WEBVTT - You Are Not It 0:00:02.160 --> 0:00:04.680 Hey, this is Stephen Ferdick. I'm the pastor of Elevation 0:00:04.960 --> 0:00:07.200 Church and this is our podcast. I wanted to thank 0:00:07.200 --> 0:00:10.520 you for joining us today. Hope this inspires you. Hope 0:00:10.560 --> 0:00:12.600 it builds your faith. Hope it gives your perspective to 0:00:12.600 --> 0:00:18.600 see God is moving in your life. Enjoy the message. 0:00:19.680 --> 0:00:23.959 All right, stay standing, Stay standing. I want to share 0:00:23.960 --> 0:00:29.640 with you today a story in Mark chapter nine, Mark 0:00:29.720 --> 0:00:39.280 chapter nine, verse fourteen through twenty nine. And let's don't 0:00:39.320 --> 0:00:43.720 let the dramatic nature of this Bible story make us 0:00:43.720 --> 0:00:47.920 think that it doesn't apply to us. Because the story 0:00:47.960 --> 0:00:53.639 I'm going to read you it's very extreme, and there 0:00:53.680 --> 0:00:56.120 are people here who have extreme situations that you're dealing 0:00:56.160 --> 0:01:01.440 with and joining us who have extreme situations. But even 0:01:01.480 --> 0:01:03.760 if the situation that you're dealing with in your life 0:01:03.760 --> 0:01:06.000 today and the need that you have isn't this dramatic 0:01:06.080 --> 0:01:08.959 or doesn't fit this particular description of this picture, I 0:01:09.000 --> 0:01:12.160 believe the dynamics of what God wants to teach us 0:01:12.200 --> 0:01:14.400 what apply to every person in the room of every age. 0:01:14.520 --> 0:01:18.399 So just with that in your mind, listen as I 0:01:18.440 --> 0:01:21.720 read this account. The scripture says Mark chapter nine, verse 0:01:21.800 --> 0:01:26.520 fourteen when they came to the other disciples, they saw 0:01:26.600 --> 0:01:30.120 a large crowd around them and the teachers of the 0:01:30.200 --> 0:01:33.479 law arguing with them. As soon as all the people 0:01:33.560 --> 0:01:37.000 saw Jesus, they were overwhelmed with wonder and ran to 0:01:37.040 --> 0:01:41.520 greet him. What are you arguing with them about? He asked. 0:01:42.319 --> 0:01:44.680 A man in the crowd answered, teacher, I brought you 0:01:44.760 --> 0:01:49.440 my son, who is possessed by a spirit that has 0:01:49.560 --> 0:01:55.920 robbed him of speech. Whenever it seizes him. Whenever it 0:01:56.120 --> 0:02:00.560 seizes him, it throws him to the ground. He foams 0:02:00.600 --> 0:02:05.720 at the mouth, gnashes his teeth, and becomes rigid. I 0:02:05.800 --> 0:02:08.960 asked your disciples to drive out the spirit, but they 0:02:08.960 --> 0:02:14.920 could not. And listen to Jesus, How frustrated he solves 0:02:14.960 --> 0:02:20.360 you unbelieving generation, Jesus replied, how long shall I stay 0:02:20.400 --> 0:02:23.320 with you? How long shall I put up with you? 0:02:24.480 --> 0:02:29.280 Bring the boy to me. Bring him to me. Now, 0:02:29.280 --> 0:02:31.480 hear the Lord saying that today to somebody. Bring him 0:02:31.520 --> 0:02:37.079 to me. Now, let's keep reading. So they brought him, 0:02:37.280 --> 0:02:39.880 and when the spirit saw Jesus, it immediately threw the 0:02:39.880 --> 0:02:42.600 boy into a convulsion. He fell to the ground and 0:02:42.760 --> 0:02:45.160 rolled around, foaming at the mouth, and Jesus asked the 0:02:45.200 --> 0:02:49.840 boy's father, how long has he been like this? From childhood? 0:02:49.840 --> 0:02:53.600 He answered? It has often thrown him into fire or 0:02:53.680 --> 0:02:57.239 water to kill him. But if you can do anything, 0:02:58.080 --> 0:03:02.280 take pity on us and help us if you can, 0:03:03.919 --> 0:03:09.280 said Jesus, I like that part. You like that too. 0:03:10.880 --> 0:03:19.720 Everything is possible for one who believes. Oh. Immediately, the 0:03:19.760 --> 0:03:25.720 boy's father exclaimed, I do believe. Help me overcome my unbelief. 0:03:27.120 --> 0:03:29.440 When Jesus saw that a crowd was running to the scene, 0:03:29.480 --> 0:03:33.840 he rebuked the impure spirit, you deaf and mute spirit. 