The Power Of Pre

0:00:01.520 --> 0:00:02.800 Hey, this is Stephen Ferdick. 0:00:02.800 --> 0:00:05.800 I'm the pastor of Elevation Church and this is our podcast. 0:00:05.880 --> 0:00:07.760 I wanted to thank you for joining us today. 0:00:08.080 --> 0:00:10.680 Hope this inspires you. Hope it builds your faith. 0:00:10.760 --> 0:00:12.840 Hope it gives your perspective to see God is moving 0:00:12.880 --> 0:00:13.560 in your life. 0:00:13.840 --> 0:00:14.760 Enjoy the message. 0:00:17.000 --> 0:00:21.440 We're coming from a little bit of an unknown scripture. 0:00:22.079 --> 0:00:24.120 This is not like Stairway to Heaven or a led 0:00:24.200 --> 0:00:27.479 Zepplin song that everybody knows. This is a deep track 0:00:27.560 --> 0:00:31.840 from the Book of Second Kings thirteen fourteen through twenty 0:00:32.200 --> 0:00:32.559 part ay. 0:00:32.560 --> 0:00:33.720 I want to read it real quick for you. 0:00:33.760 --> 0:00:36.040 It says, now Elisha had been suffering from the illness 0:00:36.040 --> 0:00:36.880 from which he died. 0:00:37.040 --> 0:00:38.440 Jaho Ash, king. 0:00:38.320 --> 0:00:40.520 Of Israel, went down to see him and wept over him. 0:00:41.479 --> 0:00:45.480 And he uses this expression that was used when Elijah 0:00:46.159 --> 0:00:48.000 was taken up to heaven. He was the prophet who 0:00:48.440 --> 0:00:53.520 preceded Elisha, and he says, my father, my father. 0:00:53.320 --> 0:00:56.600 The Cheerias and horsemen of Israel. 0:00:56.840 --> 0:00:58.959 He didn't know what he would do as king if 0:00:58.960 --> 0:01:01.920 he didn't have the man of God giving guidance and strategy. 0:01:02.960 --> 0:01:06.480 And so he's weeping over an opportunity that is passing, 0:01:07.720 --> 0:01:12.319 and Elisha, instead of giving him some sort of chicken. 0:01:12.120 --> 0:01:16.880 Soup for the kingly soul work with me, now. 0:01:18.840 --> 0:01:22.880 Gives him a set of marching orders. He gives him 0:01:23.920 --> 0:01:29.119 something to do. And most of us, if we would 0:01:29.120 --> 0:01:35.760 do what we already knew, we could see. 0:01:35.600 --> 0:01:37.920 Victory in our life. It's not a lack of knowledge. 0:01:37.920 --> 0:01:42.360 A lot of times it's a lack of courage or 0:01:42.400 --> 0:01:46.800 a lack of conviction. And so he understands something that 0:01:46.840 --> 0:01:50.080 he's got to get Jehosh the King to move out 0:01:50.080 --> 0:01:54.880 of apathy and to own the outcome and fight for himself. 0:01:55.080 --> 0:01:55.760 It's almost as. 0:01:55.720 --> 0:02:01.440 If Elisha's saying, stop crying, man up. Look at verse fifteen, 0:02:01.800 --> 0:02:04.960 get a bow and some arrows. Take the bow in 0:02:05.000 --> 0:02:09.839 your hands. And when he had taken it, Elisha put 0:02:09.840 --> 0:02:13.320 his hands on the King's hands. And our theme, we 0:02:13.400 --> 0:02:16.840 said was in verse seventeen, open the east window, and 0:02:16.919 --> 0:02:20.400 he opened it. He wanted him to view the victory 0:02:20.440 --> 0:02:21.600 before he fought the battle. 0:02:22.240 --> 0:02:23.720 It's the power of a preview. 0:02:24.680 --> 0:02:27.280 And I don't know about you, but I'm looking into 0:02:27.360 --> 0:02:32.560 my future with expectation and anticipation. Amen, I don't need 0:02:32.560 --> 0:02:37.360 any news network to define the future for me. I 0:02:37.440 --> 0:02:41.520 have a preview of Heaven's agenda for my life, and 0:02:41.600 --> 0:02:44.920 I'm pointing my expectation in the direction of my destiny, 0:02:45.000 --> 0:02:48.280 believing that the best is ahead. Touch somebody and say, 0:02:48.320 --> 0:02:49.720 your best is before you. 0:02:49.720 --> 0:02:51.560 Your best is not behind you. 0:02:51.680 --> 0:02:53.960 The devil is a liar. You have not seen your 0:02:54.000 --> 0:02:58.359 best stays. The best is yet to be. Open the window. 0:02:58.880 --> 0:03:02.640 Stop staring at the stop thinking about what you lost, 0:03:03.000 --> 0:03:04.360 Get what you have left. 0:03:04.639 --> 0:03:08.840 Open the east window and shoot. Take the shot. 0:03:10.000 --> 0:03:14.320 And he shot, and he proclaimed the Lord's arrow of victory, 0:03:15.400 --> 0:03:20.040 the arrow of victory over aarm. Everybody has an aarm. 0:03:20.320 --> 0:03:22.040 Everybody has a next battle to fight. 0:03:22.120 --> 0:03:26.000 Everybody has a keystone conquest that if you. 0:03:26.000 --> 0:03:29.280 Win this one, it'll set you up for success in 0:03:29.320 --> 0:03:30.360 all of the other ones. 0:03:30.919 --> 0:03:32.520 I don't know what your Arab is this year. 0:03:32.600 --> 0:03:35.720 It might be very, very practical. But he told him 0:03:35.760 --> 0:03:36.600 to aim. 0:03:36.440 --> 0:03:41.040 At aram, don't run from it, face it in faith. 0:03:42.000 --> 0:03:45.640 But don't put your eyes on aerm. Put your eyes 0:03:45.680 --> 0:03:48.200 on the arrow flying over aarm. 0:03:49.320 --> 0:03:51.680 Kind of like Peter, if he would keep his eyes 0:03:51.720 --> 0:03:53.600 on the one who was above the wind in the waves, 0:03:53.680 --> 0:03:57.800 he could float. The bottoms of his feet were somehow 0:04:00.200 --> 0:04:04.360 water resistant, but when he looked at the wind and 0:04:04.440 --> 0:04:08.120 the waves. When you look at aram you always become afraid. 0:04:08.160 --> 0:04:11.640 But if you watch the arrow, watch the arrow, keep 0:04:11.680 --> 0:04:14.320 your eye on the promise of God over your life. 0:04:14.360 --> 0:04:19.279 He said, you will completely destroy the Aramians at afect. 0:04:20.560 --> 0:04:23.840 And we said last week that the arrow is flying 0:04:23.880 --> 0:04:24.479 over your life. 0:04:24.520 --> 0:04:27.560 The window of opportunity is here. But what comes next 0:04:27.600 --> 0:04:31.000 is so important because what just. 0:04:30.960 --> 0:04:34.520 Happened is a powerful prediction of victory. But what happens 0:04:34.560 --> 0:04:39.159 next is a practical assignment. And here I want to 0:04:39.160 --> 0:04:41.560 spend my time on week two of work your window. 0:04:41.680 --> 0:04:45.800 Then he said, okay, sometimes that's what happens after you 0:04:45.880 --> 0:04:52.280 come to church, get inspired, worship God, move the mountains 0:04:52.360 --> 0:04:55.800 and all of that. And sometimes it's the little thing. 0:04:55.920 --> 0:04:58.080 Sometimes it's not the mountains, it's the mole hills. Talk 0:04:58.160 --> 0:05:00.719 to me, somebody. 0:05:01.400 --> 0:05:02.440 He said, take. 0:05:02.240 --> 0:05:05.640 The arrows, and the king took them, and Laisha told 0:05:05.720 --> 0:05:08.640 him strike the ground, and he struck it three times. 0:05:09.520 --> 0:05:14.479 He was in compliance, but he wasn't fully committed. He 0:05:14.560 --> 0:05:17.200 struck it three times. He was in compliance, but he 0:05:17.240 --> 0:05:18.360 wasn't committed. 0:05:19.800 --> 0:05:23.520 And stopped. Remember the Man of God said, get a bow. 0:05:23.520 --> 0:05:26.440 He said, take the bowl he said, open the window, 0:05:26.560 --> 0:05:30.000 take the arrows, strike the ground. But he didn't say stop. 0:05:30.920 --> 0:05:35.120 He didn't say stop. There's something in your life today 0:05:35.120 --> 0:05:38.520 that God has not said stop about. 0:05:41.400 --> 0:05:41.479 You. 0:05:41.839 --> 0:05:42.240 Watch this. 0:05:43.160 --> 0:05:48.279 The Man of God was angry with him and said, 0:05:49.000 --> 0:05:49.960 you should have. 0:05:51.000 --> 0:05:54.080 Struck the ground five or six times. 