WEBVTT - I Wasn’t Left, I Lingered (Stephen Chandler) 0:00:00.640 --> 0:00:07.000 I'm excited. God has something super natural in store for you, Elevation. 0:00:07.440 --> 0:00:13.400 Are y'all doing well today? Man? It is the honor 0:00:13.400 --> 0:00:16.079 of a lifetime to be with you guys today. I'm 0:00:16.079 --> 0:00:18.360 gonna have you stand for just a few more minutes 0:00:18.400 --> 0:00:20.759 because we're about to go crazy and honor your pastor's 0:00:20.800 --> 0:00:23.959 pastor Steven and pastor Hollyford. It come on, can you 0:00:24.000 --> 0:00:29.640 put your hands together? We're grateful, grateful, grateful, grateful for them. 0:00:29.880 --> 0:00:34.440 A few weeks back, Elevation Nights was in Washington, DC, 0:00:34.840 --> 0:00:37.159 which is kind of like my home region. So like 0:00:37.240 --> 0:00:40.400 a whole church all a Union church showed up, and 0:00:40.479 --> 0:00:44.639 I mean it was unbelievable. And I was in that 0:00:45.040 --> 0:00:47.080 atmosphere and I ain't gonna lie. I was bawling my 0:00:47.120 --> 0:00:50.240 eyes out. I was a complete mess. And I began 0:00:50.280 --> 0:00:53.880 to think in the Old Testament, every time God would 0:00:53.960 --> 0:00:57.920 do something amazing for people, they would grab stones and 0:00:57.960 --> 0:01:01.360 they would build an altar and they would worship in 0:01:01.480 --> 0:01:05.120 that moment. And what that altar was for is as 0:01:05.280 --> 0:01:09.319 years went by, when they walked past those stones, their 0:01:09.400 --> 0:01:12.919 kids would act, Dad, mom, what are those stones about? 0:01:13.400 --> 0:01:15.320 And Dad would say, let me tell you about the 0:01:15.440 --> 0:01:18.520 time when our God parted the ocean in front of us. 0:01:18.760 --> 0:01:22.200 Let me about how that time when giants fell, because 0:01:22.240 --> 0:01:26.720 our God is also Here's the thought that crossed my mind. 0:01:26.800 --> 0:01:30.959 Here here in the New Testament Church, we don't stack stones, 0:01:32.040 --> 0:01:38.280 but songs are almost like modern day altars. I promise 0:01:38.360 --> 0:01:41.679 you you have a worship song that's connected to a 0:01:41.800 --> 0:01:45.479 victory or a loss that you've experienced in your life. 0:01:45.480 --> 0:01:48.320 And when you hear that song, it brings you back 0:01:48.360 --> 0:01:51.400 to the place where God delivers you, where he covered you, 0:01:51.440 --> 0:01:54.360 where He kept you. And I was just thinking, I 0:01:54.400 --> 0:01:58.280 am so grateful for this house. I'm so grateful for 0:01:58.440 --> 0:02:02.080 Pastor Stephen and Pastor and the songs that have come 0:02:02.160 --> 0:02:05.560 out of this house has carried me and hundreds and 0:02:05.720 --> 0:02:10.720 thousands of people closer to God through trials, through hardship, 0:02:10.800 --> 0:02:14.720 through setbacks. And it's because you have pastors that hear 0:02:14.800 --> 0:02:17.480 from God, that are humbled before the Lord and are 0:02:17.639 --> 0:02:20.480 leading according to the will of God. So is one 0:02:20.480 --> 0:02:23.079 more time? Can you put your hands together? Can you? 0:02:23.160 --> 0:02:25.280 Can you go nuts for your pastor? We love you, 0:02:25.800 --> 0:02:29.480 Pastor Steve and Pastor Holly. All right, let's reach go ahead, 0:02:29.639 --> 0:02:32.040 grab your sea, grab your seat, turning your Bible to 0:02:32.160 --> 0:02:38.440 Luke Luke chapter two, Luke, chapter two, Verse forty one. 0:02:39.440 --> 0:02:42.679 I have with me the greatest thing that has ever 0:02:42.760 --> 0:02:46.160 happened to me on planet Earth, next to salvation, and 0:02:46.200 --> 0:02:50.800 that is my beautiful African clean side. Chandler is in 0:02:50.919 --> 0:02:54.799 the building, my beautiful wi y'all. Her birthday was on Friday. 