Winded

0:00:00.120 --> 0:00:05.440 Matthew, Chapter fourteen, verse twenty two. Immediately Jesus made the 0:00:05.480 --> 0:00:07.920 disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of 0:00:07.960 --> 0:00:10.840 him to the other side while he dismissed the crowd. 0:00:11.480 --> 0:00:14.240 And after he had dismissed them, he went up on 0:00:14.280 --> 0:00:19.279 a mountain side by himself to pray. Later that night, 0:00:19.360 --> 0:00:22.319 he was there alone and the boat was already a 0:00:22.360 --> 0:00:26.479 considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the 0:00:26.520 --> 0:00:32.360 wind was against him. Shortly before dawn, in the Last 0:00:32.400 --> 0:00:35.400 Watch of the night, the King James talks about the 0:00:35.520 --> 0:00:39.240 last watch of the night, Jesus went out to them 0:00:40.080 --> 0:00:44.360 walking on the lake, and when the disciples saw him 0:00:44.360 --> 0:00:48.159 walking on the lake, they were terrified. It's a ghost, 0:00:48.200 --> 0:00:53.920 they said, and cried out in fear. But Jesus immediately 0:00:54.000 --> 0:00:59.680 said to them, take courage it is I. Don't be afraid. 0:01:00.120 --> 0:01:04.440 This is irrational because I don't care if it is you, Jesus. 0:01:04.880 --> 0:01:09.199 It's weird that you're walking on water, so I'm still 0:01:09.240 --> 0:01:11.319 freaked out, even if you are the son of God. 0:01:11.720 --> 0:01:13.839 But Peter watched this. This is the part of story 0:01:13.840 --> 0:01:15.440 that usually gets preached about, and it's the part I'm 0:01:15.440 --> 0:01:19.200 gonna preach about too, because good Lord, if it's you, 0:01:19.360 --> 0:01:23.520 Peter replied, tell me to come to you on the water. 0:01:25.120 --> 0:01:28.080 Come me, he said. When Peter got down out of 0:01:28.080 --> 0:01:31.800 the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. 0:01:33.000 --> 0:01:36.080 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and 0:01:36.120 --> 0:01:42.680 beginning to sink, cried out, Lord, save me. Immediately Jesus 0:01:42.720 --> 0:01:46.720 reached out his hand and caught him, You of little faith, 0:01:46.760 --> 0:01:50.920 he said, why did you doubt? And when they climbed 0:01:50.960 --> 0:01:57.000 into the boat, the wind died down. I'm going to 0:01:57.040 --> 0:01:59.640 give this message tonight a one word title. I'm calling 0:01:59.640 --> 0:02:06.880 this man it's winded. Win did help us Holy Spirit 0:02:08.120 --> 0:02:11.919 penetrate through the surface, get deep inside where you can 0:02:12.000 --> 0:02:18.000 do your work in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen, I know 0:02:18.040 --> 0:02:20.160 you're tired. You could be seen to take a seat, 0:02:20.240 --> 0:02:26.520 take a rest. Y'all tire? I mean generally in life? 0:02:26.639 --> 0:02:31.560 Are you tired? How many of y'all work out so 0:02:31.600 --> 0:02:36.040 you can have extra energy? How many y'all work out consistently? 0:02:37.840 --> 0:02:41.919 How many y'all work out semi consistently. How many y'all 0:02:42.000 --> 0:02:45.040 going to start in January with the workout plan and 0:02:45.240 --> 0:02:49.840 enjoy the rest. I have a confession to make, all right, 0:02:49.880 --> 0:02:54.760 here's my confession. I work out a lot. I don't 0:02:55.120 --> 0:03:01.840 believe in cardio, believe in it. I'm believe in it. 0:03:03.080 --> 0:03:06.840 I like lifting weights, heavyweights too. Man. I was in 0:03:06.880 --> 0:03:09.600 there squatting big weights the other day, proud of myself. 0:03:09.639 --> 0:03:12.120 Nobody was in there to see it but me. But 0:03:12.240 --> 0:03:14.160 I promise you I was squatting a lot of weight 0:03:14.240 --> 0:03:17.080 the other day. Good form too, going down real deep. 0:03:18.520 --> 0:03:21.200 I can bingch press pretty good. I can move some 0:03:21.240 --> 0:03:24.280 pretty good weights. I'm not saying I could enter a 0:03:24.280 --> 0:03:27.480 competition or anything like that. I'm forty two and I 0:03:27.480 --> 0:03:29.280 do have a lot of injuries going on, and I 0:03:29.280 --> 0:03:32.120 think I'm gonna be on celebrates for the next seventeen years. 0:03:33.639 --> 0:03:36.360 The point I'm trying to make is that I like 0:03:36.520 --> 0:03:40.520 lifting heavy stuff. But when I went out to play 0:03:40.520 --> 0:03:43.080 pickleball with Elijah the other night, because he's got me 0:03:43.120 --> 0:03:50.040 on pickleball. Now y'all play pickleball, he figured out real 0:03:50.120 --> 0:03:55.520 quick how to beat me, make me run. Because no 0:03:55.600 --> 0:04:02.720 amount of biceps, triceeps, trapezoids, what's some other muscles, None 0:04:02.800 --> 0:04:06.480 of it matters. Quadriceps, none of it matters when it 0:04:06.520 --> 0:04:09.960 comes to lung capacity. It's the fact of the matter 0:04:10.080 --> 0:04:13.800 is that when I got out there on the court, 0:04:14.880 --> 0:04:17.640 even though I work out four days a week, five 0:04:17.720 --> 0:04:19.560 days or six days, that we sometimes I work out 0:04:19.600 --> 0:04:21.920 every day, I mean just every day I'll get in 0:04:22.000 --> 0:04:25.159 there and do something. So why am I out of breath? 0:04:26.440 --> 0:04:29.120 Why am I huffing and puffing around this court like 0:04:29.200 --> 0:04:31.400 I weigh eight hundred and twenty pounds, like I'm on 0:04:31.400 --> 0:04:33.480 one of those intervention shows that you see where that 0:04:33.560 --> 0:04:35.280 person can't get out of the bed. Why am I 0:04:35.360 --> 0:04:41.320 huffing and puffing like it's my last breath? Yeah? No cardio, right, thanks. 0:04:42.800 --> 0:04:47.560 It's an illustration, lady supposed to be the volunteers tonight, 0:04:47.800 --> 0:05:00.280 I got hecklers. I'm out there for five minutes. All 0:05:00.320 --> 0:05:02.760 the string training in the world isn't doing anything for me. 0:05:02.839 --> 0:05:12.760 I'm winded, and once he figured that out, bam, bam bam. 0:05:12.800 --> 0:05:14.640 If he can make me move enough, I'm out now. 0:05:14.640 --> 0:05:17.760 I'm probably exaggerating the point, but it's kind of hilarious 0:05:17.760 --> 0:05:20.320 that I invest so much time into what I call 0:05:20.400 --> 0:05:23.839 exercise and I got seventeen year old wearing me out 0:05:24.200 --> 0:05:27.000 on a pickleball court. This isn't even a full tennis court. 