WEBVTT - The Exchange Zone

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<v Speaker 1>Well, this is an incredibly special worship experience. Today we're

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<v Speaker 1>about to go into the auditorium for a time of

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<v Speaker 1>worship and faith and the Word of God. It's our

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<v Speaker 1>game change your offering weekend. This offering goes toward expansion

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<v Speaker 1>and outreach and ministries just like this. And we're calling

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<v Speaker 1>on our etham, that's what we call our extended family

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<v Speaker 1>all around the world. And now I love it. It's

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<v Speaker 1>so exciting that people join us every single weekend, not

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<v Speaker 1>just here, but all over the world. Yeah, and we

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<v Speaker 1>don't want you to just consume the content. We want

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<v Speaker 1>you to contribute. We want you to be a part

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<v Speaker 1>of this move of God. So if you've been blessed

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<v Speaker 1>by this ministry, this is your opportunity make a sacrificial gift,

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<v Speaker 1>maybe a systematic gift, maybe one time, maybe a monthly

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<v Speaker 1>recurring gift. But we're calling on all of you who

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<v Speaker 1>consider this your etham, your extended family, your church family,

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<v Speaker 1>to make a difference today. As you do. Holly and

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<v Speaker 1>I are praying that God will bless your life in

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<v Speaker 1>amazing ways. So this is it. This is the opportunity

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<v Speaker 1>be a part of this move of God. Let's go

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<v Speaker 1>into worship. I think you're really going to have your

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<v Speaker 1>faith built during this time and the best is ahead.

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<v Speaker 1>We'll worship a little bit more in a few moments

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<v Speaker 1>after the sermon today as we get to bring our

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<v Speaker 1>game change you're offering. So many thousands didn't get to

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<v Speaker 1>last weekend because of the weather. We want everybody to

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<v Speaker 1>have that special moment. But the bad news is, just

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<v Speaker 1>about the time we got the snow cleared out, just

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<v Speaker 1>about the time we got the snow cleared out, we

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<v Speaker 1>get a report that there's a hurricane. And this is

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<v Speaker 1>terrible because we're out here trying to take a game

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<v Speaker 1>changer offering build the Kingdom of God. And then Christine

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<v Speaker 1>the hurricane wants to come preach on our game change

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<v Speaker 1>our series. Now, this woman of God, she hails from Australia.

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<v Speaker 1>Her husband's name is Nick. He is a great strategist

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<v Speaker 1>and a general in the Kingdom of God. We honor you, sir,

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<v Speaker 1>and your beard and your mountain biking. But she is

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<v Speaker 1>a voice of justice and truth for Jesus Christ all

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<v Speaker 1>around the globe and today on this occasion, God has

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<v Speaker 1>sent us a global force in this strategic moment. And

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<v Speaker 1>if you've never heard Christine Kane before you have not

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<v Speaker 1>lived until now. But the good news is there's a

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<v Speaker 1>hurricane in the house. She is the co founder of

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<v Speaker 1>a twenty one fighting human trafficking all around the world.

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<v Speaker 1>She is God's chosen vessel for this moment. Put your

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<v Speaker 1>hands together on every location, Welcome Christine the hurricane. Hey gosh,

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<v Speaker 1>how are you doing. I could not wait to be

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<v Speaker 1>with you. And did you all notice how beautiful the

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<v Speaker 1>weather was today? You know I brought the anointing, don't you.

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<v Speaker 1>That's I didn't want to say anything to Pastor Stephen

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<v Speaker 1>that you iced out last week, but come on, come

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<v Speaker 1>on this week, it is beautiful. I feel like I

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<v Speaker 1>am with family. In case you all don't know who

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<v Speaker 1>I am, I'm your craig cra oussy aunt and everybody

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<v Speaker 1>needs a crazy oussy aunt. And I'm so grateful. I'm

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<v Speaker 1>the bonus track. I've brought the bonus track, so we

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<v Speaker 1>had I'm normally the person on the other side of

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<v Speaker 1>the screen, so all our global eve family, and then

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<v Speaker 1>I'm you know, we got a thousand euro all like rabbits.

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<v Speaker 1>There's a Megian locations like you're like God, just omnipresent

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<v Speaker 1>all over the globe. There you are. But I am

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<v Speaker 1>normally and often no matter where I'm preaching in the world,

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<v Speaker 1>if the time zone works out, well, I get to watch.

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<v Speaker 1>I participate. I'm more than watch. I know you on

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<v Speaker 1>the other side of the screen are more than watching.

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<v Speaker 1>I am part of it all. And you know, I

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<v Speaker 1>always need a good sermon. So there's a pretty good

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<v Speaker 1>preacher here most Sundays, and so I just I just

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<v Speaker 1>come and I get my word from him, and then

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<v Speaker 1>you know, I quote him for the first minute and

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<v Speaker 1>then I say, as I always say, this is my word.

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<v Speaker 1>So it's really hard coming to this pulpit because when

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<v Speaker 1>you preach all past to Stephen sermons and then you've

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<v Speaker 1>got to come to his poolport, You're like, I literally

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<v Speaker 1>asked my husband, I'm going no, he's already preached that,

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<v Speaker 1>he's preached that that's where I got it from. I

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<v Speaker 1>can't do that. And so I had to actually go

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<v Speaker 1>to God, how was that? And which was awesome? But

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<v Speaker 1>I thank God he's raised your house up. I want

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<v Speaker 1>you to stay standing because I want to read something

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<v Speaker 1>over you that as I was preparing. This has nothing

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<v Speaker 1>to do with my sermon, but it's got everything to

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<v Speaker 1>do with this house. And you know when the Queen

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<v Speaker 1>of Sheba came to visit Solomon, King Solomon in the

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<v Speaker 1>Book of First Kings, chapter ten, it says, now when

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<v Speaker 1>the Queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon,

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<v Speaker 1>I want you to know that the sound of elevation

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<v Speaker 1>is around the world. What is coming out of this house.

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<v Speaker 1>And of course you're you know your Grammy nominated songs,

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<v Speaker 1>which are absolutely phenomenal. I have the privilege of sometimes

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<v Speaker 1>being at the same events as your worship team, which

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<v Speaker 1>just represents this house so powerful around the world. But

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<v Speaker 1>you know there's a sound that's coming out of here,

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<v Speaker 1>your pastor, I mean, you've heard of the pulpits if

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<v Speaker 1>you've been a Christian for more than you know, three minutes,

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<v Speaker 1>and most of you haven't here because you're heathen. So

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<v Speaker 1>it's awesome. That's what we love. You're newly saved. But

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<v Speaker 1>you know the great preachers in modern church history, Charles

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<v Speaker 1>Spurgeon in England and Deal Moody in Chicago and Jonathan

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<v Speaker 1>Edwards on the East Coast. Let me just say, this

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<v Speaker 1>pulpit will go down in modern history as powerful as

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<v Speaker 1>the pulpits of those people. Because of the gift on

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<v Speaker 1>your pastor. It is awesome. But she comes in and

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<v Speaker 1>she said, when I heard of the fame of Solomon

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<v Speaker 1>concerning the name of the Lord, she came to test

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<v Speaker 1>him with hard questions. You ever tried to test your

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<v Speaker 1>pastor with hard questions. She came to Jerusalem with a

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<v Speaker 1>very great retinue. I like this part with camels bearing spices.

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<v Speaker 1>I was going to bring my camels, it's Christmas and all,

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<v Speaker 1>but you know I left them in Australia, and very

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<v Speaker 1>much gold and precious stones. And when she came to Solomon,

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<v Speaker 1>she told him all that was on her mind, and

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<v Speaker 1>Solomon answered all her questions. There was nothing hidden from

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<v Speaker 1>the king that he could not explain to her. And

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<v Speaker 1>when the Queen of Sheba had seen all the wisdom

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<v Speaker 1>of Solomon, the house that he had built. I love this.

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<v Speaker 1>God loves having a house built. The Bible says in Chronicles,

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<v Speaker 1>the house that is to be built for the Lord

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<v Speaker 1>must be exceedingly magnificent. We've come here around a game

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<v Speaker 1>changer offering weekend. Can I just tell you we are

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<v Speaker 1>never apologetic a building about building an exceedingly magnificent house

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<v Speaker 1>for God that goes around the world. It says the

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<v Speaker 1>house that he had built, the food on his table,

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<v Speaker 1>I just had some grits. Can I tell you the

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<v Speaker 1>food on the table here in the South is like awesome.

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<v Speaker 1>I don't know if Sheba got grits, but I did.

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<v Speaker 1>The seating of his officials, and the attendance of his servants,

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<v Speaker 1>they're clothing, his cupbearers, and his burnt offerings that he

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<v Speaker 1>offered to the House of the Lord. There was no

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<v Speaker 1>more breath in her. And when I read that earlier

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<v Speaker 1>this week, I thought, that's what it's like. And for

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<v Speaker 1>all of you on the other side of the screen,

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<v Speaker 1>because that's me every week. It's breathtaking. The Queen of

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<v Speaker 1>Sheba came into Solomon's grade ten woy shes My breath

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<v Speaker 1>is taken away. Can I just say, with the way

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<v Speaker 1>that this house glorifies the King of Kings and the

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<v Speaker 1>Lord of Lords and carries the glory of God, you

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<v Speaker 1>are breathtaking. Elevation, Church, you are breathtaking. It is amazing

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<v Speaker 1>what God is doing in and through this house in

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<v Speaker 1>this generation. So I'm believing God that is going to

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<v Speaker 1>speak to every one of our hearts today and you're

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<v Speaker 1>going to realize what a part of history you are.

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<v Speaker 1>I was in Copenhagen and I was raving about the

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<v Speaker 1>beautiful architecture of that city in Denmark. It's just stunning.

