This Is What A Miracle Feels Like

0:00:01.560 --> 0:00:02.840 Hey, this is Stephen Ferdick. 0:00:02.840 --> 0:00:05.840 I'm the pastor of Elevation Church and this is our podcast. 0:00:05.920 --> 0:00:08.360 I wanted to thank you for joining us today. Hope 0:00:08.360 --> 0:00:11.080 this inspires you. Hope it builds your faith. Hope it 0:00:11.080 --> 0:00:13.480 gives your perspective to see God is moving in your life. 0:00:13.880 --> 0:00:26.279 Enjoy the message. Thank you, Lord, came today to praise you. 0:00:27.480 --> 0:00:31.000 We live to praise you. We breathe to praise you. 0:00:32.159 --> 0:00:37.239 We exists to glorify and enjoy you forever. And your 0:00:37.280 --> 0:00:39.320 presence is the fullness of joy at your right hand 0:00:39.360 --> 0:00:44.519 or pleasures forevermore. We praise you, Lord. Thank you for 0:00:44.560 --> 0:00:49.120 the privilege today to breathe in your grace, to breathe 0:00:49.120 --> 0:00:52.600 out your praise. And now, Lord, I asked that you 0:00:52.600 --> 0:00:57.040 would do something so spectacular as you speak through your word, 0:00:58.280 --> 0:01:01.280 that we would have no other hope than to say 0:01:01.280 --> 0:01:05.040 it was God. For it could not have been a 0:01:05.080 --> 0:01:09.200 motivational speech or an inspirational song that touched me like that. 0:01:09.880 --> 0:01:13.160 It was God. And that will be our testimony when 0:01:13.200 --> 0:01:17.119 we leave. We thank you in advance in Jesus' name. Amen, 0:01:18.440 --> 0:01:20.679 put your hands together and say it had to be God, 0:01:22.440 --> 0:01:29.680 It had to be God. So thankful that you're here today. 0:01:29.760 --> 0:01:32.800 Welcome God bless each and every one of you, whether 0:01:32.800 --> 0:01:35.880 you're physically with us or whether you're part of our etham. Hey, 0:01:35.880 --> 0:01:38.320 I want to make sure that those of you who 0:01:38.319 --> 0:01:43.880 are in within reach, within range of our Elevation Nights 0:01:43.959 --> 0:01:46.520 coming up. How many of you that are here, by 0:01:46.560 --> 0:01:52.960 the way at Valentine's today traveled in from over fifty 0:01:53.200 --> 0:01:57.320 miles away for the primary purpose, I'm not done qualifying. 0:01:57.880 --> 0:02:01.640 There's more stipulations for the prime merry purpose of coming 0:02:01.680 --> 0:02:06.480 to church today. Wave at means celebrate you. Why, that's 0:02:06.520 --> 0:02:13.760 quite a few. Good to have you good? How many 0:02:13.800 --> 0:02:16.320 of you you only traveled five or ten miles, but 0:02:16.400 --> 0:02:17.960 your kids fought all the way and it made it 0:02:17.960 --> 0:02:20.200 feel like you were driving all the way to the 0:02:20.240 --> 0:02:23.520 other side of the country. However you got here. Look 0:02:23.520 --> 0:02:26.720 at your neighbors, say, however, you made it. I'm glad 0:02:26.720 --> 0:02:31.800 that you did, and you will be glad because God's 0:02:31.840 --> 0:02:36.640 got something for you. Put it in the comments. God's 0:02:36.680 --> 0:02:42.120 got something for you, and I want you to remain standing. 0:02:42.680 --> 0:02:45.240 Go to Elevation Nights dot com. If you've always wanted 0:02:45.240 --> 0:02:48.000 to come to elevation but you haven't had the opportunity 0:02:48.280 --> 0:02:51.080 we are going to bring. Would it be unbiblical to 0:02:51.120 --> 0:02:57.440 say it's like Sunday Morning on steroids? Spiritual steroids, Holy 0:02:57.480 --> 0:03:02.960 spirit steroids. It's really fun. I'm gonna be preaching Holly 0:03:03.000 --> 0:03:08.560 Shearers that the worship team does forty seven songs. It's amazing. 0:03:08.840 --> 0:03:11.120 And I can't find my sheet. Okay, here's the sheet 0:03:11.160 --> 0:03:17.640 with the list. We're gonna be in Seattle, Washington, Vancouver, BC, Sacramento, CAA, 0:03:18.120 --> 0:03:22.280 Los Angeles, Anaheim. I've never been to Boise, Idaho, but 0:03:22.320 --> 0:03:24.320 I won't be able to say that after this fall. 0:03:24.520 --> 0:03:28.720 We're coming to Boise, Idaho, Salt Lake City, Utah, and Denver, Colorado, 0:03:28.919 --> 0:03:32.959 that September twenty fourth through October third. Go to Elevation 0:03:33.320 --> 0:03:40.360 Nights dot com for more information. I can tell when 0:03:40.360 --> 0:03:42.680 you're excited for me to quit doing announcements and preach, 0:03:42.720 --> 0:03:45.280 because y'all start clapping to seed me along. That's cold. 0:03:45.600 --> 0:03:50.160 We'll work together. Happy sixteenth anniversary to our elevation Uptown location. 0:03:50.920 --> 0:03:55.720 Sixteen years is a big deal. Thank God for faithful people. 0:03:57.560 --> 0:03:59.440 Remember we used to drive over there and we go 0:03:59.480 --> 0:04:02.480 from matt Used to Butler to Providence to mcglow in 0:04:02.560 --> 0:04:05.680 theater and Officer Van Allman would break the speed limit, 0:04:05.720 --> 0:04:07.160 but it's all right because he's a cop, and we 0:04:07.160 --> 0:04:09.800 would get there just as they were finishing the last 0:04:09.840 --> 0:04:14.160 song to preach. And also, I hope you joined an 0:04:14.160 --> 0:04:17.599 EE group today, all right, if you hadn't joined one yet, 0:04:17.960 --> 0:04:22.479 there's many opportunities for you to do that. And I 0:04:22.520 --> 0:04:24.640 think that's all the announcements. Are you ready for the word? 0:04:26.240 --> 0:04:32.839 Put your hands together, I have them. I have a 0:04:32.839 --> 0:04:41.080 text today from Acts chapter twelve. And be mindful not 0:04:41.120 --> 0:04:42.840 only of what God wants to do in your life, 0:04:42.880 --> 0:04:46.560 but maybe somebody around you today, because I think that's important. 0:04:47.320 --> 0:04:49.200 I don't think it's a good habit for us to 0:04:49.279 --> 0:04:53.160 just come to church to tune into the station w 0:04:54.120 --> 0:05:00.400 I FM. What's in it for me? And know the 0:05:00.400 --> 0:05:03.440 person sit in around you. That's why don't leave till 0:05:03.480 --> 0:05:06.600 we were finished, because it might be at that moment 0:05:06.680 --> 0:05:11.200 somebody today gives their life to Christ. And don't close 0:05:11.200 --> 0:05:14.279 off the stream before it's over. Because God has a 0:05:14.320 --> 0:05:15.680 word for you today and I want you to see 0:05:15.720 --> 0:05:20.840 it through until the very end. Acts chapter twelve, verse 0:05:21.120 --> 0:05:25.159 five through seventeen. So quite a bit of scripture. But 0:05:25.200 --> 0:05:26.720 the Lord told me. You haven't read your Bible enough 0:05:26.720 --> 0:05:28.080 this week, and we need to catch up to him. 0:05:30.920 --> 0:05:34.280 Acts Chapter twelve, verse five. So Peter was kept in prison, 0:05:35.200 --> 0:05:39.800 but the church was earnestly praying to God for him. 0:05:41.080 --> 0:05:43.159 The night before Herod was to bring him to trial, 0:05:43.200 --> 0:05:47.720 Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains. Now, 0:05:47.760 --> 0:05:49.599 I'm going to do yellow favor and skip my dad 0:05:49.680 --> 0:05:54.320 joke with the Atlanta wrapper reference. There, bound with two chains, 0:05:54.839 --> 0:05:59.679 and centuries stood guard at the entrance, and suddenly pay attention. 0:06:00.480 --> 0:06:04.359 Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared, and a light 0:06:04.480 --> 0:06:07.760 shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side 0:06:07.760 --> 0:06:10.680 and woke him up. Quick, get up, he said, and 0:06:10.800 --> 0:06:16.320 the chains fell off Peter's wrists. Then the angel said 0:06:16.320 --> 0:06:20.120 to him, put on your clothes and sandals. Why where 0:06:20.120 --> 0:06:22.359 are we going? And I'm telling you all that just 0:06:22.400 --> 0:06:25.640 get dressed. Sometimes, by the way, you have to get 0:06:25.760 --> 0:06:31.080 dressed before you know the destination. Is that not a 0:06:31.080 --> 0:06:34.839 whole word right there? That is a whole turkey right there? 0:06:37.480 --> 0:06:39.520 The angel said to him, put on your clothes and sandals, 0:06:39.560 --> 0:06:44.000 and Peter did so, wrap your cloak around you and 0:06:44.080 --> 0:06:47.320 follow me, the angel told him. Peter followed him out 0:06:47.320 --> 0:06:50.839 of the prison, but he had no idea that what 0:06:50.920 --> 0:06:53.760 the angel was doing was really happening. He thought he 0:06:53.880 --> 0:06:57.320 was seeing a vision. They passed the first and second 0:06:57.320 --> 0:06:59.839 guards and came to the iron gate leading to the 0:07:00.839 --> 0:07:03.760 It opened for them by itself, and they went through it. 0:07:04.440 --> 0:07:06.880 When they had walked the length of one street, suddenly 0:07:06.880 --> 0:07:12.800 the angel left him. Then Peter came to himself and said, 0:07:12.880 --> 0:07:17.040 now I know without a doubt. Look kind of sketchy 0:07:17.080 --> 0:07:20.680 for a second, but now I know without a doubt 0:07:20.760 --> 0:07:23.240 that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me 0:07:23.840 --> 0:07:28.000 from Herod's clutches and from everything the Jewish people were 0:07:28.000 --> 0:07:31.680 hoping would happen. When this had dawned on him, he 0:07:31.760 --> 0:07:33.720 went to the e group of Mary, the mother of 0:07:33.800 --> 0:07:39.840 John also called Mark, where many people had gathered and 0:07:39.880 --> 0:07:43.120 were praying, and Peter knocked at the outer entrance, and 0:07:43.160 --> 0:07:47.480 a servant named Rhoda came to answer the door. When 0:07:47.560 --> 0:07:52.280 she recognized Peter's voice, she was so overjoyed she ran 0:07:52.520 --> 0:07:59.040 back without opening the door and exclaimed, hey, y'all, Peter 0:07:59.320 --> 0:08:02.120 is at the door, or you're out of your mind. 0:08:02.440 --> 0:08:08.400 They told her, we gotta pray, Lord save Peter. But 0:08:08.560 --> 0:08:14.760 he's here. Can't be Lord help Peter. And I love 0:08:14.800 --> 0:08:18.400 the insistence here of Rhoda and Peter because the Bible says, 0:08:18.600 --> 0:08:21.880 when they said you're crazy, look at verse fifteen, she 0:08:22.080 --> 0:08:25.040 kept insisting that it was so, and they said it 0:08:25.120 --> 0:08:29.600 must be his angel. But Peter talk about insistent persistence. 