0:03:33.960 --> 0:03:37.320 He said, I command you come out of him and 0:03:37.400 --> 0:03:43.480 never enter him again. And the spirit shrieked, convulsed him violently, 0:03:43.560 --> 0:03:46.200 and came out. The boy looked so much like a 0:03:46.240 --> 0:03:52.720 corpse that many said, he's dead. But Jesus MANI said, 0:03:52.880 --> 0:04:00.520 he's dead, but Jesus. Many said, that's it. But Jesus. 0:04:01.360 --> 0:04:08.040 Many said it's over. But Jesus, WHOA, that's not my message. 0:04:08.120 --> 0:04:10.120 But I want to shut in the middle of the 0:04:10.320 --> 0:04:20.880 cities by God, Hey, but God who But Jesus took 0:04:20.960 --> 0:04:23.600 him by the hand and lifted him to his feet, 0:04:23.680 --> 0:04:27.800 and he stood up. Now, this is the part I 0:04:27.800 --> 0:04:31.760 want to preach about. After Jesus had gone indoors. His 0:04:31.839 --> 0:04:37.039 disciples asked him privately, kind of embarrassed about the way 0:04:37.120 --> 0:04:41.440 things went down, just experienced a terrible failure and got 0:04:41.480 --> 0:04:46.120 called out in front of the Son of God. They 0:04:46.160 --> 0:04:53.919 asked him, why couldn't we drive it out? And here's 0:04:53.960 --> 0:04:59.600 why Verse twenty nine. This kind can come out only 0:05:00.320 --> 0:05:08.920 by prayer? Why couldn't we dry it out? This kind 0:05:09.880 --> 0:05:12.920 can only come out by prayer? And I want to 0:05:12.920 --> 0:05:22.240 give you this message today. You are not it. You 0:05:22.320 --> 0:05:25.560 remember aenie meenie, miney moe, My mama told me two 0:05:25.640 --> 0:05:30.760 fifty and you put your finger six feet from your 0:05:30.800 --> 0:05:33.040 neighbor's face. Let's obey the law. But look at him 0:05:33.120 --> 0:05:36.159 right now and say you are put it in the chat. 0:05:36.360 --> 0:05:43.400 Not it be seated. Let's talk about it. You are 0:05:45.320 --> 0:05:54.719 not it. Oh. It's my oldest son's sixteenth birthday today, 0:05:54.800 --> 0:06:05.000 Happy birthday alive. He's not in church today, he's on 0:06:05.000 --> 0:06:07.560 a little trip with his mom. They're coming back today. 0:06:08.120 --> 0:06:11.840 And I love you so much. I'm so proud of you. 0:06:12.680 --> 0:06:15.800 It hurts how much you love your kids, doesn't it. 0:06:15.800 --> 0:06:20.120 It hurts how much you love your kids. Sometimes I 0:06:20.200 --> 0:06:22.080 just walk by them. I can't even speak. I just 0:06:23.120 --> 0:06:26.240 sometimes I just walk by them and just think, Man, 0:06:27.800 --> 0:06:31.200 it hurts. I hate you for making me love you 0:06:31.240 --> 0:06:38.279 so much. I love you. Man. He's watching. They're flying back. 0:06:38.320 --> 0:06:40.480 I think they're headed to the airport as we speak. 0:06:40.480 --> 0:06:42.480 And if the signal's good, he'll be getting this message. 0:06:42.600 --> 0:06:44.599 If not, I I'd be watching this message and taking 0:06:44.640 --> 0:06:48.719 notes later in the week. Little birthday trip. They're headed 0:06:48.720 --> 0:06:51.960 back today. We're excited to have Holly back today. Our family, 0:06:51.960 --> 0:06:55.440 our Graham and Abbey, are really excited. We have door 0:06:55.520 --> 0:07:01.000 dashed every restaurant in the Carolina's three days a mirror. 0:07:02.960 --> 0:07:08.320 So sixteen, I got a sixteen year old, y'all, that 0:07:08.480 --> 0:07:13.000 is the devil. I rebuke that accusation on my age 0:07:13.200 --> 0:07:20.120 sixteen year old. But Elijah is I don't know if 0:07:20.120 --> 0:07:22.320 he's a litigator at heart. He always finds a loophole, 0:07:23.360 --> 0:07:27.560 kind of reflecting on his personality because when you're a dad, 0:07:27.600 --> 0:07:31.200 you look for all these techniques and you'll steal, begborrow 0:07:31.240 --> 0:07:33.760 anything as a dad, you know, like the guy in 0:07:33.800 --> 0:07:35.720 this passage, he's doing anything he can to get a 0:07:35.760 --> 0:07:38.760 son