WEBVTT - Where Restoration Starts (Robert Madu) 0:00:02.200 --> 0:00:04.760 Hey, this is Stephen Ferdick. I'm the pastor of Elevation 0:00:05.040 --> 0:00:07.240 Church and this is our podcast. I wanted to thank 0:00:07.280 --> 0:00:10.600 you for joining us today. Hope this inspires you. Hope 0:00:10.600 --> 0:00:12.639 it builds your faith. Hope it gives your perspective to 0:00:12.680 --> 0:00:15.360 see God is moving in your life. Enjoy the message, 0:00:17.000 --> 0:00:18.680 and I'm excited to share the word of God with 0:00:18.720 --> 0:00:20.560 you today. If y'all feel like hearing it like I 0:00:20.560 --> 0:00:23.360 feel like preaching it, something's going to happen in here. 0:00:24.720 --> 0:00:26.880 Go with me. Go with me to Mark chapter two. 0:00:27.000 --> 0:00:29.600 Mark chapter two. As a matter of fact, could you 0:00:29.640 --> 0:00:31.280 stand to honor the reading of God's word. I know 0:00:31.280 --> 0:00:33.839 you were standing earlier. It feels like spiritual aerobics, but 0:00:35.000 --> 0:00:37.360 it's the only one. I'm asking you to stand up 0:00:37.680 --> 0:00:41.920 for every other one that's on you. Mark chapter two 0:00:42.600 --> 0:00:45.040 and I'm gonna look at verses twenty three through twenty eight, 0:00:45.920 --> 0:00:49.600 and then we'll probably read down into chapter number three 0:00:50.240 --> 0:00:55.000 as well. When you're ready to read it, say yeah. 0:00:55.080 --> 0:01:00.320 If you're not ready, say hold up. I heard faint. 0:01:00.360 --> 0:01:03.360 Hold up, And I'm await for you to find the gospel. 0:01:03.360 --> 0:01:06.640 According to Mark chapter two, and it says, starting in 0:01:06.680 --> 0:01:09.760 verse twenty three. One sabbath, Jesus was going through the 0:01:09.760 --> 0:01:13.600 grain fields, and as his disciples walked along, they began 0:01:13.680 --> 0:01:18.000 to pick some heads of grain. No Pharisee said to him, look, 0:01:18.959 --> 0:01:21.200 why are they doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath? 0:01:22.000 --> 0:01:25.119 And he answered, have you never read what David did 0:01:25.520 --> 0:01:27.839 when he and his companions were hungry and in need? 0:01:28.360 --> 0:01:30.280 And in the days of abth are the high priest. 0:01:30.360 --> 0:01:33.160 He entered the House of God and ate the consecrated bread, 0:01:33.160 --> 0:01:35.880 which is lawful only for priests to eat. And he 0:01:35.959 --> 0:01:39.240 also gave some to his companions, and he said to them, 0:01:39.720 --> 0:01:44.600 the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. 0:01:45.200 --> 0:01:49.360 So the son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath. 0:01:49.920 --> 0:01:52.200 Another time, Jesus went into the synagogue and a man 0:01:52.240 --> 0:01:55.680 with a shriveled hand another version says withered hand was there, 0:01:56.120 --> 0:01:58.760 and some of them were looking for a reason to 0:01:58.880 --> 0:02:02.080 accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if 0:02:02.080 --> 0:02:04.720 he would heal him on the Sabbath. And Jesus said 0:02:04.720 --> 0:02:07.480 to the man with a shriveled hand, stand up in 0:02:07.480 --> 0:02:11.959 front of everyone. And Jesus asked them, which is lawful 0:02:12.120 --> 0:02:15.480 on the sabbath to do good or to do evil, 0:02:16.120 --> 0:02:22.520 to save life, or to kill. But they remained silent 0:02:23.520 --> 0:02:27.040 and looked around at them in anger and deeply distressed 0:02:27.040 --> 0:02:30.920 at their stubborn hearts, and said to the man, stretch 0:02:31.520 --> 0:02:35.560 out your hand. He stretched it out and his hand 0:02:35.680 --> 0:02:42.040 was completely restored. Then the Pharisees went out and began 0:02:42.200 --> 0:02:50.320 to plot with the Herodians how they might kill Jesus. Ooo, pauls, 0:02:50.320 --> 0:02:51.960 I don't want to preach before I preach, but in 0:02:52.080 --> 0:02:56.160 that interesting how two people can be in the same 0:02:56.280 --> 0:03:01.280 environment but have two totally different experiences. Here's a man's 0:03:01.320 --> 0:03:05.840 hand who has been completely restored. I imagine to your 0:03:05.840 --> 0:03:11.239 place erupted giving God praise. But not the Pharisees. They 0:03:11.280 --> 0:03:15.280 saw this man's healing as an opportunity to begin a 0:03:15.360 --> 0:03:22.239 plot to kill Jesus. This man's healing was the impetus. 