WEBVTT - The Power Of A Place (Jonathan Josephs) 0:00:01.560 --> 0:00:02.840 Hey, this is Stephen Ferdick. 0:00:02.840 --> 0:00:05.880 I'm the pastor of Elevation Church and this is our podcast. 0:00:05.920 --> 0:00:07.800 I wanted to thank you for joining us today. 0:00:08.119 --> 0:00:10.719 Hope this inspires you. Hope it builds your faith. 0:00:10.800 --> 0:00:12.880 Hope it gives your perspective to see God has moving 0:00:12.920 --> 0:00:13.600 in your life. 0:00:13.880 --> 0:00:14.880 Enjoy the message. 0:00:17.160 --> 0:00:19.479 We're about to jump into the message, but before we do, 0:00:19.800 --> 0:00:22.200 I wanted to let you know that Elevation Nights is 0:00:22.400 --> 0:00:25.639 back September twenty fourth through October third, and if you 0:00:25.680 --> 0:00:27.720 live on the West Coast, we might be coming to 0:00:27.760 --> 0:00:31.720 a city near you. We're going to be in Seattle, Vancouver, Sacramento, 0:00:32.040 --> 0:00:36.279 la Anaheim, Boise, Salt Lake City, and Denver. It's going 0:00:36.360 --> 0:00:39.080 to be an amazing night with Elevation worship and a 0:00:39.120 --> 0:00:42.520 message from Pastor Stephen. So go to Elevation Nights dot 0:00:42.560 --> 0:00:45.480 com to get your tickets. We cannot wait to see 0:00:45.520 --> 0:00:48.040 you there. Now let's go to the message. 0:00:50.400 --> 0:00:52.560 Come on, keep your hands going. Let's take a moment 0:00:52.600 --> 0:00:56.400 and praise Him for every time he's made away in 0:00:56.480 --> 0:01:00.360 our lives, for every time he's roxy group an. I'm 0:01:00.360 --> 0:01:04.080 looking at some people with a testimony this morning, miracle 0:01:04.600 --> 0:01:09.280 after a miracle and last week, our pastor taught us 0:01:09.280 --> 0:01:11.640 what a miracle sometimes feels like. How many of you 0:01:11.680 --> 0:01:15.920 want to give God praise for super natural rest in 0:01:15.959 --> 0:01:20.000 your life. The enemy was throwing arrows at you, and somehow, 0:01:20.080 --> 0:01:22.319 by his hand, he gave you a peace. 0:01:23.280 --> 0:01:25.400 Come on, let's praise God one more time for his 0:01:25.480 --> 0:01:26.399 hand in our loves. 0:01:27.520 --> 0:01:32.560 Man and man and man, Oh, it's so good to 0:01:32.600 --> 0:01:37.000 be in God's house together, Amen and men. Right about now, 0:01:37.360 --> 0:01:39.840 a concerned spouse is nudging her husband. She said, I 0:01:39.880 --> 0:01:42.280 told you to check and make sure Pastor Stephen was 0:01:42.280 --> 0:01:46.880 preaching on this Labor Day weekend. And if you're that husband, 0:01:46.959 --> 0:01:49.200 nudge your wife. Say you're in the right place. You're 0:01:49.200 --> 0:01:51.920 in the right place. And I believe God has a 0:01:51.960 --> 0:01:54.160 word in the house for us today. I'm so grateful 0:01:54.840 --> 0:01:56.560 to be able to open up the scriptures. I know 0:01:56.600 --> 0:01:58.440 many of you here at Valentine, but if I haven't 0:01:58.440 --> 0:02:00.400 got a chance to meet you, my name is John, 0:02:00.320 --> 0:02:02.680 and I get the privilege of serving here as the 0:02:02.720 --> 0:02:09.280 campus pastor at our Balentine location. At stay stand in 0:02:09.400 --> 0:02:11.240 for just a moment till we get to the scriptures. 0:02:11.280 --> 0:02:13.400 But someone reminded me of this the other day. We 0:02:13.400 --> 0:02:15.760 were talking and it brought back an old story to mind, 0:02:15.800 --> 0:02:17.680 and just to share a little bit about me for 0:02:17.760 --> 0:02:21.800 a moment. About twelve years ago, when I was in seminary, 0:02:21.800 --> 0:02:24.480 Pastor Stephen came to the school Liberty University, where my 0:02:24.520 --> 0:02:27.080 wife and I were, and he had just released a 0:02:27.120 --> 0:02:31.079 book called Greater and this book impacted me so much. 0:02:31.120 --> 0:02:32.480 He came to preach at the school and he was 0:02:32.520 --> 0:02:35.639 doing a book signing after and I didn't necessarily care 0:02:35.680 --> 0:02:37.760 about getting