The Power of the Prompt

0:00:00.400 --> 0:00:02.240 Hey, don't start clicking off. I promise we're going to 0:00:02.279 --> 0:00:04.320 get to the preaching in just a moment. But I'm 0:00:04.360 --> 0:00:08.720 excited about this. This is a very special tradition at Elevation, 0:00:08.880 --> 0:00:10.440 and we want to speak to all of you who 0:00:10.760 --> 0:00:14.000 call our church home, especially our extended family, our EPAM 0:00:14.320 --> 0:00:17.680 around the world, because once a year we have a 0:00:17.680 --> 0:00:20.960 special series. It's really more than a collection of teachings. 0:00:20.960 --> 0:00:23.840 It's a faith experience for all of the people who 0:00:23.920 --> 0:00:26.560 are part of our ministry at Elevation, and this year 0:00:26.600 --> 0:00:29.760 our theme is game Changer. I think one of the 0:00:29.800 --> 0:00:33.240 most exciting things that God is doing in our ministry 0:00:33.840 --> 0:00:36.680 is to open the doors of our ministry beyond our walls. 0:00:36.720 --> 0:00:39.080 What I mean by that is we are amazed at 0:00:39.120 --> 0:00:42.360 the thousands and thousands and thousands of you who are 0:00:42.400 --> 0:00:46.120 letting us know that you're impacted by this ministry in 0:00:46.159 --> 0:00:50.760 another zip code, in another state, in another country, maybe 0:00:50.760 --> 0:00:53.520 eventually on another planet. But what I wanted to mention 0:00:53.600 --> 0:00:55.760 to you is that you can be a part of 0:00:55.800 --> 0:00:59.720 this beyond just consuming. Many of you have been blessed 0:00:59.720 --> 0:01:02.200 by God to be a blessing, and I wanted to 0:01:02.600 --> 0:01:05.280 ask today would you be willing during this special time 0:01:05.319 --> 0:01:08.399 of year to make a one time donation to the 0:01:08.440 --> 0:01:11.840 ministry or maybe partner with us on a monthly basis 0:01:11.880 --> 0:01:15.280 through recurring giving. I believe God could use your gift 0:01:15.360 --> 0:01:18.520 to enable this ministry to continue to reach, to continue 0:01:18.560 --> 0:01:21.920 to break paradigms, to continue to lift up Jesus. And 0:01:21.959 --> 0:01:24.480 I wanted to ask you personally to go to Elevationchurch 0:01:24.560 --> 0:01:26.800 dot org and you can see the ways to give there. 0:01:26.840 --> 0:01:30.480 But most importantly, know that we feel a tremendousness of 0:01:30.520 --> 0:01:33.840 responsibility to minister the Word of God not only to you, 0:01:34.240 --> 0:01:36.759 but to challenge you to partner with us and reaching 0:01:36.800 --> 0:01:39.360 people for the Gospel. I believe your gift today could 0:01:39.400 --> 0:01:42.240 be a game changer, so don't put it off right now. 0:01:42.640 --> 0:01:45.520 Elevation Church dot org you can find all of the details. 0:01:45.760 --> 0:01:47.920 I hope you enjoy this message and thank you for 0:01:47.960 --> 0:01:51.760 being a part of the family. Welcome today to all 0:01:51.840 --> 0:01:54.840 of our locations. Can we thank God for all of 0:01:54.880 --> 0:01:59.920 our tampuses and locations? I said, can we thank God 0:02:00.120 --> 0:02:07.280 for all of our campuses and lots? Amen? I was 0:02:07.360 --> 0:02:09.880 doing my stalker thing where I go around to all 0:02:09.880 --> 0:02:12.920 the campuses pushing buttons with cameras that are set up 0:02:12.919 --> 0:02:16.239 in the auditoriums I've been on. Do I look tired. 0:02:16.960 --> 0:02:20.040 I was on a trip. I went to Asheville and Columbia, 0:02:20.480 --> 0:02:23.200 and I even went to Toronto for a minute, all 0:02:23.240 --> 0:02:25.640 through technology, of course, before I came out to see you. 0:02:25.840 --> 0:02:29.120 I'm a little jet life. But thank God for the 0:02:29.120 --> 0:02:31.079 great work he's doing also with our evan around the 0:02:31.080 --> 0:02:36.000 world and our interns Our Fall twenty eighteen interns come on. 0:02:36.120 --> 0:02:41.720 Thank God for Thank God for them, thank God for 0:02:41.800 --> 0:02:46.560 their their wardrobes, for their sense of style and fashion. 0:02:46.760 --> 0:02:48.560 I'm gonna tell you why they're up here in a minute. 0:02:48.639 --> 0:02:51.959 I want to keep you in suspense. But hey, one 0:02:52.000 --> 0:02:54.639 thing that I really always feel good about is when 0:02:54.680 --> 0:02:57.639 I'm doing exactly what I know God wants me to do. 0:02:58.240 --> 0:03:01.079 When I stand up here on the stage, and as 0:03:01.120 --> 0:03:04.080 we get ready for next weekend, which is going to 0:03:04.080 --> 0:03:08.680 be phenomenal, where so many people around the world and 0:03:08.840 --> 0:03:12.080 here at our church locally are going to participate in 0:03:12.120 --> 0:03:14.800 our game change or offering where we get to bring 0:03:14.840 --> 0:03:23.560 God something of significance and value to us, and we 0:03:23.600 --> 0:03:27.959 all get to make that opportunity count to invest something 0:03:28.080 --> 0:03:30.360 in what can't be taken away as we have so 0:03:30.400 --> 0:03:33.520 many times before. As we get ready for that, I 0:03:33.639 --> 0:03:37.320 pray and I try to see how God wants me 0:03:37.400 --> 0:03:41.400 to preach that would position us, each of us for 0:03:41.520 --> 0:03:44.160 the season that He's taking us into. And that's important 0:03:44.160 --> 0:03:48.000 to me. Not to follow a formula. It's important to me. 0:03:48.360 --> 0:03:50.360 And I'm not saying there's anything wrong with doing it 0:03:50.400 --> 0:03:53.320 the same way every time, because we take up these 0:03:53.360 --> 0:03:55.640 offerings for expansion and we use so much of it 0:03:55.680 --> 0:03:58.360 for outreach each year. So I guess it would be 0:03:58.360 --> 0:04:01.160 fine if I just repeated the pattern each year, But 0:04:01.440 --> 0:04:04.120 maybe it's just my personality. I can't do that. And 0:04:04.160 --> 0:04:06.120 even more than that, I don't want to start trusting 0:04:06.160 --> 0:04:10.560 in some kind of formula. I guess that's the best 0:04:10.560 --> 0:04:12.880 way to say it. If I'm going to preach about faith, 0:04:12.920 --> 0:04:15.360 I want to demonstrate faith in the way that I 0:04:15.400 --> 0:04:18.200 preach about what I'm preaching about. So does that make 0:04:18.240 --> 0:04:23.320 sense right anyway? Whether it made sense or not, here's 0:04:23.320 --> 0:04:25.360 what I'm going to do today. Because when I was 0:04:25.400 --> 0:04:27.560 praying about what we should do as we set up 0:04:27.640 --> 0:04:30.760 what's going to happen next weekend, and I pray that 0:04:30.800 --> 0:04:33.240 you would not skip church next weekend, you know, some 0:04:33.279 --> 0:04:35.080 people will always do that like it's going to be 0:04:35.120 --> 0:04:37.080 a guilt trip. It's not. It's not like there's gonna 0:04:37.080 --> 0:04:39.640 be a cover charge next week or something like that. 0:04:40.360 --> 0:04:43.800 It's for everyone, but it'll be really beautiful and be special. 0:04:43.839 --> 0:04:46.599 But this week is probably the most important because this 0:04:46.720 --> 0:04:49.640 is where we set it up, and any good comedian 0:04:49.680 --> 0:04:52.960 can tell you that the setup is often more important 0:04:53.000 --> 0:04:56.600 than the punchline. And so but there's nothing funny about 0:04:56.600 --> 0:04:58.560 the Word of God. So let's go. Let's go to 0:04:58.600 --> 0:05:00.680 the Word of God today. I want to share the 0:05:00.680 --> 0:05:03.080 same scripture just a few verses. If I drop a 0:05:03.120 --> 0:05:07.400 few verses down from what I shared last week, did 0:05:07.400 --> 0:05:11.440 you get to hear the message last weekend? It's mine 0:05:11.560 --> 0:05:16.000 to manage touch somebody say it's God's to give, but 0:05:16.080 --> 0:05:20.120 it's mine to manage. And I talked about this concept 0:05:20.120 --> 0:05:24.440 that we are stewards of the story, the story of 0:05:24.520 --> 0:05:28.360 how God has saved us and how God has sustained us. 0:05:28.800 --> 0:05:31.479 And as a pastor, I'm coming to understand my role 0:05:31.520 --> 0:05:33.839 more and more as a steward of the story that 0:05:33.920 --> 0:05:39.239 God is telling through this church. And it's God's story, 0:05:39.279 --> 0:05:43.640 but it's ours to manage. So powerful and so let 0:05:43.680 --> 0:05:45.200 me get into this real quick, and this will be 0:05:45.360 --> 0:05:47.520 a little different today. I think you can tell that 0:05:47.600 --> 0:05:50.480 I'm a little I'm excited. I'm really excited, but I'm 0:05:50.600 --> 0:05:53.279 sitting down. I'm seated, so I'm not going to scream 0:05:53.320 --> 0:05:55.719 as much. Those of you who don't like all that. Anyway, 0:05:55.760 --> 0:05:58.640 this is your weekend and I'm just going to talk 