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<v Speaker 1>And I come from a nation that's only a couple

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<v Speaker 1>of hundred years old, so anything that's thousands of years old,

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<v Speaker 1>I'm in. The architecture, just the history is breathtaking. And

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<v Speaker 1>I was going on and on and on to the

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<v Speaker 1>cab driver about how beautiful it was. And I'm Greek,

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<v Speaker 1>so I'm highly emotive and I don't stop talking, and

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<v Speaker 1>so I was just going and he started to cry,

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<v Speaker 1>and I thought, Christine, you've really gone overboard this time.

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<v Speaker 1>But he pulled over and he said, you know, do

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<v Speaker 1>you really think our city is this beautiful? I said,

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<v Speaker 1>it's breathtaking. It's just stunning. And he said, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>sometimes you can live right in the midst of it

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<v Speaker 1>and not even see it. And my prayer is that

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<v Speaker 1>here at elevation, that you realize while you're in it,

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<v Speaker 1>that you're in the middle of a modern day miracle

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<v Speaker 1>that one is God is doing in it through this

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<v Speaker 1>house is not normal. It is breathtaking. It is supernatural,

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<v Speaker 1>and God has chosen you to be a part of it.

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<v Speaker 1>So why don't you be seated and turned with me

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<v Speaker 1>to the Book of Hebrews chapter twelve. I'm a coffee lover,

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<v Speaker 1>so Hebrews is one of my favorite favorite I couldn't resist.

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<v Speaker 1>I couldn't resist. I'm sorry. It's as dorky as it comes.

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<v Speaker 1>I've become that preacher. I'm going to read to you

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<v Speaker 1>from Hebrews chapter twelve on both Greek and a woman.

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<v Speaker 1>So I only speak three ways, hard, fast, and continuously.

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<v Speaker 1>So strap yourself in, Strap yourself in. I love that

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<v Speaker 1>I'm talking to so many locations all at once, and

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<v Speaker 1>now he fam I love being on this side because

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<v Speaker 1>I'm always on that side. Okay, sorry, So here we go.

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<v Speaker 1>The Bible says in Hebrews twelve. Therefore, since we are

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<v Speaker 1>surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us

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<v Speaker 1>also someone say me too. Let us also lay aside

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<v Speaker 1>every weight and sin which clings so closely, and let

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<v Speaker 1>us run with endurance the race that is set before us,

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<v Speaker 1>looking to Jesus, the founder and perfector of our faith, who,

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<v Speaker 1>for the joy that was set before him, endured the cross,

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<v Speaker 1>despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand

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<v Speaker 1>of the Throne of God. I love this passage of scripture,

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<v Speaker 1>Hebrews chapter twelve, right there after Hebrews eleven. And you know,

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<v Speaker 1>I always love to say that, even in Australia, Hebrews

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<v Speaker 1>twelve comes after Hebrews eleven. Sometimes you think, because our

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<v Speaker 1>toilets flush back to front in the way that yours

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<v Speaker 1>do here in America, maybe our bibles are back to front.

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<v Speaker 1>But as in most translations, we go Hebrews eleven, the

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<v Speaker 1>Great Hall of Faith, and then Hebrews Chapter twelve. So

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<v Speaker 1>I'm saying that because it starts with therefore, and when

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<v Speaker 1>the word therefore is in the Bible, you've got to

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<v Speaker 1>ask yourself the question, what's it there four? And it's

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<v Speaker 1>therefore coming out of this wonderful chapter talking about these

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<v Speaker 1>men and women of God that were heroes of faith,

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<v Speaker 1>and the scripture tells us the writer to the Hebrews says,

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<v Speaker 1>we need to run with endurance in the same way

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<v Speaker 1>that they ran before us. And why I'm prefacing what

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<v Speaker 1>I'm about to say with this is that sometimes we

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<v Speaker 1>think when it comes to our Christian walk, and especially

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<v Speaker 1>in the Western culture, that most of us are a

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<v Speaker 1>part of we think that it's an individual sprint. Man,

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<v Speaker 1>I'm going to run this race that God has called

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<v Speaker 1>me to. I'm going to fulfill my destiny. You know,

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<v Speaker 1>I'm going to flourish. I'm going to maximum my potential.

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<v Speaker 1>You do you boo? Is the you know mantra of

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<v Speaker 1>this generation. It's just like, you know, worst advice anyone

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<v Speaker 1>could ever give anyone. But anyway, that's another sermon. But

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<v Speaker 1>here is the deal is you just run your little

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<v Speaker 1>leg of the race and just don't worry about anyone else.

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<v Speaker 1>But Scripture teaches us the opposite. It says, therefore, then,

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<v Speaker 1>since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses,

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<v Speaker 1>you see, there are others that have come before us.

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<v Speaker 1>We are part of an eternal divine relay. This is

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<v Speaker 1>not an individual sprint. There are others that have come

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<v Speaker 1>after us, and it's very before us. And it's very

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<v Speaker 1>important that we remember that there are people that have

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<v Speaker 1>come before us in the Christian faith, because if we

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<v Speaker 1>forget that others have run before us, we might just

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<v Speaker 1>forget that there are still others to come after us.

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<v Speaker 1>But when you remember that you're part of an eternal

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<v Speaker 1>divine relay, you will know that in any relay race,

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<v Speaker 1>it doesn't matter how fast any individual runner is, It

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<v Speaker 1>doesn't matter how strong any individual runner is. If there

0:11:59.880 --> 0:12:04.920
<v Speaker 1>is it's not a seamless exchange in the exchange zone,

0:12:05.720 --> 0:12:10.600
<v Speaker 1>whatever happened before falls to the ground and doesn't go anywhere.

0:12:11.160 --> 0:12:13.880
<v Speaker 1>And you know that in a race, you want to

0:12:14.120 --> 0:12:17.920
<v Speaker 1>increase momentum and you want to increase speed, and the

0:12:18.000 --> 0:12:23.959
<v Speaker 1>way that exchange happens one point nine seconds twenty meters

0:12:24.000 --> 0:12:30.000
<v Speaker 1>determines the entire race. Now, I love relay races, and

0:12:30.240 --> 0:12:32.920
<v Speaker 1>because I'm a cheek, I'm predisposed to loving the women's

0:12:32.920 --> 0:12:35.839
<v Speaker 1>for by one hundred meter relay. And when we were

0:12:35.840 --> 0:12:38.800
<v Speaker 1>living in Australia in the year two thousand, Australia hosted

0:12:39.520 --> 0:12:42.320
<v Speaker 1>the Olympic Games and Nick and I got to go

0:12:42.360 --> 0:12:46.280
<v Speaker 1>and watch the final of the women's relay. Now, America,

0:12:46.640 --> 0:12:49.920
<v Speaker 1>on paper, should have won. You're the fastest women's for

0:12:50.040 --> 0:12:53.800
<v Speaker 1>by one hundred meter team, the fastest team in history. Now,

0:12:54.320 --> 0:12:59.160
<v Speaker 1>out of the sixteen Olympic Games before that, the American

0:12:59.200 --> 0:13:01.600
<v Speaker 1>team had won goal medal on nine of them. They

0:13:01.600 --> 0:13:05.200
<v Speaker 1>were the fastest team. Just so good. But what happened was,

0:13:05.280 --> 0:13:08.800
<v Speaker 1>as we were watching this race, what should have been

0:13:08.960 --> 0:13:12.520
<v Speaker 1>just a easy win ended up with a bronze medal

0:13:12.559 --> 0:13:15.800
<v Speaker 1>for the American team because what happened was coming into

0:13:15.840 --> 0:13:20.200
<v Speaker 1>the second exchange, they just got sloppy. They got sloppy

0:13:20.240 --> 0:13:24.280
<v Speaker 1>because they thought, we're the fastest, we're the best, no

0:13:24.320 --> 0:13:26.680
<v Speaker 1>one has beaten us before, so here we go, and

0:13:26.760 --> 0:13:29.560
<v Speaker 1>they got slopped. And while they were sloppy, thinking they'd

0:13:29.600 --> 0:13:32.640
<v Speaker 1>already won, but they were only in the second exchange,

0:13:33.160 --> 0:13:38.679
<v Speaker 1>the Bahamas and Jamaica just came alongside and just took off,

0:13:38.760 --> 0:13:41.600
<v Speaker 1>and then they just could not catch them after that,

0:13:41.880 --> 0:13:44.120
<v Speaker 1>and what should have been a gold became a bronze,

0:13:44.160 --> 0:13:46.439
<v Speaker 1>not because of a lack of skill, talent, or ability,

0:13:46.760 --> 0:13:49.679
<v Speaker 1>but because of a lack of a seamless exchange in

0:13:49.720 --> 0:13:53.280
<v Speaker 1>the exchange zone. They just got sloppy. It is amazing

0:13:53.320 --> 0:13:56.480
<v Speaker 1>how when you get sloppy in your Christianity, you wonder

0:13:56.520 --> 0:13:59.480
<v Speaker 1>why you don't finish your race in the way that

0:13:59.520 --> 0:14:02.760
<v Speaker 1>you should. You wonder when you get sloppy in your

0:14:02.800 --> 0:14:06.000
<v Speaker 1>approach to an exchange zone, because in our faith there

0:14:06.000 --> 0:14:09.120
<v Speaker 1>are always divine moments of exchange, whether you are either

0:14:09.160 --> 0:14:12.080
<v Speaker 1>going to accelerate and gain momentum or you are either

0:14:12.080 --> 0:14:14.480
<v Speaker 1>going to de accelerate and then wonder why you didn't

0:14:14.480 --> 0:14:17.880
<v Speaker 1>finish where you should have finished, both individually and corporately

0:14:17.920 --> 0:14:20.720
<v Speaker 1>as a church. Churches that go from strength to strength

0:14:20.840 --> 0:14:23.840
<v Speaker 1>don't miss the exchange zone. When we have a moment

0:14:23.920 --> 0:14:26.640
<v Speaker 1>like our game change are offering weekend, we realize this

0:14:26.680 --> 0:14:29.680
<v Speaker 1>is a divine exchange zone. We realize we're coming into

0:14:29.680 --> 0:14:32.119
<v Speaker 1>an exchange zone where we're either going to gain momentum

0:14:32.160 --> 0:14:36.120
<v Speaker 1>and acceleration or whether we are just going to be sloppy.

