New Year, Same God

0:00:00.280 --> 0:00:03.239 Well, happy New Year. Can I tell you how happy 0:00:03.360 --> 0:00:06.360 I am that you are starting your new year off 0:00:06.640 --> 0:00:09.920 with us? Maybe today you have plans to eat collared 0:00:09.920 --> 0:00:12.840 greens and black eyed peas later. Is that just a 0:00:12.920 --> 0:00:16.920 Southern thing? Because here in North Carolina, our family has 0:00:16.960 --> 0:00:20.000 a New Year's tradition where we eat pork and collards 0:00:20.239 --> 0:00:23.720 and black eyed peas. Supposedly it symbolizes good things for 0:00:23.760 --> 0:00:26.920 the new year. I think collars represent prosperity and peas 0:00:27.040 --> 0:00:30.880 represent good luck. But mostly we just like them and 0:00:30.920 --> 0:00:35.000 we're celebrating a new year together as a family. Whatever 0:00:35.040 --> 0:00:38.360 you feed your soul is way more important than what 0:00:38.479 --> 0:00:41.320 you feed your body. And so no matter what you 0:00:41.400 --> 0:00:44.080 plan to eat today, you are ahead of the game 0:00:44.360 --> 0:00:47.880 because you're feeding your soul. It's so important to pause 0:00:48.200 --> 0:00:50.960 and to look back, and that is what today is 0:00:51.000 --> 0:00:53.920 all about. One of the primary ways that God speaks 0:00:53.960 --> 0:00:57.840 to me is through the messages of this house. Every 0:00:58.040 --> 0:01:01.920 single week, God uses our paths to bring the exact 0:01:02.160 --> 0:01:05.600 word we need to hear. How does he do this? 0:01:06.280 --> 0:01:09.679 His messages penetrate whether you have been a believer for 0:01:09.800 --> 0:01:13.840 five minutes or fifty years, every age, every stage of life, 0:01:13.920 --> 0:01:17.200 there is a word for every single one of us. 0:01:17.360 --> 0:01:21.040 I wonder which messages spoke to you the most this year. 0:01:21.080 --> 0:01:23.400 Maybe one that came at the perfect time. Maybe it 0:01:23.520 --> 0:01:26.520 hit it a moment when you were doubting or anxious 0:01:26.720 --> 0:01:30.960 and the sermon was exactly what you needed to hear. 0:01:31.080 --> 0:01:33.360 I love how God works. I wish we could just 0:01:33.440 --> 0:01:36.360 sit down together and talk about it. In fact, let 0:01:36.440 --> 0:01:39.360 me know in the chat which messages this year have 0:01:39.600 --> 0:01:44.560 resonated the most with you. Today I invited some of 0:01:44.600 --> 0:01:46.680 the people in our church to share about some of 0:01:46.720 --> 0:01:50.360 their favorite sermons from twenty twenty two. We'll be diving 0:01:50.400 --> 0:01:53.800 into our notes, sharing our stories, and then looking back 0:01:54.040 --> 0:01:57.680 at portions of these sermons. My hope is that these 0:01:57.800 --> 0:02:00.840 excerpts remind you of what God spoke to you and 0:02:00.920 --> 0:02:03.520 what God did in your life last year. I want 0:02:03.600 --> 0:02:06.360 us to go into twenty twenty three believing that the 0:02:06.400 --> 0:02:10.040 same God that was with us last year will be 0:02:10.200 --> 0:02:13.679 with us again this year. Of course he will. That's 0:02:13.680 --> 0:02:18.240 why we're calling today new Year, Same God. We've been 0:02:18.280 --> 0:02:21.519 singing that song, Same God over and over this last year, 0:02:21.560 --> 0:02:24.440 and it has been such an anthem for our church 0:02:24.480 --> 0:02:27.000 that the God of Jacob, the God of Moses, of 0:02:27.200 --> 0:02:30.160 Mary of David. The God of your Grandma is the 0:02:30.200 --> 0:02:34.359 same God of you and I, and that is who 0:02:34.360 --> 0:02:38.120 we worship today. He is faithful to see us through 0:02:38.560 --> 0:02:41.280 whatever is ahead, and the best way to stir up 0:02:41.320 --> 0:02:44.840 our faith for what's ahead is to look back at 0:02:44.840 --> 0:02:47.960 his past faithfulness. So I'm going to go first. I 0:02:48.000 --> 0:02:50.480 have to go first. I can't let others share about 0:02:50.480 --> 0:02:53.600 how the message is preached by our pastor my husband 0:02:53.639 --> 0:02:56.280 ministered to them without getting to share how they have 0:02:56.440 --> 0:03:01.639 ministered to me. And I'm pretty sure everyone who follows 0:03:01.760 --> 0:03:04.440 me and shares about their favorite sermon is gonna say 0:03:04.480 --> 0:03:07.760 some version of it. Was so hard to pick just one, 0:03:07.919 --> 0:03:12.760 because it is sometimes I cannot believe the amazing feast 0:03:12.760 --> 0:03:17.120 that Stephen Ferdick lays before us each and every week. 0:03:17.639 --> 0:03:20.200 If you can sit under a sermon by Stephen Ferdick 0:03:20.240 --> 0:03:22.680 and say that God did not speak to you, you 0:03:22.800 --> 0:03:26.360 have a listening problem anyway. Okay, it's so hard to 0:03:26.360 --> 0:03:30.200 pick just one. But back in the spring, Stephen preached 0:03:30.280 --> 0:03:34.080 a little mini series three sermons on the Book of Ruth. 0:03:34.400 --> 0:03:37.520 They were called it Will Come Together, the One who 0:03:37.560 --> 0:03:42.000 seeks fines and blown away. I felt like these three weeks, 0:03:42.080 --> 0:03:44.680 I was like trying to get a drink of water 0:03:44.760 --> 0:03:49.360 from a fire hydrant. Stephen was dropping wisdom faster than 0:03:49.400 --> 0:03:52.480 I could write it down, and God was speaking to 0:03:52.600 --> 0:03:54.760 my heart. So now that I've narrowed it down to 0:03:54.800 --> 0:03:57.560 three sermons, I'm gonna tell you the one that I 0:03:57.600 --> 0:04:00.240 want to talk about. Not necessarily my favorite of twenty 0:04:00.320 --> 0:04:03.440 twenty two, steven sermons are like my children, They're all 0:04:03.480 --> 0:04:06.920 my favorite, but this one, this one really got me. 0:04:07.560 --> 0:04:12.200 It was a sermon called it Will Come Together Now. 0:04:12.240 --> 0:04:15.920 In this sermon, Stephen laid the foundation by talking about 0:04:16.040 --> 0:04:19.679 Ruth and the tragedy that she had experienced in her life. 0:04:19.680 --> 0:04:22.880 She lost her husband and she lost everything that she 0:04:23.120 --> 0:04:26.000 held dear in her life. It probably felt to her 0:04:26.480 --> 0:04:29.400 like her life was over, but as we read through 0:04:29.440 --> 0:04:32.360 the Book of Ruth, in reality, we realized that her 0:04:32.400 --> 0:04:36.360 life was barely getting started on the basis of all 0:04:36.640 --> 0:04:40.080 that God was going to do for her and through her. 0:04:40.760 --> 0:04:44.279 Stephen told us that we don't taste life as a meal. 0:04:44.680 --> 0:04:48.280 We experience the ingredients as they come, and the problem 0:04:48.360 --> 0:04:51.880 with this is that the ingredients themselves can often taste 0:04:51.920 --> 0:04:54.920 bad in isolation. This really hit home with me because 0:04:55.360 --> 0:04:58.719 I love to cook, and I understand that there are 0:04:58.800 --> 0:05:04.160 essential ingredients to almost every recipe that tastes bad in isolation, 0:05:04.440 --> 0:05:07.559 like salt and oil and flour. If you only taste 0:05:07.640 --> 0:05:10.839 those things, you would spit them out. But put them together, 0:05:11.240 --> 0:05:13.680 add in a little bit of baking powder and some eggs, 0:05:13.880 --> 0:05:17.400 and you're on your way to a cake. In my life, 0:05:17.680 --> 0:05:22.360 so often I experience disappointment or frustration when something that 0:05:22.440 --> 0:05:26.200 I asked God for doesn't go the way I thought 0:05:26.240 --> 0:05:29.240 it would. I ask God for this relationship, but it 0:05:29.279 --> 0:05:31.720 feels like we're fighting all the time. I ask God 0:05:31.760 --> 0:05:34.240 for this child, but now I feel like I don't 0:05:34.240 --> 0:05:36.240 have what it takes to raise them. I ask God 0:05:36.279 --> 0:05:39.400 for this new job, but now I feel lonely. And 0:05:39.440 --> 0:05:42.839 when I start to feel these feelings, my tendency can 0:05:42.880 --> 0:05:45.479 be to think that God is angry with me, or 0:05:45.480 --> 0:05:47.919 that maybe I did something wrong, or maybe I wasn't 0:05:47.960 --> 0:05:49.880 meant to have these things to begin with and I 0:05:49.880 --> 0:05:53.360 got it all wrong. And the thing that suck with 0:05:53.400 --> 0:05:57.800 me from this sermon is when he said let God 0:05:58.360 --> 0:06:02.239 mix it. He told us that our prayer should be God, 0:06:02.839 --> 0:06:06.640 I want your will, and I