0:05:58.640 --> 0:06:01.760 to you a little bit. Today. You laughed a little 0:06:01.760 --> 0:06:05.000 too much of that made me feel self conscious. I 0:06:05.080 --> 0:06:07.000 might holler once or twice, but I really just want 0:06:07.000 --> 0:06:08.360 to talk to you. And I got all this stuff 0:06:08.400 --> 0:06:09.680 in my Bible, and I'll tell you what it all 0:06:09.760 --> 0:06:13.359 is in a moment. Some notes and some money and 0:06:13.400 --> 0:06:16.240 i'll tell you about that. An envelopes, some post it notes, 0:06:16.240 --> 0:06:17.919 and we'll get to all that in a moment. But 0:06:17.960 --> 0:06:20.280 first let me read this. This is so important as 0:06:20.320 --> 0:06:22.680 a backdrop for what I believe God wants to give 0:06:22.680 --> 0:06:27.760 you as a backstory today. Every blessing has a backstory. Okay, 0:06:28.200 --> 0:06:32.240 every blessing has a backstory, and so this is one 0:06:32.240 --> 0:06:35.919 for the nation of Israel. Joshua for nineteen On the 0:06:35.960 --> 0:06:38.000 tenth day of the first month, the people went up 0:06:38.200 --> 0:06:40.839 from the Jordan and camped at Gilgal on the eastern 0:06:40.880 --> 0:06:46.080 border of Jericho, and Joshua set up. Everybody say set up, 0:06:47.680 --> 0:06:50.200 and Joshua was set up at Gilgal. The twelve stones 0:06:50.200 --> 0:06:51.520 they had taken out of the Jordan. Now they're not 0:06:51.600 --> 0:06:54.760 in the Promised Land yet, but God is setting them up. 0:06:55.120 --> 0:06:57.360 And as a part of the setup, it's kind of elaborate. 0:06:57.440 --> 0:07:01.080 God is like, hey, take the stones from the Jordan, 0:07:01.120 --> 0:07:03.520 which represents the miracle that I just did for you, 0:07:04.160 --> 0:07:07.279 and set it up. And then after you set up 0:07:07.320 --> 0:07:09.120 the stones, this is the purpose of them. They're not 0:07:09.200 --> 0:07:12.160 just props. I don't want you to just collect these 0:07:12.200 --> 0:07:15.080 stones for props and put them in a trophy case somewhere. 0:07:15.400 --> 0:07:19.200 But rather than just trophies, these are triggers, these stones 0:07:19.240 --> 0:07:22.000 that you set up because I'm not done with you yet, 0:07:22.560 --> 0:07:24.440 and there's a great thing that I'm doing through you, 0:07:24.720 --> 0:07:27.120 and so I want to use the stones as a setup. 0:07:27.320 --> 0:07:29.640 And then what's verse twenty one. It gives the purpose 0:07:30.360 --> 0:07:34.040 he said to the Israelites in the future when your 0:07:34.080 --> 0:07:37.240 descendants ask their parents and not stop right there. He's 0:07:37.280 --> 0:07:41.080 teaching them to think generationally. He's thinking them. He's teaching 0:07:41.120 --> 0:07:44.840 them not to just settle for instant gratification and what's 0:07:44.840 --> 0:07:48.680 in it for me. So in the future, when your 0:07:48.720 --> 0:07:53.200 kids are asking what do these stones mean, tell them 0:07:54.000 --> 0:08:00.160 tell them very important, because the stones can't speak for themselves. Right. 0:08:00.560 --> 0:08:04.080 This is not like Siri, Hey, Siri, bring me lemonade it. 0:08:04.280 --> 0:08:06.160 This is not that kind of thing. This is not 0:08:06.240 --> 0:08:10.200 some magic trick. You've got to speak and tell them 0:08:10.800 --> 0:08:12.760 when you see the stones, when they see the stones, 0:08:13.240 --> 0:08:16.720 tell them, I love this stuff. I love these Old 0:08:16.720 --> 0:08:21.120 Testament stories so much, gentlemen, tell them, Israel cross the 0:08:21.240 --> 0:08:24.240 Jordan on dry ground. Four. The Lord your God dried 0:08:24.360 --> 0:08:27.600 up the Jordan before you, until you had crossed over. 0:08:27.840 --> 0:08:30.960 The Lord your God did to the Jordan what he 0:08:31.000 --> 0:08:33.040 had done to the Red Sea, when he dried it 0:08:33.120 --> 0:08:37.400 up before us, until we had crossed over. Every generation 0:08:37.640 --> 0:08:41.280 is to experience their own move of God, not just 0:08:41.360 --> 0:08:44.240 worship something God did in the past, but to move 0:08:44.360 --> 0:08:48.000 forward into the future full of faith. And so I 0:08:48.000 --> 0:08:50.160 want to speak to you for a few moments today 0:08:50.440 --> 0:08:56.600 on the power of the prompt. The prompt if you'd 0:08:56.600 --> 0:08:58.760 like to write that down, it's just a little title 0:08:58.800 --> 0:09:01.319 that I'm giving the message. If you wouldn't like to 0:09:01.360 --> 0:09:03.240 write it down, it's still the title that I'm giving 0:09:03.240 --> 0:09:11.920 the message the power of the prompt. So about these interns, 0:09:14.240 --> 0:09:18.440 they're pretty they're pretty cool. Elevation Church dot org slash 0:09:18.480 --> 0:09:24.040 Internship shameless plow. They're two weeks out from finishing their 0:09:24.040 --> 0:09:28.480 internship and I got to meet with them Thursday and 0:09:28.520 --> 0:09:33.480 we had the best time. Right, were supposed to go 0:09:33.840 --> 0:09:37.040 ninety minutes and it went two and a half hours. 0:09:37.080 --> 0:09:40.319 And then, for the first time that this has ever happened, 0:09:41.880 --> 0:09:46.199 I met them at the movies because as a part 0:09:46.240 --> 0:09:50.840 of their discipleship process, I took them to see Creed two. Amen. 0:09:52.280 --> 0:09:59.320 Come on, I'm a good, good pastor. It's who I am. Now. 0:09:59.760 --> 0:10:02.360 What prompted me to do that? Well, when I was 0:10:02.400 --> 0:10:04.840 getting to know them, I like to do an icebreaker, Hey, 0:10:05.000 --> 0:10:07.280 you know, what's your favorite music? And then they'll always 0:10:07.280 --> 0:10:09.120 say Christian bands because I'm the pastor. And then I 0:10:09.200 --> 0:10:10.920 turn around, know, what's what do you really listen to? 0:10:11.280 --> 0:10:14.319 And then they'll uh, I'll ask us your favorite TV shows? 0:10:14.320 --> 0:10:16.760 They all said the Office. I think everybody said the Office. 0:10:16.840 --> 0:10:19.920 And I said, cool, y'all are too young for the Office, 0:10:19.920 --> 0:10:22.880 but anyway, I understand. And then they said I said 0:10:22.880 --> 0:10:26.840 what's your favorite movie? And one of the kids screams 0:10:26.880 --> 0:10:30.520 out Rocky. He said it, you know, like you like 0:10:30.600 --> 0:10:32.800 sometimes you're in a worship service and somebody go Jesus. 0:10:34.520 --> 0:10:36.480 But he said the name of Rocky. And when he 0:10:36.480 --> 0:10:39.360 invoked the name of Rocky, he won my heart. In fact, 0:10:40.040 --> 0:10:43.280 I'll come here, Gabe, real quick, lj just in honor, 0:10:43.880 --> 0:10:48.080 in honor of Gabe. Let's do this real quick. Go ahead, 0:10:48.080 --> 0:10:51.840 go ahead, l j Oh, you want to run the stairs? 0:10:59.120 --> 0:11:05.400 I like that here, big n who goes to us 0:11:05.440 --> 0:11:11.640 stairs up there? Yet? Hey, by the way, they big 0:11:11.840 --> 0:11:25.719 upstairs nam dah, don't want to see it again, don't know? Man, 0:11:25.800 --> 0:11:52.640 make account hurry up the running up tide assist. So 0:11:52.800 --> 0:11:57.600 this could be you Eleviationchurch dot org slash internship. Thanks 0:11:57.640 --> 0:11:59.960 for coming. Now let's go sit down here, let's en up, 0:12:00.920 --> 0:12:04.000 catch your breath. You know, you hadn't done that much 0:12:04.040 --> 0:12:08.959 cardio in months. So I was like, you like Rocky. 0:12:09.640 --> 0:12:11.400 He goes yeah. I said, Now this is the real test. 0:12:11.480 --> 0:12:13.760 I said, what's the best Rocky? He said, And he 0:12:13.840 --> 0:12:16.160 didn't have to pray, he didn't have to think. And 0:12:16.240 --> 0:12:18.240 this aw'm a test if he's a true man of God. 0:12:18.640 --> 0:12:20.280 He said, he wants to go in ministry one day. 0:12:20.320 --> 0:12:23.319 And there's an answer to this, and it's definitely not 0:12:23.559 --> 0:12:27.160 it's definitely not five. We all know that could be three. 0:12:27.400 --> 0:12:29.360 But he said the right answer, he said Rocky four. 0:12:29.800 --> 0:12:33.199 When he said Rocky four, I said, I perceived that 0:12:33.240 --> 0:12:34.920 thou art a prophet and the words of life are 0:12:37.920 --> 0:12:40.040 I was like, just because that's the first one my 0:12:40.160 --> 0:12:42.840 dad showed me. I remember my dad on a Friday 0:12:42.920 --> 0:12:45.959 night we stopped by National Home Video in Monk's Corner 0:12:47.800 --> 0:12:50.960 VHS tape and he said, you're ready for Rocky four. 0:12:51.960 --> 0:12:53.760 You're ready for You're ready to see. By the way, 0:12:53.760 --> 0:12:54.880 it's just so I can know who to pray for 0:12:55.240 --> 0:12:56.719 that needs the Lord. How many of you have not 0:12:56.840 --> 0:13:04.319 seen Rocky a single Rocky movie? Oh, come to the altar? 