WEBVTT - The Master Key (Paul Daugherty) 0:00:01.880 --> 0:00:06.520 Welcome to the Elevation Church podcast. Today, Paul Doherty, lead 0:00:06.600 --> 0:00:10.560 pastor at Victory Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, has a message 0:00:10.880 --> 0:00:13.960 just for you entitled The Master Key. Thank you for 0:00:14.040 --> 0:00:20.560 joining us. We hope you enjoyed this message. Come on, 0:00:20.680 --> 0:00:23.279 let's give God praise this morning. Lord. We thank you. 0:00:23.280 --> 0:00:27.520 You are so good, you are so faithful. Jesus, we 0:00:27.680 --> 0:00:32.320 worship you. We praise you God, Lord. What an honor 0:00:32.360 --> 0:00:37.240 to be here this morning, Elevation Church. It is such 0:00:37.240 --> 0:00:39.519 an honor to be with you this morning. I've been 0:00:39.560 --> 0:00:43.240 watching you for many years and you guys have made 0:00:43.280 --> 0:00:46.760 a huge impact on Victory Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma. They're 0:00:46.800 --> 0:00:49.720 watching this morning, but you guys have changed our church. 0:00:50.320 --> 0:00:55.160 I discovered your church ten years ago during a very 0:00:55.200 --> 0:00:58.920 discouraging season in my life. My father was sick with cancer. 0:00:59.280 --> 0:01:02.320 I didn't know was about to lose my father and 0:01:02.320 --> 0:01:04.400 he was about to pass away. And during that time, 0:01:04.440 --> 0:01:09.080 I was overwhelmed with doubt, discouragement, self doubt, questioning the future. 0:01:09.560 --> 0:01:12.240 And that's why I was so impacted by Demetrius's testimony 0:01:12.240 --> 0:01:15.039 and during the baptism, was that not powerful of just 0:01:15.040 --> 0:01:18.319 seeing the full circle in her life? I can relate 0:01:18.400 --> 0:01:21.360 to her all the campuses out there. But I remember 0:01:21.480 --> 0:01:23.880 going on Google during that time ten years ago, and 0:01:23.959 --> 0:01:27.319 I typed in young pastors to follow. I'm kind of 0:01:27.319 --> 0:01:30.840 a nerd, and I found Steven Ferdick right at the 0:01:30.880 --> 0:01:33.760 top of that list, and I started listening. During that time, 0:01:33.800 --> 0:01:37.319 he was doing a series called Purple People Leader, and 0:01:37.520 --> 0:01:40.520 I remember following that series and then the Dip, and 0:01:40.560 --> 0:01:43.360 then each of the series he did was just impacting 0:01:43.360 --> 0:01:45.840 my life. I began preaching all of his sermons in 0:01:45.880 --> 0:01:50.440 our church, but I was watching you. I just want 0:01:50.480 --> 0:01:53.080 you to know, Elevation, you guys are changing the world. 0:01:53.360 --> 0:01:55.360 I know you know that, but you're changing the world. 0:01:55.680 --> 0:02:00.040 You're changing churches. You're impacting people far and why. And 0:02:01.320 --> 0:02:03.040 I want you to know. We're going to partner with 0:02:03.080 --> 0:02:05.200 you guys to help with those that have been affected 0:02:05.200 --> 0:02:08.040 by Hurricane Dorian. Our church is going to sow Accede 0:02:08.080 --> 0:02:11.520 into your church. Come on, you guys are so generous, 0:02:11.600 --> 0:02:14.839 it's so amazing at what you do, and we want 0:02:14.840 --> 0:02:17.840 to come alongside and help those that have been affected 0:02:18.200 --> 0:02:21.920 by the hurricane. But I told your pastor this. He 0:02:21.960 --> 0:02:23.959 came and preached at our church. A couple of years ago, 0:02:24.000 --> 0:02:26.280 and I said, you helped me find my roar, And 0:02:26.360 --> 0:02:27.880 he said, what do you mean. I said, you know, 0:02:27.960 --> 0:02:31.320 every lion has to eventually find the roar. The Bible 0:02:31.360 --> 0:02:35.200 says the righteous are bold as lions. And I didn't 0:02:35.200 --> 0:02:38.160 have my roar. And when I was listening to your pastor, 0:02:38.160 --> 0:02:41.240 I just could hear his roar, and I was thinking, man, 0:02:41.600 --> 0:02:44.280 he's roaring boldly at a young age. God, if you 0:02:44.320 --> 0:02:46.400 