WEBVTT - This Is What A Miracle Feels Like 0:00:01.560 --> 0:00:02.840 Hey, this is Stephen Ferdick. 0:00:02.840 --> 0:00:05.840 I'm the pastor of Elevation Church and this is our podcast. 0:00:05.920 --> 0:00:08.360 I wanted to thank you for joining us today. Hope 0:00:08.360 --> 0:00:11.080 this inspires you. Hope it builds your faith. Hope it 0:00:11.080 --> 0:00:13.480 gives your perspective to see God is moving in your life. 0:00:13.880 --> 0:00:26.279 Enjoy the message. Thank you, Lord, came today to praise you. 0:00:27.480 --> 0:00:31.000 We live to praise you. We breathe to praise you. 0:00:32.159 --> 0:00:37.239 We exists to glorify and enjoy you forever. And your 0:00:37.280 --> 0:00:39.320 presence is the fullness of joy at your right hand 0:00:39.360 --> 0:00:44.519 or pleasures forevermore. We praise you, Lord. Thank you for 0:00:44.560 --> 0:00:49.120 the privilege today to breathe in your grace, to breathe 0:00:49.120 --> 0:00:52.600 out your praise. And now, Lord, I asked that you 0:00:52.600 --> 0:00:57.040 would do something so spectacular as you speak through your word, 0:00:58.280 --> 0:01:01.280 that we would have no other hope than to say 0:01:01.280 --> 0:01:05.040 it was God. For it could not have been a 0:01:05.080 --> 0:01:09.200 motivational speech or an inspirational song that touched me like that. 0:01:09.880 --> 0:01:13.160 It was God. And that will be our testimony when 0:01:13.200 --> 0:01:17.119 we leave. We thank you in advance in Jesus' name. Amen, 0:01:18.440 --> 0:01:20.679 put your hands together and say it had to be God, 0:01:22.440 --> 0:01:29.680 It had to be God. So thankful that you're here today. 0:01:29.760 --> 0:01:32.800 Welcome God bless each and every one of you, whether 0:01:32.800 --> 0:01:35.880 you're physically with us or whether you're part of our etham. Hey, 0:01:35.880 --> 0:01:38.320 I want to make sure that those of you who 0:01:38.319 --> 0:01:43.880 are in within reach, within range of our Elevation Nights 0:01:43.959 --> 0:01:46.520 coming up. How many of you that are here, by 0:01:46.560 --> 0:01:52.960 the way at Valentine's today traveled in from over fifty 0:01:53.200 --> 0:01:57.320 miles away for the primary purpose, I'm not done qualifying. 0:01:57.880 --> 0:02:01.640 There's more stipulations for the prime merry purpose of coming 0:02:01.680 --> 0:02:06.480 to church today. Wave at means celebrate you. Why, that's 0:02:06.520 --> 0:02:13.760 quite a few. Good to have you good? How many 0:02:13.800 --> 0:02:16.320 of you you only traveled five or ten miles, but 0:02:16.400 --> 0:02:17.960 your kids fought all the way and it made it 0:02:17.960 --> 0:02:20.200 feel like you were driving all the way to the 0:02:20.240 --> 0:02:23.520 other side of the country. However you got here. Look 0:02:23.520 --> 0:02:26.720 at your neighbors, say, however, you made it. I'm glad 0:02:26.720 --> 0:02:31.800 that you did, and you will be glad because God's 0:02:31.840 --> 0:02:36.640 got something for you. Put it in the comments. God's 0:02:36.680 --> 0:02:42.120 got something for you, and I want you to remain standing. 0:02:42.680 --> 0:02:45.240 Go to Elevation Nights dot com. If you've always wanted 0:02:45.240 --> 0:02:48.000 to come to elevation but you haven't had the opportunity 0:02:48.280 --> 0:02:51.080 we are going to bring. Would it be unbiblical to 0:02:51.120 --> 0:02:57.440 say it's like Sunday Morning on steroids? Spiritual steroids, Holy 0:02:57.480 --> 0:03:02.960 spirit steroids. It's really fun. I'm gonna be preaching Holly 0:03:03.000 --> 0:03:08.560 Shearers that the worship team does forty seven songs. It's amazing. 