0:02:54.919 --> 0:02:57.880 She just can y'all shout happen birthday? Come on type 0:02:57.919 --> 0:03:02.040 it in the chat whatever campus you make her blush. 0:03:02.120 --> 0:03:04.400 I think they have a picture of my family. You 0:03:04.440 --> 0:03:07.400 can see how much we love each other because we 0:03:07.480 --> 0:03:11.960 got cheering. And I always feel bad showing this picture 0:03:11.960 --> 0:03:14.160 because it makes everybody feel bad because they realize that 0:03:14.240 --> 0:03:18.079 my family is more beautiful than theirs, and that's really 0:03:18.120 --> 0:03:21.680 mean and offensive. But you see the picture, it's true. 0:03:22.639 --> 0:03:24.799 Standing next to me is my beautiful daughter. Her name 0:03:24.840 --> 0:03:28.600 is Zoe, she's five. On my lap is my twin, 0:03:28.840 --> 0:03:32.320 my homie, he's four. His name is Roman. And then 0:03:32.480 --> 0:03:36.920 holding my wife's holding our youngest are ten months old. 0:03:37.640 --> 0:03:40.520 She looks like an angel. She is a fallen angel. 0:03:40.600 --> 0:03:44.280 She does not know Jesus and she likes to remind us. 0:03:44.280 --> 0:03:47.240 At about three point thirty in the morning that she 0:03:47.400 --> 0:03:50.960 is a heathen. So pray for Jade Mariah that she 0:03:51.040 --> 0:03:53.960 would get some Jesus and some holy ghosts, or at 0:03:54.040 --> 0:03:56.839 least a little bit of sleep, so that we can 0:03:57.120 --> 0:04:01.480 enjoy enjoy our rest. We're blessed, we're grateful. We're really 0:04:01.520 --> 0:04:03.280 blessed because we left them home, so we are in 0:04:03.320 --> 0:04:07.760 great sleep. Oh, before I appreach, y'all, I've got a 0:04:07.920 --> 0:04:14.520 book coming out. Come on now. It's called Stop Waiting 0:04:14.800 --> 0:04:19.000 for Permission, and I'm asking man, grab that book. It 0:04:19.080 --> 0:04:22.280 will change your life. One of my favorite verses in 0:04:22.320 --> 0:04:26.000 all of Scripture is Proverbs twenty five to two. Proverbs 0:04:26.000 --> 0:04:28.520 twenty five to two says it's the glory of God 0:04:28.600 --> 0:04:32.000 to conceal a matter, and it's the glory of kings 0:04:32.080 --> 0:04:35.159 to reveal a matter. Here's how I interpret that verse. 0:04:35.640 --> 0:04:39.480 That God is hidden greatness inside of you. You may 0:04:39.480 --> 0:04:42.240 not realize this, but there's a genius inside of you. 0:04:42.279 --> 0:04:45.440 There's an anointing, there's a gifting, and God is hidden 0:04:45.520 --> 0:04:48.440 it inside. Why the hide it because if you find 0:04:48.480 --> 0:04:52.440 it without him, you'll abuse it. But when you find 0:04:52.480 --> 0:04:55.840 it in Him, you will realize that there's something inside 0:04:55.880 --> 0:05:00.000 of you that will transform this world. And that book 0:05:00.080 --> 0:05:02.400 literally is a step by step guide. It really is 0:05:02.400 --> 0:05:04.680 what God, the journey God took me on of just 0:05:04.720 --> 0:05:07.040 thinking that I'm kind of a nobody and invisible in 0:05:07.120 --> 0:05:09.840 all