Shut Up and Shine (Holly Furtick)

0:00:02.040 --> 0:00:04.600 Hey, this is Stephen Ferdick. I'm the pastor of Elevation 0:00:04.880 --> 0:00:07.120 Church and this is our podcast. I wanted to thank 0:00:07.120 --> 0:00:10.440 you for joining us today. Hope this inspires you. Hope 0:00:10.440 --> 0:00:12.520 it builds your faith. Hope it gives your perspective to 0:00:12.520 --> 0:00:15.320 see God is moving in your life. Enjoy the message 0:00:16.880 --> 0:00:21.799 today is going to be amazing. Yeah. So this is 0:00:21.920 --> 0:00:25.040 like not my iPad. This is like not my iPad cover. 0:00:25.200 --> 0:00:28.240 This is a feminine iPad cover, so that can only 0:00:28.280 --> 0:00:32.159 mean one thing. And the table is even marble, so 0:00:32.200 --> 0:00:35.080 that can only mean one thing. Holly Ferdick is bringing 0:00:35.159 --> 0:00:40.040 the word today. Come on, look at this artesian Bible cover. 0:00:40.360 --> 0:00:43.360 That must mean Holly Ferdick is preaching the word. Look 0:00:43.400 --> 0:00:48.280 at this hand drawn Bible study Philippians. Come on, let's 0:00:48.280 --> 0:00:55.480 thank God for Holly. I'm gonna leave her by herself 0:00:55.480 --> 0:00:59.080 in a minute. Last week I preached to her, and 0:00:59.120 --> 0:01:01.080 now you owe me pay backtime you got to preach 0:01:01.080 --> 0:01:03.760 to me. So I'm gonna go sit in my seat 0:01:04.080 --> 0:01:06.440 and I know that you're excited to hear God's word 0:01:06.760 --> 0:01:10.240 from this woman. You should be, because who preaches to 0:01:10.280 --> 0:01:12.479 you today lives a better sermon than anything that ever 0:01:12.520 --> 0:01:16.040 comes from her lips. Trust me. I live with her 0:01:16.959 --> 0:01:20.480 and the stuff that she doesn't show on Instagram is 0:01:20.520 --> 0:01:22.840 the best stuff. People say to me. I just love Holly. 0:01:22.880 --> 0:01:25.680 I'm like, no, you don't. I love Holly because I 0:01:25.760 --> 0:01:28.200 know it and I know how deepro authenticity really is, 0:01:28.480 --> 0:01:30.119 and so I thank God for you. But I also 0:01:30.160 --> 0:01:34.480 want to say this, Rebecca Summers. Where's Rebecca. I bet 0:01:34.480 --> 0:01:37.040 she's around the building somewhere doing a chat host or 0:01:37.120 --> 0:01:40.400 something like that, probably praying for somebody, or casting out 0:01:40.400 --> 0:01:43.520 a devil online something like that, doing a digital exorcism. 0:01:43.840 --> 0:01:46.800 She was saying at the Rhythm night that our team 0:01:46.800 --> 0:01:49.000 has been doing a great job for our youth. Make 0:01:49.000 --> 0:01:54.040 sure you subscribe to Elevation Youth on YouTube, Okay, so 0:01:54.080 --> 0:01:56.240 you can get the word. But she was saying I 0:01:56.280 --> 0:01:58.280 heard them do a panel one day and they were 0:01:58.280 --> 0:02:00.800 saying who's influenced you the most? And she said you. 0:02:01.760 --> 0:02:03.160 I think she said a few other people, but you 0:02:03.160 --> 0:02:05.280 were in the top three. She said, Da Da Da 0:02:05.360 --> 0:02:07.840 Da Da and Holly Ferdick. And I was like, if 0:02:07.840 --> 0:02:10.480 you only knew, She's one of these people that the 0:02:10.520 --> 0:02:13.720 closer that you get, the better that she looks. Some 0:02:13.760 --> 0:02:17.560 people can impress from a distance, but impartation happens up close. 0:02:17.639 --> 0:02:19.320 Thank you, so right now I want you to take 0:02:19.360 --> 0:02:22.360 this pulpit and minister to the people. I'm excited. I 0:02:22.400 --> 0:02:24.919 got a preview of the word, and I'm gonna sit down, 0:02:25.639 --> 0:02:27.920 just the two of us, just the one of you. 0:02:28.320 --> 0:02:38.799 Let's give it up today. Everybody's saying the Chad, welcome, Holly, well, hello, elevation. 0:02:42.280 --> 0:02:45.400 We're here together. Worshiping again is what we do every week. 0:02:45.440 --> 0:02:47.600 If this is super assignment, sure you come back, because 0:02:47.600 --> 0:02:50.560 we're here over and over again all day to day. 0:02:50.600 --> 0:02:53.520 If the message minister's to you, share it with someone 0:02:53.880 --> 0:02:56.040 and tell them, hey, you can catch it again. I'm 0:02:56.080 --> 0:03:01.959 thirty eleven, thirty two, five, ten, Hey, all of them, 0:03:02.080 --> 0:03:04.799 we're here. We want to see you, and we want 0:03:04.800 --> 0:03:07.760 to be able to minister to you every week. I 0:03:07.800 --> 0:03:10.400 am just really excited that you have set aside the 0:03:10.440 --> 0:03:14.680 time today to worship with us. I know that God 0:03:14.760 --> 0:03:16.480 is going to speak to you as you focus your 0:03:16.520 --> 0:03:19.440 attention on Him for just the next few moments that 0:03:19.480 --> 0:03:21.919 we have together. You guys that are in the room 0:03:21.960 --> 0:03:24.560 can go ahead and be seated. This has been a 0:03:24.680 --> 0:03:29.120 really incredible season of ministry. For our church. I just 0:03:29.440 --> 0:03:31.120 every time I get up on this stage, I just 0:03:31.280 --> 0:03:33.800 I'm so proud of our teams. And one of the 0:03:33.840 --> 0:03:37.720 teams at Elevation that has really risen to the occasion 0:03:37.760 --> 0:03:41.120 over the past six months is our E groups teams. 0:03:41.120 --> 0:03:43.280 It's one of my favorite teams. This is a small team. 0:03:44.080 --> 0:03:46.560 They're not nearly as big as our worship team. And 0:03:46.600 --> 0:03:49.040 maybe you've been worshiping with us for a while and 0:03:49.080 --> 0:03:51.400 you've heard us talk about E groups but you're not 0:03:51.560 --> 0:03:54.960 exactly sure what they are. E groups are away for 0:03:55.040 --> 0:03:59.040 the people of Elevation Church to gather together in small 0:03:59.040 --> 0:04:02.000 groups and just support each other and go through life 0:04:02.000 --> 0:04:05.240 together and just offer a place for you to continue 0:04:05.640 --> 0:04:09.280 to grow in your faith. And thanks to technology, we 0:04:09.360 --> 0:04:13.640 have people from all over the world who come together 0:04:13.760 --> 0:04:16.799 each week. Sometimes they're in home, sometimes they're on Zoom. 0:04:16.839 --> 0:04:19.560 And I really want you to be a part of 0:04:19.600 --> 0:04:21.880 an E group. So if you're a part of an 0:04:21.880 --> 0:04:24.560 E group, though, help me out. Tell the people in 0:04:24.600 --> 0:04:26.960 the chat what are they missing out on? Tell them 0:04:27.120 --> 0:04:29.880 how amazing your eGroup is, and just a few words, 0:04:29.880 --> 0:04:31.960 because nobody wants to read a whole lot of stuff. 0:04:32.560 --> 0:04:34.920 You know, the Bible says that the gates of Hell 0:04:35.160 --> 0:04:39.120 will not prevail against God's Church, and I believe that 0:04:39.200 --> 0:04:43.480 we are stronger than ever. And so I just wanted 0:04:43.560 --> 0:04:45.680 to take a minute because I have the stage, and 0:04:45.839 --> 0:04:50.159 just officially invite you to join an E group because 0:04:50.480 --> 0:04:52.960 now is the time, because over the sixth the past 0:04:53.000 --> 0:04:56.440 six months, I have been working with our teams on 0:04:56.560 --> 0:05:00.560 a study on the Book of Philippians. Isn't it beauty full? Too? 0:05:01.480 --> 0:05:03.560 You can get a copy of the study and join us. 0:05:03.640 --> 0:05:07.960 Philippians is the most joyful book in the Bible, but 0:05:08.080 --> 0:05:10.320 yet did you know that it was written from a 0:05:10.360 --> 0:05:14.120 prison cell? And so over the next five weeks, our 0:05:14.160 --> 0:05:16.960 groups are going to be setting aside time to read 0:05:17.040 --> 0:05:19.839 through the Book of Philippines together and just learn. We 0:05:19.960 --> 0:05:25.160 called it Philippians the Art of Contentment because Paul. How 0:05:25.240 --> 0:05:27.039 was it possible that Paul was able to have so 0:05:27.240 --> 0:05:30.640 much joy in the midst of a literal lockdown? And 0:05:30.680 --> 0:05:32.880 We're gonna study God's word together and we're going to 0:05:32.960 --> 0:05:35.240 talk about it. And I believe that God wants to 0:05:35.279 --> 0:05:38.680 speak to you through E groups in this season of 0:05:38.720 --> 0:05:41.120 your life. We are not waiting for a virus to 0:05:41.200 --> 0:05:45.120 go away, to have church. We are the church. The 0:05:45.240 --> 0:05:47.800 church is not a building. The church is just a 0:05:47.839 --> 0:05:51.760 group of imperfect people coming together on a journey of faith. 