You Are Not It

0:00:02.160 --> 0:00:04.680 Hey, this is Stephen Ferdick. I'm the pastor of Elevation 0:00:04.960 --> 0:00:07.200 Church and this is our podcast. I wanted to thank 0:00:07.200 --> 0:00:10.520 you for joining us today. Hope this inspires you. Hope 0:00:10.560 --> 0:00:12.600 it builds your faith. Hope it gives your perspective to 0:00:12.600 --> 0:00:18.600 see God is moving in your life. Enjoy the message. 0:00:19.680 --> 0:00:23.959 All right, stay standing, Stay standing. I want to share 0:00:23.960 --> 0:00:29.640 with you today a story in Mark chapter nine, Mark 0:00:29.720 --> 0:00:39.280 chapter nine, verse fourteen through twenty nine. And let's don't 0:00:39.320 --> 0:00:43.720 let the dramatic nature of this Bible story make us 0:00:43.720 --> 0:00:47.920 think that it doesn't apply to us. Because the story 0:00:47.960 --> 0:00:53.639 I'm going to read you it's very extreme, and there 0:00:53.680 --> 0:00:56.120 are people here who have extreme situations that you're dealing 0:00:56.160 --> 0:01:01.440 with and joining us who have extreme situations. But even 0:01:01.480 --> 0:01:03.760 if the situation that you're dealing with in your life 0:01:03.760 --> 0:01:06.000 today and the need that you have isn't this dramatic 0:01:06.080 --> 0:01:08.959 or doesn't fit this particular description of this picture, I 0:01:09.000 --> 0:01:12.160 believe the dynamics of what God wants to teach us 0:01:12.200 --> 0:01:14.400 what apply to every person in the room of every age. 0:01:14.520 --> 0:01:18.399 So just with that in your mind, listen as I 0:01:18.440 --> 0:01:21.720 read this account. The scripture says Mark chapter nine, verse 0:01:21.800 --> 0:01:26.520 fourteen when they came to the other disciples, they saw 0:01:26.600 --> 0:01:30.120 a large crowd around them and the teachers of the 0:01:30.200 --> 0:01:33.479 law arguing with them. As soon as all the people 0:01:33.560 --> 0:01:37.000 saw Jesus, they were overwhelmed with wonder and ran to 0:01:37.040 --> 0:01:41.520 greet him. What are you arguing with them about? He asked. 0:01:42.319 --> 0:01:44.680 A man in the crowd answered, teacher, I brought you 0:01:44.760 --> 0:01:49.440 my son, who is possessed by a spirit that has 0:01:49.560 --> 0:01:55.920 robbed him of speech. Whenever it seizes him. Whenever it 0:01:56.120 --> 0:02:00.560 seizes him, it throws him to the ground. He foams 0:02:00.600 --> 0:02:05.720 at the mouth, gnashes his teeth, and becomes rigid. I 0:02:05.800 --> 0:02:08.960 asked your disciples to drive out the spirit, but they 0:02:08.960 --> 0:02:14.920 could not. And listen to Jesus, How frustrated he solves 0:02:14.960 --> 0:02:20.360 you unbelieving generation, Jesus replied, how long shall I stay 0:02:20.400 --> 0:02:23.320 with you? How long shall I put up with you? 0:02:24.480 --> 0:02:29.280 Bring the boy to me. Bring him to me. Now, 0:02:29.280 --> 0:02:31.480 hear the Lord saying that today to somebody. Bring him 0:02:31.520 --> 0:02:37.079 to me. Now, let's keep reading. So they brought him, 0:02:37.280 --> 0:02:39.880 and when the spirit saw Jesus, it immediately threw the 0:02:39.880 --> 0:02:42.600 boy into a convulsion. He fell to the ground and 0:02:42.760 --> 0:02:45.160 rolled around, foaming at the mouth, and Jesus asked the 0:02:45.200 --> 0:02:49.840 boy's father, how long has he been like this? From childhood? 0:02:49.840 --> 0:02:53.600 He answered? It has often thrown him into fire or 0:02:53.680 --> 0:02:57.239 water to kill him. But if you can do anything, 0:02:58.080 --> 0:03:02.280 take pity on us and help us if you can, 0:03:03.919 --> 0:03:09.280 said Jesus, I like that part. You like that too. 0:03:10.880 --> 0:03:19.720 Everything is possible for one who believes. Oh. Immediately, the 0:03:19.760 --> 0:03:25.720 boy's father exclaimed, I do believe. Help me overcome my unbelief. 0:03:27.120 --> 0:03:29.440 When Jesus saw that a crowd was running to the scene, 0:03:29.480 --> 0:03:33.840 he rebuked the impure spirit, you deaf and mute spirit. 0:03:33.960 --> 0:03:37.320 He said, I command you come out of him and 0:03:37.400 --> 0:03:43.480 never enter him again. And the spirit shrieked, convulsed him violently, 0:03:43.560 --> 0:03:46.200 and came out. The boy looked so much like a 0:03:46.240 --> 0:03:52.720 corpse that many said, he's dead. But Jesus MANI said, 0:03:52.880 --> 0:04:00.520 he's dead, but Jesus. Many said, that's it. But Jesus. 0:04:01.360 --> 0:04:08.040 Many said it's over. But Jesus, WHOA, that's not my message. 0:04:08.120 --> 0:04:10.120 But I want to shut in the middle of the 0:04:10.320 --> 0:04:20.880 cities by God, Hey, but God who But Jesus took 0:04:20.960 --> 0:04:23.600 him by the hand and lifted him to his feet, 0:04:23.680 --> 0:04:27.800 and he stood up. Now, this is the part I 0:04:27.800 --> 0:04:31.760 want to preach about. After Jesus had gone indoors. His 0:04:31.839 --> 0:04:37.039 disciples asked him privately, kind of embarrassed about the way 0:04:37.120 --> 0:04:41.440 things went down, just experienced a terrible failure and got 0:04:41.480 --> 0:04:46.120 called out in front of the Son of God. They 0:04:46.160 --> 0:04:53.919 asked him, why couldn't we drive it out? And here's 0:04:53.960 --> 0:04:59.600 why Verse twenty nine. This kind can come out only 0:05:00.320 --> 0:05:08.920 by prayer? Why couldn't we dry it out? This kind 0:05:09.880 --> 0:05:12.920 can only come out by prayer? And I want to 0:05:12.920 --> 0:05:22.240 give you this message today. You are not it. You 0:05:22.320 --> 0:05:25.560 remember aenie meenie, miney moe, My mama told me two 0:05:25.640 --> 0:05:30.760 fifty and you put your finger six feet from your 0:05:30.800 --> 0:05:33.040 neighbor's face. Let's obey the law. But look at him 0:05:33.120 --> 0:05:36.159 right now and say you are put it in the chat. 0:05:36.360 --> 0:05:43.400 Not it be seated. Let's talk about it. You are 0:05:45.320 --> 0:05:54.719 not it. Oh. It's my oldest son's sixteenth birthday today, 0:05:54.800 --> 0:06:05.000 Happy birthday alive. He's not in church today, he's on 0:06:05.000 --> 0:06:07.560 a little trip with his mom. They're coming back today. 0:06:08.120 --> 0:06:11.840 And I love you so much. I'm so proud of you. 0:06:12.680 --> 0:06:15.800 It hurts how much you love your kids, doesn't it. 0:06:15.800 --> 0:06:20.120 It hurts how much you love your kids. Sometimes I 0:06:20.200 --> 0:06:22.080 just walk by them. I can't even speak. I just 0:06:23.120 --> 0:06:26.240 sometimes I just walk by them and just think, Man, 0:06:27.800 --> 0:06:31.200 it hurts. I hate you for making me love you 0:06:31.240 --> 0:06:38.279 so much. I love you. Man. He's watching. They're flying back. 0:06:38.320 --> 0:06:40.480 I think they're headed to the airport as we speak. 0:06:40.480 --> 0:06:42.480 And if the signal's good, he'll be getting this message. 0:06:42.600 --> 0:06:44.599 If not, I I'd be watching this message and taking 0:06:44.640 --> 0:06:48.719 notes later in the week. Little birthday trip. They're headed 0:06:48.720 --> 0:06:51.960 back today. We're excited to have Holly back today. Our family, 0:06:51.960 --> 0:06:55.440 our Graham and Abbey, are really excited. We have door 0:06:55.520 --> 0:07:01.000 dashed every restaurant in the Carolina's three days a mirror. 