WEBVTT - I Woke Up Like This (Levi Lusko) 0:00:02.040 --> 0:00:04.600 Hey, this is Stephen Ferdick. I'm the pastor of Elevation 0:00:04.880 --> 0:00:07.080 Church and this is our podcast. I wanted to thank 0:00:07.120 --> 0:00:10.440 you for joining us today. Hope this inspires you. Hope 0:00:10.440 --> 0:00:12.479 it builds your faith. Hope it gives your perspective to 0:00:12.520 --> 0:00:15.360 see God is moving in your life. Enjoy the message. 0:00:17.079 --> 0:00:23.400 Let's welcome our EPAM all over the world. That sounds better, right, 0:00:24.480 --> 0:00:29.840 That's better. That's much better. Wanted to tell you a 0:00:29.840 --> 0:00:32.800 few things before we get into the Word of God today, 0:00:33.159 --> 0:00:35.000 and that is if you have any room left for 0:00:35.040 --> 0:00:37.840 the Word of God after Thanksgiving, you may be saying, well, 0:00:37.840 --> 0:00:40.159 Pastor Stephen, I'm very stuffed. I don't know if I 0:00:40.240 --> 0:00:44.279 can receive the bread of life today, but I do 0:00:44.320 --> 0:00:47.400 this every year after Thanksgiving. It's Thanksgiving in the US, 0:00:47.760 --> 0:00:50.479 it was Thanksgiving in the US. I speak the miracle 0:00:50.720 --> 0:00:57.319 of supernatural carb cancellation over your waist slide. I speak it. 0:00:57.600 --> 0:01:00.120 I don't think it's gonna work, but I speak it anyway. 0:01:00.840 --> 0:01:04.520 I do it every year. I've yet to get one 0:01:04.560 --> 0:01:06.960 testimony that that worked, but I keep doing it every year. 0:01:08.240 --> 0:01:11.520 Brace the Lord. If you receive that, put your raised 0:01:11.520 --> 0:01:15.520 hands emoji in the chat. There you go, yeah, put 0:01:15.560 --> 0:01:19.039 a scale emoji in the chat. Oh, check this out 0:01:19.200 --> 0:01:22.000 before I tell you this really good news. Holly had 0:01:22.040 --> 0:01:27.880 these shirts made where it says put it in the chat. 0:01:30.080 --> 0:01:33.000 I guess this probably looks weird if I'm just walking 0:01:33.040 --> 0:01:36.360 around town wearing a hoodie that says put it in 0:01:36.400 --> 0:01:38.839 the chat. But I thought it was cool for our purposes. 0:01:39.080 --> 0:01:42.000 So somebody right now put it in the chat. What 0:01:42.000 --> 0:01:45.040 you're grateful for, maybe a person or a thing or 0:01:45.080 --> 0:01:47.560 a maybe you feel peace in your heart and you 0:01:47.600 --> 0:01:49.480 can't even explain why, Just put it in the chat 0:01:49.520 --> 0:01:51.800 what you're thankful for today. Come on, let's fill the 0:01:51.840 --> 0:01:57.520 chat with thanksgiving. Let's fill the comments with gratitude, Praise God. 0:01:57.800 --> 0:02:01.840 I'm so thankful for you. I'm thankful for the way 0:02:01.840 --> 0:02:04.200 that our church family has stepped up and trusted God 0:02:04.240 --> 0:02:07.240 this year. It's been amazing to see. I'll share just 0:02:07.320 --> 0:02:11.200 a little bit of that with you this year when 0:02:11.280 --> 0:02:16.280 when when the global pandemic became real to us, we 0:02:16.440 --> 0:02:20.080 started to wonder what will happen to ministry? And on 0:02:20.080 --> 0:02:21.800 one hand, you have faith, but you also have fear 0:02:21.840 --> 0:02:25.960 because you know there's there's this aspect in which we 0:02:25.960 --> 0:02:29.080 we've never lived through this before. I'm happy to report 0:02:29.120 --> 0:02:31.400 to you as we come toward the end of twenty 0:02:31.440 --> 0:02:34.920 twenty that by the favor of God, somebody shall favor, 0:02:34.960 --> 0:02:38.160 put favor, put favor in the chat that we've given. 0:02:38.280 --> 0:02:41.360 We've given this year over nine million dollars to our 0:02:41.400 --> 0:02:45.959 outreach efforts. I think the Lord deserves a great praise 0:02:46.120 --> 0:02:51.600 foreign that's nothing but the favor of God and the 0:02:51.760 --> 0:02:58.480 faith of God's people. So I'll list a few things. 