WEBVTT - Say Yes To Simple (Holly Furtick) 0:00:00.640 --> 0:00:04.360 Welcome to everyone who's worshiping with us here today. As 0:00:04.400 --> 0:00:07.160 you take your seat, just say hello to the person 0:00:07.240 --> 0:00:09.680 sitting next to you. Maybe you came in late and 0:00:09.720 --> 0:00:12.160 you can't get to speak to anyone. Let us know 0:00:12.200 --> 0:00:15.760 in the chat where you're joining us from. I'm so 0:00:15.960 --> 0:00:21.799 happy that you are here. Here I am again. It 0:00:21.840 --> 0:00:25.319 feels like I was just on this stage. I know 0:00:25.400 --> 0:00:29.640 you love me, but let's be honest. Stephen Ferdick sermons 0:00:29.720 --> 0:00:36.960 in January. There's something special. I don't know. There's something 0:00:37.000 --> 0:00:40.400 about January that just lights a fire in him and 0:00:40.400 --> 0:00:43.400 I feel like he, like God, just just has this 0:00:43.440 --> 0:00:45.760 like direct connection from his mouth to my heart and 0:00:45.800 --> 0:00:49.199 even gets up here and reads a Charles Spurgeon sermon 0:00:49.280 --> 0:00:51.839 and we're all I'm like, I don't even mind. Why 0:00:51.840 --> 0:00:53.559 am I getting up there? That was great? We can 0:00:53.600 --> 0:01:00.240 all go home. Just think of me preaching today, like 0:01:00.560 --> 0:01:04.240 we interrupt this program to bring you a special announcement. 0:01:06.240 --> 0:01:09.039 Because I do have a special announcement. I also have 0:01:09.400 --> 0:01:11.480 a word from God that I believe He's given me 0:01:11.560 --> 0:01:15.640 to speak to you today. So thank you for letting 0:01:15.720 --> 0:01:20.240 me interrupt. And I'm going to try as always to 0:01:20.240 --> 0:01:22.480 stay in the flow. Of what our pastor has been 0:01:22.480 --> 0:01:25.759 teaching us in the past few weeks. So first though 0:01:25.800 --> 0:01:29.399 the announcement you might have seen it. We talked about 0:01:29.400 --> 0:01:32.080 it a little bit in the welcome. But today I 0:01:32.120 --> 0:01:36.120 am releasing a brand new study that I did just 0:01:36.319 --> 0:01:43.600 for our church. It's called Essentials. It's for everybody. Did 0:01:43.600 --> 0:01:49.120 you know that we have over fifteen hundred different groups 0:01:49.240 --> 0:01:52.000 in our church, community groups, we call them E groups, 0:01:52.960 --> 0:01:57.320 And what God is doing in these communities is incredible. 0:01:57.400 --> 0:02:00.560 They gather together even when we're not all coming together 0:02:00.600 --> 0:02:03.160 to do a study, to talk about the sermons and 0:02:03.200 --> 0:02:06.400 what God is teaching them. And I got to meet 0:02:06.680 --> 0:02:10.080 with all of our E group leaders this past Thursday 0:02:10.160 --> 0:02:12.959 night and we prayed over this study, and we prayed 0:02:12.960 --> 0:02:16.519 for you, and we are ready for you because over 0:02:16.560 --> 0:02:19.000 the next several weeks, we are going to sync up 0:02:19.240 --> 0:02:21.400 as a church, and we're going to go back to 0:02:21.520 --> 0:02:24.919 the basics. I think a lot of times when people 0:02:24.919 --> 0:02:27.200 think of a Bible study, maybe they get a little 0:02:27.240 --> 0:02:31.000 bit intimidated. They think about maybe learning something new, like 0:02:31.400 --> 0:02:35.119 studying the Book of Revelation to learn about the end times, 0:02:35.720 --> 0:02:38.960 or maybe studying the Gospels or a specific character in 0:02:39.000 --> 0:02:42.359 the Bible like Elijah. Now this is not that kind 0:02:42.360 --> 0:02:45.320 of study. Those are really great things to study, but 0:02:45.480 --> 0:02:48.680 that's not what this is. This is a study that's 0:02:48.720 --> 0:02:53.120 going to call us back to the simple things, the 0:02:53.280 --> 0:02:59.240 basic practices of a believer in Christ. Stephen preached a 0:02:59.280 --> 0:03:01.919 sermon about ten years ago. I don't know many if 0:03:02.040 --> 0:03:05.200 some of you probably weren't here. You can't even go 0:03:05.240 --> 