WEBVTT - I Can’t Stay Here (Earl McClellan) 0:00:01.560 --> 0:00:02.840 Hey, this is Stephen Ferdick. 0:00:02.840 --> 0:00:05.880 I'm the pastor of Elevation Church and this is our podcast. 0:00:05.920 --> 0:00:08.360 I wanted to thank you for joining us today. Hope 0:00:08.360 --> 0:00:11.080 this inspires you. Hope it builds your faith. Hope it 0:00:11.080 --> 0:00:13.600 gives your perspective to see God is moving in your life. 0:00:13.880 --> 0:00:14.720 Enjoy the message. 0:00:18.000 --> 0:00:19.480 Hello, Elevation family. 0:00:19.560 --> 0:00:21.000 You ready for a great day today? 0:00:21.079 --> 0:00:21.239 Or what? 0:00:22.520 --> 0:00:25.480 Hey? Stay standing at every cabinis if you would not mind. 0:00:25.600 --> 0:00:29.360 I'm so so honored privileged to be here with each 0:00:29.400 --> 0:00:31.480 and every one of you. I know I'm not as 0:00:31.520 --> 0:00:35.320 handsome as Pastor Stephen, but I love the same God 0:00:35.360 --> 0:00:38.919 as him for sure, and excited to see what the 0:00:38.920 --> 0:00:43.000 Lord has in store for all of us today. It's 0:00:43.120 --> 0:00:46.279 another Sunday, or maybe somebody could be watching this at 0:00:46.280 --> 0:00:48.440 another point in time throughout the week. But for us, 0:00:48.520 --> 0:00:53.720 right now, it's Sunday and another day at the beginning 0:00:53.760 --> 0:00:57.840 of a week that God has given all of us. 0:00:58.000 --> 0:00:58.640 It's an honor. 0:00:58.840 --> 0:01:01.920 Not everybody gets this gift, not everybody has this moment 0:01:02.000 --> 0:01:06.080 right here, and this being such a life giving, amazing 0:01:06.160 --> 0:01:08.760 church week in and week out, you know, we lift 0:01:08.840 --> 0:01:11.320 up the name of Jesus. But I do recognize that 0:01:11.400 --> 0:01:14.119 our weeks can sometimes be hard, right, you can come 0:01:14.160 --> 0:01:17.240 through just some stuff. You don't have to raise your hand. 0:01:17.480 --> 0:01:19.840 I'm sure some of us have been through some things 0:01:20.440 --> 0:01:22.880 this week. We're like, I just got to get to church. 0:01:22.920 --> 0:01:25.880 I just gotta get there. Maybe my wife's there this weekend, 0:01:25.959 --> 0:01:27.959 let me get there. Maybe maybe my husband's there. Let 0:01:28.000 --> 0:01:31.119 me just get there. But maybe my breakthrough is there. 0:01:32.560 --> 0:01:33.440 I gotta get there. 0:01:34.760 --> 0:01:39.320 But it's very very possible for something to be interesting 0:01:39.640 --> 0:01:46.880 but not to be moving. It's possible for something to 0:01:46.959 --> 0:01:50.280 be very very essential but it not to be personal. 0:01:54.360 --> 0:02:03.840 And something can even be informational but not transformational. We're 0:02:03.880 --> 0:02:06.360 gonna be opening up the Bible in a few moments, 0:02:07.840 --> 0:02:10.240 and there's some things that might be interesting, but we're 0:02:10.280 --> 0:02:12.280 not just wanting them to be interesting. We want them 0:02:12.280 --> 0:02:16.960 to be moving. Do you know? For the nerds that 0:02:17.000 --> 0:02:20.120 are in the room and online right now, the Sun 0:02:20.360 --> 0:02:22.919 su and is the largest star in our galaxy. 0:02:23.000 --> 0:02:26.040 Some of y'all knew that it's the one. 0:02:26.240 --> 0:02:30.280 It's the this this star right here. Actually everything in 0:02:30.360 --> 0:02:34.880 our in our solar system revolves around it. It has 0:02:35.040 --> 0:02:37.360 the hottest part of the Sun is at its core. 0:02:37.600 --> 0:02:40.720 I think some scientists believe the Sun's actually gonna burn 0:02:40.760 --> 0:02:43.320 out in like five billion years or something. 0:02:43.360 --> 0:02:44.320 I've read that somewhere. 