0:05:27.200 --> 0:05:29.400 This isn't like the US Open or something like that. 0:05:29.560 --> 0:05:33.320 It's pickleball. How many I don't even know what pickleball is. 0:05:34.240 --> 0:05:37.080 I'm out there playing pickleball, just huffing and puffing and 0:05:37.160 --> 0:05:44.000 blowing stuff down. Anyway, That's not the kind of winded 0:05:44.040 --> 0:05:45.479 that I want to talk about. But I want you 0:05:45.520 --> 0:05:50.719 to get the feel about it today, because you came 0:05:50.760 --> 0:05:56.040 in like that, some of you. The devil figured you out. 0:05:58.640 --> 0:06:01.800 He figured out if he can gets you running bam 0:06:02.360 --> 0:06:10.479 boom boom. That although you're really, really, really really good 0:06:10.480 --> 0:06:22.359 at Sundays, that sometimes your lack of cardio Christian cardio, 0:06:24.240 --> 0:06:27.960 it tells on you. You know, it never crossed my 0:06:28.040 --> 0:06:30.800 mind all the times I preached on Peter getting up 0:06:30.800 --> 0:06:33.360 and walking to Jesus on the water, because let me 0:06:33.360 --> 0:06:37.080 tell you something right now, I have given Peter a 0:06:37.160 --> 0:06:42.120 thorough investigation this incident in his life. I never I 0:06:42.160 --> 0:06:45.359 don't know why I never thought of this, but I 0:06:45.440 --> 0:06:49.479 never really stopped to think about how tired the disciples 0:06:49.480 --> 0:06:57.919 were at the moment that Jesus finally showed up. First 0:06:57.920 --> 0:07:01.640 of all, they rode all night by not with any 0:07:01.720 --> 0:07:06.719 kind of motor But secondly, this is not quite as obvious, 0:07:06.720 --> 0:07:11.560 but I think it's worth pointing out they just finished 0:07:12.120 --> 0:07:16.920 feeding twenty thousand people. I was five thousand, five thousand 0:07:16.960 --> 0:07:22.800 men and women and children. Twenty thousand is conservative. If 0:07:22.880 --> 0:07:25.360 Larry Brye was counting that, he'd call it fifty thousand. 0:07:26.840 --> 0:07:30.080 He has no integrity with numbers. Every other area I 0:07:30.120 --> 0:07:33.120 trust him, but with a number, uh uh, cut it 0:07:33.120 --> 0:07:35.720 in half, divide it by three. That's the number. When 0:07:35.720 --> 0:07:38.640 he tells your number, I would never let him do 0:07:38.680 --> 0:07:46.640 my budget ever, love your skinner. When they finished this miracle, 0:07:46.640 --> 0:07:49.400 now think about how much energy this would take. First 0:07:49.400 --> 0:07:51.680 of all, there is the fact that they weren't really 0:07:51.760 --> 0:07:56.960 planning to feed twenty thousand people. Imagine the mental stress 0:07:57.760 --> 0:08:00.320 of having to feed five thousand men and women and 0:08:00.400 --> 0:08:02.400 children when you really didn't know where it was coming 0:08:02.440 --> 0:08:08.040 from to begin with. And even though what God did. 0:08:08.040 --> 0:08:09.520 I want to stay here too long because it's not 0:08:09.560 --> 0:08:11.360 the real message, but I want to I want to 0:08:11.360 --> 0:08:13.680 bring you into the I want to bring you into 0:08:13.720 --> 0:08:16.920 the miracle, honestly, because even though it was amazing what 0:08:17.040 --> 0:08:23.040 Jesus did by feeding this hungry crowd, it was still exhausting. 0:08:24.920 --> 0:08:30.720 It was exciting. We just saw the most incredible thing 0:08:30.840 --> 0:08:35.120 that Jesus did. I mean, he just kept breaking off pieces, 0:08:35.280 --> 0:08:37.280 and every time we thought we would run out, we 0:08:37.280 --> 0:08:39.560 would come back to him and he would give us more, 0:08:39.720 --> 0:08:41.559 and we would take it to them and come back 0:08:41.600 --> 0:08:45.400 to him. And it was amazing, but it had to 0:08:45.400 --> 0:08:50.720 be exhausting. When Easter, we had about eight or nine 0:08:50.720 --> 0:08:54.200 worship services just at the campus where I was preaching live. 0:08:55.840 --> 0:08:58.840 The day after Easter, I couldn't get out of bed. 0:08:59.559 --> 0:09:02.439 The next I couldn't get out of bed because I 0:09:02.559 --> 0:09:05.160 back then before I had any good sense to play 0:09:05.160 --> 0:09:07.920 a video so I can be around past age forty five. 0:09:09.760 --> 0:09:13.719 I preached all of them live, one after another, and 0:09:13.800 --> 0:09:16.520 about Tuesday or Wednesday, when I still couldn't get my 0:09:16.640 --> 0:09:19.440 energy up, I started to feel like I wasn't honoring 0:09:19.520 --> 0:09:23.599 God because he had done such an amazing thing. I 0:09:23.640 --> 0:09:25.800 think we had two thousand people give their lives to 0:09:25.880 --> 0:09:39.200 Christ that Easter. And I was excite, exhausted. I was 0:09:41.080 --> 0:09:47.080 exhaust excited, exhausted. I was so happy what God did. 0:09:48.720 --> 0:09:50.880 I was so thankful that he let us see it. 0:09:51.800 --> 0:09:54.520 I was so amazed that I got to be a 0:09:54.559 --> 0:09:57.880 part of something of that magnitude. I mean, that was 0:09:57.960 --> 0:10:06.040 absolutely incredible and I was absolutely exhausted. I thought it 0:10:06.080 --> 0:10:11.760 was a sin, but I was just winded. I thought 0:10:11.800 --> 0:10:16.120 I wasn't grateful. I thought, man, I should be running 0:10:16.160 --> 0:10:19.679 around giving God a shabbakh praise. I should be running 0:10:19.720 --> 0:10:22.800 around clapping my hands all you people. I should be 0:10:22.800 --> 0:10:25.320 giving God praise for what he did. And all I 0:10:25.360 --> 0:10:27.760 want to do is just lay here because I gave 0:10:28.120 --> 0:10:33.640 everything that I had to give, and I'm winded. And 0:10:33.720 --> 0:10:39.240 it was wonderful. But I'm winded because guess what I 0:10:39.240 --> 0:10:42.559 had to preach the next Sunday and the next Sunday, 0:10:43.240 --> 0:10:47.760 and back then it was Saturday and Sunday. Any of 0:10:47.800 --> 0:10:54.160 y'all remember Saturday night church? See y'all do that with excitement. 0:10:54.280 --> 0:11:00.280 I'm having PTSD. I'm having PTSD from running from the 0:11:00.280 --> 0:11:03.320 ball field over to the church's Saturday night. I'm trying 0:11:03.360 --> 0:11:05.080 to be a good dad, but I need to be 0:11:05.120 --> 0:11:07.280 a good pastor. And the people need a word from 0:11:07.320 --> 0:11:09.760 the Lord. But the kids need a dad on the silence. 0:11:12.000 --> 0:11:14.400 And I just told you everything I know about God 0:11:14.640 --> 0:11:16.920 last Saturday night, and now you want me to say 0:11:16.920 --> 0:11:29.560 something else. I get winded. I get winded. It's the 0:11:29.600 --> 0:11:32.400 worst thing in the world to have a job that 0:11:32.480 --> 0:11:39.560 you have to do when you yourself are winded, especially 0:11:39.600 --> 0:11:42.439 when you don't want to show anybody how bad your 0:11:42.480 --> 0:11:52.400 cardiovascular conditioning really is. Yeah, winded, I said, Lord, that's 0:11:52.440 --> 0:11:56.520 a weird thing to call a message winded. You know 0:11:56.600 --> 0:12:00.000 why Why would I call it winded? He said, because 0:12:00.160 --> 0:12:05.040 in the text it says that the wind was against 0:12:05.960 --> 0:12:11.400 the disciples. But even before the wind started blowing against 0:12:11.400 --> 0:12:16.760 their boat, they were already exhausted. And that is a picture. 0:12:16.880 --> 0:12:20.360 This is people here in church tonight. The people who 0:12:20.360 --> 0:12:23.160 are in here tonight are people who understand what it's 0:12:23.240 --> 0:12:28.240 like to try to worship God when you're winded and 0:12:29.080 --> 0:12:37.600 work for God yourself. I mean, it's not like you 0:12:37.640 --> 0:12:41.880 get to just sit around all week waiting for Sunday 0:12:42.800 --> 0:12:46.000 and praying. I came out here one Sunday to preach. Oh, 0:12:46.000 --> 0:12:49.040 I'm preaching hard to boom boom boom. I'm going for it. 0:12:49.120 --> 0:12:51.480 I feel no response from the people, no love from 0:12:51.520 --> 0:12:54.440 the people. I go backstage. I'm like, God, what was 0:12:54.440 --> 0:12:56.560 the problem. Did I use the wrong text? Did I 0:12:56.600 --> 0:12:58.959 exegete it wrong? Did I dishonor you? Did I not 0:12:59.080 --> 0:13:06.760 put enough attention? And the Lord said, they're tired they're tired. 