this, and then realizing that there's so much that 0:05:10.000 --> 0:05:12.880 God has placed inside of me. So you could pre 0:05:13.040 --> 0:05:15.040 order that wherever books are sold. All right, we're done 0:05:15.040 --> 0:05:18.320 with a QVC commercial. Here we go, Luke, Chapter two, 0:05:18.440 --> 0:05:21.719 verse forty one. If you're ready for the words, somebody say, yeah, 0:05:21.760 --> 0:05:24.680 come on, here we go. It says this his parents, 0:05:24.680 --> 0:05:27.880 and this is Jesus's parents, Mary and Joseph, went to 0:05:28.000 --> 0:05:31.719 Jerusalem every year at the feast of the Passover. When 0:05:31.720 --> 0:05:33.840 he was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem 0:05:33.839 --> 0:05:36.560 according to the custom of the feast. When they had 0:05:36.680 --> 0:05:43.280 finished the days, as they returned, the boy, Jesus lingered, No, 0:05:43.440 --> 0:05:45.800 I need you to say lingered. Somebody say lingered, Come on, 0:05:45.880 --> 0:05:48.479 type it in the chat. Somebody say, lingered. It's the 0:05:48.520 --> 0:05:54.599 whole message. Jesus lingered behind in Jerusalem, and Joseph and 0:05:54.640 --> 0:05:57.560 his mother did not know it, but supposing him to 0:05:57.640 --> 0:06:00.799 have been in the company, they went a day journey 0:06:01.120 --> 0:06:05.839 and sought him among their relatives and acquaintances. So when 0:06:05.839 --> 0:06:11.560 they did not find him. They returned to Jerusalem seeking him. 0:06:11.640 --> 0:06:14.320 Now I gotta pause because y'all not catching the tension 0:06:14.360 --> 0:06:24.600 in this passage. Y'all marry and Joseph lost God. Now 0:06:24.640 --> 0:06:26.200 I don't know how you are. Maybe you're one of 0:06:26.200 --> 0:06:28.320 those people you don't lose anything. You know where your 0:06:28.320 --> 0:06:31.279 car keys are? Your wallet? All the time. I lose things, 0:06:31.839 --> 0:06:35.320 I lose car keys, I lose wallets, I lose children sometime, 0:06:35.800 --> 0:06:41.600 I have never lost God. Listen, you're panicking when you 0:06:41.680 --> 0:06:46.760 check your pockets and you realize God ain't there, says now. 0:06:46.839 --> 0:06:49.520 So it was that after three days that they found 0:06:49.600 --> 0:06:53.560 him in church. He was in the temple, sitting in 0:06:53.600 --> 0:06:56.320 the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and 0:06:56.480 --> 0:07:01.320 asking them questions. And all who heard him were astonished 0:07:01.720 --> 0:07:05.160 at his understanding and answers. So when they saw him, 0:07:05.200 --> 0:07:07.520 they were amazed. And his mother said to him, son, 0:07:08.080 --> 0:07:11.000 why have you why'd you put us through this? Why? 0:07:11.080 --> 0:07:13.960 Why get done this to us? Look, your father and 0:07:14.120 --> 0:07:18.320 I have sought you anxiously. And he said to them, Yo, 0:07:18.400 --> 0:07:20.680 you gotta understand he was God, but he was also twelve. 0:07:21.720 --> 0:07:24.520 He's like, what y'all looking for? He said, Why did 0:07:24.560 --> 0:07:28.200 you seek me? Did you not know that I must 0:07:28.320 --> 0:07:35.320 be about my father's business. This is a moment where 0:07:35.320 --> 0:07:37.480 Mary had to decide do I grab them Messiah by 0:07:37.520 --> 0:07:43.040 his ear or do I just say yes Lord? But 0:07:43.160 --> 0:07:45.760 they did not They didn't know what he was. They'd 0:07:45.840 --> 0:07:51.120 understand this statement which he spoke to them. Let's pray, Father, God. 0:07:51.160 --> 0:07:54.720 We're grateful. God, We're grateful, and we don't take for 0:07:54.800 --> 0:07:57.880 granted your presence. God. You said, wherever two or three 0:07:57.920 --> 0:07:59.640 are gothered in your name, there you'll be also. God, 0:07:59.640 --> 0:08:01.480 there's two in this room. This to what every campus. 