healed. And when you become a parent, since God 0:07:38.800 --> 0:07:42.080 forgot to put the manual and the instruction sheet inside, 0:07:42.120 --> 0:07:44.640 all the little seventy five million pieces of parenting a 0:07:44.720 --> 0:07:48.280 human life. And since they make you take a test 0:07:48.280 --> 0:07:51.640 to drive a car, but not to be responsible for 0:07:51.720 --> 0:07:55.600 a human life, you'll try anything. My friend Judah Smith 0:07:55.880 --> 0:07:58.800 told me that his dad used to tell him when 0:07:58.800 --> 0:08:01.240 he was a little boy, of all the five year 0:08:01.280 --> 0:08:03.160 olds in the world or whatever age he was seven 0:08:03.160 --> 0:08:04.440 and nine. He said he did this all the time 0:08:04.480 --> 0:08:08.040 growing up. He said that his dad would say, if 0:08:08.080 --> 0:08:11.120 they lined up all the five year olds, seven year olds, 0:08:11.200 --> 0:08:13.440 nine year olds in the world, and then he would 0:08:13.520 --> 0:08:18.360 name all the continents and countries, all the seven year 0:08:18.360 --> 0:08:24.040 olds from India and Australia, Africa, all the foreign countries, Alabama, 0:08:27.120 --> 0:08:32.080 Chief Shock, and they let me choose of all the 0:08:32.320 --> 0:08:36.960 five year olds, I choose you. So I tried that 0:08:37.040 --> 0:08:40.720 on my kids, and of course Elijah is our lab rat. 0:08:40.760 --> 0:08:43.440 And I do have a theory about firstborn children. While 0:08:43.440 --> 0:08:45.960 you're putting away their college funds, save them a therapy fund, 0:08:45.960 --> 0:08:49.000 because you're learning all the stuff that doesn't work on them. 0:08:49.640 --> 0:08:54.240 And Elijah, when I was putting him to bed one night, 0:08:54.360 --> 0:08:56.920 I said, of all the kids in the world, if 0:08:56.960 --> 0:08:58.920 they lined up every kid from and I went through 0:08:58.920 --> 0:09:01.480 the role call of all the countries and states that 0:09:01.520 --> 0:09:03.360 I could think of. If I could choose anyone, if 0:09:03.400 --> 0:09:05.400 God let me choose any little boy, a little five 0:09:05.440 --> 0:09:08.760 year old boy, I would choose you. And he'd say thing, 0:09:09.040 --> 0:09:10.760 and then I'll do it again the next night and 0:09:10.840 --> 0:09:12.400 the next night. But the third night I did it. 0:09:13.040 --> 0:09:15.320 Elijah says, I say, if they lined up all the 0:09:15.640 --> 0:09:17.560 kids in the world that were five years old and 0:09:17.640 --> 0:09:21.319 let me choose one, I would choose you. And he goes, technically, 0:09:21.720 --> 0:09:24.600 you can't say that because you haven't seen all the 0:09:24.640 --> 0:09:30.320 five year olds in the world, And y'all think that's bad. 0:09:30.400 --> 0:09:34.080 Graham is much worse. Graham's he's a couple of years 0:09:34.120 --> 0:09:37.880 younger than Elijah, and he's much more ruthless. And one 0:09:37.960 --> 0:09:39.520 night with Graham I tried to turn it on him. 0:09:39.520 --> 0:09:42.040 I said, now, if they lined up all the daddy's 0:09:42.080 --> 0:09:44.800 in the world, would you pick me? And he goes, 0:09:44.960 --> 0:09:47.880 just cold blooded, He goes, how could I know? I 0:09:47.920 --> 0:09:55.520 haven't seen all the different dads talking about the demon 0:09:55.559 --> 0:10:01.679 possessed children today in the scriptures. No, no, no, I know. 0:10:03.760 --> 0:10:06.040 Part of me was like, I feel you man, because 0:10:07.679 --> 0:10:09.439 I really mean the part about I wouldn't pick a 0:10:09.440 --> 0:10:11.559 different kid. I make a lot of jokes in the fullpit, 0:10:11.640 --> 0:10:15.320 but you know, being a dad is to me, it's 0:10:15.480 --> 0:10:18.280 the greatest privilege other than being Holly's husband, even more 0:10:18.320 --> 0:10:21.480 than being your pastor. Yes, yes, yes, yes, I would 0:10:21.520 --> 0:10:23.360 let you'll all go to hell before I would let 0:10:23.360 --> 0:10:26.079 one of my kids grow up without an active dad. 