WEBVTT - What’s It Gonna Be? (Larry Brey) 0:00:05.040 --> 0:00:06.280 Hey, this is Stephen Ferdick. 0:00:06.280 --> 0:00:09.360 I'm the pastor of Elevation Church, and this is our podcast. 0:00:09.520 --> 0:00:11.639 Be sure to subscribe so we can get you these 0:00:11.680 --> 0:00:16.400 new sermons every week. I hope you're blessed today. 0:00:20.920 --> 0:00:30.240 Ah, good morning, Elevation. Shit. I never take it for 0:00:30.280 --> 0:00:32.680 granted when I get to stand in this pulpit, because 0:00:32.680 --> 0:00:34.760 every week our pastor stands up here and he preaches 0:00:34.800 --> 0:00:37.560 God's word in a way that would set our lives free. 0:00:38.200 --> 0:00:39.680 And as he mentioned, I'm one of the old gies. 0:00:39.720 --> 0:00:43.000 It means old guys. I've been around since the beginning. 0:00:43.400 --> 0:00:44.800 You might know this, but I feel like one of 0:00:44.800 --> 0:00:47.519 my responsibilities every time I stand in the pulpit is 0:00:47.560 --> 0:00:50.120 to be the storyteller, to be the old guy, reminding 0:00:50.159 --> 0:00:51.879 you where you came from. Some of you don't know 0:00:51.920 --> 0:00:55.800 your spiritual legacy. Elevation started more than seventeen years ago. 0:00:56.160 --> 0:00:59.360 Our first Sunday February fifth, two thousand and six, we 0:00:59.360 --> 0:01:02.400 had one twenty one people. Now we got more watch 0:01:02.480 --> 0:01:06.000 parties than that around the world. Look what God has 0:01:06.200 --> 0:01:12.600 done unbelievable. But it really didn't start February fifth. It 0:01:12.600 --> 0:01:14.880 started actually a year before that, in two thousand and five. 0:01:14.920 --> 0:01:18.480 When eight families committed to do this thing called Elevation Church. 0:01:18.480 --> 0:01:20.520 I want to show you a photo of your early 0:01:20.560 --> 0:01:23.319 family heritage. This on the screen here, this is this 0:01:23.360 --> 0:01:26.560 is way back in the day Elevation Church. This is 0:01:27.400 --> 0:01:30.000 what we call the Blue Room days from back in Shelby, 0:01:30.040 --> 0:01:32.839 North Carolina. Let me give you a little context around 0:01:32.840 --> 0:01:35.480 this photo. Eight families at this point are committed to 0:01:35.520 --> 0:01:38.360 sell their houses, quit their jobs, moved to an unnamed 0:01:38.360 --> 0:01:40.760 city in part of an unnamed part of the country 0:01:40.760 --> 0:01:43.039 to be part of an unnamed church. He doesn't want 0:01:43.040 --> 0:01:45.880 to sign up for that? Then, does sound amazing? We're 0:01:45.880 --> 0:01:48.000 all sitting in were wondering like what is it gonna be? 0:01:48.120 --> 0:01:50.120 And what's gonna be the name, and what's gonna be 0:01:50.160 --> 0:01:52.080 the city? And can you put that photo back up? 0:01:52.560 --> 0:01:56.400 Because Pastor Stephen is the on the bottom right corner 0:01:56.440 --> 0:01:59.040 with the shaved head. That's Pastor Stephen, Holly next to him, 0:01:59.120 --> 0:02:01.240 Chunks and Amy, and then that guy in the upper 0:02:01.280 --> 0:02:07.480 corner that's not Kevin James, that's me. That's and that 0:02:07.640 --> 0:02:10.600 was March thirteenth of two thousand and five, and we're 0:02:10.600 --> 0:02:13.280 all sitting there, what's it gonna be? Here's the notes 0:02:13.320 --> 0:02:16.160 that Pastor Stephen gave us that night, and I wanted 0:02:16.200 --> 0:02:18.800 to speak these over our church today, to revisit a 0:02:18.880 --> 0:02:21.680 spirit that was spoken more than eighteen years ago, because 0:02:21.919 --> 0:02:25.280 the timeless message that Pastor Stephen has spoken into us 0:02:25.520 --> 0:02:29.799 does not outdate. Just because we flipped the calendar, this 0:02:30.280 --> 0:02:34.560 would be on the screen things we must do. He 0:02:34.600 --> 0:02:37.640 has him on the screen that night March thirteenth, two 0:02:37.680 --> 0:02:40.519 thousand and five, he said, here are eight things we 0:02:40.639 --> 0:02:44.800 must do again. We didn't have a name, had no money, 0:02:44.880 --> 0:02:47.440 but we had a lot of vision. I wonder as 0:02:47.480 --> 0:02:49.919 I read these what applies to you today. Number one, 0:02:50.120 --> 0:02:52.280 we must get people to catch the vision rather than 0:02:52.320 --> 0:02:56.440 watching the show. I think that's a good word right there. 