Taking Control Of Your Mind

0:00:02.120 --> 0:00:04.640 Hey, this is Stephen Ferdick. I'm the pastor of Elevation 0:00:04.920 --> 0:00:07.120 Church and this is our podcast. I wanted to thank 0:00:07.160 --> 0:00:10.479 you for joining us today. Hope this inspires you. Hope 0:00:10.480 --> 0:00:12.560 it builds your faith. Hope it gives your perspective to 0:00:12.560 --> 0:00:16.920 see God is moving in your life. Enjoy the message. 0:00:17.239 --> 0:00:22.439 And today I am starting a new teaching that is 0:00:22.480 --> 0:00:26.560 really just a continuation of what I've been teaching. I'm 0:00:26.600 --> 0:00:29.720 gonna talk about the free best questions that you can 0:00:29.800 --> 0:00:36.560 ask in your life. Only if you're confused, uncomfortable, or uncertain. 0:00:37.280 --> 0:00:39.519 If you are none of those three things, check your 0:00:39.560 --> 0:00:43.720 pulse and watch something else. But if you've been asking 0:00:43.800 --> 0:00:46.800 some questions lately and the answers are slow in coming, 0:00:47.280 --> 0:00:49.800 God has a word for you. And this begins a 0:00:49.840 --> 0:00:53.440 new teaching today. And to introduce it to you, I 0:00:53.560 --> 0:00:56.240 wanted to show you a video that I made with 0:00:56.320 --> 0:00:59.800 Abby when I showed her what my next sermon was 0:00:59.800 --> 0:01:02.639 going went to be and I caught her reaction on 0:01:02.680 --> 0:01:08.679 my iPhone. Check this out. Many sermon series. Run Control, 0:01:10.280 --> 0:01:18.199 Run Control, Run Control. Look at it again? Are you 0:01:18.240 --> 0:01:28.000 in control? Are you paid? My gosh, Oh my gosh, 0:01:28.240 --> 0:01:34.399 that's awesome. It's awesome. Put it on the screen. Let's 0:01:34.440 --> 0:01:40.360 go are you in control? Because haven't we kind of 0:01:40.360 --> 0:01:46.240 wonder that lately? Are you honest? Are you? Are you? 0:01:46.319 --> 0:01:48.520 Are you? Are you money? And you don't really say 0:01:48.520 --> 0:01:50.160 it like that, You don't. You don't ask the Lord 0:01:50.160 --> 0:01:52.000 if he's in control. You're scared to give you a 0:01:52.040 --> 0:01:54.600 lightning bolt or a flat tire or hemorrhoid or something 0:01:54.640 --> 0:01:57.040 like that, So you don't really say, Lord, are you 0:01:57.080 --> 0:02:03.840 in control? You just kind of secretly wonder, like, Lord, 0:02:03.880 --> 0:02:05.480 is still you on the thrown up there? Right? They 0:02:05.480 --> 0:02:09.400 didn't They didn't kick you off, because it can make 0:02:09.440 --> 0:02:12.720 you wonder. And even though we don't really put those 0:02:12.720 --> 0:02:16.799 words around it, the question that we want to talk 0:02:16.800 --> 0:02:20.840 about today is are you in control? And I want 0:02:20.840 --> 0:02:22.560 to write it down just like that how it said 0:02:22.680 --> 0:02:24.880 put it up one more time? Are you? And that's 0:02:24.880 --> 0:02:28.160 how the Lord gave it to me. I put my phone. 0:02:28.360 --> 0:02:30.600 I made a list of questions on my phone. I 0:02:30.639 --> 0:02:33.000 was like, I wonder, what are the best questions in 0:02:33.040 --> 0:02:36.480 the Bible? Because I got on this trajectory of realizing 0:02:36.520 --> 0:02:40.120 that watch this, making progress in your relationship with God 0:02:40.400 --> 0:02:48.880 usually looks like having less answers and better questions. So 0:02:48.919 --> 0:02:51.480 how do I know if I'm growing in my relationship 0:02:51.480 --> 0:02:54.640 with God? Usually you will know you're growing in your 0:02:54.680 --> 0:02:58.160 relationship with God and your maturity in this world when 0:02:58.160 --> 0:03:04.239 you have less answers and better questions. So the way 0:03:04.240 --> 0:03:05.880 that I wanted to give it to you one more time, 0:03:06.280 --> 0:03:09.760 I did it like that, are you in control? Because 0:03:09.880 --> 0:03:13.520 it looks like run And the Lord showed me that 0:03:13.560 --> 0:03:18.600 there are three questions that are running in the background 0:03:18.800 --> 0:03:22.600 of your mind all the time, that are determining or 0:03:22.720 --> 0:03:27.560 driving your state of mind. And to get there, we've 0:03:27.560 --> 0:03:31.960 got to go all the way back to the prison 0:03:32.800 --> 0:03:37.040 where Paul wrote Philippians. And I don't know what my 0:03:37.080 --> 0:03:39.920 favorite book in the Bible. You know we're talking about questions. 0:03:39.920 --> 0:03:42.040 I have been asked before, what's your favorite book of 0:03:42.040 --> 0:03:44.640 the Bible. I don't know what's my favorite. I don't 0:03:44.640 --> 0:03:46.200 know if you're supposed to have a favorite book of 0:03:46.240 --> 0:03:48.840 the Bible. But the most functional for me in the 0:03:48.880 --> 0:03:51.800 last few years has been the Book of Philippians. Of 0:03:51.840 --> 0:03:54.640 all four chapters in the Book of Philippians, the most 0:03:54.680 --> 0:03:57.560 functional chapter. What I mean is it's been working for me. 0:03:58.560 --> 0:04:01.600 It's been working for me when I ran out of answers. 0:04:01.600 --> 0:04:04.080 It helped me with my question. And I'm gonna show 0:04:04.080 --> 0:04:05.880 you today the three questions. We won't get to all 0:04:05.920 --> 0:04:08.880 of them today, but we're gonna look at three questions 0:04:09.200 --> 0:04:12.920 that are controlling your life. And so when I asked 0:04:12.960 --> 0:04:16.000 the question, are you in control? You're like, no, God's 0:04:16.040 --> 0:04:18.240 in control. Let's go home, let's go eat some pot 0:04:18.320 --> 0:04:21.400 roast and all that. But you do know that God 0:04:21.440 --> 0:04:27.360 is in control. You're like, you're sitting me up or something. Yes, 0:04:27.640 --> 0:04:30.320 I'm setting you up, because what I want to know is, 0:04:31.360 --> 0:04:34.039 if God is in control, then why would anybody ever 0:04:34.080 --> 0:04:38.480 be overweight? If God is in control, why would anybody 0:04:38.480 --> 0:04:40.080 be addicted? If God is in control, why would anybody 0:04:40.080 --> 0:04:42.440 ever be abused? And you wonder that too, but you 0:04:42.520 --> 0:04:44.600 just don't ask it. You don't ask it because you're 0:04:44.600 --> 0:04:46.440 scared to ask it because you think that God is 0:04:46.440 --> 0:04:48.200 insecure like you are, and if you question him, he 0:04:48.200 --> 0:04:49.599 won't have the answer. But God has the answer, so 0:04:49.600 --> 0:04:52.840 he's not intimidated by your questions. What insults God is 0:04:52.839 --> 0:04:54.320 when you think that he is so small and he 0:04:54.360 --> 0:04:56.440 has some kind of ego where he can't handle your questions. 0:04:58.279 --> 0:05:03.440 When you think about that question and I'm so excited 0:05:03.480 --> 0:05:05.839 to share this with you because I believe as we 0:05:05.880 --> 0:05:07.440 get this, it's going to be one of those series 0:05:07.440 --> 0:05:08.919 I want you to I want you to give me 0:05:09.040 --> 0:05:11.839 all all three weeks. I think it's gonna take three weeks, 0:05:11.880 --> 0:05:14.480 maybe two, maybe four. Maybe I'll just do it the 0:05:14.520 --> 0:05:16.440 rest of the year. But when I started asking the 0:05:16.520 --> 0:05:20.360 question are you in control? God? I realized that it's 0:05:20.640 --> 0:05:29.719 a complicated answer. Yes, he's sovereign. How can he be 0:05:29.839 --> 0:05:37.479 so sovereign and I feel so stuck? How can he 0:05:37.560 --> 0:05:43.240 be so sovereign and some suffer so much? How can 0:05:43.279 --> 0:05:50.040 he be so sovereign and some struggle so long? Of course, 0:05:50.080 --> 0:05:54.200 I'm not confident enough in my professional competence to answer that. 0:05:54.200 --> 0:05:56.440 That's why we're going to Paul in just a moment. 0:05:56.480 --> 0:05:59.719 But realize that, God, maybe I could give it you 0:05:59.720 --> 0:06:01.560 this way. Here's the first thing you could write them. 0:06:01.640 --> 0:06:06.200 God is always in control, but he doesn't always take control. 0:06:11.320 --> 0:06:17.320 God is always in control, but he doesn't always take control. 0:06:19.839 --> 0:06:22.520 It's like when I gained fifty pounds in the first 0:06:22.520 --> 0:06:26.680 eighteen months of being married. God never took any macaroni 0:06:26.720 --> 0:06:30.800 off my plate. He let me eat as much macaroni 0:06:30.839 --> 0:06:33.880 as I wanted to eat, and I was thinking about eating. 0:06:33.920 --> 0:06:36.400 And I've said it a few times now because I'm 0:06:36.440 --> 0:06:38.400 a little hungry, as I preached to be honest with you. 0:06:38.680 --> 0:06:43.240 But the real reason I thought of it was portion control, right, Like, 0:06:43.640 --> 0:06:46.200 God's not going to control the portion of food that 0:06:46.240 --> 0:06:52.560 you eat or the portion of news that you consume. 0:06:55.400 --> 0:06:58.520 Are you ready? He's not going to control the portion 0:06:58.800 --> 0:07:03.359 of the Bible that you read. God will let you 0:07:03.600 --> 0:07:08.080 watch as many episodes. What's that show Outer Banks, He'll 0:07:08.120 --> 0:07:10.080 let you watch that is at the right show. He'll 0:07:10.160 --> 0:07:13.000 let you watch. He'll let you watch every episode and 0:07:13.040 --> 0:07:16.040 not read your Bible one time. God will let you watch. 