0:03:22.280 --> 0:03:25.679 It was the catalyst for the plot that put Jesus 0:03:26.200 --> 0:03:29.239 on the cross. I was playing around with titles before 0:03:29.240 --> 0:03:32.000 I preached this. I almost started to call this message 0:03:32.320 --> 0:03:36.000 when healing you is killing me. That would have been 0:03:36.040 --> 0:03:37.280 a good title. That would have been good a tie. 0:03:37.280 --> 0:03:39.240 That's not my title. And some of y'all ain't been 0:03:39.240 --> 0:03:41.880 saved your whole life, and uh, you've been a vegas. 0:03:41.960 --> 0:03:44.800 So I almost titled this message, almost tied to this 0:03:44.880 --> 0:03:49.000 message how to win with a bad hand. Some of 0:03:49.040 --> 0:03:50.760 you get that tomorrow. You don't like that, you're like that, 0:03:52.520 --> 0:03:55.160 but uh, it's not my title today. It's not my 0:03:55.240 --> 0:04:01.320 title today. I am amazed the ability of our Savior 0:04:02.000 --> 0:04:08.080 to completely restore his hand, completely restore. Our God is 0:04:08.080 --> 0:04:12.800 a god of restoration. I want to appreciated ay, just 0:04:12.880 --> 0:04:21.320 using this as a title, where restoration starts. Where restoration starts, 0:04:21.800 --> 0:04:24.240 would you bow your heads with me, Ephaan, wherever you 0:04:24.279 --> 0:04:26.560 are Some of y'all still in your bathrobe listening to 0:04:26.600 --> 0:04:30.880 this message. Father, thank you for your word. Speak to 0:04:30.960 --> 0:04:35.000 us today. Amen. He may be seated in the presence 0:04:35.000 --> 0:04:43.200 of the Lord where restoration starts. Elevation, fam. I'm fully 0:04:43.200 --> 0:04:47.560 aware that we are immersed in a new year in 0:04:47.640 --> 0:04:51.760 twenty twenty one. If I'm honest with you, there are 0:04:51.880 --> 0:04:55.560 some lessons that I learned in twenty twenty that I 0:04:55.600 --> 0:04:59.200 am still walking out today. Twenty twenty. Tell me some 0:04:59.320 --> 0:05:03.039 lessons it taught me a myriad of lessons. Matter of fact, 0:05:03.040 --> 0:05:05.800 first lesson I learned in twenty twenty. First lesson I 0:05:05.880 --> 0:05:08.799 learned in twenty twenty as I was sheltered in place 0:05:09.000 --> 0:05:12.920 for several months with our three little humans who are six, four, 0:05:13.000 --> 0:05:16.000 and three. The first lesson that I learned in twenty 0:05:16.040 --> 0:05:18.640 as I was sheltered in place couldn't go nowhere with 0:05:18.800 --> 0:05:20.840 our six year old, four year old and three year old. 0:05:20.880 --> 0:05:23.360 First lesson I learned in twenty twenty, who is that 0:05:23.440 --> 0:05:32.000 our teachers are grossly underpaid? Grossly under pay. I'm telling you, 0:05:32.080 --> 0:05:35.280 if you got a stimulus check, send it to a teacher. Okay, 0:05:36.200 --> 0:05:38.680 this is hard out here in these streets. That's the 0:05:38.680 --> 0:05:41.880 first lesson I learned in twenty twenty. The second lesson 0:05:41.880 --> 0:05:46.080 I learned in twenty twenty is that sometimes your greatest 0:05:46.080 --> 0:05:51.760 ability is your adaptability, your ability to adapt. How many know, 0:05:51.880 --> 0:05:54.719 God can use somebody that knows how to pivot, that 0:05:54.800 --> 0:05:57.680 knows how to shift, somebody that's not so married to 0:05:57.680 --> 0:05:59.680 what has been and what was that they don't know 0:05:59.720 --> 0:06:03.120 how to move into what God is doing. Now. I'm 0:06:03.160 --> 0:06:06.159 telling you God can use you if you understand the 0:06:06.279 --> 0:06:10.440 power of adaptability. The third thing I got from twenty 0:06:10.480 --> 0:06:13.000 twenty that I didn't really learn, but I was reminded 0:06:13.040 --> 0:06:16.760 of that is that the Church of the Living God 0:06:17.400 --> 0:06:22.719 is not optional, it is a necessity. The Church is essential. 