Speaker 1: Hey, this is Stephen Ferdick.
Speaker 2: I'm the pastor of Elevation Church and this is our podcast.
Speaker 2: I wanted to thank you for joining us today. Hope
Speaker 2: this inspires you. Hope it builds your faith. Hope it
Speaker 2: gives your perspective to see God is moving.
Speaker 1: In your life. Enjoy the message. What an awesome atmosphere
Speaker 1: of thanksgiving and praise today. And I'm so grateful to
Speaker 1: be able to be here with you today to share
Speaker 1: God's word. My name is Jonathan. If we haven't got
Speaker 1: the chance to meet, everybody calls me a lot of
Speaker 1: love from over here at Valentine. I have the privilege
Speaker 1: of serving here as the Valentine Campus pastor. I've had
Speaker 1: the honor of serving under Pastor Stephen and Pastor Hawley
Speaker 1: for twelve years now, almost thirteen years now, and it's
Speaker 1: been the joy of our life. How man, You're grateful
Speaker 1: that pastor of Stephen and Pastor Hawley gave God there
Speaker 1: yes and created a place for us to live out
Speaker 1: the calling and mandate on our life. And and I'm
Speaker 1: so grateful I get to share God's word with you today.
Speaker 1: I've been praying about what to share, and I felt
Speaker 1: like the Lord gave me a real clear assignment. I
Speaker 1: was asking God to give me a word that would
Speaker 1: inspire you to give as we are in this special
Speaker 1: time in our church, and the Lord said, don't inspire them,
Speaker 1: instruct them, And so I came with a word of
Speaker 1: instruction today. How many you know that God's words serves
Speaker 1: different purposes in our life. He can encourage us through
Speaker 1: his word. He can inspire us through this word. Sometimes
Speaker 1: this Holy Spirit will give us an insight. But I'm
Speaker 1: growing more and more grateful for the times the Lord
Speaker 1: shows up with an instruction for me. And that's my
Speaker 1: assignment for today. And this really is a special time
Speaker 1: a year for us here at Elevation Churches. We're getting
Speaker 1: ready for our expansion offering. In just a couple of weeks.
Speaker 1: We got a new building coming in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Speaker 1: Shout out through our Raleigh campus. We just opened a
Speaker 1: brand new Greenville campus. We're about to launch a campus
Speaker 1: in Somerville, South Carolina, outside of Charleston. And can we
Speaker 1: thank God for all the outreach that's happening Goodest Ministry. Well,
Speaker 1: I want to read this scripture to you today from
Speaker 1: Hey Guy, Chapter one. If you haven't heard of Hagai.
Speaker 1: He's a minor prophet that the Lord uses in a
Speaker 1: major way. And one thing that caught my attention was,
Speaker 1: you know, in your Bible there's the inspired word, and
Speaker 1: then there's the parts the publishers kind of put out
Speaker 1: the top of each section to give you an idea
Speaker 1: of what that chapter's about. Well, right at the top
Speaker 1: of hey guy, chapter one, it says, this a call
Speaker 1: to build the House of the Lord. And I just
Speaker 1: thought that was so fitting for the season that we're in,
Speaker 1: because whether you've been a part of this church for
Speaker 1: just a little while, or whether you've been a part
Speaker 1: of this church for over a decade or all twenty years,
Speaker 1: maybe there's a call on each of us, an assignment
Speaker 1: from God right now to build the House of God.
Speaker 1: And while, of course, you know this offering will go
Speaker 1: towards helping us launch new campuses, y'all know this. It's
Speaker 1: never been about new buildings. The Bible says God does
Speaker 1: not live in houses built by men, but we are
Speaker 1: the temple of the Holy Spirit. It's always been about
Speaker 1: seeing people far from God raised to life in Christ.
Speaker 1: But there's something powerful that happens in our lives when
Speaker 1: we connect our purpose to the purpose and priorities of God.
Speaker 1: So let's look at Hagui. Chapter one says in the
Speaker 1: second year of King Darius, on the first day of
Speaker 1: the sixth month, the word of the Lord came through
Speaker 1: the prophet Hagui Ti Zerubabyl son of schieltial I worked
Speaker 1: really hard on pronouncing that the governor of Judah and
Speaker 1: Joshua son of Josephac the high priest. This is what
Speaker 1: the Lord Almighty says. These people say, the time has
Speaker 1: not yet come to rebuild the Lord's house. Then the
Speaker 1: word of the Lord came through the prophet Hagi. Is
Speaker 1: it a time for you yourselves to be living in
Speaker 1: paneled houses while this house remains a ruin. Now, this
Speaker 1: is what the Lord Almighty says. Give careful thought to
Speaker 1: your ways. You applanted much, but harvested little. You eat
Speaker 1: but never have enough. You drink but never have your fill.
Speaker 1: You put on clothes, but you are not warm. You
Speaker 1: earn wages only to put the in a purse with
Speaker 1: holes in it. This is what the Lord Almighty says.
Speaker 1: Give careful thought to your ways. Go up into the
Speaker 1: mountains and bring down timber and build my house. Go
Speaker 1: up into the mountains, bring down timber, and build my
Speaker 1: house so that I may take pleasure in it and
Speaker 1: be honored, says the Lord. Title of my message today
Speaker 1: is this is the time. This is the time. Touch
Speaker 1: your neighbor as you take your seat, say this is
Speaker 1: the time. Last week Pastor Stephen preached this is then,
Speaker 1: what a powerful word for us, and today I want
Speaker 1: to stay in that spirit. This is the time. I
Speaker 1: thought about opening up this message with a little bit
Speaker 1: of audience participation, but then I decided against it because
Speaker 1: I was gonna ask the question. I was gonna have
Speaker 1: you raise your hand and self identify if you are
Speaker 1: a procrastinator. But the more I thought about it, I
Speaker 1: realized you wouldn't be honest, and so better way would
Speaker 1: have been to say, raise your hand if you're sitting
Speaker 1: next to a procrastinator, and then I'm like a yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1: But the more I thought about it, I thought it's
Speaker 1: not really a fair question to ask, because the more
Speaker 1: I gave a thought, the more I realized that, well,
Speaker 1: each of us have certain areas and aspects of our
Speaker 1: life that we treat with urgency and diligence. At the
Speaker 1: same time, all of us have areas in our life
Speaker 1: where we procrastinate. So what you treat with diligence and
Speaker 1: urgency might not be the same thing as someone else.
