Speaker 1: Holly, and I wanted to say a special hello to
Speaker 1: our Etham, our extended family around the world. Hey, before
Speaker 1: we get into the message, let me tell you about available.
Speaker 1: This is a special season for our church. It's a
Speaker 1: tradition for the people of Elevation. Every year we gather,
Speaker 1: we appreciate and anticipate, and we also give. This is
Speaker 1: our yearly time for everybody who receives from this ministry
Speaker 1: to give so that the ministry can go forth, and
Speaker 1: this year we've themed it around the word available. Available.
Speaker 1: That's all God has ever wanted is for us to say,
Speaker 1: here I am, send me, use me. And you have
Speaker 1: the opportunity to do that. So if you've been blessed
Speaker 1: through the ministry, it's good to receive. It's even better
Speaker 1: to give. If you want to make a donation, a
Speaker 1: one time gift or a recurring gift, just be a
Speaker 1: part of what God is doing here. We so appreciate it.
Speaker 1: You can get all the details at Elevation Church dot
Speaker 1: org almost sat Elevationworship dot Com. I guess you could
Speaker 1: go there too, but the giving is at Elevation Church.
Speaker 1: What you just did, you have Elevation Worship on your sweatshirt. Hey,
Speaker 1: Elevation Church dot org and you can select available. And
Speaker 1: we use all of these resources to continue to preach
Speaker 1: the gospel, not only in physical locations like this one,
Speaker 1: but through the amazing opportunity God has given us to
Speaker 1: impact the world through technology. And we want to thank
Speaker 1: all of you who are apart. We couldn't do it
Speaker 1: without you. Thank you for being a part of our family.
Speaker 1: Thank you for being a part of this move of God.
Speaker 1: Go to Elevationchurch dot org dot com if you're not
Speaker 1: already there, and be a part. This is going to
Speaker 1: be an amazing, amazing season. And Holly and I are
Speaker 1: believing that your best is ahead. Somebody asked me the
Speaker 1: other day about my calling to the ministry. The thing
Speaker 1: about it was when God called me to preach for him,
Speaker 1: I was sixteen, and I guess that's pretty young. It's
Speaker 1: probably better that God calls you while you're dumb. Not
Speaker 1: that I'm much smarter now, but just before your excuses
Speaker 1: start to pile up or you know what I'm saying.
Speaker 1: And I want to tell you something before I get
Speaker 1: into the word. In just a moment, I'm going to
Speaker 1: go right into the Word of God. We are in
Speaker 1: week two of a series called Available. Just lift your
Speaker 1: hands and say God, I'm available. Why don't you just
Speaker 1: wave real quick and say God, if you're looking for
Speaker 1: somebody to bless, if you're looking for somebody to help,
Speaker 1: if you're looking for somebody to lift, if you're looking
Speaker 1: for somebody to drop a double dose of joy, I'm
Speaker 1: available God. If you want to speak, I'm available. Hey, man,
Speaker 1: come on, clap your hands if you know. That's all
Speaker 1: God wants. But I want to introduce my message in
Speaker 1: kind of a different way today. Normally I would just
Speaker 1: read the scripture, be seated, and start teaching. But I
Speaker 1: want to tell you that when I close my eyes
Speaker 1: sometimes when I come out here to minister to you,
Speaker 1: I picture that little church in Monk's Corner Anti Circle
Speaker 1: Baptist Mission, it was called when I first got there.
Speaker 1: They had not even chartered as a church chat They
Speaker 1: were a mission of First Baptist Monk's Corner, and it
Speaker 1: met in the woodmen of the world building on the
Speaker 1: outskirts of Monk's Corner. Some of y'all don't even believe
Speaker 1: there are outskirts of Monk's Corner. You thought Monk's Corner
Speaker 1: is the outskirts, but this was outside of town and
Speaker 1: people would come out there, not too many. It was
Speaker 1: only about fifty people when I got out there. But
Speaker 1: it was interesting because the way God called me into
Speaker 1: ministry in some parts was practical because Pastor Mickey White
Speaker 1: of I guess, Pastor Mickey what is he? Seventy three
Speaker 1: seventy four He called me to preach because he couldn't
Speaker 1: afford a real youth minister. And he saw this fired
Speaker 1: up sixteen year old for Jesus Christ, and so he
Speaker 1: asked me, would I come and minister to his youth?
Speaker 1: And I said yes. And I want to tell you
Speaker 1: something as we talk about this series available and as
Speaker 1: we prepare for our big offering on December seventh and eighth,
Speaker 1: how many are excited to give in our year end offering?