0:08:29.720 --> 0:08:34.280 Peter kept on knocking, and when they opened the door 0:08:34.320 --> 0:08:37.960 and saw him, they were astonished. Now I read you 0:08:38.000 --> 0:08:40.360 all that so I could read you this verse seventeen. 0:08:41.080 --> 0:08:44.920 Peter motioned with his hand for them to be quiet 0:08:45.800 --> 0:08:51.840 and described how the Lord had brought him out of prison. 0:08:53.040 --> 0:08:58.520 He described how the Lord had brought him out of prison. 0:08:59.120 --> 0:09:01.120 I believe there's somebody here today, and you're going to 0:09:01.160 --> 0:09:06.720 be describing how the Lord brought you out not many 0:09:06.800 --> 0:09:11.960 days from now. Matter of fact, Grab the hand of 0:09:11.960 --> 0:09:15.400 the person on either side of you. We're gonna connect physically, 0:09:16.559 --> 0:09:19.120 and we're just gonna believe that whatever is on the 0:09:19.200 --> 0:09:21.480 other side, for your neighbor, they're going to see it, 0:09:22.480 --> 0:09:25.320 they're going to walk into it. And for the neighbor 0:09:25.320 --> 0:09:27.240 on either side of you, tell them, I don't know 0:09:28.960 --> 0:09:33.120 what you need God to bring you out of, but 0:09:33.160 --> 0:09:37.200 He can do it for you. If you need him 0:09:37.240 --> 0:09:39.280 to bring you out of an addiction, he can do 0:09:39.360 --> 0:09:40.640 it for you. If you need him to bring you 0:09:40.679 --> 0:09:43.320 out of depression, he can do it for you. Somebody 0:09:43.320 --> 0:09:45.040 in here needs God to bring them out of debt. 0:09:45.120 --> 0:09:48.240 God can do that for you. God can bring you 0:09:48.280 --> 0:09:51.600 out of your own bad decision. Ask Jonah. He can 0:09:51.640 --> 0:09:53.560 spit you up where you were supposed to be in 0:09:53.600 --> 0:09:56.760 the first place. Ask Jonah. God can bring you out. 0:09:56.760 --> 0:09:58.439 And we're going to pray to that in right now. 0:10:00.920 --> 0:10:03.640 Whatever it is that my brother or my sister needs 0:10:03.640 --> 0:10:05.400 on either side of me for you to bring them 0:10:05.400 --> 0:10:09.400 out of We read about Peter, and Peter wasn't perfect, 0:10:09.440 --> 0:10:13.000 not by a long shot. He denied you, he cursed, 0:10:13.080 --> 0:10:15.840 he cut off a man's ear with a sword. He 0:10:15.840 --> 0:10:19.600 didn't do everything right. But you brought him out. And 0:10:19.679 --> 0:10:21.679 I believe you can do that for the person on 0:10:21.720 --> 0:10:24.800 my right and the person on my left. I believe 0:10:24.840 --> 0:10:27.840 you can do that for every single person watching online today. 0:10:28.160 --> 0:10:31.560 I believe you can do it because I've seen you 0:10:31.640 --> 0:10:36.280 do it. So now, God, I declare that we will 0:10:36.280 --> 0:10:40.920 have testimonies from this service today of how the Lord 0:10:41.280 --> 0:10:45.720 brought me out right there where you're still standing Just 0:10:45.720 --> 0:10:48.800 squeeze your neighbor's hand real quick, just one good squeeze, 0:10:49.440 --> 0:10:51.160 and now look at him and tell him my title. 0:10:51.200 --> 0:11:02.160 Tell him this is what a miracle feels like. This, 0:11:02.160 --> 0:11:08.000 this put it in a promise. This. Give me my 0:11:08.040 --> 0:11:11.680 camera so I can look at him, say this, it's 0:11:11.720 --> 0:11:16.199 what a miracle feels like. High five. Three people say 0:11:16.240 --> 0:11:21.480 it's a miracle. You may be seated. Go ahead and 0:11:21.480 --> 0:11:28.000 bring me my screen. Please, this is what a miracle 0:11:29.000 --> 0:11:32.760 feels like. We're gonna break this all the way down today, 0:11:32.840 --> 0:11:35.000 so don't pay attention while they bring out the screen. 0:11:35.040 --> 0:11:36.719 I want to show you some stuff today. I want 0:11:36.720 --> 0:11:39.440 to show you some things, some things that struck me 0:11:39.480 --> 0:11:42.360 from this text that are very significant for our lives. 0:11:44.640 --> 0:11:46.800 Just out of nowhere. Yesterday me and Graham were coming 0:11:46.840 --> 0:11:53.160 back from doing leg Day. Walked in the kitchen, looks 0:11:53.200 --> 0:11:57.880 at me and says, I feel like I can trust 0:11:57.920 --> 0:12:01.800 you as a man to be faithful to mom. Out 0:12:01.800 --> 0:12:06.319 of nowhere in the kitchen after leg Day, felt proud 0:12:06.360 --> 0:12:09.400 about that, feel like I can trust you as a 0:12:09.400 --> 0:12:13.000 man to be faithful to Mom. Because any man who 0:12:13.040 --> 0:12:15.959 can walk by a bag of chocolate covered pretzels and 0:12:15.960 --> 0:12:18.560 not eat one is a man who can be trusted, 0:12:20.000 --> 0:12:24.199 and they start eating chocolate covered pretzels. Sixteen. He can 0:12:24.240 --> 0:12:26.400 eat chocolate covered pretzels and still have an eight pack, 0:12:26.440 --> 0:12:29.720 and I hate him for it. But in the moment 0:12:29.760 --> 0:12:34.080 I realized, boy, I've come a long way. That my 0:12:34.240 --> 0:12:36.800 son sees me. No, you don't understand I've come a 0:12:36.880 --> 0:12:39.800 long way when food. I saw a lady email the 0:12:39.840 --> 0:12:43.160 church and said, you talk so much about food in 0:12:43.200 --> 0:12:45.679 your sermons. Every sermon you have a food reference. That's 0:12:45.679 --> 0:12:49.199 because we tend to preach our way through the devil 0:12:49.200 --> 0:12:52.800 that we're always having to fight against. And if you 0:12:52.920 --> 0:12:57.360 knew how many food issues exist, not just in my life, 0:12:57.360 --> 0:13:01.600 but life of my parents and just generation things like that, 0:13:00.880 --> 0:13:03.319 that's kind of a big deal for Graham to look 0:13:03.360 --> 0:13:07.200 at me and say to admire my discipline as he 0:13:07.200 --> 0:13:10.640 eats chocolate covered pretzels Once a year. I have a 0:13:10.640 --> 0:13:14.120 little commemorative thing where I eat so much food just 0:13:14.160 --> 0:13:17.600 to show my family what would be possible. I start 0:13:17.679 --> 0:13:20.000 early and I in late, just to show them that 0:13:20.040 --> 0:13:23.720 if I ever took the bumpers off at the bowling alley, 0:13:24.080 --> 0:13:26.280 what kind of gutter we would be in. As it 0:13:26.320 --> 0:13:29.600 concerns my nutrition and it's a thing to behold. I mean, 0:13:29.640 --> 0:13:31.360 I could sell tickets to this all the food I 0:13:31.400 --> 0:13:33.720 eat in that day, and I do it once twice, 0:13:33.559 --> 0:13:35.839 three or four times a year, as often as they 0:13:35.880 --> 0:13:39.280 need to be reminded. You know, my father was a 0:13:39.320 --> 0:13:43.560 wandering army and you know, like whatever as an old testament, Joe. 0:13:43.679 --> 0:13:48.600 But the thing about it in the moment was it 0:13:48.640 --> 0:13:51.400 took me back to when I made a decision to 0:13:51.440 --> 0:13:55.760 be disciplined with eating, and it took me back to 0:13:56.800 --> 0:13:58.480 all of the people who gave me advice when I 0:13:58.520 --> 0:14:00.959 was trying to choose a diet to go on, and 0:14:02.080 --> 0:14:05.320 I was busy trying to show Holly how much I 0:14:05.360 --> 0:14:07.800 appreciated her cooking. We were newly wets and I was 0:14:08.000 --> 0:14:11.600 showing her that by gaining forty pounds of fat, and 0:14:12.160 --> 0:14:14.360 I just wanted her to see how effective her meals were. 0:14:14.920 --> 0:14:17.200 And one day I walked by mirror and it just 0:14:17.200 --> 0:14:19.200 freaked me out. And I didn't feel like I was 0:14:19.200 --> 0:14:21.360 getting fatter, but apparently I was, because what I saw 0:14:21.400 --> 0:14:23.280 I didn't recognize, and it just it's just kind of 0:14:23.280 --> 0:14:27.760 like like all of a sudden, you know. That's that's 0:14:27.800 --> 0:14:31.040 how that happens, and so I came. I came to her, 0:14:31.040 --> 0:14:33.000 and I said, I think I'm gonna go on Atkins diet. 0:14:33.040 --> 0:14:35.600 I've watched my parents do it. It looks fun. You 0:14:35.640 --> 0:14:38.200 can eat hot dogs with no buns and bacon and 0:14:38.240 --> 0:14:39.960 lose weight. And I think I'm gonna try that one. 0:14:40.560 --> 0:14:42.400 I don't. I don't want to do a portion control. 0:14:42.600 --> 0:14:44.160 And so I went around to different people and I said, 0:14:44.200 --> 0:14:46.040 I'm gonna do Atkins and I can. I can eat 0:14:46.120 --> 0:14:49.120 a lot but not not have to worry about how 0:14:49.200 --> 0:14:51.520 much I eat. I can just eat certain things. And 0:14:51.680 --> 0:14:54.280 this woman said to me, I know she meant, well, 0:14:55.000 --> 0:14:57.960 very health conscious woman. She goes, no, no, you don't 0:14:57.960 --> 0:15:01.360 need to eliminate carbohydrates from your diet. You just need 0:15:01.360 --> 0:15:03.200 to eat all the food groups and you can eat anything. 