0:06:22.800 --> 0:06:25.680 How mean you know we need the church. I know 0:06:25.720 --> 0:06:27.920 it looks crazy in the world right now, and it's 0:06:28.000 --> 0:06:31.080 dark days, and that has reminded me of the truth 0:06:31.120 --> 0:06:33.640 and the fact that we need the Church of the 0:06:33.720 --> 0:06:36.680 Living God. We need something that will be light in 0:06:36.720 --> 0:06:39.440 the midst of this darkness. We need people that will 0:06:39.440 --> 0:06:42.560 stand up and declare the good news of the Gospel 0:06:42.640 --> 0:06:47.240 of Jesus Christ. I'm telling you we need the church. Oh, 0:06:47.320 --> 0:06:50.359 this is essential. It is essential. I can live with 0:06:50.440 --> 0:06:52.960 the bad barber. I'll just have a bad haircut. I 0:06:53.000 --> 0:06:55.200 can live with the bad dentist. I'll just have a 0:06:55.240 --> 0:06:58.320 bad toothache. I can live with the bad plumber. It'll 0:06:58.360 --> 0:07:00.679 just mess up my house. But I need a church 0:07:00.760 --> 0:07:03.600 that's alive. I can't have a dead church. I need 0:07:03.640 --> 0:07:06.640 a church that's alive, that will stand up for truth 0:07:06.839 --> 0:07:11.800 and speak. God is telling you to speak. Oh, I'm 0:07:11.800 --> 0:07:14.160 telling you, I love the Church of the Living God. 0:07:14.160 --> 0:07:17.120 I was reminded of that. I'm thankful for the church. 0:07:17.160 --> 0:07:19.360 I'm thankful for the Word of God. In fact, it 0:07:19.400 --> 0:07:22.840 was awesome today just being able to worship with you today. 0:07:23.080 --> 0:07:25.160 I'm telling you should have heard y'all singing I'm gonna 0:07:25.200 --> 0:07:27.480 see your victory. Some of I were off key, but 0:07:27.520 --> 0:07:30.320 it was cool. I loved it because there's something about 0:07:30.360 --> 0:07:34.440 when the church comes together in worships. I'm be honest 0:07:34.440 --> 0:07:37.720 with you, I'm I'm lonely on this stage. I am lonely. 0:07:37.760 --> 0:07:39.840 Ain't nobody but me and you, bro We're the only ones, 0:07:40.560 --> 0:07:42.760 only ones up here. It's lonely on the stage, but 0:07:42.880 --> 0:07:45.760 it is not as lonely as it was during the 0:07:45.800 --> 0:07:49.560 pandemic last year, when I was preaching to empty sanctuary, 0:07:49.720 --> 0:07:52.160 just looking to the lens of a camera, speaking into 0:07:52.160 --> 0:07:54.920 the abyss of darkness, hoping that what I was saying 0:07:55.000 --> 0:07:57.400 was resonating on the other sea side of the screen. 0:07:57.440 --> 0:07:58.920 I'm just so glad that there are people in here. 0:07:58.920 --> 0:08:02.880 I'm glad I can see your right now. Actually kind 0:08:02.880 --> 0:08:06.840 of got me thinking, because I have an interesting vantage 0:08:06.840 --> 0:08:12.720 point right here on the stage because I can see you, 0:08:12.720 --> 0:08:16.240 you can see me. If I look at these incredible screens, 0:08:17.200 --> 0:08:22.160 I can see myself. What's interesting to me is that 0:08:22.280 --> 0:08:26.800 you can't see you. Just think about that for a moment, 0:08:26.880 --> 0:08:29.320 Like you don't have a clue what you look like 0:08:29.400 --> 0:08:32.600 right now. Even those of your epam like, don't go 0:08:32.600 --> 0:08:34.360 to the bathroom in your house. And no, you don't 0:08:34.400 --> 0:08:36.960 know what you look like right now, but I do. 0:08:37.840 --> 0:08:40.240 I can see you. You don't have a clue what 0:08:40.320 --> 0:08:41.880 you look like. You know what you looked like before 0:08:41.880 --> 0:08:43.600 you came to church. You know what you look like 0:08:43.600 --> 0:08:45.800 if you stopped in the bathroom before. But you don't 0:08:45.920 --> 0:08:48.720 know what you look like right now. And I can 0:08:48.800 --> 0:08:51.600 see you. You can't see you, but I can see you. 0:08:51.880 --> 0:08:54.439 To think that you would have the nerve, the