Speaker 1: But there's something you procrastinate on that's probably driving your
Speaker 1: spouse nuts. And I thought about. Just a couple of
Speaker 1: weeks ago, I got really aggravated with my wife Ann.
Speaker 1: And now before I know, I don't get the preacher
Speaker 1: all that often. All of you know us, so trust me,
Speaker 1: I say, we're good. We've been married fifteen years. She's
Speaker 1: the love of my life. She's obsessed with me ever
Speaker 1: since I grew out my hair. She calls me her Maui,
Speaker 1: her Canadian, Chinese Jamaican Maui. I don't know, and uh.
Speaker 1: I always like to make the message weird right at
Speaker 1: the top. But a couple of weeks ago, got real
Speaker 1: aggravated because one thing I can't stand is subscriptions. And
Speaker 1: there's nothing worse than looking at my bank account and
Speaker 1: realizing that I've been paying for something that I haven't
Speaker 1: even been using. And the other day I open up
Speaker 1: my inbox and I see an email that says that
Speaker 1: we had subscribed to Apple TV through Amazon Prime. Help
Speaker 1: me make sense of this. We'd subscribed to Apple TV
Speaker 1: through Amazon Prime. They're all in cahoots, and I said, Anna,
Speaker 1: did you subscribe to Apple TV? And she said, yeah,
Speaker 1: I did. There was a movie I wanted to watch
Speaker 1: with the kids and it was on Apple TV, so
Speaker 1: I subscribed it. I said, well, that's not the problem
Speaker 1: that you subscribe to Apple TV. The problem is we
Speaker 1: already have Apple TV and Amazon Prime. And she's like,
Speaker 1: oh my goodness, I'm so sorry. I didn't realize that.
Speaker 1: She said, don't worry. I already put a reminder in
Speaker 1: my phone to cancel it. I said, we'll go ahead
Speaker 1: and just cancel it right now, and she's like, well, no,
Speaker 1: I'm busy right now, but don't worry. I put a
Speaker 1: reminder in my phone to cancel it. And y'all, I
Speaker 1: know how this goes. We've been married for fifteen year.
Speaker 1: That reminder might go off when our daughter's having a breakdown,
Speaker 1: that reminder might go off when she's in the middle
Speaker 1: of a conversation, and next thing I know, I might
Speaker 1: be paying another to nine ninety nine for Apple TV
Speaker 1: through Amazon Prime when I already have Apple TV. So
Speaker 1: I said, no, cancel it. Now. This is the time.
Speaker 1: This is the time. Now I can share that story
Speaker 1: because I'm the one with the microphone. But Anna could
Speaker 1: give you hundreds of examples of when my procrastination cost us,
Speaker 1: Like when she kept telling me to make sure I
Speaker 1: added her engagement ring to our insurance policy in case
Speaker 1: it ever got lost, and I didn't add the engagement
Speaker 1: ring to the insurance policy. How many you know that
Speaker 1: that ring that got lost costs a lot more than
Speaker 1: a subscription. But all of us have places in our
Speaker 1: life that we procrastinated on, And that's really what the
Speaker 1: Lord is addressing in the hearts of his people in
Speaker 1: this passage. You see God, of course, you know, had
Speaker 1: delivered his people out of Egypt, taken them into the
Speaker 1: Promised Land through King Solomon. He built a temple for
Speaker 1: the Lord in the Promised Land. Along the way. Through
Speaker 1: their disobedience, they get invaded by foreigners, they get taken
Speaker 1: into exile. And now when we pick up in the
Speaker 1: Book of Hegui, God has brought them back into the
Speaker 1: Promised Land and he's giving them this charge to rebuild
Speaker 1: his temple because they have been procrastinating on it. Because
Speaker 1: what is not a priority to you, you will always
Speaker 1: procrastinate on. And so when God sends this word of
Speaker 1: instruction to his people, it's because he is trying to
Speaker 1: make important to them what is important to him. And
Speaker 1: he's frustrated. And how do I know they're frustrated. He's frustrated.
Speaker 1: Look at verse two and verse two. It says, this
Speaker 1: is what the Lord Almighty says. These people say, not
Speaker 1: my people. These people say. It's like when Anna says,
Speaker 1: your daughter has an attitude today, these people say. And
Speaker 1: the Lord sends this word in his grace and and
Speaker 1: his mercy, through the prophet Hagui, to the leaders of
Speaker 1: the nation, saying, it's time for you to get back
Speaker 1: to work. It's time for you to prioritize in your
Speaker 1: life what is important to me. Now, it's important to
Speaker 1: know that one of the ways the devil keeps you
Speaker 1: stuck in your life is by getting you to procrastinate
Speaker 1: and push off the things that God is calling you to.
Speaker 1: He's smart, you know. So if the enemy just tried
Speaker 1: to get you to disobey, hey, just ignore what God said.
Speaker 1: You're too smart for that. And he knows that you'd
Speaker 1: be like, Ah, that's the devil. I'm not going to
Speaker 1: listen to that. So when the devil can't get you
Speaker 1: to disobey, he'll get you to delay. And we have
Speaker 1: a way of putting off the things that God has
Speaker 1: called us to over and over and over again. And
Speaker 1: they're saying, now is not the time. Now is not
Speaker 1: the time. They've set a reminder in their phone, and
Speaker 1: God's saying, you can't keep putting this off anymore. Now
Speaker 1: is the time to build my house. All the parents
Speaker 1: can testify with what I'm about to say, and it's
Speaker 1: true of the scripture. How many you know that delayed
Speaker 1: obedience is still disobedience. All the parents make some noise,
Speaker 1: delayed obedience is still disobedience. And the real premise of
Speaker 1: this whole text that I want to encourage you with
Speaker 1: is the truth that you see in the principle that
Speaker 1: you see in this passage of when I build God's house,
Speaker 1: He'll bless mine. When I build God's house, He'll bless mine.
Speaker 1: And so no wonder the enemy wants to keep us
Speaker 1: in this cycle of delaying and putting off the very
Speaker 1: things that God has asked them to do. And if
Speaker 1: the enemy can keep us stuck in these cycles of
Speaker 1: delay in procrastination, then he can keep us back from
Speaker 1: the things that God has in store for us. If
Speaker 1: he can delay our sowing, he can delay our reaping.