want whatever comes with it. 0:06:07.279 --> 0:06:10.920 Those ingredients that taste bad to me and isolation are 0:06:11.040 --> 0:06:15.159 actually building something good in my life. That relationship that 0:06:15.200 --> 0:06:18.240 feels tense is teaching me humility and the art of 0:06:18.279 --> 0:06:21.719 putting others before myself. That job that challenges me is 0:06:21.760 --> 0:06:24.600 teaching me to depend on God in ways that I 0:06:24.800 --> 0:06:28.280 never would otherwise. That loneliness is causing me to lean 0:06:28.400 --> 0:06:31.919 into my relationship with God and then also to invest 0:06:32.040 --> 0:06:36.839 wisely in the relationships around me. Stephen said, just because 0:06:36.839 --> 0:06:40.280 it tastes bad in isolation doesn't mean it won't serve 0:06:40.320 --> 0:06:44.799 a purpose in the finished product. The good things often 0:06:44.920 --> 0:06:50.200 come with frustration and disappointment and difficulty. That's normal, That's okay, 0:06:50.640 --> 0:06:54.119 And he reminded us in this sermon, if it's not good, 0:06:54.720 --> 0:06:58.599 then God is not done, and that mantra will get 0:06:58.640 --> 0:07:02.680 you through. All right, I've said enough. Now I want 0:07:02.720 --> 0:07:04.560 you to check out this clip so you can see 0:07:04.560 --> 0:07:07.800 what I'm talking about. Whoever walked in the kitchen and 0:07:08.839 --> 0:07:10.640 just use an example. I'm not a cook. Take a 0:07:10.640 --> 0:07:17.120 scoop of baking powder and just down it. Did you 0:07:17.160 --> 0:07:29.440 ever do it? So? Baking powder is bad? Anybody want 0:07:29.680 --> 0:07:34.040 a big, heaping pile of baking powder? For lunch today. 0:07:34.240 --> 0:07:43.560 Raise your hand. Why are you messing up my illustration? Bro? Now, 0:07:43.960 --> 0:07:45.880 this is the message you want, the whole message in 0:07:45.920 --> 0:07:48.800 a moment. This is a whole message, is a whole message. 0:07:48.920 --> 0:07:51.400 This is why you came from Michigan so God could 0:07:51.400 --> 0:07:54.000 tell you. This is why you tuned in online. Just 0:07:54.120 --> 0:08:00.240 because it tastes bad in isolation doesn't mean it won't 0:08:00.280 --> 0:08:09.520 serve a purpose in the finished product. I'm not saying 0:08:09.600 --> 0:08:15.920 that the Bible said that after Naomi had gone so 0:08:16.160 --> 0:08:21.960 low that she said, this doesn't taste good. This doesn't 0:08:21.960 --> 0:08:25.200 taste good. And honestly, I figured out why people in 0:08:25.280 --> 0:08:30.080 church often look so sour when they're in church, because 0:08:30.120 --> 0:08:34.200 what you went through this week didn't taste good. And 0:08:34.280 --> 0:08:37.240 you are trying to praise God with a taste in 0:08:37.280 --> 0:08:43.160 your mouth of disappointment and fear? Am I preaching you? 0:08:44.720 --> 0:08:47.920 I mean it's hard to say Hallelujah when your mouth 0:08:48.400 --> 0:08:57.679 tastes like hurt. Who call me bitter? You might as well? 0:09:00.160 --> 0:09:10.240 Well you might as well and taste good. And yet 0:09:10.440 --> 0:09:14.080 what a strange blessing that they gave. Let me give 0:09:14.120 --> 0:09:15.720 you a little bit more background so I can make 0:09:15.720 --> 0:09:19.360 sure I'm not confusing Graham's my Graham's my guy, you know. 0:09:19.520 --> 0:09:22.360 He he told me the other day, he was like, Dad, 0:09:22.440 --> 0:09:25.079 sometimes you got to slow down with these scriptures. You've 0:09:25.080 --> 0:09:27.120 been looking at them all week and we're just waking up. 0:09:27.160 --> 0:09:33.720 You got to slow down and break it down. So 0:09:34.320 --> 0:09:36.880 even though I can't do it justice, the Book of 0:09:36.960 --> 0:09:38.880 Ruth is beautiful and you could read it in the 0:09:38.920 --> 0:09:41.480 time that you could watch half an episode of Ozark. 0:09:47.679 --> 0:09:52.600 And when we moved through it, we see Naomi a Limelech, 0:09:53.880 --> 0:10:00.960 Killion and Meelan's Ruth's husband orpa is married to Killyon 0:10:02.040 --> 0:10:04.600 And both of those baby names are available, by the way, 0:10:04.640 --> 0:10:06.680 if you want to have an original name for your kid. 0:10:10.360 --> 0:10:12.680 But when they went to Moab, they went to a 0:10:12.720 --> 0:10:15.640 place that they didn't This is important plan to go. 0:10:17.559 --> 0:10:20.320 This message is for somebody who is in a place 0:10:21.640 --> 0:10:25.000 you didn't plan to go. And I'm gonna take it further. 0:10:25.800 --> 0:10:29.040 Sometimes it's a place you hate being there because they're 0:10:29.040 --> 0:10:33.360 from Bethlehem and they're in Moab. Kind of like when 0:10:33.400 --> 0:10:35.360 they went to Egypt. I mentioned it earlier, when the 0:10:35.400 --> 0:10:38.319 Israelites went to Egypt. They didn't go to Egypt because 0:10:38.360 --> 0:10:41.920 it was their dream to go to Egypt. It wasn't 0:10:41.920 --> 0:10:44.679 on their bucket list to go to Egypt. They went 0:10:44.720 --> 0:10:46.920 to Egypt to survive. And we've talked about that a lot, 0:10:46.960 --> 0:10:49.400 because I think a lot of the sin cycles we 0:10:49.440 --> 0:10:52.439 get sucked into in our life are out of survival mechanisms, 0:10:53.720 --> 0:10:55.200 and if we don't deal with it that way, we 0:10:55.320 --> 0:10:57.199 just put so much shame on it. We can't help 0:10:57.240 --> 0:11:00.840 anybody get healed because people won't come to Jesus because 0:11:01.000 --> 0:11:05.520 you don't understand the power of his covenant with you. 0:11:05.520 --> 0:11:08.360 You think Jesus is like other people and that there 0:11:08.400 --> 0:11:10.440 come a point where he'll be ashamed of you and 0:11:10.480 --> 0:11:12.760 he'll go, oh, well that's that's that's too far there. 0:11:12.800 --> 0:11:14.880 I was going to use you, but really you did that. 0:11:16.320 --> 0:11:19.839 You don't understand the power of a covenant. But but 0:11:19.920 --> 0:11:23.839 Ruth did. Because when Naomi said leave me, I've lost 0:11:23.880 --> 0:11:26.560 my husband's i've lost my boys. I've heard there's bred 0:11:26.600 --> 0:11:30.920 in Bethlehem. We've been here ten years. Naomi said, I'm 0:11:30.920 --> 0:11:37.200 not leaving. Make a covenant with you. Whither thou goest 0:11:38.559 --> 0:11:42.960 I go, Your God become my god, and your God 0:11:43.520 --> 0:11:48.880 will often become the same god as your friends. If 0:11:48.920 --> 0:11:52.280 you are around people who worship status and stuff. It 0:11:52.320 --> 0:11:54.680 won't be long till you'll shear shackle to the same 0:11:54.720 --> 0:11:59.839 things they are. But now to touch somebody next to 0:11:59.880 --> 0:12:01.120 you and say, you ought to hang out with me 0:12:01.360 --> 0:12:04.760 a little. While you hang out with me, You're gonna 0:12:04.760 --> 0:12:09.320 have strong faith you hang out with me. Come on, 0:12:09.440 --> 0:12:15.840 deth leopard, if you hang out with me. So so 0:12:15.880 --> 0:12:19.880 they go back together, and Naomi, in this this honest moment, 0:12:20.080 --> 0:12:24.120 she says, call me bitter. I still got the taste 0:12:24.160 --> 0:12:27.160 in my mouth. I'm going back to Bethlehem, which means 0:12:27.240 --> 0:12:30.600 house of bread, which makes it that much more depressing 0:12:30.840 --> 0:12:35.200 when there's a famine in Bethlehem, when there's a famine 0:12:35.200 --> 0:12:38.760 in the place that is named after bread, when the 0:12:38.880 --> 0:12:41.480 joy of the Lord is supposed to be your strength, 0:12:41.640 --> 0:12:45.320 and you are a Christian and you're depressed, and you 0:12:45.360 --> 0:12:48.760 are a Christian and you can't sleep, and you are 0:12:48.800 --> 0:12:52.040 a Christian and you have addictions, and you are a 0:12:52.600 --> 0:12:55.320 I am a C I am ah, I am a 0:12:55.360 --> 0:12:58.000 c h R ST I had but I got a 0:12:58.080 --> 0:13:01.319 A D D A dhd hey d d I c 0:13:01.600 --> 0:13:04.000 t I oh. I'm in the house of Brett, but 0:13:04.800 --> 0:13:19.480 hauk grief. Call me Mara. She said, Real said, I 0:13:19.640 --> 0:13:24.520 was with you when I wanted your son. Now you 0:13:24.520 --> 0:13:27.760 don't have a son to give me, but I'm still 0:13:27.760 --> 0:13:30.960 with you. I wonder who the Lord is saying that to. 0:13:31.559 --> 0:13:38.800 I'm still with you. I don't sell low and by High. 0:13:39.080 --> 0:13:43.240 God is not Warren Buffett. God doesn't trade like that. 0:13:44.520 --> 0:13:47.600 God said, I'm still with you because I made a 0:13:47.679 --> 0:13:50.800 covenant with you. It's not that kind of covenant I 0:13:50.800 --> 0:13:53.400 made with Noah that was limited. It's not the kind 0:13:53.440 --> 0:13:56.199 of covenant I made with Abraham that was limited. It's 0:13:56.240 --> 0:13:58.960 not the covenant I made with Moses that was limited. 