WEBVTT - Making Peace With Missing Pieces 0:00:01.240 --> 0:00:08.639 Hey, y'all, well, did did they put caffeine in your 0:00:08.680 --> 0:00:14.880 communion cups? In the lobby today? Y'all are acting. Y'all 0:00:14.920 --> 0:00:18.520 are wild. Pray for me Ef. They're wild in the 0:00:18.600 --> 0:00:25.520 room today. I don't know if I can manage them. 0:00:25.560 --> 0:00:29.320 I feel like a substitute teacher looking at a fourth 0:00:29.320 --> 0:00:34.560 grade class who just had juice boxes and oreos fired up. Man, 0:00:35.640 --> 0:00:40.200 y'all must be listening to lying on repeating your headphone fascin, 0:00:40.400 --> 0:00:44.879 isn't it. You've been listening to these songs now. I 0:00:44.920 --> 0:00:48.920 need everybody who hasn't heard the whole album yet to 0:00:49.080 --> 0:00:53.200 repent and give your life to Jesus, because I'm telling 0:00:53.240 --> 0:00:56.280 you we worked on this a few years ago. Really, 0:00:56.320 --> 0:00:59.000 back in twenty fifteen, the Lord began to shift me 0:00:59.040 --> 0:01:01.200 to say, I don't want you to see your role 0:01:01.280 --> 0:01:05.520 as preaching only through words. I want you to see 0:01:05.560 --> 0:01:09.399 yourself preaching through melodies. And I don't just want you 0:01:09.440 --> 0:01:11.800 to preach words that the people can listen to when 0:01:11.840 --> 0:01:14.880 you're up there on Sunday or whenever they listen to 0:01:14.920 --> 0:01:18.040 it during the week. I want you to give a 0:01:18.200 --> 0:01:21.640 huge part of your life to developing songs that can 0:01:21.680 --> 0:01:27.560 go where the sermons never will and that shift in 0:01:27.640 --> 0:01:31.320 this amazing team that God gave us here. When we 0:01:31.360 --> 0:01:33.840 release an album, we pray over it and we send 0:01:33.880 --> 0:01:37.080 it as a church because we birth these songs as 0:01:37.120 --> 0:01:39.840 a church. I mean, y'all are the ones who are 0:01:39.840 --> 0:01:41.960 looking at us cross eyed when we said it might 0:01:42.000 --> 0:01:45.399 get loud, and then you know, y'all are slow to 0:01:45.440 --> 0:01:47.960 catch on and you're like, is that a worship song? 0:01:48.080 --> 0:01:52.040 I don't know, But then you kind of liked it, 0:01:52.080 --> 0:01:54.280 didn't you? You kind of liked it. I kind of 0:01:54.400 --> 0:01:57.320 like this. I kind of like this. And what I 0:01:57.360 --> 0:02:00.560 love about it is as we pray for these songs 0:02:00.560 --> 0:02:03.960 to go out today no matter what you're going through 0:02:04.040 --> 0:02:06.800 in your life. There's fourteen songs on this album and 0:02:07.040 --> 0:02:10.200 we wrote them over eighteen months and it's been an amazing, 0:02:10.280 --> 0:02:17.160 amazing process. But there's something for everybody, there really is. 0:02:17.240 --> 0:02:21.600 This is so if you like straightforward worship music, there's 0:02:21.639 --> 0:02:28.120 plenty of that, but but so we need songs. We 0:02:28.160 --> 0:02:30.320 need songs that we can worship too, and that's great, 0:02:30.480 --> 0:02:32.440 and it's all worship. I mean, worship is not just 0:02:32.480 --> 0:02:37.760 one style. You know that, but sometimes you need you 0:02:37.800 --> 0:02:43.600 need a war fair worship song so if you get 0:02:43.639 --> 0:02:46.400 in a battle, Look, if you get in if you 0:02:46.440 --> 0:02:48.520 get in a battle with the devil and I'm not 0:02:48.520 --> 0:02:51.360 there to preach to you, then we've got let the 0:02:51.400 --> 0:02:55.240 Lion roar and and and yeah, so you can put 0:02:55.240 --> 0:02:58.200 that on. So I got you. If you need something 0:02:58.240 --> 0:03:02.400 to listen to for bench pressing and you know dead lifting, 0:03:02.840 --> 0:03:05.920 I got you. And then there's song. There's songs on 0:03:05.960 --> 0:03:08.880 this album you could dance to at your wedding. So 0:03:09.000 --> 0:03:14.120 we got warfare worship wedding worship. Abby said, make sure 0:03:14.160 --> 0:03:16.280 you let them know I was the first person who 0:03:16.400 --> 0:03:23.560 danced to dancing. Yeah, and then I asked her can 0:03:23.600 --> 0:03:26.000 I dance? Can I dance with you to that at 0:03:26.040 --> 0:03:31.520 your wedding in seventy five years when you but that's good, 0:03:31.560 --> 0:03:34.519 that's good. It's all different styles because it's all different 0:03:34.600 --> 0:03:38.560 kinds of people. It's not This is not a black church, 0:03:38.600 --> 0:03:42.520 a white church, a Republican church, a Democrat church. It's 0:03:42.560 --> 0:03:46.800 a Baptist. It's none of that Godness. He's the lion 0:03:47.400 --> 0:03:57.360 and the Lamb, and we Workschappell, We Workshappelle. You cannot 0:03:57.440 --> 0:04:01.280 look at somebody and say you cannot put God in 0:04:01.360 --> 0:04:06.760 a box. He's too big for your box. I felt 0:04:06.760 --> 0:04:09.080 god on that. Tell twenty people he's too big for 0:04:09.160 --> 0:04:12.720 your box. I need go to litter the chat right now, 0:04:12.840 --> 0:04:16.760 say he's too big for your box. He's too big. 0:04:17.320 --> 0:04:19.880 You didn't tell twenty people. You didn't even tell anybody. Man, 0:04:20.800 --> 0:04:23.760 he's too big for your box. You know he's able 0:04:23.839 --> 0:04:32.479 to do exceedingly abundantly above while we ask come out Fredick, Hey, 0:04:33.200 --> 0:04:44.160 what's up Tampa. I heard y'all were coming passing. So 0:04:44.279 --> 0:04:48.039 y'all got me today, right? Our e fan from all 0:04:48.040 --> 0:04:49.680 over the word, let's welcome. Are you fam from all 0:04:49.760 --> 0:05:00.279 over the world? Help me church now, Chris Brennan, John 0:05:00.360 --> 0:05:05.320 sof LJ Scot we got to take the Roar on tour. 0:05:07.760 --> 0:05:11.520 Elevation Nights is coming your way April twenty six. You 0:05:11.600 --> 0:05:16.760 better get a ticket. Chicago, Brand Rapids, Indianapolis, Columbus, Washington, 0:05:16.839 --> 0:05:24.080 d c Reading, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Boston, Massachusetts. So 0:05:24.240 --> 0:05:28.360 we'll see you there, Elevation Nights dot com. Oh, it's 0:05:28.400 --> 0:05:31.240 good to focus on some good news today. For me, 0:05:31.360 --> 0:05:33.840 it is and I owe you. I owe you a 0:05:34.040 --> 0:05:38.280 part two of last week's message, and I intend to 0:05:38.400 --> 0:05:42.600 deliver it with the help of the Holy Spirit. Last 0:05:42.600 --> 0:05:47.720 week we talked about move in what You're made for, 0:05:49.000 --> 0:05:53.200 and we used creation. Yeah, we used creation as a classroom. 0:05:54.040 --> 0:05:56.960 We went to the school of the fish and learned 0:05:57.000 --> 0:05:59.440 that God created for the fish the environment that they 0:05:59.520 --> 0:06:03.080 needed to survive, but to thrive in it. And when 0:06:03.120 --> 0:06:06.840 I move in what I'm made for, not not what 0:06:07.040 --> 0:06:10.680 people manipulate me to be, but what God made me 0:06:10.839 --> 0:06:15.360 to be. You know, when when i'm when i'm I 0:06:15.440 --> 0:06:19.240 talked about last week, a bird in a bowl, right 0:06:19.839 --> 0:06:22.760 when I'm in the wrong environment, I never discover the 0:06:22.880 --> 0:06:27.200 equipment that God gave me, specifically as a man, as 0:06:27.240 --> 0:06:30.120 a dad, as a pastor, all of these things that 0:06:30.200 --> 0:06:32.480 we find ourselves challenged in life. We went in the 0:06:32.520 --> 0:06:36.400 school of creation, a classroom of creation. I like that better, 0:06:36.480 --> 0:06:40.840 the classroom of creation, and we use that as a model. Now, 0:06:41.040 --> 0:06:43.160 the Word of God is powerful. How many believe that 0:06:44.000 --> 0:06:49.840 the Word of God is powerful. But the Bible, as 0:06:49.880 --> 0:06:52.520 we understand it as the Word of God, becomes more 0:06:52.600 --> 0:06:56.680 powerful as it becomes more personal to us. So if 0:06:56.720 --> 0:06:58.960 I approach the Bible, I heard somebody say one time, 0:06:59.200 --> 0:07:02.800 the Bible is an instruction manual for life. Well, if 0:07:02.839 --> 0:07:05.760 it's an instruction manual. It's a really bad one, right, 0:07:06.360 --> 0:07:08.960 because you weren't made with the same parts that I 0:07:09.160 --> 0:07:12.400 was made with. So instruction manual it has to be 0:07:12.480 --> 0:07:14.880 the same exact model of the blender or it's not 0:07:14.960 --> 0:07:17.200 going to fit that blender. And I probably could have 0:07:17.240 --> 0:07:20.080 done better than Blender for the analogy that I use. 0:07:20.160 --> 0:07:23.560 But you know what I'm saying. And so the Bible 0:07:23.640 --> 0:07:29.040 is not an instruction manual. It's living. It's living. And 0:07:29.160 --> 0:07:31.560 we say that it's the instruction manual because it came 0:07:31.640 --> 0:07:37.160 from the manufacturer, which is true, the maker. But the 0:07:37.240 --> 0:07:40.760 Word of God is actually less like a manual, and 0:07:41.280 --> 0:07:46.680 it's more like a model, a model where I see 0:07:46.720 --> 0:07:50.120 who God is, so I can discover who I am. 0:07:54.080 --> 0:07:56.280 So what the Lord started doing last week? And you 0:07:56.320 --> 0:07:58.560 can catch the message online. You can stop this one, 0:07:58.600 --> 0:08:00.200 go watch that one, come back to this one. We're 0:08:00.280 --> 0:08:03.000 leaving all there like a buffet for you. We're open 0:08:03.040 --> 0:08:06.080 twenty four to seven. This is an IHA kind of situation, 0:08:06.640 --> 0:08:14.800 but international House of Preaching, Am I right? It's y'all's fault. 