0:05:51.839 --> 0:05:54.680 And we're not waiting until we can pack out a building. 0:05:54.760 --> 0:05:57.440 We're going to pack out homes and we're gonna pack 0:05:57.440 --> 0:06:01.920 out zoom. We have over one thousand groups signed up 0:06:02.160 --> 0:06:04.960 to do this study because you were not meant to 0:06:05.040 --> 0:06:07.960 go through life alone. So that's my commercial. Don't miss 0:06:07.960 --> 0:06:10.320 out on this opportunities. Only five weeks, we have the 0:06:10.360 --> 0:06:13.600 perfect group for you. Go to philippianstudy dot com to 0:06:13.680 --> 0:06:16.320 find out more. But don't go right now because I 0:06:16.360 --> 0:06:18.200 have a message that I want to bring to you 0:06:18.240 --> 0:06:22.599 that I'm really really excited on because God has laid 0:06:22.600 --> 0:06:25.279 this one on my heart. Actually, it sparked in my 0:06:25.400 --> 0:06:28.520 heart years ago while I was leading any group for 0:06:28.640 --> 0:06:32.680 married women. I was teaching and we were studying, and 0:06:32.760 --> 0:06:35.279 I came across this verse in the Bible that said 0:06:35.560 --> 0:06:41.800 that wives could win their husbands over without words. And 0:06:41.880 --> 0:06:46.640 I was so intrigued by this idea of winning someone 0:06:46.720 --> 0:06:54.520 over without words because I love words. If you know me, 0:06:55.080 --> 0:06:59.400 I am a very talkative person. Now, don't ask me 0:06:59.760 --> 0:07:03.320 how my weekend was unless you really want to hear 0:07:03.520 --> 0:07:07.159 every detail of the sleepover that we had this past 0:07:07.160 --> 0:07:09.559 weekend for Graham's thirteenth birthday, and how I had middle 0:07:09.560 --> 0:07:13.120 school boys and they're dirty socks and all over my house. 0:07:13.200 --> 0:07:18.120 I can't help it. I like stories, I like description. 0:07:19.080 --> 0:07:21.920 I just I like talking. I've been this way my 0:07:22.600 --> 0:07:25.720 whole life. One of the nicest things that anybody ever 0:07:25.760 --> 0:07:27.440 said to me was I was in the middle of 0:07:27.520 --> 0:07:33.200 telling a story and they said, Holly, this story is 0:07:33.240 --> 0:07:38.280 so good, do not leave one detail out. Tell me everything. 0:07:38.640 --> 0:07:40.640 And I was like, I love you, You're my best friend. 0:07:40.800 --> 0:07:44.120 Here we go. Someone actually said that to me. Now 0:07:44.160 --> 0:07:46.600 sometimes I say that to other people because I don't know. 0:07:46.640 --> 0:07:48.560 Maybe doesn't mean that much people, but I love it. 0:07:48.920 --> 0:07:51.880 People have been telling me to stop talking my entire life. 0:07:52.840 --> 0:07:55.120 When I was a child, on my report card, there 0:07:55.160 --> 0:07:57.520 was this common theme. When I was a kid, the 0:07:57.600 --> 0:08:00.800 teachers actually hand wrote our report cards, and on the 0:08:00.880 --> 0:08:03.440 back of it there were these little boxes where they 0:08:03.440 --> 0:08:07.640 could leave some personal thoughts and comments, and there was 0:08:07.680 --> 0:08:11.320 a theme all throughout my childhood that said something like this, 0:08:12.040 --> 0:08:14.520 Holly is a bright child who would do better to 0:08:14.600 --> 0:08:19.280 talk less. I can't help it. I'm a woman of 0:08:19.360 --> 0:08:21.840 many words. And you know, actually sometimes this comes in 0:08:21.880 --> 0:08:24.040 handy when you have to talk to thousands of people 0:08:24.360 --> 0:08:28.120 from a practically empty room, right, But in normal settings, 0:08:29.080 --> 0:08:32.280 I have had to really learn how to rain this in. 0:08:32.920 --> 0:08:35.360 And one of the greatest lessons that I have had 0:08:35.440 --> 0:08:38.200 to learn in the area of being an over talker 0:08:38.400 --> 0:08:42.920 is that you don't have to say everything you think. 0:08:43.800 --> 0:08:46.560 This is really hard for me. I know it's not mean. 0:08:46.679 --> 0:08:49.120 Some of you may be better at this, but I've 0:08:49.120 --> 0:08:50.760 really had to learn this lesson the hard way. One 0:08:50.760 --> 0:08:52.920 time when we were in college. I know my husband's 0:08:52.920 --> 0:08:55.160 told you how we traveled on a ministry team in 0:08:55.200 --> 0:08:58.560 this van in the summertime, and we traveled all through 0:08:58.600 --> 0:09:02.600 these small towns in South Carolina. And one particular day, 0:09:02.640 --> 0:09:05.480 we were driving through this really small town and I 0:09:05.679 --> 0:09:09.679 just blurted out, this town is really trashy looking. I 0:09:09.760 --> 0:09:13.920 would hate to live here. And the girl behind me 0:09:14.000 --> 0:09:17.240 and the seat behind me, she just quietly said she 0:09:17.360 --> 0:09:22.200 was like, my whole family's from this town. I was like, oh, 0:09:22.240 --> 0:09:25.040 can I get this shoe emoji in the chat? If 0:09:25.040 --> 0:09:27.560 you're like me and you put your foot in your mouth, 0:09:27.640 --> 0:09:31.920 it's time or two or three or four in your life. 0:09:31.440 --> 0:09:34.880 I just I talk too much. I talk when I 0:09:34.880 --> 0:09:38.640 get excited. I talk when I'm nervous. Sometimes I talk 0:09:38.800 --> 0:09:42.760 because I'm bored. Sometimes I talk because I'm uncomfortable. I'm 0:09:42.800 --> 0:09:45.920 uncomfortable with silence. Actually, I just I don't I don't 0:09:46.120 --> 0:09:48.480 like silence, and so I just will. If you don't talk, 0:09:48.520 --> 0:09:51.200 I'm gonna talk. And if I'm by myself, I even 0:09:51.320 --> 0:09:54.280 have my aarpods in with an audiobook playing because somebody 0:09:54.320 --> 0:10:00.160 needs to be talking. I talk too much my whole life. 0:10:00.360 --> 0:10:03.720 I have been trying to learn how to shut my 0:10:03.840 --> 0:10:08.520 mouth and think before I talk. Is there anyone out 0:10:08.559 --> 0:10:10.719 there who can relate to me? Please let me know 0:10:10.800 --> 0:10:15.839 that I'm not alone. I know that no one likes 0:10:15.880 --> 0:10:20.440 to be around someone who just dominates every space with 0:10:20.520 --> 0:10:23.720 the sound of their voice. And I'm trying to fix that. Okay, 0:10:23.880 --> 0:10:26.600 I'm working on it. The Bible actually has a lot 0:10:26.600 --> 0:10:31.079 to say about talkers. Proverbs eighteen twenty one says the 0:10:31.120 --> 0:10:34.600 power of life and death is in the tongue. The 0:10:34.640 --> 0:10:37.800 psalmist prayed for God to put a guard over his 0:10:37.960 --> 0:10:40.520 mouth and James one of my favorite Bible verses, well, 0:10:40.559 --> 0:10:42.959 I wouldn't say favorite, but one that I've really had 0:10:42.960 --> 0:10:45.440 to tell myself over and over again. He says, be 0:10:45.600 --> 0:10:49.640 quick to listen and slow to speak. And I think 0:10:49.679 --> 0:10:52.560 all of us, no matter how talkative we are, have 0:10:52.760 --> 0:10:58.000 experienced these moments where we realize the power of our words. 0:10:58.520 --> 0:11:03.120 Have you ever said something that you realize hurts someone deeply? 