The Power Of A Place (Jonathan Josephs)

0:00:01.560 --> 0:00:02.840 Hey, this is Stephen Ferdick. 0:00:02.840 --> 0:00:05.880 I'm the pastor of Elevation Church and this is our podcast. 0:00:05.920 --> 0:00:07.800 I wanted to thank you for joining us today. 0:00:08.119 --> 0:00:10.719 Hope this inspires you. Hope it builds your faith. 0:00:10.800 --> 0:00:12.880 Hope it gives your perspective to see God has moving 0:00:12.920 --> 0:00:13.600 in your life. 0:00:13.880 --> 0:00:14.880 Enjoy the message. 0:00:17.160 --> 0:00:19.479 We're about to jump into the message, but before we do, 0:00:19.800 --> 0:00:22.200 I wanted to let you know that Elevation Nights is 0:00:22.400 --> 0:00:25.639 back September twenty fourth through October third, and if you 0:00:25.680 --> 0:00:27.720 live on the West Coast, we might be coming to 0:00:27.760 --> 0:00:31.720 a city near you. We're going to be in Seattle, Vancouver, Sacramento, 0:00:32.040 --> 0:00:36.279 la Anaheim, Boise, Salt Lake City, and Denver. It's going 0:00:36.360 --> 0:00:39.080 to be an amazing night with Elevation worship and a 0:00:39.120 --> 0:00:42.520 message from Pastor Stephen. So go to Elevation Nights dot 0:00:42.560 --> 0:00:45.480 com to get your tickets. We cannot wait to see 0:00:45.520 --> 0:00:48.040 you there. Now let's go to the message. 0:00:50.400 --> 0:00:52.560 Come on, keep your hands going. Let's take a moment 0:00:52.600 --> 0:00:56.400 and praise Him for every time he's made away in 0:00:56.480 --> 0:01:00.360 our lives, for every time he's roxy group an. I'm 0:01:00.360 --> 0:01:04.080 looking at some people with a testimony this morning, miracle 0:01:04.600 --> 0:01:09.280 after a miracle and last week, our pastor taught us 0:01:09.280 --> 0:01:11.640 what a miracle sometimes feels like. How many of you 0:01:11.680 --> 0:01:15.920 want to give God praise for super natural rest in 0:01:15.959 --> 0:01:20.000 your life. The enemy was throwing arrows at you, and somehow, 0:01:20.080 --> 0:01:22.319 by his hand, he gave you a peace. 0:01:23.280 --> 0:01:25.400 Come on, let's praise God one more time for his 0:01:25.480 --> 0:01:26.399 hand in our loves. 0:01:27.520 --> 0:01:32.560 Man and man and man, Oh, it's so good to 0:01:32.600 --> 0:01:37.000 be in God's house together, Amen and men. Right about now, 0:01:37.360 --> 0:01:39.840 a concerned spouse is nudging her husband. She said, I 0:01:39.880 --> 0:01:42.280 told you to check and make sure Pastor Stephen was 0:01:42.280 --> 0:01:46.880 preaching on this Labor Day weekend. And if you're that husband, 0:01:46.959 --> 0:01:49.200 nudge your wife. Say you're in the right place. You're 0:01:49.200 --> 0:01:51.920 in the right place. And I believe God has a 0:01:51.960 --> 0:01:54.160 word in the house for us today. I'm so grateful 0:01:54.840 --> 0:01:56.560 to be able to open up the scriptures. I know 0:01:56.600 --> 0:01:58.440 many of you here at Valentine, but if I haven't 0:01:58.440 --> 0:02:00.400 got a chance to meet you, my name is John, 0:02:00.320 --> 0:02:02.680 and I get the privilege of serving here as the 0:02:02.720 --> 0:02:09.280 campus pastor at our Balentine location. At stay stand in 0:02:09.400 --> 0:02:11.240 for just a moment till we get to the scriptures. 0:02:11.280 --> 0:02:13.400 But someone reminded me of this the other day. We 0:02:13.400 --> 0:02:15.760 were talking and it brought back an old story to mind, 0:02:15.800 --> 0:02:17.680 and just to share a little bit about me for 0:02:17.760 --> 0:02:21.800 a moment. About twelve years ago, when I was in seminary, 0:02:21.800 --> 0:02:24.480 Pastor Stephen came to the school Liberty University, where my 0:02:24.520 --> 0:02:27.080 wife and I were, and he had just released a 0:02:27.120 --> 0:02:31.079 book called Greater and this book impacted me so much. 0:02:31.120 --> 0:02:32.480 He came to preach at the school and he was 0:02:32.520 --> 0:02:35.639 doing a book signing after and I didn't necessarily care 0:02:35.680 --> 0:02:37.760 about getting the book signed, but I really wanted to 0:02:37.760 --> 0:02:40.040 meet Pastor Steve, and I had just so much respect 0:02:40.080 --> 0:02:42.960 for the anointing on his life. And I was in 0:02:43.000 --> 0:02:45.000 the habit of I believe God had a call on 0:02:45.080 --> 0:02:48.280 my life, and so anytime I had the opportunity to 0:02:48.320 --> 0:02:50.280 be even near a great man or woman of God, 0:02:50.320 --> 0:02:52.600 I'd always ask them for prayer. And so in my mind, 0:02:52.639 --> 0:02:55.000 I thought, Hey, if I can go to this book signing, 0:02:55.040 --> 0:02:56.480 and I know there'll be a lot of people he's 0:02:56.480 --> 0:02:58.600 got to get through, but if I can maybe stay 0:02:58.639 --> 0:03:00.600 to the back of the line, maybe I'll get a 0:03:00.680 --> 0:03:02.839 chance to meet Pastor Steven and ask him to pray 0:03:02.880 --> 0:03:05.000 for me. And so I did that. After he spoke, 0:03:05.040 --> 0:03:06.680 I was in the line, and every time someone would 0:03:06.680 --> 0:03:09.720 get behind me, I'd say, go ahead, go ahead, go ahead. 0:03:10.919 --> 0:03:12.760 And at the end of that and I'm sure it 0:03:12.800 --> 0:03:15.000 was a long day for Pastor, having preached and then 0:03:15.320 --> 0:03:17.560 done all these book signings, but he was so gracious 0:03:17.560 --> 0:03:19.080 to take a moment and I just shared with him 0:03:19.120 --> 0:03:21.400 the call I felt on my life and asked him 0:03:21.400 --> 0:03:26.520 to pray. And he was so gracious to just take 0:03:26.560 --> 0:03:29.480 a moment and pray for me. And he wrote three 0:03:29.520 --> 0:03:31.800 words when he signed this book to Jonathan and Anna, 0:03:31.880 --> 0:03:35.120 three simple words that would profoundly shape my life. He wrote, 0:03:35.160 --> 0:03:42.360 Greater Things Ahead. And those three words I meant the 0:03:42.400 --> 0:03:44.680 world to us. It would be just a few months 0:03:44.720 --> 0:03:47.000 later that my wife and I would move here to 0:03:47.000 --> 0:03:49.920 be a part of this incredible church. And we're so 0:03:50.040 --> 0:03:52.200 thankful for God that he called us and placed us 0:03:52.240 --> 0:03:54.880 here at Elevation, and so this has been home for us. 0:03:54.920 --> 0:03:56.920 This is where all my kids were born. Real quick, 0:03:56.960 --> 0:03:59.360 just show him a picture of my family, real fast, 0:03:59.400 --> 0:04:02.920 if you got it. This is my son, Zion and 0:04:03.000 --> 0:04:08.520 Elias and Olivia. She's everyone's favorite. Zion's in the room, 0:04:08.520 --> 0:04:10.080 but I can say that we all just say she's 0:04:10.120 --> 0:04:14.120 our favorite. We love Olivia, and I'm so grateful that 0:04:14.160 --> 0:04:17.080 God's planted us here. And it won't take you long 0:04:17.120 --> 0:04:18.800 to realize, if you're new here, that this is not 0:04:18.880 --> 0:04:21.240 a perfect church. There's no such thing as a perfect church. 0:04:21.320 --> 0:04:24.479 But I'm so grateful for a healthy church where the 0:04:24.520 --> 0:04:26.839 spirit of God is moving, where people are being reached 0:04:26.839 --> 0:04:29.000 with the gospel. Next week, when you come back for 0:04:29.120 --> 0:04:31.320 block party, you're gonna see what it's all about. Is 0:04:31.680 --> 0:04:34.680 hundreds of people take the step of being baptized and 0:04:34.760 --> 0:04:37.560 publicly declaring their faith in Jesus. Say, man, how many 0:04:37.600 --> 0:04:39.800 you are grateful for God's house for what He's doing 0:04:40.320 --> 0:04:47.000 in this church. And I'm excited to share this word 0:04:47.320 --> 0:04:49.440 with you today. We're gonna be in Acts chapter one, 0:04:50.040 --> 0:04:53.360 in Acts chapter two, and this is the story about 0:04:53.400 --> 0:04:55.920 the coming of the Holy Spirit. All the Pentecostals make 0:04:56.000 --> 0:05:03.200 some noise pick up in verse four. On one occasion, 0:05:03.440 --> 0:05:05.799 while he was eating with them, he gave them this command, 0:05:06.200 --> 0:05:09.599 do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my 0:05:09.680 --> 0:05:12.719 father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For 0:05:12.880 --> 0:05:16.240 John baptized with water, but in a few days you 0:05:16.320 --> 0:05:20.440 will be baptized with the Holy Spirit. Then they gathered 0:05:20.440 --> 0:05:23.040 around him and asked, LORDA, you at this time going 0:05:23.080 --> 0:05:25.720 to restore the kingdom to Israel. He said to them, 0:05:25.760 --> 0:05:27.360 it's not for you to know the times or the 0:05:27.440 --> 0:05:30.279 dates the Father has set by his own authority. But 0:05:30.400 --> 0:05:34.360 you will receive power. Everyone say power. You will receive 0:05:34.520 --> 0:05:37.400 power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you 0:05:37.440 --> 0:05:40.560 will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all of 0:05:40.640 --> 0:05:44.559 Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. 