0:15:03.360 --> 0:15:05.840 But the keat is just eat until you feel full 0:15:06.680 --> 0:15:12.320 and then stop, which may be good advice if full 0:15:13.000 --> 0:15:18.160 is a feeling that you're familiar with, But this feeling 0:15:18.200 --> 0:15:20.160 I didn't tell her. I just listened polightly. Oh yeah, 0:15:20.160 --> 0:15:22.160 that sounds great. I'm so happy for you about that 0:15:22.200 --> 0:15:28.960 feeling full thing. But apparently my full feeler didn't get 0:15:28.960 --> 0:15:33.240 installed in the factory because even if I eat till 0:15:33.280 --> 0:15:36.880 I feel full, it'll be five minutes and I won't 0:15:36.880 --> 0:15:40.880 feel full. And I can feel full on salty but 0:15:40.960 --> 0:15:44.760 still want sweet. So there's like five different types of 0:15:44.840 --> 0:15:48.200 full that I need to feel. And so since I 0:15:48.240 --> 0:15:52.240 realized I can't trust this feeling called full because I've 0:15:52.280 --> 0:15:54.840 been waiting to feel full, and that put these forty 0:15:54.840 --> 0:15:57.720 pounds on me, because whole time I've been eating these 0:15:57.760 --> 0:16:00.200 forty pounds, I've been trying to feel full, and I 0:16:00.240 --> 0:16:03.800 haven't felt full. And I realized feelings can be deceiving 0:16:05.400 --> 0:16:10.640 and they can be delayed. And so I wonder today, 0:16:10.760 --> 0:16:14.480 just as an illustration, as we look at this text 0:16:14.480 --> 0:16:18.160 and consider this lesson, is it possible that, just like 0:16:18.480 --> 0:16:21.640 sometimes you're full, maybe not you, but people like me 0:16:21.800 --> 0:16:25.400 we're full and we don't feel full, is it possible 0:16:25.480 --> 0:16:28.720 sometimes that as difficult as it is for me to 0:16:28.720 --> 0:16:33.720 feel full, it's all so difficult to feel faith. And 0:16:33.800 --> 0:16:36.320 I mentioned that because if you don't know what faith 0:16:36.400 --> 0:16:40.840 feels like, sometimes you will be acting as if you 0:16:40.880 --> 0:16:44.720 don't have it, when in fact you do. And that 0:16:44.840 --> 0:16:47.040 it is possible for you to have faith and not 0:16:47.080 --> 0:16:50.000 feel faith, just as it is possible for me to 0:16:50.040 --> 0:16:54.560 be full and not feel full. I'm already preaching better 0:16:54.600 --> 0:16:58.880 than you're responding, but I don't mind, because the fact 0:16:58.880 --> 0:17:01.640 of the matter is, even in a sermon, when you're 0:17:01.640 --> 0:17:05.000 hearing the word of God preached, you may not necessarily 0:17:05.359 --> 0:17:08.240 feel good while you're hearing the message, but it might 0:17:08.280 --> 0:17:12.520 make you better after you go home. The feeling can 0:17:12.520 --> 0:17:15.919 be delayed. I said last week that feelings come, but 0:17:15.960 --> 0:17:20.760 they don't come first. You heard it. Wow, that was 0:17:20.840 --> 0:17:24.480 revolutionary for me to know that feelings have their place 0:17:24.680 --> 0:17:28.879 in my life, but not first place. That emotions are 0:17:28.960 --> 0:17:32.879 welcome to come. And so when I feel amazing grace, 0:17:33.920 --> 0:17:37.960 I sing amazing grace. But when I don't feel amazing grace, 0:17:38.119 --> 0:17:42.600 check this out, I still got amazing grace. Because feelings come, 0:17:42.680 --> 0:17:46.959 but they don't come first. The word comes first. Somebody 0:17:47.000 --> 0:17:51.040 say the word comes first, and what God speaks over 0:17:51.080 --> 0:17:54.160 me is the first word, the last word, the alpha, 0:17:54.440 --> 0:17:57.119 the omega, and the omnikron in the middle of the 0:17:57.160 --> 0:18:02.280 Greek alphabet. Because feelings come, but they don't come first. 0:18:02.760 --> 0:18:06.919 A very important lesson today. Now. The reason I selected 0:18:06.920 --> 0:18:10.880 this story for our lesson today is because we are 0:18:10.960 --> 0:18:15.040 seeing a miracle. But it probably doesn't feel like a 0:18:15.080 --> 0:18:18.760 miracle to the people experiencing it. And it is my 0:18:18.960 --> 0:18:21.760 theory that most of the Bible stories that we love 0:18:21.880 --> 0:18:26.440 to read we would have hated to live. Think about this. 0:18:28.000 --> 0:18:31.879 Our Bible club is reading Daniel right now. I like 0:18:32.000 --> 0:18:36.080 hearing about the lions that he slept with. I don't 0:18:36.119 --> 0:18:43.520 want one for a pillow. I love singing about shadrackne 0:18:43.640 --> 0:18:47.000 Shack of ed Nigo, but I don't want to be 0:18:47.160 --> 0:18:50.880 neither of the three. I don't wanna. I don't wanna. 0:18:51.080 --> 0:18:53.920 I don't want to be in that story. I want 0:18:53.920 --> 0:18:58.240 to read that story kind of like Peter, I don't 0:18:58.240 --> 0:18:59.960 want to. I don't want to be in a prison 0:19:00.600 --> 0:19:03.720 for preaching the gospel. I hope I never have to 0:19:03.760 --> 0:19:08.240 do that, go to prison for preaching the gospel. I 0:19:08.280 --> 0:19:11.840 don't really want anything to confine me. He is not 0:19:11.880 --> 0:19:14.800 a physical prison, you know. So I'm reading about this 0:19:14.840 --> 0:19:16.639 and I'm like, why do I I like this story 0:19:16.680 --> 0:19:19.480 so much? Because we love dramatic deliverance stories in church. 0:19:21.600 --> 0:19:29.640 Read see Anyone, the Fall of Goliath, anyone, Jericho Walls, anyone, traffic, anyone, 0:19:30.320 --> 0:19:35.120 no red c not traffic. And my task a lot 0:19:35.119 --> 0:19:37.760 of times in bringing the scripture is to kind of 0:19:37.760 --> 0:19:40.639 bring it down to a level where we can see 0:19:40.680 --> 0:19:43.359 that although we are not Peter in a prison, and 0:19:43.359 --> 0:19:46.080 although we are not the church that was persecuted by Herod, 0:19:46.119 --> 0:19:47.760 it was going around and kind of taking all the 0:19:47.840 --> 0:19:50.200 Christians and throwing them in jail to try to keep 0:19:50.240 --> 0:19:54.600 the people under his jurisdiction happy. Because you know, political 0:19:54.720 --> 0:19:58.760 purposes that have had their origin and human agendas that 0:19:58.800 --> 0:20:01.200 are used under God's sign sovereign rule are nothing new 0:20:01.640 --> 0:20:04.040 to the God of the Bible. And so we see 0:20:04.080 --> 0:20:07.080 in Acts chapter twelve how Herod is going around and 0:20:07.080 --> 0:20:10.280 persecuting the Christians. And I wanted to slow down and 0:20:10.280 --> 0:20:13.240 show you some things that struck me this week from 0:20:13.280 --> 0:20:17.080 this message. Look at your neighbor and say, this is 0:20:17.119 --> 0:20:21.679 what a miracle feels like. Now when I say it 0:20:21.680 --> 0:20:24.639 feels like, let me point something out to you, is 0:20:24.680 --> 0:20:28.160 that the book that I just quoted to you from 0:20:28.600 --> 0:20:32.480 is called the Book of Acts. And it's called the 0:20:32.480 --> 0:20:35.159 Book of Acts because it is the acts, the actions, 0:20:35.200 --> 0:20:38.520 the acts of the apostles who Jesus left to take 0:20:38.560 --> 0:20:41.480 the Gospel into all the world. And they did that, 0:20:41.840 --> 0:20:45.160 They did that against all odds, they did that. They 0:20:45.160 --> 0:20:47.879 did that starting on the day of Pentecost, when the 0:20:47.920 --> 0:20:50.879 Holy Spirit came and God gave the utterance so that 0:20:50.920 --> 0:20:54.520 everyone heard the gospel in their own language. They preached repentance. 0:20:54.560 --> 0:20:58.680 They did that. They healed the lame, they did that. 0:21:00.000 --> 0:21:03.200 Fleet have already suffered a lot of persecution. They did 0:21:03.200 --> 0:21:05.960 all of that, and much of it is included in 0:21:06.000 --> 0:21:09.639 the Book of Apps. Noticed that I did not tell you, though, 0:21:09.680 --> 0:21:13.080 when I started today to turn in your Bible to 0:21:13.160 --> 0:21:18.760 the twelfth chapter of the Book of Feelings, I told 0:21:18.760 --> 0:21:21.040 you to turn to the twelfth chapter of the Book 0:21:21.080 --> 0:21:26.520 of the Book of feelings might be a different book, 0:21:28.560 --> 0:21:30.600 the book of what they felt as they did it. 0:21:30.640 --> 0:21:33.560 I feel God so strong on this message because you 0:21:33.720 --> 0:21:36.680 keep thinking that the feeling not being there means there's 0:21:36.720 --> 0:21:41.560 something wrong with you. Maybe maybe not, because feelings come, 0:21:42.040 --> 0:21:46.680 but they don't come first. You keep thinking, I wouldn't 0:21:46.680 --> 0:21:50.080 struggle with this if I really believed that Maybe maybe not, 0:21:50.600 --> 0:21:55.439 because feelings come, but they don't come first. And the 0:21:55.520 --> 0:21:58.679 amazing thing about a miracle is that you can be 0:21:58.960 --> 0:22:02.719 in one and not feel one while you're in it, 0:22:07.320 --> 0:22:12.080 just like I can be full technically, because let's be honest, 0:22:12.760 --> 0:22:17.720 nobody really needs the whole bag. But I have a 0:22:17.800 --> 0:22:21.359 I have a whole bag brain. So so when I 0:22:21.440 --> 0:22:24.600 when I feel full, that's that's a that's a brain thing, 0:22:24.640 --> 0:22:27.879 not a body thing. And so something can actually be 0:22:27.960 --> 0:22:30.439 happening in your body that's not happening in your brain. 0:22:31.840 --> 0:22:35.439 By extension, something can actually be happening in your life 0:22:35.440 --> 0:22:39.080 in reality that has not yet happened in your emotions. 0:22:40.080 --> 0:22:42.280 And sometimes it takes a little while for us to 0:22:42.359 --> 0:22:45.679 catch up with what God was already doing, so that 0:22:45.760 --> 0:22:49.520 while we are going through the experience, we really can't 0:22:49.600 --> 0:22:53.480 understand the experience. And the temptation in these moments is 0:22:53.520 --> 0:22:56.439 to think, if I can't describe it while I'm going 0:22:56.520 --> 0:23:00.159 through it, then God must not be in it. So 0:23:00.200 --> 0:23:02.680 then we say things like this makes no sense, and God, 0:23:02.720 --> 0:23:05.439 get me out of this. But it is often not 0:23:05.560 --> 0:23:08.040 until we get out of this that we can even 0:23:08.160 --> 0:23:12.280 understand why God put us in this and be able 0:23:12.320 --> 0:23:16.159 to tell the testimony, Yeah there were lions, they didn't 0:23:16.200 --> 0:23:19.399 bite me. Yeah there was fire. It didn't send me. 0:23:19.480 --> 0:23:23.399 I don't smell like it, do I? But I slept there. 