0:05:55.680 --> 0:05:59.920 Then you would have defeated Aram and completely destroyed it. 0:06:01.040 --> 0:06:04.080 Sometimes we do just enough to survive, but not enough 0:06:04.080 --> 0:06:10.600 to really succeed, so we stay stuck. In fact, we 0:06:10.640 --> 0:06:13.400 tell ourselves the story that we're stuck. Is it that 0:06:13.720 --> 0:06:15.680 you're stuck or is it that you stopped? 0:06:19.640 --> 0:06:23.679 You would have completely destroyed it, but now you will. 0:06:23.480 --> 0:06:25.680 Defeat it only three times and watch the window close. 0:06:25.720 --> 0:06:27.960 In verse twenty, Elisha died and was buried. 0:06:28.320 --> 0:06:30.880 Is over. Now you should have done it, you didn't 0:06:30.880 --> 0:06:31.200 do it. 0:06:32.680 --> 0:06:34.240 And I want to pick up right where I left 0:06:34.279 --> 0:06:36.680 off last week on the power of precision, I talked 0:06:36.680 --> 0:06:40.760 about determined the decision before the battle begins. This message 0:06:40.839 --> 0:06:48.400 is called the power of pre just pre you know, 0:06:48.640 --> 0:06:56.799 just pre pre light, pre marital counseling. Me and Holly 0:06:56.839 --> 0:06:59.839 had some pre marital counseling before we got married, straightened 0:06:59.839 --> 0:07:06.320 her out, got our dysfunctions, not completely eliminated, but manageable. 0:07:09.840 --> 0:07:15.560 And then I got her some pre natal vitamins after 0:07:15.640 --> 0:07:23.119 we got married, because I got her pregnant the power 0:07:23.160 --> 0:07:28.760 of pre and we did not have to sign a 0:07:28.800 --> 0:07:32.520 pre nup. We didn't have no pre nothing to sign 0:07:32.600 --> 0:07:38.400 it over the power of That's what I want to 0:07:38.400 --> 0:07:43.120 preach about. Sent my kids to pre school, trying to 0:07:43.160 --> 0:07:47.600 get them prepared. And I believe in the value of preparation. 0:07:48.800 --> 0:07:51.240 I really do. I think they said like this. 0:07:51.680 --> 0:07:53.520 Not only do I think that the outcome of the 0:07:53.520 --> 0:07:59.120 battle is often decided before it begins, pre decided precision, 0:08:00.400 --> 0:08:01.600 but I also think. 0:08:02.400 --> 0:08:04.880 See if I can say this just right, because the 0:08:04.920 --> 0:08:06.360 way the Lord spoke it to me, it made sense 0:08:06.400 --> 0:08:06.600 to me. 0:08:07.760 --> 0:08:10.720 I think that most of us are not currently performing 0:08:10.760 --> 0:08:13.120 at the level of our potential. We're performing at the 0:08:13.200 --> 0:08:14.280 level of our preparation. 0:08:16.880 --> 0:08:19.240 It's just a simple way of saying what Elisha said 0:08:19.240 --> 0:08:22.040 to jeho Ash. 0:08:21.040 --> 0:08:24.280 There was more that God had in store, but you 0:08:24.520 --> 0:08:30.040 stop sure, and I wonder are you living beneath the 0:08:30.120 --> 0:08:34.000 level of your potential. I'll admit the world doesn't really 0:08:34.040 --> 0:08:40.000 celebrate preparation these days. We live in a post oriented world. Okay, 0:08:40.720 --> 0:08:43.640 speaking of marriage, history between me and Holly. 0:08:44.440 --> 0:08:47.400 I'tey somethingal quick. I've told you this before. I told 0:08:47.400 --> 0:08:48.240 you this several times. 0:08:48.280 --> 0:08:52.200 But she's a great cook, and she got me voluptuous 0:08:52.240 --> 0:08:56.040 in our first eighteen months of marriage. And recently she 0:08:56.120 --> 0:08:59.079 found a picture of me with my shirt off, looking 0:08:59.160 --> 0:09:05.000 kind of filled out, and real quick. 0:09:04.800 --> 0:09:05.960 This isn't a nutrition class. 0:09:05.960 --> 0:09:07.360 I understand you didn't come for all that, and I 0:09:07.400 --> 0:09:10.040 don't claim to be a model of health any of that, Okay. 0:09:10.760 --> 0:09:12.679 I just found what works for me, and I work it, 0:09:12.720 --> 0:09:13.960 and what works for me is just a plan. 0:09:14.040 --> 0:09:15.840 The reason I got fat when we got married is 0:09:15.880 --> 0:09:18.760 because we didn't plan our meals that much. So it 0:09:18.840 --> 0:09:21.439 was Mexican at the last minute, nine thirty at night. 0:09:21.720 --> 0:09:28.400 Remember this was pre children, right, This was back when 0:09:28.440 --> 0:09:31.520 you could just pick up and do that and you 0:09:31.559 --> 0:09:34.400 didn't have to prepare anything. So we were just we 0:09:34.400 --> 0:09:37.520 were just enjoying everything, and I figured I got my woman, 0:09:37.640 --> 0:09:39.720 so I don't need to look good. 0:09:40.559 --> 0:09:41.280 I'm just kidding. 0:09:42.440 --> 0:09:45.160 But she found a picture of how I look back. 0:09:44.960 --> 0:09:49.079 Then, and it looked you've seen. 0:09:48.880 --> 0:09:51.880 The infomercials late at night like that before picture. 0:09:52.160 --> 0:09:53.600 I had my eyes closed. 0:09:54.040 --> 0:09:56.520 I didn't even remember the picture, and I was just 0:09:56.559 --> 0:09:59.120 having some fun and I went and found a picture. 0:09:58.840 --> 0:10:00.880 Of me now and I put them side by side, 0:10:01.040 --> 0:10:04.079 just for me. Send it to Holly and said, how 0:10:04.080 --> 0:10:07.240 many men get better looking as the years go by? 0:10:08.559 --> 0:10:09.880 And she started praising the Lord. 0:10:09.920 --> 0:10:16.079 She sent me some praise hands Emodish and. 0:10:16.080 --> 0:10:18.160 I was showing Elijah my old listen. He said you 0:10:18.160 --> 0:10:21.240 should post that, Daddy, and I said I'm not. 0:10:21.800 --> 0:10:26.160 I said, boy, let me teach you something. Everything is 0:10:26.200 --> 0:10:27.920 not meant to be posted. 0:10:30.800 --> 0:10:31.600 My point number one. 0:10:31.640 --> 0:10:33.839 I got four points of this message. Point number one 0:10:33.920 --> 0:10:37.240 is the post. Because we live in a world where 0:10:37.240 --> 0:10:44.199 everybody wants to post everything, and we got people who 0:10:44.280 --> 0:10:49.360 are more interested in posting than they are in progress. 0:10:52.160 --> 0:10:55.520 One man was talking about the game Guitar Hero, the 0:10:55.600 --> 0:10:58.400 game where you can press the buttons and pretend pretend 0:10:59.200 --> 0:11:01.920 to play the guitar. You don't have to prepair, you 0:11:02.120 --> 0:11:04.360 just pretend. And he said, everybody wants to be a 0:11:04.440 --> 0:11:07.240 rock star, but nobody wants to learn the chords. 0:11:09.880 --> 0:11:12.080 Preparation is underrated. 0:11:12.120 --> 0:11:16.360 Preparation is not very celebrated in our culture, is uh 0:11:17.120 --> 0:11:21.040 Because we want to post and we need instant validation. 0:11:21.240 --> 0:11:24.640 We live in the age of outrage, instant outrage and 0:11:24.720 --> 0:11:25.720 instant validation. 0:11:26.960 --> 0:11:29.280 We learned to tweet before we learn to think. 0:11:33.840 --> 0:11:37.440 Just post everything that you think, like everybody needs to 0:11:37.480 --> 0:11:39.920 hear what you know. I'm thinking about doing a lesson 0:11:39.920 --> 0:11:43.120 because it's disturbing me and show you the difference between 0:11:43.400 --> 0:11:49.680 a journal and a Facebook page. Everything you think does 0:11:49.800 --> 0:11:55.240 not deserve an audience. Preach past statement age, break to 0:11:55.320 --> 0:11:55.840 the people. 