WEBVTT - Your Next Messy Step

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<v Speaker 1>Hey, this is Stephen Ferdik.

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<v Speaker 2>I'm the pastor of Elevation Church and this is our podcast.

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<v Speaker 2>I wanted to thank you for joining us today. Hope

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<v Speaker 2>this inspires you. Hope it builds your faith. Hope it

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<v Speaker 2>gives your perspective to see God is moving in your life.

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<v Speaker 2>Enjoy the message. Slap your neighbors say, wake up, Here

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<v Speaker 2>comes the word of God. I hope you didn't take

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<v Speaker 2>that literally when I said slap him. We don't have

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<v Speaker 2>that kind of insurance coverage at the church. What a

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<v Speaker 2>privilege it is to share God's word with you today.

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<v Speaker 2>I appreciate on this passage of scripture since twenty eighteen. Wow,

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<v Speaker 2>and this is one of my absolute favorites. The Lord

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<v Speaker 2>will surely meet us here. Look at Genesis chapter twenty eight,

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<v Speaker 2>verse ten through twenty two. The Bible says Jacob left

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<v Speaker 2>Beersheba and set out for Huran. When he reached a

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<v Speaker 2>certain place, he stopped for the night because the sun

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<v Speaker 2>had set. Taking one of the stones there, he put

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<v Speaker 2>it under his head and lay down to sleep. He

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<v Speaker 2>had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting

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<v Speaker 2>on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and

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<v Speaker 2>the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.

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<v Speaker 2>There above it stood the Lord. I like that. I

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<v Speaker 2>like that God is above whatever I'm going through. That's

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<v Speaker 2>just a good reminder, refresher for my faith and encourages

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<v Speaker 2>my heart. Today there above it stood the Lord, and

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<v Speaker 2>he said, I am the Lord, the God of your

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<v Speaker 2>father Abraham, and the God of Isaac. I will give

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<v Speaker 2>you and your descendants the land on which you are lying.

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<v Speaker 1>Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and.

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<v Speaker 2>You will spread out to the west and to the east,

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<v Speaker 2>to the north and to the south. All peoples on

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<v Speaker 2>earth will be blessed through you and your offspring.

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<v Speaker 1>And listen to this promise, and let it get in

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<v Speaker 1>your heart for a moment.

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<v Speaker 2>Today. I am with you and will watch over you

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<v Speaker 2>wherever you go, and I will bring you back to

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<v Speaker 2>this land. I will not leave you until I have

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<v Speaker 2>done what I promised you. When Jacob awoke from his sleep,

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<v Speaker 2>he thought, surely the Lord is in this place, and

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<v Speaker 2>I was not aware of it. He was afraid and said,

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<v Speaker 2>how awesome is this place. This is none other than

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<v Speaker 2>the House of God. This is the Gate of Heaven.

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<v Speaker 2>Early the next morning, Jacob took the stone he had

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<v Speaker 2>placed under his head and set it up as a

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<v Speaker 2>pillar and poured oil on top of it. He called

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<v Speaker 2>that place Bethel, though the city used to be called Luz.

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<v Speaker 2>Then Jacob made a vow saying, if God will be

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<v Speaker 2>with me and will watch over me on this journey

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<v Speaker 2>I am taking, and will give me food to eat

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<v Speaker 2>and clothes to wear, so that I return safely to

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<v Speaker 2>my father's household, then the Lord will be my God,

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<v Speaker 2>and this stone that I have set up as a

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<v Speaker 2>pillar will be God's house. And of all that you

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<v Speaker 2>give me, I will give you a tenth Say amen

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<v Speaker 2>for the word of God. Go back to verse fourteen

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<v Speaker 2>for a moment. Your descendants will be like the dust

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<v Speaker 2>of the earth, and you will spread out. Your descendants

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<v Speaker 2>will be like the dust of the earth, and you

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<v Speaker 2>will spread out. So we've got dust and expansion in

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<v Speaker 2>the same sentence.

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<v Speaker 1>And what I want to.

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<v Speaker 2>Talk to you about today is your next step. But

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<v Speaker 2>very specifically, for those of you who are in a

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<v Speaker 2>season of uncertainty or confusion or fear, I want to

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<v Speaker 2>talk to you about your next messy step, your next

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<v Speaker 2>messy step. Father, We roll up our sleeves today to

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<v Speaker 2>dig into your word to see what you might say

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<v Speaker 2>to each and every one of us. I ask now

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<v Speaker 2>that you would use me. I am nothing without you.

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<v Speaker 2>But if you breathe through me, speak through me, this

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<v Speaker 2>could be monumental. In these moments, God, we stand before

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<v Speaker 2>a person in a passage of scripture who lived hundreds

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<v Speaker 2>of years ago. But he faced the same things that

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<v Speaker 2>we face. He needed direction and provision from you, and

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<v Speaker 2>so do we. So we ask now, God that you

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<v Speaker 2>would speak to us no less than you spoke to Jacob.

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<v Speaker 2>Remind us what you're doing, reveal to us who you are,

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<v Speaker 2>have your way, and give us the courage to respond

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<v Speaker 2>to what you say. In Jesus' name, Amen, you may

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<v Speaker 2>be seated your next messy step. I wrote that phrase

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<v Speaker 2>down today to use as a title, your next messy step.

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<v Speaker 2>And I want to talk for a moment about what

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<v Speaker 2>it's like for me as a pastor when we go

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<v Speaker 2>down the memory lane of different things that have happened

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<v Speaker 2>in this church and talk about all the things that

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<v Speaker 2>God has done.

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<v Speaker 1>See when we're showing a.

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<v Speaker 2>Highlight video like we showed earlier, of all the amazing

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<v Speaker 2>things that God did in this church, there's a part

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<v Speaker 2>of me that celebrates and I can clap for it now,

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<v Speaker 2>But a lot of the things that I can clap

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<v Speaker 2>about now I cried through then. A lot of times

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<v Speaker 2>I'm hesitant to teach leadership to other pastors, not because

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<v Speaker 2>I don't care for them, but because it's a lot

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<v Speaker 2>different to explain something than it was to experience it.

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<v Speaker 2>And I never just want to be one of these

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<v Speaker 2>hypocrites who gets up here and hides the humanity of

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<v Speaker 2>the struggle, of the steps that I've taken in my

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<v Speaker 2>life in order to just accentuate and elevate the heavenly

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<v Speaker 2>parts of our journey where God moved. The truth of

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<v Speaker 2>the matter is, every time God has greatly moved in

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<v Speaker 2>our ministry and in my life, it was messy. I

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<v Speaker 2>don't remember one time that God really moved where there

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<v Speaker 2>wasn't a real mess. I don't remember one thing that

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<v Speaker 2>God did in this ministry that was significant that was

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<v Speaker 2>not sacrificial. I don't remember one time when I did

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<v Speaker 2>something for God and my hands weren't shaking before I

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<v Speaker 2>came out and steadied myself behind this pulpit and announced it.

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<v Speaker 2>I don't remember many times when I opened my mouth

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<v Speaker 2>to preach to you that I didn't feel like I

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<v Speaker 2>wanted to throw up and swallow it back down before

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<v Speaker 2>I did. That is true to this day. And y'all

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<v Speaker 2>don't like that kind of stuff when I talk about

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<v Speaker 2>throwing up this early in my sermon, because you just

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<v Speaker 2>want the message, you don't want the mess. But the

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<v Speaker 2>fact of the matter is there is no message where

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<v Speaker 2>there is no mess. It's true of your life. You know,

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<v Speaker 2>the ways that we asked God to use us, in

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<v Speaker 2>the ways that we ask God.

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<v Speaker 1>To bless us, we kind of want the blessing without

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<v Speaker 1>the mess.

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<v Speaker 2>In Jacob's life in Genesis chapter twenty eight, you could

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<v Speaker 2>say it was the best of times because he just

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<v Speaker 2>met God.

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<v Speaker 1>You could say it was the worst of times because

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<v Speaker 1>he met him on the run.

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<v Speaker 2>It was the blest of times. It was the mess

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<v Speaker 2>of times. Jacob has made a mess of his family situation.

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<v Speaker 2>When I read the context of the passage only to

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<v Speaker 2>refer to the blessing, I left out the mess so

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<v Speaker 2>that we could talk about it together right now. I

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<v Speaker 2>told you that Jacob set out for a place called Hauran,

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<v Speaker 2>but I didn't tell you that he ran to Haran.

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<v Speaker 2>He ran to Haran not because he was going on

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<v Speaker 2>vacation there. He ran there because his brother Esaul wanted

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<v Speaker 2>to kill him. His brother Esau wanted to kill him

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<v Speaker 2>because Jacob stole his blessing from their father Isaac, who

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<v Speaker 2>was going blind. And Genesis twenty eight starts out with

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<v Speaker 2>Jacob moving to a new place, not because he made

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<v Speaker 2>a decision that would benefit his career or his future,

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<v Speaker 2>but because he had no other options. Jacob is in

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<v Speaker 2>a place of vulnerability. He has come to the end

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<v Speaker 2>of himself and he has to relocate in the middle

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<v Speaker 2>of his life to a place he's never been before.

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<v Speaker 2>This is the context of the blessing of God on

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<v Speaker 2>the life of Jacob. And now looking back on Jacob's life,

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<v Speaker 2>we know that he became a great nation called Israel.

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<v Speaker 2>The twelve tribes of Israel were born from the twelve

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<v Speaker 2>sons that would be born to him in the place

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<v Speaker 2>where he was going. When he got where he was going,

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<v Speaker 2>he would meet his wife Leah and his wife Rachel.

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<v Speaker 2>Don't do that. Those were different times, and the Bible

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<v Speaker 2>says that after they had birthed all of those babies.

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<v Speaker 2>In the messy sibling rivalry of two sisters who were

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<v Speaker 2>trying to prove that one was more productive or more

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<v Speaker 2>loved than the other. A nation set out and Jacob

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<v Speaker 2>became that nation twenty years later. I'm telling you all

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<v Speaker 2>of this because we can see now the strategy of

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<v Speaker 2>God and how he birthed the nation through Jacob. But

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<v Speaker 2>as I've already told you at the beginning of my sermon,

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<v Speaker 2>what is explained as strategic is often experienced as surrender.

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<v Speaker 2>And the reason I don't really like to teach pastors

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<v Speaker 2>about church growth or leadership or strategic objectives is because

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<v Speaker 2>I can explain it as the steps that we took

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<v Speaker 2>to get where we are. But at the time I

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<v Speaker 2>was not experiencing it as steps, not in the strategic sense.

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<v Speaker 1>I was experiencing it as surrender.

