WEBVTT - Kingdom Clout Part 1 0:00:01.960 --> 0:00:05.040 Hey, this is Stephen Ferdik. I'm the pastor of Elevation Church, 0:00:05.080 --> 0:00:07.000 and this is our podcast and I wanted to thank 0:00:07.040 --> 0:00:10.360 you for joining us today. Hope this inspires you. Hope 0:00:10.360 --> 0:00:12.399 it builds your faith. Hope it gives your perspective to 0:00:12.440 --> 0:00:15.160 see God is moving in your life. Enjoy the message, 0:00:17.400 --> 0:00:22.599 Matthew twenty verse twenty. I'd love to say that I 0:00:22.680 --> 0:00:25.040 planned to start the year twenty twenty with Matthew twenty 0:00:25.120 --> 0:00:28.400 verse twenty. I did not plan that that. Maybe God did. 0:00:28.400 --> 0:00:31.320 That was coincidental. I'm not that smart, but God is. 0:00:31.640 --> 0:00:34.800 Matthew twenty twenty is the verse I want to start 0:00:34.840 --> 0:00:37.760 with today, And let me read this in its entirety, 0:00:38.640 --> 0:00:41.879 and then come along and preach behind it and give 0:00:41.920 --> 0:00:45.320 you a little bit along and along, Matthew twenty verse twenty. 0:00:45.880 --> 0:00:48.519 Then the mother of Zebedee's sons came to Jesus with 0:00:48.600 --> 0:00:51.599 her sons and kneeling down as the favor of him. 0:00:51.640 --> 0:00:54.080 What is it you want, he asked, and she said, 0:00:54.120 --> 0:00:56.760 grant that one of these two sons of mine may 0:00:56.840 --> 0:00:59.800 sit at your right and the other at your left 0:01:00.400 --> 0:01:03.400 in your kingdom. You do not know what you are asking, 0:01:03.520 --> 0:01:06.800 Jesus said to them, can you drink the cup I 0:01:06.840 --> 0:01:13.280 am going to drink? We can? They answer, that's kind 0:01:13.280 --> 0:01:19.000 of cocky, you know we can. And Jesus said to them, 0:01:19.040 --> 0:01:21.520 you will indeed drink from my cup, But to sit 0:01:21.560 --> 0:01:24.040 at my right or left is not for me to grant. 0:01:24.880 --> 0:01:28.440 These places belonged to those for whom they have been 0:01:28.440 --> 0:01:31.880 prepared by my father. And when the ten heard about this, 0:01:32.440 --> 0:01:35.920 they were indignant with the two brothers. Jesus called them 0:01:35.920 --> 0:01:38.520 together and said, you know that the rulers of the 0:01:38.560 --> 0:01:42.880 gentiles lorded over them, and their high officials exercise authority 0:01:42.920 --> 0:01:47.680 over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to 0:01:47.800 --> 0:01:53.080 become great among you must be your servant, and whoever 0:01:53.160 --> 0:01:56.120 wants to be first, must be your slave, just as 0:01:56.160 --> 0:01:59.000 the Son of Men did not come to be served, 0:01:59.560 --> 0:02:02.600 but to and to give his life as a ransom 0:02:03.520 --> 0:02:09.080 for many. Amen. What a fascinating little story. What a 0:02:09.080 --> 0:02:12.360 great place to talk about this subject of kingdom clout 0:02:12.880 --> 0:02:15.640 And before I forget this, Holly said it stressed her 0:02:15.639 --> 0:02:17.520 out last night because I didn't give a title for 0:02:17.560 --> 0:02:20.840 the message. She said, she couldn't hardly listen to me 0:02:20.960 --> 0:02:23.200 or notice how attractive I look in this red track 0:02:23.320 --> 0:02:28.080 jacket because I didn't give a title. So for those 0:02:28.480 --> 0:02:34.920 OCD Saints, this is Kingdom Clout Part one. You good, 0:02:35.600 --> 0:02:42.360 Let's go. My series ideas don't come from brainstorming sessions. 0:02:42.400 --> 0:02:46.960 They come from conversations. And my favorite person to talk 0:02:47.000 --> 0:02:49.720 to about the sermons that I'm going to preach is 0:02:49.800 --> 0:02:54.000 not Bishop TD Jakes. He's my favorite preacher. I heard 0:02:54.000 --> 0:02:57.200 a rumor he might be coming to preach for our anniversary, 0:02:57.840 --> 0:03:01.080 but he's not my favorite per to talk to about 0:03:01.120 --> 0:03:03.880 my sermons. When I really want to talk about a sermon, 0:03:04.200 --> 0:03:06.840 I love to talk to my fourteen year old, my 0:03:06.960 --> 0:03:13.919 firstborn son, Elijah dash Beats on YouTube Thirdy. He is insightful. 