0:02:57.320 --> 0:03:03.079 We must call on God walkie talkie style, step by step. 0:03:04.000 --> 0:03:07.240 We must play our three chords loud to know what 0:03:07.320 --> 0:03:10.960 makes us distinctive, not lose that. Some of you have 0:03:10.960 --> 0:03:13.240 tried to imitate somebody else's sound, and God wanted you 0:03:13.280 --> 0:03:15.680 to hear today. No, No, he gave you a specific note. 0:03:15.720 --> 0:03:19.360 Go back to who He made you to be. We 0:03:19.440 --> 0:03:22.560 must step forward like God is behind us. We must 0:03:22.760 --> 0:03:24.880 protect the vision like it's a newborn baby. And we 0:03:24.960 --> 0:03:29.280 must love each other. We must think marathon, not sprint. 0:03:29.520 --> 0:03:32.280 That's why we're here eighteen years later, serving in all 0:03:32.280 --> 0:03:35.400 these communities because Pastor steven and knows the voice that says, guys, 0:03:35.920 --> 0:03:37.520 we got to think about the long term, not just 0:03:37.680 --> 0:03:41.480 the short term, and then we must feel the burden. 0:03:41.880 --> 0:03:44.040 I am so glad that we've got a pastor that 0:03:44.080 --> 0:03:46.040 eighteen years ago was saying no, no, no. I know 0:03:46.040 --> 0:03:47.840 there's a lot of things we don't know, but here's 0:03:47.880 --> 0:03:52.320 what we must do. Thank you, Pastor Stephen, for faithfully 0:03:52.360 --> 0:03:56.160 serving God, for faithfully preaching his word. We love you. 0:03:56.800 --> 0:04:02.240 We honor you with the privilege to preach today. Hey, 0:04:02.280 --> 0:04:04.280 remain standing for just another moment. I want to read 0:04:04.280 --> 0:04:07.280 God's verse for what we want to dive into today. 0:04:07.280 --> 0:04:08.960 This is going to be out of Luke chapter one. 0:04:09.760 --> 0:04:11.960 I've been in this scripture for about six months and 0:04:12.000 --> 0:04:15.960 it's really wrecking me, and I'm excited to deliver it 0:04:16.000 --> 0:04:19.000 to you today. This is in verse sixty two of 0:04:19.080 --> 0:04:22.800 Luke chapter one. It says they made signs to his 0:04:22.880 --> 0:04:26.239 father to find out sorry about that what he would 0:04:26.279 --> 0:04:30.280 like to name the child. He asked for a writing tablet, 0:04:30.320 --> 0:04:35.240 and to everyone's astonishment, he wrote his name is John. 0:04:35.640 --> 0:04:37.120 You see, they asked him, what do you want to 0:04:37.240 --> 0:04:39.440 name this child? That I would do well to remind 0:04:39.480 --> 0:04:41.359 some of you that God has given you naming rights. 0:04:41.839 --> 0:04:43.800 Some of you as settled for a label that a 0:04:43.839 --> 0:04:46.680 past mistake has identified you as, and God says, that's 0:04:46.720 --> 0:04:49.240 not you. I've given you naming rights. You have the 0:04:49.279 --> 0:04:51.720 ability to rewrite some things today. And I think that's 0:04:51.720 --> 0:04:53.520 what God wants to do in our lives today. He 0:04:53.560 --> 0:04:55.920 wants to relabel some things today. Some of you as 0:04:55.920 --> 0:04:58.000 settle for a label that somebody else gave you, that 0:04:58.120 --> 0:05:01.000 is beneath you. Jesus died for you to be. You've 0:05:01.040 --> 0:05:04.520 got naming rights. He goes on to say his name 0:05:04.560 --> 0:05:07.320 is John. Immediately his mouth was open and his tongue 0:05:07.360 --> 0:05:11.440 was set free, and he began to speak, praising God. 0:05:12.000 --> 0:05:13.680 All the neighbors were filled with awe, and throughout the 0:05:13.760 --> 0:05:18.880 hill country of Judea people were talking all about these things. 