WEBVTT - You Can Be Satisfied (Lisa Harper) 0:00:02.160 --> 0:00:04.720 Hey, this is Stephen Ferdick. I'm the pastor of Elevation 0:00:04.960 --> 0:00:07.200 Church and this is our podcast. I wanted to thank 0:00:07.240 --> 0:00:10.520 you for joining us today. Hope this inspires you. Hope 0:00:10.560 --> 0:00:12.600 it builds your faith. Hope it gives your perspective to 0:00:12.640 --> 0:00:17.160 see God is moving in your life. Enjoy the message. 0:00:17.880 --> 0:00:21.400 I really have to tell y'all. The first time Pastor 0:00:21.440 --> 0:00:24.599 Stephen and Holly invited me to come to Elevation, I 0:00:24.640 --> 0:00:30.000 thought they were confused, because I love this house. Pastor Tim, 0:00:30.000 --> 0:00:34.519 you fat move like dance. I thought he's only been 0:00:34.520 --> 0:00:36.440 a believer for a short period of time, because that's 0:00:37.560 --> 0:00:41.160 that's some BC rhythms from before Christ rhythm right there, brother. 0:00:42.159 --> 0:00:47.479 But the first time, really, I want like I need 0:00:47.880 --> 0:00:51.120 a little bit of training between service. My my baby 0:00:51.159 --> 0:00:53.960 can dance, but mama ain't got no rhythm. The first 0:00:54.000 --> 0:00:55.920 time I got to come be with y'all, I was 0:00:56.120 --> 0:01:00.600 so excited because you have taught me. I've learned so 0:01:00.680 --> 0:01:04.640 much about Jesus through your house. And I thought, surely 0:01:05.200 --> 0:01:09.080 Pastor Stephen has got me confused with Lisa Bevie. Now, 0:01:09.120 --> 0:01:11.280 I don't know if y'all know who Lisa Bevie is, 0:01:11.319 --> 0:01:15.600 but a woman can preach where about the same age, 0:01:15.640 --> 0:01:18.080 but she has much more authority than I do. And 0:01:18.200 --> 0:01:22.000 she wears leather pants a lot of times when she preaches, 0:01:22.160 --> 0:01:25.280 and I thought, uh, oh, to keep up the charade, 0:01:25.319 --> 0:01:27.880 I might have to wear leather pants to elevation. And 0:01:27.920 --> 0:01:30.080 when I wear leather pants, it sounds like ducks are 0:01:30.080 --> 0:01:33.360 being killed. So I'm not quite as lean as the 0:01:33.400 --> 0:01:35.200 other Lisa, and I thought, oh, this is gonna be 0:01:35.240 --> 0:01:39.320 so uncomfortable. So I was thrilled to find out that 0:01:39.520 --> 0:01:42.840 they lowered the bar, that they actually knew. I wasn't 0:01:42.880 --> 0:01:48.080 that Lisa. And so to get to to get to 0:01:48.200 --> 0:01:53.760 be with y'all. Now, it's pure grace, y'all. It's pure 0:01:53.880 --> 0:01:56.760 grace that I get to come back and run hard 0:01:56.800 --> 0:02:00.760 towards Jesus with this house. I love me some elevation deeply, 0:02:00.840 --> 0:02:07.440 deeply respect. That's my cousin right there, so deeply respects 0:02:07.480 --> 0:02:10.600 what God has done and is doing through your house, 0:02:10.680 --> 0:02:14.320 through pastor Steven Holly, the whole team here. I just 0:02:15.240 --> 0:02:18.440 I'm in the middle of a forty day fast on sugar, 0:02:19.040 --> 0:02:21.359 and when Chunks called me, I was like, I'm gonna 0:02:21.400 --> 0:02:23.480 get some sugar after all, baby, I get to go 0:02:23.560 --> 0:02:28.239 to Elevation. Not too many sweeter houses that I've been 0:02:28.280 --> 0:02:30.400 to in the world. I do want to make just 0:02:30.440 --> 0:02:33.119 a couple of qualifications before we dive into the message. 0:02:34.160 --> 0:02:37.799 The first is I'm a spitter, and so I'm so sorry. 0:02:37.919 --> 0:02:41.040 We're just gonna call it a baptism. E fam y'all 0:02:41.080 --> 0:02:43.480 can breathe a sigh of relief that you're not in 0:02:43.560 --> 0:02:46.800 the room. I will not sprinkle you, but anybody with 0:02:46.880 --> 0:02:50.040 about fifteen feet y'all just plan to get wet. And 0:02:51.480 --> 0:02:54.400 then my second qualification is for the tech tech team. 0:02:54.440 --> 0:02:56.359 This is the first time I've been to Elevation that 0:02:56.360 --> 0:02:58.799 I actually have a title. They always have to make 0:02:58.919 --> 0:03:02.080 up a title for me. I'm creatively challenged, but I 0:03:02.120 --> 0:03:04.520 have a title. So for those of you who are 0:03:04.639 --> 0:03:08.440 enneagram ones or threes or eights, y'all are note takers, 0:03:08.560 --> 0:03:12.560 I know you are. Heaven forbid. Here's the title. The 0:03:12.639 --> 0:03:17.320 title for our message this morning is Mick Jagger was wrong. 