1
00:00:01,520 --> 00:00:02,800
Speaker 1: Hey, this is Stephen Ferdick.

2
00:00:02,840 --> 00:00:05,840
Speaker 2: I'm the pastor of Elevation Church and this is our podcast.

3
00:00:05,880 --> 00:00:08,320
Speaker 2: I wanted to thank you for joining us today. Hope

4
00:00:08,320 --> 00:00:11,040
Speaker 2: this inspires you. Hope it builds your faith. Hope it

5
00:00:11,039 --> 00:00:13,080
Speaker 2: gives your perspective to see God is moving.

6
00:00:12,920 --> 00:00:18,760
Speaker 1: In your life. Enjoy the message. What an awesome atmosphere

7
00:00:18,800 --> 00:00:22,560
Speaker 1: of thanksgiving and praise today. And I'm so grateful to

8
00:00:22,560 --> 00:00:24,239
Speaker 1: be able to be here with you today to share

9
00:00:24,320 --> 00:00:26,400
Speaker 1: God's word. My name is Jonathan. If we haven't got

10
00:00:26,400 --> 00:00:29,880
Speaker 1: the chance to meet, everybody calls me a lot of

11
00:00:29,920 --> 00:00:32,559
Speaker 1: love from over here at Valentine. I have the privilege

12
00:00:32,560 --> 00:00:35,199
Speaker 1: of serving here as the Valentine Campus pastor. I've had

13
00:00:35,200 --> 00:00:38,280
Speaker 1: the honor of serving under Pastor Stephen and Pastor Hawley

14
00:00:38,360 --> 00:00:41,360
Speaker 1: for twelve years now, almost thirteen years now, and it's

15
00:00:41,360 --> 00:00:43,120
Speaker 1: been the joy of our life. How man, You're grateful

16
00:00:43,240 --> 00:00:46,360
Speaker 1: that pastor of Stephen and Pastor Hawley gave God there

17
00:00:46,479 --> 00:00:49,000
Speaker 1: yes and created a place for us to live out

18
00:00:49,440 --> 00:00:54,800
Speaker 1: the calling and mandate on our life. And and I'm

19
00:00:54,800 --> 00:00:57,080
Speaker 1: so grateful I get to share God's word with you today.

20
00:00:57,120 --> 00:00:58,960
Speaker 1: I've been praying about what to share, and I felt

21
00:00:58,960 --> 00:01:01,360
Speaker 1: like the Lord gave me a real clear assignment. I

22
00:01:01,440 --> 00:01:04,000
Speaker 1: was asking God to give me a word that would

23
00:01:04,080 --> 00:01:06,440
Speaker 1: inspire you to give as we are in this special

24
00:01:06,480 --> 00:01:08,720
Speaker 1: time in our church, and the Lord said, don't inspire them,

25
00:01:08,760 --> 00:01:11,160
Speaker 1: instruct them, And so I came with a word of

26
00:01:11,200 --> 00:01:13,720
Speaker 1: instruction today. How many you know that God's words serves

27
00:01:14,040 --> 00:01:16,440
Speaker 1: different purposes in our life. He can encourage us through

28
00:01:16,480 --> 00:01:19,360
Speaker 1: his word. He can inspire us through this word. Sometimes

29
00:01:19,360 --> 00:01:22,120
Speaker 1: this Holy Spirit will give us an insight. But I'm

30
00:01:22,160 --> 00:01:24,880
Speaker 1: growing more and more grateful for the times the Lord

31
00:01:24,880 --> 00:01:27,800
Speaker 1: shows up with an instruction for me. And that's my

32
00:01:27,880 --> 00:01:31,160
Speaker 1: assignment for today. And this really is a special time

33
00:01:31,200 --> 00:01:33,399
Speaker 1: a year for us here at Elevation Churches. We're getting

34
00:01:33,440 --> 00:01:35,880
Speaker 1: ready for our expansion offering. In just a couple of weeks.

35
00:01:35,880 --> 00:01:38,520
Speaker 1: We got a new building coming in Raleigh, North Carolina.

36
00:01:38,560 --> 00:01:43,400
Speaker 1: Shout out through our Raleigh campus. We just opened a

37
00:01:43,480 --> 00:01:46,120
Speaker 1: brand new Greenville campus. We're about to launch a campus

38
00:01:46,160 --> 00:01:49,440
Speaker 1: in Somerville, South Carolina, outside of Charleston. And can we

39
00:01:49,480 --> 00:01:56,520
Speaker 1: thank God for all the outreach that's happening Goodest Ministry. Well,

40
00:01:56,560 --> 00:01:58,760
Speaker 1: I want to read this scripture to you today from

41
00:01:58,840 --> 00:02:01,000
Speaker 1: Hey Guy, Chapter one. If you haven't heard of Hagai.

42
00:02:01,720 --> 00:02:04,520
Speaker 1: He's a minor prophet that the Lord uses in a

43
00:02:04,600 --> 00:02:08,680
Speaker 1: major way. And one thing that caught my attention was,

44
00:02:08,880 --> 00:02:11,200
Speaker 1: you know, in your Bible there's the inspired word, and

45
00:02:11,240 --> 00:02:13,280
Speaker 1: then there's the parts the publishers kind of put out

46
00:02:13,280 --> 00:02:15,160
Speaker 1: the top of each section to give you an idea

47
00:02:15,639 --> 00:02:17,760
Speaker 1: of what that chapter's about. Well, right at the top

48
00:02:17,840 --> 00:02:21,120
Speaker 1: of hey guy, chapter one, it says, this a call

49
00:02:21,320 --> 00:02:24,760
Speaker 1: to build the House of the Lord. And I just

50
00:02:24,840 --> 00:02:27,120
Speaker 1: thought that was so fitting for the season that we're in,

51
00:02:27,200 --> 00:02:29,240
Speaker 1: because whether you've been a part of this church for

52
00:02:29,320 --> 00:02:31,000
Speaker 1: just a little while, or whether you've been a part

53
00:02:31,040 --> 00:02:33,880
Speaker 1: of this church for over a decade or all twenty years,

54
00:02:33,880 --> 00:02:36,800
Speaker 1: maybe there's a call on each of us, an assignment

55
00:02:36,800 --> 00:02:39,520
Speaker 1: from God right now to build the House of God.

56
00:02:40,200 --> 00:02:42,040
Speaker 1: And while, of course, you know this offering will go

57
00:02:42,080 --> 00:02:44,720
Speaker 1: towards helping us launch new campuses, y'all know this. It's

58
00:02:44,760 --> 00:02:47,680
Speaker 1: never been about new buildings. The Bible says God does

59
00:02:47,720 --> 00:02:49,840
Speaker 1: not live in houses built by men, but we are

60
00:02:49,880 --> 00:02:52,280
Speaker 1: the temple of the Holy Spirit. It's always been about

61
00:02:52,280 --> 00:02:55,560
Speaker 1: seeing people far from God raised to life in Christ.

62
00:02:55,600 --> 00:02:58,280
Speaker 1: But there's something powerful that happens in our lives when

63
00:02:58,280 --> 00:03:03,280
Speaker 1: we connect our purpose to the purpose and priorities of God.

64
00:03:03,760 --> 00:03:07,360
Speaker 1: So let's look at Hagui. Chapter one says in the

65
00:03:07,400 --> 00:03:09,880
Speaker 1: second year of King Darius, on the first day of

66
00:03:09,919 --> 00:03:12,320
Speaker 1: the sixth month, the word of the Lord came through

67
00:03:12,360 --> 00:03:16,720
Speaker 1: the prophet Hagui Ti Zerubabyl son of schieltial I worked

68
00:03:16,720 --> 00:03:20,160
Speaker 1: really hard on pronouncing that the governor of Judah and

69
00:03:20,280 --> 00:03:23,760
Speaker 1: Joshua son of Josephac the high priest. This is what

70
00:03:23,800 --> 00:03:28,160
Speaker 1: the Lord Almighty says. These people say, the time has

71
00:03:28,240 --> 00:03:32,040
Speaker 1: not yet come to rebuild the Lord's house. Then the

72
00:03:32,040 --> 00:03:34,640
Speaker 1: word of the Lord came through the prophet Hagi. Is

73
00:03:34,639 --> 00:03:37,240
Speaker 1: it a time for you yourselves to be living in

74
00:03:37,320 --> 00:03:42,080
Speaker 1: paneled houses while this house remains a ruin. Now, this

75
00:03:42,200 --> 00:03:45,320
Speaker 1: is what the Lord Almighty says. Give careful thought to

76
00:03:45,400 --> 00:03:50,080
Speaker 1: your ways. You applanted much, but harvested little. You eat

77
00:03:50,680 --> 00:03:54,560
Speaker 1: but never have enough. You drink but never have your fill.

78
00:03:55,120 --> 00:03:57,920
Speaker 1: You put on clothes, but you are not warm. You

79
00:03:58,000 --> 00:04:01,200
Speaker 1: earn wages only to put the in a purse with

80
00:04:01,320 --> 00:04:04,680
Speaker 1: holes in it. This is what the Lord Almighty says.

81
00:04:04,840 --> 00:04:07,720
Speaker 1: Give careful thought to your ways. Go up into the

82
00:04:07,720 --> 00:04:13,600
Speaker 1: mountains and bring down timber and build my house. Go

83
00:04:13,680 --> 00:04:17,320
Speaker 1: up into the mountains, bring down timber, and build my

84
00:04:17,480 --> 00:04:20,480
Speaker 1: house so that I may take pleasure in it and

85
00:04:21,080 --> 00:04:26,599
Speaker 1: be honored, says the Lord. Title of my message today

86
00:04:27,120 --> 00:04:30,400
Speaker 1: is this is the time. This is the time. Touch

87
00:04:30,440 --> 00:04:32,200
Speaker 1: your neighbor as you take your seat, say this is

88
00:04:32,240 --> 00:04:37,400
Speaker 1: the time. Last week Pastor Stephen preached this is then,

89
00:04:37,480 --> 00:04:40,000
Speaker 1: what a powerful word for us, and today I want

90
00:04:40,000 --> 00:04:43,520
Speaker 1: to stay in that spirit. This is the time. I

91
00:04:43,560 --> 00:04:45,640
Speaker 1: thought about opening up this message with a little bit

92
00:04:45,680 --> 00:04:48,840
Speaker 1: of audience participation, but then I decided against it because

93
00:04:49,400 --> 00:04:51,280
Speaker 1: I was gonna ask the question. I was gonna have

94
00:04:51,320 --> 00:04:54,200
Speaker 1: you raise your hand and self identify if you are

95
00:04:54,240 --> 00:04:57,159
Speaker 1: a procrastinator. But the more I thought about it, I

96
00:04:57,240 --> 00:05:00,680
Speaker 1: realized you wouldn't be honest, and so better way would

97
00:05:00,680 --> 00:05:02,480
Speaker 1: have been to say, raise your hand if you're sitting

98
00:05:02,520 --> 00:05:07,800
Speaker 1: next to a procrastinator, and then I'm like a yeah, yeah, yeah.

99
00:05:07,839 --> 00:05:09,240
Speaker 1: But the more I thought about it, I thought it's

100
00:05:09,279 --> 00:05:11,440
Speaker 1: not really a fair question to ask, because the more

101
00:05:11,480 --> 00:05:13,880
Speaker 1: I gave a thought, the more I realized that, well,

102
00:05:13,920 --> 00:05:16,200
Speaker 1: each of us have certain areas and aspects of our

103
00:05:16,240 --> 00:05:20,359
Speaker 1: life that we treat with urgency and diligence. At the

104
00:05:20,360 --> 00:05:22,440
Speaker 1: same time, all of us have areas in our life

105
00:05:22,440 --> 00:05:26,359
Speaker 1: where we procrastinate. So what you treat with diligence and

106
00:05:26,520 --> 00:05:28,720
Speaker 1: urgency might not be the same thing as someone else.