0:11:03.240 --> 0:11:06.600 Maybe unintentional, and it's not always a direct insult. I 0:11:06.640 --> 0:11:08.440 know we all have a time that we can remember 0:11:08.440 --> 0:11:12.000 when somebody directly insulted us, Like you know, I don't know. 0:11:12.040 --> 0:11:13.600 Lots of people have a story where their father said 0:11:13.600 --> 0:11:16.400 You're never gonna amount to anything. Yeah, we all have 0:11:16.720 --> 0:11:19.559 times like that. But a lot of times we can 0:11:19.640 --> 0:11:23.280 hurt those that we love also with what we don't say, 0:11:23.679 --> 0:11:27.200 or or the thing the ways that we don't encourage them. 0:11:27.240 --> 0:11:32.200 I remember one particular time several years ago, and my 0:11:32.440 --> 0:11:37.960 husband's first book was finally finished, and they mailed a 0:11:38.040 --> 0:11:40.520 case of the books to our house, and I remember 0:11:40.559 --> 0:11:43.880 walking into the room and seeing this big box and 0:11:44.040 --> 0:11:46.080 Stephen was there. He just cut it open and he 0:11:46.200 --> 0:11:49.360 reached out and he pulled out a copy of Son 0:11:49.480 --> 0:11:52.720 Stands Still by Steven Ferdick, and I picked up the 0:11:52.760 --> 0:12:00.360 book and I fanned through it and I said, really, 0:12:00.360 --> 0:12:08.160 big huh? And I saw my husband's shoulders visibly droop, 0:12:09.080 --> 0:12:11.520 and I was like, oh God, oh no, Can I 0:12:11.520 --> 0:12:13.720 get a rewind? I mean, it's amazing. Can I get 0:12:13.760 --> 0:12:17.760 a do over? Because as I thought, that's not what 0:12:17.840 --> 0:12:19.839 I meant to say, I realized that I had spent 0:12:19.920 --> 0:12:25.560 the last eighteen months watching this man agonize over every 0:12:25.800 --> 0:12:28.920 word that was in that book. He went through revision 0:12:29.400 --> 0:12:33.600 after revision, He changed the cover ten times. This was 0:12:33.679 --> 0:12:36.960 his first book, This was his story. Did I say, 0:12:37.600 --> 0:12:43.840 my man, you're a published author. Nope. Did I say 0:12:44.559 --> 0:12:48.400 this book is gonna change people's lives? Nope? I just 0:12:48.480 --> 0:12:50.720 said the first thing that popped into my head. The 0:12:50.800 --> 0:12:57.520 font's kind of big huh hustle. Words hold weight, and 0:12:57.559 --> 0:13:00.600 what you choose to say and what you whoose not 0:13:00.800 --> 0:13:04.080 to say is important. That's why we have to learn 0:13:04.120 --> 0:13:08.160 to pay attention to everything that comes out of our mouths. 0:13:08.240 --> 0:13:11.840 Can we talk about this today? We are living in 0:13:11.880 --> 0:13:15.760 a time where people do not consider the weight of 0:13:15.840 --> 0:13:18.800 their words. Now, some of us may be better at 0:13:18.800 --> 0:13:21.640 not saying everything that we think, but what about typing 0:13:22.880 --> 0:13:27.080 Our thumbs can sometimes cause more damage than our tongue. 0:13:27.080 --> 0:13:29.960 Solomon wrote the power of life and death is in 0:13:29.960 --> 0:13:32.559 the tongue, But I wonder if he'd lived in twenty twenty, 0:13:32.760 --> 0:13:34.800 he might have said, the power of life and death 0:13:35.120 --> 0:13:40.680 is in the thumbs. There is so much noise going 0:13:40.720 --> 0:13:43.440 on in the world today, and it is hard to 0:13:43.480 --> 0:13:46.840 separate the truth from the fiction. It's hard to know 0:13:46.880 --> 0:13:49.360 when you have a feed coming through, and now we 0:13:49.400 --> 0:13:51.640 all know that our feed is just feeding us what 0:13:51.679 --> 0:13:54.640 we want to be fed. And it's so hard to 0:13:54.679 --> 0:13:58.120 even have a voice when it feels like everyone is 0:13:58.280 --> 0:14:02.440 just shouting at each other are and not listening at all. 0:14:02.920 --> 0:14:05.280 I want to learn how to be part of the 0:14:05.320 --> 0:14:07.640 solution to the things that are going on around me, 0:14:07.960 --> 0:14:11.360 not just another person who's just adding to the noise. 0:14:14.840 --> 0:14:17.559 So today, since our groups are kicking off a study, 0:14:17.720 --> 0:14:20.040 remember you're going to join run Philippianstudy dot com. It's 0:14:20.080 --> 0:14:24.200 not too late. I wanted to preach from Paul's words 0:14:24.280 --> 0:14:27.120 as well. God has been speaking to me so much 0:14:27.480 --> 0:14:31.320 about this topic and I'm just really excited to bring 0:14:31.360 --> 0:14:34.520 it to you today. So as we open up God's word, 0:14:34.840 --> 0:14:36.800 I just want us to all say a prayer together 0:14:36.960 --> 0:14:39.440 out loud, so you don't have to close your eyes. 0:14:39.640 --> 0:14:42.120 We'll just all collectively. If you're in your living room 0:14:42.200 --> 0:14:45.160 or in your car, it's okay, out loud, let's all 0:14:45.200 --> 0:14:52.040 say this. Lord, speak to me. I am listening. Amen. 0:14:53.000 --> 0:14:55.200 All right. If you have a Bible, look with me. 0:14:55.360 --> 0:14:59.760 At Philippians, chapter two, verse fourteen. Because Paul has so 0:14:59.840 --> 0:15:02.720 much that he is going to teach us about our words. 0:15:05.160 --> 0:15:11.320 Says this, do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that 0:15:11.400 --> 0:15:14.760 you may become blameless and pure children of God, without 0:15:14.800 --> 0:15:18.160 fault in a warped and crooked generation. Then you will 0:15:18.200 --> 0:15:20.840 shine among them like stars in the sky as you 0:15:21.040 --> 0:15:25.880 hold firmly to the word of life. Do everything without 0:15:26.000 --> 0:15:31.920 grumbling or arguing, then you will shine. If you're looking, 0:15:32.000 --> 0:15:33.960 if you're sitting with someone, I want you to look 0:15:34.000 --> 0:15:37.760 at them. Tell them my sermon title say this, shut 0:15:37.840 --> 0:15:41.640 up and shine. Go ahead and put that in the chat. 0:15:41.880 --> 0:15:43.760 Don't worry. It comes right from the Bible. It's okay 0:15:43.800 --> 0:15:47.800 to say shut up, shut up, and shine. So on 0:15:47.840 --> 0:15:50.880 the surface here it looks like Paul is giving us 0:15:50.920 --> 0:15:54.160 a pretty impossible command with the promise, But it's a 0:15:54.200 --> 0:15:56.120 promise that we're never going to achieve because out in 0:15:56.160 --> 0:16:00.200 the world are we supposed to do everything without grumbling 0:16:00.600 --> 0:16:04.040 or arguing. But if you dig into this, these three 0:16:04.280 --> 0:16:07.320 small verses, I want to show you that Paul is 0:16:07.360 --> 0:16:11.440 trying to teach us that how the things that he's 0:16:11.480 --> 0:16:14.040 trying to teach just how the things that you do 0:16:14.080 --> 0:16:19.120 not say can sometimes have just as much power as 0:16:19.160 --> 0:16:23.680 the things that you do say. He's giving us if 0:16:23.720 --> 0:16:26.600 you look back at it, he's giving us two things 0:16:26.640 --> 0:16:32.080 to not do and two things to do. So he 0:16:32.160 --> 0:16:37.280 begins by telling us to do everything without grumbling or arguing. 0:16:38.400 --> 0:16:40.480 Maybe you're like me and you read it and you're like, yeah, 0:16:40.520 --> 0:16:44.520 that's not going to happen. Everything like zero tolerance policy. 0:16:44.560 --> 0:16:47.160 This is gonna be hard because sometimes complaining is really 0:16:47.200 --> 0:16:51.680 fun and sometimes arguing is just necessary. Of some of 0:16:51.680 --> 0:16:53.760 the married people, give me an amen and the chat. 0:16:54.640 --> 0:16:57.520 When you read the Bible, though, it's important to understand 0:16:57.760 --> 0:17:00.560 who is writing these words, and where was he when 0:17:00.560 --> 0:17:02.120 he wrote them, and who was he writing them to, 0:17:02.280 --> 0:17:05.280 because when you put all of that together, the words 0:17:05.320 --> 0:17:08.399 become more than just commands of dues and don'ts and 0:17:08.480 --> 0:17:11.439 this and that. They have context and they come alive. 0:17:11.880 --> 0:17:14.920 And the Book of Philippians is a letter written by 0:17:14.920 --> 0:17:18.440 Paul to the people at the Church of Philippi, a 0:17:18.560 --> 0:17:22.160 church that he planted, and a lot of scholars believe, 0:17:22.240 --> 0:17:25.639 based on Paul's words and his tone, that the people 0:17:25.920 --> 0:17:29.280 of the Church of Philippi, they were Paul's secret favorites. 0:17:29.840 --> 0:17:34.520 These were his true friends, the people that he considered 0:17:34.600 --> 0:17:37.960 almost like family, because these people supported him as he 0:17:38.080 --> 0:17:42.200 traveled around and as he ministered and started churches all over. 0:17:42.600 --> 0:17:46.239 And now he's found himself in a Roman prison and 0:17:46.320 --> 0:17:50.560 the Philippians have just sent him a good old fashioned 0:17:50.640 --> 0:17:54.240 care basket and a love offering, and so he's sending 0:17:54.280 --> 0:17:57.520 them back a letter. And not only is he giving 0:17:57.560 --> 0:18:00.439 them words and an update on how things are going, 0:18:00.720 --> 0:18:04.399 but he's living out what he's saying to them from 0:18:04.840 --> 0:18:08.879 a prison cell. And really he's warning them. He's saying 0:18:09.440 --> 0:18:13.119 in a way that you have to to approach a 0:18:13.280 --> 0:18:17.680 difficult circumstance, the way to approach it is not to complain, 0:18:18.200 --> 0:18:22.360 and the way to have lasting arguments is not to argue. 