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<v Speaker 2>What I'm trying to say to you is most everything

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<v Speaker 2>I've ever done right in my life was me doing

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<v Speaker 2>what I thought God was telling me because I didn't

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<v Speaker 2>have anything else to do, because everything else I had

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<v Speaker 2>tried to do didn't work, so I finally had to

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<v Speaker 2>give up and do it God's way. So I can

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<v Speaker 2>explain it to you strategically. You know, how do you

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<v Speaker 2>start a worship ministry like elevation worship I can tell

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<v Speaker 2>you strategic about a record label. I can tell you

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<v Speaker 2>strategically about DSPs and streaming services, and I can tell

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<v Speaker 2>you strategically about anthems that are written for the church

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<v Speaker 2>and touring strategies. And I can tell you strategically about

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<v Speaker 2>putting together a team. And I can tell you strategically

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<v Speaker 2>about bands and sounds and systematations, systems and systems and

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<v Speaker 2>strategies and all of that. But the real secret to

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<v Speaker 2>all of it was surrender. That at the beginning of

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<v Speaker 2>starting our ministry, I said, Lord, I believe you want

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<v Speaker 2>us to have a worship ministry that will touch the world.

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<v Speaker 2>And that's where it started with surrender because I knew

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<v Speaker 2>I didn't have the skills to do it by myself,

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<v Speaker 2>so God sent others. I knew I wasn't smart enough

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<v Speaker 2>to do it by myself, so God gave wisdom. I

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<v Speaker 2>knew that I could not figure it out on my own,

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<v Speaker 2>so God by faith did what I could not do

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<v Speaker 2>by flesh. And so you explain things as strategic, but

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<v Speaker 2>you experience them as surrender. You look back and you say, well,

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<v Speaker 2>here's how we raised our kids.

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<v Speaker 1>See, when they were five, taught them about them.

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<v Speaker 2>Then and when they were seven, we moved them onto

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<v Speaker 2>the blank and the nine.

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<v Speaker 1>We taught them about the nine. And when they were eleven,

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<v Speaker 1>we taught them.

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<v Speaker 2>About the And in stage one you're more like a coach,

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<v Speaker 2>and in stage two you're more like a consultant, and

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<v Speaker 2>then in stage three you're more like a confidant.

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<v Speaker 1>And here are the.

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<v Speaker 2>Stages and the steps for raising godly kids.

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<v Speaker 1>And there's really only one.

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<v Speaker 2>You're God one step to raising godly kids. Here, God,

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<v Speaker 2>They're yours. Parenting can be explained strategically. I mean, you

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<v Speaker 2>can write a book about it all you want, but

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<v Speaker 2>the truth is, you really know that if God didn't

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<v Speaker 2>give you what it took to raise those kids, you

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<v Speaker 2>would have lost your mind a long time ago. So

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<v Speaker 2>I'm trying to get you to see that in this

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<v Speaker 2>journey called faith, what we explain as strategy, we experience

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<v Speaker 2>as surrender.

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<v Speaker 1>Why is that important for our lesson today?

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<v Speaker 2>In case you don't know what God is calling you

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<v Speaker 2>to do next, and you think that because you don't

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<v Speaker 2>know the next step, that means that God is not

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<v Speaker 2>in it. That's not true. Everything God is ever in

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<v Speaker 2>feels uncertain. Look at Genesis twenty eight, verse ten. The

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<v Speaker 2>Bible says that Jacob set out for Haram. Verse eleven

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<v Speaker 2>says when he reached a certain place, everybody say a

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<v Speaker 2>certain place. Now. Isn't that ironic that the Bible calls

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<v Speaker 2>it a certain place and Jacob's life has never been

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<v Speaker 2>more uncertain? How many of you feel like? I'm in

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<v Speaker 2>an uncertain place right now in my life?

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<v Speaker 1>Come on, I'm.

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<v Speaker 2>Uncertain about who to talk to. I'm uncertain about who

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<v Speaker 2>to trust. I'm uncertain if I'm in the right job.

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<v Speaker 2>I'm uncertain if I'm at the right school. I'm uncertain

0:12:55.200 --> 0:12:58.080
<v Speaker 2>if I have what it takes. I'm uncertain whether God

0:12:58.160 --> 0:13:00.280
<v Speaker 2>is calling me to step out the boat or stay

0:13:00.320 --> 0:13:03.080
<v Speaker 2>in the boat. I'm uncertain about whether God wants me

0:13:03.120 --> 0:13:05.520
<v Speaker 2>to quit because this is not him, or he wants

0:13:05.600 --> 0:13:08.160
<v Speaker 2>me to persevere because it is. I hear you talk

0:13:08.160 --> 0:13:10.240
<v Speaker 2>about how you can tell you're in God's will when

0:13:10.280 --> 0:13:12.760
<v Speaker 2>the enemy attacks. But I'm not so sure if it's

0:13:12.800 --> 0:13:15.080
<v Speaker 2>an attack from the enemy, or if it's actually a

0:13:15.080 --> 0:13:17.080
<v Speaker 2>bad decision I made that I need to go back

0:13:17.080 --> 0:13:20.480
<v Speaker 2>and remake. I'm uncertain. Raise your hand again. I'm in

0:13:20.480 --> 0:13:23.920
<v Speaker 2>an uncertain place now. I tell your neighbor don't feel bad.

0:13:23.920 --> 0:13:29.120
<v Speaker 2>I don't know either. When we started the church, one

0:13:29.160 --> 0:13:31.560
<v Speaker 2>of the books they told us to read was pretty good.

0:13:31.600 --> 0:13:35.480
<v Speaker 2>It was about building your church with strategy. And they

0:13:35.480 --> 0:13:37.080
<v Speaker 2>gave me the book and I like most of it,

0:13:37.120 --> 0:13:39.480
<v Speaker 2>but there was one part. Matt, I couldn't stand this part,

0:13:39.520 --> 0:13:42.280
<v Speaker 2>and I did not adhere to it. It said that

0:13:42.320 --> 0:13:45.520
<v Speaker 2>when you bring people into discipleship in your church, it's

0:13:45.520 --> 0:13:48.880
<v Speaker 2>like taking them around the basis at a baseball game,

0:13:49.400 --> 0:13:52.559
<v Speaker 2>and when you go to the base one, it looks

0:13:52.640 --> 0:13:55.000
<v Speaker 2>like this, and this is what discipleship looks like with

0:13:55.120 --> 0:13:57.640
<v Speaker 2>first base, and then you take them to the second

0:13:57.679 --> 0:13:59.640
<v Speaker 2>and then this is what the second stage looks like,

0:13:59.800 --> 0:14:01.040
<v Speaker 2>the third base and the.

0:14:01.000 --> 0:14:03.000
<v Speaker 1>Home play, and then you get them all home and

0:14:03.000 --> 0:14:03.880
<v Speaker 1>they're all disciple.

0:14:04.760 --> 0:14:08.360
<v Speaker 2>I read that and I wanted that, and I would

0:14:08.480 --> 0:14:11.240
<v Speaker 2>like that because that would be cool if it was

0:14:11.280 --> 0:14:14.440
<v Speaker 2>that clear, not only for me as a pastor, but

0:14:14.480 --> 0:14:17.400
<v Speaker 2>for me as a person. See, your walk with God

0:14:17.480 --> 0:14:20.240
<v Speaker 2>goes like this. You do this, and then you do that,

0:14:20.800 --> 0:14:23.120
<v Speaker 2>and then you do that and then your home. But

0:14:23.200 --> 0:14:24.920
<v Speaker 2>home is called heaven and you have to die to

0:14:24.960 --> 0:14:27.920
<v Speaker 2>go there. So now, as long as we're on this earth,

0:14:28.400 --> 0:14:32.040
<v Speaker 2>I found that life is more like dirt and less

0:14:32.120 --> 0:14:34.080
<v Speaker 2>like a diamond on a baseball field.

0:14:35.680 --> 0:14:37.880
<v Speaker 1>It's more dirt less diamond.

0:14:38.880 --> 0:14:41.560
<v Speaker 2>Because my spiritual journey, I don't know about yours, has

0:14:41.600 --> 0:14:47.440
<v Speaker 2>not looked like home. My spiritual journey. If I'm really

0:14:47.480 --> 0:14:49.480
<v Speaker 2>telling you the truth, I could explain it that way.

0:14:49.680 --> 0:14:52.080
<v Speaker 2>I took step one. I accepted Jesus Christ as my

0:14:52.120 --> 0:14:54.560
<v Speaker 2>Lord and savior. I took step two. I was baptized

0:14:54.600 --> 0:14:56.720
<v Speaker 2>in his name. I took step three. I began to

0:14:56.720 --> 0:14:59.120
<v Speaker 2>share my faith with others. I took step four, And

0:14:59.160 --> 0:15:02.400
<v Speaker 2>now I am a wonderful, beautiful child of God with

0:15:02.440 --> 0:15:05.000
<v Speaker 2>absolutely no blemish and no flaw. But the fact of

0:15:05.040 --> 0:15:08.600
<v Speaker 2>the matter is that God formed me, and I'm flawed,

0:15:11.560 --> 0:15:17.400
<v Speaker 2>that I am following Jesus flawed, And so it has

0:15:17.480 --> 0:15:22.320
<v Speaker 2>not looked like this, And there have not always been

0:15:22.400 --> 0:15:26.040
<v Speaker 2>base coaches telling me is safe to come. It has

0:15:26.080 --> 0:15:29.280
<v Speaker 2>looked more like I should draw this for you. But

0:15:29.560 --> 0:15:47.680
<v Speaker 2>you'll get the picture. All the base path people. Teach

0:15:47.760 --> 0:15:52.920
<v Speaker 2>me how you know so clearly what to do next?

0:15:53.840 --> 0:15:57.200
<v Speaker 2>Teach me how you know so certainly what God is

0:15:57.200 --> 0:15:59.520
<v Speaker 2>calling you to do right now? Because most of my

0:16:00.200 --> 0:16:08.960
<v Speaker 2>discipleship has been through making the wrong decision, repenting, learning, trusting,

0:16:09.880 --> 0:16:14.160
<v Speaker 2>and growing. Most of my discipleship has looked like I'm

0:16:14.160 --> 0:16:16.760
<v Speaker 2>doing everything that I think I'm supposed to do.

0:16:16.880 --> 0:16:19.080
<v Speaker 1>And I'm all over the place, and I'm all over.

0:16:18.920 --> 0:16:20.800
<v Speaker 2>The map, and God, I going to do this and

0:16:20.920 --> 0:16:28.440
<v Speaker 2>that and finally just this. Okay, God and the true

0:16:28.640 --> 0:16:33.120
<v Speaker 2>everybody over fifty back your man up. Today it looks

0:16:33.160 --> 0:16:37.640
<v Speaker 2>like this. I'm up, I'm growing, I'm down. I feel

0:16:37.640 --> 0:16:40.240
<v Speaker 2>like I'm dying. I want to die. I'm back up,

0:16:40.360 --> 0:16:41.360
<v Speaker 2>I'm back down.