0:13:59.120 --> 0:14:01.920 It's not the covenant I made with David that was limited. 0:14:02.320 --> 0:14:05.280 This is the covenant of my blood, made with the 0:14:05.400 --> 0:14:10.600 life of my son, and I am worth you. What's up, y'all. 0:14:10.640 --> 0:14:14.640 I'm Elijah Fredick. I'm Pastor Stevens's oldest son. Now, obviously, 0:14:14.679 --> 0:14:16.559 my dad is a goat of preaching, so I had 0:14:16.559 --> 0:14:18.000 to share one of my takeaways from one of his 0:14:18.080 --> 0:14:20.120 sermons with y'all. The sermon that I'm going to be 0:14:20.160 --> 0:14:22.240 talking about is a recent one. It's called I'm Not 0:14:22.320 --> 0:14:24.840 Dead Yet, and I actually have some insider information on 0:14:24.880 --> 0:14:27.400 the making behind it. A couple of months ago, me 0:14:27.400 --> 0:14:29.920 and my girlfriend started reading through the Bible one chapter 0:14:29.920 --> 0:14:31.720 at a time. It felt like something that God was 0:14:31.720 --> 0:14:33.280 calling me to do because I wanted to get the 0:14:33.280 --> 0:14:35.600 full context of the Bible and everything that God wanted 0:14:35.680 --> 0:14:37.640 us to know. We told my dad what we were 0:14:37.640 --> 0:14:39.360 doing and he said how much he loved it. A 0:14:39.360 --> 0:14:41.200 couple of weeks later, he asked us what chapter we 0:14:41.240 --> 0:14:42.640 were on so he could read it with us, and 0:14:42.680 --> 0:14:45.640 he sent us an application from the chapter that turned 0:14:45.640 --> 0:14:47.360 into a group chat called to Read the Bible in 0:14:47.400 --> 0:14:49.760 four years club, because if we read one chapter every day, 0:14:49.960 --> 0:14:52.000 that's about how long it would take us. We started 0:14:52.000 --> 0:14:54.120 sending a key verse application that we took away from 0:14:54.160 --> 0:14:56.960 each chapter, and obviously my dad's were always the best. 0:14:57.240 --> 0:14:58.960 We came to the Book of Leviticus. We started to 0:14:58.960 --> 0:15:01.280 struggle to find an application for every chapter because the 0:15:01.360 --> 0:15:04.400 chapters get so repetitive and specific, but somehow my dad 0:15:04.440 --> 0:15:07.440 would always find a fire application. Leviticus is tough because 0:15:07.440 --> 0:15:09.520 it's a lot of lists of rules and regulations for 0:15:09.560 --> 0:15:11.760 the ancient Israelites, but we still did our best to 0:15:11.760 --> 0:15:14.400 figure out what we could learn about God from reading it. Now, 0:15:14.480 --> 0:15:16.240 when I look at all the implications that my dad 0:15:16.280 --> 0:15:18.840 had sent in the group chat. One particular one stands 0:15:18.840 --> 0:15:22.880 out Leviticus eleven. Leviticus eleven is a pretty boring chapter 0:15:22.920 --> 0:15:25.280 of first glance. It's all about the kosher laws and 0:15:25.360 --> 0:15:28.000 certain animals that people can't eat. I can actually show you, 0:15:28.080 --> 0:15:29.640 guys the text, but he throws us a couple of 0:15:29.640 --> 0:15:32.240 great points. We pull it out real quick. All right 0:15:32.320 --> 0:15:35.680 here it is, got it prepared. But you know, big old, 0:15:35.720 --> 0:15:38.720 long text. So what's crazy is a lot of this 0:15:38.840 --> 0:15:41.440 actually ended up making it into his sermon. One of 0:15:41.440 --> 0:15:43.160 the things that he talked about in the text was 0:15:43.200 --> 0:15:45.440 how important it is to ask yourself. Do I listen 0:15:45.440 --> 0:15:47.680 when God tells me something that's polluting my heart? Or 0:15:47.680 --> 0:15:49.760 do I only see it in others plank and spect 0:15:49.800 --> 0:15:52.200 type deal. You know. He talked about verse thirty seven, 0:15:52.240 --> 0:15:54.640 which says if a carcass falls on any seeds that 0:15:54.680 --> 0:15:57.480 are to be planted, they remain clean. He uses to 0:15:57.480 --> 0:15:59.720 tell us about the idea of the seed will survive. 0:16:00.160 --> 0:16:02.200 Sometimes a dead thing falls in the seed of what 0:16:02.240 --> 0:16:04.840 God is shying to do, but the seed survives. The 0:16:04.880 --> 0:16:06.680 devil tried to kill the seed of your potential, but 0:16:06.720 --> 0:16:09.440 the seed is still clean. You think it's dead, but 0:16:09.480 --> 0:16:11.880 it's just dormant. He even connected it to how Herod 0:16:11.920 --> 0:16:14.760 tried to kill Jesus, but the seed survived. I already 0:16:14.840 --> 0:16:16.720 knew that had potential, but I had no idea that 0:16:16.760 --> 0:16:18.760 he would turn it into a whole sermon. He was 0:16:18.800 --> 0:16:20.360 able to take the potential of what he told us 0:16:20.400 --> 0:16:22.560 and polish it up a little bit. In the end, 0:16:22.600 --> 0:16:24.360 he used the example of the weasel which the people 0:16:24.400 --> 0:16:26.760 were not allowed to eat, which was specified in the chapter. 0:16:27.120 --> 0:16:28.920 He showed an image of a weasel that was eating 0:16:28.920 --> 0:16:30.640 some eggs before they had a chance to be born. 0:16:31.040 --> 0:16:32.440 He used it to show how you can't let the 0:16:32.440 --> 0:16:34.480 devil pollute the seed of something that God is doing 0:16:34.480 --> 0:16:36.880 in your life. Another one of my favorite points he 0:16:36.920 --> 0:16:38.880 made was when he said, if you have confidence in 0:16:38.920 --> 0:16:41.880 God's promise but not commitment to his process, that's not faith, 0:16:41.920 --> 0:16:44.600 that's just denial. That really hit me because in my 0:16:44.640 --> 0:16:46.320 life a lot of times I don't struggle with my 0:16:46.360 --> 0:16:49.800 confidence in God as much as my confidence in myself. However, 0:16:50.040 --> 0:16:52.440 when I doubt myself, that is kind of me doubting 0:16:52.480 --> 0:16:54.320 the process and doubting that God has put me where 0:16:54.320 --> 0:16:55.960 I need to be to impact people for His good, 0:16:56.320 --> 0:16:57.600 and at the end of the day, I can know 0:16:57.640 --> 0:17:00.160 that the seed of God's potential lives in me. It 0:17:00.200 --> 0:17:01.640 was so powerful for me to hear how he was 0:17:01.680 --> 0:17:04.359 able to take a seemingly boring chapter about kosher laws 0:17:04.359 --> 0:17:05.960 and show us how it applies to us in modern 0:17:06.000 --> 0:17:08.119 day life. If we're not careful, we can make the 0:17:08.119 --> 0:17:10.119 Bible too much about ourselves and forget the framing of 0:17:10.160 --> 0:17:12.240 the story we're reading. However, if we read the Bible 0:17:12.280 --> 0:17:14.040 one way, that treats us like an ancient text with 0:17:14.040 --> 0:17:16.199 no application to our current day lives, and we might 0:17:16.240 --> 0:17:18.239 as well read Harry Potter. So I felt like this 0:17:18.280 --> 0:17:20.400 was such a legendary sermon. He was able to give 0:17:20.440 --> 0:17:23.080 us the full background, context and meeting of the text, 0:17:23.240 --> 0:17:24.879 but also try to help us figure out what the 0:17:24.960 --> 0:17:26.600 chapter is trying to tell us about the nature of 0:17:26.600 --> 0:17:28.920 God and how we can use that information to become 0:17:28.960 --> 0:17:30.840 closer to God. Let me show you all this clip 0:17:30.880 --> 0:17:33.240 real quick, so y'all can hear the sermon for yourself. 0:17:33.680 --> 0:17:38.000 Look at that weasel, little sneaky. That guy is a 0:17:38.000 --> 0:17:41.160 serial killer. I was looked him up. You could get 0:17:41.160 --> 0:17:46.520 in a small place and then Oh, look at it. 0:17:46.560 --> 0:17:50.040 He's got those eggs. Look what he's trying to do 0:17:50.080 --> 0:17:51.600 to those eggs. Look what he's trying to do to 0:17:51.600 --> 0:17:55.600 that thing that hasn't been born yet. Look at that weasel. 