0:07:16.400 --> 0:07:20.240 God will let you scroll Instagram until you throw up 0:07:20.320 --> 0:07:25.360 pictures of somebody else's vacation. He won't stop you. He's 0:07:25.400 --> 0:07:28.440 in control. That doesn't stop you from scrolling, even Instagram. 0:07:28.600 --> 0:07:31.120 I remember the first time God I felt sympathetic when 0:07:31.160 --> 0:07:35.160 Instagram told me you're all caught up. I was like, there, 0:07:35.480 --> 0:07:39.080 Facebook is trying to save me. They legally have to 0:07:39.120 --> 0:07:42.960 tell me you've seen this crap already. So God doesn't 0:07:43.000 --> 0:07:46.320 stop you from scrolling. God will not so so so 0:07:46.440 --> 0:07:52.560 God is always in control, and I'm grateful, but he 0:07:52.640 --> 0:07:55.640 doesn't always take control. Isn't that what we really want 0:07:55.760 --> 0:08:00.640 is like a remote control God who we can tell 0:08:00.720 --> 0:08:04.280 him what to do with other people, and from his 0:08:04.360 --> 0:08:07.560 holy heaven he will make everybody do everything we want 0:08:07.640 --> 0:08:10.040 to do. He is not a remote control God. He 0:08:10.160 --> 0:08:13.800 is the Word who became flesh and dwelt among us 0:08:14.160 --> 0:08:17.520 so that his spirit could live within us. And maybe 0:08:17.520 --> 0:08:20.480 I could illustrate it this way for everybody who is 0:08:20.560 --> 0:08:27.680 confused uncertain, like Paul was in prison. I came out 0:08:27.680 --> 0:08:30.600 earlier and I said, let's show them with the cameras 0:08:31.400 --> 0:08:34.640 to set up this idea of are you in control? 0:08:35.000 --> 0:08:37.360 Like in the room right now, there are I think 0:08:37.400 --> 0:08:41.760 eight cameras, maybe more. I don't know how many hidden 0:08:41.800 --> 0:08:45.160 cameras there are security cameras, but I think there's eight, 0:08:45.880 --> 0:08:47.120 so that this message can be brought to you you in 0:08:47.200 --> 0:08:49.640 high definition, high fidelity, the Word of God and all 0:08:49.640 --> 0:08:52.880 of his clarity. Right. But let's say like the way 0:08:52.920 --> 0:08:54.920 it works, like there's different cameras that I look at, 0:08:55.080 --> 0:08:56.880 and the way it works is like here's camera one, 0:08:56.920 --> 0:08:58.839 and I think that's Bowser on camera on. Yeah, hey, 0:08:58.840 --> 0:09:01.880 Bowser taking a break from throwing hammers at Mario for 0:09:01.880 --> 0:09:06.120 a minute running the camera Jay Bowser, everybody. That's called 0:09:06.160 --> 0:09:07.480 camera one. And I don't know if they call it 0:09:07.480 --> 0:09:10.120 camera one because he's the most important one, but it's 0:09:10.200 --> 0:09:12.559 right there. And if they put a scripture up, I 0:09:12.559 --> 0:09:15.960 can see it and it's great. Okay, So that's camera one, 0:09:16.200 --> 0:09:19.040 all right. And then over here on this camera it's 0:09:19.120 --> 0:09:21.280 camera four or five or something like that doesn't matter. 0:09:21.559 --> 0:09:28.400 The point is who's running this one today, Abraham, okay, Abraham. 0:09:28.720 --> 0:09:32.200 And Abraham is over here. And if I go to 0:09:32.240 --> 0:09:34.320 this camera right, you can see me. Now I'm looking 0:09:34.360 --> 0:09:36.559 at the camera, and this is the way God gave 0:09:36.600 --> 0:09:38.200 it to me, like a picture, just to make it 0:09:38.240 --> 0:09:40.440 simple for what we're going to talk about over the 0:09:40.440 --> 0:09:46.080 next few weeks. If Abraham's camera goes out of focus, 0:09:46.120 --> 0:09:48.840 go ahead and make it blurry real quick, because sometimes 0:09:48.840 --> 0:09:51.080 this happens as I'm moving around and everything like that, 0:09:51.120 --> 0:09:54.160 and they have to focus the camera right, okay, and 0:09:54.200 --> 0:09:56.679 so you can't see me real good, and that's distracting, 0:09:56.800 --> 0:09:59.559 and you're like, oh God, that looks horrible. It was 0:09:59.600 --> 0:10:01.800 tithing elevation, but now I'm gonna give it somewhere else. 0:10:01.800 --> 0:10:04.240 They don't even get the money in the equipment. So 0:10:04.360 --> 0:10:09.320 then so then I'm like Bowser and I'm looking at 0:10:09.320 --> 0:10:13.560 the camera, but nothing changed. What you have to understand 0:10:13.760 --> 0:10:22.760 is he's behind the camera, but he's not controlling the camera. Furthermore, 0:10:23.760 --> 0:10:25.760 let me come back over here where it's blurry. See 0:10:25.800 --> 0:10:27.360 how you can't really see it, Like how your life 0:10:27.360 --> 0:10:29.120 feels right now, how your plans feel right now, how 0:10:29.160 --> 0:10:31.559 your future feels right now, how the outcome of certain 0:10:31.559 --> 0:10:33.440 things in the United States of America feels right now, 0:10:33.600 --> 0:10:35.600 How what God is doing in the world feels right now. 0:10:35.720 --> 0:10:38.880 This house felt for a little while. And so Bowser 0:10:38.960 --> 0:10:41.960 is on camera one, and it's like, Bowser, come on, man, 0:10:42.200 --> 0:10:44.360 do your job. I'm looking at that camera. Give me 0:10:44.440 --> 0:10:51.520 that camera. But he can't control that camera. That camera 0:10:51.679 --> 0:10:56.480 is controlled in another room. The name of the room 0:10:56.559 --> 0:11:01.320 is the control room. In the control room, somebody named Chelsea. 0:11:02.120 --> 0:11:05.480 Chelsea has a headset and Bowser does not have the 0:11:05.559 --> 0:11:09.520 capability to switch to that camera without Chelsea saying the 0:11:09.600 --> 0:11:13.440 following words, take it. When Chelsea says take it, there 0:11:13.440 --> 0:11:17.360 it is in focus. Now he's on the camera, but 0:11:17.480 --> 0:11:20.959 he doesn't control the camera. So if I'm over here, 0:11:21.000 --> 0:11:23.319 make it blurry again. Make it real, blurry, Abraham, make 0:11:23.360 --> 0:11:26.080 it real blurry and is blurry and I look over here. 0:11:26.200 --> 0:11:29.040 Come on, Bowser, do your job. Come on, Bowser, what's 0:11:29.040 --> 0:11:32.320 wrong with you? Come on, Bowser? Are you distracted? Come on, Bowser, 0:11:32.440 --> 0:11:34.840 just sleep in today forget to show up front. Come on, Bowser, 0:11:35.000 --> 0:11:37.240 let's go, let's go. I can yell at him all 0:11:37.280 --> 0:11:42.760 I want, but he's not controlling the camera. Until Chelsea says, 0:11:42.800 --> 0:11:46.960 watch this, take it now. God says, you can stay 0:11:47.000 --> 0:11:49.760 in a state of confusion. Make it blurry, Abraham all 0:11:49.800 --> 0:11:52.240 you want, and you can complain about me all you want. 0:11:52.280 --> 0:11:56.920 But God says, until see. God can give you a promise, 0:11:57.000 --> 0:12:00.840 but until you take it, you gotta God to give 0:12:00.880 --> 0:12:05.920 you peace. But you will feel unclear until you take it. 0:12:06.160 --> 0:12:09.600 And I hear the spirit of God saying today I 0:12:09.640 --> 0:12:16.600 have given you retention, restoration, and purpose, but you got 0:12:16.640 --> 0:12:25.120 to take it. Are you in control? So there are 0:12:25.160 --> 0:12:29.880 three questions in Philippians one that I think will help 0:12:29.960 --> 0:12:34.080 us with our focus. For me, in the last six months, 0:12:34.640 --> 0:12:40.079 focus has been a matter of survival. For the first 0:12:40.120 --> 0:12:43.960 week of the global pandemic, I had news stations on 0:12:44.120 --> 0:12:49.040 all around. I had to turn them off because I 0:12:49.120 --> 0:12:51.840 realized that if I kept watching their news, I wouldn't 0:12:51.880 --> 0:12:58.680 be able to preach good news the gospel. And I 0:12:58.720 --> 0:13:02.640 found out why they call it breaking news, because it 0:13:03.520 --> 0:13:11.719 will break your brain. So Paul is going to talk 0:13:11.760 --> 0:13:16.800 to us today in a situation where it seems like 0:13:16.840 --> 0:13:20.720 God is maybe not in control? Are you in control? God? 0:13:21.800 --> 0:13:26.040 Because here I am in prison and here you are sovereign, 0:13:27.040 --> 0:13:31.880 and here I am stock. So this really helped me. 0:13:32.559 --> 0:13:34.040 All right, you'll pray for me. I can read the 0:13:34.080 --> 0:13:37.120 whole thing with no interruptions. How many believe that God 0:13:37.160 --> 0:13:40.800 will give me the willpower to read all fourteen verses 0:13:40.840 --> 0:13:44.360 and not stopping and rent around? Y'all don't believe I'm 0:13:44.360 --> 0:13:47.439 gonna prove you wrong? Okay? How many of y'all on 0:13:47.520 --> 0:13:49.800 the chat believe in me? Say? I believe in you, Pastor. 0:13:49.840 --> 0:13:52.280 I don't care about these other people. Fire them all, 0:13:52.600 --> 0:13:55.720 fire your staff. We believe in you. Believe in Steve. 0:13:56.280 --> 0:14:02.400 Here we go Philippians one twelve. Now, I want you 0:14:02.440 --> 0:14:04.160 to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to 0:14:04.160 --> 0:14:07.240 me has actually served to advance the gospel as a result. 0:14:07.440 --> 0:14:12.760 He's not okay, okay, just one, He's not focused on 0:14:12.840 --> 0:14:19.600 the resistance. He's focused on the results. It has become clear. 0:14:20.680 --> 0:14:28.000 It has become clear, Abraham, it has become Take it clear. 