0:14:36.720 --> 0:14:39.360
<v Speaker 1>And so here's what happens in two thousand and four

0:14:39.480 --> 0:14:42.920
<v Speaker 1>in the Athens Olympic Games. I'm thinking America is going

0:14:42.960 --> 0:14:46.000
<v Speaker 1>to win again, fastest team on paper. But what happened

0:14:46.040 --> 0:14:49.000
<v Speaker 1>is as Marion Jones came into the exchange zone to

0:14:49.040 --> 0:14:52.720
<v Speaker 1>give the baton over to Lauren Williams, she was a

0:14:52.720 --> 0:14:55.200
<v Speaker 1>little bit fatigued, so she came in slower than she

0:14:55.280 --> 0:14:59.840
<v Speaker 1>normally would and she couldn't get the baton into the

0:15:00.000 --> 0:15:02.520
<v Speaker 1>and of Lauren Williams. If you've ever seen it, it's

0:15:02.560 --> 0:15:04.800
<v Speaker 1>actually really moving because you can see you trying to

0:15:05.120 --> 0:15:07.080
<v Speaker 1>yell and say I'm not going to reach you. And

0:15:07.120 --> 0:15:10.280
<v Speaker 1>so by the time she got it into Lauren's hand,

0:15:10.960 --> 0:15:15.640
<v Speaker 1>it was outside of the exchange zone. The exchange happened

0:15:15.640 --> 0:15:19.360
<v Speaker 1>too late, and so the American team was disqualified again.

0:15:19.400 --> 0:15:22.760
<v Speaker 1>They were the fastest team, should have gotten gold. But

0:15:22.920 --> 0:15:25.560
<v Speaker 1>if you do not hand over what needs to be

0:15:25.600 --> 0:15:28.560
<v Speaker 1>hand over in the one point nine seconds and twenty

0:15:28.600 --> 0:15:31.440
<v Speaker 1>meters that you're supposed to, you can miss that divine

0:15:31.520 --> 0:15:35.760
<v Speaker 1>moment where you can actually accelerate and gain momentum. Impetus

0:15:35.840 --> 0:15:39.280
<v Speaker 1>is everything to maintaining and sustaining momentum. If you miss it,

0:15:39.440 --> 0:15:41.840
<v Speaker 1>if you don't serve when you should give, when you should, love,

0:15:41.880 --> 0:15:44.760
<v Speaker 1>when you should forgive, when you should give mercy when

0:15:44.760 --> 0:15:46.840
<v Speaker 1>you should if you don't do it in that moment,

0:15:47.640 --> 0:15:50.360
<v Speaker 1>you can miss that opportunity. Well, then we get to

0:15:50.400 --> 0:15:53.000
<v Speaker 1>two thousand and eight and now we're in Beijing, China,

0:15:53.720 --> 0:15:57.720
<v Speaker 1>and again fastest team on paper and America should have won.

0:15:57.760 --> 0:16:02.240
<v Speaker 1>But what happened was when they can into that third exchange,

0:16:02.480 --> 0:16:05.640
<v Speaker 1>they fumbled the baton and instead of passing it right,

0:16:05.680 --> 0:16:11.200
<v Speaker 1>they dropped it. So the team again lost the race,

0:16:12.040 --> 0:16:14.520
<v Speaker 1>not because they weren't the best or the fastest or

0:16:14.520 --> 0:16:17.760
<v Speaker 1>the quickest, but because they dropped the baton. Do you

0:16:17.760 --> 0:16:20.760
<v Speaker 1>know how many drop batons there have been in the

0:16:20.800 --> 0:16:23.000
<v Speaker 1>history of the Church over the last two thousand years,

0:16:23.880 --> 0:16:26.760
<v Speaker 1>people that God anoints a house and says you can

0:16:26.840 --> 0:16:30.200
<v Speaker 1>usher in the greatest revival that's ever been seen in

0:16:30.360 --> 0:16:33.040
<v Speaker 1>modern day church. But somewhere in the exchange zone, we

0:16:33.200 --> 0:16:37.200
<v Speaker 1>just dropped the baton. And then we get to twenty twelve,

0:16:37.200 --> 0:16:41.600
<v Speaker 1>and of course twenty twelve London, England. All that happened.

0:16:41.600 --> 0:16:44.640
<v Speaker 1>The team was no faster than in the previous three Olympics,

0:16:44.800 --> 0:16:47.320
<v Speaker 1>it was no stronger than in the previous three Olympics,

0:16:47.520 --> 0:16:51.600
<v Speaker 1>but they got a gold medal simply because the three

0:16:51.640 --> 0:16:55.080
<v Speaker 1>exchanges in the exchange zone were seamless. So what is

0:16:55.120 --> 0:16:58.360
<v Speaker 1>the point of this athletics lesson on a Sunday morning

0:16:58.480 --> 0:17:02.920
<v Speaker 1>at church? Therefore, well, then, since we are surrounded by

0:17:02.960 --> 0:17:07.320
<v Speaker 1>so great a cloud of witnesses, let us elevation also

0:17:07.960 --> 0:17:11.159
<v Speaker 1>make sure that we carry our baton of faith to

0:17:11.280 --> 0:17:14.760
<v Speaker 1>our generation. That we don't drop the baton, that we

0:17:14.840 --> 0:17:17.240
<v Speaker 1>don't hand it on too late, that we don't get

0:17:17.320 --> 0:17:20.240
<v Speaker 1>sloppy with what God has blessed us with. But we

0:17:20.359 --> 0:17:23.800
<v Speaker 1>understand that the baton of faith is in our hands

0:17:24.000 --> 0:17:26.960
<v Speaker 1>for our generation, to our generation. See you are not

0:17:27.000 --> 0:17:31.600
<v Speaker 1>here by accident. God knew exactly what would be happening

0:17:31.600 --> 0:17:34.640
<v Speaker 1>on the planet in the year twenty eighteen, twenty nineteen.

0:17:35.640 --> 0:17:38.439
<v Speaker 1>He's God. A perk of being God is you just

0:17:38.520 --> 0:17:42.240
<v Speaker 1>know everything. It's God. And so he knew. And when

0:17:42.240 --> 0:17:43.920
<v Speaker 1>he looked at all of the people he created out

0:17:43.920 --> 0:17:48.000
<v Speaker 1>of all of eternity, he saw you, and he plucked

0:17:48.040 --> 0:17:51.639
<v Speaker 1>you out of eternity, and he positioned you in time,

0:17:52.440 --> 0:17:54.639
<v Speaker 1>and he gave you gifts and talents for the purpose

0:17:54.640 --> 0:17:57.480
<v Speaker 1>of serving your generation. And he said, I'm going to

0:17:57.520 --> 0:18:00.760
<v Speaker 1>plant you in this house because I've got a mantle

0:18:00.760 --> 0:18:03.520
<v Speaker 1>and I've got an anointing on this house. And we

0:18:03.640 --> 0:18:07.720
<v Speaker 1>have so many issues on the earth today. There is

0:18:07.800 --> 0:18:11.560
<v Speaker 1>so much chaos and so much crisis, and so much division,

0:18:11.840 --> 0:18:14.919
<v Speaker 1>and so much disunity, and so much pain and so

0:18:15.040 --> 0:18:18.560
<v Speaker 1>much heartache, and so much injustice and so much suffering.

0:18:18.560 --> 0:18:20.680
<v Speaker 1>And it is easy to get overwhelmed by it all.

0:18:20.680 --> 0:18:23.040
<v Speaker 1>But I need to tell you the issue and the

0:18:23.080 --> 0:18:25.560
<v Speaker 1>problems that they're not political problems, and they're not moral

0:18:25.600 --> 0:18:29.320
<v Speaker 1>problems necessarily, and they're not education issues, and they're not

0:18:29.520 --> 0:18:32.760
<v Speaker 1>social issues. It's a faith issue. We've got too many

0:18:32.880 --> 0:18:35.960
<v Speaker 1>unbelieving believers. We need some believers that say, I will

0:18:36.000 --> 0:18:39.560
<v Speaker 1>carry the baton of faith for my generation. I will

0:18:39.600 --> 0:18:42.840
<v Speaker 1>carry the good news of the Gospel to my generation.

0:18:43.280 --> 0:18:46.480
<v Speaker 1>I'll be light in the midst of darkness for my generation.

0:18:46.880 --> 0:18:49.880
<v Speaker 1>I will carry the batona my faith to my family,

0:18:50.080 --> 0:18:54.199
<v Speaker 1>to my university, to my school, to my community, to

0:18:54.320 --> 0:19:01.920
<v Speaker 1>my mother's group. You see tag church where it some

0:19:02.000 --> 0:19:05.240
<v Speaker 1>of us are thinking, well, I'm waiting, and God's going no, no, no,

0:19:05.840 --> 0:19:11.200
<v Speaker 1>you're it. You have the baton of faith. Therefore, then,

0:19:12.080 --> 0:19:14.400
<v Speaker 1>since we're surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses,

0:19:14.480 --> 0:19:19.320
<v Speaker 1>let us also it's us, what are you doing with

0:19:19.359 --> 0:19:22.959
<v Speaker 1>a baton of faith? We have an enemy that is

0:19:23.000 --> 0:19:26.159
<v Speaker 1>trying to distract us from the one thing we're on

0:19:26.200 --> 0:19:29.040
<v Speaker 1>the earth to do. In case you're wondering what we're

0:19:29.040 --> 0:19:32.080
<v Speaker 1>here to do, you and I are personally responsible for

0:19:32.080 --> 0:19:34.320
<v Speaker 1>the evangelization of planet Earth before the second coming of

0:19:34.400 --> 0:19:38.080
<v Speaker 1>Jesus Christ. So today when you're having lunch and all

0:19:38.080 --> 0:19:40.240
<v Speaker 1>your friends are just trying to kind of, you know,

0:19:40.280 --> 0:19:41.920
<v Speaker 1>be little you and say who are you? You're just

0:19:41.920 --> 0:19:44.000
<v Speaker 1>a little loser Christian. And you know they say, I'm

0:19:44.000 --> 0:19:45.960
<v Speaker 1>a doctor, I'm a lawyer, I'm a Supreme Court judge,

0:19:46.000 --> 0:19:47.399
<v Speaker 1>what are you a little loser? You just go, well,

0:19:47.400 --> 0:19:49.640
<v Speaker 1>I'm personally responsible for the evangelization and for planet before

0:19:49.640 --> 0:19:51.399
<v Speaker 1>the second Coming of Jesus. I don't know what you do.