0:05:19.520 --> 0:05:23.000 Everyone who heard this wondered about it, asking what then 0:05:23.600 --> 0:05:27.960 is this child going to be? For the Lord's hand 0:05:28.360 --> 0:05:30.679 was with him. Here's the title for the few minutes 0:05:30.680 --> 0:05:34.400 we have together. What's it gonna be? Say? It allowed 0:05:34.400 --> 0:05:37.039 to say? What's it gonna be. Type it in the 0:05:37.080 --> 0:05:39.520 comments what's it gonna be? You guys can be seated. 0:05:39.600 --> 0:05:43.040 Thank you Worship Team. This is a story about a 0:05:43.080 --> 0:05:46.160 couple that gets the opportunity to name a child. It's 0:05:46.160 --> 0:05:48.680 a pretty cool privilege. My wife, Janet and I we 0:05:48.720 --> 0:05:51.560 celebrate twenty three years of marriage this year. Yes, we 0:05:51.720 --> 0:05:59.240 do baby, and we've got four kids and ages seventeen 0:05:59.320 --> 0:06:02.440 down to nine. And our youngest her name is Lenya. 0:06:03.160 --> 0:06:05.320 And this is a picture of her when she was born. 0:06:05.400 --> 0:06:08.920 This is her baby photo. And we remember looking at 0:06:08.920 --> 0:06:11.720 that baby photo going, what's I know? That's what was 0:06:11.760 --> 0:06:15.440 the effect I was going for. Oh, any parents here 0:06:15.480 --> 0:06:17.479 of some newborns. You can tell me because your eyes 0:06:17.480 --> 0:06:20.320 are wide open and you're not getting any sleep. And 0:06:20.440 --> 0:06:23.080 that's Lenya. And now here she is as a nine 0:06:23.160 --> 0:06:26.960 year old, and uh, that's that's our littlest one. And 0:06:27.000 --> 0:06:28.640 when you meet a child, you walk up to them 0:06:28.640 --> 0:06:31.719 and you say, what do you want to be? What 0:06:31.800 --> 0:06:33.440 do you want to be? She wants to be a YouTuber. 0:06:35.839 --> 0:06:37.520 She has no idea what that means, but she wants 0:06:37.560 --> 0:06:40.080 to have nine YouTube channels and she wants to go 0:06:40.160 --> 0:06:42.760 to Barry College. She's got it. All mapped out, and 0:06:42.800 --> 0:06:44.040 when you see a kid, you're like, what do you 0:06:44.080 --> 0:06:47.200 want to be when you grow up? But two adults 0:06:47.240 --> 0:06:50.320 they meet each other like what do you Where did 0:06:50.360 --> 0:06:52.960 we go from becoming something for God's glory to doing 0:06:53.000 --> 0:06:55.080 something for him? I think we've lost a little bit 0:06:55.080 --> 0:06:57.240 of that wonderment that God wants. The staff, maybe you 0:06:57.279 --> 0:06:58.840 would do well the next time you're in a business 0:06:58.839 --> 0:07:00.960 meeting to look at your business and say what do 0:07:00.960 --> 0:07:04.359 you want to be when you grow up? And I 0:07:04.360 --> 0:07:06.240 think it speaks to the assignment that maybe God has 0:07:06.240 --> 0:07:08.920 placed on her hearts today to remember some of the 0:07:08.920 --> 0:07:10.640 things that He spoke in to us that maybe time 0:07:10.640 --> 0:07:13.720 has talked us out of. In this story, it's about 0:07:13.720 --> 0:07:15.640 the birth of a child. But to really understand the story, 0:07:15.640 --> 0:07:17.440 he got to rewind a little bit. I want to 0:07:17.480 --> 0:07:21.120 hop back to chapter one of Luke, starting in verse five, 0:07:21.160 --> 0:07:23.360 and I want to give you that story because some 0:07:23.400 --> 0:07:25.239 people see the end of a story you don't appreciate 0:07:25.320 --> 0:07:29.000 unless you saw Whariot began. It's really easy for like, oh, 0:07:29.000 --> 0:07:31.480 it must be nice be an elevation church with all like, 0:07:31.640 --> 0:07:33.160 let me take you back to the photo where there 0:07:33.200 --> 0:07:36.000 was no money, there was no name, because God is 0:07:36.080 --> 0:07:38.480 faithful in those little moments, and when you stay faithful 0:07:38.480 --> 0:07:41.440 in those things, you see Him do much with it. 0:07:42.040 --> 0:07:44.280 In chapter one, verse five, this is in the time 0:07:44.320 --> 0:07:47.840 of Herod, King of Judah. There was a priest name 0:07:47.880 --> 0:07:51.360 of Zachariah who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah. 0:07:51.880 --> 0:07:55.320 His wife was Elizabeth, and who was also a descendant 0:07:55.360 --> 0:07:58.480 of Aaron. Both of them were righteous in the sight 0:07:58.560 --> 0:08:04.480 of God, serving all the Lord's commands and decrees blamelessly. 