WEBVTT - A Problem For My Problem (Jonathan Rivera) 0:00:05.030 --> 0:00:07.910 Hey, this is Stephen Furtick. I'm the pastor of Elevation Church, 0:00:08.070 --> 0:00:10.710 and this is our podcast. Be sure to subscribe so 0:00:10.750 --> 0:00:13.810 we can get you these new sermons every week. I 0:00:13.970 --> 0:00:14.890 hope you're blessed today. 0:00:21.890 --> 0:00:23.370 Church, stay standing for a moment. 0:00:25.650 --> 0:00:28.909 Been thinking a lot about this moment, and before I 0:00:28.930 --> 0:00:30.950 do anything else and before I preach the word of God, 0:00:31.510 --> 0:00:32.470 I want to take a moment. 0:00:32.290 --> 0:00:35.330 To just honor your pastors and honor your church. There's 0:00:35.350 --> 0:00:36.710 some people that. 0:00:36.620 --> 0:00:38.760 You know from afar. You don't know them up close, 0:00:39.060 --> 0:00:40.420 but even though you don't know them, they have an 0:00:40.520 --> 0:00:43.300 impact on you. Like I remember when Kobe died and 0:00:43.360 --> 0:00:46.140 I cried like if a family member died because even 0:00:46.159 --> 0:00:48.379 though I didn't know him, he had made an impact 0:00:48.700 --> 0:00:51.839 on my life. Recently, I went to the movies and 0:00:51.860 --> 0:00:56.720 watched Spider-Man and I cried a lot. 0:00:58.080 --> 0:01:00.300 Because I felt like even though I don't know Spider-Man, 0:01:00.600 --> 0:01:02.440 he is real. But I felt like even though I 0:01:02.480 --> 0:01:04.250 don't know him, I know him. 0:01:04.370 --> 0:01:07.130 And he's made an impact on my life from afar. 0:01:07.270 --> 0:01:10.270 And I can't tell you the kind of impact that 0:01:10.390 --> 0:01:14.590 Elevation Church and Pastor Stephen and Holly Furtick have made 0:01:14.630 --> 0:01:18.540 on my life. I can't talk about my relationship with Jesus. 0:01:19.060 --> 0:01:22.520 I can't talk about my ministry. I can't talk about 0:01:22.540 --> 0:01:26.100 my life without talking about Elevation Church and Elevation Worship. 0:01:26.780 --> 0:01:28.520 And Pastor Steven and Holly. 0:01:28.560 --> 0:01:30.060 Come on, if you love your church, if you love 0:01:30.080 --> 0:01:32.740 your pastors, can you make a little bit of noise today? 0:01:32.760 --> 0:01:34.900 Come on, all of our campuses, can you make a 0:01:34.920 --> 0:01:38.319 little bit of noise today? Do me a favor, high 0:01:38.360 --> 0:01:40.060 five five people and let them know I'm glad you. 0:01:39.980 --> 0:01:43.980 Came to church today. Glad you came to church. After that, 0:01:44.000 --> 0:01:44.620 you can go ahead. 0:01:45.220 --> 0:01:52.480 Take a seat. Take a seat, take a seat. Is 0:01:52.520 --> 0:01:56.390 anybody happy to be in God's house today? Can we 0:01:56.410 --> 0:01:58.710 say thank you to the worship team for leading us today? 0:02:00.090 --> 0:02:02.480 Come on. If you love my friend, Graham Furtick, you 0:02:02.520 --> 0:02:09.460 make a little bit of noise today. Got a word 0:02:09.500 --> 0:02:13.350 that I've been praying over and preparing, and I really 0:02:13.370 --> 0:02:15.210 feel like it's going to be an encouragement. 0:02:14.669 --> 0:02:17.410 To somebody in this room today. But before I go 0:02:17.430 --> 0:02:19.170 into the work, can I introduce you to my family 0:02:19.210 --> 0:02:23.980 really quickly? Yeah, yeah, yeah. This is a picture of 0:02:24.040 --> 0:02:28.169 my wife. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Your boy did good. 0:02:29.389 --> 0:02:31.850 Your boy did good. He gave me a Colombian queen. 0:02:31.870 --> 0:02:33.110 Someone say hallelujah. 0:02:34.370 --> 0:02:36.609 Now I'm about to show you a picture of my son. 0:02:36.650 --> 0:02:38.290 When I show you this picture of my son, I 0:02:38.330 --> 0:02:39.870 need you to absolutely. 