107
00:05:28,720 --> 00:05:31,640
Speaker 1: But there's something you procrastinate on that's probably driving your

108
00:05:31,680 --> 00:05:34,200
Speaker 1: spouse nuts. And I thought about. Just a couple of

109
00:05:34,200 --> 00:05:36,839
Speaker 1: weeks ago, I got really aggravated with my wife Ann.

110
00:05:36,880 --> 00:05:38,839
Speaker 1: And now before I know, I don't get the preacher

111
00:05:39,120 --> 00:05:41,080
Speaker 1: all that often. All of you know us, so trust me,

112
00:05:41,200 --> 00:05:43,760
Speaker 1: I say, we're good. We've been married fifteen years. She's

113
00:05:43,800 --> 00:05:48,240
Speaker 1: the love of my life. She's obsessed with me ever

114
00:05:48,320 --> 00:05:50,560
Speaker 1: since I grew out my hair. She calls me her Maui,

115
00:05:50,600 --> 00:05:55,640
Speaker 1: her Canadian, Chinese Jamaican Maui. I don't know, and uh.

116
00:05:56,120 --> 00:05:58,120
Speaker 1: I always like to make the message weird right at

117
00:05:58,120 --> 00:06:00,400
Speaker 1: the top. But a couple of weeks ago, got real

118
00:06:00,440 --> 00:06:05,840
Speaker 1: aggravated because one thing I can't stand is subscriptions. And

119
00:06:05,880 --> 00:06:08,440
Speaker 1: there's nothing worse than looking at my bank account and

120
00:06:08,480 --> 00:06:10,839
Speaker 1: realizing that I've been paying for something that I haven't

121
00:06:10,839 --> 00:06:14,560
Speaker 1: even been using. And the other day I open up

122
00:06:14,600 --> 00:06:16,440
Speaker 1: my inbox and I see an email that says that

123
00:06:16,480 --> 00:06:21,719
Speaker 1: we had subscribed to Apple TV through Amazon Prime. Help

124
00:06:21,760 --> 00:06:24,160
Speaker 1: me make sense of this. We'd subscribed to Apple TV

125
00:06:24,279 --> 00:06:28,640
Speaker 1: through Amazon Prime. They're all in cahoots, and I said, Anna,

126
00:06:28,720 --> 00:06:31,520
Speaker 1: did you subscribe to Apple TV? And she said, yeah,

127
00:06:31,520 --> 00:06:33,120
Speaker 1: I did. There was a movie I wanted to watch

128
00:06:33,160 --> 00:06:34,800
Speaker 1: with the kids and it was on Apple TV, so

129
00:06:34,839 --> 00:06:36,600
Speaker 1: I subscribed it. I said, well, that's not the problem

130
00:06:36,600 --> 00:06:39,280
Speaker 1: that you subscribe to Apple TV. The problem is we

131
00:06:39,320 --> 00:06:43,839
Speaker 1: already have Apple TV and Amazon Prime. And she's like,

132
00:06:43,839 --> 00:06:46,080
Speaker 1: oh my goodness, I'm so sorry. I didn't realize that.

133
00:06:46,120 --> 00:06:47,880
Speaker 1: She said, don't worry. I already put a reminder in

134
00:06:47,920 --> 00:06:50,400
Speaker 1: my phone to cancel it. I said, we'll go ahead

135
00:06:50,400 --> 00:06:52,760
Speaker 1: and just cancel it right now, and she's like, well, no,

136
00:06:52,800 --> 00:06:54,599
Speaker 1: I'm busy right now, but don't worry. I put a

137
00:06:54,640 --> 00:06:57,680
Speaker 1: reminder in my phone to cancel it. And y'all, I

138
00:06:57,760 --> 00:06:59,960
Speaker 1: know how this goes. We've been married for fifteen year.

139
00:07:00,279 --> 00:07:03,320
Speaker 1: That reminder might go off when our daughter's having a breakdown,

140
00:07:03,320 --> 00:07:05,719
Speaker 1: that reminder might go off when she's in the middle

141
00:07:05,720 --> 00:07:07,840
Speaker 1: of a conversation, and next thing I know, I might

142
00:07:07,880 --> 00:07:10,960
Speaker 1: be paying another to nine ninety nine for Apple TV

143
00:07:11,040 --> 00:07:13,560
Speaker 1: through Amazon Prime when I already have Apple TV. So

144
00:07:13,600 --> 00:07:16,679
Speaker 1: I said, no, cancel it. Now. This is the time.

145
00:07:17,600 --> 00:07:21,640
Speaker 1: This is the time. Now I can share that story

146
00:07:21,680 --> 00:07:23,840
Speaker 1: because I'm the one with the microphone. But Anna could

147
00:07:23,880 --> 00:07:28,400
Speaker 1: give you hundreds of examples of when my procrastination cost us,

148
00:07:28,480 --> 00:07:30,160
Speaker 1: Like when she kept telling me to make sure I

149
00:07:30,160 --> 00:07:33,040
Speaker 1: added her engagement ring to our insurance policy in case

150
00:07:33,040 --> 00:07:36,240
Speaker 1: it ever got lost, and I didn't add the engagement

151
00:07:36,320 --> 00:07:38,560
Speaker 1: ring to the insurance policy. How many you know that

152
00:07:38,560 --> 00:07:40,600
Speaker 1: that ring that got lost costs a lot more than

153
00:07:40,600 --> 00:07:44,920
Speaker 1: a subscription. But all of us have places in our

154
00:07:44,960 --> 00:07:48,520
Speaker 1: life that we procrastinated on, And that's really what the

155
00:07:48,560 --> 00:07:50,760
Speaker 1: Lord is addressing in the hearts of his people in

156
00:07:50,800 --> 00:07:53,240
Speaker 1: this passage. You see God, of course, you know, had

157
00:07:53,280 --> 00:07:55,800
Speaker 1: delivered his people out of Egypt, taken them into the

158
00:07:55,840 --> 00:07:58,720
Speaker 1: Promised Land through King Solomon. He built a temple for

159
00:07:58,760 --> 00:08:00,840
Speaker 1: the Lord in the Promised Land. Along the way. Through

160
00:08:00,880 --> 00:08:04,360
Speaker 1: their disobedience, they get invaded by foreigners, they get taken

161
00:08:04,400 --> 00:08:06,320
Speaker 1: into exile. And now when we pick up in the

162
00:08:06,320 --> 00:08:09,160
Speaker 1: Book of Hegui, God has brought them back into the

163
00:08:09,240 --> 00:08:12,480
Speaker 1: Promised Land and he's giving them this charge to rebuild

164
00:08:12,600 --> 00:08:16,480
Speaker 1: his temple because they have been procrastinating on it. Because

165
00:08:17,200 --> 00:08:19,840
Speaker 1: what is not a priority to you, you will always

166
00:08:19,960 --> 00:08:23,600
Speaker 1: procrastinate on. And so when God sends this word of

167
00:08:23,600 --> 00:08:26,360
Speaker 1: instruction to his people, it's because he is trying to

168
00:08:26,440 --> 00:08:31,200
Speaker 1: make important to them what is important to him. And

169
00:08:31,240 --> 00:08:34,040
Speaker 1: he's frustrated. And how do I know they're frustrated. He's frustrated.

170
00:08:34,040 --> 00:08:36,160
Speaker 1: Look at verse two and verse two. It says, this

171
00:08:36,240 --> 00:08:39,360
Speaker 1: is what the Lord Almighty says. These people say, not

172
00:08:39,520 --> 00:08:43,040
Speaker 1: my people. These people say. It's like when Anna says,

173
00:08:43,080 --> 00:08:46,920
Speaker 1: your daughter has an attitude today, these people say. And

174
00:08:47,000 --> 00:08:49,320
Speaker 1: the Lord sends this word in his grace and and

175
00:08:49,360 --> 00:08:51,800
Speaker 1: his mercy, through the prophet Hagui, to the leaders of

176
00:08:51,840 --> 00:08:54,760
Speaker 1: the nation, saying, it's time for you to get back

177
00:08:54,760 --> 00:08:57,839
Speaker 1: to work. It's time for you to prioritize in your

178
00:08:57,920 --> 00:09:01,400
Speaker 1: life what is important to me. Now, it's important to

179
00:09:01,400 --> 00:09:03,520
Speaker 1: know that one of the ways the devil keeps you

180
00:09:03,559 --> 00:09:06,959
Speaker 1: stuck in your life is by getting you to procrastinate

181
00:09:07,400 --> 00:09:09,920
Speaker 1: and push off the things that God is calling you to.

182
00:09:10,920 --> 00:09:13,520
Speaker 1: He's smart, you know. So if the enemy just tried

183
00:09:13,520 --> 00:09:16,120
Speaker 1: to get you to disobey, hey, just ignore what God said.

184
00:09:16,120 --> 00:09:17,840
Speaker 1: You're too smart for that. And he knows that you'd

185
00:09:17,840 --> 00:09:19,240
Speaker 1: be like, Ah, that's the devil. I'm not going to

186
00:09:19,320 --> 00:09:22,040
Speaker 1: listen to that. So when the devil can't get you

187
00:09:22,120 --> 00:09:26,320
Speaker 1: to disobey, he'll get you to delay. And we have

188
00:09:26,400 --> 00:09:28,720
Speaker 1: a way of putting off the things that God has

189
00:09:28,800 --> 00:09:31,680
Speaker 1: called us to over and over and over again. And

190
00:09:31,720 --> 00:09:34,120
Speaker 1: they're saying, now is not the time. Now is not

191
00:09:34,200 --> 00:09:36,480
Speaker 1: the time. They've set a reminder in their phone, and

192
00:09:36,520 --> 00:09:39,320
Speaker 1: God's saying, you can't keep putting this off anymore. Now

193
00:09:39,440 --> 00:09:41,760
Speaker 1: is the time to build my house. All the parents

194
00:09:41,760 --> 00:09:43,760
Speaker 1: can testify with what I'm about to say, and it's

195
00:09:43,760 --> 00:09:46,080
Speaker 1: true of the scripture. How many you know that delayed

196
00:09:46,160 --> 00:09:50,360
Speaker 1: obedience is still disobedience. All the parents make some noise,

197
00:09:53,160 --> 00:09:58,080
Speaker 1: delayed obedience is still disobedience. And the real premise of

198
00:09:58,120 --> 00:10:00,160
Speaker 1: this whole text that I want to encourage you with

199
00:10:00,320 --> 00:10:02,400
Speaker 1: is the truth that you see in the principle that

200
00:10:02,440 --> 00:10:05,480
Speaker 1: you see in this passage of when I build God's house,

201
00:10:05,800 --> 00:10:10,559
Speaker 1: He'll bless mine. When I build God's house, He'll bless mine.

202
00:10:11,440 --> 00:10:13,640
Speaker 1: And so no wonder the enemy wants to keep us

203
00:10:13,679 --> 00:10:16,360
Speaker 1: in this cycle of delaying and putting off the very

204
00:10:16,400 --> 00:10:20,000
Speaker 1: things that God has asked them to do. And if

205
00:10:20,000 --> 00:10:22,560
Speaker 1: the enemy can keep us stuck in these cycles of

206
00:10:22,600 --> 00:10:26,000
Speaker 1: delay in procrastination, then he can keep us back from

207
00:10:26,000 --> 00:10:27,800
Speaker 1: the things that God has in store for us. If

208
00:10:27,800 --> 00:10:30,959
Speaker 1: he can delay our sowing, he can delay our reaping.

