WEBVTT - Love Hard Even When It Is Hard (Lisa Harper) 0:00:02.000 --> 0:00:04.560 Hey, this is Stephen Ferdick. I'm the pastor of Elevation 0:00:04.800 --> 0:00:06.800 Church and this is our podcast and I wanted to 0:00:06.840 --> 0:00:09.720 thank you for joining us today. Hope this inspires you. 0:00:10.160 --> 0:00:12.320 Hope it builds your faith. Hope it gives your perspective 0:00:12.360 --> 0:00:17.759 to see Gods moving in your life. Enjoy the message. Well, 0:00:17.880 --> 0:00:20.360 if you don't know me, I'm Holly Ferdick, and I'm 0:00:20.400 --> 0:00:24.000 so glad to be worshiping with you here this morning. Welcome, 0:00:24.079 --> 0:00:29.120 Welcome at all of our locations. Lisa Harper is here. 0:00:34.200 --> 0:00:35.880 How many of you would agree that we've had some 0:00:35.960 --> 0:00:39.560 really great preachers this weekend bringing the Word of God 0:00:39.960 --> 0:00:43.320 speaking to us. I'm so thankful that we come to 0:00:43.360 --> 0:00:45.199 our church where every week we know that we can 0:00:45.280 --> 0:00:47.000 show up if we could just get here, God's going 0:00:47.080 --> 0:00:51.360 to speak and today is no exception. Lisa Harper is 0:00:51.440 --> 0:00:55.200 back to the Elevation stage for a second time, first 0:00:55.240 --> 0:00:59.040 time as a guest. Second time is family. So we're 0:00:59.080 --> 0:01:01.600 excited to have our family back with us here this weekend. 0:01:01.680 --> 0:01:04.560 Her daughter is here, Missy. They have come all the 0:01:04.560 --> 0:01:10.960 way from the country of Tennessee and Lisa is She's 0:01:11.000 --> 0:01:12.760 going to bring an incredible message. I already heard it 0:01:12.800 --> 0:01:15.560 one time last night, and I'm excited for you to 0:01:15.600 --> 0:01:20.920 hear it. She is an incredibly gifted Bible teacher, preacher, author, 0:01:21.480 --> 0:01:23.959 and she's also one of the funniest people I know, 0:01:24.080 --> 0:01:26.759 So you're in for a real treat. She travels the world, 0:01:27.160 --> 0:01:29.800 and I'm so excited to have her here with us 0:01:29.959 --> 0:01:32.160 today on the elevation stage. Will you help me welcome 0:01:32.200 --> 0:01:47.240 Lisa Harper. Thank you, Alick. I really, oh, please to them, please, 0:01:47.240 --> 0:01:51.600 to them, thank you. I cannot overstay. What an honor 0:01:51.760 --> 0:01:55.240 it is to be here. This is my second time, 0:01:55.320 --> 0:01:58.760 and Holly graciously invited me to be with some of 0:01:58.760 --> 0:02:02.760 the women in the two years ago. And every time 0:02:02.960 --> 0:02:07.120 I get to be at Elevation, I just weep during worship. 0:02:07.720 --> 0:02:11.840 And it's not just that I'm in Apausal and my 0:02:12.639 --> 0:02:15.520 emotions are kicked up. It's that the presence of God 0:02:15.600 --> 0:02:19.120 is so pangule in this place, and I'm just undone 0:02:19.280 --> 0:02:23.519 to get to be here, very undeserving of the platform, 0:02:23.560 --> 0:02:26.760 but so grateful to get to be here, and then 0:02:26.800 --> 0:02:30.960 to get to be here on Baptism Sunday that just 0:02:31.000 --> 0:02:34.320 slaved me, just slayed me. I love that you do 0:02:34.360 --> 0:02:37.359 it in the house. I love that it's a family 0:02:37.560 --> 0:02:41.639 meeting instead of formal and removed. I got to baptize 0:02:41.680 --> 0:02:44.840 my little girl in the Jordan River. Two months ago. 0:02:44.960 --> 0:02:47.560 We were going to Israel and Missy told me she 0:02:47.600 --> 0:02:50.919 wants to be baptized. She's nine, and I said, baby, 0:02:50.919 --> 0:02:54.200 that'd be great. And what I hadn't taken into consideration 0:02:54.560 --> 0:02:57.800 is we came to Israel from Australia, and so we 0:02:57.840 --> 0:02:59.960 got there a day and a half after the group 0:03:00.120 --> 0:03:03.400 we were with, and we missed the normal baptismal site, 0:03:03.760 --> 0:03:05.720 which some of you have been to Israel. It's on 0:03:05.760 --> 0:03:08.000 the northern shore of the Sea of Galley and it's 0:03:08.080 --> 0:03:11.200 beautiful and you've got the white robes and the water's clear, 0:03:11.320 --> 0:03:14.080 and it's real picturesque. It's a really great and so 0:03:14.200 --> 0:03:18.400 worthy moment. And we missed that baptism site. When we 0:03:18.520 --> 0:03:21.160 got there, it was the southern part of the Jordan, 0:03:21.639 --> 0:03:24.160 and that's where there's a lot of agricultural runoff and 0:03:24.280 --> 0:03:29.160 just a teensy bit of sewage and the water's really brown. 