0:03:14.880 --> 0:03:18.720 He helps me to understand concepts really through his eyes. 0:03:19.160 --> 0:03:21.760 That and he has such a great way of getting 0:03:21.840 --> 0:03:25.120 excited about what I'm preaching. He gets it quick before 0:03:25.120 --> 0:03:26.720 I even tell him what I'm going to preach. It's 0:03:26.760 --> 0:03:29.440 like we have this thing and he gets it. And 0:03:29.520 --> 0:03:32.080 my best sermons that I ever preached came from me 0:03:32.160 --> 0:03:34.600 talking to him. If I track them back, even if 0:03:34.639 --> 0:03:37.640 I go to on YouTube. The highest sermons that people 0:03:37.680 --> 0:03:39.960 watch and say it helped me came from talking to 0:03:40.040 --> 0:03:42.080 him and don't get any ideas that I'm gonna start 0:03:42.120 --> 0:03:44.560 giving you a cut or anything like that. But I 0:03:44.600 --> 0:03:47.640 really appreciate you earning your keep around the house because 0:03:49.280 --> 0:03:52.000 when you think about the ages of our children, it 0:03:52.040 --> 0:03:54.600 may help you to understand the subjects that I choose 0:03:54.920 --> 0:04:01.000 for my messages fourteen, twelve, and eight. Having a brilliant 0:04:01.000 --> 0:04:06.520 fourteen year old son affords you the ability to relive 0:04:06.760 --> 0:04:12.360 parts of your life through their eyes and really to 0:04:12.440 --> 0:04:15.120 give them advice that you didn't take when you were 0:04:15.120 --> 0:04:20.280 their age, either to tell them things you know that 0:04:21.480 --> 0:04:26.520 they need to do that you didn't do. And so 0:04:26.839 --> 0:04:31.560 when Elijah started talking to me about clout cloud chasers 0:04:32.160 --> 0:04:35.240 and how people do anything for clout, I think he 0:04:35.320 --> 0:04:38.799 was quoting Offset or one of the other theologians from 0:04:38.920 --> 0:04:44.880 those three Apostles, but he was saying, how you know 0:04:45.240 --> 0:04:47.680 cloud chasing because listen, how many of y'all are like me, 0:04:47.720 --> 0:04:51.520 you're thirty eight years old or older. Things are so 0:04:51.680 --> 0:04:56.000 different now for kids, they really are, like these days, 0:04:56.120 --> 0:05:01.000 kids are really obsessed with popularity. It's different than it 0:05:01.040 --> 0:05:03.880 was when we were kids. You know, we were focused 0:05:03.880 --> 0:05:09.320 on serving God and making a difference in our world. 0:05:09.520 --> 0:05:16.480 These days, kids will do anything for clout. They're driven 0:05:16.800 --> 0:05:21.280 and obsessed by what people think about them. They spend 0:05:21.320 --> 0:05:24.680 their time trying to prove stuff to people who aren't 0:05:24.720 --> 0:05:32.920 even paying attention. It's different than it is. Wait a minute, 0:05:33.440 --> 0:05:37.159 you know, for all of us who have ever said 0:05:37.160 --> 0:05:41.159 something stupid like you shouldn't care what people think about you, 0:05:42.200 --> 0:05:46.360 that is the worst advice that you could ever give. 0:05:47.640 --> 0:05:51.479 Please care what people think about you. Please brush your teeth, 0:05:52.160 --> 0:05:57.479 Please wear the odoran, please smile, please be nice. It's 0:05:57.560 --> 0:06:00.520 okay to care what people think about you, is not 0:06:01.240 --> 0:06:05.080 okay to be controlled by what people think about you. 0:06:10.240 --> 0:06:14.479 In Matthew Chapter twenty, Jesus has just finished giving his 0:06:14.600 --> 0:06:19.919 disciples two consecutive lessons on the Kingdom of God. The 0:06:20.040 --> 0:06:23.920 Kingdom of God was not a new concept, but Jesus 0:06:24.000 --> 0:06:28.040 was the first one who called it that. In Matthew's Gospel, 0:06:28.120 --> 0:06:31.559 you'll see the phrase the Kingdom of the heavens. Because 0:06:31.600 --> 0:06:34.599 the Jewish audience that Matthew was writing to would be 0:06:34.640 --> 0:06:37.760 offended if he used the name of God. It was 0:06:37.800 --> 0:06:40.680 not to be spoken, so he referenced it in a 0:06:40.720 --> 0:06:44.840 more abstract way, the Kingdom of the heavens. You'll see 0:06:44.880 --> 0:06:48.520 it in other Gospels. The Kingdom of God. It was 0:06:48.560 --> 0:06:52.440 preached about over one hundred times through the mouth of Jesus. 