0:02:44.800 --> 0:02:49.239 See all that that might be interesting, it's not moving 0:02:51.840 --> 0:02:55.360 you and I can't even exist without that su and Sun. 0:02:55.480 --> 0:02:58.160 But even hearing that it's essential, But all that stuff 0:02:58.160 --> 0:03:01.800 doesn't even feel that personal. It might be informational, but 0:03:01.840 --> 0:03:08.519 it's not transformational. But today we're not gonna talk about 0:03:08.520 --> 0:03:14.280 the Sun Son. Today we're gonna talk about the Son Son. 0:03:15.240 --> 0:03:18.600 Colossians Chapter one tells us that the Sun is the 0:03:18.639 --> 0:03:22.120 image of the invisible God, the first born over all creation. 0:03:22.440 --> 0:03:25.239 From him and to him and through him are all things, 0:03:25.280 --> 0:03:27.080 and in him all things. 0:03:26.840 --> 0:03:27.680 Are held together. 0:03:27.960 --> 0:03:31.880 The Bible tells us that even heaven and earth, everything 0:03:32.040 --> 0:03:36.200 comes from him. He is the first born from among 0:03:36.280 --> 0:03:38.400 the dead, so that in everything he. 0:03:38.360 --> 0:03:40.040 Might have the supremacy. 0:03:40.080 --> 0:03:44.000 We're gonna talk today about the Son of God, and 0:03:44.080 --> 0:03:47.960 I pray that it's not just informational. I pray today 0:03:48.200 --> 0:03:51.880 that God would transform us from the inside out, that 0:03:52.040 --> 0:03:55.200 we would not leave wherever we are the same way 0:03:55.520 --> 0:03:59.000 we came in. Can you, in this moment lift your 0:03:59.120 --> 0:04:03.640 heart and your faith and say, God, move me today. 0:04:04.000 --> 0:04:10.880 God changed me today. God opening my eyes today. I 0:04:11.080 --> 0:04:16.800 need you so God, in the name of Jesus, at 0:04:16.839 --> 0:04:22.120 every single location wherever we may be, I thank you 0:04:22.160 --> 0:04:28.360 that today is not just another Sunday. Today is not 0:04:28.560 --> 0:04:32.760 just today where we're opening up some old tages. No, God, 0:04:32.800 --> 0:04:35.719 we're opening your word and it's alive and active and 0:04:35.800 --> 0:04:41.040 sharper than any double edged sword. Would you move us today? 0:04:42.000 --> 0:04:46.359 Would you change us today? Would you help us to 0:04:46.440 --> 0:04:51.840 look more like you? Carry us? Sustain us, push us 0:04:51.880 --> 0:04:56.719 forward in Jesus stain we pray, Amen and amen. At 0:04:56.720 --> 0:04:59.000 every location, can we clap our hands? Come on? Can 0:04:59.040 --> 0:05:02.400 you give God? Pray and give somebody a high five 0:05:02.440 --> 0:05:05.479 and say, hey, I'm a move today. I'm a move today. 0:05:05.520 --> 0:05:08.080 Tell him I'm a move today and you may be seated. 0:05:08.960 --> 0:05:14.720 I'm a move today. I am fired up to. 0:05:14.800 --> 0:05:18.000 Be here at Ella Patient Church. 0:05:18.760 --> 0:05:24.039 Come on. I love your pastors so much, both Pastor 0:05:24.120 --> 0:05:29.360 Steven and Pastor Holly. They are two of the most authentic, 0:05:29.520 --> 0:05:33.760 life giving, generous, kind people I've ever had the opportunity 0:05:33.920 --> 0:05:36.599 to meet. We actually had the opportunity to sit with 0:05:36.640 --> 0:05:39.400 them at a birthday party not too long ago. We 0:05:39.440 --> 0:05:41.680 had a mutual friend who was having a birthday party, 0:05:41.680 --> 0:05:45.320 and I wanted to tell you your pastor got up and 0:05:45.400 --> 0:05:49.120 shared such life giving words about this individual, and I 0:05:49.160 --> 0:05:52.760 just appreciate that someone that has as big of a 0:05:52.880 --> 0:05:57.240 world as he does is interested in making other people's 0:05:57.320 --> 0:06:00.800 worlds as big as they can possibly be. He is 0:06:00.839 --> 0:06:04.920 an individual that is like, how can I make you better? 0:06:05.040 --> 0:06:08.240 How can I lift you up? His wife as well. 0:06:08.360 --> 0:06:11.479 I'm gonna tell you all this right now. Please be 0:06:11.680 --> 0:06:14.520 the best church you can possibly be to your pastors. 