0:12:02.520 --> 0:12:04.559 Some of y'all are shouting because you're hoping that your 0:12:04.559 --> 0:12:08.559 aunt Susie in Oklahoma. Here's this message. She's embarrassing you 0:12:09.120 --> 0:12:13.880 and the whole family the post. 0:12:14.920 --> 0:12:16.280 I know you're wondering how m I get back to 0:12:16.280 --> 0:12:18.840 second Things thirteen. I know exactly how to get back there. 0:12:20.520 --> 0:12:23.440 See because I prepared. 0:12:23.920 --> 0:12:24.360 To preach. 0:12:24.720 --> 0:12:26.040 What would you do if I came up here to 0:12:26.080 --> 0:12:30.200 preach and instead of telling you to turn your Bible ass? 0:12:30.200 --> 0:12:32.760 So I got anything you want. 0:12:32.640 --> 0:12:35.559 To talk about this week? 0:12:36.880 --> 0:12:44.360 Anybody, Let's think whole Testament, New Testament. Look at some scriptures? 0:12:45.240 --> 0:12:48.679 Do see who looking for? 0:12:52.360 --> 0:12:55.360 And I wonder, why do you expect me to prepare 0:12:56.440 --> 0:13:00.960 to preach. I'm not gonna be mean about it, but 0:13:01.120 --> 0:13:05.200 just the question are you prepared to receive? 0:13:09.160 --> 0:13:13.079 Because the last time I checked. It's often the quality 0:13:13.240 --> 0:13:17.319 of the soil that determines the harvest more than the 0:13:17.400 --> 0:13:21.520 quality of the sea. 0:13:22.360 --> 0:13:25.520 Sometimes when chumps will tell me that was your best 0:13:25.559 --> 0:13:28.079 sermon you ever preached, I said, no, you finally just listen. 0:13:31.120 --> 0:13:35.200 I'm preaching good every week. You're just awake this week 0:13:39.960 --> 0:13:43.280 when the king went down to see Elisha. Remember he 0:13:43.600 --> 0:13:50.080 had recently been appointed to his post as king, and 0:13:50.200 --> 0:13:53.080 Elisha has not been mentioned in the scriptures. 0:13:52.440 --> 0:13:56.199 For something like forty five years, but he's still on 0:13:56.240 --> 0:14:00.520 his post. There's something about staying on post. 0:14:02.240 --> 0:14:05.160 It is the lost art of being planted. 0:14:06.920 --> 0:14:13.520 And you are never going to fulfill purpose until you 0:14:13.640 --> 0:14:19.200 commit to your post. Thinking about posting a couple of 0:14:19.200 --> 0:14:23.440 different ways, I'm thinking about how God has posted some 0:14:23.600 --> 0:14:27.480 of you in places that seem insignificant, And isn't that 0:14:27.480 --> 0:14:29.360 really the message of Second King's. 0:14:29.160 --> 0:14:30.680 Thirteen fourteen through twenty. 0:14:31.080 --> 0:14:32.720 We were talking the other day in a little group 0:14:32.720 --> 0:14:34.440 about this passage, and one person said, I. 0:14:34.440 --> 0:14:36.760 Feel sorry for the king. If Elisha would have wanted 0:14:36.800 --> 0:14:39.320 him to strike the ground five or six times, he 0:14:39.360 --> 0:14:41.760 should have told him to strike it five or six times. 0:14:42.040 --> 0:14:44.080 And I think the message here is that God leaves 0:14:44.080 --> 0:14:44.960 a lot of it up to you. 0:14:47.280 --> 0:14:48.320 How far do you want to go? 0:14:50.440 --> 0:14:54.040 I don't think God makes all the decisions for your life. 0:14:54.320 --> 0:14:58.000 I think he lets you decide, within certain parameters, how 0:14:58.080 --> 0:15:04.400 much purpose orotential you want to fulfill. I don't think 0:15:04.400 --> 0:15:07.120 that God precides everything about our life. Do I believe 0:15:07.120 --> 0:15:08.200 that we each have a purpose? 0:15:08.240 --> 0:15:08.440 Yes? 0:15:08.480 --> 0:15:10.640 Do I believe that He's God whether or not you 0:15:10.720 --> 0:15:11.360 marry Jimmy? 0:15:11.440 --> 0:15:13.760 Yes? Do I believe that you quitting your job will 0:15:13.800 --> 0:15:17.840 cause the cosmos to collapse, or that any presidential office 0:15:17.840 --> 0:15:19.080 could thwart her overpower? 0:15:19.760 --> 0:15:22.280 The presence and the pre eminence of God. No, I 0:15:22.320 --> 0:15:25.400 believe he's sovereign. But I also believe that within his sovereignty, 0:15:26.520 --> 0:15:28.080 he has left space. 0:15:30.120 --> 0:15:38.640 For you and I to take responsibility the post How 0:15:38.680 --> 0:15:42.040 do you preach about the value of preparation in a 0:15:42.080 --> 0:15:49.200 post oriented world. How do you preach to a It's not. 0:15:49.120 --> 0:15:51.520 Really an age thing, it's not really a social media thing. 0:15:51.560 --> 0:15:53.760 I mean, I've put stuff on line too, just like 0:15:54.080 --> 0:15:58.480 the rest of you. But I wonder sometimes do we 0:15:58.520 --> 0:16:04.200 want recognition before we've taken responsibility? 0:16:04.960 --> 0:16:07.200 Do we need the. 0:16:07.400 --> 0:16:10.800 Pat on the back the battle is won or lost 0:16:12.720 --> 0:16:17.520 in preparation. This is true of athletes. I can tell 0:16:18.040 --> 0:16:21.880 any athletes in the house. Are there any professional athletes 0:16:21.920 --> 0:16:25.280 in the house. Any NASCAR drivers. 0:16:24.920 --> 0:16:31.360 In the house. Y'all know NASCAR is not that simple. 0:16:33.040 --> 0:16:36.520 I mean, it is a very sophisticated sport. I only 0:16:36.560 --> 0:16:38.720 know because of Joey Brittany. If he isn't racing, I 0:16:38.720 --> 0:16:42.400 don't watch. I'm not a NASCAR fan. I cheer for 0:16:42.440 --> 0:16:50.000 twenty two comes to my church and he told me 0:16:50.040 --> 0:16:52.120 to come out to a race to see him race. 0:16:52.160 --> 0:16:54.720 I really want to go to the NASCAR race. And 0:16:54.760 --> 0:16:56.760 after I went, I was fascinated. I got to hear 0:16:56.800 --> 0:16:58.040 his teamwork and everything. 0:16:58.320 --> 0:17:01.440 And Chunks, who I mentioned earlier, who only half listens 0:17:01.440 --> 0:17:02.560 to my sermons sometimes. 0:17:02.680 --> 0:17:04.080 I'm kidding about Chunks. 0:17:04.400 --> 0:17:07.760 But he turned to me and said something because when 0:17:07.760 --> 0:17:09.960 I went to the race, Joey wan, I'm not saying 0:17:10.000 --> 0:17:12.159 it was the favor of God because your pastor was 0:17:12.200 --> 0:17:12.960 at the race track. 0:17:13.000 --> 0:17:14.639 I would never say something like that. I would only 0:17:14.680 --> 0:17:15.239 employ it. 0:17:18.000 --> 0:17:19.879 But he won, and Chunks looked at me on the 0:17:19.880 --> 0:17:22.480 way home, he said, you know what's interesting about that race? 0:17:22.520 --> 0:17:24.919 He said that race wasn't one on the track. It 0:17:25.040 --> 0:17:28.720 was won in the garage because he had been talking 0:17:28.760 --> 0:17:32.000 to one of your team members during the race, explaining 0:17:32.040 --> 0:17:36.520 how all week the team is three hundred and fifty people. 0:17:36.520 --> 0:17:40.560 He told me, working on that car, you see one driver, 0:17:42.440 --> 0:17:44.560 and he's a good driver, and if he can't drive, 0:17:45.320 --> 0:17:45.960 they don't win. 0:17:47.080 --> 0:17:51.520 But no matter how well he can drive, it's not 0:17:51.640 --> 0:17:56.080 what happens on Sunday. I feel like preaching a little bit. 0:17:56.880 --> 0:18:00.120 Because I think this has something in common with spirituality. 