0:02:39.410 --> 0:02:40.010 Lose your mind. 0:02:40.050 --> 0:02:40.510 Are you ready? 0:02:40.530 --> 0:02:43.220 This is my son, Tobias. Come on, put that picture 0:02:43.240 --> 0:02:44.340 up on the screen for me. 0:02:45.460 --> 0:02:48.100 Yeah, that's my boy. That's my boy. 0:02:49.230 --> 0:02:50.850 Also, the last thing that I'll do, I need to 0:02:50.889 --> 0:02:53.370 give a special shout out. I am a proud Puerto 0:02:53.389 --> 0:02:58.450 Rican from Orlando, Florida. And so shout out to Elevation Orlando. 0:02:58.510 --> 0:03:01.970 Shout out to Elevation Melbourne. So thankful for what God's 0:03:02.000 --> 0:03:04.100 doing in our city and in our state. 0:03:04.120 --> 0:03:05.540 Is anybody ready for the word of God today? 0:03:07.389 --> 0:03:09.590 I need you to do three things for me. Number one, 0:03:09.660 --> 0:03:11.190 I need you to take some notes. I heard y'all 0:03:11.220 --> 0:03:12.560 take notes at Elevation Church. 0:03:12.600 --> 0:03:15.060 Is that true? Show me your notebook. Show me your notebook. 0:03:15.100 --> 0:03:17.080 Show me your notebook. Does anybody have a Bible in 0:03:17.120 --> 0:03:19.400 the room? Show me your Bible. Show me your Bible. 0:03:19.419 --> 0:03:22.139 Show me your Bible. I like big Bibles and I 0:03:22.200 --> 0:03:26.040 cannot lie. Today I need you to take some notes. 0:03:26.580 --> 0:03:29.239 Write some stuff down because you can't remember what God 0:03:29.280 --> 0:03:31.260 told you if you don't remember. 0:03:30.960 --> 0:03:31.680 What God told you. 0:03:31.700 --> 0:03:33.600 You're going to want to go back and remember what 0:03:33.639 --> 0:03:36.460 God spoke to you today. Somebody say amen. That's the 0:03:36.520 --> 0:03:38.000 second thing that I need you to do. I heard 0:03:38.040 --> 0:03:40.390 that at Elevation Church, y'all talk back to the preacher. 0:03:40.450 --> 0:03:42.870 Is that right? Now, I want you to. 0:03:42.850 --> 0:03:45.770 Know, you don't talk back to the preacher because we 0:03:45.790 --> 0:03:47.650 just like to have ruckus and noise. 0:03:48.150 --> 0:03:51.150 When you talk back, when you say amen, it's actually. 0:03:50.830 --> 0:03:54.000 An expression of faith, saying, God, I received that word 0:03:54.280 --> 0:03:57.089 from my life. Somebody say amen. Come on, where's my 0:03:57.190 --> 0:03:59.290 amen corner today? Where's the people who. 0:03:59.230 --> 0:04:01.990 Are saying, is it over here? Is it over here? 0:04:02.010 --> 0:04:05.589 Is it over here? Is it over here? Is it 0:04:05.650 --> 0:04:06.670 over here? No, it's over here. 0:04:06.690 --> 0:04:07.590 I feel like it's over here. 0:04:07.610 --> 0:04:10.190 I feel like it's over here. Y'all, my amen corner today. 0:04:11.570 --> 0:04:13.250 Last but not least, I want you to open up 0:04:13.290 --> 0:04:15.770 your heart because I truly believe that today, someone say today, 0:04:16.810 --> 0:04:19.070 God has a word that he wants to share with you. 0:04:19.070 --> 0:04:20.480 If you got a Bible, I want you to go 0:04:20.500 --> 0:04:27.210 to Philippians chapter one, verses 12 through 14. Reading the 0:04:27.430 --> 0:04:30.020 book of Philippians, which is really a letter. It's a 0:04:30.080 --> 0:04:32.320 letter from the Apostle Paul. Apostle Paul is one of 0:04:32.339 --> 0:04:34.099 the most important people in all the Bible. 0:04:34.140 --> 0:04:36.900 He's an apostle. He wrote two thirds of the New Testament. 0:04:37.020 --> 0:04:41.789 And in my mind, he's kind of the goal. He 0:04:41.830 --> 0:04:43.890 writes this letter to a group of people that are 0:04:43.950 --> 0:04:48.349 worried about him. And he wants to encourage them. because 0:04:48.490 --> 0:04:52.130 right now he's in prison. And his situation doesn't look 0:04:52.550 --> 0:04:55.680 very promising and doesn't look very hopeful. But he writes 0:04:55.690 --> 0:05:00.219 them to encourage him and he has this peculiar passage. 