Speaker 1: And then for expansion and outreach December seventh and eighth,
Speaker 1: our EPAM around the world. Let's welcome them. All of
Speaker 1: our campuses are nineteen locations. But I told Pastor Mickey
Speaker 1: that I would work with the youth, and then he
Speaker 1: gave me. He said, well, since you're going to be
Speaker 1: here working with the youth, we also need a hymn leader,
Speaker 1: a song leader, and I grew up in the Methodist
Speaker 1: church just down the street. Actually, the Baptist Church and
Speaker 1: the Methodist Church were right across the street from each other,
Speaker 1: and so it was a contest to see who could
Speaker 1: get out first to go to the restaurant. That was
Speaker 1: kind of the goal, to beat the Baptist to the
Speaker 1: Berkeley restaurant in Monk's Corner. But he said, will you
Speaker 1: leave the songs too? And again not that I'm a
Speaker 1: good singer, I was just available. You see a theme here,
Speaker 1: So since he already he kind of is a little
Speaker 1: bit of bait and switch. Will you work with the youth,
Speaker 1: will you lead the songs? Well, the thing was the
Speaker 1: hymns that they had at the Baptist Church were a
Speaker 1: little different than the Methodist Church. In the Baptist Church,
Speaker 1: they would sing these choruses and I had to learn
Speaker 1: all of those choruses because I didn't know them. I
Speaker 1: knew all the Green Day and Nirvana and Hoodie and
Speaker 1: the Blowfish choruses. And I was in a conversion process
Speaker 1: from Methodists to Baptists, from flesh to spirit and all
Speaker 1: at the same time. So anyway, it was intimidating because
Speaker 1: Pastor Mickey would always stand in the back of the
Speaker 1: room while I was leading the choruses before he would
Speaker 1: come preach, and if he didn't like the way I
Speaker 1: was leading them, he would walk in and stop me
Speaker 1: and take over. So always felt like I was auditioning
Speaker 1: all the time. And one thing he really couldn't stand
Speaker 1: is if you were leading it too slow. So if
Speaker 1: he thought it was dragging, he would just come from
Speaker 1: the back of the room. Big guy too, a six
Speaker 1: foot let's make him real tall, six foot ten. You're
Speaker 1: never going to meet him. But he was a big guy,
Speaker 1: real intimidating guy to me, and he had the shocking
Speaker 1: white hair, and so he would he would come up
Speaker 1: and he would start clapping at the tempo that he
Speaker 1: wanted the song. If you weren't on it, I'm gonna
Speaker 1: start trying that. Just walk up here, start clapping. Y'all
Speaker 1: probably take me to the mental institution if I did it.
Speaker 1: But he would start clapping, and it was a small church,
Speaker 1: so it would just dominate the whole room. And I
Speaker 1: was leading this him one time called yes, Lord, yes,
Speaker 1: don't of you know this chorus? It's a courus, It's
Speaker 1: not him and it says, yes, Lord, Yes to your
Speaker 1: will into your way. Yes Lord, Yes. You got to
Speaker 1: picture me. I'm like sixteen. I got this triple x
Speaker 1: L Tommy Hill figure shirt tucked into my into my dockers,
Speaker 1: and I'm up there and I'm trying to lead the
Speaker 1: music and I'm just waving my hand like this. I
Speaker 1: had no idea what I was waving to or for,
Speaker 1: but I had seen it done. I'm up there, just
Speaker 1: leading the and I'm going, yes, Lord, Yes to your will,
Speaker 1: in to your way. Yes Lord, Yes, I will trust
Speaker 1: you and obey. When your spirit speaks to me with
Speaker 1: my whole heart, ah, look and my answer will be
Speaker 1: yes Lord, Yes. Back of the room, I start hearing,
Speaker 1: and he walks up and he goes, let's put some
Speaker 1: peppin r Yes, And he started singing it so fast
Speaker 1: it was like speaking in tongues. It turned it turned
Speaker 1: the Baptist church into a Pentecostal campground. He starts singing
Speaker 1: yes Lord, Yes to your willing, and everybody's clapping on
Speaker 1: the one in the three like white people do. So
Speaker 1: here's what I want you to do. Turn to the
Speaker 1: person next to you and tell them tell them this, say,
Speaker 1: ask him a question for me. Just say, does God
Speaker 1: have your yes? Does God have your yes? Holy Spirit?
Speaker 1: I pray that our time together would be absolutely meaningful
Speaker 1: and that we would never be the same. In Jesus' name, Amen,
Speaker 1: you may be seated. God bless you. I'm full of
Speaker 1: anticipation about what God might speak in this time together.
Speaker 1: How about you come on? It's easier to cook for
Speaker 1: people who are hungry. How about you first? Excuse me?
Speaker 1: Second Corinthians, Chapter one is our selection for today, and Holly,
Speaker 1: I think I finally got it right. This is my
Speaker 1: third time preaching it, and I made a new outline
Speaker 1: each time. So Paul is defending himself to the church
Speaker 1: that he started. Ain't that a thing? Having to argue
Speaker 1: with something you made? You don't want to throw your
Speaker 1: kids across the room. But they reached a little disagreement.