0:07:02.960 --> 0:07:08.320 So sixteen, I got a sixteen year old, y'all, that 0:07:08.480 --> 0:07:13.000 is the devil. I rebuke that accusation on my age 0:07:13.200 --> 0:07:20.120 sixteen year old. But Elijah is I don't know if 0:07:20.120 --> 0:07:22.320 he's a litigator at heart. He always finds a loophole, 0:07:23.360 --> 0:07:27.560 kind of reflecting on his personality because when you're a dad, 0:07:27.600 --> 0:07:31.200 you look for all these techniques and you'll steal, begborrow 0:07:31.240 --> 0:07:33.760 anything as a dad, you know, like the guy in 0:07:33.800 --> 0:07:35.720 this passage, he's doing anything he can to get a 0:07:35.760 --> 0:07:38.760 son healed. And when you become a parent, since God 0:07:38.800 --> 0:07:42.080 forgot to put the manual and the instruction sheet inside, 0:07:42.120 --> 0:07:44.640 all the little seventy five million pieces of parenting a 0:07:44.720 --> 0:07:48.280 human life. And since they make you take a test 0:07:48.280 --> 0:07:51.640 to drive a car, but not to be responsible for 0:07:51.720 --> 0:07:55.600 a human life, you'll try anything. My friend Judah Smith 0:07:55.880 --> 0:07:58.800 told me that his dad used to tell him when 0:07:58.800 --> 0:08:01.240 he was a little boy, of all the five year 0:08:01.280 --> 0:08:03.160 olds in the world or whatever age he was seven 0:08:03.160 --> 0:08:04.440 and nine. He said he did this all the time 0:08:04.480 --> 0:08:08.040 growing up. He said that his dad would say, if 0:08:08.080 --> 0:08:11.120 they lined up all the five year olds, seven year olds, 0:08:11.200 --> 0:08:13.440 nine year olds in the world, and then he would 0:08:13.520 --> 0:08:18.360 name all the continents and countries, all the seven year 0:08:18.360 --> 0:08:24.040 olds from India and Australia, Africa, all the foreign countries, Alabama, 0:08:27.120 --> 0:08:32.080 Chief Shock, and they let me choose of all the 0:08:32.320 --> 0:08:36.960 five year olds, I choose you. So I tried that 0:08:37.040 --> 0:08:40.720 on my kids, and of course Elijah is our lab rat. 0:08:40.760 --> 0:08:43.440 And I do have a theory about firstborn children. While 0:08:43.440 --> 0:08:45.960 you're putting away their college funds, save them a therapy fund, 0:08:45.960 --> 0:08:49.000 because you're learning all the stuff that doesn't work on them. 0:08:49.640 --> 0:08:54.240 And Elijah, when I was putting him to bed one night, 0:08:54.360 --> 0:08:56.920 I said, of all the kids in the world, if 0:08:56.960 --> 0:08:58.920 they lined up every kid from and I went through 0:08:58.920 --> 0:09:01.480 the role call of all the countries and states that 0:09:01.520 --> 0:09:03.360 I could think of. If I could choose anyone, if 0:09:03.400 --> 0:09:05.400 God let me choose any little boy, a little five 0:09:05.440 --> 0:09:08.760 year old boy, I would choose you. And he'd say thing, 0:09:09.040 --> 0:09:10.760 and then I'll do it again the next night and 0:09:10.840 --> 0:09:12.400 the next night. But the third night I did it. 0:09:13.040 --> 0:09:15.320 Elijah says, I say, if they lined up all the 0:09:15.640 --> 0:09:17.560 kids in the world that were five years old and 0:09:17.640 --> 0:09:21.319 let me choose one, I would choose you. And he goes, technically, 0:09:21.720 --> 0:09:24.600 you can't say that because you haven't seen all the 0:09:24.640 --> 0:09:30.320 five year olds in the world, And y'all think that's bad. 0:09:30.400 --> 0:09:34.080 Graham is much worse. Graham's he's a couple of years 0:09:34.120 --> 0:09:37.880 younger than Elijah, and he's much more ruthless. And one 0:09:37.960 --> 0:09:39.520 night with Graham I tried to turn it on him. 0:09:39.520 --> 0:09:42.040 I said, now, if they lined up all the daddy's 0:09:42.080 --> 0:09:44.800 in the world, would you pick me? And he goes, 0:09:44.960 --> 0:09:47.880 just cold blooded, He goes, how could I know? I 0:09:47.920 --> 0:09:55.520 haven't seen all the different dads talking about the demon 0:09:55.559 --> 0:10:01.679 possessed children today in the scriptures. No, no, no, I know. 0:10:03.760 --> 0:10:06.040 Part of me was like, I feel you man, because 0:10:07.679 --> 0:10:09.439 I really mean the part about I wouldn't pick a 0:10:09.440 --> 0:10:11.559 different kid. I make a lot of jokes in the fullpit, 0:10:11.640 --> 0:10:15.320 but you know, being a dad is to me, it's 0:10:15.480 --> 0:10:18.280 the greatest privilege other than being Holly's husband, even more 0:10:18.320 --> 0:10:21.480 than being your pastor. Yes, yes, yes, yes, I would 0:10:21.520 --> 0:10:23.360 let you'll all go to hell before I would let 0:10:23.360 --> 0:10:26.079 one of my kids grow up without an active dad. 0:10:26.160 --> 0:10:28.160 That's just a fact. And I'm not even saying it's right, 0:10:28.200 --> 0:10:33.360 but that's how I feel about it. One guy said 0:10:33.400 --> 0:10:35.800 to me one of the kids baseball games, I was 0:10:35.840 --> 0:10:38.440 getting kind of fired up. Nothing really bad at the umpire, 0:10:38.520 --> 0:10:41.200 but I was kind of, you know, making myself known 0:10:41.360 --> 0:10:43.480 because he made a bad call on my kid. And 0:10:43.520 --> 0:10:44.960 one of the other parents said, I thought you were 0:10:45.000 --> 0:10:48.439 supposed to be a pastor, and I said, but right now, 0:10:48.440 --> 0:10:51.440 I'm a dad. And I went back to yelling at 0:10:51.480 --> 0:10:56.280 the umpire. Right now, you could take my ordination certificate. 0:10:56.280 --> 0:10:58.800 I don't care, man, I'm a dad right now, but 0:10:58.880 --> 0:11:01.439 I do think and when it comes to your kids, 0:11:01.480 --> 0:11:04.840 like how crazy it can be that I thought the 0:11:04.880 --> 0:11:07.600 same thing. Graham was just kidding, obviously when he said 0:11:07.600 --> 0:11:09.200 that he knows I'm the greatest dad of all time. 0:11:09.240 --> 0:11:14.600 But he said what I fear sometimes I think they 0:11:14.640 --> 0:11:19.920 could do better with a different dad. And not to 0:11:19.960 --> 0:11:22.200 go so deep, so quick on y'all, but you know, 0:11:22.240 --> 0:11:24.000 I think every parent has thought it before. I don't 0:11:24.040 --> 0:11:28.320 want to pass this on to you. I don't want to. 0:11:29.240 --> 0:11:32.280 I don't want you to be later in life showing 0:11:32.360 --> 0:11:35.920 up for something, not having the tuition to pay for 0:11:35.960 --> 0:11:37.480 a lesson that I should have taught you when you 0:11:37.480 --> 0:11:39.120 were twelve, but I didn't know I was supposed to 0:11:39.120 --> 0:11:42.680 teach you. And it's nerve wracking. And that's why I 0:11:42.679 --> 0:11:44.560 want to cry when I walk by him sometimes, because 0:11:44.600 --> 0:11:46.920 I'm like, you are so much better of a kid 0:11:46.920 --> 0:11:48.839 than I am of a parent, and I just don't 0:11:48.840 --> 0:11:50.800 want to mess this up for you. And it's a 0:11:50.840 --> 0:11:53.120 real feeling. And I know this isn't Father's Day or 0:11:53.200 --> 0:11:56.679 Mother's Day, but it's my kid's sixteenth birthday. And this 0:11:57.200 --> 0:11:59.600 dad and this passage got me thinking of all the 0:11:59.600 --> 0:12:03.360 different ways that Graham was right. You know, maybe you 0:12:03.400 --> 0:12:05.960 should have a better dad. We watched a Space Gym 0:12:06.440 --> 0:12:09.960 two the other night, and I thought to myself, how 0:12:10.040 --> 0:12:13.480 much better would Graham's life be if Lebron were his dad, like, 0:12:13.559 --> 0:12:16.720 what's inside of him that will never come out? Because 0:12:16.760 --> 0:12:19.880 I'm five to nine, right, So I'm punishing myself for 0:12:19.960 --> 0:12:32.040 genetics that have nothing to do with my decision. I 0:12:32.080 --> 0:12:34.560 don't wonder if Jesus ever looked at the disciples and 0:12:34.600 --> 0:12:39.760 thought I could do a whole lot more with different disciples, 0:12:40.400 --> 0:12:44.200 because you see it in the passage. Jesus wasn't always 0:12:44.360 --> 0:12:48.680 feeding little children Captain D's happy meals, regardless of the 0:12:48.679 --> 0:12:51.360 selected Bible stories that you've had cherry pick for you 0:12:51.440 --> 0:12:54.520 to personify Jesus to always be so patient that he 0:12:54.600 --> 0:12:58.320 never corrected anyone in the passage I just read you, 0:12:58.520 --> 0:13:02.760 and I'm talking seven minutes ago. When I started the sermon, Jesus, 0:13:02.920 --> 0:13:08.680 your Savior, your loving arm Savior, your sheep stroking Savior, 0:13:09.120 --> 0:13:12.600 your good shepherd Savior, your let the children come to 0:13:12.679 --> 0:13:15.840 me Savior, said something that every parent in this room 0:13:15.840 --> 0:13:20.120 has said before. How long shall I put up with you? 0:13:23.800 --> 0:13:26.760 Made me wonder do you ever feel that