can do it through him, maybe you can do it 0:02:46.440 --> 0:02:49.080 for me and in our church. And I believe some 0:02:49.120 --> 0:02:51.400 of you are here today. You haven't found your roar yet, 0:02:51.680 --> 0:02:54.240 but the world is waiting to hear your roar. The 0:02:54.280 --> 0:02:57.160 world is waiting to see the sons and daughters of 0:02:57.240 --> 0:03:01.560 God revealed. You were born from You were not born 0:03:01.639 --> 0:03:05.400 to cower back in fear or insecurity. You were born 0:03:05.800 --> 0:03:09.080 for more. You were born to lead. You were born 0:03:09.120 --> 0:03:14.000 to rise above the adversity. And you're in an atmosphere 0:03:14.040 --> 0:03:20.760 where there's a roar coming in this place. Just say raw, yeah, Well, 0:03:20.800 --> 0:03:22.400 I know you're gonna sit down here in just a second, 0:03:22.440 --> 0:03:24.400 but I want to give you a scripture for where 0:03:24.440 --> 0:03:28.120 this message is going. In Revelation one, verse eighteen Jesus 0:03:28.160 --> 0:03:31.760 is speaking to John the Disciple, who called himself John 0:03:31.800 --> 0:03:34.960 the Beloved. He was convinced that Jesus loved him. How 0:03:34.960 --> 0:03:37.880 many are convinced that Jesus loves you? Come on, I'm 0:03:37.920 --> 0:03:41.160 convinced he loves me. I wouldn't be preaching on this stage. 0:03:41.920 --> 0:03:44.480 You wouldn't be here today. God loves you so much 0:03:44.520 --> 0:03:47.320 he lets you be in Elevation Church. God loves you 0:03:47.400 --> 0:03:50.280 so much that he gave you an incredible pastor. Pastor 0:03:50.360 --> 0:03:54.360 Stephen and Holly Ferdick are in my opinion, they are 0:03:54.520 --> 0:03:58.920 the example for the world today pastoring this church. But 0:03:59.080 --> 0:04:02.360 I I want to get into this message, and I 0:04:02.480 --> 0:04:04.440 just keep feeling like I need to tell you how 0:04:04.480 --> 0:04:08.800 amazing your pastors and your church is. John was in 0:04:08.840 --> 0:04:12.720 the middle of his worst test of adversity, but he 0:04:12.800 --> 0:04:16.800 was about to experience his greatest revelation of God. Some 0:04:16.839 --> 0:04:19.080 of you are right now in exile. He was on 0:04:19.120 --> 0:04:23.200 the island of Patmos. He was alone, he felt forgotten. 0:04:23.680 --> 0:04:26.159 He was wondering where God was, And in that moment 0:04:26.200 --> 0:04:29.560 God gave him the greatest revelation of his power and 0:04:29.640 --> 0:04:32.640 his word for the church. And he said this, Jesus 0:04:32.640 --> 0:04:35.400 speaks to John. He says, I'm the first in the last. 0:04:35.480 --> 0:04:38.479 I am the living one. I was dead, and now 0:04:38.560 --> 0:04:40.960 look I am alive. We serve a God who is 0:04:41.000 --> 0:04:46.640 alive forever and ever. And I hold the keys. If 0:04:46.680 --> 0:04:48.560 you got your keys with you this morning, just pull 0:04:48.600 --> 0:04:51.200 them out and just hold them up, and just jingle 0:04:51.240 --> 0:04:54.400 them a little bit. Say I got the keys. Yeah, 0:04:54.520 --> 0:04:58.240 Jesus said, I hold the keys to death and haities. 0:04:58.279 --> 0:05:01.159 In other words, I've got the keys over Satan. I've 0:05:01.240 --> 0:05:04.279 stripped him of all authority. I've stripped him of all 0:05:04.400 --> 0:05:07.919 power in your life. Though the weapon might be formed, 0:05:07.960 --> 0:05:12.000 it will not prosper. I hold the keys of authority. 0:05:12.240 --> 0:05:17.240 I hold the keys of responsibility. And I love that. 0:05:17.360 --> 0:05:21.039 Jesus doesn't keep the keys to himself. In fact, he 0:05:21.080 --> 0:05:23.680 says in Revelation three, and I'm opening a door for you. 0:05:23.760 --> 0:05:27.200 I'm giving you the keys. In Matthew sixteen, verse nineteen, 0:05:27.400 --> 0:05:30.400 when he talks about building a church, this so large, 0:05:30.440 --> 0:05:33.200 so expansive, expanding to the left and to the right, 0:05:33.400 --> 0:05:37.920 opening its nineteenth campus. From all over the world watching online, 0:05:38.040 --> 0:05:41.719 a church that the gates of Hell cannot prevail against. 