Speaker 1: Now he's coming to collect a special offering for the
Speaker 1: church at Judea, and he doesn't really talk about that
Speaker 1: until chapters eight and nine of Second Corinthians, and I
Speaker 1: shared from that scripture last week. But this week we've
Speaker 1: seen his introductory comments that Paul, who was called by
Speaker 1: God to be an apostle to the Gentiles, is being
Speaker 1: contested by some people within the church that he started,
Speaker 1: and he's explaining to them why he had to change
Speaker 1: his plans from what he intended to do to what
Speaker 1: God purposed. And the verses that I'm about to read
Speaker 1: are his defense of his change his contingency planned, you
Speaker 1: should say, because he told them I'm going to come
Speaker 1: spend eighteen months with you, but then he didn't. The
Speaker 1: plan changed, and some people, because the plan changed, were
Speaker 1: saying that Paul was the fickle apostle. They put a
Speaker 1: definite article on it, He's the fickle one. Now this
Speaker 1: is not his first year of ministry or his apprenticeship.
Speaker 1: So he's writing back to them, and there's a little
Speaker 1: bit of sauce on his response, as you will see
Speaker 1: in verse fifteen, he says, because I was confident of this,
Speaker 1: basically because I thought we had a relationship, basically because
Speaker 1: I thought you knew that I don't just move according
Speaker 1: to what I feel, but I operate according to God's purpose.
Speaker 1: Because I was confident of this, I planned or or
Speaker 1: I wanted it first to visit you so that you
Speaker 1: might benefit twice. Okay, hold that in your mind for
Speaker 1: a moment. He said, I wanted to visit you on
Speaker 1: my way to Macedonia, and to come back to you
Speaker 1: from Macedonia, and then to have you send me on
Speaker 1: my way to Judea. So here's the question. Was I
Speaker 1: fickle when I intended to do this? Or do I
Speaker 1: make my plans in a worldly manner so that excuse me?
Speaker 1: My iPad is trying to give me a wallpaper option,
Speaker 1: and I don't want that. I just want the verse
Speaker 1: right now. Okay, you version is doing too much at
Speaker 1: the moment. Or do I make my plans in a
Speaker 1: worldly manner so that in the same breath I say
Speaker 1: both yes, yes and no no. But as surely as
Speaker 1: God is faithful, our message to you is not yes
Speaker 1: and no. For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who
Speaker 1: was preached among you by us meaning me in Silas
Speaker 1: and Timothy, all the heavy hitters passed through Corinth. It
Speaker 1: was an influential station for the Gospel to go for.
Speaker 1: And I believe that Elevation Church in this season in
Speaker 1: the earth is an influential meeting of people who are
Speaker 1: redeemed by the blood of Christ, who are willing to
Speaker 1: take the Gospel beyond our little walls and our little suburbs,
Speaker 1: and our little farms and hamlets, and communities and apartments,
Speaker 1: and beyond our hearts, and to give what we have
Speaker 1: been freely given. And he said, the reason that God
Speaker 1: sent all of these people was to demonstrate his faithfulness.
Speaker 1: And no matter how many promises God has made Verse twenty,
Speaker 1: they are yes in Christ, and so through him the
Speaker 1: amen is spoken by us to the glory of God.
Speaker 1: Would you mind if I went back for a second
Speaker 1: helping of Verse twenty? He said, no matter how many
Speaker 1: promises God has made, if he said he would bless you,
Speaker 1: if he said he would heal you, if he said
Speaker 1: he would forgive you, if he said he would make
Speaker 1: a way for you, if he said he would carry you,
Speaker 1: if he said he would turn it around, if he
Speaker 1: said he would redeem you, if he said he would
Speaker 1: restore the years, if he said he would use you,
Speaker 1: it's still a yes. If God said yes, it's yes
Speaker 1: and threw us as the amen to the glory of God.
Speaker 1: So I want to speak to you today for a
Speaker 1: few moments about the second Yes. Yes, Lord, Yes, the
Speaker 1: second yes. What a revelation it is? Is anyone in
Speaker 1: here engaged to be married? Your hand went up before
Speaker 1: I even asked the question, and somebody shouting over here,
Speaker 1: but I saw you first engaged to be married? Yes
Speaker 1: to him? No, he's back there, he's serving. That's a
Speaker 1: good when you find a man that serves God. I
Speaker 1: mean on you, because what is sexy? Uh, over time
Speaker 1: is steady. A matter of fact, did you notice how
Speaker 1: nobody clapped for you when you said you were engaged?
Speaker 1: Nobody clapped. I don't know if you noticed. When you
Speaker 1: have your ten year anniversary, will clap, But we're happy
Speaker 1: for you. What's your name? Jordan? You serving e kids?
Speaker 1: How old are you? Twenty seven years old? How old
Speaker 1: is he? Twenty eight? This is a match made in heaven?
Speaker 1: So how did he propose? Just the short version in
Speaker 1: the apartment? And he said, and you said, but today
Speaker 1: she said yes. I want to talk about the second yes.
Speaker 1: Did you ever see the show they had? They had
Speaker 1: a show called Say Yes to the Dress? This is
Speaker 1: say Yes to the mess? How many know I'm right
Speaker 1: about this already? You don't even know what the scripture
Speaker 1: has to do with the illustration. But it's just a
Speaker 1: second yes, because really you don't even know what you
Speaker 1: said yes to yet? So well, y'all are responding a
Speaker 1: little overly enthusiastically to that. I'm I'm not sure who
Speaker 1: you're going home with, But you don't know when you
Speaker 1: say yes. You don't know all of the blessings. I
Speaker 1: promise you. Holly did not know that she was saying yes.