0:03:08.120 find it online. But he preached this ern about ten 0:03:08.160 --> 0:03:10.760 years ago and he set a line that impacted me. 0:03:10.919 --> 0:03:13.080 I never forgot it, and this is what he said. 0:03:13.120 --> 0:03:18.359 He said, deep is doing and that line changed the 0:03:18.400 --> 0:03:22.480 way I thought about my relationship with Christ. The Bible 0:03:22.600 --> 0:03:26.720 is a book that calls us to action, and if 0:03:26.760 --> 0:03:30.959 we want to drop that trash and hold on to 0:03:31.080 --> 0:03:34.320 the truth, like we've been learning, we have to do 0:03:34.880 --> 0:03:39.080 what the Bible says. Knowing about the Bible doesn't get 0:03:39.120 --> 0:03:44.200 you anywhere if you don't put it into practice. So 0:03:44.280 --> 0:03:46.480 this January, we are going to go back to the 0:03:46.480 --> 0:03:48.080 basics of our faith. We're going to look at what 0:03:48.080 --> 0:03:51.880 the Bible says about prayer and worship and how to 0:03:51.920 --> 0:03:54.880 hear God's voice, and we're going to put what we 0:03:54.960 --> 0:03:57.360 learn into practice, and we're going to be able to 0:03:57.400 --> 0:04:01.040 come together and talk about what God is tea in 0:04:01.080 --> 0:04:03.400 our groups, and it's going to be really great. I mean, 0:04:03.560 --> 0:04:08.200 how much better would our lives be if we actually 0:04:08.440 --> 0:04:12.760 just did the things that we already know that we're 0:04:12.760 --> 0:04:17.560 supposed to do, right, Like, we already know that eating 0:04:17.680 --> 0:04:21.800 vegetables and drinking water results in a healthy body. We 0:04:21.880 --> 0:04:25.360 know that limiting our time on screens aids and our 0:04:25.400 --> 0:04:29.800 mental health. We know that being kind to others results 0:04:29.839 --> 0:04:34.400 in better relationships. But we don't always do the things 0:04:35.080 --> 0:04:38.080 that we know. Knowing and doing are two different things. 0:04:38.760 --> 0:04:40.960 And I just thought, in a month where everyone is 0:04:41.000 --> 0:04:44.920 focusing on body goals and personal goals, I just wonder 0:04:44.960 --> 0:04:48.680 what are your spiritual goals? And So this is your 0:04:48.720 --> 0:04:52.800 invitation to join an e group and together we are 0:04:52.839 --> 0:04:56.200 going to put the Word of God into practice in 0:04:56.240 --> 0:04:58.920 our everyday lives. Whether you've been a believer your whole 0:04:59.000 --> 0:05:02.240 life or your new to this whole Christianity thing. It's 0:05:02.320 --> 0:05:05.880 gonna be amazing. So I'm not going to preach about 0:05:05.880 --> 0:05:10.480 the importance of community community today. I might mention it 0:05:10.560 --> 0:05:12.479 because I think I mentioned it in every sermon that 0:05:12.480 --> 0:05:15.800 I preach, because I believe in it. I think it's important, 0:05:16.360 --> 0:05:18.760 but I just want to give you this Personal invitations 0:05:18.800 --> 0:05:20.560 is the last thing I'm going to say about the study. 0:05:20.960 --> 0:05:22.680 I want to invite you to join us over the 0:05:22.680 --> 0:05:25.080 next couple weeks. It's only six weeks long, and we 0:05:25.160 --> 0:05:27.880 have groups for everyone. Even if you don't live in 0:05:27.880 --> 0:05:31.040 the Charlotte area. You have no excuse because by now 0:05:31.200 --> 0:05:34.719 we're all experts at Zoom and we have as many 0:05:34.839 --> 0:05:38.320 Zoom groups as we do in person groups. All right, 0:05:38.680 --> 0:05:41.320 So that's my special announcement. You'll be hearing more about 0:05:41.560 --> 0:05:43.800 how to actually get into one of these groups at 0:05:43.800 --> 0:05:47.159 the close of our message. Of my message, are you 0:05:47.160 --> 0:05:51.159 ready to get into the word? All right, well you 0:05:51.200 --> 0:05:55.279 pray with me. Lord. We have all come to this 0:05:55.480 --> 0:05:59.280 place today. We've joined across all of our campuses and 0:05:59.400 --> 0:06:02.440 in our homes, and we invite you into this place. 