0:03:19.000 --> 0:03:22.600 You with me? Mick Jagger was wrong. I'll explain that 0:03:22.680 --> 0:03:26.400 in a minute. I even have a secondary title, Bruce 0:03:26.639 --> 0:03:32.280 Springsteen was right. Mick Jagger was wrong. Bruce Springsteen was right. Now, 0:03:32.320 --> 0:03:35.800 for those of you gen zers who don't know who's 0:03:35.840 --> 0:03:39.320 Sir Jagger or the Boss who they are, y'all need 0:03:39.360 --> 0:03:44.320 to rectify your spotify because they're two of the best. 0:03:44.480 --> 0:03:48.760 But theologically Mick Jagger was wrong, and light of that title, 0:03:48.800 --> 0:03:51.400 we probably need to pray before we dive into God's word. 0:03:51.560 --> 0:03:54.880 And so since we've loosened up a little bit on 0:03:54.920 --> 0:03:57.480 the restrictions, and y'all are sitting next to your beloved, 0:03:57.520 --> 0:03:59.600 reach out and touch them. If they're not your beloved, 0:03:59.600 --> 0:04:03.480 don't grow. But let's pray. Those of y'all who are 0:04:03.520 --> 0:04:06.560 listening to this online and you're driving, please don't close 0:04:06.600 --> 0:04:13.680 your eyes while you pray. Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, King 0:04:13.760 --> 0:04:16.160 of Kings, Lord of Lords, the Lion and the Lamb, 0:04:16.240 --> 0:04:23.719 the Lily of the Valley, Mighty God, wonderful counselor Messiah, Oudai, 0:04:24.000 --> 0:04:31.400 the Christ, the Anointed One. Jesus. Thank you for your mercy, 0:04:31.440 --> 0:04:34.719 Thank you for your compassion, Thank you for your accessibility. 0:04:35.560 --> 0:04:40.520 Thank you that what we saying was not just inspirational. 0:04:41.080 --> 0:04:44.240 Thank you that you actually do meet all of our 0:04:44.440 --> 0:04:48.960 needs according to your riches and your glory. Thank you 0:04:49.000 --> 0:04:51.359 that you stick closer than a brother. Thank you that 0:04:51.400 --> 0:04:54.080 we can cast all our anxiety on you because you 0:04:54.200 --> 0:04:57.960 care for us. Thank you, Jesus that when you ascended 0:04:58.000 --> 0:04:59.600 into heaven is sit at the right hand of God 0:04:59.640 --> 0:05:03.640 the Father, you did not leave us as orphans. That 0:05:03.800 --> 0:05:07.679 even during those seasons when we feel missed or marginalized, 0:05:08.080 --> 0:05:11.760 your presence is palpable. Thank you that when we look 0:05:11.800 --> 0:05:14.159 back over our lives we don't see you are back, 0:05:14.320 --> 0:05:17.920 that you are present, that you left us your holy Spirit, 0:05:18.080 --> 0:05:21.599 who even this morning reminds us that we have the 0:05:21.680 --> 0:05:25.000 right to call the God who breathe the universe into existence. Dad. 0:05:25.720 --> 0:05:29.479 Thank you, Thank you, thank you, and thank you for 0:05:29.600 --> 0:05:33.799 your word. As Chris said, we need it. Lord. Sometimes 0:05:33.839 --> 0:05:37.440 we forget it's a love story. We forget that we 0:05:37.520 --> 0:05:40.480 can find ourselves on these paper thin pages, and we 0:05:40.520 --> 0:05:42.920 can find over and over and over and over again 0:05:43.560 --> 0:05:47.400 that you're a God who condescends to embrace his people. 0:05:47.839 --> 0:05:50.680 That you're not a far away, unibrowed librarian. You're an 0:05:50.800 --> 0:05:57.640 up close, personal, compassionate savior. Jesus, we ask for more 0:05:57.680 --> 0:05:59.400 of you this morning. We asked that you would give 0:05:59.480 --> 0:06:03.200 us eyes to see more clearly and ears to hear 0:06:03.320 --> 0:06:09.479 louder and hearts that would really believe, really believe that 0:06:09.720 --> 0:06:15.240 you love us, Teach us what it is to know that, 0:06:15.480 --> 0:06:17.800 to rest in that, to live out of that reality. 