the book signed, but I really wanted to 0:02:37.760 --> 0:02:40.040 meet Pastor Steve, and I had just so much respect 0:02:40.080 --> 0:02:42.960 for the anointing on his life. And I was in 0:02:43.000 --> 0:02:45.000 the habit of I believe God had a call on 0:02:45.080 --> 0:02:48.280 my life, and so anytime I had the opportunity to 0:02:48.320 --> 0:02:50.280 be even near a great man or woman of God, 0:02:50.320 --> 0:02:52.600 I'd always ask them for prayer. And so in my mind, 0:02:52.639 --> 0:02:55.000 I thought, Hey, if I can go to this book signing, 0:02:55.040 --> 0:02:56.480 and I know there'll be a lot of people he's 0:02:56.480 --> 0:02:58.600 got to get through, but if I can maybe stay 0:02:58.639 --> 0:03:00.600 to the back of the line, maybe I'll get a 0:03:00.680 --> 0:03:02.839 chance to meet Pastor Steven and ask him to pray 0:03:02.880 --> 0:03:05.000 for me. And so I did that. After he spoke, 0:03:05.040 --> 0:03:06.680 I was in the line, and every time someone would 0:03:06.680 --> 0:03:09.720 get behind me, I'd say, go ahead, go ahead, go ahead. 0:03:10.919 --> 0:03:12.760 And at the end of that and I'm sure it 0:03:12.800 --> 0:03:15.000 was a long day for Pastor, having preached and then 0:03:15.320 --> 0:03:17.560 done all these book signings, but he was so gracious 0:03:17.560 --> 0:03:19.080 to take a moment and I just shared with him 0:03:19.120 --> 0:03:21.400 the call I felt on my life and asked him 0:03:21.400 --> 0:03:26.520 to pray. And he was so gracious to just take 0:03:26.560 --> 0:03:29.480 a moment and pray for me. And he wrote three 0:03:29.520 --> 0:03:31.800 words when he signed this book to Jonathan and Anna, 0:03:31.880 --> 0:03:35.120 three simple words that would profoundly shape my life. He wrote, 0:03:35.160 --> 0:03:42.360 Greater Things Ahead. And those three words I meant the 0:03:42.400 --> 0:03:44.680 world to us. It would be just a few months 0:03:44.720 --> 0:03:47.000 later that my wife and I would move here to 0:03:47.000 --> 0:03:49.920 be a part of this incredible church. And we're so 0:03:50.040 --> 0:03:52.200 thankful for God that he called us and placed us 0:03:52.240 --> 0:03:54.880 here at Elevation, and so this has been home for us. 0:03:54.920 --> 0:03:56.920 This is where all my kids were born. Real quick, 0:03:56.960 --> 0:03:59.360 just show him a picture of my family, real fast, 0:03:59.400 --> 0:04:02.920 if you got it. This is my son, Zion and 0:04:03.000 --> 0:04:08.520 Elias and Olivia. She's everyone's favorite. Zion's in the room, 0:04:08.520 --> 0:04:10.080 but I can say that we all just say she's 0:04:10.120 --> 0:04:14.120 our favorite. We love Olivia, and I'm so grateful that 0:04:14.160 --> 0:04:17.080 God's planted us here. And it won't take you long 0:04:17.120 --> 0:04:18.800 to realize, if you're new here, that this is not 0:04:18.880 --> 0:04:21.240 a perfect church. There's no such thing as a perfect church. 0:04:21.320 --> 0:04:24.479 But I'm so grateful for a healthy church where the 0:04:24.520 --> 0:04:26.839 spirit of God is moving, where people are being reached 0:04:26.839 --> 0:04:29.000 with the gospel. Next week, when you come back for 0:04:29.120 --> 0:04:31.320 block party, you're gonna see what it's all about. Is 0:04:31.680 --> 0:04:34.680 hundreds of people take the step of being baptized and 0:04:34.760 --> 0:04:37.560 publicly declaring their faith in Jesus. Say, man, how many 0:04:37.600 --> 0:04:39.800 you are grateful for God's house for what He's doing 0:04:40.320 --> 0:04:47.000 in this church. And I'm excited to share this word 0:04:47.320 --> 0:04:49.440 with you today. We're gonna be in Acts chapter one, 0:04:50.040 --> 0:04:53.360 in Acts chapter two, and this is the story about 0:04:53.400 --> 0:04:55.920 the coming of the Holy Spirit. All the Pentecostals make 0:04:56.000 --> 0:05:03.200 some noise pick up in verse four. On one occasion, 0:05:03.440 --> 0:05:05.799 while he was eating with them, he gave them this command, 0:05:06.200 --> 0:05:09.599 