Speaker 1: Hey, this is Stephen Ferdick.
Speaker 2: I'm the pastor of Elevation Church and this is our podcast.
Speaker 2: Be sure to subscribe so we can get you these
Speaker 2: new sermons every week. I hope you're blessed today. Our
Speaker 2: year end offering will be amazing. I hope that all
Speaker 2: of you will participate. We ask each family that's participating
Speaker 2: to choose a word that reflects what you're believing God
Speaker 2: for in this season of your life, and then I
Speaker 2: usually pick a word for our whole church.
Speaker 1: And this year is going to be really simple.
Speaker 2: Our word that we're gathering around for this offering is
Speaker 2: the word trust. Touch your neighbors, say I trust in God.
Speaker 2: Come on, tell them again, say I trust in God.
Speaker 2: So we'll call it our trust offering, not like a
Speaker 2: trust fund or something like that.
Speaker 1: But in a way it is. In a way it
Speaker 1: is is because it's.
Speaker 2: Us believing that our God, our Jehovah Jirah, has stored
Speaker 2: up for us everything that we will ever need is
Speaker 2: in his hand. How many have a testimony that all
Speaker 2: you have needed his hand has provided.
Speaker 1: I trust in God.
Speaker 2: Oh yeah, tell your neighbor, I'm not so sure about you.
Speaker 2: I don't know if I can trust you, but I
Speaker 2: trust in God, and I think it will be amazing.
Speaker 2: So I trust in God. And that's kind of the
Speaker 2: subject I'll preach around for the next few weeks as
Speaker 2: we've moved this year to a close, and today I'm
Speaker 2: excited to journey with you into the scripture.
Speaker 1: We're excited to see, well, God will speak to you today, y'all.
Speaker 2: I was running out the house and this is the
Speaker 2: only Bible I could I could find close by it.
Speaker 2: I didn't feel like going back downstairs and getting the
Speaker 2: regular ones, so I got this big.
Speaker 1: Boy today, big boy Bible.
Speaker 2: Not to beat the devil half to death with this
Speaker 2: Bible today, I believe.
Speaker 3: It all right.
Speaker 2: In Hebrews chapter eleven, there is a scripture that leads
Speaker 2: to a scripture that leads to a scripture that I
Speaker 2: never thought about before today. But I want to share
Speaker 2: it with you because I think it's gonna help us
Speaker 2: to trust in God for where he's taking us.
Speaker 1: Hebrews chapter eleven, Verse six.
Speaker 2: I thought about only reading a few of these verses,
Speaker 2: but they're all so good I figured they would be
Speaker 2: offended if we left them out. So we're gonna need
Speaker 2: to do verses six through sixteen? Can you handle that
Speaker 2: all right? Did you wear your elastic waistband today? For
Speaker 2: this word that I'm gonna get you fat?
Speaker 1: Off of.
Speaker 2: Hebrews eleven verse and without faith, it is impossible to
Speaker 2: please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe
Speaker 2: that He exists and that he rewards those who earnestly
Speaker 2: seek him by faith. Noah, when warned about things not
Speaker 2: yet seen and holy fear, built an arc to save
Speaker 2: his family. By his faith. He condemned the world and
Speaker 2: became heir of the righteousness that is in keeping with faith.
Speaker 1: By faith.
Speaker 2: Abraham, when called to go to a place he would
Speaker 2: later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though
Speaker 2: he did not know where he was going.
Speaker 1: You don't have that much faith, do you. I don't
Speaker 1: think I do. Didn't know where he was going, but
Speaker 1: he went by faith.
Speaker 2: He made his home in the Promised Land, like a
Speaker 2: stranger in a foreign country. He lived in tents, as
Speaker 2: did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of
Speaker 2: the same promise, For he was looking forward to the
Speaker 2: city with foundations whose architect.
Speaker 1: And builder is God.
Speaker 2: And by faith, even Sarah, who was past child bearing
Speaker 2: age was enabled to bear children because she considered him
Speaker 2: faithful who had made the promise. And so from this
Speaker 2: one man and he as good as dead, came descendants,
Speaker 2: as numerous as the stars in the sky, and as
Speaker 2: countless as the sand on the seashore. All these people
Speaker 2: were still living by faith.
Speaker 1: When they died.
Speaker 2: They did not receive the things promised. They only saw
Speaker 2: them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they
Speaker 2: were foreigners and strangers on earth.
Speaker 1: People who say such things.
Speaker 2: Show that they are looking for a country of their own.
Speaker 2: If they had been thinking of the country they had left,
Speaker 2: they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were
Speaker 2: looking for a better country. Somebody say, I'm believing for
Speaker 2: a better one. I'm believing for a better one, a
Speaker 2: heavenly one. Yeah yeah yeah, yeah, yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah.
Speaker 2: Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their god,
Speaker 2: for he has prepared a city for them. Go back
Speaker 2: to that first verse one more time. And without faith,
Speaker 2: it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes
Speaker 2: to him must believe that he exists and that he
Speaker 2: rewards those who earnestly seek him. Before you take your seat,
Speaker 2: look at your neighbor and say, hey, come on.
Speaker 1: You gotta do it.
Speaker 2: You gotta look at your neighbor, all right, look at
Speaker 2: the other one, the other neighbor. Hey, Now, why did
Speaker 2: you do that? Why did you say hey? You don't
Speaker 2: know how they're gonna respond. You did it because I
Speaker 2: said so, for no other reason, right, I said, say hey,
Speaker 2: you said hey. Okay, that's our lesson today. How to
Speaker 2: say hey by faith? Say hey by faith one more time.
Speaker 2: On your way to your seat, tell your neighbor, hey,
Speaker 2: you may be seated online.
Speaker 1: Just put it in the thing.
Speaker 2: Put hey with the thing, the moji, and say hey,
Speaker 2: let us know where you're from. Hey, everybody say hey
Speaker 2: back to everybody online, everybody on YouTube.
Speaker 1: Just put a hay in the chat.
Speaker 2: Hey, Blakeney, Hey, Lake Norman, Hey, everybody pull up my
Speaker 2: phone real quick, get in the YouTube comments and see
Speaker 2: who's saying hey to us today from.
Speaker 1: All over the world.
Speaker 2: I believe, by faith that they're saying hey all over
Speaker 2: the world, don't you don't you amen? So anyway, y'all,
Speaker 2: I think our phones have changed our relationship with faith.
Speaker 1: Honestly, you agree? And what I mean by that isn't
Speaker 1: just that your phone is listening to you?