0:03:08.840 --> 0:03:11.120 And I can't find my sheet. Okay, here's the sheet 0:03:11.160 --> 0:03:17.640 with the list. We're gonna be in Seattle, Washington, Vancouver, BC, Sacramento, CAA, 0:03:18.120 --> 0:03:22.280 Los Angeles, Anaheim. I've never been to Boise, Idaho, but 0:03:22.320 --> 0:03:24.320 I won't be able to say that after this fall. 0:03:24.520 --> 0:03:28.720 We're coming to Boise, Idaho, Salt Lake City, Utah, and Denver, Colorado, 0:03:28.919 --> 0:03:32.959 that September twenty fourth through October third. Go to Elevation 0:03:33.320 --> 0:03:40.360 Nights dot com for more information. I can tell when 0:03:40.360 --> 0:03:42.680 you're excited for me to quit doing announcements and preach, 0:03:42.720 --> 0:03:45.280 because y'all start clapping to seed me along. That's cold. 0:03:45.600 --> 0:03:50.160 We'll work together. Happy sixteenth anniversary to our elevation Uptown location. 0:03:50.920 --> 0:03:55.720 Sixteen years is a big deal. Thank God for faithful people. 0:03:57.560 --> 0:03:59.440 Remember we used to drive over there and we go 0:03:59.480 --> 0:04:02.480 from matt Used to Butler to Providence to mcglow in 0:04:02.560 --> 0:04:05.680 theater and Officer Van Allman would break the speed limit, 0:04:05.720 --> 0:04:07.160 but it's all right because he's a cop, and we 0:04:07.160 --> 0:04:09.800 would get there just as they were finishing the last 0:04:09.840 --> 0:04:14.160 song to preach. And also, I hope you joined an 0:04:14.160 --> 0:04:17.599 EE group today, all right, if you hadn't joined one yet, 0:04:17.960 --> 0:04:22.479 there's many opportunities for you to do that. And I 0:04:22.520 --> 0:04:24.640 think that's all the announcements. Are you ready for the word? 0:04:26.240 --> 0:04:32.839 Put your hands together, I have them. I have a 0:04:32.839 --> 0:04:41.080 text today from Acts chapter twelve. And be mindful not 0:04:41.120 --> 0:04:42.840 only of what God wants to do in your life, 0:04:42.880 --> 0:04:46.560 but maybe somebody around you today, because I think that's important. 0:04:47.320 --> 0:04:49.200 I don't think it's a good habit for us to 0:04:49.279 --> 0:04:53.160 just come to church to tune into the station w 0:04:54.120 --> 0:05:00.400 I FM. What's in it for me? And know the 0:05:00.400 --> 0:05:03.440 person sit in around you. That's why don't leave till 0:05:03.480 --> 0:05:06.600 we were finished, because it might be at that moment 0:05:06.680 --> 0:05:11.200 somebody today gives their life to Christ. And don't close 0:05:11.200 --> 0:05:14.279 off the stream before it's over. Because God has a 0:05:14.320 --> 0:05:15.680 word for you today and I want you to see 0:05:15.720 --> 0:05:20.840 it through until the very end. Acts chapter twelve, verse 0:05:21.120 --> 0:05:25.159 five through seventeen. So quite a bit of scripture. But 0:05:25.200 --> 0:05:26.720 the Lord told me. You haven't read your Bible enough 0:05:26.720 --> 0:05:28.080 this week, and we need to catch up to him. 0:05:30.920 --> 0:05:34.280 Acts Chapter twelve, verse five. So Peter was kept in prison, 0:05:35.200 --> 0:05:39.800 but the church was earnestly praying to God for him. 0:05:41.080 --> 0:05:43.159 The night before Herod was to bring him to trial, 0:05:43.200 --> 0:05:47.720 Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains. Now, 0:05:47.760 --> 0:05:49.599 I'm going to do yellow favor and skip my dad 0:05:49.680 --> 0:05:54.320 joke with the Atlanta wrapper reference. There, bound with two chains, 0:05:54.839 --> 0:05:59.679 and centuries stood guard at the entrance, and suddenly pay attention. 0:06:00.480 --> 0:06:04.359 Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared, and a light 0:06:04.480 --> 0:06:07.760 shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side 0:06:07.760 --> 0:06:10.680 and woke him up. Quick, get up, he said, and 0:06:10.800 --> 0:06:16.320 the chains fell off Peter's wrists. Then the angel said 0:06:16.320 --> 0:06:20.120 to him, put on your clothes and sandals. Why where 0:06:20.120 --> 0:06:22.359 are we going? And I'm telling you all that just 0:06:22.400 --> 0:06:25.640 get dressed. Sometimes, by the way, you have to get 0:06:25.760 --> 0:06:31.080 dressed before you know the destination. Is that not a 0:06:31.080 --> 0:06:34.839 whole word right there? That is a whole turkey right there? 