do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my 0:05:09.680 --> 0:05:12.719 father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For 0:05:12.880 --> 0:05:16.240 John baptized with water, but in a few days you 0:05:16.320 --> 0:05:20.440 will be baptized with the Holy Spirit. Then they gathered 0:05:20.440 --> 0:05:23.040 around him and asked, LORDA, you at this time going 0:05:23.080 --> 0:05:25.720 to restore the kingdom to Israel. He said to them, 0:05:25.760 --> 0:05:27.360 it's not for you to know the times or the 0:05:27.440 --> 0:05:30.279 dates the Father has set by his own authority. But 0:05:30.400 --> 0:05:34.360 you will receive power. Everyone say power. You will receive 0:05:34.520 --> 0:05:37.400 power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you 0:05:37.440 --> 0:05:40.560 will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all of 0:05:40.640 --> 0:05:44.559 Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. 0:05:45.440 --> 0:05:48.000 After he said this, he was taken up before their 0:05:48.120 --> 0:05:50.440 very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. 0:05:50.560 --> 0:05:54.159 So Jesus ascends into heaven. Fast forward Acts chapter two. 0:05:54.680 --> 0:05:57.560 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together 0:05:57.640 --> 0:06:01.760 in one place. Everyone say place. Suddenly a sound like 0:06:01.800 --> 0:06:04.400 the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and 0:06:04.560 --> 0:06:07.520 filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw 0:06:07.520 --> 0:06:10.320 what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and 0:06:10.400 --> 0:06:12.640 came to rest on each of them. All of them 0:06:12.640 --> 0:06:15.679 were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak 0:06:15.680 --> 0:06:18.480 in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. Now they 0:06:18.520 --> 0:06:22.080 were staying in Jerusalem, God fearing Jews from every nation 0:06:22.600 --> 0:06:25.320 under heaven. Back to Acts chapter two, verse one for 0:06:25.360 --> 0:06:28.440 a moment when the day of Pentecost came, they were 0:06:28.480 --> 0:06:30.839 all together in one place. I want to talk to 0:06:30.839 --> 0:06:34.400 you this morning about the power of a place. The 0:06:34.440 --> 0:06:37.039 power of a place. High five year neighbors, you take 0:06:37.040 --> 0:06:40.440 your seat, say there's power in this place. Come on, 0:06:40.560 --> 0:06:43.080 tell them like you believe it, there's power in this place. 0:06:48.440 --> 0:06:51.000 Earlier this year, our pastor led us through a series 0:06:51.040 --> 0:06:53.080 through the Book of Acts and talking about the role 0:06:53.120 --> 0:06:55.640 of the Holy Spirit. How many you remember that series 0:06:55.680 --> 0:06:58.279 just in the spring, and it was so impactful for me. 0:06:58.480 --> 0:07:01.560 And one of my favorite messages in that series was 0:07:01.839 --> 0:07:06.480 a sermon he preached called Places. Everyone. So consider this 0:07:06.560 --> 0:07:08.760 message life not a part two, but maybe a spin 0:07:08.839 --> 0:07:12.480 off series of that incredible message our pastor preach. But 0:07:13.080 --> 0:07:16.640 that sermon got me thinking about the power of places 0:07:16.640 --> 0:07:19.920 in our life and the way God uses places, the 0:07:20.000 --> 0:07:23.960 places he puts us in to unfold his purposes and plans. 0:07:24.280 --> 0:07:26.760 When we talk about the ways God works in our lives, 0:07:26.760 --> 0:07:29.360 I think all of us would agree that God uses 0:07:29.440 --> 0:07:32.640 people in our lives. Right when I say that, maybe 0:07:33.400 --> 0:07:36.760 maybe a mentor a leader comes to mind, who discipled 0:07:36.800 --> 0:07:40.200 you really made a difference in your life. Maybe what 0:07:40.280 --> 0:07:42.240 comes to mind is the person who invited you to 0:07:42.320 --> 0:07:44.560 church or shared the Gospel with you for the first time. 0:07:44.680 --> 0:07:47.240 Maybe you think of a praying grandmother. Everyone, we all 0:07:47.240 --> 0:07:51.320 would agree God uses people in our lives, but more 0:07:51.360 --> 0:07:53.640 and more, even in my own life, God is beginning 0:07:53.720 --> 0:07:56.840 to reveal to me how He uses places. Everybody say 0:07:56.880 --> 0:08:00.000 places places. I want to give you an example from 0:08:00.320 --> 0:08:02.920 nature real quick, to kind of set up this point. 