0:06:15.120 --> 0:06:17.280 If you're not praying for him, start praying for him. 0:06:18.240 --> 0:06:21.320 They need to know that you got him covered. It's 0:06:21.440 --> 0:06:23.880 easy to comment. Can you be the one to cover? 0:06:25.040 --> 0:06:27.320 Can you be the one that says I have your back? 0:06:27.360 --> 0:06:29.600 Can you be the one to say I love you 0:06:29.680 --> 0:06:33.560 so much? Even if the sermon that week you feel like, man, 0:06:33.720 --> 0:06:35.880 that wasn't for me, that was for somebody else, you 0:06:35.920 --> 0:06:38.080 walk up and say that was the best sermon I've 0:06:38.120 --> 0:06:41.120 ever heard in my entire life. You speak words of life, 0:06:41.360 --> 0:06:44.799 words of encouragement, and don't just speak the words serve. 0:06:48.080 --> 0:06:52.480 Jump on a team, being an e group. These are 0:06:52.560 --> 0:06:57.160 the things Pastor seven and Pastor Holly are trying to build, 0:06:57.520 --> 0:07:02.200 not something for themselves, something for the Kingdom of God 0:07:02.800 --> 0:07:05.520 and something to lift and make your family all that 0:07:05.560 --> 0:07:08.920 God has called it to be. Don't waste this moment. 0:07:09.000 --> 0:07:12.760 What a gift God has given you and me and 0:07:12.840 --> 0:07:16.280 this world. And Pastor Stephen and Pastor Holly'll yeah, you 0:07:16.320 --> 0:07:18.280 can clap your hands for sure. I'll say this last thing. 0:07:18.440 --> 0:07:19.960 I'm gonna open up the text. I gotta say this 0:07:20.040 --> 0:07:24.400 last thing. Our church is twelve years old now, and 0:07:24.560 --> 0:07:29.000 I remember before our church got started reading Sun Stands Still. 0:07:31.040 --> 0:07:36.160 I remember seeing the videos of the baptisms that were happening. 0:07:37.120 --> 0:07:39.080 Remember we were sitting in our living room. There were 0:07:39.120 --> 0:07:42.280 only twelve of us who were on the team at 0:07:42.320 --> 0:07:44.200 that point in time. The whole church was in the 0:07:44.240 --> 0:07:46.600 living room at that point in time. And we're watching 0:07:47.000 --> 0:07:49.920 these videos and it's been humbling to see all that 0:07:49.960 --> 0:07:53.000 God has done in and through our church Shoreline City 0:07:53.240 --> 0:07:56.600 over the last twelve years. But I know if you 0:07:56.800 --> 0:07:59.240 dig deep into the soil of our church, you're going 0:07:59.320 --> 0:08:03.080 to see all this residue and all these seeds of elevation. 0:08:03.240 --> 0:08:05.720 So I want to say thank you church for being 0:08:05.840 --> 0:08:09.000 faithful and lifting up the name of Jesus Christ the 0:08:09.040 --> 0:08:11.880 way you do. Because you have impacted our lives more 0:08:11.920 --> 0:08:15.320 than you can ever possibly imagine. I even shave my 0:08:15.440 --> 0:08:20.240 head to look like chunks. That's what I did. So 0:08:20.320 --> 0:08:22.240 thank you, Chunks for keeping your head shaved. 0:08:22.240 --> 0:08:23.840 To love you so much. Amy. 0:08:23.920 --> 0:08:25.840 Hey, we're gonna open up God's word today. You guys 0:08:25.840 --> 0:08:28.040 read it? You guys ready, go with me? Go with 0:08:28.160 --> 0:08:39.320 me to second Second King, Second Kings, Chapter seven, Second Kings, 0:08:39.480 --> 0:08:44.280 Chapter seven. We're gonna begin reading in verse number three. 