0:06:18.240 --> 0:06:20.520 We ask these things Jesus, by the power and authority 0:06:20.520 --> 0:06:23.680 of your name, and we ask it for your purposes. 0:06:23.800 --> 0:06:31.279 A men and a men. I feel so close to 0:06:31.360 --> 0:06:34.520 y'all and so affectionate with y'all because you have become 0:06:34.640 --> 0:06:37.360 like a family of cousins for me, Holly has become 0:06:38.040 --> 0:06:40.360 just a dear, dear friend. I don't like standing next 0:06:40.360 --> 0:06:43.320 to her because her waist is about the size of 0:06:43.360 --> 0:06:46.039 my ankle. But other than not wanting to stand in 0:06:46.080 --> 0:06:50.400 close physical proximity, I love Holly, and so I feel 0:06:50.480 --> 0:06:53.000 safe enough to tell y'all a story that I have 0:06:53.080 --> 0:06:58.080 never told before publicly, because it's a story that is, well, 0:06:58.080 --> 0:07:00.920 it's just a little too revelatory. It's about one of 0:07:00.960 --> 0:07:05.960 my most recent blind dates gone horribly awry. For those 0:07:06.000 --> 0:07:08.560 of you who've been here before, you might remember that 0:07:08.600 --> 0:07:11.720 I'm old and single. I'm fifty seven, My husband is 0:07:11.960 --> 0:07:16.080 lost and won't stop to ask for directions, and do 0:07:16.160 --> 0:07:19.520 you have a daughter? By the miraculous kindness of God, 0:07:19.600 --> 0:07:21.680 I got to bring my baby girl home from Haiti 0:07:22.120 --> 0:07:24.560 the year I turned fifty and she was four, so 0:07:24.600 --> 0:07:26.560 I went through menopause and motherhood at the same time. 0:07:27.080 --> 0:07:31.160 But we don't have a baby daddy, and so I 0:07:31.200 --> 0:07:33.080 actually told her one day. I was teasing with her 0:07:33.120 --> 0:07:35.600 and we were talking about prayer request, and I said, baby, 0:07:35.720 --> 0:07:37.840 it's okay for us to pray for a baby daddy. 0:07:38.080 --> 0:07:39.960 I said, you know, God brought you to me, but 0:07:40.400 --> 0:07:42.120 it'd be cool if we had a daddy with skin 0:07:42.200 --> 0:07:45.080 on in our house. And she went right to her 0:07:45.080 --> 0:07:47.880 little Christian school and gave that as a prayer request, 0:07:49.880 --> 0:07:53.320 got met in the drive through pickup line by the headmaster, 0:07:53.440 --> 0:07:55.840 who was not at all pleased that I told a 0:07:55.880 --> 0:07:59.040 kindergartener to make her prayer request. I need a baby daddy, 0:07:59.400 --> 0:08:03.240 so anyway, be careful, be careful who you use that 0:08:03.360 --> 0:08:08.800 terminology with. But I've gotten so content that I really 0:08:08.840 --> 0:08:12.120 have kind of stopped even thinking much about marriage. And 0:08:12.160 --> 0:08:14.640 part of it is I lost all my estrogen after menopause, 0:08:14.720 --> 0:08:17.120 so it's just like life for the most part, is 0:08:17.160 --> 0:08:19.840 really good, except I can't wear pants with zippers anymore. 0:08:19.880 --> 0:08:23.320 And so I was explaining this to a friend recently. 0:08:23.400 --> 0:08:27.080 I was telling her how excited I was because I've 0:08:27.120 --> 0:08:30.640 been dreaming about a John Deere tractor for about fifteen years. 0:08:31.040 --> 0:08:33.040 We live out in the country south of Nashville. I 0:08:33.080 --> 0:08:35.840 got a little tiny farmat five acres, and I've just 0:08:35.880 --> 0:08:38.760 been jones in for John Deere and I finally found 0:08:38.760 --> 0:08:41.760 one that was used on sale, and I was just 0:08:41.960 --> 0:08:45.079 so fired up about this John Deere tractor. So I'm 0:08:45.120 --> 0:08:47.400 telling this friend of mine, who's much more mature in 0:08:47.400 --> 0:08:49.400 her walk of faith, of how I just I feel 0:08:49.400 --> 0:08:52.600 like I'm finally content because I got my John Deere. 