0:14:30.280 --> 0:14:34.920 It has become clear. Situation is uncertain, but my purpose 0:14:35.440 --> 0:14:39.920 has become clear throughout the whole palace, guard and to 0:14:40.040 --> 0:14:43.320 everyone else, that I am in chains for Christ. And 0:14:43.360 --> 0:14:46.480 because of my chains, most of the brothers and sisters 0:14:46.720 --> 0:14:49.880 have become confident in the Lord, and they're all the 0:14:49.960 --> 0:14:53.440 more to proclaim the Gospel, the Gospel, the good News 0:14:53.440 --> 0:14:57.720 without fear. It is true. Somebody say facts that some 0:14:57.840 --> 0:15:00.480 preach Christ out of envy, and right, I will read, 0:15:00.480 --> 0:15:03.360 but others others out of good will. The latter do 0:15:03.480 --> 0:15:05.920 so out of love, knowing that I am put here 0:15:05.920 --> 0:15:08.640 for the defense of a gospel. The former preached Christ 0:15:08.680 --> 0:15:12.680 out of selfish ambition, not sincerely supposing they can stir 0:15:12.760 --> 0:15:15.320 up trouble for me while I am in chains. But 0:15:15.400 --> 0:15:18.080 what does it matter? The important thing is that in 0:15:18.160 --> 0:15:20.480 every way, and I've already given you the first question, 0:15:20.560 --> 0:15:22.400 there are three. I've already given you the first one. 0:15:22.440 --> 0:15:24.320 See if you can find all three. Two of them 0:15:24.320 --> 0:15:26.160 are right there in the text, and one is implied. 0:15:26.360 --> 0:15:30.080 He said, what does it matter? The important thing is 0:15:30.080 --> 0:15:32.400 that in every way, whether from false motives or true, 0:15:32.440 --> 0:15:37.120 Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice, Yes, 0:15:37.200 --> 0:15:41.800 and I will continue to rejoice. I'll rejoice in my bathrobe, 0:15:41.920 --> 0:15:46.280 watching church in my living room. I will continue to rejoice. 0:15:46.320 --> 0:15:49.280 I will rejoice without a job cut back on hours. 0:15:49.560 --> 0:15:51.680 I will rejoice even as I wake up in the 0:15:51.720 --> 0:15:53.560 middle of the night, in the middle of a full 0:15:53.600 --> 0:15:56.720 blown panic attack. I will praise my way back to sleep. 0:15:56.760 --> 0:15:59.720 I will breathe my way into peace. I will continue 0:15:59.760 --> 0:16:03.880 to joye for I know that, through your prayers and 0:16:04.040 --> 0:16:07.760 God's provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, what has 0:16:07.800 --> 0:16:10.560 happened to me will turn out for my deliverance. I 0:16:10.640 --> 0:16:13.800 eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way 0:16:14.040 --> 0:16:17.360 be a shame, will have sufficient courage so that now 0:16:17.400 --> 0:16:21.600 as always, Christ will be exalted in my body, whether 0:16:22.320 --> 0:16:25.400 by life or by death. For to me, to live 0:16:25.440 --> 0:16:28.120 is Christ and to die is Gain. If I'm to 0:16:28.160 --> 0:16:30.600 go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful 0:16:30.640 --> 0:16:33.360 labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do 0:16:33.440 --> 0:16:37.800 not know. Torn between the two. Kind of want to 0:16:37.800 --> 0:16:41.600 get out of here. It's crazy, but it's more necessary 0:16:41.640 --> 0:16:43.720 for you that I remain in the body. Convinced of this, 0:16:45.040 --> 0:16:47.960 I know that I will remain and I will continue 0:16:47.960 --> 0:16:51.800 with all of you for your progress, enjoy and the faith. 0:16:54.200 --> 0:16:57.400 Isn't it funny that he calls it progress? Well, he's 0:16:57.440 --> 0:17:03.040 in prison. He must be measuring something, he must be 0:17:03.240 --> 0:17:09.600 asking a different question, and he does not give them 0:17:09.680 --> 0:17:12.960 any of the answers that they would have asked for, 0:17:14.600 --> 0:17:16.560 because I'm going to tell you what they wanted to know? 0:17:17.320 --> 0:17:26.359 When are you getting out the church at PHILIPI is 0:17:26.440 --> 0:17:30.960 like your kids in the car. All they want to 0:17:31.000 --> 0:17:34.640 know is are we there yet? How many think that's 0:17:34.640 --> 0:17:38.840 the second most annoying question that your kids ask. You're like, well, 0:17:38.920 --> 0:17:43.680 what's the first? For me? Do we have to do? 0:17:43.760 --> 0:17:47.800 I have to? I feel the spirit of slap your 0:17:47.800 --> 0:17:50.720 tongue out of your mouth coming up? Do I have 0:17:50.800 --> 0:17:55.160 to unload the dishwasher? Okay, no, you don't have to. 0:17:55.760 --> 0:17:58.920 I will rip the dishwasher out, throw it in the yard. 0:17:59.160 --> 0:18:02.920 You can wash it all by hand, and then after that, 0:18:03.119 --> 0:18:05.120 your mom will cook for me and you will watch, 0:18:08.119 --> 0:18:10.840 so you don't have to. I used to hate it 0:18:10.840 --> 0:18:12.960 when staff members would say, do we have to come? 0:18:14.080 --> 0:18:18.199 Do we have to comb to Saturday night service. And 0:18:18.480 --> 0:18:20.440 you know, sometimes the Lord just has to take stuff 0:18:20.480 --> 0:18:22.240 away for a minute for you to appreciate it to 0:18:22.240 --> 0:18:26.000 get it back, and it's like, do I have to 0:18:26.040 --> 0:18:28.200 be there? It's like, oh God, can I please come? 0:18:28.320 --> 0:18:31.120 Can I please? And so that happens, that that happens, 0:18:31.160 --> 0:18:35.520 that happens in our life. So the Lord was telling 0:18:35.520 --> 0:18:37.880 me that there are some really bad questions that I ask, 0:18:39.400 --> 0:18:42.480 questions that either he doesn't want me to know. My 0:18:42.560 --> 0:18:44.880 mom used to always say, if I would have wanted 0:18:44.920 --> 0:18:47.119 you to know, I would have told you. And so 0:18:47.200 --> 0:18:49.000 the way Paul started the text, go back to verse 0:18:49.000 --> 0:18:50.920 twelve real quick, he said, now I want you to know. 0:18:51.880 --> 0:18:54.000 And then he doesn't tell them what they want to know. 0:18:54.520 --> 0:18:57.320 When are you getting out? He tells them what he 0:18:57.359 --> 0:19:02.119 wants them to know. That's like God. He tells you 0:19:02.200 --> 0:19:06.040 what he wants you to know. God controls the flow 0:19:06.080 --> 0:19:09.600 of information to our lives, and he doesn't owe us 0:19:09.600 --> 0:19:15.120 an explanation for everything. My amens are fading fast. Oh, 0:19:15.240 --> 0:19:19.520 my amens are fading fast. My amens are shutting down 0:19:19.640 --> 0:19:21.879 right now. I feel like I'm gonna have to come 0:19:21.920 --> 0:19:24.159 over here and preach this to Jenna now Jenna. I 0:19:24.200 --> 0:19:26.399 specifically asked if you could be out on the stage 0:19:26.400 --> 0:19:29.480 today because I was watching you worship the other day 0:19:29.840 --> 0:19:33.200 and I realize that you are an example of someone 0:19:33.640 --> 0:19:37.480 who never really asks for the spotlight. That blessed me. 0:19:38.119 --> 0:19:40.239 It blessed me because a lot of singers want to know, 0:19:40.320 --> 0:19:42.399 like when am I going to get that? You know, 0:19:42.760 --> 0:19:45.359 it's a dumb question, And I realized that the better 0:19:45.440 --> 0:19:49.720 question isn't when am I going to get credit? It's 0:19:49.760 --> 0:19:55.720 what is God calling me to do? Now? When God 0:19:55.800 --> 0:19:58.080 does not give you an answer? How many of you 0:19:58.119 --> 0:20:01.719 are waiting for an answer from God about something in 0:20:01.760 --> 0:20:05.560 your life right now? Okay, if you won't give you 0:20:05.600 --> 0:20:11.480 the answer, ask him for a better question. You want 0:20:11.480 --> 0:20:16.600 an example of this, when Moses asked God in Exodus, 0:20:16.680 --> 0:20:19.400 chapter four, verse one. You remember he's called by God. 0:20:19.440 --> 0:20:21.760 We discussed Moses a couple of weeks ago. I kind 0:20:21.800 --> 0:20:25.160 of finished my sermon talking about Moses and how if 0:20:25.480 --> 0:20:27.560 God asked you to do it, the proof that you 0:20:27.600 --> 0:20:28.760 have it in you is that He asked you to 0:20:28.760 --> 0:20:30.159 do it, because he won't ask anything from you that 0:20:30.200 --> 0:20:32.280 he didn't first put in you. And I'm just reminding 0:20:32.280 --> 0:20:34.720 you of that. But remember when Moses asked the first 0:20:34.720 --> 0:20:38.440 thing he asked, he said, he said, what if they 0:20:39.920 --> 0:20:44.440 do not believe me talking about the Israelites. Now, let's 0:20:44.480 --> 0:20:49.080 isolate those three words. What if they? Okay, that's a 0:20:49.119 --> 0:20:55.880 bad question. Anytime your question revolves around other people, it 0:20:55.920 --> 0:21:01.400 is outside of the realm of your sovereign control. What 0:21:01.600 --> 0:21:04.000 if they? I don't care what you say next, you 0:21:04.040 --> 0:21:08.119 can't control it. What if they is a bad question. 0:21:08.320 --> 0:21:12.159 So watch what God does. He answers Moses' question with 0:21:12.280 --> 0:21:15.280 a question, But it's an upgrade. When I saw this, 0:21:15.359 --> 0:21:18.399 I shouted, you ready, Moses, what if they? Look at 0:21:18.480 --> 0:21:22.439 verse two, The Lord said to him, what is that? 0:21:25.000 --> 0:21:31.280 So let's go. Moses said, what if they? God said, 0:21:31.520 --> 0:21:36.480 what is that? Moses is asking about what he can't control. 