0:08:05.200 --> 0:08:07.920 So you have this couple that the husband is a 0:08:07.960 --> 0:08:11.280 preacher man, he's a priest, he's got it going down. 0:08:11.600 --> 0:08:14.680 And Elizabeth, she comes from a royal blondeline. Aaron was 0:08:14.680 --> 0:08:17.680 the first high priest of Israel. He's Moses's brother. So 0:08:17.800 --> 0:08:20.120 these people come from the right side of the tracks. 0:08:20.680 --> 0:08:23.920 They're like the all American they're the Jewish couple. Like 0:08:24.120 --> 0:08:27.040 he's the homecoming king and she's the homecoming queen, and 0:08:27.080 --> 0:08:29.400 he's the captain of the football team. And they got 0:08:29.400 --> 0:08:32.320 it all going on. They got the right pedigree. And 0:08:32.360 --> 0:08:35.280 then verse six it says they were both blameless in 0:08:35.320 --> 0:08:38.000 the side of God. It doesn't mean they were above 0:08:38.240 --> 0:08:42.160 without sin. It means they were above reproach. It means 0:08:42.160 --> 0:08:44.000 they were living their life in such a way that 0:08:44.040 --> 0:08:46.400 the ordinances, in the commands that God had given, they 0:08:46.440 --> 0:08:49.240 were following them. They were observing, not just they were 0:08:49.280 --> 0:08:51.520 coming from the right place, but they were doing the 0:08:51.600 --> 0:08:54.520 right things. What an example for those of us that 0:08:54.600 --> 0:08:57.640 claimed the cause of Christ to run after to we 0:08:57.679 --> 0:08:59.600 want to be the kind of person who observes the 0:08:59.640 --> 0:09:02.800 decrease in the commands of the Lord blamelessly. And you 0:09:02.800 --> 0:09:05.600 would expect verse seven to start with. And they all 0:09:05.679 --> 0:09:11.440 lived happily ever after. But you see, the Bible is 0:09:11.480 --> 0:09:14.280 not a fairy tale. It's the story of a great 0:09:14.280 --> 0:09:17.840 God that we were separated from because of sin. But 0:09:17.880 --> 0:09:20.240 God is long suffering, willing that none should perish. And 0:09:20.280 --> 0:09:22.320 it's set the stage for a savior to come on 0:09:22.400 --> 0:09:24.880 the scene of the world who in the form of Jesus, 0:09:24.880 --> 0:09:27.160 to redeem us from our sins. But it's also the 0:09:27.200 --> 0:09:30.080 story of a broken humanity and the depravity of the 0:09:30.120 --> 0:09:32.720 human nature and the result of sin and what happens. 0:09:32.840 --> 0:09:36.480 This is a book of great faith. I think sometimes 0:09:36.480 --> 0:09:39.960 we open up God's word wanting a fairy tale, and 0:09:40.080 --> 0:09:43.079 verse seven shows me that this is not a fairy 0:09:43.080 --> 0:09:47.760 tale because it says, but they were childless, because Elizabeth 0:09:47.800 --> 0:09:52.720 was not able to conceive, and they were both very old. 0:09:54.080 --> 0:09:58.520 Sometimes the scripture shouts, it says, here's the answer, and 0:09:58.640 --> 0:10:05.000 sometimes whispers, but it's never silent. I think the whisper 0:10:05.000 --> 0:10:11.520 in verse seven is the subtle sound of disappointment. You see, 0:10:11.559 --> 0:10:18.400 they had this deep desire to be parents, but but 0:10:18.440 --> 0:10:22.040 they were childless. So but often speaks to a desire 0:10:22.080 --> 0:10:28.520 that's delayed or it feels like it's been denied. It's 0:10:28.559 --> 0:10:32.160 this place of disappointment, and it says they were very old, 0:10:32.200 --> 0:10:34.160 and when you read the original language, it means they 0:10:34.160 --> 0:10:38.520 were very old. It's like you know, you've got hungry, 0:10:38.559 --> 0:10:41.400 and then there's very hungry. You know you're angry, and 0:10:41.400 --> 0:10:46.120 then there's very angry. There's old and then there's very old. 0:10:46.880 --> 0:10:50.720 Zacharias ninety and Elizabeth is eighty eight, and the text 0:10:50.800 --> 0:10:53.600 is showing you a story that not only was Elizabeth 0:10:53.600 --> 0:10:56.440 not able to conceive, but they're past the age of 0:10:56.440 --> 0:11:00.960 biological reproduction in a reasonable person's eyes, and it sets 0:11:01.000 --> 0:11:04.640 the stage and but becomes a foreshadowing of God's favor. 