0:08:14.880 --> 0:08:18.200 Y'all got me wound up, So I take no responsibility 0:08:18.400 --> 0:08:20.160 and we will sit in just a moment. But let's 0:08:20.200 --> 0:08:22.920 go to a personal example in the Bible. Because last 0:08:22.960 --> 0:08:26.600 week I used creation. This week the Lord directed me 0:08:26.960 --> 0:08:30.920 to use Moses as a model. The Bible says that 0:08:31.080 --> 0:08:34.599 these are examples for us, good and bad, so that 0:08:34.720 --> 0:08:38.079 we can have our own foundation of faith. And I 0:08:38.160 --> 0:08:40.680 want to look at Exodus chapter four from the Life 0:08:40.720 --> 0:08:44.160 of Moses and read you this. As we continue deeper 0:08:44.240 --> 0:08:47.880 into this thing, God is trying to rebuild your self 0:08:48.000 --> 0:08:54.760 image in his image. Okay, that's what God is trying 0:08:54.840 --> 0:08:59.439 to do. Let us make man in our image. That's 0:08:59.520 --> 0:09:02.959 God talk. So that's what He's trying to do for you. 0:09:03.600 --> 0:09:05.400 And I thought it would be good since we looked 0:09:05.440 --> 0:09:08.880 at how God created man in Genesis one. Now let's 0:09:08.920 --> 0:09:12.640 look at God creating a nation. Now they've been a nation. 0:09:13.280 --> 0:09:15.760 The people have been a nation, but they've been enslaved. 0:09:16.320 --> 0:09:18.960 And now as they come into their identity as free people, 0:09:19.760 --> 0:09:25.240 God speaks to one man, the man, the myth, the legend, Moses. 0:09:25.360 --> 0:09:30.440 Y'all know Moses. You think you know Moses. You don't 0:09:30.480 --> 0:09:35.120 know Moses. Tell somebody you don't know Moses. You're gonna 0:09:35.160 --> 0:09:37.240 know Moses a little bit better. When we finished today, 0:09:39.160 --> 0:09:46.040 Exodus four, verse ten, Moses said to the Lord, pardon 0:09:46.120 --> 0:09:52.160 your servant, Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither in 0:09:52.240 --> 0:09:56.559 the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. 0:09:57.360 --> 0:10:02.040 I am slow of speech and tom and the Lord 0:10:02.160 --> 0:10:10.800 said to him, who gave human beings their mouths? Who 0:10:10.960 --> 0:10:18.280 makes them death or mute? Who gives them sight or 0:10:18.400 --> 0:10:24.760 makes them blind? Is it not I? The Lord? Now 0:10:25.960 --> 0:10:32.160 go move in, go move now, go right now, now, 0:10:32.280 --> 0:10:36.960 get it all figured out. Now go. I will help 0:10:37.040 --> 0:10:43.640 you speak. I'll teach you what to say. I wish 0:10:43.640 --> 0:10:45.440 I could tell you that it ended on a happy note, 0:10:45.480 --> 0:10:53.360 but you know Moses said in verse thirteen, pardon your servant, Lord, 0:10:55.520 --> 0:11:00.360 please send someone else. Reminds you of and the New 0:11:00.400 --> 0:11:03.160 Testament doesn't. When Jesus helped him catch all those fish, 0:11:03.200 --> 0:11:05.559 and he said, go away from me, Lord, I'm a 0:11:05.640 --> 0:11:11.160 sinful man. God, you know I'm not cut out for this. God. 0:11:11.240 --> 0:11:13.640 You know I got secrets. God, you know I got weaknesses. 0:11:14.679 --> 0:11:18.080 You know I can't speak. That was Moses's response. He said, 0:11:18.200 --> 0:11:25.160 sind someone else. Then the Lord's anger burned against Moses, 0:11:25.920 --> 0:11:31.720 and he said, deals off, We're done. That's the God. 0:11:31.840 --> 0:11:34.360 Some of us were taught about but it's not the 0:11:34.480 --> 0:11:40.840 true God. It's not the true God. The Lord was angry, 0:11:41.520 --> 0:11:45.280 but he didn't turn away. The Lord was angry. Did 0:11:45.320 --> 0:11:47.480 you know that some of what you call humility is 0:11:47.600 --> 0:11:50.640 really insecurity and it insults your maker when you don't 0:11:50.760 --> 0:11:56.080 like what he made. He was angry. He was angry 0:11:56.960 --> 0:12:01.480 with Moses, and he said, what about your brother Aaron 0:12:01.520 --> 0:12:05.240 the Levite. I know he can speak well, and he 0:12:05.520 --> 0:12:10.120 is already on his way to meet you, and he'll 0:12:10.160 --> 0:12:13.280 be glad to see you. You shall speak to him 0:12:14.000 --> 0:12:20.199 and put words in his mouth. That's awesome. I will 0:12:20.240 --> 0:12:23.040 help both of you speak, and I'll teach you what 0:12:23.200 --> 0:12:26.320 to do. He will speak to the people the Israelites 0:12:26.400 --> 0:12:29.679 for you, and it will be as if he or 0:12:29.760 --> 0:12:31.839 your mouth, and as if you were God to him. 0:12:32.559 --> 0:12:35.280 But this is less script. Shomride, I know your feet 0:12:35.280 --> 0:12:42.160 are hurting. Take this staff in your hand, somebody say 0:12:42.240 --> 0:12:45.760 your hand. Take this staff in your hand so you 0:12:46.400 --> 0:12:50.360 can perform the signs with it. And the Lord directed 0:12:50.400 --> 0:12:54.240 me to talk to you today about making peace with 0:12:54.480 --> 0:13:02.760 missing pieces, making peace with missing pieces. Thank you for 0:13:02.840 --> 0:13:06.720 your word, Lord, We say yes in advance in Jesus' name. Amen, 0:13:07.559 --> 0:13:14.240 you may be seated making peace with missing pieces. P 0:13:14.400 --> 0:13:17.640 E A C E and then P I E eye 0:13:17.679 --> 0:13:21.080 before you Right. Yeah, spelling on my feet is hard. Oh, 0:13:21.120 --> 0:13:23.439 by the way, speaking of that, y'all, pray for me. 0:13:23.480 --> 0:13:26.559 I'm struggling with self esteem like never before because of Holly. 0:13:27.040 --> 0:13:32.160 She's got me playing this game called wordle. Y'all know it. 0:13:33.280 --> 0:13:34.880 I didn't know if it was like a little cult 0:13:34.960 --> 0:13:38.559 thing that Holly had gotten into. She's always texting this 0:13:38.640 --> 0:13:40.480 group text on the phone on the bed. I'm like, 0:13:40.520 --> 0:13:43.160 who you're texting us? Eleven thirty p She's like, I 0:13:43.200 --> 0:13:46.120 only got thirty minutes to get my wordle in. It's 0:13:46.720 --> 0:13:51.520 a word puzzle, five letter words. And the reason I 0:13:51.600 --> 0:13:53.720 asked you to pray for me is because she keeps 0:13:53.760 --> 0:13:57.640 beating me daily. Because we put a family wordle group chat, 0:13:57.720 --> 0:13:59.240 and on the group chat, if you were to see it, 0:13:59.360 --> 0:14:01.840 you would pray for all my kids because it's Graham 0:14:01.920 --> 0:14:04.679 calling Abby a cheater. It's Abby telling Graham I'm not 0:14:04.760 --> 0:14:07.400 a cheater, you know. And then our family is normal. 0:14:07.480 --> 0:14:09.160 So we're going back and forth and find I know 0:14:09.280 --> 0:14:12.640 your family, y'all read scripture every morning, take the blood 0:14:12.679 --> 0:14:15.000 of the communion, and put the cross on the door 0:14:15.040 --> 0:14:16.800 and send them off the school on the bus singing 0:14:16.880 --> 0:14:19.320 about you know, proud Mary, keep on burning. But you're 0:14:19.320 --> 0:14:21.480 talking about the Virgin Mary because you're a Christian. But 0:14:26.560 --> 0:14:28.560 when I tell you she beats me every day, she 0:14:29.080 --> 0:14:32.440 beats me every day, and you could look up the game. 0:14:32.480 --> 0:14:35.000 I'm not sponsored by the New York Times or anything 0:14:35.120 --> 0:14:39.760 like that, but it's it's pretty fun. It's frustrating. And 0:14:40.000 --> 0:14:44.600 what I can't get over is Abby beating me. That's 0:14:44.640 --> 0:14:49.080 been that's been rough, that's been rough. And Abby beat 0:14:49.160 --> 0:14:51.160 me the other day. Because you have so many guesses 0:14:51.240 --> 0:14:52.760 to get it, and she guessed it in two and 0:14:52.840 --> 0:14:56.280 I guessed it in four. Graham said she cheated, and 0:14:56.400 --> 0:14:58.840 I just texted back to the group chat kind of sarcastically. 0:14:58.880 --> 0:15:01.400 I'm like, well we oh, no, I'm bad with words 0:15:03.040 --> 0:15:05.720 because I was like overcompensating for the feeling of getting 0:15:05.760 --> 0:15:10.080 beat by my ten year old. And Holly says back 0:15:10.880 --> 0:15:17.040 on the group chat, Nope, not words, just puzzles, and 0:15:17.280 --> 0:15:25.480 she's right, I suck at puzzles. I do. I showed 0:15:25.480 --> 0:15:27.400 you last week some things that I'm not so good at, 0:15:27.440 --> 0:15:28.920 and I used the words suck when I said that 0:15:29.000 --> 0:15:30.280 so I'm trying to say it in a way where 0:15:30.280 --> 0:15:35.160 you can understand how much I hate puzzles because of 0:15:35.280 --> 0:15:40.720 how much I lack patience. Holly is a better person 0:15:40.960 --> 0:15:43.440 than me. I can tell you this over and over. 0:15:43.840 --> 0:15:47.880 She has more patience than me to sit with pieces 0:15:48.160 --> 0:15:51.040 and try to make it look like a picture that 0:15:51.160 --> 0:15:54.680 I can already see. Why do I need to spend 0:15:55.160 --> 0:16:00.360 five hours taking something that is intentionally broken and putting 0:16:00.440 --> 0:16:03.880 it together just so I can see what I already saw? 0:16:04.240 --> 0:16:07.200 Why this thing was still at the store on the shelf. 0:16:07.960 --> 0:16:11.680 That's how I feel about puzzles. I'm bad at puzzles. 0:16:12.600 --> 0:16:16.040 I'm bad at puzzles. Any puzzle people in the house 0:16:16.440 --> 0:16:20.360 make some nook such a weird thing to be pumped about. 