0:02:58.520 --> 0:03:01.480 I can't say them all, but that include over six 0:03:01.639 --> 0:03:05.720 hundred thousand meals, over thirty thousand volunteers serving over fifty 0:03:05.760 --> 0:03:10.240 eight thousand hours with over three hundred organizations, over five 0:03:10.320 --> 0:03:16.480 hundred thousand dollars to disaster relief efforts, one hundred and 0:03:16.520 --> 0:03:21.920 fifty thousand dollars of flood supplies, over a million dollars 0:03:21.960 --> 0:03:24.880 in support when COVID hit two hundred and fifty thousand 0:03:24.919 --> 0:03:28.440 pounds of food pop up field hospitals in Central Park, 0:03:28.560 --> 0:03:35.840 New York. We gave five hundred thousand tablets to inmates 0:03:35.880 --> 0:03:39.400 this year through God behind Bars, so they could get 0:03:39.400 --> 0:03:42.680 the word of God where they are. And I'm pretty 0:03:42.680 --> 0:03:47.680 proud of you for that. Thank God, and just all 0:03:47.760 --> 0:03:50.760 kinds of things, over one hundred thousand dollars to church plants, 0:03:50.800 --> 0:03:54.240 over one hundred thousand dollars to our partnership with YMCAs 0:03:54.240 --> 0:04:01.080 across the country. You are an amazing church, are the 0:04:01.200 --> 0:04:03.480 salt of the earth, the light of the world. And 0:04:03.520 --> 0:04:06.000 of course you probably know by now if you're part 0:04:06.000 --> 0:04:09.400 of our ministry, that we end every year with appreciation 0:04:09.640 --> 0:04:13.080 and anticipation, and so we're getting ready for that time. 0:04:13.480 --> 0:04:16.080 Of thousands of us around the world, not just those 0:04:16.080 --> 0:04:19.040 who are near Charlotte or one of our locations, but 0:04:19.360 --> 0:04:23.080 around the world are preparing to give to our twenty 0:04:23.120 --> 0:04:26.400 twenty favor offering for the year end for our expansion 0:04:26.440 --> 0:04:30.040 and outreach. I want to thank those of you who 0:04:30.080 --> 0:04:34.640 are already tithing and showing God that you know that 0:04:34.680 --> 0:04:37.520 He's where your help comes from, and so many of 0:04:37.560 --> 0:04:39.880 you do that regularly. Thank you. So many will begin 0:04:39.960 --> 0:04:42.240 to do that this time of year, to trust God 0:04:42.279 --> 0:04:44.840 in a new way. Many are giving an above and 0:04:44.880 --> 0:04:47.440 beyond gift, and you can find all of that out 0:04:47.760 --> 0:04:51.719 on Elevationchurch dot org. But the good news is, whether 0:04:51.760 --> 0:04:54.120 you ever give or not, we're going to be here 0:04:54.160 --> 0:04:58.279 for you. We're going to be here so you can 0:04:58.320 --> 0:05:02.000 be lifted up. If you never give a dime, if 0:05:02.000 --> 0:05:04.280 you never even pray for me, if you don't even 0:05:04.400 --> 0:05:06.480 like me, I'm gonna be here preaching if you ever 0:05:06.560 --> 0:05:09.000 need me, and you can't get rid of me. Zoom 0:05:09.080 --> 0:05:12.200 in real tight on my face. I'm gonna be here. 0:05:14.800 --> 0:05:19.160 Come on, clap your hands, give God, praise. Somebody's south favor. 0:05:21.720 --> 0:05:24.320 And when you think about favor, you think about Levi 0:05:24.560 --> 0:05:29.680 Lusco and Pastor Levi Luscoe. It's here to preach today. 0:05:31.160 --> 0:05:34.039 I want to tell you, brother, there's not many people 0:05:34.080 --> 0:05:37.720 I admire more than you, Maybe only Holly, and then 0:05:37.760 --> 0:05:42.280 there's you, Jesus Holly Levi. You've been coming around here 0:05:42.320 --> 0:05:45.040 a long time. You've been blessing our church for years. 0:05:45.040 --> 0:05:49.080 You've written books to bless us. You built an amazing church. 