0:16:41.280 --> 0:16:41.840
<v Speaker 1>I'm left.

0:16:42.000 --> 0:16:45.040
<v Speaker 2>I'm right. I dated him. God said he was the one.

0:16:45.200 --> 0:16:48.520
<v Speaker 2>But that wasn't God talking. That was my loneliness. Back

0:16:48.560 --> 0:16:52.720
<v Speaker 2>down to singleness. Back up, here's another chance. Took that job,

0:16:53.000 --> 0:16:55.400
<v Speaker 2>looked like a good job, you know. I get a promotion,

0:16:55.800 --> 0:16:59.200
<v Speaker 2>got a new manager, wanted to walk out, stayed for

0:16:59.280 --> 0:17:02.800
<v Speaker 2>three years, wondered if I stayed thirty six months too long.

0:17:03.160 --> 0:17:05.919
<v Speaker 2>Don't even know right now what I'm doing. Not I

0:17:06.119 --> 0:17:10.040
<v Speaker 2>was gonna retire. Made an investment in crypto, Still learning

0:17:10.080 --> 0:17:16.679
<v Speaker 2>how to do it. It's like this, look at your

0:17:16.680 --> 0:17:19.119
<v Speaker 2>neighbor and make some swiggles and some scribbles and some

0:17:19.240 --> 0:17:22.320
<v Speaker 2>zigs and some zags and say it's like this. It's

0:17:22.400 --> 0:17:25.240
<v Speaker 2>like this and like that. It's like this and like that.

0:17:25.440 --> 0:17:29.159
<v Speaker 2>It's like this and it's like that. But everywhere I've gone,

0:17:29.520 --> 0:17:33.800
<v Speaker 2>I ran head on into grace. Everywhere I've been, I

0:17:33.920 --> 0:17:37.080
<v Speaker 2>ran right into God. Whether I went to the right

0:17:37.720 --> 0:17:40.920
<v Speaker 2>or to the left. Somehow I heard a voice saying, No,

0:17:41.400 --> 0:17:44.640
<v Speaker 2>this is the way. Walk in it. This is the way.

0:17:46.440 --> 0:17:51.119
<v Speaker 2>This is the way. I'm zigging, and I'm zagging, and

0:17:51.200 --> 0:17:53.480
<v Speaker 2>I'm up and I'm down and I'm back and I'm four.

0:17:54.680 --> 0:17:56.639
<v Speaker 2>I don't know if this is third base or second

0:17:56.680 --> 0:17:59.840
<v Speaker 2>base or the outfield. Sometimes I feel like I'm just

0:18:00.160 --> 0:18:02.879
<v Speaker 2>the dugouts. I'm gonna put me in coach. I'm ready

0:18:02.880 --> 0:18:04.880
<v Speaker 2>to play. Sometimes I feel like I'm eating a hot

0:18:04.920 --> 0:18:08.320
<v Speaker 2>dog in the Chief Seas. But I'm here for it

0:18:08.760 --> 0:18:11.480
<v Speaker 2>and I'm in the game, and God is with me.

0:18:12.040 --> 0:18:15.560
<v Speaker 2>That's what God told Jacob in verse fifteen. Show him.

0:18:16.080 --> 0:18:20.119
<v Speaker 2>He said, I am with you and will watch over

0:18:20.200 --> 0:18:23.960
<v Speaker 2>you wherever you go. You're not always gonna go like

0:18:24.080 --> 0:18:27.320
<v Speaker 2>this and like that. You're not always gonna even know

0:18:27.400 --> 0:18:31.600
<v Speaker 2>where homeplate is. Every umpire is not going to agree

0:18:31.600 --> 0:18:34.480
<v Speaker 2>with your opinion of a striking a ball. You're gonna

0:18:34.520 --> 0:18:37.840
<v Speaker 2>miss some stuff. You're gonna slide into some stuff.

0:18:38.600 --> 0:18:42.720
<v Speaker 1>But the promise is this, I will be with you, right,

0:18:44.400 --> 0:18:45.240
<v Speaker 1>I will be with you.

0:18:46.240 --> 0:18:49.520
<v Speaker 2>M He didn't say I will be with you, He

0:18:49.600 --> 0:18:54.840
<v Speaker 2>said I am with you. Which one would you rather have?

0:18:55.640 --> 0:18:57.000
<v Speaker 2>A God who will be with you or a God

0:18:57.000 --> 0:19:04.399
<v Speaker 2>who already is? So when it comes to your next

0:19:04.640 --> 0:19:08.200
<v Speaker 2>step that God has given you to take, and I

0:19:08.200 --> 0:19:09.959
<v Speaker 2>don't know if that's walking someone that you love through

0:19:10.000 --> 0:19:12.320
<v Speaker 2>a difficult medical procedure that may be your next step.

0:19:13.359 --> 0:19:15.600
<v Speaker 2>I don't know if that is working through this addiction

0:19:15.720 --> 0:19:20.200
<v Speaker 2>issue that's really really got you by the throat. I

0:19:20.240 --> 0:19:22.600
<v Speaker 2>don't know whether that's just you continuing to be faithful

0:19:22.640 --> 0:19:26.080
<v Speaker 2>in something that feels kind of boring and mundane. I

0:19:26.119 --> 0:19:28.679
<v Speaker 2>don't know if that's you getting together with all of

0:19:28.680 --> 0:19:30.240
<v Speaker 2>those people in a couple of weeks for a meal

0:19:30.280 --> 0:19:35.359
<v Speaker 2>without cursing any of them out. Whatever your next step is,

0:19:39.800 --> 0:19:45.080
<v Speaker 2>I want to talk to you about it, and I

0:19:45.080 --> 0:19:48.240
<v Speaker 2>want to let you know what God told Jacob. See,

0:19:48.520 --> 0:19:54.080
<v Speaker 2>Jacob is such a messy man, and I'm glad for

0:19:54.119 --> 0:19:55.960
<v Speaker 2>that because the Bible says that the steps of a

0:19:56.000 --> 0:20:01.480
<v Speaker 2>good man are ordered by the Lord. But Jacob shows

0:20:01.520 --> 0:20:06.320
<v Speaker 2>me that the steps of God's man, even if he's

0:20:06.359 --> 0:20:09.959
<v Speaker 2>not a good man, are ordered by the Lord too.

0:20:12.080 --> 0:20:15.320
<v Speaker 2>Because for Jacob to steal Esau's blessing and his name

0:20:15.440 --> 0:20:20.600
<v Speaker 2>literally to mean trick, it means he was messy. He

0:20:20.720 --> 0:20:23.399
<v Speaker 2>is at this point in his life grown enough to

0:20:23.520 --> 0:20:26.480
<v Speaker 2>know better, and he should be mature. But we see

0:20:26.520 --> 0:20:28.600
<v Speaker 2>three things in the passage that may be going on

0:20:28.640 --> 0:20:33.560
<v Speaker 2>in your life too. One is a mistake, one is

0:20:34.200 --> 0:20:39.280
<v Speaker 2>a middle, and the other is a move. A mistake,

0:20:40.480 --> 0:20:45.800
<v Speaker 2>a middle, and a move, all in one passage, all

0:20:45.840 --> 0:20:49.520
<v Speaker 2>happening in the life of one man. You may say

0:20:49.520 --> 0:20:52.000
<v Speaker 2>it wasn't a mistake for him to steal Esau's blessing,

0:20:52.040 --> 0:20:54.920
<v Speaker 2>because God is sovereign, and the Book of Romans says, Jacob,

0:20:54.960 --> 0:20:56.560
<v Speaker 2>have I loved and saw, have I hated? And it

0:20:56.600 --> 0:20:59.920
<v Speaker 2>was predestined by God. Yet be that as it may

0:21:00.080 --> 0:21:03.360
<v Speaker 2>he went about. It wasn't right. He lied to get

0:21:03.359 --> 0:21:11.639
<v Speaker 2>this blessing. He's blessed, but it's messy. He's successful, but

0:21:11.720 --> 0:21:18.639
<v Speaker 2>it's messy. He is increasing, but he's isolated. That's a

0:21:18.680 --> 0:21:22.560
<v Speaker 2>crazy place to be where you find yourself in a

0:21:22.600 --> 0:21:27.560
<v Speaker 2>certain place because of a mistake. You know, as we

0:21:27.640 --> 0:21:30.240
<v Speaker 2>talk about God. We say things like where God guides,

0:21:31.320 --> 0:21:36.000
<v Speaker 2>he provides, But in this specific situation of Jacob's life,

0:21:36.119 --> 0:21:39.200
<v Speaker 2>we get an indication that even if it wasn't God

0:21:39.520 --> 0:21:43.720
<v Speaker 2>guiding you there, he will provide for you there if

0:21:43.760 --> 0:21:47.520
<v Speaker 2>you will turn to him and trust him. I don't

0:21:47.520 --> 0:21:48.800
<v Speaker 2>know who this is for, but you need to go

0:21:48.840 --> 0:21:52.480
<v Speaker 2>ahead and own the mistake that you made. Don't even

0:21:52.480 --> 0:21:55.440
<v Speaker 2>blame the devil for it. The devil didn't make Jacob

0:21:55.560 --> 0:21:57.760
<v Speaker 2>dress up and take his brother's blessing. He decided to

0:21:57.760 --> 0:22:00.879
<v Speaker 2>do it, and it was his mom's idea. He was

0:22:00.920 --> 0:22:03.000
<v Speaker 2>seventy one years old when he did it. It's too

0:22:03.080 --> 0:22:06.480
<v Speaker 2>late to blame your mom when you are seventy one

0:22:06.640 --> 0:22:09.280
<v Speaker 2>years old. So sometimes you got to come to the

0:22:09.320 --> 0:22:11.840
<v Speaker 2>place and say, God, I'm in this place because of

0:22:11.880 --> 0:22:16.320
<v Speaker 2>my mistake. Not all four jobs that you lost in

0:22:16.359 --> 0:22:18.600
<v Speaker 2>the last eight years were the result of the devil

0:22:18.640 --> 0:22:22.480
<v Speaker 2>attacking you. If it was one job in eight years,

0:22:22.480 --> 0:22:24.480
<v Speaker 2>maybe it was the devil. If it was four jobs

0:22:24.480 --> 0:22:28.680
<v Speaker 2>in eight years, maybe there are some decisions, not just devils.

0:22:29.480 --> 0:22:31.959
<v Speaker 2>They don't like me today, not one bit in the

0:22:32.000 --> 0:22:36.760
<v Speaker 2>world today. How can the grace come until the mistake

0:22:37.000 --> 0:22:41.760
<v Speaker 2>is acknowledged and accept it. So I'm in this mess.

0:22:41.800 --> 0:22:43.199
<v Speaker 1>God, I'm in this mess.

0:22:43.320 --> 0:22:45.040
<v Speaker 2>I don't know what to do about this mess.