0:08:01.480 --> 0:08:04.480 There's hundreds and thousands of people watching across the world. 0:08:04.560 --> 0:08:09.560 And God, you you wouldn't show up and not transform, 0:08:09.760 --> 0:08:13.000 and not speak and not heal. So God we say, 0:08:13.120 --> 0:08:19.160 have your way, and God, when you speak, we will obey. 0:08:20.000 --> 0:08:27.200 In Jesus' name, we pray. Somebody shout Amen. Amen. At 0:08:27.240 --> 0:08:30.440 the end of twenty twenty one, the last week of December, 0:08:30.560 --> 0:08:33.480 I've been doing this for years. I just took about 0:08:33.480 --> 0:08:35.880 a week off between Christmas in New Years and kind 0:08:35.880 --> 0:08:38.280 of just get some time away to pray, to plan 0:08:38.360 --> 0:08:40.439 my next year and all that other good stuff. And 0:08:41.360 --> 0:08:43.960 this year it was different. I'm fasting and praying, I'm 0:08:43.960 --> 0:08:47.319 spending time with God, and God gave me a specific 0:08:47.400 --> 0:08:50.680 word for twenty twenty two. Now. It's not super deep 0:08:50.720 --> 0:08:52.719 or super spiritual, whatever is. I don't want to set you. 0:08:52.720 --> 0:08:55.280 Oh you got a prophecy. It just God just gave 0:08:55.320 --> 0:08:57.360 me a word. And before I give you that, you 0:08:57.440 --> 0:08:59.680 just got to understand. This doesn't happen to me often. 0:09:00.280 --> 0:09:02.280 I'm not the guy that has a word for every 0:09:02.320 --> 0:09:05.200 single year. This is twenty nineteen the year of harvest, 0:09:05.200 --> 0:09:07.760 twenty twenty the year of abundance. Didn't see that come 0:09:07.800 --> 0:09:10.400 in twenty two. I'm just not the guy that gets 0:09:10.440 --> 0:09:13.320 a word every year. So this was just different for me. 0:09:13.440 --> 0:09:16.200 But I just felt this still small voice that God said. 0:09:16.240 --> 0:09:20.880 Twenty twenty two is the year of purpose. He says, Stephen, 0:09:20.960 --> 0:09:23.440 this is a year where you can't afford to waste 0:09:23.559 --> 0:09:26.200 a lot of time. This is a year where you 0:09:26.280 --> 0:09:29.320 have to be intentional. You have to be focused, you 0:09:29.440 --> 0:09:31.400 have to know what I've called you to do, and 0:09:31.440 --> 0:09:33.800 you have to be about. Twenty twenty two is the 0:09:33.920 --> 0:09:39.960 year of no. Come on out, that says some of y'all. Free. No, 0:09:40.000 --> 0:09:42.400 I'm sorry, I can't make it. No I'm sorry. I 0:09:42.440 --> 0:09:44.440 can't do that. No, I'm sorry. I'm not even sorry. 