audacity 0:08:54.679 --> 0:08:56.920 to say, Ooh, I'm gonna change some things in my life. 0:08:57.000 --> 0:08:58.480 I'm telling you this is gonna be a new me. 0:08:58.720 --> 0:09:01.720 You can't even see you. Hey, you don't talk about 0:09:01.760 --> 0:09:04.840 there's a new year because you can't see your self. 0:09:04.880 --> 0:09:07.120 And how many you know? You cannot change what you 0:09:07.160 --> 0:09:11.880 cannot see see. All change in your life must be 0:09:12.000 --> 0:09:16.200 preceded by recognition. You have to see something before you 0:09:16.240 --> 0:09:19.000 can actually change it. Many of us want God to 0:09:19.080 --> 0:09:22.680 restore some things, but perhaps before the restoration, we actually 0:09:22.760 --> 0:09:25.480 need recognition of the things in our life that are 0:09:25.520 --> 0:09:28.520 broken that we are unaware of. That He wants to 0:09:28.640 --> 0:09:33.480 restore because you can't see yourself. You don't know what 0:09:33.520 --> 0:09:35.320 you look like. Come on, not the only one ever 0:09:35.400 --> 0:09:38.280 experienced this phenomenon where you had a kill salad. You know, 0:09:38.280 --> 0:09:40.640 you're trying to do better summer, you're trying to do better. 0:09:40.760 --> 0:09:43.160 You have your kill salad at twelve o'clock in the afternoon. 0:09:43.400 --> 0:09:46.080 You get to your house about six o'clock in the evening. Okay, 0:09:46.120 --> 0:09:48.560 you look in your mirror in your bathroom and see 0:09:48.600 --> 0:09:51.720 the biggest piece of kill in between your teeth, and 0:09:51.720 --> 0:09:53.320 you think to yourself, wait a minute, I had that 0:09:53.440 --> 0:09:56.720 kill salad at twelve o'clock. I talked to sixty three 0:09:56.760 --> 0:09:59.800 people right after that list did nobody want to tell me? 0:10:00.080 --> 0:10:01.640 Then I had a big old piece of cant help 0:10:01.720 --> 0:10:06.319 him my mouth. Oh I need new friends, because you 0:10:06.360 --> 0:10:08.800 would have got it out if you could see it. 0:10:09.679 --> 0:10:14.280 But you cannot change. But you cannot see. I'll never 0:10:14.280 --> 0:10:17.520 forget talking to a leader, a very influential leader, and 0:10:17.559 --> 0:10:19.840 I was just asking them all these questions about leadership, 0:10:20.360 --> 0:10:22.640 and he said, Robert, there's actually a question that I 0:10:22.679 --> 0:10:26.479 asked other people as a leader that's formed my leadership. 0:10:26.679 --> 0:10:28.760 I said, man, give me the question. He said, I 0:10:28.760 --> 0:10:31.800 asked this question of my wife, he said. I asked 0:10:31.800 --> 0:10:33.840 this question of the people that I lead, he said. 0:10:33.840 --> 0:10:37.760 I even asked this question of close friends. I asked them, 0:10:38.360 --> 0:10:41.640 what is it like to be on the other side 0:10:41.640 --> 0:10:45.720 of me? What is it like to be on the 0:10:45.760 --> 0:10:48.120 other side of me? That's a good question, he said. 0:10:48.160 --> 0:10:51.600 I asked that question because I have blind spots. I 0:10:51.640 --> 0:10:53.760 don't know what it's like to be on the other 0:10:53.880 --> 0:10:56.240 side of me. That is the only thing I don't 0:10:56.240 --> 0:10:59.240 have perspective on. I don't know what it's like to 0:10:59.240 --> 0:11:01.080 be on the other side me, he says. So I 0:11:01.080 --> 0:11:03.280 have to ask people that I love, and then I 0:11:03.320 --> 0:11:06.000 have to sit back and listen to what they say 0:11:06.320 --> 0:11:09.280 and not get defensive when they say something that they 0:11:09.400 --> 0:11:12.199 know this. I have to hear what they say because 0:11:12.240 --> 0:11:15.520 I can't see myself see some of y'all listen to 0:11:15.559 --> 0:11:17.640 dis message like, Oh, I don't need this message. I'm good. 0:11:17.679 --> 0:11:20.200 I'm good. You know my marriage is good. I know this, 0:11:20.320 --> 0:11:22.360 I know this, I'm a good husband. And I would 0:11:22.360 --> 0:11:26.000 say to you, how do you know you've never been 0:11:26.000 --> 0:11:29.880 