0:22:45.200 --> 0:22:47.960
<v Speaker 1>God, it was my stubbornness that got me here.

0:22:48.200 --> 0:22:50.440
<v Speaker 2>I think it's so great when we preach about Jonah,

0:22:50.480 --> 0:22:53.240
<v Speaker 2>you know, because he's an example of somebody who made

0:22:53.240 --> 0:22:57.320
<v Speaker 2>his own mess. But so is Jacob. In fact, Jacob

0:22:57.600 --> 0:23:01.119
<v Speaker 2>literally made his bed and had to lie in it.

0:23:02.119 --> 0:23:04.359
<v Speaker 2>I don't know if you noticed this or not. It

0:23:04.440 --> 0:23:06.679
<v Speaker 2>said that when he got there to the place in

0:23:06.800 --> 0:23:09.879
<v Speaker 2>verse twelve, in a certain place that wasn't so certain,

0:23:11.440 --> 0:23:13.480
<v Speaker 2>he had a dream on which he saw a stairway

0:23:13.520 --> 0:23:16.280
<v Speaker 2>resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven.

0:23:16.560 --> 0:23:18.239
<v Speaker 2>But go to the verse before that so we can

0:23:18.280 --> 0:23:20.680
<v Speaker 2>get the full context. When he saw this beautiful dream,

0:23:21.040 --> 0:23:23.119
<v Speaker 2>It says he reached a certain place stop for the

0:23:23.200 --> 0:23:25.600
<v Speaker 2>night because the sun had set, and taking one of

0:23:25.640 --> 0:23:28.639
<v Speaker 2>the stones there, he put it under his head and

0:23:28.760 --> 0:23:33.919
<v Speaker 2>lay down to sleep. He is literally in a hard place,

0:23:39.359 --> 0:23:44.680
<v Speaker 2>and it's not hard because of God. It's hard because

0:23:44.680 --> 0:23:47.880
<v Speaker 2>of him. This is not in my notes, So bear

0:23:47.920 --> 0:23:51.520
<v Speaker 2>with me and be patient. Sometimes it's not him making

0:23:51.560 --> 0:23:56.480
<v Speaker 2>it hard. Sometimes it's us and our decisions making it hard.

0:23:58.040 --> 0:24:01.800
<v Speaker 2>Sometimes it's our being pair in the past that's making

0:24:01.840 --> 0:24:06.239
<v Speaker 2>it so hard. Sometimes it's our grabbing after things that

0:24:06.320 --> 0:24:08.320
<v Speaker 2>God told us to give up that makes it hard.

0:24:09.320 --> 0:24:12.040
<v Speaker 2>And the problem with preaching is that people will clap

0:24:12.080 --> 0:24:14.520
<v Speaker 2>for the clips that we put on the Internet that

0:24:14.640 --> 0:24:16.760
<v Speaker 2>say that if life is hard for you right now,

0:24:16.800 --> 0:24:19.960
<v Speaker 2>it's because God has something great for you. But sometimes

0:24:19.960 --> 0:24:22.439
<v Speaker 2>we need to also say, if life is hard for

0:24:22.480 --> 0:24:25.040
<v Speaker 2>you right now, it might be because God is trying

0:24:25.080 --> 0:24:30.240
<v Speaker 2>to change you. It can be both. It can be both.

0:24:32.359 --> 0:24:35.600
<v Speaker 2>Waking up with a hangover every morning is not God

0:24:35.720 --> 0:24:42.440
<v Speaker 2>testing you or the devil attacking you. Getting yourself excluded

0:24:42.440 --> 0:24:45.760
<v Speaker 2>from each opportunity because you are never on time is

0:24:45.800 --> 0:24:49.840
<v Speaker 2>not the devil attacking you. The devil is not in

0:24:49.880 --> 0:24:58.560
<v Speaker 2>the traffic. You cannot rebuke traffic. The remedy for traffic

0:24:58.760 --> 0:25:02.560
<v Speaker 2>is not rebuke. Remedy for traffic is ten minutes earlier.

0:25:04.920 --> 0:25:11.840
<v Speaker 2>Now y'all want me to move on, clap a little louder,

0:25:11.840 --> 0:25:15.879
<v Speaker 2>and I'll think about it. I'm not playing with y'all

0:25:15.880 --> 0:25:19.720
<v Speaker 2>no more. I'm not playing with y'all no more. Because

0:25:20.000 --> 0:25:23.520
<v Speaker 2>you have to admit I am why I'm here. I

0:25:23.560 --> 0:25:27.000
<v Speaker 2>am why I'm here. You know, God sends some opportunities

0:25:27.040 --> 0:25:29.680
<v Speaker 2>for me to have some friends, but I wasn't friendly.

0:25:30.800 --> 0:25:35.320
<v Speaker 2>He's saying, rejection is God's protection. Maybe it's a maybe

0:25:35.400 --> 0:25:39.959
<v Speaker 2>it's a bad personality. Maybe you need to be nicer,

0:25:40.760 --> 0:25:43.560
<v Speaker 2>Maybe you need to ask other people how are they doing?

0:25:44.200 --> 0:25:47.920
<v Speaker 2>They rejected me, that was God redirecting me. No, they

0:25:48.040 --> 0:26:00.120
<v Speaker 2>rejected you because you're mean, because your drama, because you're messy.

0:26:03.720 --> 0:26:06.000
<v Speaker 2>And before you just ghost them and move your mess

0:26:06.000 --> 0:26:08.480
<v Speaker 2>around to the next person who hasn't figured you out yet,

0:26:11.000 --> 0:26:14.199
<v Speaker 2>take some time to say, Hey, God, is there a

0:26:14.320 --> 0:26:16.840
<v Speaker 2>reason why I don't have the same friends at the

0:26:17.000 --> 0:26:21.800
<v Speaker 2>end of every year? Hey, God, is there a reason

0:26:21.840 --> 0:26:25.159
<v Speaker 2>why I continue to fly off the handle with my

0:26:25.320 --> 0:26:28.359
<v Speaker 2>temper and think about how others made me lose it.

0:26:31.359 --> 0:26:32.880
<v Speaker 1>I didn't even intend to preach like.

0:26:32.840 --> 0:26:43.600
<v Speaker 2>This today, but notice in the mistake that Jacob made,

0:26:43.680 --> 0:26:48.919
<v Speaker 2>God gets in the middle of Jacob's mistake. Well, that

0:26:49.000 --> 0:26:52.000
<v Speaker 2>really blessed me, because you would think that if you

0:26:52.119 --> 0:26:54.680
<v Speaker 2>got yourself here, you've got to get yourself out of this.

0:26:57.080 --> 0:27:00.280
<v Speaker 2>Or I would at least think that if Jacob wanted

0:27:00.280 --> 0:27:01.800
<v Speaker 2>God to visit him, he would have to pray and

0:27:01.840 --> 0:27:04.840
<v Speaker 2>ask him to come show me in Genesis twenty eight

0:27:04.840 --> 0:27:09.680
<v Speaker 2>where Jacob prayed, it's not there. Show me in Genesis

0:27:09.680 --> 0:27:14.199
<v Speaker 2>twenty eight, where Jacob repented it's not there. Show me

0:27:14.240 --> 0:27:16.639
<v Speaker 2>in Genesis twenty eight where Jacob took seven steps to

0:27:16.640 --> 0:27:17.440
<v Speaker 2>get his life together.

0:27:18.400 --> 0:27:20.760
<v Speaker 1>Show me where Jacob set up on the base path.

0:27:20.960 --> 0:27:23.560
<v Speaker 2>And the first step, and the second step and the

0:27:23.600 --> 0:27:26.120
<v Speaker 2>third step. I burned that book when I read it.

0:27:26.359 --> 0:27:29.080
<v Speaker 2>I was like, people aren't coming to church because they're

0:27:29.119 --> 0:27:32.200
<v Speaker 2>in a baseball game. They're coming to church because they're

0:27:32.200 --> 0:27:35.760
<v Speaker 2>in a battle. It is a battlefield, and it looks

0:27:35.800 --> 0:27:38.280
<v Speaker 2>like this, and it looks like that, and it looks

0:27:38.359 --> 0:27:41.120
<v Speaker 2>like this, and it looks like that, and get this

0:27:41.359 --> 0:27:45.400
<v Speaker 2>little league Christianity out of your mind. God will meet

0:27:45.440 --> 0:27:48.600
<v Speaker 2>me in the middle, right on the mound. God will

0:27:48.640 --> 0:27:52.080
<v Speaker 2>set up and throw me another pitch, no matter how

0:27:52.119 --> 0:27:56.760
<v Speaker 2>the last one went down. That's what I see in

0:27:56.840 --> 0:28:00.840
<v Speaker 2>Genesis twenty eight. The Bible says in verse eleven that

0:28:00.880 --> 0:28:05.399
<v Speaker 2>with Jacob's pillow being a rock, this is horrible for

0:28:05.480 --> 0:28:10.320
<v Speaker 2>your posture and the sun being set, because not only

0:28:10.359 --> 0:28:13.879
<v Speaker 2>does God come into the middle of hard places, he

0:28:13.920 --> 0:28:18.879
<v Speaker 2>comes into the middle of dark places. God does some

0:28:18.920 --> 0:28:22.520
<v Speaker 2>of the best stuff in the dark, and Jacob stops

0:28:22.520 --> 0:28:23.879
<v Speaker 2>in a place he doesn't even know the name of.

0:28:23.920 --> 0:28:25.639
<v Speaker 2>I'm gonna tell you a story about that in a minute.

0:28:27.000 --> 0:28:28.440
<v Speaker 2>Look at this story, he said. He took one of

0:28:28.440 --> 0:28:30.200
<v Speaker 2>the stones, put on his head, laid down to sleep,

0:28:30.240 --> 0:28:33.879
<v Speaker 2>and verse twelve, he had a dream in which he

0:28:33.920 --> 0:28:40.200
<v Speaker 2>saw a stairway pay attention resting on the earth, with

0:28:40.320 --> 0:28:45.880
<v Speaker 2>its top reaching to heaven, and the angels were going

0:28:45.960 --> 0:28:49.800
<v Speaker 2>up and down on it. That's what he saw with

0:28:49.880 --> 0:28:54.840
<v Speaker 2>his eyes closed, that's what he saw. Laying on a rock,

0:28:56.120 --> 0:28:59.560
<v Speaker 2>That's what he saw in a hard place, trying to

0:28:59.560 --> 0:29:03.040
<v Speaker 2>decide which set the stairs to come over to. This

0:29:03.080 --> 0:29:07.920
<v Speaker 2>one feels right today. This is the right one. It

0:29:08.040 --> 0:29:12.000
<v Speaker 2>went up and down the angels. Now the angels are

0:29:12.040 --> 0:29:17.720
<v Speaker 2>moving Jacob, isn't Jacob is stopped because the sun is set.