way about me? 0:13:27.600 --> 0:13:32.640 Heavenly Daddy, Like if you could pick all the preachers 0:13:32.679 --> 0:13:35.240 in the world to be in this pulpit today and 0:13:35.320 --> 0:13:39.080 line them all, the forty one year old preachers, all 0:13:39.120 --> 0:13:42.520 the forty one year old five nine preachers. Would you 0:13:42.559 --> 0:13:54.120 have put me in this pulpit? Sometimes I can't figure 0:13:54.120 --> 0:13:56.960 out did he pick me? Or is he putting up 0:13:56.960 --> 0:14:05.800 with me? Because you know, like I think that I 0:14:05.880 --> 0:14:13.320 am what I do. I am what I do. The 0:14:13.400 --> 0:14:16.440 disciples here stand on the other can work? Can we 0:14:16.480 --> 0:14:18.760 work backwards through the passage, because there's a lot to 0:14:18.800 --> 0:14:21.240 talk about, the only thing you really need to know 0:14:21.240 --> 0:14:23.920 about what happened right before this miracle for the lesson 0:14:23.960 --> 0:14:30.360 today is that Jesus has just taken his favorite three disciples, Peter, James, 0:14:30.360 --> 0:14:34.240 and John up on the mountain to see him transformed 0:14:35.320 --> 0:14:37.760 when they get back down the mountain. And this might 0:14:37.800 --> 0:14:40.920 remind you of Moses coming down Mount Sinai with ten 0:14:40.960 --> 0:14:43.600 commandments and the children of Israel or dance and naked 0:14:43.640 --> 0:14:46.920 around a caf like you can't leave these disciples alone 0:14:47.000 --> 0:14:50.680 for seven days. And they're fighting with the teachers of 0:14:50.720 --> 0:14:54.400 the Law, arguing about something that they were very capable 0:14:54.440 --> 0:14:58.200 of doing but didn't exactly accomplish. And Jesus is explaining 0:14:58.240 --> 0:15:01.400 to them the root of their failure, and he says, 0:15:02.040 --> 0:15:05.480 the reason you couldn't drive it out this evil spirit 0:15:05.560 --> 0:15:09.120 who possessed this boy who has been thrown into fire 0:15:09.200 --> 0:15:12.200 and water, and whose life is on the line. The 0:15:12.280 --> 0:15:16.080 reason you couldn't do it is because this kind of 0:15:16.160 --> 0:15:25.160 situation can only be fixed by prayer. Let me point 0:15:25.200 --> 0:15:29.880 out the obvious. I know you're thinking it. If it 0:15:29.880 --> 0:15:34.840 can only be driven out by prayer, why didn't Jesus 0:15:34.920 --> 0:15:40.960 pray before he cast the spirit out? I'm sure he did, 0:15:41.760 --> 0:15:48.960 Bester Furick, I'm sure he did. Let me see, no, Jesus, look, 0:15:49.120 --> 0:15:52.200 the boy said. The father said, I do believe. Help 0:15:52.240 --> 0:15:54.280 my belief. And Jesus saw a crowd was running, and 0:15:54.320 --> 0:15:57.800 he rebuked the impure spirit, you deafen, mute spirit. He said, 0:15:57.840 --> 0:16:01.080 I command you come out of him and never enter 0:16:01.160 --> 0:16:03.440 him again. And the spirit didn't like it, but he 0:16:03.520 --> 0:16:06.680 had to go. It didn't want to go, but it 0:16:06.720 --> 0:16:08.120 had to go. Put up a fight, but it had 0:16:08.160 --> 0:16:11.280 to go. And the disciples said, why couldn't we do that? 0:16:11.320 --> 0:16:13.120 Because they've done a lot of amazing things, They've healed 0:16:13.120 --> 0:16:14.760 a lot of people. Why couldn't we do it? And 0:16:14.760 --> 0:16:17.200 she said you had to pray, But he didn't pray. 0:16:18.360 --> 0:16:24.040 He just did it, didn't pray. Maybe Jesus isn't so 0:16:24.160 --> 0:16:30.040 much talking about the activity of prayer as the attitude 0:16:30.040 --> 0:16:35.320 of prayer. Maybe he's not talking about the technique. If 0:16:35.360 --> 0:16:37.400 you would have said the right words, you know, if 0:16:37.440 --> 0:16:41.040 you would have done the right whatever you grow up in, 0:16:41.960 --> 0:16:43.480 if you would have done that, if you would have 0:16:43.480 --> 0:16:47.520 done this, you could have had the result. No, it 0:16:47.560 --> 0:16:51.040 seems like the disciples in this particular passage of scripture 0:16:52.040 --> 0:16:58.000 have confused the power with the source. Because when Jesus 0:16:58.080 --> 0:17:01.720 gets down the mountain, they're arguing with the teachers of 0:17:01.760 --> 0:17:06.880 the law. So here's what's happened. They have confused their 0:17:07.000 --> 0:17:11.720 ability to do it with their dependence on the one 0:17:11.800 --> 0:17:21.720 who can enable them. You are not it. Maybe a 0:17:21.760 --> 0:17:27.960 little pride started entering into the disciples. You know, Oh, 0:17:28.119 --> 0:17:30.919 look how God used us last time. If you're not 0:17:31.080 --> 0:17:35.200 careful in your life, you will start to believe that 0:17:35.240 --> 0:17:39.879 you are what you do. One scripture that got my 0:17:39.920 --> 0:17:42.800 attention one time was about Jacob and the Old Testament 0:17:42.880 --> 0:17:44.719 and just came to my mind when I was studying today, 0:17:45.000 --> 0:17:47.080 and I thought I should share it with you. Because 0:17:47.600 --> 0:17:50.440 when he was in the wound with his twin brother Esau, 0:17:50.720 --> 0:17:54.240 he was fighting for position with Esau, and he tried 0:17:54.280 --> 0:17:56.360 to come out first so that he could get all 0:17:56.400 --> 0:18:00.200 the blessings that the firstborn gets. But it didn't exactly 0:18:00.240 --> 0:18:03.240 work because instead of coming out first, he came out 0:18:03.240 --> 0:18:08.399 being named after his aspiration, Jacob Deceiver, supplanter, heel grabber. 0:18:09.200 --> 0:18:12.320 Now Jacob grows up and he does this little trick 0:18:12.400 --> 0:18:15.040 thing where he tricks his brother out of his birthright 0:18:15.080 --> 0:18:17.000 and his blessing, and he learns how to play a 0:18:17.000 --> 0:18:20.359 certain game, and he even wears this really willy suit 0:18:20.480 --> 0:18:22.360 to pretend to be his brother so that his blindfather 0:18:22.440 --> 0:18:24.080 Isaac will think that he's blessing the older one, but 0:18:24.080 --> 0:18:25.719 he's really blessing the younger one. Because you can learn 0:18:25.720 --> 0:18:27.480 how to trick people with stuff you can, you can 0:18:27.600 --> 0:18:31.720 actually act like it and not be it. That's the 0:18:31.880 --> 0:18:34.560 message here to the point that when Jacob had to 0:18:34.640 --> 0:18:37.159 run away from his brother Esau and go stay with 0:18:37.240 --> 0:18:39.640 his uncle Laban, and he was coming back to make 0:18:39.680 --> 0:18:43.840 peace with Esau after twenty years away from his homeland, 0:18:44.359 --> 0:18:47.280 the Bible says something really interesting in Genesis thirty two, 0:18:47.800 --> 0:18:51.280 verse twenty. He said to his messengers, be sure to 0:18:51.320 --> 0:18:55.919 say your servant Jacob is coming behind us, For he 0:18:56.040 --> 0:18:59.480 thought I will pacify my brother, the one I trick. 0:19:00.119 --> 0:19:03.439 I will pacify the issue. I will pacify the thing 0:19:03.480 --> 0:19:06.000 I need to deal with. I will pacify the thing 0:19:06.000 --> 0:19:09.520 I've been running from. I'm going to preach today. I'm 0:19:09.520 --> 0:19:14.639 going to preach today a man. I will pacify my problem. 