0:05:00.540 --> 0:05:02.950 That I would like to share with you today. Philippians 1, 0:05:02.950 --> 0:05:04.480 12 through 14, here's what it says. 0:05:05.140 --> 0:05:07.760 Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that 0:05:07.779 --> 0:05:08.850 what has happened to. 0:05:08.820 --> 0:05:12.990 Me has actually served to advance the gospel. 0:05:13.170 --> 0:05:13.490 Pause. 0:05:14.510 --> 0:05:20.260 He's saying, me being in prison behind bars, in chains, 0:05:20.680 --> 0:05:27.080 has actually served to advance the gospel. And as a result, 0:05:27.100 --> 0:05:29.720 it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and 0:05:29.740 --> 0:05:33.120 to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. 0:05:33.560 --> 0:05:36.770 And because of my chains, most of the brothers and 0:05:36.830 --> 0:05:38.789 sisters have become confident. 0:05:38.390 --> 0:05:39.310 In the Lord. 0:05:40.670 --> 0:05:44.589 And dare all the more to proclaim the gospel without fear. 0:05:45.130 --> 0:05:45.810 Taking notes tonight. 0:05:45.950 --> 0:05:47.250 Over the next few minutes, I'd like to speak to 0:05:47.310 --> 0:05:49.029 you from this thought. 0:05:50.010 --> 0:05:56.880 A problem for my problem. A problem for my problem. 0:05:56.900 --> 0:05:57.799 I'll say it again. A problem. 0:05:58.360 --> 0:06:01.340 For my problem. Can you bow your heads and close 0:06:01.360 --> 0:06:03.320 your eyes? Let's pray over the preaching of God's word. 0:06:03.360 --> 0:06:06.060 Lord, we love you. This is your house and we 0:06:06.120 --> 0:06:06.820 are your people. 0:06:07.200 --> 0:06:09.520 And I pray that today as we look into your word, 0:06:09.540 --> 0:06:12.350 you would speak to us through your spirit in the ways. 0:06:12.060 --> 0:06:13.320 That only you can. 0:06:13.650 --> 0:06:15.630 And in the end, we promise to give you all 0:06:15.650 --> 0:06:18.110 the glory and all the honor and all the praise. 0:06:18.510 --> 0:06:21.250 In Jesus' name, can someone shout out amen? Come on, 0:06:21.250 --> 0:06:22.530 if you're ready for the word of God today, can 0:06:22.550 --> 0:06:24.150 you make a little bit of noise? 0:06:27.620 --> 0:06:29.240 Last thing, I got to give a shout out. 0:06:29.620 --> 0:06:33.120 I am the campus pastor at Southeastern University, and I 0:06:33.160 --> 0:06:36.159 heard that Elevation College might be in the room today. 0:06:37.000 --> 0:06:37.380 Come on. 0:06:37.500 --> 0:06:41.339 Shout out to Elevation College. Excited about what God's doing 0:06:41.680 --> 0:06:44.669 with you guys. Real quick, make some noise if you 0:06:44.700 --> 0:06:49.429 love history. You're a history buff. You like history. All right, let's. 0:06:49.290 --> 0:06:49.740 Do this one. 0:06:49.750 --> 0:06:51.550 This will get some more amens. Raise your hand if 0:06:51.570 --> 0:06:55.650 you like a good documentary. You like a documentary. I'm 0:06:55.670 --> 0:07:00.370 worried about you. Because all y'all are watching documentaries about 0:07:00.430 --> 0:07:03.370 murderers and serial killers, and that's the reason why you 0:07:03.410 --> 0:07:04.190 can't sleep at night. 0:07:05.450 --> 0:07:09.310 But I love history. I love biographies. I love documentaries. 0:07:09.750 --> 0:07:13.760 I love hearing the story of how something became what 0:07:13.780 --> 0:07:18.120 it became, or how someone became what they became. I 0:07:18.220 --> 0:07:21.300 love documentaries, and I love stories, especially about things that 0:07:21.320 --> 0:07:22.060 I'm passionate about. 