0:18:01.040 --> 0:18:03.879 It's what happens Monday when they're trying to make the 0:18:03.920 --> 0:18:06.240 car a tenth of a pound lighter. Just a tenth 0:18:06.280 --> 0:18:09.080 of a pound lighter can make all the difference. I mean, 0:18:09.160 --> 0:18:12.040 just a little bit, just a little tweak on the motor, 0:18:12.400 --> 0:18:14.960 just a little race note on this track and this turn. 0:18:15.280 --> 0:18:16.800 And I'm making stuff up because I don't know a 0:18:16.800 --> 0:18:19.679 lot about NASCAR. But what I'm trying to say is 0:18:20.320 --> 0:18:23.520 maybe God is more interested in the garage than he 0:18:23.680 --> 0:18:31.119 is the track. God is a god of preparation. He 0:18:31.240 --> 0:18:34.439 would not feed the multitudes until they sat down in 0:18:34.480 --> 0:18:38.520 the grass. Why provision awaits preparation. 0:18:39.240 --> 0:18:40.520 You've been asking. 0:18:40.160 --> 0:18:42.840 God to send it, and he's been asking you to 0:18:43.000 --> 0:18:43.480 form it. 0:18:43.680 --> 0:18:52.439 Does he can't fail what you don't form post. It 0:18:52.560 --> 0:18:53.760 was decided. 0:18:54.320 --> 0:18:58.320 The battle had not been fought yet, but Elisha predicted 0:18:58.600 --> 0:19:04.280 the outcome based on the King's persistence and preparation. 0:19:05.359 --> 0:19:06.200 Here's what he said. 0:19:08.000 --> 0:19:12.159 If you won't do the groundwork, when it doesn't seem 0:19:12.200 --> 0:19:15.560 to make sense, if all you want. 0:19:15.480 --> 0:19:29.720 Is this great marriage, happy family, eight pack, whatever, prayer, life, whatever, 0:19:29.840 --> 0:19:32.359 I don't care what it is. I'm telling you it's 0:19:32.400 --> 0:19:41.320 about the garage. He is the god of the garage. 0:19:40.320 --> 0:19:45.040 Tweaking stuff and fixing stuff. Stuff you can't see. Because 0:19:45.080 --> 0:19:49.879 my second point is the point. I don't think I've 0:19:49.920 --> 0:19:51.360 ever had a sermon point. 0:19:52.640 --> 0:19:57.359 About the point, but I've tried to put myself. I tried. 0:19:57.800 --> 0:19:59.119 Here's the thing about perspective. 0:19:59.160 --> 0:20:01.800 And if you're watching, uh the news sometimes and you're 0:20:01.800 --> 0:20:04.880 seeing somebody that you disagree with, and your first instinct 0:20:04.920 --> 0:20:06.640 is to argue with them. Before you argue with them, 0:20:06.920 --> 0:20:09.320 try to get their perspective. Try try to get an 0:20:09.359 --> 0:20:10.280 inverted perspective. 0:20:10.320 --> 0:20:12.080 That's called empathy. 0:20:13.040 --> 0:20:15.320 And so one way, Jonathan, you were texting me yesterday 0:20:15.320 --> 0:20:17.480 about reading the Bible and preaching and all of this, 0:20:17.600 --> 0:20:19.439 and and I was trying to show him some things. 0:20:19.920 --> 0:20:24.040 And when you when you take jeho Ash as a villain, 0:20:25.160 --> 0:20:28.160 and and and and jeho Ash is a lazy man, 0:20:28.240 --> 0:20:31.080 and and you don't you don't stop to think about 0:20:31.080 --> 0:20:35.040 what's happening here in that How many times have you 0:20:35.160 --> 0:20:39.879 stopped because it didn't make sense? The reason I believe 0:20:39.880 --> 0:20:44.320 he stopped is because arrows are supposed to go like this. 0:20:46.040 --> 0:20:50.200 What sense does it make to put an arrow in 0:20:50.280 --> 0:20:55.480 the ground? And I want to point this out to you. 0:20:59.040 --> 0:21:01.000 I'm having fun, man. I love what I do. I 0:21:01.119 --> 0:21:03.359 do what I love, and. 0:21:05.520 --> 0:21:07.639 To do this with something that's supposed to do this, 0:21:09.720 --> 0:21:12.000 It's hard to be persistent when you can't see the purpose. 0:21:12.040 --> 0:21:17.199 That's all I'm trying to say. And I guess what 0:21:17.240 --> 0:21:22.600 I wanted to tell you, Daniel's son is that mister 0:21:22.680 --> 0:21:26.560 Miagi isn't always going to explain to you why you're 0:21:26.600 --> 0:21:32.200 painting his fence. That he's not always going to tell 0:21:32.240 --> 0:21:36.320 you why you're waxing his car. And I know that 0:21:36.400 --> 0:21:38.440 you would paint the fence if you knew the purpose 0:21:39.200 --> 0:21:40.080 of painting the fence. 0:21:40.440 --> 0:21:42.159 And I know that you would wax the car if 0:21:42.200 --> 0:21:43.600 you knew the purpose of waxing the car. And I 0:21:43.640 --> 0:21:45.160 know that you would stay a virgin. If God would 0:21:45.160 --> 0:21:46.040 give you your wedding date. 0:21:54.160 --> 0:22:00.879 See Jehosh had a calling and elish enroll them in 0:22:00.920 --> 0:22:01.440 a class. 0:22:02.040 --> 0:22:05.000 Write this down. Don't expect the class to look like 0:22:05.040 --> 0:22:15.359 the calling. Don't expect your training, don't expect your don't 0:22:15.400 --> 0:22:21.399 expect your preparation to look like your promise. Because the 0:22:21.480 --> 0:22:23.200 place God prepares. 0:22:22.800 --> 0:22:28.000 You the most is the place that seems the most 0:22:28.160 --> 0:22:28.960 pointless to you. 0:22:31.920 --> 0:22:35.639 I laugh when people talk about elevation Church being a 0:22:36.240 --> 0:22:42.000 marketing phenomenon. I laugh because in a sense they're correct. 0:22:42.000 --> 0:22:43.879 Who lights the lamp and puts it under a bowl 0:22:44.160 --> 0:22:45.880 and put it on the stand, give light to everybody 0:22:45.960 --> 0:22:46.520 in the house. 0:22:47.160 --> 0:22:49.440 I didn't get the gospel to keep it to myself. 0:22:50.560 --> 0:22:51.359 I didn't start a. 0:22:51.440 --> 0:22:53.240 Church so I could get one hundred and twenty people. 0:22:53.280 --> 0:22:55.760 Send everybody else to hell. Both the doors and everybody 0:22:55.760 --> 0:23:00.080 sing Kumbai Yah while the ships come sailing by. 0:23:00.160 --> 0:23:01.720 You're right, we. 0:23:01.760 --> 0:23:05.320 Want to get the word out, but it takes me 0:23:05.400 --> 0:23:06.480 back to my preparation. 0:23:07.520 --> 0:23:10.199 Now. To understand why Elisha was angry, you would have 0:23:10.240 --> 0:23:16.959 to understand something about his process. You really can't understand 0:23:17.000 --> 0:23:21.880 someone's priorities without knowing their process. So I didn't start 0:23:22.000 --> 0:23:23.600 marketing the church with the budget. 0:23:24.920 --> 0:23:27.800 I started marketing in ministry, if you want to call 0:23:27.840 --> 0:23:33.040 it marketing, printing out flyers because Jamie Williams gave me 0:23:33.080 --> 0:23:36.359 his code to the copying machine at First Baptist Church 0:23:37.960 --> 0:23:39.879 and let me run off three hundred. He said, no 0:23:39.920 --> 0:23:42.080 more than three hundred, but I gave him out every 0:23:42.160 --> 0:23:47.600 Monday to FCA at Berkeley High School, I was marketing 0:23:47.640 --> 0:23:51.439 with a copier code. I was marketing on the Summer 0:23:51.520 --> 0:23:55.440 Impact team. When I say work your window, when I say, 0:23:55.520 --> 0:23:58.560 even if there's a peephole right now, if you'll work 0:23:58.560 --> 0:24:01.399 your copier code, maybe one day God will. 0:24:01.280 --> 0:24:02.320 Give you a billboard. 0:24:02.359 --> 0:24:05.880 Come on, somebody, I know what I'm talking about from. 0:24:05.640 --> 0:24:07.320 My personal experience. 0:24:08.119 --> 0:24:11.600 It's not a theory or a principle or philosophy. It 0:24:11.720 --> 0:24:15.919 is my personal experience that if you are faithful in little, 0:24:16.160 --> 0:24:19.360 he'll make you faithful and much. Why would he waste 0:24:19.400 --> 0:24:21.639 more if you're not working what you have now. 0:24:25.520 --> 0:24:29.760 So we traveled to this small little town in South Carolina. 