0:05:41.960 --> 0:05:47.320 We are that church, Jesus says in Matthew sixteen, verse nineteen, 0:05:47.600 --> 0:05:50.679 and I will give you the keys to the kingdom. 0:05:51.160 --> 0:05:53.320 And that's what I want to preach to you on today, 0:05:53.360 --> 0:05:56.760 that you've got the keys. So Lord, I pray that 0:05:56.800 --> 0:05:58.599 you would speak to us today and that we would 0:05:58.680 --> 0:06:02.039 leave encouraged, refresh and reminded that we have the keys 0:06:02.480 --> 0:06:05.120 to victory. We have the keys to peace, we have 0:06:05.160 --> 0:06:07.800 the keys to joy, we have the keys to freedom, 0:06:08.080 --> 0:06:10.640 we have the keys to hope. We have the keys 0:06:10.680 --> 0:06:13.719 to see you do what You've called us to do, 0:06:13.800 --> 0:06:16.719 that you can move through us and in us. And God, 0:06:16.720 --> 0:06:19.240 I thank you Lord, we have the keys God. To 0:06:19.320 --> 0:06:22.839 give you praise this morning in Jesus' name. Amen, give 0:06:22.880 --> 0:06:26.520 God some praise. As you're being seated, Tell two people 0:06:26.560 --> 0:06:32.320 you've got the keys. You've got the keys. But you know, 0:06:32.360 --> 0:06:36.040 I think about how keys don't just represent access into something. 0:06:36.240 --> 0:06:38.200 The keys that God's given us are not just to 0:06:38.360 --> 0:06:40.960 unlock doors of what we're called to walk into, but 0:06:41.080 --> 0:06:43.640 to lock doors of stuff that's trying to come into 0:06:43.640 --> 0:06:46.560 our life. Like the keys are not just meant for 0:06:46.600 --> 0:06:49.320 you to access God's presence and to come in and 0:06:49.360 --> 0:06:52.320 have joy, it's also to lock the devil from coming 0:06:52.360 --> 0:06:55.320 into rek havoc on your mind and your marriage and 0:06:55.360 --> 0:06:57.560 your heart. And I came to tell you today some 0:06:57.600 --> 0:07:01.640 of you have keys that you're not using. Some of 0:07:01.720 --> 0:07:04.159 us have keys that we've forgotten are in our pocket. 0:07:04.920 --> 0:07:07.640 And so we're letting depression come in. We're letting anxiety 0:07:07.839 --> 0:07:11.840 and panic and worry and fear and discouragement and self doubt, 0:07:12.560 --> 0:07:15.200 and we're letting the enemy just come right into our house. 0:07:15.320 --> 0:07:17.360 And God saying, come on, I've given you the keys. 0:07:18.240 --> 0:07:20.920 So whatever you bind on earth is bound in heaven. 0:07:21.000 --> 0:07:24.720 Whatever you loose on earth is loosed in heaven. Somebody 0:07:24.720 --> 0:07:28.360 say I have the keys. But when I was younger, 0:07:28.400 --> 0:07:30.600 my dad began to teach me that the keys are 0:07:30.600 --> 0:07:34.200 not a physical thing. They're a spiritual thing. It's not 0:07:34.320 --> 0:07:36.400 so much the keys that we have to drive a 0:07:36.480 --> 0:07:38.920 car to get into our house, to get into our office. 0:07:39.360 --> 0:07:41.880 It's something on the inside. The way the keys work, 0:07:41.880 --> 0:07:44.600 they're activated in the spirit. And so I want to 0:07:44.640 --> 0:07:47.640 give you a few ways to start activating your keys. 0:07:47.720 --> 0:07:50.760 Number One, it's in how you see yourself. It's in 0:07:50.800 --> 0:07:52.720 how you see God, It's in how you see the 0:07:52.760 --> 0:07:55.760 problems that you're facing. In the Bible from the Old 0:07:55.800 --> 0:07:59.679 Testament to the New Testament. God would use this word believe. Believe. 