0:13:08.320 --> 0:13:14.480 It's an eight thirty am service. They're tired. Some of 0:13:14.480 --> 0:13:17.360 them are sleeping good anyway because they're worried about their job. 0:13:17.800 --> 0:13:19.960 Some of them are sleeping good anyway because they're sleeping 0:13:19.960 --> 0:13:21.640 in a separate bed from their spouse and they don't 0:13:21.640 --> 0:13:23.440 know how to get the marriage working again. Some of 0:13:23.440 --> 0:13:25.560 them are sleeping that good anyway because they're staying up 0:13:25.600 --> 0:13:28.960 all night, playing out things that in their life, reliving 0:13:28.960 --> 0:13:30.960 things from their past, worrying about things in their future. 0:13:31.120 --> 0:13:34.480 They are tired. And at that point, the Lord told 0:13:34.520 --> 0:13:36.240 me that I would need to stand up in my 0:13:36.320 --> 0:13:39.520 pulpit every week, and no matter how winded I was 0:13:39.640 --> 0:13:48.480 from my own life, that I would have to learn 0:13:48.559 --> 0:13:55.600 how to depend on Him, to depend on his wind, 0:13:56.360 --> 0:14:00.480 to depend on his spirit, not to need from the 0:14:00.520 --> 0:14:04.200 people a response in order for me to preach God's word. 0:14:05.480 --> 0:14:12.600 I'm appreaching a minute when I'm winded. When I'm winded, 0:14:13.320 --> 0:14:17.480 I am susceptible to forms of discouragement that I don't 0:14:17.480 --> 0:14:20.520 even pay any attention to when I'm full of energy. 0:14:20.720 --> 0:14:25.160 When I'm winded, I am vulnerable to temptations that don't 0:14:25.200 --> 0:14:28.400 even incite or arouse my craving when I've got my 0:14:28.400 --> 0:14:32.040 full strength. When I'm winded, I start trying to give 0:14:32.120 --> 0:14:34.400 up on stuff that I fought the devil to get 0:14:34.480 --> 0:14:38.920 in the first place. When I'm winded. When I'm winded, 0:14:38.960 --> 0:14:42.160 I start thinking crazy stuff. When I'm winded, I don't 0:14:42.160 --> 0:14:44.440 even know if I can sit here with my family, 0:14:44.520 --> 0:14:46.920 even though I know I love them, but I don't 0:14:46.920 --> 0:14:51.160 know how to be present because I'm in three places 0:14:51.920 --> 0:14:56.960 once I'm winded. And what's this. It's not that everything 0:14:57.000 --> 0:15:02.160 that's happening in my life is bad. What they just 0:15:02.280 --> 0:15:07.760 saw Jesus do was amazing and they're not complaining, but 0:15:07.880 --> 0:15:12.720 they are human. I want you to write something down. 0:15:12.720 --> 0:15:14.280 You had written anything else down tonight, and if you 0:15:14.280 --> 0:15:16.080 don't write anything else down, you write this now, so 0:15:16.240 --> 0:15:17.760 you have some notes from tonight to prove that you 0:15:17.800 --> 0:15:27.280 came here. The Holy Spirit does not consult human schedules. 0:15:31.600 --> 0:15:33.880 I know you don't want to hear that again, but 0:15:33.920 --> 0:15:38.200 I'm gonna say it again. The Holy Spirit does not 0:15:38.320 --> 0:15:45.479 consult human schedules. Jesus did not turn to the disciples 0:15:45.520 --> 0:15:49.320 after the Feeding of the five thousand and say, y'all 0:15:49.320 --> 0:15:57.040 feel like ah, make a little trip. It wasn't any RSVP, 0:15:58.440 --> 0:16:01.080 it wasn't any kind of it was Look how the 0:16:01.120 --> 0:16:03.000 Bible says that in verse twenty two, I'm gonna show 0:16:03.000 --> 0:16:05.680 you this because y'all got Jesus in your head way 0:16:06.680 --> 0:16:13.960 too soft, I'll show you verse twenty two. Put on screen, y'all. 0:16:14.400 --> 0:16:23.920 Immediately Jesus made the disciples, no church vote, no sabbatical. 0:16:25.920 --> 0:16:30.960 Jesus said, get in the boat. I see you on 0:16:31.080 --> 0:16:40.119 the other side, and that's it. That's it. So famously 0:16:41.080 --> 0:16:46.640 he sends them into a storm and they have to 0:16:46.640 --> 0:16:50.440 deal with the struggle of going through something that they 0:16:50.480 --> 0:16:58.720 did not foresee. What's interesting about this room is that 0:16:58.920 --> 0:17:00.600 I don't know if you've just been so in this 0:17:00.680 --> 0:17:03.080 church for two weeks or somebody was over here. We 0:17:03.080 --> 0:17:09.359 were celebrating ten years. What an amazing thing. What do 0:17:09.440 --> 0:17:13.640 you do again, Clemson? I don't remember what they said production. 0:17:14.640 --> 0:17:19.040 That's really cool. Who was it back here that was 0:17:19.080 --> 0:17:26.600 doing the data entry? Yes, Cindy, Cindy. Has it ever 0:17:26.640 --> 0:17:33.240 been Wendy Cindy? And what I mean by that, let 0:17:33.240 --> 0:17:35.280 me clarify, Let me do this for the whole rom. 0:17:35.280 --> 0:17:37.000 I don't want to pick on Sindy, but well use 0:17:37.040 --> 0:17:39.959 Cindy for an example, because it works really well fanatically, Wendy, Cindy, all, 0:17:40.800 --> 0:17:45.600 how many of y'all are greeters in the church. Isn't 0:17:45.640 --> 0:17:50.359 it fun to greet people? When is fun to greet people? 0:17:53.119 --> 0:17:55.080 Isn't it fun to greet people when you got a 0:17:55.119 --> 0:17:59.640 good eight hours? Isn't it fun to greet people when 0:17:59.640 --> 0:18:04.199 God just answered your prayer? And it fun to say 0:18:04.560 --> 0:18:07.360 welcome to elevation when you're happy to be there too. 0:18:10.000 --> 0:18:18.480 And Yet the measure of discipleship is not the enthusiasm 0:18:18.520 --> 0:18:24.080 that you bring to a task. When the waters are 0:18:24.160 --> 0:18:28.880 still and the lake is calm, and the stomachs are full. 0:18:28.960 --> 0:18:32.320 Watch this. Everybody in the crowd is leaving with a 0:18:32.359 --> 0:18:39.760 full stomach. The disciples are exhausted having to take the 0:18:39.880 --> 0:18:44.600 bread individually to five thousand family units. Do you know 0:18:44.680 --> 0:18:48.320 how much cardio that involves? And then pick up all 0:18:48.359 --> 0:18:52.240 the basketfulls of broken pieces that were left over. You 0:18:52.280 --> 0:18:55.480 know how big and heavy the baskets were. This is 0:18:55.520 --> 0:18:58.600 a picture of why some people leave church on Sunday 0:18:58.920 --> 0:19:02.320 big smiles, Oh, that was wonderful. The ones who leave 0:19:02.400 --> 0:19:05.720 early before the invitation even happens, so they don't have 0:19:05.800 --> 0:19:08.720 to fight traffic with four cars in the parking lot 0:19:08.920 --> 0:19:12.119 while somebody's being snatched. There's just us tonight, Chris. Is 0:19:12.119 --> 0:19:14.760 why I'm not putting this a lot because some people 0:19:14.880 --> 0:19:18.520 leave going, ah, that's wonderful. But sometimes you gotta leave 0:19:18.600 --> 0:19:24.800 saying I'm Sto'm success, I'm fired, I'm tired, I'm fired. 