0:06:37.480 --> 0:06:39.520 The angel said to him, put on your clothes and sandals, 0:06:39.560 --> 0:06:44.000 and Peter did so, wrap your cloak around you and 0:06:44.080 --> 0:06:47.320 follow me, the angel told him. Peter followed him out 0:06:47.320 --> 0:06:50.839 of the prison, but he had no idea that what 0:06:50.920 --> 0:06:53.760 the angel was doing was really happening. He thought he 0:06:53.880 --> 0:06:57.320 was seeing a vision. They passed the first and second 0:06:57.320 --> 0:06:59.839 guards and came to the iron gate leading to the 0:07:00.839 --> 0:07:03.760 It opened for them by itself, and they went through it. 0:07:04.440 --> 0:07:06.880 When they had walked the length of one street, suddenly 0:07:06.880 --> 0:07:12.800 the angel left him. Then Peter came to himself and said, 0:07:12.880 --> 0:07:17.040 now I know without a doubt. Look kind of sketchy 0:07:17.080 --> 0:07:20.680 for a second, but now I know without a doubt 0:07:20.760 --> 0:07:23.240 that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me 0:07:23.840 --> 0:07:28.000 from Herod's clutches and from everything the Jewish people were 0:07:28.000 --> 0:07:31.680 hoping would happen. When this had dawned on him, he 0:07:31.760 --> 0:07:33.720 went to the e group of Mary, the mother of 0:07:33.800 --> 0:07:39.840 John also called Mark, where many people had gathered and 0:07:39.880 --> 0:07:43.120 were praying, and Peter knocked at the outer entrance, and 0:07:43.160 --> 0:07:47.480 a servant named Rhoda came to answer the door. When 0:07:47.560 --> 0:07:52.280 she recognized Peter's voice, she was so overjoyed she ran 0:07:52.520 --> 0:07:59.040 back without opening the door and exclaimed, hey, y'all, Peter 0:07:59.320 --> 0:08:02.120 is at the door, or you're out of your mind. 0:08:02.440 --> 0:08:08.400 They told her, we gotta pray, Lord save Peter. But 0:08:08.560 --> 0:08:14.760 he's here. Can't be Lord help Peter. And I love 0:08:14.800 --> 0:08:18.400 the insistence here of Rhoda and Peter because the Bible says, 0:08:18.600 --> 0:08:21.880 when they said you're crazy, look at verse fifteen, she 0:08:22.080 --> 0:08:25.040 kept insisting that it was so, and they said it 0:08:25.120 --> 0:08:29.600 must be his angel. But Peter talk about insistent persistence. 0:08:29.720 --> 0:08:34.280 Peter kept on knocking, and when they opened the door 0:08:34.320 --> 0:08:37.960 and saw him, they were astonished. Now I read you 0:08:38.000 --> 0:08:40.360 all that so I could read you this verse seventeen. 0:08:41.080 --> 0:08:44.920 Peter motioned with his hand for them to be quiet 0:08:45.800 --> 0:08:51.840 and described how the Lord had brought him out of prison. 0:08:53.040 --> 0:08:58.520 He described how the Lord had brought him out of prison. 0:08:59.120 --> 0:09:01.120 I believe there's somebody here today, and you're going to 0:09:01.160 --> 0:09:06.720 be describing how the Lord brought you out not many 0:09:06.800 --> 0:09:11.960 days from now. Matter of fact, Grab the hand of 0:09:11.960 --> 0:09:15.400 the person on either side of you. We're gonna connect physically, 0:09:16.559 --> 0:09:19.120 and we're just gonna believe that whatever is on the 0:09:19.200 --> 0:09:21.480 other side, for your neighbor, they're going to see it, 0:09:22.480 --> 0:09:25.320 they're going to walk into it. And for the neighbor 0:09:25.320 --> 0:09:27.240 on either side of you, tell them, I don't know 0:09:28.960 --> 0:09:33.120 what you need God to bring you out of, but 0:09:33.160 --> 0:09:37.200 He can do it for you. If you need him 0:09:37.240 --> 0:09:39.280 to bring you out of an addiction, he can do 0:09:39.360 --> 0:09:40.640 it for you. If you need him to bring you 0:09:40.679 --> 0:09:43.320 out of depression, he can do it for you. Somebody 0:09:43.320 --> 0:09:45.040 in here needs God to bring them out of debt. 0:09:45.120 --> 0:09:48.240 God can do that for you. God can bring you 0:09:48.280 --> 0:09:51.600 out of your own bad decision. Ask Jonah. He can 0:09:51.640 --> 0:09:53.560 spit you up where you were supposed