0:06:53.080 --> 0:06:56.360 But he didn't just preach about it. He demonstrated it 0:06:57.560 --> 0:07:01.120 everywhere he went. He taught the Kingdom of God, not 0:07:01.240 --> 0:07:03.720 so much that they could learn it by principle, but 0:07:03.760 --> 0:07:07.279 so that they could observe it by demonstration. How many 0:07:07.360 --> 0:07:09.840 know a good sermon is one you can see and hear, 0:07:11.200 --> 0:07:13.840 and Jesus did just that. He would teach it, and 0:07:13.880 --> 0:07:16.200 then he would do it. He would talk about it, 0:07:16.520 --> 0:07:19.800 and then he would transformatively heal or bless or forgive. 0:07:20.280 --> 0:07:24.080 And he was demonstrating everywhere he went this Kingdom of God. 0:07:24.680 --> 0:07:29.040 It was not the kingdom that his disciples expected. It 0:07:29.080 --> 0:07:32.120 was not a kingdom that delivered them from Roman oppression. 0:07:32.560 --> 0:07:36.160 That's what they wanted, that's what they prayed for. And 0:07:36.200 --> 0:07:39.120 you could make the case that for the twelve disciples 0:07:39.120 --> 0:07:43.119 that he chose, they signed up to see his kingdom come. 0:07:43.680 --> 0:07:48.200 They signed up that they could witness his kingdom, But 0:07:48.400 --> 0:07:52.200 when they saw it, they almost missed it because they 0:07:52.200 --> 0:07:55.120 were looking for something so different than what he came 0:07:55.160 --> 0:07:58.280 to bring that it was right in front of them, 0:07:58.680 --> 0:08:01.920 but they were looking past to something in the future 0:08:02.600 --> 0:08:06.040 that Jesus did not even intend to bring, which was 0:08:06.120 --> 0:08:11.520 political deliverance, which was an economic deliverance, which was a 0:08:11.680 --> 0:08:15.440 military reign or rule. But Jesus came to preach the 0:08:15.560 --> 0:08:20.520 Kingdom of God. This particular instance in the ministry of 0:08:20.600 --> 0:08:24.240 Jesus did not happen at the beginning, but it was 0:08:24.360 --> 0:08:27.520 just before his ministry would start to come to a 0:08:27.560 --> 0:08:32.800 close on Earth. The Bible says that this mother of 0:08:32.920 --> 0:08:37.040 Zebede's sons came to Jesus with their sons and kneeling down, 0:08:37.200 --> 0:08:41.360 asked the favor of him. I think the most profound 0:08:41.440 --> 0:08:45.600 question is the one that Jesus asked next. And the 0:08:45.679 --> 0:08:48.880 question sounds simple on the surface, but let's take a 0:08:48.920 --> 0:08:51.319 moment and think about it. As a new year begins, 0:08:51.400 --> 0:08:56.600 Jesus asked this mother, what is it you want? What 0:08:56.880 --> 0:09:01.960 is it you want? We all have a list, but 0:09:02.120 --> 0:09:06.000 usually in church we are taught to downplay our desires 0:09:07.240 --> 0:09:09.559 and to pray prayers that we don't really mean because 0:09:09.559 --> 0:09:15.000 they sound good, but they're plastic. What I admire about 0:09:15.000 --> 0:09:19.040 this mother in the passage is that she got honest 0:09:19.120 --> 0:09:23.560 with Jesus and said, I want my boys to have 0:09:23.800 --> 0:09:28.920 vip seating in your kingdom. Don't you love somebody who 0:09:29.000 --> 0:09:33.080 will be honest about what they want. Don't you ever 0:09:33.120 --> 0:09:35.400 have people who call you on the phone and you 0:09:35.520 --> 0:09:37.800 just want to tell them cut the crap and tell 0:09:37.840 --> 0:09:39.640 me what you want. I know you're not calling to 0:09:39.720 --> 0:09:41.720 check on me. You never do. Do you need twenty 0:09:41.760 --> 0:09:43.400 dollars I'll cash ap you just to get off this 0:09:43.440 --> 0:09:47.600 phone right now? What do you want? Or even with 0:09:47.720 --> 0:09:49.360 my kids, you know, I love being