0:19:25.200 --> 0:19:27.240 I don't know how I feel, but I want to 0:19:27.280 --> 0:19:32.040 do what you want me to do. Jesus am I 0:19:32.160 --> 0:19:38.080 right about this. Don't trust the Christian who never breathes heavy. 0:19:38.400 --> 0:19:41.919 Don't trust the Christian who never cries tears. Don't trust 0:19:41.920 --> 0:19:44.760 the Christian who never comes in looking like they've been 0:19:44.840 --> 0:19:48.119 through hell, smelling like smoke. Was said, there was a 0:19:48.240 --> 0:20:02.959 fourth man in the fire. I said it. There's some 0:20:03.000 --> 0:20:08.840 cardio for him. This is what it really feels like 0:20:08.880 --> 0:20:15.119 to do ministry. It's like, oh, that was amazing. I'm exhausted. 0:20:19.720 --> 0:20:27.720 I feel used by God. I feel used, I feel 0:20:27.760 --> 0:20:34.679 taken for granted. Pastor, you got that camera put in 0:20:34.680 --> 0:20:41.639 my house again? Yeah, I got one. Watch this. I 0:20:41.680 --> 0:20:44.119 got a camera that's way better than one in your kitchen. 0:20:44.560 --> 0:20:46.359 The Lord, show me what you've been dealing with in 0:20:46.400 --> 0:20:51.320 your spirit. So I'm gonna give you something that he 0:20:51.440 --> 0:20:56.320 gave me from my private stash. I don't let just 0:20:56.400 --> 0:21:07.400 anybody have this in any What do you think. I'm 0:21:07.440 --> 0:21:17.320 talking about the Word of God and this is our volunteers. 0:21:19.920 --> 0:21:23.560 I love this church man. There is no place in 0:21:23.600 --> 0:21:28.640 the world like elevation. I don't care. I don't care. 0:21:29.960 --> 0:21:43.120 Tell the devils senate, there's no place. So when they 0:21:43.240 --> 0:21:47.240 take you for granted, when they take you for granted 0:21:47.280 --> 0:21:51.399 in what you do, you know what that means. You're good. 0:21:57.080 --> 0:22:02.240 It means that you have gotten so good at what 0:22:02.280 --> 0:22:06.960 you do that you are on par with oxygen. People 0:22:07.000 --> 0:22:10.440 don't even think to thank the air. They just breathe in. 0:22:12.640 --> 0:22:16.560 When you get really good, Nobody says you showed up 0:22:17.840 --> 0:22:27.560 on time. They just assume that if you signed up 0:22:27.600 --> 0:22:31.240 to do it when you set you would do it. 0:22:32.080 --> 0:22:38.120 You meant come hell, come high water, come storm, come 0:22:38.240 --> 0:22:49.399 win come. If I set I would, I will. So 0:22:49.520 --> 0:22:52.280 that's one of my biggest goals in pressing. I want 0:22:52.280 --> 0:22:56.800 to be good enough to be taken for granted. I 0:22:56.840 --> 0:22:59.240 want to get to the point where I told somebody 0:22:59.280 --> 0:23:02.080 the other day, the proof that you are really preaching 0:23:02.359 --> 0:23:06.720 is they stopped thinking about preaching and started thinking about 0:23:06.800 --> 0:23:09.720 Jesus in the middle of your preaching, that the Holy 0:23:09.800 --> 0:23:12.720 Spirit was speaking to them so much that you just 0:23:12.800 --> 0:23:15.600 became a ghost in a black hoodie. Nobody even cared 0:23:15.640 --> 0:23:17.280 who you were. At the end of the night. It 0:23:17.359 --> 0:23:24.080 was the Holy Spirit speaking to their soul. And Yet 0:23:24.119 --> 0:23:29.200 the challenge of this that if we're honest, a lot 0:23:29.200 --> 0:23:31.440 of the times, as we are moving and maneuvering through 0:23:31.480 --> 0:23:38.639 the demands of our life, it is very difficult for 0:23:38.760 --> 0:23:43.000 us between breaths to see the big picture of all 0:23:43.040 --> 0:23:44.639 that God is doing. But I'm going to help us 0:23:44.680 --> 0:23:51.439 with that. If you came in winded spiritually, and this 0:23:51.480 --> 0:23:56.880 could be from the long marathon, many of you aren't 0:23:56.880 --> 0:23:59.000 winded because of your role in the church. I understand 0:23:59.000 --> 0:24:02.960 that many of you that's your that's your happy place, 0:24:05.160 --> 0:24:10.320 that's the one time in the week where you feel like, man, 0:24:10.359 --> 0:24:18.000 this matters and I love this. Not very convincing. I 0:24:18.119 --> 0:24:23.119 kind of floated that out there, all right. See, I 0:24:23.200 --> 0:24:29.120 know what you're thinking, because you're like, yeah, yeah, I'm 0:24:29.160 --> 0:24:35.679 happy to be here, very glad to be here. No 0:24:35.800 --> 0:24:40.960 sooner do they get in the bow than they feel 0:24:40.960 --> 0:24:45.000 the wind is against them. For all of you Christians 0:24:45.000 --> 0:24:47.600 who try to prove that you are in the will 0:24:47.640 --> 0:24:54.479 of God by the absence of contrary wind. In other words, 0:24:55.480 --> 0:24:58.119 we think that everything God gives us to do the 0:24:58.280 --> 0:25:00.639 proof that he called us to do it, it is 0:25:00.680 --> 0:25:10.439 that it's easy. It said from the moment they set out, 0:25:11.720 --> 0:25:16.320 the wind was against them. The crazy thing is if 0:25:16.359 --> 0:25:18.640 they would have turned around and went back, the wind 0:25:18.640 --> 0:25:30.520 would have been blowing for him. But I can't go 0:25:30.680 --> 0:25:36.439 back because I had a word from God that he 0:25:36.520 --> 0:25:44.000 said he expected to see me on the other side. 0:25:46.680 --> 0:25:51.080 What we've been out here an hour and this wind 0:25:51.160 --> 0:25:54.800 keeps saying, we've been out here two hours. It's already late. 0:25:55.240 --> 0:25:57.240 The whole reason that the disciples wanted to send the 0:25:57.240 --> 0:25:59.600 crowds away in Matthew fourteen when the hunger arose is 0:25:59.600 --> 0:26:03.359 because it was already late. So now imagine it was 0:26:03.400 --> 0:26:07.520 already late when they started feeding people. Do the math 0:26:07.560 --> 0:26:10.199 on how long it takes to get food distributed to 0:26:10.320 --> 0:26:15.840 five thousand family units. And now we got to go 0:26:15.920 --> 0:26:25.160 three more miles and they do against the wind. Well, 0:26:25.160 --> 0:26:29.960 here comes Jesus, And did you notice the Bible said 0:26:31.880 --> 0:26:36.320 he came about dawn, or more specifically verse twenty five, 0:26:36.720 --> 0:26:41.920 shortly before dawn, Jesus went out to them. I'm gonna 0:26:41.920 --> 0:26:44.560 ask a question, and it's not rhetorical. Why did he 0:26:44.600 --> 0:26:49.880 wait so long? You're like he didn't know they were 0:26:49.880 --> 0:26:55.080 in trouble. It's Jesus, and he was on a mountain 0:26:55.920 --> 0:27:02.720 so he could see them in the sea. Why did 0:27:02.760 --> 0:27:04.439 he wait? Well, he was up there on the mountain 0:27:04.480 --> 0:27:10.359 praying for them. Maybe was, But at this point I 0:27:10.400 --> 0:27:14.280 could use Jesus as a thirteenth rower, because y'all know 0:27:14.359 --> 0:27:16.879 Judas wasn't rowing anything in the boat. Judas back there 0:27:17.200 --> 0:27:26.800 the other way, so when he show up at the 0:27:26.880 --> 0:27:31.480 last possible moment before the darkness goes away, so that 0:27:32.400 --> 0:27:36.080 they can have trouble recognizing him because the sky is 0:27:36.119 --> 0:27:39.600 not illuminated, so that they would have to trust him 0:27:40.000 --> 0:27:44.480 by faith, based on not what they saw with their eyes, 0:27:44.520 --> 0:27:53.160 but what they heard with their ears. And Peter, Peter goes, 0:27:54.359 --> 0:28:00.359 I want to do that. Peter just has to be different. 