0:08:45.760 --> 0:08:47.559 If you didn't bring your Bible, gonna put the verses 0:08:47.600 --> 0:08:50.120 on the screen so that you can follow along with us. 0:08:51.200 --> 0:08:55.320 Second Kings, Chapter seven, Verse number three. It says, now 0:08:55.400 --> 0:08:59.560 there were four men with leprosy at the entrance of 0:08:59.640 --> 0:09:04.600 the city gate. They said to each other, why stay 0:09:04.720 --> 0:09:06.320 here until we die? 0:09:07.960 --> 0:09:09.960 If we say, we'll. 0:09:09.720 --> 0:09:13.160 Go into the city, the famine is there and we 0:09:13.200 --> 0:09:17.400 will die. And if we stay here, we will die. 0:09:18.520 --> 0:09:20.559 So let's go over to the camp of the Arameenes 0:09:20.559 --> 0:09:21.760 and surrender. 0:09:22.480 --> 0:09:27.719 If they spare us, we live. If they kill us, 0:09:29.520 --> 0:09:31.000 then we die. 0:09:31.600 --> 0:09:37.200 Amen. For those of you like to take notes, the 0:09:37.200 --> 0:09:44.960 title of today's message is I can't stay here. I 0:09:45.160 --> 0:09:52.719 can't stay here. I can't All of us. You know this, 0:09:52.840 --> 0:09:58.520 All of us are someplace. Duh, you're in a place 0:09:58.600 --> 0:10:01.040 right now. You're at one of our location. You're online, 0:10:01.080 --> 0:10:03.720 you're in your living room, you're at a coffee shop, 0:10:03.760 --> 0:10:06.680 you're in some part of the world. You're in this building, 0:10:06.800 --> 0:10:10.000 you're in a chair. Yes, you're someplace physically, but all 0:10:10.080 --> 0:10:17.720 of us are someplace emotionally, financially, mentally, even professionally. You know, 0:10:17.760 --> 0:10:19.960 you went and got your master's degree, and then you 0:10:20.040 --> 0:10:22.040 keep on interviewing but can't get a job because everybodys 0:10:22.040 --> 0:10:24.240 saying you're overqualified. You're like, what does that mean? Just 0:10:24.280 --> 0:10:30.440 give me a job. I'm somewhere. I'm somewhere emotionally, I'm 0:10:30.480 --> 0:10:33.280 somewhere relationally. Some of us don't have a ring on 0:10:33.320 --> 0:10:36.079 our finger. We want to have a ring on our finger. 0:10:36.120 --> 0:10:39.520 We're at church this weekend to find our boas. 0:10:41.240 --> 0:10:42.600 That's a church stoke boas. 0:10:42.760 --> 0:10:48.120 Right there, You're some place. There's someplace even in our 0:10:48.160 --> 0:10:50.319 physical bodies, right. I mean, I don't know about y'all, 0:10:50.520 --> 0:10:52.679 but I've got this backfat that won't go away. 0:10:53.040 --> 0:10:54.640 I keep on trying to do planks. 0:10:54.760 --> 0:10:56.880 But it's like Earl, I ain't leaving, okay, I'm staying 0:10:56.920 --> 0:10:57.880 right here with you. 0:10:57.960 --> 0:11:00.240 It's me and you for the rest of your life. 0:11:00.240 --> 0:11:06.520 Brother, we're all some place, every single one of us, 0:11:06.559 --> 0:11:08.200 and some of us are in a good place. And 0:11:08.240 --> 0:11:11.040 it's nice to be in a good place. When you're 0:11:11.080 --> 0:11:13.240 in a good place, like with your finances, you did 0:11:13.240 --> 0:11:15.520 to Dave Ramsey, like, right, you did it. You got 0:11:15.520 --> 0:11:18.640 your thousand dollars, you got my emergency fun. Yeah, I'm 0:11:18.679 --> 0:11:24.080 snowballing right now. Yeah, yeah, yeah, let my car break down. 0:11:24.280 --> 0:11:27.280 I got the money. You know, you're feeling feeling good. 0:11:28.120 --> 0:11:29.520 I'm in a good place. 0:11:29.559 --> 0:11:32.200 It's nice to be in a good place where things 0:11:32.240 --> 0:11:35.880 are clicking on all cylinders, things are moving the right direction. 0:11:36.240 --> 0:11:39.440 It's like every three you take it's nothing but net 0:11:39.480 --> 0:11:44.319 You're like, yes, I'm feeling it. I'm good, I'm strong. 0:11:44.679 --> 0:11:47.439 A good place is great, for sure, But even even 0:11:47.480 --> 0:11:49.439 it's interesting, a good place can become a grave. 0:11:49.600 --> 0:11:53.720 You know this, If you stop growing. 0:11:53.480 --> 0:11:56.040 Even a good place can become a grave. Because you're like, 0:11:56.080 --> 0:11:59.120 my marriage is good. I'm just gonna preserve it. You 0:11:59.240 --> 0:12:02.120 just can't press. You gotta keep going on date nights. 