a dad, but 0:09:49.400 --> 0:09:53.560 when they're being too nice, there's something behind it. How 0:09:53.640 --> 0:09:55.880 was your day, dad? Okay, you can have more video 0:09:55.960 --> 0:09:57.720 game time, blah blah blah blah blah. Well you want, 0:09:57.840 --> 0:10:00.720 let's just get to it. But Jesus is asking the 0:10:00.800 --> 0:10:04.080 question not on the level of inconvenience, like what do 0:10:04.160 --> 0:10:07.840 you want? Because everything the woman is doing, this mother 0:10:07.920 --> 0:10:11.839 of Zebede's sons, is on the surface exactly what you 0:10:11.880 --> 0:10:14.880 should do. Let's look at it real quick. She comes 0:10:14.880 --> 0:10:18.840 to Jesus, that's what you're supposed to do. I think 0:10:19.520 --> 0:10:21.960 I don't know where else to go. How many have 0:10:22.040 --> 0:10:23.440 something in your life that people can't do for you 0:10:23.440 --> 0:10:24.600 and only God can do for you? And the only 0:10:24.640 --> 0:10:26.040 way you're gonna get it is. God gets it to 0:10:26.080 --> 0:10:28.720 you when you come to him. That's why I came 0:10:28.760 --> 0:10:31.480 to church to get something from God. I didn't come 0:10:31.520 --> 0:10:33.200 here to hear the same thing I hear on the 0:10:33.240 --> 0:10:35.720 news that the world has falling apart. I came for 0:10:35.800 --> 0:10:39.400 a gospel message, that there's something greater than who sits 0:10:39.440 --> 0:10:42.640 in an office, that there is a kingdom that cannot 0:10:42.640 --> 0:10:47.800 be saken. Have we gotta access. I'm sorry trying to 0:10:47.840 --> 0:10:55.240 pace myself. So she came to Jesus. She came to 0:10:55.280 --> 0:10:59.640 the right person. She knelt before him, she had the 0:10:59.720 --> 0:11:03.600 right place posture, she brought her sons, she had the 0:11:03.679 --> 0:11:07.160 right priorities. What parent doesn't want their kids to go 0:11:07.200 --> 0:11:11.520 to the best school. But this takes helicopter Mom to 0:11:11.559 --> 0:11:14.960 a whole new level, because these boys are thirty years old, 0:11:19.400 --> 0:11:25.320 still setting up play dates, and they got a beard. 0:11:24.760 --> 0:11:29.640 And these disciples, these are not just any disciples. I 0:11:29.679 --> 0:11:31.439 want to show you something. Can I show you something? 0:11:31.960 --> 0:11:35.560 I'm gonna do it anyway. Mark Chapter three. The Bible 0:11:35.600 --> 0:11:39.120 gives an indication of who Jesus chose when he came 0:11:39.160 --> 0:11:42.719 to set up his kingdom. Notice this, the Kingdom of 0:11:42.760 --> 0:11:46.600 God had already been established, but it had never been 0:11:46.640 --> 0:11:50.640 reflected in human form. And so when Jesus got ready 0:11:50.679 --> 0:11:53.400 to show what the Kingdom of God looked like, he 0:11:53.440 --> 0:11:56.640 could have come looking like thor he could have come 0:11:56.720 --> 0:12:00.840 looking like Dwayne Johnson. He could have come with biceps. 0:12:01.240 --> 0:12:04.680 But he came as a baby. That's fascinating to me 0:12:05.080 --> 0:12:07.800 to know that when he wanted to show us the kingdom, 0:12:08.080 --> 0:12:12.000 he started with the ultimate emblem of weakness. He did 0:12:12.040 --> 0:12:16.240 not start with deliverance. He started with diapers. Because everything 0:12:16.360 --> 0:12:19.720 God brings into your life will come in a small form. 0:12:20.160 --> 0:12:24.240 It will seem insignificant in the beginning stages. That's why 0:12:24.280 --> 0:12:27.880 you can't despise the day of small beginnings. You gotta 0:12:28.000 --> 0:12:31.600 celebrate some baby steps this year. You got to realize 0:12:31.720 --> 0:12:35.280 God is working in my life even if people don't 0:12:35.280 --> 0:12:38.439 see it. To celebrate it. People don't know to celebrate 0:12:38.520 --> 0:12:42.240 what they can't see. So celebrate yourself for a moment 0:12:42.559 --> 0:12:46.120 that you came to church on this weekend to get 0:12:46.160 --> 0:12:52.840 a word from God. I said, celebrate yourself that you 0:12:53.040 --> 0:13:03.720 came to church this weekend. I need you to know 0:13:03.760 --> 0:13:14.400 that Jesus picks people who have problems. Peter Andrew, James 0:13:14.440 --> 0:13:17.960 and John look at this passage in Mark three. And 0:13:18.000 --> 0:13:21.560 I still haven't gotten over this. So if I read 0:13:21.600 --> 0:13:25.400 it slow is to keep from getting choked up, because 0:13:25.440 --> 0:13:28.880 I am someone who struggles a lot of times with 0:13:29.040 --> 0:13:34.480 believing that God chose me. And when I read this 0:13:34.679 --> 0:13:40.000 about how Jesus was calling his disciples to establish his kingdom, 0:13:40.880 --> 0:13:47.560 he didn't go to a seminary. He went to the 0:13:47.640 --> 0:13:55.960 sea found four fishermen. The first four Peter, Andrew, James, 0:13:56.679 --> 0:14:00.480 and John. And it says that in March three, in 0:14:00.520 --> 0:14:03.880 such a beautiful way, that Jesus went up on a 0:14:03.920 --> 0:14:07.280 mountain side and called to him those he wanted, and 0:14:07.320 --> 0:14:12.079 they came to him. He appointed twelve, designating them apostles, 0:14:12.480 --> 0:14:15.040 that they might be with him, and that he might 0:14:15.160 --> 0:14:18.840 send them out to preach and to have authority to 0:14:18.960 --> 0:14:24.840 drive out demons. I said, to have authority, not just 0:14:24.880 --> 0:14:30.000 to get attention. We live in a time where people 0:14:30.040 --> 0:14:36.360 don't know the difference between attention and authority. Can I 0:14:36.440 --> 0:14:44.360 preach like I'm sixty five. It's embarrassing to me that 0:14:44.400 --> 0:14:48.040 we have created a generational perspective that doesn't know the 0:14:48.080 --> 0:14:57.480 difference between greatness and fame, And now it's coming up 0:14:57.520 --> 0:14:59.960 in a time and if you don't believe me, grabs 0:15:00.120 --> 0:15:03.320 somebody that looks like they're younger than you and ask them, 0:15:03.400 --> 0:15:06.960 would you rather be rich or famous? Don't even put 0:15:07.000 --> 0:15:10.400 God in the question, save that for later. Would you 0:15:10.520 --> 0:15:14.400 rather have money or followers? And if they really get 0:15:14.440 --> 0:15:16.760 honest about what they want, they will tell you. It 0:15:16.840 --> 0:15:19.920 is a culturally pervasive issue of our day and it's 0:15:20.000 --> 0:15:22.640 the devil and is short sighted. And I came to 0:15:22.680 --> 0:15:26.080 preach about it. And I'm not salty, but I am serious. 0:15:26.680 --> 0:15:38.040 Everybody famous isn't great, and you're ready. Everybody great ain't famous, 0:15:40.120 --> 0:15:44.440 So somebody on your row might be great and you 0:15:44.560 --> 0:15:49.440 don't even know their name. I came to preach about 0:15:49.600 --> 0:15:54.080 Kingdom Cloud. I have a name that's registered in heaven. 0:15:54.800 --> 0:15:58.479 My name is written in the Lamb's Book of Life. 0:15:58.640 --> 0:16:02.400 And I might not have Alu, but he set his 0:16:02.680 --> 0:16:10.360 red blood for me and I'm his. But I'm getting 0:16:10.360 --> 0:16:15.200 ahead of myself. This is a five week series, and 0:16:15.240 --> 0:16:20.320 I gotta go slow. It said he chose them to 0:16:20.400 --> 0:16:25.200 be with him and to preach. He chose them to 0:16:25.280 --> 0:16:29.280 be with him and to preach. When we meet somebody, 0:16:29.320 --> 0:16:33.560 we identify them by what they do. Hey, I'm Jerry, 0:16:33.960 --> 0:16:38.400 I'm Stephen. What do you do? He called them notice 0:16:38.440 --> 0:16:44.000 the order, to be with him and to preach, so 0:16:44.080 --> 0:16:46.000 that what they do would flow out of who they were. 0:16:47.680 --> 0:16:50.080 But when you define who you are by what you do, 0:16:52.040 --> 0:16:56.360 it's shaky ground. So before he called them to do it, 0:16:56.400 --> 0:16:59.840 he called them to be it, and real kingdom authority 0:17:00.280 --> 0:17:05.879 from knowing who you are, whose you are, and not 0:17:06.040 --> 0:17:09.920 allowing this crazy world to define you by what you do, 0:17:10.800 --> 0:17:17.119 what you have, what you wear. So let me tell 0:17:17.119 --> 0:17:20.639 you somebod didn't tellhim last night. There was a preacher 0:17:20.640 --> 0:17:22.640 that was talking to me the other day about my shoes. 