0:19:51.840 --> 0:19:54.560
<v Speaker 1>That's what we are here for. Why did we get

0:19:54.640 --> 0:19:57.320
<v Speaker 1>up today? Why are we at church? Because we are

0:19:57.359 --> 0:20:00.000
<v Speaker 1>here carrying the baton of faith in our kids, ministry,

0:20:01.160 --> 0:20:04.520
<v Speaker 1>people telling people about the Word of God and about

0:20:04.880 --> 0:20:09.720
<v Speaker 1>Jesus in a culture that is so antithetical to the

0:20:09.720 --> 0:20:12.520
<v Speaker 1>Gospel and to the good News. Every time we come

0:20:12.560 --> 0:20:15.240
<v Speaker 1>to church, you're carrying the baton of faith. Every time

0:20:15.280 --> 0:20:18.080
<v Speaker 1>you pray, you're carrying the baton of faith. Every time

0:20:18.119 --> 0:20:20.600
<v Speaker 1>you open that word, You're carrying the baton of faith.

0:20:20.800 --> 0:20:24.000
<v Speaker 1>Every time you sew into our game changer off it,

0:20:24.080 --> 0:20:27.560
<v Speaker 1>you're carrying the baton of faith. If we don't do it,

0:20:27.720 --> 0:20:30.320
<v Speaker 1>what if we don't what if we're just here. This

0:20:30.359 --> 0:20:32.840
<v Speaker 1>is more than just a nice little self help motivational

0:20:33.760 --> 0:20:36.520
<v Speaker 1>come together. That's not what we're here for. We are

0:20:36.600 --> 0:20:39.920
<v Speaker 1>part of an eternal divine relay. This is every time

0:20:39.960 --> 0:20:41.920
<v Speaker 1>we step in and we carry this baton of faith,

0:20:42.240 --> 0:20:46.160
<v Speaker 1>the eternal is touching the temporal. We're stepping into this

0:20:46.280 --> 0:20:48.639
<v Speaker 1>broken and fragmented world, and we're saying we've got a

0:20:48.640 --> 0:20:51.760
<v Speaker 1>baton of faith. God has given us the responsibility in

0:20:51.800 --> 0:20:55.600
<v Speaker 1>our generation to carry this baton of faith to our generation.

0:20:55.920 --> 0:20:58.399
<v Speaker 1>This is bigger than me. What's happening this weekend is

0:20:58.480 --> 0:21:00.679
<v Speaker 1>bigger than us. What if if we don't do it,

0:21:01.440 --> 0:21:03.879
<v Speaker 1>what if we just forget? I want to show you

0:21:03.920 --> 0:21:06.879
<v Speaker 1>what for me is the saddest piece of scripture in

0:21:06.920 --> 0:21:09.200
<v Speaker 1>the Bible. It's in the Book of Judges. So it's

0:21:09.280 --> 0:21:12.080
<v Speaker 1>very scary when you go to Judges on a Sunday morning.

0:21:12.080 --> 0:21:15.120
<v Speaker 1>But we're going there today. So in the Book of Judges,

0:21:15.200 --> 0:21:20.560
<v Speaker 1>Chapter two, verse seven to ten, and especially verse ten,

0:21:20.600 --> 0:21:22.400
<v Speaker 1>the Bible says, and the people served the Lord all

0:21:22.440 --> 0:21:25.280
<v Speaker 1>the days of Joshua, and all the days of the

0:21:25.320 --> 0:21:28.680
<v Speaker 1>elders who outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great

0:21:28.720 --> 0:21:31.080
<v Speaker 1>work that the Lord had done for Israel. And Joshua,

0:21:31.160 --> 0:21:33.360
<v Speaker 1>the son of None, the servant of the Lord, died

0:21:33.400 --> 0:21:35.479
<v Speaker 1>at the age of one hundred and ten years, and

0:21:35.520 --> 0:21:37.720
<v Speaker 1>they buried him with the boundaries within the boundaries of

0:21:37.720 --> 0:21:40.560
<v Speaker 1>his inheritance in tim Nath Harry's in the hill country

0:21:40.600 --> 0:21:43.760
<v Speaker 1>of Ephraim, north of the Mountain of Gash, and all

0:21:43.800 --> 0:21:48.160
<v Speaker 1>that generation were also also were gathered to their fathers.

0:21:48.560 --> 0:21:51.120
<v Speaker 1>And here's the saddest scripture for me in the Bible.

0:21:51.720 --> 0:21:55.359
<v Speaker 1>And there arose another generation after them who did not

0:21:55.520 --> 0:21:58.440
<v Speaker 1>know the Lord or the work that he had done

0:21:58.760 --> 0:22:02.680
<v Speaker 1>for Israel. Why is carrying this baton of faith so important?

0:22:03.000 --> 0:22:05.320
<v Speaker 1>Why is it so important that we don't stop as

0:22:05.320 --> 0:22:07.720
<v Speaker 1>a church and get comfortable and complacent and go, well,

0:22:07.720 --> 0:22:10.160
<v Speaker 1>look at everything that's happening. We've got our e family,

0:22:10.280 --> 0:22:13.640
<v Speaker 1>We've got locations all over the place. Isn't that enough?

0:22:13.640 --> 0:22:15.679
<v Speaker 1>Why can't we just just come to church. I can

0:22:15.720 --> 0:22:18.280
<v Speaker 1>got my little parking spot. Now, I've got my seat

0:22:18.280 --> 0:22:20.320
<v Speaker 1>that I love. Now my kids are in kid what

0:22:20.359 --> 0:22:24.160
<v Speaker 1>about because it's not just about us? I wonder how

0:22:24.200 --> 0:22:27.359
<v Speaker 1>on earth could another generation arise after Joshua, one of

0:22:27.400 --> 0:22:30.280
<v Speaker 1>the greatest leaders in the Bible. He had come out

0:22:30.320 --> 0:22:33.960
<v Speaker 1>of each Egyptian slavery. He had seen the Red Sea part.

0:22:34.000 --> 0:22:36.480
<v Speaker 1>I mean, just imagine he saw the Red Sea part.

0:22:36.760 --> 0:22:40.280
<v Speaker 1>He was with Moses often at the tabernacle. He went

0:22:40.400 --> 0:22:42.840
<v Speaker 1>up to the mountain with Moses. He saw Moses have

0:22:42.880 --> 0:22:45.600
<v Speaker 1>a fit and smash the Ten Commandments. He saw it all.

0:22:45.880 --> 0:22:49.520
<v Speaker 1>He saw amazing things. He had manner from heaven for

0:22:49.520 --> 0:22:53.000
<v Speaker 1>forty years. He saw the provision of God. He saw

0:22:53.040 --> 0:22:55.480
<v Speaker 1>God do amazing things. I mean, he survived in the

0:22:55.480 --> 0:22:58.000
<v Speaker 1>wilderness with a bunch of murmous grumblers and complainers and

0:22:58.520 --> 0:23:02.000
<v Speaker 1>still survive. That that's a mirror itself. He knew, understood

0:23:02.040 --> 0:23:05.040
<v Speaker 1>the grace of God. He saw the River Jordan pushed back.

0:23:05.280 --> 0:23:08.679
<v Speaker 1>He walked across that on dry ground. He saw the

0:23:08.720 --> 0:23:11.560
<v Speaker 1>walls of Jericho come down. He went in, and he

0:23:11.680 --> 0:23:15.120
<v Speaker 1>possessed all the promised land. He went literally from slavery

0:23:15.400 --> 0:23:19.040
<v Speaker 1>to possession. Only two of them ever saw that. But no,

0:23:19.520 --> 0:23:23.439
<v Speaker 1>I don't think it's worth clapping, because after him and

0:23:23.440 --> 0:23:28.560
<v Speaker 1>his generation died, another generation arose that did not know

0:23:29.359 --> 0:23:34.920
<v Speaker 1>the Lord. Miracles, signs and wonders like had never been

0:23:34.960 --> 0:23:40.640
<v Speaker 1>recorded before, from slavery to possession, from slavery to freedom,

0:23:40.840 --> 0:23:45.560
<v Speaker 1>and another generation, somewhere along the line, they dropped the baton.

0:23:46.640 --> 0:23:49.000
<v Speaker 1>Somewhere along the line, they got so comfortable in the

0:23:49.000 --> 0:23:53.000
<v Speaker 1>promised Land, so comfortable eating the fruit of their labors,

0:23:53.000 --> 0:23:56.120
<v Speaker 1>that they forgot they were part of an eternal divine relay.

0:23:56.800 --> 0:23:59.840
<v Speaker 1>And we are only ever one generation away from that.