0:19:14.680 --> 0:19:18.919 With these gifts. He sent out all these animals that 0:19:19.000 --> 0:19:21.960 he had accumulated. He sent out all these clothes that 0:19:22.040 --> 0:19:24.760 he wanted to offer to Esau, and he sent put 0:19:24.800 --> 0:19:28.320 it back off. He sent his gifts ahead. Say it, 0:19:28.640 --> 0:19:33.080 He sent his gifts ahead. One more time. He sent 0:19:33.600 --> 0:19:37.040 his gift ahead. And when I see him, perhaps he'll 0:19:37.080 --> 0:19:39.240 receive me. And I look at Verse twenty one. So 0:19:39.480 --> 0:19:44.400 Jacob's gifts went on ahead of him. The things went 0:19:44.440 --> 0:19:48.320 ahead of him. The things that represented his status went 0:19:48.400 --> 0:19:52.560 ahead of him. The things that were impressive when ahead 0:19:52.560 --> 0:19:56.359 of him. Because maybe Esau will see all these blessings 0:19:56.359 --> 0:19:59.679 that I've acquired, and maybe if I send my gift 0:20:00.160 --> 0:20:05.960 he will accept me. So I'm sending it so that 0:20:06.080 --> 0:20:10.000 he will receive me. But here's the separation. Watch this, 0:20:10.720 --> 0:20:18.679 you are not your gift. His gifts went ahead, but 0:20:18.840 --> 0:20:21.359 he one more time. I'm going to leave this alone 0:20:21.359 --> 0:20:24.240 in a minute. But he himself spent the night in 0:20:24.320 --> 0:20:27.960 the camp when I saw that, it gave me such 0:20:28.040 --> 0:20:31.399 a clear picture of what we do when we confuse 0:20:32.000 --> 0:20:40.760 ourselves with our stuff, ourselves with our gift, ourselves with 0:20:40.800 --> 0:20:43.960 our ability. Did the disciples come to a point where 0:20:43.960 --> 0:20:47.360 they begin to believe that they could do ministry without Jesus? 0:20:49.280 --> 0:20:52.679 And how many times have I found myself in a 0:20:52.720 --> 0:20:56.359 state of failure because I tried to do what God 0:20:56.440 --> 0:21:01.400 called me to do without him. You begin to believe 0:21:01.400 --> 0:21:05.960 you can just do stuff I work last time and 0:21:06.040 --> 0:21:12.040 do it again. You know what that's called manipulation? Huh. 0:21:12.160 --> 0:21:14.560 You have me to say more about that, I'm honestly 0:21:14.600 --> 0:21:18.479 a lot more about that. You are not your gift. 0:21:19.440 --> 0:21:21.920 When Jacob was left alone from all of his stuff, 0:21:22.040 --> 0:21:24.280 he had to wrestle with who he was. And that's 0:21:24.320 --> 0:21:26.760 the season of life some of us are in right now. 0:21:27.920 --> 0:21:29.720 Is that we realize at the end of the day, 0:21:30.080 --> 0:21:32.639 I can drive it, but eventually I have to park it. 0:21:34.800 --> 0:21:38.560 I can wear it, but eventually nobody else's name can 0:21:38.600 --> 0:21:41.959 make me feel sure of who I am. If I 0:21:42.040 --> 0:21:44.960 wear a brand name on the outside, but I don't 0:21:45.119 --> 0:21:48.560 know it on the inside. If my identity is given 0:21:48.680 --> 0:21:51.840 through a gift that I have, or even a label 0:21:51.880 --> 0:21:55.000 that people confer on me, I will always be a 0:21:55.119 --> 0:22:03.680 slave to their label. It says. The other disciples were 0:22:03.760 --> 0:22:08.120 standing there arguing with the teachers of the law, arguing 0:22:08.160 --> 0:22:11.360 and fighting, while a young boy is dying, and Jesus said, 0:22:11.440 --> 0:22:13.800 how long do I have to put up with y'all? 0:22:15.800 --> 0:22:20.240 I picked y'all, but I'm sick of y'all. Heavenly Father, 0:22:20.400 --> 0:22:22.959 deliver me from stupid. You haven't pray anything like this, 0:22:26.640 --> 0:22:32.399 and yet God, God is not like Graham. God isn't 0:22:32.480 --> 0:22:37.760 still shopping his options on you. I read something in 0:22:37.840 --> 0:22:41.399 Ephesians too that helped me one time. That says, for 0:22:41.520 --> 0:22:46.120 it is by grace you have been saved. Woo. How 0:22:46.160 --> 0:22:50.720 many are really glad about that? Right there? Let me 0:22:50.800 --> 0:22:52.960 show you how it could have been without Jesus, without 0:22:53.000 --> 0:22:55.400 the blood of Christ, without the mercy of God. If 0:22:55.400 --> 0:22:57.240 God were not slow to anger and bounding in love, 0:22:57.520 --> 0:23:01.480 it could say by behavior you are saved, and you'd 0:23:01.480 --> 0:23:03.600 be burning up your butt wouldn't be able to be 0:23:03.640 --> 0:23:05.600 in that seat right now. You'd be burning with the 0:23:05.760 --> 0:23:09.760 fire of judgment right now, little sneaky self, I know 0:23:09.800 --> 0:23:11.560 what you've been up to. If it was by behavior 0:23:11.600 --> 0:23:15.200 you have been saved. But he said, by grace, you've 0:23:15.200 --> 0:23:21.119 been saved. Watch us through faith. And this is not 0:23:21.240 --> 0:23:27.840 from yourself. It is the gift of God, not of work, 0:23:27.920 --> 0:23:31.760 so that no one can boast. But Verse ten really 0:23:31.760 --> 0:23:34.240 sealed the deal for me because that made me happy 0:23:34.240 --> 0:23:37.639 to think about is God's gift not mine that identifies me? 0:23:39.960 --> 0:23:41.680 I think I need to teach this more in the church. 0:23:41.920 --> 0:23:43.960 I don't think we understand what it means to have 0:23:44.119 --> 0:23:49.480 imputed righteousness, our standing in Christ. I think we still 0:23:49.520 --> 0:23:53.119 secretly think that some days God doesn't even want to 0:23:53.160 --> 0:23:58.199 talk to you. I think we still secretly think that 0:23:58.240 --> 0:24:01.040 we can hit a certain point where we actually deserve 0:24:01.119 --> 0:24:03.040 and are worthy of the grace of God. So we 0:24:03.119 --> 0:24:06.440 haven't truly accepted Ephesians to it. Yet we still can't 0:24:06.480 --> 0:24:12.080 receive his gift because we're still identifying ourselves by ours. 0:24:13.960 --> 0:24:16.439 He said it's not a work, so that no one 0:24:16.720 --> 0:24:22.320 can boast. The disciples are down there arguing because they 0:24:22.359 --> 0:24:26.280 thought they were the work they were doing. Now Verse 0:24:26.320 --> 0:24:28.760 ten is awesome. You thought eight and nine were good. 0:24:28.960 --> 0:24:33.400 Look at verse ten. This is a prime cut. Baby, 0:24:34.480 --> 0:24:41.520 you ready for we are God's handiwork created in Christ 0:24:41.640 --> 0:24:47.840 Jesus to do good works which God prepared in advance 0:24:48.000 --> 0:24:54.200 for us to do. That blessed me to know that 0:24:54.280 --> 0:24:59.359 God created the work for me to do before he 0:24:59.440 --> 0:25:04.080 created me me to do it with diverse again, it said, 0:25:04.160 --> 0:25:08.520 God prepared the work in advance. We define ourselves by 0:25:08.520 --> 0:25:11.040 the work that we do. That's why for some of you, 0:25:11.080 --> 0:25:12.800 the last year and a half has been the hardest, 0:25:13.119 --> 0:25:15.600 because either you've been unemployed for the first time in 0:25:15.640 --> 0:25:19.160 your life or your position has been shifted. I told 0:25:19.160 --> 0:25:22.399 our campus pastors a few months ago how hard it 0:25:22.560 --> 0:25:24.639 was to be a pastor when there were no people 0:25:24.640 --> 0:25:28.680 in the building, when there were no people to pastor, 0:25:28.920 --> 0:25:31.680 and you can't lay hands on people, and you can't 0:25:31.720 --> 0:25:34.520 pray for people touching or they'll come lock you up. 0:25:35.119 --> 0:25:37.840 The CDC will shut you down. And that's fine, and 0:25:37.840 --> 0:25:39.880 that's good to be healthy. But I talked to them 0:25:39.920 --> 0:25:43.720 about how difficult it is when you've identified yourself one 0:25:43.760 --> 0:25:46.840 way in one season to have that strip. But the 0:25:46.880 --> 0:25:50.040 Bible says that Jacob got the greatest blessing of his 0:25:50.160 --> 0:25:54.879 life when he was stripped of his gifts and left 0:25:55.359 --> 0:25:59.320 with himself. So if it gets me to the core 0:25:59.400 --> 0:26:02.720 of my self off to realize that before God gave 0:26:02.800 --> 0:26:05.720 me the work to do, he created a work with 0:26:05.840 --> 0:26:09.640 my name on it. God isn't like Graham. He isn't shopping. 0:26:09.800 --> 0:26:11.800 Would they be a better parent, would they be a 0:26:11.840 --> 0:26:14.200 better fit for this opportunity? Huh? I wonder if I 0:26:14.200 --> 0:26:16.720 could get somebody a little bit smarter, a little bit taller. 0:26:16.800 --> 0:26:18.280 I wish I was a baller. I wish I had 0:26:18.320 --> 0:26:20.840 a good No, that's another era and Todd. God's not 0:26:20.960 --> 0:26:23.919 doing all that. God doesn't pick people like people pick people. 