Speaker 2: And because why why did I just talk about it
Speaker 2: three minutes ago and now it's all up in my phone?
Speaker 1: If the phone isn't listening to me, why did I.
Speaker 2: Talk to somebody about a tonal gym the other day
Speaker 2: and there was tonal stuff on my phone? There has
Speaker 2: never been tonal advertisements on my phone until three minutes
Speaker 2: after I set it to a friend.
Speaker 1: So why I don't trust my phone.
Speaker 2: I don't trust Steve Jobs and he hadn't been alive
Speaker 2: in several years, and I still don't trust him. I
Speaker 2: think he's listening to me from somewhere right now, preaching
Speaker 2: this message.
Speaker 1: I don't trust any of it.
Speaker 2: Okay, but that's not what I mean about the relationship
Speaker 2: with our phone. I mean, there was a time where
Speaker 2: if somebody called you on the phone, it took faith
Speaker 2: to pick up the phone because you didn't know who
Speaker 2: was on the other end of the phone. How many remember, Yeah,
Speaker 2: it took faith before on the eighth Day when God
Speaker 2: made caller id, it would take faith to pick up
Speaker 2: on the phone because you didn't know who it was.
Speaker 2: It could be your boyfriend, it could be a bill collector,
Speaker 2: it could be somebody wanting you to help them move
Speaker 2: next Saturday. It could be the person you've been dodging
Speaker 2: on purpose. So then you get answering machine. You let
Speaker 2: the answering machine pick up, You let them start leaving
Speaker 2: a message you remember this, and then you pick up
Speaker 2: like you just happened to walk in the house when
Speaker 2: they started talking.
Speaker 1: Because you're a liar.
Speaker 2: Now, my mom did something one time that really takes
Speaker 2: the cake. And I didn't ask her permission to tell this,
Speaker 2: and I'm going to tell it to you to open
Speaker 2: my sermon, because it's a good little story to set
Speaker 2: up my premise. My mom had this one friend who
Speaker 2: would call a certain time most every week, and when
Speaker 2: it was around that time, within that window that that
Speaker 2: friend would call, my mom would make me answer the
Speaker 2: phone because she did not particularly enjoy talking to this friend.
Speaker 2: So I kind of knew it was like my time
Speaker 2: to be by the phone when this certain time rolled around.
Speaker 2: And I'm not gonna say this woman's real name, but
Speaker 2: let's call her Miss Martha. In the South, you use
Speaker 2: mister and miss, and I know that's kind of old
Speaker 2: fashioned too, but that's how you did it, Miss Martha.
Speaker 1: Names have been changed to protect the innocent.
Speaker 2: But when miss Martha call, I always knew when she
Speaker 2: said is your mom there, that I had to.
Speaker 1: Check with my mom before I said yes.
Speaker 2: And so one day the phone rang around that time
Speaker 2: and she said pick it up, and I picked it
Speaker 2: up and I said, hell up and uh and I said, oh, hey,
Speaker 2: miss Martha. And I looked at my mom to see
Speaker 2: what's the move, because now she knows this, Miss Martha,
Speaker 2: it's her move. And she's over there going and I'm like,
Speaker 2: what do I tell her? She said, it is your
Speaker 2: mom there, and she mouths to me, tell her I'm
Speaker 2: in the shower. So I said, miss Martha, she's in
Speaker 2: the shower. And then Miss Martha threw a curveball. She said,
Speaker 2: all right, how about your dad? Now I got improvise,
Speaker 2: and since I'm already lying, I just went with this, yes, ma'am, but.
Speaker 1: He's in the shower too. She snatched that phone. Hey
Speaker 1: Martha here. Anyway, we would take faith to pick up the.
Speaker 2: Phone because it might be Martha, it might be Ed
Speaker 2: McMahon calling you to tell you you want a million dollars.
Speaker 2: But it doesn't take faith anymore because I know exactly
Speaker 2: who this is. So I get to make a conscious
Speaker 2: decision do I want to enter into this particular conversation.
Speaker 1: It takes faith. This is what I'm trying to get
Speaker 1: you to see. It takes faith to.
Speaker 2: Enter into a conversation when you are not sure who
Speaker 2: you will be conversing with. Should you choose to accept
Speaker 2: the call? Shout amen, somebody? It takes faith. It takes
Speaker 2: a certain amount of faith. And I know that a
Speaker 2: lot of times we forget this, but even to say
Speaker 2: that God is calling me to do something, it takes
Speaker 2: a certain amount of faith to know that this is
Speaker 2: really God on the other line.
Speaker 1: Because what if it sounds like God, but it's really
Speaker 1: just my ambition. What if it is kind.
Speaker 2: Of like God, but I'm not sure if really it's
Speaker 2: just me being delusional. What if while I'm preaching today,
Speaker 2: something leaps in your spirit while I'm talking, and you
Speaker 2: believe that it's God's will for you to hear that
Speaker 2: and act on it. Because the starting place of faith
Speaker 2: is the word of God. Write that down somewhere where
Speaker 2: you can remember it later this week when you're like, well,
Speaker 2: I don't know if I should do this or not. Well,
Speaker 2: the starting place of faith is the Word of God.
Speaker 2: We cannot treat every whim that we have as if
Speaker 2: it's the word of God and just say I have
Speaker 2: faith because the starting faith of place is the Word.
Speaker 1: Of God, the starting place of faith. I say that
Speaker 1: backwards the start okay, the.
Speaker 2: Starting place of faith is the Word of God. In fact,
Speaker 2: the author of Hebrews wants you to know that you
Speaker 2: can't even come to God to begin with without faith
Speaker 2: verse success, and without faith, it is impossible to please God.
Speaker 2: Anyone who comes to him must believe.
Speaker 1: It does not say.
Speaker 2: That the prerequisite for coming to God is that he
Speaker 2: who comes to God must behave a certain way, but
Speaker 2: to believe a certain thing. I was talking to a
Speaker 2: guy the other day who said, I need to get
Speaker 2: right with God. I said, and what do you think
Speaker 2: it will take for you to get right with God?
Speaker 2: And he said, well, I need to change some things
Speaker 2: in my life. And I said, indeed you may, and
Speaker 2: indeed I do too. But the starting place of your
Speaker 2: relationship with God is not changed behavior. The starting place
Speaker 2: of a relationship with God is belief belief.
Speaker 1: It begins with belief.
Speaker 2: Every fear you're experiencing in your life today begins with belief.
Speaker 1: Of faith. That you will ever take. Every step you will.