0:23:24.960 --> 0:23:28.000 So In Acts chapter twelve, Peter gets out of prison 0:23:28.040 --> 0:23:30.639 and we read about that, and it's a really humorous story. 0:23:30.640 --> 0:23:32.480 I mean, it's one of those great stories to show 0:23:32.520 --> 0:23:35.320 people people who say the Bible's boring, send them over 0:23:35.359 --> 0:23:39.679 to Acts, chapter twelve and show them the comedy of 0:23:39.720 --> 0:23:43.920 the fact that the church is praying for Peter and 0:23:43.960 --> 0:23:47.640 he comes to the door and the girl says, hey, 0:23:47.640 --> 0:23:49.639 the thing you're praying for it just showed up, And 0:23:49.680 --> 0:23:55.520 they say, no way, it must be his angel. No, 0:23:55.600 --> 0:24:02.000 it's a miracle. No, it can't be. The people who 0:24:02.040 --> 0:24:08.760 are praying for it to happen can't even believe it 0:24:08.760 --> 0:24:13.879 could possibly be true. This message just for everybody who 0:24:13.960 --> 0:24:17.360 doesn't feel like a good parent right now. You might 0:24:17.400 --> 0:24:20.480 be a real good parent, and the proof of your 0:24:20.520 --> 0:24:26.840 good parenting might be your prison. The proof that Peter 0:24:27.080 --> 0:24:30.639 was making a difference was the fact that the political 0:24:30.640 --> 0:24:34.480 agenda had to suppress him. So the proof sometimes that 0:24:34.520 --> 0:24:37.600 you're doing what you're supposed to do is that a 0:24:37.720 --> 0:24:41.000 resistance comes to contain you from continuing to do it. 0:24:43.680 --> 0:24:46.520 Don't assume that just because it's tense in your home 0:24:46.600 --> 0:24:49.720 right now, that that necessarily means you're doing it wrong. 0:24:50.240 --> 0:24:53.000 You may need to adjust your strategy, you may need 0:24:53.040 --> 0:24:55.600 to do it a little differently. Going forward, you may 0:24:55.640 --> 0:24:57.840 need to take a queue that something needs to change. 0:24:57.880 --> 0:25:01.760 But please understand that is not in prison for something 0:25:01.840 --> 0:25:06.760 he did disobedient. He's in prison for fulfilling his very purpose, 0:25:08.760 --> 0:25:11.480 and the church is praying for God to bring him out. 0:25:11.760 --> 0:25:14.000 I mean, if this was called the Book of Feelings, 0:25:14.040 --> 0:25:17.679 what would acts chapter twelve be. It would be a 0:25:17.840 --> 0:25:22.879 church that was praying but not really believing that what 0:25:22.920 --> 0:25:27.000 they were praying was possible. I slipped this in for 0:25:27.080 --> 0:25:29.840 everybody who has ever come into a worship service and 0:25:29.880 --> 0:25:32.919 we sang something like I trust in God, and you 0:25:33.040 --> 0:25:37.000 lifted your hands and felt like a hypocrite because you 0:25:37.040 --> 0:25:39.359 were not trusting God in that moment you put your 0:25:39.400 --> 0:25:45.240 hands up. But the act of worship was obedience, even 0:25:45.280 --> 0:25:49.280 if the feeling of worship did not prompt it. The 0:25:49.400 --> 0:25:52.840 act of kindness is obedience, even if you can't stand 0:25:52.840 --> 0:25:56.680 the person the act. Oh, I'm preaching good today, I'm 0:25:56.720 --> 0:26:01.840 preaching so good. The church is going quiet, and Peter 0:26:02.119 --> 0:26:05.520 is in prison precisely because he is in the center 0:26:05.600 --> 0:26:08.159 of his purpose. And I would suggest to you that 0:26:08.280 --> 0:26:17.000 sometimes the prison proves your progress. Sometimes the difficulty proves 0:26:17.119 --> 0:26:21.320 the challenge proves the struggle proves that you are growing 0:26:21.400 --> 0:26:25.919 stronger and making a difference for God. If you go 0:26:26.000 --> 0:26:28.960 to a Panthers game this year, nobody will come up 0:26:29.000 --> 0:26:34.600 and tackle you unless you got the ball. But when 0:26:34.600 --> 0:26:38.919 you got the ball, they hit you over what you carry. 0:26:39.119 --> 0:26:42.439 When you've got the ball, they hit you over what 0:26:42.600 --> 0:26:45.720 you have the potential to do. When you got the ball, 0:26:46.000 --> 0:26:48.760 they hit you because if they let you get too open, 0:26:49.160 --> 0:26:52.879 you might make something happen, and you might make the playoffs, 0:26:53.119 --> 0:26:56.040 and you might put six on the ball, high five 0:26:56.160 --> 0:27:07.760 somebody and say, I know what I got. So this 0:27:08.880 --> 0:27:13.000 is what a miracle feels like. It shows up at 0:27:13.000 --> 0:27:16.720 the door and you can't even open the door because 0:27:16.720 --> 0:27:22.280 they're so afraid. Sometimes it's at the door and you 0:27:22.359 --> 0:27:25.199 are so disappointed. I mean, let's get the church credit. 0:27:25.560 --> 0:27:28.480 They were praying. It's a miracle. They were still praying. 0:27:29.640 --> 0:27:32.440 Under the persecution they were under. It's a miracle. They 0:27:32.440 --> 0:27:37.479 were still praying. One of their main leaders has just 0:27:37.640 --> 0:27:43.240 been beheaded just days ago. His name was James. When 0:27:43.240 --> 0:27:46.320 you read the Gospels, you read about Peter and James 0:27:46.600 --> 0:27:50.760 and John that James. They took him out, cut his 0:27:50.880 --> 0:27:54.800 head off, and Peter was next and on the night 0:27:56.240 --> 0:28:00.560 that they were deciding his fate, the church will praying 0:28:02.760 --> 0:28:08.640 Peter got out. But notice something here, because I never 0:28:08.720 --> 0:28:11.199 noticed it before. I preached this passage about every two 0:28:11.280 --> 0:28:15.280 or three years. It's something that I really love, and 0:28:15.359 --> 0:28:16.840 maybe it's a lot of things that I need God 0:28:16.880 --> 0:28:19.200 to bring me out of too, and so it gives 0:28:19.200 --> 0:28:21.760 me hope and energy for that. But I've got of 0:28:21.760 --> 0:28:24.960 restruct me before where it said Peter kept knocking, and 0:28:25.000 --> 0:28:26.840 I always thought that was cool. And they opened the 0:28:26.840 --> 0:28:29.159 door and saw him, they were astonished. I never noticed 0:28:29.160 --> 0:28:31.560 what Peter did next. And this is what I want 0:28:31.640 --> 0:28:34.560 us to think about for a moment today, How Peter 0:28:34.680 --> 0:28:38.680 is standing there and he's on the run and nobody 0:28:38.720 --> 0:28:42.040 knows he's gone because God snuck him out of his cell. 0:28:43.840 --> 0:28:46.240 Sometimes God doesn't do it in a dramatic way. Sometimes 0:28:46.280 --> 0:28:50.680 he sneaks you out. Sometimes he sneaks you out so 0:28:50.720 --> 0:28:54.240 good you don't even know you're gone yet. And you 0:28:54.280 --> 0:28:55.800 wake up one day and say, oh, I don't even 0:28:55.800 --> 0:28:58.000 want to call him back. Oh I don't even want 0:28:58.000 --> 0:29:00.080 to go over. Oh I don't even want to say so, 0:29:00.080 --> 0:29:07.760 I don't even like to face. That tastes nasty. And 0:29:07.800 --> 0:29:11.960 he's sneaking out and he gets to the place where 0:29:11.960 --> 0:29:14.640 he knew some people might be praying, which you would 0:29:14.680 --> 0:29:17.400 think that he was going there for safety. The only 0:29:17.440 --> 0:29:19.120 problem with that, And all of you who are listening 0:29:19.200 --> 0:29:21.520 on a podcast, I am circling words on the screen, 0:29:21.560 --> 0:29:23.240 and I wish you could see it, because my handwriting 0:29:23.280 --> 0:29:26.800 is amazing and my artistic ability is on parallel. I'm 0:29:26.880 --> 0:29:30.080 doing some calligraphy up here. But it said. He motioned 0:29:30.120 --> 0:29:32.040 with his hand for them to be quiet, and described 0:29:32.080 --> 0:29:33.719 how the Lord had brought him out of prison. Tell 0:29:33.800 --> 0:29:35.560 James and the other brothers and sisters about this is 0:29:35.600 --> 0:29:37.480 a different James, not the one this dead. Tell James 0:29:37.520 --> 0:29:39.320 and the other brothers and sisters about this, he said. 0:29:39.640 --> 0:29:44.200 And then he left for another place, and we don't 0:29:44.240 --> 0:29:47.000 know where he goes. But before he left for another 0:29:47.040 --> 0:29:50.280 place because he's got a hurry. Now he snuck out 0:29:50.320 --> 0:29:53.480 of prison, doesn't have much time. This is what a 0:29:53.520 --> 0:29:59.640 miracle feels like. You're out, but you're still running. You're 0:29:59.680 --> 0:30:03.360 out of that thing, but you're headed to another place. 0:30:04.440 --> 0:30:08.440 Did you see that He left for another place. But 0:30:08.560 --> 0:30:12.120 along the way he goes just to show the praying 0:30:12.280 --> 0:30:16.360 church at John Mark's mother's house that he was still here. 0:30:17.720 --> 0:30:21.160 But the Bible says he also before he left to 0:30:21.200 --> 0:30:23.640 go to another place, which I'm sure God had a 0:30:23.640 --> 0:30:25.080 lot more for Peter to do. He went on to 0:30:25.120 --> 0:30:26.920 do amazing things. He went on to be one of 0:30:26.920 --> 0:30:30.920 the most significant figures in the New Testament church. But 0:30:31.040 --> 0:30:34.960 before he left, he told him be quiet. They're freaking out. 0:30:35.480 --> 0:30:37.680 He's liked, they're trying to kill me. He the Lord 0:30:37.720 --> 0:30:41.240 snucked me out. What do you mean they let you go? No, not, 0:30:41.400 --> 0:30:44.000 bab he did. They didn't let me go. He did. 0:30:44.160 --> 0:30:46.960 He hit me out. Now shut up. And then the 0:30:46.960 --> 0:30:50.200 Bible says, because he's a wanted man, right, So what 0:30:50.320 --> 0:30:52.440 is he doing standing here at their door, out in 0:30:52.440 --> 0:30:54.680 the open. He's not going inside. He sees he has 0:30:54.720 --> 0:30:57.560 this whole conversation at the door. He never even goes in. 0:30:58.800 --> 0:31:02.760 But the Bible says, not only did he show them 0:31:02.800 --> 0:31:07.120 that God had kept him, but he watched this described 0:31:08.360 --> 0:31:11.480 how the Lord had brought him out of prison. Now 0:31:11.560 --> 0:31:16.160 that's different because when they saw him, they could have 0:31:16.200 --> 0:31:19.800 assumed that he was released by Herod. But he had 0:31:19.840 --> 0:31:24.600 to clarify it wasn't Herod that let me out. Because 0:31:24.600 --> 0:31:29.600 sometimes people don't change. But the God who never changes, 0:31:32.160 --> 0:31:35.520 can take you in the same situation and nothing change 0:31:35.560 --> 0:31:41.040 about the situation, but everything changed for you. And he 0:31:41.120 --> 0:31:44.320 began to describe, Oh, I love it. He began to 0:31:44.400 --> 0:31:49.600 describe how the Lord had brought him out of prison. 