0:26:24.520 --> 0:26:28.600 God formed the role, and then he filled you with 0:26:28.760 --> 0:26:32.240 his spirit to do the thing he formed you to do. 0:26:37.080 --> 0:26:43.840 This is where theology becomes therapy. See it. This is 0:26:43.880 --> 0:26:50.040 where I understand that I'm not it. I'm not it. 0:26:50.080 --> 0:26:53.000 For years I preached this passage, and I would share 0:26:53.119 --> 0:26:56.440 it's a difficult passage to preach, right because okay, okay, 0:26:56.520 --> 0:26:58.359 the first group of Christians, they want to make it 0:26:58.440 --> 0:27:01.119 all about foaming at the mouth and all about the 0:27:01.160 --> 0:27:03.960 symptoms of the boy and demon possession. And I've seen 0:27:04.000 --> 0:27:07.800 all of that. I've been preaching since I was sixteen, 0:27:07.840 --> 0:27:11.440 so I've seen every manifestation of evil. I think I've 0:27:11.480 --> 0:27:14.719 seen every category, if not every specific one, I've at 0:27:14.800 --> 0:27:18.000 least been in the neighborhood. Some of it I saw 0:27:19.200 --> 0:27:22.640 even in my own dad, when he was dying. We'd 0:27:22.640 --> 0:27:26.000 be like, that's not him, that's not him. It was 0:27:26.440 --> 0:27:29.560 partially he died of als. It was partially the sickness, 0:27:31.000 --> 0:27:35.080 It was partially the I think the medication, the loss 0:27:35.119 --> 0:27:40.240 of control. Part of it is the crazy that you 0:27:40.280 --> 0:27:44.120 can keep down for most of your life and then 0:27:44.119 --> 0:27:46.360 it just builds all this strength and comes back up 0:27:46.640 --> 0:27:49.600 when it sees the door. And my dad had a 0:27:49.600 --> 0:27:52.639 lot of crazy. Oh man, he start telling me stories 0:27:52.640 --> 0:27:54.280 in the last year of his life, and I'm like, 0:27:54.600 --> 0:27:57.639 how were you so normal compared to what you should 0:27:57.680 --> 0:28:00.520 have been? And I thought he was crazy till I 0:28:00.600 --> 0:28:03.480 understood the context of his crazy and realized he was 0:28:03.480 --> 0:28:05.560 the most normal person on earth for the context of 0:28:05.600 --> 0:28:10.960 crazy that he could have been. Look at somebody and say, 0:28:11.080 --> 0:28:14.040 be nice to me. You don't know how bad I 0:28:14.200 --> 0:28:24.760 could be. Be nice to me. You don't know if 0:28:24.800 --> 0:28:28.399 you only knew what I wanted to do that I 0:28:28.520 --> 0:28:32.640 don'd you you wouldn't judge me so much? After all, 0:28:33.040 --> 0:28:35.880 there is a judge. But didn't you hear the preacher. 0:28:36.200 --> 0:28:40.120 You are not it. You're not my judge, You're not 0:28:40.240 --> 0:28:42.480 my jury. You loll get to tell me how far 0:28:42.560 --> 0:28:45.560 I've come on my journey, how crazy God from where 0:28:45.600 --> 0:28:55.520 I am? God made me. I'm his handywork. He's my manufacturer. 0:28:55.920 --> 0:28:59.360 You are not the customer service hotline. I'm not calling 0:28:59.400 --> 0:29:08.760 you about my detects. I'm bringing it to Jesus. There 0:29:08.880 --> 0:29:11.680 is a power that can heal, there is a power 0:29:11.720 --> 0:29:14.920 that can deliver, There is a power that can save. 0:29:15.320 --> 0:29:27.560 And you are not it. Don't tell what the Holy 0:29:27.600 --> 0:29:29.160 Spirit starts speaking to me. When I will say I 0:29:29.160 --> 0:29:31.040 don't want to preach today, he said, you don't have 0:29:31.080 --> 0:29:39.640 to those other preachers. You're not it. You know to 0:29:39.800 --> 0:29:42.640 to to two letter word in the passage. Y'all were 0:29:42.680 --> 0:29:46.600 laughing when I read it, because it's so funny. If 0:29:46.680 --> 0:29:54.360 you can do anything, If you can do anything, how 0:29:54.360 --> 0:29:59.720 long has he been like this? From childhood? He didn't 0:29:59.720 --> 0:30:05.600 always say, if there's a good chance his father, if 0:30:05.640 --> 0:30:09.240 he's the kind of man who has the instinct to 0:30:09.280 --> 0:30:12.560 put up with the dumb disciples long enough to wait 0:30:12.600 --> 0:30:15.000 on Jesus to get down the mountain, put up with 0:30:15.000 --> 0:30:18.200 the arrogant Pharisees and Sadducees who are arguing with the disciples. 0:30:18.400 --> 0:30:20.120 I gotta put this in because I'm gonna forget it 0:30:20.160 --> 0:30:21.920 once I take this next turn. There's no coming back 0:30:21.920 --> 0:30:23.680 to this. But I gotta tell you. I gotta tell 0:30:23.720 --> 0:30:31.720 you this. Sometimes you are fighting against them and the 0:30:31.760 --> 0:30:37.880 real enemy is it That first verse said that they 0:30:37.960 --> 0:30:41.120 were arguing with the teachers of the law while the 0:30:41.160 --> 0:30:46.200 spirit was wreaking havoc on this boy. Sometimes we are 0:30:46.200 --> 0:30:51.080 fighting somebody when we really ought to be fighting a spirit. 0:30:55.880 --> 0:30:58.920 Everybody that's been married under two years two years are 0:30:59.000 --> 0:31:05.720 under been married? Stand up. Sometimes she's gonna be the 0:31:05.720 --> 0:31:09.080 one that you're frustrated at. But y'all got to square 0:31:09.160 --> 0:31:13.560 up together, man, y'all got to square up together, because 0:31:13.720 --> 0:31:15.720 it's this is what the Lord showed me one time 0:31:15.720 --> 0:31:19.240 with Holly. It's not me versus you right now, it's 0:31:19.360 --> 0:31:29.840 us versus it. You'll hear me. I know y'all don't 0:31:29.840 --> 0:31:33.560 ever fight, but if you ever did, well, am, I yeah, 0:31:33.680 --> 0:31:35.680 you could sit down. I know it's embarrassing standing up 0:31:35.720 --> 0:31:38.120 in church. The people with the other campuses aren't even 0:31:38.120 --> 0:31:40.040 doing it. They're like he's on a screen. I'm not 0:31:40.120 --> 0:31:46.360 doing money. Sayst hate this guy, but watch y'all we 0:31:46.440 --> 0:31:48.240 fight against them and not it. I was talking to 0:31:48.280 --> 0:31:49.920 somebody I loved the other day and this came out 0:31:49.960 --> 0:31:51.360 of my mouth. Oh, I wish I could take it back. 0:31:51.360 --> 0:31:52.560 I wish I could have took it back. And I 0:31:52.560 --> 0:31:54.480 said it, but I didn't really mean it. I said it, 0:31:54.480 --> 0:31:56.600 but I was just frustrated in the moment. I said, 0:31:56.840 --> 0:32:00.200 you're so negative, and I could see the color dre 0:32:00.320 --> 0:32:02.680 now of their face. And the more we talked about it, 0:32:02.720 --> 0:32:05.520 this is what the person said to me. Next time, 0:32:06.480 --> 0:32:08.440 can you make it about what I did, not who 0:32:08.480 --> 0:32:14.480 I am, because I can't fix it if it's who 0:32:14.520 --> 0:32:18.000 I am. But if it's about what I did, we 0:32:18.040 --> 0:32:23.240 can discuss it. So next time, will you say, man, 0:32:23.280 --> 0:32:26.800 I feel like being kind of negative right now now? 0:32:26.840 --> 0:32:28.600 It still would have pissed the person off. And I'm 0:32:28.640 --> 0:32:31.320 sorry I said that word in my surmember back in 0:32:31.360 --> 0:32:35.320 the rhythm here, but that would have made it about 0:32:35.360 --> 0:32:40.360 the problem, not the person, and the devil wants us 0:32:40.440 --> 0:32:52.520 arguing against them, so we never deal with it. I 0:32:52.600 --> 0:32:56.640 have an enemy, but you're not it. You're not it 0:32:59.080 --> 0:33:02.640 any meaning. I just heard that phrase, you are not it, 0:33:03.280 --> 0:33:08.920 and the Father said, if you can do anything, if 0:33:09.320 --> 0:33:15.280 you can't do anything, help us, help me. In fact, 0:33:15.280 --> 0:33:20.520 he says something pretty powerful when Jesus said if if 0:33:22.800 --> 0:33:24.840 I thought, I used to think he was insulted. But 0:33:26.440 --> 0:33:28.960 did you know that this man's gift was an invitation? 0:33:31.840 --> 0:33:36.480 The boy still got healed. The Lord didn't say, go 0:33:36.560 --> 0:33:40.520 straighten out your theology, and when you get this if out. 0:33:41.200 --> 0:33:43.240 I grew up in a time of ministry where people 0:33:43.280 --> 0:33:46.640 taught that you had to show God your faith, and 0:33:46.680 --> 0:33:49.520 if you showed him anything other than your faith, you know, 0:33:49.680 --> 0:33:51.760 when you pray, you have to say, Lord, I enter 0:33:51.800 --> 0:33:53.800 your gates with thanksgiving, and I enter your courts with praise. 