0:24:30.040 --> 0:24:32.760 I don't remember if it was Camden. I think it 0:24:32.800 --> 0:24:36.280 was Camden. We were supposed to hold a youth rally. 0:24:36.280 --> 0:24:39.440 Holly can tell you we were on a summer impact team, 0:24:39.920 --> 0:24:43.280 a ministry team that Chris crossed the state of South Carolina, 0:24:43.359 --> 0:24:44.320 hosting back. 0:24:44.119 --> 0:24:49.280 To our Bible clubs and revivals. And we were so excited. 0:24:48.960 --> 0:24:51.480 About our theme that we had developed called Run to Win. 0:24:52.560 --> 0:24:53.320 And I had a. 0:24:53.240 --> 0:24:56.080 Theme, and I had a team, and I put Holly 0:24:56.119 --> 0:24:58.959 on my team because I liked her, and I figured, 0:24:58.960 --> 0:25:01.000 if I can get her in this van with me 0:25:01.520 --> 0:25:04.719 for eleven weeks, she will get attracted to my anointing. 0:25:05.640 --> 0:25:09.080 And I worked my window all the way to my 0:25:09.240 --> 0:25:09.960 wedding day. 0:25:10.600 --> 0:25:14.960 I'm just preaching what I practice. Now. Look at me, y'all. 0:25:16.200 --> 0:25:19.720 We went to our first stop so excited. Run to Win. 0:25:20.720 --> 0:25:23.199 The Youth is our first stop going all summer. It's 0:25:23.240 --> 0:25:29.480 eleven week ministry extravaganza across the state of South Carolina. 0:25:29.800 --> 0:25:32.760 And the youth pastor said, well, I got some good 0:25:32.800 --> 0:25:36.879 news when we got there. I said, cool man, He said, 0:25:36.880 --> 0:25:40.840 no kids signed up. I said, how is that good news? 0:25:41.200 --> 0:25:43.639 He said, oh, you can chilled by the pool this week. 0:25:44.080 --> 0:25:48.320 Take a little break. I said, bro, it's my first week. 0:25:49.160 --> 0:25:53.080 I don't need a ten I need some kids and. 0:25:53.160 --> 0:25:56.000 My lion, Holly. That we hit the streets so hard. 0:25:56.640 --> 0:25:58.960 Was it Kimden? Am I getting the town wrong? I 0:25:58.960 --> 0:26:02.119 don't remember. But we canvas that town. 0:26:02.240 --> 0:26:06.280 Let's call it Camden. We canvas Camden. I mean flyers 0:26:06.320 --> 0:26:09.280 on every door. By the last night of the crusade, 0:26:09.520 --> 0:26:12.920 we had it at forty. Kids, you ain't clapping because 0:26:12.960 --> 0:26:16.040 you don't think that's big. Forty's big when you thought 0:26:16.080 --> 0:26:18.600 you were gonna be by the pool at the Motel 0:26:18.720 --> 0:26:24.719 six all week in Camden. And I know what you're thinking, 0:26:25.040 --> 0:26:30.560 what's the point? That's exactly what I was thinking. It's 0:26:30.600 --> 0:26:37.080 called ground game, It's called preparation. Why would God have 0:26:37.200 --> 0:26:40.080 led me past her thousands if I wasn't willing to 0:26:40.160 --> 0:26:43.879 hit the streets for forty. 0:26:47.320 --> 0:26:51.160 And I wish I knew I could preach so much. 0:26:51.000 --> 0:26:54.480 Better if I knew what God's got you doing right now? 0:26:55.160 --> 0:26:58.040 That seems kind of pointless. I would have stopped too. 0:26:58.320 --> 0:26:59.639 I don't even know if I would have put to 0:26:59.840 --> 0:27:01.119 three three arrows in the ground. 0:27:01.320 --> 0:27:03.480 It doesn't make sense to strike the ground. 0:27:03.240 --> 0:27:05.040 With something that's supposed to fly in the air. 0:27:06.680 --> 0:27:09.280 It doesn't make sense to declare victory with an instrument 0:27:09.320 --> 0:27:13.000 of death call a cross. It doesn't make sense to 0:27:13.080 --> 0:27:16.040 kill a giant with a slingshot, with the most inexperienced 0:27:16.080 --> 0:27:19.360 one on the battlefield doing the slinging. It doesn't make 0:27:19.400 --> 0:27:22.200 sense to deliver a nation with a stick in your hand. 0:27:22.720 --> 0:27:26.199 It doesn't make sense. God prepares you to trust the 0:27:26.280 --> 0:27:29.439 teacher by putting you in a class that does not 0:27:29.600 --> 0:27:36.280 look like the calling. Lions and bears don't look like Goliath, 0:27:36.720 --> 0:27:38.720 but they are the perfect preparation. 0:27:41.440 --> 0:27:43.120 Now I'll come to the point in my life where 0:27:43.119 --> 0:27:46.960 I'm learning to trust my teacher to know that even 0:27:47.000 --> 0:27:52.879 if this doesn't look like it, everything is preparation, and 0:27:52.920 --> 0:27:53.720 I mean everything. 0:27:55.320 --> 0:28:02.119 Every fence I paint, every car I wax, every offense 0:28:03.160 --> 0:28:03.840 is preparation. 0:28:07.359 --> 0:28:10.920 Maybe this won't take your pain away, but if you 0:28:10.920 --> 0:28:14.560 would start seeing your pain as preparation. 0:28:14.960 --> 0:28:16.919 I'm not saying God's the one who hurt you. 0:28:18.080 --> 0:28:24.359 I'm saying in his hands whatever hurt you will become 0:28:24.480 --> 0:28:31.760 healing for where He's taking you. I'm prophesying to somebody. 0:28:31.800 --> 0:28:34.959 I don't know who you are, but God is preparing you. 0:28:35.320 --> 0:28:39.120 He's getting you ready. You're in the field, your tending sheep. 0:28:39.600 --> 0:28:43.480 God is preparing you for what He has prepared for you. 0:28:47.440 --> 0:28:54.760 It's not failure it's preparation doesn't feel like preparation, it 0:28:54.800 --> 0:28:59.640 feels like failure. But the failure was preparation so that 0:28:59.640 --> 0:29:03.600 I would have the infrastructure and the fortitude for the success. 0:29:06.720 --> 0:29:10.240 God's got me in the garage right now. Garage doesn't 0:29:10.240 --> 0:29:11.200 look like the racetrack. 0:29:14.680 --> 0:29:19.640 But God's not done. He hadn't hit posts yet. 0:29:22.240 --> 0:29:24.200 All things work together for the good of those who 0:29:24.320 --> 0:29:26.520 love God and are called according to his purpose. 0:29:27.600 --> 0:29:36.160 He's preparing me. Yeah. Point the point is for you 0:29:37.080 --> 0:29:41.880 to trust a teacher. That's the point. Take the arrow 0:29:42.280 --> 0:29:43.120 strike the ground. 0:29:44.840 --> 0:29:46.880 And I spent all week trying to figure out something 0:29:47.800 --> 0:29:51.000 I was preparing This week. I wanted to come to 0:29:51.040 --> 0:29:55.160 the pulpit prepared, and I knew that there would be 0:29:55.160 --> 0:29:57.560 at least one person paying attention. 0:29:57.280 --> 0:29:58.040 Who would want to know. 0:30:00.000 --> 0:30:04.040 How would Elisha get so angry over something so simple? Well, 0:30:04.080 --> 0:30:05.760 first of all, he was about one hundred and ten 0:30:05.840 --> 0:30:07.960 years old. I don't imagine there's much to be happy 0:30:08.000 --> 0:30:08.760 about at that age. 0:30:08.800 --> 0:30:15.160 You'd be crotchety too, So that's number one. 0:30:15.320 --> 0:30:17.760 But for my second clue, I wanted to give you 0:30:17.800 --> 0:30:24.680 point number three, the plow, because I figured there would 0:30:24.720 --> 0:30:29.480 probably be something about Elisha's process that would help me 0:30:29.560 --> 0:30:33.480 understand his insistence on perseverance. 0:30:33.520 --> 0:30:35.520 He could not believe what he saw. 0:30:35.560 --> 0:30:38.160 He could not believe that someone would have an arrow 0:30:38.200 --> 0:30:40.920 of victory in their hand, but refused to do what 0:30:41.080 --> 0:30:44.920 needed to be done to secure the victory. And so 0:30:44.960 --> 0:30:48.040 I went back through his life and just remembered the 0:30:48.080 --> 0:30:48.640 few things. 