209
00:10:31,520 --> 00:10:34,120
Speaker 1: So God, in his grace sends this word to his

210
00:10:34,200 --> 00:10:36,320
Speaker 1: people saying no, no, no, You've been saying the time

211
00:10:36,400 --> 00:10:39,120
Speaker 1: is not yet calm, but he's saying, now is the time.

212
00:10:39,240 --> 00:10:42,240
Speaker 1: It is a call to build His house. And that

213
00:10:42,400 --> 00:10:44,720
Speaker 1: is really the invitation in the season that we have

214
00:10:44,880 --> 00:10:48,160
Speaker 1: before us as a church right now. It's not about buildings.

215
00:10:48,160 --> 00:10:51,040
Speaker 1: It's not just about this offering. It's about aligning our

216
00:10:51,080 --> 00:10:56,199
Speaker 1: priorities with the priorities of God. So much of spiritual

217
00:10:56,240 --> 00:10:58,720
Speaker 1: growth in your life is simply that God getting you

218
00:10:58,880 --> 00:11:01,240
Speaker 1: to care about the things that matter to His kingdom

219
00:11:01,559 --> 00:11:04,360
Speaker 1: and getting you to deprioritize the things that the world

220
00:11:04,360 --> 00:11:07,600
Speaker 1: tells you are important. That is spiritual growth. The more

221
00:11:07,640 --> 00:11:10,920
Speaker 1: I align my priorities with the priorities of Heaven, the

222
00:11:10,920 --> 00:11:13,280
Speaker 1: more peace I have, the more joy I have, the

223
00:11:13,280 --> 00:11:15,400
Speaker 1: more blessing I walk in, the more favor I have.

224
00:11:15,760 --> 00:11:18,320
Speaker 1: And so God is always calling us into something, and

225
00:11:18,320 --> 00:11:20,319
Speaker 1: the enemy will get you to say, ah, it's not

226
00:11:20,440 --> 00:11:22,760
Speaker 1: just the time yet. So there's a few things in

227
00:11:22,800 --> 00:11:26,160
Speaker 1: this passage of Scripture that I think we're keeping the

228
00:11:26,280 --> 00:11:29,920
Speaker 1: Israelites in this moment, in this cycle of waiting, in

229
00:11:29,960 --> 00:11:32,520
Speaker 1: the cycle of putting off. See, most people never say

230
00:11:32,559 --> 00:11:36,760
Speaker 1: no to God. Sometimes we just say not yet. One

231
00:11:36,760 --> 00:11:38,400
Speaker 1: of the things that I think they were waiting on

232
00:11:39,000 --> 00:11:42,280
Speaker 1: is that they were waiting on peace. They were waiting

233
00:11:42,320 --> 00:11:46,560
Speaker 1: for peace. Now, when I first read this passage, I thought,

234
00:11:47,040 --> 00:11:49,920
Speaker 1: what is the problem with They've just come out of exile,

235
00:11:50,200 --> 00:11:52,360
Speaker 1: They're back in the land. What's the problem with them

236
00:11:52,400 --> 00:11:55,000
Speaker 1: putting together their own homes and making sure that they

237
00:11:55,000 --> 00:11:57,760
Speaker 1: have shelter over their heads and for their families. And

238
00:11:58,280 --> 00:11:59,920
Speaker 1: once they get through that, then of course they could

239
00:12:00,520 --> 00:12:03,000
Speaker 1: the temple. But there's an important detail in this passage.

240
00:12:03,320 --> 00:12:05,680
Speaker 1: In this passage, in hey Gi, God says, is it

241
00:12:05,720 --> 00:12:09,559
Speaker 1: a time for you to be living in paneled houses?

242
00:12:10,679 --> 00:12:13,720
Speaker 1: That's an important detail because the panel was not functional,

243
00:12:14,120 --> 00:12:16,800
Speaker 1: it was aesthetic. And so what the Lord is saying

244
00:12:16,920 --> 00:12:20,440
Speaker 1: is that you are continuing to live in comfort and

245
00:12:20,559 --> 00:12:25,000
Speaker 1: luxury while my house remains and ruins. And listen, God

246
00:12:25,080 --> 00:12:27,280
Speaker 1: is not bothered when we have nice things. God is

247
00:12:27,320 --> 00:12:30,160
Speaker 1: not upset by our comfort. But sometimes we get so

248
00:12:30,360 --> 00:12:33,920
Speaker 1: trapped in comfort and we call it peace. Some of

249
00:12:34,000 --> 00:12:35,920
Speaker 1: us are waiting for peace. And when we say the

250
00:12:35,960 --> 00:12:38,480
Speaker 1: word peace, we don't mean the peace of God, the

251
00:12:38,480 --> 00:12:41,960
Speaker 1: peace that God gives, because the peace that God gives

252
00:12:42,280 --> 00:12:45,240
Speaker 1: means the presence of God, even in the midst of trouble,

253
00:12:45,520 --> 00:12:49,160
Speaker 1: even in the midst of difficult circumstances. And so sometimes

254
00:12:49,240 --> 00:12:51,520
Speaker 1: when we say peace, what we really mean is when

255
00:12:51,559 --> 00:12:54,720
Speaker 1: things feel comfortable. I just didn't have peace about that. No,

256
00:12:54,920 --> 00:12:58,320
Speaker 1: things just weren't comfortable yet, things just weren't easy. Sometimes

257
00:12:58,360 --> 00:13:00,560
Speaker 1: when we say peace, we mean that we're waiting on

258
00:13:00,600 --> 00:13:03,959
Speaker 1: the ideal circumstances for everything to line up. And hey,

259
00:13:04,000 --> 00:13:07,040
Speaker 1: when I get all my stuff figured out, then I'll

260
00:13:07,080 --> 00:13:10,120
Speaker 1: prioritize the things that mattered to God. And so they

261
00:13:10,160 --> 00:13:13,120
Speaker 1: stay stuck in this place, saying if then, if I

262
00:13:13,160 --> 00:13:14,760
Speaker 1: can just get to this, if I can just get

263
00:13:14,760 --> 00:13:18,040
Speaker 1: the kids graduate, then then then we'll prioritize the things

264
00:13:18,040 --> 00:13:20,720
Speaker 1: that matter to God. But the other interesting thing is

265
00:13:20,760 --> 00:13:24,120
Speaker 1: that this wasn't one year or two years or three

266
00:13:24,200 --> 00:13:26,400
Speaker 1: years after they'd been in the land that God sends

267
00:13:26,440 --> 00:13:29,800
Speaker 1: us word through Hagui. When God sends this word through

268
00:13:29,800 --> 00:13:34,000
Speaker 1: his prophet Hagui to Joshua and to Zarubabel, they had

269
00:13:34,040 --> 00:13:39,480
Speaker 1: been back in the land for eight teen years. Eighteen

270
00:13:39,559 --> 00:13:41,560
Speaker 1: years they've been living back in the land. That's like

271
00:13:41,600 --> 00:13:44,480
Speaker 1: Anna asking me to take the trash out, and I say, oh,

272
00:13:44,520 --> 00:13:46,120
Speaker 1: I'll get to it, and I finally do it when

273
00:13:46,360 --> 00:13:50,040
Speaker 1: my son is twenty nine years old. Eighteen years then

274
00:13:50,120 --> 00:13:53,040
Speaker 1: been waiting in the land. In the Book of Ezra,

275
00:13:53,200 --> 00:13:55,120
Speaker 1: it tells us the account of when they got back

276
00:13:55,160 --> 00:13:57,439
Speaker 1: out of exile as well, and how they begin right

277
00:13:57,480 --> 00:14:00,640
Speaker 1: away rebuilding the temple. And in the first two years

278
00:14:00,679 --> 00:14:03,920
Speaker 1: they built the foundation of the temple. But then there

279
00:14:04,000 --> 00:14:08,319
Speaker 1: is external attacks from nearby enemies, there was internal discord,

280
00:14:08,360 --> 00:14:11,520
Speaker 1: they had pressures from the outside, pressures from the inside.

281
00:14:11,600 --> 00:14:14,640
Speaker 1: And after two years of building the foundation and Ezra

282
00:14:14,760 --> 00:14:17,280
Speaker 1: chapter four it ends with this horrible verse where it

283
00:14:17,280 --> 00:14:19,760
Speaker 1: says that the work on the Lord's house came to

284
00:14:20,320 --> 00:14:25,920
Speaker 1: a standstill when the circumstances got hard. They stopped. And

285
00:14:26,040 --> 00:14:29,160
Speaker 1: somewhere along the way, we've convinced ourselves or brought into

286
00:14:29,200 --> 00:14:32,040
Speaker 1: this idea that following God was supposed to be easy,

287
00:14:33,200 --> 00:14:35,360
Speaker 1: and so we say things like, oh, the Lord just

288
00:14:35,400 --> 00:14:37,520
Speaker 1: shut the door, the Lord just shut the door, or

289
00:14:37,560 --> 00:14:40,120
Speaker 1: you just gave up because it got hard, Because I

290
00:14:40,160 --> 00:14:41,960
Speaker 1: know a God who can open up doors that no

291
00:14:42,080 --> 00:14:44,320
Speaker 1: man can shut. And if you would just keep moving

292
00:14:44,360 --> 00:14:47,480
Speaker 1: in accordance to His word, he could open that door

293
00:14:47,520 --> 00:14:49,640
Speaker 1: for you. And so all of us have a decision

294
00:14:49,720 --> 00:14:51,320
Speaker 1: we get to make in our life when it comes

295
00:14:51,320 --> 00:14:53,800
Speaker 1: to how we live. I can either base my decisions

296
00:14:54,160 --> 00:14:57,720
Speaker 1: on my circumstances, or I can base my decisions on

297
00:14:57,760 --> 00:15:01,160
Speaker 1: what God says. When and I choose to build my

298
00:15:01,440 --> 00:15:05,200
Speaker 1: life on what he says, then I can't consult my circumstances.

299
00:15:05,360 --> 00:15:08,160
Speaker 1: And the moment things in their life got difficult, whether

300
00:15:08,200 --> 00:15:10,240
Speaker 1: it was a tax from the inside or at tax

301
00:15:10,320 --> 00:15:12,800
Speaker 1: from the outside, they stop on the work that God

302
00:15:12,840 --> 00:15:15,440
Speaker 1: had called them to do. Two years they built a foundation,

303
00:15:15,600 --> 00:15:18,600
Speaker 1: and then for sixteen years it sat there while they

304
00:15:18,640 --> 00:15:22,520
Speaker 1: continued to work on their houses. Some of us in

305
00:15:22,520 --> 00:15:25,240
Speaker 1: our church we built some of you have built a

306
00:15:25,360 --> 00:15:28,600
Speaker 1: foundation of faith. Yeah, there was a time where you

307
00:15:28,640 --> 00:15:30,640
Speaker 1: trusted God and you were pushing through and you were

308
00:15:30,640 --> 00:15:32,600
Speaker 1: diligent about the things that He had called you to

309
00:15:32,880 --> 00:15:35,480
Speaker 1: and you sacrificed and you were living by faith. And

310
00:15:35,560 --> 00:15:37,600
Speaker 1: somewhere along the way you said that's good enough, and

311
00:15:37,640 --> 00:15:41,280
Speaker 1: you stopped building. What I love why this is a

312
00:15:41,320 --> 00:15:43,640
Speaker 1: tradition for us as a church is because this is

313
00:15:43,640 --> 00:15:45,520
Speaker 1: not a one time thing. We invite you to be

314
00:15:45,560 --> 00:15:47,880
Speaker 1: a part of every year. When we have this year

315
00:15:47,960 --> 00:15:50,680
Speaker 1: end offering, it's an opportunity for you to decide is

316
00:15:50,720 --> 00:15:55,720
Speaker 1: God finished or is this just the foundation. I don't

317
00:15:55,760 --> 00:15:57,640
Speaker 1: want it to be said of me what was said

318
00:15:57,680 --> 00:16:00,000
Speaker 1: in Ezra chapter four that the work of the Lord finnish.