married to yourself? This some parents you ever seen parents like, 0:11:29.920 --> 0:11:31.520 I don't know what's wrong with these kids? These kids 0:11:31.559 --> 0:11:33.920 have lost their mind. I know one thing. I'm a 0:11:33.960 --> 0:11:36.200 good parent. Right, y'all got electricity, don't you. I'm a 0:11:36.200 --> 0:11:40.280 good parent. I know that. How do you know you've 0:11:40.320 --> 0:11:43.720 never parented yourself. I'm just saying, you don't know what 0:11:43.760 --> 0:11:46.080 it's like to be on the other side of you 0:11:46.160 --> 0:11:49.600 because you can't see yourself. So when God wants to 0:11:49.600 --> 0:11:51.920 restore something, the first thing you need to ask of 0:11:52.000 --> 0:11:55.480 God is God, help me to see what I cannot see. 0:11:55.720 --> 0:11:58.480 Show me the things that are broken in me. Don't 0:11:58.559 --> 0:12:01.440 let me spend my entire life looking at what's wrong 0:12:01.480 --> 0:12:04.160 with everybody else that I never take the time to 0:12:04.240 --> 0:12:08.400 address the things that are wrong with me. Oh God, 0:12:08.559 --> 0:12:12.440 help me see me. Don't let me live my life 0:12:12.559 --> 0:12:15.920 like the Pharisees, who were real good at seeing what 0:12:15.960 --> 0:12:19.120 was wrong with everybody else, that they could never see 0:12:19.160 --> 0:12:22.360 what was wrong with them. This is the problem of 0:12:22.440 --> 0:12:26.240 the Pharisees. The Pharisees were real good at microscopes. You know, 0:12:26.280 --> 0:12:28.640 microscopes you look with detail at the specimen was wrong 0:12:28.679 --> 0:12:32.559 with everybody else, But they were horrible with mirrors. They 0:12:32.640 --> 0:12:34.839 could not look at themselves, but they could see what 0:12:34.920 --> 0:12:38.280 was wrong with everybody else. I see h I say 0:12:38.320 --> 0:12:41.079 what you need to fix. I see what's wrong with you. 0:12:41.200 --> 0:12:42.800 That's the problem with the pharisees. You know you a 0:12:42.840 --> 0:12:45.000 pharisee when you're talking about what I see, I see 0:12:45.120 --> 0:12:46.800 what's wrong with you. That's why they have pharisees. P 0:12:47.000 --> 0:12:50.800 H A R. I see, I see, I see what 0:12:51.040 --> 0:12:53.640 you need to fix. And you got a lot of 0:12:53.760 --> 0:12:58.880 things that are on. It's horrible. When you're really good 0:12:59.160 --> 0:13:03.520 at microscopes, you're terrible and pulling on Michael Jackson and saying, 0:13:03.520 --> 0:13:06.160 I'm looking at the man in the mirror. I'm asking 0:13:06.240 --> 0:13:09.840 him to change his ways. The Pharisees couldn't see themselves, 0:13:09.880 --> 0:13:13.360 so Jesus had this incredible, uncanny ability to help them 0:13:13.400 --> 0:13:18.600 see themselves, and they hated it. They couldn't stand that 0:13:18.720 --> 0:13:22.240 Jesus would show themselves to themselves. That's what made them 0:13:22.280 --> 0:13:24.960 angry and mad. And that is what is in my 0:13:25.080 --> 0:13:28.679 text today. Are y'all good? I feel like preaching this 0:13:28.760 --> 0:13:33.360 message before before I even start talking about the pharisees 0:13:33.400 --> 0:13:37.040 who cause detension in our text today. I also find 0:13:37.040 --> 0:13:43.000 it intriguing that nobody ever type cast themselves as a 0:13:43.000 --> 0:13:46.280 pharisee in the Bible. Have you noticed that, like you 0:13:46.320 --> 0:13:48.480 ain't never in your life while reading the Bible said 0:13:48.800 --> 0:13:51.199 that's me, that's me. I'm a pharisee. And't that funny? 