0:05:45.440 --> 0:05:48.000 After he said this, he was taken up before their 0:05:48.120 --> 0:05:50.440 very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. 0:05:50.560 --> 0:05:54.159 So Jesus ascends into heaven. Fast forward Acts chapter two. 0:05:54.680 --> 0:05:57.560 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together 0:05:57.640 --> 0:06:01.760 in one place. Everyone say place. Suddenly a sound like 0:06:01.800 --> 0:06:04.400 the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and 0:06:04.560 --> 0:06:07.520 filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw 0:06:07.520 --> 0:06:10.320 what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and 0:06:10.400 --> 0:06:12.640 came to rest on each of them. All of them 0:06:12.640 --> 0:06:15.679 were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak 0:06:15.680 --> 0:06:18.480 in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. Now they 0:06:18.520 --> 0:06:22.080 were staying in Jerusalem, God fearing Jews from every nation 0:06:22.600 --> 0:06:25.320 under heaven. Back to Acts chapter two, verse one for 0:06:25.360 --> 0:06:28.440 a moment when the day of Pentecost came, they were 0:06:28.480 --> 0:06:30.839 all together in one place. I want to talk to 0:06:30.839 --> 0:06:34.400 you this morning about the power of a place. The 0:06:34.440 --> 0:06:37.039 power of a place. High five year neighbors, you take 0:06:37.040 --> 0:06:40.440 your seat, say there's power in this place. Come on, 0:06:40.560 --> 0:06:43.080 tell them like you believe it, there's power in this place. 0:06:48.440 --> 0:06:51.000 Earlier this year, our pastor led us through a series 0:06:51.040 --> 0:06:53.080 through the Book of Acts and talking about the role 0:06:53.120 --> 0:06:55.640 of the Holy Spirit. How many you remember that series 0:06:55.680 --> 0:06:58.279 just in the spring, and it was so impactful for me. 0:06:58.480 --> 0:07:01.560 And one of my favorite messages in that series was 0:07:01.839 --> 0:07:06.480 a sermon he preached called Places. Everyone. So consider this 0:07:06.560 --> 0:07:08.760 message life not a part two, but maybe a spin 0:07:08.839 --> 0:07:12.480 off series of that incredible message our pastor preach. But 0:07:13.080 --> 0:07:16.640 that sermon got me thinking about the power of places 0:07:16.640 --> 0:07:19.920 in our life and the way God uses places, the 0:07:20.000 --> 0:07:23.960 places he puts us in to unfold his purposes and plans. 0:07:24.280 --> 0:07:26.760 When we talk about the ways God works in our lives, 0:07:26.760 --> 0:07:29.360 I think all of us would agree that God uses 0:07:29.440 --> 0:07:32.640 people in our lives. Right when I say that, maybe 0:07:33.400 --> 0:07:36.760 maybe a mentor a leader comes to mind, who discipled 0:07:36.800 --> 0:07:40.200 you really made a difference in your life. Maybe what 0:07:40.280 --> 0:07:42.240 comes to mind is the person who invited you to 0:07:42.320 --> 0:07:44.560 church or shared the Gospel with you for the first time. 0:07:44.680 --> 0:07:47.240 Maybe you think of a praying grandmother. Everyone, we all 0:07:47.240 --> 0:07:51.320 would agree God uses people in our lives, but more 0:07:51.360 --> 0:07:53.640 and more, even in my own life, God is beginning 0:07:53.720 --> 0:07:56.840 to reveal to me how He uses places. Everybody say 0:07:56.880 --> 0:08:00.000 places places. I want to give you an example from 0:08:00.320 --> 0:08:02.920 nature real quick, to kind of set up this point. 0:08:03.080 --> 0:08:05.400 I don't know what you like to do Sundays after 0:08:05.440 --> 0:08:07.040 you leave church. How many you like to go home 0:08:07.040 --> 0:08:09.640 and watch football? Is that your thing? I'll tell you 0:08:09.680 --> 0:08:13.200 how cool I am after church on Sundays. You know 0:08:13.200 --> 0:08:14.600 what I like to do. I like to go home 0:08:14.640 --> 0:08:21.640 and watch nature documentaries. That's my thing. The simultaneously informative 0:08:21.720 --> 0:08:26.440 yet relaxing voice of David ATM Sorry, Sir David Attenborough. 0:08:27.640 --> 0:08:30.040 And one of the things I saw recently was this. 0:08:30.280 --> 0:08:33.080 Show them the picture of these trees real quick. These 0:08:33.120 --> 0:08:38.760 are California redwords redwoods. These are the tallest trees on 0:08:38.840 --> 0:08:43.080 the planet and some of the fastest growing trees. Look 0:08:43.080 --> 0:08:47.000 at that. Something incredible, though, happened about one hundred years ago. 0:08:47.640 --> 0:08:50.760 Someone took these trees from where they were native to 0:08:51.160 --> 0:08:55.440 in California and they decided to plant them in New Zealand. 0:08:56.240 --> 0:08:59.640 And when they planted these trees that were already massive, 0:08:59.640 --> 0:09:03.320 already rapid growing, trees, already remarkable in their own right, 0:09:03.360 --> 0:09:07.559 when they took them from their native environment of California 0:09:07.880 --> 0:09:10.760 and planted them in a new environment of New Zealand, 0:09:10.880 --> 0:09:14.680 something incredible happened. You ready for this, any nature lovers 0:09:14.720 --> 0:09:19.120 in the house today. When they planted these trees in 0:09:19.240 --> 0:09:23.640 New Zealand, in the nutrient rich volcanic soil of New Zealand, 0:09:24.200 --> 0:09:28.800 these trees that were already remarkably fast growing, grew three 0:09:29.000 --> 0:09:32.640 times faster in New Zealand than they did in their 0:09:32.720 --> 0:09:38.360 native land of California. Ooh, the environments you place yourself 0:09:38.400 --> 0:09:42.320 in matters. There is potential on the inside of you, 0:09:44.559 --> 0:09:46.640 but how quickly you get there? And some of the 0:09:46.679 --> 0:09:49.280 things that God will unfold in your life have less 0:09:49.320 --> 0:09:51.680 to do with your potential and more to do with 0:09:51.800 --> 0:09:54.760 the places that you find yourself in. You can put 0:09:54.800 --> 0:09:57.160 yourself in a place that you are not native to 0:09:57.559 --> 0:10:00.920 and watch God as he accelerates your lif in ways 0:10:00.960 --> 0:10:06.359 you never could a thought or imagine. Places matter to God. 0:10:06.559 --> 0:10:09.160 One thing Jesus would often do throughout the scriptures is 0:10:09.400 --> 0:10:12.400 he would tell these parables to illustrate what the Kingdom 0:10:12.440 --> 0:10:15.640 of God was like. And as Jesus would tell these parables, 0:10:16.280 --> 0:10:19.880 he would use the place he was in to teach principles. Right, 0:10:20.559 --> 0:10:22.839 so he would tell a parable about a lost sheep, 0:10:22.920 --> 0:10:25.720 probably as he was standing next to a field filled 0:10:25.720 --> 0:10:29.640 with sheep. He would use the place to illustrate the principle, 0:10:29.720 --> 0:10:32.760 or tell a parable about a fig as he's standing 0:10:32.800 --> 0:10:34.560 next to a fig, or a vineyard while he's near 0:10:34.600 --> 0:10:37.360 a vineyard. And one time in Matthew thirteen, he tells 0:10:37.400 --> 0:10:40.640 a parable about a sewer who goes out to scatter seed, 0:10:41.160 --> 0:10:43.280 and the Bible says that as the sewer went and 0:10:43.400 --> 0:10:47.160 scattered seed, it fell in four different places. Everybody say places. 0:10:48.320 --> 0:10:50.720 The seed fell in four different places. Some of it 0:10:50.760 --> 0:10:52.960 fell in a place where it was snatched up by birds. 0:10:53.640 --> 0:10:55.480 Some of the seed fell in a place where it 0:10:55.520 --> 0:10:57.560 was so rocky it couldn't get roots, so when the 0:10:57.600 --> 0:11:00.280 sun got hot they withered away. Other seeds fell in 0:11:00.360 --> 0:11:02.880 a place where it was choked out by thorns. And 0:11:02.960 --> 0:11:06.680 other seed fell on good soil where it produced fruit. 0:11:07.040 --> 0:11:09.320 If you're looking at Matthew thirteen in your Bible, it'll 0:11:09.320 --> 0:11:12.520 probably have a heading like the Parable of the Sower, 0:11:12.559 --> 0:11:15.240 but a better name for this parable is the parable 0:11:15.280 --> 0:11:19.440 of the places. Because what determined the outcome of that 0:11:19.520 --> 0:11:22.400 seed was not the potential within the seed, and it 0:11:22.480 --> 0:11:24.480 wasn't the sower. The sower knew what he was doing. 