0:09:44.520 --> 0:09:48.240 Actually I won't be there. It's a year where God 0:09:48.280 --> 0:09:51.720 says if people would lock in on their calling, lock 0:09:51.800 --> 0:09:55.640 in on their purpose, would be intentional about their life, 0:09:55.760 --> 0:09:59.920 they would see a wind of favor sweep behind them. 0:10:00.520 --> 0:10:03.319 You'll see doors open that you didn't even know could 0:10:03.360 --> 0:10:06.800 open because you're not just living a happenstance life or 0:10:07.000 --> 0:10:09.840 let's see how it goes or what happens. But I'm 0:10:09.960 --> 0:10:13.000 locked in on who God's called me to be and 0:10:13.080 --> 0:10:17.160 what He's called me to do. Somebody say purpose. There's 0:10:17.200 --> 0:10:20.720 nobody that's walked the planet that has lived a life 0:10:20.760 --> 0:10:24.960 of more purpose than Jesus. You've got to understand. Even 0:10:25.080 --> 0:10:30.200 before he was born, it was documented and prophesied the 0:10:30.360 --> 0:10:33.559 purpose on his life. The Bible says this in Luke, 0:10:33.640 --> 0:10:37.079 chapter one, verse thirty two. Talking about Jesus, it says, 0:10:37.200 --> 0:10:41.160 he will be great. Let's not even go any further. 0:10:41.240 --> 0:10:45.800 Can you imagine the pressure? Hey, no pressure, but you 0:10:46.160 --> 0:10:49.560 have to be great. If you're not great, your life 0:10:49.679 --> 0:10:53.480 is a failure. He said he will be great and 0:10:53.520 --> 0:10:56.120 will be called the Son of the Most High. The 0:10:56.240 --> 0:10:59.600 Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 0:10:59.880 --> 0:11:04.640 and he will reign over Jacob's descendants. Watch this forever. 0:11:05.240 --> 0:11:10.520 His kingdom will never end. Now that's a great Bible, 0:11:11.160 --> 0:11:13.120 but that's a lot of pressure for a three year old. 0:11:14.640 --> 0:11:16.800 I mean, let's be real. You are the king of 0:11:16.880 --> 0:11:19.960 kings of Ludi Wars. You're taking over David's throne and 0:11:20.040 --> 0:11:24.560 your kingdom can never end. Could you imagine the pressure 0:11:24.600 --> 0:11:30.120 that Jesus lived under? Could you imagine the focus, the intentionality. 0:11:30.200 --> 0:11:33.040 Can you imagine he couldn't say what everybody else was saying, 0:11:33.720 --> 0:11:36.360 He couldn't go where everybody else was going, He couldn't 0:11:36.400 --> 0:11:39.800 do whatever. Could you imagine being fourteen knowing that there's 0:11:39.840 --> 0:11:44.920 a cross in your future? Can you imagine the pressure 0:11:45.040 --> 0:11:52.319 of being the Messiah and having to pick a prom date? Now, 0:11:52.360 --> 0:11:55.120 you can't just go to problem with anybody like, there's 0:11:55.160 --> 0:11:58.160 a calling on your life, there's purpose. You have to 0:11:58.320 --> 0:12:02.199 live with a focus and any No, here's the thing. 0:12:02.240 --> 0:12:04.080 We look at Jesus, we know he's the Missigh and 0:12:04.080 --> 0:12:06.120 we're like, well, of course he had to live with 0:12:06.240 --> 0:12:09.000 purpose because the whole world was counting on him. But 0:12:09.080 --> 0:12:12.240 what we don't realize is you have purpose as well, 0:12:13.480 --> 0:12:17.160 that God called you and knows you and has a specific, 0:12:17.400 --> 0:12:21.040 unique purpose for you here on earth. The Bible says 0:12:21.080 --> 0:12:24.559 in Acts seventeen that God picts your city, he picked 0:12:24.559 --> 0:12:26.839 the time in the calendar that you would be born. 0:12:27.120 --> 0:12:30.839 He picts your family. He sets you up for the 0:12:30.920 --> 0:12:34.360 kingdom purpose that he has for you. There's even prophecy 0:12:34.400 --> 0:12:36.880 about you in Scripture and Jeremiah one to five. It 0:12:36.960 --> 0:12:40.800 says this, God says, I knew you, Steven. I like 0:12:40.840 --> 0:12:43.000 doing it. Can you just put your name in the Bible, 0:12:43.360 --> 0:12:46.280 say I knew you, whatever your name is, Gabe or whatever. 