0:13:05.000 --> 0:13:08.440 Are you serious? Your parents haven't shown you Rocky fo 0:13:09.880 --> 0:13:15.559 We called DSS on those parents. I almost felt like 0:13:15.640 --> 0:13:18.360 with my kids it was a generational responsibility, you know, 0:13:18.480 --> 0:13:20.640 to show them how the Cold War really ended with 0:13:20.800 --> 0:13:25.160 Rocky deceiting Drago and and then so when I found 0:13:25.200 --> 0:13:29.280 out that Creed two was the sequel to Rocky four, 0:13:29.320 --> 0:13:31.400 I was like, oh man, this is the this is 0:13:31.480 --> 0:13:35.400 the equivalent of Joshua and Moses. This is like the 0:13:35.559 --> 0:13:38.040 Red Sea and the Jordan. You know, is this too? 0:13:38.280 --> 0:13:41.800 This has probably taken the illustration too far, but I 0:13:41.880 --> 0:13:44.079 almost had a spiritual experience. I met them at the 0:13:44.280 --> 0:13:50.559 theater on on Thursday night and we watched Rocky. I 0:13:50.600 --> 0:13:52.880 think we annoyed everybody in the theater. We were so 0:13:53.000 --> 0:13:55.760 loud at Stonecrest. But we went to the Temple of 0:13:55.800 --> 0:14:00.719 Stone Crest and we watched the Gospel according to Roboa, 0:14:01.040 --> 0:14:03.559 and there's so much gospel and Rocky, but you probably 0:14:03.559 --> 0:14:06.079 don't know the backstory to it. And so you know, 0:14:06.240 --> 0:14:08.880 it prompted me. Sermons come to me from all kinds 0:14:08.920 --> 0:14:11.360 of places. But I'm sitting there. Graham and Elijah went 0:14:11.440 --> 0:14:14.560 with me, and we're watching Creed two. And I won't 0:14:14.559 --> 0:14:16.560 tell you how it ends, because your homework this week 0:14:16.679 --> 0:14:18.719 is to prepare your offering, read your Bible, and go 0:14:18.840 --> 0:14:24.160 see Creed to and past there and then and then 0:14:24.200 --> 0:14:26.840 I was thinking, Graham was sitting with me, Elijah was 0:14:26.880 --> 0:14:30.760 sitting with me. The interns were there, and I was thinking, like, remember, 0:14:30.880 --> 0:14:32.880 my dad's in heaven now, and so I always remember 0:14:32.880 --> 0:14:34.320 when he showed me it was just a cool moment 0:14:34.320 --> 0:14:36.560 where I was, like, every generation gets their own Rocky, 0:14:36.960 --> 0:14:41.080 it's cool. And then I thought, I wonder how many 0:14:41.160 --> 0:14:46.400 of them know the backstory of how Rocky Balboa was created. 0:14:47.280 --> 0:14:49.440 I wonder how many of I wonder how many of 0:14:49.520 --> 0:14:52.520 them know what these stones mean? You know, they know 0:14:52.640 --> 0:14:57.160 that Michael B. Jordan wasn't the first Creed. I wonder 0:14:57.240 --> 0:15:00.840 if they know. And I don't know how much of 0:15:00.880 --> 0:15:04.800 this you knew gave. But when Sylvester Stallone created Rocky, 0:15:05.600 --> 0:15:09.320 he was inspired because he was broke, right, he had 0:15:09.360 --> 0:15:12.640 been in one movie and he had moderate success, but 0:15:12.840 --> 0:15:17.560 he moved to la because he wanted to start really 0:15:17.640 --> 0:15:19.880 trying to write, and he would walk around writing stuff, 0:15:20.200 --> 0:15:24.000 and that he went to see Muhammad Ali fight Chuck Webner. 0:15:24.160 --> 0:15:25.920 How many of you didn't know any of this? Just 0:15:26.040 --> 0:15:29.240 raise your hand real quick. Okay, this is important. This 0:15:29.360 --> 0:15:32.160 is almost biblical. Rocky is canonical, and I promise you 0:15:32.200 --> 0:15:34.200 would be in Joshua in just a moment. But let 0:15:34.200 --> 0:15:36.960 me get the backstory this. And when he was watching 0:15:37.080 --> 0:15:40.000 Chuck Webner fight Muhammad Ali and go the distance even 0:15:40.000 --> 0:15:42.040 though he didn't win, and put the champ down, he 0:15:42.200 --> 0:15:44.680 was inspired by the story of an underdog. He thought, 0:15:44.720 --> 0:15:46.240 that's what I need to write, and he spent the 0:15:46.320 --> 0:15:51.280 next three days writing the rough draft of Rocky. Three 0:15:51.400 --> 0:15:54.040 days three days, so for those of you who don't 0:15:54.040 --> 0:16:01.840 believe that Rocky is biblical. Three days. And then when 0:16:01.880 --> 0:16:05.560 he finished writing it, he remember he was prompted just 0:16:05.640 --> 0:16:08.080 by something that he saw. Talk about the power of 0:16:08.160 --> 0:16:11.280 a prompt He was prompted watching it. I need to 0:16:11.280 --> 0:16:14.200 write that. He wrote it, and then somebody asked him 0:16:14.200 --> 0:16:15.960 what he was working on when he went for an 0:16:15.960 --> 0:16:19.440 audition one time, and he almost didn't want to tell 0:16:19.520 --> 0:16:20.720 him because he didn't know if he was any good, 0:16:20.760 --> 0:16:23.880 but he show him working on this thing. He's prompted. 0:16:24.720 --> 0:16:27.120 And then they offered him twenty five thousand dollars for 0:16:27.240 --> 0:16:31.440 the script fifty one hundred no, because they weren't going 0:16:31.480 --> 0:16:32.840 to let him be Rocky and he wanted to play 0:16:32.920 --> 0:16:35.480 Rocky on something in and told him, you need to 0:16:35.480 --> 0:16:38.120 play this character. This is once a lifetime thing. And 0:16:38.960 --> 0:16:41.360 then they offered him two hundred fifty thousand dollars, three 0:16:41.440 --> 0:16:44.600 hundred thousand dollars, three hundred and sixty thousand dollars. He 0:16:44.640 --> 0:16:47.120 had one hundred and six dollars in his bank account, 0:16:48.480 --> 0:16:51.360 and they offered him three hundred and sixty thousand dollars 0:16:51.400 --> 0:16:53.800 from the script. He said no, he had already sold 0:16:53.840 --> 0:17:00.160 his dog, Buckus Buckus, He sold his dog Buckus, and 0:17:01.720 --> 0:17:03.880 he turned it down. And finally they gave him a 0:17:03.920 --> 0:17:05.920 million dollars to make the movie, which wasn't much, and 0:17:06.000 --> 0:17:09.040 he made it. And as of twenty seventeen, according to 0:17:09.119 --> 0:17:14.440 what I Google, the Iraqi franchise has earned in the 0:17:14.520 --> 0:17:19.359 box office alone over one point four billion dollars. So 0:17:19.480 --> 0:17:21.840 let's say God for Rocky, and then we'll move on 0:17:22.600 --> 0:17:25.240 and do something I want to tell you about. I 0:17:25.400 --> 0:17:27.000 just told you. I can see some of you like, 0:17:27.040 --> 0:17:28.680 come on, man, I ain't come for all this. Let's 0:17:28.680 --> 0:17:30.359 shut up. I'm trying to get to something here, all right. 0:17:30.400 --> 0:17:33.840 I got a reason for telling you this, because everything 0:17:34.240 --> 0:17:37.280 great that I've ever seen I would attribute to the 0:17:37.320 --> 0:17:40.080 hand of God in my life started with a prompting. 0:17:41.119 --> 0:17:45.800 A prompting. And the thing about game changers and game 0:17:45.920 --> 0:17:50.600 changing decisions is that they don't feel like game changers 0:17:50.680 --> 0:17:55.240 in the moment. It doesn't. A promise from God usually 0:17:55.320 --> 0:17:58.560 doesn't feel like a promise. Here's how it operates in 0:17:58.600 --> 0:18:01.359 the pattern of scripture and that God will give you 0:18:01.440 --> 0:18:04.560 a promise, and then He will give you a prompting 0:18:05.240 --> 0:18:09.720 to act on the promise that He gave. And learning 0:18:09.800 --> 0:18:13.040 to respond to the promptings of the Holy Spirit is 0:18:13.119 --> 0:18:17.119 the most crucial skill that you could ever acquire in 0:18:17.200 --> 0:18:22.919 your life. It takes courage, it takes discernment, it takes 0:18:23.359 --> 0:18:26.879 sometimes being still shutting the other voices off. But the 0:18:27.000 --> 0:18:29.879 promptings of the Holy Spirit. I mean, how many times 0:18:29.960 --> 0:18:34.400 have I missed the blessing of God in an area 0:18:34.440 --> 0:18:36.800 of my life because I did not respond to a prompting. 0:18:37.160 --> 0:18:40.680 How many times have we come to church and heard 0:18:40.800 --> 0:18:45.119 a sermon and then we experienced a prompting, but because 0:18:45.160 --> 0:18:49.600 we didn't respond to the prompt we did not receive 0:18:49.720 --> 0:18:58.840 the promise. It could be the smallest things. One time 0:18:58.920 --> 0:19:02.119 God prompted me to sense somebody of voice memo. They 0:19:02.160 --> 0:19:04.440 said they saved it for four years on their phone. 0:19:05.160 --> 0:19:06.480 I didn't know that they were going to save it 0:19:06.560 --> 0:19:08.360 for four years. I just knew they were going through something, 0:19:08.400 --> 0:19:12.359 and I sent it to them prompting prompting, And it 0:19:12.440 --> 0:19:14.479 must have seemed weird to the Israelites. Right set up 0:19:14.480 --> 0:19:17.280 the stones, but the stones are not there to serve 0:19:17.680 --> 0:19:20.159 the purpose that they seem to be serving on the surface. 