0:05:49.120 --> 0:05:54.080 And Jinny was telling me this just this weekend, something 0:05:54.120 --> 0:05:56.320 pretty amazing about you. I'll tell you about later. It's 0:05:56.320 --> 0:05:57.919 pretty cool. She was bragging on you because she was 0:05:57.920 --> 0:05:59.880 here for reflect and you didn't come, and it was 0:06:00.120 --> 0:06:02.680 just me and the all the women, and it was 0:06:02.720 --> 0:06:05.359 weird and I missed you. So I thought, well, you 0:06:05.400 --> 0:06:08.760 can come preach and share with us. You're You're so 0:06:08.800 --> 0:06:11.359 significant in the Body of Christ and one of the 0:06:11.360 --> 0:06:14.040 greatest friends that I've had. We love you, Jinny and 0:06:14.120 --> 0:06:16.680 Levi so much. We love the last coast. Will you 0:06:16.760 --> 0:06:19.599 welcome to elevation search? Come on, Epham, put it in 0:06:19.680 --> 0:06:37.880 this chap. Welcome Levi. Let's go, wow, elevation Sure, come on. 0:06:38.000 --> 0:06:41.600 Thank Jesus for his goodness, thank you for his grace, 0:06:41.760 --> 0:06:44.160 thank you for his love, Thank Him for your pastor. 0:06:44.200 --> 0:06:48.000 Come on, Let's thank God for Pastor Stephen and Holly Curdick, 0:06:48.480 --> 0:06:56.159 Eli Jah A Graham and Abby Man. This moment is 0:06:56.279 --> 0:06:58.560 one that I've been looking forward to for a long time. 0:06:58.800 --> 0:07:00.560 I didn't know it was coming, to know i'd have 0:07:00.560 --> 0:07:03.440 the chance to tell you, but I knew I would 0:07:03.520 --> 0:07:05.800 need to when I got the chance. And that is 0:07:05.839 --> 0:07:08.520 to let you know how grateful I am for how 0:07:08.680 --> 0:07:12.160 this ministry and your pastors and you have led through 0:07:12.160 --> 0:07:15.000 the pandemic. You guys have led the Body of Christ 0:07:15.080 --> 0:07:22.280 so strong, so well. Two weeks ago, your pastor stood 0:07:22.280 --> 0:07:25.640 in this pulpit and gave a brilliant message about not 0:07:25.720 --> 0:07:31.000 wasting the rain. Were you thankful for that word? And 0:07:31.160 --> 0:07:34.640 in that message he said towards the end that God 0:07:34.720 --> 0:07:39.000 wants all of us to steward our storms. And I 0:07:39.000 --> 0:07:41.800 think that's a profound insight, and I think it is 0:07:42.160 --> 0:07:45.000 a perfect way to describe how you have helped lead 0:07:45.040 --> 0:07:47.040 the Body of Christ and the world through a most 0:07:47.120 --> 0:07:51.640 challenging and difficult time, through the sermons, through the pivots, 0:07:51.720 --> 0:07:54.200 through the kicking of stools. I mean, it all worked, 0:07:54.200 --> 0:07:56.560 it all worked, It all worked. Come on, someone put 0:07:56.560 --> 0:07:58.840 it in the chat. It all worked, it all worked, 0:07:58.880 --> 0:08:04.080 it all worked. But out of it all, I just 0:08:04.240 --> 0:08:07.800 wanted to like encapsulate how grateful I am for the 0:08:07.800 --> 0:08:12.120 way that you guys have have stewarded this storm with 0:08:12.480 --> 0:08:15.120 the two songs that, in my opinion, out of all 0:08:15.200 --> 0:08:18.040 the songs, out of all, like all the songs, like 0:08:19.400 --> 0:08:25.440 all of them, just all the songs. The way that 0:08:25.480 --> 0:08:28.679 God used this ministry and this man and this team 0:08:28.840 --> 0:08:33.120 to give us a lullaby when we needed a hug 0:08:33.160 --> 0:08:36.240 from God the most. That's what the blessing to me represents. 0:08:41.040 --> 0:08:44.160 It was and has been for so many of us 0:08:44.160 --> 0:08:45.960 in a fear filled time and a time of worry 0:08:46.000 --> 0:08:50.120 and terror and panic. God's way of giving a hug 0:08:50.200 --> 0:08:53.120 to his bride, God's way of putting his arms around 0:08:53.160 --> 0:08:55.680 his children and telling us it's going to be okay. 0:08:55.720 --> 0:08:58.120 And I have fallen asleep with my three year old 0:08:58.160 --> 0:09:00.800 sons so many times, countless time with that in the 0:09:00.840 --> 0:09:03.680 air and being able to speak blessing over him and 0:09:03.720 --> 0:09:08.559 his children's children, children's children because of that song and 0:09:08.600 --> 0:09:11.920 it it was the song heard around the world. Every language, 0:09:11.920 --> 0:09:14.920 every tribe, every time, every language got to find out 0:09:15.000 --> 0:09:17.040 that God is for us in a time when it 0:09:17.080 --> 0:09:22.520 felt like he wasn't. So thank you and thank you 0:09:22.600 --> 0:09:25.560 and Cody and Carrie and and so you guys wrote 0:09:25.600 --> 0:09:28.280 the lullaby. But then you guys, we can't stay we 0:09:28.320 --> 0:09:30.720 can't stay sleeping forever. So y'all went ahead and wrote 0:09:30.760 --> 0:09:34.960 the wake Up Call Rattle. That was That was God 0:09:35.080 --> 0:09:38.120 saying it's time to wake up. We can't stay sleeping forever. 