WEBVTT - God Prompts (Mary’s Prayer) 0:00:01.520 --> 0:00:02.800 Hey, this is Stephen Ferdick. 0:00:02.840 --> 0:00:05.840 I'm the pastor of Elevation Church, and this is our podcast. 0:00:05.880 --> 0:00:08.320 I wanted to thank you for joining us today. Hope 0:00:08.320 --> 0:00:10.680 this inspires you. Hope it builds your faith. 0:00:10.760 --> 0:00:12.840 Hope it gives your perspective to see God is moving 0:00:12.920 --> 0:00:13.560 in your life. 0:00:13.840 --> 0:00:14.800 Enjoy the message. 0:00:18.320 --> 0:00:22.880 I'm standing on the promises of Christ, my King. I'm 0:00:23.000 --> 0:00:26.160 standing on the promises of God. How about you? 0:00:27.840 --> 0:00:29.760 How about you? The storm came, but. 0:00:29.840 --> 0:00:33.200 My house stood because it was built on the rock. 0:00:34.400 --> 0:00:36.680 And I come to the end of this year saying 0:00:36.800 --> 0:00:37.720 thank you Lord. 0:00:39.240 --> 0:00:41.160 I could complain, but I won't. 0:00:41.440 --> 0:00:45.440 Thank you Lord. I could be afraid, but I refuse. 0:00:46.000 --> 0:00:48.480 I refused the spirit of fear. 0:00:49.080 --> 0:00:50.120 I have faith. 0:00:50.600 --> 0:00:51.920 Hi, run. 0:00:53.640 --> 0:00:54.200 In God. 0:00:56.840 --> 0:01:00.920 Wow. Kind of caught me off guard, right there. Now, 0:01:01.600 --> 0:01:06.800 a little praise service. It is good, in fitting for 0:01:06.840 --> 0:01:07.720 the upright. 0:01:07.440 --> 0:01:08.039 To praise him. 0:01:08.040 --> 0:01:12.240 It is appropriate for you to praise him. 0:01:12.319 --> 0:01:14.600 It's appropriate for you to praise him. Grab a hand 0:01:14.600 --> 0:01:21.880 next to you. Would you repeat after me? 0:01:22.000 --> 0:01:28.520 Father, I pray for the person on my right and 0:01:28.640 --> 0:01:33.800 on my left. Bless them today, Bless them so good 0:01:35.240 --> 0:01:40.760 that it makes every curse irrelevant. In the name of Jesus. 0:01:41.959 --> 0:01:47.600 Bless them so good that they have faith and confidence 0:01:48.440 --> 0:01:55.360 for whatever they're facing. Jehovah, Jirah, meet their need. Jehovah 0:01:55.400 --> 0:02:03.120 Nissi fight their battle. Jehovah Shahlom be there peace. Thank 0:02:03.160 --> 0:02:09.400 you Jesus. Amen, Amen, Amen again clapped us as in 0:02:09.440 --> 0:02:09.880 the house. 0:02:12.240 --> 0:02:16.560 It's offering weekend. I have a break giving sernon prepared 0:02:16.600 --> 0:02:16.919 for you. 0:02:16.919 --> 0:02:21.000 Today, and today you're gonna help me preach in just 0:02:21.040 --> 0:02:21.800 a few moments. 0:02:21.880 --> 0:02:25.000 Those who are here physically and those who are online 0:02:25.000 --> 0:02:27.520 are going to be bringing their offering. And whether you're 0:02:27.560 --> 0:02:29.840 doing that online or whether you're doing that in person. 0:02:30.000 --> 0:02:33.040 Yeah, the first fruits belong to the Lord. 0:02:34.840 --> 0:02:37.000 We are stewards, not owners of anything. 0:02:37.639 --> 0:02:40.919 I have my offering ready as I have prepared this 0:02:41.040 --> 0:02:44.680 offering for every twenty years. I never prepared the offering 0:02:45.200 --> 0:02:47.480 and God didn't tell me to bump the number up 0:02:47.480 --> 0:02:50.080 a little bit. I didn't tell Holly yet, but that 0:02:50.120 --> 0:02:53.639 happened again this morning. There are two checks in this envelope. Man, 0:02:54.000 --> 0:02:57.840 I'll talk to you about it later. There was the 0:02:57.880 --> 0:02:59.960 one that I planned and then the one that God spoke. 