0:13:51.200 --> 0:13:54.360 And it's funny that the people that regularly attended church, 0:13:55.040 --> 0:13:59.360 people who today regularly attend church, never think they're like 0:13:59.520 --> 0:14:01.200 the pharisee. Come on, you always the person with the 0:14:01.200 --> 0:14:03.679 withered had. Come on, You're the woman with the issue 0:14:03.679 --> 0:14:06.080 of blood. You're the one that just got issues that 0:14:06.120 --> 0:14:08.120 if you could just get to Jesus, he would fix it. 0:14:08.160 --> 0:14:10.480 You're never you never say I'm the pharisee. Come on, 0:14:10.480 --> 0:14:13.400 the Pharisees are like your caters who don't agree with you, 0:14:13.480 --> 0:14:16.560 But you never say I'm the Pharisee. But I'm gonna 0:14:16.559 --> 0:14:20.960 remind you you can't see yourself. So perhaps another question 0:14:21.040 --> 0:14:22.960 you should ask, besides what's it like to be on 0:14:23.000 --> 0:14:27.680 the other side of me, is could the pharisee be me? 0:14:28.800 --> 0:14:31.720 Nobody type casts themselves at the Pharisees, and the Pharisees 0:14:31.760 --> 0:14:35.000 couldn't see themselves, and Jesus would show them to themselves 0:14:35.120 --> 0:14:37.760 and Jesus is interesting their problem with Jesus. They had 0:14:37.760 --> 0:14:39.360 a lot of problems with Jesus. But you don'ts that 0:14:39.360 --> 0:14:42.360 at the root of their problem they were jealous. They 0:14:42.360 --> 0:14:45.160 were jealous of Jesus. Ooh, jealousy is something else. How 0:14:45.160 --> 0:14:46.720 many you know, when you are effective at doing what 0:14:46.760 --> 0:14:49.120 God has called you to do, people are gonna be jealous. 0:14:49.640 --> 0:14:51.840 I don't know who this is for today, but somebody 0:14:51.880 --> 0:14:54.560 is stepping into the effulgence of your purpose and you're 0:14:54.560 --> 0:14:56.360 getting a lot of negativity, and you're getting a lot 0:14:56.360 --> 0:14:58.240 of haters and get a lot of critics, and they 0:14:58.320 --> 0:15:00.800 blogging about you, texting about you and tweeting about you. 0:15:01.000 --> 0:15:03.160 And you're about to shrink back from the call of 0:15:03.160 --> 0:15:05.960 God on your life because you got some resistance, because 0:15:05.960 --> 0:15:08.000 you got some jealousy. But God told me to tell 0:15:08.040 --> 0:15:10.120 you you need to walk in the totality of what 0:15:10.160 --> 0:15:12.640 He's called you to be. When you are doing what 0:15:12.680 --> 0:15:15.320 God has called you to do, people are gonna hate. 0:15:15.400 --> 0:15:19.120 People are gonna be jealous, people are gonna talk about you. 0:15:19.560 --> 0:15:22.560 Learn to live with the criticism. The only people that 0:15:22.600 --> 0:15:25.240 don't get criticized are the people that never say anything, 0:15:25.520 --> 0:15:28.520 never do anything, and never become anything. But if you'll 0:15:28.520 --> 0:15:32.280 start stepping in your call, people are going to be jealous. 0:15:34.240 --> 0:15:37.280 Just learn to live with it. Get you some tough 0:15:37.280 --> 0:15:40.560 skin and keep a soft heart. I'm telling you people 0:15:40.600 --> 0:15:45.520 will be jealous. One writer said that jealousy is the 0:15:45.560 --> 0:15:50.840 trophy that mediocrity gives to excellence. Woo, I'm saying it again, 0:15:50.920 --> 0:15:54.160 so maybe you could tweet it later. Jealousy is the 0:15:54.240 --> 0:15:58.920 trophy that mediocrity gives to excellence, because when you are 0:15:58.960 --> 0:16:02.160 excellent and flowing in your call, people get jealous. They 0:16:02.160 --> 0:16:05.120 were jealous of Jesus. Not only that they didn't like 0:16:05.200 --> 0:16:08.200 the claims of Jesus, because Jesus was claiming to be 0:16:08.280 --> 0:16:10.760 the Messiah, the son of the living God. They're like, 0:16:10.800 --> 0:16:13.480 hold on, Jesus, nothing good comes out of Nazareth. We 0:16:13.680 --> 0:16:15.880 know where you came from. You ever met those people, 0:16:16.040 --> 0:16:18.760 then anytime you start stepping in your call, they remind 0:16:18.800 --> 0:16:21.080 you of where you came from and remind you of 0:16:21.120 --> 0:16:24.120 who you were. Oh, didn't like the claims of Jesus. 