0:31:49.680 --> 0:31:51.640 Touch your neighbors, say, you wouldn't believe me if I 0:31:51.680 --> 0:31:56.280 told you, if I told you how God brought me out, 0:31:56.520 --> 0:31:59.000 if I told you how I kept my mind, if 0:31:59.040 --> 0:32:01.320 I told you how he up me, saying, if I 0:32:01.440 --> 0:32:04.240 told you how I paid this bill while that bill 0:32:04.520 --> 0:32:07.600 was talking to that bill, and my bills had baby bills, 0:32:07.840 --> 0:32:10.280 and the baby bills all ganged up and started eating 0:32:10.280 --> 0:32:13.720 me like monsters like piranhas. If I told you how 0:32:13.720 --> 0:32:15.760 we did it, you wouldn't believe me. You wouldn't believe 0:32:16.160 --> 0:32:19.120 how God brought me out. But he stops to tell 0:32:19.160 --> 0:32:26.760 them how he described how the Lord had brought him 0:32:26.800 --> 0:32:32.120 out of prison. So let's run it back. Let's have 0:32:32.160 --> 0:32:35.440 a conversation. Peter is standing at the door with us today, 0:32:36.520 --> 0:32:38.360 and God brought him out of a prison. And you 0:32:38.360 --> 0:32:41.320 need God to bring you out of a prison. It 0:32:41.360 --> 0:32:46.239 may be the prison of your own pride, it may 0:32:46.280 --> 0:32:48.280 be the prison of the pain that you feel because 0:32:48.400 --> 0:32:52.880 just like the church was, we are all dealing with 0:32:52.920 --> 0:32:55.360 a loss that we experienced while reaching toward a future 0:32:55.360 --> 0:32:58.520 that we hope for. You know how heart it is 0:32:58.560 --> 0:33:04.160 to pray for Peter, you just lost James. You know 0:33:04.240 --> 0:33:07.040 how hard it is to believe that my life is 0:33:07.080 --> 0:33:08.840 going to be better and I'm going to be happy 0:33:08.880 --> 0:33:12.760 again one day when you thought that six months ago. 0:33:13.840 --> 0:33:17.880 How hard it is to trust somebody that's new when 0:33:17.880 --> 0:33:21.560 the people that you knew you could trust proved that 0:33:21.600 --> 0:33:26.520 you were wrong. Thus is the situation. And yet now 0:33:26.560 --> 0:33:30.000 we've got a church that was praying, not really even 0:33:30.040 --> 0:33:33.360 believing that it was possible, but still praying. And Peter, 0:33:33.480 --> 0:33:36.400 did you notice who goes the whole journey not even 0:33:36.440 --> 0:33:40.080 knowing that what was happening was really happening. And they're 0:33:40.120 --> 0:33:44.680 standing here at the door because this is what a 0:33:44.720 --> 0:33:55.440 miracle feels like. This. I don't know if that's exciting, 0:33:56.280 --> 0:34:01.120 but it's true. It's the difference between the baby pictures 0:34:01.160 --> 0:34:05.400 that they put on Instagram and the three AM feedings 0:34:05.480 --> 0:34:10.160 of what being a mom feels like. See the first 0:34:10.160 --> 0:34:14.520 one is what being a mom is filtered like. The 0:34:14.560 --> 0:34:18.520 second one is what being a mom feels like and 0:34:18.600 --> 0:34:21.600 when you are in a miracle, you may feel like 0:34:21.719 --> 0:34:26.680 the church praying in John March's mother's home. God do it, 0:34:26.719 --> 0:34:29.720 even though I'm not sure you can. God, we're praying, 0:34:29.800 --> 0:34:33.680 even though we're still in pain. We're praying through these tears. 0:34:34.760 --> 0:34:39.880 We're believing, but kind of not. And so Peter was 0:34:39.960 --> 0:34:45.360 kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying. I 0:34:45.520 --> 0:34:48.279 was praying, and Peter said, I got to tell you 0:34:48.360 --> 0:34:50.080 how the Lord brought me out. You won't believe it. 0:34:50.440 --> 0:34:53.920 The night before Herod was coming to bring me to trial, 0:34:54.040 --> 0:34:56.280 and I didn't know the outcome. Y'all, you're not gonna 0:34:56.280 --> 0:34:58.799 believe this. Keep your voices down, but I need to 0:34:58.840 --> 0:35:00.719 tell you what I was doing in the prison cell. 0:35:00.840 --> 0:35:02.560 You're not gonna believe it, because if you would have 0:35:02.560 --> 0:35:04.000 told me I was going to be thrown in prison. 0:35:04.000 --> 0:35:05.640 This is Peter speaking, Okay, This is as if like 0:35:05.680 --> 0:35:08.200 Peter was describing how the Lord brought him out. I 0:35:08.200 --> 0:35:10.480 would have thought that I would have had an ulcer. 0:35:10.680 --> 0:35:12.760 I would have thought that I would have been pacing 0:35:12.800 --> 0:35:15.080 all around the cell. I would have thought that I 0:35:15.080 --> 0:35:17.080 would have been freaking out. But it was the most 0:35:17.160 --> 0:35:19.839 amazing thing that while I was waiting to see if 0:35:19.880 --> 0:35:29.000 I was going to live or die, I was sleeping, sleeping. 0:35:30.160 --> 0:35:33.640 I'm sorry. Peter, speak up. Did you say you were 0:35:33.880 --> 0:35:38.320 you were singing like Paul and Silas. No, that's Act sixteen. 0:35:38.360 --> 0:35:41.120 This is Act twelve that hasn't happened yet. Paul's all 0:35:41.239 --> 0:35:44.359 boisterous about it. He's singing in prison. Peter said, I 0:35:44.400 --> 0:35:50.640 don't know how. I can't explain it, but somehow, while 0:35:50.640 --> 0:35:57.719 I was waiting, not even knowing the outcome, I was sleeping. Peter, 0:35:57.880 --> 0:36:00.359 say it one more time. What were you doing while 0:36:00.400 --> 0:36:02.400 you were waiting to see if you were gonna have 0:36:02.480 --> 0:36:05.160 your head cut off? I can't explain it. I know 0:36:05.239 --> 0:36:11.640 it makes no sense. I was sleeping because sometimes this 0:36:12.840 --> 0:36:23.400 is what a miracle looks like. Sometimes you do it 0:36:23.440 --> 0:36:28.120 with a lower thread count. Sometimes they don't even fluff 0:36:28.160 --> 0:36:32.040 your pillow or put a mint on it. Definitely let 0:36:32.040 --> 0:36:33.680 one of those cruise ship wash costs that they roll 0:36:33.800 --> 0:36:37.360 up to look like a duck. None of that, no comfort, 0:36:38.239 --> 0:36:43.759 no certainty. But I slept. Tell somebody, I know you 0:36:43.760 --> 0:36:49.840 won't believe me, but I was sleeping. I couldn't explain it, 0:36:50.800 --> 0:36:55.759 but God gave me watch this a supernatural piece. How 0:36:55.800 --> 0:37:01.759 many have that testimony? And I know if I try 0:37:01.760 --> 0:37:04.880 to explain it to you, it won't make sense because 0:37:04.920 --> 0:37:07.120 I should have been just freaking out. I should have 0:37:07.160 --> 0:37:09.560 been going crazy. I should have been shaking the part. 0:37:09.760 --> 0:37:12.480 This isn't right. I at least should have been praying. 0:37:12.560 --> 0:37:16.640 But oh, wait a minute, Wait a minute, Peter, you 0:37:16.719 --> 0:37:27.400 were sleeping. That makes total sense because we were so 0:37:27.400 --> 0:37:31.799 so so that's amazing, right, because we were praying, but 0:37:31.840 --> 0:37:34.719 we didn't have any proof that it was working. But 0:37:34.840 --> 0:37:38.640 now you're standing at the door to tell us that 0:37:38.800 --> 0:37:42.720 you were able to do this because we were willing 0:37:42.760 --> 0:37:46.560 to do this. Now I feel I preach that God 0:37:46.640 --> 0:37:50.760 set is working. God said, is working? Why you sleep 0:37:51.880 --> 0:37:56.479 or just like the human body recovers during rest. God said, 0:37:56.520 --> 0:37:59.960 I am building your case right now. Why you're rest. 0:38:00.680 --> 0:38:03.560 I got somebody praying for you that you have me 0:38:03.560 --> 0:38:07.440 even talk to in twenty four months. I got somebody 0:38:07.560 --> 0:38:11.040 praying for you that you don't even like. I got 0:38:11.080 --> 0:38:20.480 somebody praying for you. I'm here because Peter said, really, yo, 0:38:20.560 --> 0:38:23.600 we're praying. What time y'all start praying? I bet it 0:38:23.719 --> 0:38:26.759 was around the same time I bet the moment they 0:38:26.800 --> 0:38:31.080 started praying, Peer passed out. I bet he was on 0:38:31.160 --> 0:38:34.560 the verge of a nervous breakdown. God said, he brought 0:38:34.600 --> 0:38:37.760 you the church this morning, and when you go home tonight, 0:38:38.080 --> 0:38:41.840 you're gonna have a same problem, same prison, but a 0:38:41.960 --> 0:38:45.600 different sleep because God's gonna close your eyes and make 0:38:45.719 --> 0:38:54.080 you lie down in green pastures. Because this, it's a 0:38:54.200 --> 0:38:58.239 pillow your head in a prison makes no sense. It's 0:38:58.280 --> 0:39:01.919 a miracle. Peter, did you fall asleep cause you knew 0:39:01.960 --> 0:39:04.360 God was gonna bring you out? No? I fell asleep 0:39:04.360 --> 0:39:06.120 because there was nothing I could do about it, and 0:39:06.160 --> 0:39:10.359 it had to be God. So when you've done all 0:39:10.400 --> 0:39:20.320 you can do, sleep on it like a baby freshly 0:39:20.360 --> 0:39:23.879 fed with the milk of the word of God. I'm 0:39:23.920 --> 0:39:28.960 going to sleep on this thing because when he brings 0:39:29.000 --> 0:39:36.480 you out, you're gonna need your rest for what's next. Well, 0:39:36.520 --> 0:39:40.360 I feel like I'm doing therapy for somebody today. Somebody 0:39:40.400 --> 0:39:42.880 in here is too cheap to hire a professional therapist, 0:39:42.880 --> 0:39:48.680 So you get me. I was sleeping. Tell somebody I 0:39:48.760 --> 0:39:51.759 was sleeping. Look, I don't even really know. It's like 0:39:51.840 --> 0:39:54.239 God knocked me out for the surgery. It was like 0:39:54.280 --> 0:39:56.359 I came to a point. I can't even tell you 0:39:56.520 --> 0:40:01.920 exactly when it happened, but I was sleeping. He described 0:40:01.960 --> 0:40:06.480 how the Lord brought him out, and I was sleeping 0:40:06.520 --> 0:40:11.120 between two guards. You ever had to sleep between two things. 