319
00:16:00,560 --> 00:16:02,560
Speaker 1: I want to continue to see God take me from

320
00:16:02,600 --> 00:16:06,440
Speaker 1: glory to glory, to strength to strength. And whether that's

321
00:16:06,440 --> 00:16:09,000
Speaker 1: in your own life, or your own family, or your business,

322
00:16:09,080 --> 00:16:12,160
Speaker 1: or certainly this ministry. I don't believe that God is

323
00:16:12,240 --> 00:16:15,160
Speaker 1: done yet, so I can't keep waiting for the perfect

324
00:16:15,160 --> 00:16:18,840
Speaker 1: circumstances and the ideal scenarios before I say yes to

325
00:16:18,920 --> 00:16:21,920
Speaker 1: what God has asked us to do. God has asked

326
00:16:21,960 --> 00:16:24,840
Speaker 1: us to see people far from God raise to life

327
00:16:24,840 --> 00:16:27,920
Speaker 1: in Christ, and that is the invitation before us. Now,

328
00:16:28,200 --> 00:16:30,280
Speaker 1: they were waiting for peace, but not the type of

329
00:16:30,320 --> 00:16:32,960
Speaker 1: peace that God gives. Because one thing I've just learned

330
00:16:32,960 --> 00:16:37,000
Speaker 1: in my life is that very rarely did peace precede

331
00:16:37,400 --> 00:16:41,360
Speaker 1: my obedience. Often it was when I obeyed, then I

332
00:16:41,480 --> 00:16:45,720
Speaker 1: experience the peace of God. And so when someone gets

333
00:16:45,760 --> 00:16:47,360
Speaker 1: up and says we're getting ready for our year end

334
00:16:47,400 --> 00:16:50,800
Speaker 1: offering on December fourteenth. Someone might say, I just don't

335
00:16:50,800 --> 00:16:53,040
Speaker 1: have peace about that. But what if you sought the Lord,

336
00:16:53,720 --> 00:16:56,080
Speaker 1: listen to his voice, and obeyed what he said. I

337
00:16:56,120 --> 00:16:59,240
Speaker 1: promise you would experience the peace that God gives on

338
00:16:59,320 --> 00:17:02,640
Speaker 1: the other side. The other thing that I think had

339
00:17:02,680 --> 00:17:05,440
Speaker 1: them stuck, Thank you, Praise the Lord, everybody. That's a

340
00:17:05,480 --> 00:17:09,879
Speaker 1: good word. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, because the enemy keeps

341
00:17:09,920 --> 00:17:12,080
Speaker 1: us in this cycle because we're saying, ah, it's just

342
00:17:12,119 --> 00:17:14,800
Speaker 1: not the right time. The economy's hard. When I get

343
00:17:14,800 --> 00:17:17,080
Speaker 1: this deb paid, no, no, no. If the Lord speaks

344
00:17:17,080 --> 00:17:19,120
Speaker 1: to you, today is the day to obey. And Hebrews

345
00:17:19,119 --> 00:17:22,040
Speaker 1: says today when you hear God's voice, do not harden

346
00:17:22,040 --> 00:17:24,840
Speaker 1: your heart. And every time God speaks to you, it's

347
00:17:24,840 --> 00:17:27,480
Speaker 1: an opportunity for obedience. Y'all. If you think this message

348
00:17:27,520 --> 00:17:29,800
Speaker 1: is just about money, you're missing the point. This is

349
00:17:29,840 --> 00:17:33,840
Speaker 1: about obedience to his voice. The other thing that kept

350
00:17:33,840 --> 00:17:36,400
Speaker 1: them stuck was that they were waiting for more. Look

351
00:17:36,440 --> 00:17:39,840
Speaker 1: at this description that the Lord gives in verse six.

352
00:17:40,400 --> 00:17:44,479
Speaker 1: You planted much, but harvested little. You eat but you

353
00:17:44,520 --> 00:17:46,680
Speaker 1: never have enough. You drink but you never have your fill.

354
00:17:46,720 --> 00:17:49,080
Speaker 1: You put on clothes, but you are not warm. You

355
00:17:49,119 --> 00:17:52,199
Speaker 1: earn wages only to put them in a purse with

356
00:17:52,320 --> 00:17:54,919
Speaker 1: holes in it? Does that not describe our lives in

357
00:17:54,960 --> 00:18:00,159
Speaker 1: so many ways? Sometimes that cycle of discontentment that we

358
00:18:00,200 --> 00:18:02,439
Speaker 1: live in, where it feels like no matter what we do,

359
00:18:02,520 --> 00:18:05,000
Speaker 1: it's never enough. You look at your bank and you're like,

360
00:18:05,000 --> 00:18:07,280
Speaker 1: I know, I got paid. Where did it all go? Target,

361
00:18:07,320 --> 00:18:10,440
Speaker 1: that's where it all went. Put it in a purse

362
00:18:10,520 --> 00:18:12,440
Speaker 1: just to have holes on it? Where did this end up?

363
00:18:13,400 --> 00:18:15,960
Speaker 1: And the Lord is addressing one of the excuses that

364
00:18:16,080 --> 00:18:17,800
Speaker 1: so often we care because how many of you have

365
00:18:17,800 --> 00:18:20,200
Speaker 1: found yourself in one moment or another in your life

366
00:18:20,640 --> 00:18:23,320
Speaker 1: simply saying well, if I had more, I would do more.

367
00:18:23,840 --> 00:18:26,760
Speaker 1: If I had more, I would give more. And that's

368
00:18:26,800 --> 00:18:29,520
Speaker 1: the place that the Israelites find themselves in. They keep

369
00:18:29,560 --> 00:18:34,400
Speaker 1: saying they feel economically frustrated, and they're using that as

370
00:18:34,400 --> 00:18:38,000
Speaker 1: a reason not to rebuild the Lord's temple. So they

371
00:18:38,080 --> 00:18:41,520
Speaker 1: keep saying, well, we just don't have enough. And it's

372
00:18:41,560 --> 00:18:44,040
Speaker 1: interesting how what the Lord is describing here is the

373
00:18:44,160 --> 00:18:46,600
Speaker 1: very thing that they use as a reason not to give.

374
00:18:47,160 --> 00:18:49,240
Speaker 1: But what the Lord is trying to get them to

375
00:18:49,280 --> 00:18:52,199
Speaker 1: see is that what they are calling a reason is

376
00:18:52,280 --> 00:18:56,320
Speaker 1: actually the result. Let me say that a little more clearly.

377
00:18:56,359 --> 00:18:58,520
Speaker 1: They're saying, well, Lord, if we had more, we would

378
00:18:58,560 --> 00:19:01,080
Speaker 1: build your house, and the Lord saying, no, no, no, if

379
00:19:01,119 --> 00:19:08,680
Speaker 1: you built my house, you would have more. Because it's

380
00:19:08,720 --> 00:19:12,399
Speaker 1: about priorities. His temple represented his priority amongst his people,

381
00:19:12,440 --> 00:19:15,440
Speaker 1: his presence amongst his people, And so he's saying no, no, no,

382
00:19:15,560 --> 00:19:17,560
Speaker 1: you keep waiting to have more, But when will you

383
00:19:17,680 --> 00:19:21,000
Speaker 1: prioritize me and your presence. When you begin to do that,

384
00:19:21,080 --> 00:19:23,760
Speaker 1: you'll see that it's better to have God in a

385
00:19:23,800 --> 00:19:26,480
Speaker 1: little with me than to have much without God. Amen.

386
00:19:29,119 --> 00:19:32,000
Speaker 1: When I was in high school, I spent a month

387
00:19:32,040 --> 00:19:34,760
Speaker 1: living on a missions trip in Namibia, Africa. And while

388
00:19:34,800 --> 00:19:37,000
Speaker 1: I was there, I met a pastor who had a church.

389
00:19:37,080 --> 00:19:39,080
Speaker 1: His church was just a piece of sheet metal off

390
00:19:39,280 --> 00:19:41,280
Speaker 1: the side of his house where his church met, and

391
00:19:41,320 --> 00:19:43,359
Speaker 1: it made such a profound impact on my life, and

392
00:19:43,400 --> 00:19:45,880
Speaker 1: we developed a great relationship. And then when I went

393
00:19:45,920 --> 00:19:48,679
Speaker 1: off to college, he actually ended up living with my

394
00:19:48,840 --> 00:19:52,080
Speaker 1: family in Canada while he was attending school in Canada,

395
00:19:52,080 --> 00:19:53,600
Speaker 1: And so when I was home for the summers, we'd

396
00:19:53,600 --> 00:19:56,040
Speaker 1: spend all the time together and we'd go to the

397
00:19:56,119 --> 00:19:58,080
Speaker 1: church that I grew up in, and no matter what

398
00:19:58,200 --> 00:20:00,240
Speaker 1: the pastor preached on, we'd get back in the car

399
00:20:00,280 --> 00:20:02,720
Speaker 1: after church and Kamati would always say to me, John,

400
00:20:03,040 --> 00:20:05,760
Speaker 1: why don't they talk about giving? No matter what the message,

401
00:20:05,760 --> 00:20:08,000
Speaker 1: why don't they talk about giving? And eventually said, I

402
00:20:08,000 --> 00:20:09,600
Speaker 1: don't know, Kaman, I don't know. I don't know the

403
00:20:09,680 --> 00:20:12,399
Speaker 1: reasons why they're not talking about I said, sometimes people

404
00:20:12,440 --> 00:20:15,639
Speaker 1: feel weird or get upset when you talk about their money.

405
00:20:15,680 --> 00:20:18,679
Speaker 1: And he said, John, it's better that they'd be angry

406
00:20:18,720 --> 00:20:25,199
Speaker 1: for a day than frustrated for a lifetime. Because what

407
00:20:25,640 --> 00:20:29,280
Speaker 1: Kamati knew with just a piece of sheep metal over

408
00:20:29,320 --> 00:20:33,280
Speaker 1: the side of his house for a church and unreliable electricity,

409
00:20:33,400 --> 00:20:37,240
Speaker 1: what he understood is that without God, it's never enough,

410
00:20:37,880 --> 00:20:41,080
Speaker 1: but with God it's always enough.

411
00:20:41,880 --> 00:20:42,040
Speaker 2: Right.

412
00:20:43,520 --> 00:20:46,360
Speaker 1: Just ask the disciples when Jesus asked them to feed

413
00:20:46,400 --> 00:20:48,240
Speaker 1: a crowd of people, and they said, all we have

414
00:20:48,440 --> 00:20:52,480
Speaker 1: is five loaves and two fishes. It's not enough. It's

415
00:20:52,520 --> 00:20:59,560
Speaker 1: not enough, but with God there's leftovers. And the enemy

416
00:20:59,560 --> 00:21:02,760
Speaker 1: will keep us delaying and delaying on stepping into the

417
00:21:02,760 --> 00:21:05,480
Speaker 1: things that God has called us to as a people. Why,

418
00:21:05,520 --> 00:21:07,600
Speaker 1: because He wants to keep us in the cycle of

419
00:21:07,640 --> 00:21:11,040
Speaker 1: discontentment where it always feels like I just can't get ahead.