0:09:38.200 --> 0:09:40.360 We got to wake up. We got a world to touch, 0:09:40.559 --> 0:09:44.760 we got people to heal, we got nine million dollars 0:09:44.800 --> 0:09:49.600 to give away, and we're just getting started. Because twenty 0:09:49.679 --> 0:09:53.760 twenty has been your time to shine. And I believe 0:09:53.840 --> 0:09:56.600 that as you continue to lead the way in the world, 0:09:56.679 --> 0:10:00.000 that many churches around the country and world are following you, 0:10:00.160 --> 0:10:03.559 or example, drafting on your slipstream so I came here 0:10:03.559 --> 0:10:05.319 to preach. I got a brand new message. I cooked 0:10:05.320 --> 0:10:09.560 it up fresh for y'all, because when something means a 0:10:09.559 --> 0:10:12.480 lot to you, you give towards it. And so I've 0:10:12.480 --> 0:10:14.720 been working hard on this word. But more than anything, 0:10:14.760 --> 0:10:16.560 I just can't say thank you, so thank you for 0:10:16.640 --> 0:10:20.520 what you've meant to us in our lives, in our trials, 0:10:20.640 --> 0:10:24.200 in our wanderings, and in this pandemic. Come on, you 0:10:24.280 --> 0:10:28.240 can be seated. Please grab your seat. Thank you, Worship Team. 0:10:28.320 --> 0:10:30.360 Love you Chris. I haven't even given him a hug yet, 0:10:30.360 --> 0:10:32.360 but I'm gonna do it from more closer than six feet. 0:10:32.559 --> 0:10:38.400 I'm gonna get in his bubble. That's weird. Why would 0:10:38.400 --> 0:10:43.160 you say that. I also just send greetings to every 0:10:43.200 --> 0:10:45.840 single one of you at all the thirty seven billion 0:10:45.880 --> 0:10:49.560 watch parties across the country and world, and everybody watching 0:10:49.600 --> 0:10:55.160 this instill in your delirious meat sweats from Thanksgiving finding 0:10:55.160 --> 0:10:57.840 out your genes don't fit anymore. It's all the things right. 0:10:58.440 --> 0:11:00.000 I want you to turn your Bible to three different 0:11:00.120 --> 0:11:03.200 places as we continue in the season called Favor twenty twenty, 0:11:03.240 --> 0:11:07.160 believing God's favor spilling into twenty twenty one, sending it 0:11:07.160 --> 0:11:10.920 ahead into twenty twenty three. I want you to turn 0:11:10.960 --> 0:11:13.520 to Genesis twenty eight, Luke five, and John twenty one. 0:11:13.920 --> 0:11:16.200 It's quite a few places, but you got quite a 0:11:16.200 --> 0:11:18.240 few fingers, so you can just hold on to them. 0:11:18.840 --> 0:11:21.800 That's Genesis twenty eight, Luke five, and John twenty one. 0:11:22.320 --> 0:11:24.080 We will, by the end of this message get to 0:11:24.160 --> 0:11:26.920 two significant biblical boat stories. There's a lot of boat 0:11:26.960 --> 0:11:29.520 stories we could pick in the Bible. There's boats everywhere. 0:11:29.559 --> 0:11:32.680 There's the largest boat, Noah, there's the smallest boat, Moses, 0:11:32.840 --> 0:11:35.520 little baby in a tiny basket. That the littlest boat. 0:11:36.040 --> 0:11:39.920 There's boats all over Jesus' ministry. So many times did 0:11:39.960 --> 0:11:41.600 Jesus get in a boat or be on the Sea 0:11:41.679 --> 0:11:44.880 of Galilee, that it's been nicknamed the fifth Gospel, the 0:11:44.920 --> 0:11:47.720 fifth Gospel because you can't just get his gospel story 0:11:47.720 --> 0:11:49.280 from Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. You got to get 0:11:49.320 --> 0:11:51.199 near this body of water to get his soul story. 