to be in 0:09:53.600 --> 0:09:56.760 the first place. Ask Jonah. God can bring you out. 0:09:56.760 --> 0:09:58.439 And we're going to pray to that in right now. 0:10:00.920 --> 0:10:03.640 Whatever it is that my brother or my sister needs 0:10:03.640 --> 0:10:05.400 on either side of me for you to bring them 0:10:05.400 --> 0:10:09.400 out of We read about Peter, and Peter wasn't perfect, 0:10:09.440 --> 0:10:13.000 not by a long shot. He denied you, he cursed, 0:10:13.080 --> 0:10:15.840 he cut off a man's ear with a sword. He 0:10:15.840 --> 0:10:19.600 didn't do everything right. But you brought him out. And 0:10:19.679 --> 0:10:21.679 I believe you can do that for the person on 0:10:21.720 --> 0:10:24.800 my right and the person on my left. I believe 0:10:24.840 --> 0:10:27.840 you can do that for every single person watching online today. 0:10:28.160 --> 0:10:31.560 I believe you can do it because I've seen you 0:10:31.640 --> 0:10:36.280 do it. So now, God, I declare that we will 0:10:36.280 --> 0:10:40.920 have testimonies from this service today of how the Lord 0:10:41.280 --> 0:10:45.720 brought me out right there where you're still standing Just 0:10:45.720 --> 0:10:48.800 squeeze your neighbor's hand real quick, just one good squeeze, 0:10:49.440 --> 0:10:51.160 and now look at him and tell him my title. 0:10:51.200 --> 0:11:02.160 Tell him this is what a miracle feels like. This, 0:11:02.160 --> 0:11:08.000 this put it in a promise. This. Give me my 0:11:08.040 --> 0:11:11.680 camera so I can look at him, say this, it's 0:11:11.720 --> 0:11:16.199 what a miracle feels like. High five. Three people say 0:11:16.240 --> 0:11:21.480 it's a miracle. You may be seated. Go ahead and 0:11:21.480 --> 0:11:28.000 bring me my screen. Please, this is what a miracle 0:11:29.000 --> 0:11:32.760 feels like. We're gonna break this all the way down today, 0:11:32.840 --> 0:11:35.000 so don't pay attention while they bring out the screen. 0:11:35.040 --> 0:11:36.719 I want to show you some stuff today. I want 0:11:36.720 --> 0:11:39.440 to show you some things, some things that struck me 0:11:39.480 --> 0:11:42.360 from this text that are very significant for our lives. 0:11:44.640 --> 0:11:46.800 Just out of nowhere. Yesterday me and Graham were coming 0:11:46.840 --> 0:11:53.160 back from doing leg Day. Walked in the kitchen, looks 0:11:53.200 --> 0:11:57.880 at me and says, I feel like I can trust 0:11:57.920 --> 0:12:01.800 you as a man to be faithful to mom. Out 0:12:01.800 --> 0:12:06.319 of nowhere in the kitchen after leg Day, felt proud 0:12:06.360 --> 0:12:09.400 about that, feel like I can trust you as a 0:12:09.400 --> 0:12:13.000 man to be faithful to Mom. Because any man who 0:12:13.040 --> 0:12:15.959 can walk by a bag of chocolate covered pretzels and 0:12:15.960 --> 0:12:18.560 not eat one is a man who can be trusted, 0:12:20.000 --> 0:12:24.199 and they start eating chocolate covered pretzels. Sixteen. He can 0:12:24.240 --> 0:12:26.400 eat chocolate covered pretzels and still have an eight pack, 0:12:26.440 --> 0:12:29.720 and I hate him for it. But in the moment 0:12:29.760 --> 0:12:34.080 I realized, boy, I've come a long way. That my 0:12:34.240 --> 0:12:36.800 son sees me. No, you don't understand I've come a 0:12:36.880 --> 0:12:39.800 long way when food. I saw a lady email the 0:12:39.840 --> 0:12:43.160 church and said, you talk so much about food in 0:12:43.200 --> 0:12:45.679 your sermons. Every sermon you have a food reference. That's 0:12:45.679 --> 0:12:49.199 because we tend to preach our way through the devil 0:12:49.200 --> 0:12:52.800 that we're always having to fight against. And if you 0:12:52.920 --> 0:12:57.360 knew how many food issues exist, not just in my life, 0:12:57.360 --> 0:13:01.600 but life of my parents and just generation things like that, 0:13:00.880 --> 0:13:03.319 that's kind of a big deal for Graham to look 0:13:03.360 --> 0:13:07.200 at me and say to admire my discipline as he 0:13:07.200 --> 0:13:10.640 