0:28:01.400 --> 0:28:03.480 It's not enough just to fall in line and road. 0:28:04.200 --> 0:28:06.359 Peter does good. He starts walking to Jesus in the 0:28:06.359 --> 0:28:10.080 direction of Jesus. I don't know what kind of encouragement 0:28:10.119 --> 0:28:12.560 is going on. Jesus tells him to come. I don't 0:28:12.560 --> 0:28:14.280 know if he reinforced that over and over again. The 0:28:14.280 --> 0:28:16.800 text doesn't say it could be that this is all 0:28:16.920 --> 0:28:18.720 Jesus said, and that Peter had to go off of 0:28:18.760 --> 0:28:22.160 that for the entire journey. I do know that Jesus 0:28:22.200 --> 0:28:24.159 wasn't exactly close to the boat, because if he had 0:28:24.200 --> 0:28:26.120 been close enough to the boat, they would have recognized 0:28:26.200 --> 0:28:27.919 him as Jesus, and they wouldn't have said, if it's you. 0:28:28.440 --> 0:28:31.000 So I know it's some distance and Jesus is coming 0:28:31.080 --> 0:28:33.879 up from some distance, and Peter's moving toward him for 0:28:33.920 --> 0:28:36.959 a long time. We don't really know how many steps 0:28:36.960 --> 0:28:43.280 he took, but he famously fell. And that's what the 0:28:43.320 --> 0:28:47.000 Lord wants to speak to us about tonight. Is right 0:28:47.040 --> 0:28:51.880 there in verse twenty nine, where Peter got down out 0:28:51.880 --> 0:28:54.520 of the boat, walked on water, came toward Jesus. But 0:28:54.600 --> 0:28:58.200 when he saw the wind, he was afraid and beginning 0:28:58.240 --> 0:29:04.560 to sink. Cried out, Lord saved me. Immediately Jesus reached 0:29:04.600 --> 0:29:07.280 out his hand and caught him. Oh you have little faith, 0:29:07.320 --> 0:29:12.280 he said, why did you doubt? Now that's a complicated question. 0:29:13.640 --> 0:29:17.880 Why did you doubt? It's not easy to explain the 0:29:17.920 --> 0:29:22.160 reasons that we begin to doubt what God has called 0:29:22.200 --> 0:29:25.760 us to do. It's not as easy. You know, people 0:29:25.800 --> 0:29:29.120 will give you simplified solutions for spiritual struggles, Just trust 0:29:29.480 --> 0:29:33.960 the Lord and stuff like that. What about the trauma 0:29:36.640 --> 0:29:41.640 that makes it hard for me to trust anybody, especially 0:29:41.720 --> 0:29:44.880 of God that I can't even see. And when you 0:29:44.920 --> 0:29:47.880 tell me to trust the Lord, how do I know 0:29:48.200 --> 0:29:51.280 that it's Him that I'm trusting and not just my 0:29:51.440 --> 0:29:53.960 idea that I had when I stepped out in faith? 0:29:55.640 --> 0:29:59.000 That is a very complicated question. Why did you doubt? 0:30:00.400 --> 0:30:03.000 Did somebody else's voice get in his head? It's a 0:30:03.120 --> 0:30:06.400 very complient. It's a complicated thing to describe your insecurities 0:30:06.440 --> 0:30:09.680 to somebody. A lot of people look at you, how 0:30:09.720 --> 0:30:12.360 handsome you are, how beautiful you are, how strong you are, 0:30:12.480 --> 0:30:15.719 how gifted you are, how talented you are? How uh, 0:30:17.280 --> 0:30:20.160 what's the word it means? Like bubbly? Your personality is 0:30:20.240 --> 0:30:28.720 what's the technical word? Effervescent? Is that right? Effervescent? And 0:30:28.760 --> 0:30:31.200 they look at you and they're like, she's so effervescent. 0:30:33.040 --> 0:30:38.840 If I had her effervescence, Oh, man, Cindy, she's just 0:30:38.920 --> 0:30:44.600 so strong. Cindy is so steady and so consistent. But 0:30:44.680 --> 0:30:51.640 it gets it gets Wendy for Cindy too. Why did 0:30:51.680 --> 0:30:56.479 you doubt? Why were you having a conversation with yourself 0:30:56.520 --> 0:30:59.120 this week? Does it even really matter what I do? 0:31:01.160 --> 0:31:04.200 And does anybody really care that I do it? And 0:31:04.240 --> 0:31:08.720 am I even really good at it? You can get quiet. 0:31:08.720 --> 0:31:11.080 The Holy Ghost told me this message, so I'm not 0:31:11.160 --> 0:31:16.200 confused about it. I know. And meanwhile the devil tells 0:31:16.240 --> 0:31:20.000 me the same stuff, So I know what that feels like. 0:31:21.720 --> 0:31:25.120 I know exactly what that feels like. I can't tell 0:31:25.120 --> 0:31:27.160 you exactly why I get in that place. I can't 0:31:27.440 --> 0:31:30.760 tell you exactly all of the psychological and neurological factors. 0:31:30.760 --> 0:31:33.520 I don't know all the things that accumulate in one's 0:31:33.560 --> 0:31:35.800 life to bring you to a point where you begin 0:31:35.880 --> 0:31:40.400 to doubt. When you're doing so good, you know, really 0:31:40.440 --> 0:31:44.000 staying on top of it, really doing good with the diet, 0:31:44.200 --> 0:31:46.720 really doing good, stay and clean, really doing good. I'm 0:31:46.720 --> 0:31:49.320 gonna confess the word. I'm gonna think positive, I'm gonna 0:31:49.400 --> 0:31:51.920 have a Bible reading streak. I'm gonna do it. I'm 0:31:51.960 --> 0:31:55.240 gonna do it. It's really hard to understand what goes 0:31:55.280 --> 0:32:02.560 wrong in those moments when you sink so rather than 0:32:02.600 --> 0:32:06.240 answer that question, which is never explicitly answered in the 0:32:06.280 --> 0:32:10.560 text why did you doubt, probably because it's far too 0:32:10.600 --> 0:32:14.560 complicated to be included in this simple story. I want 0:32:14.600 --> 0:32:21.880 to answer a simpler question, and instead of asking why 0:32:21.880 --> 0:32:27.040 did he doubt? I want to ask the question when 0:32:27.080 --> 0:32:35.640 did he doubt? The answer is in verse thirty. But 0:32:35.920 --> 0:32:45.680 when he saw the wind. There is nothing in this 0:32:45.800 --> 0:32:49.200 text that indicates that the wind got stronger at this 0:32:49.320 --> 0:32:56.400 moment and knocked Peter off of his balance. From all appearances, 0:32:57.360 --> 0:33:00.880 the wind was blowing at the same velocity as it 0:33:00.920 --> 0:33:03.320 had been blowing the whole time he stepped toward Jesus, 0:33:04.920 --> 0:33:09.959 and he's walked a long way against the wind. It 0:33:10.000 --> 0:33:15.280 doesn't say when the wind picked up Peter fell. It 0:33:15.320 --> 0:33:19.240 doesn't say when the wind gained and started to gust 0:33:19.280 --> 0:33:22.440 and thrust with momentum. Peter fell because the wind got 0:33:22.520 --> 0:33:26.520 so bad. It doesn't say when the circumstances got worse 0:33:26.680 --> 0:33:29.800 Peter's faith weakened. You know, actually a lot of times 0:33:30.200 --> 0:33:34.000 when the circumstances get worse, that's when our faith actually 0:33:34.040 --> 0:33:36.520 locks in and gets stronger. Because now I know I 0:33:36.600 --> 0:33:39.560 need God and I can't play around. Now I'm getting 0:33:39.600 --> 0:33:42.360 to the place of realizing that if I don't have Jesus, 0:33:42.520 --> 0:33:45.120 I'm gonna sink out here. No, no, no. It wasn't 0:33:45.240 --> 0:33:48.960 when the wind got stronger that Peter fell, It said, 0:33:49.160 --> 0:33:56.200 when he saw the wind, the same wind that had 0:33:56.200 --> 0:34:00.560 been blowing against him the whole time. It was blowing, 0:34:01.800 --> 0:34:04.760 but for so many steps, he wasn't paying any attention 0:34:05.680 --> 0:34:10.480 because he was locked on Jesus. For so many steps, 0:34:10.480 --> 0:34:14.040 he wasn't paying attention to how the waters moving to 0:34:14.120 --> 0:34:16.480 so many friends. He wasn't paying attention to how it 0:34:16.600 --> 0:34:19.480 was rocking this way or that way, or the waves. 