0:11:51.200 --> 0:11:54.160 I mean, eighteen out of thirty three miracles Jesus performed 0:11:54.160 --> 0:11:57.079 take took place on this lake. We went there a 0:11:57.120 --> 0:11:58.920 little bit last week. We're gonna we're gonna go back 0:11:58.920 --> 0:12:01.480 there in just a minute. We're gonna return to the 0:12:01.559 --> 0:12:04.079 scene of the crime Luke, chapter five, the room where 0:12:04.120 --> 0:12:09.880 it happened. But of all the boat stories uh in 0:12:09.960 --> 0:12:12.920 the Bible that we're gonna get to, I think that 0:12:12.960 --> 0:12:14.240 the one we're gonna get to by the end of 0:12:14.240 --> 0:12:16.400 this sermon is one that that's going to touch your heart. 0:12:16.440 --> 0:12:17.839 But before we do, we got a lot of work 0:12:17.880 --> 0:12:19.800 to do, so we're not going to waste a minute. 0:12:19.800 --> 0:12:22.960 The title of my message is I woke up like this. 0:12:25.080 --> 0:12:27.400 I woke up like this. I need you to say 0:12:27.400 --> 0:12:29.400 it out loud before we go any further. Could you 0:12:29.440 --> 0:12:33.720 just say I woke up like this. We usually say 0:12:34.440 --> 0:12:37.360 that statement to sort of express like a little bit 0:12:37.360 --> 0:12:40.599 of false humility. False humility like someone's like, oh you 0:12:40.640 --> 0:12:42.520 look great, it's like, oh, it just just woke up, 0:12:42.520 --> 0:12:45.480 like didn't even try. Didn't even try. It's like, yeah, Beyonce, 0:12:45.640 --> 0:12:47.920 you got twenty five people working hard on you, so 0:12:47.960 --> 0:12:51.720 you could just wake up like this, right. It's like 0:12:51.720 --> 0:12:53.920 a it's like a false humility thing. But but then 0:12:53.920 --> 0:12:56.040 there are times when we're embarrassed and all we can 0:12:56.080 --> 0:12:59.000 do is the reality is church online, a lot of 0:12:59.000 --> 0:13:01.040 you really did you really did just wake up like that? 0:13:02.240 --> 0:13:07.040 You really did. And what if next Sunday, what if 0:13:07.080 --> 0:13:09.400 you got showered and got dressed and got ready for 0:13:09.480 --> 0:13:11.840 God's word even though you were doing church online. What 0:13:11.920 --> 0:13:14.240 if you still were with your notes out and your 0:13:14.240 --> 0:13:16.920 Bible out, and you had already eaten, already worked out, 0:13:16.960 --> 0:13:19.240 you came ready to receive a word from God. There's 0:13:19.280 --> 0:13:23.600 a thought. I woke up like this. I got to 0:13:23.640 --> 0:13:25.680 go to Israel one time. When I ever tell the 0:13:25.720 --> 0:13:27.360 stories of Israel, I always say the first time I 0:13:27.360 --> 0:13:29.360 went to Israel, and Jenny's always like, how many times 0:13:29.400 --> 0:13:31.280 have you been like this once? But it sounds cooler 0:13:31.280 --> 0:13:32.960 when you say the first time I went to Israel, 0:13:33.360 --> 0:13:36.200 as though there were like twenty three repeat visits. Right, Well, 0:13:36.280 --> 0:13:38.240 the first time I went to Israel, I was so 0:13:38.320 --> 0:13:42.400 excited to the next morning go see where Japa took place, 0:13:42.440 --> 0:13:45.560 where Pete, where Peter got this vision, Where where Jonah 0:13:45.679 --> 0:13:48.079 ran away from God. I was gonna go to Jappa tomorrow. 0:13:48.640 --> 0:13:50.480 Was one of the great boat stories in the Bible, right, 0:13:50.840 --> 0:13:53.240 And we were staying at this hotel in Tel Aviv. 0:13:53.280 --> 0:13:55.280 And a little bit about me. When I was a kid, 0:13:55.320 --> 0:13:58.120 I used to sleep walk like crazy. Where am I sleepwalking? Friends? 