0:30:49.440 --> 0:30:50.120 This is one of my. 0:30:50.040 --> 0:30:53.640 Favorite Bible characters. He was the subject of my book 0:30:54.280 --> 0:30:57.440 that I wrote called Greater. So me and him spent 0:30:57.480 --> 0:31:00.360 a lot of time together, and I saw on one 0:31:00.360 --> 0:31:06.560 time these kings needed rain. They needed provision from heaven, 0:31:07.480 --> 0:31:10.640 and Elisha told them, okay, you want rain, dig some ditches. 0:31:11.960 --> 0:31:14.480 But see now it wasn't raining yet, so they didn't 0:31:14.520 --> 0:31:19.800 need an irrigation system. But Elisha knew that the key 0:31:19.960 --> 0:31:23.160 to receiving provision is to make preparation before you can 0:31:23.200 --> 0:31:30.360 perceive it. So he told him to dig some ditches. 0:31:30.680 --> 0:31:33.640 The first thing that he did when he took the 0:31:33.640 --> 0:31:37.960 mantle from Elijah. 0:31:37.040 --> 0:31:38.520 The one who left him in transition. 0:31:39.280 --> 0:31:42.200 The first thing that he did was to heal some 0:31:42.320 --> 0:31:44.760 water in a town called Jericho, some water that had 0:31:44.800 --> 0:31:48.280 become toxic, and to revive the economy, he needed to 0:31:48.280 --> 0:31:48.960 heal the water. 0:31:48.800 --> 0:31:51.600 Supply, and so he asked for some salt. 0:31:51.720 --> 0:31:54.480 Salt comes out of the ground, of course we know this. 0:31:54.640 --> 0:31:56.680 It comes either from the ocean or it comes from. 0:31:56.560 --> 0:32:02.160 The mines, but either way it's manufacture by pressure. I 0:32:02.160 --> 0:32:04.400 could preach about the power of pressure too, I guess. 0:32:04.280 --> 0:32:07.280 If I wanted to see, because it looks like pressure, 0:32:07.280 --> 0:32:11.360 but it's really preparation. Think of Jesus in the garden 0:32:11.400 --> 0:32:14.719 of got Semonet s many means olive press. It was 0:32:14.880 --> 0:32:18.200 the pressure of the garden so great that it was 0:32:18.240 --> 0:32:20.920 like drops of blood. When he sweat, it was like 0:32:21.040 --> 0:32:22.720 drops of blood. I don't know if he burst the 0:32:22.720 --> 0:32:26.720 capillary or if it was like that metaphorically or literally. 0:32:27.000 --> 0:32:30.800 Either way, he was under pressure. His pressure was his preparation. 0:32:31.200 --> 0:32:33.880 Quit asking God to take the stress away, Start asking 0:32:33.960 --> 0:32:38.040 him to show you how to handle it. Nevertheless, not 0:32:38.080 --> 0:32:43.800 my will, but your will be done. He made a precision. 0:32:44.360 --> 0:32:47.640 It's the power of pre It's the power of preparation. 0:32:49.600 --> 0:32:51.640 Is the power of taking salt and throwing it. 0:32:51.600 --> 0:32:55.320 In the water. And the water was purified. And I 0:32:55.360 --> 0:32:56.400 was noticing how. 0:32:57.960 --> 0:33:02.960 Elisha wasn't afraid to get his hands dirty, which took 0:33:03.000 --> 0:33:04.520 me all the way back to the first time I 0:33:04.560 --> 0:33:08.040 saw him in scripture, because Elijah had kind of had 0:33:08.040 --> 0:33:10.720 a little melt down and he threw a little hissy fit. 0:33:11.520 --> 0:33:15.080 God doesn't need you to be perfect me. God doesn't 0:33:15.080 --> 0:33:17.040 need you to make perfect be perfect. He just needs 0:33:17.040 --> 0:33:22.240 you to keep making progress. And when Elijah went back, 0:33:22.280 --> 0:33:27.320 God said, all right, now, I have made preparations for 0:33:27.440 --> 0:33:29.680 your successor. Elijah was so tired he didn't know what 0:33:29.720 --> 0:33:32.640 to do next. Jesseph I wanted to kill him, and 0:33:32.680 --> 0:33:33.840 he didn't have a backup plan. 0:33:34.240 --> 0:33:37.160 But God did. And God said, if you'll get back 0:33:37.200 --> 0:33:41.480 going the way you came, I've got your succession plan 0:33:41.560 --> 0:33:44.280 already in place, and I'll show it to you when 0:33:44.320 --> 0:33:47.880 you get back in position. Elijah is walking. 0:33:47.920 --> 0:33:50.440 I had him pull this one scripture for you because 0:33:50.480 --> 0:33:52.040 it was so profound when it hit me, and I 0:33:52.120 --> 0:33:55.840 understood it once. Why Elisha was angry when the king 0:33:56.000 --> 0:33:59.680 would not strike the ground. It's in One Kings, nineteen nineteen. 0:34:00.000 --> 0:34:01.880 I want you to look at this. It says that. 0:34:02.120 --> 0:34:05.040 Elijah went from there, the place where he was making excuses, 0:34:05.080 --> 0:34:08.080 feeling sorry for himself. He went from there the place 0:34:08.120 --> 0:34:11.560 of pressure, the threat of Jessebel, the anxiety of the future. 0:34:11.760 --> 0:34:13.600 He went from there on the word of the Lord 0:34:14.560 --> 0:34:19.160 and found Elisha. Please read with me, because what I'm 0:34:19.200 --> 0:34:22.360 gonna show you next is gonna explain to you why 0:34:22.719 --> 0:34:25.840 the season that you're in doesn't feel significant, but it 0:34:25.920 --> 0:34:28.600 is so important that you do it with all your heart, 0:34:28.640 --> 0:34:29.800 with all your mind, with all your. 0:34:29.640 --> 0:34:34.360 Soul, with all your strength. He found Elisha, son of Sheafat, 0:34:34.920 --> 0:34:42.520 and Elisha was preaching. Now, remember his calling was to 0:34:42.560 --> 0:34:44.600 be a prophet, but. 0:34:44.680 --> 0:34:47.480 Sometimes the classroom doesn't look like the calling. 0:34:49.920 --> 0:34:54.920 He wasn't prophesying. He was plowing. 0:34:57.000 --> 0:35:01.840 He was digging up hard ground. He was not Not 0:35:01.880 --> 0:35:04.680 only was he plowing, but he was plowing twelve yoke 0:35:04.680 --> 0:35:07.680 about Oxen, and he himself was driving the twelfth pair. 0:35:08.360 --> 0:35:14.720 What do you think the views like when you're less 0:35:14.760 --> 0:35:19.799 than line? And at first I couldn't figure out via. 0:35:19.880 --> 0:35:25.680 Elija didn't go to the prophet school. What if God, 0:35:25.800 --> 0:35:29.280 if God was preparing somebody to take up the mantle 0:35:29.320 --> 0:35:31.120 of Elijah. 0:35:30.320 --> 0:35:34.040 What did he get him from the prophet school? But 0:35:34.080 --> 0:35:37.000 he didn't want somebody who knew how to preach. He 0:35:37.120 --> 0:35:40.560 wanted somebody who knew how to plow. Because if you're 0:35:40.560 --> 0:35:43.640 willing to plow, I can teach you to preach, but 0:35:43.760 --> 0:35:49.719 I need somebody who's not scared, not backing up, not 0:35:49.800 --> 0:35:53.120 gonna get tired and turn back. He puts his hand 0:35:53.160 --> 0:35:55.520 to the plow and looks back. It's not fit for 0:35:55.600 --> 0:36:01.960 the Kingdom of God. I need somebody who knows how 0:36:01.960 --> 0:36:02.560 to plow. 0:36:04.680 --> 0:36:06.720 And we have a generation that knows how to post 0:36:06.760 --> 0:36:14.359 but doesn't know how to plow. We got more windows 0:36:14.960 --> 0:36:23.160 than we've got work. I mean, you came here today, right, 0:36:25.120 --> 0:36:26.879 and you came to be in the presence of God? 0:36:26.960 --> 0:36:29.960 Am I right? Am I right? Did you come to 0:36:30.000 --> 0:36:31.680 be in the presence of God? Come on every location 0:36:32.400 --> 0:36:34.160 watching online? Did you come to be in the presence 0:36:34.160 --> 0:36:39.239 of God? Okay, presence starts with pre You think this 0:36:39.480 --> 0:36:45.880 just popped up? You think that You think it just you? Oh, 0:36:46.200 --> 0:36:53.359 you think it came down. No, it was Elisha understood 0:36:53.440 --> 0:37:05.600 the principle of preparation. Provision awaits preparations. So I hope 0:37:05.640 --> 0:37:09.279 you enjoyed the music today. You should have. I mean, 0:37:10.080 --> 0:37:11.399 I know where I'm preaching right now. 0:37:11.400 --> 0:37:13.480 It's probably not raining in a lot of locations where 0:37:13.480 --> 0:37:15.080 you're watching this, or you're watching this on TV, But 0:37:15.080 --> 0:37:17.680 it was raining the day at church and somebody had 0:37:17.719 --> 0:37:24.080 an umbrella. I mean there were parking team people who 0:37:24.080 --> 0:37:27.160 were preparing for you in the park. Here's what I realized. 