0:12:02.120 --> 0:12:05.000 You gotta keep telling her she's beautiful. You gotta keep 0:12:05.040 --> 0:12:07.760 on patting your hubby on the booty and going you're cute. 0:12:09.720 --> 0:12:10.400 That too much for you? 0:12:10.480 --> 0:12:13.679 With that too much? That too much. I'm talking to 0:12:13.720 --> 0:12:15.320 spouses now, I'm talking to spouses. 0:12:15.320 --> 0:12:19.200 All right. You gotta keep that fire alive. 0:12:19.240 --> 0:12:21.720 A good place can become a grave if you don't 0:12:21.760 --> 0:12:24.160 keep growing. So we want to make sure we keep 0:12:24.200 --> 0:12:26.920 on growing. If your business is like at a place 0:12:26.960 --> 0:12:28.600 you never thought it would be, it's like it's in 0:12:28.679 --> 0:12:31.760 a good spot. You can get into preservation mode. It's 0:12:31.800 --> 0:12:34.920 so possible. Like I don't want anything bad to happen. 0:12:34.960 --> 0:12:38.679 But you didn't get there by not pursuing and taking risks. 0:12:38.760 --> 0:12:42.000 You got there because you trusted God, and we're believing 0:12:42.080 --> 0:12:44.120 him for more. So I just want to encourage you. 0:12:44.400 --> 0:12:46.600 Don't get just stuck in a good place trying to 0:12:46.640 --> 0:12:52.000 protect it. No, But when I say I can't stay here, 0:12:52.080 --> 0:12:55.520 some of youall aren't thinking about a good place. You're 0:12:55.520 --> 0:13:03.360 thinking about uh bad place. Tough. I can't stay here. 0:13:05.640 --> 0:13:10.520 I can't stay in this marriage like this. I can't 0:13:10.559 --> 0:13:14.800 stay here. I didn't sign up. I didn't say I 0:13:14.840 --> 0:13:20.880 do so i'd have a roommate. I'm trying to have 0:13:21.160 --> 0:13:23.240 my soulmate. I want I want to I want to 0:13:23.240 --> 0:13:26.000 have a connection with someone, and now we're sleeping in 0:13:26.080 --> 0:13:29.520 different bedrooms and we're not talking about divorce, but we're 0:13:29.520 --> 0:13:34.640 thinking about it. I can't stay here. I can't stay 0:13:34.679 --> 0:13:38.040 here with my dad. I can't stay here with how 0:13:38.160 --> 0:13:41.160 tired I am? Why am I so tired all the time? 0:13:41.200 --> 0:13:43.040 Why am I or why does it always feel like 0:13:43.080 --> 0:13:45.160 I'm way down? Why do I Why don't I have 0:13:45.240 --> 0:13:48.200 the joy that I used to have? Where'd my fire go? 0:13:48.280 --> 0:13:51.720 Where where'd my energy go? Why? Why am I waking up? 0:13:51.720 --> 0:13:54.080 And I want to just stay in the bed? I 0:13:54.120 --> 0:13:57.480 can't stay here. I can't stay in this depression. I 0:13:57.480 --> 0:14:00.360 don't want this. I'm I'm trying to muster all this smile. 0:14:00.520 --> 0:14:03.679 I can to stand at the door and to greet 0:14:03.720 --> 0:14:06.480 people as they come in, but on the inside, I'm 0:14:06.520 --> 0:14:09.560 feeling like I'm dying. I'm smiling at you, but I 0:14:09.600 --> 0:14:13.400 need you to smile back at me. I can't stay here. 0:14:13.520 --> 0:14:17.040 Can somebody please help me? Can somebody please give me 0:14:17.080 --> 0:14:19.800 some hope? Can somebody please give me some strength? I 0:14:19.880 --> 0:14:32.320 can't stay here numb, maybe even lukewarm? Is the day 0:14:32.480 --> 0:14:37.000 like you're on fire for God? As they say, on fire, 0:14:38.120 --> 0:14:42.040 excited about God? Couldn't help, but keep your hands up. 0:14:43.800 --> 0:14:48.600 And now it's just like they're heavy, Like you're carrying 0:14:48.640 --> 0:14:53.920 two kettlebells and can't lift them way down. 0:14:56.160 --> 0:14:56.800 How about you. 0:14:56.840 --> 0:14:59.520 But family drama too, can be one of the hardest 0:14:59.520 --> 0:15:05.440 things navigating. Man. Oh man, I love my mother in law. 0:15:08.440 --> 0:15:10.080 I love her. Thank you Jesus for. 0:15:14.800 --> 0:15:15.200 Family. 