0:11:24.559 --> 0:11:27.600 What determined the outcome of that seed was the place 0:11:28.160 --> 0:11:31.040 that the seed landed. Your life is like a seed, 0:11:31.559 --> 0:11:34.920 and the places you find yourself in can either accelerate 0:11:35.000 --> 0:11:39.840 you grow, you expand you feed you. Or if the 0:11:39.880 --> 0:11:42.640 good environment can accelerate and grow your life in the 0:11:42.679 --> 0:11:47.000 same way, the wrong environment can squander you, starve you, 0:11:47.240 --> 0:11:51.280 suffocate you from the purposes that God has for your life. 0:11:52.120 --> 0:11:56.080 This is the power of a place. This is why 0:11:56.080 --> 0:11:58.439 it's so important that when someone gives their life to 0:11:58.559 --> 0:12:01.040 Christ that we help them get can to this church, 0:12:01.960 --> 0:12:04.520 because that they receive the seed of God's grace into 0:12:04.559 --> 0:12:07.040 their heart, but they go back to the same people 0:12:07.360 --> 0:12:10.120 and the same environments. It's one thing to have Jesus 0:12:10.120 --> 0:12:11.960 in your heart, but you're going to be frustrated when 0:12:12.000 --> 0:12:14.679 you feel like you're not transforming if you have Jesus 0:12:14.720 --> 0:12:17.040 in your heart but keep going to the same places. 0:12:17.040 --> 0:12:20.040 The same bars, the same club get. We got to 0:12:20.040 --> 0:12:22.360 help people get out of the environment that they were 0:12:22.400 --> 0:12:27.640 in and into a life giving environment where the purposes 0:12:27.640 --> 0:12:31.560 of God can begin to unfold. I'm so grateful God 0:12:31.600 --> 0:12:35.400 planted me in this house, in this soil, in this soil, 0:12:35.720 --> 0:12:38.640 because I've seen God do incredible things. I always knew 0:12:38.679 --> 0:12:40.760 God's hand was on my life. I knew I would 0:12:40.800 --> 0:12:43.320 see God do incredible I never could have imagined some 0:12:43.400 --> 0:12:45.520 of the things I'd get to see God do because 0:12:45.559 --> 0:12:48.880 of where He planted me. I remember one author saying, 0:12:48.920 --> 0:12:50.839 he said, if you want to see a move of God, 0:12:51.280 --> 0:12:55.319 put yourself in a place where God is moving. If 0:12:55.360 --> 0:12:57.120 you want to see God move in a big way, 0:12:57.120 --> 0:12:58.600 and how many of you want to see God move 0:12:58.640 --> 0:13:00.440 in a big way in your life. If you want 0:13:00.480 --> 0:13:02.200 to see God move in a big way in your life, 0:13:02.240 --> 0:13:05.520 put yourself in a place where God is moving. That's 0:13:05.559 --> 0:13:07.400 true for so many areas of our life. If you 0:13:07.440 --> 0:13:09.400 want to see a miracle in your life, put yourself 0:13:09.440 --> 0:13:12.440 in a place where God is still doing miracles. If 0:13:12.480 --> 0:13:15.200 you want to see your marriage thrive and prosper, put 0:13:15.240 --> 0:13:18.000 yourself in a place where you're surrounded by healthy miracles, 0:13:18.360 --> 0:13:21.240 by healthy marriages. If you want to see God do something, 0:13:21.600 --> 0:13:25.360 get in a place where the spirit of God is moving. 0:13:25.679 --> 0:13:29.559 When you plant yourself in a place where the spirit 0:13:29.600 --> 0:13:32.520 of God is moving and watering, there is no limit 0:13:32.600 --> 0:13:37.079 to what God can do in and through your life. 0:13:37.760 --> 0:13:40.040 And like I mentioned, the same is true the opposite way, 0:13:40.080 --> 0:13:41.880 Like if you put man, I love nature so much. 0:13:41.880 --> 0:13:44.960 Here's my third nature analogy. But if you put a 0:13:45.000 --> 0:13:47.800 fish in a small aquarium, it won't limit how much 0:13:47.800 --> 0:13:49.920 it can grow. Many of us are limited not by 0:13:49.920 --> 0:13:56.760 our potential, but by our places. In one passage of scripture, 0:13:56.840 --> 0:14:00.000 Jesus comes across a man who had been paralyzed since birth, 0:14:00.040 --> 0:14:02.520 and the scripture says that he was laying near a 0:14:02.559 --> 0:14:06.440 pool called Bethesda. And the scripture specifically points out that 0:14:06.600 --> 0:14:09.440 at this pool that there is a great number of 0:14:09.600 --> 0:14:12.560 sick and ill people. And Jesus goes up to this 0:14:12.640 --> 0:14:14.600 man who was laying by this pool, and he asked 0:14:14.640 --> 0:14:17.920 him a question. He says, do you want to get well? 0:14:18.480 --> 0:14:20.960 And of course the answer to that is obvious for 0:14:21.000 --> 0:14:23.120 this man who's been laying by this pool, for you, 0:14:23.200 --> 0:14:24.720 do you want to get well? The man says, yes, 0:14:24.720 --> 0:14:28.280 I want to get well. Interestingly enough, Jesus doesn't say 0:14:28.360 --> 0:14:31.040 to him, you're healed. Jesus says, pick up your mat 0:14:31.520 --> 0:14:34.640 and go. When the man expresses that he wants to 0:14:34.640 --> 0:14:36.880 get well, the first thing Jesus tells him to do 0:14:37.000 --> 0:14:40.960 is change your environment, because if you want to walk, 0:14:41.040 --> 0:14:43.160 the first thing you need to do is stop hanging 0:14:43.200 --> 0:14:46.200 around lame people. When you want to see God do 0:14:46.320 --> 0:14:49.720 something different in your life, you've got to Often, God 0:14:49.800 --> 0:14:52.680 will force you out of environments that you're native to 0:14:53.200 --> 0:14:56.160 places that are comfortable for you in order to bring 0:14:56.200 --> 0:15:00.160 you into His purposes. Amen, I didn't forget about the 0:15:00.200 --> 0:15:03.200 Book of Acts. Let's go there for a minute. Talk 0:15:03.200 --> 0:15:07.520 about the potential of a place, this little upper room, 0:15:07.800 --> 0:15:10.800 this little upper room, where God would send his spirit, 0:15:11.440 --> 0:15:14.320 and the effects of that for the last two thousand 0:15:14.360 --> 0:15:18.200 years have been resounding and trembling throughout the whole earth, 0:15:18.680 --> 0:15:20.880 and on the Day of Pentecost. One thing you need 0:15:20.920 --> 0:15:24.280 to know is that the Day of Pentecost was one 0:15:24.360 --> 0:15:27.880 day in a festival called the Feast of Weeks, and 0:15:28.000 --> 0:15:30.400 during the Feast of Weeks, this is where the Israelites 0:15:30.400 --> 0:15:34.320 would celebrate when God gave the law the Torah to Moses, 0:15:34.360 --> 0:15:38.240 and thus started the nation of Israel. So the feast 0:15:38.240 --> 0:15:41.040 of Weeks where they is where they would celebrate the 0:15:41.080 --> 0:15:44.920 beginning of the Hebrew people becoming a nation. Now, for 0:15:45.120 --> 0:15:48.280 us as believers, when we think about the Day of Pentecost, 0:15:48.560 --> 0:15:51.840 it's not about God sending his law, but God sending 0:15:51.840 --> 0:15:54.600 his spirit. And it's not about the birth of a nation, 0:15:55.000 --> 0:15:58.040 but the birth of God's Church that since that day 0:15:58.080 --> 0:16:01.160 when He poured out his spirit, has been resonating throughout 0:16:01.200 --> 0:16:05.400 the whole earth, to Ukraine, to Brazil, to Toronto to Charlotte, 0:16:05.440 --> 0:16:08.920 North Carolina. All the beautiful expressions of the Body of 0:16:09.000 --> 0:16:12.200 Christ that came out of that moment when God birth 0:16:12.280 --> 0:16:15.119 this church in that little upper room. It's the potential 0:16:15.560 --> 0:16:18.280 of a place. And sometimes I read this story and 0:16:18.320 --> 0:16:20.640 I think it would be so cool to have been 0:16:20.680 --> 0:16:22.760 one of the apostles in that room on that day. 0:16:23.520 --> 0:16:25.480 It would have been so amazing to be in that 0:16:25.520 --> 0:16:28.120 place as God sends the spirit and all of a 0:16:28.160 --> 0:16:30.160 sudden it fills the house and it fills the people. 0:16:30.320 --> 0:16:32.520 And this scripture will go on to say that right 0:16:32.560 --> 0:16:35.000 after that, Peter and the other eleven they stand up 0:16:35.000 --> 0:16:37.840 and they give one of the most beautiful expressions of 0:16:37.880 --> 0:16:41.040 the gospel message of Jesus Christ, and that day three 0:16:41.080 --> 0:16:43.680 thousand people get added to the church. What would it 0:16:43.720 --> 0:16:45.680 have been like to been in the middle of a 0:16:45.720 --> 0:16:47.480 move of God like that? I think, Oh, it would 0:16:47.520 --> 0:16:50.280 be so cool to be in the upper room. But 0:16:50.400 --> 0:16:52.840 think with me for a second what this must have 0:16:52.880 --> 0:16:56.960 felt like for the apostles who are there. See, for 0:16:57.040 --> 0:17:00.960 three years they've been following Jesus from place place. Remember 0:17:01.280 --> 0:17:03.280 he called them out of there for Peter. He said, 0:17:03.400 --> 0:17:05.720 leave your fishing, but leave the thing that's not only 0:17:05.760 --> 0:17:08.840 comfortable for you but also lucrative for you, and come 0:17:08.880 --> 0:17:11.960 and follow me. And so for three years these disciples 0:17:12.000 --> 0:17:14.960 have been following Jesus from place to place, everybody say place. 