0:18:22.359 --> 0:18:27.120 Complaining and arguing are our default responses, but they can 0:18:27.160 --> 0:18:32.800 be extremely counterproductive in our lives. You see, complaining rarely 0:18:32.920 --> 0:18:37.439 improves my circumstances. Now, obviously there are times when it's 0:18:37.520 --> 0:18:40.720 right to make a complaint, Like I have a friend 0:18:41.000 --> 0:18:44.400 who hates to bother her landlord, Like if she has 0:18:44.400 --> 0:18:47.479 a leak or something's broken, she doesn't want to bother her. 0:18:47.520 --> 0:18:50.360 And I'm like, that's like the one perk of renting. 0:18:50.400 --> 0:18:54.400 You don't have to fix stuff. It's okay to complain 0:18:54.600 --> 0:18:57.160 to your landlord. But someone once gave me a rule 0:18:57.240 --> 0:19:00.840 of thumb, and it's this, never complain about a situation 0:19:01.240 --> 0:19:05.520 to a person who's powerless to change it. The kind 0:19:05.560 --> 0:19:08.800 of complaining that Paul is talking about here is the 0:19:08.920 --> 0:19:13.919 kind that keeps us stuck blaming something that's outside of 0:19:13.960 --> 0:19:17.520 our control. Have you ever tried to keep track of 0:19:17.520 --> 0:19:20.040 every time you complain? If you've been through missus better half, 0:19:20.080 --> 0:19:22.760 you've done this because we have this one week where 0:19:22.920 --> 0:19:27.280 we try to see how much negativity and how much 0:19:27.320 --> 0:19:30.520 complaining that we're putting out into the world. And I 0:19:30.560 --> 0:19:33.520 stole this little challenge from a book that I had 0:19:33.520 --> 0:19:35.359 read and because it meant so much to me. And 0:19:35.400 --> 0:19:37.639 you wear a little bracelet or a hair tie or 0:19:37.680 --> 0:19:41.159 whatever on your wrist, and every time you catch yourself complaining, 0:19:41.520 --> 0:19:44.400 you switch the bracelet over to the other hand. And 0:19:44.720 --> 0:19:46.960 every time that I do this challenge, which I've done 0:19:47.000 --> 0:19:48.919 it a lot, because I've taught many many rounds of 0:19:48.960 --> 0:19:52.480 missus better half. I keep thinking, maybe I'm going to 0:19:52.600 --> 0:19:55.359 be better at it this time, maybe I'll have complain less. 0:19:55.400 --> 0:19:58.760 But I always just amazed at how much I complain 0:19:58.840 --> 0:20:01.399 and I don't even realize. And by the end of 0:20:01.440 --> 0:20:04.639 the challenge, my bracelet is falling apart, and I'm starting 0:20:04.640 --> 0:20:08.560 to like punish myself because I'm so mad at them. 0:20:08.680 --> 0:20:12.480 My wrist is red. We say things all day long 0:20:12.560 --> 0:20:16.040 that we're not even aware of. Can you help me 0:20:16.080 --> 0:20:19.520 out if I'm my alone out here? Okay, let me 0:20:19.560 --> 0:20:22.240 know in the chat if you have said in the 0:20:22.320 --> 0:20:25.439 last twenty four hours any of the following things, just 0:20:25.560 --> 0:20:28.560 you know, give me the little hand raising emoji. All right, 0:20:28.960 --> 0:20:32.639 I'm tired. I hate the car line at school, or 0:20:32.680 --> 0:20:34.919 some of you are like, I wish I missed the 0:20:34.960 --> 0:20:38.000 car line at school. Or did you say wearing a 0:20:38.040 --> 0:20:41.359 mask is so uncomfortable, or it's so hot, or it's 0:20:41.400 --> 0:20:44.359 so cold, or what an ugly day? My back hurts, 0:20:44.440 --> 0:20:47.400 I have nothing to wear, there's nothing to eat. Why 0:20:47.400 --> 0:20:53.639 doesn't anyone listen to me in this house? This I 0:20:53.680 --> 0:20:56.199 think I said all of those this week. Sometimes I 0:20:56.280 --> 0:20:58.960 can get really creative with my complaints too. I can 0:20:59.040 --> 0:21:01.920 dress them up, make them all nice and cute, say 0:21:01.960 --> 0:21:05.280 something like I just I wish I had more time, 0:21:05.680 --> 0:21:08.840 or it must be young to be able to eat 0:21:08.880 --> 0:21:12.000 whatever you want, or maybe some of you have said 0:21:12.040 --> 0:21:17.040 this one this week? When is fall going to get here? Right? 0:21:18.359 --> 0:21:21.600 Sometimes I'll take my complaints and I'll focus them on 0:21:21.840 --> 0:21:25.080 another person. I might say something like I just I 0:21:25.119 --> 0:21:28.280 wish my friend would call me more, or I wish 0:21:28.320 --> 0:21:31.840 my kids were more respectful. I found that as I 0:21:32.040 --> 0:21:37.160 have identified my complaints, they didn't really It didn't really 0:21:37.160 --> 0:21:42.200 make me feel better. I felt increasingly worse about my situation. 0:21:42.480 --> 0:21:45.240 Like when I wish that my kids were more respectful, 0:21:46.080 --> 0:21:48.760 it actually happened because one of them had a friend 0:21:48.800 --> 0:21:52.240 over and the friend was all like, yes, ma'am, and 0:21:52.680 --> 0:21:55.520 missus verdick, where's the garbage can? I don't even think 0:21:55.600 --> 0:21:57.679 my own kids know where the garbage can is in 0:21:57.760 --> 0:21:59.720 my house, And so I'm like, I wish my kids 0:21:59.720 --> 0:22:02.520 were like that, you know, And now I'm like, God, 0:22:02.560 --> 0:22:04.399 I'm a terrible mom. It's my own fault. I mean, 0:22:04.440 --> 0:22:06.560 I'm their mother. I pick up their trash and don't. 0:22:07.400 --> 0:22:09.840 And so it started as wishing that a person in 0:22:09.880 --> 0:22:13.120 my life was different turned in to making myself out 0:22:13.320 --> 0:22:16.880 to be a bad mother, because complaining will spiral out 0:22:16.920 --> 0:22:21.600 of control so fast, and on the surface, it just 0:22:21.600 --> 0:22:24.080 seems like a statement of the fact. But now my 0:22:24.160 --> 0:22:27.399 focus is on the negative, and so is everyone else's 0:22:27.680 --> 0:22:31.440 that's around me. And it's so easy to identify complaining 0:22:31.440 --> 0:22:33.200 in others. It's so easy to be like, yeah, my 0:22:33.280 --> 0:22:35.880 husband needs to stop complaining, but it's harder to see 0:22:35.880 --> 0:22:41.240 it when I'm the one that's doing it. Oh, I'm 0:22:41.240 --> 0:22:48.879 not complaining, I'm reviewing. I'm not saying that reviews aren't helpful. 0:22:49.600 --> 0:22:52.959 Actually they aren't helpful because usually the only people who 0:22:53.040 --> 0:22:56.479 review products are the people who aren't happy with the product. Like, 0:22:56.640 --> 0:22:58.719 if you're happy with the product, you're not gonna go 0:22:58.800 --> 0:23:01.760 back and te ipe out a review. We live in 0:23:01.800 --> 0:23:07.560 a world, though, where people actually consider themselves professional complainers, 0:23:07.680 --> 0:23:14.280 professional yelpers. This is so messed up because negativity slows 0:23:14.560 --> 0:23:19.520 down your progress, it diverts your attention. And Paul is 0:23:19.600 --> 0:23:23.280 warning us that complaining is a slippery slope that can 0:23:23.400 --> 0:23:28.160 distract us from the things that we can actually control 0:23:28.200 --> 0:23:33.320 in our lives, like my attitude. I can control my attitude. 