0:37:32.239 --> 0:37:34.799 I can preach as far as I can preach, but 0:37:34.800 --> 0:37:38.080 preach starts with pre If somebody don't park you, I 0:37:38.080 --> 0:37:45.000 can't preach to you. And Elisha understood it's not Sometimes 0:37:45.800 --> 0:37:46.720 it gives the victory. 0:37:47.960 --> 0:37:49.759 It's the groundwork. 0:37:49.800 --> 0:37:57.360 It's the preparationist, the underground stuff. It's those chairs that 0:37:57.400 --> 0:38:00.759 you're sitting in at Valentine. Many of you are sitting 0:38:00.800 --> 0:38:03.600 in a chair. I mean you're sitting in a chair. 0:38:04.640 --> 0:38:05.920 You know why you're sitting. 0:38:05.600 --> 0:38:11.319 In that chair because Steve spaced him. Yeah, came out. 0:38:11.320 --> 0:38:14.960 He measured them to make sure that the seats were 0:38:15.000 --> 0:38:21.279 at the prime proximity to create maximum capacity, so that 0:38:21.360 --> 0:38:24.680 you could He plowed so you could PLoP. That's the 0:38:24.719 --> 0:38:28.279 way I'm trying to say. And if he didn't plow, 0:38:28.320 --> 0:38:32.919 you couldn't PLoP. I'm just pointing it out. 0:38:32.920 --> 0:38:34.600 How many of you are going to use the bathroom 0:38:34.600 --> 0:38:36.080 at one of our campuses. 0:38:35.640 --> 0:38:39.200 Before the day is over. You already did it. Hey man, 0:38:39.280 --> 0:38:40.840 it's a little TMI. I'm not gonna lie to you, 0:38:40.880 --> 0:38:46.000 but I'm trying to make a point. You might grab 0:38:46.080 --> 0:38:48.040 a little breath mint. 0:38:49.320 --> 0:38:52.720 In the bathroom, And the reason that there's a breath 0:38:52.719 --> 0:38:56.720 mint in the bathroom is because Ashley comes every week. 0:38:58.239 --> 0:39:01.240 She's doing a little pre praise. 0:39:02.360 --> 0:39:05.719 Service to God to make sure that your neighbor when 0:39:05.760 --> 0:39:08.920 you open your mouth and give God praise, that your 0:39:09.000 --> 0:39:11.399 neighbor isn't distracted. 0:39:14.640 --> 0:39:16.200 That's her pre praise service to God. 0:39:16.280 --> 0:39:18.759 Before you got here, she'd making sure that it was 0:39:18.840 --> 0:39:22.799 clean that elevation pen that you will steal, because we 0:39:22.840 --> 0:39:25.960 want you to steal it. Want you to steal it 0:39:26.000 --> 0:39:28.399 and tip big with it, and then invite that serve 0:39:28.440 --> 0:39:31.439 her to church. If she can't come on Sunday morning, 0:39:31.520 --> 0:39:34.840 bring her on Saturday night, take her to midweek whatever. 0:39:34.920 --> 0:39:36.439 I don't care, but steal the pen. 0:39:37.040 --> 0:39:38.960 But the greeter team, they didn't just smile at you 0:39:39.000 --> 0:39:39.640 when they came in. 0:39:39.880 --> 0:39:42.960 They were pre See. I'm trying to get a point across. 0:39:44.040 --> 0:39:49.360 You experienced the presence of God because somebody made preparation. 0:39:52.440 --> 0:39:54.759 Somebody prepared for you to be here. 0:39:55.080 --> 0:39:56.640 It's the power of pre. 0:39:58.480 --> 0:40:00.400 Recently, I told my son Elijah, I want him to 0:40:00.440 --> 0:40:02.800 start seeing behind the scenes because I didn't want my 0:40:02.920 --> 0:40:05.799 kid growing up thinking that a church was a green 0:40:05.880 --> 0:40:09.920 room in a stage, and so I was like, I 0:40:09.960 --> 0:40:12.839 want you to go see the kids ministry, which is amazing, 0:40:13.680 --> 0:40:22.160 I said, which is amazing. He also wanted to see 0:40:22.880 --> 0:40:27.279 the video how the video works, because technologically what we 0:40:27.360 --> 0:40:30.000 do here is I think it's pretty excellent. And all 0:40:30.000 --> 0:40:35.319 the campuses, it's amazing what our teams do. Really over 0:40:35.360 --> 0:40:36.759 seven thousand volunteers. 0:40:37.360 --> 0:40:38.279 By the way, this isn't a. 0:40:38.239 --> 0:40:40.440 Volunteer push, but I feel like the campus pastors might 0:40:40.440 --> 0:40:42.680 send me a gift card or something if I tell 0:40:42.960 --> 0:40:45.480 some of you, when are you going to stop plopping 0:40:47.880 --> 0:40:52.120 and start plowing? My God from Zion. 0:40:57.320 --> 0:40:59.440 And stopped by that tent? Is it black or orange? 0:40:59.480 --> 0:41:01.960 These days? Ain't no ten. 0:41:02.000 --> 0:41:04.960 There's a table at Valentine and tents elsewhere, and if 0:41:05.000 --> 0:41:07.320 you go, there'd be somebody to show you how. Somebody 0:41:07.320 --> 0:41:11.240 say start plowing. So Elijah went back and he said, Daddy, 0:41:11.320 --> 0:41:13.800 you have got to see it in v control, the 0:41:14.440 --> 0:41:18.080 room where they do all the video stuff, with all 0:41:18.120 --> 0:41:18.960 the cameras and everything. 0:41:18.960 --> 0:41:21.080 He says, amazing what happens behind the scenes. I said, 0:41:21.120 --> 0:41:21.480 you like it? 0:41:21.480 --> 0:41:23.400 He said, no, I'm not telling you I'm telling you, 0:41:23.480 --> 0:41:28.359 it's amazing. He said, you got to see Chelsea. She's 0:41:28.400 --> 0:41:32.320 the one calling the shops. And I watched her, and 0:41:32.360 --> 0:41:35.560 I knew what he was saying. I snuck in today 0:41:35.640 --> 0:41:37.880 right before I preached, they were preparing. 0:41:37.920 --> 0:41:39.880 Because before we got here, and before I preached him, 0:41:39.920 --> 0:41:42.080 before you praised him, before we experienced the presence of God, 0:41:42.560 --> 0:41:45.799 they were plowing. And they weren't paid to plow, either 0:41:45.840 --> 0:41:48.120 of these people that I'm about to show you. They 0:41:48.120 --> 0:41:53.040 were plowing because of the purpose of God. Now I 0:41:53.120 --> 0:41:55.560 want to show you. It's just a quick, quick window. 0:41:55.640 --> 0:41:57.600 It's a quick window into the work that they do 0:41:58.160 --> 0:41:58.799 that's back there. 0:41:58.880 --> 0:42:08.319 Just roll it real quick. And watching Chelsea. 0:42:09.239 --> 0:42:32.160 See the location synced up all on the same. 0:42:30.160 --> 0:42:30.920 How cool is that? 0:42:31.480 --> 0:42:34.239 And every time she's saying that it's switching a camera. 0:42:34.280 --> 0:42:37.400 I know, I sound kind of like a redneck saying this, like, 0:42:37.520 --> 0:42:40.439 can y'all believe they have these cameras back there? 0:42:42.280 --> 0:42:43.440 But I was blown away. 0:42:43.560 --> 0:42:46.640 She's just I mean, don't even see that because this 0:42:47.960 --> 0:42:49.120 underground stuff. 