0:08:53.120 --> 0:08:57.040 And she said, Lisa, you need help, And she began 0:08:57.280 --> 0:09:00.439 to lecture me about the fact that I I wasn't 0:09:00.480 --> 0:09:04.280 praying about marriage again, that that I wasn't praying for 0:09:04.320 --> 0:09:06.960 a husband, And she lectured me so effectively that she 0:09:07.040 --> 0:09:09.840 finally manipulated me into signing up for a three month 0:09:09.880 --> 0:09:14.839 trial membership with a Christian online dating organization. Please hear me, 0:09:14.880 --> 0:09:17.480 I'm not dissing them. I've seen the advertisements. I've seen 0:09:17.559 --> 0:09:20.920 the cute couples gazing adoringly at each other. Maybe some 0:09:21.000 --> 0:09:24.400 of y'all met through online dating, which is a cult, 0:09:24.480 --> 0:09:28.080 but other than that, I know it can work. I 0:09:28.080 --> 0:09:31.200 know it can work. And so she said the reason 0:09:31.240 --> 0:09:33.760 that I wouldn't even try it was because of my pride. 0:09:34.160 --> 0:09:36.160 And I thought, well, you know, my prides got me 0:09:36.280 --> 0:09:38.400 in trouble before past tim and so I thought, she's 0:09:38.440 --> 0:09:40.920 probably right. I'll sign up. It was only seventy nine 0:09:40.960 --> 0:09:43.240 dollars for three months, and I thought, that's good. You know, 0:09:43.240 --> 0:09:47.000 it's about Starbucks, you know price, I can do it. 0:09:47.640 --> 0:09:50.720 So I sign up, and for some reason, I'm set 0:09:50.800 --> 0:09:53.679 up with a lot of men who live in their 0:09:53.720 --> 0:09:56.080 mother's basements and are unemployed. Not that there's a thing 0:09:56.120 --> 0:09:59.320 wrong with that, nothing at all wrong with that, but 0:09:59.760 --> 0:10:04.040 my preference would be preference, just preference would be a 0:10:04.040 --> 0:10:06.480 man who who doesn't live with his mama, because we're 0:10:06.520 --> 0:10:10.720 in our fifties and and you know, if he had 0:10:10.720 --> 0:10:12.840 a part time job, that would be cool. And so 0:10:13.040 --> 0:10:15.840 I was really excited that one of the men I 0:10:15.960 --> 0:10:19.040 was matched with had had a full time job and 0:10:19.320 --> 0:10:21.800 had a place he lived by himself. So I thought, 0:10:21.800 --> 0:10:25.120 this is amazing. Well, we start, you know, just communicating 0:10:25.160 --> 0:10:27.920 back and forth on email, and he had sent a picture, 0:10:28.000 --> 0:10:30.120 but you know, we all lie on our pictures more 0:10:30.120 --> 0:10:34.480 over fifty anyway, you should see my filters. Yeah, when 0:10:34.480 --> 0:10:36.880 Colleen takes pictures, I'm like, please stand on a ladder 0:10:36.920 --> 0:10:39.160 so I can you have So I'm like, you know, 0:10:39.200 --> 0:10:41.000 I don't care if he doesn't have to have hair money, 0:10:41.000 --> 0:10:43.360 as long as he you know, doesn't live with his mama. 0:10:43.400 --> 0:10:47.560 And so he was super witty, and I was like, oh, man, 0:10:47.679 --> 0:10:51.840 this is awesome because humor is just Humor's it for me? 0:10:51.960 --> 0:10:54.920 Humor's like wits, like an aphrodisiac. I'm like, man, this 0:10:55.600 --> 0:10:59.760 is awesome. I like this guy and ladies aim in 0:10:59.840 --> 0:11:06.880 me on this. He could spell. That's amazing. I mean 0:11:07.000 --> 0:11:09.199 to get a guy and guys, I love men, Please 0:11:09.240 --> 0:11:11.800 hear me. I'm not trying to throw shade at y'all. 0:11:12.040 --> 0:11:14.640 It's just a lot of times on email, guys are 0:11:14.760 --> 0:11:17.559 less than grammatically correct. And so if you get a 0:11:17.600 --> 0:11:20.200 guy who's witty and he can spell, I'm like, oh, 0:11:20.240 --> 0:11:24.480 my goodness, is light Romeo with you know, amazing? And 0:11:24.559 --> 0:11:26.840 so I thought, I'm kind of starting to feel myself 0:11:27.000 --> 0:11:30.200 kind of lean toward this fella. And so he sent 0:11:30.320 --> 0:11:33.040 me an email that happens in online dating. That is okay. 0:11:33.120 --> 0:11:36.200 Let's move to the next step. Let's meet face to face, 0:11:36.800 --> 0:11:38.319 and I was like, well, I would love to you. 0:11:38.360 --> 0:11:40.400 That would be a delight. And then he sent me 0:11:40.440 --> 0:11:44.839 a disclaimer. It's rather lengthy disclaimer, and I won't tell 0:11:44.880 --> 0:11:47.320 you everything in his disclaimer, but I will tell you 0:11:47.400 --> 0:11:50.040 he explained. And this part didn't funny, so hear me. 0:11:50.600 --> 0:11:53.760 He explained that he had extreme social anxiety and so 0:11:53.920 --> 0:11:56.600 he did not leave his home, that he worked from home, 0:11:57.000 --> 0:11:59.280 that he had not left his home in years except 0:11:59.280 --> 0:12:02.360 for rare occasion, and that I mean that that's not funny. 