Speaker 1: There is a sense in which she didn't know she
Speaker 1: was saying yes to all of the I guess you
Speaker 1: could say the opportunities that God would open doors for us.
Speaker 1: When she said, oh, sure, I'll be your wife and
Speaker 1: we'll serve God together. You know, he kind of say yes,
Speaker 1: and then God is I don't want to say he's tricky,
Speaker 1: but he's just selective in how much he shows you
Speaker 1: when when you say yes, when you say yes to
Speaker 1: a person, some of you, when you said yes to
Speaker 1: come to church here today, you had no idea what
Speaker 1: you were getting into. I can see you. I know
Speaker 1: your type. You are looking for the exits at all time,
Speaker 1: and it's it's like you don't really know what you
Speaker 1: said yes to yet. And so when I said yes,
Speaker 1: I'll serve at Santi Circle Baptist Mission, I couldn't have known.
Speaker 1: You never can know what you're saying yes to yet
Speaker 1: and when we say yes to Christ, when we say
Speaker 1: yes to salvation. Yes I want my sense forgiven. Yes
Speaker 1: I want a relationship with God. Yes I want to
Speaker 1: live by faith not by sight. Yes I want reconciliation
Speaker 1: with my Creator. Yes I want to receive the Holy Spirit.
Speaker 1: When you say yes to God, there is a respect
Speaker 1: in which you don't really know what you're saying yes
Speaker 1: to until much later in the process. And every step
Speaker 1: that you take in following Christ, every step, every every yes,
Speaker 1: leads you to a greater understanding. And sometimes what that
Speaker 1: means is that you sign up for one thing and
Speaker 1: then you have to experience another, and that requires surrender. Now, y'all,
Speaker 1: I'm not a guest preacher at this church. I'm the pastor.
Speaker 1: And every once in a while God will put a
Speaker 1: message on my heart that I believe is intended by
Speaker 1: the Holy Spirit to challenge you in an area where
Speaker 1: you have settled. The fact is, many of us have
Speaker 1: said the first yes to Jesus that we want to
Speaker 1: receive the blessing of His forgiveness. But when it comes
Speaker 1: to the second yes, which is the process of sanctification
Speaker 1: by which He makes us more like Christ, many of
Speaker 1: us are stuck in the first yes. This is not
Speaker 1: a message about the first yes, because remember Paul was
Speaker 1: called by God to be an apostle. He was called
Speaker 1: by God in a very remarkable way when God knocked
Speaker 1: him off of his horse on the road to Damascus,
Speaker 1: where God interrupts him in the middle of his regularly
Speaker 1: scheduled programming to persecute Christians and says, I'm going to
Speaker 1: have you preach to the same people you were going
Speaker 1: to persecute. If you ever want to make God laugh,
Speaker 1: tell him your plans. Ha ha ha ha. You hear
Speaker 1: God laughing at what you thought it was going to be.
Speaker 1: And so Paul is having to explain this principle. Write
Speaker 1: this down. God's yes is settled. God's yes is settled.
Speaker 1: So when God says yes, he doesn't say yes like
Speaker 1: you said yes when somebody asked you something and you
Speaker 1: just wanted them to shut up, so you told them
Speaker 1: yes so they would leave you alone so you could
Speaker 1: text them later. Paul said, God is not fickle like people.
Speaker 1: He's faithful. God is not a man that he should lie,
Speaker 1: nor the son of man that he should repent. God
Speaker 1: is faithful. And before you even make the mistake He
Speaker 1: said yes to forgiving you before you even found yourself
Speaker 1: outside of His will. He said yes to bringing you
Speaker 1: back in. So there is nothing you can bring before
Speaker 1: God today. I feel the Holy Spirit. There is nothing
Speaker 1: you can bring before God today in the name of
Speaker 1: Jesus in agreement with His will, that He will not
Speaker 1: say yes to. For the Scripture says that as many
Speaker 1: promises as God has made, the answer is already yes.
Speaker 1: Some of you are wondering in your heart, God, I
Speaker 1: made a mess, Can you clean it up? Is already yes.
Speaker 1: God already said yes to clean up your mess before
Speaker 1: you ever made it. And here's why God is not
Speaker 1: like people. People are fickle. God is faithful. Have you
Speaker 1: ever had a fickle friend? A friend that made plans
Speaker 1: with you until a better plan came along, a friend
Speaker 1: who was hanging out with you until somebody who was
Speaker 1: cooler called my son. Graham asked me the other day.
Speaker 1: He said something interesting. He said, if you did and
Speaker 1: he I don't even remember what he said, but he said,
Speaker 1: if you said this from the pulpit, would you get canceled?
Speaker 1: And I don't remember what he even the example that
Speaker 1: he brought up, But I just thought the question was funny,
Speaker 1: and I thought for a minute, and I had this realization.