0:23:33.960 --> 0:23:36.760 But watch how Paul doesn't only give us a command, 0:23:37.160 --> 0:23:40.000 but he gives he leads the way. He gives us 0:23:40.040 --> 0:23:44.800 an example, back in chapter one, Paul says this verse 0:23:44.800 --> 0:23:47.399 twelve Philippians one, verse twelve. Now, I want you to know, 0:23:47.480 --> 0:23:50.320 brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has 0:23:50.359 --> 0:23:53.800 actually served to advance the Gospel. As a result, it 0:23:53.840 --> 0:23:56.399 has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to 0:23:56.480 --> 0:23:59.560 everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. And 0:23:59.720 --> 0:24:02.760 because of my chains, most of the brothers and sisters 0:24:02.760 --> 0:24:05.359 have become confident in the Lord and dare all the 0:24:05.440 --> 0:24:09.480 more to proclaim the Gospel without fear. It blows my 0:24:09.800 --> 0:24:13.439 mind that nowhere in the Book of Philippians will you 0:24:13.640 --> 0:24:19.360 find Paul describing his prison conditions. Nowhere does he say 0:24:19.760 --> 0:24:23.879 it's cold, I'm hungry, they're terrible. I got whipped the 0:24:23.960 --> 0:24:27.760 other day. He never even asks the Philippians to pray 0:24:27.880 --> 0:24:32.520 for his release. He says, I must be in change 0:24:32.560 --> 0:24:36.960 for Christ, because revival is breaking out inside of my prison, 0:24:39.119 --> 0:24:42.399 and revival can break out wherever you are if you 0:24:42.560 --> 0:24:46.360 change your perspective Paul gives us throughout the book. He 0:24:46.440 --> 0:24:49.199 weaves in the antidote to complaining, and you know what 0:24:49.280 --> 0:24:55.920 that is, rejoice. Sixteen times in the Book of Philippians, 0:24:55.960 --> 0:24:59.240 Paul uses the word joy or rejoice. He says it 0:24:59.359 --> 0:25:02.480 over and over again again. I will say rejoice, rejoicing 0:25:02.520 --> 0:25:05.480 the Lord. Always again I will say rejoice. And if 0:25:05.520 --> 0:25:08.960 Paul can look for the opportunity in a hard place, 0:25:09.280 --> 0:25:13.960 so can I. The minute that I catch myself complaining, 0:25:14.680 --> 0:25:18.880 I've gotta flip it. I have got to find something 0:25:19.119 --> 0:25:22.680 to rejoice about. So now I'm gonna use my over 0:25:22.720 --> 0:25:25.439 talking for my own benefit. If I'm gonna if I'm 0:25:25.480 --> 0:25:27.159 gonna talk, I'm gonna talk about the good things. I'm 0:25:27.160 --> 0:25:30.320 gonna find something. I'm gonna call myself back to joy 0:25:30.720 --> 0:25:36.080 over and over and over again. I'm not complaining. I'm 0:25:36.160 --> 0:25:40.640 just saying, well, you know what, if you're just saying, 0:25:40.960 --> 0:25:43.680 if what you're just saying is keeping you stucked, and 0:25:44.119 --> 0:25:48.360 you should probably stop saying. Stop saying I wish our 0:25:48.440 --> 0:25:51.560 kids were young again. Stop saying I wish we had 0:25:51.600 --> 0:25:54.640 more money. Stop saying this house is too small, Stop 0:25:54.680 --> 0:25:58.119 saying it is what it is. No you know the 0:25:58.320 --> 0:26:01.600 Israelites spent so much of the focused complaining about the 0:26:01.640 --> 0:26:04.720 wilderness and wishing that they were back in Egypt, that 0:26:04.840 --> 0:26:08.639 they missed out on the promise that was right in 0:26:08.760 --> 0:26:15.560 front of them. So Paul warns us he's got two things, 0:26:15.920 --> 0:26:20.879 complaining and arguing, because complaining keeps me suck in my circumstances, 0:26:20.880 --> 0:26:26.679 and arguing keeps me from experiencing true connection with those 0:26:27.000 --> 0:26:30.159 that I love. Can I find another honest person in 0:26:30.200 --> 0:26:32.679 the chat? I'm saying that a lot today because I 0:26:32.800 --> 0:26:35.120 just I'm kind of burying my soul and I want 0:26:35.160 --> 0:26:38.080 to make sure that I'm not alone. But am I alone? 0:26:38.560 --> 0:26:41.399 Am I the only person that likes to have the 0:26:41.480 --> 0:26:46.760 last word? Sometimes I feel like I have multiple personalities 0:26:46.800 --> 0:26:50.760 because on one hand, I'm a total people pleaser, like 0:26:51.240 --> 0:26:56.919 I will go to great links to avoid conflict. But 0:26:57.080 --> 0:27:02.639 then there are a few people and a few topics, 0:27:03.359 --> 0:27:05.840 then well if you I'm just gonna put my boxing 0:27:05.880 --> 0:27:08.480 gloves on. And my husband is looking at me right 0:27:08.520 --> 0:27:13.520 now because he knows that I have this one particular trigger, 0:27:13.640 --> 0:27:17.120 Like you can talk about politics, you can talk about policies, 0:27:17.160 --> 0:27:20.199 you can talk about theology, and I will cool as 0:27:20.200 --> 0:27:22.440 a cucumber. But if you bring up this one topic 0:27:22.480 --> 0:27:24.000 and I'm not gonna tell you what it is, because 0:27:24.080 --> 0:27:26.080 I'll just go off. It's kind of a hot topic anyway, 0:27:26.080 --> 0:27:29.080 and probably shouldn't say it on camera, But I'm just saying, 0:27:29.080 --> 0:27:33.000 there's just there's certain topics that I can't not argue about, 0:27:33.359 --> 0:27:38.399 and then there's certain people. Lord knows, the three of 0:27:38.440 --> 0:27:42.120 my favorite people on the planet are Elijah, Graham, and Abby. 0:27:42.840 --> 0:27:47.960 But those three people, they are professional button pushers, and 0:27:48.240 --> 0:27:52.719 I will stoop to their level and I will argue 0:27:52.760 --> 0:27:56.359 with them, and I will lose my cool, and I 0:27:56.480 --> 0:28:02.560 will keep going and going and going because I am 0:28:02.600 --> 0:28:07.600 the adult and therefore I have the last word. The 0:28:07.720 --> 0:28:10.399 problem is that when I keep doing that, I'm not 0:28:10.480 --> 0:28:14.199 actually proving my authority to them. I'm more compromising, and 0:28:14.400 --> 0:28:18.159 I'm down on their level. And any time that we 0:28:18.240 --> 0:28:22.639 need to win an argument with another person, we compromise 0:28:22.760 --> 0:28:27.920 the relationship somehow. So what I'm learning is that if 0:28:28.040 --> 0:28:33.760 my goal is purely to win, I lose. Well. I 0:28:33.840 --> 0:28:37.240 may win the argument, I may walk away feeling proud 0:28:37.320 --> 0:28:40.480 I was right I put them in their place, but 0:28:40.560 --> 0:28:42.960 I have no concern for how the other person feels, 0:28:44.040 --> 0:28:47.400 and in the process of me winning, I've lost a 0:28:47.440 --> 0:28:50.880 small piece of the relationship that I have, and over time, 0:28:51.440 --> 0:28:56.880 piece by piece, I chip away at the opportunity to 0:28:56.920 --> 0:28:59.960 have a right relationship with a person in my life 0:29:00.280 --> 0:29:05.640 that I love. See, when you argue with an attacking stance, 0:29:06.280 --> 0:29:10.840 you automatically put the other person in a defensive position. 0:29:11.640 --> 0:29:15.800 And when someone is defending, they're most likely not even 0:29:15.880 --> 0:29:19.000 hearing a word that you say because they are in 0:29:19.160 --> 0:29:24.400 protection mode. They're in defense mode. James said, Remember, be 0:29:24.520 --> 0:29:28.720 quick to listen, slow to speak. This means that while 0:29:28.760 --> 0:29:33.080 the other person is talking, I am paying attention to 0:29:33.160 --> 0:29:36.120 what they're saying. I'm not planning what I'm going to 0:29:36.200 --> 0:29:40.760 say next. I'm actually seeking to understand. I'm not just 0:29:41.000 --> 0:29:46.240 airing out my own opinions. And then when I do speak, 0:29:46.320 --> 0:29:49.560 when it's my turn to speak, I choose words that 0:29:49.600 --> 0:29:53.760 are not abrasive or accusing. I told you that I 0:29:53.840 --> 0:29:55.920 have put my foot in my mouth way too many 0:29:55.960 --> 0:29:59.240 times to count, and so years ago I came across 0:29:59.360 --> 0:30:01.480 this verse and immediately put it to memory. It meant 0:30:01.520 --> 0:30:03.840 so much to me. It's Colossians four to six, and 0:30:03.880 --> 0:30:07.760 it says, let your conversation. Always be full of grace, 0:30:08.440 --> 0:30:11.400 seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to 0:30:11.440 --> 0:30:14.680 answer everyone. This verse is talking about how to defend 0:30:14.680 --> 0:30:17.480 the gospel to those who don't believe in Yes, we 0:30:17.640 --> 0:30:21.160 absolutely need to be passionate about the Gospel and the 0:30:21.280 --> 0:30:23.880 values that we have as believers in Christ. But if 0:30:23.880 --> 0:30:26.960 you come out the gate accusing and demeaning and come 0:30:27.000 --> 0:30:30.560 across like you are the enlightened one, you're never going 0:30:30.640 --> 0:30:35.280 to win anyone over. Put a little salt on those words. 