0:24:00.240 --> 0:24:03.240
<v Speaker 1>So why are we sowing our seed today? Why are

0:24:03.280 --> 0:24:05.879
<v Speaker 1>we part of this offering today? Because we're saying, not

0:24:06.200 --> 0:24:09.800
<v Speaker 1>on my watch, I am not dropping the baton of

0:24:09.840 --> 0:24:13.240
<v Speaker 1>faith on my what we are carrying her from generation

0:24:13.760 --> 0:24:17.320
<v Speaker 1>to generation, and we're going to continue to have the

0:24:17.359 --> 0:24:22.120
<v Speaker 1>baton of faith going on it said another generation arose

0:24:23.200 --> 0:24:26.720
<v Speaker 1>who had not seen I need you to understand. It's

0:24:26.760 --> 0:24:29.800
<v Speaker 1>one thing to come to a building that you've not

0:24:30.240 --> 0:24:34.359
<v Speaker 1>seen the miracle of God building. It's just what you

0:24:34.440 --> 0:24:37.640
<v Speaker 1>think has always been here. But for those of us

0:24:37.680 --> 0:24:40.320
<v Speaker 1>that were here when it was nothing, and then we've

0:24:40.359 --> 0:24:42.520
<v Speaker 1>seen the miracles of God. So we're faithful to God.

0:24:43.560 --> 0:24:46.040
<v Speaker 1>But you see, if you don't keep giving an opportunity

0:24:46.520 --> 0:24:51.440
<v Speaker 1>to a generation and the generations to exercise their muscle

0:24:51.560 --> 0:24:54.679
<v Speaker 1>of faith, they won't know that there's a faith muscle

0:24:54.720 --> 0:24:58.960
<v Speaker 1>to exercise. And so what we're doing is giving people

0:24:58.960 --> 0:25:02.160
<v Speaker 1>an opportunity to go, you can believe God. Now, if

0:25:02.200 --> 0:25:06.639
<v Speaker 1>you don't give every generation and every person regularly the

0:25:06.720 --> 0:25:10.440
<v Speaker 1>opportunity to believe God for themselves, they won't remember there's

0:25:10.480 --> 0:25:13.760
<v Speaker 1>a God to believe. And so what happened is a

0:25:13.880 --> 0:25:18.240
<v Speaker 1>generation just ain't the fruit of Joshua's labor and his generation,

0:25:19.560 --> 0:25:22.439
<v Speaker 1>but they didn't exercise their own faith. So you go,

0:25:22.520 --> 0:25:25.560
<v Speaker 1>why do we do some things every year because we

0:25:25.680 --> 0:25:28.760
<v Speaker 1>continue to say, we've got to exercise that faith muscle.

0:25:29.040 --> 0:25:32.200
<v Speaker 1>We've got to continue to have people believe in God,

0:25:32.320 --> 0:25:34.640
<v Speaker 1>or when we're gone, they're not going to know there's

0:25:34.640 --> 0:25:36.960
<v Speaker 1>a God to believe. They're not going to know that

0:25:37.000 --> 0:25:40.040
<v Speaker 1>there's faith that needs to be exercised. So we must

0:25:40.040 --> 0:25:42.840
<v Speaker 1>all continue to do that. And then scripture goes on

0:25:42.920 --> 0:25:46.160
<v Speaker 1>and says, you know what, how does this happen? How

0:25:46.200 --> 0:25:48.840
<v Speaker 1>do you do that? And there's only three quick ways

0:25:49.000 --> 0:25:51.520
<v Speaker 1>that this scripture tells us. It says, Therefore, then, since

0:25:51.520 --> 0:25:53.560
<v Speaker 1>we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses,

0:25:53.640 --> 0:25:57.400
<v Speaker 1>let us also lay aside every weight and the sin

0:25:58.080 --> 0:26:01.359
<v Speaker 1>that's so easily ensnares. That's how you run unhindered. This

0:26:01.480 --> 0:26:03.960
<v Speaker 1>is how you keep the baton of faith going from

0:26:03.960 --> 0:26:06.440
<v Speaker 1>one generation to the next, going from year to year

0:26:06.520 --> 0:26:09.920
<v Speaker 1>in your own faith, and keeps you passionately pursuing God,

0:26:10.160 --> 0:26:13.080
<v Speaker 1>and keeps you passionately hanging on to the baton of faith.

0:26:13.080 --> 0:26:15.720
<v Speaker 1>Because what you find is some batons you once held

0:26:15.760 --> 0:26:18.359
<v Speaker 1>onto a sacred you just throw away now, like it

0:26:18.400 --> 0:26:20.680
<v Speaker 1>really doesn't matter. There was a time that you would

0:26:20.680 --> 0:26:23.439
<v Speaker 1>never have thought about not going to church because you

0:26:23.560 --> 0:26:26.399
<v Speaker 1>needed this for your very lifeline to even just exist

0:26:26.480 --> 0:26:27.840
<v Speaker 1>every day. But then you go, well, you know what,

0:26:27.960 --> 0:26:30.399
<v Speaker 1>if it's too cold, I'm not going. There was a

0:26:30.440 --> 0:26:33.200
<v Speaker 1>time where you would have kept yourself morally pure because

0:26:33.200 --> 0:26:34.800
<v Speaker 1>it was in the description you would do it. Then

0:26:34.840 --> 0:26:36.800
<v Speaker 1>you go, you know what, no one in our generation does.

0:26:36.800 --> 0:26:38.720
<v Speaker 1>It doesn't really matter. We just throw it all away.

0:26:38.760 --> 0:26:41.560
<v Speaker 1>It's like no big deal. There was a time when

0:26:41.600 --> 0:26:44.320
<v Speaker 1>you would have always been in the word and said, God,

0:26:44.320 --> 0:26:46.720
<v Speaker 1>I'm going to be the first to give my offering

0:26:47.040 --> 0:26:49.640
<v Speaker 1>as a sign of thanks to you and a sign

0:26:49.720 --> 0:26:51.600
<v Speaker 1>of faith for what's going to happen in the future.

0:26:51.600 --> 0:26:53.359
<v Speaker 1>But now, you know what, it doesn't really matter, and

0:26:53.359 --> 0:26:57.199
<v Speaker 1>we just throw batons away. We drop them in the

0:26:57.240 --> 0:27:00.320
<v Speaker 1>exchange zone and we hang on to them. This that

0:27:00.359 --> 0:27:03.919
<v Speaker 1>one point nine second twenty meter opportunity to see the

0:27:03.960 --> 0:27:06.480
<v Speaker 1>blessing of God in our own life. It's all a

0:27:06.480 --> 0:27:09.080
<v Speaker 1>matter of timing in the Kingdom. He's a god of

0:27:09.320 --> 0:27:14.200
<v Speaker 1>time and a god of timing always always, and how

0:27:14.280 --> 0:27:16.320
<v Speaker 1>you go from strength to strength, because that is the

0:27:16.359 --> 0:27:19.280
<v Speaker 1>way upward. For a believer, we're supposed to go from

0:27:19.280 --> 0:27:24.000
<v Speaker 1>faith to faith, from strength to strength, from glory to glory.

0:27:24.119 --> 0:27:26.560
<v Speaker 1>But what happens in the exchange zone determines whether that's

0:27:26.600 --> 0:27:29.360
<v Speaker 1>what happens to us or not. And so what happens

0:27:29.400 --> 0:27:31.280
<v Speaker 1>is we drop. So the scripture says, you know, this

0:27:31.320 --> 0:27:32.480
<v Speaker 1>is what you've got to do. You've got to drop

0:27:32.560 --> 0:27:35.480
<v Speaker 1>some stuff. Now, you've got to drop the weights and

0:27:35.520 --> 0:27:38.240
<v Speaker 1>the sins in two different words. Suggest to me that

0:27:38.240 --> 0:27:41.200
<v Speaker 1>the writer of the Hebrews is saying there's two different things.

0:27:41.200 --> 0:27:43.560
<v Speaker 1>A weight is not a sin. A weight could be

0:27:43.600 --> 0:27:48.360
<v Speaker 1>something that was good for a season, but now it's

0:27:48.400 --> 0:27:50.280
<v Speaker 1>not good. It could even be some people that led

0:27:50.320 --> 0:27:53.000
<v Speaker 1>you to the Lord, and the truth is that they

0:27:53.040 --> 0:27:55.119
<v Speaker 1>helped catapult you to where you are today. But if

0:27:55.160 --> 0:27:57.399
<v Speaker 1>you're honest, you get into a faith environment like this,

0:27:57.480 --> 0:27:59.159
<v Speaker 1>you're full of faith, you want to press on for

0:27:59.200 --> 0:28:01.680
<v Speaker 1>the purposes of God, and you get around those people

0:28:01.680 --> 0:28:04.720
<v Speaker 1>and suddenly you've just taken five steps back. God doesn't

0:28:04.760 --> 0:28:06.680
<v Speaker 1>require that much of you. You don't need to serve

0:28:06.680 --> 0:28:08.440
<v Speaker 1>that much. You need don't need to sew that much.

0:28:08.440 --> 0:28:10.080
<v Speaker 1>You don't need to give that much. You don't need,

0:28:10.359 --> 0:28:12.919
<v Speaker 1>and so the people that once helped catapult you to

0:28:12.920 --> 0:28:15.320
<v Speaker 1>where you are have now become a weight and anchor.

0:28:15.840 --> 0:28:18.720
<v Speaker 1>They're holding you back. It could be a level of serving.

0:28:18.920 --> 0:28:20.800
<v Speaker 1>You've been willing to serve at church life at this

0:28:20.920 --> 0:28:23.159
<v Speaker 1>level and it was good. It's not a sin. But

0:28:23.200 --> 0:28:24.920
<v Speaker 1>the truth is, if we're going to break forth into

0:28:24.960 --> 0:28:27.359
<v Speaker 1>all that God has for us as a movement, you

0:28:27.359 --> 0:28:30.480
<v Speaker 1>know what, serving at this level has now become a weight.