eats chocolate covered pretzels Once a year. I have a 0:13:10.640 --> 0:13:14.120 little commemorative thing where I eat so much food just 0:13:14.160 --> 0:13:17.600 to show my family what would be possible. I start 0:13:17.679 --> 0:13:20.000 early and I in late, just to show them that 0:13:20.040 --> 0:13:23.720 if I ever took the bumpers off at the bowling alley, 0:13:24.080 --> 0:13:26.280 what kind of gutter we would be in. As it 0:13:26.320 --> 0:13:29.600 concerns my nutrition and it's a thing to behold. I mean, 0:13:29.640 --> 0:13:31.360 I could sell tickets to this all the food I 0:13:31.400 --> 0:13:33.720 eat in that day, and I do it once twice, 0:13:33.559 --> 0:13:35.839 three or four times a year, as often as they 0:13:35.880 --> 0:13:39.280 need to be reminded. You know, my father was a 0:13:39.320 --> 0:13:43.560 wandering army and you know, like whatever as an old testament, Joe. 0:13:43.679 --> 0:13:48.600 But the thing about it in the moment was it 0:13:48.640 --> 0:13:51.400 took me back to when I made a decision to 0:13:51.440 --> 0:13:55.760 be disciplined with eating, and it took me back to 0:13:56.800 --> 0:13:58.480 all of the people who gave me advice when I 0:13:58.520 --> 0:14:00.959 was trying to choose a diet to go on, and 0:14:02.080 --> 0:14:05.320 I was busy trying to show Holly how much I 0:14:05.360 --> 0:14:07.800 appreciated her cooking. We were newly wets and I was 0:14:08.000 --> 0:14:11.600 showing her that by gaining forty pounds of fat, and 0:14:12.160 --> 0:14:14.360 I just wanted her to see how effective her meals were. 0:14:14.920 --> 0:14:17.200 And one day I walked by mirror and it just 0:14:17.200 --> 0:14:19.200 freaked me out. And I didn't feel like I was 0:14:19.200 --> 0:14:21.360 getting fatter, but apparently I was, because what I saw 0:14:21.400 --> 0:14:23.280 I didn't recognize, and it just it's just kind of 0:14:23.280 --> 0:14:27.760 like like all of a sudden, you know. That's that's 0:14:27.800 --> 0:14:31.040 how that happens, and so I came. I came to her, 0:14:31.040 --> 0:14:33.000 and I said, I think I'm gonna go on Atkins diet. 0:14:33.040 --> 0:14:35.600 I've watched my parents do it. It looks fun. You 0:14:35.640 --> 0:14:38.200 can eat hot dogs with no buns and bacon and 0:14:38.240 --> 0:14:39.960 lose weight. And I think I'm gonna try that one. 0:14:40.560 --> 0:14:42.400 I don't. I don't want to do a portion control. 0:14:42.600 --> 0:14:44.160 And so I went around to different people and I said, 0:14:44.200 --> 0:14:46.040 I'm gonna do Atkins and I can. I can eat 0:14:46.120 --> 0:14:49.120 a lot but not not have to worry about how 0:14:49.200 --> 0:14:51.520 much I eat. I can just eat certain things. And 0:14:51.680 --> 0:14:54.280 this woman said to me, I know she meant, well, 0:14:55.000 --> 0:14:57.960 very health conscious woman. She goes, no, no, you don't 0:14:57.960 --> 0:15:01.360 need to eliminate carbohydrates from your diet. You just need 0:15:01.360 --> 0:15:03.200 to eat all the food groups and you can eat anything. 0:15:03.360 --> 0:15:05.840 But the keat is just eat until you feel full 0:15:06.680 --> 0:15:12.320 and then stop, which may be good advice if full 0:15:13.000 --> 0:15:18.160 is a feeling that you're familiar with, But this feeling 0:15:18.200 --> 0:15:20.160 I didn't tell her. I just listened polightly. Oh yeah, 0:15:20.160 --> 0:15:22.160 that sounds great. I'm so happy for you about that 0:15:22.200 --> 0:15:28.960 feeling full thing. But apparently my full feeler didn't get 0:15:28.960 --> 0:15:33.240 installed in the factory because even if I eat till 0:15:33.280 --> 0:15:36.880 I feel full, it'll be five minutes and I won't 0:15:36.880 --> 0:15:40.880 feel full. And I can feel full on salty but 0:15:40.960 --> 0:15:44.760 still want sweet. So there's like five different types of 0:15:44.840 --> 0:15:48.200 full that I need to feel. And so since I 0:15:48.240 --> 0:15:52.240 realized I can't trust this feeling called full because I've 0:15:52.280 --> 