0:21:37.840 --> 0:21:42.120 He's asking about a hypothetical scenario that involves others, and 0:21:42.200 --> 0:21:47.440 God says, what is that? What is that? In your hand? 0:21:48.640 --> 0:21:52.119 God will always point you to what is at hand. 0:21:52.600 --> 0:21:57.159 And the more your questions revolve around hypothetical situations that 0:21:57.280 --> 0:22:00.359 haven't happened and may not happen, the longer you are 0:22:00.359 --> 0:22:02.280 going to spend in the absence of an answer, which 0:22:02.320 --> 0:22:04.920 you will mistake for the absence of God. But God 0:22:04.960 --> 0:22:08.399 ask a better question. It's not what if they? What 0:22:08.600 --> 0:22:11.879 is that? When you focus on what God has given you. 0:22:11.960 --> 0:22:14.760 I love this. I spend so much time asking the 0:22:14.840 --> 0:22:17.680 question what if they or what if that? Or what 0:22:18.160 --> 0:22:20.760 if this? Or what if that? But God says, I've 0:22:20.800 --> 0:22:26.840 already given you a that no matter what they do. Ye, yes, 0:22:27.320 --> 0:22:31.119 all right. So that's an example of what I'm talking 0:22:31.119 --> 0:22:36.919 about the power of a better question. And so the 0:22:36.960 --> 0:22:39.639 proof of my progress and my relationship with God is 0:22:41.440 --> 0:22:50.200 I have less answers better questions. The three questions that 0:22:50.240 --> 0:22:55.600 are always running in your mind are what does it matter? 0:22:58.320 --> 0:23:05.120 What does it mean? And what shall I choose? All 0:23:05.160 --> 0:23:08.840 three are in the text. I'll be honest with you. 0:23:08.880 --> 0:23:11.879 The first one caught me off guard when I was 0:23:12.800 --> 0:23:16.960 just minding my own business preaching Philippians one, and I 0:23:17.040 --> 0:23:19.439 was standing on this stage. I will never forget I 0:23:19.560 --> 0:23:22.200 was standing on stage. I didn't study for it or anything. 0:23:22.880 --> 0:23:24.679 I was just reading through it. You know, there's some 0:23:24.720 --> 0:23:27.959 really good stuff in the Book of Philippians, some really 0:23:28.000 --> 0:23:32.480 famous verses. Being confident of this that he began a 0:23:32.520 --> 0:23:33.760 good work ca and you be faithful to complete it 0:23:33.800 --> 0:23:37.520 to the day of Christ. That's a great verse. One 0:23:37.560 --> 0:23:39.320 of them we read. For me to live is Christ, 0:23:39.359 --> 0:23:43.600 to die is game. How about this one? God has 0:23:43.600 --> 0:23:45.480 exalted Jesus the highest place, giving me the the names above, 0:23:45.480 --> 0:23:46.679 every name that at the name of ges every name 0:23:46.680 --> 0:23:48.159 to about and every time confessed geis Christ Lord, the 0:23:48.160 --> 0:23:50.360 glory of God the Father. These are like the famous 0:23:50.440 --> 0:23:54.080 verses in Philippians, and they're good. So I always thought 0:23:54.080 --> 0:23:58.040 those were the most important verses of the whole thing. 0:23:58.480 --> 0:24:01.040 And there's some other ones too that you know. You know, 0:24:01.119 --> 0:24:03.919 these verses I kind to myself to have apprehended. But 0:24:03.920 --> 0:24:05.359 this one thing I do forgetting what is behind and 0:24:05.440 --> 0:24:07.840 pressing toward was ahead. I pressed toward the margaret, the prize. 0:24:07.880 --> 0:24:09.280 You know how many times have you heard that on 0:24:09.280 --> 0:24:11.560 New Year's Eve or something like that. I'm forgetting what 0:24:11.680 --> 0:24:14.000 is behind, forget the past, pressed toward what's ahead. You know, 0:24:14.040 --> 0:24:17.440 I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me. Right, 0:24:17.720 --> 0:24:20.719 great versus in Philippians. And My God shall supply all 0:24:20.760 --> 0:24:23.440 your needs according to His riches in glory. All those 0:24:23.520 --> 0:24:26.040 verses I love. The one that jumped up and bit 0:24:26.200 --> 0:24:30.119 me was in verse eighteen, or yeah, verse eighteen of 0:24:30.200 --> 0:24:34.679 chapter one, where Paul says, what does it matter? And 0:24:34.760 --> 0:24:37.399 the Lord arrested me in the middle of my sermon. 0:24:37.440 --> 0:24:39.320 I was trying to get to another verse, and the 0:24:39.320 --> 0:24:43.600 Lord said, stop right there. If you get that question wrong, 0:24:43.960 --> 0:24:50.399 nothing else matters. So what does it matter? And then 0:24:50.400 --> 0:24:53.480 if you drop down a little bit to verse twenty two, 0:24:54.320 --> 0:24:56.080 Paul says, if I am to go on living in 0:24:56.080 --> 0:24:59.280 the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. So 0:24:59.480 --> 0:25:03.240 what does it mean? And then he asked a question 0:25:03.600 --> 0:25:05.800 that you wouldn't think he's in any position to consider. 0:25:06.119 --> 0:25:10.160 What shall I choose? And I love it because Paul 0:25:10.240 --> 0:25:13.840 is such a control freak, and so am. I almost 0:25:13.880 --> 0:25:15.639 called this message and maybe I'll put it on the 0:25:15.640 --> 0:25:17.760 thumbnail to get some click bait and get people saved 0:25:17.800 --> 0:25:20.919 on the YouTube channel, but almost called it confessions of 0:25:20.960 --> 0:25:24.720 a control freak. I'm reading Philippians and I'm just going along, 0:25:25.000 --> 0:25:28.160 and I'm like, Paul is so used to calling the shots. 0:25:29.000 --> 0:25:32.199 He doesn't realize that he's not gonna get to be 0:25:32.280 --> 0:25:36.000 in charge this time. He's like, I've been thinking about it. 0:25:36.080 --> 0:25:38.159 I might want to stay. It's like Caesar's going to 0:25:38.200 --> 0:25:40.560 make that decision, buddy, And he's like, no, no, no, no, no, 0:25:40.920 --> 0:25:45.560 it's the wrong question. I'm not talking about whether or 0:25:45.600 --> 0:25:49.840 not I'm going to get out of this situation. I'm 0:25:49.920 --> 0:25:54.639 talking about what God is doing in the midst of it. So, 0:25:55.040 --> 0:25:58.720 so the moment that you take control of the answer 0:25:58.800 --> 0:26:01.520 to these three questions, here they are again, what does it? 0:26:03.000 --> 0:26:06.920 What does it? What shall I? And you gotta say 0:26:06.960 --> 0:26:09.480 shall because it puts a little King James authority on it. 0:26:09.600 --> 0:26:13.720 What shall I choose? I'm telling you God doesn't control everything. 0:26:13.920 --> 0:26:16.760 He gives you choice. And Holly said last week that 0:26:17.520 --> 0:26:20.399 the word rejoice comes in the Book of Philippians, like 0:26:20.520 --> 0:26:24.520 how many times do you remember? Sixteen times? Joy rejoice? 0:26:24.640 --> 0:26:26.960 So I thought the theme of the Book of Philippians 0:26:27.040 --> 0:26:33.080 was joy, but I found out it's really freedom that 0:26:33.119 --> 0:26:37.320 he is, that he is still in control of his 0:26:37.520 --> 0:26:41.440 soul's state, even though he can change nothing about his circumstance. 0:26:42.520 --> 0:26:45.320 And the Lord told me to appreciate because these three 0:26:45.440 --> 0:26:52.199 questions are running your life in a back room. In 0:26:52.240 --> 0:26:56.560 a back room. Wow, So what's showing up on the 0:26:56.600 --> 0:27:00.439 screen right now is because somebody's on a camera. But 0:27:00.480 --> 0:27:03.479 the one who's on the camera is not controlling it. Okay, 0:27:04.359 --> 0:27:08.119 it doesn't start where you see it. You see it 0:27:08.119 --> 0:27:12.320 on the screen. It doesn't start on a screen. That 0:27:12.480 --> 0:27:15.200 camera has to capture this message and then send it out, 0:27:16.280 --> 0:27:19.080 but he doesn't control it. And the way the Lord 0:27:19.080 --> 0:27:22.480 showed me this, he was like, this is like your 0:27:22.560 --> 0:27:26.720 feelings or your state of mind, your thoughts. So Bowser, 0:27:26.760 --> 0:27:28.919 you're not God in this analogy, You're just my thoughts. 0:27:30.080 --> 0:27:38.679 And then, Chelsea is my questions. Every thought that I 0:27:38.760 --> 0:27:43.479 have started with a question. And if I ask a 0:27:43.600 --> 0:27:50.040 bad question, this is the worst question. What's wrong with me? 0:27:52.520 --> 0:27:57.520 That is probably the most frequently asked question. If you 0:27:57.560 --> 0:28:02.680 were to do a lobotomy of Stephen Verdicts FAQs, then 0:28:02.720 --> 0:28:06.600 I ask myself, just over and over again, what's wrong 0:28:06.640 --> 0:28:09.800 with you? What's wrong with you? Let me tell you 0:28:09.800 --> 0:28:13.439 what happens when you ask that question. All right, that 0:28:13.560 --> 0:28:19.480 question will attract a million answers because the devil has 0:28:19.560 --> 0:28:22.600 a list ready. Oh my god, that is the most 0:28:22.760 --> 0:28:26.520 magnetic question in the universe. The moment you say what's 0:28:26.560 --> 0:28:29.400 wrong with me, here comes every demon from the time 0:28:29.480 --> 0:28:32.679 that you were conscious, and they will line up with 0:28:32.680 --> 0:28:34.680 the list. Oh what's wrong with you? Okay, you want 0:28:34.720 --> 0:28:37.480 me to start? Okay, that's the physical appearance, okay, or 0:28:37.880 --> 0:28:50.160 you need to it's the wrong question. How many of 0:28:50.200 --> 0:28:54.959 y'all are like me? What's wrong with me? What's my problem? Be? 0:28:55.080 --> 0:28:58.400 So stupid, so stupid, so stupid, so stupid, so stupid. 