WEBVTT - The Power Of The Prompt 0:00:01.520 --> 0:00:02.800 Hey, this is Stephen Ferdick. 0:00:02.800 --> 0:00:05.840 I'm the pastor of Elevation Church and this is our podcast. 0:00:05.880 --> 0:00:08.320 I wanted to thank you for joining us today. Hope 0:00:08.320 --> 0:00:11.040 this inspires you. Hope it builds your faith. Hope it 0:00:11.039 --> 0:00:13.399 gives your perspective to see God is moving in your life. 0:00:13.840 --> 0:00:19.640 Enjoy the message. Welcome today to all of our locations. 0:00:19.720 --> 0:00:25.360 Can we thank God for all of our campuses and locations? Said? 0:00:25.360 --> 0:00:30.520 Can we thank God for all of our campuses and locations? Amen? 0:00:33.120 --> 0:00:35.640 I was doing my stalker thing where I go around 0:00:35.680 --> 0:00:38.599 to all the campuses pushing buttons with cameras that are 0:00:38.640 --> 0:00:41.760 set up in the auditoriums I've been on. Do I 0:00:41.800 --> 0:00:44.720 look tired? I was on a trip. I went to 0:00:44.760 --> 0:00:48.800 Asheville and Columbia, and I even went to Toronto for a minute, 0:00:49.080 --> 0:00:51.400 all through technology, of course, before I came out to 0:00:51.440 --> 0:00:55.200 see you, some little jed life. Thank God for the 0:00:55.200 --> 0:00:57.160 great work he's doing also with our Ethan around the 0:00:57.160 --> 0:01:00.600 world and our interns Our Fall twenty eighteen in terms, 0:01:01.800 --> 0:01:07.399 come on, thank God for Thank God for them, thank 0:01:07.400 --> 0:01:12.640 God for their wardrobes, for their sense of style and fashion. 0:01:12.880 --> 0:01:14.680 I'm gonna tell you why they're up here in a minute, 0:01:14.720 --> 0:01:18.080 I'm going to keep you in suspense. But hey, one 0:01:18.080 --> 0:01:20.759 thing that I really always feel good about is when 0:01:20.760 --> 0:01:23.720 I'm doing exactly what I know God wants me to do. 0:01:24.319 --> 0:01:27.200 When I stand up here on the stage and as 0:01:27.200 --> 0:01:30.160 we get ready for next weekend, which is going to 0:01:30.200 --> 0:01:34.760 be phenomenal where so many people around the world and 0:01:34.920 --> 0:01:38.200 here at our church locally, are going to participate in 0:01:38.240 --> 0:01:40.880 our game change or offering where we get to bring 0:01:40.920 --> 0:01:49.680 God something of significance and value to us, and we 0:01:49.720 --> 0:01:54.040 all get to make that opportunity count to invest something 0:01:54.160 --> 0:01:56.440 in what can't be taken away, as we have so 0:01:56.480 --> 0:01:59.600 many times before. As we get ready for that, I 0:01:59.680 --> 0:02:03.440 pray and I try to see how God wants me 0:02:03.480 --> 0:02:07.480 to preach that would position us, each of us for 0:02:07.640 --> 0:02:10.239 the season that He's taking us into. And that's important 0:02:10.240 --> 0:02:14.080 to me. Not to follow a formula, it's important to me. 0:02:14.440 --> 0:02:16.440 And I'm not saying there's anything wrong with doing it 0:02:16.480 --> 0:02:19.000 the same way every time, because you know, we take 0:02:19.080 --> 0:02:21.520 up these offerings for expansion and we use so much 0:02:21.560 --> 0:02:24.120 of it for outreach each year. So I guess it 0:02:24.120 --> 0:02:26.600 would be fine if I just repeated the pattern each year. 0:02:27.160 --> 0:02:29.639 But maybe it's just my personality. I can't do that. 0:02:30.080 --> 0:02:31.760 And even more than that, I don't want to start 0:02:31.760 --> 0:02:36.440 trusting in some kind of formula. I guess that's the 0:02:36.480 --> 0:02:38.360 best way to say it. If I'm going to preach 0:02:38.400 --> 0:02:41.240 about faith, I want to demonstrate faith in the way 0:02:41.240 --> 0:02:44.000 that I preach about what I'm preaching about. So does 0:02:44.040 --> 0:02:49.160 that make sense? Why? Anyway, Whether it made sense or not, 0:02:49.200 --> 0:02:51.360 here's what I'm going to do today. Because when I 0:02:51.400 --> 0:02:53.440 was praying