0:17:16.600 --> 0:17:19.440 And then they watch Jesus as he gets crucified in 0:17:19.520 --> 0:17:22.440 a place called Golgatha. They even told them, Jesus, don't 0:17:22.480 --> 0:17:24.320 do it, but it was his purpose and plan all 0:17:24.359 --> 0:17:27.080 along to go to that place and give his life. 0:17:27.200 --> 0:17:30.840 And so, in their pain and confusion and grief, they 0:17:30.880 --> 0:17:33.560 watched them get crucified. And just when things couldn't get 0:17:33.560 --> 0:17:36.120 more confusing, three days later they go to the tomb, 0:17:36.160 --> 0:17:39.680 and what happens. He wasn't in that place the Angel said, 0:17:39.720 --> 0:17:42.959 he's not here, he's risen. And then they meet the 0:17:43.000 --> 0:17:46.920 resurrected Jesus, and from that point for another forty days, 0:17:46.920 --> 0:17:50.280 they're with the resurrected Jesus, and in some of his 0:17:50.520 --> 0:17:54.240 last words to them before he ascends into heaven, he says, 0:17:54.640 --> 0:18:01.199 wait in Jerusalem. Wait in Jerusalem, says, my father's going 0:18:01.240 --> 0:18:02.840 to send you the gift of the Holy Spirit, but 0:18:02.880 --> 0:18:06.159 you need to wait in Jerusalem. How many patient people 0:18:06.200 --> 0:18:09.399 in the House of God today self identified patient people. 0:18:10.600 --> 0:18:12.119 This is how I know I wouldn't have been a 0:18:12.119 --> 0:18:16.719 good disciple because I'm not very good at waiting. So 0:18:16.760 --> 0:18:18.720 when we call it the Upper Room, we think, what 0:18:18.840 --> 0:18:22.080 an amazing moment that happened in that place. But for 0:18:22.160 --> 0:18:25.119 the disciples, this wouldn't have felt like a move of God. 0:18:25.160 --> 0:18:29.480 This would have felt like a waiting room, a waiting room, 0:18:29.800 --> 0:18:32.800 a waiting room. They're in that place and it would 0:18:32.840 --> 0:18:36.159 be ten days from when Jesus ascended to when he 0:18:36.200 --> 0:18:38.760 would send the gift of his Holy Spirit. Ten days. 0:18:39.080 --> 0:18:42.120 But they don't know that. They don't know that, they 0:18:42.119 --> 0:18:45.080 don't know if it's going to be three days, seven days, 0:18:45.480 --> 0:18:48.800 ten days, one hundred days. In some of his last 0:18:48.840 --> 0:18:52.560 words to them, he says, stay in Jerusalem and wait 0:18:53.160 --> 0:18:55.640 and wait. So they go to this place and they're 0:18:55.640 --> 0:19:00.240 simply waiting. Imagine how confusing this was for them. The 0:19:00.240 --> 0:19:02.639 worst thing about when you're waiting, like for me, I 0:19:02.680 --> 0:19:05.080 always think about when you go to a restaurant and 0:19:05.119 --> 0:19:07.400 the weight is taking a little bit longer than you expect. 0:19:07.400 --> 0:19:09.199 In your in you're debating in your mind do I 0:19:09.240 --> 0:19:12.199 just leave and go somewhere else? And yet there's something 0:19:12.280 --> 0:19:16.280 deep down in your spirit telling you that the moment 0:19:16.359 --> 0:19:19.640 I walk out of this door, they're gonna call my name. Right, 0:19:19.960 --> 0:19:22.760 it's this lingering feeling. The moment I leave this place, 0:19:22.760 --> 0:19:26.399 they're gonna say, josephs, your table is ready, and I 0:19:26.480 --> 0:19:28.640 won't be in that place. So you just wait, You wait, 0:19:28.680 --> 0:19:30.560 you wait, when's it gonna come? When's it gonna come? 0:19:30.800 --> 0:19:33.000 One thing I want you to know is that places 0:19:33.680 --> 0:19:37.800 that places where you find yourself waiting are places of preparation. 0:19:38.600 --> 0:19:44.000 Preparation is connected to a place when you find yourself 0:19:44.200 --> 0:19:47.040 in that tormenting space where you don't I know God's 0:19:47.040 --> 0:19:49.520 getting ready to do something, but I don't know when 0:19:49.840 --> 0:19:54.439 or exactly what He's gonna do. Those are spaces of preparation. 0:19:55.119 --> 0:19:57.240 A couple of weeks ago, our pastor taught us about 0:19:57.240 --> 0:20:00.560 this when he talked about King David. Remember, David was 0:20:00.600 --> 0:20:04.879 anointed as king, and yet despite being anointed by the 0:20:04.920 --> 0:20:07.440 prophet Samuel to be the king of Israel, he did 0:20:07.440 --> 0:20:10.760 not possess the throne right away. And our pastor taught 0:20:10.840 --> 0:20:13.920 us how David spent years running away from the current king, 0:20:14.000 --> 0:20:16.439 King Saul, who was trying to kill him. So he 0:20:16.520 --> 0:20:20.240 finds himself living in the wilderness and hiding in caves. 0:20:20.240 --> 0:20:22.840 And our pastor said something so profound to us. He said, 0:20:23.200 --> 0:20:28.520 kings are only formed in caves. That cave was a 0:20:28.520 --> 0:20:32.480 waiting room. That cave was a place of preparation for 0:20:32.560 --> 0:20:35.600 King David. God knew everything he had in store for David. 0:20:35.840 --> 0:20:38.920 God knew everything that David would become. But in that cave, 0:20:39.000 --> 0:20:43.080 God was forming something in him for the purposes that 0:20:43.119 --> 0:20:45.879 he had for him. Consider Joseph for just a moment. 0:20:46.000 --> 0:20:49.200 Joseph is an amazing character in the Bible. In fact, 0:20:49.240 --> 0:20:52.440 he would have such profound and prophetic dreams about the 0:20:52.480 --> 0:20:54.840 way that God was going to use them that when 0:20:54.840 --> 0:20:58.000 he told his family, they got so jealous of him 0:20:58.320 --> 0:21:01.879 that they sold him into slavery, and through a series 0:21:01.920 --> 0:21:06.720 of unfortunate events, Joseph finds himself in a prison cell. 0:21:07.520 --> 0:21:10.480 Something incredible happens in that prison cell. We call it 0:21:10.480 --> 0:21:13.159 a prison, but it was a waiting room. God was 0:21:13.240 --> 0:21:16.200 preparing him in that place, because in that waiting room, 0:21:16.240 --> 0:21:19.520 the Bible calls him. It calls him Joseph the Dreamer. 0:21:20.080 --> 0:21:22.639 But in that waiting room, in that prison cell, something 0:21:22.760 --> 0:21:26.879 significant happens in Joseph's life. It's not Joseph who's dreaming 0:21:27.160 --> 0:21:30.840 in that prison cell, but the other prisoners. Catch this 0:21:30.960 --> 0:21:34.800 for a moment. When you really begin to operate in 0:21:34.840 --> 0:21:37.399 the anointing that God has placed on your life, you 0:21:37.480 --> 0:21:40.680 start to see the people around you. Start to stay 0:21:40.720 --> 0:21:43.240 with me for a minute. When you really start walking 0:21:43.240 --> 0:21:45.520 in the grace God gave you to be an encourager, 0:21:45.760 --> 0:21:48.760 you'll see that the people around you start encouraging. When 0:21:48.800 --> 0:21:50.919 you begin to walk in the grace God gave you 0:21:51.200 --> 0:21:53.639 to be generous, you'll see the people. So it's not 0:21:53.800 --> 0:21:56.960 Joseph having dreams. It's not Joseph the Dreamer having dreams. 0:21:56.960 --> 0:22:00.440 It's the other prisoners. And in that waiting room, in 0:22:00.440 --> 0:22:03.800 that prison cell, these other prisoners are having dreams, and 0:22:03.920 --> 0:22:07.600 Joseph begins to interpret their dreams. Did you catch what 0:22:07.640 --> 0:22:10.719 happens in his life. It's in that waiting room that 0:22:10.840 --> 0:22:16.200 Joseph goes from Joseph the dreamer to Joseph the dream interpreter. 0:22:18.119 --> 0:22:20.720 The prison cell was the place where Joseph learned how 0:22:20.760 --> 0:22:25.359 to use his gifts, not to serve himself, but serve others. 