0:33:53.840 --> 0:33:56.560 But sometimes that left me standing outside the gate for 0:33:56.640 --> 0:33:58.680 like six days out of seven during the week because 0:33:58.680 --> 0:34:02.800 I didn't feel thankful and I didn't feel it's crazy 0:34:02.880 --> 0:34:05.360 in this situation. I know what the Bible says, that 0:34:05.400 --> 0:34:06.880 you should not doubt in your heart. And if your 0:34:06.920 --> 0:34:08.600 double minded man unstable and all he does you like 0:34:08.600 --> 0:34:09.800 tost in, dream with the wind and love not that 0:34:09.840 --> 0:34:11.320 man think you receive anything from the Lord for his 0:34:11.400 --> 0:34:15.280 double mind. I know the Bible, y'all, But Jesus didn't 0:34:15.280 --> 0:34:23.160 penalize the man for his if I do believe, help 0:34:23.239 --> 0:34:28.080 me overcome my unbelief. Now, this man's son is sick, 0:34:28.120 --> 0:34:31.360 but there's something very healthy that's happening in this passage. 0:34:33.200 --> 0:34:36.560 This is where the theology meets the therapy. You ready, 0:34:37.360 --> 0:34:44.920 He separates his faith from his feelings. We are going 0:34:45.000 --> 0:34:49.960 to have a million different feelings every day of our life. 0:34:51.080 --> 0:34:52.960 We are going to go from feeling like even in 0:34:53.000 --> 0:34:56.280 this service today. I don't know how many, but somebody, 0:34:56.320 --> 0:35:00.719 probably at Gaston, probably Gaston, thought this is the best 0:35:00.760 --> 0:35:02.880 thing I've ever heard in my life. This is exactly 0:35:02.960 --> 0:35:07.560 what's for lunch. Wasn't even a breath, wasn't even a coma, 0:35:07.719 --> 0:35:12.080 Just in the same sentence, God help my unbel We're 0:35:12.120 --> 0:35:20.279 gonna go over to So what I noticed about the 0:35:20.320 --> 0:35:25.920 man is he owned his unbelief, but he did not 0:35:26.160 --> 0:35:35.839 identify himself with it. So I didn't see this when 0:35:35.880 --> 0:35:38.640 I was when I was twenty eight preaching this text. 0:35:38.920 --> 0:35:41.480 All I saw was the boy foaming and gnawing, and 0:35:41.520 --> 0:35:44.560 I thought this was all about demons and evil. I 0:35:44.640 --> 0:35:46.440 missed the point because I was so hung up on 0:35:46.480 --> 0:35:48.959 the word if, and I was trying to eliminate the if, 0:35:49.200 --> 0:35:51.799 and I was trying to eliminate the insecurity, and I 0:35:51.840 --> 0:35:53.600 was trying to eliminate the doubt. And I was like, 0:35:53.640 --> 0:35:54.879 if I could just get this out of my life, 0:35:54.920 --> 0:35:56.480 I could just be a better person. You know, I 0:35:56.480 --> 0:35:59.799 was still trying to qualify myself rather than understanding that 0:35:59.880 --> 0:36:03.479 I was created for what God will qualify me for. 0:36:03.760 --> 0:36:07.280 And if I'm available, my ability will never be the issue. 0:36:07.480 --> 0:36:14.319 It's not about. If put verse twenty two on the screen, Oh, 0:36:14.400 --> 0:36:19.480 this is so good, he said, it has often thrown 0:36:19.600 --> 0:36:25.279 him into fire or water to kill him. But if 0:36:25.280 --> 0:36:28.680 you can do anything, take pity on us and help us. 0:36:29.160 --> 0:36:33.319 If the Lord told me to look at the other 0:36:33.360 --> 0:36:39.040 two letter word in verse twenty two, he said it 0:36:39.040 --> 0:36:43.800 it has often thrown him. Look how this father sees 0:36:43.840 --> 0:37:01.399 his son. He knows that it is not him. That's 0:37:01.440 --> 0:37:05.000 why it drives you crazy when your disciples are kids 0:37:05.520 --> 0:37:09.560 are doing something that you know is so driven by 0:37:09.560 --> 0:37:15.040 their amygdala. But you know, if I can keep you 0:37:15.040 --> 0:37:20.399 because because I know you, I've seen you, and this 0:37:21.600 --> 0:37:27.160 is not you. This isn't it. Your kids may not 0:37:27.239 --> 0:37:30.440 be foaming at the mouth, that's fine. Don't get distracted 0:37:30.440 --> 0:37:34.320 by the dynamics don't think this is about a demon possession. 0:37:34.480 --> 0:37:40.799 This is about everybody's it. I could elaborate on that, 0:37:41.960 --> 0:37:49.840 but let me just say this. Everybody has an it. 0:37:49.840 --> 0:37:54.160 It has thrown him into the fire, it has thrown 0:37:54.239 --> 0:37:56.640 him into the water. No, Pastor, I don't have anything 0:37:56.680 --> 0:37:58.640 like that. Now. I never just went and just jumped 0:37:58.640 --> 0:38:00.560 in swimming pool. Now I do have good I don't 0:38:00.560 --> 0:38:02.520 go in there with the alligators in there. I don't 0:38:02.520 --> 0:38:04.640 gonna touch fire. Man. I know what's on them better 0:38:04.640 --> 0:38:14.040 than that. But you're drowning in debt. It you're you're 0:38:14.360 --> 0:38:18.080 you complain. I appreaciate myself right now. Not you don't 0:38:18.080 --> 0:38:23.240 take it hard. See everybody else is. It is something 0:38:23.280 --> 0:38:28.520 you can see, but you're it. Help me, Holy ghosts, 0:38:28.560 --> 0:38:34.440 help me, help me. Lord. You're it is hidden because 0:38:34.480 --> 0:38:39.200 you think it's you. But you are God's workmanship. You 0:38:39.239 --> 0:38:42.879 are a new creation. You are not a body. You 0:38:42.920 --> 0:38:46.360 are a spirit in a body. You understand what I'm saying. 0:38:47.239 --> 0:38:52.200 So it is not you, and you are not it. 0:38:54.560 --> 0:39:02.360 You are not it. No, the devil made me do it. 0:39:02.400 --> 0:39:04.839 How many times have we used that excuse? Ah? The 0:39:04.880 --> 0:39:08.360 devil took my joy. The devil gave me a flat tire. No, 0:39:08.560 --> 0:39:10.640 that was a nail, and you knew the tire pressure 0:39:10.719 --> 0:39:12.839 was low, and it was a construction site anyway, and 0:39:12.880 --> 0:39:15.400 you weren't paying attention. The devil made me late. You 0:39:15.440 --> 0:39:18.520 slew seven times. I'm not talking about blaming the devil 0:39:18.680 --> 0:39:21.480 for decisions that we should make ourselves. I'm just saying 0:39:21.680 --> 0:39:26.160 that even at the root of what you did, we 0:39:26.200 --> 0:39:28.560 get so distracted by the behavior foam at the teeth, 0:39:28.600 --> 0:39:35.279 become rigid. But what has it robbed you off? God, 0:39:35.360 --> 0:39:38.520 it's heavy, man, because it takes from you. It takes 0:39:38.520 --> 0:39:41.839 from you. I'm talking to every person who who has 0:39:41.920 --> 0:39:50.719 been in a battle with depression. You are not it. 0:39:50.719 --> 0:39:53.480 It might it might be throwing you around right now, 0:39:54.080 --> 0:39:55.880 because you know, you get happy for a minute and 0:39:55.880 --> 0:39:58.080 then you're like, God, I can't even hold happy for 0:39:58.120 --> 0:40:03.600 five minutes. I guess I'm just depressed. I guess I'm 0:40:03.640 --> 0:40:06.200 just just said that this it for this boy. This 0:40:06.360 --> 0:40:11.920 spirit tried to drown him, try to throw him in 0:40:11.960 --> 0:40:16.120 the fire. He could have had no way of knowing 0:40:17.920 --> 0:40:21.520 that his healing was the last thing that Jesus would 0:40:21.560 --> 0:40:24.799 do before he headed to Jerusalem to give his life 0:40:24.800 --> 0:40:32.880 for our sin. When you identify yourself with it, whether 0:40:32.920 --> 0:40:36.359 it's your gift and your good stuff, you end up 0:40:36.440 --> 0:40:41.920 like I read about one Olympic athlete, guy Michael something 0:40:44.640 --> 0:40:50.759 felts twenty eight gold medals, y'all, and I googled him 0:40:50.800 --> 0:40:52.200 the other day to try to find out how many 0:40:52.239 --> 0:40:55.440 gold medals, and they pulled up an article about Michael Phelps, 0:40:55.719 --> 0:40:58.520 the most decorated Olympic athlete. A y'all, watching the Olympics, 0:40:59.160 --> 0:41:01.920 I can't watch water. That gives me heart palpitations watching 0:41:01.960 --> 0:41:07.120 people treadwater for that long. But the headline said from 0:41:07.200 --> 0:41:10.520 twenty eighteen, I didn't want to be a part of 0:41:10.560 --> 0:41:14.759 the sport. I didn't want to live. That's how he 0:41:14.760 --> 0:41:28.080 would feel after he did it. He said, I could compartmentalize. 