0:16:24.160 --> 0:16:27.400 They also didn't like who Jesus hung out with. Do 0:16:27.480 --> 0:16:30.200 you know Jesus had a reputation. He had a reputation 0:16:30.320 --> 0:16:32.880 for hanging out with people that had bad reputations. And 0:16:32.960 --> 0:16:35.520 Pharisees was like, huh, if he was really holy? He 0:16:35.600 --> 0:16:37.960 was really a man of God, he would know how 0:16:38.080 --> 0:16:41.080 terrible and deplorable and despicable those people are, and he 0:16:41.120 --> 0:16:43.920 wouldn't hang with him. Oh, they had so many issues, 0:16:44.120 --> 0:16:47.080 but none of those aforementioned issues or what God, Jesus 0:16:47.080 --> 0:16:50.000 on the cross. You know what, God, I'm on the cross. 0:16:50.520 --> 0:16:52.800 You know what their hot button issue with Jesus was. 0:16:55.160 --> 0:17:01.560 They couldn't stand that he kept doing stuff on the Sabbath. 0:17:02.800 --> 0:17:05.679 That's it. That's what got him crucified, is that he 0:17:05.800 --> 0:17:09.159 kept doing stuff on the Sabbath. Read your Bible. The 0:17:09.200 --> 0:17:12.440 only time they got all hot headed and all madsten 0:17:12.640 --> 0:17:16.479 Jesus kept doing miracles on the Sabbath. They got so 0:17:16.560 --> 0:17:19.439 frustrated all throughout his ministry. They're like, what can't you 0:17:19.560 --> 0:17:23.440 just heal people on another day and leave our Sabbath alone. 0:17:23.560 --> 0:17:25.520 That was the issue that got him on the cross, 0:17:25.640 --> 0:17:27.919 is that he kept doing stuff on It's almost like 0:17:27.960 --> 0:17:30.040 he did it on purpose, Like, yeah, I remember store 0:17:30.119 --> 0:17:32.359 stuff on the Sabbath because I know it's gonna make 0:17:32.400 --> 0:17:34.720 you mad. They didn't like it. How many know the 0:17:34.720 --> 0:17:37.679 Pharisees took the Sabbath serious. They had been given a 0:17:37.720 --> 0:17:40.479 mandate by Moses on the Sabbath, which means to cease 0:17:40.840 --> 0:17:44.080 from work to rest. Promise. Moses didn't say what did 0:17:44.119 --> 0:17:48.800 that look like? So they started adding rules, adding rules 0:17:49.160 --> 0:17:52.920 because that's what religion will always do. It adds rules 0:17:53.240 --> 0:17:56.440 because religion needs a mark that says if I do this, this, 0:17:56.680 --> 0:17:59.600 and this, then God will accept me. But Grace doesn't 0:17:59.640 --> 0:18:02.639 say that. Grace says, you are the recipient of something 0:18:02.640 --> 0:18:05.800 that you don't discern. You are the recipient of somebody 0:18:05.840 --> 0:18:08.960 that paid a price for your life, that lived the 0:18:09.080 --> 0:18:11.680 life you were supposed to live, and died the death 0:18:11.720 --> 0:18:13.879 you were supposed to die, and you don't have to 0:18:13.920 --> 0:18:17.080 deal with karma. That's what Grace says. Grace says, even 0:18:17.119 --> 0:18:19.680 though I'm messed up, because of the blood of Jesus, 0:18:19.880 --> 0:18:27.800 I can receive. Oh they didn't like it. They were 0:18:27.880 --> 0:18:30.760 mad because they have added all kinds of rules and 0:18:30.800 --> 0:18:33.520 regulations to the Sabbath. They're like, Jesus, if you gonna 0:18:33.560 --> 0:18:37.800 heal somebody, do it on another day beside the Sabbath. 0:18:38.240 --> 0:18:40.480 Ooh they took the sabbath serious. Oh you'll sit down. 0:18:40.480 --> 0:18:45.040 We're just talking home. You know. Juice today still keep 0:18:45.040 --> 0:18:49.920 the Sabbath very serious. I learned this the hard way. 0:18:49.920 --> 0:18:52.040 I learned this hard way elevation fam I went to 0:18:52.480 --> 0:18:54.760 I went to Israel. I went to Holy Land, and 0:18:54.800 --> 0:18:57.000 I'm perusing the Holy Land, having a good time. And 0:18:57.040 --> 0:19:00.240 I'm walking around and I wanted to see everything, walking 0:19:00.240 --> 0:19:01.680 around the wole land and drinking a lot of water. 0:19:01.720 --> 0:19:04.239 It was hot, and I missed the bathroom break. Can 0:19:04.280 --> 0:19:05.840 I missed the bathroom break? That's on me. I was 0:19:05.840 --> 0:19:09.920 having a moment in Bethlehem and I missed the bathroom break. 