about what we should do as we set 0:02:53.520 --> 0:02:56.760 up what's going to happen next weekend, and I pray 0:02:56.800 --> 0:02:59.160 that you would not skip church next weekend, you know, 0:02:59.200 --> 0:03:01.120 some people will always do that like it's going to 0:03:01.160 --> 0:03:02.919 be a guilt trip. It's not. It's not like there's 0:03:02.919 --> 0:03:05.280 going to be a cover charge next week or something 0:03:05.320 --> 0:03:09.360 like that. It's for everyone, but it'll be really beautiful 0:03:09.360 --> 0:03:11.360 to be special. But this week is probably the most 0:03:11.360 --> 0:03:14.640 important because this is where we set it up. And 0:03:14.760 --> 0:03:17.880 any good comedian can tell you that the setup is 0:03:17.919 --> 0:03:21.920 often more important than the punchline. And so, but there's 0:03:21.919 --> 0:03:24.080 nothing funny about the Word of God. So let's go. 0:03:24.200 --> 0:03:26.359 Let's go to the Word of God today. I want 0:03:26.360 --> 0:03:28.600 to share the same scripture just a few verses. If 0:03:28.639 --> 0:03:32.720 I drop a few verses down from what I shared 0:03:32.840 --> 0:03:35.320 last week, did you get to hear the message last weekend? 0:03:36.840 --> 0:03:40.400 It's mine to manage. Touch somebody say it's God's to give, 0:03:42.000 --> 0:03:45.640 but it's mine to manage. And I talked about this 0:03:45.760 --> 0:03:50.440 concept that we are stewards of the story, the story 0:03:50.440 --> 0:03:53.680 of how God has saved us and how God has 0:03:53.680 --> 0:03:57.200 sustained us. And as a pastor, I'm coming to understand 0:03:57.200 --> 0:03:59.480 my role more and more as a steward of the 0:03:59.520 --> 0:04:03.560 story that God is telling through this church. And it's 0:04:03.560 --> 0:04:08.520 God's story, but it's ours to manage. So powerful, and 0:04:08.560 --> 0:04:10.960 so let me get into this real quick, and this 0:04:11.000 --> 0:04:13.320 will be a little different today. I think you can 0:04:13.360 --> 0:04:16.280 tell that I'm a little I'm excited. I'm really excited, 0:04:16.320 --> 0:04:19.080 but I'm sitting down. I'm seated, so I'm not gonna 0:04:19.080 --> 0:04:21.839 scream as much. Those of you who don't like all that. Anyway, 0:04:21.880 --> 0:04:24.320 this is your this is your weekend, and I'm just 0:04:24.360 --> 0:04:27.520 gonna talk to you a little bit today. You'll laughed 0:04:27.520 --> 0:04:30.000 a little too much of that made me feel self conscious. 0:04:31.040 --> 0:04:32.880 I might holler once or twice, but I really just 0:04:32.920 --> 0:04:34.200 want to talk to you. And I got all this 0:04:34.200 --> 0:04:35.599 stuff in my Bible, and I'll tell you what it 0:04:35.600 --> 0:04:39.080 all is in a moment. Some notes and some money 0:04:39.360 --> 0:04:41.680 and i'll tell you about that. An envelope and some 0:04:41.720 --> 0:04:43.279 post it notes, and we'll get to all that in 0:04:43.279 --> 0:04:45.320 a moment. But first, let me read this. This is 0:04:45.520 --> 0:04:48.280 so important as a backdop for what I believe God 0:04:48.320 --> 0:04:50.960 wants to give you as a backstory today. Every blessing 0:04:51.040 --> 0:04:57.040 has a backstory. Okay, every blessing has a backstory, and 0:04:57.080 --> 0:04:59.960 so this is one. For the nation of Israel Josha 0:05:00.080 --> 0:05:03.159 before nineteen on the tenth day of the first month, 0:05:03.200 --> 0:05:05.479 the people went up from the Jordan and camped at 0:05:05.560 --> 0:05:10.520 Gilgal on the eastern border of Jericho, and Joshua set up. 0:05:11.200 --> 0:05:15.560 Everybody says set up, and Joshua was set up at Gilgal. 0:05:15.640 --> 0:05:17.200 The twelve stones they had taken out of the Jordan. 