0:03:29.600 --> 0:03:34.280 That historically is where John baptized Jesus. That's historically where 0:03:34.280 --> 0:03:37.800 the Israelites went into Canaan, and that's historically where Elijah 0:03:37.840 --> 0:03:39.960 went up to be with Jesus. So it's a really 0:03:40.000 --> 0:03:43.160 cool biblical site, but it's really trashy as far as 0:03:43.200 --> 0:03:45.960 the water. But I was like, we're in Israel, and 0:03:46.000 --> 0:03:48.480 she said the Jordan, and this is the Jordan, and 0:03:48.560 --> 0:03:51.560 miss he was like, no, ma'am, And I was like, oh, yes, ma'am. 0:03:52.000 --> 0:03:55.560 And so I kind of had to shover a little 0:03:55.600 --> 0:04:00.560 bit and I'll show the next group make sure because 0:04:00.560 --> 0:04:03.040 it's just comical. I think there will be therapy in 0:04:03.120 --> 0:04:06.000 light of this baptism. But I told her, maybe this 0:04:06.200 --> 0:04:08.840 is like one of the most amazing points in your life, 0:04:08.880 --> 0:04:12.960 because it's when you recognize that you go down as 0:04:12.960 --> 0:04:15.520 an old person, you come up alive to a whole 0:04:15.600 --> 0:04:19.120 new troop. I said outwardly, it's just a sign of 0:04:19.240 --> 0:04:22.800 this inward miracle. It's incredible. So to get to be 0:04:22.920 --> 0:04:24.799 here and see that if I had half a brain, 0:04:24.880 --> 0:04:26.720 I just pray and we'd be done and we don't 0:04:26.760 --> 0:04:30.159 go to Denny's. But I've never been accused of having 0:04:30.200 --> 0:04:32.560 half a brain. And so we are going to dive 0:04:32.760 --> 0:04:35.680 into a story in the Book of Acts this morning 0:04:36.240 --> 0:04:39.960 because I've watched a lot of the pastors you've had 0:04:40.000 --> 0:04:43.240 come in this summer. It was just undone by Pastor 0:04:43.279 --> 0:04:46.680 Stevens message on when the battle chooses you, And then 0:04:46.720 --> 0:04:51.000 I watch Roberts and I watched Pastor Daniels, and I 0:04:51.040 --> 0:04:55.880 feel like there's this theme God has been weaving through Elevation, Epham, 0:04:56.000 --> 0:05:00.760 all the other locations of spiritual maturity in the summer 0:05:01.000 --> 0:05:04.360 of be all in for the sake of the Gospel. 0:05:04.480 --> 0:05:07.400 So I want to stay in that theme. But in 0:05:07.520 --> 0:05:09.359 order for me to stay there, I need y'all to 0:05:09.360 --> 0:05:12.440 help me. So reach out and touch somebody. Gentlemen, if 0:05:12.480 --> 0:05:14.800 you feel weird holding hands with a guy you don't know, 0:05:14.880 --> 0:05:20.120 you can just awkwardly piky grip. But we're just gonna 0:05:20.160 --> 0:05:21.920 and y'all don't have to be that pentecostal. Y'all have 0:05:21.960 --> 0:05:23.840 to reach across the aisles. That's too hard this early 0:05:23.839 --> 0:05:27.559 in the morning. But let's pray to that end. Let's 0:05:27.640 --> 0:05:29.880 pray that God will have his way in this place, 0:05:29.920 --> 0:05:32.320 that He will actually illuminate our hearts and minds that 0:05:32.440 --> 0:05:35.640 will become more fully alive to the Gospel, to the 0:05:35.640 --> 0:05:42.480 call He has in our lives. Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, 0:05:43.200 --> 0:05:47.760 Jesus King Jesus. This Jesus the Lamb who was slain, 0:05:48.240 --> 0:05:50.760 the author and the prefector of our faith, A Lilia, 0:05:50.839 --> 0:05:56.200 the valley, the Alpha and the Omega, wonderful counselor Almighty God. 0:05:56.480 --> 0:06:01.440 This Jesus the Christ, our Messiah, Jesus. Thank you that 0:06:01.520 --> 0:06:04.320 when you ascend it into heaven to sit at the 0:06:04.400 --> 0:06:07.960 right hand of God Almighty, you didn't leave us as orphans. 