0:03:02.000 --> 0:03:03.280 You know, God will speak to you. 0:03:04.560 --> 0:03:06.720 I have never asked anyone in this church to give 0:03:06.760 --> 0:03:09.520 a specific amount of money. I just told you to 0:03:09.560 --> 0:03:13.160 ask God and do what he tells you. And that's 0:03:13.200 --> 0:03:14.520 what I'd like to talk to you about for a 0:03:14.520 --> 0:03:17.080 few moments today, remain standing and turning your Bible to 0:03:17.160 --> 0:03:20.040 John chapter two. I need to be a little bit 0:03:20.120 --> 0:03:24.760 quicker today, So y'all listen fast. We're going to have 0:03:24.800 --> 0:03:28.000 bonus worship at the end. You picked a great day 0:03:28.040 --> 0:03:31.600 to come today. These people are going to help me 0:03:31.720 --> 0:03:37.800 preach God's word. What a privilege it is. In John 0:03:37.880 --> 0:03:41.560 chapter two, the Bible says, on the third day, a 0:03:41.600 --> 0:03:46.080 wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus's mother was there, 0:03:46.640 --> 0:03:49.720 and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to 0:03:49.760 --> 0:03:50.240 the wedding. 0:03:51.120 --> 0:03:54.000 When the wine was gone, Jesus's mother said to him, 0:03:54.200 --> 0:03:55.160 they have no more. 0:03:55.040 --> 0:04:01.200 Wine, woman, Why do you involve me Jesus for great 0:04:01.240 --> 0:04:01.760 mother's day? 0:04:01.840 --> 0:04:04.440 Verse Hall, you might want to preach that my hour 0:04:04.680 --> 0:04:05.800 has not yet come. 0:04:06.520 --> 0:04:09.680 And his mother said to the servants, do whatever he 0:04:09.760 --> 0:04:13.840 tells you. Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind 0:04:14.000 --> 0:04:18.360 used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from 0:04:18.360 --> 0:04:23.640 twenty to thirty gallons Jesus said to the servants, fill 0:04:24.120 --> 0:04:25.680 the jars with water. 0:04:25.880 --> 0:04:30.039 So they filled them to the brim. Then he told them. 0:04:29.920 --> 0:04:32.839 Now draw some out and take it to the master 0:04:33.279 --> 0:04:34.080 of the banquet. 0:04:34.680 --> 0:04:36.320 They did so, and. 0:04:36.279 --> 0:04:38.800 The master of the banquet tasted the water that had 0:04:38.800 --> 0:04:40.640 been turned into wine. 0:04:40.680 --> 0:04:42.360 He did not realize. 0:04:41.839 --> 0:04:45.240 Where it had come from, though the servants who had 0:04:45.320 --> 0:04:48.960 drawn the water new. Then he called the bridegroom aside 0:04:48.960 --> 0:04:52.840 and said, everyone brings out the choice wine first, and 0:04:52.880 --> 0:04:55.960 then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too 0:04:56.080 --> 0:04:58.680 much to drink. Look at this verse for the end 0:04:58.720 --> 0:05:02.479 of our year. But you have say the best till now. 0:05:03.480 --> 0:05:06.520 What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was the 0:05:06.520 --> 0:05:10.839 first of the signs through which he revealed his glory 0:05:11.400 --> 0:05:16.240 and his disciples believed in him. I read you eleven 0:05:16.360 --> 0:05:18.440 verses just for the sake of reading you one. Go 0:05:18.520 --> 0:05:21.159 back to verse five, and I'll give you my message today. 0:05:21.880 --> 0:05:29.159 His mother said, to the servants, do whatever he tells you. 0:05:30.640 --> 0:05:34.600 Do whatever he tells you. I want to use as 0:05:34.640 --> 0:05:40.720 a subject today for this sermon. Mary's prayer. Mary's prayer. 0:05:42.360 --> 0:05:46.760 Father, I ask now that you would answer this prayer. 0:05:47.720 --> 0:05:51.400 Speak to your people give them courage to obey in 0:05:51.440 --> 0:05:52.440 the name of Jesus. 0:05:52.839 --> 0:05:56.200 Amen, you may be seated. 