0:22:25.880 --> 0:22:27.520 Come on, any of you been in that place where 0:22:27.560 --> 0:22:30.000 you thought it was all about you and God puts 0:22:30.040 --> 0:22:32.760 you in circumstances where you learned that what He gave you, 0:22:33.080 --> 0:22:35.160 and what he put in you, and what he put 0:22:35.160 --> 0:22:37.800 on your life wasn't just for you, but for others 0:22:37.840 --> 0:22:42.919 as well. Ah, he went from a dreamer to a 0:22:43.000 --> 0:22:46.439 dream interpreter. And I want you to know today that 0:22:46.600 --> 0:22:48.640 when you are in that place of waiting, I'll need 0:22:48.640 --> 0:22:50.399 you to see it as a place of preparation. It 0:22:50.480 --> 0:22:53.840 is possible that in that place God is preparing you 0:22:54.400 --> 0:22:58.879 for what He's prepared for you. God is preparing you 0:22:59.480 --> 0:23:02.919 for what He prepared for you. This is what Ephesians 0:23:02.920 --> 0:23:06.359 two ten says. It says that we are God's handiwork, 0:23:06.840 --> 0:23:09.440 created to do good works which he prepared for. In 0:23:09.480 --> 0:23:11.840 other words, that means that God is shaping you. God 0:23:11.920 --> 0:23:14.320 is forming you. God is working on your life for 0:23:14.440 --> 0:23:18.600 what He has already prepared in advanced for you to do. 0:23:19.080 --> 0:23:19.199 So. 0:23:19.359 --> 0:23:23.840 Picture the apostles in this upper room waiting for God 0:23:23.880 --> 0:23:26.800 to send a spirit, knowing what God promised them, but 0:23:26.920 --> 0:23:30.159 not knowing when he was going to do it. But 0:23:30.400 --> 0:23:34.119 in that place, God was preparing them for something so 0:23:34.800 --> 0:23:38.680 significant they never could have When Peter left his boat, 0:23:39.119 --> 0:23:41.720 he never could have imagined that on that day he 0:23:41.760 --> 0:23:44.360 would be preaching and three thousand people would give their 0:23:44.359 --> 0:23:47.439 lives sick. He never could. But God is preparing you 0:23:48.040 --> 0:23:51.639 for what He's prepared for you. I don't want to 0:23:51.680 --> 0:23:54.880 miss out when God finds when God calls my name, 0:23:55.720 --> 0:23:58.119 when he calls me, I want to be in the 0:23:58.200 --> 0:24:00.920 place he told me to be. So Jesus said, wait 0:24:01.680 --> 0:24:05.280 in Jerusalem, because my father's getting ready to send you something. 0:24:05.840 --> 0:24:07.439 I know even as I say that, some of you 0:24:07.480 --> 0:24:09.360 are like, I hate the place I'm in right now. 0:24:09.359 --> 0:24:11.600 Maybe you feel stuck in a job. Maybe you're at 0:24:11.640 --> 0:24:13.800 a school where it feels like you don't belong, and 0:24:13.880 --> 0:24:16.639 everything within you wants to get up and leave that place. 0:24:16.720 --> 0:24:19.760 Because it's so painful and so uncomfortable. But I want 0:24:19.800 --> 0:24:22.040 you to know that even when you're in that place, 0:24:22.080 --> 0:24:25.600 your Father has not forgotten you. It could just be 0:24:25.720 --> 0:24:30.560 that he's preparing you for what He's prepared for you. 0:24:32.400 --> 0:24:36.520 When Jesus tells them wait in Jerusalem, it's interesting to me. 0:24:36.920 --> 0:24:38.600 They go to this we call it the Upper Room. 0:24:38.600 --> 0:24:41.000 But if you remember, before Jesus went to the Cross, 0:24:41.280 --> 0:24:44.160 he sent them into Jerusalem and he said, go prepare 0:24:44.200 --> 0:24:48.040 a place for the Passover meal, the first communion, the 0:24:48.160 --> 0:24:50.960 last Supper would take place. This was the same room 0:24:51.560 --> 0:24:54.520 that they had prepared not too much earlier, for the 0:24:54.520 --> 0:24:58.280 Passover supper with Jesus. So when Jesus ascends into heaven 0:24:58.600 --> 0:25:00.920 and they're left not knowing what to do, they don't 0:25:00.960 --> 0:25:03.919 go to a new place. They go to a prepared place. 0:25:04.600 --> 0:25:06.960 And sometimes when you find yourself in the place where 0:25:06.960 --> 0:25:09.040 you're not sure what God is going to do or 0:25:09.119 --> 0:25:10.920 when God is going to do it, I want to 0:25:11.000 --> 0:25:13.840 encourage you to stay in the place he last told 0:25:13.880 --> 0:25:16.479 you to be, Stay in the place that he puts you, 0:25:16.680 --> 0:25:19.680 because your father, he hasn't forgotten about you, and he's 0:25:19.720 --> 0:25:23.000 getting ready to do something in your life. So don't 0:25:23.520 --> 0:25:28.600 leave Jerusalem, don't walk away just yet. God is preparing 0:25:28.640 --> 0:25:32.639 you for what He's prepared for you. Not only is 0:25:32.920 --> 0:25:35.840 preparation connected to a place, but what I love in 0:25:35.880 --> 0:25:39.560 this scripture is that God's provision is connected to a 0:25:39.600 --> 0:25:44.440 place as well. Are you with me? One thing? There's 0:25:44.440 --> 0:25:46.120 so much I could tell you about my wife Anna, 0:25:46.200 --> 0:25:48.400 but two things you need to know. One is she's 0:25:48.440 --> 0:25:53.320 a really good cook. Amen. The other thing is she's 0:25:53.359 --> 0:25:56.160 a really good mom. In fact, my kids eat every 0:25:56.200 --> 0:25:58.080 single day. That's how good of a mom she is. 0:25:59.080 --> 0:26:02.919 Every single day. So when Anna cooks a meal for 0:26:03.000 --> 0:26:05.320 our family, as much as I think my boys would 0:26:05.520 --> 0:26:07.520 love to eat their dinner in the playroom or up 0:26:07.560 --> 0:26:10.200 in their bedroom, when Anna makes the meal for our kids, 0:26:10.240 --> 0:26:13.520 she takes what she prepared and she puts it on 0:26:13.880 --> 0:26:18.439 the table, and she says, boys, time to come eat 0:26:18.800 --> 0:26:20.680 and as much as they'd like to eat somewhere else. 0:26:20.680 --> 0:26:22.200 And I'm not judging you if you're a family who 0:26:22.200 --> 0:26:24.080 eats on the couch or eats on the floor or whatever. 0:26:24.119 --> 0:26:27.080 But in our family, she takes what she prepared and 0:26:27.119 --> 0:26:29.080 she puts it on the table and says, boys, come 0:26:29.119 --> 0:26:30.800 and eat. In other words, they need to come to 0:26:30.880 --> 0:26:33.960 the place where the food is that they want to eat. 0:26:34.800 --> 0:26:36.840 I want you to know that God is a good father. 0:26:38.200 --> 0:26:41.720 God is a good father. He knows how to feed 0:26:41.760 --> 0:26:45.000 you as his sons and as his daughters. He's a 0:26:45.040 --> 0:26:49.480 good father. But God is not uber eats. God does 0:26:49.560 --> 0:26:52.480 not take provision to where you are. God puts his 0:26:52.560 --> 0:26:57.359 provision to where you're supposed to be. That's what he 0:26:57.400 --> 0:27:00.720 said to Elijah one king seventeen. He said, I'm gonna 0:27:00.720 --> 0:27:03.040 supply food for you down at the break. I'm even 0:27:03.080 --> 0:27:05.720 gonna do it in a miraculous way. I'm gonna send 0:27:05.840 --> 0:27:08.639 ravens to feed you there. But Elijah, you gotta be 0:27:08.800 --> 0:27:10.960 in the place I told you to be so that 0:27:11.040 --> 0:27:16.040 I can feed you. Provision is connected to a place 0:27:16.320 --> 0:27:18.760 your father knows how to feed you. But you gotta 0:27:18.800 --> 0:27:21.960 be in the place he told you to be. Consider 0:27:22.040 --> 0:27:24.399 for just a moment with me, the story of the 0:27:24.440 --> 0:27:28.320 prodigal son that Jesus tells this parable again of a 0:27:28.400 --> 0:27:31.439 son who asks his father early for his inheritance, and 0:27:31.440 --> 0:27:34.120 it says he left his father's house and he went 0:27:34.119 --> 0:27:37.560 into a distant country where he squandered everything that he 0:27:37.680 --> 0:27:41.760 had been given and then look at this in verse seventeen, 0:27:42.560 --> 0:27:47.119 this boy who's gone off to a distant country, squandered 0:27:47.119 --> 0:27:49.920 everything as father has given him. He hires himself out 0:27:49.960 --> 0:27:52.040 to work with the pigs. And while he's with the pigs, 0:27:52.200 --> 0:27:55.080 he's getting envious of what the pigs are eating. Well, 0:27:55.119 --> 0:27:58.480 he's out there starving. In verse seventeen, it says, and 0:27:58.520 --> 0:28:02.240 when he came to his senses, he said, how many 0:28:02.280 --> 0:28:06.239 of my father's hired servants have food to spare, and 0:28:06.359 --> 0:28:10.960 here I am starving to death. How many of my 0:28:11.080 --> 0:28:15.000 father's hired servants have food to eat, and yet I'm 0:28:15.000 --> 0:28:19.400 out here starving as a son. In other words, the 0:28:19.400 --> 0:28:21.840 provision of his father had nothing to do with his 0:28:21.960 --> 0:28:26.400 position and everything to do with his location. I heard 0:28:26.400 --> 0:28:29.320 our friend, Pastor Darius said, did you catch what I 0:28:29.400 --> 0:28:32.120 just said? It had nothing to do with his position 0:28:32.520 --> 0:28:36.080 and everything to do with his location. Our friend, Pastor 0:28:36.160 --> 0:28:38.320 Darius Daniels, he was preaching this. He said, as long 0:28:38.360 --> 0:28:41.480 as the son was in the father's house, he never 0:28:41.600 --> 0:28:44.280 knew what it felt like to be hungry. And you 0:28:44.440 --> 0:28:47.200 have to know, as a child of God, you have 0:28:47.480 --> 0:28:51.040 access to the refrigerator of your father, But it is 0:28:51.160 --> 0:28:54.320 in the house touch your neighbors say, it's in the 0:28:54.880 --> 0:28:58.680 You gotta be in the place that God told you 0:28:58.760 --> 0:29:02.120 to be. Out here staring as a son, when your 0:29:02.200 --> 0:29:04.880 father has everything that you need. In the presence of 0:29:04.920 --> 0:29:08.160 the Lord is the fullness of joy at his right hand, 0:29:08.360 --> 0:29:16.920 pleasures evermore, My father has everything that I need, and 0:29:17.040 --> 0:29:20.200 the House of God is one of the primary places 0:29:20.240 --> 0:29:22.600 your