Speaker 1: God called me because we live in a cancel cal
Speaker 1: and so the moment that somebody does something that we
Speaker 1: find disagreeable, that does not conform to our image of
Speaker 1: what we thought they should be, we have the nerve
Speaker 1: to talk about that we canceled that celebrity, or we
Speaker 1: canceled that person. And so what I said back to Graham,
Speaker 1: I want to say to some of you, Man can't
Speaker 1: cancel what God called. I'm gonna say it again on
Speaker 1: behalf of Paul. Man can't cancel what God has called.
Speaker 1: When God called you, he knew exactly what he was
Speaker 1: getting with the package. You don't know what you said
Speaker 1: yes to yet, but God knew what he said yes
Speaker 1: to when he accepted you. So here's the question. If
Speaker 1: he accepted you unconditionally, then what sin, what shame, what mistake,
Speaker 1: what misdirection? Shall be able to separate us from the
Speaker 1: love of God that is in Christ Jesus I came
Speaker 1: with an announcement. They didn't create you. They can't cancel you.
Speaker 1: Man can't cancel what God called. If God called you,
Speaker 1: if God is for you, he's more than the world
Speaker 1: against you. Preach Verdick, preach it. Preach it for the
Speaker 1: people who feel like they went too far. If God
Speaker 1: for you, called you, raised you, and set his seal
Speaker 1: of ownership on you, I'm a preacher follow up sermon
Speaker 1: on that point. But for now, I just need you
Speaker 1: to know that when God says yes, he means yes.
Speaker 1: He meant it when he said it, he knew it
Speaker 1: when he said it, he was able to foresee it
Speaker 1: even when he spoke. But people, though, people mean different
Speaker 1: things when they say yes. And so I feel like
Speaker 1: the crux of this message comes when when the plan changes,
Speaker 1: and then you have to decide am I committed to
Speaker 1: the plan or am I committed to the purpose? Paul said,
Speaker 1: the plan has changed, but the purpose has not. And
Speaker 1: maybe we could talk about this for a minute, because
Speaker 1: you're yes will always be tested. I'm talking about the
Speaker 1: second yes, not the first one, not the cute one,
Speaker 1: not the naive one. The second yes. It's when you know,
Speaker 1: a lot of times we bring God this plan for
Speaker 1: our life, this blueprint, and then we want him to
Speaker 1: sign enough on it and just bless it at the bottom,
Speaker 1: like the Lord signing a permission trip for a field trip,
Speaker 1: like we're trying to go ice skating with the fifth
Speaker 1: grade class. Can you sign here, Heavenly Guardian Father, y'all.
Speaker 1: I didn't sign up for a genie. I signed up
Speaker 1: for a God change the battery or something, because sometimes
Speaker 1: God will cancel the plan to accomplish the purpose. So
Speaker 1: the first yes that we say to God is for
Speaker 1: how we expected our life to go. The second yes
Speaker 1: is not so simple, the second yes. And some of
Speaker 1: you are having your yes tested as I speak, because
Speaker 1: there was a Plan A that you had for your
Speaker 1: life and now you are on Plan lmnop No. We
Speaker 1: passed B a long time ago. I did c D
Speaker 1: E F G H. I bought a I. I couldn't
Speaker 1: find eye. Come on, somebody, My first plan started with
Speaker 1: I and it got canceled. And so Paul said, the
Speaker 1: reason that the plan was canceled is that God had
Speaker 1: a better Yes. God God had Oh, this is this
Speaker 1: is the part right here. This is this is where
Speaker 1: your yes is tested to find out what kind of
Speaker 1: yes was it to begin with. I found out everybody
Speaker 1: has has a point at which there yes is tested
Speaker 1: because it's the second yes, Yes Lord, Yes. I wondered
Speaker 1: when I was leading that song. Why does it say
Speaker 1: yes twice? He heard you the first time, Yes, Lord, yes,
Speaker 1: and I realized that the second Yes. See, we love
Speaker 1: Jeremiah twenty nine to eleven in church. If you knew
Speaker 1: to church, you better learn that one quick. Come on,
Speaker 1: even the people who only come on Easter will quote
Speaker 1: Jeremiah twenty nine to eleven at you, for I know
Speaker 1: the plans I have for you. Wait a minute, wit
Speaker 1: a minute, minute, I know the plans I have for you.
Speaker 1: Say it the Lord. So if he's saying I know
Speaker 1: the plans I have for you, what does that imply
Speaker 1: you don't. I'm sorry, y'all, this is the message God
Speaker 1: gave me. You're gonna have to talk to the supervisor.
Speaker 1: He said, to tell you to make sure if you
Speaker 1: quote Jeremiah twenty nine to eleven, at least do the
Speaker 1: courtesy of reading verses twelve and thirteen. Okay, I know
Speaker 1: the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you. Yes, Lord, yes, Lord, yes, yes, Lord.
Speaker 1: You remember that one. That's a youth group anthem. But
Speaker 1: he said, and then you will call me, and I
Speaker 1: will answer you, and you will seek me, and you
Speaker 1: will find me when you seek me with all your heart.