0:28:58.400 --> 0:28:59.840 And the Devil's like, I can tell you, I can 0:28:59.880 --> 0:29:03.320 be so stupid. Your dad was stupid. Like, the devil 0:29:03.320 --> 0:29:06.160 has a list everything. He'll show you everything from your 0:29:06.240 --> 0:29:09.480 genetics to your jawline to everything. I mean, you just 0:29:09.520 --> 0:29:16.240 take everything, but your questions direct the integrity of your thoughts. God. 0:29:18.640 --> 0:29:23.040 So when Paul asked in Philippians one eighteen, what does 0:29:23.040 --> 0:29:30.400 it matter? He is setting the direction of his thoughts 0:29:31.200 --> 0:29:39.360 by controlling the focus of his priorities. What does it matter? 0:29:41.440 --> 0:29:45.600 What does it matter? In his case, he's talking about 0:29:46.040 --> 0:29:52.080 some people who are using his uniquely vulnerable situation as 0:29:52.080 --> 0:29:57.160 an apostle who is in chains to capitalize on the situation, 0:29:57.640 --> 0:30:00.040 you know. And he's like, ah, it doesn't matter, and 0:30:00.080 --> 0:30:03.080 I'm like, yes it does, Yes it does, because there's 0:30:03.080 --> 0:30:05.960 something in me that always wants to like, you know, 0:30:06.000 --> 0:30:09.080 I'm real quick to get offended. I'm just getting it 0:30:09.080 --> 0:30:10.840 out there and telling you like this, so it's easier 0:30:10.840 --> 0:30:13.000 to preach when I'm not up here hiding stuff from you, 0:30:13.080 --> 0:30:18.360 so I am quick to get offended and I found 0:30:18.400 --> 0:30:24.440 out of fence blocks my flow. I don't like it. 0:30:25.920 --> 0:30:27.800 I don't like it. I wish I would have kind 0:30:27.840 --> 0:30:30.440 of wish I would have talked to Paul sooner, because 0:30:30.480 --> 0:30:33.680 he could have saved me so much time if he 0:30:33.680 --> 0:30:37.000 would have taught me that human opinion doesn't matter as 0:30:37.080 --> 0:30:41.480 much as I think it does. And it really changes 0:30:41.520 --> 0:30:43.960 through the years. You know, when you're in middle school, 0:30:44.040 --> 0:30:46.320 you're like that this is your biggest question, Like it's 0:30:46.320 --> 0:30:48.400 like everything from how you dress to what you say 0:30:48.440 --> 0:30:49.760 to what you don't say. It's like how can I 0:30:49.800 --> 0:30:53.400 fit in? And then watch this you go to apply 0:30:53.440 --> 0:30:54.880 for college. They're going to teach you how to put 0:30:54.880 --> 0:30:58.920 something on your application so you can stand out. It's 0:30:58.960 --> 0:31:02.040 like what to do? It's like all the questions are changing. 0:31:02.520 --> 0:31:05.760 When I started the church, it was like how can I, 0:31:04.840 --> 0:31:08.120 how can I how can I get people here right? 0:31:08.360 --> 0:31:10.640 And then people start coming. I was like, how can 0:31:10.680 --> 0:31:12.440 I keep doing this over and over against I don't 0:31:12.520 --> 0:31:17.040 let anybody down. The questions are shifting, but I want 0:31:17.120 --> 0:31:19.120 you to notice that that before he can get into 0:31:19.160 --> 0:31:21.360 what does it mean, what you're going through? And where's 0:31:21.360 --> 0:31:23.360 God in my situation? And God, what do you want 0:31:23.360 --> 0:31:27.240 me to do? The first question is what does it matter? 0:31:28.920 --> 0:31:34.760 What does it matter? I guess so distracted, I get 0:31:34.760 --> 0:31:38.880 so distracted, my focus gets so broken. Is actually even 0:31:38.920 --> 0:31:40.640 hard for me to sometimes look around the room when 0:31:40.640 --> 0:31:44.360 I'm preaching, because if somebody looks like I remember one 0:31:44.360 --> 0:31:46.720 time a guy looked really mad when I was preaching, 0:31:47.280 --> 0:31:49.360 and it put me in an anger vibe of a gear. 0:31:49.560 --> 0:31:52.960 I started pulling up Bible verses about wrath and judgment 0:31:53.080 --> 0:31:54.800 and the second Death. I didn't even know I knew 0:31:54.800 --> 0:31:57.600 those verses. I'm just going for it. And they got 0:31:57.600 --> 0:31:59.400 word to me later they said that man was going 0:31:59.440 --> 0:32:03.600 through a divorce. They said he was going through a divorce. 0:32:03.680 --> 0:32:06.160 I was like, oh, okay, So I misinterpreted the situation 0:32:06.800 --> 0:32:09.360 because I was asking the wrong question because I was 0:32:09.360 --> 0:32:10.960 looking at him going like, why does he hate me? 0:32:12.720 --> 0:32:16.320 And really he hated his situation? But I asked the 0:32:16.360 --> 0:32:18.800 wrong question I was. I was starting with they why 0:32:18.840 --> 0:32:20.760 do they? Why did they all? Why did they always 0:32:20.800 --> 0:32:23.640 do that? Oh? You know, it's a bad question when 0:32:23.640 --> 0:32:28.000 it includes the word always, Why do they always? They 0:32:28.000 --> 0:32:33.200 don't always. Nobody always is what theology is better than 0:32:33.200 --> 0:32:37.560 my grammar. Nobody always is anything. So so the question 0:32:37.960 --> 0:32:42.960 starts with what does it matter? And this is where 0:32:42.960 --> 0:32:47.920 you have to write this phrase down, decide your distractions, 0:32:48.760 --> 0:32:53.880 decide your distractions to realize that in this moment, the 0:32:53.920 --> 0:32:57.160 only thing that matters in this moment to me is 0:32:57.160 --> 0:32:59.240 that you connect to God and get the word that 0:32:59.280 --> 0:33:02.080 He has for you. I would do anything to get 0:33:02.120 --> 0:33:05.160 it across. I'll do camera tricks, camera angles, I'll run 0:33:05.200 --> 0:33:07.200 around the screen. I would do anything to get it 0:33:07.200 --> 0:33:09.960 across because I have come past the point in my 0:33:10.040 --> 0:33:13.080 ministry now of thinking that the goal is to be impressive. 0:33:15.560 --> 0:33:18.320 The goal is not for me to impress you. It 0:33:18.360 --> 0:33:21.400 is to connect you to Heaven. If I connect you 0:33:21.480 --> 0:33:24.720 to Heaven, the ministry will flow through me and all 0:33:24.800 --> 0:33:27.600 of our needs will be mad. But it takes you 0:33:27.640 --> 0:33:31.440 a little while to find out what matters, and usually 0:33:31.440 --> 0:33:35.400 you don't even realize how much it matters until after 0:33:35.440 --> 0:33:40.080 it happened. It that is sad. You think the wrong 0:33:40.160 --> 0:33:43.360 thing matters until after it's over, and then you realize, oh, 0:33:43.360 --> 0:33:47.080 it really wasn't that important. It really wasn't that important. 0:33:47.520 --> 0:33:52.320 So I'm asking God to help me decide in advance 0:33:52.800 --> 0:33:55.120 what are my distractions? And here's what Paul taught me. 0:33:55.440 --> 0:34:01.520 Not every disruption is a distraction. Remember, this is the 0:34:01.560 --> 0:34:04.840 apostle that's taking the Gospel to the world, planting churches, 0:34:05.040 --> 0:34:10.360 and all of that progress has stopped. Apparently, Paul said, 0:34:11.000 --> 0:34:18.759 actually the gospel's moving forward. He decided what mattered? Did 0:34:18.800 --> 0:34:23.600 you or did you outsource your priorities to a broken 0:34:23.680 --> 0:34:26.440 world who doesn't know it's right from its left, it's 0:34:26.560 --> 0:34:34.279 up from its down. What does it matter? What does 0:34:34.320 --> 0:34:37.320 it matter? I wish I would have talked to Paul sooner. 0:34:37.800 --> 0:34:40.480 It would have been so good. I wouldn't have tried 0:34:40.520 --> 0:34:42.040 to chase people to get them to like me, because 0:34:42.040 --> 0:34:45.399 I would realize that it's not really what they think 0:34:45.440 --> 0:34:49.040 about me that matters. I would if I would have 0:34:49.080 --> 0:34:53.120 talked to Paul sooner, I could have realized that a 0:34:53.239 --> 0:35:03.319 human opinion is nothing compared to a divine seal. When 0:35:03.400 --> 0:35:07.120 God puts his seal of ownership on you, people can 0:35:07.200 --> 0:35:10.839 think what they want, say what they want. I mean, 0:35:10.880 --> 0:35:12.680 I'm just telling you. If I would have talked to 0:35:12.719 --> 0:35:15.600 Paul sooner because I didn't know so because I didn't 0:35:15.640 --> 0:35:19.759 know I got petty. I got petty, I got jealous, 0:35:19.880 --> 0:35:22.239 I got worked up, I got freaked out. I thought, 0:35:22.239 --> 0:35:24.239 oh my god, I mean, how many things if we 0:35:24.239 --> 0:35:26.080 got to talk to Paul when we were starting the church, 0:35:26.280 --> 0:35:29.440 how much time could we have saved worrying about stuff 0:35:29.600 --> 0:35:33.759 that didn't matter? Y'all? I got so possessed by this verse. 0:35:33.800 --> 0:35:36.400 A couple of years ago, I made bracelets for the 0:35:36.440 --> 0:35:40.800 whole church. Instead of W WJD, I made it w 0:35:41.080 --> 0:35:44.640 D IM what does it matter? But you know what 0:35:44.880 --> 0:35:47.760 it's not if it's on a bracelet, it's in your brain. 