0:05:17.279 --> 0:05:19.400 Now they're not in the Promised Land yet, but God 0:05:19.480 --> 0:05:22.039 is setting them up. And as a part of the 0:05:22.080 --> 0:05:24.880 setup is kind of elaborate. God is like, hey, take 0:05:24.920 --> 0:05:28.719 the stones from the Jordan, which represents the miracle that 0:05:28.760 --> 0:05:32.240 I just did for you, and set it up. And 0:05:32.279 --> 0:05:34.240 then after you've set up the stones, this is the 0:05:34.240 --> 0:05:37.240 purpose of them. They're not just props. I don't want 0:05:37.279 --> 0:05:39.760 you to just collect these stones for props and put 0:05:39.760 --> 0:05:43.360 them in a trophy case somewhere. But rather than just trophies, 0:05:43.400 --> 0:05:46.880 these are triggers, these stones that you set up because 0:05:46.880 --> 0:05:49.360 I'm not done with you yet, and there's a great 0:05:49.400 --> 0:05:51.400 thing that I'm doing through you, and so I want 0:05:51.400 --> 0:05:53.880 to use the stones as a setup. And then what's 0:05:53.920 --> 0:05:56.920 verse twenty one. It gives the purpose he said to 0:05:56.960 --> 0:06:01.800 the Israelites. In the future, when you descendants ask their parents, 0:06:01.880 --> 0:06:04.800 not stop right there. He's teaching them to think generationally. 0:06:05.640 --> 0:06:08.560 He's thinking them. He's teaching them not to just settle 0:06:08.600 --> 0:06:12.760 for instant gratifications and what's in it for me. So 0:06:13.279 --> 0:06:16.560 in the future, when your kids are asking what do 0:06:16.640 --> 0:06:23.400 these stones mean? Tell them tell them very important, because 0:06:23.400 --> 0:06:27.039 the stones can't speak for themselves. Right. This is not 0:06:27.160 --> 0:06:30.640 like Siri, Hey, Siri, bring me lemonade it. This is 0:06:30.680 --> 0:06:33.159 not that kind of thing. This is not some magic trick. 0:06:33.440 --> 0:06:37.400 You've got to speak and tell them when you see 0:06:37.440 --> 0:06:40.719 the stones, when they see the stones, tell them, I 0:06:40.760 --> 0:06:43.760 love this stuff. I love these Old Testament stories so 0:06:43.880 --> 0:06:47.839 much in them. Tell them Israel cross the Jordan on 0:06:48.000 --> 0:06:50.640 dry ground, for the Lord your God dried up the 0:06:50.720 --> 0:06:54.360 Jordan before you until you had crossed over. The Lord 0:06:54.560 --> 0:06:57.440 your God did to the Jordan what he had done 0:06:57.440 --> 0:06:59.719 to the Red Sea when he dried it up before 0:06:59.839 --> 0:07:04.760 until we had crossed over. Every generation is to experience 0:07:04.839 --> 0:07:08.600 their own move of God, not just worship something God 0:07:08.680 --> 0:07:11.200 did in the past, but to move forward into the 0:07:11.240 --> 0:07:14.600 future full of faith. And so I want to speak 0:07:14.600 --> 0:07:17.840 to you for a few moments today on the power 0:07:18.560 --> 0:07:23.120 of the prompt. The prompt if you'd like to write 0:07:23.160 --> 0:07:25.360 that down, it's just a little title that I'm given 0:07:25.400 --> 0:07:27.960 the message. If you wouldn't like to write it down, 0:07:28.000 --> 0:07:31.320 it's still the title that I'm given the message, the 0:07:31.400 --> 0:07:41.360 power of the Prompt. So about these interns. They're pretty 0:07:41.400 --> 0:07:48.760 cool Elevation Church dot org slash Internship Shameless Pluck. They're 0:07:48.800 --> 0:07:52.200 two weeks out from finishing their internship and I got 0:07:52.200 --> 0:07:56.720 to meet with them Thursday, and we had the best time. Right, 0:07:58.640 --> 0:08:02.400 We're supposed to go minutes and it went two and 0:08:02.400 --> 0:08:05.400 a half hours. And then, for the first time that 0:08:05.480 --> 0:08:11.840 has ever happened, I met them at the movies because 0:08:11.880 --> 0:08:14.080 as a part of their discipleship process, I took them 0:08:14.080 --> 0:08:19.520 to see Creed two. Amen, Come on, I'm a good, 0:08:19.720 --> 0:08:26.760 good pastor. It's who I am. Now what prompted me 0:08:26.840 --> 0:08:29.240 to do that? Well, when I was getting to know them, 0:08:29.240 --> 0:08:31.560 I like to do an icebreaker. Hey, you know, what's 0:08:31.560 --> 0:08:34.240 your