Father will feed you. I know we live in 0:29:22.640 --> 0:29:24.360 a day and age when people say I'm just not 0:29:24.480 --> 0:29:27.479 into church. I'm spiritual. I connect with God everywhere, and 0:29:27.520 --> 0:29:29.160 I get it. God is on the present. If you 0:29:29.280 --> 0:29:31.120 like to go on a walk and He speaks to you, 0:29:31.160 --> 0:29:33.320 that's amazing. You should have a place in your home 0:29:33.320 --> 0:29:35.800 where you read your scriptures and pray and God speaks 0:29:35.800 --> 0:29:37.360 to you. But I want you to know that the 0:29:37.400 --> 0:29:40.719 House of God is one of the primary places that 0:29:40.760 --> 0:29:44.360 your Father will feed you with what you need. So 0:29:44.400 --> 0:29:46.560 people now say, oh, church is just a build, just 0:29:46.600 --> 0:29:50.520 a building, just a building. Now, when I think about 0:29:50.520 --> 0:29:52.840 how my father met me in the this is not 0:29:52.920 --> 0:29:57.160 a building. This is the house of God. Let me 0:29:57.160 --> 0:29:58.800 show you a table, real quick. Let me show you 0:29:58.880 --> 0:30:03.040 a table. For the last eight years, I've had the 0:30:03.040 --> 0:30:05.560 privilege of being the campus pastor here, And one of 0:30:05.560 --> 0:30:09.080 the great privileges of that is that every single week 0:30:09.160 --> 0:30:14.200 I get to sit at this table right here, this table, 0:30:15.320 --> 0:30:18.360 this table. And some of you are like Pastor JJ, 0:30:18.480 --> 0:30:21.440 that's not a table, that's a chair. No no, no no. 0:30:22.960 --> 0:30:24.840 It might look like a chair to you, But for me, 0:30:25.200 --> 0:30:29.120 that's a table. This is the place where my father 0:30:29.240 --> 0:30:33.080 feeds me. This is the place where he speaks to me. 0:30:34.040 --> 0:30:36.840 This is the place where he's where he's comforted me. 0:30:37.600 --> 0:30:40.560 This is the place where he's corrected me. This is 0:30:40.600 --> 0:30:43.000 the place where he's given me. This is the place 0:30:43.040 --> 0:30:45.680 where my father feeds me. And so for me, I 0:30:45.720 --> 0:30:47.840 want to be at my father's table. And whether it's 0:30:47.880 --> 0:30:51.000 our pastor or anyone else who stands behind that pulpit, 0:30:51.360 --> 0:30:55.080 I want to be in the house of God because 0:30:55.120 --> 0:31:00.440 my Father knows what I need. And one of the 0:31:00.480 --> 0:31:02.840 things I see time and time again as a pastor 0:31:03.240 --> 0:31:05.400 is sometimes people will come to church and come to 0:31:05.440 --> 0:31:07.840 God when their life is falling apart. And God is 0:31:07.880 --> 0:31:09.880 so good that the moment you come to him, he 0:31:09.960 --> 0:31:12.959 embraces you with open arms, and he closes you, and 0:31:13.000 --> 0:31:15.280 he feeds you. And yet some of us get so 0:31:15.520 --> 0:31:17.800 used to being full that we forget what it felt 0:31:17.840 --> 0:31:23.280 like to be hungry, and so we begin to drift 0:31:23.320 --> 0:31:25.680 away from the House of God, and wonder, has God 0:31:25.760 --> 0:31:28.760 forgotten me? Has God forsaken me? Did he forget to 0:31:28.800 --> 0:31:30.920 feed you? No, he didn't forget to feed you. He's 0:31:30.960 --> 0:31:34.240 putting food on the table every week. But God needs 0:31:34.240 --> 0:31:37.000 to feed you in the place he called you to be. 0:31:42.680 --> 0:31:45.440 And one of the most amazing things about this church 0:31:45.560 --> 0:31:48.239 is that you can show up week after week and 0:31:48.280 --> 0:31:50.520 get fed and you never have to give a single 0:31:50.640 --> 0:31:54.040 dime to this ministry because there's someone else on your 0:31:54.120 --> 0:31:56.880 row right now who believes so much in what God 0:31:57.000 --> 0:32:00.720 is doing in this place that they give sacrifice to 0:32:00.760 --> 0:32:03.480 see the gospel. Will go forward to build a banquet 0:32:03.520 --> 0:32:06.160 table for the masters, so that all can come and 0:32:06.200 --> 0:32:08.800 eat of His goodness, to taste and see that the 0:32:08.840 --> 0:32:11.400 Lord is good. But if this is the place where 0:32:11.400 --> 0:32:13.520 God feeds you, I don't know why you wouldn't give 0:32:13.560 --> 0:32:16.760 to help put food on the table. There's someone else 0:32:16.800 --> 0:32:19.120 who needs to eat there. The world needs what our 0:32:19.160 --> 0:32:25.040 father has. This is the house of God. Provision is 0:32:25.080 --> 0:32:29.360 connected to a place to a place. This is the 0:32:29.400 --> 0:32:34.000 place where my father feeds me. So he says to them, 0:32:35.240 --> 0:32:38.760 wait in Jerusalem, because my Father's going to send you 0:32:39.200 --> 0:32:43.080 the gift provision, the gift, the gift of what, the 0:32:43.120 --> 0:32:46.440 gift of the Holy Spirit. Of all the ways that 0:32:46.480 --> 0:32:48.600 God can provide for you in your life, the greatest 0:32:48.600 --> 0:32:50.840 provision of your Father will always be the gift of 0:32:50.880 --> 0:32:55.000 his presence. I love the Holy Spirit. I love to 0:32:55.040 --> 0:32:57.280 know that no matter what I'm walking through, that God 0:32:57.800 --> 0:33:02.280 is with me. So he says, wait in Jerusalem. My 0:33:02.440 --> 0:33:04.280 Father is going to send you the gift. He's going 0:33:04.360 --> 0:33:06.600 to provide for you in that place. He's going to 0:33:06.680 --> 0:33:09.160 send you the gift of the Holy Spirit. And when 0:33:09.160 --> 0:33:13.040 he sends you the spirit, you will receive power. And 0:33:13.080 --> 0:33:15.120 he says, and when you receive power, you will be 0:33:15.240 --> 0:33:19.720 my witnesses in Jerusalem, in Judea, in Samaria, into the 0:33:19.840 --> 0:33:22.040 ends of the yearth In other words, not only is 0:33:22.160 --> 0:33:25.880 provision connected to a place, but purpose is connected to 0:33:25.960 --> 0:33:29.160 a place as well. When God begins to do something 0:33:29.240 --> 0:33:31.760 in your life, it's always for a purpose greater than you. 0:33:32.200 --> 0:33:34.440 He says, I'm going to give you my spirit, but 0:33:34.520 --> 0:33:37.280 it's not just for your comfort. Although the apostles did 0:33:37.360 --> 0:33:39.960 need comfort. I'm going to give you my spirit, and 0:33:40.000 --> 0:33:42.360 it's not just for guidance. Although they wouldn't need God. 0:33:42.480 --> 0:33:45.320 He said, I'm going to give you my spirit, and 0:33:45.400 --> 0:33:49.360 when I do, you will receive power power to be 0:33:49.480 --> 0:33:52.160 my witnesses. There was a purpose that God was beginning 0:33:52.400 --> 0:33:55.680 to unfold through their lives that they would need the 0:33:55.680 --> 0:34:00.280 Holy Spirit for purpose is connected to a place. When 0:34:00.320 --> 0:34:03.160 God spoke to Abraham, he said he gave him an 0:34:03.160 --> 0:34:06.400 incredible promise for his life. He said, I'm gonna bless you, Abraham, 0:34:06.800 --> 0:34:09.600 and through you and your seed, I'm gonna bless the 0:34:09.760 --> 0:34:12.600 entire earth. And after he gives him this promise, he 0:34:12.640 --> 0:34:15.359 says to him, so go to the place I will 0:34:15.400 --> 0:34:19.080 show you. God had a specific purpose for Abraham, but 0:34:19.120 --> 0:34:22.279 that purpose would unfold in a specific place, and the 0:34:22.320 --> 0:34:25.560 scripture tells us in Hebrews that Abraham left the place 0:34:25.600 --> 0:34:28.440 he was native to. He left his home country, and 0:34:28.480 --> 0:34:31.200 he set out looking for the place that God had 0:34:31.320 --> 0:34:35.000 established for him, whose builder and architect was God. Because 0:34:35.040 --> 0:34:37.359 God had a purpose for his life, but it would 0:34:37.400 --> 0:34:41.400 unfold in the place. So it took obedience for Abraham 0:34:41.840 --> 0:34:44.680 to move and leave what was native to him and 0:34:44.719 --> 0:34:48.320 begin to step into what God had in store for him. 0:34:48.480 --> 0:34:52.360 Purpose is connected to a place. I love reading the 0:34:52.400 --> 0:34:54.920 scriptures when I think about all the people that God 0:34:55.040 --> 0:34:58.680 used in a significant way many times before God used them, 0:34:59.080 --> 0:35:03.160 he moved them. This, this, this blessed me because I'm 0:35:03.160 --> 0:35:06.520 an immigrant. My dad's an immigrant, his dad was an immigrant, 0:35:06.560 --> 0:35:09.400 his dad was come from a long line of immigrants. 