0:34:19.560 --> 0:34:22.360 He wasn't paying any attention to that. The wind didn't 0:34:22.400 --> 0:34:31.520 pick up. His focus changed, His eyes shifted, He started 0:34:31.520 --> 0:34:34.439 looking past the one he was walking toward, and when 0:34:34.440 --> 0:34:39.800 he did, he saw the win Wind? Did Peter fall? Wind? 0:34:39.800 --> 0:34:52.040 Did wind? Did winded? You start focusing on all the 0:34:52.120 --> 0:34:55.880 things that are going wrong so much that you forgot 0:34:56.680 --> 0:35:01.600 that God brought you from a mighty long way? Whin 0:35:01.800 --> 0:35:09.600 did you'll forget that his blood prevailed that Calvary, that 0:35:09.800 --> 0:35:19.080 one drop was enough to come? When did you? When's 0:35:19.080 --> 0:35:22.560 did you become one of these? Hand in my pocket? Christian? 0:35:22.960 --> 0:35:26.279 You used to be wild, You used to be a worshiper. 0:35:26.600 --> 0:35:30.200 You used to be like David. You used to be undignified. 0:35:30.520 --> 0:35:33.200 You used to try when we say about the goodness 0:35:33.200 --> 0:35:45.359 of God. When did Maybe he got tired out. There 0:35:45.680 --> 0:35:49.120 is hard walking on the water. It's hard keeping your focus. 0:35:49.320 --> 0:35:52.319 I've been rowing all night. I've been feeding people at him, 0:35:52.320 --> 0:35:55.120 planning to have come over. I've been smiling at people 0:35:55.120 --> 0:35:57.840 who came in grumpy. I've been trying to be nice. 0:35:57.840 --> 0:36:05.880 I've been trying to be guydd Win did your feelings. 0:36:08.400 --> 0:36:11.840 I'm not picking on Peter Man. It's hard enough for 0:36:11.880 --> 0:36:14.200 me some weeks to get a haircut and pick out 0:36:14.200 --> 0:36:16.560 a shirt and get up and grab a microphone and preach. 0:36:16.920 --> 0:36:21.160 So God knows. I love him for trying. But when 0:36:21.280 --> 0:36:30.560 he saw the wind, it what it wasn't like it 0:36:30.680 --> 0:36:36.280 just started at that moment. Aha, that would make sense. 0:36:38.040 --> 0:36:44.480 But you've been doing this the whole time. We'll walk 0:36:44.560 --> 0:36:48.360 you through it sometime. We'll walk you through those moments 0:36:49.160 --> 0:36:54.480 where you quit caring. We'll walk you through those moments 0:36:54.520 --> 0:36:57.400 where you started believing. I was writing in my journal 0:36:57.400 --> 0:36:59.400 one day and the Lord gave me something very powerful 0:36:59.520 --> 0:37:03.080 and painful to hear. He said, you stopped believing that 0:37:03.160 --> 0:37:06.440 your faith can change situations. Now you use it as 0:37:06.480 --> 0:37:11.640 a coping mechanism. You don't put your faith on stuff 0:37:11.680 --> 0:37:23.359 like you used to. When did when did? Why did 0:37:23.360 --> 0:37:25.799 he doubt? I don't know. I'm not Peter. Only he 0:37:25.800 --> 0:37:29.759 can answer that. I don't know when did? I don't 0:37:29.800 --> 0:37:33.000 know why did Peter die? I know when he did 0:37:34.600 --> 0:37:39.440 when he started looking at what was against him? Am 0:37:39.480 --> 0:37:43.920 I talking about Peter? Or am I talking about you? 0:37:49.320 --> 0:37:51.840 Wouldn't it? He foolish for you to get fixated on 0:37:51.920 --> 0:37:56.200 all of those who didn't love you and not receive 0:37:56.320 --> 0:38:02.200 from those who do. When did you get hard hearted? 0:38:02.760 --> 0:38:07.480 You used to be open. You used to pray for 0:38:07.560 --> 0:38:11.319 other people. You used to do that, And you know what, 0:38:11.520 --> 0:38:14.320 when you prayed, you expected something to happen from it. 0:38:14.600 --> 0:38:17.319 You checked up on it. You were texting them ten 0:38:17.320 --> 0:38:21.239 minutes later. Did it happy yet? Okay, I'm gonna pray more. Okay, 0:38:21.239 --> 0:38:25.560 I'm a brand tongues. Did it happy yet? When did 0:38:25.600 --> 0:38:28.200 you stop being that little girl you used to sing 0:38:28.200 --> 0:38:30.600 to Jesus. You used to sit in your room and 0:38:30.760 --> 0:38:35.000 sing to Jesus. Devil stole your song because you went 0:38:35.040 --> 0:38:45.799 in a storm. When did It's just a question. When 0:38:45.840 --> 0:38:50.400 did you take your eyes off of what Jesus was 0:38:50.480 --> 0:38:54.600 moving you toward and start only thinking about what was 0:38:54.600 --> 0:39:00.560 coming against you? Hey? Reality check? When did Jesus know 0:39:00.640 --> 0:39:04.319 there was going to be a storm when he told 0:39:04.360 --> 0:39:10.719 them to go? He knew exactly what these fools were 0:39:10.719 --> 0:39:18.160 about to face. Nah, he's not shocked. Hey, hey, everybody 0:39:18.200 --> 0:39:19.640 in here is struggling with well, I don't know if 0:39:19.640 --> 0:39:21.799 God can use me because I've been struggling with some 0:39:21.800 --> 0:39:23.680 stuff in your life. Well, let's get that figured out. 0:39:23.719 --> 0:39:25.840 Let's don't just have you wallowing around and sin just 0:39:25.880 --> 0:39:28.560 wrecking your life and all that. But hey, hey, hey, 0:39:28.840 --> 0:39:33.960 when did God set you apart before you were born? 0:39:36.760 --> 0:39:41.680 So one Bible verse I would like you to learn 0:39:41.800 --> 0:39:44.080 is in the Coromans the New Testam Balgromans that says, 0:39:44.239 --> 0:39:49.719 while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. So 0:39:49.840 --> 0:39:52.920 if he called me Jeremiah one six and set me 0:39:52.960 --> 0:39:56.400 apart from my mother's womb, and then he saved me 0:39:56.480 --> 0:39:59.520 while I was still a sinner, why would he stop 0:39:59.600 --> 0:40:10.360 using me now just because I struggled with something? You 0:40:10.400 --> 0:40:14.520 know what else? I never really realized I love the Bible. 0:40:14.800 --> 0:40:19.800 I think I think I'd probably like preach this Bible 0:40:19.800 --> 0:40:21.520 story once a year and see if God will show 0:40:21.560 --> 0:40:25.200 me something new in it, because I never thought about 0:40:26.680 --> 0:40:32.200 how far Peter came before he fell. How did I 0:40:32.280 --> 0:40:37.200 miss this? How could I? Really? It's in the text, y'all, 0:40:37.920 --> 0:40:43.000 in verse thirty one. Immediately Jesus reached out his hand 0:40:43.040 --> 0:40:50.200 and caught him. We have already established that Jesus was 0:40:50.239 --> 0:40:53.600 at a far enough distance where they could not see 0:40:53.719 --> 0:40:59.480 him except through his silhouette. You mean to tell me 0:41:00.920 --> 0:41:06.319 Peter got all that way? The Bible didn't say. When 0:41:06.320 --> 0:41:09.400 he cried out, Jesus ran over and picked him up. 0:41:10.920 --> 0:41:23.239 I'm coming, Peter, No, the Bible said, immediately, Peter was 0:41:23.360 --> 0:41:30.040 within arm's reach of Jesus. And you want to fall now. 0:41:31.640 --> 0:41:35.560 You are this close to your breakthrough. You are this 0:41:35.800 --> 0:41:40.080 close to being the person God. You are this close 0:41:40.840 --> 0:41:44.080 to your free You are this close to your kids 0:41:44.120 --> 0:41:47.360 turning around and coming back to God. You are this 0:41:47.640 --> 0:41:52.520 close to your miracle. Ah. No, I didn't columb this 0:41:52.840 --> 0:42:03.000 farm to fall down now. So it taught me a lesson. 