0:16:20.640 --> 0:16:26.160 I love puzzles. But now I need you to understand 0:16:26.200 --> 0:16:29.160 why I'm bringing all of this up. Not random, not random, 0:16:29.200 --> 0:16:32.960 not random, not random, not random. This is one of 0:16:33.000 --> 0:16:34.600 the pieces that I want to use to get you 0:16:34.680 --> 0:16:37.440 to think about what I'm trying to communicate to you 0:16:37.560 --> 0:16:42.200 about how God made you in his image. But you 0:16:42.320 --> 0:16:46.400 don't get to see all of God at once, Therefore 0:16:46.760 --> 0:16:49.440 you don't get to know all of you at once. 0:16:50.360 --> 0:16:54.320 In the Scripture, it's called progressive revelation. That doesn't mean 0:16:54.360 --> 0:16:58.040 God changes. God didn't grow two inches since last Sunday 0:16:58.040 --> 0:17:00.800 when I saw you, But it does mean that our 0:17:00.920 --> 0:17:06.000 understanding of Him changes. We see through a glass dimly. 0:17:07.000 --> 0:17:09.040 We don't see God as he really is. We see 0:17:09.080 --> 0:17:12.960 God as we think we are. So then for God 0:17:13.040 --> 0:17:15.720 to do work in my heart, for God to show 0:17:15.760 --> 0:17:20.119 me something about myself, I have to start with the source. 0:17:22.040 --> 0:17:26.680 Start with the source. I want to encourage somebody to 0:17:26.880 --> 0:17:31.240 start with the source when you are trying to figure 0:17:31.240 --> 0:17:33.760 out who am I and I don't know whether I'm 0:17:33.800 --> 0:17:35.919 a bird or a fish, or whether I'm good at 0:17:35.960 --> 0:17:38.480 this or whether I'm good at that. I really don't 0:17:38.560 --> 0:17:42.000 know yet. That's good, But don't start with what you 0:17:42.119 --> 0:17:46.400 think you are, and don't start with what you think 0:17:46.440 --> 0:17:51.680 God is. You have got to spend time to really understand. 0:17:51.720 --> 0:17:54.440 I know, I'm all about self improvement. I'm all about 0:17:54.480 --> 0:17:56.800 self help. Somebody's like, well, you know, we don't need 0:17:57.000 --> 0:17:59.800 self help, we need God's help. But I promise you this, 0:18:00.800 --> 0:18:03.399 God is not going to do for you what you 0:18:03.600 --> 0:18:10.320 can do for you. God doesn't reveal himself by osmosis. 0:18:11.480 --> 0:18:14.480 I spend time in his presence. That's how I get 0:18:14.520 --> 0:18:17.560 the picture of who he is. And when I get 0:18:17.600 --> 0:18:20.359 the picture of who he is, I can begin to 0:18:20.400 --> 0:18:25.240 put together the pieces of what He's making me to be. Now, 0:18:25.600 --> 0:18:29.520 the big picture of this text is the Hebrew children 0:18:30.040 --> 0:18:33.919 coming out of Egypt because God is their deliverer. Remember 0:18:34.000 --> 0:18:39.120 in Genesis one, God is creating. Now in Exodus chapter three, 0:18:39.359 --> 0:18:44.400 he's liberating. Same God in a different dimension, same God 0:18:45.040 --> 0:18:48.760 in a different season, same God meeting a different need. 0:18:49.840 --> 0:18:53.920 He formed the man from the dust in Genesis chapter 0:18:54.040 --> 0:18:58.359 one and two, and he formed the nation. Watch this 0:18:59.359 --> 0:19:04.720 from the dust of their slavery and the cries of 0:19:04.760 --> 0:19:12.480 their groaning. He spoke. He spoke to Moses, I love that. 0:19:13.760 --> 0:19:17.560 How we kind of have a war of words going 0:19:17.640 --> 0:19:22.920 on in this passage. Let me illustrate. In verse ten, 0:19:24.040 --> 0:19:29.280 Moses said to the Lord in verse did you see that? 0:19:29.400 --> 0:19:32.680 Did they put it up? Okay? Now, I want you 0:19:32.760 --> 0:19:35.280 to see this with your own eyes, because it's this 0:19:35.520 --> 0:19:38.360 back and forth that's been happening in your life too. 0:19:39.160 --> 0:19:43.720 Moses said to the Lord, I can't do this. I 0:19:43.840 --> 0:19:49.520 never did it before. Wrong, dude, Moses said to the Lord, 0:19:50.440 --> 0:19:52.480 I wasn't good at what you're asking me to do 0:19:53.440 --> 0:19:56.879 when you met me, and not much has changed in 0:19:56.960 --> 0:19:59.040 the last ten minutes, because you know, we think the 0:19:59.080 --> 0:20:00.600 word of God is just going to change us on 0:20:00.720 --> 0:20:03.080 the spot. We think that God's gonna speak to us. 0:20:03.080 --> 0:20:04.760 All the fear is gonna go, all the all the 0:20:05.040 --> 0:20:07.239 all the bitterness is gonna go. It's just gonna go. Man, 0:20:07.280 --> 0:20:10.080 I'm just gonna drink. When I'm supposed to drain every 0:20:10.160 --> 0:20:13.120 disappointment out of your life in fifty minutes on a Sunday. 0:20:13.359 --> 0:20:16.760 It doesn't work like that, but it's a starting point. 0:20:18.680 --> 0:20:22.720 Moses said to the Lord, and then verse eleven, the 0:20:22.800 --> 0:20:28.240 Lord said to him, it's a war of words. It's 0:20:28.280 --> 0:20:34.119 a war of words. Now, I'm not gonna talk on 0:20:34.280 --> 0:20:37.800 this pulpit today about the war that's in the news, 0:20:39.040 --> 0:20:40.920 because there nothing I can do about that. I can pray, 0:20:41.520 --> 0:20:44.760 we can give, but beyond that, there's not much I 0:20:44.800 --> 0:20:48.600 can do. I want to take this moment to talk 0:20:48.640 --> 0:20:53.960 about the war in you. You hearing a lot about 0:20:55.080 --> 0:20:59.080 a world war, but don't we see in the scripture 0:21:00.119 --> 0:21:06.520 that there's a word war happening as well. Where the 0:21:06.560 --> 0:21:08.520 Lord said to Moses, I got something for you to 0:21:08.600 --> 0:21:11.000 do I'm going to use what you have. I'm gonna 0:21:11.040 --> 0:21:13.440 take you forward into something that is going to set 0:21:13.560 --> 0:21:16.560 others free. Is not just about me. There is a 0:21:16.680 --> 0:21:21.280 bigger picture here. For four hundred years, get this, Get this, 0:21:21.640 --> 0:21:25.840 for four hundred years, there is no record of God 0:21:25.960 --> 0:21:32.040 revealing himself. Demand for four hundred years. And then the 0:21:32.080 --> 0:21:35.760 Lord's word came to Moses, sending you to Pharaoh. And 0:21:35.800 --> 0:21:39.000 when you get to him, tell him Pharaoh, Pharaoh, old baby. 0:21:39.280 --> 0:21:42.159 Let my people go, oh yeah, yeah, make sure you 0:21:42.280 --> 0:21:47.359 put the uh in there and mostly uh uh. And 0:21:47.480 --> 0:21:49.240 he walks through it. And I'm gonna walk you back 0:21:49.320 --> 0:21:52.000 through this. But first, can we acknowledge that there is 0:21:52.080 --> 0:21:57.399 a war of words happening in your soul too, that 0:21:57.520 --> 0:22:00.600 there is a war of words happening in your home, 0:22:01.640 --> 0:22:06.359 that there is a war of words happening in your heart. 0:22:07.240 --> 0:22:10.960 The enemy waged war against Moses before he was ever born. 0:22:12.560 --> 0:22:15.080 He had to be floated in a basket on the 0:22:15.240 --> 0:22:19.320 nile to survive. Some of you, the devil has been 0:22:19.440 --> 0:22:25.320 after you your whole life. People should have spoken affirmation 0:22:25.520 --> 0:22:29.120 over you. People should have smoken direction to you. People 0:22:29.200 --> 0:22:34.320 should have given encouragement to you, and they didn't so 0:22:34.560 --> 0:22:41.479 other words take root. I told Holly, I'm bad at words. 0:22:42.600 --> 0:22:47.200 She said, no, just puzzles. You're just not patient enough. 0:22:48.960 --> 0:22:51.680 You're just not patient enough. You don't like puzzles because 0:22:51.680 --> 0:22:54.520 you're not patient. And then I said back, I said, well, 0:22:54.720 --> 0:22:57.040 if you would get off wordle and get in the 0:22:57.119 --> 0:23:01.200 wordle of God. Maybe I didn't say that to such staid, 0:23:03.520 --> 0:23:06.520 but really, now let's go to it. This is not 0:23:06.680 --> 0:23:10.760 a game here. What's on the line here is not 0:23:10.920 --> 0:23:13.800 whether or not God's people will be set free, because 0:23:13.880 --> 0:23:18.560 God will always accomplish his purpose. God will always accomplish 0:23:18.640 --> 0:23:23.680 his purpose. God will always accomplish his purpose. I promise you. 0:23:23.760 --> 0:23:27.840 If Saul gets crazy, David is already in the sheep field. 0:23:28.200 --> 0:23:32.439 God will always accomplish his purpose. If you get fired 0:23:32.520 --> 0:23:35.680 while being faithful, God will use the fertilizer of what 0:23:35.840 --> 0:23:38.840 you call a failure to create something in your life 0:23:40.040 --> 0:23:43.440 that you didn't even know to pray for him. The 0:23:43.640 --> 0:23:49.480 question isn't whether God's calling and purpose will be confirmed. 0:23:49.760 --> 0:23:54.000 It's not whether God will do it. Will he do 0:23:54.160 --> 0:24:00.359 it in you and through you? Unless we get too 0:24:00.400 --> 0:24:03.560 excited about this war of words, because you know, I 0:24:03.640 --> 0:24:07.000 think the assumption is that since Moses went to Pharaoh 0:24:07.119 --> 0:24:10.040 and God unleashed frogs and hail and locusts and all 0:24:10.080 --> 0:24:12.399 this stuff, and the people got to go through the 0:24:12.440 --> 0:24:21.200 Red Sea. That Moses won, But he really didn't because 0:24:21.240 --> 0:24:23.560 it was the words of the tense spies who told 0:24:23.640 --> 0:24:26.359 him the giants are bigger than us that kept him 0:24:26.400 --> 0:24:30.320 from going into the promised Land. It was the words 0:24:30.359 --> 0:24:35.440 of grumbling study it sometime it was words, words, words, words, words, words, words. 