0:06:00.040 --> 0:06:03.520 That's not exactly a Christmas scripture I read you, but 0:06:03.880 --> 0:06:08.080 it features the main character of Christmas, so it counts Mary. 0:06:09.600 --> 0:06:14.760 And Mary, the Mother of Jesus, was, in many ways, 0:06:14.760 --> 0:06:17.800 you could say, the initiator of the first miracle that 0:06:17.880 --> 0:06:20.359 he did. Let's give it up for Mary. Everybody clap 0:06:20.440 --> 0:06:25.920 those hands and thank God for Mary. Now we don't 0:06:25.920 --> 0:06:29.360 pray to Mary. We pray to God the Father through Jesus. 0:06:30.160 --> 0:06:33.240 But Mary's prayer is what I want to talk to 0:06:33.240 --> 0:06:33.920 you about today. 0:06:34.240 --> 0:06:36.960 Not to hail Mary or anything like that, but I 0:06:37.000 --> 0:06:40.760 want to talk to you about Mary's prayer today. 0:06:41.240 --> 0:06:43.000 In order to illustrate this, I want to tell you 0:06:43.000 --> 0:06:46.039 two unusual things that happened to me this week. Now, 0:06:46.560 --> 0:06:49.960 I not only study the scriptures, but I study my life, 0:06:50.040 --> 0:06:52.920 and I think that sometimes God preaches through ordinary events. 0:06:53.880 --> 0:06:55.600 One thing that happened to me this week that was 0:06:55.680 --> 0:07:00.280 kind of unusual. The Lord prompted in my heart to 0:07:00.400 --> 0:07:03.320 give a specific amount of money to a church that 0:07:03.440 --> 0:07:05.719 is just getting started, a brand new church. I know 0:07:05.760 --> 0:07:09.560 what that feels like. And I saw the budget for 0:07:09.640 --> 0:07:12.360 their launch of their church. And I know the pastor 0:07:12.400 --> 0:07:15.400 pretty well, and I knew how hard it was going 0:07:15.440 --> 0:07:18.800 to be to transport all of the families that are 0:07:18.840 --> 0:07:20.920 going to start and all of that, and I said, 0:07:20.960 --> 0:07:23.760 you know what, I want our church to help their church, 0:07:24.600 --> 0:07:29.160 because when you're starting out, every little bit matters. And 0:07:29.240 --> 0:07:32.400 so what we did we sent ten percent of their 0:07:32.520 --> 0:07:35.400 entire budget from our church to help them start their 0:07:35.480 --> 0:07:36.239 church this week. 0:07:38.400 --> 0:07:41.840 Now we do that all the time. Millions of dollars 0:07:41.880 --> 0:07:45.760 go out through this ministry. There are pastor after pastor 0:07:45.800 --> 0:07:46.560 after pastor. 0:07:46.320 --> 0:07:48.120 Who would stand on this stage and tell you thank 0:07:48.160 --> 0:07:50.480 you for your faithfulness and your generosity. 0:07:50.760 --> 0:07:53.280 But what made this one unusual was. 0:07:53.760 --> 0:07:56.280 I got a text from the pastor after I told 0:07:56.320 --> 0:07:58.640 him the gift was on the way, because I wanted 0:07:58.680 --> 0:08:01.040 him to know. I wanted to know he could count 0:08:01.040 --> 0:08:03.000 on us, and I thought that might help him sleep 0:08:03.040 --> 0:08:04.680 better at night if he knew he was just at 0:08:04.760 --> 0:08:08.520 least moving towards the goal. And I sent him the 0:08:08.600 --> 0:08:11.440 number and he text back and said, this is insane. 0:08:12.080 --> 0:08:13.320 You are not going to believe this. 0:08:14.200 --> 0:08:16.200 And he sent me a voice memo that he had 0:08:16.240 --> 0:08:17.520 sent me back in March. 0:08:18.160 --> 0:08:21.640 Now it's December so back in March, he had sent. 0:08:21.520 --> 0:08:24.000 Me a voice memo, and on the voice memo, I 0:08:24.040 --> 0:08:25.400 listened to it again and I checked the date in 0:08:25.440 --> 0:08:27.840 the timestamp. And this was before he knew he was 0:08:27.840 --> 0:08:30.880 starting a church. This was before, definitely before we decided. 