0:17:25.280 --> 0:17:30.359 He didn't ask me anything about a sermon, exegesis, insight 0:17:30.440 --> 0:17:33.720 from the text, or the Holy Ghost. He wanted to 0:17:33.720 --> 0:17:37.840 know about sneakers. How about these? How about those? I said, Man, 0:17:37.880 --> 0:17:40.959 I don't know. Most of the stuff I wear somebody 0:17:40.960 --> 0:17:42.840 gave to me. I don't even know what it's called. 0:17:43.359 --> 0:17:45.560 And now half of it's an Elijah's closet because he's 0:17:45.560 --> 0:17:47.040 my size, and I don't even get to wear it 0:17:47.080 --> 0:17:52.880 before he steals it. And it bothered me because when 0:17:52.880 --> 0:17:58.320 we started the church, Hollywood, go buy me button down 0:17:58.640 --> 0:18:01.080 a shirt because I had a superition. Every weekend. I 0:18:01.080 --> 0:18:02.920 wanted to wear something new, but we didn't have any money, 0:18:03.119 --> 0:18:05.920 so she would find a two ninety nine clearance at Dillers. 0:18:07.040 --> 0:18:09.880 But I was proud of it because when I would 0:18:09.880 --> 0:18:11.720 put it on and i'ld give myself a haircut, and 0:18:11.760 --> 0:18:13.680 I didn't know how to fade my hair, I only 0:18:13.720 --> 0:18:15.479 had one guard on the thing. I didn't know how 0:18:15.520 --> 0:18:17.720 to fade. I didn't know how to dress. I didn't 0:18:17.760 --> 0:18:21.919 know how to do anything. But I was called anointed, appointed, passionate, 0:18:22.080 --> 0:18:25.919 fired up, charged up, I was, I was, I was, 0:18:26.160 --> 0:18:30.199 I was set apart. And what I wanted you to know. 0:18:30.680 --> 0:18:35.040 I was so proud of those three dollar shirts from dollars. 0:18:35.960 --> 0:18:41.240 I was anointed in those three dollars shirts from Dillers. See, 0:18:41.440 --> 0:18:45.199 when you really got something from God, it is not 0:18:45.359 --> 0:18:50.359 about externals. The external is fine, but it is the 0:18:50.400 --> 0:18:53.560 spirit of God that makes you gring. It is not 0:18:53.680 --> 0:18:57.320 an income level. It is not a number of followers. 0:18:57.640 --> 0:19:01.320 It is not clicks and comments and all this crap 0:19:01.400 --> 0:19:04.760 that the world calls cloud. When you have a father 0:19:05.240 --> 0:19:09.399 who is in heaven, who knows your name, who chose you, 0:19:09.760 --> 0:19:12.600 who called you, you can do what you gotta do 0:19:12.920 --> 0:19:30.200 because it's in you. And he called to him those 0:19:30.240 --> 0:19:34.720 he wanted. Did you see that he called those he wanted? 0:19:36.720 --> 0:19:43.680 He called those he wanted because God has options. There's 0:19:43.680 --> 0:19:51.119 a difference between having clout and being chosen clout. People 0:19:51.160 --> 0:19:59.320 can give it, they can take it away. Josennah, Josnnah, 0:20:00.240 --> 0:20:05.720 crucify him within a seventy two hour period. They will 0:20:05.800 --> 0:20:12.520 change their mind. Oh God, they'll change their mind. But 0:20:12.640 --> 0:20:19.120 when you're called and chosen, he called Look at verse thirteen, 0:20:19.560 --> 0:20:23.879 those he wanted. What does it feel like to be 0:20:23.960 --> 0:20:34.720 wanted like that? See how happy you get? See? God 0:20:34.880 --> 0:20:39.719 has options. Sometimes you don't be honest. Sometimes you hang 0:20:39.760 --> 0:20:41.560 out with people because they were the only one available. 0:20:43.520 --> 0:20:47.440 Sometimes you hire somebody because they were the best available candidate. 0:20:47.680 --> 0:20:51.560 You make it work. God looks for exactly what he wants. 