0:15:15.320 --> 0:15:16.080 My family. 0:15:16.280 --> 0:15:18.560 Family. Sorry about that, honey, but family. 0:15:20.000 --> 0:15:23.520 Family. Who remember they were like, have kids? Remember they 0:15:23.520 --> 0:15:26.640 said that have kids? You need you, need you to 0:15:26.640 --> 0:15:28.760 have kids. I'm saying, yeah, I can't wait. Now you're like, 0:15:28.800 --> 0:15:32.960 oh my lord, can I put these kids back? Can 0:15:33.040 --> 0:15:37.320 I gotta get a refund on these kids right here? 0:15:38.440 --> 0:15:39.560 I love them so much. 0:15:39.600 --> 0:15:42.920 But it can it can be taxing, it can be difficult, 0:15:43.040 --> 0:15:46.480 It can be hard. It can be oh doctor's bill, 0:15:46.720 --> 0:15:51.520 Oh soccer game, Oh football game, Oh camp. Oh you 0:15:51.600 --> 0:15:54.960 need skills training here, and then you need skills training there, 0:15:55.360 --> 0:15:57.400 and then we gotta go here, we gotta get ready 0:15:57.400 --> 0:15:59.560 for college over there, and then we I mean, you 0:15:59.640 --> 0:16:02.480 got all this stuff if you're a single person trying 0:16:02.480 --> 0:16:07.080 to navigate, I've got so much on my brain. I'm sixteen, 0:16:07.280 --> 0:16:10.880 seventeen years old, and I'm supposed to have everything figured out. 0:16:10.960 --> 0:16:14.040 And I don't have everything figured out. I don't know 0:16:14.400 --> 0:16:16.880 what college I'm going to. I don't know how I'm 0:16:16.920 --> 0:16:19.320 gonna pay for college. I don't even know what's gonna 0:16:19.360 --> 0:16:23.440 happen to my mom and my dad. Help me, somebody. 0:16:23.560 --> 0:16:26.440 I can't stay here. 0:16:30.240 --> 0:16:31.640 So it brings us to our text. 0:16:33.080 --> 0:16:36.800 In The Two Kings, chapter seven, verses three and four, 0:16:37.800 --> 0:16:43.840 there are four lepers and they are sitting there now 0:16:43.920 --> 0:16:45.840 leprosy back in the day. 0:16:46.760 --> 0:16:49.040 Well, this would be a disease. 0:16:49.120 --> 0:16:51.080 We don't know if it was like exactly leprosy. It 0:16:51.120 --> 0:16:53.360 guess to be some type of skin disorder, but it 0:16:53.400 --> 0:16:56.960 would make you unclean. I mean, at that point in time, 0:16:57.040 --> 0:17:01.200 you have certain rules where you're not allowed to be 0:17:01.280 --> 0:17:05.280 around certain people, you can't touch certain things. And hear 0:17:05.440 --> 0:17:09.919 these four lepers and they're all hanging out together. You 0:17:10.200 --> 0:17:13.280 have to read the rest of the even chapter six 0:17:13.400 --> 0:17:14.480 and chapter seven, they. 0:17:14.320 --> 0:17:16.960 Really go together. But when you read them. 0:17:17.160 --> 0:17:21.080 You find out that the aramines, the enemy's army has 0:17:21.280 --> 0:17:24.919 surrounded the city and they have been encamped around the 0:17:24.960 --> 0:17:29.800 city for so long, and they're basically suffocating God's kids 0:17:29.880 --> 0:17:34.879 to death. They're not letting any food or water in 0:17:36.000 --> 0:17:39.119 it got dark. I mean it got very very dark. 0:17:39.200 --> 0:17:43.880 Individuals were doing some of the most heinous crimes, even 0:17:43.920 --> 0:17:46.360 against their own family. You can read it. I don't 0:17:46.359 --> 0:17:49.160 want to say it because I might lose your attention. 0:17:49.400 --> 0:17:52.359 That's how horrific the things are that we're going on 0:17:52.680 --> 0:17:58.240 in the text. So this is a tough place. It's 0:17:58.280 --> 0:18:01.880 a hard, difficult spot that they are in. They are 0:18:01.880 --> 0:18:04.840 in a place they do not want to be like 0:18:05.040 --> 0:18:12.320 some of us. So they're sitting there outside the city gate. 0:18:13.000 --> 0:18:15.040 They're not allowed to go into the city because they're lepers. 