Speaker 1: So God, in his grace sends this word to his
Speaker 1: people saying no, no, no, You've been saying the time
Speaker 1: is not yet calm, but he's saying, now is the time.
Speaker 1: It is a call to build His house. And that
Speaker 1: is really the invitation in the season that we have
Speaker 1: before us as a church right now. It's not about buildings.
Speaker 1: It's not just about this offering. It's about aligning our
Speaker 1: priorities with the priorities of God. So much of spiritual
Speaker 1: growth in your life is simply that God getting you
Speaker 1: to care about the things that matter to His kingdom
Speaker 1: and getting you to deprioritize the things that the world
Speaker 1: tells you are important. That is spiritual growth. The more
Speaker 1: I align my priorities with the priorities of Heaven, the
Speaker 1: more peace I have, the more joy I have, the
Speaker 1: more blessing I walk in, the more favor I have.
Speaker 1: And so God is always calling us into something, and
Speaker 1: the enemy will get you to say, ah, it's not
Speaker 1: just the time yet. So there's a few things in
Speaker 1: this passage of Scripture that I think we're keeping the
Speaker 1: Israelites in this moment, in this cycle of waiting, in
Speaker 1: the cycle of putting off. See, most people never say
Speaker 1: no to God. Sometimes we just say not yet. One
Speaker 1: of the things that I think they were waiting on
Speaker 1: is that they were waiting on peace. They were waiting
Speaker 1: for peace. Now, when I first read this passage, I thought,
Speaker 1: what is the problem with They've just come out of exile,
Speaker 1: They're back in the land. What's the problem with them
Speaker 1: putting together their own homes and making sure that they
Speaker 1: have shelter over their heads and for their families. And
Speaker 1: once they get through that, then of course they could
Speaker 1: the temple. But there's an important detail in this passage.
Speaker 1: In this passage, in hey Gi, God says, is it
Speaker 1: a time for you to be living in paneled houses?
Speaker 1: That's an important detail because the panel was not functional,
Speaker 1: it was aesthetic. And so what the Lord is saying
Speaker 1: is that you are continuing to live in comfort and
Speaker 1: luxury while my house remains and ruins. And listen, God
Speaker 1: is not bothered when we have nice things. God is
Speaker 1: not upset by our comfort. But sometimes we get so
Speaker 1: trapped in comfort and we call it peace. Some of
Speaker 1: us are waiting for peace. And when we say the
Speaker 1: word peace, we don't mean the peace of God, the
Speaker 1: peace that God gives, because the peace that God gives
Speaker 1: means the presence of God, even in the midst of trouble,
Speaker 1: even in the midst of difficult circumstances. And so sometimes
Speaker 1: when we say peace, what we really mean is when
Speaker 1: things feel comfortable. I just didn't have peace about that. No,
Speaker 1: things just weren't comfortable yet, things just weren't easy. Sometimes
Speaker 1: when we say peace, we mean that we're waiting on
Speaker 1: the ideal circumstances for everything to line up. And hey,
Speaker 1: when I get all my stuff figured out, then I'll
Speaker 1: prioritize the things that mattered to God. And so they
Speaker 1: stay stuck in this place, saying if then, if I
Speaker 1: can just get to this, if I can just get
Speaker 1: the kids graduate, then then then we'll prioritize the things
Speaker 1: that matter to God. But the other interesting thing is
Speaker 1: that this wasn't one year or two years or three
Speaker 1: years after they'd been in the land that God sends
Speaker 1: us word through Hagui. When God sends this word through
Speaker 1: his prophet Hagui to Joshua and to Zarubabel, they had
Speaker 1: been back in the land for eight teen years. Eighteen
Speaker 1: years they've been living back in the land. That's like
Speaker 1: Anna asking me to take the trash out, and I say, oh,
Speaker 1: I'll get to it, and I finally do it when
Speaker 1: my son is twenty nine years old. Eighteen years then
Speaker 1: been waiting in the land. In the Book of Ezra,
Speaker 1: it tells us the account of when they got back
Speaker 1: out of exile as well, and how they begin right
Speaker 1: away rebuilding the temple. And in the first two years
Speaker 1: they built the foundation of the temple. But then there
Speaker 1: is external attacks from nearby enemies, there was internal discord,
Speaker 1: they had pressures from the outside, pressures from the inside.
Speaker 1: And after two years of building the foundation and Ezra
Speaker 1: chapter four it ends with this horrible verse where it
Speaker 1: says that the work on the Lord's house came to
Speaker 1: a standstill when the circumstances got hard. They stopped. And
Speaker 1: somewhere along the way, we've convinced ourselves or brought into
Speaker 1: this idea that following God was supposed to be easy,
Speaker 1: and so we say things like, oh, the Lord just
Speaker 1: shut the door, the Lord just shut the door, or
Speaker 1: you just gave up because it got hard, Because I
Speaker 1: know a God who can open up doors that no
Speaker 1: man can shut. And if you would just keep moving
Speaker 1: in accordance to His word, he could open that door
Speaker 1: for you. And so all of us have a decision
Speaker 1: we get to make in our life when it comes
Speaker 1: to how we live. I can either base my decisions
Speaker 1: on my circumstances, or I can base my decisions on
Speaker 1: what God says. When and I choose to build my
Speaker 1: life on what he says, then I can't consult my circumstances.
Speaker 1: And the moment things in their life got difficult, whether
Speaker 1: it was a tax from the inside or at tax
Speaker 1: from the outside, they stop on the work that God
Speaker 1: had called them to do. Two years they built a foundation,
Speaker 1: and then for sixteen years it sat there while they
Speaker 1: continued to work on their houses. Some of us in
Speaker 1: our church we built some of you have built a
Speaker 1: foundation of faith. Yeah, there was a time where you
Speaker 1: trusted God and you were pushing through and you were
Speaker 1: diligent about the things that He had called you to
Speaker 1: and you sacrificed and you were living by faith. And
Speaker 1: somewhere along the way you said that's good enough, and
Speaker 1: you stopped building. What I love why this is a
Speaker 1: tradition for us as a church is because this is
Speaker 1: not a one time thing. We invite you to be
Speaker 1: a part of every year. When we have this year
Speaker 1: end offering, it's an opportunity for you to decide is
Speaker 1: God finished or is this just the foundation. I don't
Speaker 1: want it to be said of me what was said
Speaker 1: in Ezra chapter four that the work of the Lord finnish.