0:20:52.240 --> 0:20:55.359 And I don't mean to get biological, but he fertilizes 0:20:55.480 --> 0:20:58.160 the right egg at the right moment. Do you realize 0:20:58.200 --> 0:21:00.840 the percentage chance of you being being born when you 0:21:00.880 --> 0:21:03.280 were born to do what you do? And you're gonna 0:21:03.320 --> 0:21:06.440 walk around in self doubt trying to figure out if 0:21:06.480 --> 0:21:09.920 God chose you. You ought to know. God shows you 0:21:09.920 --> 0:21:12.520 you ought to believe God shows you, and you ought 0:21:12.520 --> 0:21:15.680 to go through your light with your head held high, 0:21:15.920 --> 0:21:19.120 no matter what is in your bank account. Because I'm 0:21:19.280 --> 0:21:28.520 so sick. Where's Eric? I know he had to sit 0:21:28.560 --> 0:21:30.760 in the back today because something. Yeah, he used to 0:21:30.760 --> 0:21:32.640 always tell them, because they would make fun of him 0:21:32.640 --> 0:21:34.639 for being adopted when we were in high school. And 0:21:34.680 --> 0:21:42.080 he say, my parents picked me, yours got stuck and 0:21:42.160 --> 0:21:47.359 shut him up real quick too. My father picked me. 0:21:52.320 --> 0:21:56.960 He wanted you in the earth right now, and he 0:21:57.000 --> 0:22:00.600 wanted you short, or he wanted you tall, or he 0:22:01.119 --> 0:22:05.280 wanted you to have experienced this set of circumstances or 0:22:05.359 --> 0:22:09.639 the other. And he got what he wanted, and he 0:22:09.720 --> 0:22:15.800 called what he wanted. He called what he wanted beautiful. Man. 0:22:16.600 --> 0:22:18.520 Let's stay in it for a moment. Sometimes we rush 0:22:18.560 --> 0:22:22.640 past stuff too quick. Who did he choose? It lists them, 0:22:22.720 --> 0:22:24.400 It lists them, It listened them. No, I'm talking about 0:22:24.400 --> 0:22:30.080 the twelve Disciples, not you right now. Uh, it gives 0:22:30.119 --> 0:22:34.040 a list. These are the twelve. Everybody say, twelve twenty 0:22:34.080 --> 0:22:36.000 two minutes to do this, y'all pray for me. All right, 0:22:36.480 --> 0:22:38.480 we'll pick it up next week. I'll do what I 0:22:38.480 --> 0:22:40.159 can do this week. Clear the parking lots so we 0:22:40.200 --> 0:22:43.280 don't have any fistfights, and then we'll come back next week. 0:22:43.840 --> 0:22:46.919 Come every week for the series. We're gonna build on it. 0:22:47.640 --> 0:22:49.840 We're gonna build on this. Don't come to me like 0:22:50.040 --> 0:22:52.640 once every four weeks and then wonder why you don't 0:22:52.640 --> 0:22:56.280 get any stronger. I'm gonna need you to come regularly 0:22:56.320 --> 0:22:58.479 so we can build on this, and then we can 0:22:58.520 --> 0:23:00.480 get it in with repetition to talk about the Kingdom 0:23:00.520 --> 0:23:04.720 of God. It's always invisible to the human eye, it's 0:23:04.760 --> 0:23:09.520 always insignificant to the human mind, and it is always immediate. 0:23:10.160 --> 0:23:14.480 It's right now. The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand. 0:23:15.400 --> 0:23:18.760 That was the first message Jesus preached. He said, repent, 0:23:19.040 --> 0:23:22.240 change your mind medanoia in the Greek for the Kingdom 0:23:22.400 --> 0:23:27.399 of Heaven is at hand. And when he established his kingdom, 0:23:27.680 --> 0:23:34.520 he chose certain candidates, and he chose twelve. He chose twelve, 0:23:35.200 --> 0:23:43.600 and he appointed those he wanted. He made you her mom, 0:23:43.680 --> 0:23:48.520 he made you her daughter. He put you in that. 0:23:48.640 --> 0:23:51.280 He let you have that because he believes in you 0:23:51.359 --> 0:23:58.680 that much. He called those he wanted, and who did 0:23:58.680 --> 0:24:03.600 he want, Simon, to whom he gave the name Peter. 0:24:04.640 --> 0:24:07.080 You may know him for his profanity more than for 0:24:07.160 --> 0:24:09.960 his preaching, because he was cussing when Jesus was about 0:24:10.000 --> 0:24:12.960 to go to the cross. That's the first round draft 0:24:12.960 --> 0:24:20.800 pick two. People never pick correctly. People never do. They 0:24:20.920 --> 0:24:23.200 never picked Tom Brady first. People never know what they're 0:24:23.240 --> 0:24:27.600 looking for. People never see what's inside. And people will 0:24:27.600 --> 0:24:32.280 celebrate all the wrong stuff. People will celebrate when you 0:24:32.359 --> 0:24:34.920 lose weight, Wow, you've lost weight, but keep it off. 0:24:34.960 --> 0:24:41.639 They won't say anything. Who we don't celebrate consistency. You 0:24:41.680 --> 0:24:44.120 know another thing about people. I'm getting into week two already. 