0:07:22.290 --> 0:07:24.810 So for example, I love Apple. I've got an iPhone, 0:07:24.930 --> 0:07:27.230 I've got an iPad, I've got an iMac, a lot 0:07:27.250 --> 0:07:29.050 of i's. I got all of them. 0:07:29.610 --> 0:07:31.780 And I want to hear the story of how Apple 0:07:31.840 --> 0:07:33.960 started as a company. And when I started doing research, 0:07:34.040 --> 0:07:37.220 I saw something I'd never seen before. See, most people 0:07:37.280 --> 0:07:38.920 have heard of a guy named Steve Jobs. Raise your 0:07:38.940 --> 0:07:40.000 hand if you heard of Steve Jobs. 0:07:40.740 --> 0:07:42.320 Put your hands down. Raise your hand if you ever 0:07:42.340 --> 0:07:45.250 heard of a man named Steve Wozniak. Raise your hand. 0:07:45.670 --> 0:07:48.770 Fewer people. Put your hands down. There's one name that 0:07:48.930 --> 0:07:52.490 most people have never heard of. They've heard of Steve Jobs. 0:07:52.830 --> 0:07:55.330 They've heard of Steve Wozniak. But many people have never 0:07:55.370 --> 0:07:57.510 heard of a man named Ronald Wayne. 0:07:58.240 --> 0:08:02.450 The reason why is because Ronald Wayne isn't part of 0:08:02.490 --> 0:08:05.130 the story the way that Steve and Steve are. 0:08:05.190 --> 0:08:05.920 See, here's what happened. 0:08:05.920 --> 0:08:11.239 50 years ago, April 1st, 1976, there was three co-founders 0:08:11.620 --> 0:08:15.590 of the Apple company, not two. Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, 0:08:15.890 --> 0:08:19.510 and Ronald Wayne. Ronald Wayne did some pretty important stuff. 0:08:19.550 --> 0:08:22.290 He was actually part of creating the first manual for 0:08:22.330 --> 0:08:26.540 the first Apple computer. Not only did he do that, 0:08:26.880 --> 0:08:29.720 he was also the one who created the first ever 0:08:30.280 --> 0:08:33.400 Apple logo. It wasn't an Apple, it was actually something else. 0:08:33.420 --> 0:08:35.819 Can you put that picture on the screen? This is 0:08:35.840 --> 0:08:40.930 the first ever Apple logo that was ever created. Ronald 0:08:41.170 --> 0:08:44.530 Wayne did that. And because of his work, he was 0:08:44.550 --> 0:08:48.670 going to receive 10% of the Apple company. But something happened. 0:08:48.990 --> 0:08:54.410 After 12 days, he quit. Couldn't handle the stress. Couldn't 0:08:54.429 --> 0:08:58.050 handle the worry. Couldn't handle the anxiety. Steve and Steve 0:08:58.240 --> 0:09:00.319 were driving him crazy. Maybe they didn't like him because 0:09:00.360 --> 0:09:02.520 his name wasn't Steve. Because then it would have been Steve, Steve, 0:09:02.559 --> 0:09:05.060 and Steve. But it was Steve, Steve, and Ronald. They 0:09:05.080 --> 0:09:07.829 didn't like the sound of that. So here's what he does, 0:09:07.850 --> 0:09:11.390 he quits and he sells his 10% of the company. 0:09:12.590 --> 0:09:15.030 For $ 800. 0:09:13.890 --> 0:09:20.280 Now we all know Apple went on to be a 0:09:20.410 --> 0:09:23.840 real small mom and pop shop in San Francisco. 0:09:23.860 --> 0:09:26.160 It's actually not what happened. 0:09:26.620 --> 0:09:28.939 Apple goes on to be one of, if not the 0:09:29.059 --> 0:09:31.880 biggest company in the entire world. Quick question, would you 0:09:31.920 --> 0:09:37.819 like to know how much is $ 800? His 10% of 0:09:38.059 --> 0:09:39.800 Apple stock will be worth. 0:09:39.600 --> 0:09:49.630 50 years later in 2026. $ 200 billion. That's not an 0:09:51.250 --> 0:09:54.310 M with a B. Billion, billion. 