Speaker 2: Make in the direction of God's will for your life
Speaker 2: will begin with belief, or it won't be sustainable. If
Speaker 2: it does not start with faith, it will not be sustainable.
Speaker 2: Any New Year's resolution that doesn't start with faith depends
Speaker 2: on you. If it depends on you, when you run
Speaker 2: out of strength, you run out of stamina. Any goal
Speaker 2: that I established in my life, now, look, this is
Speaker 2: something I'm making up. This is a principle that the
Speaker 2: writer of Hebrews is sharing with a group of people
Speaker 2: who are standing in between their old belief and their
Speaker 2: new belief. Their old belief revolved around being right with
Speaker 2: God through the works of the law. By performing these
Speaker 2: religious duties and by moving into these protocols, they could
Speaker 2: approach God through the sacrifices of bulls and goats.
Speaker 1: And now they've come into a.
Speaker 2: Different relationship through Jesus, whereby we no longer come in
Speaker 2: through our.
Speaker 1: Works, but through our faith.
Speaker 2: He says, anyone who comes to God must believe that
Speaker 2: He exists.
Speaker 1: And I know that you won't admit.
Speaker 2: This, because when you come to church, you put on
Speaker 2: your holiest face and you pretend like you have no
Speaker 2: idea what I'm talking about when I say stuff like this,
Speaker 2: But sometimes it takes faith just to pray, because you
Speaker 2: wonder is anybody even really listening?
Speaker 1: And does this matter?
Speaker 2: That's why we can't sometimes pray for thirteen seconds without
Speaker 2: losing our train of thought, because after thirteen seconds, I'm.
Speaker 1: Like, am I crazy? Am I do?
Speaker 2: I just have an imaginary friend, a grown up version
Speaker 2: called God?
Speaker 1: And is he really listening? If he is really listening?
Speaker 1: And then what did my friend died last year?
Speaker 2: He says, without faith, it is impossible to please God.
Speaker 1: And not only is it.
Speaker 2: Impossible to please God, but it's impossible to even.
Speaker 1: Come to him.
Speaker 2: Now, I show you this because I love it in
Speaker 2: detail of a scripture, and you might have skimmed over this.
Speaker 1: And I don't want you to. It says, without faith.
Speaker 2: It is impossible to please God because he who comes
Speaker 2: to God. So when you come to God, you don't
Speaker 2: come to God because you were really good today and
Speaker 2: He wants to hear from you because you.
Speaker 1: Did really good today.
Speaker 2: You don't come to God because you got something to
Speaker 2: brag about and you want him to give you a
Speaker 2: gold star for everything you did for him that day.
Speaker 2: You don't come to God bringing him a list of
Speaker 2: reasons that he should use you in, showing him your
Speaker 2: resume for how valuable you would be for his kingdom.
Speaker 2: You don't come to God because wow, if he could
Speaker 2: really get hold of your life, then he could really
Speaker 2: start changing the world. You come to God by by
Speaker 2: by the very starting point of believing that I can
Speaker 2: come to a God that I cannot see that he
Speaker 2: is real. Somebody's shout, he's real. I need to do
Speaker 2: a test. How many believe Jesus is real? I need
Speaker 2: a few testimonies to happen. Just break out in every
Speaker 2: section of the church. Look at your neighbors, say he's
Speaker 2: real to me.
Speaker 1: Tell him.
Speaker 2: You can't make me doubt him. I know too much.
Speaker 1: About him.
Speaker 2: As a matter of fact, God is real to me.
Speaker 2: God is realer to me than you are to me,
Speaker 2: because you're in a body and.
Speaker 1: You're a person, and you're sitting.
Speaker 2: Next to me, and you might be here one day
Speaker 2: and not hear the next. But God is real to
Speaker 2: me because he is the one who was and is.
Speaker 1: I feel like preaching today. Y'all help me pace.
Speaker 2: My message, but just high five three people say he's real.
Speaker 1: He's real.
Speaker 2: So I come to God with the confidence that when
Speaker 2: I roll over and see Holly in the morning, I
Speaker 2: say hey, and I say hey to her because her
Speaker 2: head is next to mine. I say hey because I
Speaker 2: see her. When I turn to God, I have to
Speaker 2: say hey, somebody say hey to somebody I can't see.
Speaker 1: And not only can I not.
Speaker 2: See him, sometimes I can't feel him. Will you be
Speaker 2: real with me for fifteen seconds so I can start
Speaker 2: this sermon today. It takes faith to start praying to God.
Speaker 2: It takes faith to start declare. It takes faith to
Speaker 2: believe that your sins are forgiven when you still feel
Speaker 2: the guilt of Him. Because I can sing Jesus paid
Speaker 2: it all. But it takes faith for me to say that,
Speaker 2: because I'm carrying it with me and I still feel
Speaker 2: a debt for the things that I did.
Speaker 1: But He's real. I believe that we believe this.
Speaker 2: The writer of Hebrews is saying to the church that
Speaker 2: they're all new. They're all new to this, and so
Speaker 2: they're in between a place of working their way to
Speaker 2: God and believing in the God that they can't see.
Speaker 1: And he knows that they need encouragement.
Speaker 2: So he says, first of all, anyone who comes to
Speaker 2: God must believe that he exists or that he's real.
Speaker 2: And that second thing, give me verse six again, that
Speaker 2: he is a rewarder of those who earnestly seek him.
Speaker 1: He is a rewarder.
Speaker 2: Now, if you believe that he's real, but don't believe
Speaker 2: he's a rewarder, you won't pick up the phone when
Speaker 2: he calls, because you'll be suspicious about what he wants.
Speaker 2: And you'll be sitting over there silently like my mom
Speaker 2: going and we'll be saying, we'll give your life to God.
Speaker 2: And but what is he gonna make me do if
Speaker 2: I do give your life to God? Well, where is
Speaker 2: he gonna make me?
Speaker 1: Am? I gonna have to go? We're gonna I talked
Speaker 1: to God one time.
Speaker 2: This guy has so much money, and he thought that
Speaker 2: God wanted his money.
Speaker 1: And I thought that was funny.
Speaker 2: I thought that was hilarious, that God has a need
Speaker 2: and he's gonna tell you about it.
Speaker 1: So I'm trying to explaining about the streets.
Speaker 2: Of gold and heaven. I was like, they pave what
Speaker 2: we save. They paved the streets in heaven with what
Speaker 2: we save up down here. And he was so concerned.
Speaker 2: He was so concerned what God was gonna make him
Speaker 2: give up because he didn't understand yet. He was starting
Speaker 2: to believe that God is real, but he didn't see
Speaker 2: God as a rewarder.