0:42:50.000 --> 0:42:54.319 Two taking two, taken three, take it. I was watching 0:42:54.360 --> 0:42:55.840 her one time. I was like, how does she know 0:42:55.880 --> 0:42:56.360 how to do that? 0:42:56.400 --> 0:42:59.000 You gotta have like musicality to do it, and I 0:42:59.120 --> 0:42:59.759 found out how. 0:43:00.680 --> 0:43:03.239 She said that her mom taught dance. In fact, her 0:43:03.280 --> 0:43:07.360 mom teaches abby dance. My daughter. I didn't know this. 0:43:07.440 --> 0:43:11.200 She's been doing that for me for five years. She said. 0:43:11.239 --> 0:43:12.560 She danced to high school. 0:43:12.600 --> 0:43:15.239 She said, at high school that's the time where you 0:43:15.360 --> 0:43:18.680 either go professional or find something. 0:43:18.440 --> 0:43:19.000 Else to do. 0:43:19.880 --> 0:43:21.640 And she said, I wasn't good enough to go on 0:43:21.719 --> 0:43:23.560 and do something else. I danced all the way through 0:43:23.640 --> 0:43:26.160 high school and loved it, and then I came here 0:43:26.200 --> 0:43:28.879 to do this, she said. 0:43:28.920 --> 0:43:30.640 I never would have imagined. 0:43:30.160 --> 0:43:39.200 Though that my mom, she said me dance would one 0:43:39.280 --> 0:43:43.400 day enable me to be on my post every week. 0:43:44.640 --> 0:43:48.200 And I might not be a professional dancer, but. 0:43:48.239 --> 0:43:51.759 I know how to plow. And now look at her 0:43:51.800 --> 0:43:58.719 calling the shots. I'll say, East, wind off, go ahead, Chelsea. Three, 0:43:58.840 --> 0:44:05.520 take it three, four, taking four, one, taking six, taking five, 0:44:05.600 --> 0:44:06.440 taking seven. 0:44:06.200 --> 0:44:08.759 And taking eight. 0:44:08.040 --> 0:44:14.080 Two taking two. Don't you understand that God has been 0:44:14.120 --> 0:44:23.600 preparing you your whole life. You are in preparation right now. 0:44:24.640 --> 0:44:36.280 And my fourth p is promotion. Stand up, I'm done. 0:44:33.880 --> 0:44:38.680 God said, if you will keep plowing, this is what 0:44:38.800 --> 0:44:40.640 I want to get into you. Over the next several 0:44:40.640 --> 0:44:43.920 weeks of the series. Really, we're just getting started with 0:44:43.960 --> 0:44:47.360 this series. I really feel like God is doing something 0:44:47.400 --> 0:44:50.520 in this series. I might just preach this series till 0:44:50.719 --> 0:44:51.840 the year twenty thirty. 0:44:52.600 --> 0:44:57.239 I might preach it till Jesus comes back, because. 0:44:57.000 --> 0:44:59.319 I really believe that if you will plow, he will 0:44:59.360 --> 0:45:05.719 promote and you can trust him. 0:45:05.840 --> 0:45:11.000 Is it possible that the pre is more important than 0:45:11.040 --> 0:45:14.960 the post? Is it possible that what happens in the garage, 0:45:15.040 --> 0:45:18.400 what happens in the heart, is more important than what 0:45:18.520 --> 0:45:26.880 happens in my life. He's preparing me for what He 0:45:26.920 --> 0:45:31.719 has prepared for me. And the preparation doesn't always look 0:45:31.800 --> 0:45:35.400 like the promise. Doesn't have to. 0:45:37.080 --> 0:45:42.399 When the time came for Elisha to be promoted, God 0:45:42.480 --> 0:45:46.080 knew exactly where he was. He was on his post. 0:45:48.600 --> 0:45:51.080 When it came time for Elisha to be promoted. He 0:45:51.120 --> 0:45:54.400 didn't have to point to himself. God pointed him. 0:45:54.239 --> 0:45:56.560 Out to Elijah. 0:45:56.760 --> 0:46:03.640 The post, the point, the plow. He was just simply 0:46:04.280 --> 0:46:06.560 doing what he had to do in this season. 0:46:08.480 --> 0:46:10.759 And if you humble yourself under the mighty hand of 0:46:10.840 --> 0:46:14.800 God and just keep striking the ground. See this isn't 0:46:14.800 --> 0:46:16.840 the sexy part of spiritual development. 0:46:18.239 --> 0:46:20.840 This is the part where you don't see the point, 0:46:21.000 --> 0:46:23.480 but you continue in the process. 0:46:24.440 --> 0:46:26.719 Persistence is the key. 0:46:26.520 --> 0:46:28.640 To the promise of God. 0:46:29.920 --> 0:46:34.600 Somebody shouts, you know, God is getting you ready and 0:46:34.840 --> 0:46:40.640 he will lift you up. See. 0:46:40.640 --> 0:46:43.000 God had an assignment for Elisha, and God has an 0:46:43.040 --> 0:46:47.400 assignment for you. He said, you've learned how to plow 0:46:47.440 --> 0:46:49.520 hard ground. Now you've got to learn how to plow 0:46:49.600 --> 0:46:50.240 hard hearts. 0:46:50.960 --> 0:46:55.000 Nothing that you've been through will be wasted. Nothing that 0:46:55.040 --> 0:46:58.120 you've been through us for nothing. Nothing that you've been 0:46:58.200 --> 0:47:02.319 through us for no purpose. I've always been working, I've 0:47:02.360 --> 0:47:09.120 always had a purpose in mass. God is working in 0:47:09.160 --> 0:47:16.080 my life. It is the power of pre Prepare to prevail, 0:47:18.520 --> 0:47:24.480 Prepare to prevail. I'm closing, But the arrow of Erb 0:47:25.360 --> 0:47:28.480 is flying over the life of everyone who will do 0:47:28.560 --> 0:47:29.520 the groundwork. 0:47:30.200 --> 0:47:33.799 I mean, I'm I'm a living witness that if you 0:47:33.920 --> 0:47:36.040 will stay with it, touch somebody say. 0:47:35.920 --> 0:47:40.080 Stay with it, stay with it, stay with it, stay 0:47:40.120 --> 0:47:43.160 with it. If you will stay with it, I know 0:47:43.320 --> 0:47:47.719 God is giving you a great a great window to 0:47:47.760 --> 0:47:52.319 see the opportunities that He's placed before your life. But 0:47:52.440 --> 0:47:57.359 how can he trust you with more until you are 0:47:57.400 --> 0:48:10.880 faithful where you are so God is cultivating. 0:48:10.280 --> 0:48:13.640 Your calling right now, and he might send you to 0:48:13.719 --> 0:48:14.600 Camden to do it. 0:48:17.000 --> 0:48:20.200 He might have you in the garage, he might take 0:48:20.239 --> 0:48:20.760 you apart. 0:48:23.200 --> 0:48:27.480 So when you get to the track, you are built 0:48:27.600 --> 0:48:29.440 to make it to that. 0:48:31.560 --> 0:48:35.920 Somebody shout, I'm getting ready. I'm getting ready. I'm getting ready. 0:48:36.239 --> 0:48:38.800 I'm getting ready. I'm getting ready. You might want to 0:48:38.840 --> 0:48:41.520 shove your neighbor, put him on notice. I've cat ready. 0:48:41.800 --> 0:48:45.760 God seize me, God preparing me. God. I'm so purpose 0:48:45.880 --> 0:48:48.440 all my life, and it will come to pass. 0:48:48.920 --> 0:48:49.400 I know it. 0:48:49.480 --> 0:48:56.000 I see it from there. I'm ready now, I'm ready now. 0:49:00.400 --> 0:49:01.520 Thank you for joining us. 0:49:01.840 --> 0:49:04.279 Special thanks to those of you who give generously to 0:49:04.360 --> 0:49:07.840 this ministry. Is because of you that this ministry is possible. 0:49:08.280 --> 0:49:10.840 You can click the link in the description to give now, 0:49:11.360 --> 0:49:15.239 or visit Elevationchurch dot org slash podcast for more information 0:49:15.760 --> 0:49:18.520 and if you enjoyed the podcast, you can subscribe. 0:49:18.800 --> 0:49:20.160 You can share it with your friends. 0:49:20.440 --> 0:49:22.719 You can click the share button, take a screenshot and 0:49:22.760 --> 0:49:24.879 share it on your social stories and tag us at 0:49:24.880 --> 0:49:25.719 Elevation Church. 0:49:25.840 --> 0:49:32.400 Thanks again for listening. God bless you