0:18:00.119 --> 0:18:03.879 Y'all are on board with Leviticus, now, are you? Because 0:18:03.920 --> 0:18:05.679 you do need to know how to deal with the weasel, 0:18:05.720 --> 0:18:09.200 don't you. You do need to learn how to deal 0:18:09.200 --> 0:18:16.720 with the weasel because you got a weasel called worry 0:18:18.200 --> 0:18:21.600 that while God is speaking his word to you, say 0:18:21.600 --> 0:18:24.520 amen in Portuguese when he gets through on this interpretation, 0:18:24.720 --> 0:18:26.359 because I need to hear an amen. I need to 0:18:26.359 --> 0:18:30.040 hear an amen. That weasel, that weasel, that weasel. No, 0:18:30.200 --> 0:18:33.760 he's not just leaving you alone. He's trying to steal 0:18:35.200 --> 0:18:37.840 what God spoke. Now I know you think I'm out 0:18:37.840 --> 0:18:40.880 of context. It's not talking about that kind of weasel. 0:18:41.359 --> 0:18:45.600 It's talking about everything in your life to try to distinguish, 0:18:45.720 --> 0:18:48.120 like the enemy will plant a seed in your mind, 0:18:48.200 --> 0:18:51.000 right you say, okay, well this is gonna go wrong? 0:18:51.080 --> 0:18:52.720 And have you thought about this? And did you hear 0:18:52.760 --> 0:18:54.720 what they said about that? And it's a recession of recession, 0:18:54.720 --> 0:18:56.760 a recession, a recession of recession of recession, of recession, 0:18:56.760 --> 0:18:59.640 of recession. You have thought about resurrection in about three 0:18:59.680 --> 0:19:03.040 months because all you've been reading about is recession. So 0:19:03.119 --> 0:19:06.840 now that weasel got right in there in your space, 0:19:07.920 --> 0:19:12.119 your little space where God does great things and he 0:19:12.280 --> 0:19:15.800 eats through the potential of what God sneaks. So what 0:19:15.840 --> 0:19:18.760 do you do with the wisel? God said, don't eat it? 0:19:19.119 --> 0:19:21.480 What do you do with the weasel? God said, put 0:19:21.520 --> 0:19:24.040 it off limits? What do you do with those little 0:19:24.080 --> 0:19:29.080 thoughts that come up a million miles an hour? And 0:19:29.119 --> 0:19:34.320 you know that's a good question to be asking. Enemy 0:19:34.359 --> 0:19:42.119 will weasel his way into your marriage, He'll weasel his 0:19:42.200 --> 0:19:46.640 way into your business, gets you to start cutting corners 0:19:46.680 --> 0:19:49.480 and stuff like that. Yeah, I know how he works. 0:19:51.160 --> 0:20:00.200 I'm a weasel expert. Weasel try and keep you from 0:20:00.200 --> 0:20:06.440 worshiping God, usel the Lord. I'm a list a lot 0:20:06.440 --> 0:20:10.240 of things that will multiply rapidly in your life, small things, 0:20:10.280 --> 0:20:13.240 moving things, sorrows, and I'm gonna show you what to 0:20:13.280 --> 0:20:16.520 do with them so I can keep doing big things. 0:20:18.680 --> 0:20:23.359 God still has big things for me. I felt chills 0:20:23.359 --> 0:20:27.280 on my body when I said it. God still has 0:20:27.840 --> 0:20:32.760 big things for me, things that are bigger than my intellect, 0:20:33.119 --> 0:20:38.439 things that are bigger than my imagination, exceedingly abundantly above 0:20:38.560 --> 0:20:44.400 all I ask, or imagine, the seed of God's potential 0:20:44.760 --> 0:20:48.560 lives inside of me. I say it again for the 0:20:48.600 --> 0:20:51.800 people who who really believe what the word of God says. 0:20:52.080 --> 0:20:56.360 The seed of God's potential lives in me. I mean, 0:20:56.480 --> 0:20:59.639 think about it. Here are people in Leviticus who have 0:20:59.720 --> 0:21:03.040 been through Egypt, have been through the Red Sea, who 0:21:03.200 --> 0:21:06.600 started with a man named Abraham. All out of one 0:21:06.720 --> 0:21:10.560 man came millions of people because God said, I will 0:21:10.560 --> 0:21:14.199 bless you and multiply you. And Abram was waiting. We 0:21:14.280 --> 0:21:16.520 preached about him for two weeks a while back. We 0:21:16.600 --> 0:21:19.760 preached about him for two weeks. How he was ninety nine, 0:21:20.040 --> 0:21:22.480 and God gave him the promise when he was a hundred. 0:21:22.640 --> 0:21:24.880 And I preached on keep it a hundred. But can 0:21:24.920 --> 0:21:27.480 I keep it a hundred with you? Abraham said, my 0:21:27.600 --> 0:21:30.919 wife's womb is as good as dead, and so is 0:21:31.000 --> 0:21:33.600 my body. And my body is as good as dead, 0:21:33.800 --> 0:21:36.720 because I'm ninety nine. But then something God inside of 0:21:36.760 --> 0:21:40.480 Abraham and kicked inside of Abraham, because see the seed 0:21:40.520 --> 0:21:43.560 that was inside of him was greater than the limitation 0:21:43.720 --> 0:21:46.919 that was on him. So something got inside of Abraham 0:21:47.280 --> 0:21:49.480 and he looked in the mirror. But then he looked 0:21:49.520 --> 0:21:53.159 at the stars and he talked to himself and his situation. 0:21:53.600 --> 0:21:56.360 But then he talked to God, and God reminded him 0:21:56.359 --> 0:21:59.360 of the promise. And Abram said, I'm old, but I'm 0:21:59.400 --> 0:22:02.199 not dead yet. I think he said it with no teeth. 0:22:02.359 --> 0:22:05.600 All right there yet I'm not teddy yet. I'm not 0:22:05.800 --> 0:22:09.560 teddy yet. I'm not done yet. I'm not teddy yet. 0:22:09.720 --> 0:22:14.680 It's not over yet. I'm not dead. God's not done. 0:22:14.840 --> 0:22:19.320 If I'm not dead, God's not done. Greater things are 0:22:19.520 --> 0:22:25.960 still to come. That. Wow, that was an amazing sermon. 0:22:26.400 --> 0:22:28.359 If you hadn't gone back and watched it, if you 0:22:28.400 --> 0:22:31.040 didn't know, it's on YouTube. Matter of fact, all of 0:22:31.080 --> 0:22:34.000 the messages from pastor Steven you can find on YouTube, 0:22:34.000 --> 0:22:36.679 and so go back watch them. I don't know about you, 0:22:36.760 --> 0:22:41.119 but every single Sunday I actually watched the message two times. 0:22:41.480 --> 0:22:43.439 I watched two times. The first time. I watch it 0:22:43.440 --> 0:22:47.119 for myself as a husband, as a father, just as 0:22:47.160 --> 0:22:49.040 a man. I need to be able to take some 0:22:49.080 --> 0:22:51.600 time to see what does God want to speak to 0:22:51.720 --> 0:22:54.320 my life? But not only that, not only that I 0:22:54.359 --> 0:22:56.359 watch it the second time because I'm trying to figure 0:22:56.359 --> 0:22:58.879 out how am I going to reteach it, how am 0:22:58.920 --> 0:23:02.399 I going to repre And after Pastor preached this sermon 0:23:02.520 --> 0:23:06.840 called Bent Needs Breaks Chains, I went back and I 0:23:06.960 --> 0:23:10.320 began to read over and over and over again throughout 0:23:10.359 --> 0:23:13.399 the story of Joseph, and God just really ministered to 0:23:13.520 --> 0:23:16.439 my soul. I love how Pastor it just gives us 0:23:16.440 --> 0:23:19.000 a fred fresh take on so many stories that maybe 0:23:19.000 --> 0:23:21.399 you've read over and over and over again, but in 0:23:21.440 --> 0:23:25.199 this message, it reminded us that life happens. Sometimes we 0:23:25.280 --> 0:23:28.359 go through things that are difficult. We have loved ones 0:23:28.359 --> 0:23:30.919 in our lives that are struggling, that are hurting, that 0:23:30.960 --> 0:23:34.200 are maybe sitting in a hospital bed, and in those 0:23:34.240 --> 0:23:38.399 moments sometimes you feel helpless. Sometimes I just get paralyzed 0:23:38.400 --> 0:23:40.680 because I feel like there's nothing that I can do. 0:23:41.240 --> 0:23:44.320 What I love about this message, vent Needs Breaks Chanes. 