0:41:28.120 --> 0:41:31.160 I could do it, but deep down I never dealt 0:41:31.160 --> 0:41:36.640 with me. Got a gift. I got more gold metals 0:41:36.640 --> 0:41:38.680 than letters in the alphabet. And I didn't want to 0:41:38.760 --> 0:41:48.920 live because I started to think I wasn't it. Jesus 0:41:48.960 --> 0:41:58.719 never called the boy it. He said, bring him to me. 0:42:02.239 --> 0:42:08.480 Are you thankful that when he sees you, he doesn't 0:42:08.560 --> 0:42:15.880 see what you did? People do? Oh, she gained a 0:42:15.880 --> 0:42:22.200 little bit. They're in quarantine, say that's how they identify you. 0:42:23.320 --> 0:42:25.920 But I'm not this. I can lose this, gain this, 0:42:26.080 --> 0:42:28.440 put it on, take it off. I'm not I'm not 0:42:28.520 --> 0:42:30.360 this sad or the other that you can see or 0:42:30.360 --> 0:42:34.680 counterway or measure. No, no, no, I am a spirit, 0:42:35.440 --> 0:42:40.279 and my spirit testifies with God's spirit that I am 0:42:40.400 --> 0:42:47.359 his child. That Dad said, I know my boy, and 0:42:47.440 --> 0:42:51.200 this is not him. And Jesus said, how long has 0:42:51.239 --> 0:42:54.520 he been like this? Now? I asked God, what do 0:42:54.640 --> 0:42:57.319 I tell them after I've told them that they are 0:42:57.360 --> 0:43:00.520 not it, that they are chosen by you and you you, 0:43:00.600 --> 0:43:02.399 but they have to include you, and they can't get 0:43:02.440 --> 0:43:04.719 out there in their own power. And that's why they've 0:43:04.719 --> 0:43:07.080 been tired, and that's why they've been dying. And that's 0:43:07.080 --> 0:43:09.680 why there's no life detached from the vine. Because you 0:43:09.840 --> 0:43:12.080 started to think that you were the vine, but you're 0:43:12.160 --> 0:43:14.880 just the branch. You were not it. And you started 0:43:14.880 --> 0:43:16.520 to think that you were the sin, but you are 0:43:16.560 --> 0:43:19.640 not the sin. We are so sin conscious in church 0:43:19.880 --> 0:43:22.640 that we can name everything that's wrong with us and 0:43:22.719 --> 0:43:25.759 not name anything that God has done for us. If 0:43:25.800 --> 0:43:33.000 your instinct is to identify with it, Jesus said, bring 0:43:33.320 --> 0:43:37.799 him to me, Bring him to me. The father said, 0:43:37.800 --> 0:43:40.560 I believe. Help my unbelief. Jesus said, bring that to 0:43:40.600 --> 0:43:44.560 me too. That's not you, that's it. Your doubt is 0:43:44.600 --> 0:43:47.680 not you, Your doubt is it. You can overcome that. 0:43:47.800 --> 0:43:50.840 With this help, all things are possible To him who believes. 0:43:53.960 --> 0:43:58.560 How long has he been like this? Jesus said, He's 0:43:58.600 --> 0:44:01.640 been like this so long that all I've got left 0:44:02.320 --> 0:44:07.840 is an if. And God said to tell you won't 0:44:07.840 --> 0:44:12.839 always be this way. What has been taken from you 0:44:12.920 --> 0:44:16.640 can be restored to you. What has been snatched from you. 0:44:16.880 --> 0:44:20.520 The man said, he robbed his ability to speak. He 0:44:20.560 --> 0:44:23.840 can't hear, so he can't speak. You know, the enemy 0:44:23.880 --> 0:44:25.759 loves to do that. He loves to get it where 0:44:25.800 --> 0:44:28.640 you can't hear God. You can't hear truth, you can't 0:44:28.680 --> 0:44:32.080 hear beauty, you can't hear peace, you can't hear it anymore. 0:44:32.239 --> 0:44:34.920 So now you can't speak. You can't do it. Every 0:44:34.920 --> 0:44:37.720 time you go to it throws you into fire and water, 0:44:39.320 --> 0:44:41.200 and you push the people away that could help you. 0:44:41.280 --> 0:44:44.719 But the Lord said, it's not always gonna be like this, 0:44:46.120 --> 0:44:55.279 because you are not it, and any it that you 0:44:55.360 --> 0:44:57.439 will bring into the presence of Jesus I'm not talking 0:44:57.440 --> 0:44:59.200 about bringing it to church. You can bring it to church, 0:44:59.239 --> 0:45:01.040 put it in your purse and chew it with chewing gum, 0:45:01.200 --> 0:45:04.879 and you won't get better. But if you will bring 0:45:04.920 --> 0:45:07.799 it to Jesus, the man said, I brought my boy 0:45:07.880 --> 0:45:09.320 to you, and she said, you haven't brought him to 0:45:09.360 --> 0:45:13.680 me yet. You brought him to my boys. Bring it 0:45:13.719 --> 0:45:19.520 to me, but make sure you bring the boy, not 0:45:19.600 --> 0:45:23.319 just the issue. Now. What we've been doing in church 0:45:23.400 --> 0:45:26.680 so long is we keep bringing God issues that we 0:45:26.760 --> 0:45:31.600 want him to fix. Well, they're so quiet. I know 0:45:31.680 --> 0:45:40.680 I'm preaching good. I got your penned. I know sometimes 0:45:40.680 --> 0:45:43.760 I think of myself even like some kind of machine. 0:45:45.280 --> 0:45:48.759 It and men are the most dysfunctional. We want to 0:45:48.760 --> 0:45:54.239 compliment another man. We say he's a beast. He said it, 0:45:57.080 --> 0:46:01.719 and the Lord said, bring me your boy. Whatever you're 0:46:01.800 --> 0:46:08.000 it is, today I see God separating it out for 0:46:08.080 --> 0:46:11.400 you to understand that you are not it. Yes, he 0:46:11.480 --> 0:46:14.719 chose you, he wants you, and before he created you, 0:46:14.760 --> 0:46:16.839 he created what he wanted you to do. So in 0:46:16.880 --> 0:46:20.360 that sense, you're it right. One time I told Holly, 0:46:20.520 --> 0:46:22.439 I don't think I'm the right pastor for this church. 0:46:22.520 --> 0:46:24.919 We were three or four years into the ministry, trying 0:46:24.960 --> 0:46:26.799 to have a date night at Firebirds, and I was 0:46:26.880 --> 0:46:28.800 mad at every staff member. I couldn't fire any of 0:46:28.800 --> 0:46:30.399 them because I didn't have any better options. I would 0:46:30.440 --> 0:46:31.920 have if I could have, but I couldn't, So I 0:46:31.960 --> 0:46:33.680 said I might just fire me if all the players 0:46:33.719 --> 0:46:37.080 sucked fire to coach right, I said, I don't think 0:46:37.120 --> 0:46:39.440 I'm it. I don't think I'm it. She said, this 0:46:39.560 --> 0:46:41.480 is so, this is how, this is how Holly can 0:46:41.560 --> 0:46:44.520 just cut through with a sentence. She said, you're the 0:46:44.520 --> 0:46:54.000 one we got now, Graham, you watching this, boy, I'm 0:46:54.040 --> 0:46:58.360 the one you got. This is not CarMax, this is 0:46:58.400 --> 0:47:01.719 not Amazon dot Com. You cannot shop, this is not 0:47:02.000 --> 0:47:07.040 this is not this is not a selection process. I'm 0:47:07.040 --> 0:47:11.120 the one God gave you. I'm the one God gave you. 0:47:13.440 --> 0:47:17.120 And even this imperfect Dad said, I got a lot 0:47:17.120 --> 0:47:22.600 of unbelief, but deeper down I do believe and see, 0:47:22.600 --> 0:47:25.719 deeper down there is an anointing, and deeper down there 0:47:25.719 --> 0:47:27.480 is a knowledge, and deeper down there is a wisdom. 