0:10:03.500 --> 0:10:06.300 Now once you look at me I Have a question 0:10:06.330 --> 0:10:09.150 that I would like to ask you today Have you 0:10:09.290 --> 0:10:17.809 ever seen somebody quit too soon? Have you ever seen 0:10:17.929 --> 0:10:21.860 somebody that threw in the white towel and Too soon. 0:10:23.620 --> 0:10:25.859 Have you ever seen someone quit on a job too soon? 0:10:27.140 --> 0:10:30.840 Quit on a friendship too soon? Quit on a marriage 0:10:30.940 --> 0:10:35.410 too soon? Quit on a dream too soon? Have you 0:10:35.610 --> 0:10:37.250 ever seen somebody quit. 0:10:37.130 --> 0:10:39.410 On God too soon? 0:10:41.130 --> 0:10:44.230 See, what's sad about that is the possibility of what 0:10:44.270 --> 0:10:45.670 could have been and what should have been and what 0:10:45.710 --> 0:10:48.210 would have been but did not happen because sometimes we 0:10:48.250 --> 0:10:51.550 give up too soon and we miss out on everything 0:10:51.570 --> 0:10:55.920 that god had in store for us came to encourage 0:10:55.940 --> 0:10:58.860 somebody at elevation church today look at me it's too 0:10:58.940 --> 0:11:03.040 soon to quit look at your neighbor say neighbor it's 0:11:03.120 --> 0:11:06.060 too soon to quit look at your other neighbor your 0:11:06.100 --> 0:11:09.630 second option and let your neighbor know neighbor it's too. 0:11:09.530 --> 0:11:16.050 Soon to quit One day, you and I will stand 0:11:16.090 --> 0:11:19.090 before God. You and I will stand before Jesus and 0:11:19.110 --> 0:11:20.580 we will give an account for. 0:11:20.480 --> 0:11:22.580 The life that we lived. And he will ask us, 0:11:22.679 --> 0:11:24.360 what did you do with the life that I gave you? 0:11:25.080 --> 0:11:27.020 What did you do with the talents that I gave you? 0:11:27.280 --> 0:11:29.320 What did you do with the family that I gave you? 0:11:29.520 --> 0:11:31.690 What did you do with the resources that I gave you? 0:11:31.700 --> 0:11:34.059 There's actually a scripture about this in the Bible. There's 0:11:34.080 --> 0:11:36.600 something called the judgment seat of Christ. There's going to 0:11:36.620 --> 0:11:39.200 be a judgment around eternity, but then there's going to 0:11:39.220 --> 0:11:41.600 be a judgment for the believers, for followers of Jesus, 0:11:41.860 --> 0:11:43.920 where Jesus is going to talk to you about the 0:11:44.000 --> 0:11:47.079 life that you live. Second Corinthians 5.10, here's what it says, 0:11:47.340 --> 0:11:50.160 for we must all appear before the judgment seat of 0:11:50.240 --> 0:11:52.500 Christ so that each one may receive what is due 0:11:52.760 --> 0:11:55.069 for what he has done in the body, whether good 0:11:55.520 --> 0:11:59.710 or evil. I remember hearing preachers preach about this text 0:12:00.090 --> 0:12:01.730 and talking about how one day we're going to stand 0:12:01.770 --> 0:12:04.210 before Jesus and we're going to give an account for 0:12:04.230 --> 0:12:07.010 the life that we lived. But the preacher preached it 0:12:07.030 --> 0:12:09.030 in an interesting way. Maybe you've heard this before. Maybe 0:12:09.150 --> 0:12:12.170 you and I listened to the same preacher. He would say, 0:12:12.290 --> 0:12:13.910 one day you're going to get to heaven and there's 0:12:13.929 --> 0:12:19.250 going to be a gigantic screen. Has anyone heard this before? 0:12:20.070 --> 0:12:22.070 There's going to be a screen in heaven and God's 0:12:22.090 --> 0:12:26.670 going to play a movie of your life. And people 0:12:26.830 --> 0:12:28.189 are going to see. 0:12:28.210 --> 0:12:30.150 The good things that you did, but they're also going 0:12:30.170 --> 0:12:31.350 to see the bad things that you did. 0:12:31.590 --> 0:12:33.850 Do you want people to watch a movie about all 0:12:33.870 --> 0:12:35.150 the bad things that you did? 0:12:35.870 --> 0:12:37.569 And the whole time that I'm watching it, I'm thinking, 0:12:38.030 --> 0:12:40.579 I just hope my mom isn't there to watch the movie. 0:12:41.700 --> 0:12:45.559 Because there's a season, there's parts of that movie that 0:12:45.660 --> 0:12:50.569 are not PG-13. And I don't want my mother to see. See, 0:12:50.590 --> 0:12:52.720 the older that I got, I came to two conclusions. 