0:15:54.840 been waiting to feel full, and that put these forty 0:15:54.840 --> 0:15:57.720 pounds on me, because whole time I've been eating these 0:15:57.760 --> 0:16:00.200 forty pounds, I've been trying to feel full, and I 0:16:00.240 --> 0:16:03.800 haven't felt full. And I realized feelings can be deceiving 0:16:05.400 --> 0:16:10.640 and they can be delayed. And so I wonder today, 0:16:10.760 --> 0:16:14.480 just as an illustration, as we look at this text 0:16:14.480 --> 0:16:18.160 and consider this lesson, is it possible that, just like 0:16:18.480 --> 0:16:21.640 sometimes you're full, maybe not you, but people like me 0:16:21.800 --> 0:16:25.400 we're full and we don't feel full, is it possible 0:16:25.480 --> 0:16:28.720 sometimes that as difficult as it is for me to 0:16:28.720 --> 0:16:33.720 feel full, it's all so difficult to feel faith. And 0:16:33.800 --> 0:16:36.320 I mentioned that because if you don't know what faith 0:16:36.400 --> 0:16:40.840 feels like, sometimes you will be acting as if you 0:16:40.880 --> 0:16:44.720 don't have it, when in fact you do. And that 0:16:44.840 --> 0:16:47.040 it is possible for you to have faith and not 0:16:47.080 --> 0:16:50.000 feel faith, just as it is possible for me to 0:16:50.040 --> 0:16:54.560 be full and not feel full. I'm already preaching better 0:16:54.600 --> 0:16:58.880 than you're responding, but I don't mind, because the fact 0:16:58.880 --> 0:17:01.640 of the matter is, even in a sermon, when you're 0:17:01.640 --> 0:17:05.000 hearing the word of God preached, you may not necessarily 0:17:05.359 --> 0:17:08.240 feel good while you're hearing the message, but it might 0:17:08.280 --> 0:17:12.520 make you better after you go home. The feeling can 0:17:12.520 --> 0:17:15.919 be delayed. I said last week that feelings come, but 0:17:15.960 --> 0:17:20.760 they don't come first. You heard it. Wow, that was 0:17:20.840 --> 0:17:24.480 revolutionary for me to know that feelings have their place 0:17:24.680 --> 0:17:28.879 in my life, but not first place. That emotions are 0:17:28.960 --> 0:17:32.879 welcome to come. And so when I feel amazing grace, 0:17:33.920 --> 0:17:37.960 I sing amazing grace. But when I don't feel amazing grace, 0:17:38.119 --> 0:17:42.600 check this out, I still got amazing grace. Because feelings come, 0:17:42.680 --> 0:17:46.959 but they don't come first. The word comes first. Somebody 0:17:47.000 --> 0:17:51.040 say the word comes first, and what God speaks over 0:17:51.080 --> 0:17:54.160 me is the first word, the last word, the alpha, 0:17:54.440 --> 0:17:57.119 the omega, and the omnikron in the middle of the 0:17:57.160 --> 0:18:02.280 Greek alphabet. Because feelings come, but they don't come first. 0:18:02.760 --> 0:18:06.919 A very important lesson today. Now. The reason I selected 0:18:06.920 --> 0:18:10.880 this story for our lesson today is because we are 0:18:10.960 --> 0:18:15.040 seeing a miracle. But it probably doesn't feel like a 0:18:15.080 --> 0:18:18.760 miracle to the people experiencing it. And it is my 0:18:18.960 --> 0:18:21.760 theory that most of the Bible stories that we love 0:18:21.880 --> 0:18:26.440 to read we would have hated to live. Think about this. 0:18:28.000 --> 0:18:31.879 Our Bible club is reading Daniel right now. I like 0:18:32.000 --> 0:18:36.080 hearing about the lions that he slept with. I don't 0:18:36.119 --> 0:18:43.520 want one for a pillow. I love singing about shadrackne 0:18:43.640 --> 0:18:47.000 Shack of ed Nigo, but I don't want to be 0:18:47.160 --> 0:18:50.880 neither of the three. I don't wanna. I don't wanna. 0:18:51.080 --> 0:18:53.920 I don't want to be in that story. I want 0:18:53.920 --> 0:18:58.240 to read that story kind of like Peter, I don't 0:18:58.240 --> 0:18:59.960 want to. I don't want to be in a prison 0:19:00.600 --> 0:19:03.720 for preaching the gospel. I hope I never have to 0:19:03.760 --> 0:19:08.240 do that, go to prison for preaching the gospel. I 0:19:08.280 --> 0:19:11.840 don't really want anything to confine me. He is not 0:19:11.880 --> 0:19:14.800 a physical prison, you know. So I'm reading about this 0:19:14.840 --> 0:19:16.639 and I'm like, why do I I like this story 0:19:16.680 --> 0:19:19.480 so much? Because we love dramatic deliverance stories in church. 