0:29:19.200 --> 0:29:22.120
<v Speaker 2>But just because the sunset stopped you doesn't mean to

0:29:22.160 --> 0:29:26.360
<v Speaker 2>stop God. Oh, I love to make the Bible come

0:29:26.400 --> 0:29:29.480
<v Speaker 2>alive for people. Can you see it? Isn't it crazy?

0:29:29.560 --> 0:29:32.560
<v Speaker 2>In all of Jacob's scheming, he got blessed by his dad,

0:29:33.120 --> 0:29:37.720
<v Speaker 2>But in Jacob's sleeping he got blessed by God. And

0:29:37.800 --> 0:29:47.720
<v Speaker 2>the angels are moving up and down and up and

0:29:47.760 --> 0:29:57.560
<v Speaker 2>down because life ain't always like this, it's up and down.

0:29:58.440 --> 0:30:06.240
<v Speaker 2>So the angels are doing what life does, ascending, descending.

0:30:08.200 --> 0:30:14.840
<v Speaker 2>The angels are doing what your bank account does. The

0:30:14.960 --> 0:30:21.640
<v Speaker 2>angels are doing what your mood does. Am I not

0:30:21.680 --> 0:30:25.120
<v Speaker 2>preaching this thing? I haven't preached this since twenty eighteen,

0:30:25.200 --> 0:30:27.320
<v Speaker 2>so I've been waiting to get back to it. Up

0:30:27.400 --> 0:30:30.160
<v Speaker 2>and down and up and down and up and down

0:30:30.480 --> 0:30:34.720
<v Speaker 2>like your life, and Jacob isn't moving because God shows

0:30:34.840 --> 0:30:37.840
<v Speaker 2>up in the middle of his mistake, and in the

0:30:37.880 --> 0:30:41.200
<v Speaker 2>middle of the night, and in the middle of sleep.

0:30:41.520 --> 0:30:43.280
<v Speaker 2>So that you and I know that it is not

0:30:43.400 --> 0:30:47.719
<v Speaker 2>when we get there that God shows up. It is

0:30:47.760 --> 0:30:52.040
<v Speaker 2>not when we accomplish that that he shows up. It

0:30:52.080 --> 0:30:54.200
<v Speaker 2>is not when we reach the place of our goal

0:30:54.280 --> 0:30:58.520
<v Speaker 2>that we meet God. God meets me in the middle.

0:30:59.360 --> 0:31:01.080
<v Speaker 2>And this is the a I sermon where you touch

0:31:01.120 --> 0:31:02.800
<v Speaker 2>five people and say He met me in the middle,

0:31:04.360 --> 0:31:04.600
<v Speaker 2>and you.

0:31:04.600 --> 0:31:06.080
<v Speaker 1>Don't have to say any more than that.

0:31:06.840 --> 0:31:08.760
<v Speaker 2>You don't have to say what it was the middle of.

0:31:09.320 --> 0:31:11.560
<v Speaker 2>If it was the middle of a divorce, if it

0:31:11.600 --> 0:31:14.120
<v Speaker 2>was the middle of a diagnosis, if it was the

0:31:14.160 --> 0:31:16.440
<v Speaker 2>middle of a battle with sickness, if it was the

0:31:16.480 --> 0:31:18.840
<v Speaker 2>middle of a season of depression, if it was the

0:31:18.840 --> 0:31:21.160
<v Speaker 2>middle of you losing your mind, if it was the

0:31:21.200 --> 0:31:23.560
<v Speaker 2>middle of a nervous breakdown, if it was in the

0:31:23.560 --> 0:31:25.640
<v Speaker 2>middle of the street when you sit there and said, God,

0:31:25.680 --> 0:31:27.960
<v Speaker 2>I don't know which way to go. I'm too young

0:31:28.000 --> 0:31:30.200
<v Speaker 2>to be old, I'm too old to be young. God

0:31:30.280 --> 0:31:32.920
<v Speaker 2>met me in the middle. I'm too happy to be sad,

0:31:33.000 --> 0:31:35.280
<v Speaker 2>too sad to be happy. And he met me in

0:31:35.360 --> 0:31:38.880
<v Speaker 2>the middle. I can't quite name this place yet, but

0:31:39.200 --> 0:31:44.480
<v Speaker 2>God met Jacob in the middle. And Jacob did not

0:31:44.720 --> 0:31:48.360
<v Speaker 2>even know the name of the place where he was.

0:31:48.480 --> 0:31:50.160
<v Speaker 2>But he didn't have to know the name of the

0:31:50.240 --> 0:31:54.960
<v Speaker 2>place because God knew his name. There is a woman

0:31:55.000 --> 0:31:58.240
<v Speaker 2>who brought me a letter in Atlanta, Georgia. Her name

0:31:58.320 --> 0:31:59.080
<v Speaker 2>is Lish.

0:31:59.240 --> 0:32:01.560
<v Speaker 1>She's watching on line right now from Atlanta.

0:32:01.840 --> 0:32:05.320
<v Speaker 2>Everybody say, hey, Lish, I want to show you her

0:32:05.360 --> 0:32:07.960
<v Speaker 2>picture so you can see who we're talking about. This

0:32:08.040 --> 0:32:12.080
<v Speaker 2>is Lish getting baptized just recently at one of our

0:32:12.120 --> 0:32:15.560
<v Speaker 2>pop ups at Elevation, Atlanta pop up.

0:32:16.040 --> 0:32:17.920
<v Speaker 1>Did y'all know our church has to pop ups?

0:32:19.760 --> 0:32:22.880
<v Speaker 2>Did you know we have pop ups? We go to

0:32:22.920 --> 0:32:26.600
<v Speaker 2>different cities. We popped up in Riverside, California today, we're

0:32:26.600 --> 0:32:28.680
<v Speaker 2>having a pop up You could take the picture down

0:32:28.760 --> 0:32:31.400
<v Speaker 2>right now. Why do we have pop up church because

0:32:31.400 --> 0:32:34.040
<v Speaker 2>we have a pop up God. Because the devil is

0:32:34.080 --> 0:32:36.640
<v Speaker 2>a pop up devil, and the devil will just pop

0:32:36.760 --> 0:32:39.120
<v Speaker 2>up at times you don't expect him. So we just

0:32:39.160 --> 0:32:42.320
<v Speaker 2>take church wherever people are and God will pop up

0:32:42.360 --> 0:32:44.720
<v Speaker 2>in the middle of a place. God will pop up

0:32:44.800 --> 0:32:47.160
<v Speaker 2>in the middle of a struggle. God will pop up

0:32:47.200 --> 0:32:49.320
<v Speaker 2>in the middle of a panic attack. Have you ever

0:32:49.360 --> 0:32:52.240
<v Speaker 2>had God just pop up for you? Black boom, zam,

0:32:52.400 --> 0:32:55.800
<v Speaker 2>wig wock. There it is, Sam. God just popped up.

0:32:55.960 --> 0:32:58.560
<v Speaker 2>Looked like it was over looked like it was done,

0:32:58.840 --> 0:33:01.560
<v Speaker 2>felt like it was over. He felt like it was done.

0:33:01.840 --> 0:33:06.400
<v Speaker 2>Thank God popped up. He turned a grave into a garden.

0:33:06.880 --> 0:33:11.200
<v Speaker 2>They were weeping for Lazarus, but Jesus popped up, and

0:33:11.400 --> 0:33:16.320
<v Speaker 2>Lazarus popped up when he said his name. So we

0:33:16.440 --> 0:33:17.200
<v Speaker 2>baptized her.

0:33:17.200 --> 0:33:17.920
<v Speaker 1>It to pop up.

0:33:18.200 --> 0:33:20.280
<v Speaker 2>But she told me I haven't always been on such

0:33:20.320 --> 0:33:23.000
<v Speaker 2>a good track. Listen what she told me. She said,

0:33:23.320 --> 0:33:26.640
<v Speaker 2>I had opened several doors to the enemy through the

0:33:26.640 --> 0:33:29.000
<v Speaker 2>course of my life, and because of that, I ended

0:33:29.040 --> 0:33:32.000
<v Speaker 2>up on the run from many abusive situations, and one

0:33:32.040 --> 0:33:36.960
<v Speaker 2>in particular She didn't tell me what those situations were,

0:33:38.040 --> 0:33:39.719
<v Speaker 2>but she told me that it got so bad for

0:33:39.760 --> 0:33:41.280
<v Speaker 2>her that she was going.

0:33:41.040 --> 0:33:43.280
<v Speaker 1>From place to place to place.

0:33:43.360 --> 0:33:46.040
<v Speaker 2>Now stop, you're thinking, well, my life isn't that bad,

0:33:46.120 --> 0:33:49.479
<v Speaker 2>is but we go from place to place to place.

0:33:50.960 --> 0:33:54.360
<v Speaker 2>She was doing it physically, but some of us do

0:33:54.440 --> 0:33:59.200
<v Speaker 2>it emotionally. From place, come on to place. I'm going

0:33:59.280 --> 0:34:02.840
<v Speaker 2>to preach to everybody in this church will admit that

0:34:03.000 --> 0:34:05.200
<v Speaker 2>is this, and it's that is this, and it's that

0:34:05.720 --> 0:34:13.279
<v Speaker 2>is this and it's that. So she wrote me this

0:34:13.360 --> 0:34:14.960
<v Speaker 2>letter and she gave it to me, and she said

0:34:15.320 --> 0:34:16.719
<v Speaker 2>it got so bad at one point that I had

0:34:16.760 --> 0:34:19.040
<v Speaker 2>to go live with a friend and my friend would

0:34:19.040 --> 0:34:22.400
<v Speaker 2>always play Christian TV and it was so annoying.

0:34:22.400 --> 0:34:24.200
<v Speaker 1>And one night I walked in and this guy was preaching.

0:34:24.880 --> 0:34:29.080
<v Speaker 2>She was talking to me, and it really spoke to

0:34:29.120 --> 0:34:31.120
<v Speaker 2>my situation, and it spoke so straight to me. I

0:34:31.160 --> 0:34:32.920
<v Speaker 2>felt like I didn't even know what to call it,

0:34:32.960 --> 0:34:35.279
<v Speaker 2>because I wasn't yet a Christian, but I felt something.

0:34:35.320 --> 0:34:37.520
<v Speaker 2>I didn't know what it was called. I just felt something.

0:34:38.719 --> 0:34:40.320
<v Speaker 2>She said I had to leave there suddenly, and I

0:34:40.360 --> 0:34:41.879
<v Speaker 2>didn't get to ask my friend what was the name

0:34:41.920 --> 0:34:43.760
<v Speaker 2>of that Preacher that we watched.

0:34:45.480 --> 0:34:48.239
<v Speaker 1>She said, for three years, I would think about it.