0:08:03.080 --> 0:08:05.400 I don't know what you like to do Sundays after 0:08:05.440 --> 0:08:07.040 you leave church. How many you like to go home 0:08:07.040 --> 0:08:09.640 and watch football? Is that your thing? I'll tell you 0:08:09.680 --> 0:08:13.200 how cool I am after church on Sundays. You know 0:08:13.200 --> 0:08:14.600 what I like to do. I like to go home 0:08:14.640 --> 0:08:21.640 and watch nature documentaries. That's my thing. The simultaneously informative 0:08:21.720 --> 0:08:26.440 yet relaxing voice of David ATM Sorry, Sir David Attenborough. 0:08:27.640 --> 0:08:30.040 And one of the things I saw recently was this. 0:08:30.280 --> 0:08:33.080 Show them the picture of these trees real quick. These 0:08:33.120 --> 0:08:38.760 are California redwords redwoods. These are the tallest trees on 0:08:38.840 --> 0:08:43.080 the planet and some of the fastest growing trees. Look 0:08:43.080 --> 0:08:47.000 at that. Something incredible, though, happened about one hundred years ago. 0:08:47.640 --> 0:08:50.760 Someone took these trees from where they were native to 0:08:51.160 --> 0:08:55.440 in California and they decided to plant them in New Zealand. 0:08:56.240 --> 0:08:59.640 And when they planted these trees that were already massive, 0:08:59.640 --> 0:09:03.320 already rapid growing, trees, already remarkable in their own right, 0:09:03.360 --> 0:09:07.559 when they took them from their native environment of California 0:09:07.880 --> 0:09:10.760 and planted them in a new environment of New Zealand, 0:09:10.880 --> 0:09:14.680 something incredible happened. You ready for this, any nature lovers 0:09:14.720 --> 0:09:19.120 in the house today. When they planted these trees in 0:09:19.240 --> 0:09:23.640 New Zealand, in the nutrient rich volcanic soil of New Zealand, 0:09:24.200 --> 0:09:28.800 these trees that were already remarkably fast growing, grew three 0:09:29.000 --> 0:09:32.640 times faster in New Zealand than they did in their 0:09:32.720 --> 0:09:38.360 native land of California. Ooh, the environments you place yourself 0:09:38.400 --> 0:09:42.320 in matters. There is potential on the inside of you, 0:09:44.559 --> 0:09:46.640 but how quickly you get there? And some of the 0:09:46.679 --> 0:09:49.280 things that God will unfold in your life have less 0:09:49.320 --> 0:09:51.680 to do with your potential and more to do with 0:09:51.800 --> 0:09:54.760 the places that you find yourself in. You can put 0:09:54.800 --> 0:09:57.160 yourself in a place that you are not native to 0:09:57.559 --> 0:10:00.920 and watch God as he accelerates your lif in ways 0:10:00.960 --> 0:10:06.359 you never could a thought or imagine. Places matter to God. 0:10:06.559 --> 0:10:09.160 One thing Jesus would often do throughout the scriptures is 0:10:09.400 --> 0:10:12.400 he would tell these parables to illustrate what the Kingdom 0:10:12.440 --> 0:10:15.640 of God was like. And as Jesus would tell these parables, 0:10:16.280 --> 0:10:19.880 he would use the place he was in to teach principles. Right, 0:10:20.559 --> 0:10:22.839 so he would tell a parable about a lost sheep, 0:10:22.920 --> 0:10:25.720 probably as he was standing next to a field filled 0:10:25.720 --> 0:10:29.640 with sheep. He would use the place to illustrate the principle, 0:10:29.720 --> 0:10:32.760 or tell a parable about a fig as he's standing 0:10:32.800 --> 0:10:34.560 next to a fig, or a vineyard while he's near 0:10:34.600 --> 0:10:37.360 a vineyard. And one time in Matthew thirteen, he tells 0:10:37.400 --> 0:10:40.640 a parable about a sewer who goes out to scatter seed, 0:10:41.160 --> 0:10:43.280 and the Bible says that as the sewer went and 0:10:43.400 --> 0:10:47.160 scattered seed, it fell in four different places. Everybody say places. 