0:06:02.440 --> 0:06:04.880 We invite you into our homes, and most of all, God, 0:06:04.920 --> 0:06:08.600 we invite you into our hearts. Today. We need a 0:06:08.760 --> 0:06:12.480 fresh word from you. God. I know that there are 0:06:12.600 --> 0:06:15.720 many who are here today who are sick. There are 0:06:15.839 --> 0:06:18.080 many who are under the sound of my voice who 0:06:18.120 --> 0:06:22.919 are grieving, many who need encouragement. And God, we have 0:06:23.040 --> 0:06:25.720 set aside this time to hear from you, which you 0:06:25.800 --> 0:06:29.760 block out every distraction and when you speak to us. Now, 0:06:29.839 --> 0:06:34.040 Holy Spirit, come, we want to hear from you. Since 0:06:34.120 --> 0:06:40.279 Jesus name, I pray Amen. When I think about how 0:06:41.640 --> 0:06:46.880 Stephen has this special fire in January, it makes me 0:06:47.000 --> 0:06:50.919 think how there are basically two kinds of people in 0:06:50.960 --> 0:06:57.080 this world, those who love January and those who hate it. 0:06:58.360 --> 0:06:59.920 And I got to tell you, I'm not a fan. 0:07:02.040 --> 0:07:04.279 I don't like change. Abby was asking me, if you 0:07:04.279 --> 0:07:06.159 could take a month out of the year, which one 0:07:06.160 --> 0:07:08.160 would you take out. I think I would take out 0:07:08.200 --> 0:07:11.720 January because I don't like to get rid of stuff. 0:07:12.600 --> 0:07:14.880 I don't like to think about how bad I've let 0:07:14.880 --> 0:07:18.320 my house get over the holidays. I don't like to 0:07:18.320 --> 0:07:21.000 think about how tight my pants have gotten over the 0:07:21.040 --> 0:07:27.480 past few weeks. And to me, that last week of December, 0:07:28.440 --> 0:07:31.520 it's kind of glorious, you know. It's like this time 0:07:31.600 --> 0:07:37.080 warp of eating and traveling and just being with people 0:07:37.120 --> 0:07:39.840 you love, being lazy, and those are just all things 0:07:39.840 --> 0:07:44.320 that I really enjoy. And then January first rolls around, 0:07:44.760 --> 0:07:48.200 and everything that I've been ignoring for the past few 0:07:48.240 --> 0:07:50.720 weeks seems to just be calling my name. And it 0:07:50.800 --> 0:07:54.280 totally stresses me out, Like everything just feels so complicated, 0:07:54.480 --> 0:07:57.320 and I feel overwhelmed, and I don't know where to start, 0:07:57.400 --> 0:08:00.360 Like should I set a personal goal? Should I set 0:08:00.360 --> 0:08:02.920 fitness goals? Should I set goals for my kids? Should 0:08:02.960 --> 0:08:05.960 I clean out closets? Should I organize the house? Should 0:08:06.000 --> 0:08:08.960 I make a photo book of the holiday? Should I 0:08:09.000 --> 0:08:11.520 plan healthier meals for the week? Should I journal and 0:08:11.560 --> 0:08:14.960 reflect over the past few years? And then the stubborn 0:08:15.040 --> 0:08:19.120 side of me says, well, I mean, everybody's gonna start 0:08:19.160 --> 0:08:21.600 eating healthy now, so I'm not gonna do that now. 0:08:21.600 --> 0:08:23.960 I don't want to be like, come on, you're a 0:08:23.960 --> 0:08:26.960 stubborn person out there. You're like, I'm gonna diet in January? 0:08:28.000 --> 0:08:31.680 And then I just feel paralyzed. Is anyone else out 0:08:31.720 --> 0:08:34.360 there in January can overwhelm you? Let me know in 0:08:34.480 --> 0:08:37.480 the chat. And my husband he's not raising his hand. 0:08:39.360 --> 0:08:43.240 It's because I'm married to a person who loves change 0:08:43.920 --> 0:08:49.960 and he loves January. It's kind of frustrating. But one 0:08:50.000 --> 0:08:53.120 of the things that I have learned from him over 0:08:53.160 --> 0:08:56.840 the years is that sometimes I actually remember this one 0:08:56.920 --> 0:09:00.400 January we actually sat down and he helped me. He 0:09:00.520 --> 0:09:03.960 was like, you know, don't don't make resolutions, like what's 0:09:04.280 --> 0:09:06.440 let's do one thing you want to change for the 0:09:06.480 --> 0:09:09.840 next week, two weeks, three