0:35:48.200 --> 0:35:53.319 It is your thoughts. And I'm still asking it does 0:35:53.360 --> 0:35:58.719 it really matter? Does it really matter? Somebody told me 0:35:59.440 --> 0:36:01.840 you should do that day and decade test. I was like, 0:36:01.880 --> 0:36:04.520 what is that. They were like, well, if it won't 0:36:04.520 --> 0:36:06.799 matter in a day or in a decade, don't worry 0:36:06.840 --> 0:36:09.000 about it. That didn't help me too much, But here's 0:36:09.000 --> 0:36:10.759 what did help me. I didn't really get what they 0:36:10.800 --> 0:36:13.480 were trying to say, but here's what did help me. 0:36:13.840 --> 0:36:19.240 I did some flashbacks to stuff that frustrated me so badly, 0:36:19.960 --> 0:36:23.840 and some stuff that had me so afraid that never happened. 0:36:25.120 --> 0:36:28.800 And as I was doing those flashbacks and realizing God's faithfulness. 0:36:28.800 --> 0:36:31.360 It was an exercise for me. It was an exercise 0:36:31.360 --> 0:36:35.080 in asking a better question. The question what does it matter? 0:36:35.320 --> 0:36:39.520 Will eliminate ninety five percent of my prayer requests right there, 0:36:39.920 --> 0:36:43.439 just by asking God give me your priorities. It will 0:36:43.440 --> 0:36:46.360 direct my resources. But it will start with the question. 0:36:46.760 --> 0:36:50.960 It is a clarifying question. Make it blurry, Abraham, Come on, Abraham. 0:36:51.520 --> 0:36:54.560 You remember Abraham and Sarah in the Bible. This is 0:36:54.640 --> 0:36:58.240 kind of crazy. In Genesis eighteen, Sarah was laughing because 0:36:58.239 --> 0:37:00.920 God said that she was gonna have a baby. This 0:37:00.960 --> 0:37:04.240 is Genesis eighteen twelve, and it says that Sarah laughed 0:37:04.360 --> 0:37:09.919 to herself. So she did an lol. She how would 0:37:09.960 --> 0:37:12.840 I go? Lth? She lth? Do you see it on 0:37:12.880 --> 0:37:16.120 the scripture? She laughed to herself, And look at this, 0:37:16.200 --> 0:37:18.600 she said, after I'm worn out and my Lord is old, 0:37:18.760 --> 0:37:20.799 will I have this pleasure? I don't see how this 0:37:20.880 --> 0:37:23.360 could happen now? And then the Lord said to Abraham 0:37:23.440 --> 0:37:25.759 take it. Why does Sarah laugh and say, well, I 0:37:25.800 --> 0:37:27.360 really have a child now that I am old? And 0:37:27.360 --> 0:37:30.239 here's a better question. Is anything too hard for the Lord? 0:37:32.800 --> 0:37:36.520 See how that clarified it? You don't need an answer. 0:37:37.800 --> 0:37:43.759 You need to quit caring about stupid stop hey, because 0:37:43.800 --> 0:37:46.959 I can worry about some stupid stuff. I can worry 0:37:47.000 --> 0:37:50.400 about some stupid stuff like ho and when and what 0:37:50.600 --> 0:37:53.200 are they gonna say? And what if they That's what 0:37:53.280 --> 0:37:56.680 Paul was saying. It really doesn't matter what their motive is. 0:37:56.760 --> 0:38:01.560 It matters what God's purpose is. If it is God's 0:38:01.680 --> 0:38:06.480 purpose in my life being accomplished, it doesn't matter. I 0:38:06.520 --> 0:38:09.320 feel something on this say I got too much purpose 0:38:09.320 --> 0:38:12.760 to be petty. I got too much purpose to be petty. 0:38:13.239 --> 0:38:15.880 I got too much purpose to be petty. Here was 0:38:15.920 --> 0:38:18.120 the key phrase to me, Are you ready? He said, 0:38:18.320 --> 0:38:20.680 I am put here for the defense of the Gospel. 0:38:21.640 --> 0:38:26.960 Let's talk about that phrase. Who put this table here? 0:38:28.440 --> 0:38:33.200 You don't even know what was it put here for? 0:38:35.080 --> 0:38:40.880 That's the important thing. Yeah, it was put here so 0:38:40.920 --> 0:38:47.239 I could preach, So write this down. Who put it 0:38:47.239 --> 0:38:52.600 here isn't as important as why it was put here. 0:38:53.880 --> 0:38:56.280 When Paul says I am put here for the defense 0:38:56.280 --> 0:38:59.560 of the Gospel, he could have just as easily said 0:38:59.640 --> 0:39:02.680 I was put here by Caesar because Rome is so wicked. 0:39:02.719 --> 0:39:05.520 But he didn't say any of that. He said Rome 0:39:05.640 --> 0:39:08.839 might be the reason I got here from a human standpoint. Now, 0:39:08.840 --> 0:39:10.799 this is for anybody who's trying to figure out why 0:39:10.880 --> 0:39:13.360 this happened and why that happened. That is a bad question. 0:39:13.640 --> 0:39:16.759 The better question is God, what are you doing right 0:39:16.840 --> 0:39:19.120 now in my life? And not how long are you 0:39:19.160 --> 0:39:22.320 gonna leave me here? You notice Pauline asked that one time, 0:39:22.560 --> 0:39:25.080 how long is God gonna leave me here? Instead, he 0:39:25.120 --> 0:39:30.600 asked the question what am I put here for? I 0:39:30.719 --> 0:39:33.360 wonder what would happen if you asked that about your life? 0:39:34.719 --> 0:39:40.600 What was I put here for? Not who was I 0:39:40.640 --> 0:39:45.680 put here by? That's gonna make you bitter because you're 0:39:45.680 --> 0:39:49.520 gonna start blaming people. You're gonna start blaming people who 0:39:49.600 --> 0:39:53.200 didn't support you. You're gonna start blaming people who didn't 0:39:53.239 --> 0:39:55.120 encourage You're gonna start blaming people who should have been 0:39:55.120 --> 0:40:01.960 there for you. But what you were put here matters 0:40:02.000 --> 0:40:08.640 more than who you were put here by. I don't know, man, 0:40:08.680 --> 0:40:13.080 I just feel like God is annoying this message. God said, 0:40:13.080 --> 0:40:17.759 put a shrug emoji in the chat. He said, that 0:40:17.880 --> 0:40:20.480 is the official emoji of Heaven. Over most of the 0:40:20.520 --> 0:40:23.880 stuff you're stressed about. The Lord said, I need you 0:40:23.960 --> 0:40:27.440 to make a list, not a bucket list like I 0:40:27.480 --> 0:40:30.439 don't care list, like a list of like I'm gonna 0:40:30.480 --> 0:40:34.680 quit caring about this so i can focus on that 0:40:35.160 --> 0:40:38.040 because I cannot care about everything. You know that, right? 0:40:38.200 --> 0:40:40.839 You know you were not designed to care about everything. Well, 0:40:41.480 --> 0:40:43.440 if you don't watch the news all the time? Oh, 0:40:43.480 --> 0:40:48.200 are you gonna be informed? My sanity matters more than 0:40:48.200 --> 0:40:54.560 my informdness. Talk to me back row, talk to me 0:40:54.719 --> 0:40:57.400 back row. And I'm gonna tell you another thing that 0:40:57.440 --> 0:41:01.000 Holly said last week. She said, are you trying to 0:41:01.040 --> 0:41:04.160 prove your point or you're trying to keep the relationship. 0:41:05.560 --> 0:41:07.920 See Paul said, I don't matter. It doesn't matter what 0:41:07.960 --> 0:41:11.640 their motive is. It matters what God's mission is. So 0:41:12.360 --> 0:41:15.000 you got to decide in your life. You got to 0:41:15.040 --> 0:41:18.280 decide what's gonna matter to you, what's going to matter 0:41:18.360 --> 0:41:20.920 to you in this season, what's going to matter to 0:41:20.960 --> 0:41:23.359 you in this moment? And you might have to come 0:41:23.400 --> 0:41:25.799 back to that a thousand times, Like I'm telling you, 0:41:25.840 --> 0:41:28.080 sometimes I just have to do this over and over 0:41:28.200 --> 0:41:31.319 and over again. And I've got a flip phone. I've 0:41:31.320 --> 0:41:33.000 got a flip phone. I don't have a side chick 0:41:33.040 --> 0:41:35.160 It's not some sketchy thing like that. It's just like 0:41:35.280 --> 0:41:38.000 I got a flip phone. Because sometimes I just can't 0:41:38.040 --> 0:41:41.640 care about and process everything all the time, because it 0:41:41.719 --> 0:41:45.759 matters more to me to be available to God than 0:41:45.880 --> 0:41:51.320 accessible to everyone else. So I just can't care about everything. 0:41:51.719 --> 0:41:56.719 What does it matter? People ask me sometimes, you know, 0:41:56.800 --> 0:41:59.920 like did you see what they said? I'm like nope, 0:42:02.080 --> 0:42:05.799 and they're like do you want to know? No, they 0:42:05.920 --> 0:42:08.200 saw this thing about you, and you want to hear. No. 0:42:08.239 --> 0:42:24.120 I don't hear control alt delete, control all delete, the 0:42:24.239 --> 0:42:30.440 spiritual command function right control alt delete. So I have 0:42:30.560 --> 0:42:34.279 got to change some priorities if I am going to 0:42:34.360 --> 0:42:38.720 expect God's resources and they are connected. When Paul says 0:42:38.920 --> 0:42:41.120 I expect that through your prayers and the provision of 0:42:41.160 --> 0:42:43.799 God's spirit that what has happened to we will turn 0:42:43.840 --> 0:42:48.120 out for my deliverance, that doesn't happen unless he correctly 0:42:48.200 --> 0:42:54.800 answers the question what does it matter? What does it matter? 0:42:56.239 --> 0:43:01.520 The stupid stuff me free because I used to think 0:43:01.719 --> 0:43:04.120 I embarrassed myself. I'd be like, oh, man, I said this, 0:43:04.239 --> 0:43:08.000 or I said that. I'm embarrassed. They don't care. People 0:43:08.000 --> 0:43:10.160 are paying way too much attention to themselves, to care 0:43:10.200 --> 0:43:15.239 about anything you mispronounced or said wrong. It's true. The 0:43:15.640 --> 0:43:17.960 greatest way for you to stop being so self centered 0:43:18.000 --> 0:43:22.080 is to realize how self centered everybody else is. Everybody's 0:43:22.080 --> 0:43:24.040 walking around going God, I can't believe I said that, 0:43:24.600 --> 0:43:28.200 Like they're going home and studying the scripture of what 0:43:28.280 --> 0:43:32.080 you said. What does it matter? I preached one week 0:43:32.400 --> 0:43:35.200 and my button was undone, and I didn't realize my 0:43:35.239 --> 0:43:37.879 button was undone, And I bet I stressed about that 0:43:38.160 --> 0:43:43.680 for three days, like the button police were watching my YouTube. 