0:12:02.360 --> 0:12:04.960 That kind of broke my heart. And then he said 0:12:05.440 --> 0:12:08.640 he was also very hesitant to ever leave his home 0:12:09.120 --> 0:12:13.480 because he really really loved his pets. I love my pets. 0:12:13.559 --> 0:12:15.480 I mean I do. I have two dogs. I don't have, 0:12:16.000 --> 0:12:17.560 you know, a T shirt with air picture on it 0:12:17.679 --> 0:12:20.000 or anything. Don't sleep with him, but I love my dogs. 0:12:20.000 --> 0:12:22.160 I really love my dogs. And so he went on 0:12:22.200 --> 0:12:24.680 to explain he loved his pets Nean thirty eight cats, 0:12:25.400 --> 0:12:28.439 and I was like, well, you know, I mean, I 0:12:28.679 --> 0:12:30.320 really want to be open. I don't want to be 0:12:30.520 --> 0:12:35.240 too picky, but Missy, my little girl is allergic to cats, 0:12:35.360 --> 0:12:38.760 and I'm very much an extrovert, and so I thought 0:12:38.840 --> 0:12:42.080 to stay inside all day with that many cats, I 0:12:42.120 --> 0:12:45.080 don't think I can do it. I don't think, you know, miss, 0:12:45.120 --> 0:12:48.120 he'd be sneezing, I'd be bored. I just I don't think. 0:12:48.240 --> 0:12:50.600 Probably this is a match made in heaven. But I 0:12:50.640 --> 0:12:54.160 wanted to be really careful about telling this guy probably, 0:12:54.280 --> 0:12:56.400 probably this isn't going to go anywhere, because I thought 0:12:56.400 --> 0:12:58.280 I don't want to be unkind or say anything that 0:12:58.320 --> 0:13:00.800 would be offensive to him. I was thinking about it 0:13:00.840 --> 0:13:03.360 all afternoon. I was really kind of worried as to 0:13:03.480 --> 0:13:06.720 how to explain to this fella. Because you don't leave 0:13:06.720 --> 0:13:09.880 your home and because you're a catboy, it's we're probably 0:13:09.880 --> 0:13:13.120 not going to connect. And I had to go to 0:13:13.120 --> 0:13:15.200 my doctor because I had bronchitis and a double air 0:13:15.200 --> 0:13:18.000 infection at that time, and my doctor gave me. He 0:13:18.040 --> 0:13:20.480 gave me some pretty strong steroids, and then he gave 0:13:20.520 --> 0:13:23.720 me Ambient because he said, Lisa, the steroids are going 0:13:23.760 --> 0:13:25.240 to keep you from sleeping, so you're gonna have to 0:13:25.280 --> 0:13:27.520 take Ambient tonight. And y'all may be able to guess 0:13:27.520 --> 0:13:31.480 the rest of the story. I took Ambient. I've only 0:13:31.480 --> 0:13:34.000 taken Ambient a few times. Last time I took ambian. 0:13:34.240 --> 0:13:36.439 I am signed up for a coffee club that I 0:13:36.480 --> 0:13:39.200 couldn't get out of it. It had an ironclad contract, 0:13:39.280 --> 0:13:42.400 and I almost bought a condo and cabo because I 0:13:42.440 --> 0:13:48.200 get real liberated when I'm on Ambient, and so I 0:13:48.240 --> 0:13:51.920 took that ambient and then I forgot what I did next. 0:13:51.920 --> 0:13:54.360 So I can kind of I can kind of identify 0:13:54.400 --> 0:13:57.520 with people who party too much, because those few little 0:13:57.520 --> 0:13:59.680 ambients I've taken in my life have just sent me 0:13:59.760 --> 0:14:03.800 right to the edge of appropriate behavior. I woke up 0:14:03.920 --> 0:14:07.120 the next morning after this sweet man's missive, and I 0:14:07.160 --> 0:14:09.480 woke up in a panic because my iPad was next 0:14:09.520 --> 0:14:12.600 to me in my bed and I just had this oh, 0:14:12.640 --> 0:14:15.360 