0:10:26.160 --> 0:10:28.160 That's just a fact. And I'm not even saying it's right, 0:10:28.200 --> 0:10:33.360 but that's how I feel about it. One guy said 0:10:33.400 --> 0:10:35.800 to me one of the kids baseball games, I was 0:10:35.840 --> 0:10:38.440 getting kind of fired up. Nothing really bad at the umpire, 0:10:38.520 --> 0:10:41.200 but I was kind of, you know, making myself known 0:10:41.360 --> 0:10:43.480 because he made a bad call on my kid. And 0:10:43.520 --> 0:10:44.960 one of the other parents said, I thought you were 0:10:45.000 --> 0:10:48.439 supposed to be a pastor, and I said, but right now, 0:10:48.440 --> 0:10:51.440 I'm a dad. And I went back to yelling at 0:10:51.480 --> 0:10:56.280 the umpire. Right now, you could take my ordination certificate. 0:10:56.280 --> 0:10:58.800 I don't care, man, I'm a dad right now, but 0:10:58.880 --> 0:11:01.439 I do think and when it comes to your kids, 0:11:01.480 --> 0:11:04.840 like how crazy it can be that I thought the 0:11:04.880 --> 0:11:07.600 same thing. Graham was just kidding, obviously when he said 0:11:07.600 --> 0:11:09.200 that he knows I'm the greatest dad of all time. 0:11:09.240 --> 0:11:14.600 But he said what I fear sometimes I think they 0:11:14.640 --> 0:11:19.920 could do better with a different dad. And not to 0:11:19.960 --> 0:11:22.200 go so deep, so quick on y'all, but you know, 0:11:22.240 --> 0:11:24.000 I think every parent has thought it before. I don't 0:11:24.040 --> 0:11:28.320 want to pass this on to you. I don't want to. 0:11:29.240 --> 0:11:32.280 I don't want you to be later in life showing 0:11:32.360 --> 0:11:35.920 up for something, not having the tuition to pay for 0:11:35.960 --> 0:11:37.480 a lesson that I should have taught you when you 0:11:37.480 --> 0:11:39.120 were twelve, but I didn't know I was supposed to 0:11:39.120 --> 0:11:42.680 teach you. And it's nerve wracking. And that's why I 0:11:42.679 --> 0:11:44.560 want to cry when I walk by him sometimes, because 0:11:44.600 --> 0:11:46.920 I'm like, you are so much better of a kid 0:11:46.920 --> 0:11:48.839 than I am of a parent, and I just don't 0:11:48.840 --> 0:11:50.800 want to mess this up for you. And it's a 0:11:50.840 --> 0:11:53.120 real feeling. And I know this isn't Father's Day or 0:11:53.200 --> 0:11:56.679 Mother's Day, but it's my kid's sixteenth birthday. And this 0:11:57.200 --> 0:11:59.600 dad and this passage got me thinking of all the 0:11:59.600 --> 0:12:03.360 different ways that Graham was right. You know, maybe you 0:12:03.400 --> 0:12:05.960 should have a better dad. We watched a Space Gym 0:12:06.440 --> 0:12:09.960 two the other night, and I thought to myself, how 0:12:10.040 --> 0:12:13.480 much better would Graham's life be if Lebron were his dad, like, 0:12:13.559 --> 0:12:16.720 what's inside of him that will never come out? Because 0:12:16.760 --> 0:12:19.880 I'm five to nine, right, So I'm punishing myself for 0:12:19.960 --> 0:12:32.040 genetics that have nothing to do with my decision. I 0:12:32.080 --> 0:12:34.560 don't wonder if Jesus ever looked at the disciples and 0:12:34.600 --> 0:12:39.760 thought I could do a whole lot more with different disciples, 0:12:40.400 --> 0:12:44.200 because you see it in the passage. Jesus wasn't always 0:12:44.360 --> 0:12:48.680 feeding little children Captain D's happy meals, regardless of the 0:12:48.679 --> 0:12:51.360 selected Bible stories that you've had cherry pick for you 0:12:51.440 --> 0:12:54.520 to personify Jesus to always be so patient that he 0:12:54.600 --> 0:12:58.320 never corrected anyone in the passage I just read you, 0:12:58.520 --> 0:13:02.760 and I'm talking seven minutes ago. When I started the sermon, Jesus, 0:13:02.920 --> 0:13:08.680 your Savior, your loving arm Savior, your sheep stroking Savior, 0:13:09.120 --> 0:13:12.600 your good shepherd Savior, your let the children come to 0:13:12.679 --> 0:13:15.840 me Savior, said something that every parent in this room 0:13:15.840 --> 0:13:20.120 has said before. How long shall I put up with you? 0:13:23.800 --> 0:13:26.760 Made me wonder do you ever feel that way about me? 0:13:27.600 --> 0:13:32.640 Heavenly Daddy, Like if you could pick all the preachers 0:13:32.679 --> 0:13:35.240 in the world to be in this pulpit today and 0:13:35.320 --> 0:13:39.080 line them all, the forty one year old preachers, all 0:13:39.120 --> 0:13:42.520 the forty one year old five nine preachers. Would you 0:13:42.559 --> 0:13:54.120 have put me in this pulpit? Sometimes I can't figure 0:13:54.120 --> 0:13:56.960 out did he pick me? Or is he putting up 0:13:56.960 --> 0:14:05.800 with me? Because you know, like I think that I 0:14:05.880 --> 0:14:13.320 am what I do. I am what I do. The 0:14:13.400 --> 0:14:16.440 disciples here stand on the other can work? Can we 0:14:16.480 --> 0:14:18.760 work backwards through the passage, because there's a lot to 0:14:18.800 --> 0:14:21.240 talk about, the only thing you really need to know 0:14:21.240 --> 0:14:23.920 about what happened right before this miracle for the lesson 0:14:23.960 --> 0:14:30.360 today is that Jesus has just taken his favorite three disciples, Peter, James, 0:14:30.360 --> 0:14:34.240 and John up on the mountain to see him transformed 0:14:35.320 --> 0:14:37.760 when they get back down the mountain. And this might 0:14:37.800 --> 0:14:40.920 remind you of Moses coming down Mount Sinai with ten 0:14:40.960 --> 0:14:43.600 commandments and the children of Israel or dance and naked 0:14:43.640 --> 0:14:46.920 around a caf like you can't leave these disciples alone 0:14:47.000 --> 0:14:50.680 for seven days. And they're fighting with the teachers of 0:14:50.720 --> 0:14:54.400 the Law, arguing about something that they were very capable 0:14:54.440 --> 0:14:58.200 of doing but didn't exactly accomplish. And Jesus is explaining 0:14:58.240 --> 0:15:01.400 to them the root of their failure, and he says, 0:15:02.040 --> 0:15:05.480 the reason you couldn't drive it out this evil spirit 0:15:05.560 --> 0:15:09.120 who possessed this boy who has been thrown into fire 0:15:09.200 --> 0:15:12.200 and water, and whose life is on the line. The 0:15:12.280 --> 0:15:16.080 reason you couldn't do it is because this kind of 0:15:16.160 --> 0:15:25.160 situation can only be fixed by prayer. Let me point 0:15:25.200 --> 0:15:29.880 out the obvious. I know you're thinking it. If it 0:15:29.880 --> 0:15:34.840 can only be driven out by prayer, why didn't Jesus 0:15:34.920 --> 0:15:40.960 pray before he cast the spirit out? I'm sure he did, 0:15:41.760 --> 0:15:48.960 Bester Furick, I'm sure he did. Let me see, no, Jesus, look, 0:15:49.120 --> 0:15:52.200 the boy said. The father said, I do believe. Help 0:15:52.240 --> 0:15:54.280 my belief. And Jesus saw a crowd was running, and 0:15:54.320 --> 0:15:57.800 he rebuked the impure spirit, you deafen, mute spirit. He said, 0:15:57.840 --> 0:16:01.080 I command you come out of him and never enter 0:16:01.160 --> 0:16:03.440 him again. And the spirit didn't like it, but he 0:16:03.520 --> 0:16:06.680 had to go. It didn't want to go, but it 0:16:06.720 --> 0:16:08.120 had to go. Put up a fight, but it had 0:16:08.160 --> 0:16:11.280 to go. And the disciples said, why couldn't we do that? 0:16:11.320 --> 0:16:13.120 Because they've done a lot of amazing things, They've healed 0:16:13.120 --> 0:16:14.760 a lot of people. Why couldn't we do it? And 0:16:14.760 --> 0:16:17.200 she said you had to pray, But he didn't pray. 0:16:18.360 --> 0:16:24.040 He just did it, didn't pray. Maybe Jesus isn't so 0:16:24.160 --> 0:16:30.040 much talking about the activity of prayer as the attitude 0:16:30.040 --> 0:16:35.320 of prayer. Maybe he's not talking about the technique. If 0:16:35.360 --> 0:16:37.400 you would have said the right words, you know, if 0:16:37.440 --> 0:16:41.040 you would have done the right whatever you grow up in, 0:16:41.960 --> 0:16:43.480 if you would have done that, if you would have 