0:34:48.239 --> 0:34:51.480
<v Speaker 2>Well, I kept making the wrong decisions for three years,

0:34:52.800 --> 0:34:55.120
<v Speaker 2>and my situation didn't get better. It got worse.

0:34:56.200 --> 0:34:57.759
<v Speaker 1>Eventually, she said, I was in a car wreck and

0:34:57.800 --> 0:34:58.280
<v Speaker 1>I wasn't.

0:34:58.120 --> 0:35:01.520
<v Speaker 2>Able to walk for six months after it. She said.

0:35:01.560 --> 0:35:03.360
<v Speaker 2>During the six months, I would try to watch the

0:35:03.400 --> 0:35:05.600
<v Speaker 2>Christian TV anywhere I was, but I couldn't find that

0:35:05.640 --> 0:35:08.359
<v Speaker 2>preacher again. And the other stuff was good, she said,

0:35:08.360 --> 0:35:11.439
<v Speaker 2>but there was just she said. I wish I could

0:35:11.440 --> 0:35:12.799
<v Speaker 2>say that it got better from there, but it didn't

0:35:12.800 --> 0:35:14.359
<v Speaker 2>get better from there. As I went from safe house

0:35:14.400 --> 0:35:15.919
<v Speaker 2>to safe house. At one point it got so bad

0:35:15.960 --> 0:35:17.759
<v Speaker 2>that I thought, I don't even know if I want

0:35:17.760 --> 0:35:19.719
<v Speaker 2>to go on living anymore. What is my life worth

0:35:19.760 --> 0:35:21.399
<v Speaker 2>when I'm just going from place to place to place

0:35:21.440 --> 0:35:25.359
<v Speaker 2>to place to place to place, she said.

0:35:25.360 --> 0:35:27.960
<v Speaker 1>One night at the safe house, I just decided to.

0:35:27.880 --> 0:35:30.200
<v Speaker 2>Turn on the old clock radio. It was the only

0:35:30.239 --> 0:35:33.279
<v Speaker 2>thing in the room, and I turned it on. I

0:35:33.280 --> 0:35:36.080
<v Speaker 2>wanted to hear some music, and some music started playing

0:35:36.080 --> 0:35:37.360
<v Speaker 2>and it was very beautiful, but I didn't know what

0:35:37.400 --> 0:35:39.520
<v Speaker 2>it was. And then they started saying the name of

0:35:39.560 --> 0:35:42.880
<v Speaker 2>Jesus on the song she said, and I reached to

0:35:42.920 --> 0:35:45.440
<v Speaker 2>grab for the dial because I was not trying to

0:35:45.480 --> 0:35:46.399
<v Speaker 2>listen to Christian music.

0:35:48.040 --> 0:35:50.240
<v Speaker 1>But before I touched the dial, the most beautiful.

0:35:50.080 --> 0:35:53.640
<v Speaker 2>Thing that I've heard happened, and she played played the

0:35:53.640 --> 0:36:04.600
<v Speaker 2>intro real quick to more than Able. She said, the

0:36:04.600 --> 0:36:07.600
<v Speaker 2>most beautiful music that I've heard came on the radio,

0:36:08.719 --> 0:36:11.719
<v Speaker 2>and she said, the presence of God looking back. I

0:36:11.719 --> 0:36:13.560
<v Speaker 2>didn't know what to call it when the presence of

0:36:13.560 --> 0:36:15.560
<v Speaker 2>God met me in that room, and I began to

0:36:15.560 --> 0:36:18.160
<v Speaker 2>cry and I began to weep, and she said, I

0:36:18.200 --> 0:36:21.440
<v Speaker 2>honestly feel that God came into my life when that

0:36:21.480 --> 0:36:26.279
<v Speaker 2>song was playing, and it said, I've come a long way.

0:36:26.320 --> 0:36:30.959
<v Speaker 2>I've seen how you work. There's so much goodness and grace,

0:36:31.040 --> 0:36:33.279
<v Speaker 2>much more than I deserve. And I know who I am,

0:36:33.320 --> 0:36:35.600
<v Speaker 2>and I can't stay where I'm at. We've come this

0:36:35.680 --> 0:36:37.359
<v Speaker 2>far by faith, and I just can't turn back because

0:36:37.360 --> 0:36:46.600
<v Speaker 2>you're not done with me yet. I listen, she said,

0:36:46.600 --> 0:36:48.920
<v Speaker 2>I'm crying, and when the DJ comes on after the song,

0:36:48.960 --> 0:36:52.040
<v Speaker 2>he says, that was elevation worship with more than Abel

0:36:53.000 --> 0:36:54.680
<v Speaker 2>and she said, I thought to myself, what is an

0:36:54.719 --> 0:36:59.800
<v Speaker 2>elevation worship? That's literally what she wrote me. In the note,

0:37:00.120 --> 0:37:02.560
<v Speaker 2>she said, I thought to myself. This is her note.

0:37:02.719 --> 0:37:07.439
<v Speaker 2>She said, I literally thought to myself, what is an

0:37:07.480 --> 0:37:11.880
<v Speaker 2>elevation worship? I borrowed a computer from the counselor the

0:37:11.920 --> 0:37:18.120
<v Speaker 2>next morning and googled what is an elevation worship? This

0:37:18.160 --> 0:37:21.600
<v Speaker 2>is what Lich said in her letter to me, and

0:37:21.640 --> 0:37:25.400
<v Speaker 2>I was led to the Elevation Church website. After years

0:37:26.440 --> 0:37:28.200
<v Speaker 2>of looking for you, I found you. But I want

0:37:28.239 --> 0:37:30.960
<v Speaker 2>to say something. Don't clap for that. It's not after

0:37:31.040 --> 0:37:33.680
<v Speaker 2>years of looking for me. She found me. It's not

0:37:33.719 --> 0:37:38.359
<v Speaker 2>about finding me at all. It's after years of running

0:37:38.800 --> 0:37:53.200
<v Speaker 2>God found her. I messed up by showing you the

0:37:53.200 --> 0:37:56.560
<v Speaker 2>first picture before I read you the letter, because you

0:37:56.560 --> 0:37:59.319
<v Speaker 2>would have just thought that she went like this and

0:37:59.480 --> 0:38:05.400
<v Speaker 2>like this and like this and now she's home. But

0:38:05.480 --> 0:38:07.359
<v Speaker 2>she told me that it was like this and like this,

0:38:07.560 --> 0:38:11.560
<v Speaker 2>and like this and like this and like this, and

0:38:11.600 --> 0:38:23.080
<v Speaker 2>then with a clock radio, the Lord found her. She said,

0:38:23.120 --> 0:38:27.320
<v Speaker 2>she's doing good now. She said. The Lord is working

0:38:27.320 --> 0:38:31.640
<v Speaker 2>in her life. She said, she teaches at a Christian school.

0:38:35.200 --> 0:38:38.680
<v Speaker 1>Not like this, but like this and like this and

0:38:38.760 --> 0:38:40.080
<v Speaker 1>like this and like this and like this.

0:38:40.560 --> 0:38:43.640
<v Speaker 2>I came to find somebody today who has been doing

0:38:43.680 --> 0:38:45.799
<v Speaker 2>all of this and this and this and this and

0:38:45.840 --> 0:38:49.000
<v Speaker 2>this and this and this and this and this and this,

0:38:50.080 --> 0:38:53.800
<v Speaker 2>and I came with an announcement. The Lord is in

0:38:53.920 --> 0:39:04.960
<v Speaker 2>this place, and it's messy. I know it is. But

0:39:05.040 --> 0:39:08.680
<v Speaker 2>we're celebrating a holiday called Christmas in a few weeks.

0:39:09.440 --> 0:39:11.880
<v Speaker 2>And it kind of proves that the greatest miracles start

0:39:11.920 --> 0:39:16.600
<v Speaker 2>in the messiest situations. After all, why will millions of

0:39:16.640 --> 0:39:19.040
<v Speaker 2>people sing all around the world of a baby who

0:39:19.120 --> 0:39:21.719
<v Speaker 2>was born in a manger, who was really the king

0:39:21.760 --> 0:39:24.520
<v Speaker 2>of kings. Now you may say, what does that have

0:39:24.560 --> 0:39:27.239
<v Speaker 2>to do with me? Because I see you trying to

0:39:27.280 --> 0:39:30.160
<v Speaker 2>make your next step. I saw it when I was

0:39:30.200 --> 0:39:33.960
<v Speaker 2>praying about this message. I saw people like Jacob who

0:39:34.040 --> 0:39:36.919
<v Speaker 2>know I have made this mistake and I don't really

0:39:37.040 --> 0:39:39.080
<v Speaker 2>can't go back to where I came from. I can't

0:39:39.360 --> 0:39:41.640
<v Speaker 2>really figure out where I'm supposed to God? What is

0:39:41.719 --> 0:39:43.959
<v Speaker 2>my next step? And the Lord said it is going

0:39:44.040 --> 0:39:50.560
<v Speaker 2>to be your next messy step. And what messy means

0:39:50.680 --> 0:39:52.880
<v Speaker 2>is you're not going to know if it's the right one. Oh,

0:39:52.880 --> 0:39:55.600
<v Speaker 2>you'll look back and you'll say, this was my path,

0:39:59.360 --> 0:40:02.080
<v Speaker 2>But what is it explained as a path? Later? Was

0:40:02.160 --> 0:40:07.000
<v Speaker 2>really experienced as a problem in real time. Everything that

0:40:07.040 --> 0:40:09.400
<v Speaker 2>God ever did for me that later I could be like.

0:40:09.719 --> 0:40:13.839
<v Speaker 2>And then God directed my path. It was really this

0:40:13.920 --> 0:40:16.520
<v Speaker 2>and this and this and this and this. I don't

0:40:16.560 --> 0:40:19.520
<v Speaker 2>know what kind of day you're having today. You might

0:40:19.560 --> 0:40:22.160
<v Speaker 2>be doing like this and your life. That's wonderful for

0:40:22.239 --> 0:40:24.960
<v Speaker 2>that lady, But what does it mean for me? I'll

0:40:24.960 --> 0:40:27.160
<v Speaker 2>tell you what it means for you. It means that

0:40:27.239 --> 0:40:30.520
<v Speaker 2>you cannot forget the God who brought you this far

0:40:30.960 --> 0:40:37.839
<v Speaker 2>when you remember that you started at rock bottom. You

0:40:37.880 --> 0:40:42.120
<v Speaker 2>can't come all this way and say look what I did. No,

0:40:42.400 --> 0:40:45.360
<v Speaker 2>if it had not been for the Lord, come on,

0:40:45.760 --> 0:40:49.080
<v Speaker 2>if it had not been for the Lord on my side,

0:40:49.200 --> 0:40:53.240
<v Speaker 2>I would be I would be down, I would be over.