0:13:58.160 --> 0:14:00.600 That just crazy things done in the night. I thank 0:14:00.640 --> 0:14:03.720 god it is chilled out for me. Unfortunately, now I 0:14:03.840 --> 0:14:06.680 just like wake up at three panicked. So I don't 0:14:06.679 --> 0:14:09.640 know if it's better or worse than than sleepwalking. But 0:14:09.640 --> 0:14:11.760 but when I was a kid, my mom like would 0:14:11.800 --> 0:14:13.680 find me like all around the house, like she just 0:14:13.760 --> 0:14:16.079 like redirect me back to bed. I feel so bad 0:14:16.120 --> 0:14:18.040 for her one time she tells this story. She always 0:14:18.040 --> 0:14:20.120 tells the story, like she found me standing over the 0:14:20.440 --> 0:14:22.440 kiddy litter is leave by what are you doing? Say, 0:14:22.440 --> 0:14:23.800 I'm going to the bathroom. She's like, not in here, 0:14:23.840 --> 0:14:26.560 You're not. She had to guide me back. One time 0:14:26.600 --> 0:14:30.600 in high school, I got up, got dressed, got showered 0:14:30.720 --> 0:14:33.720 in that order, fully dressed. I woke up, Yeah, and 0:14:33.800 --> 0:14:35.680 I didn't know why I was taking the shower right 0:14:35.760 --> 0:14:39.880 so and and and sleepwalking. I drove out of a 0:14:40.000 --> 0:14:42.440 jungle hut once on a mission trip in Belize, out 0:14:42.440 --> 0:14:45.120 of a jungle hut window into landed in the bushes 0:14:45.240 --> 0:14:47.200 in my sleep because I thought a big boulder like 0:14:47.200 --> 0:14:51.080 Indiana Jones was rolling into the hut. Pray for me, y'all. 0:14:51.880 --> 0:14:54.680 It has been a journey, but this particular trip, what 0:14:54.800 --> 0:14:58.480 happened was I left the hotel room and I woke 0:14:58.600 --> 0:15:01.600 up after sleepwalking, and I was at the coke machine 0:15:01.640 --> 0:15:04.560 ice machine area, and I was so confused, didn't know 0:15:04.560 --> 0:15:06.240 where I was, didn't know I was jet lag, didn't 0:15:06.240 --> 0:15:07.600 know why I was in Israel, didn't know why I 0:15:07.680 --> 0:15:09.800 was looking for a coke here, didn't have any shekels 0:15:09.840 --> 0:15:12.320 on me to purchase a coke. And uh, and I 0:15:12.360 --> 0:15:16.480 was in my underwear and and uh. I was an 0:15:16.520 --> 0:15:18.640 intern at this church, and I had come with a try. 0:15:18.680 --> 0:15:20.760 My job was to carry a tripod up and down 0:15:20.760 --> 0:15:22.640 every mountain, every hill, because the pastor was going to 0:15:22.680 --> 0:15:25.200 preach this series of messages on video from the Holy Land. 0:15:25.280 --> 0:15:26.800 My job was just to carry a tripod around. I 0:15:26.800 --> 0:15:28.000 was happy just to be an Israel. You know what 0:15:28.000 --> 0:15:30.400 I'm saying, Like, I'm give me a tripod. Put me 0:15:30.440 --> 0:15:33.200 where you got a tripod you need me to carry. 0:15:33.160 --> 0:15:34.840 There's a couple over there, I'll carry one around. Like 0:15:34.920 --> 0:15:36.520 whatever I can do to help get God's word out. 0:15:36.520 --> 0:15:38.800 It's always been my spirit in perspective, and so now 0:15:38.880 --> 0:15:40.640 God has me in front of the camera. I'm I'm 0:15:40.680 --> 0:15:42.120 just as happy as I was when I was behind 0:15:42.160 --> 0:15:43.960 the camera carrying the tripod up Masada. You know what 0:15:44.000 --> 0:15:46.480 I'm saying, Like it doesn't really matter, Like however, I 0:15:46.480 --> 0:15:47.840 can be a part of the equation. So I was 0:15:47.880 --> 0:15:50.720 just happy to be there, right and and so as 0:15:50.880 --> 0:15:53.920 as this now was like setting in, like I'm locked out, 0:15:54.440 --> 0:15:55.960 I have no way to get back in my room, 0:15:56.080 --> 0:15:58.960 I have no play here, There's nothing I can do. 0:15:59.400 --> 0:16:00.880 I realized I'm have to go down on the front 0:16:00.920 --> 0:16:04.480 desk and get a new key card. And so I 0:16:04.560 --> 0:16:06.040 just decided if I'm gonna do it, I'm gonna do 0:16:06.040 --> 0:16:09.960 it with confidence. And it was a nice hotel man. 0:16:10.000 --> 0:16:11.480 And so I get in the elevator. I'm just like 0:16:11.520 --> 0:16:13.600 trying to like like like think I can. I think 0:16:13.640 --> 0:16:15.760 I can. The