0:16:43.480 --> 0:16:47.520 done this, you could have had the result. No, it 0:16:47.560 --> 0:16:51.040 seems like the disciples in this particular passage of scripture 0:16:52.040 --> 0:16:58.000 have confused the power with the source. Because when Jesus 0:16:58.080 --> 0:17:01.720 gets down the mountain, they're arguing with the teachers of 0:17:01.760 --> 0:17:06.880 the law. So here's what's happened. They have confused their 0:17:07.000 --> 0:17:11.720 ability to do it with their dependence on the one 0:17:11.800 --> 0:17:21.720 who can enable them. You are not it. Maybe a 0:17:21.760 --> 0:17:27.960 little pride started entering into the disciples. You know, Oh, 0:17:28.119 --> 0:17:30.919 look how God used us last time. If you're not 0:17:31.080 --> 0:17:35.200 careful in your life, you will start to believe that 0:17:35.240 --> 0:17:39.879 you are what you do. One scripture that got my 0:17:39.920 --> 0:17:42.800 attention one time was about Jacob and the Old Testament 0:17:42.880 --> 0:17:44.719 and just came to my mind when I was studying today, 0:17:45.000 --> 0:17:47.080 and I thought I should share it with you. Because 0:17:47.600 --> 0:17:50.440 when he was in the wound with his twin brother Esau, 0:17:50.720 --> 0:17:54.240 he was fighting for position with Esau, and he tried 0:17:54.280 --> 0:17:56.360 to come out first so that he could get all 0:17:56.400 --> 0:18:00.200 the blessings that the firstborn gets. But it didn't exactly 0:18:00.240 --> 0:18:03.240 work because instead of coming out first, he came out 0:18:03.240 --> 0:18:08.399 being named after his aspiration, Jacob Deceiver, supplanter, heel grabber. 0:18:09.200 --> 0:18:12.320 Now Jacob grows up and he does this little trick 0:18:12.400 --> 0:18:15.040 thing where he tricks his brother out of his birthright 0:18:15.080 --> 0:18:17.000 and his blessing, and he learns how to play a 0:18:17.000 --> 0:18:20.359 certain game, and he even wears this really willy suit 0:18:20.480 --> 0:18:22.360 to pretend to be his brother so that his blindfather 0:18:22.440 --> 0:18:24.080 Isaac will think that he's blessing the older one, but 0:18:24.080 --> 0:18:25.719 he's really blessing the younger one. Because you can learn 0:18:25.720 --> 0:18:27.480 how to trick people with stuff you can, you can 0:18:27.600 --> 0:18:31.720 actually act like it and not be it. That's the 0:18:31.880 --> 0:18:34.560 message here to the point that when Jacob had to 0:18:34.640 --> 0:18:37.159 run away from his brother Esau and go stay with 0:18:37.240 --> 0:18:39.640 his uncle Laban, and he was coming back to make 0:18:39.680 --> 0:18:43.840 peace with Esau after twenty years away from his homeland, 0:18:44.359 --> 0:18:47.280 the Bible says something really interesting in Genesis thirty two, 0:18:47.800 --> 0:18:51.280 verse twenty. He said to his messengers, be sure to 0:18:51.320 --> 0:18:55.919 say your servant Jacob is coming behind us, For he 0:18:56.040 --> 0:18:59.480 thought I will pacify my brother, the one I trick. 0:19:00.119 --> 0:19:03.439 I will pacify the issue. I will pacify the thing 0:19:03.480 --> 0:19:06.000 I need to deal with. I will pacify the thing 0:19:06.000 --> 0:19:09.520 I've been running from. I'm going to preach today. I'm 0:19:09.520 --> 0:19:14.639 going to preach today a man. I will pacify my problem. 0:19:14.680 --> 0:19:18.919 With these gifts. He sent out all these animals that 0:19:19.000 --> 0:19:21.960 he had accumulated. He sent out all these clothes that 0:19:22.040 --> 0:19:24.760 he wanted to offer to Esau, and he sent put 0:19:24.800 --> 0:19:28.320 it back off. He sent his gifts ahead. Say it, 0:19:28.640 --> 0:19:33.080 He sent his gifts ahead. One more time. He sent 0:19:33.600 --> 0:19:37.040 his gift ahead. And when I see him, perhaps he'll 0:19:37.080 --> 0:19:39.240 receive me. And I look at Verse twenty one. So 0:19:39.480 --> 0:19:44.400 Jacob's gifts went on ahead of him. The things went 0:19:44.440 --> 0:19:48.320 ahead of him. The things