and I thought, I think I messaged him while I 0:14:15.480 --> 0:14:18.600 was ambient Loopy, and so I, just as quick as 0:14:18.640 --> 0:14:22.280 I could, went to that you know, Christian online dating app, 0:14:22.280 --> 0:14:24.880 and I went to my scent messages, and sure enough 0:14:25.400 --> 0:14:27.680 I had messaged him the night before when I was 0:14:27.720 --> 0:14:31.280 out of my mind, and I wrote him a dear 0:14:31.360 --> 0:14:35.880 John letter that was that had bad grammar, and at 0:14:35.920 --> 0:14:39.760 the end of the note I said, as I was 0:14:39.840 --> 0:14:44.680 basically saying goodbye, I said, maybe someday I'll be able 0:14:44.720 --> 0:14:49.200 to sit on your lap, y'all. I meant to write, 0:14:49.400 --> 0:14:54.000 maybe someday I'll meet your cats, and I don't know. 0:14:54.480 --> 0:14:57.680 To this day, I am like, I am old, have 0:14:57.760 --> 0:14:59.920 not dated him forever. I am not sleazy. I do 0:15:00.160 --> 0:15:02.400 not say some things like that. It was some kind 0:15:02.400 --> 0:15:07.120 of horrible, ambient fueled Freudian slip. I meant to say, 0:15:07.280 --> 0:15:10.600 maybe I would meet his cats. And when I saw 0:15:10.640 --> 0:15:13.880 it there blinking on my screen, maybe someday I'll send it, 0:15:14.000 --> 0:15:17.960 I just went. I just I pinnicked. I got completely 0:15:18.000 --> 0:15:21.360 out of the dating app. I've never been on one since. 0:15:21.480 --> 0:15:25.200 I was like, oh, this is just so awful, and 0:15:25.280 --> 0:15:27.960 I had to tell my friend I'm never doing it again. 0:15:28.280 --> 0:15:30.680 I said, I'm never It was so awkward. Maybe not 0:15:30.760 --> 0:15:33.320 as awkward as you know, renting a plane to fly 0:15:33.400 --> 0:15:35.320 a banner one eight hundred and five A eight please 0:15:35.360 --> 0:15:39.360 call Lisa for a date, but awkward nonetheless. And I 0:15:39.400 --> 0:15:42.240 said that just doesn't do it for me. I said, 0:15:42.280 --> 0:15:45.000 we were sharing stuff about ourselves, but we were sharing 0:15:45.040 --> 0:15:49.000 it digitally. I said, even if we had sent pictures, 0:15:49.000 --> 0:15:51.840 they would have been filtered. I said, that's not the 0:15:52.000 --> 0:15:55.200 kind of relationship that I'm craving. I want to face 0:15:55.240 --> 0:15:59.160 to face relationship. I want a real relationship. I want 0:15:59.160 --> 0:16:02.480 an authentic relationship. I want them to be able to 0:16:02.480 --> 0:16:05.320 see the spanks poking out of my stretchy pants. I 0:16:06.280 --> 0:16:08.480 want that kind of Guys, if you don't know what 0:16:08.560 --> 0:16:11.240 they are, don't google it because you can't unsee it. 0:16:11.720 --> 0:16:17.600 But I want intimacy. I want to be known. And 0:16:17.640 --> 0:16:21.440 the older I get, the more I crave that With Jesus, 0:16:22.080 --> 0:16:26.000 I don't want I don't want a superficial relationship with Jesus. 0:16:26.600 --> 0:16:30.280 I don't want to just accrue information about Jesus. I 0:16:30.320 --> 0:16:34.640 want intimacy with Jesus. If you brought your bibley, you 0:16:34.680 --> 0:16:38.360 have your phone, turn to Genesis chapter one. You'll know this. 0:16:38.440 --> 0:16:42.520 I've actually heard Steven preach on this multiple times. Chapter one, 0:16:42.600 --> 0:16:46.560 verses twenty six and twenty seven. Then God said, let 0:16:46.680 --> 0:16:50.000 us make man in our image, after our likeness, and 0:16:50.080 --> 0:16:51.960 let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, 0:16:52.040 --> 0:16:54.479 and over the birds of the heavens, and over the livestock, 0:16:54.960 --> 0:16:57.080 and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing 0:16:57.080 --> 0:16:59.440 that creeps on the earth. So God created man in 0:16:59.440 --> 0:17:02.280 his own image, in the image of God. He created 0:17:02.360 --> 0:17:08.040 him male and female. He created them those verses are 0:17:08.119 --> 0:17:12.360 what we get the theology Imago Day from Imago Day 0:17:12.359 --> 0:17:16.200 comes from two Latin words meaning image and God. And 0:17:16.320 --> 0:17:20.880 what this basically means is every single one of us 0:17:21.520 --> 0:17:27.359 here in South Carolina, listening online in South Africa, every Epham, 0:17:27.440 --> 0:17:31.920 everybody outside of the family of God, every single human being, 0:17:32.520 --> 0:17:38.919 regardless of ethnicity or gender, or age or status socioeconomically. 