0:42:04.320 --> 0:42:07.759 It taught me the times when I'm tempted to look 0:42:07.800 --> 0:42:11.000 away are going to be the times when I'm closest 0:42:11.320 --> 0:42:15.280 to where God is bringing me. The spirit says, you're close. 0:42:15.680 --> 0:42:19.360 Keep coming, You're close, Keep coming. You're closer than you 0:42:19.480 --> 0:42:22.759 think you are. You're closer than you've been before. You're 0:42:22.800 --> 0:42:25.920 closer than my having me three orders. You're closer than 0:42:25.960 --> 0:42:29.440 you've ever been. You can't go down now, you can't 0:42:29.520 --> 0:42:33.080 tap out, now, you can't die now, you can't turn 0:42:33.160 --> 0:42:42.040 around now. That's nothing that does there too. I'm close, baby, 0:42:42.280 --> 0:42:47.600 That's why this witness rowing sous. The enemy knows I'm close. 0:42:50.800 --> 0:42:54.000 You're close. I don't know who this is for, but 0:42:54.080 --> 0:42:58.280 you're close. Ah, You're so close. You are so close. 0:43:05.840 --> 0:43:09.839 See the Bible says that they worshiped him when he 0:43:09.880 --> 0:43:13.040 got in the boat and the wind died down. And 0:43:13.120 --> 0:43:15.800 that's one way to do it. Oh God, I'll worship 0:43:15.840 --> 0:43:18.600 you when this battle is over. Oh God, all worship 0:43:18.719 --> 0:43:21.520 you when I'm done with this situation. Oh God, I'll 0:43:21.560 --> 0:43:25.160 worship you when you restore the relationship. But why not 0:43:25.400 --> 0:43:29.200 worship him? Why you're still in it? Did your grace 0:43:29.280 --> 0:43:32.399 him in the middle of the store. When did your 0:43:32.520 --> 0:43:37.880 rasion in the sealing of the night? When did paul 0:43:37.960 --> 0:43:44.320 that silence start to see that? Did night I'm preaching. 0:43:44.440 --> 0:43:56.120 I'm preaching. When did you start shrinking down your God 0:43:56.200 --> 0:43:59.640 to the size of your problems? When did you start 0:43:59.680 --> 0:44:03.080 telling you're you're all of your problems. When did you 0:44:03.080 --> 0:44:06.040 stop telling your problems how big your God is? Just 0:44:06.080 --> 0:44:08.799 telling God all the time, Oh my problems are so big. 0:44:08.960 --> 0:44:12.160 Oh my bills are so bad. Oh my cholesterol. Oh God. 0:44:12.280 --> 0:44:16.560 You can list that all day, or you can shift 0:44:17.239 --> 0:44:22.440 your attention back on Jesus. I feel a shift happening 0:44:22.480 --> 0:44:25.520 in this room tonight. It's a subtle shift, but it's 0:44:25.520 --> 0:44:29.160 a saving shift. It's a small shift, but it's like 0:44:29.239 --> 0:44:32.080 a rudder. It's gonna turn the shift back in the 0:44:32.160 --> 0:44:41.680 right direction. Hallelujah. So so, so Jesus gets in the boat. 0:44:41.920 --> 0:44:43.759 How many want them in your boat tonight? Come on, 0:44:43.800 --> 0:44:45.440 I want him in my boat. I want him in 0:44:45.480 --> 0:44:47.440 my bom. I want him in my boat. He's not 0:44:47.480 --> 0:44:50.000 gonna come at your golf claft. You gotta really really 0:44:50.040 --> 0:44:52.000 want him in your bo You got to want him 0:44:52.000 --> 0:44:54.200 in your boat. You got to want him in your boat. 0:44:55.320 --> 0:45:02.080 Oh God, oh God. So all right, all right, So 0:45:02.960 --> 0:45:05.040 if this word is for you received this next part, 0:45:06.920 --> 0:45:12.520 when did the disciples know why Jesus sent them into 0:45:12.600 --> 0:45:24.759 a storm. When they got to the other side, let 0:45:24.760 --> 0:45:29.080 me be your pastor for a moment. It won't make 0:45:29.440 --> 0:45:40.239 sense until the other side. I'm almost done, give me 0:45:40.360 --> 0:45:46.360 Verse thirty four. When they had crossed over, they landed 0:45:46.440 --> 0:45:52.000 at Gannessaret. And when the men of that place recognized Jesus, 0:45:52.480 --> 0:45:56.880 they send word to all the surrounding country. People brought 0:45:57.160 --> 0:46:01.400 all their sick to him, and tim to let the 0:46:01.520 --> 0:46:05.080 sick just touch the edge of his gloak. And all 0:46:05.080 --> 0:46:13.560 who touched were here. When did they know why it 0:46:13.640 --> 0:46:18.200 was important to get through the storm? You reckon? It 0:46:18.239 --> 0:46:22.000 took about three healings. It says the whole city started 0:46:22.040 --> 0:46:25.920 coming to Jesus when they got there. Did it take five? 0:46:27.200 --> 0:46:30.520 Did it take ten? Do I hear twelve? Fifteen? Do 0:46:30.560 --> 0:46:33.040 I have a fifteen? Do I have a turn? I mean, 0:46:33.080 --> 0:46:36.720 you know, certain disciples probably saw it real quick. Oh 0:46:37.120 --> 0:46:40.879 that's why we had to get here. Some of us 0:46:41.480 --> 0:46:48.760 are a little slower. How many ways is God going 0:46:48.800 --> 0:46:56.280 to have to show you that everything he takes you through, 0:46:57.520 --> 0:47:11.759 he takes you through for a purpose. Let everything that 0:47:12.040 --> 0:47:21.719 has led, everything that has If I'm still alive, if 0:47:21.760 --> 0:47:26.240 I'm still breathing, if I'm still standing, there's a reason 0:47:26.680 --> 0:47:31.520 he didn't let me go down. He's not through with 0:47:32.280 --> 0:47:36.040 you yet. If he said on to the other side, 0:47:36.520 --> 0:47:44.480 he'll meet you there. You've got to get through it. 0:47:45.120 --> 0:47:47.400 You have got to get through it. I don't know 0:47:47.440 --> 0:47:50.400 who this is for or what you've been contemplating, but 0:47:50.480 --> 0:47:52.839 you have got to get through it. You have got 0:47:52.840 --> 0:47:55.120 to press through the doubt. You have got to get 0:47:55.120 --> 0:47:57.880 through the unbelief. You have got to get through the crowd. 0:47:58.120 --> 0:48:00.839 You have got to process the trauma. You have got 0:48:00.880 --> 0:48:03.600 to move through the emotions. You have got to get 0:48:03.680 --> 0:48:14.600 through it. It will make sense on the other side. 0:48:14.960 --> 0:48:17.360 You don't know what's on the other side of your storm. 0:48:17.440 --> 0:48:20.680 Only he does. You don't know what's on the other 0:48:20.719 --> 0:48:24.719 side of your obedience. Only he does. You don't know 0:48:24.760 --> 0:48:27.480 who you told welcome to Elevation Church when they walked 0:48:27.480 --> 0:48:31.200 in someday, Only he does. You don't know who you 0:48:31.239 --> 0:48:36.440 gave a smile to. Only he does. Only he knows 0:48:36.760 --> 0:48:40.319 what's on the other side. Only he knows what he's 0:48:40.360 --> 0:48:43.399 taking you to. You don't know, You don't have to know. 0:48:43.719 --> 0:48:52.360 You just have to get through it. When did you 0:48:52.440 --> 0:48:58.759 stop believing that God can get you through this. Touch 0:48:58.800 --> 0:49:00.680 three people. God can get you through this. Tell them 0:49:00.719 --> 0:49:03.200 God can get you through this. And you may not 0:49:03.280 --> 0:49:09.160 even know why. You may not even know why. You 0:49:09.239 --> 0:49:11.040 may not even know why I came all the way 0:49:11.040 --> 0:49:17.200 back here. Because this is Jody. Y'all, everybody say, hey, Jody, 0:49:18.360 --> 0:49:24.080 come on, this is Jody. This is his wife, Emily. 