Speaker 1: And what's interesting about that is he said seek me,
Speaker 1: But we don't like the verse that's about him. We
Speaker 1: like the verse that's about his plan because I am
Speaker 1: addicted to my plans, because I am a control freak
Speaker 1: by nature. And the second yes says, do you trust
Speaker 1: the person even when you don't like the plan. That's
Speaker 1: the second yes. It's easy for Holly to be my
Speaker 1: wife in certain moments, certain moments, certain moments, I promise
Speaker 1: you she had no idea everything she was saying yes to.
Speaker 1: I am the son of Larry Ferdick. There are some
Speaker 1: genetic yeses that she did not know. She was saying, Oh,
Speaker 1: I love a newly married person. Well, I'm marrying them,
Speaker 1: not their family. All these little cute things you say
Speaker 1: on the first yes, the first yes you say to them,
Speaker 1: the second yes you say to Uncle Don. And Uncle
Speaker 1: Don is crazy, Uncle Don is a drunk, Uncle Don
Speaker 1: is absolutely demon possessed. You have no idea what you're
Speaker 1: saying yes to. Now here's the question, do you trust
Speaker 1: the person even when you don't like the plan. Because
Speaker 1: I did not say yes to my understanding of God's plan,
Speaker 1: I said yes to God and the second yes. The
Speaker 1: second yes is not just to the blessing. The second
Speaker 1: yes is to believing that God is working even when
Speaker 1: his presence is hard to discern. Who is this message
Speaker 1: for today? You're on the second yes, You're not on
Speaker 1: the first yes. Here's the first yes. The first yes
Speaker 1: is immature. The first yes is yes accept or yes
Speaker 1: unless okay, you know, yes, God, I will do everything
Speaker 1: you want me to do x X. That turned the
Speaker 1: other cheek crap. I'm not soft like that. I was
Speaker 1: at race like that. So yes, Lord, to the to
Speaker 1: the other part or you know where you really see it,
Speaker 1: in the areas of greatest conviction and in the areas
Speaker 1: that go against the grain of what has been culturally
Speaker 1: embedded in us. The first yes is the stuff that
Speaker 1: we want God to change about us. The second yes
Speaker 1: the second. The first yes is follow me and I
Speaker 1: will make you fishers of men. The second yes is
Speaker 1: I'm going to Jerusalem to die, and this ends on
Speaker 1: a cross. The second yes, I don't know if I
Speaker 1: don't know if you're ready for the second yes. The
Speaker 1: second yes is not yes except you know how someone
Speaker 1: will say, well, I'm I'm coming to Christna, I'm gonna.
Speaker 1: I'm gonna go to church. But but yes, this is
Speaker 1: yes unless I'll do it unless m hm, some people
Speaker 1: watch my sermon online unless I start talking about something
Speaker 1: they don't want to hear about. That day, now we
Speaker 1: got clique Christianity. It went from across to a clique.
Speaker 1: I can't figure out what happened. Jesus didn't say, take
Speaker 1: up your click and stream me if I'm saying something
Speaker 1: you want to hear. He said, follow me, follow me
Speaker 1: when it's hard, follow me. Can I still get a
Speaker 1: yes when it's not what you expected and it's not what?
Speaker 1: Do you still love me? Will you still serve me?
Speaker 1: Will you still trust me? Will you still surrender to me?
Speaker 1: Will you still follow me when what I speak to
Speaker 1: you leads you to a place that you didn't know
Speaker 1: to expect. This is the second yes. This is when
Speaker 1: Jesus knelt down in the garden of Gethsemine and he said, Father,
Speaker 1: I don't want to do it. I don't want to
Speaker 1: go to this cross. I don't want to experience separation.
Speaker 1: So if there's any other way, I don't want to
Speaker 1: say yes. But in that moment, in that crux, in
Speaker 1: that crucible of the second yes, Jesus said, nevertheless, see
Speaker 1: a real yes will reach past your flesh, past your feelings,
Speaker 1: past your experience, past your logic, past what's popular, past opinions,
Speaker 1: and say, God, this is not a yes from my flesh,
Speaker 1: This is a yes from my spirit. Nevertheless, not my will,
Speaker 1: but yours be done. So the answer is still yes. Devil,
Speaker 1: come against me is still a yes. Tell me I
Speaker 1: have no right is still a yes. And the more
Speaker 1: he persecutes me, the more I'm going to praise him,
Speaker 1: because it's a yes. It was yes. It was settled
Speaker 1: when he called me. When he sells me, it's a yes. Yes,
Speaker 1: and Amen to the glory of God. A man is
Speaker 1: not just something you say to help the preacher know
Speaker 1: he's doing a good job. Amen is a is a
Speaker 1: covenant word. Now look, the first yes is about convenience.
Speaker 1: The second yes is about covenant. Anytime you see something
Speaker 1: twice in scripture, like when God called Moses and he
Speaker 1: said his name twice, it is symbolic of covenant. It
Speaker 1: means that God has already said yes to you, even
Speaker 1: when you say no to him. Some of y'all don't
Speaker 1: like that, because you are a real Christian this week.