favorite music? And then they'll always say Christian bands 0:08:34.240 --> 0:08:35.719 because I'm the pastor. And then I turn around, No, 0:08:35.760 --> 0:08:37.880 it's you what do you really listen to? And then 0:08:38.080 --> 0:08:40.640 they'll I'll ask us your favorite TV shows? They all 0:08:40.679 --> 0:08:43.040 said the Office. I think everybody said the Office. And 0:08:43.120 --> 0:08:46.000 I said, cool, y'all are too young for the Office, 0:08:46.040 --> 0:08:48.960 but anyway, I understand. And then they said, I said 0:08:49.000 --> 0:08:52.920 what's your favorite movie? And one of the kids screams 0:08:52.960 --> 0:08:56.600 out Rocky. He said it, you know, like you like 0:08:56.679 --> 0:08:58.920 sometimes you're in a worship service and somebody go Jesus. 0:09:00.600 --> 0:09:02.560 But he said the name of Rocky. And when he 0:09:02.600 --> 0:09:05.439 invoked the name of Rocky, he won my heart. In fact, 0:09:06.320 --> 0:09:07.640 come here, Gabe, real quick. 0:09:07.520 --> 0:09:07.679 L J. 0:09:08.679 --> 0:09:12.360 Just in honor, in honor of Gabe. Let's do this 0:09:12.440 --> 0:09:15.200 real quick. Let's go ahead, go ahead, l J. Gotta 0:09:15.200 --> 0:09:17.960 take stairs, got take Oh you want to run the stairs? 0:09:25.200 --> 0:09:32.400 I like that big who goes to us stairs over there? Yet? 0:09:33.640 --> 0:09:33.959 Thank you? 0:09:36.400 --> 0:09:40.079 Go all the way, Take take upstairs. Yeah, yeah, I 0:09:40.240 --> 0:09:52.520 want to see ya. Don't know, man, bake me cow 0:10:00.760 --> 0:10:19.480 after running out of time, So this could be you 0:10:19.559 --> 0:10:24.200 Eleviation Church dot org slash intern chef. Thanks for coming. 0:10:24.760 --> 0:10:27.680 Now let's go sit down there, listen, catch your breath. 0:10:29.120 --> 0:10:31.040 You know you hadn't done that much cardio in months. 0:10:33.880 --> 0:10:36.280 So I was like, you like Rocky? He goes yeah. 0:10:36.280 --> 0:10:37.880 I said, now this is the real test. I said, 0:10:38.000 --> 0:10:40.320 what's the best? Rocky? He said, and he didn't have 0:10:40.400 --> 0:10:42.480 to pray, he didn't have to think, and this is 0:10:42.520 --> 0:10:44.360 all my a test if he's a true man of God. 0:10:44.720 --> 0:10:46.400 He said, he wants to go in ministry one day. 0:10:46.400 --> 0:10:49.320 And there's an answer to this, and it's it's definitely 0:10:49.360 --> 0:10:52.840 not It's definitely not five. We all know that could 0:10:52.920 --> 0:10:54.800 be three. But he said the RCT answer. He said 0:10:54.880 --> 0:10:58.880 Rocky four. When he said Rocky four, I said, I 0:10:58.920 --> 0:11:02.800 perceived that thou art a prophet and the words of life. 0:11:00.960 --> 0:11:06.160 I was like, just because that's the first one my 0:11:06.240 --> 0:11:09.200 dad showed me. I remember my dad. On a Friday night, 0:11:09.720 --> 0:11:14.400 we stopped by National Home Video in Monk's Corner VHS 0:11:14.480 --> 0:11:18.240 tape and he said, you're ready for Rocky four. You're 0:11:18.280 --> 0:11:19.960 ready for you're ready to see. By the way, it's 0:11:20.000 --> 0:11:21.400 just so I can know who to pray for that 0:11:21.480 --> 0:11:23.160 needs the Lord. How many of you have not seen 0:11:23.240 --> 0:11:30.400 Rocky a single Rocky movie? Oh, come to the altar? 0:11:31.120 --> 0:11:34.640 Are you serious? Your parents haven't shown you Rocky four? 0:11:36.000 --> 0:11:41.679 They called DSS on those parents. I almost felt like 0:11:41.760 --> 0:11:44.520 with my kids it was a generational responsibility, you know, 0:11:44.559 --> 0:11:46.760 to show them how the Cold War really ended with 0:11:46.880 --> 0:11:51.319 Rocky deceiting Drago and and then so when I found 0:11:51.320 --> 0:11:55.400 out that Creed two was the sequel to Rocky four, 0:11:55.440 --> 0:11:57.560 I was like, oh, man, this is the This is 0:11:57.600 --> 0:12:01.640 the equivalent of Joshua and Moses. This is like the 0:12:01.679 --> 