0:23:44.680 --> 0:23:48.480 It reminds me that, yes, God is in control, but 0:23:48.600 --> 0:23:52.560 I'm responsible for my posture. And Pastor in this message, 0:23:52.560 --> 0:23:55.399 he gets right on his knees and he demonstrates that 0:23:55.440 --> 0:23:59.560 it's vent Needs that breaks chains. Now, I will either 0:23:59.640 --> 0:24:03.600 stay chained to the event or I'll make a decision 0:24:03.960 --> 0:24:07.200 to fix my posture. When Pastor said that, it really 0:24:07.240 --> 0:24:11.280 spoke to me because it lets me know that I 0:24:11.320 --> 0:24:14.840 can do something. I can focus, I can worship, i 0:24:14.840 --> 0:24:17.240 can lean into the presence of God. I can get 0:24:17.240 --> 0:24:19.800 some people around me to support me and encourage me, 0:24:20.359 --> 0:24:23.120 and then God will do what only he can do. 0:24:23.560 --> 0:24:25.600 And so here's one of my favorite moments from this 0:24:25.680 --> 0:24:31.480 message that needs breaks chains and Joseph has a decision 0:24:31.520 --> 0:24:37.080 to make and he does it like this, I'm not God. 0:24:38.800 --> 0:24:42.400 And in the moment of decision, he takes a posture 0:24:43.400 --> 0:24:48.000 as the second most powerful man in the land. He 0:24:48.080 --> 0:24:55.480 takes his posture to say, God has been when what 0:24:55.680 --> 0:24:58.520 looked like for you to have this mentality? To say, 0:24:58.840 --> 0:25:02.480 God put me here for a purpose, and I'm submitting 0:25:02.600 --> 0:25:09.520 everything that's happened to me to God. I'm gonna, I'm gonna, 0:25:10.359 --> 0:25:14.120 I'm gonna. I'm gonna put myself in a position on 0:25:14.200 --> 0:25:18.280 my knees before God. I've never come to preach to you. 0:25:18.320 --> 0:25:20.000 If I can help it that I don't do this, 0:25:21.240 --> 0:25:24.640 even if it's for ten seconds before I round the corner, 0:25:24.880 --> 0:25:27.600 because a lot of times the way that I'll preach 0:25:28.240 --> 0:25:29.840 stuff will be just be coming to me to the 0:25:29.880 --> 0:25:35.040 last minute, and I'm literally like, but I try. I 0:25:35.119 --> 0:25:37.760 try every time to take one minute by myself. I 0:25:37.800 --> 0:25:43.080 say God, when I get out there today and there's 0:25:43.160 --> 0:25:46.400 people out there whose parents abandoned them. There's people out 0:25:46.400 --> 0:25:49.399 there who were molested. There's people out there who are 0:25:49.440 --> 0:25:52.920 going through the most scary medical situation in their life 0:25:53.000 --> 0:25:55.199 or their kids are There's people out there who have 0:25:55.480 --> 0:25:57.800 no idea how they're gonna catch up on four months 0:25:57.800 --> 0:26:00.560 worth of mortgage. There are people out there today who 0:26:00.680 --> 0:26:04.600 need you, and I can only meet that need on 0:26:04.680 --> 0:26:13.840 my knees. And it reminds me that if I do this, 0:26:16.320 --> 0:26:24.280 I can do this because see, the power that you 0:26:24.440 --> 0:26:28.879 need is not in me. But if I go to 0:26:28.960 --> 0:26:34.720 the one who has all power and all authority, and 0:26:34.840 --> 0:26:38.879 I get down low and I say God, I lift 0:26:38.920 --> 0:26:43.400 my eyes to the hills, where does my help come from? 0:26:43.440 --> 0:26:47.320 My help comes from you. I know, bit and knees 0:26:48.160 --> 0:26:53.200 can break chains. I know one word from Almighty God, 0:26:53.880 --> 0:26:58.200 one bread from the Spirit of I feel change breaking 0:26:58.359 --> 0:27:01.920 right now. I feel the bird is lifting right now. 0:27:02.480 --> 0:27:07.280 I feel sackle second on present floors at present dolors 0:27:07.760 --> 0:27:17.560 flying open right now. Because when you do this. God 0:27:17.640 --> 0:27:28.200 does that, Braith, Hey, what you did to me was bad. 0:27:28.240 --> 0:27:29.920 What happened to me is bad. What I'm going through 0:27:30.000 --> 0:27:34.320 is bad. But if I blame you, then my blame 0:27:34.359 --> 0:27:41.439 will become bitterness, and my bitterness will become bondage. Not 0:27:41.560 --> 0:27:46.440 your bondage, it will be my bondage. So I either 0:27:46.440 --> 0:27:50.840 get to stay chained to the events or I get 0:27:50.880 --> 0:27:53.919 to make a decision. This is where God brought you to. 0:27:54.280 --> 0:27:56.639 This is why you logged on. This is why they 0:27:56.680 --> 0:27:59.080 sent you the link. This is why you came to church. 0:27:59.359 --> 0:28:02.280 You thought you'd decided to come to church. You're crazy. 0:28:02.480 --> 0:28:06.320 God sovereignly brought you to church. You had ten excuses 0:28:06.400 --> 0:28:09.040 not to come. What didn't fit and I have nothing 0:28:09.080 --> 0:28:12.080 to wear. But here you are. It's a size too small, 0:28:12.119 --> 0:28:15.879 but you can't why for this moment. God wanted you 0:28:15.960 --> 0:28:22.679 to know. You are in an important moment of your life. 0:28:22.840 --> 0:28:27.720 And if you do this, come on. Every athlete knows 0:28:28.000 --> 0:28:29.720 you can't hit a golf ball good if you don't 0:28:29.760 --> 0:28:33.560 bend your knees. That's where your power comes from. You 0:28:33.600 --> 0:28:36.359 can't shoot a basketball right if you don't bend your knees. 0:28:36.880 --> 0:28:40.280 That's where your accuracy comes from You can't do a 0:28:40.320 --> 0:28:44.400 takedown standing up straight. There's no Division one wrestling champions 0:28:44.520 --> 0:28:48.800 that stand up straight time. Why are you fighting your 0:28:48.840 --> 0:28:52.520 battles like this? When God gave you this? This is 0:28:52.520 --> 0:28:56.560 how I fight my down devil. Watch me surrendered to God. 0:29:00.160 --> 0:29:04.680 Cuss been knees break. You can't do it in your 0:29:04.720 --> 0:29:07.560 own strength. If you could, you would have by now. 0:29:08.040 --> 0:29:12.000 But God brought you to your knees cause he's breaking 0:29:12.840 --> 0:29:19.920 subsederational tag. I feel the holy ghosts. Come Lord, Come Lord, 0:29:20.520 --> 0:29:23.480 break ghost change, break it, break it, break it, breaking, 0:29:23.760 --> 0:29:26.719 break it, breaking, break it. Breaking the past has no 0:29:26.840 --> 0:29:29.760 power over you. The blood of Jesus speaks up better. 0:29:30.040 --> 0:29:35.240 I breaking in the name of Jeson. Okay, bent these 0:29:35.280 --> 0:29:38.920 breaks chains. You gotta listen to chat there, go and 0:29:39.000 --> 0:29:41.880 catch that message, because just a clip like that, it's 0:29:41.960 --> 0:29:44.640 not enough. You gotta catch the whole thing. Okay. One 0:29:44.680 --> 0:29:46.640 of the things I love so much that we get 0:29:46.640 --> 0:29:49.120 to do as a church is see how far these 0:29:49.160 --> 0:29:52.280 sermons reach. Now. Back in September, we were able to 0:29:52.320 --> 0:29:55.840 share a story with you about one of our family 0:29:55.880 --> 0:29:59.360 members in the DMV area. Now, I'm sure you remember 0:29:59.400 --> 0:30:01.800 this because all I heard was so many people said, man, 0:30:01.880 --> 0:30:05.480 we love Leon. That message was so good, that video 0:30:05.640 --> 0:30:09.240 is so good, and so today we wanted to bring 0:30:09.320 --> 0:30:13.760 Leon here to share a little bit of how messages 0:30:13.800 --> 0:30:15.760 have impacted him. So we don't have him in the room, 0:30:15.960 --> 0:30:18.520 but we've got him right here. So Leon, thank you 0:30:18.560 --> 0:30:21.120 for joining us. Thank you for being a part of 0:30:21.320 --> 0:30:24.160 Elevation Church. We love that. It's not buildings. We talk 0:30:24.200 --> 0:30:26.440 about that all the time. It's not buildings here at Elevation, 0:30:26.720 --> 0:30:29.680 it's people. And from where you are, you've been impacted 0:30:29.680 --> 0:30:32.000 by messages. So why don't you share with the church 0:30:32.080 --> 0:30:34.240 family a message that has meant a lot to you 0:30:34.320 --> 0:30:39.160 this year. Well, thanks Pastor Chad for having me. There's 0:30:39.160 --> 0:30:41.880 so many messages, of course that resonate with me. But 0:30:42.000 --> 0:30:45.560 there was one particular message that Pastor Stephen preached back 0:30:45.720 --> 0:30:48.920 in April, I believe, and the name of the message 0:30:48.960 --> 0:30:52.720 was the facts aren't final. And one of the things 0:30:52.720 --> 0:30:56.360 that Pastor encouraged us and this message was that most 0:30:56.360 --> 0:30:59.640 of the time, on some of the time, the things 0:30:59.640 --> 0:31:02.880 that we struggle with in our faith actually have nothing 0:31:02.920 --> 0:31:05.040 to do with the enemy and have nothing to do 0:31:05.160 --> 0:31:09.360 with an attack. But it is some things that happen 0:31:09.640 --> 0:31:13.200 with our friends, and some of those things are actually facts, 0:31:13.600 --> 0:31:16.760 and because their facts, they scare us. But he encouraged 0:31:16.840 --> 0:31:20.000 us in this message that as long as we remain 0:31:20.240 --> 0:31:24.160 faithful and continue to believe God, that those things that 0:31:24.200 --> 0:31:27.200 we struggle with, that our facts are not going to 0:31:27.240 --> 0:31:30.320 put a limitation on God. But if we continue to 0:31:30.400 --> 0:31:33.440 worship and we continue to believe, that those things will 0:31:33.440 --> 0:31:36.000 be in to be a blessing in our lives. And 0:31:36.040 --> 0:31:39.120 I'm so grateful for that message. It impacted me because 0:31:39.160 --> 0:31:41.800 I was going through something at that time and it 0:31:41.880 --> 0:31:45.760 really spoke to my heart. Well, leone, you're preaching it, 0:31:46.120 --> 0:31:48.680 you might as well keep going. Okay, No, we're gonna 0:31:48.680 --> 0:31:51.200 share it with you, though the facts aren't final. Take 0:31:51.200 --> 0:31:54.160 a look. It's kind of our junk drawer to say, 0:31:54.640 --> 0:32:02.760 I'm just under attack. Mm hmmm. It's not always an attack, No, 0:32:02.800 --> 0:32:07.520 it's not. It is sometimes it's not always an attack, 0:32:07.840 --> 0:32:15.120 and it's not always the enemy. Because I know the 0:32:15.120 --> 0:32:19.680 devil is a liar, even when I believe him. Something 0:32:19.720 --> 0:32:21.800 in me kind of knows, called the Holy Spirit, this 0:32:21.920 --> 0:32:25.920 is not true. So the devil's lies are one thing. 