0:24:35.760 --> 0:24:38.679 It was the words of the grumbling Israelites who were 0:24:38.720 --> 0:24:42.280 thirsty in the desert that made him take his staff 0:24:43.000 --> 0:24:46.760 that could split seas and strike a rock out of 0:24:46.840 --> 0:24:51.119 frustration to bring forth water. And because he listened to 0:24:51.320 --> 0:24:55.919 their words, grumbling, complaining, murmuring comments, twitter, I mean, uh, 0:24:56.119 --> 0:24:59.680 grumbling complaining. Now I'm in the wrong decade, y'all. But 0:25:00.080 --> 0:25:04.520 some things never change. It's still a war of words. 0:25:06.680 --> 0:25:13.520 It's a war of words. Five letter words. Y'all know 0:25:13.560 --> 0:25:17.200 about four letter words? Oh, y'all never say four letter 0:25:17.240 --> 0:25:20.400 words in your head? Okay, okay, okay, okay? And word 0:25:20.440 --> 0:25:22.200 will they have five letter words? And I just saw 0:25:22.240 --> 0:25:25.679 two five letter words here, And I think it's very simple. 0:25:26.160 --> 0:25:32.159 Faith in doubt, Faith in doubt, and I want to 0:25:32.200 --> 0:25:34.320 break this down so you can understand the war of 0:25:34.359 --> 0:25:38.960 words that's happening not out of your mouth, but out 0:25:38.960 --> 0:25:43.080 of your mind in this moment that you're standing. At 0:25:44.000 --> 0:25:46.359 this moment, maybe you're not leading a nation out of slave. 0:25:46.720 --> 0:25:49.959 I think sometimes we dumb the Bible down to kind 0:25:50.000 --> 0:25:51.720 of make it about whatever we want it to be about. 0:25:52.600 --> 0:25:55.159 So God is calling Moses to be a deliverer, right, 0:25:55.200 --> 0:25:56.720 and we're like, well, that's kind of like me. I'm 0:25:56.720 --> 0:26:01.360 trying to go on a diet and you know, and boy, 0:26:01.400 --> 0:26:04.040 I really need God because it's hard. Okay, Well, the 0:26:04.119 --> 0:26:07.399 principle does apply because I think that Moses is a 0:26:07.520 --> 0:26:11.040 model for us for our life. But you know, this guy, 0:26:11.560 --> 0:26:13.960 this would be the equivalent of God tells you to 0:26:14.000 --> 0:26:17.359 stop putin. That's what it's like for Moses to go 0:26:17.480 --> 0:26:21.119 before Pharaoh. That's that's that's what that's what he's up against. 0:26:21.320 --> 0:26:24.280 So we're judging Moses, Well, Moses, you have the word 0:26:24.320 --> 0:26:27.280 of the Lord, go fourth mighty warrior in the word 0:26:27.359 --> 0:26:30.440 of the Lord. You know, we're judging this dude like 0:26:30.880 --> 0:26:33.440 I can't even find my car keys without saying four 0:26:33.520 --> 0:26:36.920 letter words. You know, I'm trying to judge Moses about 0:26:37.000 --> 0:26:39.880 him fighting with God over speaking to the most powerful 0:26:39.920 --> 0:26:43.919 man in the world who has terrorized his people for centuries. 0:26:44.240 --> 0:26:46.400 But I like it because I dare you to show 0:26:46.480 --> 0:26:48.440 me something bigger that God is trying to bring you 0:26:48.520 --> 0:26:53.240 into than this. And that's why it's a good model, 0:26:54.200 --> 0:26:57.040 because it shows me this is this is ridiculous what 0:26:57.200 --> 0:26:59.960 God is giving him to do. This is not improblem 0:27:00.400 --> 0:27:04.680 this is impossible. This is not like a lord, I 0:27:04.800 --> 0:27:07.000 need you to show me whether to move to Atlanta 0:27:07.119 --> 0:27:10.160 or Cincinnati, And the Lord's like, I really don't care 0:27:10.200 --> 0:27:11.760 about that. I just want you to find a good 0:27:11.800 --> 0:27:13.399 church when you get there, get good friends, and make 0:27:13.400 --> 0:27:22.600 a difference either place. He is deciding whether or not 0:27:23.440 --> 0:27:27.879 to him embrace his destiny or to be limited by 0:27:27.960 --> 0:27:34.600 his history. And that's where you are. A few months 0:27:34.600 --> 0:27:39.760 ago I preached when Never meets Now. Three of y'all 0:27:39.800 --> 0:27:44.840 heard it when Never meets Now, and I had this 0:27:44.920 --> 0:27:46.800 scripture ready, but I didn't get to use it where 0:27:46.800 --> 0:27:52.840 he said I have verse ten never. I remember, we 0:27:53.040 --> 0:27:55.880 are different than everything else God created because He made 0:27:55.960 --> 0:27:58.760 us by hand down in the dust, and he made 0:27:58.840 --> 0:28:02.919 us ruoc the breadth of life in you. Let everything 0:28:03.000 --> 0:28:06.679 that has breath, praise the Lord. Let everything that has 0:28:06.760 --> 0:28:12.160 breath praise the Lord. HM. But one other way we're different. 0:28:12.200 --> 0:28:15.520 That I realized when I was preaching last week. It says, 0:28:15.560 --> 0:28:20.080 over and over again, God spoke, and God saw God spoke. 0:28:20.200 --> 0:28:23.280 He said, let there be light, and the light said yes, sir, 0:28:25.320 --> 0:28:29.680 and it's shown. Then he spoke, which is crazy because 0:28:29.680 --> 0:28:32.639 he hadn't even made the sun yet, but the light 0:28:32.760 --> 0:28:35.200 still decided to shine even though there was no sun. 0:28:36.800 --> 0:28:39.840 That's how powerful God's word is. It doesn't have to 0:28:39.920 --> 0:28:44.680 make sense if he speaks it. Y'all are ready for that? Hey, Tampa, 0:28:44.720 --> 0:28:48.880 I thought, y'all have my back today God God will 0:28:48.920 --> 0:28:52.120 speak something you have no context for. He'll tell Noah, 0:28:52.240 --> 0:28:54.640 build an arc and there's no such thing as rain yet. 0:28:56.920 --> 0:28:59.560 And can you do that? Can you believe what God 0:28:59.680 --> 0:29:02.040 says when you don't see it at all? That is 0:29:02.120 --> 0:29:07.600 the five letter word faith. And it goes on and on. 0:29:07.880 --> 0:29:09.760 You know. On the first day, God says light, B. 0:29:10.160 --> 0:29:13.560 Light says yes, sir. Light was Day two, God says 0:29:13.800 --> 0:29:17.560 clouds in sky B C B and the sea said yes, sir. 0:29:17.800 --> 0:29:20.040 And the cloud said, I'll take the high road. You 0:29:20.160 --> 0:29:22.280 take the low road, and the sea went deep and 0:29:22.360 --> 0:29:25.680 the clouds went high, and it was good. God spoke, 0:29:26.000 --> 0:29:28.680 God saw. On the third day, God told the land 0:29:29.000 --> 0:29:32.280 land produce living things, make plants, and the land said, yes, sir, 0:29:32.480 --> 0:29:34.760 And the plants started to grow. On the fourth day 0:29:35.080 --> 0:29:38.200 kind of different. But God said, hey, Sun, you take 0:29:38.240 --> 0:29:41.600 the day shift. The sun said, yes, sir. The moon said, oh, 0:29:41.680 --> 0:29:43.800 I'm not a night person. No, the moon didn't say that. 0:29:44.160 --> 0:29:45.800 The moon said, I'll go where you need me to go. 0:29:46.120 --> 0:29:47.800 I'll do what you need me to do. I'll be 0:29:47.920 --> 0:29:49.600 what you need me to be. I'll hang where you 0:29:49.680 --> 0:29:51.640 need me to hang. I'll pull the ocean that you 0:29:51.760 --> 0:29:54.320 made on the second day, I'll pull it. I'll control 0:29:54.400 --> 0:29:58.240 the tides. Everybody's doing its job. Everything is working in 0:29:58.360 --> 0:30:01.440 perfect order, according to the spoken word of God. In 0:30:01.560 --> 0:30:04.080 the creation of cow. In the fifth day, he told 0:30:04.080 --> 0:30:06.440 the birds, I made a place for you called Scott. 0:30:06.680 --> 0:30:09.760 They're like, this is amazing. I believe I can fly. 0:30:10.120 --> 0:30:12.320 I'm a flap till I get there. And they start 0:30:12.400 --> 0:30:15.400 flying around. And then Nemo and Dorry and all of that. 0:30:15.520 --> 0:30:19.840 On the fifth day, and nobody argued. On the sixth day, 0:30:19.880 --> 0:30:22.960 he made the living creatures and the cows, and the horses, 0:30:23.040 --> 0:30:26.360 and the oxen and the donkeys, everything in his place 0:30:26.560 --> 0:30:36.280 till you came along. Now, of everything God spoke, only 0:30:36.480 --> 0:30:47.400 one talked back, Lord, I don't know how to do 0:30:48.520 --> 0:30:50.680 what you're telling me to do. I'm making fun of Moses, 0:30:50.720 --> 0:30:53.120 but I already told you he has much greater faith 0:30:53.200 --> 0:30:55.960 than me to even be in this place. The first 0:30:56.000 --> 0:30:58.600 thing Moses did when God spoke, he took off his shoes. 