0:12:04.480 Red Sea and the Jordan, you know, is to This 0:12:04.559 --> 0:12:08.280 is probably taking the illustration too far, but I almost 0:12:08.360 --> 0:12:10.680 had a spiritual experience. I met them at the theater 0:12:11.600 --> 0:12:16.839 on on Thursday night and we watched Rocky. I think 0:12:16.840 --> 0:12:19.360 we annoyed everybody in the theater. We were so loud 0:12:19.360 --> 0:12:22.559 at Stonecrest. But we went to the Temple of Stonecrest 0:12:23.160 --> 0:12:27.199 and we watched the Gospel according to Rocky Baboa, And 0:12:27.559 --> 0:12:29.840 there's so much gospel and Rocky But you probably don't 0:12:29.840 --> 0:12:32.400 know the backstory to it, and so you know it 0:12:32.520 --> 0:12:35.520 prompted me. Sermons come to me from all kinds of places. 0:12:35.520 --> 0:12:37.760 But I'm sitting there, Graham and Elijah went with me, 0:12:38.200 --> 0:12:40.880 and we're watching Creed two, and I won't tell you 0:12:40.920 --> 0:12:42.960 how it ends, because your homework this week is to 0:12:42.960 --> 0:12:45.520 prepare your offering, read your Bible, and go see Creed 0:12:45.520 --> 0:12:50.920 two and past there and then and then I was thinking, 0:12:51.200 --> 0:12:53.520 Graham was sitting with me, Elijah was sitting with me, 0:12:53.640 --> 0:12:56.840 the interns were there, and I was thinking, like, remember 0:12:56.960 --> 0:12:59.000 my dad's in heaven now, and so I always remember 0:12:59.000 --> 0:13:00.640 when he showed me. It was just a moment where 0:13:00.640 --> 0:13:03.600 I was like, every generation gets their own Rocky. It's cool. 0:13:05.800 --> 0:13:07.600 And then I thought, I wonder how many of them 0:13:07.760 --> 0:13:13.480 know the backstory of how Rocky Balboa was created. I 0:13:13.480 --> 0:13:15.760 wonder how many of I wonder how many of them 0:13:15.800 --> 0:13:18.880 know what these stones mean? You know, they know that 0:13:18.920 --> 0:13:23.480 Michael B. Jordan wasn't the first Creed. I wonder if 0:13:23.480 --> 0:13:27.080 they know. And I don't know how much of this 0:13:27.120 --> 0:13:31.760 you knew gave. But when Sylvester Stallone created Rocky, he 0:13:32.240 --> 0:13:35.600 was inspired because he was broke right. He had been 0:13:35.640 --> 0:13:39.000 in one movie and he had moderate success, but he 0:13:39.160 --> 0:13:44.000 moved to la because he wanted to start really trying 0:13:44.040 --> 0:13:46.560 to write, and he would walk around writing stuff, and 0:13:46.600 --> 0:13:50.120 that he went to see Muhammad Ali fight Chuck Webner. 0:13:50.280 --> 0:13:52.040 How many of you didn't know any of this, Just 0:13:52.120 --> 0:13:55.400 raise your hand real quick. Okay, this is important. This 0:13:55.440 --> 0:13:58.280 is almost biblical. Rocky is canonical, and I promise you 0:13:58.320 --> 0:14:00.320 would be in Joshua in just a moment. But let 0:14:00.360 --> 0:14:03.080 me get the backstory this. And when he was watching 0:14:03.160 --> 0:14:06.079 Chuck Webner fight Muhammad Ali and go the distance even 0:14:06.080 --> 0:14:08.240 though he didn't win and put the champ down, he 0:14:08.280 --> 0:14:10.760 was inspired by the story of an underdog. He thought, 0:14:10.800 --> 0:14:12.400 that's what I need to write. And he spent the 0:14:12.400 --> 0:14:17.400 next three days writing the rough draft of Rocky. Three 0:14:17.480 --> 0:14:20.120 days three days, so for those of you who don't 0:14:20.160 --> 0:14:27.920 believe that Rocky is biblical. Three days. And then when 0:14:27.960 --> 0:14:31.720 he finished writing it, he remember he was prompted just 0:14:31.760 --> 0:14:34.240 by something that he saw. Talk about the power of 0:14:34.240 --> 0:14:37.400 a prompt He was prompted watching it. I need to 0:14:37.400 --> 0:14:40.280 write that. He wrote it, and then somebody asked him 0:14:40.320 --> 0:14:42.040 what he was working on when he went for an 0:14:42.040 --> 0:14:45.560 audition one time, and he almost didn't want to tell 0:14:45.600 --> 0:14:46.840 him because he didn't know if he was any good, 0:14:46.840 --> 0:14:50.000 but he show him him working on this thing. He's prompted. 