41:02.600 --> 0:41:07.240 for nobody. He didn't go to the cross for nobody. 0:41:12.200 --> 0:41:15.719 And the way I saw it, look here, you be 0:41:15.800 --> 0:41:22.160 over here, you be Jesus, just for this illustration. Don't 0:41:22.200 --> 0:41:25.600 go home with this. Just be Jesus for three minutes. 0:41:26.560 --> 0:41:29.239 God show you something. It was powerful to me how 0:41:29.280 --> 0:41:31.719 I read it. Both y'all come here, you be James 0:41:31.760 --> 0:41:38.480 you stay there, Jesus, I felt weird saying that. You 0:41:38.560 --> 0:41:44.640 know what I mean, Lord, he said. Matthew recorded it 0:41:44.680 --> 0:41:47.000 like this, He said this mother, I'll be the mom 0:41:47.440 --> 0:41:52.640 you be. The boys brought her sons to Jesus. She knelt, 0:41:52.760 --> 0:41:59.719 they stood, said, need you to do something for me. 0:42:01.120 --> 0:42:06.720 My deepest desire is that these boys will be okay 0:42:08.280 --> 0:42:12.320 and in your kingdom that you've been preaching about in 0:42:12.360 --> 0:42:16.200 demonstrating that you came to establish. I need you to 0:42:16.239 --> 0:42:21.479 make sure that one gets at your right, one gets 0:42:21.480 --> 0:42:27.280 at your left. I read the text so many times 0:42:28.400 --> 0:42:32.000 before realizing that at the moment that she asked for this, 0:42:34.080 --> 0:42:38.480 she brought her boys to Jesus. And when she said, 0:42:39.920 --> 0:42:42.880 will you grant that my boys can stand at your 0:42:42.960 --> 0:42:48.560 right and your left, at the moment that she asked 0:42:48.600 --> 0:42:58.520 that they were already there. Could it be that you're 0:42:58.560 --> 0:43:07.960 already there and you don't even know it. You could 0:43:08.000 --> 0:43:14.440 be chosen and not even know it, to be so 0:43:14.600 --> 0:43:20.520 focused on the future, to be so focused on there 0:43:23.000 --> 0:43:27.480 that you miss it here. When he came to preach, 0:43:27.560 --> 0:43:34.640 he preached, the Kingdom of Heaven is here. I want 0:43:34.719 --> 0:43:38.560 us to take just a moment, and every grateful person 0:43:39.200 --> 0:43:42.360 I want you to celebrate where God already brought you 0:43:42.440 --> 0:43:48.480 from and where He already brought me to, just to 0:43:48.480 --> 0:43:56.200 get a picture that I'm already there. He already loves me, 0:43:57.480 --> 0:44:03.520 he already accepts me, he already shows me, he already 0:44:03.640 --> 0:44:08.040 knows me, he already called my name. Come on, that's 0:44:08.080 --> 0:44:11.200 not a big enough praise. You need to get down 0:44:11.800 --> 0:44:15.920 and humble yourself and say, thank you, Lord for what 0:44:16.120 --> 0:44:20.640 you've paved me, for what you've made me. He's doing 0:44:20.680 --> 0:44:28.520 it right now. He's doing it. He's doing it right now. 0:44:28.560 --> 0:44:33.000 The kingdom is at hand, The kingdom is here, The 0:44:33.120 --> 0:44:39.960 kingdom is now, the Kingdom is within you. Thank you Lord, 0:44:41.440 --> 0:44:46.719 Thank you Father. If you never do anything else, you 0:44:46.840 --> 0:44:53.320 did so much for me. I believe greater things are ahead, 0:44:53.320 --> 0:44:56.040 but I thank you for where I am right now. 0:44:57.960 --> 0:45:03.200 I already got it. It is mine right now. I'm accepted, 0:45:03.320 --> 0:45:09.560 right now, I'm validated. Right now. Puts your approval on them, God, 0:45:09.840 --> 0:45:13.120 puts your yes on him, puts your favor on them. 0:45:13.400 --> 0:45:16.839 Puts your has said to find mercy be upon him 0:45:17.920 --> 0:45:22.759 in this year. Would you just lift your hands like this, 0:45:22.960 --> 0:45:27.040 like you're receiving something God. I've I've searched so hard 0:45:27.040 --> 0:45:30.160 for what I already had, and I just want to 0:45:30.160 --> 0:45:34.360 stop in your presence and thank you today that you 0:45:34.480 --> 0:45:39.239 called who you wanted, and you wanted me. I thank 0:45:39.280 --> 0:45:43.960 you that I'm already at the right hand where there 0:45:43.960 --> 0:45:46.960 are pleasures forever, more fullness of joy in your presence, 0:45:47.000 --> 0:45:52.560 in your presence, in your presence, in your presence. We 0:45:52.600 --> 0:45:54.520 know the past has its issues, and we know the 0:45:54.560 --> 0:45:57.759 future has its uncertainties. But in your presence, it's fullness 0:45:57.760 --> 0:46:03.160 of joy. Right here now, I thank you that these 0:46:03.200 --> 0:46:10.000 your children are a royal priesthood, a holy nation belonging 0:46:10.000 --> 0:46:14.640 to a kingdom that can never be shaken. We give 0:46:14.680 --> 0:46:23.360 you praise for your name is great in Jesus, saying Amen, Amen, 0:46:24.920 --> 0:46:28.200 come on, celebrate him on the level of who he 0:46:28.280 --> 0:46:32.960 is to you. Come on, celebrate him on the level 0:46:33.760 --> 0:46:38.359 of who he is to you. Thank you for joining us. 0:46:38.640 --> 0:46:41.120 Special thanks to those of you who give generously to 0:46:41.160 --> 0:46:44.680 this ministry. Is because of you that this ministry is possible. 0:46:45.120 --> 0:46:47.680 You can click the link in the description to give now, 0:46:48.200 --> 0:46:52.040 or visit Elevation Church dot org slash podcast for more information, 0:46:52.600 --> 0:46:55.719 and if you enjoyed the podcast, you can subscribe. You 0:46:55.760 --> 0:46:57.840 can share it with your friends. You can click the 0:46:57.840 --> 0:47:00.160 share button, take a screenshot and share it on your 0:47:00.200 --> 0:47:03.120 social stories and tag us at Elevation Church. Thanks again 0:47:03.160 --> 0:47:04.279 for listening. God bless you.