0:40:54.440 --> 0:41:03.440
<v Speaker 2>But God is Abel. But God is Abel. So you

0:41:03.560 --> 0:41:07.640
<v Speaker 2>have Jacob lying on the ground, and you have God

0:41:07.800 --> 0:41:12.160
<v Speaker 2>speaking to Jacob, and you have both things happening simultaneously.

0:41:12.800 --> 0:41:15.600
<v Speaker 2>You have the nation of Israel in this man who

0:41:15.680 --> 0:41:19.400
<v Speaker 2>is lying on the ground with no one, with nothing.

0:41:19.680 --> 0:41:23.399
<v Speaker 2>God is speaking of his descendants and he doesn't even

0:41:23.440 --> 0:41:27.239
<v Speaker 2>have one child. God is speaking of his future and

0:41:27.280 --> 0:41:30.840
<v Speaker 2>he doesn't even have a single friend. God is speaking

0:41:30.880 --> 0:41:33.920
<v Speaker 2>to you about things that you can't see in your life.

0:41:34.200 --> 0:41:38.120
<v Speaker 2>But notice what verse fourteen says. It says that there

0:41:38.200 --> 0:41:41.120
<v Speaker 2>was a ladder that started on the earth and went

0:41:41.160 --> 0:41:43.680
<v Speaker 2>to heaven, and a voice from the Lord who stood

0:41:43.719 --> 0:41:46.600
<v Speaker 2>over it, and he said, your descendants will be like

0:41:47.239 --> 0:41:48.440
<v Speaker 2>the dust.

0:41:51.080 --> 0:42:04.080
<v Speaker 3>God does stuff in dust. God does stuff in dust.

0:42:05.400 --> 0:42:07.160
<v Speaker 2>Y'all, I'm having a moment right now where I know

0:42:07.200 --> 0:42:12.839
<v Speaker 2>I'm preaching to a lish I am preaching to somebody

0:42:13.600 --> 0:42:16.520
<v Speaker 2>who is going to write me a year from now

0:42:17.600 --> 0:42:22.040
<v Speaker 2>and say I was in the dust. Well, that's how

0:42:22.080 --> 0:42:25.480
<v Speaker 2>your whole life got started. Did you ever read the

0:42:25.520 --> 0:42:35.360
<v Speaker 2>Book of Genesis. We talk about destiny. I'm talking about destiny, huh.

0:42:35.400 --> 0:42:38.360
<v Speaker 2>I'm talking about God knows the plans he hasks for you,

0:42:38.960 --> 0:42:41.480
<v Speaker 2>plans to give you a hope in a future. I'm

0:42:41.520 --> 0:42:44.240
<v Speaker 2>talking about God speaks to the youth that he formed

0:42:44.280 --> 0:42:47.600
<v Speaker 2>from the dust, and he breathed the breath of life

0:42:47.680 --> 0:42:50.319
<v Speaker 2>into him, and he formed you from the dust. And

0:42:50.360 --> 0:42:54.120
<v Speaker 2>now you are following the God who formed you from

0:42:54.200 --> 0:42:57.680
<v Speaker 2>the dust. And it's going to be messy. Sometimes it

0:42:57.840 --> 0:43:01.640
<v Speaker 2>was messy for the disciples following Jesus. Air up and

0:43:01.719 --> 0:43:04.440
<v Speaker 2>we're down, and we're here, and we're there and it's

0:43:04.480 --> 0:43:07.880
<v Speaker 2>working and it's not, and Hosanna and crucify him and

0:43:07.920 --> 0:43:10.440
<v Speaker 2>we get it and we don't and we understand and

0:43:10.480 --> 0:43:17.920
<v Speaker 2>we're confused. And that's okay because God leads people through

0:43:18.000 --> 0:43:24.160
<v Speaker 2>messy next steps, just a messy next step. It doesn't

0:43:24.200 --> 0:43:26.759
<v Speaker 2>have to be a beautiful next step. You don't have

0:43:26.800 --> 0:43:29.640
<v Speaker 2>to have a choreographed next step. You don't have to

0:43:29.719 --> 0:43:33.640
<v Speaker 2>dance into your future. You can just absolutely, Okay, God,

0:43:34.560 --> 0:43:37.280
<v Speaker 2>I'm gonna do it. I'm gonna call it Christian counselor.

0:43:38.320 --> 0:43:40.920
<v Speaker 2>I don't even know if this's the right one. If

0:43:40.960 --> 0:43:43.799
<v Speaker 2>they're weird, I'll fire him and get another one. There's

0:43:43.800 --> 0:43:46.960
<v Speaker 2>a whole lot of counselors, and chat GIVT doesn't count

0:43:47.000 --> 0:43:50.319
<v Speaker 2>as a counselor. So I'm gonna get a real human being,

0:43:51.239 --> 0:43:56.439
<v Speaker 2>a real human being, because I'm gonna take that messy step. See,

0:43:56.440 --> 0:43:59.279
<v Speaker 2>a controlled step is you keep trying to deal with

0:43:59.320 --> 0:44:02.000
<v Speaker 2>things that the love well, you can see things. But

0:44:02.080 --> 0:44:04.040
<v Speaker 2>what if the next step for you is that God

0:44:04.080 --> 0:44:08.040
<v Speaker 2>wants to show you a staircase. Remember, God can do

0:44:08.160 --> 0:44:11.239
<v Speaker 2>more while you're sleeping than you can do while you're striving.

0:44:11.800 --> 0:44:15.359
<v Speaker 2>It is not It is not you figuring this out.

0:44:15.800 --> 0:44:20.719
<v Speaker 2>It is you following Jesus into the mess. When Jesus

0:44:20.800 --> 0:44:25.400
<v Speaker 2>called his disciples, he called one disciple named Nathaniel, and

0:44:25.520 --> 0:44:28.440
<v Speaker 2>Nathaniel was confused. He was like, how do you know me?

0:44:28.800 --> 0:44:30.920
<v Speaker 2>How do you see me under the fig tree? How

0:44:30.920 --> 0:44:33.759
<v Speaker 2>did you know who I was? And in John chapter one,

0:44:33.880 --> 0:44:37.160
<v Speaker 2>verse fifty Jesus said to Nathaniel, you are amazed and

0:44:37.200 --> 0:44:39.799
<v Speaker 2>believed because I saw you under the fig tree. You

0:44:39.840 --> 0:44:41.520
<v Speaker 2>will see greater things than that.

0:44:41.719 --> 0:44:43.759
<v Speaker 1>Watch this skinner verse fifty one.

0:44:43.840 --> 0:44:47.840
<v Speaker 2>He said, very truly, I tell you will see heaven

0:44:47.960 --> 0:44:54.240
<v Speaker 2>open and you will see the angels of God. Watch

0:44:54.320 --> 0:44:59.040
<v Speaker 2>this flashback Genesis twenty eight. He said, you will see

0:44:59.360 --> 0:45:06.000
<v Speaker 2>the Angel of God Us sending and descending, not on

0:45:06.160 --> 0:45:09.719
<v Speaker 2>Jacob's ladder. But Jesus said, you will see the angels

0:45:10.120 --> 0:45:14.759
<v Speaker 2>Us sending from a versa voice and descending on the

0:45:14.760 --> 0:45:19.479
<v Speaker 2>son of Man. Who's the son of man? Jesus, who

0:45:19.600 --> 0:45:23.920
<v Speaker 2>is the ladder that appeared to Jacob in the wilderness. Jesus,

0:45:24.600 --> 0:45:26.680
<v Speaker 2>who is the one who is calling to you in

0:45:26.719 --> 0:45:29.600
<v Speaker 2>this season of your life, saying we can do this,

0:45:30.160 --> 0:45:32.880
<v Speaker 2>we can move forward in this. And I came to

0:45:32.960 --> 0:45:36.320
<v Speaker 2>declare to you that it is not your next step

0:45:36.600 --> 0:45:40.280
<v Speaker 2>that matters. It is the step that God has already

0:45:40.320 --> 0:45:54.319
<v Speaker 2>made toward you. It's a mistake, it's a middle and

0:45:54.360 --> 0:45:57.839
<v Speaker 2>it's a move. But it wasn't Jacob's move that saved him.

0:45:58.360 --> 0:46:03.799
<v Speaker 2>It was God's move. God is moving in your situation. Man.

0:46:05.239 --> 0:46:07.279
<v Speaker 2>You say I can't see him, that's because he puts

0:46:07.320 --> 0:46:12.360
<v Speaker 2>you to sleep to do it. You say I can't

0:46:12.520 --> 0:46:16.680
<v Speaker 2>see it, that's because it's covered in dust. But whether

0:46:16.719 --> 0:46:21.920
<v Speaker 2>it's Genesis or whether it's Jesus who been down in

0:46:21.960 --> 0:46:24.280
<v Speaker 2>the dirt when a woman who committed adultery was about

0:46:24.280 --> 0:46:30.640
<v Speaker 2>to be stone, God does stuff in the dust. Your

0:46:30.680 --> 0:46:37.600
<v Speaker 2>next messy step, that's all it's going to take. It's

0:46:37.760 --> 0:46:43.040
<v Speaker 2>just your next messy step because God has already done

0:46:43.800 --> 0:46:46.239
<v Speaker 2>the real work. Now you will know what it is

0:46:46.280 --> 0:46:47.960
<v Speaker 2>today that the Lord is speaking to you about. How

0:46:47.960 --> 0:46:49.719
<v Speaker 2>could I now? God?

0:46:50.840 --> 0:46:52.440
<v Speaker 1>You will know the place in your life where he

0:46:52.440 --> 0:46:53.040
<v Speaker 1>has felt like.

0:46:55.520 --> 0:46:58.000
<v Speaker 2>I feel like I'm speaking to somebody though, who you

0:46:58.160 --> 0:47:00.920
<v Speaker 2>thought you had arrived and now you've been in a

0:47:00.960 --> 0:47:07.640
<v Speaker 2>setback and you're surprised by it a little bit. Well, surprise,

0:47:08.960 --> 0:47:13.200
<v Speaker 2>God is in the setback too, because this is this

0:47:13.320 --> 0:47:20.560
<v Speaker 2>is this is this is this everyone's standing all over

0:47:20.600 --> 0:47:23.640
<v Speaker 2>this auditorium and nobody moving to leave at this moment.

0:47:26.480 --> 0:47:29.399
<v Speaker 1>Where did the Lord find you today?

0:47:30.640 --> 0:47:33.719
<v Speaker 2>Was it like this where you're like, yo, man, I

0:47:33.760 --> 0:47:36.800
<v Speaker 2>don't even see a way forward? Or is it like

0:47:36.920 --> 0:47:38.480
<v Speaker 2>Jacob who should have been at the top of his

0:47:38.600 --> 0:47:41.520
<v Speaker 2>life but was empty inside.