Speaker 1: I want to continue to see God take me from
Speaker 1: glory to glory, to strength to strength. And whether that's
Speaker 1: in your own life, or your own family, or your business,
Speaker 1: or certainly this ministry. I don't believe that God is
Speaker 1: done yet, so I can't keep waiting for the perfect
Speaker 1: circumstances and the ideal scenarios before I say yes to
Speaker 1: what God has asked us to do. God has asked
Speaker 1: us to see people far from God raise to life
Speaker 1: in Christ, and that is the invitation before us. Now,
Speaker 1: they were waiting for peace, but not the type of
Speaker 1: peace that God gives. Because one thing I've just learned
Speaker 1: in my life is that very rarely did peace precede
Speaker 1: my obedience. Often it was when I obeyed, then I
Speaker 1: experience the peace of God. And so when someone gets
Speaker 1: up and says we're getting ready for our year end
Speaker 1: offering on December fourteenth. Someone might say, I just don't
Speaker 1: have peace about that. But what if you sought the Lord,
Speaker 1: listen to his voice, and obeyed what he said. I
Speaker 1: promise you would experience the peace that God gives on
Speaker 1: the other side. The other thing that I think had
Speaker 1: them stuck, Thank you, Praise the Lord, everybody. That's a
Speaker 1: good word. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, because the enemy keeps
Speaker 1: us in this cycle because we're saying, ah, it's just
Speaker 1: not the right time. The economy's hard. When I get
Speaker 1: this deb paid, no, no, no. If the Lord speaks
Speaker 1: to you, today is the day to obey. And Hebrews
Speaker 1: says today when you hear God's voice, do not harden
Speaker 1: your heart. And every time God speaks to you, it's
Speaker 1: an opportunity for obedience. Y'all. If you think this message
Speaker 1: is just about money, you're missing the point. This is
Speaker 1: about obedience to his voice. The other thing that kept
Speaker 1: them stuck was that they were waiting for more. Look
Speaker 1: at this description that the Lord gives in verse six.
Speaker 1: You planted much, but harvested little. You eat but you
Speaker 1: never have enough. You drink but you never have your fill.
Speaker 1: You put on clothes, but you are not warm. You
Speaker 1: earn wages only to put them in a purse with
Speaker 1: holes in it? Does that not describe our lives in
Speaker 1: so many ways? Sometimes that cycle of discontentment that we
Speaker 1: live in, where it feels like no matter what we do,
Speaker 1: it's never enough. You look at your bank and you're like,
Speaker 1: I know, I got paid. Where did it all go? Target,
Speaker 1: that's where it all went. Put it in a purse
Speaker 1: just to have holes on it? Where did this end up?
Speaker 1: And the Lord is addressing one of the excuses that
Speaker 1: so often we care because how many of you have
Speaker 1: found yourself in one moment or another in your life
Speaker 1: simply saying well, if I had more, I would do more.
Speaker 1: If I had more, I would give more. And that's
Speaker 1: the place that the Israelites find themselves in. They keep
Speaker 1: saying they feel economically frustrated, and they're using that as
Speaker 1: a reason not to rebuild the Lord's temple. So they
Speaker 1: keep saying, well, we just don't have enough. And it's
Speaker 1: interesting how what the Lord is describing here is the
Speaker 1: very thing that they use as a reason not to give.
Speaker 1: But what the Lord is trying to get them to
Speaker 1: see is that what they are calling a reason is
Speaker 1: actually the result. Let me say that a little more clearly.
Speaker 1: They're saying, well, Lord, if we had more, we would
Speaker 1: build your house, and the Lord saying, no, no, no, if
Speaker 1: you built my house, you would have more. Because it's
Speaker 1: about priorities. His temple represented his priority amongst his people,
Speaker 1: his presence amongst his people, And so he's saying no, no, no,
Speaker 1: you keep waiting to have more, But when will you
Speaker 1: prioritize me and your presence. When you begin to do that,
Speaker 1: you'll see that it's better to have God in a
Speaker 1: little with me than to have much without God. Amen.
Speaker 1: When I was in high school, I spent a month
Speaker 1: living on a missions trip in Namibia, Africa. And while
Speaker 1: I was there, I met a pastor who had a church.
Speaker 1: His church was just a piece of sheet metal off
Speaker 1: the side of his house where his church met, and
Speaker 1: it made such a profound impact on my life, and
Speaker 1: we developed a great relationship. And then when I went
Speaker 1: off to college, he actually ended up living with my
Speaker 1: family in Canada while he was attending school in Canada,
Speaker 1: And so when I was home for the summers, we'd
Speaker 1: spend all the time together and we'd go to the
Speaker 1: church that I grew up in, and no matter what
Speaker 1: the pastor preached on, we'd get back in the car
Speaker 1: after church and Kamati would always say to me, John,
Speaker 1: why don't they talk about giving? No matter what the message,
Speaker 1: why don't they talk about giving? And eventually said, I
Speaker 1: don't know, Kaman, I don't know. I don't know the
Speaker 1: reasons why they're not talking about I said, sometimes people
Speaker 1: feel weird or get upset when you talk about their money.
Speaker 1: And he said, John, it's better that they'd be angry
Speaker 1: for a day than frustrated for a lifetime. Because what
Speaker 1: Kamati knew with just a piece of sheep metal over
Speaker 1: the side of his house for a church and unreliable electricity,
Speaker 1: what he understood is that without God, it's never enough,
Speaker 1: but with God it's always enough.
Speaker 2: Right.
Speaker 1: Just ask the disciples when Jesus asked them to feed
Speaker 1: a crowd of people, and they said, all we have
Speaker 1: is five loaves and two fishes. It's not enough. It's
Speaker 1: not enough, but with God there's leftovers. And the enemy
Speaker 1: will keep us delaying and delaying on stepping into the
Speaker 1: things that God has called us to as a people. Why,
Speaker 1: because He wants to keep us in the cycle of
Speaker 1: discontentment where it always feels like I just can't get ahead.