0:47:27.480 --> 0:47:36.160 But you have let it take over you. Jesus spoke 0:47:36.719 --> 0:47:43.160 to it to free him. And I want to thank 0:47:43.160 --> 0:47:49.560 God today that even when I feel unbelief. And it's 0:47:49.560 --> 0:47:51.440 no secret to me what people are going home to. 0:47:53.320 --> 0:47:56.759 I'm not stupid, y'all. I know everybody isn't leaving here 0:47:58.040 --> 0:48:00.520 to cross, stitch and crochet of as you will love 0:48:00.520 --> 0:48:05.640 my sermon from today. But the Bible says that he 0:48:06.440 --> 0:48:08.759 looked at that boy whose body was as good as dead, 0:48:09.840 --> 0:48:12.960 and took him by the hand and helped him out. 0:48:15.000 --> 0:48:20.920 In my prayer time today, I saw God separating you 0:48:22.040 --> 0:48:26.719 from it, because honestly, the depression has been talking, and 0:48:26.719 --> 0:48:28.799 the anxiety has been talking, and the fear has been 0:48:28.840 --> 0:48:32.000 talking so loud we talk about these spirits that we 0:48:32.080 --> 0:48:35.640 can see, and he shook and convulsed and shrieked. But 0:48:35.719 --> 0:48:40.560 what about the ones that throw you around? What about 0:48:40.600 --> 0:48:45.080 the spirit of fear that's been throwing you around. You 0:48:45.120 --> 0:48:49.040 can't even speak up anymore. Things that you used to 0:48:49.120 --> 0:48:53.040 be able to do easily, things that you see others 0:48:53.040 --> 0:48:56.239 do easily. And it's a spirit, but it's not you. 0:48:57.640 --> 0:49:01.319 And there's a greater spirit. Greater is he that is 0:49:01.920 --> 0:49:07.279 in you than he that is in the world. And 0:49:07.280 --> 0:49:09.239 it is by grace you are saved through faith. You 0:49:09.280 --> 0:49:14.000 are not it. And the devil's been telling you that 0:49:14.040 --> 0:49:15.600 one way, and you've been hearing it. You're not it. 0:49:16.520 --> 0:49:19.480 You're not a good dad, you're not it. You're not 0:49:19.480 --> 0:49:21.680 a fit for this. You're not it. You're not experienced, 0:49:21.719 --> 0:49:24.680 you're not it. Look at you, you're not it. Look 0:49:24.719 --> 0:49:27.279 at them, they're it. You're there, You're not it. So 0:49:28.520 --> 0:49:32.000 here's what we're gonna do all week long. We're gonna 0:49:32.040 --> 0:49:36.279 agree with him to a point. Okay, I'm not it. 0:49:37.640 --> 0:49:41.719 There is a savior, I'm not it. There is a 0:49:41.760 --> 0:49:44.080 power that is greater than all sin and shame, and 0:49:44.120 --> 0:49:47.239 I'm not it. There is a righteousness that comes from 0:49:47.239 --> 0:49:52.080 God by faith, and I'm not it. But let me 0:49:52.080 --> 0:49:56.279 tell you something, devil, you accuser of the brethren. At 0:49:56.280 --> 0:49:58.960 the same time you're pointing your finger in my inadequacy 0:49:59.000 --> 0:50:01.600 and my shortage of my life of knowledge, at the 0:50:01.640 --> 0:50:04.120 same time that you're dragging out my mistakes from three 0:50:04.200 --> 0:50:07.160 years ago or three months ago or three minutes ago 0:50:07.200 --> 0:50:10.080 and throwing them in my face, you need to understand something. 0:50:10.360 --> 0:50:14.120 He became sin, who knew no sin, that I might 0:50:14.239 --> 0:50:19.120 become the righteousness of God. God. I pray for a 0:50:19.239 --> 0:50:25.480 restoration of your understanding of righteousness. I am the righteousness 0:50:25.520 --> 0:50:30.640 of God. I am a child of God. I'm a son. 0:50:32.080 --> 0:50:37.560 I am not it. I'm in him, I'm his workmanship. 0:50:40.960 --> 0:50:47.880 You are not your sin. You are not your fear. 0:50:48.120 --> 0:50:51.480 I command insecurity. Get out in the name of Jesus. 0:50:51.880 --> 0:50:55.400 Step aside, But Gloria, the Lord is in this place. 0:50:55.840 --> 0:51:08.080 The keg is here. You gotta go. I'm not it. God. 0:51:08.160 --> 0:51:13.560 You have all authority, you have all power, and you 0:51:13.640 --> 0:51:18.920 have all might. We think you by the hand right now, 0:51:20.440 --> 0:51:35.520 just stand up on our feet. You are not it. 0:51:37.960 --> 0:51:40.960 Our sins had to be punished, had to be dealt with. 0:51:42.400 --> 0:51:46.480 God needed a lamb, a perfect lamb, without blemish, without spot, 0:51:47.080 --> 0:51:49.719 with a sacrifice, so that your shame and your sin 0:51:49.920 --> 0:51:53.759 wouldn't stay with you the rest of your life. And 0:51:53.800 --> 0:51:57.680 God needed a sacrifice. And guess what you are not it? 0:52:00.200 --> 0:52:04.800 Not it. You're going to punish yourself for what Jesus 0:52:04.840 --> 0:52:10.359 paid for on your behalf. He became sin, who knew 0:52:10.400 --> 0:52:16.479 no sin, so I could be the righteousness of God. 0:52:21.480 --> 0:52:27.520 Right now, there's an opportunity for you to bring your 0:52:27.560 --> 0:52:32.080 sin and unbelief to Jesus. I want to pray for 0:52:32.239 --> 0:52:36.279 those of you who need to be set free from 0:52:36.360 --> 0:52:40.880 your sin today. It is by grace. You are saved 0:52:41.640 --> 0:52:46.360 through faith. It everybody say it. It is the gift 0:52:46.360 --> 0:52:49.440 of God. It is the gift. And you know what, 0:52:50.320 --> 0:52:52.680 not just the grace is the gift of God. The 0:52:52.719 --> 0:52:56.360 faith is a gift too. God will give you the faith. 0:52:56.600 --> 0:52:58.920 I want to believe Lord, I want to trust you. 0:52:59.040 --> 0:53:02.080 I want to move forward. Help my unbelief. So here's 0:53:02.120 --> 0:53:06.239 what we're gonna do. You bring your imperfect faith, You 0:53:06.320 --> 0:53:10.840 bring your unbelief to Jesus, and watch him take you 0:53:10.920 --> 0:53:15.440 by the hand and give you a brand new life. 0:53:15.719 --> 0:53:17.520 Right now, For all of those who came into this 0:53:17.600 --> 0:53:21.279 service today or who logged on and you say I'm 0:53:21.320 --> 0:53:23.480 far away from God, man, I feel like I've been 0:53:23.560 --> 0:53:28.360 robbed by that same enemy. Different manifestation, but the same enemy. 0:53:28.520 --> 0:53:32.040 I've been robbed. Well, the thief comes to kill, still 0:53:32.040 --> 0:53:34.400 and destroy, but he came that you might have life 0:53:34.680 --> 0:53:37.279 and that you might have him more abundantly. So right 0:53:37.360 --> 0:53:40.400 now I'm going to lead you in a prayer. And 0:53:40.480 --> 0:53:43.840 this is how we bring it to Jesus. He's not 0:53:44.120 --> 0:53:46.640 in a physical form before us today, but he's seated 0:53:46.640 --> 0:53:49.400 in heavenly places. And the Bible says that if you 0:53:49.400 --> 0:53:51.879 will confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and 0:53:51.920 --> 0:53:53.959 believe in your heart God raised him from the dead. 0:53:54.239 --> 0:54:00.600 You will be saved. You are not it. You can't 0:54:00.640 --> 0:54:03.200 do it on your own. You're not supposed to. He 0:54:03.280 --> 0:54:07.560 already did it. So right now, all across this church, 0:54:07.560 --> 0:54:09.799 whether you're by yourself or in ability, I want you 0:54:09.840 --> 0:54:12.279 to repeat after me this prayer. If you honestly in 0:54:12.320 --> 0:54:14.480 your heart you say, I want to turn from my sin. 0:54:14.640 --> 0:54:17.240 I want to trust Christ. I want to receive his grace. 0:54:17.400 --> 0:54:20.000 I want the gift. You pray with me. Right now 0:54:20.000 --> 0:54:21.760 We're going to pray out loud as a church family 0:54:21.800 --> 0:54:24.240 for the benefit of those who are coming to Jesus, 0:54:24.440 --> 0:54:27.480 are coming back to Jesus. Repeat after me, Heavenly Father, 0:54:29.360 --> 0:54:34.040 I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God 0:54:35.080 --> 0:54:39.359 and the Savior of the world. And today I make 0:54:39.480 --> 0:54:43.720 Jesus the lord of my life. I believe he died 0:54:44.880 --> 0:54:49.120 that I could be forgiven and rose again to give 0:54:49.160 --> 0:54:55.040 me life. I receive this new life. This is my 0:54:55.160 --> 0:54:57.640 new beginning. On the counter of three. Shoot your hand up. 0:54:57.640 --> 0:55:00.520 If you prayed that one, two, three, look at that 0:55:00.680 --> 0:55:06.600 new life. Thank you for joining us. Special thanks to 0:55:06.640 --> 0:55:09.520 those of you who give generously to this ministry. Is 0:55:09.560 --> 0:55:12.560 because of you that this ministry is possible. You can 0:55:12.600 --> 0:55:15.480 click the link in the description to give now, or 0:55:15.560 --> 0:55:19.880 visit Elevationchurch dot org slash podcast for more information and 0:55:19.920 --> 0:55:23.120 if you enjoyed the podcast, you can subscribe. You can 0:55:23.160 --> 0:55:25.600 share it with your friends. You can click the share button, 0:55:25.640 --> 0:55:28.080 take a screenshot and share it on your social stories 0:55:28.080 --> 0:55:30.840 and tag us at Elevation Church. Thanks again for listening. 0:55:30.880 --> 0:55:37.200 God bless you.