Speaker 1: He saw the Lord as a liability.
Speaker 2: And sometimes we are afraid to take the step that
Speaker 2: God is calling us to take.
Speaker 1: And accept his call because of what it might cost.
Speaker 2: Into this premise and the tension. I would like to
Speaker 2: talk to you about saying hey by faith, about the
Speaker 2: fact that a relationship with God does not begin the
Speaker 2: moment that you get your act together, but the moment
Speaker 2: that you throw yourself on the mercy of God and say,
Speaker 2: just as I am without one plea, but that Thy
Speaker 2: blood was shed for me, O Lamb of God, I come.
Speaker 2: That is the faith that it takes to enter into
Speaker 2: the presence of God. And when God prompts your heart,
Speaker 2: as he's prompting.
Speaker 1: Many of you today.
Speaker 2: To get right with Him, it is not a righteousness
Speaker 2: that you go for. It is a righteousness that is
Speaker 2: ingrafted in you and gifted to you from.
Speaker 1: Time to time.
Speaker 2: I think I need to say these things because when
Speaker 2: we say faith, we mean a lot of different things.
Speaker 1: For some faith.
Speaker 2: It has come to me nothing more than an optimistic outlook. Well,
Speaker 2: if that's your take on faith, it won't take much
Speaker 2: to undo it, because when things don't turn out like
Speaker 2: they looked in your mind, in your life, you will
Speaker 2: abandon your faith. On the other hand, for some, faith
Speaker 2: is a classification. They'll say it in a political sense.
Speaker 2: These are the people of faith, the faith community, as
Speaker 2: if faith were synonymous with a voting block, like people
Speaker 2: of faith all vote one way, Like our God isn't
Speaker 2: bigger than your little, petty, little political, little agenda driven
Speaker 2: boxes that you try to get us to check. God
Speaker 2: can't be contained that way, and neither can faith. For some,
Speaker 2: faith means nothing more than the moment when you give
Speaker 2: your life to Jesus, and then after that you're on
Speaker 2: your own to work your butt off and show them
Speaker 2: how grateful you are. So you receive Jesus by faith.
Speaker 2: Good luck with the rest of your life. Hope you
Speaker 2: make it to heaven. The writer of Hebrews is encouraging
Speaker 2: these people to continue in the faith.
Speaker 1: Now much what he does something so good.
Speaker 2: He says, I know that what you're going through is
Speaker 2: new to you. I know that this trusting in the
Speaker 2: righteousness of Jesus.
Speaker 1: Now this is the gospel in one sentence, he died Jesus.
Speaker 2: Jesus died as if he sinned, so I can live
Speaker 2: as if I didn't.
Speaker 1: I love that when God showed it to me like that, because.
Speaker 2: I think if we're going to say we're putting our
Speaker 2: faith in something, we ought to know what we're believing.
Speaker 2: And what I'm believing isn't just that the situation is
Speaker 2: going to turn out or turn around or make me
Speaker 2: happy or be everything I wanted it to be.
Speaker 1: But what I'm believing is.
Speaker 2: That Jesus died as if he sinned, so that I
Speaker 2: could live as if I didn't. He died as if
Speaker 2: he deserved to die, so I could live like I
Speaker 2: could never deserve to live in his grace. He died
Speaker 2: like a criminal so I could be called a child
Speaker 2: of God.
Speaker 1: That's what we believe. And so it begins with this.
Speaker 2: We come to God and we believe that he exists,
Speaker 2: and we believe that He is a rewarder of them
Speaker 2: that seek him. So this week, when you don't feel
Speaker 2: worthy to come to God, just remember he died so
Speaker 2: you could live as if you never sin so you
Speaker 2: could pray as if you never sin, so you could come.
Speaker 1: Boldly in his face and tell him what you need in.
Speaker 2: The time of your trouble, so that you can move
Speaker 2: forward from your past and not be stuck back in it,
Speaker 2: and not drag around a shame that he broke two
Speaker 2: thousand years ago. This is what we believe. Somebody shout,
Speaker 2: I believe by faith. And so the next time the
Speaker 2: devil tells you you can't come to God and starts
Speaker 2: putting condemnation in your face, remember Romans eight one. There
Speaker 2: is therefore now.
Speaker 1: No condemnation for.
Speaker 2: Those who are in Christ Jesus. Then zilch zero zip nana.
Speaker 1: When the devil tries to condemn.
Speaker 2: You tell him, hey, devil, I appreciate what you're saying.
Speaker 2: I probably did do something wrong. I know I did
Speaker 2: stuff wrong. I can add some stuff to the list,
Speaker 2: but I got the faith to say, hey, devil is
Speaker 2: paid for in full. All right.
Speaker 1: Let me run a pole.
Speaker 2: How many of you the devil's been eating you up over.
Speaker 1: Something this week? All right?
Speaker 2: Do you have faith?
Speaker 1: Did he die for you? Was his blood enough for you?
Speaker 2: Did he satisfy the righteous requirements of the law in
Speaker 2: his body? Did the spotless Lamb of God lay down
Speaker 2: his life for you.
Speaker 1: You got faith.
Speaker 2: You believe that you got the faith to say, hey, devil.
Speaker 1: I hear your voice.
Speaker 4: But it is silence in the face of a greater voice,
Speaker 4: a greater grace, a greater coming at us.
Speaker 5: Come.
Speaker 2: He does something so good. He goes, I know this
Speaker 2: is new to you. How many of you live in
Speaker 2: God's way? Is new to you. I just want to
Speaker 2: see a show of hands. Yeah, it's just really you
Speaker 2: want to talk to you, sir, about can go home?
Speaker 2: Let's just stay here together for a minute.
Speaker 1: And really, if you didn't raise your hand, you.
Speaker 2: Haven't spoken with God lately, because it will always feel
Speaker 2: new to you if you are going forward. The only
Speaker 2: way for you to stop feeling that feeling off.
Speaker 1: And the writer describes it in a very particular way.
Speaker 1: He goes, Abraham.
Speaker 2: Remember, Abraham was the guy who got this all started.
Speaker 2: He was called the Father of faith, the father of
Speaker 2: many nations.
Speaker 1: That's what God calls him. That's not what he was.
Speaker 2: He didn't have a single son when God called him that,
Speaker 2: and he was seventy five when God called him. The
Speaker 2: Bible says about Abraham and verse number eight put it
Speaker 2: back up on the screen.
Speaker 1: This is the verse that I thought was so annoyted.