0:32:26.840 --> 0:32:30.600 But look at the passage with me in verse thirty five. 0:32:31.120 --> 0:32:35.840 It doesn't say that the devil told Gyrus a bad report. 0:32:37.560 --> 0:32:41.720 It says that while Jesus was speaking follow Me, some 0:32:41.800 --> 0:32:48.600 people came from Gyrus's own house, people who worked for him, 0:32:48.680 --> 0:32:52.280 and they told him, your daughter is dead, and then 0:32:52.320 --> 0:32:57.040 they asked him, why bother the teacher anymore? Notice what 0:32:57.080 --> 0:33:01.920 they call Jesus the teacher because to them, that's all 0:33:01.960 --> 0:33:06.680 he was. They didn't believe in him yet. He hadn't 0:33:06.680 --> 0:33:09.719 died yet, he hadn't risen yet. These were not believers 0:33:09.720 --> 0:33:13.520 in Jesus. These were members of the synagogue who were 0:33:13.560 --> 0:33:18.000 still making up their mind about Jesus. So when they 0:33:18.040 --> 0:33:21.840 call him the teacher, they're not lying, but they are 0:33:21.920 --> 0:33:30.440 limiting because if all he is is a teacher, then 0:33:30.480 --> 0:33:32.720 why are you still standing here listening to him with 0:33:32.800 --> 0:33:35.520 this crowd. You need to get home. Your daughter's dead, 0:33:35.800 --> 0:33:38.320 and you are needed for the funeral arrangements, because in 0:33:38.400 --> 0:33:40.640 Jewish custom, there would be mourners that would come in 0:33:40.640 --> 0:33:43.360 two flutes and there would be at least four people. 0:33:43.480 --> 0:33:46.840 If you were poor, imagine how many people were filling 0:33:46.880 --> 0:33:49.440 Gyrus's house at that moment to mourn the death of 0:33:49.440 --> 0:33:53.160 his daughter. And if all he is is a teacher, 0:33:53.880 --> 0:33:57.800 we're wasting time. So when they call him a teacher 0:33:57.840 --> 0:34:00.760 and they say your daughter's dead, notice this. They are 0:34:00.760 --> 0:34:05.880 not the enemy. These are his friends. And this is 0:34:05.920 --> 0:34:12.680 not a lie, but it is a limitation. Now, sometimes 0:34:12.680 --> 0:34:14.680 the devil would just outright lie to you. You can 0:34:14.719 --> 0:34:17.000 feel it when it comes on. You're worthless, your piece 0:34:17.040 --> 0:34:20.359 of crap, you suck. Bad word, bad word, bad word, 0:34:20.400 --> 0:34:22.759 bad word. That's the devil calling you stuff that you know. 0:34:22.840 --> 0:34:25.279 God doesn't see you as that, right, and so then 0:34:25.320 --> 0:34:28.000 you just rebuke the devil. Ah, God, rebuke you, devil. 0:34:28.080 --> 0:34:29.680 You're so crazy. You think I'm gonna listen to this 0:34:29.719 --> 0:34:31.759 trash talk. You think I'm really just gonna drive my 0:34:31.880 --> 0:34:35.040 car into another car right now, feel so bad about myself, 0:34:35.080 --> 0:34:37.120 I'm gonna end my life. Come on, devil, you're crazy. 0:34:37.200 --> 0:34:38.919 I rebuke you, Satan, in the name of the Lord, 0:34:38.960 --> 0:34:41.040 the blood of Jesus against you, Satan, and all of 0:34:41.080 --> 0:34:44.400 these things you can do when it's the enemy and 0:34:44.440 --> 0:34:50.560 when it's an attack. But in this case, it's not 0:34:50.680 --> 0:34:55.280 the enemy, and it's not an attack. It's his friends. 0:34:57.000 --> 0:35:01.560 And it's a fact. Some of the stuff that you're 0:35:01.560 --> 0:35:04.960 fighting with in your faith right now, it's not a lie. 0:35:06.320 --> 0:35:09.680 And that's what makes it so scary. It's a fact. 0:35:10.920 --> 0:35:13.560 I can't just pray everything away by denial and close 0:35:13.640 --> 0:35:16.279 my eyes and wait for the rapture. The facts are 0:35:16.280 --> 0:35:20.600 the facts, but are you feeding more facts to your 0:35:20.640 --> 0:35:24.799 spirit than you are faith to your spirit? I love 0:35:24.920 --> 0:35:27.880 that sermon so much, And if we're all really honest 0:35:27.880 --> 0:35:30.960 with ourselves, we can find a little bit of Gyrus 0:35:31.000 --> 0:35:32.520 in each of us. And what I mean by that 0:35:32.640 --> 0:35:35.640 is maybe you've come through a situation or maybe you're 0:35:35.680 --> 0:35:40.560 currently in a situation where the facts are challenging your faith, Okay, 0:35:40.560 --> 0:35:42.600 And that looks like different things Like we'll ask ourselves 0:35:42.640 --> 0:35:45.200 questions like why am I here? How did I get here? 0:35:45.239 --> 0:35:48.760 Of God? Do you even hear me or care about 0:35:48.760 --> 0:35:51.319 what I'm going through? But the one thing that I 0:35:51.360 --> 0:35:54.120 know can be fact checked is that God is always 0:35:54.160 --> 0:35:57.879 bigger than our circumstances. Okay. And here's the thing. This 0:35:58.080 --> 0:36:00.719 passage of scripture comes from March chapter and it is 0:36:00.800 --> 0:36:03.839 like the gift that keeps on giving because we got 0:36:03.840 --> 0:36:07.360 to hear not one, but two sermons from this passage 0:36:07.400 --> 0:36:10.200 of scripture because just a few weeks later, Pastor Holly 0:36:10.239 --> 0:36:13.680 preached a sermon called Waiting on My Miracle, where we 0:36:13.760 --> 0:36:17.120 got to revisit the story of Gyros. And this is 0:36:17.200 --> 0:36:19.520 such a great story of scripture that talks us through 0:36:19.719 --> 0:36:22.480 several different things. But just maybe you remember, but in 0:36:22.520 --> 0:36:25.160 case you don't, this is a story where Gyros meets 0:36:25.239 --> 0:36:27.680 Jesus and his daughter is sick and he asked Jesus 0:36:27.680 --> 0:36:30.120 to heal his daughter, a thing that we would all 0:36:30.160 --> 0:36:32.120 maybe be looking for. What do you need healing in? 0:36:32.280 --> 0:36:34.759 Is this something that you're willing to come and ask 0:36:34.840 --> 0:36:38.280 Jesus for? But en route to go heal his daughter, 0:36:38.600 --> 0:36:41.040 this other really popular Bible story comes up that you 0:36:41.160 --> 0:36:43.200 maybe know about or have heard about, and this is 0:36:43.239 --> 0:36:45.560 the woman with the issue of blood. And in the 0:36:45.560 --> 0:36:48.600 midst of Jesus going to heal Girius's daughter, well, he 0:36:48.760 --> 0:36:51.799 ends up healing this woman and stopping to address her, 0:36:51.840 --> 0:36:55.040 which is amazing, right, this is a good thing that's happening. 0:36:55.239 --> 0:36:58.080 But in the midst of this miracle happening, the miracle 0:36:58.080 --> 0:37:01.040 that Gyros was hoping for ends up not happening because 0:37:01.080 --> 0:37:05.120 his daughter dies. And here's the thing. We've all maybe 0:37:05.440 --> 0:37:08.799 probably had a dream, a hope, something that we were 0:37:08.840 --> 0:37:11.759 wishing for, something that has died in our lives, and 0:37:11.800 --> 0:37:13.640 I wonder what we do in those moments. If you're 0:37:13.719 --> 0:37:16.040 anything like me, I'm a little embarrassed to admit this, 0:37:16.080 --> 0:37:18.440 but I'm hoping I can be honest with you. I 0:37:18.480 --> 0:37:21.799 get mad, I get angry, I shut down, and I 0:37:21.840 --> 0:37:25.040 don't always handle these situations in the best way. But 0:37:25.239 --> 0:37:28.719 one thing that we learned in this Bible story is 0:37:28.760 --> 0:37:31.160 the example that Gyrus set, and this is what Holly 0:37:31.520 --> 0:37:35.040 preached about, is what should we do whenever we're waiting 0:37:35.360 --> 0:37:38.839 on a miracle? And Holly says it best whenever. She says, 0:37:38.840 --> 0:37:42.080 if you stay close. If you stay close, you'll come 0:37:42.120 --> 0:37:46.440 out stronger on the other side. Holly preached about staying 0:37:46.480 --> 0:37:50.680 