0:08:00.040 --> 0:08:03.560 That's an internal thing to believe that anything is possible, 0:08:03.760 --> 0:08:06.880 to believe. To see where God is about to take you, 0:08:06.960 --> 0:08:10.200 God spoke to Joshua, and Joshua six verse two, see 0:08:10.600 --> 0:08:13.520 I am giving you Jericho. You've got to see the 0:08:13.640 --> 0:08:17.160 victory before you see the victory. You've got to see 0:08:17.200 --> 0:08:20.160 the miracle before you see the miracle. When I was younger, 0:08:20.200 --> 0:08:22.880 my dad took me, my older brother, my two older 0:08:22.880 --> 0:08:26.720 sisters out to undeveloped land in tall So, Oklahoma, and 0:08:26.800 --> 0:08:29.440 he would say, what do you see? I remember standing 0:08:29.440 --> 0:08:32.240 there with my dad, Billy, Joe, my mom Sharon, and 0:08:32.280 --> 0:08:34.959 they were, you know, they were pastoring this large church 0:08:35.000 --> 0:08:37.600 that was reaching all of Tall Sun and was doing 0:08:37.640 --> 0:08:40.160 missions work all over the world. I saw him. I'm 0:08:40.360 --> 0:08:42.000 you know, going, Dad, I don't know what I see. 0:08:42.040 --> 0:08:45.480 I see ants, I see trash, I see grass, I 0:08:45.520 --> 0:08:48.200 see you know dirt hills. He said, no, no no, no, 0:08:48.240 --> 0:08:50.480 not what do you see here? What do you see 0:08:50.480 --> 0:08:53.080 in here? What do you see in here? He said, 0:08:53.080 --> 0:08:55.920 the problem is, Paul, your eyes are open. You have 0:08:55.960 --> 0:08:59.040 to close your eyes to really see. And what we 0:08:59.120 --> 0:09:01.040 learn in the Word of God is that the Kingdom 0:09:01.320 --> 0:09:04.960 is not advanced through a matter of natural sight, but 0:09:05.040 --> 0:09:07.440 through a matter of spiritual site to be able to 0:09:07.520 --> 0:09:11.480 see with eyes of faith. And I remember my dad saying, 0:09:11.559 --> 0:09:15.520 I see a church that's so large, so expansive, thousands 0:09:15.600 --> 0:09:18.760 of people coming, thousands of people getting saved, marriage is 0:09:18.800 --> 0:09:22.160 being restored, families being reconciled. I see us building a 0:09:22.200 --> 0:09:25.400 dream center over here, feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, 0:09:25.800 --> 0:09:28.800 giving people the chance to dream again, changing the crime 0:09:28.880 --> 0:09:31.319 rates in our city. I see a Bible college and 0:09:31.400 --> 0:09:33.920 a camp and a school, and I'm scratching my eyes. 0:09:33.920 --> 0:09:36.520 I'm like, I don't see it. I don't see it. 0:09:36.559 --> 0:09:37.920 He said, well, I see it in here, and it's 0:09:37.960 --> 0:09:40.400 just a matter of time before I see it out there. 0:09:40.880 --> 0:09:45.079 Every single thing that he spoke came to pass. Every 0:09:45.120 --> 0:09:48.640 single thing today there's a dream center, a camp, a college, 0:09:49.160 --> 0:09:52.640 a school kindergarten through twelfth grade, a church, there's missions 0:09:52.679 --> 0:09:55.320 training centers. But he taught me that you have to 0:09:55.400 --> 0:09:58.280 see it in here. Proverbs twenty three says, as a 0:09:58.320 --> 0:10:02.800 man thinketh so is. Proverbs twenty nine says without a vision, 0:10:02.880 --> 0:10:05.760 people perish. If you don't have a vision for where 0:10:05.800 --> 0:10:08.520 your life is going. You're going to cast off restraint. 0:10:08.559 --> 0:10:11.640 You're gonna live with no purpose. You've got to see 0:10:11.679 --> 0:10:14.079 where God wants to take you, see what God can 0:10:14.160 --> 0:10:17.480 do through you. When God spoke to Gideon and Judges 0:10:17.559 --> 0:10:20.480 chapter six, he said, hey, mighty warrior, I'm calling you 0:10:20.559 --> 0:10:23.280 to fight for Israel. I'm calling you to win a 0:10:23.400 --> 0:10:26.200 battle for Israel. And Gideon said, who are you talking to. 0:10:26.679 --> 0:10:29.560 I'm weak. I'm the youngest. I can relate to Gideon 0:10:29.559 --> 0:10:32.880 because I'm the youngest and I'm weak. And so when 0:10:32.880 --> 0:10:35.600 I'm reading the scripture, Gideon sees himself one way, but 0:10:35.679 --> 0:10:38.800 God sees him a different way. And how you see 0:10:38.840 --> 0:10:41.079 yourself and how you see God is the most important 0:10:41.280 --> 0:10:44.079 thing about your life, because we move in the direction 0:10:44.440 --> 0:10:48.520 of our vision. What do you see David when he 0:10:48.640 --> 0:10:51.280 ran out towards