0:19:20.320 --> 0:19:22.840 They are to prompt the story. Now I'm preaching to 0:19:22.880 --> 0:19:25.239 you today because there are some things that God has 0:19:25.320 --> 0:19:27.040 placed in your life and some things that he's doing 0:19:27.080 --> 0:19:29.600 that if you will pay attention, God is trying to 0:19:30.240 --> 0:19:34.440 use that thing to prompt you in an area of 0:19:34.480 --> 0:19:38.320 your life where He intends to bless you. The stones 0:19:38.960 --> 0:19:42.440 prompt the story, and then the story is meant to 0:19:42.560 --> 0:19:44.520 prompt the faith of the people so that they can 0:19:44.600 --> 0:19:48.440 continue on. And this is how God works. So I 0:19:48.520 --> 0:19:51.240 want to practice this today. I want to do this 0:19:52.280 --> 0:19:54.280 in front of you. It's one thing to preach it, 0:19:54.320 --> 0:19:57.600 it's another thing to practice it. And I realized that 0:19:58.200 --> 0:20:03.080 the Israelites didn't go back to that place in Gilgal 0:20:03.880 --> 0:20:06.880 and tell their children the story. That's why in Judges 0:20:06.920 --> 0:20:09.760 two ten it says that the next generation didn't know. 0:20:10.880 --> 0:20:14.680 Why didn't they know because their parents didn't revisit the place. 0:20:16.000 --> 0:20:19.040 They got so far from where they started that they 0:20:19.160 --> 0:20:23.880 lost their sense of who brought them. Now, I don't 0:20:23.880 --> 0:20:26.320 want that to happen to us as a church, and 0:20:26.440 --> 0:20:30.120 so I thought what might be appropriate today to help 0:20:30.200 --> 0:20:34.800 prompt your faith is to share a few stones, not twelve. 0:20:34.840 --> 0:20:36.679 I'm not going to do twelve like the twelve stones. 0:20:36.720 --> 0:20:39.840 We don't have that long. If I just want to 0:20:39.880 --> 0:20:43.800 take five, I just want to take five prompts. And 0:20:43.880 --> 0:20:46.160 this is where the post it notes come in, because 0:20:46.160 --> 0:20:49.719 I wrote down five prompts, you know, like a writing 0:20:49.920 --> 0:20:53.879 prompt that you get writing prompt And I'm going to 0:20:53.920 --> 0:20:57.320 hand these one at a time to these interns and 0:20:57.359 --> 0:20:59.119 I'm going to ask them to tell me the story. 0:21:00.040 --> 0:21:01.880 And you can ask me anything you want, as long 0:21:01.920 --> 0:21:04.120 as it's exactly what's written on this post it note. 0:21:04.640 --> 0:21:08.679 I am an answer to prompt. Everybody say prompt, Prompt. 0:21:08.800 --> 0:21:11.119 That's the word God gave me. Prompt to learn how 0:21:11.160 --> 0:21:14.080 to respond to the prompting of God. That's what this 0:21:14.240 --> 0:21:16.920 offering is about. That's what life is about. That's what 0:21:17.080 --> 0:21:20.320 forgiveness is about. God is going to prompt you, and 0:21:20.480 --> 0:21:23.480 will you respond to the prompt that determines how you 0:21:23.520 --> 0:21:27.440 experienced the promise. So I've got five of these and 0:21:28.080 --> 0:21:32.480 they will prompt the story like those stones prompted the stories, 0:21:33.040 --> 0:21:34.360 and I pray that God will use it. You want 0:21:34.359 --> 0:21:36.119 to read the first one you didn't get to go 0:21:36.240 --> 0:21:40.160 last night. Okay, it's the same ones as last night, though, yeah, 0:21:40.240 --> 0:21:42.120 I didn't change them because they went good last night. 0:21:42.200 --> 0:21:45.320 So read me last. Tell me about the time you 0:21:45.400 --> 0:21:48.679 thought your college roommate was going crazy? What was actually 0:21:48.760 --> 0:21:52.000 setting an example you would follow for the next twenty years. 0:21:52.200 --> 0:21:56.119 What a great question. Thank you for asking me that. 0:21:56.400 --> 0:21:59.040 So my college roommate my junior and senior year, was 0:21:59.119 --> 0:22:01.680 named Alex Earl, which is funny because he would get 0:22:01.760 --> 0:22:04.760 up super early and he would pray. I would get 0:22:04.840 --> 0:22:07.760 up last minute seven fifty seven for an eight am class. 0:22:08.000 --> 0:22:10.040 We went to North Greenville University. It's where I got 0:22:10.080 --> 0:22:11.720 my degree. It's where I got my wife. If you 0:22:11.760 --> 0:22:14.040 were to ask me which of those two has served 0:22:14.200 --> 0:22:16.320 a greater purpose in my life, it would no doubt 0:22:16.600 --> 0:22:19.760 be that one. So I hadn't shown anybody my degree 0:22:19.760 --> 0:22:21.679 in a while, but I show her off all the time. Anyway, 0:22:21.760 --> 0:22:24.359 my roommate was Alex Early. He was very spiritual, but 0:22:24.400 --> 0:22:26.160 he's also one of these people who wasn't so spiritual 0:22:26.200 --> 0:22:29.160 that he wasn't funny. He was able to he could 0:22:29.240 --> 0:22:31.199 quote John Calvin to you, but he could also make 0:22:31.240 --> 0:22:33.520 the funniest prank phone calls, and he would call. He 0:22:33.560 --> 0:22:37.760 had this redneck persona called Dwyane McGraw d u w 0:22:38.080 --> 0:22:39.920 I a n E with a thing over the e 0:22:40.000 --> 0:22:42.440 because it's French dew Wyane McGraw and he called he 0:22:42.520 --> 0:22:44.680 modeled after roy D Mercer and had the best time 0:22:44.720 --> 0:22:46.920 in college. But what I learned from him that I 0:22:47.000 --> 0:22:49.440 never forget that I'm so glad you asked me about 0:22:49.440 --> 0:22:52.439 and thank you for asking me. That is one day 0:22:52.480 --> 0:22:56.320 he came running back to the room between classes and 0:22:56.440 --> 0:22:58.560 he looked like he looked like he was in a 0:22:58.600 --> 0:23:01.280 state of absolute emergency. He was in a panic mode. 0:23:01.440 --> 0:23:03.480 And he starts grabbing out of the drawers all the 0:23:03.560 --> 0:23:05.800 money he can find in the room. Not my money, 0:23:05.880 --> 0:23:07.760 his money. He starts grabbing all the money out of 0:23:07.760 --> 0:23:10.480 the room. And I was like, what are you doing. 0:23:10.520 --> 0:23:11.920 He's like, I have time to talk about it. I'll 0:23:11.920 --> 0:23:13.560 tell you when I get back. I'm like, oh my god, 0:23:13.680 --> 0:23:16.080 what is Alex? What is Alex into? It's like some 0:23:16.160 --> 0:23:22.360 Walter White crap going on. And so he he came back. 0:23:22.400 --> 0:23:23.760 He wouldn't talk, tell me what he was doing. And 0:23:23.840 --> 0:23:26.240 he came back, he said he looked so relieved. I 0:23:26.280 --> 0:23:29.040 was like, what was that? And he and he said 0:23:29.640 --> 0:23:33.199 he was real serious. He goes, God convicted me, Bro, 0:23:34.840 --> 0:23:36.639 I've been hold on. Let me tell you what he 0:23:36.680 --> 0:23:43.240 said next, he said, Max. He said, since I've been 0:23:43.280 --> 0:23:45.520 here at college, I haven't been tied in. He belonged 0:23:45.520 --> 0:23:48.640 to a church that I really admire in his hometown 0:23:48.760 --> 0:23:52.200 in Woodstock, Georgia, first Baptist Woodstock pastor Johnny Hunt. And 0:23:52.320 --> 0:23:56.719 he said, I am I'm sending my tie. I calculated. 0:23:56.800 --> 0:23:59.920 God spoke to me that his money was in my 0:24:00.119 --> 0:24:03.600 bank account. And I've been telling myself the whole time 0:24:03.640 --> 0:24:05.720 I was here at college that, since I was away 0:24:05.920 --> 0:24:07.960 and since I didn't have much anyway, he said, but 0:24:08.040 --> 0:24:11.840 God convicted me not to keep his money in my account. 0:24:13.080 --> 0:24:16.360 And that boy mailed the cash and he had coins 0:24:16.440 --> 0:24:19.840 and everything he could find and send it in the mail, 0:24:21.320 --> 0:24:23.480 and God used him. One of the ways God will 0:24:23.520 --> 0:24:27.000 prompt you sometimes is through the example of somebody else. 0:24:29.520 --> 0:24:31.879 That's why I always do the giving on the weekend 0:24:31.960 --> 0:24:33.920 where people come in and give, because I think that 0:24:34.119 --> 0:24:39.720 sometimes an example is better than a sermon. Amen. And 0:24:40.960 --> 0:24:43.040 when he did that, God spoke to me, you know, 0:24:43.119 --> 0:24:45.520 because my mom had taught me the same principle of tithing, 0:24:46.320 --> 0:24:50.280 and yet I had found so many excuses. And you 0:24:50.359 --> 0:24:52.119 know what I did next? Thing I did well. I 0:24:52.280 --> 0:24:53.960 had a checking account. I didn't think it had to 0:24:54.040 --> 0:24:55.920 be as ghetto as he made it out to be, 0:24:56.119 --> 0:25:00.119 like throwing cash in the mail. But I did the 0:25:00.160 --> 0:25:03.960 same thing. I decided, you know what, he's right. He's right. 