0:43:44.480 --> 0:43:47.160 You know how stupid is that? Here I am preaching 0:43:47.239 --> 0:43:51.880 the Bible, telling people that Jesus Christ is Lord and sovereign, 0:43:52.120 --> 0:43:55.680 and I'm stuck on a button. Now y'all are looking 0:43:55.760 --> 0:44:01.279 awfully judgmental. I bet you've gotten stuck on stuff. So 0:44:01.760 --> 0:44:06.279 God said he will not control everything. He will not 0:44:06.440 --> 0:44:13.040 control your priorities. You will. You will decide what matters 0:44:13.280 --> 0:44:18.440 to you. What does it matter? What does it matter? 0:44:19.360 --> 0:44:22.840 Everything else is a distraction, you know? Does it matter? 0:44:23.840 --> 0:44:26.120 I'm so overflowing with things to tell you about this, 0:44:27.760 --> 0:44:31.279 Yet it would be irresponsible for me to not tell 0:44:31.280 --> 0:44:36.239 you that that can work both ways, because just like 0:44:36.320 --> 0:44:40.960 you care too much about some stuff, there's some other 0:44:40.960 --> 0:44:47.120 stuff that you don't care enough about. Like for Paul, 0:44:47.400 --> 0:44:50.200 he had it clear. Remember he said, it's clear to me. 0:44:50.600 --> 0:44:54.960 The important thing is Christ is preached, good news, gospel, purpose, 0:44:55.160 --> 0:45:01.120 all that stuff. Well, I think if the devil can't 0:45:01.719 --> 0:45:09.439 distract you, he'll discourage you. I don't think he really 0:45:09.480 --> 0:45:11.359 cares how he takes you out. He just doesn't want 0:45:11.400 --> 0:45:16.440 you to know why you're here. In my study of 0:45:16.480 --> 0:45:19.680 the scripture, pulse attitude reminded me a little of another 0:45:19.880 --> 0:45:25.520 prophet from the Old Testament called Elijah. He was really 0:45:25.560 --> 0:45:29.000 powerful dude, but he had a lot of insecurities, I think, 0:45:29.880 --> 0:45:33.200 And I think that because it manifested in him tending 0:45:33.239 --> 0:45:40.000 to perform well in public, but to have problematic conversations 0:45:40.120 --> 0:45:44.359 and ask the wrong questions in private. And I don't 0:45:44.360 --> 0:45:47.919 know if you can relate to this, but he looked 0:45:47.920 --> 0:45:51.000 really good on the outside, right, you know, it looked 0:45:51.000 --> 0:45:53.480 really amazing on the outside, and he looked really powerful 0:45:53.480 --> 0:45:56.759 on the outside. But there is a scripture that was 0:45:56.760 --> 0:45:58.560 playing in my head and I couldn't figure out why. 0:45:58.560 --> 0:46:02.400 I kept thinking about it until I realized that that 0:46:02.640 --> 0:46:04.520 just like you need to ask what does it matter 0:46:04.719 --> 0:46:06.919 about some certain things and push them to the side 0:46:06.920 --> 0:46:08.759 in the season of your life. And I would ask 0:46:08.800 --> 0:46:11.520 that what do you need to push to the side 0:46:11.680 --> 0:46:13.880 that doesn't matter, that doesn't matter, that doesn't matter, that 0:46:13.920 --> 0:46:15.960 doesn't matter, to make room for the things that do. 0:46:17.760 --> 0:46:20.600 There are also some times where the devil will try 0:46:20.600 --> 0:46:24.800 to convince you that something doesn't matter that actually really does, 0:46:26.719 --> 0:46:30.600 like when Elijah called down fire on Mount Carmel and 0:46:30.680 --> 0:46:33.080 the false prophets for all put to death with the sword. 0:46:33.200 --> 0:46:35.400 You may know the story or you may not. Really 0:46:35.400 --> 0:46:38.440 does it really doesn't matter if you know all the details. 0:46:38.680 --> 0:46:42.040 There was one specific moment that was really on my 0:46:42.160 --> 0:46:45.600 heart to talk to you about because he went all 0:46:45.640 --> 0:46:48.279 alone after this great victory in his life, and he 0:46:48.320 --> 0:46:50.759 went to a cave and he spent the night in 0:46:50.800 --> 0:46:53.080 a cave, and the voice of the Lord came to 0:46:53.160 --> 0:46:55.560 him in the cave. And you got to remember, the 0:46:55.600 --> 0:46:59.600 Lord didn't really shout. He whispered. And a lot of 0:46:59.680 --> 0:47:02.440 times the Lord will be like a whisper, you know, 0:47:02.520 --> 0:47:05.520 he'll be like a whisper. He's not a remote control god. 0:47:05.560 --> 0:47:07.920 He's an up close god, so he'll be like a whisper. 0:47:08.680 --> 0:47:10.600 And the question that he asked Elijah, not with a 0:47:10.600 --> 0:47:13.520 lot of decibel's, but with a lot of clarity. He said, 0:47:14.520 --> 0:47:20.480 what are you doing here? And what Elijah said next 0:47:20.600 --> 0:47:23.440 reflects where his heart was at. He said, I have 0:47:23.480 --> 0:47:26.040 been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites 0:47:26.040 --> 0:47:28.960 have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, put your 0:47:28.960 --> 0:47:31.279 prophets to death with the sword. I am the only 0:47:31.320 --> 0:47:34.520 one left, and now they are trying to kill me too. 0:47:36.920 --> 0:47:40.919 I hear in his response the words of a man 0:47:43.680 --> 0:47:46.719 who has done all that he can do and come 0:47:46.760 --> 0:47:50.879 to the conclusion that none of it matters. I hear 0:47:50.920 --> 0:47:53.200 a man that is at the end of his energy, 0:47:53.719 --> 0:47:56.040 who has given everything that he can for the people 0:47:56.040 --> 0:48:00.799 that he served. And I hear him, almost like the 0:48:00.880 --> 0:48:06.799 opposite of Paul saying, what doesn't matter, It's never gonna 0:48:06.800 --> 0:48:14.879 get better, doesn't matter. Why even try you Remember when 0:48:14.880 --> 0:48:17.680 you preached, I'm tired of trying to change. I heard 0:48:17.719 --> 0:48:22.560 Elijah saying that I'm I'm sick of this. It's not 0:48:23.480 --> 0:48:29.799 it's outside of my control. I'm done, I'm drained, and 0:48:29.840 --> 0:48:35.120 I'm the only one left. The irony of it is 0:48:36.040 --> 0:48:39.800 that he had enough faith for his words to control 0:48:39.880 --> 0:48:47.600 the weather system. He had enough faith to command the drought. Yeah, 0:48:47.680 --> 0:48:50.400 but the question that would bring him out of depression 0:48:51.320 --> 0:48:55.600 is the question you must ask, what am I doing here? 0:48:57.920 --> 0:49:02.560 Paul asked that question, and he decided, I'm here for 0:49:02.600 --> 0:49:06.480 a purpose. And you know, that's a decision, that's an 0:49:06.520 --> 0:49:10.160 interpretation that is not a fact on the surface, that 0:49:10.320 --> 0:49:14.239 is a product of his faith. He decided that. He 0:49:14.360 --> 0:49:17.440 decided that he could have said I'm here because it's unfair. 0:49:17.719 --> 0:49:21.120 I'm here because the system is broken. But focusing on 0:49:21.160 --> 0:49:25.080 what is broken will never set you free. I'm gonna 0:49:25.120 --> 0:49:29.000 say it again, focusing on what is broken will never 0:49:29.120 --> 0:49:31.839 set you free. So as long as your question is 0:49:32.040 --> 0:49:34.879 why today? And when will they? And how will they? 0:49:35.200 --> 0:49:38.160 God said, what is that? What have I called you 0:49:38.320 --> 0:49:41.000 to do? What has God called me to do? What 0:49:41.120 --> 0:49:44.040 has God given me in this season that can't be 0:49:44.200 --> 0:49:47.400 taken away? What can I control? What can I speak? 0:49:47.600 --> 0:49:50.520 What can I activate? How can I move it forward? 0:49:50.920 --> 0:49:59.040 What are the advantages? Who is this uncircumcised philistine who 0:49:59.160 --> 0:50:03.359 dares to defe the armies of the Living God. They 0:50:03.400 --> 0:50:06.560 saw Goliath and said, how can we kill him? He's big? 0:50:07.120 --> 0:50:09.919 David said, how can we miss him. He's big. All 0:50:09.960 --> 0:50:12.960 you gotta do, listen to me, Challigard. All you gotta 0:50:13.000 --> 0:50:16.520 do is change the question, even if you don't know 0:50:16.680 --> 0:50:19.760 all of the answers. And I feel like preaching because 0:50:19.800 --> 0:50:21.920 God said, no, I'm not gonna give you an answer. 0:50:22.120 --> 0:50:25.000 I'm gonna give you a better question. What are you 0:50:25.200 --> 0:50:27.880 doing here, you mighty man of valor? What are you 0:50:28.040 --> 0:50:31.120 doing here? You unique daughter of God? What are you 0:50:31.239 --> 0:50:34.040 doing in this place? After you've seen me time and 0:50:34.120 --> 0:50:37.360 time again? Roll back the heavens and rend the sky 0:50:37.440 --> 0:50:40.520 and come down and crush your enemies? What are you 0:50:41.360 --> 0:50:46.879 doing here? See? He really wasn't running from Jezebel, who 0:50:46.960 --> 0:50:51.440 threatened his life. He was running from himself because he 0:50:51.480 --> 0:51:01.880 had gotten the question wrong. So I can't distract you, 0:51:02.960 --> 0:51:09.319 he'll discourage you. And I want to minister to the 0:51:09.320 --> 0:51:13.320 distracted people today and tell you that some stuff doesn't 0:51:13.320 --> 0:51:17.200 matter as much as you think it does. Oh, but 0:51:17.280 --> 0:51:22.440 I want to talk to some discouraged people today. You reckon. 