0:08:30.560 --> 0:08:31.360 To give him any money. 0:08:31.960 --> 0:08:33.599 And he had left me a voice memo saying, I 0:08:33.640 --> 0:08:37.760 had the craziest dream. I dreamed that you gave me 0:08:39.160 --> 0:08:45.080 the exact It was the exact amount of money that 0:08:45.160 --> 0:08:45.960 we did give him. 0:08:46.320 --> 0:08:48.920 And I didn't remember the voice memo, and. 0:08:48.880 --> 0:08:53.360 Maybe he like did a mind game on me and 0:08:53.880 --> 0:08:57.000 planted that, like maybe it was inception, maybe he's. 0:08:56.920 --> 0:08:57.880 Just that smart. 0:08:58.720 --> 0:09:00.920 But even so, I thought it was crazy. It was 0:09:01.040 --> 0:09:05.480 the exact amount, and it wasn't a round number. You're like, 0:09:05.520 --> 0:09:08.719 it was probably like twenty thousand dollars or fifty thousand. No, 0:09:08.920 --> 0:09:13.640 it was fifty five thousand dollars. So who just why 0:09:13.760 --> 0:09:16.720 fifty five? Why did he dream fifty five in March? 0:09:16.960 --> 0:09:21.400 Unless he's the biggest manipulator of all time. I think 0:09:21.440 --> 0:09:26.240 sometimes God will prompt your heart in order to provide 0:09:26.280 --> 0:09:29.600 for somebody in a way that you can't predict. 0:09:30.760 --> 0:09:32.880 And I'll give you the second story. 0:09:33.000 --> 0:09:35.160 The second story is not quite as dramatic, but it's 0:09:35.160 --> 0:09:37.120 still kind of cool. I was on a date night 0:09:37.160 --> 0:09:39.400 with Holly over at Lomma's the other week. 0:09:39.440 --> 0:09:41.640 We ordered the mozzarella. We ate the appetizer. 0:09:41.720 --> 0:09:45.280 The warm mozzarella is very, very worthwhile for all of 0:09:45.320 --> 0:09:50.000 the calorie counters. You definitely should spend some now between 0:09:50.000 --> 0:09:52.680 the appetizer and the main course. I got up just 0:09:52.720 --> 0:09:55.679 for a quick bathroom break, and on my way back 0:09:55.679 --> 0:09:57.880 from the bathroom, I don't know what told me to 0:09:57.880 --> 0:10:00.640 do it, but something was like check Graham location. I 0:10:00.679 --> 0:10:02.800 knew where Abby was, I knew where Elijah was, but 0:10:02.840 --> 0:10:04.960 it was like, check on Graham, where's Graham at tonight? 0:10:05.000 --> 0:10:06.520 Not because I don't trust him, I was just curious. 0:10:06.520 --> 0:10:08.520 So I pulled up on my phone checked his location. 0:10:08.880 --> 0:10:11.360 He was at a Mexican restaurant just right next door. 0:10:12.040 --> 0:10:13.600 So I told Holly, I'll be right back. I'm gonna 0:10:13.600 --> 0:10:15.120 go see Graham real quick. I'm gonna surprise him. 0:10:15.120 --> 0:10:17.479 And it worked out so great because. 0:10:17.920 --> 0:10:19.920 I saw through the window as I was walking by 0:10:20.160 --> 0:10:24.760 this neon yellow beanie that he wears, so I knew 0:10:24.800 --> 0:10:25.240 it was him. 0:10:25.640 --> 0:10:27.880 So I sneak around. There's five guys sitting. 0:10:27.600 --> 0:10:30.160 At the booth, and I just popped my head right 0:10:30.200 --> 0:10:33.360 over the booth and I say, what's up? And his 0:10:33.440 --> 0:10:35.520 face looked like like I had been off at war 0:10:35.640 --> 0:10:38.840 for a year and he gotn't seen me, and he's like, 0:10:38.880 --> 0:10:40.360 what are you doing here? I'm like, I'm on a 0:10:40.440 --> 0:10:42.000 date with Mom, just st the mozzarella. 0:10:42.080 --> 0:10:43.480 Want to come check on you? Saw you on the phone. 