0:25:04.080 --> 0:25:06.080 If I can't trust God with that ten percent, how 0:25:06.119 --> 0:25:08.760 can I say everything I have comes from Him and 0:25:08.920 --> 0:25:13.280 I sent it? Yeah? Amen, see I'm not I need 0:25:13.320 --> 0:25:14.760 you to know this in case you're new or a 0:25:14.800 --> 0:25:16.880 guest or something. I am not one bit timid about 0:25:16.920 --> 0:25:20.400 preaching this stuff. This is my testimony. I don't apologize 0:25:20.480 --> 0:25:22.920 for it. I believe in what we do. I believe 0:25:22.960 --> 0:25:25.879 in what God's word teaches. I've seen it in my life. 0:25:27.119 --> 0:25:29.159 So like, if you need me to get up here 0:25:29.200 --> 0:25:33.880 and say, eh, if it don't be okay, word of God, 0:25:34.119 --> 0:25:36.080 that's not me. That's not how I feel about God. 0:25:36.320 --> 0:25:38.000 That's not how I feel about his word. That's not 0:25:38.040 --> 0:25:39.639 how I feel about his principles. That's not how I 0:25:39.680 --> 0:25:48.879 feel about his promises. I believe this man so so 0:25:49.000 --> 0:25:52.440 it prompted me, and I never I never kept God's 0:25:52.440 --> 0:25:54.359 money in my bank account After that, no matter how 0:25:54.480 --> 0:25:57.080 much I had, didn't have, and it got harder when 0:25:57.119 --> 0:25:59.320 you have more. You know, ten percent of fifty dollars, 0:26:00.160 --> 0:26:04.200 isn't that hard to sin? Sin? Got some coupons in 0:26:04.240 --> 0:26:06.719 the mall or something like that. But then when God 0:26:06.760 --> 0:26:09.000 starts blessing you, you have to decide do you want 0:26:09.040 --> 0:26:13.240 to trust him on the next level? Amen? So I 0:26:13.320 --> 0:26:16.760 believe God's going to prompt some people this year in 0:26:17.000 --> 0:26:20.960 that you've been holding on to what is God's I 0:26:21.000 --> 0:26:23.639 should move on from this point. Feel super uncomfortable, But 0:26:23.680 --> 0:26:26.359 these are just my stones, these are my stories. This 0:26:26.560 --> 0:26:28.760 is what God has done for me. So here's another one. 0:26:29.280 --> 0:26:31.040 I really like this one. This is probably my favorite one. 0:26:31.040 --> 0:26:34.560 Who wants to do this one? You want the prompt? Yeah? Okay, 0:26:35.320 --> 0:26:38.359 let's get her a mic. Ben Landier. By the way, Ben, 0:26:38.400 --> 0:26:40.080 who's your favorite intern on the stage? Right? Now? Don't 0:26:40.080 --> 0:26:42.000 answer that now? Just give it to Mic. Just give 0:26:42.040 --> 0:26:45.680 a line. Tell me about the big decision you made 0:26:45.760 --> 0:26:47.960 at the kitchen table that made you feel like you 0:26:48.400 --> 0:26:51.240 were going to throw up in your mouth. And I 0:26:51.320 --> 0:26:53.439 wrote it in an acceptable way. I think I actually 0:26:53.480 --> 0:26:55.600 did throw up in my mouth and swallow it back down. 0:26:55.840 --> 0:27:01.480 So here's the story. It's too vivid. I understand. You know, 0:27:01.760 --> 0:27:05.680 when Holly and I got married, she taught school and 0:27:05.840 --> 0:27:11.080 I traveled, and we saved up and put a down 0:27:11.160 --> 0:27:14.679 payment on a house, and we did what Dave Ramsey 0:27:14.760 --> 0:27:18.320 taught in his financial piece, stuff like no debt and 0:27:18.440 --> 0:27:20.359 all that. We tried to do that, but other than 0:27:20.359 --> 0:27:23.320 our house. But then another thing we did was he said, 0:27:23.359 --> 0:27:27.200 put an emergency fund. And Dave Ramsey said it. He 0:27:27.280 --> 0:27:29.280 said it. It scared me to not do it the 0:27:29.320 --> 0:27:31.160 way he said it. And he said that it should 0:27:31.200 --> 0:27:34.680 be a certain amount of your expenses in case something happens, 0:27:34.720 --> 0:27:36.080 and he said, do it as quick as you can. Well, 0:27:36.119 --> 0:27:38.119 we were just married, and we didn't start with a 0:27:38.200 --> 0:27:40.119 lot of money or anything like that. We started with 0:27:40.320 --> 0:27:43.040 no money, but over time I was able to build up. 0:27:43.040 --> 0:27:45.840 And I'll never forget. Like we're in our house at 0:27:45.880 --> 0:27:49.000 three point thirty dell Wood Drive, Shelby, North Carolina. Could 0:27:49.080 --> 0:27:50.960 go by there and knock on the door and ask 0:27:51.040 --> 0:27:53.200 the person and say hey hello, and then go into 0:27:53.240 --> 0:27:55.320 the kitchen and then sit down and you'll see the 0:27:55.359 --> 0:28:00.960 spot where this happened. Okay, all right, So we we 0:28:01.040 --> 0:28:02.960 had just put that amount of money. We just hit 0:28:03.000 --> 0:28:05.560 the amount in the savings account. And I was going 0:28:05.640 --> 0:28:07.919 in to tell Holly, hey, good news, we got our 0:28:07.960 --> 0:28:09.960 emergency fund. We hit the number because we set the number, 0:28:10.040 --> 0:28:12.679 hit the number. And when I went in to tell her, 0:28:13.760 --> 0:28:18.000 prompt something prompted me. And at first I thought it 0:28:18.080 --> 0:28:21.760 was the Devil. I really did, because it was like, hey, 0:28:23.480 --> 0:28:25.320 what if you gave that money instead? We didn't have 0:28:25.440 --> 0:28:29.800 kids yet, we didn't have that pressure of providing for children. Yet, 0:28:30.600 --> 0:28:34.680 we were young. We could afford number one combos at 0:28:34.840 --> 0:28:40.920 the Mexican restaurant, and so it was like, what if 0:28:40.960 --> 0:28:44.600 you gave it away? Would you do that? So when 0:28:44.640 --> 0:28:47.200 I sat down at the table, I told Holly, hey, 0:28:47.240 --> 0:28:49.080 I got good news and bad news. The good news 0:28:49.160 --> 0:28:53.040 is we've got our emergency fund. Like the less deposit 0:28:53.200 --> 0:28:56.880 we made it to the She said, let's say bad news. 0:28:57.200 --> 0:29:00.080 I think God, God might be I don't know if 0:29:00.080 --> 0:29:02.280 I use the word prompting, but I feel like an 0:29:02.320 --> 0:29:06.680 impression that we should give it away. And see, I'm 0:29:06.680 --> 0:29:10.360 counting on her to say that's not God. Like I'm 0:29:10.440 --> 0:29:13.040 counting on her to have no faith, right, because then 0:29:13.080 --> 0:29:15.160 I can say, well, Lord, the woman that you gave me, 0:29:15.360 --> 0:29:20.880 you know, and she goes, oh cool, I trust you. 0:29:21.840 --> 0:29:23.680 God spoke to you this book, you know, just good, 0:29:23.840 --> 0:29:33.200 just good, dang it woman. And so I remember sitting 0:29:33.240 --> 0:29:36.680 down writing five checks. I remember who we wrote them to. 0:29:36.720 --> 0:29:38.680 It's not important. We didn't have Elevation Church at the 0:29:38.760 --> 0:29:41.520 church we were part of at the time, another ministry, 0:29:42.320 --> 0:29:44.720 and we gave it away. But the funniest thing was 0:29:44.840 --> 0:29:46.680 while I was doing it, I was like my hands 0:29:46.680 --> 0:29:49.479 were shaking, and right when I've written the last one, 0:29:49.520 --> 0:29:54.320 I felt like a piece. And the way that I 0:29:54.480 --> 0:29:57.040 interpreted what the piece that I felt was like God 0:29:57.160 --> 0:29:59.480 was saying to me, keep your hands open to me, 0:30:01.000 --> 0:30:03.920 no matter how much I bless you with, no matter 0:30:04.040 --> 0:30:06.560 how hard things get at certain times in your life, 0:30:06.640 --> 0:30:09.120 or how tired it seems. And I've experienced both of those. 0:30:10.080 --> 0:30:12.720 Keep your hands open, and if you'll keep your hands 0:30:12.760 --> 0:30:14.720 open to me, you'll always have everything you need to 0:30:14.760 --> 0:30:23.200 do everything I've called you to do. Now, let me 0:30:23.280 --> 0:30:25.960 tell you the sequel to that, Because every Rocky four 0:30:26.000 --> 0:30:29.080 has a creed to, every Red Sea has a Jordan. 0:30:30.240 --> 0:30:32.200 Just this past Monday, I got to sit down with 0:30:32.240 --> 0:30:34.080 our kids at the kitchen table, and it wasn't some 0:30:34.280 --> 0:30:38.680 holy sacred moment. In fact, they were running around. They 0:30:38.720 --> 0:30:40.520 were I think annoyed that they had to sit and 0:30:40.640 --> 0:30:43.600 listen to these stories again. I think Graham said, Dad, 0:30:43.680 --> 0:30:46.440 we know this already. But what I did. I told 0:30:46.520 --> 0:30:49.880 them our testimony, and I asked them to bring all 0:30:49.880 --> 0:30:53.120 their money to the table, which is really technically my money. 0:30:53.240 --> 0:30:56.520 You have no money, you understand that, But bring my 0:30:56.640 --> 0:30:58.200 money that I let you pretend like is your money, 0:30:58.200 --> 0:31:00.520 and keep in your little stupid wallet at the table. 