0:06:09.200 --> 0:06:11.880 Thank you that you left us your spirit and this 0:06:12.040 --> 0:06:15.159 love letter called the Bible. Would we pray that you 0:06:15.200 --> 0:06:17.800 would just have your way through your spirit in this 0:06:17.960 --> 0:06:20.839 place and all the locations, and all the family rooms 0:06:20.920 --> 0:06:25.120 and the coffee shops and the places where Ephams are 0:06:25.160 --> 0:06:29.240 meeting all over the globe. Lord Jesus, have your way 0:06:29.360 --> 0:06:32.000 in your spirit, that we would see you more clearly, 0:06:32.560 --> 0:06:35.159 that we would be undone by the Gospel, That just 0:06:35.279 --> 0:06:37.480 like these friends of ours that got baptized, that there 0:06:37.480 --> 0:06:41.159 would be a washing this morning some of the things 0:06:41.160 --> 0:06:43.720 that have been buried or numb in our hearts, that 0:06:43.839 --> 0:06:47.800 we would feel brand new and just be alive to 0:06:47.880 --> 0:06:50.920 the Gospel. So, Jesus, we can't accomplish this on our own. 0:06:50.960 --> 0:06:53.919 We recognize we're desperate for your spirit. We pray for 0:06:53.960 --> 0:06:56.720 your spirit. We pray you would accomplish this by your 0:06:56.800 --> 0:07:00.599 power and authority and for your purposes. Lord Jesus, we 0:07:00.640 --> 0:07:03.799 asked this, and all of God's sons and daughters said Amen. 0:07:04.640 --> 0:07:06.880 Before we dive into the text, I want to tell 0:07:06.880 --> 0:07:10.920 you a story that happened recently to illuminate where we're headed. 0:07:10.920 --> 0:07:13.240 And it has to do with motorcycles. So I should 0:07:13.280 --> 0:07:16.040 probably qualify this because I know a lot of church 0:07:16.080 --> 0:07:20.600 people don't like motorcycles. But I grew up half Baptist. 0:07:20.720 --> 0:07:24.600 Mom was Baptist, dad was Pentecostal, and so the prodigal 0:07:24.720 --> 0:07:28.360 in me has always wanted a reason to wear black 0:07:28.440 --> 0:07:33.760 leather pants. And I grew up riding motorcycles, dirt bikes. 0:07:33.800 --> 0:07:36.400 My dad had a ranch, and then when I turned forty, 0:07:36.800 --> 0:07:40.560 I made this little patch. I am still single, never 0:07:40.600 --> 0:07:43.280 been married. My husband won't stop to ask for directions. 0:07:43.320 --> 0:07:47.120 But at forty I had a plan, and I decided 0:07:47.240 --> 0:07:50.400 if I didn't get a husband that year, because it's 0:07:50.400 --> 0:07:52.880 a pivotal year, you know, forty, and you start to 0:07:52.920 --> 0:07:55.920 lose your metabolism, so I needed something positive. I decided 0:07:55.920 --> 0:07:57.920 if I didn't get a husband. I was going to 0:07:57.960 --> 0:08:00.840 get a Harley Davidson, and so that was my first 0:08:01.280 --> 0:08:05.280 big bike and I've been riding ever since and wearing 0:08:05.400 --> 0:08:08.240 leather pants, even though it often sounds like ducks are 0:08:08.240 --> 0:08:12.240 being killed when I wear leather pants. But when I 0:08:12.360 --> 0:08:15.360 brought Missy, my daughter home from Haiti through the miracle 0:08:15.440 --> 0:08:17.640 of adoption, I thought, you know what, I don't feel 0:08:17.640 --> 0:08:19.920 good about putting Missy on the back of two wheels 0:08:20.680 --> 0:08:23.920 just because of other drivers and distractions. I just there's 0:08:24.000 --> 0:08:27.400 inherent risk in motorcycles. So I thought, I don't feel comfortable. 0:08:27.440 --> 0:08:29.520 I'm not going to ride anymore with her on a bike. 0:08:29.640 --> 0:08:32.280 But it really bummed her out because motorcycles are the 0:08:32.280 --> 0:08:35.200 main form of transportation in Haiti, and so she would 0:08:35.200 --> 0:08:37.000 see the bike every time we walk through the garage 0:08:37.000 --> 0:08:40.200 and she'd go, Moto Moto, Mama moto. And I thought, 0:08:40.240 --> 0:08:42.480 you know, I don't feel comfortable putting on her on 0:08:42.559 --> 0:08:44.480 a hog but maybe I could get a bike that 0:08:44.640 --> 0:08:48.880 is a little safer, and so I found online through Craigslist. 