close to Jesus in the midst of waiting and then 0:37:50.800 --> 0:37:53.359 seeing what God can do through that, because that's where 0:37:53.400 --> 0:37:56.359 He reveals himself to us. That's where we grow in 0:37:56.400 --> 0:37:59.520 our faith, is in those moments of waiting and walking 0:38:00.040 --> 0:38:03.640 close to Jesus. I feel like I've talked enough about it. 0:38:03.640 --> 0:38:05.560 I would love for us to be able to relive 0:38:05.600 --> 0:38:07.480 a little bit of this sermon, So let's take a 0:38:07.520 --> 0:38:11.399 look at this. One of the greatest things that I'm 0:38:11.480 --> 0:38:16.319 learning about prayer is that I have to hold my 0:38:16.560 --> 0:38:19.440 list the things I want God to do how I 0:38:19.480 --> 0:38:21.719 want him to do it, when I want him to 0:38:21.760 --> 0:38:25.040 do it. I hold my list with a light grip, 0:38:26.320 --> 0:38:30.040 because sometimes God's gonna ask me to let go of 0:38:30.080 --> 0:38:36.560 my list, but hold firm to my faith. May not 0:38:36.640 --> 0:38:40.160 happen the way you thought it would, But my faith 0:38:40.239 --> 0:38:45.280 is not in the list. My faith is in my God, 0:38:45.920 --> 0:38:50.480 who I believe is working all things for my good. 0:38:50.760 --> 0:38:54.800 My faith is in the God who knows the number 0:38:55.040 --> 0:38:58.719 of hairs on my head. My faith is in my 0:38:59.080 --> 0:39:03.960 perfect Father, who knows me better than I know myself. 0:39:04.560 --> 0:39:08.200 All I have to do is stay close to Him, 0:39:08.600 --> 0:39:13.479 no matter how dark it gets, and remember that He 0:39:14.040 --> 0:39:19.840 is with me. You know that there is no darkness 0:39:20.560 --> 0:39:27.799 you can experience that Jesus has not already felt. Hebrews 0:39:27.840 --> 0:39:34.360 four tells us, look at this. I love this passage 0:39:34.360 --> 0:39:40.200 of scripture. Therefore, since we have a great high priest 0:39:40.560 --> 0:39:43.919 who has ascended into heaven, Jesus, the Son of God, 0:39:44.520 --> 0:39:50.680 let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For 0:39:50.760 --> 0:39:53.080 we do not have a high priest who is unable 0:39:53.120 --> 0:39:57.799 to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who 0:39:57.880 --> 0:40:01.440 has been tempted in every way, just as we are. 0:40:01.960 --> 0:40:06.800 Yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God's 0:40:06.800 --> 0:40:11.360 throne of grace with confidence so that we may receive 0:40:11.480 --> 0:40:15.359 mercy and find grace to help us in our time 0:40:15.400 --> 0:40:23.600 of need. Jesus experienced every grief and every temptation. He 0:40:23.760 --> 0:40:30.840 is the true friend, the true empathizer, our heavenly father. 0:40:31.960 --> 0:40:35.880 He actually went to all the schools. He went to 0:40:35.920 --> 0:40:40.480 betrayal school, he went to raise a child with special 0:40:40.520 --> 0:40:50.879 needs school, he went to loneliness school. And you can 0:40:51.920 --> 0:41:04.719 you can come to him. I'm telling you now. You 0:41:04.800 --> 0:41:09.680 can come to him with confidence. And while we wait 0:41:10.239 --> 0:41:14.080 for him to give us an answer, we find so 0:41:14.680 --> 0:41:21.160 much more. We find grace, and we find mercy in 0:41:21.239 --> 0:41:25.480 our time of need. It's in the waiting that we 0:41:25.560 --> 0:41:30.239 get to know him better. We find out that he's 0:41:30.360 --> 0:41:34.080 not just a god who heals, but he is a 0:41:34.160 --> 0:41:38.120 god who is with us in our pain and in 0:41:38.280 --> 0:41:42.839 our confusion, and in our frustration and in our disappointment. 0:41:43.160 --> 0:41:47.200 And he stands by. He never left. He's with you. 0:41:47.719 --> 0:41:52.120 He stands by, ready with the grace that you need 0:41:52.440 --> 0:41:59.480 for each moment. And when I think of the darkest 0:41:59.520 --> 0:42:04.000 season in my life, the seasons of my life when 0:42:04.040 --> 0:42:07.160 you wake up in the morning and for a brief second, 0:42:07.680 --> 0:42:10.319 you forget everything that you're going through. Have you ever 0:42:10.320 --> 0:42:12.480 been there? And then all of a sudden, the pain 0:42:12.800 --> 0:42:15.200 and the realization of what's going on and the fear 0:42:15.280 --> 0:42:20.960 sets in. In those moments, what I remember most from 0:42:21.080 --> 0:42:27.880 those seasons is the tangible presence of God. If I 0:42:27.920 --> 0:42:29.799 didn't stay close to him, I wouldn't have gotten out 0:42:29.800 --> 0:42:32.560 of bed. If I didn't stay close to him, I 0:42:32.560 --> 0:42:36.800 wouldn't have made it through the day. I know I 0:42:36.800 --> 0:42:42.399 wouldn't have chosen those situations and those seasons. But I'm 0:42:42.440 --> 0:42:47.080 here to tell you today, if you stay close, you'll 0:42:47.120 --> 0:42:50.920 come out stronger on the other side. One of the 0:42:50.960 --> 0:42:54.359 sermons that deeply impacted me this year was one that 0:42:54.400 --> 0:42:58.520 Pastor titled my future is My Focus. I honestly believe 0:42:58.560 --> 0:43:00.640 there may not be a better word for us as 0:43:00.640 --> 0:43:03.400 we start a new year than this one right here, Because, 0:43:03.400 --> 0:43:06.239 of course, at the start of another calendar year, many 0:43:06.239 --> 0:43:08.719 of us see this time as an intersection of what 0:43:08.719 --> 0:43:12.000 we're choosing to leave behind in the previous season and 0:43:12.040 --> 0:43:15.640 what we're stepping into in this next one. So the 0:43:15.680 --> 0:43:18.960 passage Pastor preached from was Genesis forty nine and fifty, 0:43:19.320 --> 0:43:22.600 which is toward the end of Joseph's story, and at 0:43:22.640 --> 0:43:26.360 this point the Book of Genesis has covered forty years 0:43:26.760 --> 0:43:31.439 of Joseph's faithfulness. Even though he was mistreated, thrown into 0:43:31.480 --> 0:43:34.520 a pit, even though he was put into prison. Light 0:43:34.600 --> 0:43:38.479 about he didn't let that take his purpose. Pastor said, 0:43:39.200 --> 0:43:42.279 you got to learn to interrupt what the enemy sent 0:43:42.400 --> 0:43:45.920 to destroy you and break it with a butt God. 0:43:46.600 --> 0:43:51.120 I was so inspired by Joseph's determination to not allow 0:43:51.200 --> 0:43:54.080 these things that could have kept him in bondage to 0:43:54.239 --> 0:43:57.839 keep him from his purpose. In Genesis fifty, Joseph's father, 0:43:58.360 --> 0:44:01.440 Jacob has just died, and his brothers are scared that 0:44:01.560 --> 0:44:04.640 Joseph is going to hold a grudge against them and 0:44:04.760 --> 0:44:06.919 pay him back for all the wrongs that they did 0:44:06.920 --> 0:44:09.279 to him. So they come to Joseph, who at this 0:44:09.320 --> 0:44:12.240 point in his life is really powerful, and he's sitting 0:44:12.320 --> 0:44:15.799 in the court of Pharaoh because God's blessed him. But 0:44:15.880 --> 0:44:19.040 his brothers throw themselves at his feet and they're scared 0:44:19.080 --> 0:44:22.160 about his response, and Joseph responds in a way that 0:44:22.320 --> 0:44:26.560 only someone who's chosen to stay focused on their purpose could. 0:44:27.120 --> 0:44:30.840 He says don't be afraid. You intended to harm me, 0:44:31.360 --> 0:44:35.319 but God intended it for good. And I want my 0:44:35.560 --> 0:44:39.120 life to be marked by that same heavenly perspective. And 0:44:39.200 --> 0:44:42.040 so we just prophesied that same over you in this 0:44:42.200 --> 0:44:46.040 new year, that you'll focus on what matters, that your 0:44:46.080 --> 0:44:49.319 focus will be fixed on the truth that Christ is 0:44:49.400 --> 0:44:51.960 in you and that is enough. And when the enemy 0:44:52.000 --> 0:44:56.680 tries to attack you with shame or condemnation, you'll hit 0:44:56.800 --> 0:44:59.759 back with but God, who is rich in mercy, has 0:44:59.800 --> 0:45:02.840 made me alive in Christ. When the same old hurt 0:45:03.000 --> 0:45:06.319 and bitterness tries to fight for all your attention, you 0:45:06.440 --> 0:45:10.320 remember Joseph's words, you intended to harm me, but God 0:45:10.880 --> 0:45:13.960 intended it for my good. In the clip we want 0:45:14.000 --> 0:45:16.600 to show you now, Pastor Stephen has just pulled a 0:45:16.600 --> 0:45:19.320 few of our campus pastors up with him on stage 0:45:19.680 --> 0:45:22.880 to help demonstrate what it takes to keep your focus. 