420
00:21:11,080 --> 00:21:13,600
Speaker 1: I just can't get ahead. And the principle of the

421
00:21:13,640 --> 00:21:16,320
Speaker 1: tithe is simply this. Every time I give to God

422
00:21:16,640 --> 00:21:20,640
Speaker 1: through my tithe, it reminds me that God is my source,

423
00:21:21,240 --> 00:21:24,280
Speaker 1: God is my provider. So no matter what I'm looking at,

424
00:21:24,359 --> 00:21:27,760
Speaker 1: I know that God is in it with me. And

425
00:21:27,800 --> 00:21:30,159
Speaker 1: so they were waiting on more. The last thing I

426
00:21:30,160 --> 00:21:31,800
Speaker 1: think they were waiting on is I think they were

427
00:21:31,840 --> 00:21:35,320
Speaker 1: waiting on an instruction. Look at this what happens after

428
00:21:35,359 --> 00:21:41,119
Speaker 1: God confronts their excuses. He says, go up into the

429
00:21:41,160 --> 00:21:44,439
Speaker 1: mountains and bring down timber and build my house so

430
00:21:44,480 --> 00:21:46,760
Speaker 1: that I may take pleasure in it and be honored.

431
00:21:46,880 --> 00:21:49,360
Speaker 1: Says the Lord. I love that, so that I may

432
00:21:49,400 --> 00:21:52,520
Speaker 1: take pleasure in it and be honored. Because so much

433
00:21:52,560 --> 00:21:54,919
Speaker 1: of this offering is not just about new buildings and

434
00:21:54,960 --> 00:21:58,960
Speaker 1: outreach efforts, It's about honoring the Lord with our lives.

435
00:21:59,359 --> 00:22:01,159
Speaker 1: He says, build my house so that I may be

436
00:22:01,200 --> 00:22:04,520
Speaker 1: honored in it. And after the Lord gives this instruction,

437
00:22:05,160 --> 00:22:07,760
Speaker 1: something miraculous happens in the story that I want to

438
00:22:07,800 --> 00:22:10,720
Speaker 1: show you. The Lord gives this word in verse eight, saying,

439
00:22:10,760 --> 00:22:12,919
Speaker 1: go bring down timber and build my house. And then

440
00:22:12,920 --> 00:22:17,640
Speaker 1: look in verse twelve. Then Zarubabel son of she she had,

441
00:22:17,840 --> 00:22:20,960
Speaker 1: she had, Oh man, I worked on it, y'all. Sheltyel

442
00:22:21,119 --> 00:22:24,439
Speaker 1: Joshua son of Josephac the high priest, and the whole

443
00:22:24,680 --> 00:22:31,080
Speaker 1: remnant of people obeyed the voice of the Lord. There. God,

444
00:22:31,840 --> 00:22:34,760
Speaker 1: did you see that miracle in that text? Did you

445
00:22:34,800 --> 00:22:41,080
Speaker 1: miss it? It says that the people obeyed, y'all. There's

446
00:22:41,119 --> 00:22:43,480
Speaker 1: only a few times in scripture where God sends a

447
00:22:43,520 --> 00:22:47,120
Speaker 1: word to his people and they actually obey, And this

448
00:22:47,160 --> 00:22:50,359
Speaker 1: is one of those times. And I'm being a little facetious,

449
00:22:50,400 --> 00:22:54,280
Speaker 1: But we underestimate the power of obedience, y'all, Lord mark

450
00:22:54,359 --> 00:22:57,040
Speaker 1: my life with signs, wonders, miracles. What about if the

451
00:22:57,080 --> 00:23:00,360
Speaker 1: Lord marked your life with just simple obedience of being

452
00:23:00,400 --> 00:23:03,120
Speaker 1: a follower of Christ. Look like you being someone who

453
00:23:03,200 --> 00:23:05,879
Speaker 1: sought his face and when he spoke, you gave him

454
00:23:05,920 --> 00:23:10,400
Speaker 1: your yes. So the Lord delivers this word through his leaders,

455
00:23:10,600 --> 00:23:13,439
Speaker 1: and it's amazing. It says that as Joshua obeyed and

456
00:23:13,480 --> 00:23:16,879
Speaker 1: as Zaruba Bell obeyed, that the whole remnant of people followed. Y'all.

457
00:23:16,880 --> 00:23:19,320
Speaker 1: That just made me grateful for the leaders that God

458
00:23:19,320 --> 00:23:22,119
Speaker 1: has given us at this church, leaders who didn't settle

459
00:23:22,160 --> 00:23:25,480
Speaker 1: at year five, or at year ten or at year fifteen,

460
00:23:25,520 --> 00:23:28,919
Speaker 1: but twenty years into this ministry, Pastor Stephen and Pastor

461
00:23:28,960 --> 00:23:32,360
Speaker 1: Holly continue to say yes to God and walk and

462
00:23:32,359 --> 00:23:35,760
Speaker 1: surrender to His voice into his ways. Because God speaks

463
00:23:35,800 --> 00:23:38,160
Speaker 1: to the leaders and then the people followed. And I'm

464
00:23:38,200 --> 00:23:41,320
Speaker 1: so grateful for the example of faith that they've given us.

465
00:23:41,520 --> 00:23:45,520
Speaker 1: And there's an invitation before us now to prioritize the

466
00:23:45,560 --> 00:23:48,440
Speaker 1: things that matter to God in our lives and simply

467
00:23:48,480 --> 00:23:50,720
Speaker 1: obey them. That's why, as we talk about this offering

468
00:23:50,800 --> 00:23:53,399
Speaker 1: over and over again, we'll say, pray about what the

469
00:23:53,440 --> 00:23:56,000
Speaker 1: Lord would have you give, because it's not just about

470
00:23:56,040 --> 00:23:58,640
Speaker 1: an amount. It's about being a people who know how

471
00:23:58,680 --> 00:24:01,239
Speaker 1: to seek his face, being a people who know how

472
00:24:01,280 --> 00:24:05,320
Speaker 1: to hear his voice and obey when he speaks. Isn't

473
00:24:05,359 --> 00:24:08,159
Speaker 1: that what Jesus said, My sheep know and hear and

474
00:24:08,240 --> 00:24:12,080
Speaker 1: recognize my voice, and they obey. That's the sign of

475
00:24:12,119 --> 00:24:14,520
Speaker 1: a follower of Christ. They were waiting on instruction, and

476
00:24:14,560 --> 00:24:18,639
Speaker 1: when the Lord spoke, they obeyed. And I believe that

477
00:24:18,680 --> 00:24:21,120
Speaker 1: maybe there are some people here today that in your heart.

478
00:24:21,160 --> 00:24:22,840
Speaker 1: You're like, I want to trust God in this way.

479
00:24:23,160 --> 00:24:25,320
Speaker 1: I want to grow in this way. I just don't

480
00:24:25,320 --> 00:24:28,280
Speaker 1: always know how. In twelve years of pastoring, I can't

481
00:24:28,280 --> 00:24:30,840
Speaker 1: think of a single time where I talk to someone

482
00:24:30,840 --> 00:24:32,600
Speaker 1: about giving and they said, Nope, I don't want to

483
00:24:32,600 --> 00:24:35,080
Speaker 1: do that. Had people say I just don't know how

484
00:24:35,119 --> 00:24:38,240
Speaker 1: to right now. People say, show me what steps I

485
00:24:38,240 --> 00:24:40,520
Speaker 1: can take. I want to get there one day. Never

486
00:24:40,560 --> 00:24:43,879
Speaker 1: had someone just say no. But sometimes we're putting off

487
00:24:44,000 --> 00:24:45,720
Speaker 1: what God has called us to put on. But they

488
00:24:46,040 --> 00:24:49,560
Speaker 1: received an instruction from the Lord and they obeyed. I

489
00:24:49,600 --> 00:24:52,520
Speaker 1: remember so vividly when my grandfather sat me down in

490
00:24:52,600 --> 00:24:55,239
Speaker 1: his office and he first gave me the instruction of

491
00:24:55,280 --> 00:24:57,879
Speaker 1: what it means to trust God and my finances. And

492
00:24:57,920 --> 00:25:00,880
Speaker 1: he sat down and he said, the first ten belongs

493
00:25:00,920 --> 00:25:02,480
Speaker 1: to God. In my memory, it was like he was

494
00:25:02,560 --> 00:25:05,800
Speaker 1: using an abacus, but it was probably just a calculator.

495
00:25:05,920 --> 00:25:09,280
Speaker 1: Wasn't that old. I was just a kid, though, And

496
00:25:09,320 --> 00:25:13,000
Speaker 1: he said, the first tenth belongs to God. The second

497
00:25:13,040 --> 00:25:15,960
Speaker 1: tenth is what you pay yourself in the future by saving. Now,

498
00:25:16,200 --> 00:25:18,320
Speaker 1: I know there's some financial advisers in the room who

499
00:25:18,359 --> 00:25:21,640
Speaker 1: could give an more nuanced approach to personal finances. But

500
00:25:21,680 --> 00:25:24,679
Speaker 1: my grandfather was a blessed man, and so I listened

501
00:25:24,680 --> 00:25:27,160
Speaker 1: to him and it stuck with me. The first tenth

502
00:25:27,240 --> 00:25:29,720
Speaker 1: belongs to God, the next tenth is for my future.

503
00:25:30,520 --> 00:25:31,720
Speaker 1: And I was just a kid, so what was I

504
00:25:31,760 --> 00:25:33,800
Speaker 1: going to do? Give God a tenth of my legos?

505
00:25:33,840 --> 00:25:37,080
Speaker 1: But it instilled something in me right there that the

506
00:25:37,080 --> 00:25:39,840
Speaker 1: first tenth belonged to the Lord. And then when Anna

507
00:25:39,880 --> 00:25:42,679
Speaker 1: and I got engaged, my in laws who are here today,

508
00:25:42,720 --> 00:25:44,480
Speaker 1: they gave us the gift of signing us up for

509
00:25:44,560 --> 00:25:48,320
Speaker 1: Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace course, and we went through Dave

510
00:25:48,400 --> 00:25:52,080
Speaker 1: Ramsey's course, and that was powerful instruction in our life.

511
00:25:52,119 --> 00:25:54,880
Speaker 1: You know, most couples fight over finances more than anything else.

512
00:25:54,920 --> 00:25:57,120
Speaker 1: And I'm so grateful that at the start of our

513
00:25:57,119 --> 00:25:59,080
Speaker 1: marriage that we got to go through that course to

514
00:25:59,080 --> 00:26:01,080
Speaker 1: get on the same page about how we would approach

515
00:26:01,400 --> 00:26:03,920
Speaker 1: our finances. And Dave Ramsey talked about a lot of things,

516
00:26:03,960 --> 00:26:06,160
Speaker 1: and he talked, of course, about giving to God, giving

517
00:26:06,200 --> 00:26:08,080
Speaker 1: a tenth to him. So every time a paycheck would

518
00:26:08,080 --> 00:26:09,800
Speaker 1: show up on our account, you know, you just move

519
00:26:09,840 --> 00:26:12,120
Speaker 1: the decimal over a couple times, and that's what you give.

520
00:26:12,600 --> 00:26:14,399
Speaker 1: And from the beginning of our marriage, we made the

521
00:26:14,400 --> 00:26:17,320
Speaker 1: decision that we would be Tithers. God gave us an

522
00:26:17,320 --> 00:26:20,160
Speaker 1: instruction and we walked in it. But I was thinking

523
00:26:20,200 --> 00:26:23,359
Speaker 1: about the first time we ever visited Elevation Church, our

524
00:26:23,440 --> 00:26:26,240
Speaker 1: very first time. It was the end of twenty twelve.