0:30:59.560 --> 0:31:02.680 So now let's step into his shoes so we can 0:31:02.760 --> 0:31:04.520 step in, because he took them off when he saw 0:31:04.560 --> 0:31:07.120 that burning bush. And let's imagine this is me. Let's 0:31:07.200 --> 0:31:12.880 imagine this is you, and the Lord is talking about 0:31:12.960 --> 0:31:20.920 world peace, and you are carrying a shepherd's staff, and 0:31:21.000 --> 0:31:24.760 the Lord is speaking to you about generational blessing, and 0:31:24.880 --> 0:31:33.480 you are still wrestling with a generational curse. It's a 0:31:33.600 --> 0:31:40.000 war of words what God has spoken over your life. 0:31:41.040 --> 0:31:43.280 That is one thing about the Spirit of God who 0:31:43.320 --> 0:31:46.280 lives within us through the Holy Spirit. Now Moses didn't 0:31:46.320 --> 0:31:48.520 know about the Holy Spirit inside of you. He didn't 0:31:48.520 --> 0:31:51.560 even know who he was talking to yet. But the 0:31:51.640 --> 0:31:54.880 Spirit of God in Genesis was doing what the Spirit 0:31:54.960 --> 0:31:56.960 of God is doing today. It says, the spirit of 0:31:57.040 --> 0:32:02.880 God hovered above everything that God had made. When the 0:32:02.920 --> 0:32:06.920 word of God speaks, he speaks from above. That's why 0:32:07.000 --> 0:32:08.800 he can tell you things in your spirit that you 0:32:08.880 --> 0:32:11.040 can't see with your eyes and that people can't confirm 0:32:11.280 --> 0:32:17.120 with their words. Because he speaks from above. It can 0:32:17.160 --> 0:32:20.960 I show you this on a deeper level? You ready, 0:32:22.560 --> 0:32:26.800 there are at least at least you could probably find 0:32:26.880 --> 0:32:32.000 more four missing pieces that Moses had to wrestle with 0:32:33.040 --> 0:32:36.280 to move forward in the mission God gave him. I 0:32:36.400 --> 0:32:39.000 think they will apply to everybody in this room. How 0:32:39.040 --> 0:32:40.760 can that be. There's twelve year olds in this room. 0:32:40.760 --> 0:32:42.800 There's eighty year olds in this room. There's people who 0:32:42.880 --> 0:32:46.200 are on unemployment in this room. There's multimillionaires in this room. 0:32:46.360 --> 0:32:51.520 But when God speaks his spirit and personal lives the 0:32:51.640 --> 0:32:56.360 word directly to the way He made you to be. 0:32:58.960 --> 0:33:04.120 God likes puzzles. Now, He's not gonna give you the picture. 0:33:07.640 --> 0:33:11.480 That's the worst part about trying to be who God's 0:33:11.520 --> 0:33:14.680 made you to be. He dumps the pieces out on 0:33:14.760 --> 0:33:20.560 the table and doesn't show you a picture. Well, he 0:33:20.680 --> 0:33:25.040 shows you one piece at a time. That's how God works, 0:33:25.440 --> 0:33:32.640 one piece at a time. Step by step, day by day, 0:33:32.920 --> 0:33:36.800 Give us this day seventy years worth of bread so 0:33:36.880 --> 0:33:38.440 we never have to go to the store again. No, no, no, 0:33:38.760 --> 0:33:42.400 our daily bread. You get overwhelmed by this. You have 0:33:42.520 --> 0:33:47.200 no peace. You're overwhelmed. You're thinking about thirteen hypothetical scenarios. 0:33:47.480 --> 0:33:54.320 You can't fight the devil on a hypothetical. And that's 0:33:54.360 --> 0:33:57.400 how Moses started. I'm gonna just pull him up real quick. 0:33:57.400 --> 0:33:59.360 You're ready, I'm I'm gonna give you all four of 0:33:59.440 --> 0:34:02.040 them so quick. So pay attention. The first thing that 0:34:02.200 --> 0:34:04.800 Moses said, the missing piece, because God is saying, I 0:34:04.880 --> 0:34:06.520 got something for you to do. Now, how many of 0:34:06.560 --> 0:34:07.920 you feel like God has something for you to do. 0:34:08.160 --> 0:34:11.000 It's not leading people out of slavery or something like that, 0:34:11.120 --> 0:34:13.239 big like that, but God's given you something to do. 0:34:13.800 --> 0:34:22.560 Raise your hand or die. Okay, all right, So this 0:34:22.719 --> 0:34:28.200 is for everybody that's still here. Ah. The first thing 0:34:28.320 --> 0:34:32.680 Moses said, give me that Exodus three scripture. He said, no, no, 0:34:32.800 --> 0:34:37.320 Exodus three, Exodus three? Who am I that I should 0:34:37.360 --> 0:34:41.280 go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt? 0:34:42.520 --> 0:34:45.720 God said, I'll be with you. So then that follows 0:34:45.880 --> 0:34:48.239 this next question. You got, who am I. And then 0:34:48.280 --> 0:34:51.960 look at verse thirteen. Moses said to God, suppose I 0:34:52.000 --> 0:34:53.160 go to this real liace and said to the God, 0:34:53.200 --> 0:34:54.520 your father send me to you, And they asked, what 0:34:54.680 --> 0:34:56.160 is his name? Then why shall I tell them? In 0:34:56.200 --> 0:34:59.480 other words, my first question is who am I? But 0:34:59.600 --> 0:35:04.799 who are you? I hadn't heard from this in four 0:35:05.040 --> 0:35:11.200 hundred years. It's been four hundred years since a personal 0:35:11.239 --> 0:35:15.000 epiphany like this, God spoke to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph. 0:35:15.120 --> 0:35:17.919 But you got to understand there has been a long gap. 0:35:18.200 --> 0:35:20.200 When's the last time you had an encounter with God? 0:35:24.160 --> 0:35:26.320 When's the last time that you were like? That was 0:35:26.480 --> 0:35:29.080 God that did that for me. That was God that 0:35:29.200 --> 0:35:32.160 held me in his arms. That was God that reassured me. 0:35:32.440 --> 0:35:34.399 That was God that kept me from ending at all. 0:35:34.640 --> 0:35:36.880 That was God that kept me from going to prison, 0:35:37.000 --> 0:35:38.839 because if I would have done what I thought about 0:35:38.880 --> 0:35:44.399 doing it, I would not be here today. That was God. Yeah, 0:35:48.280 --> 0:35:50.719 so he's kind of getting honest. He's like, who am 0:35:50.760 --> 0:35:57.640 I to do this? But then who are you? Give 0:35:57.680 --> 0:36:02.600 me a second together? My thoughts. If you're knew to church, 0:36:03.440 --> 0:36:07.520 knew to God, knew to religion, I need to warn 0:36:07.600 --> 0:36:14.000 you about us we're the worst. We are the worst 0:36:14.520 --> 0:36:21.680 about pretending like we have faith figured out, and so 0:36:21.800 --> 0:36:27.879 we say words, words, words, words, words, words, But we're 0:36:27.960 --> 0:36:33.200 really good at hiding our war. Not many people quit 0:36:33.239 --> 0:36:37.239 coming to church because they assume, oh, they all have 0:36:37.440 --> 0:36:41.200 something that I don't have. They have like this deep 0:36:41.280 --> 0:36:45.960 relationship with God. They know them. You know, they say 0:36:46.080 --> 0:36:50.920 words propitiation. I don't know what that means. That's not 0:36:51.000 --> 0:36:57.200 a five letter word. I'm telling you the truth about Christians. 0:36:58.320 --> 0:37:01.399 And we Meanwhile, but a lot of us were taught 0:37:01.440 --> 0:37:05.040 that we had to have the whole thing figured out 0:37:05.160 --> 0:37:09.520 or it wasn't faith. So we mastered the art of 0:37:09.760 --> 0:37:20.520 sounding certain. We mastered the art of magnifying your missing pieces, 0:37:21.560 --> 0:37:26.640 so I don't have to deal with mine. Okay, it's 0:37:26.760 --> 0:37:28.799 dying out. Lord, Am I still on the right track. 0:37:29.360 --> 0:37:34.000 It was a lot more clapping earlier. Now. Now that's 0:37:34.160 --> 0:37:37.440 good news only if you are willing to get honest. 0:37:39.120 --> 0:37:43.240 That is good news about how God works in our life. 0:37:43.800 --> 0:37:46.600 Unless we think that the only way for us to 0:37:46.719 --> 0:37:50.320 have peace is to have no missing pieces. And this 0:37:50.560 --> 0:37:53.640 is where a lot of us who are perfectionists of 0:37:53.840 --> 0:37:59.320 talking any of Graham one, we think everything has to 0:37:59.400 --> 0:38:03.960 be us, so for us to be happy, for us 0:38:04.040 --> 0:38:06.960 to be grateful. And so we get in this thing 0:38:07.120 --> 0:38:09.040 all the time, a lot of us, do not all 0:38:09.120 --> 0:38:10.840 of us, but we get in this thing at a 0:38:10.880 --> 0:38:15.399 lot of the time that we say, when this, then i'le, 0:38:16.800 --> 0:38:20.880 When this than i'le. Now. The worst thing you can believe, 0:38:21.200 --> 0:38:24.080 please hear me, The worst thing that you can believe 0:38:24.360 --> 0:38:27.680 is that when you get here, then God will love you. 0:38:28.680 --> 0:38:31.480 That is from the pit of hell, that is alive, 0:38:32.440 --> 0:38:36.400 That is not in the Bible. It is by grace. 0:38:36.640 --> 0:38:41.080 You are saying, a kid, you God, grace. You got 0:38:41.200 --> 0:38:48.360 a lot, You got the greatest gift. His name is Jesus. 0:38:53.560 --> 0:38:57.680 We all need Jesus. We all need Jesus. Look at 0:38:57.719 --> 0:39:00.640 somebody say you need Jesus more than me. No, don't 0:39:00.640 --> 0:39:05.839 say that. Don't say that need him just as much 0:39:05.880 --> 0:39:08.440 as you. I need him just as much as you. 0:39:09.120 --> 0:39:11.480 I need him just as much as you. I was 0:39:11.600 --> 0:39:14.560 yelling at the ump and a baseball game and somebody said, 0:39:14.600 --> 0:39:16.919 I thought you were supposed to be a preacher. I said, 0:39:17.080 --> 0:39:19.759 my name is Stephen today, no pastor on the front. 0:39:19.960 --> 0:39:26.400 I'm Stephen Ram's dad. Okay, but I'm in the process 0:39:27.280 --> 0:39:31.520 he's fuckis. It's called sanctification, and it happens in stages. 0:39:33.400 --> 0:39:37.160 And I just wish that Moses would have asked the 0:39:37.760 --> 0:39:46.279 second question first. I just wish that he would have 0:39:46.360 --> 0:39:53.440 started with the source, not himself, because if you ask 0:39:53.520 --> 0:39:56.719 who am I, before you ask God who are you? 0:39:58.920 --> 0:40:05.520 You will misunderstand what you're made of. You're not made 0:40:05.560 --> 0:40:10.360 of dirt, You're not made of flesh, you are not 0:40:10.480 --> 0:40:14.920 made of bone, you are not made of I ran 0:40:14.960 --> 0:40:20.160 out of physical things to say. I'm winging this. You 0:40:20.280 --> 0:40:27.399 are made of spirit. Is that cool? Then everything else 0:40:27.440 --> 0:40:32.560 doesn't define you. So I like to telegram I'm five 0:40:32.760 --> 0:40:40.680 nine in the natural, but in the spirit, David is 0:40:40.760 --> 0:40:47.759 bigger than Goliath. You don't understand. You don't understand. When 0:40:47.800 --> 0:40:50.640 I watch Holly putting a puzzle together, I do two things. 