0:08:48.960 --> 0:08:50.720 Always scares me that I'm going to meet a murderer, 0:08:50.720 --> 0:08:53.960 but I actually met a really nice guy in Chicago 0:08:54.000 --> 0:08:57.160 who was selling a Honda gold Wing with a Dauntless 0:08:57.240 --> 0:09:00.400 side car, and so for you motorcycle people actually have 0:09:00.480 --> 0:09:04.120 a PreO. Yeah, so I bought that because you know, 0:09:04.160 --> 0:09:06.640 it's three wheels, you can see us come in. It's 0:09:06.720 --> 0:09:11.000 obviously safer than two wheels. And we had a blast 0:09:11.280 --> 0:09:14.520 on this bike. I did the whole weird thing. I 0:09:14.559 --> 0:09:17.360 don't do all the you know, matching mommy and me 0:09:17.520 --> 0:09:19.880 outfits because I'm just too old and that's too sad 0:09:19.920 --> 0:09:23.840 for Missy. But we did do matching leathers, and I mean, 0:09:23.880 --> 0:09:26.120 we just we had so much fun with it until 0:09:26.120 --> 0:09:28.840 one day we were riding the bike. I live in 0:09:28.880 --> 0:09:32.199 the Boonies, about twenty miles south of Nashville, Tennessee, and 0:09:32.360 --> 0:09:36.400 this blue Ford truck flying a rebel flag in the 0:09:36.440 --> 0:09:40.079 back drove up beside us and threw coke cans at 0:09:40.120 --> 0:09:44.440 us and yelled expletives. Because where I live in Nashville, Tennessee, 0:09:44.640 --> 0:09:48.040 some people do not think straight headed mamas should have 0:09:48.080 --> 0:09:51.360 curly headed kids. And I prepared for that when I 0:09:51.400 --> 0:09:54.200 was bringing Missy home from Haiti as well as I 0:09:54.240 --> 0:09:57.640 could spent a lot of shoe money on therapists. His 0:09:57.840 --> 0:10:02.200 specialized in transracial adoption. I got the Chris Rock Hair 0:10:02.360 --> 0:10:06.079 Special and actually didn't just rent it. I have the DVD. 0:10:06.320 --> 0:10:10.240 I mean, I did everything I knew to prepare for this. 0:10:10.280 --> 0:10:12.080 There's a good Win, isn't it Autumn? That's like one 0:10:12.120 --> 0:10:16.240 of the best movies ever. I mean, don't rent it 0:10:16.280 --> 0:10:19.840 and send Hollymen emails because there's a few little exciting 0:10:19.880 --> 0:10:22.040 words that aren't in the Bible and that DVD. But anyway, 0:10:22.160 --> 0:10:25.160 it's great about kind of this whole microcosm of hair. 0:10:25.240 --> 0:10:27.920 So I did everything I could to prepare, but I 0:10:28.120 --> 0:10:31.959 was not prepared for some of the vitriol that has 0:10:32.000 --> 0:10:35.880 come our way, and so I was really stunned when 0:10:35.920 --> 0:10:38.840 these guys threw coke cans and yelled explotives. It went 0:10:38.920 --> 0:10:42.080 right over Missy's head. She didn't even realize it was 0:10:42.120 --> 0:10:43.920 directed at the fact that I have straight hair and 0:10:43.920 --> 0:10:47.040 she has curly hair. But then a couple of weeks later, 0:10:47.120 --> 0:10:49.200 we were back on the bike in the same area 0:10:49.200 --> 0:10:53.199 on this country road, Carter's Creek Pike south of Nashville, 0:10:53.520 --> 0:10:56.640 and I saw my rearview mirror the same truck, and 0:10:56.720 --> 0:10:59.559 so I kind of tensed up because I thought, uh, oh, 0:10:59.600 --> 0:11:02.160 we're out here on this country road. It's just Missy 0:11:02.280 --> 0:11:06.120 and me in this motorcycle. We're totally exposed. And sure enough, 0:11:06.280 --> 0:11:09.160 these guys in the blue truck up the ante and 0:11:09.200 --> 0:11:12.040 they pulled up right next to us. I had slowed 0:11:12.040 --> 0:11:18.360 down considerably, and they began yelling really unkind things, including 0:11:18.400 --> 0:11:23.240 the inward and then the driver edged the truck into 0:11:23.559 --> 0:11:27.079 my lane and forced me off the road. And it 0:11:27.120 --> 0:11:29.240 was scary. We were fine, we weren't hurt, but it 0:11:29.400 --> 0:11:32.160 was really alarming. And I thought, you know what, I've 0:11:32.200 --> 0:11:34.480 got to explain this to Missy now, because it didn't 0:11:34.520 --> 0:11:37.920 go over her head this time. So I went straight 0:11:38.000 --> 0:11:41.319 home and sat her down and I said, hey, baby, 0:11:41.320 --> 0:11:44.520 I want to explain to you what just happened when 0:11:44.559 --> 0:11:47.280 those guys yelled such ugly things to us and forced 0:11:47.360 --> 0:11:50.520 us off the road. And she was like, Mama, why 0:11:50.559 --> 0:11:53.679 did they do that? And I said, well, maybe some 0:11:53.760 --> 0:11:59.160 people have really little lives, and they choose to surround 0:11:59.200 --> 0:12:01.920 themselves with people who are just like them and look 0:12:02.040 --> 0:12:04.240 like them, and talk like them and think like them. 0:12:04.720 --> 0:12:08.040 And I said, sometimes their lives are so small that 0:12:08.080 --> 0:12:12.040 their hearts get small because their hearts don't have room 0:12:12.080 --> 0:12:15.600 to grow. And I said sometimes people with really little 0:12:15.640 --> 0:12:19.600 hearts are really dangerous. And I said, so, baby, I 0:12:19.640 --> 0:12:22.160 want to talk to you about what we do when 0:12:22.240 --> 0:12:25.800 we're around people who have really little hearts, like those 0:12:25.840 --> 0:12:28.560 guys in the truck. I said, you know what we 0:12:28.640 --> 0:12:30.959 need to do. And where I was going to go 0:12:31.080 --> 0:12:33.040 is I was going to talk about being alert. I 0:12:33.080 --> 0:12:35.360 was going to talk about just always kind of having 0:12:35.360 --> 0:12:37.680 your antenna up when you're in a place where you 0:12:37.679 --> 0:12:39.680 don't see a whole lot of faces that may look 0:12:39.720 --> 0:12:41.679 like your face, how you just have to be aware, 0:12:42.240 --> 0:12:45.559 not to be bitter or resentful, but just to be aware. 0:12:46.000 --> 0:12:47.520 And so I said, do you know what we need 0:12:47.559 --> 0:12:51.000 to do, baby, and she goes, oh, yes, ma'am. We 0:12:51.080 --> 0:12:54.360 need to help them have bigger hearts. And I was 0:12:54.440 --> 0:13:01.320 just because that wasn't where I was going. But once again, 0:13:01.440 --> 0:13:04.160 it's like the Holy Spirit used my kid to go, 0:13:04.480 --> 0:13:07.719 let me teach you something here, Lisa, and what he's 0:13:07.760 --> 0:13:11.360 been teaching me through the last few years through the 0:13:11.440 --> 0:13:15.200 conduit of my child are two truths that I think 0:13:15.360 --> 0:13:19.319 are where God has elevation. Because y'all are growing up, 0:13:19.920 --> 0:13:23.080 you know, Valentine is three years. A lot of y'all 0:13:23.160 --> 0:13:26.040 have been together for fifteen years. You've got people who've 0:13:26.040 --> 0:13:28.920 been running hard towards Jesus for a long time, and 0:13:29.000 --> 0:13:31.120 I feel like y'all are about to go into fifth gear. 0:13:31.559 --> 0:13:35.680 You're maturing spiritually. And here's the two truths that God 0:13:35.760 --> 0:13:37.880 is teaching me through Missy that I feel like are 0:13:37.920 --> 0:13:40.640 pertinent to all of us, especially in light of where 0:13:40.720 --> 0:13:43.480 y'all have been this summer. The first one is that 0:13:43.960 --> 0:13:51.440 being light is not a prerequisite for being loving. Being light, 0:13:52.320 --> 0:13:57.840 being popular, being accepted, has nothing to do with sharing 0:13:57.880 --> 0:14:00.959 the love of Christ. The second thing I feel like 0:14:01.040 --> 0:14:05.480 I'm learning is as apostles of Christ, as Ambassador's new covenant, 0:14:05.760 --> 0:14:08.840 as men and women who have been undone by His mercy, 0:14:09.200 --> 0:14:13.520 it's incumbent upon us to love hard, even when it's 0:14:14.720 --> 0:14:18.840 to love hard, even when it's hard, that we don't 0:14:18.880 --> 0:14:23.680 demand reciprocity from culture. There's this misnomer I feel like 0:14:23.760 --> 0:14:27.560 in American evangelical circles nowadays, that we have to have 0:14:27.800 --> 0:14:31.720 power and acceptance in order to really express the Gospel. 