525
00:26:26,560 --> 00:26:29,560
Speaker 1: And this year our offering is called trust in God,

526
00:26:29,600 --> 00:26:32,160
Speaker 1: but in twenty twelve it was called our banner year offering.

527
00:26:32,640 --> 00:26:34,560
Speaker 1: And me and Anna drove all the way to Charlotte.

528
00:26:34,560 --> 00:26:36,399
Speaker 1: We drove like three hours to be at church, and

529
00:26:36,440 --> 00:26:39,160
Speaker 1: we're so excited to come and hear Pastor Stephens speak.

530
00:26:39,160 --> 00:26:41,080
Speaker 1: And we get to church and guess what. Pastor Stephen

531
00:26:41,200 --> 00:26:45,679
Speaker 1: wasn't speaking, and the guest speaker was talking about money,

532
00:26:46,040 --> 00:26:53,679
Speaker 1: so I can empathize with you all today. And the

533
00:26:53,720 --> 00:26:55,960
Speaker 1: pastor preaching that day got up and he was talking

534
00:26:55,960 --> 00:26:59,080
Speaker 1: about generosity, and he was talking about tithing, and he

535
00:26:59,160 --> 00:27:02,000
Speaker 1: taught about the Prince the first fruits. So he always

536
00:27:02,040 --> 00:27:03,800
Speaker 1: knew that a tithe meant tenth, that I give a

537
00:27:03,840 --> 00:27:06,600
Speaker 1: tenth to God. But he taught about the principle of

538
00:27:06,600 --> 00:27:08,679
Speaker 1: the first fruits. What meant that not only is a

539
00:27:08,720 --> 00:27:13,720
Speaker 1: tithe of tenth, it's the first tenth, the first tenth,

540
00:27:13,840 --> 00:27:15,840
Speaker 1: and so all my life I had learned like, well,

541
00:27:15,840 --> 00:27:17,919
Speaker 1: I'll give to God off my net. Whatever shows up

542
00:27:17,920 --> 00:27:19,520
Speaker 1: in my bank account, I'll give a tenth of that.

543
00:27:19,560 --> 00:27:21,719
Speaker 1: And he taught, no, No, it's the principle of the first fruits,

544
00:27:21,760 --> 00:27:24,720
Speaker 1: meaning before the government takes their share, and before you

545
00:27:24,800 --> 00:27:27,800
Speaker 1: contribute to your retirement account out of your gross, you

546
00:27:27,840 --> 00:27:30,639
Speaker 1: give a tenth to God. And our heart was open

547
00:27:30,720 --> 00:27:33,080
Speaker 1: that day, and we received the word of instruction from

548
00:27:33,080 --> 00:27:36,240
Speaker 1: that pastor and made a decision to obey. I'm so

549
00:27:36,359 --> 00:27:39,200
Speaker 1: grateful for the instruction of God in my life. There's

550
00:27:39,240 --> 00:27:41,359
Speaker 1: been so many times where God spoke things to me

551
00:27:41,400 --> 00:27:43,280
Speaker 1: that I didn't always understand in the moment, but you

552
00:27:43,359 --> 00:27:46,080
Speaker 1: know when it's his voice, and when you obey, you

553
00:27:46,240 --> 00:27:48,639
Speaker 1: begin to walk in a new level of blessing. And

554
00:27:48,680 --> 00:27:51,480
Speaker 1: I thought, maybe there are people here today that you're saying, man,

555
00:27:52,960 --> 00:27:55,200
Speaker 1: I want to make God the center of my finances,

556
00:27:55,280 --> 00:27:57,720
Speaker 1: because when you prioritize God in one area of your life,

557
00:27:57,760 --> 00:28:00,440
Speaker 1: it's amazing how things fall into order in every area

558
00:28:00,440 --> 00:28:04,040
Speaker 1: of your life. So I said, seek first the Kingdom

559
00:28:04,080 --> 00:28:06,680
Speaker 1: of God and his righteousness, and all these things will

560
00:28:06,680 --> 00:28:10,040
Speaker 1: be added. Unto you. It's about priority. You put God first,

561
00:28:10,040 --> 00:28:13,360
Speaker 1: things just start to fall into order. The other day

562
00:28:13,400 --> 00:28:15,119
Speaker 1: I was on Instagram and a friend of mine, he

563
00:28:15,119 --> 00:28:18,840
Speaker 1: pastors a church out in Sacramento, a church that all

564
00:28:18,880 --> 00:28:21,399
Speaker 1: of you have been able to help support over the years.

565
00:28:21,680 --> 00:28:23,600
Speaker 1: He had this clip where he was talking about the

566
00:28:24,119 --> 00:28:29,119
Speaker 1: myths and truth of tithing, and I asked, I texted him,

567
00:28:29,160 --> 00:28:30,280
Speaker 1: I said, can you send me that? I want to

568
00:28:30,320 --> 00:28:32,000
Speaker 1: share it with the church. And it was so powerful

569
00:28:32,040 --> 00:28:33,600
Speaker 1: what he said, And these are his words I'm going

570
00:28:33,680 --> 00:28:35,400
Speaker 1: to read, so if you don't like it, you can

571
00:28:35,440 --> 00:28:38,680
Speaker 1: email him Jared ls at E two church dot. I

572
00:28:38,720 --> 00:28:40,520
Speaker 1: don't even know. I don't know if that's his real email,

573
00:28:40,560 --> 00:28:45,920
Speaker 1: but but he said, look at this myth tithing his

574
00:28:46,000 --> 00:28:50,280
Speaker 1: Old Testament law. Truth. Tithing predates the law. Both Abraham

575
00:28:50,320 --> 00:28:52,800
Speaker 1: and Jacob tithed out of gratitude. The law made tithing

576
00:28:52,840 --> 00:28:54,760
Speaker 1: a rule, but the Cross returned it to an act

577
00:28:54,760 --> 00:28:57,840
Speaker 1: of worship. Myth you're cursed if you don't tie. Truth,

578
00:28:57,880 --> 00:29:00,480
Speaker 1: you're not cursed if you don't tithe. Christ remove the

579
00:29:00,480 --> 00:29:02,680
Speaker 1: curse on the Cross. Under the New Covenant, we don't

580
00:29:02,680 --> 00:29:05,640
Speaker 1: tie to avoid a curse. We tie because in Christ

581
00:29:05,720 --> 00:29:11,360
Speaker 1: we are exceedingly abundantly blessed. Myth, I don't need to

582
00:29:11,400 --> 00:29:14,880
Speaker 1: tithe since I'm a generous person. Truth tithing is in generosity,

583
00:29:15,040 --> 00:29:19,520
Speaker 1: its obedience. Myth tithing is outdated and no longer needed. Truth.

584
00:29:19,680 --> 00:29:22,000
Speaker 1: If God's kingdom is still advancing, and as people are

585
00:29:22,080 --> 00:29:25,040
Speaker 1: still gathering, his house still needs building and your treasure

586
00:29:25,080 --> 00:29:29,600
Speaker 1: still needs investing. Myth, I don't have to tithe ten percent.

587
00:29:29,640 --> 00:29:31,560
Speaker 1: I can give what I want. Truth. Tithing is not

588
00:29:31,640 --> 00:29:34,080
Speaker 1: a have to, it's a get to under grace. Ten

589
00:29:34,120 --> 00:29:36,920
Speaker 1: percent is a floor, not a ceiling. Myth. I can

590
00:29:36,960 --> 00:29:40,040
Speaker 1: tie to an organization of my choosing. Truth. The tithe

591
00:29:40,040 --> 00:29:42,760
Speaker 1: belongs to the house of the Lord. Malachi three says

592
00:29:42,800 --> 00:29:45,360
Speaker 1: anything else is robbing God. Myth. Someone else will tithe

593
00:29:45,360 --> 00:29:47,760
Speaker 1: and take care of my part. Truth. All Christians are

594
00:29:47,760 --> 00:29:50,640
Speaker 1: called to tithe, yet only a few church members do.

595
00:29:50,880 --> 00:29:53,400
Speaker 1: Churches don't die because of too much money, they die

596
00:29:53,440 --> 00:29:55,280
Speaker 1: because of too little. Myth. I should be able to

597
00:29:55,320 --> 00:29:59,320
Speaker 1: attend church and experience for free. Truth. Biblical worship always

598
00:29:59,360 --> 00:30:02,320
Speaker 1: includes a set sacrifice. As a member of the family,

599
00:30:02,400 --> 00:30:05,880
Speaker 1: I have a responsibility to contribute. Guests eat for free,

600
00:30:06,160 --> 00:30:14,800
Speaker 1: but family puts food on the table. Myth I've worked

601
00:30:14,840 --> 00:30:16,720
Speaker 1: too hard for my money to give it away. Truth,

602
00:30:16,760 --> 00:30:20,080
Speaker 1: you worked hard, but God provided. Tithing reminds you that

603
00:30:20,160 --> 00:30:22,400
Speaker 1: God is your source, your job has a purpose, and

604
00:30:22,440 --> 00:30:25,360
Speaker 1: your money is making an eternal impact. Myth, I can't

605
00:30:25,400 --> 00:30:29,080
Speaker 1: afford to tithe. Truth, my friend, with hundreds of promises

606
00:30:29,120 --> 00:30:33,760
Speaker 1: and scripture concerning your finances, you can't afford not to die. Myth,

607
00:30:33,840 --> 00:30:36,000
Speaker 1: I don't trust the church to handle my money. Truth.

608
00:30:36,200 --> 00:30:38,600
Speaker 1: If you trust your church and your pastor to dedicate

609
00:30:38,640 --> 00:30:42,560
Speaker 1: your babies, counsel your marriage, support your children, shepherd your soul,

610
00:30:42,960 --> 00:30:46,520
Speaker 1: Visit your family members, evangelize your lost loved ones, Pray

611
00:30:46,560 --> 00:30:49,720
Speaker 1: for your future, answer your emails, bury your dead, write

612
00:30:49,760 --> 00:30:55,040
Speaker 1: your obituary, endure election seasons, preach through global pandemics, send

613
00:30:55,080 --> 00:31:00,560
Speaker 1: out missionaries, finance outreach, organization, build buildings, smile through all

614
00:31:00,600 --> 00:31:04,920
Speaker 1: the while, maintain integrity. How much more do they need

615
00:31:05,000 --> 00:31:10,680
Speaker 1: to do for you to trust them with your tithe.

616
00:31:12,200 --> 00:31:14,440
Speaker 1: I'm getting a little jealous y'all are shouting for Jared

617
00:31:14,520 --> 00:31:16,040
Speaker 1: more than we But it's a good word. It's a

618
00:31:16,040 --> 00:31:20,080
Speaker 1: good word. If you don't trust your church, then find

619
00:31:20,080 --> 00:31:22,560
Speaker 1: a trust you do trust. Find a church you do trust.

620
00:31:22,880 --> 00:31:26,200
Speaker 1: But if the fruit is evident. Souls are one outreaches accomplished,

621
00:31:26,240 --> 00:31:29,920
Speaker 1: children are equipped, families are champion scriptures preach, and God

622
00:31:30,040 --> 00:31:34,760
Speaker 1: is glorified than church. This is the time to tithe,

623
00:31:35,280 --> 00:31:39,440
Speaker 1: This is the time to tie. But could your neighbors

624
00:31:39,440 --> 00:31:44,480
Speaker 1: say this is the time, This is the time. God

625
00:31:44,520 --> 00:31:47,840
Speaker 1: gave them an instruction and they obeyed. Be seated for

626
00:31:47,920 --> 00:31:50,760
Speaker 1: just a moment. I'm not quite done yet. So powerful though,

627
00:31:51,760 --> 00:31:54,000
Speaker 1: and they obeyed, And then look what happened in verse thirteen.