0:45:23.200 --> 0:45:27.799 And I want to show you that now. Telling God 0:45:27.840 --> 0:45:34.160 you're worthless is an insult to the word that he 0:45:34.280 --> 0:45:38.239 spoke over you. And it is the opposite of worshiping 0:45:38.560 --> 0:45:41.840 God to tell him how worthless you are, because the 0:45:41.880 --> 0:45:48.520 focus is on you. So watch this, watch this. This 0:45:48.640 --> 0:45:51.719 is a chain and what it becomes is terrible, but 0:45:51.800 --> 0:45:58.040 it becomes bitterness. And now you got bondage. Walk with 0:45:58.080 --> 0:46:00.800 it for me. In your own life, something bad happens, 0:46:00.960 --> 0:46:04.319 Oh that's horrible. I didn't get to finish because of them. 0:46:04.440 --> 0:46:06.560 They weren't there for me. I mean, if we just 0:46:06.680 --> 0:46:09.680 named everything that's in this room, forget about all over 0:46:09.719 --> 0:46:12.520 the world. If we just named everything that's in this room, 0:46:12.800 --> 0:46:15.600 if we named everything bad that happened in this room, 0:46:15.880 --> 0:46:20.439 I wouldn't get to preach another sermon until twenty sixty four, 0:46:21.719 --> 0:46:24.080 all right. I wouldn't get to preach. And if we 0:46:24.120 --> 0:46:27.080 spent the rest of this day, we would still over 0:46:27.160 --> 0:46:31.799 into tomorrow. And then Yet Joseph, after after everything he's 0:46:31.840 --> 0:46:36.320 been through Genesis fifty twenty, put it on the screen 0:46:37.280 --> 0:46:41.120 you intended to harm me. And that's all he said 0:46:41.120 --> 0:46:51.439 about that. Now that's freedom hold. He wouldn't in denial either, 0:46:51.440 --> 0:46:55.280 because he still wept. There was a process. He didn't 0:46:55.280 --> 0:46:58.279 say it the next day, he didn't say it in 0:46:58.320 --> 0:46:59.880 the pit, he didn't say it in the back of 0:47:00.120 --> 0:47:04.160 a caravan as he's being being sold in chained. But 0:47:04.920 --> 0:47:18.560 at some point his perspective became, but God, so you 0:47:18.640 --> 0:47:27.080 break it with a butt. Let me show you again, y'all. 0:47:27.120 --> 0:47:30.760 I got the I got the remedial class, the summer school. 0:47:31.000 --> 0:47:34.880 In here today, I'm gonna show you again. You intended 0:47:34.920 --> 0:47:39.879 to harm me. That was bad. Now I could blame you. 0:47:40.040 --> 0:47:42.600 I could be bitter about it, and I could spend 0:47:42.600 --> 0:47:47.640 the rest of my life. But God show you again, 0:47:47.640 --> 0:47:51.280 show you again, get back together. Let me show you again. 0:47:52.160 --> 0:47:57.120 Let me show you till you see yourself interrupting what 0:47:57.320 --> 0:48:00.960 the enemy said to destroy you, and you can break 0:48:01.000 --> 0:48:06.480 it with a butt. God, you can break it. So 0:48:06.760 --> 0:48:10.120 so I'm looking now now I'm looking. My future is 0:48:10.160 --> 0:48:14.359 my focus. So I'm looking for everything in my life 0:48:14.520 --> 0:48:18.200 that has me in bondage. And I'm looking to put 0:48:18.320 --> 0:48:22.520 a butt right here to see what God is gonna 0:48:22.520 --> 0:48:27.680 do next. I need thirty of yall. I need thirty 0:48:27.760 --> 0:48:34.360 people in a Hammond B three to brace God, not 0:48:34.560 --> 0:48:38.360 the power to break it. It's in your praise, in 0:48:38.480 --> 0:48:45.520 your perspective, in your purpose. Get together. That's how you 0:48:45.560 --> 0:48:49.560 break a chain. That's how they left me. But God 0:48:49.640 --> 0:48:54.880 has somebody else for me. They hurt me, but God 0:48:54.960 --> 0:48:58.960 healed me. He's healing me right now. Somebody's saying in 0:48:59.000 --> 0:49:02.440 the chat but God, God, but God. I feel like 0:49:02.560 --> 0:49:07.320 preaching in this room today, right, God is breaking says 0:49:07.800 --> 0:49:11.720 I'm serious, Jop, you can break it with a fuck. 0:49:12.719 --> 0:49:16.879 We were dead in our sin, but God, you meant 0:49:16.880 --> 0:49:21.319 it for evil, But Gop. The weapon was formed against me, 0:49:21.719 --> 0:49:26.800 but it didn't prosper because I'm still breathing, living, walking, 0:49:27.239 --> 0:49:42.600 talking ooseh. But God, but God, but God, but God, Bah, 0:49:42.840 --> 0:49:47.760 break that thing. I can break that thing. You break 0:49:47.840 --> 0:49:51.760 it before it breaks you. You hear me. You break 0:49:51.800 --> 0:49:57.319 it before it breaks you. New year, same God. I 0:49:57.360 --> 0:50:00.640 hope that this encouraged you. I hope that today you're 0:50:00.680 --> 0:50:03.680 walking away with a sense of gratitude for what God 0:50:03.719 --> 0:50:06.800 has done in your life and a feeling of expectancy 0:50:07.080 --> 0:50:09.680 for what He's going to do in the year ahead. 0:50:09.840 --> 0:50:13.239 God came through last year. God spoke last year, and 0:50:13.320 --> 0:50:15.400 he's going to come through again, and he's going to 0:50:15.480 --> 0:50:17.960 speak again this year. If you miss any of the 0:50:18.000 --> 0:50:20.120 sermons that we talked about today and you were thinking 0:50:20.120 --> 0:50:21.719 that you would love to see the rest of it, 0:50:22.000 --> 0:50:25.800 good news. They're all up on our Elevation Church YouTube 0:50:25.880 --> 0:50:30.040 channel or also available on the Elevation Church podcast. The 0:50:30.080 --> 0:50:33.760 titles are all listed in the description below. I also 0:50:33.880 --> 0:50:36.840 hope that today you'll take a few minutes to reflect 0:50:36.840 --> 0:50:40.360 on the past year. Yes, it's important to set goals 0:50:40.520 --> 0:50:43.120 for the year ahead, but before you do that, take 0:50:43.200 --> 0:50:46.320 some time to look back at the faithfulness of God 0:50:46.600 --> 0:50:49.399 in your life in twenty twenty two. How did God 0:50:49.440 --> 0:50:51.640 provide for you? Who did God bring into your life? 0:50:51.640 --> 0:50:54.240 Who did He remove from your life? What did God 0:50:54.320 --> 0:50:58.520 speak to you this year? If you'll just start writing 0:50:58.800 --> 0:51:01.359 and reflecting on the presence of God in your life 0:51:01.400 --> 0:51:03.560 over the past year, I know that you're going to 0:51:03.600 --> 0:51:07.600 be overwhelmed with gratitude and excited about what's ahead, or 0:51:07.640 --> 0:51:11.399 maybe I should say excited about who is ahead with you. 0:51:11.880 --> 0:51:14.279 He was with you in twenty twenty two, and he'll 0:51:14.280 --> 0:51:16.600 be with you in twenty twenty three. And I have 0:51:16.680 --> 0:51:19.360 to say thank you to all of you who attend 0:51:19.520 --> 0:51:23.719 a location, who watch every week, who volunteer, and who 0:51:23.760 --> 0:51:26.839 give faithfully to this ministry. Pastor Stephen and I count 0:51:26.840 --> 0:51:30.120 it a privilege that we get to do this every 0:51:30.280 --> 0:51:34.480 single week right alongside you. Let me pray for us, 0:51:34.719 --> 0:51:38.600 Heavenly Father, we thank you for your presence in our lives. 0:51:39.000 --> 0:51:41.799 It is with gratitude that we look back, and it 0:51:41.840 --> 0:51:45.120 is with excitement that we look ahead. We know that 0:51:45.239 --> 0:51:48.040 whatever we will face in twenty twenty three, we do 0:51:48.120 --> 0:51:51.520 not have to face it alone. You go before us, 0:51:51.719 --> 0:51:55.480 you come behind us. You're with us every step of 0:51:55.520 --> 0:51:59.920 the way. God, we surrender our year and our lives 0:52:00.239 --> 0:52:03.520 to you, and we ask that you not only be 0:52:03.719 --> 0:52:08.280 with us, but that you use us for your glory. 0:52:08.560 --> 0:52:11.480 Thank you for our pastor. May you continue to bless 0:52:11.520 --> 0:52:14.359 him and give him the words to speak to us 0:52:14.719 --> 0:52:16.840 each week. Thank you for this church. It means so 0:52:17.560 --> 0:52:20.480 much to us. We love you, Lord. It's in Jesus' 0:52:20.560 --> 0:52:24.560 name we pray. Ama. Well, if you enjoyed today's podcast, 0:52:24.600 --> 0:52:26.680 there are a couple things I'd love for you to do. 0:52:26.800 --> 0:52:31.160 Make sure to subscribe, rate, and review this podcast. You 0:52:31.200 --> 0:52:33.600 can also help us reach others by investing today at 0:52:33.640 --> 0:52:37.600 Elevationchurch dot org, slash give and thanks again for joining 0:52:37.719 --> 0:52:39.280 us on the Elevation Podcast.