0:10:43.480 --> 0:10:44.640 How'd you know I was here? I checked you on 0:10:44.679 --> 0:10:49.760 the phone. Don't you ever forget I can find you anywhere. 0:10:51.640 --> 0:10:55.640 But then just something prompted me as I was leaving 0:10:55.640 --> 0:10:56.120 the restaurant. 0:10:56.160 --> 0:10:56.920 And it's a small thing. 0:10:56.960 --> 0:10:59.920 I'm not saying it's huge, but it was just like, hey, hey, 0:11:00.080 --> 0:11:02.640 for their meal, and I had some cash, so I said. 0:11:02.440 --> 0:11:04.360 Have y'all paid yet? They had already eaten. I said, 0:11:04.360 --> 0:11:05.080 have y'all paid yet? 0:11:05.120 --> 0:11:06.920 After I adapted everybody up, have y'all paid yet? 0:11:07.120 --> 0:11:08.800 No, sir, and I just put. 0:11:08.720 --> 0:11:11.079 The money down on the table, probably twice as much 0:11:11.080 --> 0:11:13.440 as they needed, and said, here you go, love. 0:11:13.320 --> 0:11:16.360 You see and going back to see Mom, I walked out. 0:11:16.600 --> 0:11:18.160 I came back home later and I'm gonna let him 0:11:18.160 --> 0:11:19.560 tell you the rest of the story. Come on up here, son, 0:11:19.800 --> 0:11:22.400 y'all give it up for Graham. Now, this is kind 0:11:22.400 --> 0:11:26.280 of crazy. This is kind of crazy. See what you think, 0:11:26.360 --> 0:11:28.200 he fan, But to me, this was kind of crazy. 0:11:28.320 --> 0:11:30.720 Grab that mic and tell them. When I got home, 0:11:30.760 --> 0:11:33.080 I said, what did you think when I popped up 0:11:33.080 --> 0:11:34.880 at the restaurant. He said it was crazy. I said, 0:11:34.880 --> 0:11:36.840 you didn't expect me. And then you said, no, there's 0:11:36.880 --> 0:11:37.640 even more to it. 0:11:39.559 --> 0:11:39.760 Yeah. 0:11:39.800 --> 0:11:42.040 The reason why it was so crazy is because I 0:11:42.040 --> 0:11:44.000 guess probably won't even believe it. But when we were 0:11:44.040 --> 0:11:47.719 there at the restaurant, you can ask Evan. We were 0:11:47.760 --> 0:11:50.800 talking about generosity and one of my friends was talking 0:11:50.800 --> 0:11:52.959 about how one of his favorite things that he's been 0:11:52.960 --> 0:11:56.080 preaching about telling people about his generosity, and it just 0:11:56.080 --> 0:11:58.600 sparked that conversation. We were talking about how if you 0:11:58.600 --> 0:12:01.000 don't if you're not generous, if you don't trust God 0:12:01.040 --> 0:12:04.040 with your money, what you're really saying is that and 0:12:04.080 --> 0:12:06.160 we said this, Exactly we were saying is that you 0:12:06.160 --> 0:12:09.520 don't view God as a father because everyone knows that 0:12:09.559 --> 0:12:14.960 a father provides for his children. And so as we're 0:12:15.000 --> 0:12:18.040 saying that, we have that whole conversation and then we 0:12:18.080 --> 0:12:20.480 wait a little bit, and then a couple of minutes later, 0:12:20.559 --> 0:12:24.480 we just see a head top above the booth and 0:12:25.840 --> 0:12:27.560 we were tapping him up. It was crazy. And then 0:12:27.600 --> 0:12:29.600 he puts the money on the table and he walked away, 0:12:29.640 --> 0:12:31.679 and we kind of paused for a second. We were like, 0:12:32.200 --> 0:12:35.559 when we're just talking about a father providing for his children, 0:12:35.840 --> 0:12:37.360 and so we just thought it was really cool that 0:12:37.720 --> 0:12:40.520 we got an in real life illustration of how a 0:12:40.559 --> 0:12:42.040 father provides for his children. 0:12:44.400 --> 0:12:49.520 Hey, I'm a good good father. Who you are? That's 0:12:49.520 --> 0:12:53.760 who I am? Who were the Jeane Jacket better vote 0:12:53.800 --> 0:12:59.200 on line? I thought that was crazy. I thought that 0:12:59.280 --> 0:12:59.680 was crazy. 