Speaker 1: I just can't get ahead. And the principle of the
Speaker 1: tithe is simply this. Every time I give to God
Speaker 1: through my tithe, it reminds me that God is my source,
Speaker 1: God is my provider. So no matter what I'm looking at,
Speaker 1: I know that God is in it with me. And
Speaker 1: so they were waiting on more. The last thing I
Speaker 1: think they were waiting on is I think they were
Speaker 1: waiting on an instruction. Look at this what happens after
Speaker 1: God confronts their excuses. He says, go up into the
Speaker 1: mountains and bring down timber and build my house so
Speaker 1: that I may take pleasure in it and be honored.
Speaker 1: Says the Lord. I love that, so that I may
Speaker 1: take pleasure in it and be honored. Because so much
Speaker 1: of this offering is not just about new buildings and
Speaker 1: outreach efforts, It's about honoring the Lord with our lives.
Speaker 1: He says, build my house so that I may be
Speaker 1: honored in it. And after the Lord gives this instruction,
Speaker 1: something miraculous happens in the story that I want to
Speaker 1: show you. The Lord gives this word in verse eight, saying,
Speaker 1: go bring down timber and build my house. And then
Speaker 1: look in verse twelve. Then Zarubabel son of she she had,
Speaker 1: she had, Oh man, I worked on it, y'all. Sheltyel
Speaker 1: Joshua son of Josephac the high priest, and the whole
Speaker 1: remnant of people obeyed the voice of the Lord. There. God,
Speaker 1: did you see that miracle in that text? Did you
Speaker 1: miss it? It says that the people obeyed, y'all. There's
Speaker 1: only a few times in scripture where God sends a
Speaker 1: word to his people and they actually obey, And this
Speaker 1: is one of those times. And I'm being a little facetious,
Speaker 1: But we underestimate the power of obedience, y'all, Lord mark
Speaker 1: my life with signs, wonders, miracles. What about if the
Speaker 1: Lord marked your life with just simple obedience of being
Speaker 1: a follower of Christ. Look like you being someone who
Speaker 1: sought his face and when he spoke, you gave him
Speaker 1: your yes. So the Lord delivers this word through his leaders,
Speaker 1: and it's amazing. It says that as Joshua obeyed and
Speaker 1: as Zaruba Bell obeyed, that the whole remnant of people followed. Y'all.
Speaker 1: That just made me grateful for the leaders that God
Speaker 1: has given us at this church, leaders who didn't settle
Speaker 1: at year five, or at year ten or at year fifteen,
Speaker 1: but twenty years into this ministry, Pastor Stephen and Pastor
Speaker 1: Holly continue to say yes to God and walk and
Speaker 1: surrender to His voice into his ways. Because God speaks
Speaker 1: to the leaders and then the people followed. And I'm
Speaker 1: so grateful for the example of faith that they've given us.
Speaker 1: And there's an invitation before us now to prioritize the
Speaker 1: things that matter to God in our lives and simply
Speaker 1: obey them. That's why, as we talk about this offering
Speaker 1: over and over again, we'll say, pray about what the
Speaker 1: Lord would have you give, because it's not just about
Speaker 1: an amount. It's about being a people who know how
Speaker 1: to seek his face, being a people who know how
Speaker 1: to hear his voice and obey when he speaks. Isn't
Speaker 1: that what Jesus said, My sheep know and hear and
Speaker 1: recognize my voice, and they obey. That's the sign of
Speaker 1: a follower of Christ. They were waiting on instruction, and
Speaker 1: when the Lord spoke, they obeyed. And I believe that
Speaker 1: maybe there are some people here today that in your heart.
Speaker 1: You're like, I want to trust God in this way.
Speaker 1: I want to grow in this way. I just don't
Speaker 1: always know how. In twelve years of pastoring, I can't
Speaker 1: think of a single time where I talk to someone
Speaker 1: about giving and they said, Nope, I don't want to
Speaker 1: do that. Had people say I just don't know how
Speaker 1: to right now. People say, show me what steps I
Speaker 1: can take. I want to get there one day. Never
Speaker 1: had someone just say no. But sometimes we're putting off
Speaker 1: what God has called us to put on. But they
Speaker 1: received an instruction from the Lord and they obeyed. I
Speaker 1: remember so vividly when my grandfather sat me down in
Speaker 1: his office and he first gave me the instruction of
Speaker 1: what it means to trust God and my finances. And
Speaker 1: he sat down and he said, the first ten belongs
Speaker 1: to God. In my memory, it was like he was
Speaker 1: using an abacus, but it was probably just a calculator.
Speaker 1: Wasn't that old. I was just a kid, though, And
Speaker 1: he said, the first tenth belongs to God. The second
Speaker 1: tenth is what you pay yourself in the future by saving. Now,
Speaker 1: I know there's some financial advisers in the room who
Speaker 1: could give an more nuanced approach to personal finances. But
Speaker 1: my grandfather was a blessed man, and so I listened
Speaker 1: to him and it stuck with me. The first tenth
Speaker 1: belongs to God, the next tenth is for my future.
Speaker 1: And I was just a kid, so what was I
Speaker 1: going to do? Give God a tenth of my legos?
Speaker 1: But it instilled something in me right there that the
Speaker 1: first tenth belonged to the Lord. And then when Anna
Speaker 1: and I got engaged, my in laws who are here today,
Speaker 1: they gave us the gift of signing us up for
Speaker 1: Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace course, and we went through Dave
Speaker 1: Ramsey's course, and that was powerful instruction in our life.
Speaker 1: You know, most couples fight over finances more than anything else.
Speaker 1: And I'm so grateful that at the start of our
Speaker 1: marriage that we got to go through that course to
Speaker 1: get on the same page about how we would approach
Speaker 1: our finances. And Dave Ramsey talked about a lot of things,
Speaker 1: and he talked, of course, about giving to God, giving
Speaker 1: a tenth to him. So every time a paycheck would
Speaker 1: show up on our account, you know, you just move
Speaker 1: the decimal over a couple times, and that's what you give.
Speaker 1: And from the beginning of our marriage, we made the
Speaker 1: decision that we would be Tithers. God gave us an
Speaker 1: instruction and we walked in it. But I was thinking
Speaker 1: about the first time we ever visited Elevation Church, our
Speaker 1: very first time. It was the end of twenty twelve.