Speaker 2: It might break a yoke, and it might scare a devil,
Speaker 2: and it might bring somebody's heart back to a place
Speaker 2: a beating again, and said by faith Abraham when called
Speaker 2: to go to a place he would later receive as
Speaker 2: his inheritance, obeyed and went.
Speaker 1: The more I studied this word, the better.
Speaker 2: It got, because it actually is connected. Where it says
Speaker 2: by faith Abraham when called to go to a.
Speaker 1: Place he would later receive.
Speaker 2: It literally is juxtaposed in the grammar that it's written
Speaker 2: in in the Letter to the Hebrews as an immediate response.
Speaker 2: So what it means is that as he was being called,
Speaker 2: he went as soon as he was being called. So
Speaker 2: now you can measure your spirituality in inverse proportion the
Speaker 2: time that God tells you to do something, however long
Speaker 2: it takes you to do it.
Speaker 1: That's how immature you are in your relationship with Him.
Speaker 1: And I've got a lot of growing up to do.
Speaker 2: So I need this word because look at it again,
Speaker 2: he was called to go to a place he would
Speaker 2: later receive, So he's not going to get it right away.
Speaker 1: He obeyed and went.
Speaker 2: And this part will probably trip you up, even though
Speaker 2: he didn't know where he was going. Going without knowing?
Speaker 2: That is faith, isn't it answering and not even knowing?
Speaker 2: Is this really God? Is this really going to happen?
Speaker 2: At this point in the sermon, there are usually about
Speaker 2: ten reckless people who just used this as an excuse
Speaker 2: to quit your job and move to Canada.
Speaker 1: That's not the essence of the text, though, is it.
Speaker 1: Because it is not about a geographical location change. It
Speaker 1: is actually about staying in faith.
Speaker 2: Now, look, if we celebrate this text on the first level,
Speaker 2: is good Abraham?
Speaker 1: He went without.
Speaker 6: Knowing?
Speaker 2: That is that is worthy of our admiration that he
Speaker 2: did that. So the writer of Hebrew says, I know
Speaker 2: this is new for you. Let me call one of
Speaker 2: your familiar characters that you know so well, that actually
Speaker 2: is the hero of this entire faith system that you
Speaker 2: are coming from, And let me use it to juxtapose
Speaker 2: against what you now have in Jesus, that is the
Speaker 2: new and living way opened by his covenant. He says, Hey, Abraham,
Speaker 2: show us how to do it. Exhibit a exhibit Abraham,
Speaker 2: as he gives us this this case study.
Speaker 1: In faith. He says, by faith, Abraham.
Speaker 2: Was called to go somewhere he did not know, and
Speaker 2: he obeyed and went by faith. Put the scripture back
Speaker 2: up one more time, because I don't think we're done
Speaker 2: with it yet. It said he didn't know where he
Speaker 2: was going. And don't we love to celebrate when someone
Speaker 2: goes to something new. I don't really enjoy weddings.
Speaker 1: Whatever. I really like him. I want to come back
Speaker 1: in like seven years and have the big party. But
Speaker 1: I know that's mean in.
Speaker 2: Everything, because that's like pessimistic or something like that.
Speaker 1: Right, I just can't get too happy right yet, for y'all, I.
Speaker 2: See everybody else's In many ways, I feel like I
Speaker 2: have a very dark heart, and I'm probably I'm probably
Speaker 2: confessing a very deep character flaw to you. But I
Speaker 2: would be much happier for you, Like I would love
Speaker 2: to show up at your twenty fifth thing. I would
Speaker 2: love then the longer it goes, the happier I could
Speaker 2: be for you, and the more inspired I can be
Speaker 2: for you. But you know, the Bible says for this
Speaker 2: call shaw man leave his father and mother, and there
Speaker 2: is a leaving and a cleaving, right, And so I'm
Speaker 2: really just confused why we so celebrate the leaving, but
Speaker 2: the cleaving, the commitment that it requires, what it takes
Speaker 2: to really cleave in your relationship with Jesus.
Speaker 1: It is worthy to celebrate that you left.
Speaker 2: A life of sin when you take a step of faith.
Speaker 2: It is worthy of celebrating that you have now stepped
Speaker 2: out into the unknown. And that's wonderful. And if God
Speaker 2: tells you to go start a business, I'll clap for you.
Speaker 2: But I'll clap for you, and I'll be happy for you,
Speaker 2: but not as happy for you as I can be
Speaker 2: when you call me in three years, five years and
Speaker 2: you say it's been a recession. But I stuck with
Speaker 2: it in the recession. And God showed me strategies for
Speaker 2: this business in the recession.
Speaker 1: And we had to lay some people off and we
Speaker 1: had to.
Speaker 2: Change a business model and that was really rough. And
Speaker 2: I had an ulcer and I asked the doctor to
Speaker 2: prescribe something for it, and it took three different medications,
Speaker 2: and I had a hard time knowing when to be
Speaker 2: home versus when to be at the office.
Speaker 1: But here I am.
Speaker 2: I'm still staying and standing and believing. And rains flew
Speaker 2: and winds came and the house stood firm. What I'm
Speaker 2: trying to say is that stepping out faith is great.
Speaker 1: So is staying faith. So is staying faith.
Speaker 2: Because in all the years I read about Abraham, I
Speaker 2: celebrated that he had the faith to go. He obeyed
Speaker 2: and went, And that's wonderful that he went. Here's all
Speaker 2: God told him, I'm gonna bless you. I'm gonna make
Speaker 2: you a great nation. All the nations of the earth
Speaker 2: will be blessed through you. You're gonna have descendants as numerous.
Speaker 2: I gotta calmed down, I gotta come down. He said,
Speaker 2: I'm gonna bless you. You're gonna have descendants as numerous
Speaker 2: as the stars in the sky, the sand in the seashore.
Speaker 2: And Abraham obeyed and went. What I never thought about, though,
Speaker 2: was after he obeyed and went, Oh, in that wonderful
Speaker 2: he went to a place he didn't know in' that wonderful,
Speaker 2: what I never wondered was what happened when he got there.
Speaker 2: Now look at verse nine. By faith, he made his
Speaker 2: home in the Promised Land like a stranger. In my imagination,
Speaker 2: I always kind of pictured Abraham go into the Promised Land,
Speaker 2: and when he got there, there was a parade for
Speaker 2: him in his honor. I know the Bible doesn't say that,
Speaker 2: and I know that's a stupid thing to think, but
Speaker 2: that's the way I thought of it. Maybe not an
Speaker 2: actual literal parade, but you know what I'm saying. It's like,
Speaker 2: you're here, Ding ding ding. You made it to the
Speaker 2: Promised Land. You're here, Abraham, congratulations. You have the faith
Speaker 2: to step out and I'll.