0:40:12.600 --> 0:40:16.400 I don't know what tomorrow holds, and I can't change 0:40:16.440 --> 0:40:23.759 what yesterday did. But somehow I was sleeping. Somehow I 0:40:23.880 --> 0:40:25.800 was sleeping. God told me about one of my kids 0:40:25.960 --> 0:40:27.480 a couple of years ago. I was so worried. He said, 0:40:27.480 --> 0:40:31.400 I got them stay out of it. Well that was 0:40:31.400 --> 0:40:32.799 hard for me to hear, but I already did all 0:40:32.840 --> 0:40:34.520 I could do. If I could do something else, I 0:40:34.600 --> 0:40:36.680 did something else because I got him stay out of it. 0:40:37.840 --> 0:40:41.200 And when he said that to me and I slept 0:40:41.239 --> 0:40:46.320 on it, I woke up to find he really really 0:40:46.360 --> 0:40:51.520 good at doing stuff while I sleep. Now, Santa Claus 0:40:51.520 --> 0:40:54.680 has nothing on God. You ought to see what he 0:40:54.719 --> 0:40:57.880 can bring while you're sleeping. I feel like preaching, but 0:40:57.960 --> 0:41:00.359 I got two more points. Say preach on past, sir, 0:41:01.120 --> 0:41:05.520 preach on pastor preach preach. Tell everybody falls asleep and 0:41:05.600 --> 0:41:09.640 wakes back up and preach it again. Tell your neighbor 0:41:09.640 --> 0:41:14.719 don't sleep right now. It's very rude. Now, he said, 0:41:14.760 --> 0:41:18.160 I was sleeping, and I like to imagine it, Okay, 0:41:18.160 --> 0:41:20.440 not for dramatic purposes, not because I'm trying to be 0:41:20.520 --> 0:41:23.359 some great storyteller, but I'd just like to imagine he's 0:41:23.360 --> 0:41:25.919 standing at the door. He's been there, banging on the door. 0:41:26.040 --> 0:41:29.000 Is bet this me me? Don't you believe I can 0:41:29.040 --> 0:41:32.320 do it? No? Don't. We're really confused. I'm confused to 0:41:32.440 --> 0:41:34.799 where we are. This is my miracle. Feels like I 0:41:34.920 --> 0:41:39.240 was sleeping and right about when I hit my rim cycle, 0:41:42.640 --> 0:41:45.400 verse seven, suddenly, the first one, if you want to 0:41:45.440 --> 0:41:51.520 take notes, I was sleeping, Peter said. Then Peter said, God, God, 0:41:51.600 --> 0:41:54.520 let me sleep. He gave me peace. He supernaturally rocked 0:41:54.520 --> 0:41:57.279 me to bed with the revelation that he was with me. 0:41:58.400 --> 0:42:01.600 And suddenly an angel of the Lord of Pere this 0:42:01.680 --> 0:42:05.960 is great, And a light shone in the cell, and 0:42:06.360 --> 0:42:13.839 he struck Peter on the side and woke him up. 0:42:14.840 --> 0:42:18.520 So Peter said, let me tell you what had happened. 0:42:19.080 --> 0:42:26.480 I was sleeping. Then I was struck. I was struck. 0:42:28.040 --> 0:42:31.040 Y'all kind of slow today. Let me come down there 0:42:31.080 --> 0:42:35.440 and show you what a miracle feels like. Because we 0:42:35.480 --> 0:42:39.759 all have our ideas, right, Okay, you're reading this and 0:42:39.800 --> 0:42:44.200 you're thinking, Okay, here comes the angel. This is great 0:42:44.239 --> 0:42:47.520 for Peter. Peter's our god angel shows up verse seven, 0:42:47.560 --> 0:42:50.000 We're all worried. In verse six, he's probably gonna die 0:42:50.040 --> 0:42:52.960 like James died. There's no hope for Peter. Oh, this 0:42:53.000 --> 0:42:56.960 is horrible. Suddenly, great Bible word. Suddenly an angel showed up. 0:42:57.200 --> 0:43:00.160 Here comes the light and here comes the angel. And 0:43:00.239 --> 0:43:01.880 all of a sudden, you don't like the picture. The 0:43:01.960 --> 0:43:07.520 angel like protecting me and covering me with his wings. 0:43:08.239 --> 0:43:12.440 But apparently this angel had wings that he used for 0:43:12.560 --> 0:43:18.960 whacking you. Feel if I use you for this? Because 0:43:19.000 --> 0:43:24.680 sometimes a miracle feels like can y'all see on the 0:43:24.680 --> 0:43:29.480 camera what I'm doing? Can you see this online? Has 0:43:30.400 --> 0:43:34.919 life done wan to these? To you lately? What kind 0:43:34.920 --> 0:43:40.239 of angel is this? Jj run around striking people, the 0:43:40.320 --> 0:43:44.759 same one that put him to sleep, because God knows 0:43:44.760 --> 0:43:49.320 when it's time for you to get up. And sometimes 0:43:49.360 --> 0:43:52.839 you praise him because you were sleeping. But you got 0:43:52.840 --> 0:43:55.160 to learn to praise him when he strikes you too. 0:44:01.320 --> 0:44:09.600 Not all discomfort is a curse. What kind of angel 0:44:09.640 --> 0:44:12.319 has this been in your life lately? I'm not gonna 0:44:12.360 --> 0:44:18.560 hit women. I gotta draw a line somewhere. Wouldn't they 0:44:18.640 --> 0:44:21.279 clip me on YouTube? If I ran around hidden, They're 0:44:21.320 --> 0:44:24.640 probably gonna clip it anyway and put it on there. Well, 0:44:24.640 --> 0:44:30.920 that's all right. I've been clipped before. I've been struck before. 0:44:33.520 --> 0:44:38.480 Sometimes God used a critic I did it, but real soft. 0:44:40.800 --> 0:44:45.040 Sometimes God used something that felt like this, but touch 0:44:45.080 --> 0:44:53.960 your neighbors, say that's your wake up call. See there's 0:44:53.960 --> 0:44:57.560 a sleepy time angel that God will send, and then 0:44:57.600 --> 0:45:01.440 there's a wake up angel that God will send some 0:45:01.560 --> 0:45:03.640 of the things that have been happening in your life lately. 0:45:03.680 --> 0:45:08.200 That's not the enemy. That's an angel. Some of it 0:45:08.280 --> 0:45:12.040 is an angel. I used to think raising teenagers, Oh God, 0:45:12.480 --> 0:45:16.600 they're possessed by the devil. Nope. I read a book 0:45:16.640 --> 0:45:19.359 by Peterson, who wrote the Message Bible. He's in Heaven now. 0:45:19.600 --> 0:45:22.200 He said that adolescence is the gift to the middle 0:45:22.239 --> 0:45:25.640 aged men to keep us from stagnating, because when we 0:45:25.680 --> 0:45:27.920 are forced to confront what we never grew through in 0:45:27.920 --> 0:45:30.200 our children, it keeps us from lying down and dying 0:45:30.239 --> 0:45:34.960 in the state that we're in. So I realized my 0:45:35.120 --> 0:45:39.759 teenagers weren't the devil. They were my angel, saying wake 0:45:39.840 --> 0:45:42.560 up mate, Tap your neighbor, real soft. I don't want 0:45:42.560 --> 0:45:44.520 to start a fight on the third row, but say 0:45:44.520 --> 0:45:49.200 wake up, ask them, are you my angel? And I 0:45:49.239 --> 0:45:51.560 think this would be very good for us to learn 0:45:51.680 --> 0:45:53.759 the next time something happens. We don't like how it 0:45:53.800 --> 0:45:57.560 feels the next time something happens, because we were all 0:45:57.640 --> 0:46:01.719 so comforted that the angel put me to But Peter says, 0:46:01.760 --> 0:46:04.880 I was sleeping when I needed to sleep, and I 0:46:05.040 --> 0:46:08.319 was struck when I needed to get up, And the 0:46:08.360 --> 0:46:14.000 same God that puts me to sleep, just do it 0:46:14.040 --> 0:46:16.480 for me. High five to three people and say get 0:46:16.560 --> 0:46:20.680 up right now. This is your angel saying, this is 0:46:20.719 --> 0:46:24.360 your angel, saying, this is your angel, saying, this is 0:46:24.400 --> 0:46:27.719 your angel saying that person that gets up on your 0:46:27.760 --> 0:46:30.759 nerves when they walk in the office Monday, I want 0:46:30.800 --> 0:46:34.920 you to see them with wings. Here comes my angel, 0:46:36.000 --> 0:46:39.239 trying to keep me fresh, because how else would you 0:46:39.280 --> 0:46:42.239 love your enemies if you didn't have any. So all 0:46:42.239 --> 0:46:45.480 they're doing is giving me an opportunity to be obedient. 0:46:46.320 --> 0:46:50.320 Here it comes, Here, it comes. Shove your neighbor a 0:46:50.360 --> 0:46:54.000 little bit. Say this is what a miracle feels like. 0:46:55.920 --> 0:46:59.080 And I thought it was God punishing me. No, he's 0:46:59.120 --> 0:47:03.040 not punishing me, He's pushing me because he's got something. 0:47:04.960 --> 0:47:20.200 This this boy, this, this is what it feels like sleeping. 0:47:20.320 --> 0:47:25.399 I was sleeping and I was struck. But but that's 0:47:25.480 --> 0:47:28.759 my second favorite point. Here comes my favorite point. Say, 0:47:28.800 --> 0:47:33.719 I was sleeping and I was struck, and I was 0:47:33.800 --> 0:47:36.920 struck by something that was meant to help me, not 0:47:37.040 --> 0:47:39.680 to kill me. I was struck by something that was 0:47:39.719 --> 0:47:43.440 meant to move me forward. I was struck by something 0:47:43.480 --> 0:47:45.840 that was sent to notify me that God is active 0:47:45.840 --> 0:47:50.640 in this situation. So thank you Lord for the wing 0:47:50.719 --> 0:47:53.959 that covered me and let me sleep under the heat 0:47:54.000 --> 0:47:56.160 of my trial. But thank you for the same wing 0:47:57.040 --> 0:47:59.160 that smacked me and got me up out of that 0:47:59.320 --> 0:48:03.160 tin and told me You're better than this. Thank you 0:48:03.320 --> 0:48:09.080 Jesus Ah. So I was sleeping till your neighbor. I 0:48:09.160 --> 0:48:12.400 was sleeping. I can't stay long. I gotta go. I 0:48:12.440 --> 0:48:14.680 can't stay here at this door forever. I gotta go. 0:48:14.840 --> 0:48:16.239 But I need you to know how the Lord brought 0:48:16.239 --> 0:48:19.919 me up. I was sleeping and just when I got comfortable, Oh, 0:48:19.960 --> 0:48:21.680 thank you, Lord, you're letting me good night sleep before 0:48:21.680 --> 0:48:24.160 I die. I was struck because God was like, I'm 0:48:24.160 --> 0:48:26.839 not done with you yet. Some of you laid down 0:48:26.880 --> 0:48:32.640 to die. But you're going to another place, another dimension. 