0:10:48.320 --> 0:10:50.720 The seed fell in four different places. Some of it 0:10:50.760 --> 0:10:52.960 fell in a place where it was snatched up by birds. 0:10:53.640 --> 0:10:55.480 Some of the seed fell in a place where it 0:10:55.520 --> 0:10:57.560 was so rocky it couldn't get roots, so when the 0:10:57.600 --> 0:11:00.280 sun got hot they withered away. Other seeds fell in 0:11:00.360 --> 0:11:02.880 a place where it was choked out by thorns. And 0:11:02.960 --> 0:11:06.680 other seed fell on good soil where it produced fruit. 0:11:07.040 --> 0:11:09.320 If you're looking at Matthew thirteen in your Bible, it'll 0:11:09.320 --> 0:11:12.520 probably have a heading like the Parable of the Sower, 0:11:12.559 --> 0:11:15.240 but a better name for this parable is the parable 0:11:15.280 --> 0:11:19.440 of the places. Because what determined the outcome of that 0:11:19.520 --> 0:11:22.400 seed was not the potential within the seed, and it 0:11:22.480 --> 0:11:24.480 wasn't the sower. The sower knew what he was doing. 0:11:24.559 --> 0:11:27.600 What determined the outcome of that seed was the place 0:11:28.160 --> 0:11:31.040 that the seed landed. Your life is like a seed, 0:11:31.559 --> 0:11:34.920 and the places you find yourself in can either accelerate 0:11:35.000 --> 0:11:39.840 you grow, you expand you feed you. Or if the 0:11:39.880 --> 0:11:42.640 good environment can accelerate and grow your life in the 0:11:42.679 --> 0:11:47.000 same way, the wrong environment can squander you, starve you, 0:11:47.240 --> 0:11:51.280 suffocate you from the purposes that God has for your life. 0:11:52.120 --> 0:11:56.080 This is the power of a place. This is why 0:11:56.080 --> 0:11:58.439 it's so important that when someone gives their life to 0:11:58.559 --> 0:12:01.040 Christ that we help them get can to this church, 0:12:01.960 --> 0:12:04.520 because that they receive the seed of God's grace into 0:12:04.559 --> 0:12:07.040 their heart, but they go back to the same people 0:12:07.360 --> 0:12:10.120 and the same environments. It's one thing to have Jesus 0:12:10.120 --> 0:12:11.960 in your heart, but you're going to be frustrated when 0:12:12.000 --> 0:12:14.679 you feel like you're not transforming if you have Jesus 0:12:14.720 --> 0:12:17.040 in your heart but keep going to the same places. 0:12:17.040 --> 0:12:20.040 The same bars, the same club get. We got to 0:12:20.040 --> 0:12:22.360 help people get out of the environment that they were 0:12:22.400 --> 0:12:27.640 in and into a life giving environment where the purposes 0:12:27.640 --> 0:12:31.560 of God can begin to unfold. I'm so grateful God 0:12:31.600 --> 0:12:35.400 planted me in this house, in this soil, in this soil, 0:12:35.720 --> 0:12:38.640 because I've seen God do incredible things. I always knew 0:12:38.679 --> 0:12:40.760 God's hand was on my life. I knew I would 0:12:40.800 --> 0:12:43.320 see God do incredible I never could have imagined some 0:12:43.400 --> 0:12:45.520 of the things I'd get to see God do because 0:12:45.559 --> 0:12:48.880 of where He planted me. I remember one author saying, 0:12:48.920 --> 0:12:50.839 he said, if you want to see a move of God, 0:12:51.280 --> 0:12:55.319 put yourself in a place where God is moving. If 0:12:55.360 --> 0:12:57.120 you want to see God move in a big way, 0:12:57.120 --> 0:12:58.600 and how many of you want to see God move 0:12:58.640 --> 0:13:00.440 in a big way in your life. If you want 0:13:00.480 --> 0:13:02.200 to see God move in a big way in your life, 0:13:02.240 --> 0:13:05.520 put yourself in a place where God is moving. That's 0:13:05.559 --> 0:13:07.400 true for so many areas of our life. If you 0:13:07.440 --> 0:13:09.400 want to see a miracle in your life, put yourself 0:13:09.440 --> 0:13:12.440 in a place where God is still doing miracles. If 0:13:12.480 --> 0:13:15.200 you want to see your marriage thrive and prosper, put 0:13:15.240 --> 0:13:18.000 yourself in a place where you're surrounded by healthy miracles, 0:13:18.360 --> 0:13:21.240 by healthy marriages. If you want to see God do something, 0:13:21.600 --> 0:13:25.360 get in a place where the spirit of God is moving. 