Speaker 1: But I promise you, if you will have a bad week,
Speaker 1: you will need a covenant with God. You will start
Speaker 1: quoting verses like even if I am faithless, he is faithful,
Speaker 1: for he cannot deny himself. That's the second yes. It's
Speaker 1: when you've given God every excuse or reason to exclude you,
Speaker 1: and he brings you in and uses you. The second
Speaker 1: yes is a covenant. Yes. When I give to God
Speaker 1: in an offering, the reason that I give to God
Speaker 1: is because I believe that everything that I have comes
Speaker 1: from him. I don't want to take a vote because
Speaker 1: we don't really do a lot of church votes here,
Speaker 1: But how many would say everything I have comes from God?
Speaker 1: I worked hard for what I have. Who made it
Speaker 1: so you weren't laying in a hospital bed this morning?
Speaker 1: Or who even made it so you were born into
Speaker 1: an opportunity where you could have the ability to work
Speaker 1: hard er. See an example of hard work sets so
Speaker 1: that you could follow in it. I found out a
Speaker 1: long time ago that if he doesn't breathe out, I
Speaker 1: don't breathe in. So everything I have I received from
Speaker 1: the Lord. And you know how, you know how? Malachi
Speaker 1: three is a scripture about giving back to God, and
Speaker 1: on our offering weekend, it'll be a great chance for
Speaker 1: some of you to say the second yes to God. Yeah.
Speaker 1: The first yes is yes, I enjoy this church. The
Speaker 1: second yes is I'm invested in it. Praise the Lord,
Speaker 1: the yes of investment. And God says in that great scripture,
Speaker 1: he says, test me in this, bring the whole tithe
Speaker 1: into the storehouse. That's that first ten percent I give
Speaker 1: to God. Ten percent. That's a lot. No. Ninety that
Speaker 1: he lets me keep is a lot. It all comes
Speaker 1: from him. Somebody said to me one time, why do
Speaker 1: you have such boldness when you preach about giving? I said,
Speaker 1: because I believe that our faith is the access point
Speaker 1: by which God blesses us. So like a couple of
Speaker 1: years ago, Abby was bringing me her cereal in her bowl.
Speaker 1: She's five years old, and she said, I got you,
Speaker 1: she said, he said. She said, look on the bright side,
Speaker 1: here's my bowl and here's my cereal for you to
Speaker 1: make me cereal. But look on the dark side, daddy,
Speaker 1: I can't reach the milk. Look on the dark side
Speaker 1: so adorable. I wrote it down in my phone so
Speaker 1: I wouldn't forget it. Look on the dark side. I
Speaker 1: can't reach the milk because she understood something. Sometimes you
Speaker 1: can see something but you can't reach it, and it
Speaker 1: was available, but it wasn't accessible. Come on and help
Speaker 1: me preach if you know what I'm talking about. And
Speaker 1: it is by grace that you are saying that's God's
Speaker 1: yes to you. But it is through faith. Faith is
Speaker 1: what makes grace accessible. It is believing that God is
Speaker 1: with you. It is believing that God is for you.
Speaker 1: It is believing that God is enough. Because God's yes
Speaker 1: is settled, your yes will be tested. But I need
Speaker 1: you to understand this last point. Your yes is connected.
Speaker 1: Your yes is connected to God's yes. Not that we
Speaker 1: earn his love or our obedience curries his favor. God
Speaker 1: is not a man like that. But when you put
Speaker 1: yourself in a position where you say yes to God,
Speaker 1: you have no idea what is connected to your yes.
Speaker 1: And sometimes when you're really fighting to trust God, you're
Speaker 1: not even actually fighting for you. You're fighting for your
Speaker 1: children and your children's children. Hear the word of the Lord.
Speaker 1: Some of you are changing bloodlines by your faith. I'm
Speaker 1: going to say it for the fifty people who receive it.
Speaker 1: Some of you are not just fighting for what's right
Speaker 1: in front of you. See yes isted your yes. When
Speaker 1: Jody said yes to Jesus and came through Monk's corner
Speaker 1: and led me to Christ sitting at the restaurant, his
Speaker 1: yes was connected to me preaching. Now that we started
Speaker 1: this ministry, I've seen thousands of people say yes to Jesus.
Speaker 1: Without his first yes, the second yes would not have
Speaker 1: been possible. The devil is fighting you over your yes
Speaker 1: right now because he knows what is connected to your yes.
Speaker 1: If you throw your hands up right now, I promise
Speaker 1: you there is a breakthrough in your yes. There is
Speaker 1: deliverance in your yes. There is freedom in your yes.
Speaker 1: There is healing in your yes. Come on, there's salvation
Speaker 1: in your yes. Let me ask you a question. Aren't
Speaker 1: you glad Jesus said yes to the growth. That's why
Speaker 1: you got saved. That's why you got healed. That's why
Speaker 1: you got redeemed because he said yes. Yes, say it, yes,
Speaker 1: say it with defiance. Yes, I'm hurting, but yes, I'm confused.