0:28:31.680 --> 0:28:34.760
<v Speaker 1>Your breakthrough is to start serving at this level and

0:28:34.800 --> 0:28:37.240
<v Speaker 1>you're going to start seeing things come through. It could

0:28:37.280 --> 0:28:40.040
<v Speaker 1>be a level of giving. You're believing God, and I

0:28:40.080 --> 0:28:43.480
<v Speaker 1>am too. For next year, for financial breakthrough, for increase

0:28:43.520 --> 0:28:46.440
<v Speaker 1>in my family's life and our ministries. I'm believing God

0:28:46.480 --> 0:28:49.560
<v Speaker 1>for it. Well, it's not what people give to me

0:28:49.720 --> 0:28:52.320
<v Speaker 1>that determines how much I'm going to get. It's my

0:28:52.440 --> 0:28:55.320
<v Speaker 1>giving that determines how much and how far we go.

0:28:55.640 --> 0:28:59.040
<v Speaker 1>So if I keep giving at this level, which is

0:28:59.080 --> 0:29:01.280
<v Speaker 1>not a sin, it's really good. Actually, If I keep

0:29:01.320 --> 0:29:04.680
<v Speaker 1>giving at this level, although it's not a sin, this

0:29:04.800 --> 0:29:07.040
<v Speaker 1>level of giving for me has now become a weight

0:29:07.200 --> 0:29:09.440
<v Speaker 1>for where I want to go because my breakthrough is

0:29:09.480 --> 0:29:12.440
<v Speaker 1>going to be at this level of giving. You could go,

0:29:12.520 --> 0:29:15.120
<v Speaker 1>we could talk about our thinking, we could talk about

0:29:15.160 --> 0:29:18.960
<v Speaker 1>every aspect of life. What was once okay has now

0:29:19.000 --> 0:29:21.600
<v Speaker 1>become a weight and an anchor. So what do you

0:29:21.640 --> 0:29:23.800
<v Speaker 1>need to drop to carry the baton of faith and

0:29:23.880 --> 0:29:29.840
<v Speaker 1>run unhindered? Scripture says, any athlete drops any additional weights.

0:29:30.040 --> 0:29:33.000
<v Speaker 1>If we're going into twenty nineteen, you want to talk

0:29:33.040 --> 0:29:36.480
<v Speaker 1>about a game changing year coming out of this series,

0:29:36.800 --> 0:29:40.200
<v Speaker 1>then we've got to drop some stuff, some habits, some attitudes,

0:29:40.440 --> 0:29:44.960
<v Speaker 1>some thoughts, some bitterness, some unforgiveness, some unresolved issues, some

0:29:45.200 --> 0:29:49.880
<v Speaker 1>unaddressed addictions. We need to drop some weights so that

0:29:49.920 --> 0:29:52.160
<v Speaker 1>we can run unhindered and sin. I know we don't

0:29:52.200 --> 0:29:53.920
<v Speaker 1>like that word very much, do we In the twenty

0:29:53.960 --> 0:29:56.760
<v Speaker 1>first century. It's like I'm offensive to people I know,

0:29:57.080 --> 0:29:59.080
<v Speaker 1>and so it's like we like to think I'm okay,

0:29:59.080 --> 0:30:01.120
<v Speaker 1>You're okay, And it's because we've got a really warped

0:30:01.240 --> 0:30:03.400
<v Speaker 1>view of it. The thing is, who's got a bottle

0:30:03.400 --> 0:30:07.120
<v Speaker 1>of water? I'm just anyone got anything with a label

0:30:07.160 --> 0:30:09.479
<v Speaker 1>on it, Someone will throw me something. Come on, you

0:30:09.520 --> 0:30:12.000
<v Speaker 1>are awesome. Any bottle will do. I just need this,

0:30:12.120 --> 0:30:15.640
<v Speaker 1>so say that I had a bottle here full of poison,

0:30:16.680 --> 0:30:21.120
<v Speaker 1>awesome poison, and here it had, you know, poison, and

0:30:21.160 --> 0:30:23.479
<v Speaker 1>I ripped the poison label off and I put a

0:30:23.480 --> 0:30:26.960
<v Speaker 1>new label on it, and I put chocolate syrup, and

0:30:27.000 --> 0:30:30.000
<v Speaker 1>then I put it in your refrigerator. You would think

0:30:30.000 --> 0:30:34.920
<v Speaker 1>I'm Graig Gray because the milder you make the label,

0:30:35.120 --> 0:30:38.800
<v Speaker 1>the more potent you make the poison. And what we've

0:30:38.880 --> 0:30:42.160
<v Speaker 1>done when we're too scared to say, hey, there is sin.

0:30:42.240 --> 0:30:45.000
<v Speaker 1>You know, when I was diagnosed with cancer four years ago,

0:30:45.560 --> 0:30:48.160
<v Speaker 1>could you imagine what would have happened at the hospital

0:30:48.160 --> 0:30:51.239
<v Speaker 1>in La at UCLA Hospital if I walked in and

0:30:51.680 --> 0:30:53.920
<v Speaker 1>they did all the biopsies, all the MRIs, all of

0:30:53.960 --> 0:30:58.479
<v Speaker 1>the tests, and said, oh, we know that Christine's got cancer.

0:30:58.840 --> 0:31:01.960
<v Speaker 1>And it was right between my larynx and trakia, so

0:31:02.080 --> 0:31:06.080
<v Speaker 1>right on my voicebox. Gee, the devil is very, very just.

0:31:06.120 --> 0:31:08.040
<v Speaker 1>He's not obvious, is he. I'm like, you know what,

0:31:08.120 --> 0:31:10.080
<v Speaker 1>you can stick that in your pipe. I'm going louder,

0:31:10.120 --> 0:31:13.080
<v Speaker 1>I'm going stronger, I'm going further, I'm going faster than

0:31:13.120 --> 0:31:19.000
<v Speaker 1>ever before. But anyway, can you just imagine what would

0:31:19.000 --> 0:31:20.880
<v Speaker 1>have happened if they went, we know she's got cancer,

0:31:20.880 --> 0:31:23.520
<v Speaker 1>but we don't want to offend Christine. We don't want

0:31:23.520 --> 0:31:26.160
<v Speaker 1>to hurt her feelings. And so what we're going to

0:31:26.200 --> 0:31:28.040
<v Speaker 1>do is we're going to tell her that she's got

0:31:28.040 --> 0:31:31.080
<v Speaker 1>the flu. And although we've got the cure for her

0:31:31.120 --> 0:31:33.840
<v Speaker 1>particular type of cancer, we're going to say that she's

0:31:33.880 --> 0:31:36.440
<v Speaker 1>got the flu and give her a Tayler knole because

0:31:36.520 --> 0:31:39.400
<v Speaker 1>we don't want her to feel bad, or feel judged

0:31:39.480 --> 0:31:41.960
<v Speaker 1>or feel condemned. Well, what would we call that. We

0:31:42.000 --> 0:31:45.960
<v Speaker 1>would call that medical malpractice, and we would sue those

0:31:46.000 --> 0:31:48.400
<v Speaker 1>doctors and they would never practice again. Well, I don't

0:31:48.440 --> 0:31:50.200
<v Speaker 1>know why people expect me, as a minister of the

0:31:50.240 --> 0:31:53.440
<v Speaker 1>Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, to commit spiritual malpractice.

0:31:53.520 --> 0:31:56.040
<v Speaker 1>Because here is the deal. There is an issue that

0:31:56.080 --> 0:31:58.480
<v Speaker 1>we need to lay aside, which is called sin. But

0:31:58.640 --> 0:32:01.520
<v Speaker 1>here is the good youth. There is an antidote to sin,

0:32:01.600 --> 0:32:04.800
<v Speaker 1>and it's called the Blood of Jesus Christ. It sets

0:32:04.920 --> 0:32:09.560
<v Speaker 1>people free, it sets us free. So the writer to

0:32:09.600 --> 0:32:12.959
<v Speaker 1>the Hebrews says, hey, how about we lay aside the

0:32:13.000 --> 0:32:17.239
<v Speaker 1>weights and the sins that so easily ensmeare us so

0:32:17.280 --> 0:32:20.240
<v Speaker 1>that we can run our race unhindered. So we've got

0:32:20.240 --> 0:32:24.040
<v Speaker 1>to drop some stuff now on this bonus track of

0:32:24.040 --> 0:32:26.040
<v Speaker 1>the Game Changer series. What do we need to drop

0:32:26.480 --> 0:32:30.080
<v Speaker 1>so that we can move unhindered into twenty nineteen? And

0:32:30.120 --> 0:32:33.240
<v Speaker 1>then he says, run the race set before us. There

0:32:33.280 --> 0:32:35.840
<v Speaker 1>is a race set before you. You have a baton

0:32:36.000 --> 0:32:38.880
<v Speaker 1>of faith. This is your moment now. See most of

0:32:38.960 --> 0:32:41.280
<v Speaker 1>us were like one day when when I get more

0:32:41.360 --> 0:32:43.880
<v Speaker 1>than I'll give. When I have more time, then i'll serve.

0:32:44.120 --> 0:32:47.040
<v Speaker 1>When when when? When there is no when? One day

0:32:47.080 --> 0:32:50.520
<v Speaker 1>over there? Run the race set before you. Now you've

0:32:50.520 --> 0:32:53.520
<v Speaker 1>only ever got here. There is no there because when

0:32:53.520 --> 0:32:56.320
<v Speaker 1>you get there, you're here. And so you need to

0:32:56.440 --> 0:32:59.920
<v Speaker 1>understand it's what you do here now that determines that

0:33:00.200 --> 0:33:03.200
<v Speaker 1>there and then and so you've got to run the

0:33:03.400 --> 0:33:06.760
<v Speaker 1>race set before you. Some of you are not running

0:33:06.800 --> 0:33:09.040
<v Speaker 1>the race set before you because you're do busys scrolling

0:33:09.080 --> 0:33:16.920
<v Speaker 1>through everyone else's race. If you stop scrolling through everybody

0:33:17.080 --> 0:33:22.560
<v Speaker 1>else's race and run the race that is set before you,

0:33:22.560 --> 0:33:27.440
<v Speaker 1>you will finish your course. And then he says, fixing

0:33:28.640 --> 0:33:31.080
<v Speaker 1>your eyes on Jesus, you got to drop it now.