weeks. And what he's taught 0:09:09.840 --> 0:09:15.880 me is that sometimes the most complicated problems actually have 0:09:16.440 --> 0:09:24.920 a simple solution, not necessarily easy, but simple. And instead 0:09:24.920 --> 0:09:27.480 of getting overwhelmed by all of the things that I 0:09:27.520 --> 0:09:32.040 need to work on, I need to start simple and 0:09:32.120 --> 0:09:35.040 go from there. Like we all know that if we 0:09:35.080 --> 0:09:37.439 want to get out of debt, it's debt is very 0:09:37.480 --> 0:09:41.760 complicated problem. But every debt expert will tell you, Elijah 0:09:42.200 --> 0:09:46.640 Dave Ramsey will tell you pay off the smallest debt 0:09:46.679 --> 0:09:48.720 first and go from there. Or if you want to 0:09:48.760 --> 0:09:52.240 clean on your garage, you start by making three piles, right, 0:09:52.360 --> 0:09:55.320 you have your your keep pile, your giveaway pile, and 0:09:55.360 --> 0:09:58.920 your trash pile. So I'm learning, rather than to be 0:09:59.280 --> 0:10:02.760 overwhelmed with all of the things, I'm learning to start simple. 0:10:03.679 --> 0:10:06.400 And that's what I want to talk to you about today. 0:10:06.440 --> 0:10:11.680 The title of my message is say yes to simple. 0:10:13.320 --> 0:10:15.240 And I want to look at a little short story 0:10:15.840 --> 0:10:20.240 found in the Book of Second King's chapter five, So 0:10:20.360 --> 0:10:23.679 a story about a man who had a very complicated 0:10:23.920 --> 0:10:26.959 problem you can turn there with me, or you can 0:10:27.120 --> 0:10:34.000 just follow along on the screens. Got mine pulled up. 0:10:34.000 --> 0:10:36.240 I'm going to read to you from the New Living 0:10:36.360 --> 0:10:39.480 Translation today. This is what Second Kings, chapter five, verse 0:10:39.520 --> 0:10:44.240 one says. The King of Aram had great admiration for Nayman, 0:10:44.600 --> 0:10:48.560 the commander of his army, because through him, the Lord 0:10:48.800 --> 0:10:53.720 had given Aarum great victories. But though Nayman was a 0:10:53.880 --> 0:11:01.520 mighty warrior, he suffered from leprosy. Here we have a 0:11:01.800 --> 0:11:08.760 mighty warrior on the outside, but underneath his armor he 0:11:08.960 --> 0:11:13.439 was suffering. And in this story, we're gonna watch Nayman 0:11:13.640 --> 0:11:18.720 walk through a progression of healing. Spoiler alert. He gets 0:11:19.120 --> 0:11:24.880 healed at the end. But between verse one and verse nineteen, 0:11:26.320 --> 0:11:30.200 Nayman is going to learn that the greatest obstacle that 0:11:30.320 --> 0:11:34.000 he has to face is not his disease. It's not 0:11:34.240 --> 0:11:37.880 his bank account, it's not the people in his life. 0:11:38.000 --> 0:11:42.520 The greatest obstacle standing between Naman and his healing was Naman. 0:11:44.679 --> 0:11:47.920 Nayman's disease was complicated though. He had a skin condition 0:11:48.679 --> 0:11:52.480 that starts off small, but gradually sometimes over the course 0:11:52.520 --> 0:11:55.840 of many years, it gets worse and worse, and leprosy 0:11:55.880 --> 0:11:58.600 in the Bible was often used as a generic term 0:11:58.720 --> 0:12:02.640 for skin disease, that in Israel, if you had a 0:12:02.720 --> 0:12:06.280 skin disease, you were considered unclean. Now, name And is 0:12:06.320 --> 0:12:10.200 not an Israelite, but his condition was serious. The Bible 0:12:10.200 --> 0:12:13.720 tells us that he was suffering. He could die from it. 0:12:13.960 --> 0:12:17.600 And it's also leprosy was contagious, or they thought most 0:12:17.640 --> 0:12:19.480 of the time that it was contagious, and so you 0:12:19.520 --> 0:12:23.920 had to keep it covered because if you exposed it, 0:12:24.840 --> 0:12:28.360 you'd have to go back and trace everyone that you 0:12:28.440 --> 0:12:31.600 were around and tell them that they had been exposed, 0:12:33.679 --> 0:12:40.000 which we all know is rather humiliating and complicated. Complications 0:12:40.000 --> 0:12:42.400 is also it's a hospital