0:35:09.520 --> 0:35:12.439 Then I'm reading the scriptures. How God moved Abraham, God 0:35:12.520 --> 0:35:17.879 moved Isaac, God moved Jacob, God moved Jeremiah, God moved Nehemiah, Naomi, Ruth. 0:35:18.080 --> 0:35:20.520 All these people that God used in a significant way, 0:35:20.560 --> 0:35:24.000 he first moved. And what's crazy to me is I love. 0:35:24.160 --> 0:35:26.040 As I'm getting to know people in our church often 0:35:26.120 --> 0:35:27.920 I ask him what brought you to Charlotte? And you 0:35:27.960 --> 0:35:30.120 know what they tell me. God, I'm like, no, no, no, 0:35:30.160 --> 0:35:32.320 just give me a come like, was it a job? 0:35:32.400 --> 0:35:36.000 Did you have? Grandchildren? Moved God? And I'm beginning to 0:35:36.040 --> 0:35:37.759 see more and more. No, that's really how he works. 0:35:37.840 --> 0:35:40.640 As sometimes God had a purpose for someone, so he 0:35:40.680 --> 0:35:43.000 would lift them up from the place they were native 0:35:43.040 --> 0:35:45.440 to and begin to move them to another. 0:35:45.200 --> 0:35:50.680 Place so that his purposes and plans could unfold. Just 0:35:50.760 --> 0:35:52.520 last night, we were at a couple of cells for dinner. 0:35:52.560 --> 0:35:54.959 They shared with us how all the reasons they thought 0:35:55.000 --> 0:35:58.080 they were moving to Charlotte, and all the other purposes 0:35:58.120 --> 0:36:01.600 that God had in store for them. Often, when God 0:36:01.680 --> 0:36:04.359 is getting ready to use someone, he'll move them from 0:36:04.360 --> 0:36:06.719 a place that they're native, to move them to a 0:36:06.760 --> 0:36:09.800 place so His purposes can unfold in their life. 0:36:10.120 --> 0:36:13.680 Purpose is connected to a place. This is what I've 0:36:13.719 --> 0:36:17.960 been excited to show you in this passage, because I'm 0:36:18.000 --> 0:36:21.200 reading how Jesus is going up to the Father and 0:36:21.239 --> 0:36:25.680 as and before he does, he tells them wait in Jerusalem, 0:36:25.719 --> 0:36:28.279 because my Father's going to send you the spirit there. 0:36:29.239 --> 0:36:33.399 And all along I'm asking myself the question, why Jerusalem? 0:36:34.360 --> 0:36:38.239 Why Jerusalem? It's his spirit. God could have sent his 0:36:38.280 --> 0:36:41.840 spirit anywhere. So as Jesus as sends, why didn't he 0:36:42.120 --> 0:36:43.640 Why didn't he let them just kind of get on 0:36:43.680 --> 0:36:45.680 their way and when He was ready send the spirit 0:36:45.760 --> 0:36:50.120 to where they are? Why Jerusalem? Well, I told you 0:36:50.160 --> 0:36:52.759 earlier that the day of Pentecost was part of a 0:36:52.760 --> 0:36:55.640 festival called the Feast of Weeks, And one of the 0:36:55.680 --> 0:36:58.279 things that came along with that festival was that in 0:36:58.320 --> 0:37:01.800 Deuteronomy sixteen sixty and God says that during this feast, 0:37:02.280 --> 0:37:05.239 every Jewish person, no matter where they live, needed to 0:37:05.400 --> 0:37:12.520 migrate back to Jerusalem. So Jesus speaks to the disciples 0:37:12.560 --> 0:37:15.680 and he says, stay in Jerusalem. I'm going to send 0:37:15.719 --> 0:37:17.319 you the gift of my spirit. And when I do, 0:37:17.440 --> 0:37:21.759 you're gonna be a witness in Jerusalem, in Judea, in Samaria. 0:37:21.840 --> 0:37:25.120 And get this and two the ends of the earth. 0:37:26.239 --> 0:37:29.759 So this is where Acts chapter two, verse five comes in, 0:37:29.920 --> 0:37:32.200 because every time I read Acts chapter two, I think 0:37:32.239 --> 0:37:34.560 about them in that house. They're praying, the apostles, the 0:37:34.600 --> 0:37:37.640 other women, they're praying, and God sends his spirit, fills 0:37:37.640 --> 0:37:40.080 the house like a mighty rushing wind and tongues of 0:37:40.120 --> 0:37:44.360 fireland I never paid attention to Acts chapter two, verse five. 0:37:44.880 --> 0:37:48.920 The purpose of this place. Now there were staying in Jerusalem, 0:37:49.160 --> 0:37:54.960 God fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. Do you 0:37:55.000 --> 0:37:59.719 see it? Do you see it? God says, wait in Jerusalem, 0:37:59.719 --> 0:38:03.880 because as He's preparing to send his spirit, at the 0:38:03.920 --> 0:38:09.560 same time, he's bringing people from every nation under heaven. 0:38:10.840 --> 0:38:14.440 So when Peter opens up that door, there are nations 0:38:14.440 --> 0:38:19.520 at his doorstep. And Peter begins to open up his 0:38:19.600 --> 0:38:22.400 mouth and through the power of the Holy Spirit. Every 0:38:22.480 --> 0:38:26.680 person hears that gospel message in their own language. He says, 0:38:26.719 --> 0:38:30.920 you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in Judea, in Samaria, 0:38:30.960 --> 0:38:34.560 and two the ends of the earth. The apostles wouldn't 0:38:34.600 --> 0:38:37.400 go to the ends of the earth because God was 0:38:37.440 --> 0:38:43.640 bringing the nations to them. This is the power of 0:38:43.680 --> 0:38:47.760 a place that God might just be arranging things where 0:38:47.800 --> 0:38:50.880 you find yourself right now, wait in the place he 0:38:50.960 --> 0:38:53.279 told you to be. God is up to something that 0:38:53.360 --> 0:38:56.120 you might not see by His plans and purposes are 0:38:56.200 --> 0:38:59.640 unfolding in your life. Eighteen years ago, when Pastor Stephen 0:38:59.680 --> 0:39:02.279 and Hall, Chunks and Amy and the core team, we're 0:39:02.320 --> 0:39:04.839 getting ready to launch a church, deciding where do we go? 0:39:04.880 --> 0:39:07.120 Where do we go? And they picked Charlotte, North Carolina. 0:39:07.560 --> 0:39:09.640 I remember Chunk's telling me all along he's going why 0:39:09.880 --> 0:39:12.759 Charlotte wasn't where he wanted to be. He keeps saying, 0:39:12.800 --> 0:39:19.520 why Charlotte, Why Jerusalem, Why Charlotte? Because of the purposes 0:39:19.560 --> 0:39:23.560 that God had in this place. I want to do 0:39:23.640 --> 0:39:27.839 something real quick. If you're a if you moved here 0:39:27.840 --> 0:39:30.279 from another country, or one of your parents moved here 0:39:30.280 --> 0:39:43.799 from another country, would you stand up right now and 0:39:43.920 --> 0:39:47.160 right now in the Chat, people from every nation under 0:39:47.200 --> 0:39:49.480 heaven joining us. Put it in the Chat where you're 0:39:49.560 --> 0:40:00.759 joining us from? Right now? Why Charlotte, Why Charlotte? This 0:40:00.920 --> 0:40:03.920 church has started at Providence High School just down the road. 0:40:04.520 --> 0:40:06.799 Who could have imagined what was in God's heart for 0:40:06.840 --> 0:40:09.840 this ministry? Who could have imagined what God had in 0:40:09.920 --> 0:40:12.879 so Who could have imagined that from this place the 0:40:12.920 --> 0:40:16.880 Gospel of Jesus Christ would touch the nations of the earth, 0:40:17.120 --> 0:40:21.960 that he would draw nations to this place. This is 0:40:22.000 --> 0:40:25.200 the power of a place that God is up to, 0:40:25.280 --> 0:40:28.719 something beyond what we could expect, beyond what we could imagine, 0:40:28.880 --> 0:40:32.800 beyond what we could dream. Why Jerusalem, Because as God's 0:40:32.840 --> 0:40:38.440 getting ready to send his spirit, He's drawing nations. And 0:40:38.600 --> 0:40:42.680 that day three thousand people would hear the message of 0:40:42.760 --> 0:40:45.960 Jesus and surrender their lives to him, and they would 0:40:46.040 --> 0:40:48.719 go back to the place they came from and in 0:40:48.800 --> 0:40:51.560 their own tongue begin to spread the message. That's how 0:40:51.600 --> 0:40:54.640 the Gospel of Jesus began to ripple throughout the earth. 0:40:55.080 --> 0:40:58.520 This is the purpose of a place. Who knows what 0:40:58.640 --> 0:41:01.600 God has his store for you? I asked Jeanie to 0:41:01.640 --> 0:41:06.120 sit in this worship experience, in that seat, because she 0:41:06.239 --> 0:41:08.240 was reminding me the other day that it was seven 0:41:08.320 --> 0:41:11.239 years ago that her dad, who immigrated here, came to 0:41:11.280 --> 0:41:14.160 our church, sat in that seat and stood to give 0:41:14.200 --> 0:41:16.880 his life to Christ. And it would just be a 0:41:16.880 --> 0:41:21.320 few months after that that unexpectedly he passed away. I said, Genie, 0:41:21.320 --> 0:41:23.239 you got to sit in the certa. It'll make sense 0:41:23.239 --> 0:41:25.280 to you when you hear the power of a place. 0:41:26.480 --> 0:41:29.000 What was in God's heart when he brought him all 0:41:29.000 --> 0:41:32.200 the way, all the way here to be in this place, 0:41:32.680 --> 0:41:35.280 to be in this place so that he could receive, 0:41:36.000 --> 0:41:38.920 receive something from God, so that when he'd go to 0:41:39.040 --> 0:41:42.680 a better place, he would have the gift of God's 0:41:42.680 --> 0:41:50.480 grace in God's eternal life. Some of you who stood earlier, 0:41:50.520 --> 0:41:53.440 I don't know all your reasons for moving to America. 