0:13:00.000 --> 0:13:02.880 Actually going into our Giving weekend, in just a few moments, 0:13:02.920 --> 0:13:06.040 thousands of people all over this church are going to 0:13:06.040 --> 0:13:07.520 come forward and make a declaration. 0:13:08.200 --> 0:13:12.800 I have a father. He's faithful, he cares for me, 0:13:13.840 --> 0:13:17.240 he provides for me. I just want to remind you 0:13:17.320 --> 0:13:19.120 for two seconds. 0:13:18.720 --> 0:13:23.360 Or maybe like twenty five minutes, two things about God. 0:13:23.400 --> 0:13:28.240 One is God provides for you, and the second is 0:13:28.320 --> 0:13:34.959 God prompts you. God provides for you, and God prompts 0:13:34.960 --> 0:13:39.440 for you. God prompts you. God provides for you, and 0:13:39.520 --> 0:13:44.960 God prompts you, so you may be surprised where God 0:13:45.000 --> 0:13:48.319 provides for you and how God provides for you. He 0:13:48.400 --> 0:13:51.719 might pop up at a Mexican restaurant. Next time, he 0:13:51.800 --> 0:13:55.280 might do it at a Chinese buffet. He could do 0:13:55.280 --> 0:13:58.760 it anywhere. Tell somebody he could do it anywhere. And 0:13:58.800 --> 0:14:00.959 now look at your other neighbor. You've ignored every time 0:14:01.000 --> 0:14:03.840 I've said, touch your neighbor today and tell him. He 0:14:03.840 --> 0:14:06.120 can do it through anyone. 0:14:07.880 --> 0:14:08.640 You don't believe me. 0:14:09.240 --> 0:14:12.240 God prompted Elijah in the Bible to go to the 0:14:12.280 --> 0:14:16.040 brook and prompted a bird to bring him bread. God 0:14:16.080 --> 0:14:18.840 can do it anywhere. He can do it through anyone. 0:14:19.480 --> 0:14:23.080 A bird isn't even a person. And God is my provider. 0:14:23.880 --> 0:14:25.640 I want to build your faith a little bit today. 0:14:25.800 --> 0:14:29.560 Just say it out loud. God is my provider. Say 0:14:29.600 --> 0:14:34.040 God provides for me. He's a good father. He provides 0:14:34.040 --> 0:14:37.520 for me. He provides for me in the strangest of places. 0:14:38.120 --> 0:14:40.680 If it takes him bringing water from a rock in 0:14:40.720 --> 0:14:44.480 the wilderness, God provides for me. If it takes him 0:14:44.480 --> 0:14:46.760 sending a shepherd with a stone to bring down a 0:14:46.880 --> 0:14:50.600 giant because the whole army is too afraid, God provides 0:14:50.640 --> 0:14:53.520 for me. If it takes him using a stick over 0:14:53.560 --> 0:14:55.560 a red sea to make a way for me to 0:14:55.640 --> 0:14:59.240 my freedom. God provides for me. Put it in the 0:14:59.320 --> 0:15:04.280 chat for me. God provides for me. If it starts 0:15:04.320 --> 0:15:06.360 with a little bit of oil and I borrow a 0:15:06.400 --> 0:15:09.680 few jars, the capacity will never be on God. The 0:15:09.720 --> 0:15:13.720 capacity will be on me because God provides for me. 0:15:14.440 --> 0:15:18.480 You're saying, is this prosperity theology. No, this is just 0:15:18.680 --> 0:15:22.440 gospel belief, faith in a God who gave his son 0:15:22.520 --> 0:15:26.080 for me. How should he who gave his son not 0:15:26.280 --> 0:15:28.440 also freely give us all things. 0:15:28.480 --> 0:15:31.840 God provides for me. He meets my needs. 0:15:32.280 --> 0:15:35.640 He opens doors for me, He closes doors for me. 0:15:36.120 --> 0:15:39.360 He brings people into my life. He shows people out 0:15:39.440 --> 0:15:42.880 of my life. He yanks stuff out, he plants stuff in, 0:15:43.320 --> 0:15:46.080 He waters stuff, he calls forth stuff. 