0:14:31.760 --> 0:14:34.720 And I'm like, that's not biblically defensible. Know where in 0:14:34.840 --> 0:14:36.560 Bible do you in the Bible do you see that 0:14:36.680 --> 0:14:41.280 Christianity that our faith in Christ is dependent upon political 0:14:41.360 --> 0:14:45.520 power or being accepted. Actually, usually it's contrary to that. 0:14:45.760 --> 0:14:48.680 Usually the gospel, the people who share the gospel in 0:14:48.760 --> 0:14:53.120 scripture our ancestors. Usually they were oppressed, and it was 0:14:53.160 --> 0:14:57.120 that oppression, that opposite and opposition that actually stirred their 0:14:57.160 --> 0:15:01.119 spiritual fervor. They actually kind of rot to the occasion 0:15:01.480 --> 0:15:05.560 when culture oppressed them. That's part of spiritual maturity. It's 0:15:05.680 --> 0:15:10.480 loving hard when it's hard. Doesn't matter if your preferred 0:15:10.520 --> 0:15:14.760 political candidate is in office. It doesn't matter if people 0:15:14.960 --> 0:15:18.640 like your Twitter feed. It doesn't matter if people at 0:15:18.640 --> 0:15:21.440 your work think that you're really all that. None of 0:15:21.480 --> 0:15:25.480 that matters. What matters is while we were still sinners, 0:15:25.520 --> 0:15:29.720 he lavish mercy and affection on us. And we should 0:15:29.760 --> 0:15:34.680 be so undone by what sent us under the water 0:15:34.800 --> 0:15:37.840 that we can't help but share the Gospel with people 0:15:37.880 --> 0:15:40.600 around us. I was on a plane recently, and I've 0:15:40.600 --> 0:15:42.680 got where I hate flying and I do it all 0:15:42.720 --> 0:15:45.680 the time, and I was excited because it was a 0:15:45.720 --> 0:15:47.960 short flight, so I knew that I wouldn't have to 0:15:47.960 --> 0:15:51.120 suffer for long. And they had just announced the boarding 0:15:51.160 --> 0:15:53.520 door was closing, and the only empty seat on the 0:15:53.560 --> 0:15:55.880 whole plane was between me and the guy next to 0:15:55.880 --> 0:15:58.560 me reading the Wall Street Journal, and I was like, yes, 0:15:59.400 --> 0:16:02.280 because I can't see it, but I'm convinced there's a 0:16:02.320 --> 0:16:05.200 tattoo on my forehead that says, if you are a 0:16:05.320 --> 0:16:08.600 very very large man with very very poor hygiene, please 0:16:08.640 --> 0:16:12.680 sit next to me, and please take my arm rest 0:16:12.720 --> 0:16:15.600 as your own. Because that happens every time. And so 0:16:15.640 --> 0:16:18.080 it's like score, Finally I have a flight where I 0:16:18.080 --> 0:16:20.480 have a little room and I can stretch out. Right. 0:16:20.520 --> 0:16:22.800 As they were closing the door, this woman gets on 0:16:22.840 --> 0:16:25.240 the plane and so I look at her with kind 0:16:25.240 --> 0:16:27.560 of a Christian dirty look. So it's really, come on. 0:16:28.640 --> 0:16:30.000 I mean, I thought I was going to have the 0:16:30.080 --> 0:16:32.600 seat empty. I don't have the gift of mercy like Holly. 0:16:33.080 --> 0:16:35.920 But this woman comes on and she's just kind of smiling. 0:16:36.000 --> 0:16:38.200 You can tell she's a talker from fifty feet and 0:16:38.280 --> 0:16:41.040 I don't talk on planes. I mean, I don't want 0:16:41.040 --> 0:16:43.320 to share the four Spiritual Laws. I want to read 0:16:43.360 --> 0:16:46.600 a deep theological journal like People magazine or the Pottery 0:16:46.600 --> 0:16:50.040 Barn Catalog, and I just want to have my space. 0:16:50.120 --> 0:16:53.040 And so this woman gets into my space and she's 0:16:53.120 --> 0:16:55.520 real perky and I thought, honey, I'm a lot older 0:16:55.520 --> 0:16:58.200 than you, and I am not going to make eye 0:16:58.240 --> 0:17:01.320 contact because I've learned and if you make eye contact 0:17:01.360 --> 0:17:04.160 on planes and that's just please, let's have a conversation. 