0:11:05.559 --> 0:11:08.720 It's a beautiful there's profound disappointment in this versus picture 0:11:08.760 --> 0:11:11.120 them because in the culture, they would have been married 0:11:11.160 --> 0:11:15.560 as teenagers. So picture Elizabeth being sixteen and Zachari being eighteen, 0:11:15.600 --> 0:11:18.320 and they get married, like, all right, we're married. We're 0:11:18.360 --> 0:11:20.840 both come from good blood lives, we're both doing it right, 0:11:20.880 --> 0:11:22.680 we're serving God. Certainly we'll have a baby by the 0:11:22.679 --> 0:11:25.880 time we're twenty. And now Zachariah looks at Elizabeth at 0:11:25.880 --> 0:11:27.679 age twenty five and says, I cannot talk to your 0:11:27.679 --> 0:11:29.640 mama one more time. Just if she says, when are 0:11:29.679 --> 0:11:32.640 you gonna give me a grand by, I'm gonna slap her, 0:11:33.640 --> 0:11:36.160 just keeping it real. And then thirty comes and goes, 0:11:36.960 --> 0:11:39.120 and the whispers of the people in the community are like, 0:11:39.320 --> 0:11:42.640 what's wrong with them? Why can't they get pregnant? And 0:11:42.640 --> 0:11:45.120 now they're begging God, God, have you forgotten us? God? 0:11:45.120 --> 0:11:47.640 We're serving you. Did we do something wrong? But no, 0:11:47.960 --> 0:11:51.440 they were not being punished. And some of you feel 0:11:51.440 --> 0:11:54.400 like the situation you're walking through us a punishment for 0:11:54.440 --> 0:11:58.480 something you did. It's not. They were not being punished 0:11:58.520 --> 0:12:01.040 in this moment. How they come to age forty and 0:12:01.040 --> 0:12:04.560 Elizabeth is like, hey, why don't you go find somebody else? 0:12:04.800 --> 0:12:06.360 Some marror so that you can have a child, because 0:12:06.360 --> 0:12:08.360 evidently I think it's me. They say, no, no, we're 0:12:08.400 --> 0:12:10.120 going to keep serving God. We're going to do this 0:12:10.120 --> 0:12:13.640 thing together. But now they're fifty. They expected to be 0:12:13.640 --> 0:12:17.480 holding a baby, but now they're just holding bitterness. Then 0:12:17.480 --> 0:12:20.800 by the time they get to age sixty, they forgot 0:12:20.840 --> 0:12:24.320 about the desire to become parents. And they used to 0:12:24.320 --> 0:12:27.280 be praying earnestly, seeking the presence of God, give us 0:12:27.320 --> 0:12:30.520 a child, give us a child. But now sixty they've 0:12:30.559 --> 0:12:33.280 stopped praying those prayers. So by the time we pick 0:12:33.360 --> 0:12:36.920 up the story here, it's been about thirty years. I 0:12:36.960 --> 0:12:40.400 think since they've even thought about praying for a child, 0:12:41.679 --> 0:12:44.320 they forgot about that deep desire. I wonder how many 0:12:44.360 --> 0:12:50.320 desires have been buried in the graveyard of disappointment. We 0:12:50.520 --> 0:12:53.560 treat God's desires like a loaf of bread. We put 0:12:53.600 --> 0:12:56.240 an expiration date on it, and when it doesn't then 0:12:56.240 --> 0:12:58.280 happen in our time, we disregard it and we get 0:12:58.360 --> 0:13:00.480 rid of it. And I think God wants to pick 0:13:00.520 --> 0:13:05.920 some of those things back up today. What's your butt? 0:13:07.840 --> 0:13:11.800 But some of you at Christmas time prayed, like, Lord, 0:13:11.960 --> 0:13:14.720 help my marriage get better. And if it doesn't by summer, 0:13:14.800 --> 0:13:18.120 I'm out. And now it's summertime and you're not left physically, 0:13:18.120 --> 0:13:20.960 but emotionally and spiritually, you have left the marriage. But 0:13:21.160 --> 0:13:22.880 I thought it was gonna get better, but I didn't 0:13:22.880 --> 0:13:25.760 expect it to happen like this. How many business owners said, 0:13:25.840 --> 0:13:28.360 I'm gonna do it