0:30:36.640 --> 0:30:39.160 Let the person know that you love them and that 0:30:39.240 --> 0:30:41.880 you hear them, and that you're listening to their side. 0:30:41.920 --> 0:30:46.360 If you are, if you do. Our pastor teaches us 0:30:46.400 --> 0:30:48.960 this all the time. I mean, God, he has been 0:30:49.360 --> 0:30:55.720 on fire the last few weeks, like absolutely. I told 0:30:55.800 --> 0:31:00.000 him that his message last week is in the top three, 0:31:00.080 --> 0:31:03.800 my top three messages of all times. Never ever in 0:31:03.920 --> 0:31:07.880 twenty years of marriage have I suggested that he preach 0:31:07.960 --> 0:31:10.600 on a passage of scripture. And he actually did until 0:31:10.680 --> 0:31:12.880 last week. So that was a win for me, and 0:31:13.200 --> 0:31:15.520 I got my own personal sermon. If you miss it, 0:31:15.640 --> 0:31:17.440 you have to go back and watch it, because that's 0:31:17.480 --> 0:31:20.360 not my point. My point is that the last several 0:31:20.440 --> 0:31:22.960 sermons that he have preached have been sent around this 0:31:23.120 --> 0:31:27.600 idea about the questions that Jesus asked, and he told 0:31:27.720 --> 0:31:32.240 us that everything begins with a question, and buried deep 0:31:32.280 --> 0:31:34.640 in my notes, as I was flipping through, I came 0:31:34.680 --> 0:31:37.000 across this one line that I had written, where he 0:31:37.160 --> 0:31:46.160 said questions create access. Questions create access, but accusations close hearts. 0:31:47.600 --> 0:31:50.520 If we're going to be quick to listen and slow 0:31:50.640 --> 0:31:54.800 to speak, we must learn how to ask questions, and 0:31:54.840 --> 0:32:00.200 we have to ask good questions. For instance, what are 0:32:00.240 --> 0:32:05.160 you thinking? That's not a good question Just because it 0:32:05.200 --> 0:32:08.760 has a little punctuation mark doesn't mean that it works, 0:32:09.080 --> 0:32:11.240 because you might as well tack on the word idiot 0:32:11.280 --> 0:32:15.400 to that. What were you thinking? You idiot? But if 0:32:15.440 --> 0:32:20.000 you say something like can you help me understand? It 0:32:20.040 --> 0:32:25.440 communicates care, It communicates concern. It says I want to 0:32:25.600 --> 0:32:30.880 hear what you have to say, and I care more 0:32:31.320 --> 0:32:35.680 about us than I do about making my point. And 0:32:35.720 --> 0:32:40.240 Paul models this again for us back in chapter one. 0:32:40.880 --> 0:32:44.240 Let's see. He says, if you go to Philpy chapter one, 0:32:44.680 --> 0:32:49.680 verse seventeen, he's talking about the people who were preaching 0:32:49.760 --> 0:32:54.200 Christ for selfish gain, and he doesn't go around crusading 0:32:54.280 --> 0:32:57.160 after them and putting them all in their places. I 0:32:57.200 --> 0:32:58.760 want you to look at what he says. This is 0:32:58.840 --> 0:33:03.520 verse seventeen. Preached Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely 0:33:03.880 --> 0:33:06.200 supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while 0:33:06.240 --> 0:33:09.640 I am in chains. But what does it matter? In 0:33:09.840 --> 0:33:15.280 every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. 0:33:15.760 --> 0:33:22.240 And because of this I rejoice. There are times where 0:33:22.280 --> 0:33:28.200 I have to ask myself does this really matter? Is 0:33:28.240 --> 0:33:31.680 this argument worth the damage that it might have on 0:33:31.760 --> 0:33:35.600 our relationship? And can I have the humility to let 0:33:35.640 --> 0:33:40.000 it go? In those moments, I have to learn to 0:33:40.120 --> 0:33:45.920 take a second and think, quick to listen, slow to speak. 0:33:46.520 --> 0:33:49.480 And did you notice what Paul did? He called himself 0:33:49.520 --> 0:33:53.280 back to joy. He said, I'm going to fix my 0:33:53.280 --> 0:33:56.880 focus on the things that do matter. And what matters 0:33:57.000 --> 0:34:01.440 is that Christ is being preached. What matters is the person, 0:34:02.040 --> 0:34:06.480 not my point if the person matters to you, because 0:34:06.520 --> 0:34:11.480 the world does not need another opinion, but the world 0:34:11.600 --> 0:34:20.640 desperately needs some better examples. Paul says, do everything without 0:34:20.680 --> 0:34:25.520 grumbling or arguing, so that you may be become blameless 0:34:25.520 --> 0:34:29.160 and pure children of God. Without fault and a warped 0:34:29.200 --> 0:34:33.120 and crooked generation. Then you will shine among them like 0:34:33.280 --> 0:34:36.880 stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the 0:34:36.920 --> 0:34:40.840 word of life. Crooked means bent in the wrong direction. 0:34:41.920 --> 0:34:46.400 But the way to redirect someone is not to shout, 0:34:46.800 --> 0:34:51.520 it's to shine. See I'm a talkative person. But not 0:34:51.560 --> 0:34:54.600 only am I a talkative person, I'm also a really 0:34:54.719 --> 0:34:58.160 loud talker. Again, this kind of comes in handy in 0:34:58.200 --> 0:35:00.560 this sort of setting, but in day to day it 0:35:00.560 --> 0:35:03.320 can be really annoying. I don't know why I'm allowed talker. 0:35:03.360 --> 0:35:05.440 Maybe it's because I'm a middle child and I wanted 0:35:05.440 --> 0:35:07.680 to be heard in my family. Maybe it's because I 0:35:07.800 --> 0:35:10.200 have I actually do have a sister who's hearing impaired, 0:35:10.200 --> 0:35:12.839 and maybe my whole family talks loud. I don't know. 0:35:13.160 --> 0:35:15.960 I don't know why, and I don't even realize it. 0:35:16.040 --> 0:35:19.400 Sometimes I have an out of body experience where I'm like, 0:35:19.520 --> 0:35:22.120 oh God, I'm yelling at this person and they're standing 0:35:22.239 --> 0:35:25.439 right in front of me. The thing that I'm learning, though, 0:35:25.600 --> 0:35:30.640 is that my life speaks louder than my voice ever can. 0:35:33.520 --> 0:35:36.480 When Paul says you will shine like stars in the sky, 0:35:36.960 --> 0:35:39.280 he's referring to a prophecy from the Book of Daniel. 0:35:39.360 --> 0:35:43.360 Somebody sent me this card this summer and they wrote 0:35:43.360 --> 0:35:48.040 this Bible verse on it, and I liked it because 0:35:48.040 --> 0:35:50.279 we do talk about shining like stars and missus better 0:35:50.320 --> 0:35:52.200 half as well. And so I put it up on 0:35:52.360 --> 0:35:55.880 my desk, and I was sitting at my desk working 0:35:55.920 --> 0:35:58.200 and I looked up and I read this verse. I 0:35:58.280 --> 0:36:00.800 want to read it to you. It's in Daniel chapter twelve, 0:36:01.480 --> 0:36:05.840 verse three. Those who are wise will shine like the 0:36:05.840 --> 0:36:09.400 brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to 0:36:09.520 --> 0:36:16.600 righteousness like the stars forever and ever. Daniel was amongst 0:36:16.719 --> 0:36:21.239 a people who did not worship God, and it was 0:36:21.320 --> 0:36:25.279 the life that he lived that impacted an entire nation. 0:36:25.400 --> 0:36:28.160 Remember he's the one that knelt to pray every day, 0:36:28.560 --> 0:36:31.360 even though the king had made an order prohibiting prayer. 0:36:31.520 --> 0:36:36.360 It was his actions that made an impact, not his words. 0:36:37.360 --> 0:36:40.240 Have you ever watched a friend go through something, maybe 0:36:40.280 --> 0:36:44.160 a divorce or an illness, or maybe watch them try 0:36:44.200 --> 0:36:47.920 to navigate a difficult situation with their child. We all 0:36:47.960 --> 0:36:51.719 experience difficult situations that we didn't expect that come up 0:36:51.760 --> 0:36:55.440 along the way. But have you ever watched someone just 0:36:56.000 --> 0:37:01.840 absolutely shine under the hardest circumstances. My friends, she had 0:37:02.360 --> 0:37:05.399 one of the most horrific years last year. I mean 0:37:05.440 --> 0:37:10.399 we joke about twenty twenty, but she lost her job, 0:37:11.360 --> 0:37:14.279 she had to move across the country, away from her 0:37:14.280 --> 0:37:16.719 home where she had lived for almost forty years, and 0:37:16.760 --> 0:37:19.200 try to rebuild her life. And then about a month 0:37:19.480 --> 0:37:22.840 after moving, she was diagnosed with stage three breast cancer. 