that represented his status went 0:19:48.400 --> 0:19:52.560 ahead of him. The things that were impressive when ahead 0:19:52.560 --> 0:19:56.359 of him. Because maybe Esau will see all these blessings 0:19:56.359 --> 0:19:59.679 that I've acquired, and maybe if I send my gift 0:20:00.160 --> 0:20:05.960 he will accept me. So I'm sending it so that 0:20:06.080 --> 0:20:10.000 he will receive me. But here's the separation. Watch this, 0:20:10.720 --> 0:20:18.679 you are not your gift. His gifts went ahead, but 0:20:18.840 --> 0:20:21.359 he one more time. I'm going to leave this alone 0:20:21.359 --> 0:20:24.240 in a minute. But he himself spent the night in 0:20:24.320 --> 0:20:27.960 the camp when I saw that, it gave me such 0:20:28.040 --> 0:20:31.399 a clear picture of what we do when we confuse 0:20:32.000 --> 0:20:40.760 ourselves with our stuff, ourselves with our gift, ourselves with 0:20:40.800 --> 0:20:43.960 our ability. Did the disciples come to a point where 0:20:43.960 --> 0:20:47.360 they begin to believe that they could do ministry without Jesus? 0:20:49.280 --> 0:20:52.679 And how many times have I found myself in a 0:20:52.720 --> 0:20:56.359 state of failure because I tried to do what God 0:20:56.440 --> 0:21:01.400 called me to do without him. You begin to believe 0:21:01.400 --> 0:21:05.960 you can just do stuff I work last time and 0:21:06.040 --> 0:21:12.040 do it again. You know what that's called manipulation? Huh. 0:21:12.160 --> 0:21:14.560 You have me to say more about that, I'm honestly 0:21:14.600 --> 0:21:18.479 a lot more about that. You are not your gift. 0:21:19.440 --> 0:21:21.920 When Jacob was left alone from all of his stuff, 0:21:22.040 --> 0:21:24.280 he had to wrestle with who he was. And that's 0:21:24.320 --> 0:21:26.760 the season of life some of us are in right now. 0:21:27.920 --> 0:21:29.720 Is that we realize at the end of the day, 0:21:30.080 --> 0:21:32.639 I can drive it, but eventually I have to park it. 0:21:34.800 --> 0:21:38.560 I can wear it, but eventually nobody else's name can 0:21:38.600 --> 0:21:41.959 make me feel sure of who I am. If I 0:21:42.040 --> 0:21:44.960 wear a brand name on the outside, but I don't 0:21:45.119 --> 0:21:48.560 know it on the inside. If my identity is given 0:21:48.680 --> 0:21:51.840 through a gift that I have, or even a label 0:21:51.880 --> 0:21:55.000 that people confer on me, I will always be a 0:21:55.119 --> 0:22:03.680 slave to their label. It says. The other disciples were 0:22:03.760 --> 0:22:08.120 standing there arguing with the teachers of the law, arguing 0:22:08.160 --> 0:22:11.360 and fighting, while a young boy is dying, and Jesus said, 0:22:11.440 --> 0:22:13.800 how long do I have to put up with y'all? 0:22:15.800 --> 0:22:20.240 I picked y'all, but I'm sick of y'all. Heavenly Father, 0:22:20.400 --> 0:22:22.959 deliver me from stupid. You haven't pray anything like this, 0:22:26.640 --> 0:22:32.399 and yet God, God is not like Graham. God isn't 0:22:32.480 --> 0:22:37.760 still shopping his options on you. I read something in 0:22:37.840 --> 0:22:41.399 Ephesians too that helped me one time. That says, for 0:22:41.520 --> 0:22:46.120 it is by grace you have been saved. Woo. How 0:22:46.160 --> 0:22:50.720 many are really glad about that? Right there? Let me 0:22:50.800 --> 0:22:52.960 show you how it could have been without Jesus, without 0:22:53.000 --> 0:22:55.400 the blood of Christ, without the mercy of God. If 0:22:55.400 --> 0:22:57.240 God were not slow to anger and bounding in love, 0:22:57.520 --> 0:23:01.480 it could say by behavior you are saved, and you'd 0:23:01.480 --> 0:23:03.600 be burning up your butt wouldn't be able to be 0:23:03.640 --> 0:23:05.600 in that seat right now. You'd be burning with the 0:23:05.760 --> 0:23:09.760 fire of judgment right now, little sneaky self, I know 0:23:09.800 --> 0:23:11.560 what you've been up to. If it was by behavior 0:23:11.600 --> 0:23:15.200 you have been saved. But he said, by grace, you've 0:23:15.200 --> 0:23:21.119 been saved. Watch us through faith. And this is not 0:23:21.240 --> 0:23:27.840 from yourself. It is the gift of God, not of work, 0:23:27.920 --> 0:23:31.760 so that no one can boast. But Verse ten really 0:23:31.760 --> 0:23:34.240 sealed the deal for me because that made me happy 0:23:34.240 --> 0:23:37.639 to think about is God's gift not mine that identifies me? 0:23:39.960 --> 0:23:41.680 I think I need to teach this more in the church. 