Speaker 1: But yes, I don't know the way out. But yes,
Speaker 1: it doesn't make sense on paper, But yes, I'm still
Speaker 1: in a depression right now. But yes, I still believe
Speaker 1: in freedom, even though I'm dealing with the addiction yes,
Speaker 1: say yes, Say yes till the devil has no choice
Speaker 1: but to believe. You convince yourself and your spirit. Press
Speaker 1: that's your flesh, and say yes from your spirit. Yes.
Speaker 1: Your yes is connected to your purpose. And when you
Speaker 1: say yes to God, you have no idea what you're
Speaker 1: saying yes to. Oh I'm done, you can stay standing.
Speaker 1: I said what God gave me to say, Jump up
Speaker 1: on your feet. What is your response? This is the
Speaker 1: second yes. The first yes is that you came to
Speaker 1: hear the message. The second yes is what will you
Speaker 1: do with it? Paul said something so powerful. He said
Speaker 1: that the yes comes from God and the amen comes
Speaker 1: through us for His glory. The second yes is yours
Speaker 1: to say. So I want us to take a moment
Speaker 1: and sing the Old Country Baptist Him together, and I
Speaker 1: want you to close your eyes and just think about
Speaker 1: the yes that God has put in front of you.
Speaker 1: Some of you is a heavy yes for summons to
Speaker 1: get semony yes. For sum it's a nevertheless yes. So
Speaker 1: when I'm on Plan B and I have to accept
Speaker 1: something that God has allowed, well, I still say yes
Speaker 1: when it comes to a challenging point in my life?
Speaker 1: Do I trust the plan or the person? With your
Speaker 1: hands lifted to heaven. If you love the Lord and
Speaker 1: are called according to his purpose, just try to sing
Speaker 1: it if you can say yes, Lord, yes to you
Speaker 1: and to your way. Yes, Love, Yes, I will trust you,
Speaker 1: and when your spirits with my whole heart, I lookree
Speaker 1: and my answer You know. I don't mean any disrespect
Speaker 1: to Pastor Mickey that we should put some pep in
Speaker 1: our yes. But I think sometimes we should put some
Speaker 1: depth in our yes. It's just so shallow to say
Speaker 1: yes to the blessings of God when it feels good,
Speaker 1: and then only to say no to the burdens in
Speaker 1: our life that He gives us to make us stronger.
Speaker 1: Or I just wonder, would you lift your hands one
Speaker 1: more time and say yes, Yes, Lord, Yes, I will
Speaker 1: trust you and will yours its face with my and
Speaker 1: min answer, and my answer will be yes. That means
Speaker 1: the answer is yes before I even know the question
Speaker 1: word w yes to your will and to your way. Yes, Lord, Yes,
Speaker 1: I will trust you and open when your spirit speaks
Speaker 1: to me with my whole heart look and my answer
Speaker 1: be LOI heads bowed, eyes closed. What is your next? Yes.
Speaker 1: That doesn't always mean that you relocate cities, change jobs.
Speaker 1: Sometimes it could just be a simple place in your
Speaker 1: heart where something that you've been denying God access to
Speaker 1: in your life becomes open before him, knowing that he
Speaker 1: is Lord of all. Father, I bring your people before
Speaker 1: you today in prayer. You know what they have need
Speaker 1: of before they ask of it. I hear you saying
Speaker 1: yes to meet every need in this place. I hear
Speaker 1: you saying yes to satisfy every desire with good things,
Speaker 1: so that our youth is renewed like the eagles. I
Speaker 1: hear you saying yes. I thank you for the yes
Speaker 1: of Heaven. God, that when people say no, you say yes.
Speaker 1: That when situations and circumstances seem shut down and closed in,
Speaker 1: you say yes, and you make a way in the wilderness,
Speaker 1: and you bring forth water from a rock. I hear
Speaker 1: you saying yes today. I hear you saying yes the
Speaker 1: second chances, Yes to new beginnings. I hear you saying
Speaker 1: yes today, and we respond with yes. We respond not
Speaker 1: just with a nod of our head, but with the
Speaker 1: posture of our horse. Yes, Lord, Yes to your will
Speaker 1: and to your way, Yes, Lord, Yes I will trust
Speaker 1: you when yes yes fish face see we've all and
Speaker 1: my ex will be lordious. So the word amen in
Speaker 1: Hebrew is a word of agreement. It means so be
Speaker 1: it as I come into alignment with you God. It
Speaker 1: means that my plan B is your plan A. And
Speaker 1: the answer is yes. Thank you for join joining us
Speaker 1: special thanks to those of you who give generously to
Speaker 1: this ministry. Is because of you that this ministry is possible.
Speaker 1: You can click the link in the description to give
Speaker 1: now or visit Elevationchurch dot org slash podcast for more
Speaker 1: information and if you enjoyed the podcast, you can subscribe.
Speaker 1: You can share it with your friends. You can click
Speaker 1: the share button, take a screenshot and share it on
Speaker 1: your social stories and tag us at Elevation Church. Thanks
Speaker 1: again for listening. God bless you