0:12:46.360 --> 0:12:50.240 I knew you before you were formed within your mother's womb, 0:12:50.920 --> 0:12:53.640 before you were born. I sanctified. What does that mean? 0:12:53.679 --> 0:12:57.400 He said, I set you aside for special use. He said, 0:12:57.440 --> 0:13:02.720 you are appointed as my spokesperson to the world. Listen 0:13:02.760 --> 0:13:06.480 to me. There is purpose on your life. God said, 0:13:06.520 --> 0:13:10.280 before you were even born, I knew you. I called you. 0:13:10.400 --> 0:13:14.160 I planned you to have an impact on earth that 0:13:14.360 --> 0:13:18.240 nobody else could have. I know your parents told you 0:13:18.280 --> 0:13:20.640 that you were a surprise. They didn't see you come in. 0:13:20.880 --> 0:13:23.839 But hear me, you were not a surprise to God. 0:13:26.400 --> 0:13:29.640 God had purpose for you before you knew you. Watch this, 0:13:30.200 --> 0:13:33.199 God had purpose for you before you made your biggest mistake. 0:13:34.920 --> 0:13:37.280 So many people, all we can see is the biggest 0:13:37.320 --> 0:13:39.600 moment of shame in our life. And we say, well, 0:13:39.640 --> 0:13:42.000 because of that, God can never use me. Watch this. 0:13:42.320 --> 0:13:45.600 God is all knowing, and he planned your purpose knowing 0:13:45.640 --> 0:13:48.720 that that mistake would be in your story. And yet 0:13:48.760 --> 0:13:51.199 he still said, I have purpose for you. He still 0:13:51.200 --> 0:13:53.920 said I want to use you in a way that 0:13:54.000 --> 0:13:58.880 you will not even imagine. Somebody say, there's purpose on 0:13:58.920 --> 0:14:06.120 my life. Now here's the problem with purpose. The problem 0:14:06.160 --> 0:14:09.240 with purpose is I don't get to do what everybody 0:14:09.240 --> 0:14:13.800 else does. The problem with purpose is I can't go 0:14:13.920 --> 0:14:18.200 where everybody else goes. I can't say what everybody else says. 0:14:18.240 --> 0:14:21.120 And watch this, I have to go through some things 0:14:21.880 --> 0:14:25.160 that other people don't have to go through because they 0:14:25.200 --> 0:14:29.480 don't have the same purpose on their life. So I 0:14:29.560 --> 0:14:32.800 have on my life. I'm a huge football fan. We're 0:14:32.800 --> 0:14:35.400 getting ready to go in a football season, and we 0:14:35.520 --> 0:14:37.560 like watching football on TV or high school games or 0:14:37.600 --> 0:14:40.200 whatever it may be. Before it gets to TV, before 0:14:40.240 --> 0:14:44.120 they get to the game, they have August, come on, 0:14:44.160 --> 0:14:46.800 how avery gonna play football? Back in the day, August 0:14:46.800 --> 0:14:48.760 there's the worst month of the year for a football player. 0:14:48.760 --> 0:14:52.560 Why because there's no games, there's no television, there's just 0:14:52.720 --> 0:14:56.880 heat and practice. My football coach, he would say, Steven, 0:14:57.160 --> 0:15:04.320 go run this hill until I remember you exist and 0:15:04.480 --> 0:15:09.040 we are out there suffering. Not everybody is going through 0:15:09.040 --> 0:15:12.400 what we're going through, but not everybody gets to play 0:15:12.440 --> 0:15:21.600 what we play. Hear me, I know I'm not. I'm like, 0:15:21.640 --> 0:15:23.160 three minutes in my message. I don't want to tick 0:15:23.200 --> 0:15:24.480 you off or anything like that. So I'm gonna talk 0:15:24.480 --> 0:15:26.440 about