0:17:39.119 --> 0:17:42.600 Everyone was made in God's image. They beare his thumbprint. 0:17:42.720 --> 0:17:47.600 That means they are inherently worthy of dignity and respect 0:17:48.080 --> 0:17:52.000 and compassion. It also means we were wired for relationship 0:17:52.000 --> 0:17:54.159 because God makes it clear in Genesis One that he 0:17:54.359 --> 0:17:58.080 fashioned us after himself. He's a trinitarian god. God the Father, 0:17:58.119 --> 0:18:01.119 got the Son and got the Holy Spirit. Saint Augustine says, 0:18:01.240 --> 0:18:05.920 only the Christian God is a perfect community unto himself, 0:18:06.280 --> 0:18:08.639 and we were made in that image. That means we 0:18:08.640 --> 0:18:15.919 were hard wired for relational intimacy. We were hardwired for intimacy. 0:18:16.040 --> 0:18:20.240 We were not hardwired for social media. We were not 0:18:20.680 --> 0:18:25.520 hardwired for distance. We were not hardwired for filters. We 0:18:25.520 --> 0:18:29.520 were not hardwired to curate who we are so someone 0:18:29.560 --> 0:18:33.119 else will approve. And I'm not dising social media I'm saying, 0:18:33.280 --> 0:18:36.600 I think we've become content with what we were not 0:18:36.760 --> 0:18:41.000 made to crave. I think we call intimacy what is 0:18:41.119 --> 0:18:46.399 really merely information, both about each other and about God. A. W. 0:18:46.600 --> 0:18:50.720 Tozier puts it like this. For millions of Christians, God 0:18:50.840 --> 0:18:53.600 is no more real than he is denied Christians. They 0:18:53.640 --> 0:18:57.000 go through life trying to love an ideal and be 0:18:57.160 --> 0:19:04.000 loyal to a mere principle. R. Springsteen says it possibly better. 0:19:04.680 --> 0:19:09.760 He says, everybody has a hungry heart. Everybody has a 0:19:09.840 --> 0:19:15.359 hungry heart. Blaze Pascal who have a massive platonic crush 0:19:15.440 --> 0:19:18.000 on and can't wake to hug in heaven. He was 0:19:18.040 --> 0:19:22.600 a brilliant physicist, philosopher, and theologian in the eighteen sixteen hundreds. 0:19:22.600 --> 0:19:25.800 He says it best, there is a God shaped vacuum 0:19:25.840 --> 0:19:28.200 in the heart of each man, which cannot be satisfied 0:19:28.200 --> 0:19:30.600 by any created thing, but only by God, the Father 0:19:30.760 --> 0:19:35.440 made known through Jesus Christ. I'm in the latter stages 0:19:35.480 --> 0:19:38.720 of a doctorate, and so I have been reading voraciously 0:19:38.840 --> 0:19:41.600 because I get graded on that. And I've been reading 0:19:41.640 --> 0:19:45.359 a lot of papers about the spiritual condition of post 0:19:45.359 --> 0:19:50.240 post postmodern society. And one of the things that both theologians, 0:19:50.359 --> 0:19:55.720 scholars and sociologists sociologists that's a hard work, socio smart 0:19:55.760 --> 0:20:01.959 people have noted is that there has been an uptick 0:20:02.119 --> 0:20:07.120 in spiritual curiosity, so that in this era, I would say, 0:20:07.119 --> 0:20:11.639 the modern era, there has been an increased curiosity about 0:20:11.840 --> 0:20:16.200 spiritual things. The latest survey, I said, said that has 0:20:16.240 --> 0:20:20.600 been increased dramatically as a result of the pandemic. Because 0:20:20.640 --> 0:20:24.199 of the isolation, people are going, I want to have 0:20:24.240 --> 0:20:30.560 an encounter with something or someone transcendent. But those exact 0:20:30.640 --> 0:20:36.080 same polls, those exact same PhD papers and dissertations point 0:20:36.119 --> 0:20:40.440 to the fact that contentment is at an all time low, 0:20:42.000 --> 0:20:47.720 all time low, that most people feel missed, Most people 0:20:48.000 --> 0:20:51.800 feel like, no matter how many likes I get on Instagram, 0:20:52.160 --> 0:20:55.800 I still feel like nobody really knows my heart. We 0:20:55.800 --> 0:20:59.080 weren't made for that, y'all. We were made for more 0:20:59.240 --> 0:21:03.679 than what most of us are living in. Information about 0:21:03.800 --> 0:21:09.399 God is a really, really poor substitute for intimacy with God. 0:21:08.800 --> 0:21:13.720 I love this book. I built my life on this 0:21:13.840 --> 0:21:17.840 inscriptated revelation. But I'm telling you, if all you know 0:21:18.080 --> 0:21:21.280 is this as a rule book or a textbook or 0:21:21.400 --> 0:21:27.439 an ancient tomb with morality tales. Goodness, gracious, you're not 0:21:27.480 --> 0:21:29.960 going to have intimacy at its core. This is a 0:21:29.960 --> 0:21:33.480 love story. At its core. This is about the compassion 0:21:33.880 --> 0:21:36.119 of God. Turn to John four. I know you know 0:21:36.240 --> 0:21:39.159 this story. You've read it a thousand times. If you 0:21:39.200 --> 0:21:41.560 were raised half Baptists like me, you have seen it. 0:21:41.680 --> 0:21:47.080 Flannel Graft John chapter four. Now when Jesus learned that 0:21:47.119 --> 0:21:50.159 the Pharisees has heard, Now when Jesus learned that the 0:21:50.200 --> 0:21:52.879 Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more 0:21:52.920 --> 0:21:56.399 disciples than John, although Jesus himself did not baptize, but 0:21:56.440 --> 0:21:59.640 only as disciples. He loved youd and departed again for Galilee. 0:22:00.040 --> 0:22:02.320 And he had to pass. That's actually not a great 0:22:02.359 --> 0:22:05.000 English translation. He didn't have to pass. He chose to 0:22:05.040 --> 0:22:07.840 pass through Samaria. So he came to a town of 0:22:07.880 --> 0:22:11.159 Samaria called Sikhar, near the field that Jacob given to 0:22:11.200 --> 0:22:13.800 his son Joseph. Jacob's well was there, so Jesus, weird 0:22:13.840 --> 0:22:17.080 as he was from his journey, was sitting beside the well. 0:22:17.240 --> 0:22:20.520 If you are comfortable writing in your bibles, those of 0:22:20.520 --> 0:22:23.159 you have brick and mortar bibles, and those of you 0:22:23.200 --> 0:22:26.159 who don't own a brick and mortar Bible, this is 0:22:26.200 --> 0:22:28.840 because I'm old. But let me bring an old sister 0:22:28.960 --> 0:22:34.560 word to you. If your only Bible, hear me, if 0:22:34.560 --> 0:22:36.560 your only Bible, because I know most of the times 0:22:36.560 --> 0:22:38.680 we don't bring our Bibles to settings like this. I'm 0:22:38.720 --> 0:22:41.080 so happy you have your iPads and your phones. But 0:22:41.160 --> 0:22:43.719 if you don't have a brick and mortar Bible somewhere 0:22:43.920 --> 0:22:46.640 in your home, in your apartment, that's like an old 0:22:46.640 --> 0:22:51.320 man in short shorts. That's sad. You need a brick 0:22:51.359 --> 0:22:54.000 and mortar Bible. And I'm telling you as an older sister, 0:22:54.160 --> 0:22:56.960 those of y'all who still have tight skin and high metabolisms, 0:22:57.000 --> 0:23:01.320 there will be seasons in your life when you go 0:23:01.520 --> 0:23:03.719 I got to be close to the promises to remember him. 0:23:04.160 --> 0:23:06.040 I need to go back through the pages of my 0:23:06.640 --> 0:23:08.959 Bible and see the notes I made in my Bible 0:23:09.000 --> 0:23:11.439 and go, oh, he was there, he was there, he 0:23:11.640 --> 0:23:17.040 saw me. So no shame, no condemnation. If you're new 0:23:17.359 --> 0:23:20.000 to the Family of God, if you don't know Jesus yet, 0:23:20.040 --> 0:23:22.280 you're still just kind of circling the church wondering if 0:23:22.280 --> 0:23:25.960 this is true. Please talk to somebody in your EPAM, 0:23:26.359 --> 0:23:30.560 somebody here in brick and Mortar Elevation and just say 0:23:30.640 --> 0:23:32.359 I'd really love to be hooked up with a Bible, 0:23:32.400 --> 0:23:35.280