0:48:33.360 --> 0:48:35.480 You hadn't even matured yet. You hadn't even done your 0:48:35.520 --> 0:48:38.719 best work yet. You hadn't even made your greatest contribution 0:48:38.840 --> 0:48:43.640 or deposit yet. Because the Bible says that Peter was 0:48:43.760 --> 0:48:47.239 sleeping and that Peter was struck, so tell him I 0:48:47.280 --> 0:48:50.360 was sleeping. Put it in the comments. I was sleeping. 0:48:51.480 --> 0:48:55.680 I was struck. And then the Angel said to him, 0:48:56.200 --> 0:48:59.879 put on your clothes and sandals. So I guess, Peter 0:49:00.120 --> 0:49:02.520 say I was stripped. I'm not going to preach that one. 0:49:02.840 --> 0:49:05.879 I had to get out of my pajamas because what 0:49:05.960 --> 0:49:09.239 I was dressed for wasn't appropriate for what God was 0:49:09.280 --> 0:49:16.360 bringing me into. I was wearing my prison pjs. So 0:49:16.480 --> 0:49:19.439 I get dressed and I did it, and the Lord said, 0:49:19.440 --> 0:49:23.799 wrap your cloak around you and follow me. Everybody say 0:49:23.840 --> 0:49:28.000 follow me. Put it in the comments. Follow me. The 0:49:28.080 --> 0:49:32.360 Angel told him, did not give him a GPS coordinate, 0:49:33.400 --> 0:49:38.600 gave him an instruction, gave him a path. And my 0:49:38.719 --> 0:49:42.040 favorite thing about Peter in this passage, because he slowed 0:49:42.080 --> 0:49:44.880 down to share how the Lord brought him out. I mean, 0:49:44.920 --> 0:49:46.760 if you go back through the things in your life 0:49:46.760 --> 0:49:49.000 that God has brought you out of, you can learn 0:49:49.000 --> 0:49:52.480 a lot for where he's bringing you through right now, 0:49:53.040 --> 0:49:55.040 So Peter said, before I go to the next place, 0:49:55.080 --> 0:49:57.000 before I go to the next week, before I go 0:49:57.040 --> 0:49:59.800 through another birthday, before I go into another season of 0:49:59.800 --> 0:50:02.520 my life, before I go into another school year, whatever 0:50:02.560 --> 0:50:04.880 the case may be. Before I go into another E 0:50:05.000 --> 0:50:09.840 group and leaves because they were weird. They are the 0:50:09.880 --> 0:50:13.720 thirteenth weird group you've been in. They're the weird ones 0:50:13.760 --> 0:50:20.680 every time. Let's evaluate this for a minute. He said, 0:50:20.719 --> 0:50:26.000 follow me. It isn't it? Follow me? The angel told him, 0:50:26.120 --> 0:50:28.759 and Peter said, I followed him. He followed him. He 0:50:28.960 --> 0:50:33.520 followed him. I'm circling the word in verse nine. Followed. 0:50:35.840 --> 0:50:39.120 He followed him out of the prison. But he had 0:50:39.239 --> 0:50:44.520 no idea that what the Angel is doing is really happening. 0:50:46.480 --> 0:50:48.040 He didn't know what God was doing till he was 0:50:48.040 --> 0:50:57.040 all the way out. So I was sleeping, I was struck, 0:50:58.120 --> 0:51:02.640 got up, Jane fell off, and then I started following 0:51:02.680 --> 0:51:05.200 the angel. But honestly, I didn't know what was going on. 0:51:06.640 --> 0:51:11.960 So I was sleeping, I was struck, and then I 0:51:12.080 --> 0:51:20.080 was stumbling. I was stumbling. To be honest with you, 0:51:20.120 --> 0:51:23.839 I'm only here at the door right now because I 0:51:23.920 --> 0:51:29.480 stumbled to something that I didn't know was even there. 0:51:29.960 --> 0:51:32.360 I mean, I was still so sleepy. You have to understand. 0:51:32.520 --> 0:51:36.040 The angel woke me up quick, hit me hard, knocked 0:51:36.040 --> 0:51:38.279 the breath out of me. I wasn't expecting that to 0:51:38.320 --> 0:51:41.400 be the wake up call. I was just settled in. 0:51:41.480 --> 0:51:44.040 I was just starting to dream. It was a good dream. 0:51:45.239 --> 0:51:47.080 And he woke me up and said get dressed, and 0:51:47.120 --> 0:51:49.120 we got it going before I could even say where. 0:51:49.160 --> 0:51:53.839 We were out and it was dark, and I followed him, 0:51:56.080 --> 0:51:59.799 but I didn't know where I was going. I was stumbling. 0:52:01.719 --> 0:52:05.400 I told my oldest son recently, anything you've ever seen 0:52:05.440 --> 0:52:09.120 me do well as a dad, I did it by 0:52:09.160 --> 0:52:15.279 accident because I was stumbling to figure out how to 0:52:15.280 --> 0:52:21.040 be your dad. Every double dip chocolate covered pretzel bag 0:52:21.080 --> 0:52:23.359 you ever saw me walk past and not eat one, 0:52:24.080 --> 0:52:28.560 I wanted one. Oh, I wanted one. Anything I've brought 0:52:28.600 --> 0:52:34.440 into subjection in my life, I stumbled to surrender it, y'all, 0:52:34.440 --> 0:52:38.800 don't hear me. I stumbled to this stage this morning. 0:52:39.280 --> 0:52:42.080 I didn't get up on the stage today thinking I'm 0:52:42.200 --> 0:52:45.000 God's gift to the world to share a message. I 0:52:45.200 --> 0:52:49.160 stumbled up the steps today, saying, God, if somebody needs 0:52:49.239 --> 0:52:53.000 to be brought out, if somebody needs a miracle, if 0:52:53.040 --> 0:52:56.920 you can use anything, Lord, you can use me. So 0:52:57.040 --> 0:53:01.440 I will make my way to the stage, stumbling up coming, 0:53:01.920 --> 0:53:07.960 if it's stumbling up, stepping, if it's stumbling up point higher. 0:53:10.680 --> 0:53:13.919 I was stumbling. I followed the angel. I didn't even 0:53:13.960 --> 0:53:16.640 know it was real. This is what a miracle feels like. 0:53:17.040 --> 0:53:19.399 You're doing the good stuff and you don't know it. 0:53:19.680 --> 0:53:24.759 You are sewing in tears so you can reap in joy. 0:53:25.680 --> 0:53:31.680 You are stumbling stumbling. Can we point out the fact 0:53:31.680 --> 0:53:34.760 that the miracle happened and the light broke through? Everybody 0:53:34.800 --> 0:53:38.480 say light, But the light came through and Peter had 0:53:38.520 --> 0:53:42.240 to walk, So everybody say legs. God said, it's gonna 0:53:42.280 --> 0:53:51.359 be his light and your legs. But sometimes after leg day, 0:53:51.360 --> 0:53:54.080 you'd be walking past some prencils covered in chocolate and 0:53:54.160 --> 0:53:57.239 really want them and really wabble, And Peter said, I stumbled, 0:53:57.840 --> 0:54:03.040 but I went straight to first eleven. Put it on 0:54:03.080 --> 0:54:06.440 the screen. Please, Is that finally when the angel left, 0:54:07.400 --> 0:54:11.240 because that would be the scary part. The angel left 0:54:12.120 --> 0:54:17.440 and Peter what came to himself and he realized everything 0:54:17.480 --> 0:54:21.680 that had just happened, that really happened. God brought me out. 0:54:23.560 --> 0:54:27.520 God brought me out. I don't need to have survivor's guilt. 0:54:27.800 --> 0:54:31.239 God brought me out. I don't have to live in 0:54:31.320 --> 0:54:34.839 constant rehearsal of how they victimized me. God brought me out. 0:54:34.840 --> 0:54:36.920 I'm gonna heal from this now and move into a 0:54:36.920 --> 0:54:39.239 new season of healing others because God brought me out. 0:54:42.320 --> 0:54:48.160 I was sleeping, I was struck. I was stumbling, but 0:54:48.239 --> 0:54:51.080 I'm still here just one moment. I like to think 0:54:51.120 --> 0:54:54.800 that Peter, in this moment not only came to himself 0:54:54.840 --> 0:54:57.560 and realized what God had done for him. And those 0:54:57.600 --> 0:55:00.360 moments are precious when you realize what God did for you, 0:55:00.400 --> 0:55:02.640 and you never really feel that God is doing it 0:55:02.680 --> 0:55:03.879 for you, and you don't even know if it's real 0:55:03.960 --> 0:55:06.280 until you get through it. You say, oh, I was sleeping. 0:55:08.920 --> 0:55:11.120 I was sleeping. He was a luck at my shackles 0:55:11.160 --> 0:55:13.320 while I was sleeping. It was already loose when he 0:55:14.440 --> 0:55:18.640 struck me, and I stumbled to this place. And I 0:55:18.680 --> 0:55:20.839 don't know what God has for me in this next 0:55:20.840 --> 0:55:23.680 season of my life. But I stumbled here by the 0:55:23.719 --> 0:55:26.520 grace of God, and I followed, and I stumbled. Let 0:55:26.520 --> 0:55:28.200 me open my eyes so I don't trip off the 0:55:28.239 --> 0:55:31.160 stage trying to do an illustration. Is what it feels 0:55:31.280 --> 0:55:33.760 like to be on a miracle. I'm not really sure 0:55:34.080 --> 0:55:37.440 is this the end? But I'm standing here on shaky legs. 0:55:37.480 --> 0:55:40.520 I'm stumbling. And I like to think and imagine that 0:55:40.640 --> 0:55:43.759 in that moment what held Peter come to himself and 0:55:43.800 --> 0:55:49.400 realized that I slept and I was struck and I stumbled. 0:55:50.040 --> 0:55:52.440 I like to think that he came to himself because 0:55:52.480 --> 0:56:01.600 he remembered someone else who slept and was struck and stumble. 