0:15:46.120 --> 0:15:47.440 God provides for me. 0:15:47.840 --> 0:15:50.040 I'll know who is for But you got a lot 0:15:50.080 --> 0:15:52.400 of needs at the end of this year. But your 0:15:52.480 --> 0:15:54.880 needs are not greater than Jehovah Nissi. 0:15:55.120 --> 0:15:59.720 God provides for me. Shout it out loud. God provides 0:15:59.760 --> 0:16:00.000 for me. 0:16:02.640 --> 0:16:06.480 Now we're used to sermons about God providing for us 0:16:06.480 --> 0:16:10.000 in the wilderness, that is the drastic, dramatic situations in 0:16:10.040 --> 0:16:13.720 our life. But here we find the first demonstration of 0:16:13.800 --> 0:16:16.960 the provision of Jesus in the Gospels is not in 0:16:17.040 --> 0:16:19.080 the wilderness, but at a wedding. 0:16:19.680 --> 0:16:20.760 He can do it anywhere. 0:16:22.400 --> 0:16:24.760 He can bless you just as good in the high 0:16:24.800 --> 0:16:28.840 times as the low times. The Bible says that they 0:16:28.840 --> 0:16:31.560 were at a wedding and the wine ran out, but 0:16:31.760 --> 0:16:35.800 Jesus was on the scene. And you'll notice that Mary 0:16:36.240 --> 0:16:37.960 prompts Jesus to do. 0:16:37.880 --> 0:16:38.720 Something about it. 0:16:39.080 --> 0:16:42.280 She doesn't exactly pray to him, She just makes him 0:16:42.320 --> 0:16:45.680 aware of the situation. Have you ever just made God 0:16:45.760 --> 0:16:48.280 aware of a situation? Like? 0:16:48.360 --> 0:16:50.080 God, you see how they're treating me right. 0:16:50.160 --> 0:16:51.960 And I'm not saying you should smite them or anything 0:16:52.040 --> 0:16:53.760 like that or give them a hernia, But God, you 0:16:53.760 --> 0:16:54.640 see how they're treating me. 0:16:54.720 --> 0:16:57.280 Right. I'm not telling you to give them a flat tire. 0:16:57.080 --> 0:16:58.760 But you see how they just cut me off right? 0:16:58.920 --> 0:17:00.760 And you saw it and flip I'm off right. God, 0:17:00.880 --> 0:17:03.440 I'm not trying to give you any ideas. But Mary 0:17:03.520 --> 0:17:07.600 says to Jesus they have no more wine, and he says, woe, 0:17:07.640 --> 0:17:08.960 and why do you involve me? 0:17:09.560 --> 0:17:13.359 My hour has not yet come. But the Bible says 0:17:13.400 --> 0:17:14.640 in verse five that his. 0:17:14.840 --> 0:17:19.800 Mother watched this interesting strategy, said to the servants, do 0:17:20.640 --> 0:17:26.240 whatever he tells you. Now she's talking to Jesus. They 0:17:26.280 --> 0:17:29.480 have no more wine. Jesus talks to her. That has 0:17:29.560 --> 0:17:30.080 nothing to. 0:17:30.080 --> 0:17:34.240 Do with me. She turns away from Jesus to the servants. 0:17:33.760 --> 0:17:36.840 And says, do whatever he tells you. 0:17:38.000 --> 0:17:38.840 God provides. 0:17:40.280 --> 0:17:43.560 So if God provides, why didn't Jesus say yes when 0:17:43.600 --> 0:17:46.160 she asked him the first time? 0:17:47.760 --> 0:17:49.120 So here's what I think about it. 0:17:50.280 --> 0:17:53.439 I think a lot of times in my life recognizing 0:17:53.480 --> 0:17:56.840 that God is my provider and that he is my father. 0:17:57.480 --> 0:17:59.879 I mean, you heard Grandma here, I'm his father. 0:18:01.280 --> 0:18:03.119 When I showed up with my head over the booth, 0:18:03.800 --> 0:18:05.600 he didn't know what blessings I brought. 0:18:05.400 --> 0:18:07.680 With me, but I was happy to do it. 0:18:08.960 --> 0:18:14.800 Yet, isn't it true that sometimes you treat God more 0:18:14.880 --> 0:18:15.880 like your phone. 0:18:17.119 --> 0:18:21.840 Than your father. I hope y'all got all your shout. 