0:31:02.480 --> 0:31:04.240 Abby has more money than the boys. I don't know 0:31:04.280 --> 0:31:06.920 what she's running on the side of school, selling some 0:31:07.080 --> 0:31:11.880 jolly ranchers or something. Abby is so loaded. She's like, 0:31:11.960 --> 0:31:13.920 says to her brothers all the time, you need to 0:31:14.000 --> 0:31:19.920 visit the bank of Abby seven, I said, And I'm like, hey, 0:31:19.960 --> 0:31:21.640 it's time. It's your end offering. You know. We did 0:31:21.680 --> 0:31:24.120 this with Waymaker, we did this with Surround, We did this. 0:31:24.200 --> 0:31:27.440 We've been doing this since they were conscious. Like here's 0:31:27.600 --> 0:31:31.520 mommy and daddy and remember da da d bo because 0:31:31.560 --> 0:31:34.000 different times we've done that over and over again, not 0:31:34.120 --> 0:31:36.680 the tithe, but above and beyond, and then we pray 0:31:36.720 --> 0:31:38.400 about it and sometimes God will give me like a 0:31:38.480 --> 0:31:41.320 specific number that's meaningful. Sometimes I'll think I have the number, 0:31:42.160 --> 0:31:43.600 and then it's not the right one because it doesn't 0:31:43.600 --> 0:31:48.120 take faith. And God will stretch me because one will 0:31:48.160 --> 0:31:50.800 be what I can do, and then one will be 0:31:50.920 --> 0:31:53.719 something that really says how I need him. But when 0:31:53.760 --> 0:31:55.240 I was walking him through that and I'm like, sit 0:31:55.280 --> 0:31:57.760 down and listen to this. You know you need to 0:31:57.800 --> 0:32:05.960 hear this story, I realized something that just this year, 0:32:07.600 --> 0:32:11.479 we had a milestone where now Holly and I, by 0:32:11.520 --> 0:32:14.920 the grace of God, have been able to give to 0:32:15.120 --> 0:32:20.000 this church, Elevation Church, not what we originally gave at 0:32:20.040 --> 0:32:23.800 the kitchen table and shelby the emergency fund, and not 0:32:24.400 --> 0:32:26.920 two times that, but over the course of this church, 0:32:27.000 --> 0:32:29.200 we've been able to give not ten times and I 0:32:29.280 --> 0:32:31.360 couldn't really believe this number, not one hundred times, but 0:32:31.440 --> 0:32:34.600 a thousand times what we gave at that kitchen table 0:32:35.560 --> 0:32:42.040 to this ministry. And I'm not going to tell you 0:32:42.160 --> 0:32:44.520 the amount because it's not about the size of the gift. 0:32:44.640 --> 0:32:49.920 It's about the sacrifice. That's what it's always about. Like 0:32:50.040 --> 0:32:52.400 some people sit through this teaching and God prompts them 0:32:52.480 --> 0:32:55.560 to give a million dollars and they're able to do that. 0:32:56.320 --> 0:33:00.280 We've seen that. But some people God prompts, and God 0:33:00.360 --> 0:33:03.600 prompts him to do something that would seem small, but 0:33:03.720 --> 0:33:07.120 to him, it's bigger because it represents something that comes 0:33:07.160 --> 0:33:10.640 from your heart. That's all God is. I went, I went, 0:33:10.920 --> 0:33:13.280 I went to elbution. I just talked about money. Now 0:33:13.280 --> 0:33:16.160 talking about money and talking about your heart. Where your 0:33:16.240 --> 0:33:19.920 treasure is, your heart will be also and we talk 0:33:20.000 --> 0:33:23.000 about every element of your heart. But until this happens, 0:33:23.120 --> 0:33:26.400 until your hands are open to God. That's that's what 0:33:26.560 --> 0:33:28.840 the offering is about. It's about getting your hands open. 0:33:28.960 --> 0:33:30.960 Not because God needs what you have, You need what 0:33:31.080 --> 0:33:37.760 he has. I'm preaching on this school. I don't even 0:33:37.840 --> 0:33:40.920 need a pulpit for this sermon. I am preaching on 0:33:41.040 --> 0:33:48.880 this school. Drago' I'm grateful. You know, like when we 0:33:49.040 --> 0:33:52.280 first gave to Outreach, I had no idea that that 0:33:52.480 --> 0:33:54.760 it was a set up. To see it as a 0:33:54.880 --> 0:33:57.720 stepping stone. It was a stepping stone. God was setting 0:33:57.760 --> 0:34:00.880 the table because when this church didn't have much money, 0:34:01.240 --> 0:34:04.760 Hurricane Katrina hit and I felt a prompting reach out 0:34:04.800 --> 0:34:07.720 to somebody in New Orleans or in the area, and 0:34:07.840 --> 0:34:10.279 I found a pastor in slide El Louisiana, and we 0:34:10.440 --> 0:34:12.960 sent him sixteen hundred bucks that we did not have. 0:34:14.040 --> 0:34:16.840 We needed that money for our church. But I was 0:34:16.920 --> 0:34:18.759 operating out of the same principle. You keep your hands 0:34:18.800 --> 0:34:22.239 open to me and see what I will do through you. 0:34:23.560 --> 0:34:25.960 And now the fact that we've given and will have 0:34:26.080 --> 0:34:28.560 given by the end of this year over forty million 0:34:28.600 --> 0:34:34.120 dollars away to those in me. Come on, I'm prompting 0:34:34.160 --> 0:34:37.200 you right now the praise God for what we've been 0:34:37.239 --> 0:34:42.320 able to do around the world. You kind of go 0:34:42.440 --> 0:34:49.000 back and you wonder, you wonder, you wonder what if 0:34:49.640 --> 0:34:53.279 what if we had said no back then? What if 0:34:53.280 --> 0:34:56.280 I said now, I'm gonna keep my low sixteen hundred 0:34:56.280 --> 0:34:58.919 dollars for our outreach. I'm gonna keep my And God 0:34:59.040 --> 0:35:01.680 is prompting some of you to open your hands to him, 0:35:02.440 --> 0:35:05.320 and I pray that you'll know that. Joy. It's a 0:35:05.400 --> 0:35:09.160 real privilege. It's a real privilege. Just do another prompt. 0:35:10.040 --> 0:35:11.480 I think we got time for one or two more. 0:35:12.280 --> 0:35:15.800 You want to do this one? You sure this is 0:35:15.800 --> 0:35:18.959 a big one. Don't screw it up. Take the post 0:35:19.040 --> 0:35:24.719 it now, a shiny cross around your neck. Tell me 0:35:24.840 --> 0:35:28.840 about the silver bullet of the church planting, the silver 0:35:29.120 --> 0:35:31.719 bullet of church planting. You want to know about that? 0:35:32.560 --> 0:35:34.880 You sure, I don't know if you can handle the 0:35:34.920 --> 0:35:38.759 silver bullet of church planting. I certainly wasn't ready for 0:35:38.800 --> 0:35:41.640 the silver bullet of church planting. So imagine this church 0:35:41.680 --> 0:35:44.080 has not started yet. I'm meeting with the seven families 0:35:44.120 --> 0:35:46.000 that moved here to start the church. Come on, let's 0:35:46.000 --> 0:35:47.279 go back to the Jordan for a minute. You got 0:35:47.360 --> 0:35:50.040 to go back to where you started and revisit these miracles. 0:35:50.360 --> 0:35:55.319 So at that time, I didn't know anything to teach 0:35:55.400 --> 0:35:57.239 these people. So all we did was read books from 0:35:57.280 --> 0:35:59.319 people who knew how to start church, because we never 0:35:59.320 --> 0:36:02.920 start one. I was twenty five years old. I had 0:36:02.960 --> 0:36:05.560 no idea. I mean, I'm scared to death, but I 0:36:05.600 --> 0:36:07.560 feel like God is prompting us to start this church. 0:36:08.480 --> 0:36:10.719 And we had just decided to come to Charlotte to 0:36:10.760 --> 0:36:13.480 start it. We'd put up a map and anyway, you 0:36:13.520 --> 0:36:15.640 don't need to know all that point us. I brought 0:36:15.680 --> 0:36:18.080 in a guy who I thought was like an expert 0:36:18.120 --> 0:36:21.560 in church planting, and I asked him talk to my 0:36:21.640 --> 0:36:24.120 team and tell him anything you want, and I'll give 0:36:24.160 --> 0:36:27.120 you a fifty dollars Chili's gift card. At the time, 0:36:27.200 --> 0:36:29.919 that seemed generous. We got it from credit card rebate points, okay, 0:36:30.360 --> 0:36:32.839 And so he's like, Ah, you don't have to give 0:36:32.840 --> 0:36:35.600 me anything, just I'll come. Nice guy. And he shared 0:36:35.640 --> 0:36:38.480 with us a little bit about evangelism, a little bit 0:36:38.560 --> 0:36:42.040 about marketing, a little bit about team building, unity groups, 0:36:42.080 --> 0:36:44.960 all the typical stuff. But then when it was over, 0:36:45.280 --> 0:36:47.399 we'd been recording the whole session so we could listen 0:36:47.480 --> 0:36:49.040 to it and learn from it and taking notes, and 0:36:49.160 --> 0:36:51.239 all the families are sitting around the table and he's 0:36:51.320 --> 0:36:54.200 like at the end, he goes, okay, can you turn 0:36:54.280 --> 0:36:59.600 that off a minute? Can you stop recording? You turn 0:36:59.640 --> 0:37:02.040 it off, and he goes, can you shut the door? 0:37:03.560 --> 0:37:08.920 What's about to happen here? And we shut the door 0:37:08.960 --> 0:37:11.600 and he's like, now I'm going to give you the 0:37:11.760 --> 0:37:21.840 silver bullet of church planting. I'm about I'm about to 0:37:21.920 --> 0:37:27.640 