0:56:03.000 --> 0:56:05.600 I like to think that in this moment, Peter thought 0:56:05.640 --> 0:56:08.240 of Mark chapter four. Put it on the screen please 0:56:08.600 --> 0:56:11.520 around about verse thirty seven, and Peter said, let me 0:56:11.560 --> 0:56:15.120 tell you, I remembered somebody else who slept. See a 0:56:15.160 --> 0:56:18.640 furious squall, that's a storm came over the boat we 0:56:18.640 --> 0:56:21.319 were in, and we were looking for Jesus in the 0:56:21.360 --> 0:56:24.520 waves over the boat, and we were crying for Jesus, 0:56:24.560 --> 0:56:26.799 and we were worried. Is it's the end? And it 0:56:26.920 --> 0:56:30.359 was nearly swamped and it was almost over, and I 0:56:30.400 --> 0:56:33.160 didn't know and we went looking for Jesus, and verse 0:56:33.200 --> 0:56:35.839 thirty eight. When we went in, Jesus was in the 0:56:35.920 --> 0:56:42.279 stern sleeping, sleeping on a cushion, and we walked him 0:56:42.320 --> 0:56:45.040 up and said, don't you care. No, I care, but 0:56:45.160 --> 0:56:49.880 I'm in control. So I'm sleeping to show you what 0:56:50.040 --> 0:56:54.920 to do when you're not in control. Help me preach 0:56:54.960 --> 0:56:58.320 this holy spirit. I like to think in that moment, 0:56:58.560 --> 0:57:02.640 as he's standing there thinking I was sleeping, and I 0:57:02.800 --> 0:57:06.359 was struck, that maybe he remembered Isaia fifty three, which 0:57:06.400 --> 0:57:09.440 he knew since he was a boy, where the prophet 0:57:09.440 --> 0:57:14.440 Isaiah propheside of Jesus and said verse four, surely he 0:57:14.520 --> 0:57:18.800 had borne our griefs and carried our sorrows. Yet we 0:57:18.920 --> 0:57:24.240 did esteem him stricken, slidden of God, and afflicted. But 0:57:24.400 --> 0:57:27.920 after the striking, he was wounded for our transgressions. He 0:57:28.040 --> 0:57:31.640 was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace 0:57:31.760 --> 0:57:35.720 was upon him, and with his strikes we are healed. 0:57:36.600 --> 0:57:40.240 I know somebody else who was struck. They struck him 0:57:40.240 --> 0:57:42.560 on the mouth, but he was still a great high priest. 0:57:43.040 --> 0:57:45.720 They struck him like a sleep, but he stood strong, 0:57:45.840 --> 0:57:49.920 like a shepherd. He was sleeping in the storm. He 0:57:50.040 --> 0:57:55.160 was struck and he carried across and I watched him, 0:57:55.200 --> 0:57:59.640 Peters thinking, I watched him carry across the vertical beam 0:58:00.120 --> 0:58:03.440 loan that he carried weight one hundred pounds, and with 0:58:03.520 --> 0:58:06.120 the weight of one hundred pounds on his back, like 0:58:06.160 --> 0:58:08.959 the weight of the responsibility that you feel on your back, 0:58:09.240 --> 0:58:11.760 like the weight of your past on your back, like 0:58:11.800 --> 0:58:13.960 the weight of their expectations that you don't know how 0:58:14.000 --> 0:58:16.160 to meet on your back, like the weight of a 0:58:16.200 --> 0:58:18.720 prison sentence that you're waiting to hear the outcome of 0:58:19.160 --> 0:58:21.760 on your back. He was walking down the street in 0:58:21.840 --> 0:58:25.440 Luke twenty three, and Peter says, I remember it because 0:58:25.440 --> 0:58:27.360 I should have been by his side at that moment, 0:58:28.160 --> 0:58:32.680 but I stumbled and I watched him carry the heavy cross, 0:58:32.680 --> 0:58:34.280 and I didn't help him. But put Luke twenty three 0:58:34.280 --> 0:58:37.520 on the screen, please, because the Bible records that as 0:58:37.520 --> 0:58:40.320 the soldiers led Jesus away, they see Simon of Siren, 0:58:40.360 --> 0:58:43.520 who was an African man, standing nearby, and he was 0:58:43.560 --> 0:58:45.920 on his way from the country, and they put the 0:58:45.960 --> 0:58:52.520 cross off of Jesus and onto him. Because as Jesus 0:58:52.560 --> 0:58:57.440 carried the cross, he walked straight, but he still stumbled. 0:58:58.760 --> 0:59:00.840 And the word of the Lord today for somebody is 0:59:01.720 --> 0:59:07.000 you can walk straight even as you stumble. You can 0:59:07.040 --> 0:59:12.040 walk straight even though you stumble. And the message today 0:59:12.080 --> 0:59:15.120 is not for those who never stumble. It is not 0:59:15.160 --> 0:59:18.000 for those who were never stricken. It is not for 0:59:18.080 --> 0:59:21.480 those who always slept in peace. Do you not realize 0:59:21.600 --> 0:59:24.600 all three of these things Peter did wrong? Earlier in 0:59:24.640 --> 0:59:28.600 his life. He slept in the garden of Gethsemane while 0:59:28.720 --> 0:59:32.760 Jesus prayed. He struck the servant's ear and cut it 0:59:32.800 --> 0:59:34.880 off in the garden because he wanted to do it 0:59:34.960 --> 0:59:38.840 his way. He stumbled and denied he never knew Jesus, 0:59:38.920 --> 0:59:42.960 ever knew Jesus. But I'm stumbling now on a straight 0:59:43.080 --> 0:59:51.840 path because I'm not stumbling by myself anymore. I know 0:59:52.000 --> 1:00:04.520 someone else. And this, yes, is what a miracle feels like. 1:00:06.000 --> 1:00:09.080 To be standing at a door that you don't even 1:00:09.200 --> 1:00:13.560 know where it leads. Is that you today, come on, 1:00:13.640 --> 1:00:15.040 You know good and well, you don't know what your 1:00:15.080 --> 1:00:17.680 twenties are going to be like, But you're standing at 1:00:17.680 --> 1:00:24.080 a door. Oh God, the last ten minutes I just 1:00:24.160 --> 1:00:28.400 gave you was a gospel message that says greater is 1:00:28.440 --> 1:00:30.400 he that is in you than he that's in the world. 1:00:35.760 --> 1:00:38.520 And notice what Peter didn't do at anytime. He slept. 1:00:39.160 --> 1:00:42.600 He was struck and he stumbled, but he didn't stop. 1:00:44.520 --> 1:00:48.800 He stood there and knocked at that door. I just 1:00:48.840 --> 1:00:53.160 see a picture of somebody today who persistently like Peter, 1:00:53.320 --> 1:00:57.320 needed to know that. I know the situation didn't fixed yet, 1:00:58.640 --> 1:01:00.840 but you are going to sleep on the stuff that 1:01:00.920 --> 1:01:05.680 you can't control and trust God because when he strikes, 1:01:06.720 --> 1:01:14.440 it is for salvation. It's for salvation. Listen to that 1:01:14.840 --> 1:01:19.840 he was stricken by God. I didn't think God strokes, No, 1:01:19.920 --> 1:01:25.120 he strikes, but he strikes for salvation. The enemy strikes 1:01:25.160 --> 1:01:30.640 to devastate. God strikes to say. Now I know angels 1:01:30.680 --> 1:01:36.480 wings can cover me and correct me. Now I know 1:01:36.560 --> 1:01:40.520 angel wings can whack, and I know that he can 1:01:40.600 --> 1:01:44.480 lead me even when I'm not really sure where are 1:01:44.480 --> 1:01:50.920 we going. So for everybody today who's stumbling somewhere, I 1:01:50.960 --> 1:01:56.440 want you to know that you're stumbling with someone. And 1:01:56.480 --> 1:02:01.200 it's not Simon of Syreen that carries your cross when 1:02:01.200 --> 1:02:14.520 it gets too heavy. Is Jesus of Nazareth himself. Stand 1:02:14.520 --> 1:02:16.480 to your feet because I'm closing, But join hands with 1:02:16.520 --> 1:02:21.040 your neighbor one more time, and I want you to 1:02:21.080 --> 1:02:25.120 squeeze their hand one more time and say, this is 1:02:25.120 --> 1:02:30.640 what a miracle feels like. See it like Peter saw it. 1:02:31.120 --> 1:02:37.480 I slept, I was struck. I stumbled, and so did 1:02:37.480 --> 1:02:44.800 my savior. So I'm sleeping because he's in the stern 1:02:44.840 --> 1:02:48.520 of my ship. I'm sleeping because he's the captain of 1:02:48.600 --> 1:02:53.680 my soul. I'm sleeping because he's the anchor through the waves. 1:02:53.720 --> 1:02:57.760 I'm sleeping and I'm struck, not because he hates me, 1:02:58.800 --> 1:03:01.120 but because he loves me too much to leave me 1:03:01.160 --> 1:03:05.280 in these chains. I see you getting up today. I 1:03:05.320 --> 1:03:08.800 know someone else who got up, I said, I know 1:03:08.920 --> 1:03:12.480 someone else who got up. I know someone else who 1:03:12.600 --> 1:03:17.080 was struck but didn't stay. And I'm stumbling. 1:03:17.400 --> 1:03:20.480 Be patient with me, because this is what a miracle 1:03:20.520 --> 1:03:30.240 feels like. Not sure, Okay, another day, Okay, Okay, another month, Okay, 1:03:32.200 --> 1:03:33.520 I'm sober for another hour. 1:03:35.080 --> 1:03:39.040 Yeah, okay, this is what. Squeeze their hand again. This 1:03:39.120 --> 1:03:42.320 is what a miracle feels like. I'm trying to get 1:03:42.320 --> 1:03:44.800 you to squeeze their hands so they can remember I'm 1:03:44.880 --> 1:03:49.640 still here, I'm still strong, I still got blood in 1:03:49.680 --> 1:03:51.920 my veins. I've still got days in my future. I've 1:03:51.920 --> 1:03:59.680 still got smiles this. Oh how great the love of 1:03:59.760 --> 1:04:04.880 the Father, Oh how great? The gifts of the sun, 1:04:06.520 --> 1:04:13.560 Oh how great? The power? Jeez, sleeping Savior, striking favor, 1:04:14.360 --> 1:04:27.000 stumbling Savior. Oh how great? Oh how great? Now will 1:04:27.000 --> 1:04:31.000 you lift your hands to your Savior who carried his 1:04:31.160 --> 1:04:40.640 cross in your suit? Oh how? This is an anointed word. 1:04:42.040 --> 1:04:46.000 This is a chain breaking word, if you'll let it power. Geez, 1:04:46.480 --> 1:04:50.360 let's stand there for a minute and start testify. I 1:04:50.560 --> 1:04:57.240 was lost, I was a skin who you are right out? 1:04:57.400 --> 1:05:01.440 You say sorry, I can let me sell your host. 1:05:02.960 --> 1:05:04.080 You listen? 1:05:04.200 --> 1:05:06.280 What a list? 1:05:06.520 --> 1:05:15.720 What a work? Hours saying? 1:05:16.520 --> 1:05:18.120 So I. 1:05:23.840 --> 1:05:40.280 Hold me? What excuse you say? My son? Place out? 1:05:46.800 --> 1:05:49.360 Thank you for joining us special thanks to those of 1:05:49.400 --> 1:05:52.400 you who give generously to this ministry. Is because of 1:05:52.440 --> 1:05:55.360 you that this ministry is possible. You can click the 1:05:55.400 --> 1:05:58.680 link in the description to give now or visit Elevation 1:05:58.840 --> 1:06:02.560 Church dot orgs podcast for more information and if you 1:06:02.640 --> 1:06:04.080 enjoyed the podcast. 1:06:03.840 --> 1:06:06.560 You can subscribe. 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