Speaker 1: Come on in.
Speaker 2: So when I read that by faith, he obeyed and went,
Speaker 2: and it was followed by by faith he made his
Speaker 2: home in the Promised Land. Like a stranger in a
Speaker 2: foreign country. He lived intense. See, here's what I want
Speaker 2: to tell you. It's possible to arrive at your promise
Speaker 2: and live in a tent. It's this feeling of I'm here.
Speaker 2: But this is way different than how it sounded when
Speaker 2: I left. Anybody there, I'm here. Remember when you were
Speaker 2: in seventh grade and all you wanted was your driver's license?
Speaker 1: You're driving?
Speaker 2: Where are you going? What you're going to do when
Speaker 2: you get there? Now, two things happen. He got there
Speaker 2: without knowing where there was. That in his self is complicated.
Speaker 2: I've heard people say things and I don't mean to
Speaker 2: pick on it. I'm sure I've said something like this,
Speaker 2: if I could just have clarity from God, clarity from God,
Speaker 2: and if he would just confirm his word to me,
Speaker 2: and I am waiting for confirmation is what I'm waiting for. Okay,
Speaker 2: confirmation comes after commitment.
Speaker 1: Mike drop, I gotta tell y'all where the good parts
Speaker 1: of the sermon is.
Speaker 2: Because you're confused about it, that's the good part of
Speaker 2: the sermon. He obeyed ask God was calling him like
Speaker 2: it wasn't even complete yet. It wasn't even a destination yet.
Speaker 2: It was just something that got moved bye. But then
Speaker 2: he got there hundreds of miles with hundreds of people,
Speaker 2: with a caravan full of people that he's responsible for.
Speaker 1: And he lived in tents.
Speaker 2: Have you ever had God bring you to a promise
Speaker 2: and then make you pitch a tent.
Speaker 1: It's like he brings you. Should we start passing out
Speaker 1: caffeine in the communion cups at the door.
Speaker 2: He brings you to a place, He brings you to
Speaker 2: a moment, he brings you to a relationship, he brings.
Speaker 1: You to a stage of life.
Speaker 2: He brings you to your anointing, he brings you into
Speaker 2: the area of your giftedness and you know this is it,
Speaker 2: but then you think, is this it? I could understand
Speaker 2: if he lived in a tent for a week while
Speaker 2: the apartment least was going through. I could understand if
Speaker 2: he lived there for six months while he found the
Speaker 2: best school district in Canaan.
Speaker 1: Abraham lived in tents the entire time he was in
Speaker 1: the Promised Land.
Speaker 2: So what I'm trying to say is you might be
Speaker 2: a pilgrim in something that God called you.
Speaker 1: To possess, and just.
Speaker 2: Because it doesn't feel stable doesn't.
Speaker 1: Mean it's not secure. Whoever is for You're.
Speaker 2: Gonna get it deep because I got it deep. Because
Speaker 2: there's times where I questioned God and my faith gets low.
Speaker 1: Did you really say to do this?
Speaker 2: Did you really say to forgive them sometimes even.
Speaker 1: When I get up here, God?
Speaker 2: Did you really tell me to preach this just because
Speaker 2: I don't feel it in the moment. Just because it's
Speaker 2: foreign doesn't mean it isn't yours.
Speaker 1: So here's what I.
Speaker 2: Want you to declare by faith. Say it's mine.
Speaker 1: It's mine.
Speaker 2: Now that sounds selfish because we're not supposed to talk
Speaker 2: in church about what we have and what God gave us.
Speaker 2: It's supposed to be all about him, but he said,
Speaker 2: I will bless you, he said I will make you,
Speaker 2: he said.
Speaker 1: I will guide you.
Speaker 2: And it's not really Him that we doubt, it's us.
Speaker 2: You ever had to hold on to the truth living
Speaker 2: in a tent. You ever had to suffer from clinical
Speaker 2: depression and show up smiling at an office building. You
Speaker 2: ever had your kid's not doing well, but you had
Speaker 2: to be there for somebody else's kid. Have you, then
Speaker 2: you've lived intents. It is being somewhere you're supposed to be.
Speaker 2: Say I'm supposed to be here, I'm supposed to be here.
Speaker 2: It's being somewhere you're supposed to be, but the accommodations
Speaker 2: aren't what you imagine. I was reading some definitions of faith.
Speaker 1: Check this out.
Speaker 2: It said that faith not only is it about our salvation,
Speaker 2: but there is a situational faith as well.
Speaker 1: Uh huh.
Speaker 2: And it is a faith that defies all contradictions and
Speaker 2: outward circumstances, but looks entirely to God and his promises alone.
Speaker 2: It is a faith that defies all contradictions and outward circumstances,
Speaker 2: but looks entirely to God and his promises alone.
Speaker 1: One said.
Speaker 2: Faith is living as if God's power for the present
Speaker 2: is real and his promise.
Speaker 1: For the future is secure. That's faith saving. Faith.
Speaker 2: He died as if he sinned so I could live
Speaker 2: as if I didn't. Faith is living as if I'm
Speaker 2: gonna say this again. Faith is living as if who
Speaker 2: am I preaching to right now? Faith is going forward
Speaker 2: as if you knew where you were going, and then
Speaker 2: going home and wondering am I there because you're living
Speaker 2: in a tent. Faith is saying I am fully forgiven
Speaker 2: by Christ, even as the waves of shame wash over you,
Speaker 2: and instead of drowning in the regret of that shame,
Speaker 2: you transform it by the power of grace into wisdom
Speaker 2: so that you never make.
Speaker 1: Those mistakes again.
Speaker 2: Faith is showing up to church as if you knew
Speaker 2: God had a word for you, even though you secretly
Speaker 2: wonder is he talking to someone else. Faith is picking
Speaker 2: up your tent and moving even though you don't know
Speaker 2: how far you'll have to go. Faith is making your
Speaker 2: home enjoy even though sorrow may last for the night.
Speaker 2: Faith is giving God praise for who he is when
Speaker 2: you can't even see what he's doing. Faith is reaching
Speaker 2: on your inside reserves and pulling from your experience to say, Hey, God,
Speaker 2: I need you right now. Faith will stretch a stick
Speaker 2: over the water. Faith will pick up a rock and
Speaker 2: hit a giant in the head. Faith will say, hey, Jesus,
Speaker 2: if it's you, tell me calm and Jesus will say back,
Speaker 2: come and Faith will walk on one word.