0:13:25.679 --> 0:13:29.559 When you plant yourself in a place where the spirit 0:13:29.600 --> 0:13:32.520 of God is moving and watering, there is no limit 0:13:32.600 --> 0:13:37.079 to what God can do in and through your life. 0:13:37.760 --> 0:13:40.040 And like I mentioned, the same is true the opposite way, 0:13:40.080 --> 0:13:41.880 Like if you put man, I love nature so much. 0:13:41.880 --> 0:13:44.960 Here's my third nature analogy. But if you put a 0:13:45.000 --> 0:13:47.800 fish in a small aquarium, it won't limit how much 0:13:47.800 --> 0:13:49.920 it can grow. Many of us are limited not by 0:13:49.920 --> 0:13:56.760 our potential, but by our places. In one passage of scripture, 0:13:56.840 --> 0:14:00.000 Jesus comes across a man who had been paralyzed since birth, 0:14:00.040 --> 0:14:02.520 and the scripture says that he was laying near a 0:14:02.559 --> 0:14:06.440 pool called Bethesda. And the scripture specifically points out that 0:14:06.600 --> 0:14:09.440 at this pool that there is a great number of 0:14:09.600 --> 0:14:12.560 sick and ill people. And Jesus goes up to this 0:14:12.640 --> 0:14:14.600 man who was laying by this pool, and he asked 0:14:14.640 --> 0:14:17.920 him a question. He says, do you want to get well? 0:14:18.480 --> 0:14:20.960 And of course the answer to that is obvious for 0:14:21.000 --> 0:14:23.120 this man who's been laying by this pool, for you, 0:14:23.200 --> 0:14:24.720 do you want to get well? The man says, yes, 0:14:24.720 --> 0:14:28.280 I want to get well. Interestingly enough, Jesus doesn't say 0:14:28.360 --> 0:14:31.040 to him, you're healed. Jesus says, pick up your mat 0:14:31.520 --> 0:14:34.640 and go. When the man expresses that he wants to 0:14:34.640 --> 0:14:36.880 get well, the first thing Jesus tells him to do 0:14:37.000 --> 0:14:40.960 is change your environment, because if you want to walk, 0:14:41.040 --> 0:14:43.160 the first thing you need to do is stop hanging 0:14:43.200 --> 0:14:46.200 around lame people. When you want to see God do 0:14:46.320 --> 0:14:49.720 something different in your life, you've got to Often, God 0:14:49.800 --> 0:14:52.680 will force you out of environments that you're native to 0:14:53.200 --> 0:14:56.160 places that are comfortable for you in order to bring 0:14:56.200 --> 0:15:00.160 you into His purposes. Amen, I didn't forget about the 0:15:00.200 --> 0:15:03.200 Book of Acts. Let's go there for a minute. Talk 0:15:03.200 --> 0:15:07.520 about the potential of a place, this little upper room, 0:15:07.800 --> 0:15:10.800 this little upper room, where God would send his spirit, 0:15:11.440 --> 0:15:14.320 and the effects of that for the last two thousand 0:15:14.360 --> 0:15:18.200 years have been resounding and trembling throughout the whole earth, 0:15:18.680 --> 0:15:20.880 and on the Day of Pentecost. One thing you need 0:15:20.920 --> 0:15:24.280 to know is that the Day of Pentecost was one 0:15:24.360 --> 0:15:27.880 day in a festival called the Feast of Weeks, and 0:15:28.000 --> 0:15:30.400 during the Feast of Weeks, this is where the Israelites 0:15:30.400 --> 0:15:34.320 would celebrate when God gave the law the Torah to Moses, 0:15:34.360 --> 0:15:38.240 and thus started the nation of Israel. So the feast 0:15:38.240 --> 0:15:41.040 of Weeks where they is where they would celebrate the 0:15:41.080 --> 0:15:44.920 beginning of the Hebrew people becoming a nation. Now, for 0:15:45.120 --> 0:15:48.280 us as believers, when we think about the Day of Pentecost, 0:15:48.560 --> 0:15:51.840 it's not about God sending his law, but God sending 0:15:51.840 --> 0:15:54.600 his spirit. And it's