Goliath, he saw a giant that was 0:10:51.320 --> 0:10:54.280 too big to miss. But the other Israelite saw a 0:10:54.320 --> 0:10:57.080 giant that was too big for them to conquer. And 0:10:57.120 --> 0:10:59.560 it's all a matter of sight. How you see your life, 0:10:59.720 --> 0:11:01.880 you see your circumstances. Some of you right now are 0:11:01.920 --> 0:11:05.520 facing some goliaths. You're facing some giants. You're facing some 0:11:05.679 --> 0:11:07.800 jerichos and God saying, I want you to see it 0:11:07.800 --> 0:11:10.600 with eyes of faith, that anything is possible. You were 0:11:10.600 --> 0:11:14.400 not born with limitations. You were born with possibilities. You 0:11:14.440 --> 0:11:18.199 were not born to bow down to a spirit of fear, 0:11:18.400 --> 0:11:21.920 to run from Goliath. We were born to chase the lions, 0:11:22.440 --> 0:11:26.080 to slay the giants. When I first started preaching, I 0:11:26.160 --> 0:11:30.040 was so nervous. I peed my pants on stage, no 0:11:30.280 --> 0:11:33.120 for real, and I ran off the stage into the 0:11:33.160 --> 0:11:37.080 boy's bathroom and I cried, and I was so insecure, 0:11:37.240 --> 0:11:40.200 so worried, and God said, go out there and do 0:11:40.280 --> 0:11:43.840 it again. And I had to start changing the way 0:11:43.840 --> 0:11:45.800 that I saw myself because I didn't see myself as 0:11:45.800 --> 0:11:48.319 a preacher. I didn't see myself very good, even though 0:11:48.320 --> 0:11:50.400 I had a passion to do it. When I first 0:11:50.400 --> 0:11:53.840 started preaching in our church and we put our messages online, 0:11:53.920 --> 0:11:57.600 I was excited because people started watching our messages on YouTube. 0:11:56.800 --> 0:12:00.240 And then I looked below the YouTube video and there's 0:12:00.280 --> 0:12:05.600 these thumbs up and thumbs down, and I zoomed in 0:12:05.640 --> 0:12:09.640 on the thumbs down and I was like what. And 0:12:09.720 --> 0:12:12.640 my identity was not wrapped in how God saw me, 0:12:13.559 --> 0:12:16.920 but in how other people saw me. And I began 0:12:17.040 --> 0:12:20.880 to just feel this flood of insecurity discouragement. And then 0:12:20.920 --> 0:12:22.679 I started going on Google to type who are the 0:12:22.720 --> 0:12:26.880 thumbs down people? You can't find them, they're anonymous. I 0:12:26.960 --> 0:12:28.240 was gonna find them. I was like, what do you 0:12:28.240 --> 0:12:30.200 not like about me? What's wrong with me? How do 0:12:30.240 --> 0:12:32.280 I get you to like me? And I heard God say, 0:12:32.520 --> 0:12:35.319 stop looking for other people to approve you when I've 0:12:35.320 --> 0:12:39.720 already approved you. Stop looking for others validation when I've 0:12:39.760 --> 0:12:44.120 already validated you. Their thoughts didn't shape you, so don't 0:12:44.200 --> 0:12:47.360 let their thoughts break you. Their thoughts didn't create you, 0:12:47.440 --> 0:12:50.480 so don't let their thoughts begin to form you into 0:12:50.480 --> 0:12:52.920 who you think you should be. We've got to come 0:12:52.960 --> 0:12:55.800 back to how God sees us. God sees you wonderfully 0:12:55.800 --> 0:12:58.640 and fearfully made. He sees you as more than a 0:12:58.720 --> 0:13:02.200 conquer God sees you as a mighty warrior. Number two, 0:13:02.280 --> 0:13:04.480 The way that we unlock those doors, the way that 0:13:04.520 --> 0:13:09.360 we activate our keys, is they're serving through serving. You know, 0:13:09.400 --> 0:13:11.320 I started serving in our church because when you're a 0:13:11.320 --> 0:13:14.439 pastor's kid, you have to serve. We were free labor 0:13:14.480 --> 0:13:16.319 for my parents, so my dad was like, you're the 0:13:16.360 --> 0:13:18.600 children's pastor, you're gonna work here. And since I was 0:13:18.640 --> 0:13:21.040 the youngest, I didn't have a title or position. I 0:13:21.080 --> 0:13:23.200 just had to serve my older siblings. And so I 0:13:23.240 --> 0:13:25.960 started serving in the children's church, serving