0:17:04.359 --> 0:17:06.520 So I'm nope, not doing it. I'm older than you, 0:17:07.400 --> 0:17:10.840 and so I kind of nodded, like an almost Christian 0:17:10.880 --> 0:17:13.080 wood and then I turned my attention back to Brad 0:17:13.080 --> 0:17:17.080 and Angelina. And then the flight attendant came through and 0:17:17.160 --> 0:17:20.600 started taking our drink orders, and both of us at 0:17:20.600 --> 0:17:24.280 the same time ordered ginger Ale. I'm like ginger Ale, 0:17:24.359 --> 0:17:26.359 but for whatever reason, I always ordered ginger Ale on 0:17:26.440 --> 0:17:28.959 planes because she's a Bible teacher. You can't get them Margerita, 0:17:29.000 --> 0:17:31.959 so I have to get Gendrell. Anyway, this girl and 0:17:32.000 --> 0:17:36.320 I both get ginger Ale. And when we said ginger Al, 0:17:36.880 --> 0:17:39.560 she went and I went, and I was like, oh God, 0:17:41.040 --> 0:17:44.960 got broke mine rule. We just bonded over ginger Ale. 0:17:45.440 --> 0:17:49.320 And the minute we made eye contact, she went, Hey, 0:17:49.359 --> 0:17:52.640 my name's Heather, and I was like, of course it is, 0:17:54.440 --> 0:17:57.240 and so we started to talk. Mostly she talked, and 0:17:57.320 --> 0:17:59.280 I just kind of nodded, and I thought, you know, 0:17:59.440 --> 0:18:02.640 my quiet alone with the Lord and people is ruined. 0:18:03.440 --> 0:18:05.840 And then they made the announced because it was a 0:18:05.840 --> 0:18:08.879 short flight, we were about to land in Atlanta. She 0:18:08.960 --> 0:18:11.399 got real serious when they said we were going to 0:18:11.440 --> 0:18:13.920 be landing in a few minutes. And she turned to 0:18:13.960 --> 0:18:16.439 me and she said, Lisa, may I ask you a 0:18:16.480 --> 0:18:19.959 personal question? And I said, well, sure, I don't mean 0:18:19.960 --> 0:18:22.040 you can absolutely ask me a personal questions. She went, 0:18:23.000 --> 0:18:27.800 do you know Jesus? And I said I do, I 0:18:27.840 --> 0:18:31.800 actually do know Jesus. And y'all, the look of disappointment 0:18:32.119 --> 0:18:37.439 that crossed her face was just so precious that I 0:18:37.520 --> 0:18:41.520 real quickly went but not very well, not very well. 0:18:41.800 --> 0:18:45.119 And so she's spent the whole rest of the flight 0:18:45.280 --> 0:18:48.400 witnessing to me and just encouraging me and the importance 0:18:48.440 --> 0:18:51.040 of getting a small group and prayer and you know, 0:18:51.119 --> 0:18:53.080 spending time in God's word. And I was just like, 0:18:53.240 --> 0:18:56.679 that sounds awesome. And so we land in Atlanta and 0:18:56.720 --> 0:18:59.280 she said, you know, before we separate, would you mind 0:18:59.400 --> 0:19:01.399 if I lay on you and pray? And I was like, no, 0:19:01.480 --> 0:19:04.000 that'd be awesome. And so we get off the plane 0:19:04.040 --> 0:19:06.199 and she stands in the gate area, lays hands on 0:19:06.240 --> 0:19:10.000 me and prays a prayer that I really needed, and 0:19:10.119 --> 0:19:12.560 she walked away, never knowing that I was actually going 0:19:12.600 --> 0:19:15.719 to teach at a conference and was a Bible teacher, 0:19:15.720 --> 0:19:17.520 and I thought, you know, she just couldn't help it. 0:19:18.160 --> 0:19:22.920 She couldn't not share the hope that lies within her. Y'all, 0:19:22.920 --> 0:19:28.720 if our lossness, if our lossness would inform our love, 0:19:28.800 --> 0:19:32.040 if we would remember what He's saved us from, we'd 0:19:32.080 --> 0:19:34.240 all be a little bit more like Heather, would be 0:19:34.560 --> 0:19:37.680 compelled to share the hope that lies within us, even 0:19:37.720 --> 0:19:40.600 when it's hard, even when it's awkward. And that's what 0:19:40.640 --> 0:19:43.560 we see in Acts. And y'all know this story, this 0:19:43.640 --> 0:19:48.359 story happens immediately after the crucifixion and the resurrection of Christ. 