hear this. And then he goes, there's friends that you 0:37:27.800 --> 0:37:32.000 have that belong to other churches, and those churches are big, 0:37:33.040 --> 0:37:35.240 and they tied to their church, but their church wouldn't 0:37:35.239 --> 0:37:37.440 miss it if they stopped. Get them to transfer their 0:37:37.520 --> 0:37:39.800 tithe from that big church to your little church for 0:37:39.880 --> 0:37:45.959 twenty four months. And when he said it, it felt 0:37:46.000 --> 0:37:48.319 like a bullet, not a silver bullet, but it felt 0:37:48.360 --> 0:37:51.880 like if we did that, if we started this church 0:37:52.719 --> 0:37:56.279 on that kind of manipulation, that we would always have 0:37:56.360 --> 0:37:59.480 to manipulate. And I thank them. I didn't correct him 0:37:59.719 --> 0:38:02.560 until left the room. I said, thank you for coming, 0:38:02.719 --> 0:38:05.759 appreciate it. God bless you. He prayed, he left, I 0:38:05.800 --> 0:38:07.360 shut the door again. When he left, I said to 0:38:07.480 --> 0:38:11.319 the team, I said, we will not build this church 0:38:12.120 --> 0:38:15.360 on those types of principles. If we're going to do 0:38:15.440 --> 0:38:18.560 God's work and God's will, we'll have to do it 0:38:18.640 --> 0:38:29.560 God's way. And it was a temptation in the moment, 0:38:29.680 --> 0:38:33.040 you know, because it was strategic. And sometimes sometimes you'll 0:38:33.080 --> 0:38:36.200 be prompted to take a shortcut and to do it 0:38:36.280 --> 0:38:39.200 your way and you can justify it, you know. But 0:38:39.360 --> 0:38:41.879 in that moment, here's what God prompted me to ask 0:38:41.960 --> 0:38:44.120 of that team. And these are just normal people, some 0:38:44.239 --> 0:38:47.160 of them with small children, all of them moving with 0:38:47.640 --> 0:38:50.120 no job. We didn't have some big funding. It was 0:38:50.160 --> 0:38:53.719 nothing like that. It's nothing like that. I just said, 0:38:54.600 --> 0:38:58.360 what if we gave ten percent the tithe to the 0:38:58.440 --> 0:39:00.520 church that we're currently a part of till we leave. 0:39:00.560 --> 0:39:05.040 That is sending us and another ten percent to the 0:39:05.080 --> 0:39:07.719 new one we're starting. But if we all committed to 0:39:07.880 --> 0:39:10.359 lead the way and to do that so that when 0:39:10.440 --> 0:39:12.359 we stand up and ask people to be a part 0:39:12.400 --> 0:39:15.920 of this, we will have set an example that they 0:39:15.960 --> 0:39:20.200 can follow. Do you want to know why God is 0:39:20.440 --> 0:39:23.080 using this ministry today and now? Like I look in 0:39:23.160 --> 0:39:26.840 the camera and it's like in Singapore and Cape Town 0:39:27.560 --> 0:39:32.240 and Gastonia and all kinds of places all around the world. 0:39:32.600 --> 0:39:35.560 It's not because of it's not because of great preaching. 0:39:35.920 --> 0:39:39.840 It's because of personal sacrifice that people were willing to 0:39:40.000 --> 0:39:45.680 make and hear me. I appreciate the front row, but 0:39:45.719 --> 0:39:48.280 I want to say something to everybody watching this sermon. 0:39:49.320 --> 0:39:54.279 If we become now just consumers Christian consumers where it's 0:39:54.360 --> 0:39:56.920 like I didn't really like the word today. I end 0:39:57.080 --> 0:40:00.160 my song today. I was a guest today. I was this. 0:40:00.800 --> 0:40:03.680 If it becomes about that, God will shut it all down, 0:40:03.800 --> 0:40:06.040 because that is not what this church was founded on. 0:40:11.280 --> 0:40:14.439 You see how they're looking at me out there. It's 0:40:14.520 --> 0:40:18.759 like this, you are sitting right now in somebody else's sacrifice. 0:40:22.800 --> 0:40:25.160 I always thought that was so crazy. People come and go. 0:40:25.640 --> 0:40:29.400 I don't. I don't like when the church talks about giving. 0:40:29.480 --> 0:40:31.080 How do you think there was a church for you 0:40:31.200 --> 0:40:37.960 to come to if somebody didn't give me too? JJ, 0:40:39.239 --> 0:40:43.160 I love to tell the story of how that original 0:40:43.280 --> 0:40:46.480 core team. They're all still here at the church. By 0:40:46.480 --> 0:40:49.120 the way, all of those families. Do you know rare 0:40:49.200 --> 0:40:52.520 that is that God kept those families together these twelve 0:40:52.560 --> 0:40:55.279 and a half years. And now God is calling on 0:40:56.320 --> 0:41:00.120 another generation. And I really don't have time for the 0:41:00.200 --> 0:41:03.000 last two stones. I'd like to give them to you, 0:41:03.120 --> 0:41:05.160 but I'm I'm only gonna be able to give you 0:41:05.239 --> 0:41:07.600 one of them. And I'm gonna let you vote on 0:41:07.680 --> 0:41:10.880 this one. Which one you want. Do you want to 0:41:10.920 --> 0:41:14.200 hear about the time that John the Baptist came into 0:41:14.239 --> 0:41:21.839 my office? Or option A? Or do you hear about 0:41:21.880 --> 0:41:24.719 the time that we took a bus ride from Hell? 0:41:25.680 --> 0:41:29.200 These are your options. Pray about it. See if God 0:41:29.239 --> 0:41:32.239 prompts you. Who wants to hear John the Baptist makes 0:41:32.280 --> 0:41:36.279 some noise at every location. Who wants to hear about 0:41:36.320 --> 0:41:41.000 the bus ride from Hell makes some all right? So 0:41:41.200 --> 0:41:45.239 John the Baptist, I'm gonna tell you this one real quick. 0:41:46.200 --> 0:41:49.560 That's the time that John Butler, who was a Baptist 0:41:49.960 --> 0:41:53.359 who yeah, he was a Baptist preacher, and he came 0:41:53.400 --> 0:41:55.480 in my office. Listen to this. You heard this last night, 0:41:55.520 --> 0:41:57.120 but listen again. You need to hear these stories over 0:41:57.160 --> 0:41:59.560 and over again. He came in and he had three 0:41:59.640 --> 0:42:02.799 hundred one thousand dollars. He had a denominational job. He'd 0:42:02.800 --> 0:42:05.120 been coming to the church. The church was full. He 0:42:05.239 --> 0:42:07.000 sits on my couch in my office. He asked for 0:42:07.080 --> 0:42:09.680 meeting with me, and he said, well, preacher, you were 0:42:09.760 --> 0:42:12.160 full this Sunday. I noticed you were full. I noticed 0:42:12.200 --> 0:42:14.080 there wasn't an empty seat in the house. And I 0:42:14.200 --> 0:42:16.279 was so proud of that. I was like, yes, sir, 0:42:16.640 --> 0:42:18.680 praise the Lord. You know, spiritualize it, but really I 0:42:18.840 --> 0:42:21.200 was proud of it. Yes, sir, praise the Lord. We 0:42:21.320 --> 0:42:24.200 prayed for it. Praise God. He goes, Preacher, that's a problem. 0:42:26.719 --> 0:42:28.520 I said, no, it's not a problem. It's a goal. 0:42:29.680 --> 0:42:31.319 I want a full house. He said, yeah, but you're 0:42:31.320 --> 0:42:33.960 telling these people to bring their friends. Where are their 0:42:34.000 --> 0:42:38.239 friend's gonna sit? You need to start another campus. And 0:42:38.360 --> 0:42:40.680 I have three hundred thousand dollars that a little old 0:42:40.760 --> 0:42:45.440 lady who died left to the Baptist Convention for church planting, 0:42:45.680 --> 0:42:48.040 and I'll give it to you if you'll start another campus. 0:42:48.080 --> 0:42:49.839 And here's what I said. And I'm ashamed to tell 0:42:49.880 --> 0:42:51.360 you this to this day because for all of you 0:42:51.440 --> 0:42:53.120 that think this is just a brag session to tell 0:42:53.120 --> 0:42:55.160 you about my great faith, it's not. It's about God's 0:42:55.200 --> 0:42:56.920 faithfulness in spite of it. Because I looked at that 0:42:57.040 --> 0:42:59.480 man and says, I don't have the gifts to do that. 0:43:01.440 --> 0:43:18.640 People will not watch me preach on a screen. So 0:43:18.800 --> 0:43:22.200 I thank God for what he said. Next so powerful. 0:43:22.400 --> 0:43:27.800 He said, here's how it works, preacher. And he's talking 0:43:27.880 --> 0:43:32.920 to me like like like a young punk like I was, 0:43:33.200 --> 0:43:36.719 but he said it would love to He said, if 0:43:36.800 --> 0:43:40.719 you get ahead of God trying to obey him, he'll 0:43:40.840 --> 0:43:45.920 just shut the door. If you get behind God and 0:43:46.080 --> 0:43:49.000 won't obey him, he'll just get somebody else to do it. 0:43:51.120 --> 0:43:53.120 You take a few days and pray about it, preacher, 0:43:53.160 --> 0:43:55.440 and let me know what you want to do. And 0:43:55.560 --> 0:43:57.440 he got up to walk out. I say, yeah, come back, 0:43:57.520 --> 0:43:59.600 what do I doing well? Do? I don't want God 0:43:59.719 --> 0:44:05.719 up else? Come on, I want it on this. I 0:44:05.880 --> 0:44:08.239 want to be in the middle of what God is doing. 