in the youth group, 0:13:26.440 --> 0:13:28.760 and I started playing guitar, playing piano, and I tried 0:13:28.800 --> 0:13:31.200 out for our youth worship band. I was so pumped 0:13:31.240 --> 0:13:33.240 to go to auditions and people were sitting behind a 0:13:33.280 --> 0:13:36.839 table judging me. And afterwards they posted the list of 0:13:36.880 --> 0:13:39.120 who made the youth worship band and I wasn't on 0:13:39.160 --> 0:13:41.040 the list. I said, guys, there's a problem with this. 0:13:41.920 --> 0:13:43.720 I don't see my name, and they said, oh, you 0:13:43.720 --> 0:13:46.360 didn't make it. My sister was the worship leader. I 0:13:46.400 --> 0:13:49.199 was like, come on, I'm your brother. She said you're 0:13:49.240 --> 0:13:51.560 not good enough. What you're not good? You know? I 0:13:51.600 --> 0:13:54.320 was getting mad. And she said there'll be another audition 0:13:54.400 --> 0:13:56.800 here in four months. And I go home. I call 0:13:56.880 --> 0:13:58.880 my dad. I'm like, Dad, you need to fire her 0:13:59.000 --> 0:14:03.400 right now. Why. Well, she rejected me. Oh that's good 0:14:03.440 --> 0:14:06.400 that you were rejected. What you need to be rejected, 0:14:06.480 --> 0:14:09.200 you know. But my dad was saying, Paul, you don't 0:14:09.200 --> 0:14:11.960 need a title to serve. You don't need a position 0:14:12.200 --> 0:14:15.000 to serve. Just go serve where there's a need. Find 0:14:15.040 --> 0:14:17.360 a need and need it, see a hurt and heal it. 0:14:17.440 --> 0:14:20.560 Just start serving in the church. If serving is beneath you, 0:14:20.600 --> 0:14:23.560 then leading is above you. If you're too big to serve, 0:14:23.800 --> 0:14:26.520 you're too small to lead. Some of us are waiting 0:14:26.560 --> 0:14:29.080 on a title or a position or a platform, and 0:14:29.120 --> 0:14:32.360 God's saying, start serving where I have you, Start serving 0:14:32.360 --> 0:14:35.120 where I need you. So I tried out again, kept 0:14:35.120 --> 0:14:38.120 trying out, didn't make it. Was greeting, was ushering, was 0:14:38.160 --> 0:14:41.600 serving in other areas. Finally, the fourth time I try out, 0:14:41.640 --> 0:14:43.840 they said, here's the problem, Paul. You got pride and 0:14:43.880 --> 0:14:46.600 we need some humility. I said, what, I'm the humblest guy. 0:14:46.640 --> 0:14:49.200 I know, I'm more humble than all of my friends. 0:14:49.440 --> 0:14:53.040 They were like, just get off the stage. And they said, here, 0:14:53.160 --> 0:14:55.600 we have an opportunity for you to lead worship for 0:14:55.640 --> 0:14:58.640 our nine AM children's church, which was the lowest attended 0:14:58.720 --> 0:15:01.640 children's service. And they said you can lead a connect 0:15:01.680 --> 0:15:05.840 group and you can lead worship as the assistant worship leader. 0:15:06.400 --> 0:15:10.080 And so I remember going into that children's church. I 0:15:10.120 --> 0:15:13.160 was eighteen years old, and I started leading worship. They're 0:15:13.200 --> 0:15:17.560 throwing starburst into my guitar hole and no one's listening. 0:15:18.680 --> 0:15:23.280 It was really sad. I was just like, yes, Lord, Yes, Lord. 0:15:23.600 --> 0:15:29.440 And so I started just serving there every week. Every week. 0:15:29.840 --> 0:15:33.040 Went to college, was serving a children's church. Couldn't get 0:15:33.080 --> 0:15:35.200 a job at college. I had a lawnmowing business, but 0:15:35.240 --> 0:15:37.360 I wasn't making enough to pay for my college books 0:15:37.400 --> 0:15:41.760 and courses. And so the only job that was available 0:15:41.800 --> 0:15:44.320 was to be a janitor at our university. And so 0:15:44.400 --> 0:15:47.640 I started doing the janitor job. I started cleaning up trash, 0:15:47.720 --> 0:15:51.080 did it for three years, started cleaning up the baseball stadium, 0:15:51.200 --> 0:15:53.280 and during that time I was writing these songs. I 0:15:53.320 --> 0:15:55.560 remember writing this song as I was in the baseball 0:15:55.560 --> 0:15:59.480 stadium picking up people's nachos. And no matter where you're 0:15:59.480 --> 0:16:01.640 at right now, God sees you. God sees you when 0:16:01.680 --> 0:16:04.080 no one else sees you, when you feel invisible, God 0:16:04.120 --> 0:16:09.640 sees you. I said, God, this is humiliating, This is humiliating. 