door's open. There's like the may or 0:16:15.800 --> 0:16:18.680 d at the you know, the concierge desk. It's it's 0:16:18.720 --> 0:16:20.400 two in the morning, and they're just all like what 0:16:20.640 --> 0:16:22.520 is going on here? And I just come strolling out 0:16:22.600 --> 0:16:25.600 my draft boxers, you know, and too much information, I'm sure, 0:16:25.840 --> 0:16:27.640 And and I just walk up and I say, I 0:16:27.640 --> 0:16:29.480 seem to have been locked out of room twelve oh two. 0:16:29.560 --> 0:16:33.600 Gonna need a new key card please. They looked at 0:16:33.600 --> 0:16:35.680 each other, you know, and of course the next question 0:16:35.720 --> 0:16:37.440 is do you have any id can you prove this 0:16:37.480 --> 0:16:39.480 is your room? I think they just decided it was 0:16:39.520 --> 0:16:41.200 not worth the fight. So the man just made a 0:16:41.280 --> 0:16:44.600 key to twelve oh two and hand up. Now, someone 0:16:44.680 --> 0:16:46.280 say in the chat one more time. I woke up 0:16:46.320 --> 0:16:49.120 like this, all right. So here's where we are gonna 0:16:49.120 --> 0:16:52.840 find ourselves. In Genesis chapter twenty eight, here's verse ten. 0:16:53.280 --> 0:16:56.640 It's a story of someone similarly embarrassed. I was embarrassed 0:16:56.640 --> 0:16:58.200 on that night in the in the in the in 0:16:58.240 --> 0:17:01.800 the city of Tel Aviv. This man was embarrassed. This 0:17:01.920 --> 0:17:04.359 man had come to the end of himself. This man, 0:17:05.480 --> 0:17:10.119 he had no plan. Verse ten. Now Jacob went out 0:17:10.160 --> 0:17:14.600 from Beersheba and went toward Heran. So he came to 0:17:14.680 --> 0:17:19.320 a certain place and stayed there all night because the 0:17:19.400 --> 0:17:22.479 sun had set. And he took one of the stones 0:17:22.520 --> 0:17:24.119 of that place, and he put it at his head, 0:17:24.600 --> 0:17:27.680 and he lay down in that place to sleep. Then 0:17:27.680 --> 0:17:31.159 he dreamed, and behold, a ladder was set up on 0:17:31.200 --> 0:17:35.000 the earth, and its top reached to heaven. And there 0:17:35.040 --> 0:17:39.000 the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. 0:17:39.640 --> 0:17:42.479 And behold the Lord stood above it and said, I 0:17:42.520 --> 0:17:45.240 am the Lord God of Abraham, your father, and the 0:17:45.240 --> 0:17:48.439 God of Isaac. The land on which you lie I 0:17:48.520 --> 0:17:52.840 will give to you and your descendants. Also, your descendants 0:17:52.880 --> 0:17:55.520 shall be as the dust of the earth. You shall 0:17:55.520 --> 0:17:59.800 spread abroad to the west, and the east, to the north, 0:18:00.040 --> 0:18:03.840 in the south, and in you and in your seed, 0:18:04.920 --> 0:18:09.040 all the families of the earth shall be blessed. Behold, 0:18:09.080 --> 0:18:12.639 I am with you, and I will keep you wherever 0:18:12.680 --> 0:18:15.639 you go, and will bring you back to this land. 0:18:15.720 --> 0:18:17.520 For I will not leave you. How many of y'all 0:18:17.520 --> 0:18:20.399 are getting encouraged just hearing this read over you, I 0:18:20.480 --> 0:18:23.320 will not leave you now until I have done what 0:18:23.400 --> 0:18:26.399 I have spoken to you. Then Jacob awoke from his 0:18:26.480 --> 0:18:30.399 sleep and said, surely the Lord is in this place, 0:18:30.880 --> 0:18:33.400 and I did not know it. He was afraid. He said, 0:18:33.440 --> 0:18:36.520 how awesome is this place. This is none other than 0:18:36.560 --> 0:18:41.119 the House of God, and this is the gate of Heaven. 