0:18:16.400 --> 0:18:19.320 The sitting there and they start talking to each other 0:18:20.440 --> 0:18:22.520 and we get a look seat into their conversation. 0:18:23.520 --> 0:18:27.640 And these guys we find out are crazy. 0:18:28.359 --> 0:18:29.920 You gotta have a couple of friends like this, just 0:18:29.960 --> 0:18:32.399 so you know, you gotta have a couple leper friends 0:18:32.400 --> 0:18:38.200 and a little it's a little bit off. You can't 0:18:38.240 --> 0:18:40.080 have everybody in your left it's just real squeaky clean. 0:18:40.119 --> 0:18:42.720 You gonna have somebody to be like I'll pull up 0:18:42.760 --> 0:18:44.520 right now. You gotta have a couple of people like 0:18:44.560 --> 0:18:47.480 that in your life and in your corner. Don't get 0:18:47.520 --> 0:18:49.680 so saved that you can't throw hands right. You want 0:18:49.680 --> 0:18:56.760 to make sure if something pops off, call your boy you. 0:18:57.119 --> 0:19:02.760 So you're the leopers are sitting there and they say, Okay, 0:19:04.160 --> 0:19:08.240 we're gonna die here, We're gonna die. We sit here, 0:19:08.800 --> 0:19:13.160 we're gonna die. If we're going to the city, we're 0:19:13.160 --> 0:19:17.720 definitely gonna die. But if we go to the enemy's camp, 0:19:19.240 --> 0:19:23.399 they're probably gonna kill us too. But they might not 0:19:23.600 --> 0:19:35.159 kill us with the enemies camp. Maybe they'll take us 0:19:35.240 --> 0:19:38.760 like as prisoners, and we'll at least get some food. 0:19:40.119 --> 0:19:44.600 So they're sitting there in this deductive reasoning, they get 0:19:44.720 --> 0:19:45.760 to the place where they go. 0:19:46.520 --> 0:19:51.119 I know, if I stay in this exact same spot. 0:19:52.720 --> 0:19:57.440 And I keep thinking the exact same way, and I 0:19:57.600 --> 0:20:02.600 keep doing the exact same thing thing, then this right 0:20:02.800 --> 0:20:05.840 here is going to bring me to a place of death. 0:20:06.320 --> 0:20:11.440 And I know I do not want to die right here, 0:20:11.680 --> 0:20:15.040 so I've got to do something. I like these guys. 0:20:15.119 --> 0:20:18.440 I like these guys because they do not get hung 0:20:18.560 --> 0:20:23.880 up on what they can't do. They start thinking about 0:20:23.920 --> 0:20:27.240 what can I do. They don't get hung up on 0:20:27.440 --> 0:20:30.639 what I don't have. They start thinking about what. 0:20:31.240 --> 0:20:32.159 Do I have. 0:20:33.080 --> 0:20:35.160 So for you and I I am praying that while 0:20:35.200 --> 0:20:37.560 you are you and I are in those spots of frustration. 0:20:37.880 --> 0:20:39.760 We're in those places of like, Okay, how do I 0:20:39.800 --> 0:20:41.560 get my company to that next level? How do I 0:20:41.640 --> 0:20:43.240 get my marriage out of this spot? How do I 0:20:43.320 --> 0:20:45.000 get my single life here? How do I get my 0:20:45.080 --> 0:20:47.320 thought life there? How to get my physical body here? 0:20:47.359 --> 0:20:48.920 How to get my finances there? I don't want to 0:20:48.920 --> 0:20:50.120 stay here. I don't want to stay here. I don't 0:20:50.119 --> 0:20:51.960 want to stay here. You and I get stuck so 0:20:52.040 --> 0:20:54.240 many times because like I can't do this, I can't 0:20:54.280 --> 0:20:56.040 do that, I can't do this, I can't do that. 0:20:56.280 --> 0:20:57.920 But I'm trying to get you to see it from 0:20:57.920 --> 0:21:01.040 another perspective. I wonder if this period of God today 0:21:01.280 --> 0:21:03.840 could help you and I learn from some lepers, and 0:21:03.960 --> 0:21:06.800 some lepers would be sitting there outside the city gate 0:21:06.960 --> 0:21:10.040 and then decided to say, I know some things I 0:21:10.240 --> 0:21:12.960 