myself and instead of talk about you, I'm gonna 0:15:26.480 --> 0:15:28.040 throw myself unto the bus and you could jump under 0:15:28.080 --> 0:15:33.000 the bus with me. But I find myself complaining about 0:15:33.040 --> 0:15:37.840 how difficult life is. Sometimes the only bit I have 0:15:37.880 --> 0:15:41.360 to go through and it ain't up there pastor this church, 0:15:41.400 --> 0:15:45.600 and these people are crazy, you know what. I call 0:15:45.640 --> 0:15:52.080 it prayer time, But I'm actually I'm actually just complaining. 0:15:52.400 --> 0:15:54.960 And I feel like the Holy Spirit You've been jacked 0:15:55.000 --> 0:15:57.360 up in your prayer time at some point. I feel 0:15:57.360 --> 0:15:59.920 like the Holy Spirit said, yes, you're going through things 0:16:00.040 --> 0:16:02.200 that other people don't have to go through, but I'm 0:16:02.320 --> 0:16:05.280 using you in a way that I'm not using other people. 0:16:05.600 --> 0:16:08.680 So do you want to be normal and unused or 0:16:08.720 --> 0:16:11.560 do you want to go through some difficult seasons but 0:16:11.720 --> 0:16:16.480 be used by God in a great way? Hear me? 0:16:17.680 --> 0:16:19.880 Some of you have been looking around at your life 0:16:19.920 --> 0:16:23.080 and saying, my siblings aren't going through the same drama 0:16:23.120 --> 0:16:26.000 that I have to go through. My coworkers aren't running 0:16:26.040 --> 0:16:31.040 into the same setbacks. Why why? Here's why. Because you're cold, 0:16:31.280 --> 0:16:35.160 Because there's purpose, because there's destiny, because God's hand is 0:16:35.200 --> 0:16:38.720 on your life, because you're favored. Yeah, you're going through 0:16:38.760 --> 0:16:41.720 things that other people don't have to go through. But 0:16:41.800 --> 0:16:45.640 God's gonna use you in ways, and He's not using somebody. 0:16:45.720 --> 0:16:50.400 Shall I have purpose? I want to preach a message. 0:16:50.400 --> 0:16:51.760 You may have thought that I was preaching. I haven't 0:16:51.760 --> 0:16:55.840 started preaching yet, but I want to preach the message 0:16:55.840 --> 0:17:03.600 today called I wasn't Left. I lingered. I wasn't left. 0:17:03.920 --> 0:17:08.600 I lingered. My sophomore year in college at the University 0:17:08.640 --> 0:17:11.280 of Maryland College Park, the greatest university on planet Earth. 0:17:11.520 --> 0:17:19.879 Fear the Turtle. It's like the worst mascot ever. But 0:17:20.000 --> 0:17:23.720 sophomore year in college, it was just I was running 0:17:24.320 --> 0:17:27.720 like a madman. I was taken to over twenty credits 0:17:27.760 --> 0:17:29.800 because I was trying to get out of school as 0:17:29.880 --> 0:17:32.800 fast as possible. I was working for my dad's company, 0:17:32.880 --> 0:17:35.520 like twenty five hours. I was the student pastor at 0:17:35.560 --> 0:17:38.159 the church forty five minutes away, so I'm driving up 0:17:38.160 --> 0:17:41.600 to Maryland. So it was just kind of running racket. 