0:18:21.560 --> 0:18:25.600 And done before I got to this point, because I 0:18:25.680 --> 0:18:28.879 realized that many of us. 0:18:30.240 --> 0:18:39.399 Treat God like chat gpt on our phone. 0:18:39.520 --> 0:18:43.359 And when we say I sought the Lord and he 0:18:43.359 --> 0:18:48.400 heard and he answered, what we mean is I told 0:18:48.520 --> 0:18:52.280 God what he needed to do for me, and he 0:18:52.320 --> 0:18:52.639 did it. 0:18:54.880 --> 0:18:55.880 And so we end up. 0:18:56.160 --> 0:18:59.840 How many of you use chat GPT regularly and you 0:19:00.080 --> 0:19:02.720 out of shame to admit it. But you would never 0:19:03.000 --> 0:19:06.920 use it in a class. You would never use it illicitly. 0:19:07.520 --> 0:19:12.399 You would never use it to prepare a sermon. I 0:19:12.400 --> 0:19:15.320 would never do that, but I might ask chat GPT, Hey, 0:19:15.320 --> 0:19:17.480 what's the weather going to be like in Charlotte tomorrow? 0:19:18.400 --> 0:19:20.280 You know, oh, it's going to be cold tomorrow. It's 0:19:20.320 --> 0:19:21.879 going to be real. How cold? Give it to me 0:19:21.920 --> 0:19:25.200 in degrees not celsius fahrenheit. 0:19:26.240 --> 0:19:28.040 I heard of one student, not a student who goes 0:19:28.080 --> 0:19:30.160 to this church, but I heard of one student who 0:19:30.160 --> 0:19:33.600 regularly uploads their math worksheets to chat GPT and tells 0:19:34.000 --> 0:19:36.919 chat GPT answer these problems for me. 0:19:37.200 --> 0:19:38.600 Give them all in number form. 0:19:38.720 --> 0:19:40.600 Don't show your work, don't try to teach me how 0:19:40.640 --> 0:19:41.040 to do it. 0:19:41.160 --> 0:19:44.040 Just give me answers. Not a student in this church. 0:19:46.200 --> 0:19:51.840 This is a revival generation in this church. But think 0:19:51.880 --> 0:19:52.360 about it. 0:19:53.359 --> 0:19:58.480 When you talk to chat GPT, you prompt chat GPT 0:20:00.200 --> 0:20:03.760 according to your preference to meet your purpose. 0:20:04.560 --> 0:20:05.800 I would demonstrate it for. 0:20:05.720 --> 0:20:08.040 You right now, but I don't trust chat GPT. 0:20:07.840 --> 0:20:10.719 Enough to say the right things back. What I am 0:20:10.800 --> 0:20:13.160 telling you is that when. 0:20:13.000 --> 0:20:18.439 We begin to think that we prompt God like we 0:20:18.520 --> 0:20:22.520 prompt chat GPT, because some of us do our entire 0:20:22.560 --> 0:20:27.720 prayer life is pretty much like we're just prompting God. Hey, God, 0:20:27.880 --> 0:20:29.600 I need you to provide for me. I got this 0:20:29.680 --> 0:20:31.399 meeting at nine o'clock. I need you to help me 0:20:31.400 --> 0:20:34.360 through this meeting. In Jesus name, Amen, God, I need 0:20:34.400 --> 0:20:36.439 you to give me a new job. I don't like 0:20:36.480 --> 0:20:38.400 my job and I need a new job and when 0:20:38.440 --> 0:20:39.879 that's not going to be really hard, but it's going 0:20:39.920 --> 0:20:40.720 to pay really well. 0:20:40.880 --> 0:20:42.920 And I don't be gone from my family very much. 0:20:42.960 --> 0:20:44.560 Lord, But if you could give me a job that 0:20:44.600 --> 0:20:46.480 will provide for me above the amount of time that 0:20:46.520 --> 0:20:47.800 I'm willing to spend working in it. 0:20:47.960 --> 0:20:49.480 And God, I would like to have a lot of. 0:20:49.480 --> 0:20:51.439 Authority, but I don't want to lead any people because I. 0:20:51.400 --> 0:20:52.359 Don't really like people. 0:20:52.560 --> 0:20:54.640 So I'd like to be able to be an introvert 0:20:54.680 --> 0:20:56.879 but still have a lot of authority within the organization. 0:20:57.320 --> 0:21:01.520