0:51:22.520 --> 0:51:26.000 Paul knew that we would make bumper stickers out of 0:51:26.000 --> 0:51:32.480 stuff he wrote in prison. He didn't even know how 0:51:32.560 --> 0:51:38.960 much it mattered, and neither do you. So stop waiting 0:51:39.400 --> 0:51:42.480 on your seven year old to tell you you are 0:51:42.520 --> 0:51:45.600 a father who is leaving a legacy, and everything you 0:51:45.640 --> 0:51:47.520 are doing for me is good seed. And if you 0:51:47.600 --> 0:51:49.200 train me up in the way that I should go, 0:51:49.239 --> 0:51:51.400 when I am old, I will not depart from You 0:51:51.480 --> 0:51:58.160 won't know how much it matters until after. So you 0:51:58.320 --> 0:52:04.000 have to control your focus now. And as we minister 0:52:04.120 --> 0:52:08.160 this word to you today, I wonder has the enemy 0:52:08.200 --> 0:52:10.240 got you in a place where you started to believe 0:52:10.280 --> 0:52:16.719 that I don't matter. I rebuke the spirit of rejection 0:52:17.440 --> 0:52:21.319 off of your life. Right now, in this moment, by 0:52:21.360 --> 0:52:24.520 the power vested in me by the Gospel of Jesus Christ, 0:52:24.760 --> 0:52:29.719 I minister to you that you matter so much. You 0:52:29.840 --> 0:52:33.120 might not even know how much you matter until after, 0:52:34.280 --> 0:52:37.320 but you got to have faith to believe in. Right now, 0:52:38.280 --> 0:52:44.840 with everyone standing, your head bow your eyes closed, I 0:52:44.880 --> 0:52:48.360 want you to realize that some of the stuff that 0:52:48.400 --> 0:52:56.800 you think matters so much, it doesn't actually matter. Because 0:52:56.840 --> 0:53:01.120 I want you to get your brain back so you 0:53:01.160 --> 0:53:05.839 can enjoy some things. I want you not to take 0:53:05.880 --> 0:53:08.120 it personal when people take out their pain on you. 0:53:10.280 --> 0:53:12.279 I want you to stop thinking that everything that you're 0:53:12.280 --> 0:53:14.959 missing is a mistake. Listen to me, child of God. 0:53:15.200 --> 0:53:20.600 Some thing's God leaves out on purpose. Paul said, I'll 0:53:20.600 --> 0:53:23.640 put here on purpose. I know what I'm doing here 0:53:23.680 --> 0:53:29.319 because I decided that. I decided that everything else is 0:53:29.320 --> 0:53:34.440 a distraction. Paul said, I know what's important. My peace 0:53:34.520 --> 0:53:39.040 is more important, my joy is more important. I am 0:53:39.080 --> 0:53:42.839 not going to let anything distract me from what matters. Now. 0:53:42.880 --> 0:53:45.000 These questions are running in your mind all the time, 0:53:46.640 --> 0:53:48.919 and we're going to talk about them in the next 0:53:48.920 --> 0:53:55.400 few weeks. As we continue to minister this message to you, 0:53:55.400 --> 0:53:59.680 you have assumed that maybe maybe God is not working 0:53:59.719 --> 0:54:01.880 in your life, or he doesn't see you in your situation, 0:54:02.040 --> 0:54:04.040 or maybe you've made a mistake so bad that he 0:54:04.080 --> 0:54:08.400 can't use you anymore. That's all alive and the past 0:54:08.440 --> 0:54:11.879 doesn't matter. You're in the presence of God. Now I'm 0:54:11.880 --> 0:54:15.600 gonna tell you something about him. He can take things 0:54:16.160 --> 0:54:19.160 that happen to you. He can take the time that 0:54:19.200 --> 0:54:22.360 you think you lost, and he is a multiplier and 0:54:22.400 --> 0:54:26.439 he can give it back to you. But you got 0:54:26.440 --> 0:54:33.240 to take it. Just like she tells the camera operator, 0:54:33.719 --> 0:54:37.359 take it. I hear the Lord saying I want you 0:54:37.400 --> 0:54:41.040 to have peace, but you got to take it. If 0:54:41.080 --> 0:54:43.160 your mind is on the things that don't matter in 0:54:43.239 --> 0:54:46.560 this season. You're gonna be so distracted. Oh God, it's 0:54:46.600 --> 0:54:53.359 going to destroy you. But my peace is available to you. 0:54:53.440 --> 0:54:57.600 What are you doing here? Never thought you'd be here, 0:54:58.280 --> 0:55:01.880 You've certainly never been here before. What are you doing here? 0:55:01.960 --> 0:55:07.400 Pull said, I decided I'm here for Christ? What have 0:55:07.480 --> 0:55:12.879 you decided that? How amazing would the shift be? Can 0:55:12.920 --> 0:55:16.400 you imagine if you just decided I'm here for Christ? 0:55:17.560 --> 0:55:19.399 If you just started asking God, what are you doing 0:55:19.440 --> 0:55:23.640 in my life? Right now? God? What do you I 0:55:23.680 --> 0:55:27.359 can't control all of the input, but God, I can 0:55:27.440 --> 0:55:32.480 control my response. So Lord, here's my life. Here's my 0:55:32.560 --> 0:55:39.520 little prison, sell, here's my little limitation. All right? What 0:55:39.680 --> 0:55:44.759 is that in your hand? It matters. It matters what 0:55:44.840 --> 0:55:49.960 you say, It matters what you believe, It matters what 0:55:50.000 --> 0:55:53.000 you take in. It matters what you meditate on. It 0:55:53.080 --> 0:55:57.120 matters every second of your life, every season of your life. 0:55:57.120 --> 0:56:02.640 You're answering the question what does it matter? And to 0:56:02.680 --> 0:56:05.080 every thought that has told you lately, it doesn't matter, 0:56:05.160 --> 0:56:08.920 and nobody would miss you, and the world wouldn't even all. 0:56:09.680 --> 0:56:13.799 It's all a distraction. The devil doesn't want you to 0:56:13.840 --> 0:56:16.000 know that what is inside of you is so much 0:56:16.040 --> 0:56:22.040 greater than what is against you. Who is this uncircumcised philisty? Father? 0:56:22.120 --> 0:56:26.040 I come into agreement with each person today to realize 0:56:26.080 --> 0:56:29.399 the infinite significance of their life. That Jesus Christ would 0:56:29.440 --> 0:56:34.600 die for them, how much they matter. Your blood told 0:56:34.640 --> 0:56:37.880 me that once and for all, how much they mattered 0:56:37.960 --> 0:56:41.320 enough for you to make them You need custom, desire, 0:56:41.480 --> 0:56:45.400 custom tailor. Thank you, Lord. I am put here for 0:56:45.480 --> 0:56:51.680 a purpose, and today we speak to each situation. In fact, 0:56:51.680 --> 0:56:53.480 Holy Spirit, I want to give you just a moment 0:56:55.239 --> 0:57:01.520 to give them a better question instead of why did 0:57:01.520 --> 0:57:03.480 this happen to me? And why does this always happen 0:57:03.520 --> 0:57:07.600 to me? What can you do through it? And as 0:57:07.600 --> 0:57:11.440 you shift these questions, we expect to release from heaven 0:57:11.480 --> 0:57:15.320 in our life. We thank you, Lord that your invitation 0:57:15.520 --> 0:57:21.680 stands open for us, and if we ask, we will receive, 0:57:23.960 --> 0:57:29.680 in Jesus' name, Amen, the power of a better question. 0:57:30.440 --> 0:57:32.720 Give God praise in the place if you receive his word, 0:57:33.880 --> 0:57:37.480 Come on, give him praise on every location, large or small. 0:57:38.960 --> 0:57:42.480 Why not just offer God the space? Why not just 0:57:42.560 --> 0:57:46.400 offer him a praise? Come on, He in habits the 0:57:46.440 --> 0:57:50.320 praises of his people. He will set up shop anywhere 0:57:50.320 --> 0:57:55.280 there is worship. Thank you Lord, How many are ready 0:57:55.320 --> 0:58:01.200 for some better questions? What does it matter? What does 0:58:01.240 --> 0:58:06.240 it mean? What shall I choose? So let me ask 0:58:06.240 --> 0:58:08.080 you a question. Did you get something out of that? 0:58:08.800 --> 0:58:10.640 I want to thank all of you who get to 0:58:10.720 --> 0:58:13.560 this ministry so we can reach people on behalf of 0:58:13.680 --> 0:58:16.720 everybody who was set free or delivered or encouraged or 0:58:16.760 --> 0:58:21.200 inspired or led to Jesus through this ministry. Thank you. 0:58:21.200 --> 0:58:23.600 Your giving matters when you share the link, it matters. 0:58:24.400 --> 0:58:27.200 Every little bit makes a difference, And so I want 0:58:27.240 --> 0:58:30.520 to thank you so much for being connected to this ministry. 0:58:30.680 --> 0:58:33.200 I'm excited about going deeper into the teaching. I hope 0:58:33.200 --> 0:58:36.800 you are too. God is always in control, but he 0:58:36.840 --> 0:58:39.600 doesn't make our decisions for us. And I think you 0:58:39.840 --> 0:58:42.120 made a good decision today to get God's word in 0:58:42.160 --> 0:58:45.160 your heart. Now make sure that you obey what he 0:58:45.240 --> 0:58:48.240 spoke to. You have the courage to take that step 0:58:48.560 --> 0:58:51.200 whatever he's asking you to do. You know that He's 0:58:51.200 --> 0:58:53.640 a rewarder of those who seek him. So I pray 0:58:53.720 --> 0:58:56.440 for you in Jesus' name that this week will be 0:58:56.800 --> 0:58:59.760 the week that you will ask better questions. God What 0:58:59.800 --> 0:59:02.040 are you doing in this moment? What are you doing 0:59:02.040 --> 0:59:04.360 in my life right now? And I pray that you'll 0:59:04.400 --> 0:59:06.960 see him all around you as he presents you with 0:59:07.080 --> 0:59:09.640 new opportunities to know him and make him know. We 0:59:09.760 --> 0:59:12.080 love you, Holly, and I are praying for you. I'll 0:59:12.080 --> 0:59:12.880 see you next time.