don't have, but I do have some things that I 0:21:13.080 --> 0:21:16.080 can do, at least as an enemy's camp that I 0:21:16.160 --> 0:21:18.840 can head to, at least as a place I can go. 0:21:19.040 --> 0:21:22.200 I wonder where you can go. I wonder what e 0:21:22.400 --> 0:21:25.160 group is there for you. I wonder what prayer group 0:21:25.280 --> 0:21:28.040 is there for you. I wonder what campus pastor wants 0:21:28.080 --> 0:21:30.200 to lay hands on you to help you get out 0:21:30.280 --> 0:21:33.119 of the spot that you're in. I wonder what friend 0:21:33.240 --> 0:21:35.880 is there. I wonder who is around you right now 0:21:35.960 --> 0:21:38.240 that you can't see them because you keep thinking. 0:21:38.040 --> 0:21:39.320 About what you don't have. 0:21:39.480 --> 0:21:42.280 In God's like, I have put you in a community 0:21:42.640 --> 0:21:45.680 of faith that will stand with you and stand beside 0:21:45.720 --> 0:21:47.320 you and help you become all that I've. 0:21:47.200 --> 0:21:47.760 Called you to be. 0:21:48.160 --> 0:21:58.000 What do you have? What do you have? What can 0:21:58.119 --> 0:22:04.159 you do? Because it's something, there's something you can do, 0:22:06.040 --> 0:22:11.240 it's something you do have. Because I can't stay. 0:22:12.520 --> 0:22:12.720 Here. 0:22:15.200 --> 0:22:19.399 I can't. If you're on a team and everybody on 0:22:19.480 --> 0:22:21.400 the team keeps telling you you're a complainer, but you say, 0:22:21.400 --> 0:22:23.280 I'm not a complainer. I'm not a complainer. But you're like, oh, well, 0:22:23.320 --> 0:22:24.600 they keep saying you're complaining. Then you I'm not a 0:22:24.640 --> 0:22:26.960 complain I'm coming out a complainer. Then maybe maybe you're 0:22:26.960 --> 0:22:33.520 a complainer. And it's a frustrating place to be, but 0:22:33.560 --> 0:22:37.359 you go, I can't stay here, And instead of just 0:22:37.520 --> 0:22:40.000 ejecting yourself out of the place where God has you, 0:22:40.160 --> 0:22:42.600 maybe he's trying to change something on the inside of 0:22:42.680 --> 0:22:44.959 you because he knows what he has for your future, 0:22:45.240 --> 0:22:47.320 so he's trying to tell you hey, friend, friend, I 0:22:47.440 --> 0:22:51.200 love you. But you can't stay here with how you 0:22:51.400 --> 0:22:54.760 think everybody's against you. You can't stay here with how 0:22:54.800 --> 0:22:57.760 you see the world. You can't stay here with how 0:22:57.880 --> 0:23:01.600 you process information. You can't stay here with how you 0:23:01.720 --> 0:23:04.320 just skip past the word of God. You can't stay 0:23:04.400 --> 0:23:06.960 here with how you don't ever pray, and how you 0:23:07.040 --> 0:23:09.560 don't ever give, and how you don't ever serve. You 0:23:09.720 --> 0:23:13.920 can't stay here. If you stay there, you will die. 0:23:15.320 --> 0:23:17.600 So these guys go, look with me. In verse number five, 0:23:17.840 --> 0:23:19.239 come on, keep on going with me. We'll walk through 0:23:19.240 --> 0:23:20.600 the Bible here. You guys, ready, you're with me, You 0:23:20.720 --> 0:23:20.960 with me? 0:23:21.520 --> 0:23:22.080 Versu five. 0:23:22.160 --> 0:23:26.000 Look at dusk, Chapter seven, Verse number five. At dust 0:23:26.040 --> 0:23:28.880 they got up and went to the camp of the Aramians. 0:23:29.880 --> 0:23:33.680 Everybody say, at duska, that's important. At dusk they got 0:23:33.760 --> 0:23:35.160 up and went to the camp of the Aramians. When 0:23:35.200 --> 0:23:38.120 they reached the edge of the camp, no one was there. 0:23:39.960 --> 0:23:44.639 For the Lord had caused the airmens to hear the 0:23:44.800 --> 0:23:49.720 sound of chariots and horses and a great army, so 0:23:49.880 --> 0:23:53.280 that they said to one another, look, the King of 0:23:53.400 --> 0:23:56.960