0:19:21.600 --> 0:19:29.640 Read see Anyone, the Fall of Goliath, anyone, Jericho Walls, anyone, traffic, anyone, 0:19:30.320 --> 0:19:35.120 no red c not traffic. And my task a lot 0:19:35.119 --> 0:19:37.760 of times in bringing the scripture is to kind of 0:19:37.760 --> 0:19:40.639 bring it down to a level where we can see 0:19:40.680 --> 0:19:43.359 that although we are not Peter in a prison, and 0:19:43.359 --> 0:19:46.080 although we are not the church that was persecuted by Herod, 0:19:46.119 --> 0:19:47.760 it was going around and kind of taking all the 0:19:47.840 --> 0:19:50.200 Christians and throwing them in jail to try to keep 0:19:50.240 --> 0:19:54.600 the people under his jurisdiction happy. Because you know, political 0:19:54.720 --> 0:19:58.760 purposes that have had their origin and human agendas that 0:19:58.800 --> 0:20:01.200 are used under God's sign sovereign rule are nothing new 0:20:01.640 --> 0:20:04.040 to the God of the Bible. And so we see 0:20:04.080 --> 0:20:07.080 in Acts chapter twelve how Herod is going around and 0:20:07.080 --> 0:20:10.280 persecuting the Christians. And I wanted to slow down and 0:20:10.280 --> 0:20:13.240 show you some things that struck me this week from 0:20:13.280 --> 0:20:17.080 this message. Look at your neighbor and say, this is 0:20:17.119 --> 0:20:21.679 what a miracle feels like. Now when I say it 0:20:21.680 --> 0:20:24.639 feels like, let me point something out to you, is 0:20:24.680 --> 0:20:28.160 that the book that I just quoted to you from 0:20:28.600 --> 0:20:32.480 is called the Book of Acts. And it's called the 0:20:32.480 --> 0:20:35.159 Book of Acts because it is the acts, the actions, 0:20:35.200 --> 0:20:38.520 the acts of the apostles who Jesus left to take 0:20:38.560 --> 0:20:41.480 the Gospel into all the world. And they did that, 0:20:41.840 --> 0:20:45.160 They did that against all odds, they did that. They 0:20:45.160 --> 0:20:47.879 did that starting on the day of Pentecost, when the 0:20:47.920 --> 0:20:50.879 Holy Spirit came and God gave the utterance so that 0:20:50.920 --> 0:20:54.520 everyone heard the gospel in their own language. They preached repentance. 0:20:54.560 --> 0:20:58.680 They did that. They healed the lame, they did that. 0:21:00.000 --> 0:21:03.200 Fleet have already suffered a lot of persecution. They did 0:21:03.200 --> 0:21:05.960 all of that, and much of it is included in 0:21:06.000 --> 0:21:09.639 the Book of Apps. Noticed that I did not tell you, though, 0:21:09.680 --> 0:21:13.080 when I started today to turn in your Bible to 0:21:13.160 --> 0:21:18.760 the twelfth chapter of the Book of Feelings, I told 0:21:18.760 --> 0:21:21.040 you to turn to the twelfth chapter of the Book 0:21:21.080 --> 0:21:26.520 of the Book of feelings might be a different book, 0:21:28.560 --> 0:21:30.600 the book of what they felt as they did it. 0:21:30.640 --> 0:21:33.560 I feel God so strong on this message because you 0:21:33.720 --> 0:21:36.680 keep thinking that the feeling not being there means there's 0:21:36.720 --> 0:21:41.560 something wrong with you. Maybe maybe not, because feelings come, 0:21:42.040 --> 0:21:46.680 but they don't come first. You keep thinking, I wouldn't 0:21:46.680 --> 0:21:50.080 struggle with this if I really believed that Maybe maybe not, 0:21:50.600 --> 0:21:55.439 because feelings come, but they don't come first. And the 0:21:55.520 --> 0:21:58.679 amazing thing about a miracle is that you can be 0:21:58.960 --> 0:22:02.719 in one and not feel one while you're in it, 0:22:07.320 --> 0:22:12.080 just like I can be full technically, because let's be honest, 0:22:12.760 --> 0:22:17.720 nobody really needs the whole bag. But I have a 0:22:17.800 --> 0:22:21.359 I have a whole bag brain. So so when I 0:22:21.440 --> 0:22:24.600 when I feel full, that's that's a that's a brain thing, 0:22:24.640 --> 0:22:27.879 not a body thing. And so something can actually be 0:22:27.960 --> 0:22:30.439 happening in your body that's not happening in your brain. 