0:16:10.160 --> 0:16:13.240 And I heard God say, your humiliation is preparation for 0:16:13.280 --> 0:16:19.160 an elevation. Your humiliation is preparation for an acceleration. See, 0:16:19.200 --> 0:16:22.640 so many people want to jump seasons because we're watching 0:16:22.680 --> 0:16:25.160 other people's stories. We're seeing them get to do stuff, 0:16:25.480 --> 0:16:28.040 and God saying, get your eyes off of everyone else's story. 0:16:28.080 --> 0:16:30.960 I've got a story for you. Start owning your story. 0:16:31.240 --> 0:16:34.560 Start being right here, and even if it feels humiliating, 0:16:34.640 --> 0:16:37.640 this is preparation for an elevation where I'm taking you. 0:16:38.160 --> 0:16:40.600 So I started writing this song as I'm picking up nachos, 0:16:40.600 --> 0:16:44.080 and the song was from John chapter three. I must decrease. 0:16:44.680 --> 0:16:49.680 You must increase, Lord, I want more of you, I 0:16:49.880 --> 0:16:53.280 must decrease. So I'm singing this song and I ended 0:16:53.360 --> 0:16:56.480 up recording it and put it on a CD. And 0:16:56.520 --> 0:16:59.960 one of my friends gave it to our university's Christian University, 0:17:00.040 --> 0:17:02.080 and they were doing a live album and they were 0:17:02.080 --> 0:17:05.439 looking for songs. They found my song, and so they 0:17:05.480 --> 0:17:07.640 called me. They said, we want to put your song 0:17:07.720 --> 0:17:10.000 on the new album. I said, what you want to 0:17:10.000 --> 0:17:11.960 put on? They said yes. The only problem is we 0:17:11.960 --> 0:17:14.160 don't want you to sing because your voice ain't good. 0:17:15.000 --> 0:17:16.840 We want your friend Brad to sing. I was like 0:17:16.960 --> 0:17:19.399 what they said, but you could sing in the choir. 0:17:20.080 --> 0:17:22.400 I didn't even make the choir my freshman and sophomore year. 0:17:22.440 --> 0:17:23.800 Now they want me to sing in the choir my 0:17:23.880 --> 0:17:27.440 junior year. So I remember that night we're recording and 0:17:27.520 --> 0:17:30.600 there's carry job, there's a couple other worship leaders, and 0:17:30.640 --> 0:17:34.040 there's my friend singing my song, and I'm back in 0:17:34.080 --> 0:17:36.960 the choir in the dark. I'm just standing back there 0:17:37.480 --> 0:17:39.639 and he's singing my song, and I'm like, he must 0:17:39.720 --> 0:17:44.320 decrease and I must increase. And God was like, this 0:17:44.359 --> 0:17:49.200 is so good for you. Humiliation is preparation for an elevation. 0:17:51.000 --> 0:17:53.879 And so I kept serving, just kept showing up, and 0:17:54.000 --> 0:17:57.560 finally I graduated from cemetery. I finished all my Bible 0:17:57.600 --> 0:18:03.240 classes and there was an open job at the church, 0:18:03.880 --> 0:18:05.760 and I applied for it. Got the job to start 0:18:05.800 --> 0:18:08.760 working in college ministry, and I was so excited to 0:18:08.800 --> 0:18:11.600 work for my dad. This was about ten and a 0:18:11.640 --> 0:18:14.640 half years ago. I had dreamed of serving my mom 0:18:14.680 --> 0:18:18.600 and dad and working to build the church, and so 0:18:18.640 --> 0:18:20.359 I came to my dad. I said, Dad, I'm ready. 0:18:20.520 --> 0:18:22.320 You know, I got the job, and he said that's great. 0:18:22.320 --> 0:18:23.720 That's great because he didn't want to be the one 0:18:23.720 --> 0:18:25.200 that hired me. He wanted to leave it up to 0:18:25.240 --> 0:18:27.560 the supervisor. I said, Dad, I got the job. I'm 0:18:27.600 --> 0:18:29.679 ready for my Keys to Victory, because that's the name 0:18:29.720 --> 0:18:31.760 of our church. I'm ready for my keys to victory. 