Speaker 1: And this year our offering is called trust in God,
Speaker 1: but in twenty twelve it was called our banner year offering.
Speaker 1: And me and Anna drove all the way to Charlotte.
Speaker 1: We drove like three hours to be at church, and
Speaker 1: we're so excited to come and hear Pastor Stephens speak.
Speaker 1: And we get to church and guess what. Pastor Stephen
Speaker 1: wasn't speaking, and the guest speaker was talking about money,
Speaker 1: so I can empathize with you all today. And the
Speaker 1: pastor preaching that day got up and he was talking
Speaker 1: about generosity, and he was talking about tithing, and he
Speaker 1: taught about the Prince the first fruits. So he always
Speaker 1: knew that a tithe meant tenth, that I give a
Speaker 1: tenth to God. But he taught about the principle of
Speaker 1: the first fruits. What meant that not only is a
Speaker 1: tithe of tenth, it's the first tenth, the first tenth,
Speaker 1: and so all my life I had learned like, well,
Speaker 1: I'll give to God off my net. Whatever shows up
Speaker 1: in my bank account, I'll give a tenth of that.
Speaker 1: And he taught, no, No, it's the principle of the first fruits,
Speaker 1: meaning before the government takes their share, and before you
Speaker 1: contribute to your retirement account out of your gross, you
Speaker 1: give a tenth to God. And our heart was open
Speaker 1: that day, and we received the word of instruction from
Speaker 1: that pastor and made a decision to obey. I'm so
Speaker 1: grateful for the instruction of God in my life. There's
Speaker 1: been so many times where God spoke things to me
Speaker 1: that I didn't always understand in the moment, but you
Speaker 1: know when it's his voice, and when you obey, you
Speaker 1: begin to walk in a new level of blessing. And
Speaker 1: I thought, maybe there are people here today that you're saying, man,
Speaker 1: I want to make God the center of my finances,
Speaker 1: because when you prioritize God in one area of your life,
Speaker 1: it's amazing how things fall into order in every area
Speaker 1: of your life. So I said, seek first the Kingdom
Speaker 1: of God and his righteousness, and all these things will
Speaker 1: be added. Unto you. It's about priority. You put God first,
Speaker 1: things just start to fall into order. The other day
Speaker 1: I was on Instagram and a friend of mine, he
Speaker 1: pastors a church out in Sacramento, a church that all
Speaker 1: of you have been able to help support over the years.
Speaker 1: He had this clip where he was talking about the
Speaker 1: myths and truth of tithing, and I asked, I texted him,
Speaker 1: I said, can you send me that? I want to
Speaker 1: share it with the church. And it was so powerful
Speaker 1: what he said, And these are his words I'm going
Speaker 1: to read, so if you don't like it, you can
Speaker 1: email him Jared ls at E two church dot. I
Speaker 1: don't even know. I don't know if that's his real email,
Speaker 1: but but he said, look at this myth tithing his
Speaker 1: Old Testament law. Truth. Tithing predates the law. Both Abraham
Speaker 1: and Jacob tithed out of gratitude. The law made tithing
Speaker 1: a rule, but the Cross returned it to an act
Speaker 1: of worship. Myth you're cursed if you don't tie. Truth,
Speaker 1: you're not cursed if you don't tithe. Christ remove the
Speaker 1: curse on the Cross. Under the New Covenant, we don't
Speaker 1: tie to avoid a curse. We tie because in Christ
Speaker 1: we are exceedingly abundantly blessed. Myth, I don't need to
Speaker 1: tithe since I'm a generous person. Truth tithing is in generosity,
Speaker 1: its obedience. Myth tithing is outdated and no longer needed. Truth.
Speaker 1: If God's kingdom is still advancing, and as people are
Speaker 1: still gathering, his house still needs building and your treasure
Speaker 1: still needs investing. Myth, I don't have to tithe ten percent.
Speaker 1: I can give what I want. Truth. Tithing is not
Speaker 1: a have to, it's a get to under grace. Ten
Speaker 1: percent is a floor, not a ceiling. Myth. I can
Speaker 1: tie to an organization of my choosing. Truth. The tithe
Speaker 1: belongs to the house of the Lord. Malachi three says
Speaker 1: anything else is robbing God. Myth. Someone else will tithe
Speaker 1: and take care of my part. Truth. All Christians are
Speaker 1: called to tithe, yet only a few church members do.
Speaker 1: Churches don't die because of too much money, they die
Speaker 1: because of too little. Myth. I should be able to
Speaker 1: attend church and experience for free. Truth. Biblical worship always
Speaker 1: includes a set sacrifice. As a member of the family,
Speaker 1: I have a responsibility to contribute. Guests eat for free,
Speaker 1: but family puts food on the table. Myth I've worked
Speaker 1: too hard for my money to give it away. Truth,
Speaker 1: you worked hard, but God provided. Tithing reminds you that
Speaker 1: God is your source, your job has a purpose, and
Speaker 1: your money is making an eternal impact. Myth, I can't
Speaker 1: afford to tithe. Truth, my friend, with hundreds of promises
Speaker 1: and scripture concerning your finances, you can't afford not to die. Myth,
Speaker 1: I don't trust the church to handle my money. Truth.
Speaker 1: If you trust your church and your pastor to dedicate
Speaker 1: your babies, counsel your marriage, support your children, shepherd your soul,
Speaker 1: Visit your family members, evangelize your lost loved ones, Pray
Speaker 1: for your future, answer your emails, bury your dead, write
Speaker 1: your obituary, endure election seasons, preach through global pandemics, send
Speaker 1: out missionaries, finance outreach, organization, build buildings, smile through all
Speaker 1: the while, maintain integrity. How much more do they need
Speaker 1: to do for you to trust them with your tithe.
Speaker 1: I'm getting a little jealous y'all are shouting for Jared
Speaker 1: more than we But it's a good word. It's a
Speaker 1: good word. If you don't trust your church, then find
Speaker 1: a trust you do trust. Find a church you do trust.
Speaker 1: But if the fruit is evident. Souls are one outreaches accomplished,
Speaker 1: children are equipped, families are champion scriptures preach, and God
Speaker 1: is glorified than church. This is the time to tithe,
Speaker 1: This is the time to tie. But could your neighbors
Speaker 1: say this is the time, This is the time. God
Speaker 1: gave them an instruction and they obeyed. Be seated for
Speaker 1: just a moment. I'm not quite done yet. So powerful though,
Speaker 1: and they obeyed, And then look what happened in verse thirteen.