0:12:52.780 --> 0:12:53.660 The first thing is this. 0:12:54.000 --> 0:12:56.930 The Bible doesn't say anything about a TV screen. The 0:12:56.990 --> 0:13:00.420 preacher added that part. That part's not there. And then 0:13:00.460 --> 0:13:01.260 the second thing is this. 0:13:01.679 --> 0:13:04.350 Even if that is true, even if everyone that I 0:13:04.370 --> 0:13:06.470 know will see all the mistakes that I made and 0:13:06.490 --> 0:13:08.390 all the bad things that I did and the sins 0:13:08.410 --> 0:13:10.230 that I committed, I don't have to be worried about 0:13:10.250 --> 0:13:12.230 that because Jesus died on the cross for me. 0:13:12.510 --> 0:13:15.210 I'm covered by the blood of Christ. I've been redeemed. 0:13:15.390 --> 0:13:19.210 There is now therefore no condemnation for those who are 0:13:19.429 --> 0:13:20.390 in Christ Jesus. 0:13:20.610 --> 0:13:27.260 Play the movie. I'm not worried about it. Now, here's 0:13:27.280 --> 0:13:30.250 the thing. Like I mentioned, the movie part isn't in 0:13:30.290 --> 0:13:30.670 the Bible. 0:13:31.410 --> 0:13:34.270 But you know what will be worse than a movie 0:13:34.870 --> 0:13:37.250 about all the mistakes that you made and all the 0:13:37.290 --> 0:13:39.380 things that you committed? I remember my youth pastor told 0:13:39.400 --> 0:13:41.180 me one time, you know what will be worse than that? 0:13:41.640 --> 0:13:44.660 Could you imagine God played a movie of the life 0:13:44.900 --> 0:14:04.609 that you could have lived? <HAL> <HAL> <HAL> <HAL> <HAL> <HAL> <HAL> <HAL> <HAL> <HAL> <HAL> <HAL> <HAL> <HAL> <HAL> <HAL> <HAL> <HAL> <HAL> <HAL> <HAL> <HAL> <HAL> <HAL> <HAL> <HAL> <HAL> <HAL> <HAL> <HAL> <HAL> <HAL> <HAL> <HAL> <HAL> <HAL> <HAL> <HAL> <HAL> <HAL> <HAL> <HAL> <HAL> <HAL> <HAL> <HAL> <HAL>. 0:14:04.390 --> 0:14:06.180 <HAL> <HAL> <HAL> <HAL> <HAL> <HAL>. 0:14:07.559 --> 0:14:11.140 Because you allow life to get in the way. Listen 0:14:11.179 --> 0:14:13.800 to me, that is horrible. I hate to think about that. 0:14:14.000 --> 0:14:14.500 You know why? 0:14:14.640 --> 0:14:20.390 Because the only thing harder than obedience is regret. The 0:14:20.530 --> 0:14:22.170 only thing harder than saying yes to. 0:14:22.110 --> 0:14:25.970 God is wishing you would have said yes to God. See, 0:14:26.010 --> 0:14:28.650 God has so much in store for our lives, our marriages, 0:14:29.060 --> 0:14:33.220 our children, our families, our businesses, our church, our callings. 0:14:33.300 --> 0:14:34.750 God has so much in store for us. 0:14:34.820 --> 0:14:37.380 But all of that, listen to me, is on the 0:14:37.540 --> 0:14:41.080 other side of something called perseverance. 0:14:42.180 --> 0:14:45.770 Somebody say perseverance. Someone shout out perseverance. Perseverance. 0:14:46.880 --> 0:14:50.570 Let me give you Miriam Webster's definition of perseverance. Perseverance 0:14:50.640 --> 0:14:57.930 is continued effort to do or achieve something despite difficulties, failure, 0:14:58.410 --> 0:15:01.370 or opposition. Let me put that in plain English for you. 0:15:01.650 --> 0:15:08.300 You need to push past the pain. You need to 0:15:08.540 --> 0:15:11.680 push past. past the pain. Can you say that with me? 0:15:12.220 --> 0:15:14.680 Push past the pain. 0:15:14.740 --> 0:15:18.010 Say it one more time. Push past the pain. I 0:15:18.040 --> 0:15:21.790 kinda like this. Push past the pain. Only do it 0:15:21.810 --> 0:15:22.930 when I put my hands toward you. 0:15:22.970 --> 0:15:23.170 Ready? 0:15:23.570 --> 0:15:26.230 Push past the pain. Watch this. Push past the. 0:15:28.930 --> 0:15:29.010 Pain. 0:15:29.030 --> 0:15:30.290 Give yourselves a round of applause. 0:15:32.730 --> 0:15:37.830 The truth is, pain is part of the human experience. 0:15:39.450 --> 0:15:41.530 I want y'all to know today, I confess to you, 0:15:41.690 --> 0:15:42.330 my back hurts. 