0:14:50.840 --> 0:14:53.280 And then they offered him twenty five thousand dollars for 0:14:53.360 --> 0:14:57.520 the script, fifty one hundred. No, because they weren't going 0:14:57.600 --> 0:14:58.960 to let him be Rocky, and he wanted to play 0:14:59.040 --> 0:15:01.480 Rocky and something in told him, you know, you need 0:15:01.520 --> 0:15:03.360 to play this character. This is what's a lifetime thing. 0:15:04.160 --> 0:15:07.240 And then they offered him two hundred fifty thousand dollars, 0:15:07.320 --> 0:15:10.680 three hundred thousand dollars, three hundred and sixty thousand dollars. 0:15:10.680 --> 0:15:13.280 He had one hundred and six dollars in his bank account, 0:15:14.560 --> 0:15:17.520 and they offered him three hundred and sixty thousand dollars 0:15:17.520 --> 0:15:19.920 from the script. He said no, he had already sold 0:15:19.960 --> 0:15:26.240 his dog, Buckus, Buckus, He sold his dog Buckus, and 0:15:27.840 --> 0:15:30.000 he turned it down. And finally they gave him a 0:15:30.000 --> 0:15:32.040 million dollars to make the movie, which wasn't much, and 0:15:32.080 --> 0:15:35.160 he made it. And as of twenty seventeen, according to 0:15:35.200 --> 0:15:40.560 what Light Google, the Rocky franchise has earned in the 0:15:40.600 --> 0:15:45.480 box office alone over one point four billion dollars. So 0:15:45.560 --> 0:15:47.680 let's thank god for Rocky. And then and then we'll 0:15:47.720 --> 0:15:49.840 move on into something I want to pay you about. 0:15:51.280 --> 0:15:53.120 I just told you I can see some of you like, 0:15:53.160 --> 0:15:54.800 come on, man, I ain't come for all this. Let's 0:15:54.800 --> 0:15:56.480 shut up. I'm trying to get to something here, all right. 0:15:56.520 --> 0:16:00.240 I got a reason for telling you this, because everything 0:16:00.320 --> 0:16:03.400 great that I've ever seen I would attribute to the 0:16:03.400 --> 0:16:06.200 hand of God in my life started with a prompting, 0:16:07.200 --> 0:16:11.880 a prompting. And the thing about game changers and game 0:16:12.000 --> 0:16:16.720 changing decisions is that they don't feel like game changers 0:16:16.800 --> 0:16:21.400 in the moment. It doesn't. A promise from God usually 0:16:21.440 --> 0:16:24.680 doesn't feel like a promise. Here's how it operates in 0:16:24.720 --> 0:16:27.480 the pattern of scripture. Okay, that God will give you 0:16:27.560 --> 0:16:30.760 a promise, and then he will give you a prompting 0:16:31.320 --> 0:16:35.880 to act on the promise that he gave. And learning 0:16:35.920 --> 0:16:39.200 to respond to the promptings of the Holy Spirit is 0:16:39.200 --> 0:16:43.280 the most crucial skill that you could ever acquire in 0:16:43.320 --> 0:16:49.040 your life. It takes courage, it takes discernments, it takes 0:16:49.440 --> 0:16:53.040 sometimes being still shutting the other voices off. But the 0:16:53.080 --> 0:16:56.040 promptings of the Holy Spirit. I mean, how many times 0:16:56.040 --> 0:17:00.520 have I missed the blessing of God in an area 0:17:00.520 --> 0:17:02.960 of my life because I did not respond to a prompting. 0:17:03.240 --> 0:17:06.800 How many times have we come to church and heard 0:17:06.920 --> 0:17:11.240 a sermon and then we experienced a prompting, But because 0:17:11.280 --> 0:17:15.720 we didn't respond to the prompt we did not receive 0:17:15.800 --> 0:17:24.960 the promise. It could be the smallest things. One time 0:17:25.000 --> 0:17:28.239 God prompted me to send somebody a voice memo. They 0:17:28.240 --> 0:17:30.680 said they saved it for four years on their phone. 