0:23:41.920 --> 0:23:43.960 I don't think we understand what it means to have 0:23:44.119 --> 0:23:49.480 imputed righteousness, our standing in Christ. I think we still 0:23:49.520 --> 0:23:53.119 secretly think that some days God doesn't even want to 0:23:53.160 --> 0:23:58.199 talk to you. I think we still secretly think that 0:23:58.240 --> 0:24:01.040 we can hit a certain point where we actually deserve 0:24:01.119 --> 0:24:03.040 and are worthy of the grace of God. So we 0:24:03.119 --> 0:24:06.440 haven't truly accepted Ephesians to it. Yet we still can't 0:24:06.480 --> 0:24:12.080 receive his gift because we're still identifying ourselves by ours. 0:24:13.960 --> 0:24:16.439 He said it's not a work, so that no one 0:24:16.720 --> 0:24:22.320 can boast. The disciples are down there arguing because they 0:24:22.359 --> 0:24:26.280 thought they were the work they were doing. Now Verse 0:24:26.320 --> 0:24:28.760 ten is awesome. You thought eight and nine were good. 0:24:28.960 --> 0:24:33.400 Look at verse ten. This is a prime cut. Baby, 0:24:34.480 --> 0:24:41.520 you ready for we are God's handiwork created in Christ 0:24:41.640 --> 0:24:47.840 Jesus to do good works which God prepared in advance 0:24:48.000 --> 0:24:54.200 for us to do. That blessed me to know that 0:24:54.280 --> 0:24:59.359 God created the work for me to do before he 0:24:59.440 --> 0:25:04.080 created me me to do it with diverse again, it said, 0:25:04.160 --> 0:25:08.520 God prepared the work in advance. We define ourselves by 0:25:08.520 --> 0:25:11.040 the work that we do. That's why for some of you, 0:25:11.080 --> 0:25:12.800 the last year and a half has been the hardest, 0:25:13.119 --> 0:25:15.600 because either you've been unemployed for the first time in 0:25:15.640 --> 0:25:19.160 your life or your position has been shifted. I told 0:25:19.160 --> 0:25:22.399 our campus pastors a few months ago how hard it 0:25:22.560 --> 0:25:24.639 was to be a pastor when there were no people 0:25:24.640 --> 0:25:28.680 in the building, when there were no people to pastor, 0:25:28.920 --> 0:25:31.680 and you can't lay hands on people, and you can't 0:25:31.720 --> 0:25:34.520 pray for people touching or they'll come lock you up. 0:25:35.119 --> 0:25:37.840 The CDC will shut you down. And that's fine, and 0:25:37.840 --> 0:25:39.880 that's good to be healthy. But I talked to them 0:25:39.920 --> 0:25:43.720 about how difficult it is when you've identified yourself one 0:25:43.760 --> 0:25:46.840 way in one season to have that strip. But the 0:25:46.880 --> 0:25:50.040 Bible says that Jacob got the greatest blessing of his 0:25:50.160 --> 0:25:54.879 life when he was stripped of his gifts and left 0:25:55.359 --> 0:25:59.320 with himself. So if it gets me to the core 0:25:59.400 --> 0:26:02.720 of my self off to realize that before God gave 0:26:02.800 --> 0:26:05.720 me the work to do, he created a work with 0:26:05.840 --> 0:26:09.640 my name on it. God isn't like Graham. He isn't shopping. 0:26:09.800 --> 0:26:11.800 Would they be a better parent, would they be a 0:26:11.840 --> 0:26:14.200 better fit for this opportunity? Huh? I wonder if I 0:26:14.200 --> 0:26:16.720 could get somebody a little bit smarter, a little bit taller. 0:26:16.800 --> 0:26:18.280 I wish I was a baller. I wish I had 0:26:18.320 --> 0:26:20.840 a good No, that's another era and Todd. God's not 0:26:20.960 --> 0:26:23.919 doing all that. God doesn't pick people like people pick people. 0:26:24.520 --> 0:26:28.600