0:19:09.960 --> 0:19:12.320 And get back to the hotel and I got to go. 0:19:12.400 --> 0:19:15.120 I got to go. And I run into the hotel 0:19:15.320 --> 0:19:17.400 and go to the elevator. The elevator opens and I'm 0:19:17.440 --> 0:19:19.399 like on the ninth floor, on the ninth floor. I 0:19:19.480 --> 0:19:21.920 walk into the elevator. This elevator, I kid you not 0:19:22.320 --> 0:19:25.159 stopped on the first floor, stopped on the second floor, 0:19:25.600 --> 0:19:28.720 stopped on the third floor, stopped on the fourth floor, 0:19:29.000 --> 0:19:30.919 stopped on the fifth floor, on the sixth floor, I 0:19:30.920 --> 0:19:34.960 passed out. Stop on the seventh floor. Afol. It finally 0:19:34.960 --> 0:19:37.360 gets to the ninth floor. I get off an exasperation, 0:19:37.720 --> 0:19:40.800 go into my hotel, come back out, catch the same 0:19:40.920 --> 0:19:45.240 elevator all the way back down. Stop on every single floor. 0:19:45.359 --> 0:19:46.560 By the time I got to the lobby, I had 0:19:46.560 --> 0:19:48.680 an attitude. Okay, there was no fruit of the spirits 0:19:49.160 --> 0:19:51.040 in my life. I was mad. I said, where is 0:19:51.080 --> 0:19:53.040 the manager? I paid a whole lot of money to 0:19:53.160 --> 0:19:56.320 walk where Jesus walked, and they can't fix the elevator 0:19:56.359 --> 0:19:59.880 in this hotel. It's stopping on every single floor. Got 0:20:00.080 --> 0:20:02.720 talk to the manager immediately, and so I'm walking to 0:20:02.720 --> 0:20:04.920 talk to the manager. And somebody from our tour was like, Robert, 0:20:04.920 --> 0:20:06.000 where are you going? I said, I'm going to talk 0:20:06.040 --> 0:20:08.479 to the manager because that elevator stopped on every single one. 0:20:08.480 --> 0:20:09.399 You don't want to know what happened to me on 0:20:09.440 --> 0:20:11.840 that seventh floor by the elevator and it stopped on 0:20:11.920 --> 0:20:15.600 every single one. They said, Robert, it's the Sabbath. I said, 0:20:15.600 --> 0:20:17.439 I don't care what day it is. They need to 0:20:17.440 --> 0:20:21.919 get a technician to fix that elevator. They said, no, Robert, Robert, 0:20:22.280 --> 0:20:26.040 that's the Shabbat elevator. I said, I don't care if 0:20:26.080 --> 0:20:29.639 it's the Shazam elevator. Somebody needs to do something and 0:20:29.840 --> 0:20:34.480 fix it. It stopped for a single floor. They said, Robert, no, 0:20:34.720 --> 0:20:39.080 bro it's the Sabbath, and and and the reason is 0:20:39.119 --> 0:20:42.159 stopped on every floor is because to push a button 0:20:42.960 --> 0:20:46.600 would be worked, and you have to cease from work 0:20:47.520 --> 0:20:51.360 on the sabbath. Oh, you think that's crazy. You need 0:20:51.400 --> 0:20:54.159 to see all the rules the Pharisees added in the 0:20:54.200 --> 0:20:57.600 day of Jesus. Oh my, they had all constable people. 0:20:57.640 --> 0:21:00.000 You could only take one nine hundred and ninety nine 0:21:00.160 --> 0:21:02.480 steps on the Sabbath. You took that two thousand step, 0:21:02.600 --> 0:21:05.159 that was work. You couldn't carry anything that weighed more 0:21:05.200 --> 0:21:07.520 than a fig on the Sabbath. If you do something 0:21:07.520 --> 0:21:09.200 in the air, you better catch you with the other hand, 0:21:09.240 --> 0:21:10.919 because if you caught it with the same hand, that 0:21:11.160 --> 0:21:13.680 was work on the Sabbath. You couldn't light a candle 0:21:13.720 --> 0:21:16.400 on the Sabbath. You couldn't write a letter on the Sabbath. 0:21:16.560 --> 0:21:19.240 You couldn't take a bath because you might spill water 0:21:19.520 --> 0:21:21.960 and try to clean it up. You walking around musty 0:21:22.440 --> 0:21:25.760 because you're trying to keep the Sabbath holy. They had 0:21:25.760 --> 0:21:28.639 all kinds of rules and regulations they have added to 0:21:28.680 --> 0:21:30.600 the Sabbath. And how mean you know you sure couldn't 0:21:30.600 --> 0:21:34.000 heal anybody on the Sabbath. You sure couldn't restore anybody 0:21:34.040 --> 0:21:36.600 on the Sabbath. You sure couldn't open up blind eyes 0:21:36.760 --> 0:21:39.520 on the Sabbath. And here comes Jesus in the midst 0:21:39.520 --> 0:21:42.240 of all of their rules and all their regulations, and says, 0:21:42.280 --> 0:21:44.720