0:17:31.280 --> 0:17:32.639 I didn't know that they were going to save it 0:17:32.680 --> 0:17:34.480 for four years. I just knew they were going through something, 0:17:34.520 --> 0:17:38.480 and I sent it to them prompting, prompting, And it 0:17:38.520 --> 0:17:40.560 must have seemed weird to the Israelites. Right set up 0:17:40.600 --> 0:17:43.399 the stones, But the stones are not there to serve 0:17:43.800 --> 0:17:46.280 the purpose that they seem to be serving on the surface. 0:17:46.400 --> 0:17:48.960 They are to prompt the story. Now I'm preaching to 0:17:49.000 --> 0:17:51.359 you today because there are some things that God has 0:17:51.400 --> 0:17:53.200 placed in your life and some things that he's doing 0:17:53.200 --> 0:17:55.720 that if you will pay attention, God is trying to 0:17:56.359 --> 0:18:00.560 use that thing to prompt you in an area of 0:18:00.600 --> 0:18:04.440 your life where He intends to bless you. The stones 0:18:05.080 --> 0:18:08.600 prompt the story, and then the story is meant to 0:18:08.680 --> 0:18:10.640 prompt the faith of the people so that they can 0:18:10.680 --> 0:18:14.600 continue on. And this is how God works. So I 0:18:14.640 --> 0:18:17.440 want to practice this today. I want to do this 0:18:18.359 --> 0:18:20.439 in front of you. It's one thing to preach it, 0:18:20.440 --> 0:18:23.880 it's another thing to practice it. And I realized that 0:18:24.320 --> 0:18:29.200 the Israelites didn't go back to that place in Gilgal 0:18:29.960 --> 0:18:32.959 and tell their children the story. That's why in Judges 0:18:33.000 --> 0:18:35.919 two ten it says that the next generation didn't know. 0:18:36.960 --> 0:18:40.840 Why didn't they know because their parents didn't revisit the place. 0:18:42.119 --> 0:18:45.200 They got so far from where they started that they 0:18:45.240 --> 0:18:50.000 lost their sense of who brought them. Now, I don't 0:18:50.000 --> 0:18:52.480 want that to happen to us as a church, and 0:18:52.520 --> 0:18:56.240 so I thought what might be appropriate today to help 0:18:56.320 --> 0:19:01.080 prompt your faith is to share stones, not twelve. I'm 0:19:01.119 --> 0:19:02.840 not going to do twelve. Like the twelve stones. We 0:19:03.160 --> 0:19:06.560 don't have that long. If I just want to take five, 0:19:07.440 --> 0:19:10.199 I just want to take five prompts. And this is 0:19:10.200 --> 0:19:12.639 where the post it notes come in, because I wrote 0:19:12.680 --> 0:19:16.600 down five prompts, you know, like a writing prompt that 0:19:16.640 --> 0:19:20.920 you get writing prompt And I'm going to hand these 0:19:20.960 --> 0:19:23.679 one at a time to these interns and I'm going 0:19:23.760 --> 0:19:26.520 to ask them to tell me the story. And you 0:19:26.520 --> 0:19:28.480 can ask me anything you want, as long as it's 0:19:28.560 --> 0:19:30.960 exactly what's written on this post it note, and I'm 0:19:30.960 --> 0:19:35.360 gonna answer it to prompt everybody, say prompt. Prompt, that's 0:19:35.400 --> 0:19:37.359 the word God gave me. Prompt to learn how to 0:19:37.400 --> 0:19:40.760 respond to the prompting of God. That's what this offering 0:19:40.840 --> 0:19:43.840 is about. That's what life is about. That's what forgiveness 0:19:43.920 --> 0:19:46.760 is about. God is going to prompt you, and will 0:19:46.800 --> 0:19:50.080 you respond to the prompt That determines how you experienced 0:19:50.080 --> 0:19:54.320 the promise. So I've got five of these and they 0:19:54.320 --> 0:19:58.680 will prompt the story like those stones prompted the stories, 0:19:59.119 --> 0:20:00.480 and I pray that God is it. You want to 0:20:00.520 --> 0:20:03.919 read the first one? He didn't get to go last night? Okay, 0:20:03.960 --> 0:20:06.399 it's the same ones as last night, though. Yeah, I 0:20:06.400 --> 0:20:08.359 didn't change him because it went good last night. So 0:20:08.760 --> 0:20:11.720 read me last. Tell me about the time you thought 0:20:11.720 --> 0:20:15.199 your college roommate was going crazy? What was actually setting 0:20:15.200 --> 0:20:18.159 an example you would follow for the next twenty years. 