0:40:50.719 --> 0:40:53.720 One I'm marvel that she can stick with this, and second, 0:40:53.920 --> 0:40:57.719 I notice that she puts the frame first. I've never 0:40:57.800 --> 0:41:01.040 done a puzzle, don't intend to, but if I ever do. 0:41:01.160 --> 0:41:05.160 She taught me that you start with the frame. Five 0:41:05.280 --> 0:41:09.440 letter word f r am me. You start with the frame. 0:41:10.000 --> 0:41:12.200 Do you know the author of Hebrews said that the 0:41:12.360 --> 0:41:17.200 worlds were framed by the word of God. That everything 0:41:17.280 --> 0:41:20.000 we see, I'm in it now. I'm in it now, 0:41:20.239 --> 0:41:23.960 That everything we see visibly is made by something that 0:41:24.120 --> 0:41:28.560 God spoke invisibly, that the worlds were framed by the 0:41:28.640 --> 0:41:32.640 word of God that he told the sunshine. Sun said yes, sir. 0:41:33.040 --> 0:41:35.320 He told the moon, now it's your turn, and the 0:41:35.400 --> 0:41:36.920 moon said, I'll do it when you need me to 0:41:37.000 --> 0:41:39.520 do it. He told the fish to flap around, he 0:41:39.680 --> 0:41:44.279 told the birds to elevate. Everything in created order understands 0:41:44.760 --> 0:41:59.040 when God speaks. Stop speaking against what God has spoken 0:41:59.400 --> 0:42:06.040 over life, because it's a war of words, and you 0:42:06.160 --> 0:42:10.480 have become your own worst enemy. You know, there's only 0:42:10.520 --> 0:42:14.800 two characters in Exodus four. It's God and Moses and 0:42:14.880 --> 0:42:17.719 the bush. I reckon the bush deserves a shout out. 0:42:19.120 --> 0:42:21.279 Is burning up and not burning down. I mean, that's 0:42:21.320 --> 0:42:28.160 pretty good special effects. And I guess there's four. There's 0:42:28.200 --> 0:42:32.600 the staff. There's the stick, which becomes significant later in 0:42:32.640 --> 0:42:36.560 his life. But he doesn't know that yet. See, you 0:42:36.640 --> 0:42:42.520 don't know yet, You don't know yet. When the Lord said, 0:42:42.560 --> 0:42:46.200 what is that in your hand? Remember, he said, who 0:42:46.280 --> 0:42:52.520 are you? Lord? Who am I? An amazing turn of 0:42:52.600 --> 0:42:58.719 events in Exodus chapter four Moses. Next objection was, when 0:42:58.760 --> 0:43:00.239 I go to my people and tell them that I 0:43:00.280 --> 0:43:01.640 met with you and they weren't here to see it. 0:43:03.320 --> 0:43:09.160 What if they say to me, you are on drugs. 0:43:10.760 --> 0:43:16.400 You saw bush, This is psychedelics. This is not scripture. 0:43:17.320 --> 0:43:19.319 You saw bush burning up. And the Lord said, I am, 0:43:19.880 --> 0:43:22.960 And there's so much to study here. Would y'all be 0:43:23.000 --> 0:43:24.600 cool if we did a whole series one day on 0:43:24.680 --> 0:43:28.920 the God of Moses. I want to do it. I 0:43:29.000 --> 0:43:31.080 did God of Jacob years ago, and then I put 0:43:31.120 --> 0:43:34.719 that verse in the song. I'm calling on the God 0:43:35.120 --> 0:43:39.360 of Moses, the one who opened up the ocean. Now, 0:43:39.400 --> 0:43:41.120 if you hear it like that, it sounds like Moses 0:43:41.160 --> 0:43:45.920 opened the ocean. Sounds like Moses opened the ocean. He 0:43:46.120 --> 0:43:48.400 was so mighty and strong, you had such great faith. 0:43:48.640 --> 0:43:52.960 We're talking about the same guy, the guy who said 0:43:52.960 --> 0:43:56.160 I can't even talk straight. It was God that opened 0:43:56.160 --> 0:43:59.160 the ocean. It's God that's going to do it for you. 0:43:59.160 --> 0:44:02.160 You hear me. It is God that works in you 0:44:02.680 --> 0:44:04.960 to will and to do according to his good pleasure. 0:44:05.239 --> 0:44:08.680 It is God. It is his word that does the work. 0:44:13.320 --> 0:44:17.239 So he said, who am I? You've been wondering that 0:44:17.320 --> 0:44:21.040 hadn't you You really wonder when you have to transition 0:44:21.160 --> 0:44:24.120 and identity. I'm a shepherd, now I'm supposed to be 0:44:24.160 --> 0:44:29.160 a spokesman before that, Moses, we don't have time to 0:44:29.200 --> 0:44:31.960 do it, but will do it. In the series, Moses 0:44:32.080 --> 0:44:36.319 was known as a murderer because before he learned how 0:44:36.440 --> 0:44:39.200 to manage what God had called him to, before he 0:44:39.280 --> 0:44:40.640 knew what to do with that. A lot of the 0:44:40.719 --> 0:44:43.320 mistakes you make early in your life, you have the 0:44:44.440 --> 0:44:48.520 wrong response, but it's for the right reason. He saw 0:44:49.120 --> 0:44:51.320 one of his fellow Hebrews getting beat by an Egyptian, 0:44:51.360 --> 0:44:52.839 and he killed a man and hit him in the sand. 0:44:54.440 --> 0:44:59.320 Now he's been in hiding forty years and the Lord comes. 0:44:59.520 --> 0:45:02.840 He hasn't to anybody in four hundred years, and the 0:45:02.920 --> 0:45:10.600 word comes. Are you open to a better word? Or 0:45:10.680 --> 0:45:19.920 are you so addicted to your excuses? Three categories? Right? 0:45:21.600 --> 0:45:25.719 Who am I? Let's look at these? That speaks of 0:45:25.800 --> 0:45:28.920 his preparation. Who am I? I'm not ready for this? 0:45:30.000 --> 0:45:31.719 Who am I? And then he wants to know who 0:45:31.800 --> 0:45:37.799 are you? That's information. I don't know who you are. God, 0:45:37.880 --> 0:45:40.960 I don't know enough to do this. Nobody gave me 0:45:41.080 --> 0:45:44.280 a class for pastoring the church through a global pandemic. 0:45:44.920 --> 0:45:49.960 Nobody if they did that class, I skipped that day. 0:45:52.760 --> 0:45:54.400 And nobody gave you a class for some of the 0:45:54.440 --> 0:45:57.520 stuff you're going through. Either, nobody tells you how to 0:45:57.600 --> 0:46:00.120 survive the loss of somebody who was your life a 0:46:00.440 --> 0:46:08.960 missing pieces, missing pieces? Who am I? I'm not ready? Preparation, 0:46:09.360 --> 0:46:12.120 Who are you information? Lord? I don't even know the 0:46:12.160 --> 0:46:14.160 Book of Ruth from a baby Ruth. Lord, I'm just 0:46:14.280 --> 0:46:22.720 new to the That's fine, that's fine, That's fine because 0:46:22.760 --> 0:46:26.480 God wants to show you how you cannot know and 0:46:26.640 --> 0:46:34.719 still go. This word is so real for somebody, and 0:46:34.800 --> 0:46:37.000 I don't know who is for. I don't have to 0:46:37.040 --> 0:46:38.600 know who is for. I just got to preach it 0:46:39.040 --> 0:46:41.920 and then the Holy Spirit of God will apply it 0:46:42.160 --> 0:46:45.279 to that area of your life where you're insecure, because look, 0:46:45.480 --> 0:46:48.839 Moses is like, I can't talk. That's a very specific thing. 0:46:50.120 --> 0:46:53.560 But really what he's dealing with is what if they 0:46:54.360 --> 0:47:00.560 don't believe me? That's validation. Are you one of those 0:47:00.600 --> 0:47:02.920 in your life? Today? Let's go through them slowly and 0:47:03.040 --> 0:47:04.640 you can write these down and ask the Lord to 0:47:04.640 --> 0:47:09.960 speak to you about them throughout this week. Preparation, Lord, 0:47:09.960 --> 0:47:14.800 Who am I to do this? I wouldn't. This is 0:47:14.880 --> 0:47:16.840 not my story. But you may be saying this. I 0:47:17.000 --> 0:47:19.800 wasn't even raised right, How do I raise kids myself? 0:47:21.360 --> 0:47:24.920 I don't have any experience owning a business. Here I 0:47:25.040 --> 0:47:29.759 am God in I didn't see this comment preparation information? 0:47:30.880 --> 0:47:34.000 Who are you? God? What do I not know? You know? 0:47:34.160 --> 0:47:36.359 The ones who are in the worst trouble who are 0:47:36.360 --> 0:47:39.759 here in this word today, the ones who have made 0:47:39.840 --> 0:47:43.600 their own picture of what they think their situation is 0:47:43.640 --> 0:47:48.200 supposed to look like. And they built that picture based 0:47:48.239 --> 0:47:51.800 on somebody else's puzzle. And you are going to spend 0:47:51.880 --> 0:47:56.560 the rest of your life thinking that you're missing pieces 0:47:57.040 --> 0:48:00.920 because you are trying to build somebody else his picture. 0:48:01.960 --> 0:48:07.000 And so not who and so now now God has 0:48:07.080 --> 0:48:11.440 you here, and God wants to teach you the art 0:48:12.280 --> 0:48:16.759 of going forward when you don't know where, Abraham, when 0:48:16.840 --> 0:48:20.719 you don't know how, Moses, and God's answer is pathetic 0:48:20.800 --> 0:48:23.160 if you think about it. What's that in your hand? 0:48:25.320 --> 0:48:29.719 You mean my stick? Then I'm only holding because I 0:48:29.840 --> 0:48:33.000 fled to Egypt and had to work for Jethrow, because 0:48:33.040 --> 0:48:36.520 I made the mistake of murdering someone because I didn't 0:48:36.560 --> 0:48:39.759 know how to do it. And I read that over 0:48:39.800 --> 0:48:45.160 and over again this week, thinking about your stick, thinking 0:48:45.200 --> 0:48:49.440 about your mistake, and the Lord said clearly to me 0:48:49.880 --> 0:48:54.879 to tell you He's going to turn the mistake into 0:48:54.960 --> 0:49:07.200 a miracle. No, no, no, no no, I'm not saying 0:49:07.280 --> 0:49:11.280 God's gonna work around it. I'm saying he's actually gonna 0:49:11.360 --> 0:49:19.320 use it. Because you're like, okay, well, I'll praise God anyway. 