Speaker 1: Then hey guy, the Lord's messenger gave this amazing word
Speaker 1: to the people, gave this message from the to the people.
Speaker 1: I am with you, declares the Lord. What's greater than that?
Speaker 1: What's greater than the assurance of his presence. I don't
Speaker 1: give to get. I don't get, so give so I
Speaker 1: can have more to eat or more clothes to put
Speaker 1: on my back. I give because more than anything, I
Speaker 1: want his presence. Yes, And when you prioritize them in
Speaker 1: his life, when you seek first his kingdom and his righteousness,
Speaker 1: it's amazing as you create space in your heart to
Speaker 1: trust them more. The assurance of his presence is provision
Speaker 1: his protection. Isn't that what our pastor preached on a
Speaker 1: couple of weeks ago. That comes when we trust in God.
Speaker 1: And then it goes on to say, so the Lord
Speaker 1: stirred up the spirit of Zeruba Bell, he stirred up
Speaker 1: the spirit of Joshua, and he stirred up the spirit
Speaker 1: of the whole remnant of people. They came and began
Speaker 1: to work on the house of the Lord Almighty, their God.
Speaker 1: He stirred up their spirit. I love that language because
Speaker 1: I'm excited to be able to open new campuses and
Speaker 1: launch new buildings and all the ministry that's going to
Speaker 1: happen through through those opportunities as the Lord continues to
Speaker 1: expand our church. But more than anything, I want to
Speaker 1: see God stir up the spirit of our people. I
Speaker 1: want God to stir up my spirit. I want the
Speaker 1: Holy Spirit to just begin a work in me that
Speaker 1: overflows and touches nations. I want God to stir something
Speaker 1: up in our church that proclaims the Gospel all over
Speaker 1: the world. And it's a really simple progression that happens
Speaker 1: in this story, but it's so powerful. God spoke, they surrendered,
Speaker 1: God stirred, God gave him a word. They said yes,
Speaker 1: and God, by his spirit stirred up their faith to
Speaker 1: do something incredible for him. And that's the same invitation
Speaker 1: that God is giving each of us. It's amazing, though,
Speaker 1: what God can do with your simple yes. It's amazing
Speaker 1: what the Lord can do with your obedience. He spoke,
Speaker 1: when we just say yes to him, regardless of our circumstances,
Speaker 1: regardless of where we feel like we don't have enough,
Speaker 1: when we simply give him our yes, he'll stir up
Speaker 1: our spirits. And they went on to build this temple.
Speaker 1: And the temple that they rebuilt was the very temple
Speaker 1: that Jesus himself would sit in one day. And there's
Speaker 1: a story in both Luke and Mark where Jesus is
Speaker 1: sitting in the temple and he calls the disciples over
Speaker 1: to himselves. And as they are in the building, this
Speaker 1: interaction between Jesus and his disciples, the disciples there, they're
Speaker 1: making comments about the building. They're saying, look how magnificent
Speaker 1: this temple is. Look how look at these stones. But
Speaker 1: Jesus isn't interested in the stones. Jesus is about this
Speaker 1: witness something much more powerful. Jesus's attention is on sacrifice,
Speaker 1: because he calls the disciples over to himself, and while
Speaker 1: they're thinking about the stones, he points out a widow
Speaker 1: who has just two small copper coins, and Jesus points
Speaker 1: her out to the disciples as she goes to give
Speaker 1: her offering in the temple, and the scripture says that
Speaker 1: she gave all that she had. It wasn't a lot
Speaker 1: of money, but it was a lot of faith. It
Speaker 1: wasn't a big amount, but it was a lot of trust.
Speaker 1: And while other people were giving larger amounts, Jesus wasn't
Speaker 1: as interested in that because he was drawn to her
Speaker 1: trust in God. She gave all that she had, and
Speaker 1: the disciples were so focused on the house of worship,
Speaker 1: but what Jesus was drawn to was the heart of worship.
Speaker 1: And I'm so grateful that through this offering we're going
Speaker 1: to get to build new buildings. But when Jesus steps
Speaker 1: into this room, he's not impressed with stages or screens.
Speaker 1: He sees our sacrifice, he sees our heart for worship.
Speaker 1: And God is honored and and takes pleasure in when
Speaker 1: we as His people, we as his temple, develop a
Speaker 1: heart of worship that says, Lord, you are everything to me,
Speaker 1: and I give you everything, all that I have is yours.
Speaker 1: It reflects the heart of the Father, because that's what
Speaker 1: Scripture says in Romans, that he who did not even
Speaker 1: spare his own son, yet gave him up for us,
Speaker 1: had given us all things. All things. Your God is
Speaker 1: a giver. And because your God is a giver, you
Speaker 1: can trust in him. So at the beginning of this series,
Speaker 1: our pastors said that trust is tangible and ready to
Speaker 1: bring this offering in just a couple weeks. It's an
Speaker 1: opportunity for us to tangibly demonstrate our trust in Him.
Speaker 1: And as you seek his face and he speaks to you,
Speaker 1: and as you obey his voice and surrender, God stirs
Speaker 1: something up in your spirit that I can say, I'm
Speaker 1: a house of worship. This is my heart of worship God.
Speaker 1: I live for you, I honor you, I worship you.
Speaker 1: You are my Lord, You are my God. So that's
Speaker 1: the invitation before us. In just a couple of weeks.
Speaker 1: I feel like I said everything I was anointed to say. Today.
Speaker 1: Can we thank God for that word? If it was
Speaker 1: a word of instruction for you who wants a heart
Speaker 1: of worship, stand up on your feet for just a moment.
Speaker 1: I want to give an invitation right now to someone
Speaker 1: who needs to make a decision to give God the
Speaker 1: most important thing that you'll ever give to him, and
Speaker 1: that's your life. The amazing thing about the Gospel and
Speaker 1: the amazing thing about his grave is that He's done
Speaker 1: it all for you. All you have to do is
Speaker 1: give them your yes, if you'll receive the gift of
Speaker 1: His salvation and grace by faith today. The scripture say
Speaker 1: that he'll come into your life and he'll make you
Speaker 1: a new creation. Jesus died so that you could be forgiven,
Speaker 1: and he rose again so that you could have life.