0:20:18.320 --> 0:20:22.360 What a great question. Thank you for asking me that. 0:20:22.480 --> 0:20:25.159 So my college roommate my junior and senior year, was 0:20:25.240 --> 0:20:27.760 named Alex Early, which is funny because he would get 0:20:27.840 --> 0:20:30.840 up super early and he would pray I would get 0:20:30.920 --> 0:20:33.920 up last minute seven fifty seven for an eight am class. 0:20:34.080 --> 0:20:36.159 We went to North Greenville University. It's where I got 0:20:36.200 --> 0:20:37.840 my degree. It's where I got my wife. If you 0:20:37.880 --> 0:20:40.159 were to ask me which of those two has served 0:20:40.320 --> 0:20:42.480 a greater purpose in my life, it would no doubt 0:20:42.720 --> 0:20:45.879 be that one. So I hadn't shown anybody my degree 0:20:45.880 --> 0:20:47.840 in a while, but I show her off all the time. Anyway. 0:20:47.840 --> 0:20:50.480 My roommate was Alex Early. He was very spiritual, but 0:20:50.520 --> 0:20:52.280 he's also one of these people who wasn't so spiritual 0:20:52.280 --> 0:20:55.040 that he wasn't funny. He was like able to He 0:20:55.080 --> 0:20:57.080 could quote John Calvin to you, but he could also 0:20:57.160 --> 0:20:59.479 make the funniest prank phone calls. And he would call 0:20:59.560 --> 0:21:02.160 he had this this this redneck persona called dew Wyane 0:21:02.240 --> 0:21:05.480 McGraw d u w I a n E with a 0:21:05.520 --> 0:21:07.600 thing over the e because it's French, dew Wane McGraw 0:21:07.920 --> 0:21:10.080 and he called He modeled after roy D Mercer and 0:21:10.119 --> 0:21:12.480 had the best time in college. But what I learned 0:21:12.480 --> 0:21:14.840 from him that I never forget that I'm so glad 0:21:14.880 --> 0:21:16.439 you asked me about and thank you for asking me. 0:21:16.480 --> 0:21:19.600 That is. One day he came running back to the 0:21:19.640 --> 0:21:23.919 room between classes and he looked like he looked like 0:21:24.200 --> 0:21:26.359 he was in a state of absolute emergency. Was in 0:21:26.600 --> 0:21:28.919 a panic mode. And he starts grabbing out of the 0:21:29.000 --> 0:21:31.000 drawers all the money he can find in the room. 0:21:31.359 --> 0:21:33.440 Not my money, his money. He starts grabbing all the 0:21:33.480 --> 0:21:36.199 money out of the room. And I was like, what 0:21:36.240 --> 0:21:37.520 are you doing. He's like, I'll have time to talk 0:21:37.560 --> 0:21:38.960 about it. I'll tell you when I get back. Like, 0:21:39.000 --> 0:21:41.840 oh my god, what is Alex? What is Alex into? 0:21:41.920 --> 0:21:45.560 Just like some Walter White crap going on? And so 0:21:46.680 --> 0:21:49.359 he uh, he came back. He wouldn't talk, tell me 0:21:49.400 --> 0:21:50.680 what he was doing. And he came back. He said 0:21:51.560 --> 0:21:53.199 he looked so relieved. I was like, what was that? 0:21:54.240 --> 0:21:56.920 And he and he said he was real serious. He goes, 0:21:58.320 --> 0:22:02.119 God convicted me, Bro, I've been hold on. Let me 0:22:02.119 --> 0:22:07.640 tell you what he said. Next, said Max. He said, 0:22:08.880 --> 0:22:10.800 since I've been here at college, I haven't been tied in. 0:22:10.920 --> 0:22:14.080 He belonged to a church that I really admire in 0:22:14.160 --> 0:22:18.119 his hometown in Woodstock, Georgia, first Baptist Woodstock pastor Johnny Hunt. 0:22:18.280 --> 0:22:22.159 And he said, I am I'm sending my tithe. I 0:22:22.200 --> 0:22:25.960 calculated God spoke to me that his money was in 0:22:26.040 --> 0:22:29.520 my bank account. And I've been telling myself the whole 0:22:29.560 --> 0:22:31.840 time I was here at college. That since I was away, 0:22:32.000 --> 0:22:34.080 and since I didn't have much anyway, he said, but 0:22:34.119 --> 0:22:38.040 God convicted me not to keep his money in my account. 0:22:39.160 --> 0:22:42.480 And that boy mailed the cash and he had coins 0:22:42.520 --> 0:22:45.960 and everything he could find and send it in the mail, 0:22:47.400 --> 0:22:49.600