0:41:53.480 --> 0:41:56.239 Maybe you were leaving a good situation and you sacrificed 0:41:56.280 --> 0:41:58.600 a lot. Maybe you were leaving a bed. You might 0:41:58.640 --> 0:42:00.520 have thought you were coming here for a bet. I 0:42:00.560 --> 0:42:02.160 want you to know God brought you here for a 0:42:02.200 --> 0:42:05.759 greater purpose. There is something on your life that God 0:42:05.800 --> 0:42:10.080 wants to do is drawing you to this place. Stand 0:42:10.160 --> 0:42:22.640 up for you, Look at this. When the day of 0:42:22.760 --> 0:42:28.680 Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly 0:42:28.719 --> 0:42:30.960 a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came 0:42:31.000 --> 0:42:36.480 from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 0:42:37.800 --> 0:42:41.000 It's interesting to me that first God filled the place, 0:42:42.000 --> 0:42:46.160 and then he filled the people. And that's how it 0:42:46.200 --> 0:42:48.400 works in our lives, that God will bring us to 0:42:48.440 --> 0:42:51.920 a place where he's got something that he's been preparing 0:42:52.000 --> 0:42:54.640 for us, something that we never could have met, something 0:42:54.680 --> 0:42:57.239 that went beyond what we even believed our potential could be, 0:42:57.320 --> 0:42:59.840 and provides for us in that place, and through his 0:43:00.200 --> 0:43:03.840 he fills the place, and then He fills the people. 0:43:04.400 --> 0:43:07.479 And when Pastor Stephen preached that sermon places everyone, he says, 0:43:07.520 --> 0:43:11.680 first God changes you, and then he changes the places 0:43:11.719 --> 0:43:14.840 you go. When you come into the presence of God 0:43:15.680 --> 0:43:17.719 and He touches you and he ministers to you and 0:43:17.760 --> 0:43:21.360 he fills you, then wherever you go, you bring the 0:43:21.360 --> 0:43:25.279 presence of God with you into your school, into your workplace, 0:43:25.560 --> 0:43:29.839 into your home. First God filled the place, and then 0:43:29.880 --> 0:43:34.400 he filled the people. This is not just a building. 0:43:34.680 --> 0:43:37.440 Wherever you are today, down in Orlando, in Greenville, and 0:43:37.520 --> 0:43:41.520 Concord in Toronto, wherever you're watching from joining us. This 0:43:41.680 --> 0:43:45.920 is not just a building. This is the house of God. 0:43:46.560 --> 0:43:49.080 This is where he feeds me. This is where his 0:43:49.160 --> 0:43:52.319 purpose is unfold in my life. This is where he 0:43:52.440 --> 0:43:55.560 fills me. And sometimes we have to have a moment 0:43:55.680 --> 0:43:58.480 like Jacob where he looked at something as simple as 0:43:58.520 --> 0:44:01.319 a rock and he annoyed and he said, surely this 0:44:01.400 --> 0:44:05.720 is the house of God. And I wasn't aware. Surely 0:44:05.800 --> 0:44:09.239 this is the house of God. How many of you 0:44:09.280 --> 0:44:12.680 have that testimony about this place today? Say it with me, 0:44:12.800 --> 0:44:18.960 says surely this is the house of God. First he 0:44:19.040 --> 0:44:23.319 filled the place, then he filled the people. God brought 0:44:23.360 --> 0:44:26.279 you here because there's something on your live. Don't leave 0:44:26.320 --> 0:44:29.200 the place he told you to be. Don't run so 0:44:29.320 --> 0:44:33.120 quickly from places that are uncomfortable, don't run so quickly 0:44:33.160 --> 0:44:36.400 from places that are painful. God meant just be preparing 0:44:36.440 --> 0:44:39.560 you there for what He has in store for you. 0:44:40.080 --> 0:44:42.640 This is the power of a place. Did you receive 0:44:42.719 --> 0:44:53.560 something from this message today? I had a real simple 0:44:53.600 --> 0:44:57.400 prayer this morning that just at its most basic level, 0:44:57.440 --> 0:45:00.440 that for some of you it would produce gratitud in 0:45:00.480 --> 0:45:02.400 your heart for the church that you get to be 0:45:02.440 --> 0:45:06.120 a part of This is a special place. Sometimes we 0:45:06.160 --> 0:45:09.240 can take it fort we get so used to being full, 0:45:09.880 --> 0:45:12.000 we forget what it felt like to be hungry. This 0:45:12.200 --> 0:45:15.960 is the house of God for others of you. I 0:45:16.080 --> 0:45:19.160 was praying that God would remind you of the purposes 0:45:19.200 --> 0:45:21.160 that He had for you and some of the reasons 0:45:21.160 --> 0:45:23.000 he brought you from the place you were and put 0:45:23.040 --> 0:45:25.279 you in this place. Y'all blessed me the other day 0:45:25.280 --> 0:45:27.399 when you were sharing how much God blessed you when 0:45:27.440 --> 0:45:30.160 you left Guatemala, and how He's opening up all those 0:45:30.200 --> 0:45:32.880 doors for you to do ministry. Now, what a blessing. 0:45:33.239 --> 0:45:37.640 It's the power of a place, the power of a place. 0:45:38.160 --> 0:45:40.680 There are things in the heart of the Father for you. 0:45:41.080 --> 0:45:44.319 He sees you, He sees you, and he's getting ready 0:45:44.360 --> 0:45:47.560 to do something. So don't leave Jerusalem. Don't leave the 0:45:47.600 --> 0:45:51.080 place that he called you to be. When I think 0:45:51.120 --> 0:45:53.200 about the power of a place, of course, I think 0:45:53.239 --> 0:45:57.319 about what Jesus did for us. I think about how 0:45:57.360 --> 0:46:00.720 he took the place I deserved when he went that cross. 0:46:02.239 --> 0:46:04.600 I think about how he could have called angels down 0:46:04.640 --> 0:46:07.480 to rescue him as he hung there. But he stayed, 0:46:07.840 --> 0:46:10.600 and he bled and he died, so that we could 0:46:10.680 --> 0:46:14.640 take his place as the righteousness of God. He stayed 0:46:14.640 --> 0:46:17.440 in that place so that we could be forgiven. He 0:46:17.600 --> 0:46:21.680 stayed in that place so we could have life. And 0:46:21.760 --> 0:46:23.880 right now, if you'll give me the honor, I'd love 0:46:23.960 --> 0:46:26.360 to take a moment just to lead you in a prayer, 0:46:26.760 --> 0:46:29.840 because there's someone watching online right now, or someone watching 0:46:29.840 --> 0:46:32.439 at one of our campuses right now. And God brought 0:46:32.480 --> 0:46:35.680 you to this place today so just like Genie's dad, 0:46:36.160 --> 0:46:39.640 you could receive the gift of God's salvation. You don't 0:46:39.640 --> 0:46:41.960 know what tomorrow holds, but God knows the plans and 0:46:42.000 --> 0:46:44.520 purposes he has for you. He brought you to this 0:46:44.640 --> 0:46:47.400 place today so that you could make the greatest decision 0:46:47.480 --> 0:46:50.879 of your life and give Jesus a place in your heart. 0:46:51.320 --> 0:46:53.520 Would you let him take the throne. We're going to 0:46:53.600 --> 0:46:55.440 bow our heads and close our eyes right now, and 0:46:55.840 --> 0:46:59.120 I want to lead us in a prayer for for 0:46:59.160 --> 0:47:01.279 those who are making it decision today to give their 0:47:01.320 --> 0:47:04.759 life to Jesus. Would you pray with me? Say, I 0:47:04.840 --> 0:47:10.279 believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and 0:47:10.360 --> 0:47:14.520 the savor of the world. I believe he died and 0:47:14.640 --> 0:47:19.960 rose again to forgive my sin and give me life. 0:47:20.200 --> 0:47:24.480 I receive your grace by faith. Come into my life 0:47:25.360 --> 0:47:28.839 and make me new. Headstill bowed, eyes still close. If 0:47:28.840 --> 0:47:31.600 you just prayed that prayer today to begin a relationship 0:47:31.640 --> 0:47:33.880 with God. When I count to three, would you be 0:47:33.920 --> 0:47:35.719 bold enough to shoot your hand up in the air. 0:47:36.040 --> 0:47:38.640 Be my privilege to celebrate what God has done in 0:47:38.680 --> 0:47:41.839 your heart today on three, one, two, three, shoot your 0:47:41.840 --> 0:47:44.280 hand up, holding up high. God, Bless you, my sister. 0:47:44.840 --> 0:47:47.839 God bless you my brother. Come on, can we thank 0:47:47.880 --> 0:47:51.399 the Lord in this place? Thank you for joining us. 0:47:51.680 --> 0:47:54.160 Special thanks to those of you who give generously to 0:47:54.200 --> 0:47:57.719 this ministry. Is because of you that this ministry is possible. 0:47:58.160 --> 0:48:00.359 You can click the link in the description to give 0:48:00.440 --> 0:48:04.600 now or visit Elevationchurch dot org slash podcast for more 0:48:04.600 --> 0:48:08.400 information and if you enjoyed the podcast, you can subscribe. 0:48:08.680 --> 0:48:10.000 You can share it with your friends. 0:48:10.320 --> 0:48:12.600 You can click the share button, take a screenshot and 0:48:12.640 --> 0:48:14.759 share it on your social stories and tag us at 0:48:14.760 --> 0:48:15.600 Elevation Church. 0:48:15.680 --> 0:48:17.360 Thanks again for listening. God bless you.