0:33:31.920 --> 0:33:34.840
<v Speaker 1>You've got to run right here now and then you've

0:33:34.840 --> 0:33:38.200
<v Speaker 1>got to look up now because Jesus is what started

0:33:38.200 --> 0:33:40.920
<v Speaker 1>this and Jesus is who we're looking at it the

0:33:40.960 --> 0:33:44.440
<v Speaker 1>finish line elevation. Why we're not settling now, why we're

0:33:44.480 --> 0:33:47.080
<v Speaker 1>all coming around this offering in a few minutes, why

0:33:47.160 --> 0:33:49.640
<v Speaker 1>we all continue to believe God for an impact on

0:33:49.680 --> 0:33:53.320
<v Speaker 1>the nations and the generations, is because it's Jesus that

0:33:53.440 --> 0:33:55.520
<v Speaker 1>is the head of this house. It's Jesus that started

0:33:55.520 --> 0:33:58.080
<v Speaker 1>this house. It's Jesus that's at the finish line that

0:33:58.160 --> 0:34:00.400
<v Speaker 1>we are looking for. We have always He's been a

0:34:00.520 --> 0:34:03.920
<v Speaker 1>church that's full of radical faith. We carry the baton

0:34:03.920 --> 0:34:05.680
<v Speaker 1>of faith. When people think we're great, great, we are.

0:34:06.480 --> 0:34:08.720
<v Speaker 1>We are just settler. It's cool where they get you're crazy.

0:34:08.760 --> 0:34:11.439
<v Speaker 1>I know, I know. I believe all the crazy stuff.

0:34:11.480 --> 0:34:13.800
<v Speaker 1>You know. Virgin birth, yep, we're celebrating it in a

0:34:13.800 --> 0:34:17.640
<v Speaker 1>couple of weeks. That's it, oxymoron. Virgin birth, Okay, virgin pregnancy. Awesome.

0:34:17.800 --> 0:34:19.279
<v Speaker 1>I tell my sixteen year old daughter, I do not

0:34:19.280 --> 0:34:21.040
<v Speaker 1>try this at home. I will not believe you. It's

0:34:21.040 --> 0:34:24.319
<v Speaker 1>not the case. No, no, But I do. I have

0:34:24.480 --> 0:34:27.160
<v Speaker 1>physical bodily resurrection. I know, I believe all the great

0:34:27.239 --> 0:34:29.560
<v Speaker 1>great stuff. And the sky's gonna split, He's gonna come back, Yep.

0:34:29.600 --> 0:34:31.759
<v Speaker 1>I believe it or I've drunk the kool aid. And

0:34:31.840 --> 0:34:34.480
<v Speaker 1>you know what, it's such good news that I'm gonna

0:34:34.520 --> 0:34:38.240
<v Speaker 1>carry that baton of faith to my generation. For my generation,

0:34:38.400 --> 0:34:41.279
<v Speaker 1>there is no greater use than the resurrection of the

0:34:41.320 --> 0:34:44.839
<v Speaker 1>lot Jesus Christ, and that he's coming back to reteem out. Well,

0:34:45.200 --> 0:34:47.680
<v Speaker 1>that's what we're doing. So how did it all start?

0:34:48.719 --> 0:34:53.879
<v Speaker 1>It started with radical passionate faith. Couple of kids twenty

0:34:53.880 --> 0:34:59.000
<v Speaker 1>five years old. You remember a prompt day when Pastor

0:34:59.040 --> 0:35:01.200
<v Speaker 1>Stevens sat on the stage with so many interns and

0:35:01.640 --> 0:35:04.440
<v Speaker 1>helped us to remember our memorial stones. How this all started.

0:35:05.239 --> 0:35:08.880
<v Speaker 1>We weren't cool, we weren't slick, and we might be excellent,

0:35:08.880 --> 0:35:10.920
<v Speaker 1>but we're still not cool or slick. We will be

0:35:10.960 --> 0:35:12.880
<v Speaker 1>doalks for Jesus till the day we die. It's just

0:35:12.920 --> 0:35:16.239
<v Speaker 1>the way that it is. Bunch of twenty five year

0:35:16.280 --> 0:35:21.279
<v Speaker 1>olds starting a church in Charlotte. That's foolish, foolish. But

0:35:21.360 --> 0:35:25.560
<v Speaker 1>if we don't maintain that same radical faith, then we

0:35:25.600 --> 0:35:28.640
<v Speaker 1>are not going to continue to gain momentum and accelerate.

0:35:28.680 --> 0:35:30.560
<v Speaker 1>And I believe we are going to do that, but

0:35:30.600 --> 0:35:32.880
<v Speaker 1>you've got to be willing to be foolish for Jesus

0:35:33.120 --> 0:35:35.000
<v Speaker 1>in a few moments, we're going to give and you

0:35:35.040 --> 0:35:37.000
<v Speaker 1>know what to other people in this day and age.

0:35:37.000 --> 0:35:40.360
<v Speaker 1>And this seems foolish, but we're seeing with eternal eyes,

0:35:40.560 --> 0:35:43.640
<v Speaker 1>not natural temporal eyes, and we're saying it might seem

0:35:43.680 --> 0:35:46.520
<v Speaker 1>foolish to you, but we care about the generations. Why

0:35:46.520 --> 0:35:49.360
<v Speaker 1>I want to just give you an example throughout Scripture

0:35:49.480 --> 0:35:52.759
<v Speaker 1>of people that took foolish risks of faith and ended

0:35:52.840 --> 0:35:56.040
<v Speaker 1>up changing the world. We turn and circle all the

0:35:56.040 --> 0:35:58.840
<v Speaker 1>way back to some of the names listed in Hebrews

0:35:58.920 --> 0:36:02.640
<v Speaker 1>chapter eleven, because where I started this morning was therefore then,

0:36:03.440 --> 0:36:06.520
<v Speaker 1>So let's go back before the therefore and to understand elevation.

0:36:06.560 --> 0:36:08.200
<v Speaker 1>We're part of this divine realized. We're part of the

0:36:08.239 --> 0:36:10.879
<v Speaker 1>Hebrews eleven Great Hall of Faith. That's who we are.

0:36:10.960 --> 0:36:13.320
<v Speaker 1>We are, we are part of that. Do you remember

0:36:13.480 --> 0:36:15.440
<v Speaker 1>how foolish Noah would have looked when he was building

0:36:15.440 --> 0:36:19.120
<v Speaker 1>an arc in the desert and there'd never been rain before.

0:36:19.239 --> 0:36:21.280
<v Speaker 1>Imagine all of his friends, Noah, what are you building

0:36:21.560 --> 0:36:26.759
<v Speaker 1>an arc? What's an arc? Mate? Don't know? Why are

0:36:26.760 --> 0:36:29.040
<v Speaker 1>you building it? Because we're gonna have rain? What's rain?

0:36:29.200 --> 0:36:34.040
<v Speaker 1>Haven't got a clue? You know? We're bringing out offering

0:36:34.120 --> 0:36:36.000
<v Speaker 1>for that, what are we building an ark? We're more

0:36:36.120 --> 0:36:38.440
<v Speaker 1>haven't got a clue, but I know that God knows

0:36:39.080 --> 0:36:41.200
<v Speaker 1>half the time. In our Christian life, That's what it's like.

0:36:41.560 --> 0:36:44.360
<v Speaker 1>We're building something that we don't quite know what for

0:36:44.840 --> 0:36:47.080
<v Speaker 1>something that's coming that we haven't really got a clue.

0:36:47.120 --> 0:36:49.320
<v Speaker 1>But all we do is fix our eyes on Jesus

0:36:49.400 --> 0:36:51.319
<v Speaker 1>and we know we're going to keep building this thing,

0:36:51.360 --> 0:36:53.840
<v Speaker 1>and we're going to keep moving forward, and it's gonna

0:36:53.920 --> 0:37:00.400
<v Speaker 1>keep happening. Can you imagine how foolish Moses looked He

0:37:00.440 --> 0:37:01.680
<v Speaker 1>had a ride and he had a red sea in

0:37:01.719 --> 0:37:03.840
<v Speaker 1>front of him. That's what we look like in our generation.

0:37:04.400 --> 0:37:06.960
<v Speaker 1>There's red seas to part. We don't know how some

0:37:07.000 --> 0:37:08.840
<v Speaker 1>of these miracles are going to happen. And can you

0:37:08.880 --> 0:37:11.920
<v Speaker 1>imagine all of the Egyptians going and all the Israelites going, well,

0:37:11.920 --> 0:37:14.040
<v Speaker 1>what are you going to do? Moses? There's a sea?