0:44:09.640 --> 0:44:15.000 And now today watch this over over. I want to 0:44:15.040 --> 0:44:18.680 say it's seventeen locations. This more than that, because somebody's 0:44:18.719 --> 0:44:22.200 watching this in a hospital room on a screen, somebody's 0:44:22.239 --> 0:44:26.040 watching this on television, somebody's watching this in a prison. 0:44:30.480 --> 0:44:38.800 And it all starts when you respond to a prompting. So, 0:44:39.560 --> 0:44:42.000 for just a moment, would you, would you just see 0:44:42.040 --> 0:44:45.359 that right there where you are, for a moment, would 0:44:45.400 --> 0:44:49.560 you make a space right now in your heart for 0:44:49.640 --> 0:44:54.400 the Holy Spirit to prompt you in an area of 0:44:54.480 --> 0:44:56.560 your life where He is speaking to you but you 0:44:56.640 --> 0:45:01.760 have not yet responded. Joshua said, set up these stones 0:45:01.920 --> 0:45:05.200 so that when the children of Israel ask you what 0:45:05.360 --> 0:45:08.600 these stones mean, you can tell them what God did. 0:45:10.600 --> 0:45:13.239 I did my best today in the little bit of 0:45:13.280 --> 0:45:16.719 time that we had to tell you some of the 0:45:16.800 --> 0:45:20.160 things that God has done for us in the twelve 0:45:20.200 --> 0:45:22.759 and a half years that we've been a church, some 0:45:22.920 --> 0:45:24.400 of it before you got here, some of you have 0:45:24.480 --> 0:45:27.680 been here for many of these miracles. And I did 0:45:27.719 --> 0:45:29.520 it in hopes that it would prompt you to know 0:45:31.680 --> 0:45:36.520 that when faith skips a generation, and when we start 0:45:36.600 --> 0:45:38.400 to stand in the middle of something that God did 0:45:38.480 --> 0:45:42.640 that was extraordinary and treated as common. Miracles start to 0:45:42.760 --> 0:45:47.440 dry up. And all I'm asking you to do as 0:45:47.520 --> 0:45:51.120 we prepare for next weekend online around the world. You know, 0:45:51.200 --> 0:45:56.560 we've already had the conversation with our family. Here's Abby's money. 0:45:56.719 --> 0:46:00.719 That's the biggest money is the kid's money. That's what 0:46:01.000 --> 0:46:04.360 God prompted them to do. Holly and I have have 0:46:04.480 --> 0:46:07.440 been praying, and I didn't tell you this yet, but 0:46:07.600 --> 0:46:09.880 in my heart while I was preaching last night, my 0:46:09.960 --> 0:46:12.640 number went up. So we need to talk again because 0:46:13.080 --> 0:46:19.680 one number was comfortable, and then the other number represented 0:46:19.719 --> 0:46:23.399 a commitment to not rest on what God has already done, 0:46:24.200 --> 0:46:25.680 but to make way for what He wants to do. 0:46:26.800 --> 0:46:32.680 And the ask is very simple. Ask God, ask him 0:46:32.719 --> 0:46:34.239 to prompt you. Some of you have never been through 0:46:34.280 --> 0:46:36.440 this process, so you've never taken it seriously, and I 0:46:36.560 --> 0:46:41.280 understand it. It's uncomfortable. But this card is a prompt. 0:46:42.560 --> 0:46:45.000 It's a prompt for you. You know what a great 0:46:45.040 --> 0:46:52.239 word prompt, prompt prompt. It also means a media prompt. Prompt. Yes, 0:46:52.320 --> 0:46:55.279 God is yours. Of course God. Of course I would 0:46:55.280 --> 0:46:57.200 advance your work. Of course I would give to you. 0:46:57.520 --> 0:46:59.480 Of course I would be generous. Of course I would 0:46:59.480 --> 0:47:00.840 want to make a way for someone else like you 0:47:00.920 --> 0:47:03.839 made away from me. Of course, Lord, it's yours. When 0:47:03.840 --> 0:47:06.400 you get that kind of spirit in your heart, you 0:47:06.520 --> 0:47:09.360 begin to experience promises of God that you could never imagine. 0:47:09.400 --> 0:47:11.319 This is not some name it claimant, blab it grab 0:47:11.360 --> 0:47:13.319 it weird theology where I'm telling you that you can 0:47:13.360 --> 0:47:15.919 get a Mercedes if you give God ten dollars. I'm 0:47:15.960 --> 0:47:18.000 believe in that. I'm preach that never have, never will. 0:47:18.200 --> 0:47:21.359 What I'm telling you is a testimony that God has 0:47:21.400 --> 0:47:25.239 made a way for me time after time, and I 0:47:25.280 --> 0:47:26.759 want to see him do the same in your life. 0:47:27.719 --> 0:47:29.319 If that means that right now you're in a season 0:47:29.360 --> 0:47:31.400 where you can't give, then let this be the season 0:47:31.480 --> 0:47:33.880 that someone else carries the load. There's nothing wrong with that, 0:47:35.040 --> 0:47:37.879 but you pray, you pray that those who are able 0:47:37.960 --> 0:47:41.800 to give will give, not on the level that's comfortable, 0:47:42.920 --> 0:47:45.400 but on the level that represents a true commitment to 0:47:45.480 --> 0:47:48.640 the cause of Christ. May we never become like this 0:47:49.160 --> 0:47:52.719 when we started like this. So want you to buy 0:47:52.719 --> 0:47:55.200 your head and close your eyes. No one moving. This 0:47:55.320 --> 0:48:00.480 is a pretty important moment. Right now is set up 0:48:00.560 --> 0:48:02.720 for something that God wants to do in the future. 0:48:02.760 --> 0:48:08.120 And I'd like to just give you one minute, just 0:48:08.200 --> 0:48:12.000 sixty seconds after I stopped talking, and if you would 0:48:12.000 --> 0:48:14.080 ask God silently. You don't have to pray out loud 0:48:14.160 --> 0:48:15.959 or anything like that. Maybe you want to just open 0:48:16.000 --> 0:48:17.920 your hands just physically, like right in front of you. 0:48:18.000 --> 0:48:20.360 That's what I'd do sometimes when I'm praying about a 0:48:20.440 --> 0:48:22.919 message or when I'm asking God for direction in my life, 0:48:24.239 --> 0:48:30.040 maybe just with your hands open and just say, God, 0:48:30.719 --> 0:48:35.920 would you prompt me? Would you prompt me to respond 0:48:38.000 --> 0:48:40.000 to the gospel that You've freely given me as I 0:48:40.239 --> 0:48:44.879 get the opportunity to share it with others. Just speak 0:48:44.920 --> 0:48:48.080 to me specifically, God, show me how I can be 0:48:48.239 --> 0:48:52.600 used as I prepare my offering, because i'd give it 0:48:53.040 --> 0:48:57.439 online this week or bring it back next weekend. Show 0:48:57.520 --> 0:49:01.799 me what you've given me from you that I can 0:49:01.880 --> 0:49:05.919 now give back as an offering. And in just a moment, 0:49:05.960 --> 0:49:08.839 I'm gonna allow you to sit. You know, God often 0:49:08.880 --> 0:49:12.439 doesn't shout, He doesn't like draw stuff in the sky. 0:49:13.920 --> 0:49:17.160 He doesn't always respond with a big sign that comes 0:49:17.160 --> 0:49:21.239 from Heaven out loud. He speaks in a whisper, still, 0:49:21.280 --> 0:49:27.360 small voice. He prompts you and it is your response 0:49:27.440 --> 0:49:30.920 to that prompting that determines how much of His promises 0:49:31.000 --> 0:49:36.640 you experienced. So, Father, now speak to your people in 0:49:36.719 --> 0:49:39.480 this minute of silence and throughout the next week and 0:49:39.560 --> 0:49:42.640 prompt them as to what you would have them to 0:49:42.680 --> 0:49:47.640 do in obedience. Hey, thanks for joining us today. We 0:49:47.760 --> 0:49:49.680 really hope you enjoyed the sermon. We want to give 0:49:49.719 --> 0:49:52.240 you some practical ways to put what you heard today 0:49:52.360 --> 0:49:54.960 into practice. Now, First of all, would you take some 0:49:55.120 --> 0:49:57.560 time and think about the stones you have in your life. 0:49:57.800 --> 0:50:00.600 Maybe it's the moments when God showed his faith fethfulness 0:50:01.080 --> 0:50:04.200 across your journey. Second, would you pray about what God 0:50:04.239 --> 0:50:06.560 would have you give to the year end offering here 0:50:06.680 --> 0:50:09.520 at Elevation. For some of you who call Elevation home, 0:50:10.040 --> 0:50:12.719 maybe it's just to start tithing, that's giving back to 0:50:12.800 --> 0:50:16.000 God the very first ten percent. Now for others of you, 0:50:16.200 --> 0:50:18.320 it may be to bring an offering a gift that 0:50:18.560 --> 0:50:21.760 will allow us to continue spreading the Gospel all around 0:50:21.800 --> 0:50:24.759 the world. And we want everyone to participate by just 0:50:24.880 --> 0:50:27.880 choosing a word or a phrase for twenty nineteen, something 0:50:27.960 --> 0:50:30.920 that you're believing God for in this next year. You 0:50:31.000 --> 0:50:35.279 can visit Elevationchurch dot org slash give for more details 0:50:35.440 --> 0:50:37.960 and how to give and be apart. We're excited to 0:50:38.000 --> 0:50:40.480 see how God is going to move in our church 0:50:40.560 --> 0:50:42.360 in this season and believe that God wants to do 0:50:42.480 --> 0:50:44.759 something very special in your life