0:37:24.320 --> 0:37:28.400 And every time we talked, she was just she was real. 0:37:29.280 --> 0:37:32.320 She would tell me how she was scared. She was 0:37:33.280 --> 0:37:36.840 obviously alone in the way that she felt she was 0:37:37.520 --> 0:37:41.480 physically alone because her family was so far away, But 0:37:41.600 --> 0:37:45.080 somehow she would just always bring the conversation back to 0:37:45.200 --> 0:37:48.279 all the ways that God was working. And one day, 0:37:48.400 --> 0:37:53.359 through tears, she said, Holly, I know that God has this. 0:37:54.080 --> 0:37:56.080 I know that I'm going to get through it. Everywhere 0:37:56.120 --> 0:37:58.920 I go I see glimpses of him. Scott spoke to 0:37:58.920 --> 0:38:01.880 me today through the lady who checks me out at CBS. 0:38:02.760 --> 0:38:04.960 I just know I'm gonna make it to the other 0:38:05.080 --> 0:38:08.960 side of this. Then you will shine among them like 0:38:09.040 --> 0:38:11.840 stars in the sky as you hold fast to the 0:38:11.880 --> 0:38:14.960 word of life. How do you shine? How do we 0:38:15.000 --> 0:38:17.239 do this? Well? One you refuse to dwell on the 0:38:17.320 --> 0:38:20.960 negative and you let go of the need to be right, 0:38:21.920 --> 0:38:28.320 and then you hold firm to the word of life. 0:38:29.440 --> 0:38:33.400 What is God speaking to you in this season? Maybe 0:38:33.440 --> 0:38:35.600 you have no idea, You're like, I don't know. Okay, 0:38:35.600 --> 0:38:40.040 Well go back. Think what was the last thing that 0:38:40.080 --> 0:38:43.160 God spoke to you. Maybe he whispered very softly to 0:38:43.200 --> 0:38:47.680 you about your attitude at work. Maybe it was something 0:38:47.680 --> 0:38:50.360 that had to do with doing things for others without 0:38:50.400 --> 0:38:53.879 having to be noticed. Maybe it was about focusing on 0:38:53.920 --> 0:38:55.960 all the things that you have to be grateful for 0:38:56.040 --> 0:38:58.719 in a season where things just really aren't turning out 0:38:58.960 --> 0:39:02.040 the way that you think. Maybe, like Daniel, he just 0:39:02.120 --> 0:39:08.040 called you to spend time praying every day. And sometimes 0:39:08.440 --> 0:39:12.880 what we miss is that the best way to impact 0:39:13.239 --> 0:39:16.359 the people around you is to make a change in 0:39:16.400 --> 0:39:22.920 yourself in life. The most difficult lesson of all for 0:39:23.080 --> 0:39:28.000 me has been to understand that at the end of 0:39:28.080 --> 0:39:33.160 the day, the only person that I can really change 0:39:33.440 --> 0:39:37.319 is me. But it's not fun to change me. It's 0:39:37.360 --> 0:39:40.560 easier to try and change others and hope that when 0:39:40.600 --> 0:39:45.040 others change, my life will improve. Right. But when I focus, 0:39:45.040 --> 0:39:48.520 when I place my focus on all the things that 0:39:48.600 --> 0:39:53.120 everyone else needs to change. What happens is I become 0:39:53.160 --> 0:39:56.080 someone I don't want to be. I become a nagging 0:39:56.480 --> 0:39:59.520 and manipulative woman, and then sometimes I give up on 0:39:59.520 --> 0:40:02.120 the nagging in the manipulation that I just become stubborn 0:40:02.480 --> 0:40:06.040 and withdrawn. And then I wonder why I'm never really 0:40:06.040 --> 0:40:09.160 making any progress in my relationships or in my personal life, 0:40:09.440 --> 0:40:12.839 because when I blame others' actions for my problems, I 0:40:12.880 --> 0:40:17.759 can never experience real change in my life. I love 0:40:17.800 --> 0:40:20.040 to tell this story about Graham and Abby. Years ago. 0:40:21.320 --> 0:40:23.799 I asked them to go pack their lunches. It was 0:40:23.840 --> 0:40:27.640 the school night, and in our house, pack your lunch 0:40:27.920 --> 0:40:32.160 means grab a juice box and a lunch box and 0:40:32.280 --> 0:40:35.319 get some prepackaged snacks and then bring it to me 0:40:35.600 --> 0:40:37.719 and I'll put your sandwich in it. Okay, So no 0:40:37.920 --> 0:40:41.920 little beautiful little binto boxes or anything like that. So 0:40:42.040 --> 0:40:45.120 on this particular night, I said, Graham and Abby go 0:40:45.160 --> 0:40:50.800 fix your lunch, and I hear Graham yelling at Abby, Abby, 0:40:51.560 --> 0:40:57.840 pack your lunch, Abby, Mom said, pack your lunch. Abby, 0:40:58.320 --> 0:41:00.239 You need to do it. Mom said, I just went 0:41:00.280 --> 0:41:02.319 on and on, and the kids have like the most 0:41:02.360 --> 0:41:05.560 incredible amount of patience and saying something over and over again, 0:41:05.640 --> 0:41:08.759 while I got tired of it, and I said, Graham, 0:41:09.160 --> 0:41:11.239 come here, come into the kitchen, and he comes in 0:41:11.760 --> 0:41:16.239 empty handed. He's a buddy, where's your lunch? And he goes, Oh, 0:41:16.280 --> 0:41:22.960 I forgot. Graham was so busy picking a fight with 0:41:23.000 --> 0:41:25.239 his sister and telling her what she needed to do, 0:41:25.840 --> 0:41:29.360 that he neglected to pack his own lunch. And what 0:41:29.400 --> 0:41:32.040 I want to tell you today is pack your own lunch. 0:41:34.360 --> 0:41:37.120 You determined to be kind no matter how you're treated. 0:41:38.520 --> 0:41:41.000 You'd be the first one to apologize, even if you 0:41:41.040 --> 0:41:43.080 were only ten percent wrong, which you probably weren't ten 0:41:43.120 --> 0:41:45.479 percent wrong, but you'll be the first one to say 0:41:45.520 --> 0:41:49.440 I'm sorry. What does it matter? You determine that I'm 0:41:49.480 --> 0:41:52.120 gonna bow out of a conversation if it gets ugly somehow, 0:41:52.160 --> 0:41:54.120 I'm gonna get out of there. I'm not gonna I'm 0:41:54.120 --> 0:41:56.560 not gonna go there talking about other people. You be 0:41:56.680 --> 0:42:01.040 generous with your time and your money, rich, expecting nothing 0:42:01.080 --> 0:42:04.000 in return, because God has the work that he wants 0:42:04.000 --> 0:42:07.520 to do in you. And if you say hyper focused 0:42:07.800 --> 0:42:11.040 on others and how they need to change and what 0:42:11.200 --> 0:42:14.640 they need to do, you might end up complaining that 0:42:14.719 --> 0:42:20.000 you don't have any lunch, You're gonna be hungry. Sometimes, 0:42:20.600 --> 0:42:23.760 the greatest impact that you will have on the people 0:42:23.800 --> 0:42:27.000 of your life will not be with the words that 0:42:27.040 --> 0:42:30.040 you say. It will be with the life that you live. 0:42:32.080 --> 0:42:37.239 So can we just collectively all decide stop shouting at 0:42:37.280 --> 0:42:43.840 each other and just start shining brighter. I'm not saying 0:42:43.840 --> 0:42:46.080 that we can't be a voice for the voiceless. I'm 0:42:46.120 --> 0:42:49.560 not saying that we don't speak up against injustice. I'm 0:42:49.719 --> 0:42:53.960 just pointing out first John three eighteen. I learned this 0:42:54.040 --> 0:42:55.680 verse when I was a little girl. There was a song. 0:42:55.719 --> 0:42:57.440 I'm not going to sing the song, but it says this, 0:42:57.920 --> 0:43:00.360 let us not love with words or speech, but with 0:43:00.520 --> 0:43:05.360 actions and in truth. I told you that last week's 0:43:05.360 --> 0:43:08.439 sermon was in my top three Stievelfredick sermons of all times. 0:43:08.440 --> 0:43:10.399 And if you miss it, it's called Just the Two 0:43:10.440 --> 0:43:12.239 of Us, you have to go back and watch it. 0:43:13.040 --> 0:43:15.040 But he preached about the Shunamite woman. So I'm hoping 0:43:15.040 --> 0:43:18.560 the most of you heard it, because the Shunamite woman, 0:43:19.480 --> 0:43:23.600 she was the epitome of knowing how to keep her 0:43:23.640 --> 0:43:28.000 mouth shut and go to the one who could fix 0:43:28.040 --> 0:43:31.240 her son. There was only one person who could fix him. 0:43:31.520 --> 0:43:35.879 So you remember, the child died and she placed him 0:43:36.160 --> 0:43:38.880 on the bed, the prophet's bed that was in her home, 0:43:39.280 --> 0:43:42.480 and she set out to find Elisha. And she did 0:43:42.560 --> 0:43:45.560 not waste time arguing with her husband about how he 0:43:45.560 --> 0:43:47.480 should have brought the boy to her sooner, and this 0:43:47.680 --> 0:43:50.440 was his fault. She did not knock on her neighbor's 0:43:50.480 --> 0:43:54.680 door and request prayer. When Elisha's servant came out to 0:43:54.719 --> 0:43:57.439 her and he asked her if everything was all right, 0:43:57.920 --> 0:44:00.319 she did not complain to him. She said, I'm fine, 0:44:00.440 --> 0:44:03.960 everything's fine, and she kept going where she knew she 0:44:04.040 --> 