right, I'm gonna do it God's way, 0:13:28.400 --> 0:13:30.920 but you can't meet payroll. But you see everybody else 0:13:30.960 --> 0:13:34.760 cutting corners, and it seems like they're getting ahead. This young, young, 0:13:35.120 --> 0:13:38.280 young lady finished her senior year of college, and she 0:13:38.320 --> 0:13:40.520 started her senior year saying, if I don't get a 0:13:40.640 --> 0:13:45.600 ring by spring, and now you're getting a wedding invitations 0:13:45.640 --> 0:13:48.720 from everybody. Ashley sends you. Ashley, she has had more boyfriends, 0:13:48.840 --> 0:13:55.520 my gosh, and she's getting married now, Melissa. Melissa is crazy. 0:13:55.640 --> 0:13:58.520 And you settle on trying to do it right. And 0:13:58.559 --> 0:14:00.520 you were holding out for mister right, but now you're 0:14:00.520 --> 0:14:04.960 subtle for mister right now. And a part of yourself 0:14:05.000 --> 0:14:08.520 you said you'd keep sacred till marriage. You're willing to 0:14:08.559 --> 0:14:11.560 compromise because you feel like it'll make you more loved 0:14:12.400 --> 0:14:15.000 and it'll help get that ring on your finger, and 0:14:15.040 --> 0:14:18.240 the deep desire of your hearts fades into the background, 0:14:18.880 --> 0:14:23.920 and you feel like it's for everybody else. What's your Butt's? 0:14:23.920 --> 0:14:25.960 What is it? What's your butt? When I showed you 0:14:26.000 --> 0:14:28.840 that picture of our daughter, Lenya, I need to tell 0:14:28.840 --> 0:14:31.000 you the full story of I need to take you 0:14:31.040 --> 0:14:33.680 back to Mother's Day twenty and thirteen. This is a 0:14:33.680 --> 0:14:36.920 photo of my family Mother's Day twenty and thirteen. It's 0:14:36.960 --> 0:14:39.040 my wife, Janet and our three kids, and we're pregnant. 0:14:39.080 --> 0:14:43.160 In that photo. We're about twelve weeks pregnant. And my 0:14:43.240 --> 0:14:45.720 wife wakes up that day and she starts having symptoms, 0:14:47.160 --> 0:14:49.000 and yet she still comes to church, and yet we 0:14:49.040 --> 0:14:50.920 still get on the stage, and yet she still holds 0:14:50.960 --> 0:14:53.400 the microphone, and we're still faithfully serving God. In a 0:14:53.440 --> 0:14:56.960 couple days later, we end up having a miscarriage. Like, 0:14:57.000 --> 0:15:01.000 but God, Like, are you kidding me? We're serving you, 0:15:01.000 --> 0:15:03.200 We're standing on stage, We're doing it right. We helped 0:15:03.240 --> 0:15:05.840 sacrifice for this church. We sold our house and this 0:15:05.880 --> 0:15:09.040 is happening to us, and it took us to such 0:15:09.040 --> 0:15:12.920 a hard place. But God, what happened. And it was 0:15:12.960 --> 0:15:15.960 at the end of the year, we find ourselves pregnant again. 0:15:17.440 --> 0:15:19.640 And we had a pastor come in. Pastor Levi Lusco 0:15:19.760 --> 0:15:23.720 came to preach at Elevation Church. And we're sitting in 0:15:23.760 --> 0:15:27.480 the sermon and I haven't told anybody we're pregnant. I 0:15:27.480 --> 0:15:30.800 couldn't pray for that child. And Pastor Levi's preaching a 0:15:30.840 --> 0:15:33.200 sermon about his daughter that had died a year before. 0:15:33.680 --> 0:15:36.720 She was like four or five. And in the sermon, 0:15:36.760 --> 0:15:40.720 I hear the Holy Spirit saying, pray for your daughter. 0:15:41.120 --> 0:15:44.280 Open your mouth and start praising me for what I did, 0:15:44.560 --> 0:15:53.760 rather than letting disappointment bury the desire. And he said, 0:15:53.760 --> 0:15:55.680 you're gonna name her Lenya, because Lenya was the name 0:15:55.720 --> 0:16:01.600 of Pastor Levi's daughter that passed away. So you see, 0:16:01.640 --> 0:16:05.360 when you hear this story about Elizabeth and Zachariah, this 0:16:05.440 --> 0:16:09.120 old couple, we just skip right through verse seven. What's 0:16:09.920 --> 0:16:13.240 your button? The story continues in verse eight. It says, 0:16:13.280 --> 0:16:16.760 once when Zacharai's division was on duty and he was 0:16:16.800 --> 0:16:19.400 serving as priests