term. It means that it's 0:12:42.440 --> 0:12:46.000 not just the disease that you're fighting, it's infection from 0:12:46.040 --> 0:12:49.560 the disease, or organ fatigue or mental stamina, or the 0:12:49.679 --> 0:12:52.640 side effects from the treatments. And we can assume that 0:12:52.720 --> 0:12:54.400 name And had tried all kinds of treatments and that 0:12:54.440 --> 0:12:58.079 he had come up empty, and that he's suffering underneath 0:12:58.400 --> 0:13:02.679 his mighty armor. And I just wonder if there's a 0:13:02.720 --> 0:13:07.520 healing that you need, or maybe a problem that you have, 0:13:07.679 --> 0:13:10.400 or maybe a change that you would like to make. 0:13:10.440 --> 0:13:14.880 In your life, but it just feels too complicated to fix. 0:13:15.160 --> 0:13:18.640 And you've tried, You've tried, You've tried to work on 0:13:18.720 --> 0:13:20.800 the relationship, but then you go to counseling, you start 0:13:20.880 --> 0:13:23.520 dredging up the pass and things seem to be getting worse, 0:13:23.880 --> 0:13:26.880 not better, no matter how hard you try. You've prayed 0:13:26.920 --> 0:13:29.960 about it, you've thought about it, you've journaled about it, 0:13:30.240 --> 0:13:34.200 you've even sought professional help. But you, like name In, 0:13:34.640 --> 0:13:38.520 find yourself fighting this issue that seems to be getting worse. 0:13:38.800 --> 0:13:41.440 And I have to tell you that the enemy wants 0:13:41.480 --> 0:13:45.920 nothing more than for us to focus on the complications 0:13:45.960 --> 0:13:50.000 of our problems. He wants to keep us focused on 0:13:50.120 --> 0:13:53.600 whose fault it is, or what caused it, or if 0:13:53.600 --> 0:13:57.640 we deserved it, or what people will think or how 0:13:57.760 --> 0:14:01.240 people will react, or why is it is happening. But 0:14:01.360 --> 0:14:06.480 something amazing happens in this story, and God gives Nayman something, 0:14:06.679 --> 0:14:10.600 because God gives name In something simple to do in 0:14:10.640 --> 0:14:16.160 the face of a very complicated situation. So today I'm 0:14:16.160 --> 0:14:18.640 going to call you back to simple and I want 0:14:18.640 --> 0:14:20.360 to walk you through this story, and I want to 0:14:20.400 --> 0:14:24.680 show you three simple things that Nayman had to do 0:14:25.000 --> 0:14:29.840 to experience healing in his life. And here's the thing, though, 0:14:31.000 --> 0:14:35.680 you can't confuse easy with simple. Easy and simple are 0:14:35.800 --> 0:14:38.600 not the same thing. In fact, every time that name 0:14:38.680 --> 0:14:40.800 it is going to take one of these simple steps. 0:14:41.320 --> 0:14:45.080 There is something easy that he could have done. But 0:14:45.160 --> 0:14:48.280 if he had gone with the easy way, he would 0:14:48.320 --> 0:14:53.800 have never received the healing that he needed. Let's look 0:14:53.800 --> 0:14:56.560 back at the story. I want to read verse one 0:14:56.560 --> 0:14:58.560 again so we can get in the flow. The King 0:14:58.560 --> 0:15:02.400 of Arim had great a admiration for Naman, the commander 0:15:02.600 --> 0:15:05.040 of his army, because through him, the Lord had given 0:15:05.080 --> 0:15:09.400 aarm great victories. But though Naman was a mighty warrior, 0:15:09.720 --> 0:15:16.360 he suffered from leprosy. This guy had it all. He 0:15:16.640 --> 0:15:21.000 was the commander of the army, and even though he 0:15:21.160 --> 0:15:23.920 was not an Israelite, the Bible tells us that the 0:15:24.040 --> 0:15:31.200 Lord had given him great victories. Even the king admired him. 0:15:31.240 --> 0:15:34.560 He was the man. Do you have anyone in your 0:15:34.600 --> 0:15:39.600 life that from your perspective, it looks like they have 0:15:39.800 --> 0:15:44.440 the perfect life? Maybe someone you follow on Instagram, maybe 0:15:44.480 --> 0:15:48.360 a family member, a neighbor, celebrity. They have a great body, 0:15:48.520 --> 0:15:51.600 a great marriage, they have success in their job, they 0:15:51.640 --> 0:15:54.520 drive a nice car and from the pictures that they 0:15:54.560 --> 0:15:57.080 post and the house that they live in and the 0:15:57.160 --> 0:16:00.240 clothes that they wear, they look like they have the 0:16:00.520 --> 0:16:04.200 ideal life. Can you think of a person in your 0:16:04.200 --> 0:16:08.400 mind that looks like that? Okay, The truth is that 0:16:08.800 --> 0:16:16.080 no one is exempt from suffering, no one. You can't 0:16:16.080 --> 0:16:19.480 be good enough to avoid it. You can't be rich 0:16:19.600 --> 0:16:22.680 enough to buy your way out of it, you can't 0:16:22.720 --> 0:16:28.560 be smart enough to evade it. At some point, everyone suffers, 0:16:28.800 --> 0:16:35.200 no matter how amazing they make their life look to you. Obviously, 0:16:35.240 --> 0:16:37.920 suffering comes in all shapes and sizes, right, It comes 0:16:37.920 --> 0:16:40.920 in short bursts and long hauls. It comes in the 0:16:40.960 --> 0:16:45.160 form of loneliness, addiction, illness, and hardship. It can be 0:16:45.360 --> 0:16:49.280 something beyond our control, or something someone else caused, or 0:16:49.520 --> 0:16:52.920 something we caused ourselves by a series of bad decisions. 0:16:53.560 --> 0:16:55.760 But as I thought about this story, and I thought 0:16:55.800 --> 0:16:58.920 about Naymen and how we all have some kind of 0:16:59.360 --> 0:17:04.879 hardship in our lives, I came to the conclusion that 0:17:05.000 --> 0:17:09.760 although we do all suffer, the people who I think 0:17:09.880 --> 0:17:17.120 suffer the most are the people who suffer alone, the 0:17:17.200 --> 0:17:25.600 people who pretend like everything is fine. Nayman suffered from leprosy, 0:17:26.440 --> 0:17:30.280 and the thing about leprosy is you can cover it 0:17:30.400 --> 0:17:35.200 up at least for a little while, especially if your 0:17:35.359 --> 0:17:40.560 job requires you to wear armor. When I read between 0:17:40.600 --> 0:17:43.560 the lines of the story, I wonder how long Naymon 0:17:43.640 --> 0:17:47.600 tried to pretend like he was the mighty warrior that 0:17:47.760 --> 0:17:52.120 everyone thought that he was. And I think about how 0:17:52.359 --> 0:17:57.800 the world we're living in right now is scary because 0:17:57.840 --> 0:18:04.080 it has never been easier to pretend like everything is okay. 0:18:05.720 --> 0:18:11.440 We don't just have a photoshop. We have live filters 0:18:12.680 --> 0:18:17.200 to cover up our wrinkles and our acne, to give 0:18:17.280 --> 0:18:22.479 us better physique, to make our faces look flawless. We 0:18:22.520 --> 0:18:26.240 can post a picture of our clean house and our 0:18:26.280 --> 0:18:31.400 beautiful relationships and make our lives look amazing to everyone 0:18:31.440 --> 0:18:34.639 who's on the outside looking in. And this story is 0:18:34.640 --> 0:18:39.040 about Naymon's healing. But before he even gets to the 0:18:39.160 --> 0:18:43.000 profit to get the instructions for his healing, he has 0:18:43.040 --> 0:18:47.120 to take a few simple steps. And the first thing 0:18:47.840 --> 0:18:54.000 that Nayman has to do is accept his situation. When 0:18:54.040 --> 0:18:59.760 we pretend, we delay our healing and prolong our suffering, 0:19:02.800 --> 0:19:08.000 we cannot move forward towards healing, towards the change that 0:19:08.080 --> 0:19:13.960 we need until we have accepted our situation. Except that's 0:19:14.000 --> 0:19:17.840 the first point, and it's complicated. But when we resist 0:19:17.920 --> 0:19:23.440 acceptance and we continue to pretend to everyone else and ourselves, 0:19:23.960 --> 0:19:30.120 we don't have to take any steps toward change, even 0:19:30.160 --> 0:19:33.320 if you're suffering. Even if you're suffering, is a situation 0:19:33.480 --> 0:19:41.959 that won't change your attitude towards it can. Acceptance means 0:19:42.000 --> 0:19:48.240 that I stop blaming others for my situation. Acceptance means 0:19:48.320 --> 0:19:54.040 that I stop shaming myself for the decisions that I've made. 0:19:54.600 --> 0:19:59.520 Acceptance means I stop asking whose fault this is or 0:19:59.600 --> 0:20:03.240 why what is this happening to me? Acceptance is the 0:20:03.600 --> 0:20:09.280 starting place for true change. But you can't stop there 0:20:09.520 --> 0:20:12.600 because if you stop with acceptance, you're gonna become pretty depressed. 