0:24:44.720 --> 0:24:47.520 They will celebrate a talent or a gift, but not 0:24:47.600 --> 0:24:57.400 effort because we're crazy, because we need Grammys and Academy 0:24:57.400 --> 0:25:03.720 awards and compliments from people who are insecure themselves. And 0:25:03.760 --> 0:25:05.280 then if they don't give us a compliment, we don't 0:25:05.320 --> 0:25:07.440 think we did anything. But it's their insecurity that kept 0:25:07.440 --> 0:25:09.800 them from giving a compliment, not anything deficient in us. 0:25:10.040 --> 0:25:15.359 And people don't know what to celebrate. Even in a 0:25:15.400 --> 0:25:21.080 good sermon, people clap at the wrong times. And so 0:25:21.560 --> 0:25:24.320 when Jesus was choosing, he chose on the basis of 0:25:24.359 --> 0:25:26.439 something that he could see that they couldn't. And so 0:25:26.480 --> 0:25:29.120 the scripture says he chose Simon, to whom he gave 0:25:29.160 --> 0:25:32.919 the name Peter. He liked the nickname people. Everybody in 0:25:32.960 --> 0:25:35.000 our family has a nickname. I don't call any of 0:25:35.000 --> 0:25:36.760 my kids by their real name. And they don't even 0:25:36.800 --> 0:25:38.520 call me dad. They call me much. And it's a 0:25:38.520 --> 0:25:40.439 long story. I don't have time to explain it. But 0:25:40.560 --> 0:25:43.680 Jesus started that. He called people stuff that he knew 0:25:43.720 --> 0:25:52.040 they were, that they didn't know yet. So he'll call 0:25:52.080 --> 0:25:56.320 you righteous while you're still struggling with addiction. So he'll 0:25:56.320 --> 0:25:59.520 call you an influencer when nobody else knows your name. 0:26:00.520 --> 0:26:02.920 So he will call you great when the world will 0:26:02.960 --> 0:26:05.560 trample over you to get what they think is great. 0:26:06.640 --> 0:26:09.160 And he called those he wanted, and he called them 0:26:09.160 --> 0:26:11.040 to be with him. And when he called them, he 0:26:11.080 --> 0:26:14.480 called Simon and he said, you're Peter petross Rock. Youre's 0:26:14.480 --> 0:26:17.920 something I can build on. Here's something I can build on. 0:26:18.840 --> 0:26:23.240 Then he called James, son of Zebedee, the one from 0:26:23.280 --> 0:26:28.199 Matthew twenty. Remember he chose him and his brother John. 0:26:28.760 --> 0:26:32.280 You may recognize him because he had a whole gospel 0:26:32.320 --> 0:26:40.240 called John. Not a trick question. You'll think I'm messing 0:26:40.280 --> 0:26:42.760 with you. He wrote the Gospel of John, and he 0:26:42.840 --> 0:26:46.000 always called himself the disciple Jesus loved. That's not what 0:26:46.119 --> 0:26:49.560 Jesus called him. Look what Jesus called him, James son 0:26:49.600 --> 0:26:51.600 of Zebede, and his brother John. To them, he gave 0:26:51.640 --> 0:26:57.720 the name bo and air jes That's Greek for hot tempered. 0:27:00.359 --> 0:27:08.400 It also means disturbance. He called them that, and then 0:27:08.480 --> 0:27:14.840 he still chose them. Who in here struggles with something 0:27:15.840 --> 0:27:20.240 like a temper or an issue. I swear your wife 0:27:20.280 --> 0:27:21.920 is gonna raise your hand for you if you don't 0:27:21.920 --> 0:27:23.679 get it up real quick. I'm trying to spare you 0:27:23.760 --> 0:27:27.080 some embarrassment. How many of you struggle with something? And 0:27:27.200 --> 0:27:31.400 God can look right past what people trip over and say, 0:27:31.440 --> 0:27:34.480 come on, go with me. We've got a job to do. 0:27:35.080 --> 0:27:37.720 I know you don't see it. I know you don't 0:27:37.760 --> 0:27:45.679 feel it. But the Kingdom of God is at hand, Yes, Lord, 0:27:49.760 --> 0:27:53.280