Speaker 1: Faith will step out on four letters. Faith will jump out.
Speaker 2: The boat and say, God, hold me up.
Speaker 1: By your righteous right hand.
Speaker 2: If you had not been on my side, my enemies
Speaker 2: would have swallowed me alive.
Speaker 4: So here I am God. Hey, God, is your man verdict?
Speaker 4: And I need you now? And I don't deserve it,
Speaker 4: but I receive it man.
Speaker 2: I claim it by faith. What do you need from
Speaker 2: God today? Claim it by faith? What do you need
Speaker 2: him to do in your body?
Speaker 1: Claim it? Bye? Faith?
Speaker 2: If what do you need him to carry you through?
Speaker 2: Claim it bye Faith? Clap those hands.
Speaker 1: If you've got a claim by faith. I don't have
Speaker 1: what you think I need.
Speaker 2: Oh, fath faith, faith, faith, faith, faith, Father, blessing the
Speaker 2: name of Jesus, bless her right now. Everybody shall faith
Speaker 2: by faith? Say by faith by faith? So how are
Speaker 2: you coming to God? After everything you've done by faith?
Speaker 2: How are you really believing that God is going to
Speaker 2: redeem the years when you're the.
Speaker 1: One who wasted them by faith? By faith? And here's
Speaker 1: what I love.
Speaker 2: He had to show up as a stranger to something
Speaker 2: God gave him. Have you ever had to show up
Speaker 2: as a stranger to something God gave you? I had
Speaker 2: a friend invite me over the other day and nobody
Speaker 2: knew I was coming. I was invited by my friend,
Speaker 2: but I was treated as a stranger by the people
Speaker 2: who had to let me in the door. They had
Speaker 2: no idea who I was. I waited, and I waited
Speaker 2: because I knew when my friend finds out I'm here,
Speaker 2: I'm gonna walk right past all these people who don't
Speaker 2: believe that I belong. I need three people to help
Speaker 2: me finish. I'll finish if I get three people. Three people.
Speaker 1: So he showed up as a stranger to a place
Speaker 1: God gave him.
Speaker 2: Is that not what Jesus did for us, who came
Speaker 2: to his own and his own received him.
Speaker 3: Not.
Speaker 1: He showed up in the earth.
Speaker 2: That he created, was rejected by the humans that he fashioned,
Speaker 2: was crucified by the ones he came to save. But
Speaker 2: because he showed up as a stranger, I could come
Speaker 2: to him as his child. How many are grateful for access.
Speaker 2: Just because it feels foreign doesn't mean it isn't yours.
Speaker 2: When you've heard a long time healing feels for it,
Speaker 2: it doesn't mean you won't be healed. You just might
Speaker 2: have to live in a tent. A tent is an
Speaker 2: interesting image because the New Testament also calls our mortal
Speaker 2: bodies a tent and tewod Corinthians five to four. Paul
Speaker 2: says that while we are in this tent speaking about
Speaker 2: our bodies were grown and are burden. Wait, I thought
Speaker 2: we were blessed. We're blessed, but.
Speaker 1: We're burden because we're living intents. I don't know if
Speaker 1: you're getting this or not. Help me. Are you getting this?
Speaker 2: I want to help you. You're living in a tent.
Speaker 2: It doesn't mean you're not in the promise. You're just
Speaker 2: living in the tent. It takes faith to say hey,
Speaker 2: It takes faith to welcome something into your life that
Speaker 2: you've never had before.
Speaker 1: And so often we are glorifying the goodbye.
Speaker 2: But we're not saying hello to the promise. Imagine Abraham
Speaker 2: walking through Canaan. Nobody knows who he is. He's living
Speaker 2: like a nomad, but he's the father of many nations.
Speaker 2: Can I prophesy this to you. You're bigger than what
Speaker 2: you're living in the bondage the dysfunction. Abraham was the
Speaker 2: most famous person that the writer of Hebrews could bring
Speaker 2: up to illustrate faith.
Speaker 6: But he showed up like a stranger.
Speaker 1: It takes faith to show up like a stranger.
Speaker 2: You think Abraham walked in Canaan and they were all like, Oh,
Speaker 2: you're Abraham, take over.
Speaker 6: This is great. He had to show up.
Speaker 1: In a tent.
Speaker 6: That's a stranger.
Speaker 2: I see you coming into your promise. I see you
Speaker 2: coming into your wholeness. I see you coming into the
Speaker 2: next season of your life, but you're coming in as
Speaker 2: a stranger.
Speaker 6: Stay.
Speaker 1: Stay.
Speaker 2: Faith feels foreign. Stay joy feels foreign. Stay peace feels
Speaker 2: foreign when all you've known is storms.
Speaker 6: Is stay.
Speaker 2: Because if you can stay in faith, watch what Abraham does.
Speaker 6: Oh you're gonna love this mishe hollie, this so does.
Speaker 6: I just appreached to her, y'all.
Speaker 1: Look what he did.
Speaker 2: In verse thirteen of Hebrews, Chapter eleven, all these people.
Speaker 1: Were still living by faith.
Speaker 2: When they died, they did not receive the things promised.
Speaker 2: They only saw them and welcomed them from a distance.
Speaker 2: I see you welcoming your dream from a distance. I
Speaker 2: see you welcoming your prodigal child coming back home from
Speaker 2: a distance. You can't really see it yet, spell it yet,
Speaker 2: touch it yet, but it's coming from the distance. And
Speaker 2: they admitted that they were foreigners and strangers on earth.
Speaker 1: And WA's what they did.
Speaker 2: Not only did they welcome it from a distance. For
Speaker 2: verse fourteen, people who say such things show that they.
Speaker 6: Are looking for a country of their own.
Speaker 2: So they saw it in the distance, and they had
Speaker 2: the faith to say.
Speaker 3: Hey, hey, joy, hey peace, Hey new beginning, Hey redemption.
Speaker 1: I welcome you.
Speaker 2: I'm not walking in it yet, I'm still living in
Speaker 2: this tent for a.
Speaker 1: Little bit, but I welcome you.
Speaker 2: Will you welcome the Holy Spirit in your life in
Speaker 2: this season. You're living in a tent, but you're not
Speaker 2: your body. Some of you are living in a very
Speaker 2: very hard situation, but you are not this situation. You
Speaker 2: are bigger than what you've been living in. You're walking
Speaker 2: as a nomad, but there are nations in you, purpose.