not about the birth of a nation, 0:15:55.000 --> 0:15:58.040 but the birth of God's Church that since that day 0:15:58.080 --> 0:16:01.160 when He poured out his spirit, has been resonating throughout 0:16:01.200 --> 0:16:05.400 the whole earth, to Ukraine, to Brazil, to Toronto to Charlotte, 0:16:05.440 --> 0:16:08.920 North Carolina. All the beautiful expressions of the Body of 0:16:09.000 --> 0:16:12.200 Christ that came out of that moment when God birth 0:16:12.280 --> 0:16:15.119 this church in that little upper room. It's the potential 0:16:15.560 --> 0:16:18.280 of a place. And sometimes I read this story and 0:16:18.320 --> 0:16:20.640 I think it would be so cool to have been 0:16:20.680 --> 0:16:22.760 one of the apostles in that room on that day. 0:16:23.520 --> 0:16:25.480 It would have been so amazing to be in that 0:16:25.520 --> 0:16:28.120 place as God sends the spirit and all of a 0:16:28.160 --> 0:16:30.160 sudden it fills the house and it fills the people. 0:16:30.320 --> 0:16:32.520 And this scripture will go on to say that right 0:16:32.560 --> 0:16:35.000 after that, Peter and the other eleven they stand up 0:16:35.000 --> 0:16:37.840 and they give one of the most beautiful expressions of 0:16:37.880 --> 0:16:41.040 the gospel message of Jesus Christ, and that day three 0:16:41.080 --> 0:16:43.680 thousand people get added to the church. What would it 0:16:43.720 --> 0:16:45.680 have been like to been in the middle of a 0:16:45.720 --> 0:16:47.480 move of God like that? I think, Oh, it would 0:16:47.520 --> 0:16:50.280 be so cool to be in the upper room. But 0:16:50.400 --> 0:16:52.840 think with me for a second what this must have 0:16:52.880 --> 0:16:56.960 felt like for the apostles who are there. See, for 0:16:57.040 --> 0:17:00.960 three years they've been following Jesus from place place. Remember 0:17:01.280 --> 0:17:03.280 he called them out of there for Peter. He said, 0:17:03.400 --> 0:17:05.720 leave your fishing, but leave the thing that's not only 0:17:05.760 --> 0:17:08.840 comfortable for you but also lucrative for you, and come 0:17:08.880 --> 0:17:11.960 and follow me. And so for three years these disciples 0:17:12.000 --> 0:17:14.960 have been following Jesus from place to place, everybody say place. 0:17:16.600 --> 0:17:19.440 And then they watch Jesus as he gets crucified in 0:17:19.520 --> 0:17:22.440 a place called Golgatha. They even told them, Jesus, don't 0:17:22.480 --> 0:17:24.320 do it, but it was his purpose and plan all 0:17:24.359 --> 0:17:27.080 along to go to that place and give his life. 0:17:27.200 --> 0:17:30.840 And so, in their pain and confusion and grief, they 0:17:30.880 --> 0:17:33.560 watched them get crucified. And just when things couldn't get 0:17:33.560 --> 0:17:36.120 more confusing, three days later they go to the tomb, 0:17:36.160 --> 0:17:39.680 and what happens. He wasn't in that place the Angel said, 0:17:39.720 --> 0:17:42.959 he's not here, he's risen. And then they meet the 0:17:43.000 --> 0:17:46.920 resurrected Jesus, and from that point for another forty days, 0:17:46.920 --> 0:17:50.280 they're with the resurrected Jesus, and in some of his 0:17:50.520 --> 0:17:54.240 last words to them before he ascends into heaven, he says, 0:17:54.640 --> 0:18:01.199 wait in Jerusalem. Wait in Jerusalem, says, my father's going 0:18:01.240 --> 0:18:02.840 to send you the gift of the Holy Spirit, but 0:18:02.880 --> 0:18:06.159 you need to wait in Jerusalem. How many patient people 0:18:06.200 --> 0:18:09.399 in the House of God today self identified patient people. 