0:20:15.000 --> 0:20:17.920 Two weeks ago, Steven stood on this stage with trash 0:20:17.960 --> 0:20:21.679 bags in his hands, with actual trash in the trash bags, 0:20:22.080 --> 0:20:26.400 and he painted for us an unforgettable picture of how 0:20:26.480 --> 0:20:30.520 we hold on to trash and it makes us unable 0:20:30.800 --> 0:20:35.960 to embrace the truth. And I think sometimes acceptance means 0:20:36.240 --> 0:20:42.399 identifying what's in those trash bags. I'm bitter because of 0:20:42.400 --> 0:20:46.359 what happened to me. I'm addicted to scrolling because it 0:20:46.440 --> 0:20:49.520 makes me. It makes me not have to think about 0:20:49.560 --> 0:20:52.880 my own pain. It numbs me. I work late because 0:20:52.880 --> 0:20:55.359 I don't want to face my failing marriage. And you 0:20:55.400 --> 0:20:58.919 know what's funny about pretending You may be able to 0:20:59.040 --> 0:21:02.159 fool those on the outside looking into your life. You 0:21:02.200 --> 0:21:05.440 may even be able to fool yourself, but you cannot 0:21:05.480 --> 0:21:10.440 fool those closest to you, because you smell like trash. 0:21:10.880 --> 0:21:16.800 You're holding it. And you know, I think the people 0:21:17.119 --> 0:21:21.359 that we think were hiding our problems from a lot 0:21:21.400 --> 0:21:24.119 of times, not always, but a lot of times, the 0:21:24.160 --> 0:21:27.840 people who really care about us, they're already praying for 0:21:27.960 --> 0:21:31.680 us about it. You might think you're hiding your addiction 0:21:31.840 --> 0:21:34.480 from your spouse, but she knows something is not right 0:21:34.560 --> 0:21:38.679 with you, and she is already praying for you. And 0:21:38.840 --> 0:21:43.720 Nayman's servant girl knew about Nayman's problem. Look at what 0:21:43.760 --> 0:21:50.080 she said. First two At this time, the uh the 0:21:50.720 --> 0:21:53.280 Aramian raiders. I don't know why, I just got stumbled 0:21:53.320 --> 0:21:55.960 up on that. I invaded the land of Israel, and 0:21:56.000 --> 0:21:58.800 among their captives was a young girl who had been 0:21:58.840 --> 0:22:03.160 given to name N's wife as a maid. One day, 0:22:03.200 --> 0:22:06.359 the girl said to her mistress, I wish my master 0:22:07.040 --> 0:22:10.600 would go see the prophet in Samaria. He would heal 0:22:10.680 --> 0:22:16.840 him of his leprosy. Nayman was the winner of many 0:22:17.480 --> 0:22:22.199 hard battles, but the hardest battle that he would have 0:22:22.280 --> 0:22:27.880 to fight was the one within himself. When he accepted 0:22:28.600 --> 0:22:32.320 that he had an issue, then he was able to 0:22:32.520 --> 0:22:36.960 listen to the people in his life and decide to 0:22:37.080 --> 0:22:41.800 go for help. So the first step is acceptance. The 0:22:41.880 --> 0:22:44.960 next simple step that he had to take he had 0:22:44.960 --> 0:22:50.840 to ask for help. Verse four. So Nayman told the 0:22:50.920 --> 0:22:54.840 king what the young girl from Israel had said, go 0:22:54.880 --> 0:22:58.240 and visit the prophet. The king told the King of 0:22:58.240 --> 0:23:04.680 Arim told him ask. The easy thing to do would 0:23:04.680 --> 0:23:08.800 be to isolate. Nayman could have just stayed in his 0:23:08.920 --> 0:23:12.920 house and suffered alone. We know he was a wealthy man, 0:23:12.960 --> 0:23:16.280 so he'd most likely exhausted every avenue of local healing 0:23:16.480 --> 0:23:20.639 that he could find. And now he has to ask 0:23:21.000 --> 0:23:25.200 for help. Now, before we go any further, I feel 0:23:25.240 --> 0:23:29.359 like I need to clarify that I said ask for help. 0:23:31.119 --> 0:23:37.399 I did not say announce