0:15:44.230 --> 0:15:46.730 My knee hurts. My life hurts. 0:15:48.370 --> 0:15:50.820 Pain is part of the human experience and there's all 0:15:50.890 --> 0:15:53.360 kinds of pain. And I came today to church to 0:15:53.400 --> 0:15:57.660 let you know that God cares about your pain. God 0:15:57.680 --> 0:16:04.560 doesn't cause all pain. Breaks God's heart. Some of the 0:16:04.600 --> 0:16:06.220 things that you've had to go through, it breaks my 0:16:06.240 --> 0:16:07.730 heart as a pastor. Some of the things that you've 0:16:07.750 --> 0:16:10.120 had to walk through. I bet if I walked around 0:16:10.160 --> 0:16:13.180 and passed the microphone, I'd hear so many stories of 0:16:13.220 --> 0:16:16.540 things that people are even walking through right now in 0:16:16.560 --> 0:16:19.000 this church. And nobody would know. They could be sitting 0:16:19.040 --> 0:16:20.720 on your left, sitting on your right, behind you or 0:16:20.740 --> 0:16:22.620 in front of you. They have no idea what you're 0:16:22.640 --> 0:16:25.660 walking through. There's all kinds of pain. There's relational pain. 0:16:26.320 --> 0:16:29.830 There's emotional pain. There's physical pain. There's financial pain. But 0:16:29.850 --> 0:16:32.170 what I love about the Bible is the Bible is 0:16:32.210 --> 0:16:34.310 a book that doesn't run away from pain. 0:16:36.510 --> 0:16:38.890 Actually read the Bible. If you've ever really read the Bible, 0:16:38.910 --> 0:16:42.140 here's what you see. A lot of pain. A lot 0:16:42.180 --> 0:16:42.740 of brokenness. 0:16:45.320 --> 0:16:47.260 The Bible doesn't run away from pain, which brings me 0:16:47.400 --> 0:16:51.380 to the book of Philippians, where we find our passage today. 0:16:52.060 --> 0:16:55.240 Philippians is an interesting book. See, Philippians is written by 0:16:55.280 --> 0:16:56.040 the Apostle Paul. 0:16:56.060 --> 0:16:56.680 Someone say Paul. 0:16:58.370 --> 0:17:01.530 And the book of Philippians is written in prison. It's 0:17:01.550 --> 0:17:05.130 a prison epistle. Someone say prison. Look at your neighbor 0:17:05.150 --> 0:17:07.510 and say neighbor. I don't want to go back to prison. 0:17:09.210 --> 0:17:12.550 Your neighbor's like, you went to prison? I didn't know 0:17:12.590 --> 0:17:14.310 who I was sitting next to, dang. 0:17:17.390 --> 0:17:19.250 The book of Philippians is written by Paul. 0:17:20.320 --> 0:17:24.780 It's written in prison, but there's one additional factor that 0:17:24.800 --> 0:17:29.919 makes it an interesting book. Theologians, scholars, they call the 0:17:30.000 --> 0:17:36.100 book of Philippians the book of joy. The epistle of joy, 0:17:36.359 --> 0:17:39.680 the letter of joy, which to me sounds like an oxymoron. 0:17:40.040 --> 0:17:43.340 Paul writes a book in prison and is the epistle 0:17:43.880 --> 0:17:47.810 of joy. That feels like a contradiction because how do 0:17:47.850 --> 0:17:51.810 you have joy while you're sitting in a prison cell? 0:17:53.190 --> 0:17:58.909 That doesn't feel like the appropriate response to chains. So Paul, 0:17:59.130 --> 0:18:02.060 he's trying to encourage the church in Philippi. The people 0:18:02.340 --> 0:18:04.419 are worried about him and he's trying to encourage them 0:18:04.440 --> 0:18:06.980 and he's saying all these encouraging things and he's speaking 0:18:07.160 --> 0:18:07.820 about joy. 0:18:08.080 --> 0:18:09.800 But as I'm listening to this, I gotta be honest. 0:18:09.820 --> 0:18:13.100 I'm thinking to myself, Paul, are you faking it? Just 0:18:13.119 --> 0:18:14.460 tell me the truth. Are you struggling? 0:18:14.480 --> 0:18:17.030 Are you not okay? Just tell me what's really going on. 0:18:17.090 --> 0:18:17.790 Are you faking it? 0:18:17.869 --> 0:18:18.630 Are you lying? 0:18:19.490 --> 0:18:22.430 Is the situation actually worse than you wanna be honest about? 