0:18:10.600 --> 0:18:12.119 This is how I know I wouldn't have been a 0:18:12.119 --> 0:18:16.719 good disciple because I'm not very good at waiting. So 0:18:16.760 --> 0:18:18.720 when we call it the Upper Room, we think, what 0:18:18.840 --> 0:18:22.080 an amazing moment that happened in that place. But for 0:18:22.160 --> 0:18:25.119 the disciples, this wouldn't have felt like a move of God. 0:18:25.160 --> 0:18:29.480 This would have felt like a waiting room, a waiting room, 0:18:29.800 --> 0:18:32.800 a waiting room. They're in that place and it would 0:18:32.840 --> 0:18:36.159 be ten days from when Jesus ascended to when he 0:18:36.200 --> 0:18:38.760 would send the gift of his Holy Spirit. Ten days. 0:18:39.080 --> 0:18:42.120 But they don't know that. They don't know that, they 0:18:42.119 --> 0:18:45.080 don't know if it's going to be three days, seven days, 0:18:45.480 --> 0:18:48.800 ten days, one hundred days. In some of his last 0:18:48.840 --> 0:18:52.560 words to them, he says, stay in Jerusalem and wait 0:18:53.160 --> 0:18:55.640 and wait. So they go to this place and they're 0:18:55.640 --> 0:19:00.240 simply waiting. Imagine how confusing this was for them. The 0:19:00.240 --> 0:19:02.639 worst thing about when you're waiting, like for me, I 0:19:02.680 --> 0:19:05.080 always think about when you go to a restaurant and 0:19:05.119 --> 0:19:07.400 the weight is taking a little bit longer than you expect. 0:19:07.400 --> 0:19:09.199 In your in you're debating in your mind do I 0:19:09.240 --> 0:19:12.199 just leave and go somewhere else? And yet there's something 0:19:12.280 --> 0:19:16.280 deep down in your spirit telling you that the moment 0:19:16.359 --> 0:19:19.640 I walk out of this door, they're gonna call my name. Right, 0:19:19.960 --> 0:19:22.760 it's this lingering feeling. The moment I leave this place, 0:19:22.760 --> 0:19:26.399 they're gonna say, josephs, your table is ready, and I 0:19:26.480 --> 0:19:28.640 won't be in that place. So you just wait, You wait, 0:19:28.680 --> 0:19:30.560 you wait, when's it gonna come? When's it gonna come? 0:19:30.800 --> 0:19:33.000 One thing I want you to know is that places 0:19:33.680 --> 0:19:37.800 that places where you find yourself waiting are places of preparation. 0:19:38.600 --> 0:19:44.000 Preparation is connected to a place when you find yourself 0:19:44.200 --> 0:19:47.040 in that tormenting space where you don't I know God's 0:19:47.040 --> 0:19:49.520 getting ready to do something, but I don't know when 0:19:49.840 --> 0:19:54.439 or exactly what He's gonna do. Those are spaces of preparation. 0:19:55.119 --> 0:19:57.240 A couple of weeks ago, our pastor taught us about 0:19:57.240 --> 0:20:00.560 this when he talked about King David. Remember, David was 0:20:00.600 --> 0:20:04.879 anointed as king, and yet despite being anointed by the 0:20:04.920 --> 0:20:07.440 prophet Samuel to be the king of Israel, he did 0:20:07.440 --> 0:20:10.760 not possess the throne right away. And our pastor taught 0:20:10.840 --> 0:20:13.920 us how David spent years running away from the current king, 0:20:14.000 --> 0:20:16.439 King Saul, who was trying to kill him. So he 0:20:16.520 --> 0:20:20.240 finds himself living in the wilderness and hiding in caves. 0:20:20.240 --> 0:20:22.840 And our pastor said something so profound to us. He said, 0:20:23.200 --> 0:20:28.520 kings are only formed in caves. That cave was a 0:20:28.520 --> 0:20:32.480 waiting room. That cave was a place of preparation for 0:20:32.560 --> 0:20:35.600 King David. God knew everything he had in store for David. 0:20:35.840 --> 0:20:38.920 God knew everything that David would become. But in that cave, 0:20:39.000 --> 0:20:43.080 God was forming something in him for the purposes that 0:20:43.119 --> 0:20:45.879 he had for him. Consider Joseph for just a moment. 0:20:46.000 --> 0:20:49.200 Joseph is an amazing character in the Bible. In fact, 0:20:49.240 --> 0:20:52.440 he would have such profound and prophetic dreams about the 0:20:52.480 --> 0:20:54.840 way that God was going to use them that when 0:20:54.840 --> 0:20:58.000 he told his family, they got so jealous of him 0:20:58.320 --> 0:21:01.879 that they sold him into slavery, and through a series 0:21:01.920 --> 0:21:06.720 of unfortunate events, Joseph finds himself in a prison cell. 0:21:07.520 --> 0:21:10.480 Something incredible happens in that prison cell. We call it 0:21:10.480 --> 0:21:13.159