0:44:09.560 needed to be. But when she reached the prophet, the 0:44:09.719 --> 0:44:14.480 verse says that she actually knelt down, and it says 0:44:14.640 --> 0:44:20.080 she took hold of his feet, and she poured out 0:44:20.360 --> 0:44:24.520 her soul to him, to let go of what you 0:44:24.640 --> 0:44:28.719 cannot fix, and you hold firm to what you know, 0:44:29.880 --> 0:44:31.920 then you will shine among them like stars in the sky, 0:44:32.000 --> 0:44:35.319 as you hold firmly to the word of life. She 0:44:35.520 --> 0:44:37.719 knew that she had to get to the one who 0:44:37.760 --> 0:44:41.560 had spoken life to her. Beautiful. He said, you're gonna 0:44:41.600 --> 0:44:43.880 have a son, and that was the promise that she 0:44:44.000 --> 0:44:46.000 was clinging to He said, I was gonna have the sun, 0:44:46.320 --> 0:44:49.440 so he did this, so he's the only one that 0:44:49.560 --> 0:44:52.080 can fix it. She was quiet when it came to 0:44:52.160 --> 0:44:54.560 speaking to others, but when she got in the presence 0:44:54.560 --> 0:44:58.560 of the Prophet, she poured out her soul to him, 0:44:59.480 --> 0:45:03.440 and she i refused to leave his presence because when 0:45:03.480 --> 0:45:06.400 you go to the source, you're never alone in your problem, 0:45:06.440 --> 0:45:10.000 no matter how lonely you feel. So she stuck with them, 0:45:10.800 --> 0:45:14.360 and as they journeyed back to her home, she stayed close. 0:45:15.239 --> 0:45:17.640 And when they got back to her house, the Prophet 0:45:17.680 --> 0:45:21.400 went into the room with her child and shut the door. 0:45:24.600 --> 0:45:26.400 I like to think about how she thought she was 0:45:26.440 --> 0:45:29.680 going to go in with him and he shut the door. 0:45:30.600 --> 0:45:33.680 And when my husband said that sometimes you have to 0:45:33.680 --> 0:45:36.480 stand outside the door while God goes in with your problems, 0:45:36.520 --> 0:45:39.480 I knew that that was a picture that I would 0:45:39.520 --> 0:45:43.560 never forget because I don't know about you, but I've 0:45:43.600 --> 0:45:46.800 had a few times in my life. I've had enough 0:45:46.840 --> 0:45:49.920 times in my life where I've had to stand outside 0:45:49.960 --> 0:45:55.040 the door and just like God handle my situation. And 0:45:55.160 --> 0:46:01.760 she stood there. She was quiet, and she was alone 0:46:02.000 --> 0:46:04.200 because sometimes the things that you go through, they're just 0:46:04.239 --> 0:46:07.239 they're too personal to share in the moment. And so 0:46:07.320 --> 0:46:10.279 she just stood there while the prophet was behind the 0:46:10.320 --> 0:46:15.560 door with her child. And I keep wondering what could 0:46:15.560 --> 0:46:18.080 have possibly been going through her mind, because as a woman, 0:46:18.160 --> 0:46:21.799 it's like, I can fix this, I need to fix this. 0:46:22.280 --> 0:46:25.600 But she couldn't fix it. She had to stand outside 0:46:25.640 --> 0:46:31.440 the door and wait and hold firm to the promise 0:46:32.080 --> 0:46:37.240 that God had given her. Because the thing that enables 0:46:37.320 --> 0:46:42.040 us to shine bright in the darkness, it's not only 0:46:42.080 --> 0:46:45.480 what we don't say, because that's a start, but it's 0:46:45.520 --> 0:46:52.560 what we cling to. You can cling to the promise 0:46:53.160 --> 0:46:56.879 that he will never leave you or forsake you. You 0:46:56.920 --> 0:47:00.400 can cling to the promise that the same Holy Spirit 0:47:00.440 --> 0:47:04.239 that lives inside of you, that he lives inside of 0:47:04.280 --> 0:47:06.879 the people that you love, and he's working on them, 0:47:06.960 --> 0:47:09.680 just like he's working on you. He's working on them. 0:47:10.040 --> 0:47:12.120 You can believe that if he speaks to you, he 0:47:12.160 --> 0:47:16.319 can speak to them without without your mouth, he can 0:47:16.360 --> 0:47:19.000 speak to them, and you can cling to that promise. 0:47:19.040 --> 0:47:24.520 I have a friend whose son is just doing everything 0:47:24.560 --> 0:47:27.279 that he wants to do right now, and she's clinging 0:47:27.520 --> 0:47:31.560 to the promise that God has given her about her son. 0:47:31.600 --> 0:47:34.560 You can cling to the promise that he sees every 0:47:34.600 --> 0:47:37.880 tear that you cry, and he hears every prayer that 0:47:37.920 --> 0:47:41.319 you pray, because he does, so you cling to that. 0:47:42.320 --> 0:47:45.480 You cling to the promise that you serve a God 0:47:45.960 --> 0:47:52.200 who really does turn everything for good. He does, He's 0:47:52.200 --> 0:47:56.640 done it before, he'll do it again. He really does 0:47:56.840 --> 0:48:02.720 turn graves into gardens. And the grave part is not fun, 0:48:02.760 --> 0:48:07.479 but the garden part you look back and can only 0:48:07.520 --> 0:48:11.960 have been God. And cling to that. And when you 0:48:12.000 --> 0:48:16.279 cling to that, your life will shine so bright that 0:48:16.360 --> 0:48:24.560 people can't help but see God glorified in your life. So, Lord, 0:48:24.600 --> 0:48:29.280 we just we open up our hands to you today. 0:48:30.040 --> 0:48:36.280 Pray for the person who's watching this alone. Just whisper 0:48:36.400 --> 0:48:43.000 to them, tell them that they're not pray for the 0:48:43.040 --> 0:48:46.800 person who has been praying for their child for years 0:48:46.840 --> 0:48:52.040 and years and years, because just speak to them. Tell 0:48:52.040 --> 0:48:54.759 them that you love their child more than they do. 0:49:01.719 --> 0:49:05.960 We cling to you today, which you reveal to us 0:49:06.560 --> 0:49:10.080 the things that we need to let go of, and 0:49:10.120 --> 0:49:13.640 then which you just remind us, like you do, of 0:49:13.719 --> 0:49:20.120 the promises that you have spoken over our lives. Your 0:49:20.160 --> 0:49:26.239 promises are good and precious. Your promises are yes and 0:49:26.400 --> 0:49:35.120 amen with buff you Lord, thank you saying Jesus name. 0:49:35.160 --> 0:49:49.880 I pray amen oooh that sermon. I know I'm biased, 0:49:49.920 --> 0:49:54.520 but I think what Holly just preached was the most 0:49:54.719 --> 0:49:58.239 relevant thing that she could have said. You know, we 0:49:58.280 --> 0:50:02.000 always talk about how hers and teaching is bringing the 0:50:02.000 --> 0:50:04.480 Word practically, but there was a prophetic element to that 0:50:04.520 --> 0:50:08.240 message today. And God gave her that message months ago, 0:50:08.719 --> 0:50:10.960 and I believe he wanted you to hear it right now. 0:50:11.000 --> 0:50:13.520 He wanted us to experience it together in this moment. 0:50:14.280 --> 0:50:16.759 So I pray you received it today, and I want 0:50:16.760 --> 0:50:19.320 to thank you. Thanks to all of you who support 0:50:19.400 --> 0:50:26.000 this incredible, worldwide, thriving ministry that is bearing fruit all 0:50:26.080 --> 0:50:29.760 over this planet. And the Bible says that we shouldn't 0:50:29.800 --> 0:50:34.160 just love in word, but indeed action. And some of 0:50:34.200 --> 0:50:38.200 you who who give financially and who pray and share 0:50:38.239 --> 0:50:41.560 the Gospel and serve, you're just You're the best. So 0:50:41.680 --> 0:50:44.440 thank you. I want to thank you for continuing in 0:50:44.520 --> 0:50:47.279 your generosity in this time. And I also wanted to 0:50:47.719 --> 0:50:49.520 encourage you to stay in touch. Those of you who 0:50:49.840 --> 0:50:52.799 attend a local elevation church, you know, check in with 0:50:53.200 --> 0:50:55.479 your campus pastor your campus team, make sure you're getting 0:50:55.560 --> 0:50:59.040 updates on in person worship experiences as more of those 0:50:59.120 --> 0:51:02.360 become a available hopefully in the days ahead, and for 0:51:02.400 --> 0:51:04.040 our EPM around the world, we're going to be right 0:51:04.080 --> 0:51:07.120 here for you every step of the way as we 0:51:07.200 --> 0:51:11.320 navigate this moment in time together. Well, you heard the word, 0:51:11.400 --> 0:51:14.320 and now I want to make sure that you're subscribed 0:51:14.360 --> 0:51:17.200 to the channel. Thank you for your partnership in the gospel. 0:51:17.400 --> 0:51:17.840 I love you.