0:49:20.040 --> 0:49:24.439 I hate life, I hate myself, but God is good. 0:49:24.680 --> 0:49:27.799 That's attractive. That will win a world to Jesus. Yeah, 0:49:27.840 --> 0:49:35.680 that's exactly what he bled on the cross for. He's 0:49:35.680 --> 0:49:38.080 already been through all of them. Look, you might have 0:49:38.200 --> 0:49:41.200 to move forward in this season of your life without preparation, 0:49:42.640 --> 0:49:44.080 and you might have to figure it out as you go. 0:49:44.719 --> 0:49:46.480 You might have to read books at night. You might 0:49:46.520 --> 0:49:48.759 have to read you might you might have to you 0:49:48.880 --> 0:49:54.319 might have to read books period. All right. You might 0:49:54.400 --> 0:49:56.560 have to ask people. You might have to get honest 0:49:56.640 --> 0:49:59.040 and say to somebody like, hey, man, I gotta be 0:49:59.080 --> 0:50:03.480 honest with you know anything about managing money. I'm driving 0:50:03.560 --> 0:50:05.560 this because I'm so stupid that I signed up for 0:50:05.640 --> 0:50:08.200 seventy five thousand percent interest. By the way, I'm gonna 0:50:08.200 --> 0:50:09.640 bring Dave Ramsey in a couple of weeks to help 0:50:09.680 --> 0:50:12.319 y'all with all that. All right, all right, so that'll 0:50:12.400 --> 0:50:14.640 be good, but you might have to get honest and say, 0:50:15.080 --> 0:50:18.120 you know what, I'm not prepared for this. I don't 0:50:18.280 --> 0:50:21.040 have this right now. But don't think that just because 0:50:21.080 --> 0:50:23.799 you don't know it right now doesn't mean you can't 0:50:23.880 --> 0:50:26.880 grow in it. You can. You can't. You can't, you can't. 0:50:27.040 --> 0:50:31.839 The devil is a liar. And and and don't think 0:50:31.880 --> 0:50:34.520 you need to know everything when God said, when God, 0:50:34.600 --> 0:50:36.680 when Moses said, huh, tell me who you are? You 0:50:36.760 --> 0:50:41.399 know what God told him? I am I love the Lord. 0:50:41.680 --> 0:50:45.960 Can you be more specific? No? Nope, Because every situation 0:50:46.160 --> 0:50:48.880 I put you in that is too big for you. 0:50:49.480 --> 0:50:52.920 You are gonna see another dimension of who I am. 0:50:53.520 --> 0:50:59.239 I am gone, I'm too big for your box. I am, 0:51:00.360 --> 0:51:09.320 I am Resurrection, I am Water, I am the great 0:51:09.400 --> 0:51:13.480 I am, and the great I am. It's bigger than 0:51:13.480 --> 0:51:18.680 all your little I'm not. That's why I came in 0:51:18.760 --> 0:51:21.719 his presence today, and that's why when some people are 0:51:21.800 --> 0:51:24.839 standing there looking at the song, I'm letting it wash 0:51:24.920 --> 0:51:27.920 over me because I need those words from God. I 0:51:28.040 --> 0:51:30.920 need a spoken and sun over me. I need it 0:51:31.239 --> 0:51:35.480 in my heart because y'all, honestly, I'm bad at words, 0:51:36.960 --> 0:51:40.719 not the ones I say. I'm good at those most 0:51:40.760 --> 0:51:44.799 of the time, bad at the ones that I say 0:51:44.880 --> 0:51:52.680 to myself, I'm stepping in moses shoes today. I'm asking 0:51:52.760 --> 0:51:56.480 you to do the same INChO what are you not 0:51:59.440 --> 0:52:03.319 and what what you're not have to do with who 0:52:03.360 --> 0:52:10.120 God is. I got to meet somebody so inspirational the 0:52:10.200 --> 0:52:13.000 other day who was blind shortly after birth and it's 0:52:13.080 --> 0:52:16.120 been blind all their life, and they were saying how 0:52:18.120 --> 0:52:21.319 how their mom, meaning well went around to all these 0:52:21.360 --> 0:52:26.799 different churches to get him healed. And he said, up 0:52:26.920 --> 0:52:29.680 until about age nine, he went along with it, and 0:52:29.719 --> 0:52:32.839 they would put oil on his eyes and he said 0:52:32.840 --> 0:52:35.440 it would just burn. I didn't get any better. And 0:52:35.480 --> 0:52:37.160 I'm not saying God can't heal, and I'm not saying 0:52:37.200 --> 0:52:38.640 any of this is bad. But this was his story 0:52:38.640 --> 0:52:41.200 and I was listening to it, and I thought this 0:52:41.360 --> 0:52:44.200 is crazy because he finally said to his mom, and 0:52:44.280 --> 0:52:46.400 I think he was about Abbey's age nine or ten, 0:52:46.440 --> 0:52:49.279 if I remember correctly, he said, Mom, one night, his 0:52:49.400 --> 0:52:51.839 mom was crying and praying God, please heal my boy. 0:52:52.000 --> 0:52:54.120 Heal my boy, heal my boy, here my boy, And 0:52:54.200 --> 0:52:55.680 that's a good thing for mom to pray. And who 0:52:55.680 --> 0:52:57.840 wouldn't pray that? And you know, I'm not saying that 0:52:58.040 --> 0:53:01.160 God causes this or God causes that. The Lord said, 0:53:01.200 --> 0:53:05.719 you always identify me by what I give you, and 0:53:05.840 --> 0:53:08.200 sometimes I want you to know me in what I 0:53:08.360 --> 0:53:16.239 didn't give you. Is it not I? And he said 0:53:16.280 --> 0:53:18.040 I heard my mom crying and I finally went in 0:53:18.160 --> 0:53:22.160 and said, Mom, you are giving me a headache. You're 0:53:22.200 --> 0:53:26.279 crying so much. Did you ever think maybe God made 0:53:26.320 --> 0:53:28.920 me this way for a reason and he has something 0:53:28.960 --> 0:53:35.239 for me to do? And then a few minutes later, 0:53:35.320 --> 0:53:38.880 he was telling me about songs he wrote like Love's 0:53:38.920 --> 0:53:41.880 in need of love today And I just called to 0:53:41.920 --> 0:53:48.160 say I love you, and superstition, it was Stevie Wonder, y'all, 0:53:51.200 --> 0:53:55.880 it was Stevie Wonder. Stevie said that. Stevie Wonder said that, 0:53:56.960 --> 0:54:00.280 he said, Mom, you ever think maybe God has something 0:54:00.320 --> 0:54:04.319 for me to do just like I am? And I'm 0:54:04.320 --> 0:54:10.719 thinking Stevie was right. Huh. I'm thinking he was right. 0:54:13.600 --> 0:54:17.279 And I think how horrible it would be if those 0:54:17.360 --> 0:54:23.800 songs didn't exist because he didn't have his sight. You 0:54:23.960 --> 0:54:27.160 probably won't ever write a song as good as Stevie. 0:54:28.840 --> 0:54:30.959 In fact, I can say this, you will never write 0:54:30.960 --> 0:54:33.279 a song as good as Steevee, and neither will I. 0:54:36.600 --> 0:54:40.080 But something in you will go unsung if what is 0:54:40.160 --> 0:54:46.440 in your hand goes unstretched. Because when Moses said, I 0:54:46.520 --> 0:54:52.000 have never I've never been good at this, that was 0:54:52.120 --> 0:54:55.239 the fourth That was the fourth one. It was a limitation, 0:54:55.600 --> 0:54:59.680 and God got angry. God got angry. You think I 0:54:59.719 --> 0:55:03.920 don't know that about you? You think I put you 0:55:04.000 --> 0:55:09.719 in a sky without wings. I gave you what I 0:55:09.920 --> 0:55:14.080 wanted you to have. And since you're so insistent on 0:55:14.160 --> 0:55:17.759 being insecure, since you don't believe me about all this. Now, 0:55:18.160 --> 0:55:21.200 Moses has already seen a lot. He turned his staff 0:55:21.360 --> 0:55:24.239 into a snake. He still isn't convinced. He put his 0:55:24.360 --> 0:55:27.439 hand in his cloak, it came out lepros Ah, put 0:55:27.480 --> 0:55:32.520 it back in. It came out here. That's crazy. But 0:55:32.680 --> 0:55:34.440 he still doesn't want to go. And it comes out 0:55:34.480 --> 0:55:42.040 in this moment. Send someone else, not me, God not me, 0:55:43.880 --> 0:55:48.160 not me. It's a war of words. See, the Lord 0:55:48.280 --> 0:55:51.640 keeps speaking over you, not only that you're gonna make it. 0:55:52.120 --> 0:55:54.879 He keeps telling you you're doing better than you think 0:55:54.960 --> 0:56:01.799 you are, and you won't believe him. He keeps telling 0:56:01.880 --> 0:56:03.719 you put it in my hands, I'll deal with it, 0:56:03.880 --> 0:56:06.560 and you won't believe him. It's a war of words. 0:56:07.400 --> 0:56:10.640 It's a war of words, and which one will win, 0:56:11.960 --> 0:56:17.320 which one will win. So we're standing in this in 0:56:17.440 --> 0:56:20.959 this scene with Moses and his shoes, and the Lord 0:56:21.480 --> 0:56:24.480 told me to ask you, are you ready to make 0:56:24.600 --> 0:56:29.560 peace with the way things are, believing that God can 0:56:29.719 --> 0:56:32.600 use it somehow for his glory, or are you gonna 0:56:32.680 --> 0:56:37.280 let one missing peace to find the rest of your life. 0:56:40.320 --> 0:56:43.560 One thing we learn about from a puzzle is that 0:56:43.719 --> 0:56:50.719 something can be in pieces on purpose. If God is 0:56:50.800 --> 0:56:54.120 only giving you one thing at a time, do one 0:56:54.520 --> 0:56:57.880 thing at a time. We just released an album on Friday, 0:56:58.080 --> 0:57:01.759 another Shameless Plug I Loved album. We wrote it one 0:57:02.239 --> 0:57:09.840 song at a time, one verse at a one word, 0:57:10.360 --> 0:57:16.160 one syllable, one note at a don That's how it works. 