0:49:25.360 --> 0:49:27.839 If you can see her on the camera, she looks 0:49:27.880 --> 0:49:37.520 a lot like Holly because they're sisters. Not only is 0:49:37.640 --> 0:49:48.440 Jody a David Crowder impersonator by day, he loves singing Joey, 0:49:49.360 --> 0:49:55.960 but he is also the instrument that God used after 0:49:56.080 --> 0:50:03.000 my mom taking me to church every single week as 0:50:03.040 --> 0:50:21.439 a little boy. Some plant, some water. D So when 0:50:21.520 --> 0:50:27.680 did I meet this bald beauty? When did I meet him? 0:50:27.960 --> 0:50:33.080 My junior year of high school? When did I When 0:50:33.080 --> 0:50:36.000 did I give my life to Christ? After he sat 0:50:36.040 --> 0:50:43.960 down with me for three hours at Alex's Restaurant in 0:50:44.080 --> 0:50:49.520 Monk's Corner, South Carolina? When am I gonna hey? When 0:50:49.520 --> 0:50:52.120 am I gonna take my hand off his head? When 0:50:52.160 --> 0:50:55.520 I'm dang well ready? This is my volunteer night. I 0:50:55.640 --> 0:51:07.760 only get one a year, and after answering three thousand 0:51:07.800 --> 0:51:10.879 of my questions, I asked this man everything I could 0:51:10.920 --> 0:51:13.960 think of, because I wasn't sure that the God my 0:51:14.040 --> 0:51:16.880 mom had raised me to believe in was real. But 0:51:16.960 --> 0:51:22.440 that didn't stop her from taking me to church. Then 0:51:22.480 --> 0:51:28.279 so here comes Jody boom Put. My man was on 0:51:28.320 --> 0:51:32.799 a traveling revival team Life Action Ministries. He was a 0:51:32.840 --> 0:51:36.319 singer on the Life Action Ministry's revival team, traveling with 0:51:36.360 --> 0:51:41.400 a revival called America You're Too Young to Die Truth 0:51:41.440 --> 0:51:48.600 under God? And then you know this whole story. He 0:51:48.640 --> 0:51:51.720 pulled me out of church the next night. The preacher 0:51:51.719 --> 0:51:54.000 wasn't even started his sermon yet. He grabbed me. He 0:51:54.000 --> 0:51:56.239 said let's go. And he sat in a room with 0:51:56.320 --> 0:51:59.560 me till two in the morning, and I told him 0:51:59.600 --> 0:52:03.719 I what to give my life to God? I said, 0:52:03.760 --> 0:52:06.759 I didn't want to miss out on my high school experience, 0:52:10.960 --> 0:52:14.719 all the girls I would have been, you know whatever. 0:52:16.440 --> 0:52:19.399 But he sat with me. He sat with me. He said, 0:52:19.400 --> 0:52:22.960 all right, well, I'm gonna pray. I'm gonna just pray 0:52:23.000 --> 0:52:26.640 that you change your mind. I come back to him 0:52:26.640 --> 0:52:29.960 the next night, I say, what did you do to me? 0:52:33.560 --> 0:52:41.120 I think it worked. I think it were When did 0:52:42.760 --> 0:52:50.520 let me ask this question? Elevation Church began two thousand 0:52:50.560 --> 0:52:57.120 and six when we had our first service nineteen eighty 0:52:58.200 --> 0:53:01.480 when Faith ferdiict well beautiful baby boy into the world, 0:53:02.520 --> 0:53:06.440 took him to church, dedicated my grandfather, dedicated me, and 0:53:06.480 --> 0:53:09.799 baptized me to the Lord in the Methodist Church. Yeah, 0:53:09.960 --> 0:53:15.960 that's one answer. When did when did this church, this 0:53:16.080 --> 0:53:19.880 ministry begin? When a boy from one of Robins, Georgia 0:53:21.000 --> 0:53:24.520 sat down in a restaurant in Monks Corner, South Carolina 0:53:25.360 --> 0:53:27.359 and answered me when I said, well, where did the 0:53:27.360 --> 0:53:36.960 dinosaurs come from? Who asks this stuff? I did? And 0:53:36.960 --> 0:53:40.319 then I think about my mom's up there, and I 0:53:40.360 --> 0:53:44.080 think about JODI's right here, and I think about Lj's 0:53:44.120 --> 0:53:49.560 playing softly so I can start closing this sermon, and 0:53:49.600 --> 0:53:51.399 I think about me being in the middle of y'all, 0:53:51.440 --> 0:53:57.000 even just how this feels right now. And I think 0:53:57.000 --> 0:53:59.080 about when you walked in the doors of our church 0:53:59.160 --> 0:54:02.560 for the first time, and I think about when God 0:54:02.600 --> 0:54:04.239 grabbed a hold of you and you said, you know what, 0:54:05.440 --> 0:54:07.279 I want to be a part of something bigger than 0:54:07.280 --> 0:54:21.120 me and God, don't let me fall in front of 0:54:21.160 --> 0:54:35.760 fifteen hundred people help me day. When did when did 0:54:35.880 --> 0:54:38.200 I know you? I know you feel sometimes like man, 0:54:39.520 --> 0:54:42.440 at least I do. Maybe you're just more mature than me. 0:54:43.360 --> 0:54:45.399 I know you feel like sometimes I can't keep doing 0:54:45.400 --> 0:54:49.920 all this. It's too much. I can't keep fighting this, man. 0:54:49.960 --> 0:54:55.839 I just I don't. I don't feel like trying today. 0:54:56.400 --> 0:54:59.680 I don't feel like being me today. I don't feel 0:54:59.680 --> 0:55:08.319 like going into somebody else today. But I want you 0:55:08.400 --> 0:55:13.239 to take comfort in this that Jesus not only saw 0:55:13.280 --> 0:55:17.600 the storm before he sent them into it, he saw 0:55:17.640 --> 0:55:31.920 what was on the other side received that. I want 0:55:32.000 --> 0:55:34.799 you to just breathe as deep as you can, all right, 0:55:36.239 --> 0:55:38.319 I promise I won't turn it into yoga, but just 0:55:38.400 --> 0:55:43.719 breathe as deep as you can. God said he wanted 0:55:43.760 --> 0:55:45.800 you to catch your breath before you leave here tonight. 0:55:48.520 --> 0:55:54.040 Sometimes it just knocks the wind right out of you. 0:55:54.040 --> 0:55:57.560 You can get one text knock the wind right out 0:55:57.560 --> 0:56:08.000 of you. But the moment that he fell, Jesus was 0:56:08.080 --> 0:56:14.000 right there, and he still is. There are miracles on 0:56:14.040 --> 0:56:19.080 the other side of this, you know that, right They 0:56:19.120 --> 0:56:22.839 got to take Jesus to Ganesseret so he could heal 0:56:22.880 --> 0:56:28.760 an entire city. You are carrying the presence of Christ, 0:56:33.719 --> 0:56:39.400 and it's exciting and it's exhausting. But I promise you 0:56:39.440 --> 0:56:45.920 one thing. It's worth it. Well. If you enjoyed today's podcast, 0:56:45.960 --> 0:56:48.040 there are a couple things I'd love for you to do. 0:56:48.160 --> 0:56:52.480 Make sure to subscribe, rate, and review this podcast. He 0:56:52.520 --> 0:56:54.920 can also help us reach others by investing today at 0:56:55.000 --> 0:56:58.520 Elevation Church dot org, slash gift and thanks again for 0:56:58.680 --> 0:57:00.640 joining us on the Elevation Podcast.