Speaker 1: And maybe you're here, or maybe you're joining us at
Speaker 1: one of our campuses right now or watching online, and
Speaker 1: you've never made the decision to surrender your life to Jesus. Y'all,
Speaker 1: this wasn't a message just about giving. This was a
Speaker 1: message about surrender. And today is your day of salvation.
Speaker 1: God wants to make you new with heads bowed and
Speaker 1: eyes closed. All over this place. Want to lead you
Speaker 1: in a prayer if that's you today, if you want
Speaker 1: to make a decision to make Jesus the Lord and
Speaker 1: savior of your life, We're going to pray out loud
Speaker 1: together as a church family for the benefit of those
Speaker 1: who are coming to God right now. Pray with me, say,
Speaker 1: I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God
Speaker 1: and the savior of the world. I believe he died
Speaker 1: and rose again to forgive myself sin and give me life.
Speaker 1: I receive your grace by faith. Come into my life,
Speaker 1: make me new. I'll follow you, head still bowed, eyes
Speaker 1: still close. If you just prayed that prayer to begin
Speaker 1: a relationship with God. Today, when I count to three,
Speaker 1: I want to ask you to shoot your hand up
Speaker 1: in the air, whether you're at this campus or another one,
Speaker 1: shoot your hand up in the air. We want to
Speaker 1: celebrate what God has done in your heart today. One, two, three,
Speaker 1: shoot your hand up. Hold it up hot. While we're
Speaker 1: celebrated new beginnings around this room online, let us know
Speaker 1: in the chat we want to call to you. We
Speaker 1: want to pray for you. Keep your hand up for
Speaker 1: just a moment. Our ushers are coming around with the
Speaker 1: Bible that we want to give you church. Can we
Speaker 1: thank the Lord for those who made a decision to
Speaker 1: give their lives to Jesus.
Speaker 3: That that's one invitation today, But the other invitation is
Speaker 3: for some of you in this room to step into
Speaker 3: a new level of trust in God this year.
Speaker 1: In a couple of weeks, on December fourteenth, we're going
Speaker 1: to bring our year end offering. We're going to get
Speaker 1: to come forward and bring a gift above and beyond
Speaker 1: that goes towards expansion and outreach as a church. But listen,
Speaker 1: you don't have to wait till then to obey the
Speaker 1: instruction the Lord gave you today. And if that word
Speaker 1: convicted you in any way, or God was stirring something
Speaker 1: up in your ear, I want to encourage you to
Speaker 1: go home and have a conversation. But what does it
Speaker 1: mean to honor the Lord and our wealth? To honor
Speaker 1: the Lord in our finances? And you can begin tithing
Speaker 1: today That first ten percent belongs to the Lord. It
Speaker 1: belongs to the Lord. On the way out, you're going
Speaker 1: to get one of these envelopes with the offering card inside.
Speaker 1: This is what you're going to bring back with you
Speaker 1: on December fourteenth, in just a couple of weeks. In
Speaker 1: a couple of weeks, and on this card you can
Speaker 1: begin praying about a word that represents what you're believing
Speaker 1: God for as you're seeking his face and asking God
Speaker 1: what he wants to do in and through your life.
Speaker 1: Ask God to give you a word. I really believe
Speaker 1: if you ask him, he'll speak something to you. Ask
Speaker 1: him for a word that represents what he wants to
Speaker 1: do in you or what he wants to do through you,
Speaker 1: and write it down on this envelope and put into place.
Speaker 1: As we go into this new year, we want to
Speaker 1: believe God for what he spoke, and as he speaks
Speaker 1: to you about what he's stirring up in your heart,
Speaker 1: we get to also bring a gift and offering to
Speaker 1: him and offering to him to make space in our
Speaker 1: hearts to say, God, you are my Lord, You are
Speaker 1: my source, You are my provider, and my trust is
Speaker 1: in you. So that's the invitation before us. Now he'll speak.
Speaker 1: If you surrender, he'll stir. Amen. Can we thank the
Speaker 1: Lord together? Connect hands quickly with someone around you, and
Speaker 1: then we'll dismiss Connect hands, connect hands. So Father God,
Speaker 1: right now, I pray for my brothers and my sisters
Speaker 1: all over this place. God, many of us are facing
Speaker 1: circumstances that are difficult right now and hard right now.
Speaker 1: We don't always know how to make a way, but
Speaker 1: I thank you for the assurance of your word that
Speaker 1: tells us that you are with us. You are with us, God,
Speaker 1: that you're in it with us, fighting for us God,
Speaker 1: and that you are the Lord of our lives. And
Speaker 1: our trust is in you. Today. God, I pray for
Speaker 1: this church family, for every person under the sound of
Speaker 1: my voice, for every person who calls Elevation Church their home.
Speaker 1: I believe that You've set our church apart for such
Speaker 1: a time as this. I believe there's a mandate on
Speaker 1: this house to reach the nations with the hope of Jesus.
Speaker 1: And I believe what we're standing in today is just
Speaker 1: the foundation, not the finished product. And I thank you
Speaker 1: God for the invitation to join our lives to your cause.
Speaker 1: We attach our hearts to the cause of Christ. As
Speaker 1: we give, as we serve, as we pray, as we
Speaker 1: preach the Gospel. God, we thank you for the blessing
Speaker 1: that flows that when we build your house. I believe
Speaker 1: God that you are going to bless ours. So bless
Speaker 1: each home, bless each family, bless each individual, bless each business,
Speaker 1: all in the mighty name of Jesus. We pray, Amen,
Speaker 1: thank you for joining us.
Speaker 2: Special thanks to those of you who give generously to
Speaker 2: this ministry is because of you that this ministry is possible.
Speaker 2: You can click the link in the description to give
Speaker 2: now or visit Elevationchurch dot org slash podcast for more
Speaker 2: information and if you enjoyed the podcast, you can subscribe.
Speaker 1: You can share it with your friends.
Speaker 2: You can click the share button, take a screenshot and
Speaker 2: share it on your social stories and tag us at
Speaker 2: Elevation Church.
Speaker 1: Thanks again for listening. God bless you.