before God, he was chosen by Lot, 0:16:19.680 --> 0:16:22.400 according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into 0:16:22.440 --> 0:16:25.160 the Temple of the Lord and burn incense. And when 0:16:25.160 --> 0:16:29.000 the time of burning incense came, all the assembled worshipers 0:16:29.040 --> 0:16:33.840 were praying outside. Our production team is going to bring 0:16:33.920 --> 0:16:36.280 out some stage props that will help illustrate the rest 0:16:36.280 --> 0:16:38.200 of the sermon. And as they do, would you help 0:16:38.280 --> 0:16:42.560 me Thank all of our volunteers at all of our locations, 0:16:45.360 --> 0:16:48.680 and all those volunteers that take care of your crazy 0:16:48.800 --> 0:16:51.800 kids and park your cars when you don't want to 0:16:51.840 --> 0:16:54.080 be in the parking lot. But thank you, and especially 0:16:54.120 --> 0:16:57.560 want to shout out our elevation Ashville location. Thank you 0:16:57.640 --> 0:17:01.240 for five years faithfully serving God. We love you, and 0:17:01.280 --> 0:17:04.880 we honor you, and we're so grateful for you. So 0:17:05.080 --> 0:17:08.439 in the passage, Elizabeth and Zachariah are part of a 0:17:08.440 --> 0:17:11.600 priestly division, and in nation Israel at this point there's 0:17:11.720 --> 0:17:16.639 eighteen thousand priests. They're divided up into twenty four different 0:17:16.680 --> 0:17:20.560 groups or divisions. Each one of these divisions would have 0:17:20.600 --> 0:17:23.520 two weeks of the year where they would make the trek. 0:17:23.600 --> 0:17:26.639 Part of their duty was to go to Jerusalem and 0:17:26.720 --> 0:17:29.879 help at the temple, because the central part of the 0:17:29.960 --> 0:17:33.760 Jewish life at that point was the Temple. The temple 0:17:33.840 --> 0:17:35.800 is what set everything up, and the temple had three 0:17:35.800 --> 0:17:38.720 basic parts. It had this part out here the courtyard, 0:17:39.400 --> 0:17:42.600 it had this part here called the Holy Place, and 0:17:42.680 --> 0:17:45.160 it had a lamp stand, and it had an altar 0:17:45.240 --> 0:17:48.120 for incense, and had a table for bread. And then 0:17:48.240 --> 0:17:52.200 the behind here is called the Holy of Holies. This 0:17:52.240 --> 0:17:54.359 is once a year the high priest would go with 0:17:54.440 --> 0:17:57.520 blood where he would meet with God to offer sacrifices 0:17:58.080 --> 0:18:02.960 for Nation Israel. The duty of the priests was families. 0:18:02.960 --> 0:18:05.480 If there was sin in their life or sin in 0:18:05.520 --> 0:18:09.359 their home, they would make the trek to Jerusalem. Elizabeth 0:18:09.400 --> 0:18:12.439 and Zachariah would walk about fifteen miles one way just 0:18:12.480 --> 0:18:16.000 to get to Jerusalem. They've been making this trek five 0:18:16.040 --> 0:18:22.480 times a year for seventy years. They've been faithfully serving God. 0:18:22.520 --> 0:18:27.520 This is their duty and they're faithfully doing it each 0:18:27.680 --> 0:18:31.479 and every year, five times a year. The first three 0:18:31.560 --> 0:18:33.639 years they're seeing families walk up with all their kids. 0:18:34.760 --> 0:18:38.399 I wonder how many years went by before they stopped 0:18:38.440 --> 0:18:40.440 seeing that because they just didn't want to see kids anymore, 0:18:40.440 --> 0:18:42.960 because the deepest deserve of their heart was to have 0:18:42.960 --> 0:18:46.400 a kid. But they kept being faithful with their duty. 0:18:46.560 --> 0:18:48.399 And part of the duty of Nation Israel is if 0:18:48.440 --> 0:18:50.159 there were sin in your home, you would make the 0:18:50.160 --> 0:18:54.840 trek to Jerusalem to the Temple to offer sacrifices for sin, 0:18:55.000 --> 0:18:58.120 because there must always be bloodshed for the forgiveness of sin. 0:18:58.520 --> 0:19:00.399 In the Old Testament, that was through the lot of 0:19:00.440 --> 0:19:03.280 goats and rams and lambs, and then a New Testament. 