0:47:42.160 --> 0:47:44.560
<v Speaker 1>This is a moment for you to decide.

0:47:45.320 --> 0:47:50.120
<v Speaker 2>Is he your God? And do you trust him? In

0:47:50.239 --> 0:47:53.080
<v Speaker 2>verse fifteen, he told Jacob, I am with you, and

0:47:53.120 --> 0:47:55.600
<v Speaker 2>I will be with you wherever you go, and I

0:47:55.600 --> 0:47:58.560
<v Speaker 2>will bring you back to this land. I will not

0:47:58.760 --> 0:48:03.320
<v Speaker 2>leave you until I have done what I have promised you.

0:48:03.320 --> 0:48:04.719
<v Speaker 2>You know, the Lord didn't say he was going to

0:48:04.800 --> 0:48:06.560
<v Speaker 2>do everything that we prayed for. He said he would

0:48:06.600 --> 0:48:14.799
<v Speaker 2>do everything that he promised. Who is that for? And

0:48:15.880 --> 0:48:17.719
<v Speaker 2>you think for you to take the next step, God

0:48:17.760 --> 0:48:20.880
<v Speaker 2>has to answer your last prayer. No, he's already done enough.

0:48:21.760 --> 0:48:23.319
<v Speaker 2>And if the next step he called you to take

0:48:23.440 --> 0:48:26.920
<v Speaker 2>is just stand still, then you do that. Because the

0:48:27.000 --> 0:48:35.080
<v Speaker 2>Lord is in this place. Father, I've administered your word

0:48:35.880 --> 0:48:38.239
<v Speaker 2>with the grace and conviction with which you ministered it

0:48:38.239 --> 0:48:40.720
<v Speaker 2>to me. Now put it in your hands.

0:48:40.800 --> 0:48:47.120
<v Speaker 4>These are your children, these people, they're precious to you.

0:48:47.120 --> 0:48:48.839
<v Speaker 4>You see where they're running to, you see what they're

0:48:48.880 --> 0:48:52.880
<v Speaker 4>running from, and you know where you're leading them. I

0:48:52.920 --> 0:48:55.480
<v Speaker 4>believe that your hand is on each and every one

0:48:55.520 --> 0:48:58.560
<v Speaker 4>of them, none too dusty, none too dirty, none too messy,

0:48:59.200 --> 0:49:02.520
<v Speaker 4>none too far gone. I believe there are some people

0:49:02.520 --> 0:49:05.520
<v Speaker 4>God who have accomplished a lot in earthly standards.

0:49:06.160 --> 0:49:08.600
<v Speaker 2>There is a spiritual vacuum, and they're starting to feel it.

0:49:08.680 --> 0:49:13.279
<v Speaker 2>Right about now, Lord, would you meet that person in

0:49:13.360 --> 0:49:13.880
<v Speaker 2>that place?

0:49:15.800 --> 0:49:19.160
<v Speaker 1>And there's somebody listening to me God at a point.

0:49:18.960 --> 0:49:22.200
<v Speaker 2>In between, like ah, I just don't feel like I

0:49:22.239 --> 0:49:25.080
<v Speaker 2>know what God has called me to do next. I

0:49:25.120 --> 0:49:29.719
<v Speaker 2>pray that heavens would be open over them, even if

0:49:29.719 --> 0:49:32.600
<v Speaker 2>it's just for thirty seconds while I'm praying this prayer,

0:49:33.800 --> 0:49:37.319
<v Speaker 2>and they would know that angels are coming up and

0:49:37.400 --> 0:49:41.120
<v Speaker 2>down for the high times, for the low times, that

0:49:41.200 --> 0:49:45.160
<v Speaker 2>this staircase, this step did not start with them, as

0:49:45.200 --> 0:49:48.680
<v Speaker 2>started with you. And now Father, we commit our lives

0:49:48.760 --> 0:49:52.920
<v Speaker 2>to your grace. Like Jacob said, I will make you

0:49:53.000 --> 0:49:57.880
<v Speaker 2>my God, I will follow you forward. I thank you,

0:49:57.920 --> 0:49:59.640
<v Speaker 2>Lord for what you know about them that they don't

0:49:59.640 --> 0:50:01.319
<v Speaker 2>know about. I thank you for what you see in

0:50:01.360 --> 0:50:03.600
<v Speaker 2>them that they've lost sight of. I thank you for

0:50:03.640 --> 0:50:06.919
<v Speaker 2>what you're doing that I just can't perceive. Now, lift

0:50:06.960 --> 0:50:08.840
<v Speaker 2>your hands just a little bit and give that situation

0:50:08.960 --> 0:50:09.480
<v Speaker 2>to the Lord.

0:50:10.120 --> 0:50:14.080
<v Speaker 1>Surrender it. You know what it is. I want you

0:50:14.120 --> 0:50:14.880
<v Speaker 1>to have a strategy.

0:50:14.880 --> 0:50:16.279
<v Speaker 2>I want you to have a plan, but I want

0:50:16.320 --> 0:50:20.080
<v Speaker 2>you to have His presence, so you could just surrender

0:50:20.120 --> 0:50:23.239
<v Speaker 2>it to him. Every time in the church I didn't

0:50:23.280 --> 0:50:26.720
<v Speaker 2>know what to do, I did this, and God did something.

0:50:26.880 --> 0:50:28.560
<v Speaker 2>Every time with my kids, when I don't know what

0:50:28.600 --> 0:50:30.279
<v Speaker 2>to do, I do this, and I trust God to

0:50:30.320 --> 0:50:32.560
<v Speaker 2>do something every time in my life when I don't

0:50:32.600 --> 0:50:36.400
<v Speaker 2>know what to do, I do this. Because it's not

0:50:36.520 --> 0:50:41.359
<v Speaker 2>strategy that blesses your life. It is surrender. Father.

0:50:41.440 --> 0:50:43.640
<v Speaker 1>You see all these hands lifted to you right now.

0:50:44.840 --> 0:50:49.719
<v Speaker 2>Everything they're caring, every burden that they bear, we place

0:50:49.760 --> 0:50:53.640
<v Speaker 2>it on Jesus. We see angels ascending and descending on

0:50:53.680 --> 0:50:58.280
<v Speaker 2>the son of Man. Jesus, the burden bear, the shame remover,

0:50:59.239 --> 0:51:02.480
<v Speaker 2>the way maker, the God who is always with us.

0:51:03.719 --> 0:51:06.319
<v Speaker 2>Put your hands down for a moment. If your head's

0:51:06.320 --> 0:51:08.520
<v Speaker 2>bowed and your eyes closed, is there one here today,

0:51:08.560 --> 0:51:11.759
<v Speaker 2>even just one who God brought you here and met

0:51:11.800 --> 0:51:14.759
<v Speaker 2>you here? Because you need to give your life to

0:51:14.880 --> 0:51:18.680
<v Speaker 2>Jesus Christ. Maybe you've been running from God, or maybe

0:51:18.760 --> 0:51:22.560
<v Speaker 2>you've never really even stopped to consider it. But I

0:51:22.600 --> 0:51:24.319
<v Speaker 2>believe that God brought you to this moment so that

0:51:24.360 --> 0:51:29.440
<v Speaker 2>you could give him your heart. Right now, in the

0:51:29.480 --> 0:51:33.759
<v Speaker 2>stillness of this moment, I want to lead you in

0:51:33.800 --> 0:51:36.239
<v Speaker 2>a prayer, and if you are ready to give your

0:51:36.239 --> 0:51:38.960
<v Speaker 2>life to Jesus Christ, I want you to repeat this

0:51:39.040 --> 0:51:41.040
<v Speaker 2>prayer after me. Now, the prayer is not magical. The

0:51:41.080 --> 0:51:44.600
<v Speaker 2>prayer does not save you. God saves you. The Bible

0:51:44.640 --> 0:51:46.720
<v Speaker 2>says that if you confess with your mouth that Jesus

0:51:46.800 --> 0:51:48.799
<v Speaker 2>is Lord, and believe in your heart God raised him

0:51:48.840 --> 0:51:52.120
<v Speaker 2>from the dead, you will be saved. So right now,

0:51:52.239 --> 0:51:54.160
<v Speaker 2>this is your day, and God is calling you home.

0:51:54.400 --> 0:51:56.360
<v Speaker 2>I want you to repeat after me. We're going to

0:51:56.400 --> 0:51:58.880
<v Speaker 2>pray it out loud as a church family for the

0:51:58.880 --> 0:52:01.680
<v Speaker 2>benefit of those who are coming to God. Repeat after me,

0:52:01.920 --> 0:52:06.720
<v Speaker 2>Heavenly Father, I am a sinner in need of a savior,

0:52:07.719 --> 0:52:12.200
<v Speaker 2>and I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of

0:52:12.200 --> 0:52:17.520
<v Speaker 2>God and the Savior of the world. And today I

0:52:17.640 --> 0:52:22.000
<v Speaker 2>make Jesus the Lord of my life. I believe he

0:52:22.080 --> 0:52:27.239
<v Speaker 2>died that I would be forgiven and rose again to

0:52:27.320 --> 0:52:32.560
<v Speaker 2>give me life. I receive this new life. This is

0:52:33.440 --> 0:52:38.360
<v Speaker 2>my new beginning. I am a child of God. On

0:52:38.440 --> 0:52:40.600
<v Speaker 2>the counter, three, shoot your hand up high in the air.

0:52:40.600 --> 0:52:42.680
<v Speaker 2>If you prayed that one. Two chree.

0:52:42.719 --> 0:52:43.880
<v Speaker 1>I want to celebrate with you.

0:52:44.719 --> 0:52:51.960
<v Speaker 2>Praise the Lord. That's awesome. Less God, come on, let's go.

0:52:52.120 --> 0:52:57.640
<v Speaker 2>That's amazing. Thank you for joining us. Special thanks to

0:52:57.680 --> 0:53:00.560
<v Speaker 2>those of you who give generously to this ministry. Is

0:53:00.600 --> 0:53:03.600
<v Speaker 2>because of you that this ministry is possible. You can

0:53:03.640 --> 0:53:06.480
<v Speaker 2>click the link in the description to give now or

0:53:06.600 --> 0:53:10.920
<v Speaker 2>visit Elevationchurch dot org slash podcast for more information and

0:53:10.960 --> 0:53:14.160
<v Speaker 2>if you enjoyed the podcast, you can subscribe. You can

0:53:14.200 --> 0:53:16.640
<v Speaker 2>share it with your friends. You can click the share button,

0:53:16.680 --> 0:53:19.120
<v Speaker 2>take a screenshot and share it on your social stories

0:53:19.120 --> 0:53:20.799
<v Speaker 2>and tag us at Elevation Church.

0:53:20.880 --> 0:53:21.880
<v Speaker 1>Thanks again for listening.

0:53:21.920 --> 0:53:27.520
<v Speaker 2>God bless you.