0:37:14.280 --> 0:37:18.640
<v Speaker 1>I don't know, but I've got a stick most things

0:37:18.719 --> 0:37:22.520
<v Speaker 1>in my life, it's just I got a stick, and

0:37:22.560 --> 0:37:24.560
<v Speaker 1>truly for the future and what we need to see,

0:37:24.600 --> 0:37:26.880
<v Speaker 1>even with all that we've accomplished in our thirteen years,

0:37:26.880 --> 0:37:29.600
<v Speaker 1>it's the equivalent of a stick because we need some

0:37:29.640 --> 0:37:34.120
<v Speaker 1>red seas to part. Sarah looked foolish at the maternity

0:37:34.760 --> 0:37:39.560
<v Speaker 1>shopping section in Walmart. What are you doing, Sarah, I'm

0:37:39.560 --> 0:37:42.640
<v Speaker 1>poud to birtha baby. Honey, Wow, I thought your eggs

0:37:42.680 --> 0:37:50.600
<v Speaker 1>dried up. Yeah, well, you know so much I could

0:37:50.640 --> 0:37:54.680
<v Speaker 1>say right now, but I'm just gonna go. How foolish

0:37:54.680 --> 0:37:56.880
<v Speaker 1>do the Israelites look? Marching around the walls of Jericho,

0:37:57.719 --> 0:38:00.560
<v Speaker 1>No cruise, missiles, no nuke, just nothing. How fooish do

0:38:00.560 --> 0:38:04.280
<v Speaker 1>we look? We're doing the same, spiritually speaking, marching round walls,

0:38:04.840 --> 0:38:08.480
<v Speaker 1>seeing demonic strongholds come down. Seeing it looks people like

0:38:08.719 --> 0:38:10.760
<v Speaker 1>all of the injustices and the pain and the suffering

0:38:10.800 --> 0:38:12.400
<v Speaker 1>and the chaos and the division on the earth. They're like,

0:38:12.400 --> 0:38:15.640
<v Speaker 1>what are you all doing? We're building arcs so we

0:38:15.680 --> 0:38:18.279
<v Speaker 1>can gather and we can pray and we can seek God,

0:38:18.320 --> 0:38:20.680
<v Speaker 1>and we can fill altars with people being saved and

0:38:20.680 --> 0:38:23.200
<v Speaker 1>people being delivered and people being healed, and marriage is

0:38:23.239 --> 0:38:25.879
<v Speaker 1>being restored and children coming back to the king. Oh

0:38:25.880 --> 0:38:29.720
<v Speaker 1>that's what we're doing. No, No, we're marching, looking foolish.

0:38:29.800 --> 0:38:32.960
<v Speaker 1>We know, we know it's not cool, but we're marching.

0:38:33.280 --> 0:38:36.200
<v Speaker 1>How foolish did David look with a nine foot giant

0:38:36.640 --> 0:38:38.640
<v Speaker 1>in front of him, and he's got five little stones.

0:38:38.640 --> 0:38:41.520
<v Speaker 1>Often that's how we think. I've got my little sling

0:38:41.600 --> 0:38:44.200
<v Speaker 1>shot and there's a giant. How foolish did they still

0:38:44.239 --> 0:38:48.239
<v Speaker 1>look going into the king when she wasn't summoned, she

0:38:48.320 --> 0:38:51.239
<v Speaker 1>could have been killed for speaking up. How foolish did

0:38:51.280 --> 0:38:53.480
<v Speaker 1>Caleb look at eighty five saying to Joshua, I am

0:38:53.520 --> 0:38:55.759
<v Speaker 1>not cashing in my four oh one game. This is

0:38:55.800 --> 0:38:58.320
<v Speaker 1>not happening. There is no such word as retirement in

0:38:58.360 --> 0:39:00.440
<v Speaker 1>the Bible. I'm refiring. I'm not reaching im siring at

0:39:00.440 --> 0:39:04.040
<v Speaker 1>eighty five, I'm not I'm not doing that. How foolish

0:39:04.040 --> 0:39:08.160
<v Speaker 1>did Mary look this time of the year, a pregnant, virgin,

0:39:08.760 --> 0:39:14.120
<v Speaker 1>teenage chick. Foolish? How foolish did the wise men look

0:39:14.120 --> 0:39:17.960
<v Speaker 1>following the star? How foolish did Peter look stepping on

0:39:18.080 --> 0:39:20.600
<v Speaker 1>the water out of a boat. How foolish would the

0:39:20.600 --> 0:39:22.400
<v Speaker 1>woman with the issue of blood have looked as she

0:39:22.760 --> 0:39:26.080
<v Speaker 1>grabbed the hem of his garment. How foolish did Paul

0:39:26.120 --> 0:39:29.200
<v Speaker 1>and Silas look as they're sitting in prison and they're

0:39:29.239 --> 0:39:32.480
<v Speaker 1>singing Hallelujah here below, and they're just like believing God.

0:39:33.880 --> 0:39:36.359
<v Speaker 1>How foolish did the little boy look with five fish

0:39:36.440 --> 0:39:41.560
<v Speaker 1>and two loaves? How foolish? And of course of all

0:39:41.600 --> 0:39:44.120
<v Speaker 1>of them, how foolish did Jesus Christ look hanging on

0:39:44.160 --> 0:39:48.240
<v Speaker 1>that chriss half naked, people looking at him going, that's

0:39:48.320 --> 0:39:53.960
<v Speaker 1>your Messiah, that king of the Jews, that's him. You're

0:39:54.000 --> 0:39:58.720
<v Speaker 1>all in over him, coming to church every Sunday, building buildings,

0:39:58.719 --> 0:40:03.040
<v Speaker 1>bringing a game changer over him. You even really believe

0:40:03.080 --> 0:40:07.799
<v Speaker 1>that stuff, you really believe this is it? Well, if

0:40:07.840 --> 0:40:12.600
<v Speaker 1>we would carry on the Hebrews eleven Hall of faith,

0:40:13.320 --> 0:40:15.520
<v Speaker 1>if we would continue to say we want to be

0:40:16.320 --> 0:40:19.839
<v Speaker 1>counted into that cloud of witnesses, we Elevation Church want

0:40:19.840 --> 0:40:22.480
<v Speaker 1>to go down in history as people that dared to

0:40:22.520 --> 0:40:25.880
<v Speaker 1>look foolish and believe God, we might see exactly the

0:40:25.880 --> 0:40:28.439
<v Speaker 1>same result as these people did. Because here is the deal.

0:40:28.719 --> 0:40:32.160
<v Speaker 1>Everyone else can laugh. But Noah and his family, they

0:40:32.200 --> 0:40:35.640
<v Speaker 1>were saved from the flood. Moses did see the Red

0:40:35.680 --> 0:40:39.920
<v Speaker 1>Sea part. Sarah did give birth to Isaac. The Israelites

0:40:40.040 --> 0:40:44.000
<v Speaker 1>did see the walls of Jericho fall. David did defeat Goliath,

0:40:44.400 --> 0:40:49.120
<v Speaker 1>Esther stop the Jewish genocide. Caleb did get hebron. Mary

0:40:49.360 --> 0:40:52.719
<v Speaker 1>did give birth to Jesus Peter did walk on water.

0:40:53.080 --> 0:40:55.400
<v Speaker 1>The woman with the issue of blood, she was healed.

0:40:55.640 --> 0:40:59.320
<v Speaker 1>Paulam silas they weren't free from prison. The little Boy's

0:40:59.440 --> 0:41:04.239
<v Speaker 1>lunch feed five thousand and Jesus Christ got off that cross.

0:41:04.320 --> 0:41:07.400
<v Speaker 1>He raised again from the dead. He halts the keys

0:41:07.520 --> 0:41:10.920
<v Speaker 1>to help a debt in his hand, and not Bible

0:41:11.120 --> 0:41:15.560
<v Speaker 1>says than the same spirit the race Jesus Christ from

0:41:15.560 --> 0:41:19.440
<v Speaker 1>the dead lives on the inside of you and lives

0:41:19.680 --> 0:41:24.280
<v Speaker 1>on the inside of me. Deaf Elevation Church, we can't

0:41:24.600 --> 0:41:29.759
<v Speaker 1>do all things for Christ. Jesus strength enough, so let

0:41:30.360 --> 0:41:36.080
<v Speaker 1>us also run with insurance the race that is set

0:41:36.160 --> 0:41:45.279
<v Speaker 1>before us in Jesus' name, In Jesus' name, Amen Church, Amen, Amen, Amen. Hey,

0:41:45.280 --> 0:41:48.080
<v Speaker 1>thanks for joining us online today. We really believe this

0:41:48.160 --> 0:41:51.879
<v Speaker 1>year and offering can be a game changer in your life. Now,

0:41:51.880 --> 0:41:54.640
<v Speaker 1>this is an opportunity to not just hear the message,

0:41:54.760 --> 0:41:56.600
<v Speaker 1>but to really be a part of it. For some

0:41:56.719 --> 0:41:59.000
<v Speaker 1>of you, you may need to start by bringing the tide.

0:41:59.040 --> 0:42:01.480
<v Speaker 1>That's the first ten percent. Now. For others it might

0:42:01.560 --> 0:42:04.840
<v Speaker 1>be to go above and beyond the tithe and bring

0:42:05.120 --> 0:42:08.879
<v Speaker 1>an offering. Now. Either way, we want everyone to participate

0:42:09.160 --> 0:42:12.120
<v Speaker 1>in the game Changer Year End Offering. You can go

0:42:12.200 --> 0:42:16.239
<v Speaker 1>to Elevation Church dot org to find out everything that

0:42:16.280 --> 0:42:18.160
<v Speaker 1>you need to know about how to give and how

0:42:18.200 --> 0:42:20.920
<v Speaker 1>to participate in this year end offering. But one of

0:42:21.000 --> 0:42:23.759
<v Speaker 1>the most important things is to just take a few

0:42:23.800 --> 0:42:26.400
<v Speaker 1>minutes just head over to that website and set up

0:42:26.440 --> 0:42:29.120
<v Speaker 1>your giving and make sure you choose game Changer and

0:42:29.160 --> 0:42:32.320
<v Speaker 1>the drop down menu to make sure that you're contributing

0:42:32.440 --> 0:42:35.520
<v Speaker 1>specifically to our year end offering. So make sure that

0:42:35.560 --> 0:42:37.520
<v Speaker 1>you do that on that site. We're excited to see

0:42:37.520 --> 0:42:40.120
<v Speaker 1>how God is going to move in our church in

0:42:40.200 --> 0:42:42.839
<v Speaker 1>this season and really believe that God wants to do

0:42:42.920 --> 0:42:47.280
<v Speaker 1>something special in your life.