628
00:31:54,080 --> 00:31:57,120
Speaker 1: Then hey guy, the Lord's messenger gave this amazing word

629
00:31:57,160 --> 00:32:00,959
Speaker 1: to the people, gave this message from the to the people.

630
00:32:01,480 --> 00:32:05,600
Speaker 1: I am with you, declares the Lord. What's greater than that?

631
00:32:06,920 --> 00:32:09,320
Speaker 1: What's greater than the assurance of his presence. I don't

632
00:32:09,360 --> 00:32:11,160
Speaker 1: give to get. I don't get, so give so I

633
00:32:11,160 --> 00:32:12,960
Speaker 1: can have more to eat or more clothes to put

634
00:32:13,000 --> 00:32:16,440
Speaker 1: on my back. I give because more than anything, I

635
00:32:16,480 --> 00:32:19,760
Speaker 1: want his presence. Yes, And when you prioritize them in

636
00:32:19,760 --> 00:32:22,440
Speaker 1: his life, when you seek first his kingdom and his righteousness,

637
00:32:22,440 --> 00:32:25,200
Speaker 1: it's amazing as you create space in your heart to

638
00:32:25,280 --> 00:32:28,840
Speaker 1: trust them more. The assurance of his presence is provision

639
00:32:29,160 --> 00:32:31,320
Speaker 1: his protection. Isn't that what our pastor preached on a

640
00:32:31,320 --> 00:32:34,720
Speaker 1: couple of weeks ago. That comes when we trust in God.

641
00:32:35,560 --> 00:32:37,400
Speaker 1: And then it goes on to say, so the Lord

642
00:32:38,240 --> 00:32:42,160
Speaker 1: stirred up the spirit of Zeruba Bell, he stirred up

643
00:32:42,240 --> 00:32:45,520
Speaker 1: the spirit of Joshua, and he stirred up the spirit

644
00:32:45,920 --> 00:32:49,360
Speaker 1: of the whole remnant of people. They came and began

645
00:32:49,440 --> 00:32:53,000
Speaker 1: to work on the house of the Lord Almighty, their God.

646
00:32:53,760 --> 00:32:56,760
Speaker 1: He stirred up their spirit. I love that language because

647
00:32:56,800 --> 00:32:59,160
Speaker 1: I'm excited to be able to open new campuses and

648
00:32:59,480 --> 00:33:02,280
Speaker 1: launch new buildings and all the ministry that's going to

649
00:33:02,320 --> 00:33:05,360
Speaker 1: happen through through those opportunities as the Lord continues to

650
00:33:05,440 --> 00:33:08,120
Speaker 1: expand our church. But more than anything, I want to

651
00:33:08,160 --> 00:33:10,880
Speaker 1: see God stir up the spirit of our people. I

652
00:33:10,920 --> 00:33:13,680
Speaker 1: want God to stir up my spirit. I want the

653
00:33:13,680 --> 00:33:16,040
Speaker 1: Holy Spirit to just begin a work in me that

654
00:33:16,240 --> 00:33:20,560
Speaker 1: overflows and touches nations. I want God to stir something

655
00:33:20,640 --> 00:33:23,640
Speaker 1: up in our church that proclaims the Gospel all over

656
00:33:23,680 --> 00:33:26,600
Speaker 1: the world. And it's a really simple progression that happens

657
00:33:26,640 --> 00:33:31,280
Speaker 1: in this story, but it's so powerful. God spoke, they surrendered,

658
00:33:31,960 --> 00:33:37,120
Speaker 1: God stirred, God gave him a word. They said yes,

659
00:33:38,000 --> 00:33:40,360
Speaker 1: and God, by his spirit stirred up their faith to

660
00:33:40,400 --> 00:33:43,880
Speaker 1: do something incredible for him. And that's the same invitation

661
00:33:44,000 --> 00:33:46,160
Speaker 1: that God is giving each of us. It's amazing, though,

662
00:33:46,200 --> 00:33:49,280
Speaker 1: what God can do with your simple yes. It's amazing

663
00:33:49,320 --> 00:33:51,400
Speaker 1: what the Lord can do with your obedience. He spoke,

664
00:33:51,480 --> 00:33:55,240
Speaker 1: when we just say yes to him, regardless of our circumstances,

665
00:33:55,440 --> 00:33:57,440
Speaker 1: regardless of where we feel like we don't have enough,

666
00:33:57,480 --> 00:34:00,000
Speaker 1: when we simply give him our yes, he'll stir up

667
00:34:00,440 --> 00:34:03,360
Speaker 1: our spirits. And they went on to build this temple.

668
00:34:03,440 --> 00:34:05,760
Speaker 1: And the temple that they rebuilt was the very temple

669
00:34:05,800 --> 00:34:08,719
Speaker 1: that Jesus himself would sit in one day. And there's

670
00:34:08,760 --> 00:34:11,640
Speaker 1: a story in both Luke and Mark where Jesus is

671
00:34:11,640 --> 00:34:14,560
Speaker 1: sitting in the temple and he calls the disciples over

672
00:34:14,600 --> 00:34:16,840
Speaker 1: to himselves. And as they are in the building, this

673
00:34:16,960 --> 00:34:20,399
Speaker 1: interaction between Jesus and his disciples, the disciples there, they're

674
00:34:20,400 --> 00:34:24,440
Speaker 1: making comments about the building. They're saying, look how magnificent

675
00:34:24,520 --> 00:34:26,960
Speaker 1: this temple is. Look how look at these stones. But

676
00:34:27,080 --> 00:34:30,040
Speaker 1: Jesus isn't interested in the stones. Jesus is about this

677
00:34:30,080 --> 00:34:34,640
Speaker 1: witness something much more powerful. Jesus's attention is on sacrifice,

678
00:34:35,520 --> 00:34:38,399
Speaker 1: because he calls the disciples over to himself, and while

679
00:34:38,400 --> 00:34:40,720
Speaker 1: they're thinking about the stones, he points out a widow

680
00:34:41,160 --> 00:34:45,440
Speaker 1: who has just two small copper coins, and Jesus points

681
00:34:45,440 --> 00:34:47,719
Speaker 1: her out to the disciples as she goes to give

682
00:34:48,120 --> 00:34:50,279
Speaker 1: her offering in the temple, and the scripture says that

683
00:34:50,400 --> 00:34:53,399
Speaker 1: she gave all that she had. It wasn't a lot

684
00:34:53,440 --> 00:34:56,480
Speaker 1: of money, but it was a lot of faith. It

685
00:34:56,520 --> 00:34:59,120
Speaker 1: wasn't a big amount, but it was a lot of trust.

686
00:34:59,640 --> 00:35:02,520
Speaker 1: And while other people were giving larger amounts, Jesus wasn't

687
00:35:02,520 --> 00:35:04,799
Speaker 1: as interested in that because he was drawn to her

688
00:35:04,840 --> 00:35:08,440
Speaker 1: trust in God. She gave all that she had, and

689
00:35:08,480 --> 00:35:11,120
Speaker 1: the disciples were so focused on the house of worship,

690
00:35:11,560 --> 00:35:14,120
Speaker 1: but what Jesus was drawn to was the heart of worship.

691
00:35:15,160 --> 00:35:17,200
Speaker 1: And I'm so grateful that through this offering we're going

692
00:35:17,280 --> 00:35:19,480
Speaker 1: to get to build new buildings. But when Jesus steps

693
00:35:19,480 --> 00:35:22,080
Speaker 1: into this room, he's not impressed with stages or screens.

694
00:35:23,040 --> 00:35:26,360
Speaker 1: He sees our sacrifice, he sees our heart for worship.

695
00:35:26,880 --> 00:35:29,959
Speaker 1: And God is honored and and takes pleasure in when

696
00:35:30,000 --> 00:35:33,560
Speaker 1: we as His people, we as his temple, develop a

697
00:35:33,600 --> 00:35:36,799
Speaker 1: heart of worship that says, Lord, you are everything to me,

698
00:35:37,280 --> 00:35:40,400
Speaker 1: and I give you everything, all that I have is yours.

699
00:35:41,040 --> 00:35:43,080
Speaker 1: It reflects the heart of the Father, because that's what

700
00:35:43,120 --> 00:35:45,960
Speaker 1: Scripture says in Romans, that he who did not even

701
00:35:46,000 --> 00:35:47,920
Speaker 1: spare his own son, yet gave him up for us,

702
00:35:48,120 --> 00:35:51,279
Speaker 1: had given us all things. All things. Your God is

703
00:35:51,280 --> 00:35:53,799
Speaker 1: a giver. And because your God is a giver, you

704
00:35:53,840 --> 00:35:56,880
Speaker 1: can trust in him. So at the beginning of this series,

705
00:35:56,880 --> 00:36:00,440
Speaker 1: our pastors said that trust is tangible and ready to

706
00:36:00,440 --> 00:36:03,279
Speaker 1: bring this offering in just a couple weeks. It's an

707
00:36:03,320 --> 00:36:07,000
Speaker 1: opportunity for us to tangibly demonstrate our trust in Him.

708
00:36:07,360 --> 00:36:10,239
Speaker 1: And as you seek his face and he speaks to you,

709
00:36:10,640 --> 00:36:14,360
Speaker 1: and as you obey his voice and surrender, God stirs

710
00:36:14,360 --> 00:36:16,879
Speaker 1: something up in your spirit that I can say, I'm

711
00:36:16,880 --> 00:36:20,040
Speaker 1: a house of worship. This is my heart of worship God.

712
00:36:20,480 --> 00:36:24,200
Speaker 1: I live for you, I honor you, I worship you.

713
00:36:24,200 --> 00:36:27,960
Speaker 1: You are my Lord, You are my God. So that's

714
00:36:28,000 --> 00:36:30,200
Speaker 1: the invitation before us. In just a couple of weeks.

715
00:36:30,200 --> 00:36:33,080
Speaker 1: I feel like I said everything I was anointed to say. Today.

716
00:36:33,080 --> 00:36:35,040
Speaker 1: Can we thank God for that word? If it was

717
00:36:35,080 --> 00:36:42,319
Speaker 1: a word of instruction for you who wants a heart

718
00:36:42,360 --> 00:36:44,560
Speaker 1: of worship, stand up on your feet for just a moment.

719
00:36:46,040 --> 00:36:50,520
Speaker 1: I want to give an invitation right now to someone

720
00:36:50,520 --> 00:36:52,400
Speaker 1: who needs to make a decision to give God the

721
00:36:52,440 --> 00:36:55,120
Speaker 1: most important thing that you'll ever give to him, and

722
00:36:55,160 --> 00:36:58,360
Speaker 1: that's your life. The amazing thing about the Gospel and

723
00:36:58,400 --> 00:37:01,239
Speaker 1: the amazing thing about his grave is that He's done

724
00:37:01,280 --> 00:37:03,319
Speaker 1: it all for you. All you have to do is

725
00:37:03,320 --> 00:37:06,360
Speaker 1: give them your yes, if you'll receive the gift of

726
00:37:06,400 --> 00:37:09,680
Speaker 1: His salvation and grace by faith today. The scripture say

727
00:37:09,680 --> 00:37:11,279
Speaker 1: that he'll come into your life and he'll make you

728
00:37:11,320 --> 00:37:14,760
Speaker 1: a new creation. Jesus died so that you could be forgiven,

729
00:37:14,880 --> 00:37:17,160
Speaker 1: and he rose again so that you could have life.