that you need help. Announcing 0:23:37.520 --> 0:23:42.080 is easy because it's vague, and it gains us temporary 0:23:42.200 --> 0:23:45.600 attention and pity from others. But it does not bring 0:23:45.680 --> 0:23:50.679 us any closer to change. I also did not say 0:23:51.080 --> 0:23:56.080 hint that you need help. Hinting is easy because it 0:23:56.119 --> 0:24:01.000 puts the work on someone else. Asking is also not 0:24:01.080 --> 0:24:08.000 the same thing as complaining. Asking is specific. Naman didn't 0:24:08.000 --> 0:24:11.960 put it on Facebook. He went to his boss, the king, 0:24:13.320 --> 0:24:15.919 the person who respected him. I imagine it was a 0:24:15.920 --> 0:24:18.800 pretty hard conversation, and he said, I need to go 0:24:18.840 --> 0:24:20.639 see this prophet and see if I can get healed. 0:24:22.440 --> 0:24:27.960 You can either ask and receive help, or you can 0:24:28.040 --> 0:24:31.880 isolate and suffer alone. And I can tell you right 0:24:31.920 --> 0:24:35.800 now that the enemy wants you to isolate. He wants 0:24:35.840 --> 0:24:39.639 you to withdraw from the people that you love and 0:24:39.720 --> 0:24:43.439 who want to help you. And if Namon had isolated, 0:24:43.600 --> 0:24:48.000 he would have died alone. There's a verse in James 0:24:48.040 --> 0:24:51.560 five that says, confess your sins one to another, and 0:24:51.600 --> 0:24:55.399 pray for each other that you may be healed. This 0:24:55.560 --> 0:24:59.000 verse doesn't mean that confessing your sins to a friend 0:24:59.200 --> 0:25:02.920 heals you of your sins. What it means is that 0:25:03.359 --> 0:25:08.520 you find healing when you verbalize what is going on 0:25:08.600 --> 0:25:13.919 in your life with someone that you can trust, not 0:25:14.080 --> 0:25:19.080 posts verbalize with an actual person. I just want to 0:25:19.119 --> 0:25:23.560 make sure that we're all clear on that. I feel 0:25:23.600 --> 0:25:27.919 like the pandemic has complicated what we call church. A 0:25:27.960 --> 0:25:32.040 lot of people now feel more comfortable watching church online 0:25:32.160 --> 0:25:35.720 than they do attending church in person. And there's many 0:25:35.760 --> 0:25:37.879 reasons for that. I mean, the obvious one is people 0:25:37.880 --> 0:25:42.199 are afraid of getting sick or if unintentionally, spreading the virus, 0:25:42.240 --> 0:25:45.320 and that's valid, I get it. The problem I have 0:25:45.480 --> 0:25:50.560 with that is that some of those same people, it's 0:25:50.640 --> 0:26:01.960 confusing to me because it's complicated because I hear them 0:26:02.040 --> 0:26:05.120 using this as an excuse for not coming to church 0:26:05.200 --> 0:26:07.800 or for not even like bothering to sit down and 0:26:07.960 --> 0:26:11.159 watch it, like actually watch it, not just like have 0:26:11.280 --> 0:26:13.560 it on in the background. And then and then what's 0:26:13.600 --> 0:26:16.879 really confusing to me is that I see them at 0:26:17.000 --> 0:26:21.480 my kids' sports games and at the mall and at restaurants, 0:26:21.480 --> 0:26:23.920 and they come up to me and my husband like, Okay, 0:26:24.040 --> 0:26:29.520 fast see it. It's really confusing for me. But but 0:26:30.440 --> 0:26:32.000 I'm not going to stay there for too long. I 0:26:32.000 --> 0:26:34.280 don't think that COVID is the only thing that has 0:26:34.320 --> 0:26:39.000 complicated church. I ran into a church member a while back, 0:26:39.040 --> 0:26:42.359 and after having some small talk, I asked him. I said, 0:26:43.119 --> 0:26:46.639 how's your wife doing? And he looked down at the 0:26:46.680 --> 0:26:53.479 ground and he said, well, actually we are divorced. And 0:26:53.520 --> 0:26:56.600 I you know, I hadn't seen him in like eighteen months, 0:26:56.640 --> 0:27:01.000 and so I said, oh, I'm so sorry to hear that. 0:27:02.080 --> 0:27:04.159 And he went on to tell me how the past 0:27:04.280 --> 0:27:09.479 year had been the loneliest period of his life. And 0:27:09.520 --> 0:27:12.680