0:57:16.680 --> 0:57:19.400 You are not supposed to know where God is gonna 0:57:19.400 --> 0:57:29.680 have you in twenty years. It's a five letter word. 0:57:30.600 --> 0:57:34.160 It's called faith. And if you will go, God said, 0:57:34.160 --> 0:57:36.560 I'm gonna send Aaron to help you. I'm gonna send 0:57:36.640 --> 0:57:39.200 somebody to help you. I love it because I read 0:57:39.280 --> 0:57:42.280 Moses saying send somebody else, send God. It's like, okay, 0:57:42.640 --> 0:57:46.360 I'll send your brother. I will send a partner into 0:57:46.440 --> 0:57:49.200 your life for the pieces that you don't have. I 0:57:49.320 --> 0:57:52.680 will send people into your life who have the pieces 0:57:53.040 --> 0:58:02.439 that you don't have. But you've got to receive this word. God. 0:58:02.560 --> 0:58:06.400 Make me more like the moon. Let me hang where 0:58:06.440 --> 0:58:09.680 you told me to hang. God, Make me more like 0:58:09.800 --> 0:58:15.280 the birds who sore where I'm supposed to soar. Make 0:58:15.360 --> 0:58:17.480 me more God. Make if this isn't too much that, 0:58:17.960 --> 0:58:21.120 make me like a bean sprout who knows how to 0:58:21.360 --> 0:58:24.800 come forth when you call it. God. Make me more 0:58:25.840 --> 0:58:30.520 like Jesus, who is the image of God, who knew 0:58:30.560 --> 0:58:34.320 that even in his life, even in his human existence, 0:58:35.040 --> 0:58:39.560 when he laid aside his privilege as God and took 0:58:39.640 --> 0:58:46.280 on flesh the word incarnate to be with you to 0:58:46.360 --> 0:58:51.400 fulfill the great I am, God said, whatever you're not, 0:58:51.480 --> 0:58:56.360 I am whatever you're You don't I do? You keep 0:58:56.400 --> 0:58:59.680 saying I don't, God says, I do. This is a 0:58:59.720 --> 0:59:02.360 weird wedding ceremony. I don't I do. I don't I do, 0:59:02.600 --> 0:59:04.400 I don't I do. I don't think I can make it. 0:59:04.440 --> 0:59:06.240 I do think you can make it. I don't know 0:59:06.280 --> 0:59:08.000 what to do. I do know what to do. I 0:59:08.000 --> 0:59:09.280 don't know how it's gonna happen. I do know how 0:59:09.280 --> 0:59:15.800 it's gonna happen. All I'm trying to say is who 0:59:15.880 --> 0:59:20.280 made your mouth? Why you keep saying stuff that goes 0:59:20.400 --> 0:59:23.240 against what the one who made you spoke over you. 0:59:25.920 --> 0:59:28.680 Why would you line up against yourself. It's a war 0:59:28.800 --> 0:59:32.800 of words, and I'm on the winning's side because the 0:59:32.920 --> 0:59:37.920 final word over my life was spoken before my first 0:59:38.120 --> 0:59:43.360 breath was breathed. I said the final word over my life. 0:59:45.440 --> 0:59:51.200 God's got the big picture, and the final word over 0:59:51.400 --> 0:59:57.520 my life is spoken, and all of his promises are 0:59:57.680 --> 1:00:00.600 yes and Amen. Now just stand up and lift your 1:00:00.640 --> 1:00:03.240 hands right where you are. This is a God moment. 1:00:03.720 --> 1:00:06.600 This is a God word. This is a God word, 1:00:06.880 --> 1:00:10.080 This is a God thing. This is a God intersection. 1:00:10.480 --> 1:00:13.600 This is a burning bush, this is holy ground. This 1:00:13.840 --> 1:00:17.520 is time for you decide to decide. Are you gonna 1:00:17.680 --> 1:00:25.640 Are you gonna make peace with the missing pieces who 1:00:25.720 --> 1:00:31.920 didn't love you? I'm sorry they didn't love you, but 1:00:32.040 --> 1:00:36.480 that doesn't get to stop you. I'm sorry they left you, 1:00:36.560 --> 1:00:45.000 but God didn't I'm sorry that it hurts, but he's 1:00:45.040 --> 1:00:51.480 a healer. I'm sorry you're broken, but there is a 1:00:51.560 --> 1:00:56.720 ball in Gilead. When all we see is broken pieces, 1:00:58.080 --> 1:01:02.120 God sees the big picture. And what is that in 1:01:02.240 --> 1:01:07.720 your hand? I'll see I got this stick, I got 1:01:07.760 --> 1:01:13.720 this situation, I made this mistake, I got these doubts. 1:01:16.240 --> 1:01:23.200 And the Lord says, if you want to see what 1:01:23.400 --> 1:01:29.240 my hand can do, I want you to stop speaking 1:01:29.920 --> 1:01:41.200 against what I put in your hand. We're gonna work 1:01:41.240 --> 1:01:45.000 on this. We're gonna work this word deeper and deeper 1:01:45.080 --> 1:01:48.680 into our hearts. We're gonna work on this because it's 1:01:48.720 --> 1:01:52.560 a war. You have no peace in your heart. You 1:01:52.680 --> 1:01:54.800 keep saying, ah, when this happens, that happens, if this 1:01:54.920 --> 1:01:57.919 didn't happen, if they come, when they acknowledge, when they see, 1:01:58.080 --> 1:02:01.520 when I get this, But the Lord says, I want 1:02:01.560 --> 1:02:06.040 you to be at peace right now. And I know 1:02:06.120 --> 1:02:07.720 there's some things you don't know, and I know there's 1:02:07.760 --> 1:02:10.360 some questions. Have you know how we get there? And say, Oh, 1:02:10.440 --> 1:02:12.000 when I get to God, I'm gonna ask him a 1:02:12.040 --> 1:02:14.760 bunch of stuff. You're not going to ask God anything 1:02:18.240 --> 1:02:22.240 except why did I let the devil beat me? Up 1:02:22.280 --> 1:02:27.960 so bad when you're this big? Who are you? Who 1:02:28.080 --> 1:02:35.120 are you? Now? Lift your hands again. I know you 1:02:35.160 --> 1:02:40.280 didn't keep them up that whole time. Show me who 1:02:40.320 --> 1:02:47.360 you are, God, Show me who I am. I'm not 1:02:47.480 --> 1:02:51.720 waiting on something else, because that that'd be crazy for 1:02:51.840 --> 1:02:55.440 me to wait to have peace until there's peace in 1:02:55.520 --> 1:02:57.680 the Middle East, peace and other parts of the world. 1:02:57.800 --> 1:03:02.640 Know God, let it begin in my wort, and I 1:03:02.720 --> 1:03:07.440 thank you for how you made me. Would you say 1:03:07.480 --> 1:03:10.320 that out loud? Thank you for how you made me 1:03:12.080 --> 1:03:19.280 missing pieces? And all you ever thought those missing pieces 1:03:19.320 --> 1:03:23.240 were a space for God to fill? Maybe it is. 1:03:28.400 --> 1:03:31.640 If you have heard this word today and you have 1:03:31.840 --> 1:03:35.080 never taken the moment to put your faith in Jesus Christ, 1:03:35.880 --> 1:03:37.840 I want to give you the opportunity right now to 1:03:37.920 --> 1:03:40.960 give him your life. He is what you've been missing. 1:03:42.040 --> 1:03:46.120 Jesus is what you have been missing. And no matter 1:03:46.320 --> 1:03:49.400 what you achieve, what you chase, what you earn, what 1:03:49.560 --> 1:03:53.320 you do, you are never going to have peace in 1:03:53.440 --> 1:04:00.880 your heart until you receive Jesus as your Lord and savior. Never. 1:04:06.400 --> 1:04:09.240 I believe God brought us together for this moment so 1:04:09.360 --> 1:04:11.640 I could lead you in this prayer. Now. The Bible 1:04:11.680 --> 1:04:14.080 doesn't say if you do seven things you'll be right 1:04:14.160 --> 1:04:16.760 with God. The Bible doesn't say that if you'll change 1:04:16.760 --> 1:04:18.880 your life that you'll be right with God. The Bible 1:04:18.920 --> 1:04:21.400 says that it is by grace we are saved through faith. 1:04:21.440 --> 1:04:23.040 It is the gift of God, not of work, so 1:04:23.200 --> 1:04:27.720 that no one can boast. We all need Jesus and today, 1:04:27.760 --> 1:04:30.080 if you're ready to place your faith in Him and 1:04:30.240 --> 1:04:32.840 turn from your sin and trust him with your life, 1:04:33.240 --> 1:04:35.240 the Bible says that if you confess with your mouth 1:04:35.360 --> 1:04:37.919 Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart God raised 1:04:37.960 --> 1:04:42.720 him from the dead, you will be saved. Heads bowed, 1:04:42.880 --> 1:04:45.720 eyes close. All around the world, this is an encounter. 1:04:45.840 --> 1:04:48.439 This is a burning bush moment. This is you and God. 1:04:48.680 --> 1:04:51.640 He brought you here. You've been missing peace. This is 1:04:51.760 --> 1:04:54.320 the missing peace. This is what you've been looking for. 1:04:54.720 --> 1:04:56.880 This is what you've been searching for. And while you 1:04:57.000 --> 1:05:00.080 were looking for God, God was looking for you. There. 1:05:00.080 --> 1:05:01.960 He is in this moment to meet with you and 1:05:02.160 --> 1:05:04.560 call you. So, if that's your heart I'm speaking to, 1:05:04.920 --> 1:05:07.200 I want you to pray after me. I'm gonna pray 1:05:07.360 --> 1:05:09.440 and I want you to repeat after me. We're praying 1:05:09.560 --> 1:05:12.320 out loud as a church family. For those who are 1:05:12.360 --> 1:05:15.000 coming to God, are coming back to God. Repeat after me, 1:05:15.080 --> 1:05:19.840 Heavenly Father. I am a sinner in need of a savior, 1:05:20.720 --> 1:05:25.320 and I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. 1:05:26.280 --> 1:05:30.200 And today I make Jesus the Lord of my life. 1:05:31.120 --> 1:05:35.000 I believe you die that I could be forgiven and 1:05:35.240 --> 1:05:40.880 rose again to give me life. This is my new beginning. 1:05:41.400 --> 1:05:43.160 On three, shoot your hand up if you pray that 1:05:43.240 --> 1:05:45.960 with me. One two, three, Shoot him up, Shoot him 1:05:46.040 --> 1:05:47.959 up in the room, shoot him up in the chat. 1:05:48.800 --> 1:05:55.560 Let's give God praise. That's awesome, that's amazing. Come on, 1:05:55.680 --> 1:05:58.800 Let's give him a better praise than that. Let's give 1:05:58.840 --> 1:06:03.440 him a better pray. Give him your best phrase all day. Well, 1:06:03.440 --> 1:06:05.560 if you enjoyed today's podcast, there are a couple of 1:06:05.600 --> 1:06:09.240 things I'd love for you to do. Make sure to subscribe, rate, 1:06:09.560 --> 1:06:12.520 and review this podcast. You can also help us reach 1:06:12.600 --> 1:06:16.400 others by investing today at Elevationchurch dot org, slash give 1:06:16.840 --> 1:06:19.600 and thanks again for joining us on the Elevation Podcast.