730
00:37:17,600 --> 00:37:19,480
Speaker 1: And maybe you're here, or maybe you're joining us at

731
00:37:19,520 --> 00:37:22,239
Speaker 1: one of our campuses right now or watching online, and

732
00:37:22,239 --> 00:37:25,440
Speaker 1: you've never made the decision to surrender your life to Jesus. Y'all,

733
00:37:25,719 --> 00:37:27,840
Speaker 1: this wasn't a message just about giving. This was a

734
00:37:27,880 --> 00:37:31,120
Speaker 1: message about surrender. And today is your day of salvation.

735
00:37:31,280 --> 00:37:33,840
Speaker 1: God wants to make you new with heads bowed and

736
00:37:33,880 --> 00:37:36,600
Speaker 1: eyes closed. All over this place. Want to lead you

737
00:37:36,680 --> 00:37:38,759
Speaker 1: in a prayer if that's you today, if you want

738
00:37:38,800 --> 00:37:41,319
Speaker 1: to make a decision to make Jesus the Lord and

739
00:37:41,400 --> 00:37:43,600
Speaker 1: savior of your life, We're going to pray out loud

740
00:37:43,600 --> 00:37:46,520
Speaker 1: together as a church family for the benefit of those

741
00:37:46,800 --> 00:37:48,799
Speaker 1: who are coming to God right now. Pray with me, say,

742
00:37:48,800 --> 00:37:53,080
Speaker 1: I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God

743
00:37:53,880 --> 00:37:56,799
Speaker 1: and the savior of the world. I believe he died

744
00:37:57,640 --> 00:38:02,600
Speaker 1: and rose again to forgive myself sin and give me life.

745
00:38:02,760 --> 00:38:06,960
Speaker 1: I receive your grace by faith. Come into my life,

746
00:38:07,719 --> 00:38:11,560
Speaker 1: make me new. I'll follow you, head still bowed, eyes

747
00:38:11,560 --> 00:38:13,480
Speaker 1: still close. If you just prayed that prayer to begin

748
00:38:13,560 --> 00:38:16,080
Speaker 1: a relationship with God. Today, when I count to three,

749
00:38:16,400 --> 00:38:17,920
Speaker 1: I want to ask you to shoot your hand up

750
00:38:17,920 --> 00:38:19,759
Speaker 1: in the air, whether you're at this campus or another one,

751
00:38:19,800 --> 00:38:21,400
Speaker 1: shoot your hand up in the air. We want to

752
00:38:21,440 --> 00:38:25,120
Speaker 1: celebrate what God has done in your heart today. One, two, three,

753
00:38:25,160 --> 00:38:27,319
Speaker 1: shoot your hand up. Hold it up hot. While we're

754
00:38:27,320 --> 00:38:31,920
Speaker 1: celebrated new beginnings around this room online, let us know

755
00:38:32,000 --> 00:38:33,480
Speaker 1: in the chat we want to call to you. We

756
00:38:33,520 --> 00:38:37,360
Speaker 1: want to pray for you. Keep your hand up for

757
00:38:37,520 --> 00:38:39,560
Speaker 1: just a moment. Our ushers are coming around with the

758
00:38:39,600 --> 00:38:42,279
Speaker 1: Bible that we want to give you church. Can we

759
00:38:42,320 --> 00:38:44,080
Speaker 1: thank the Lord for those who made a decision to

760
00:38:44,120 --> 00:38:45,360
Speaker 1: give their lives to Jesus.

761
00:38:45,520 --> 00:38:55,279
Speaker 3: That that's one invitation today, But the other invitation is

762
00:38:55,320 --> 00:38:57,560
Speaker 3: for some of you in this room to step into

763
00:38:57,640 --> 00:38:59,600
Speaker 3: a new level of trust in God this year.

764
00:39:00,160 --> 00:39:02,200
Speaker 1: In a couple of weeks, on December fourteenth, we're going

765
00:39:02,280 --> 00:39:03,960
Speaker 1: to bring our year end offering. We're going to get

766
00:39:03,960 --> 00:39:06,560
Speaker 1: to come forward and bring a gift above and beyond

767
00:39:06,560 --> 00:39:09,720
Speaker 1: that goes towards expansion and outreach as a church. But listen,

768
00:39:09,800 --> 00:39:12,520
Speaker 1: you don't have to wait till then to obey the

769
00:39:12,560 --> 00:39:15,520
Speaker 1: instruction the Lord gave you today. And if that word

770
00:39:15,560 --> 00:39:17,759
Speaker 1: convicted you in any way, or God was stirring something

771
00:39:17,800 --> 00:39:19,000
Speaker 1: up in your ear, I want to encourage you to

772
00:39:19,040 --> 00:39:21,120
Speaker 1: go home and have a conversation. But what does it

773
00:39:21,200 --> 00:39:23,799
Speaker 1: mean to honor the Lord and our wealth? To honor

774
00:39:23,840 --> 00:39:26,640
Speaker 1: the Lord in our finances? And you can begin tithing

775
00:39:26,680 --> 00:39:30,120
Speaker 1: today That first ten percent belongs to the Lord. It

776
00:39:30,160 --> 00:39:32,160
Speaker 1: belongs to the Lord. On the way out, you're going

777
00:39:32,200 --> 00:39:34,680
Speaker 1: to get one of these envelopes with the offering card inside.

778
00:39:34,719 --> 00:39:36,600
Speaker 1: This is what you're going to bring back with you

779
00:39:36,680 --> 00:39:40,040
Speaker 1: on December fourteenth, in just a couple of weeks. In

780
00:39:40,080 --> 00:39:41,920
Speaker 1: a couple of weeks, and on this card you can

781
00:39:42,360 --> 00:39:45,640
Speaker 1: begin praying about a word that represents what you're believing

782
00:39:45,680 --> 00:39:48,439
Speaker 1: God for as you're seeking his face and asking God

783
00:39:48,440 --> 00:39:50,320
Speaker 1: what he wants to do in and through your life.

784
00:39:50,600 --> 00:39:53,040
Speaker 1: Ask God to give you a word. I really believe

785
00:39:53,040 --> 00:39:55,719
Speaker 1: if you ask him, he'll speak something to you. Ask

786
00:39:55,800 --> 00:39:57,680
Speaker 1: him for a word that represents what he wants to

787
00:39:57,719 --> 00:39:59,719
Speaker 1: do in you or what he wants to do through you,

788
00:40:00,080 --> 00:40:02,919
Speaker 1: and write it down on this envelope and put into place.

789
00:40:02,960 --> 00:40:04,560
Speaker 1: As we go into this new year, we want to

790
00:40:04,600 --> 00:40:07,640
Speaker 1: believe God for what he spoke, and as he speaks

791
00:40:07,640 --> 00:40:09,799
Speaker 1: to you about what he's stirring up in your heart,

792
00:40:09,840 --> 00:40:12,640
Speaker 1: we get to also bring a gift and offering to

793
00:40:12,760 --> 00:40:15,040
Speaker 1: him and offering to him to make space in our

794
00:40:15,040 --> 00:40:17,520
Speaker 1: hearts to say, God, you are my Lord, You are

795
00:40:17,560 --> 00:40:20,520
Speaker 1: my source, You are my provider, and my trust is

796
00:40:20,560 --> 00:40:24,840
Speaker 1: in you. So that's the invitation before us. Now he'll speak.

797
00:40:25,360 --> 00:40:28,600
Speaker 1: If you surrender, he'll stir. Amen. Can we thank the

798
00:40:28,640 --> 00:40:36,800
Speaker 1: Lord together? Connect hands quickly with someone around you, and

799
00:40:36,840 --> 00:40:43,040
Speaker 1: then we'll dismiss Connect hands, connect hands. So Father God,

800
00:40:43,120 --> 00:40:45,800
Speaker 1: right now, I pray for my brothers and my sisters

801
00:40:45,840 --> 00:40:48,800
Speaker 1: all over this place. God, many of us are facing

802
00:40:48,880 --> 00:40:51,800
Speaker 1: circumstances that are difficult right now and hard right now.

803
00:40:52,040 --> 00:40:53,640
Speaker 1: We don't always know how to make a way, but

804
00:40:53,680 --> 00:40:55,440
Speaker 1: I thank you for the assurance of your word that

805
00:40:55,520 --> 00:40:59,320
Speaker 1: tells us that you are with us. You are with us, God,

806
00:41:00,080 --> 00:41:03,040
Speaker 1: that you're in it with us, fighting for us God,

807
00:41:03,120 --> 00:41:04,719
Speaker 1: and that you are the Lord of our lives. And

808
00:41:04,760 --> 00:41:07,200
Speaker 1: our trust is in you. Today. God, I pray for

809
00:41:07,280 --> 00:41:09,600
Speaker 1: this church family, for every person under the sound of

810
00:41:09,600 --> 00:41:12,719
Speaker 1: my voice, for every person who calls Elevation Church their home.

811
00:41:12,760 --> 00:41:15,319
Speaker 1: I believe that You've set our church apart for such

812
00:41:15,360 --> 00:41:17,960
Speaker 1: a time as this. I believe there's a mandate on

813
00:41:18,000 --> 00:41:20,520
Speaker 1: this house to reach the nations with the hope of Jesus.

814
00:41:20,800 --> 00:41:22,759
Speaker 1: And I believe what we're standing in today is just

815
00:41:22,800 --> 00:41:25,759
Speaker 1: the foundation, not the finished product. And I thank you

816
00:41:25,840 --> 00:41:29,160
Speaker 1: God for the invitation to join our lives to your cause.

817
00:41:29,920 --> 00:41:32,319
Speaker 1: We attach our hearts to the cause of Christ. As

818
00:41:32,320 --> 00:41:35,520
Speaker 1: we give, as we serve, as we pray, as we

819
00:41:35,560 --> 00:41:37,960
Speaker 1: preach the Gospel. God, we thank you for the blessing

820
00:41:38,000 --> 00:41:41,040
Speaker 1: that flows that when we build your house. I believe

821
00:41:41,080 --> 00:41:43,880
Speaker 1: God that you are going to bless ours. So bless

822
00:41:43,920 --> 00:41:48,360
Speaker 1: each home, bless each family, bless each individual, bless each business,

823
00:41:48,400 --> 00:41:51,680
Speaker 1: all in the mighty name of Jesus. We pray, Amen,

824
00:41:52,960 --> 00:41:54,080
Speaker 1: thank you for joining us.

825
00:41:54,360 --> 00:41:56,840
Speaker 2: Special thanks to those of you who give generously to

826
00:41:56,880 --> 00:42:00,359
Speaker 2: this ministry is because of you that this ministry is possible.

827
00:42:00,840 --> 00:42:03,040
Speaker 2: You can click the link in the description to give

828
00:42:03,120 --> 00:42:07,279
Speaker 2: now or visit Elevationchurch dot org slash podcast for more

829
00:42:07,280 --> 00:42:10,960
Speaker 2: information and if you enjoyed the podcast, you can subscribe.

830
00:42:11,360 --> 00:42:12,680
Speaker 1: You can share it with your friends.

831
00:42:13,000 --> 00:42:15,279
Speaker 2: You can click the share button, take a screenshot and

832
00:42:15,320 --> 00:42:17,439
Speaker 2: share it on your social stories and tag us at

833
00:42:17,440 --> 00:42:18,319
Speaker 2: Elevation Church.

834
00:42:18,360 --> 00:42:25,000
Speaker 1: Thanks again for listening. God bless you.