0:19:03.280 --> 0:19:07.879 That's why Jesus blood sacrificed all of humanity satisfied the 0:19:07.920 --> 0:19:11.360 penalty of sin. But although we're reading the New Testament, 0:19:11.720 --> 0:19:15.600 we're still in the Old Covenant. So what the priests 0:19:15.640 --> 0:19:17.600 would do is a family would make their way to 0:19:17.680 --> 0:19:21.800 Jerusalem and Zacharai would meet with the husband and the 0:19:21.840 --> 0:19:24.440 head of the household and he would offer a sacrifice, 0:19:25.640 --> 0:19:27.120 and the head of the household would have to put 0:19:27.119 --> 0:19:30.119 his hand on the head of the animal as the 0:19:30.200 --> 0:19:32.240 high priest would grab the knife and he would slit 0:19:32.320 --> 0:19:35.399 the throat and the blood would leave the body. Because 0:19:35.440 --> 0:19:38.520 the family needed to feel the weight of sin and 0:19:38.560 --> 0:19:41.080 to realize that there's always a penalty be paid for it. 0:19:41.640 --> 0:19:43.119 That was part of the duty of the priests and 0:19:43.160 --> 0:19:46.400 what they would do five times a year, and then 0:19:46.520 --> 0:19:48.600 they would make take some of the blood back into 0:19:48.480 --> 0:19:51.080 the Holy Place. Back here, and the Holy Place has 0:19:51.119 --> 0:19:56.240 got three parts. It's got the lamp stand, it's ninety 0:19:56.280 --> 0:19:59.919 pounds of solid gold that's hammered out to look like 0:20:00.160 --> 0:20:03.160 a tree. So part of the duty of the priest 0:20:03.320 --> 0:20:07.800 is to come back and light the lamp to burn incense, 0:20:07.880 --> 0:20:11.000 and then there's a table of showbread. The show bred 0:20:11.000 --> 0:20:14.200 has got twelve loaves. This inner space is to remind 0:20:14.200 --> 0:20:19.320 you that God is light. Your prayers come into his presence, 0:20:20.400 --> 0:20:26.000 and He is the provider. That's what this holy place represents. 0:20:26.400 --> 0:20:30.720 So as Zachariah was on duty, he's making his way back, 0:20:30.720 --> 0:20:33.399 and the first thing you must do is to attend 0:20:33.440 --> 0:20:36.960 to the lamp. It's ninety pounds of gold hammered to 0:20:36.960 --> 0:20:39.359 look like a tree. It's to remind you of the 0:20:39.400 --> 0:20:42.320 tree of life. Because every time they would see it, it 0:20:42.280 --> 0:20:45.359 would take him back to the garden of Eden, and 0:20:45.440 --> 0:20:48.000 it would remind them of what God intended it to be. 0:20:48.320 --> 0:20:52.560 He intended it to be this way. So his duty 0:20:53.640 --> 0:20:55.280 was to attend to this. He has been doing it 0:20:55.320 --> 0:21:01.080 for seventy some years. Do you know what Eden means. 0:21:02.440 --> 0:21:07.200 It means delight. Do you think it was a delight 0:21:07.440 --> 0:21:10.840 for Elizabeth and ZACHARII for seventy years to make their 0:21:10.880 --> 0:21:14.400 deway to Jerusalem five times a year to serve everybody 0:21:14.400 --> 0:21:17.640 else but feeling their own desires unfulfilled. Do you think 0:21:17.680 --> 0:21:20.680 that was always a delight? No? No, no, see you see, 0:21:20.720 --> 0:21:27.199 delight is not a feeling. It is a decision, it 0:21:27.320 --> 0:21:31.679 says of Jesus, for the joy set before him. He 0:21:31.800 --> 0:21:34.040 endured the cross, scorning at shame, and he sat down 0:21:34.080 --> 0:21:35.480 at the right hand of the brother. Do you think 0:21:35.480 --> 0:21:37.520 it was an emotional high for Jesus to go on 0:21:37.560 --> 0:21:40.159 the cross? No, what was it? It was a duty, 0:21:40.960 --> 0:21:46.640 but it was a delight. You're not getting that. It 0:21:46.720 --> 0:21:50.560 looks like a duty to everybody else, But it is 0:21:50.640 --> 0:21:57.760 a delight. Psal I'm thirty seven to four. Delight yourself 0:21:58.800 --> 0:22:02.840 in the Lord, and he will give you the desires 0:22:03.600 --> 0:22:13.000 of your heart. What happens is we delight in our 0:22:13.080 --> 0:22:18.560 dreams and will eventually walk away from our duty. Pastor 0:22:18.560 --> 0:22:20.359 Stephen preached a couple of weeks ago, I'm gonna keep 0:22:20.359 --> 0:22:22.879