0:22:31.840 --> 0:22:35.439 By extension, something can actually be happening in your life 0:22:35.440 --> 0:22:39.080 in reality that has not yet happened in your emotions. 0:22:40.080 --> 0:22:42.280 And sometimes it takes a little while for us to 0:22:42.359 --> 0:22:45.679 catch up with what God was already doing, so that 0:22:45.760 --> 0:22:49.520 while we are going through the experience, we really can't 0:22:49.600 --> 0:22:53.480 understand the experience. And the temptation in these moments is 0:22:53.520 --> 0:22:56.439 to think, if I can't describe it while I'm going 0:22:56.520 --> 0:23:00.159 through it, then God must not be in it. So 0:23:00.200 --> 0:23:02.680 then we say things like this makes no sense, and God, 0:23:02.720 --> 0:23:05.439 get me out of this. But it is often not 0:23:05.560 --> 0:23:08.040 until we get out of this that we can even 0:23:08.160 --> 0:23:12.280 understand why God put us in this and be able 0:23:12.320 --> 0:23:16.159 to tell the testimony, Yeah there were lions, they didn't 0:23:16.200 --> 0:23:19.399 bite me. Yeah there was fire. It didn't send me. 0:23:19.480 --> 0:23:23.399 I don't smell like it, do I? But I slept there. 0:23:24.960 --> 0:23:28.000 So In Acts chapter twelve, Peter gets out of prison 0:23:28.040 --> 0:23:30.639 and we read about that, and it's a really humorous story. 0:23:30.640 --> 0:23:32.480 I mean, it's one of those great stories to show 0:23:32.520 --> 0:23:35.320 people people who say the Bible's boring, send them over 0:23:35.359 --> 0:23:39.679 to Acts, chapter twelve and show them the comedy of 0:23:39.720 --> 0:23:43.920 the fact that the church is praying for Peter and 0:23:43.960 --> 0:23:47.640 he comes to the door and the girl says, hey, 0:23:47.640 --> 0:23:49.639 the thing you're praying for it just showed up, And 0:23:49.680 --> 0:23:55.520 they say, no way, it must be his angel. No, 0:23:55.600 --> 0:24:02.000 it's a miracle. No, it can't be. The people who 0:24:02.040 --> 0:24:08.760 are praying for it to happen can't even believe it 0:24:08.760 --> 0:24:13.879 could possibly be true. This message just for everybody who 0:24:13.960 --> 0:24:17.360 doesn't feel like a good parent right now. You might 0:24:17.400 --> 0:24:20.480 be a real good parent, and the proof of your 0:24:20.520 --> 0:24:26.840 good parenting might be your prison. The proof that Peter 0:24:27.080 --> 0:24:30.639 was making a difference was the fact that the political 0:24:30.640 --> 0:24:34.480 agenda had to suppress him. So the proof sometimes that 0:24:34.520 --> 0:24:37.600 you're doing what you're supposed to do is that a 0:24:37.720 --> 0:24:41.000 resistance comes to contain you from continuing to do it. 0:24:43.680 --> 0:24:46.520 Don't assume that just because it's tense in your home 0:24:46.600 --> 0:24:49.720 right now, that that necessarily means you're doing it wrong. 0:24:50.240 --> 0:24:53.000 You may need to adjust your strategy, you may need 0:24:53.040 --> 0:24:55.600 to do it a little differently. Going forward, you may 0:24:55.640 --> 0:24:57.840 need to take a queue that something needs to change. 0:24:57.880 --> 0:25:01.760 But please understand that is not in prison for something 0:25:01.840 --> 0:25:06.760 he did disobedient. He's in prison for fulfilling his very purpose, 0:25:08.760 --> 0:25:11.480 and the church is praying for God to bring him out. 0:25:11.760 --> 0:25:14.000 I mean, if this was called the Book of Feelings, 0:25:14.040 --> 0:25:17.679 what would acts chapter twelve be. It would be a 0:25:17.840 --> 0:25:22.879 church that was praying but not really believing that what 0:25:22.920 --> 0:25:27.000 they were praying was possible. I slipped this in for 0:25:27.080 --> 0:25:29.840