0:18:32.000 --> 0:18:35.840 He said, keys, you only need one key. Son. I said, Dad, 0:18:36.040 --> 0:18:38.360 I'm your own flesh and blood. The janitors have more 0:18:38.359 --> 0:18:40.520 than one key. Can I get one key? I was 0:18:40.560 --> 0:18:42.360 a janitor at the college and I had a ton 0:18:42.359 --> 0:18:44.000 of keys. He said no, you only get a key 0:18:44.080 --> 0:18:46.680 to your office. That's the only key you get. I 0:18:46.720 --> 0:18:49.280 was like, Dad, why don't you trust me? Why do 0:18:49.359 --> 0:18:52.720 you need more keys? I just want access. I want access, 0:18:52.760 --> 0:18:55.320 I want authority. He's like, no, no, no, just use 0:18:55.320 --> 0:18:59.320 your key. Just use your key. And fast forward. Our 0:18:59.359 --> 0:19:01.959 college Minis Street started to grow. I was preaching all 0:19:01.960 --> 0:19:06.480 the Stevens sermons and Bishop Jakes, thank you, Pastor, and 0:19:08.119 --> 0:19:12.439 I gave him credit. He actually saw me preaching a 0:19:12.480 --> 0:19:14.639 sermon online and he was like, hey, I saw you 0:19:14.680 --> 0:19:17.240 preaching a sermon. I was like, oh, snap, it was 0:19:17.280 --> 0:19:24.040 one of his. I butchered it. But I remember getting 0:19:24.040 --> 0:19:25.760 a call from my mom. She said, hey, come to 0:19:25.800 --> 0:19:28.040 the hospital. Your dad's up here. I said, who's he visiting? 0:19:28.040 --> 0:19:30.320 Who's he praying for? She said no, no no, no, he's 0:19:30.400 --> 0:19:32.280 up here. And I got up there and the doctor 0:19:32.359 --> 0:19:36.000 told our family that my dad had stage four lymphoma. Cancer. 0:19:37.080 --> 0:19:39.560 And when they said that, I just I lost it. Man, 0:19:39.600 --> 0:19:44.200 I just started bawling. I said, why, he's been nothing 0:19:44.240 --> 0:19:46.960 but good, He served you God, He's done nothing wrong, 0:19:47.000 --> 0:19:50.160 he's had no failures, he's been a good man of integrity. 0:19:50.320 --> 0:19:53.240 Why is this happening? And I didn't realize that my 0:19:53.320 --> 0:19:56.520 faith was built on answered prayers. My faith was built 0:19:56.560 --> 0:19:58.800 on everything going my way. You see, when you face 0:19:58.840 --> 0:20:01.280 a crisis, you find about what your faith is made of. 0:20:02.840 --> 0:20:05.480 Either your faith is on shifting sand, or it's on 0:20:05.560 --> 0:20:08.639 a solid rock, on Christ, the solid rock I stand. 0:20:08.840 --> 0:20:12.840 All other ground is sinking sand. All other ground is 0:20:12.880 --> 0:20:16.320 sinking sand. But in that moment, I was caving in. 0:20:16.400 --> 0:20:18.879 I was losing my faith because my faith was wrapped 0:20:18.960 --> 0:20:22.720 up in him being healed. But as your pastor has 0:20:22.760 --> 0:20:25.399 said before, sometimes you get to see the miracle, and 0:20:25.480 --> 0:20:28.880 sometimes you get to be the miracle. And I remember 0:20:28.920 --> 0:20:31.560 praying for my dad and the night that he passed, 0:20:31.600 --> 0:20:33.679 I was in the hospital room, couldn't go to sleep, 0:20:34.320 --> 0:20:37.359 stayed there through the night watching the EKG monitor, praying 0:20:37.440 --> 0:20:43.480 for resurrection life, and I watched my hero, my pastor, 0:20:44.359 --> 0:20:51.160 my daddy pass away, and I was so overwhelmed because 0:20:51.160 --> 0:20:53.359 I was thinking about the church, and I was thinking 0:20:53.359 --> 0:20:55.359 about our family. I was thinking about my mom because 0:20:55.359 --> 0:20:58.160 I had just gotten married, and I was going, God, 0:20:58.160 --> 0:21:02.320 what's gonna happen. We need him. Our church is not 0:21:02.400 --> 0:21:05.359 gonna make it without him. It was just built so 0:21:05.480 --> 0:21:08.880 much on his voice. He just was a visionary. He 0:21:08.920 --> 0:21:11.480 was such a great preacher, a great pastor, and a 0:21:11.480 --> 0:21:14.920 great dad. And I heard God speak this to me 0:21:14.960 --> 0:21:18.080 in my heart, not audibly, just this impression. And I 0:21:18.119 --> 0:21:21.400