0:19:48.480 --> 0:19:52.000 Y'all know that after he was resurrected, he spent forty 0:19:52.160 --> 0:19:56.480 days in his redeemed restored shouldn't say redeemed, He didn't 0:19:56.480 --> 0:20:00.359 need to be redeemed, but his restored body, and here 0:20:00.359 --> 0:20:02.920 on earth before he ascended into heaven is the right 0:20:02.920 --> 0:20:05.280 hand of God, the Father. And in those forty days 0:20:05.320 --> 0:20:09.920 he had one hundred corroborated encounters with people, and the 0:20:10.040 --> 0:20:14.560 very last encounter he has before he goes to mediate 0:20:14.600 --> 0:20:17.080 for us in glory is right here in Acts, chapter 0:20:17.119 --> 0:20:20.719 one verse eight, It says, so when they had come together, 0:20:20.840 --> 0:20:24.639 these are this motley crew of Christians at this point 0:20:24.680 --> 0:20:28.320 their number people theologians differ, but it's somewhere around one 0:20:28.400 --> 0:20:31.560 hundred and ten, very very small group. At this point, 0:20:32.280 --> 0:20:36.000 when they had come together, they asked him, They asked, Jesus, Lord, 0:20:36.080 --> 0:20:38.800 will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel? 0:20:38.840 --> 0:20:40.159 And he said to him, and it is not for 0:20:40.200 --> 0:20:42.399 you to know the time or the seasons the Father 0:20:42.480 --> 0:20:46.320 has fixed by his own authority. Interesting, they're saying, will 0:20:46.359 --> 0:20:49.400 it get easier, is what they're saying. They're saying, will 0:20:49.440 --> 0:20:53.359 you assume an earthly throne so we don't have to 0:20:53.400 --> 0:20:57.280 be oppressed anymore? Because at this point we're sticking out 0:20:57.320 --> 0:21:00.440 like hot dog vendors at a vegan festival. I mean, 0:21:00.600 --> 0:21:03.480 everybody hates us. Our kids are being beaten up on 0:21:03.480 --> 0:21:07.240 the way home from school, we're being murdered, we're being marginalized. 0:21:07.280 --> 0:21:10.360 And so at this point, are you going to occupy 0:21:10.400 --> 0:21:13.360 a literal throne so the going gets a little bit 0:21:13.440 --> 0:21:17.600 easier for us? And he says, no, it's not going 0:21:17.640 --> 0:21:21.919 to get easier for you. He says, but you will 0:21:22.160 --> 0:21:24.879 receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, 0:21:24.960 --> 0:21:28.200 and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and an 0:21:28.200 --> 0:21:30.920 all Judea, in Samaria, and to the end of the earth. 0:21:30.920 --> 0:21:32.560 And when he had said these things, as they were 0:21:33.000 --> 0:21:35.400 looking on, he was lifted up and a cloud took 0:21:35.480 --> 0:21:38.240 him out of their sight. Luke who wrote the Acts 0:21:38.240 --> 0:21:39.600 of the Apostles. As a matter of fact, he wrote 0:21:39.640 --> 0:21:42.399 the Gospel of Luke and Acts together, so they're like 0:21:42.480 --> 0:21:45.199 star wars and the Empire strikes back. So if you 0:21:45.320 --> 0:21:47.280 are one of those saints who's in the habit of 0:21:47.320 --> 0:21:49.359 reading through the Bible in a year, when you get 0:21:49.400 --> 0:21:52.720 to the end of Luke's Gospel, vault over John, come 0:21:52.720 --> 0:21:55.560 back for John later, but goes straight to the Acts 0:21:55.600 --> 0:21:58.800 of the Apostles because the literary symmetry there is just amazing. 0:21:58.800 --> 0:22:02.320 He's a great storyteller. But what he tells is now 0:22:02.880 --> 0:22:08.199 is there is this indicative statement from Jesus to his 0:22:08.440 --> 0:22:14.840 followers that they will receive power and there's no qualification here, 0:22:14.880 --> 0:22:18.719 and the power comes from the speaker. It is this 0:22:18.960 --> 0:22:23.639 really strong in the Greek imperative. It actually means in 0:22:23.680 --> 0:22:28.760 the original phraseology phraseology to grasp or to seize. And 0:22:28.800 --> 0:22:32.080 again the initiative lies with a speaker, not with a Here. 0:22:32.240 --> 0:22:35.640 What I'm trying to say is this is an irrevocable call. 0:22:36.320 --> 0:22:39.400 Doesn't matter if you're a healthy eight or a wobbly 0:22:39.560 --> 0:22:42.760 three with a carbon addicted wing. Like me. When you 0:22:42.800 --> 0:22:45.639