Speaker 1: In you, glory in you. I'm bigger than what I'm
Speaker 1: living in. So come on and say, hey, my faith.
Speaker 2: I see it in the distance, I feel it. Sometimes
Speaker 2: I get a glimpse of it. Sometimes I get a
Speaker 2: little bit of freedom. Then I go back, I get
Speaker 2: a little bit of relief. Then I come back. Welcome
Speaker 2: it in. Don't just believe in it, believe it in.
Speaker 2: Don't just believe in what he did.
Speaker 1: On the cross.
Speaker 2: Believe it in until it permeates you, until you.
Speaker 5: Know I am what he says I am.
Speaker 2: With everyone standing, there is an anointing on this word.
Speaker 2: There is say, heavy anointing on this word. I don't
Speaker 2: know who it was for. I don't know what you
Speaker 2: are living in. I don't know what tent you are
Speaker 2: disappointed by. I don't know exactly what God has called
Speaker 2: you to do or be.
Speaker 1: But I know this.
Speaker 2: If you will welcome it, you can walk in it.
Speaker 1: It begins with you saying yes to God and to
Speaker 1: agree with.
Speaker 2: Him concerning what he sees you to be. Abraham believed
Speaker 2: and so became. What might you become if you believe?
Speaker 2: If you didn't go back to what you came from,
Speaker 2: but said, hey, by faith, okay, God, this is a
Speaker 2: new thing for me. But people who talk this way
Speaker 2: are looking forward to a city with foundations whose builder
Speaker 2: and maker is God. And since the starting point is faith,
Speaker 2: I would like to invite you right now to pray
Speaker 2: a prayer. This prayer is specifically for all of you
Speaker 2: who have been distant from God. You don't bridge that
Speaker 2: gap by good behavior. You bridge that gap by faith.
Speaker 2: You put your total trust in faith in Him. Right now,
Speaker 2: you call on him, he will save you. You call
Speaker 2: on him, he will cleanse you. You call on him,
Speaker 2: he will lift your life from the pit and crown
Speaker 2: you with love and compassion. The Bible says it is
Speaker 2: by grace. We are saved through faith. It's the gift
Speaker 2: of God. It's the gift of God. Right now I
Speaker 2: would like to lead you in receiving this good gift,
Speaker 2: this gift of His grace, for a new beginning in
Speaker 2: your life. With heads bowed and eyes closed. Maybe you've
Speaker 2: never put your trust in Jesus Christ. Maybe you've done
Speaker 2: that once, but you haven't said hey to Him in
Speaker 2: a long time. And today He is calling you, and
Speaker 2: today he is welcoming you.
Speaker 1: Right now.
Speaker 2: If the desire of your heart is to believe in
Speaker 2: Jesus and turn from your old way of life and
Speaker 2: give him your everything. I assure you that he exists
Speaker 2: and that he is a rewarder of them who will
Speaker 2: diligently seek him all over this church and online. I
Speaker 2: want you to repeat this prayer after me. We're praying
Speaker 2: all together out loud for the benefit of those who
Speaker 2: are coming to God in this moment. Say, Heavenly Father,
Speaker 2: I am a sinner in need of a savior, and
Speaker 2: I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God
Speaker 2: and the savior of the world. And today I make
Speaker 2: Jesus the lord of my life. I believe he died
Speaker 2: that I would be forgiven, and rose again to give
Speaker 2: me life. I receive this new life. This is my
Speaker 2: new beginning. On the counter of three shoots, your hand
Speaker 2: up if you prayed that one, two, three, all over
Speaker 2: the room, hands going up before.
Speaker 1: I even said three.
Speaker 2: Welcome God, bless you. We receive you with open arms.
Speaker 2: God receives you with open arms. This church receives you
Speaker 2: with open arms. Congratulations on your new beginning. Congratulations for
Speaker 2: all of those who just place their faith in Christ.
Speaker 1: First of all, let's clap our hands one more time.
Speaker 2: For them, it sounds like I plan this announcement with
Speaker 2: my message. But if you'll stop by the tent on
Speaker 2: your way out, there's a Bible we'd like to give you.
Speaker 1: Stop by the tent. Touch three. People say stop by
Speaker 1: the tim.
Speaker 2: Because what nobody knew was in that tent was the
Speaker 2: father of many nations. Say, hey, by faith, this is
Speaker 2: not a dating seminar, but I believe there are some
Speaker 2: things that God is bringing into your life that you
Speaker 2: are welcoming from a distance, and it may take a while,
Speaker 2: but don't let the tent fool you. By faith, it
Speaker 2: shall be Clap those hands one more time, everybody who.
Speaker 7: Receives it, Thanks for joining us today. We pray that
Speaker 7: God has spoken to you in a unique and powerful
Speaker 7: way through the message. Well, we are in our year
Speaker 7: in offering season as a church where we get the
Speaker 7: opportunity to reflect back on all the ways that God
Speaker 7: has been faithful to our ministry this year, but also
Speaker 7: to look ahead at what we're believing God for in
Speaker 7: the upcoming year. And each year as a church, we
Speaker 7: get to come around a special offering and offering that
Speaker 7: contributes to both outreach efforts in local and global cities
Speaker 7: and as well as the expansion of our ministry continuing
Speaker 7: to reach people all over with the hope of the Gospel.
Speaker 7: And we'd invite you to take part and participate in
Speaker 7: our year end offering. To do so, you can go
Speaker 7: to Elevationchurch dot org. Just click the banner there at
Speaker 7: the top, and then you'll be able to see everything
Speaker 7: that you need to be a part of our year
Speaker 7: end offering. You'll see two options. The first is to
Speaker 7: begin tithing. Maybe you've been wanting to prioritize God in
Speaker 7: your finances, but you haven't taken that step to make
Speaker 7: a commitment to doing so. This is a great place
Speaker 7: to begin. Or perhaps you've been giving consistently in this season,
Speaker 7: God may be challenging you to stretch above and beyond
Speaker 7: the tithe to give a sacrificial gift to our year
Speaker 7: end offering. If you're part of one of our physical locations,
Speaker 7: you can choose your campus there, or if you're part
Speaker 7: of our online ministry, of course, you'll choose Epham or
Speaker 7: online and then enter the amount that you'd like to give.
Speaker 7: We are believing for all the ways that God is
Speaker 7: going to stretch our faith in this season through our
Speaker 7: year end offering and we can't wait to see what
Speaker 7: God does through you. God bless and we'll see you soon.