0:18:42.119 --> 0:18:45.320 Then Jacob rose early in the morning and took the 0:18:45.359 --> 0:18:48.200 stone that had been at his head, and he set 0:18:48.200 --> 0:18:50.920 it up as a pillar, and he poured oil out 0:18:51.040 --> 0:18:53.119 on top of it. And he called the name of 0:18:53.160 --> 0:18:56.240 the place Bethel. The name of that city had previously 0:18:56.280 --> 0:18:59.680 been Luz. And Jacob made a vow saying, if God 0:18:59.720 --> 0:19:02.000 will be with me and keep me in this way 0:19:02.040 --> 0:19:04.320 that I am going, and give me bread to eat 0:19:04.600 --> 0:19:07.320 and clothing to put on, so that I may come 0:19:07.359 --> 0:19:10.399 back to my father's house in peace, then the Lord 0:19:10.440 --> 0:19:13.760 shall be my God, and this stone, which I have 0:19:13.800 --> 0:19:17.359 set up as a pillar, shall be God's house. And 0:19:17.560 --> 0:19:21.240 all that you give me, I will surely give a 0:19:21.400 --> 0:19:32.720 tenth to you. I woke up like this. Jacob, as 0:19:32.760 --> 0:19:37.639 we come into Genesis twenty eight, has ruined his life. 0:19:37.680 --> 0:19:40.840 He has made some bad decisions that have led to 0:19:40.960 --> 0:19:47.080 him feeling like he is at rock bottom. He has nothing. 0:19:47.720 --> 0:19:52.720 He's in the middle of nowhere, still almost four hundred 0:19:52.720 --> 0:19:56.160 miles to go to get to his uncle Laban, who 0:19:56.200 --> 0:20:00.119 he hopes will take him in. He's burned every bridge, 0:20:00.600 --> 0:20:03.919 he's used up every favor. He will never see his 0:20:04.080 --> 0:20:08.960 mom again alive. His brother, who he should be closest 0:20:08.960 --> 0:20:12.000 to in the whole world, wants nothing to do with him. 0:20:12.560 --> 0:20:16.840 You see Jacob jump to the wrong conclusion. Unlike John 0:20:16.840 --> 0:20:21.120 the Baptist right, who knew that Jesus even in the womb, 0:20:21.160 --> 0:20:22.920 he knew that Jesus was to feed us, to lead 0:20:23.000 --> 0:20:27.200 us right. I mean even even back there, John the 0:20:27.240 --> 0:20:30.280 Baptist knew John the Baptist jumped to the right conclusion. 0:20:30.440 --> 0:20:33.359 Jacob now had jumped to the conclusion, My life's over. 0:20:35.040 --> 0:20:40.119 I've got nothing, I am nothing even even surely God 0:20:40.200 --> 0:20:43.399 must want nothing to do with me. I was handed 0:20:43.440 --> 0:20:46.359 such a great opportunity as the descendant of Abraham, and 0:20:46.400 --> 0:20:50.199 I squandered it. You see, he was a foot He 0:20:50.240 --> 0:20:55.560 was a foot catcher, a heel catcher, manipulating outcomes, manipulating, 0:20:55.600 --> 0:20:59.080 manipulating circumstances, always taking advantage of everyone, only thinking about 0:20:59.119 --> 0:21:02.080 himself when you lived there that way, Eventually no one 0:21:02.160 --> 0:21:03.800 in your life is going to want anything to do 0:21:03.880 --> 0:21:07.879 with you when you're always focused on yourself. That was Jacob. 0:21:07.960 --> 0:21:11.760 He'll catch her, Jacob Now. His mom just said, the 0:21:11.760 --> 0:21:13.439 best I can do is just give you, give you 0:21:13.440 --> 0:21:15.280 hear some some provisions I put in a backpack. You 0:21:15.320 --> 0:21:16.960 better get out of here. Your brother. Your brother's gonna 0:21:17.000 --> 0:21:21.119 kill you because you had you played dress up to 0:21:21.200 --> 0:21:25.959 get your father's blessings. You pretended to be someone that 0:21:26.000 --> 0:21:28.600 you weren't so you could walk in what was never 0:21:29.520 --> 0:21:31.280 was always what God was going to give to you 0:21:31.320 --> 0:21:35.280 in the first place. And so here he is he's 0:21:35.280 --> 0:21:37.000 in a place that says he was in a certain place. 0:21:37.000 --> 0:21:39.600 It wasn't even a place with a name. It had 0:21:39.640 --> 0:21:48.000 no name, because it was nowhere and there the foot 0:21:48.040 --> 0:21:59.400 catcher met the foot washer, and everything changed. His name 0:21:59.440 --> 0:22:04.879 would change, his possessed and possessions would change. He was 0:22:04.920 --> 0:22:08.399 by himself, his family would change. By the time we 0:22:08.520 --> 0:22:11.399 get to the end of Jacob's story, this is can 0:22:11.480 --> 0:22:13.119 just imagine him. He's the man on the run. He 0:22:13.160 --> 0:22:15.040