0:18:22.490 --> 0:18:26.929 Because Paul, this doesn't feel genuine. You're in prison, but 0:18:26.950 --> 0:18:29.370 you're talking about Joy, I used to ask the same 0:18:29.410 --> 0:18:30.770 question about my mama. 0:18:31.690 --> 0:18:32.869 Mom, if you're listening, I'm sorry. 0:18:34.150 --> 0:18:39.260 Because my mom would fight with me on Friday, and 0:18:39.300 --> 0:18:43.440 my mama would spank me on Saturday. My mother didn't 0:18:43.480 --> 0:18:47.920 believe in gentle parenting. My mother, she's Pentecostal and Puerto Rican. 0:18:47.940 --> 0:18:50.530 She believed in the laying on of hands, if you 0:18:50.550 --> 0:18:51.470 know what I'm talking about. 0:18:51.490 --> 0:18:58.510 Oh, you in therapy too, anyways. So my mama would 0:18:58.590 --> 0:19:01.609 argue with me on Friday. She would spank me on Sunday, 0:19:02.410 --> 0:19:06.310 on Saturday, but she would sing on Sunday. We had 0:19:06.359 --> 0:19:08.940 a bad week. But my mama would show up to church. 0:19:08.980 --> 0:19:09.820 Maybe you know this song. 0:19:10.380 --> 0:19:15.030 I've got a joy like a river. Joy like a river. 0:19:15.050 --> 0:19:15.550 Sing with me. 0:19:16.050 --> 0:19:23.630 Joy like a river in my soul. I got a joy, joy. 0:19:24.030 --> 0:19:30.550 Joy like a river. Joy like a river in my soul. 0:19:31.570 --> 0:19:38.359 But she wasn't singing on Saturday. She was spanking. Singing 0:19:38.420 --> 0:19:44.030 and spanking. She's doing both. I think about my mom 0:19:44.090 --> 0:19:45.979 and I think about Paul and I've got a question. 0:19:46.060 --> 0:19:48.720 Which one is it? Is it joy or is it chains? 0:19:50.760 --> 0:19:54.950 Is it praise or is it pain? Which one is it? 0:19:55.100 --> 0:19:57.939 Because it doesn't feel like both of those can go together, 0:19:57.960 --> 0:19:59.660 but the answer is it's actually both. 0:20:00.020 --> 0:20:02.460 It's praising in my pain. 0:20:04.119 --> 0:20:10.490 And not allowing my pain to stop my praise. Someone 0:20:10.510 --> 0:20:15.390 say perseverance today. We see this in first in Acts 0:20:15.410 --> 0:20:18.590 chapter 16. This is not Paul's first time in prison. 0:20:18.609 --> 0:20:23.629 He is a repeat offender. Says Acts chapter 16, Paul 0:20:23.890 --> 0:20:26.109 and Silas are in prison. Pastor Jonathan preached about this 0:20:26.150 --> 0:20:28.950 a couple of weeks ago. Paul and Silas, they're in prison. 0:20:29.150 --> 0:20:31.540 And the Bible says they're praying and singing hymns. And 0:20:31.560 --> 0:20:33.540 the other prisoners were listening to them. And suddenly there 0:20:33.560 --> 0:20:35.720 was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the 0:20:35.760 --> 0:20:38.660 prison were shaken. And at once all the prison doors 0:20:38.900 --> 0:20:42.620 flew open and everyone's chains came loose. That's a powerful sermon. 0:20:42.680 --> 0:20:45.609 I could preach that sermon. That's a powerful story. I 0:20:45.630 --> 0:20:48.290 believe that God can set people free. I believe that 0:20:48.330 --> 0:20:51.450 God does miracles. I believe that God does the impossible. 0:20:51.470 --> 0:20:54.340 I believe that God sets chains loose and brings freedom. 0:20:54.359 --> 0:20:56.820 But what do you do when you're singing about joy, 0:20:56.840 --> 0:21:00.979 but you're still in chains? Coming to church on Sunday, 0:21:01.440 --> 0:21:06.359 you're serving, you're worshiping, you're giving, you're listening, but your 0:21:06.380 --> 0:21:11.149 kid's still acting up. And you still can't sleep. And 0:21:11.170 --> 0:21:14.210 your spouse still isn't coming to church. And that addiction 0:21:14.270 --> 0:21:17.490 keeps knocking at your door and you still can't. 0:21:17.340 --> 0:21:21.540 Find a job. The apostle Paul can relate. 0:21:21.560 --> 0:21:25.659