0:17:41.800 --> 0:17:45.720 Plus I loved Jesus. What do you mean by that? 0:17:45.840 --> 0:17:49.640 I mean that my idea of college was not being 0:17:49.720 --> 0:17:53.160 drunk every Friday, laying in a bush on Root one 0:17:53.600 --> 0:17:56.919 on campus, wondering where my room key was. That just 0:17:57.040 --> 0:18:00.760 wasn't my idea of a college experience. And sophomore year, 0:18:00.800 --> 0:18:03.560 I didn't have classes on Friday. So every Thursday night 0:18:03.600 --> 0:18:05.600 I'd jump in my car, i'd go to work. I'd 0:18:05.680 --> 0:18:08.159 go home, and I'd be at church leading worship over 0:18:08.240 --> 0:18:09.959 the weekend and all that kind of stuff that I'd 0:18:10.000 --> 0:18:13.680 come back Monday morning. And almost every single Monday morning, 0:18:13.680 --> 0:18:16.160 when I come back to my dorm, my roommates says 0:18:16.400 --> 0:18:24.680 Stephen Man, you missed a party. Man. This weekend was crazy. 0:18:24.720 --> 0:18:27.359 I mean, the party was lit, the cops showed up, 0:18:27.400 --> 0:18:31.000 they were shooting rubber bullets. It was I don't know 0:18:31.040 --> 0:18:33.920 why every party in Maryland ended with rubber bullets from 0:18:33.920 --> 0:18:38.080 the like you. He's like, where where you? And it 0:18:38.160 --> 0:18:42.199 happened week after week, and he got so frustrated that 0:18:42.320 --> 0:18:48.320 I was missing all these parties, y'all. They staged an intervention, y'all. 0:18:48.359 --> 0:18:50.600 I walked in my door one Monday. There's a bunch 0:18:50.600 --> 0:18:56.280 of dudes that Steven, sit down. What's going on? So, Stephen, 0:18:56.560 --> 0:19:01.479 we're worried about you. You're you're missing out on the 0:19:01.560 --> 0:19:06.000 college experience, You're missing out on life. And I'm like, 0:19:06.240 --> 0:19:08.920 I'm having a college experience. I'm can season. D's just like, y'all, 0:19:08.920 --> 0:19:12.480 I'm in the professor's office begging for seven percentage points. 0:19:12.480 --> 0:19:16.200 So I'm having a college experience. And he's like, no, no, no, 0:19:16.240 --> 0:19:18.480 He said, You'll never get to have this season of 0:19:18.480 --> 0:19:21.280 your life. He said. He got so mad. He said, Steven, 0:19:21.560 --> 0:19:24.560 this is you, and this is life passing you by. 0:19:26.800 --> 0:19:33.080 He said, you're getting left behind. I think I ticked 0:19:33.119 --> 0:19:35.840 them off because I started laughing, and I don't think 0:19:35.840 --> 0:19:38.119 that's the response that he wanted. But I didn't know 0:19:38.200 --> 0:19:43.240 how to explain to him, Hey, my entire existence doesn't 0:19:43.280 --> 0:19:47.000 revolve around four years at this university. Like I'm glad 0:19:47.040 --> 0:19:48.480 that I'm here, and I'm gonna have a good time, 0:19:48.520 --> 0:19:50.600 and I'm actually having more fun than you think I am. 0:19:50.840 --> 0:19:54.639 But I have purpose, I have focused. There's some I 0:19:54.680 --> 0:19:56.600 wanted to tell him my life is going somewhere, but 0:19:56.680 --> 0:19:58.520 that was a little bit ignorantcause then it would imply 0:19:58.760 --> 0:20:06.560 so I didn't. But I kind of did because I 0:20:06.640 --> 0:20:12.400 had seen something further ahead. I wasn't overwhelmed with the 0:20:12.440 --> 0:20:16.800 fact that I may have been missing out on what 0:20:16.880 --> 0:20:20.600 everybody thought that this moment was all about. Here's what 0:20:20.720 --> 0:20:25.920 I've discovered. People of purpose are not concerned about being 0:20:25.960 --> 0:20:32.320 left behind. There's this anks, there's this anxiety of men, 0:20:32.560 --> 0:20:34.960 I gotta keep up with life. I gotta make sure 0:20:35.000 --> 0:20:37.240 that I'm relevant. I gotta make sure that I don't 0:20:37.359 --> 0:20:40.679 get left behind. But when you realize that there's a 0:20:40.840 --> 0:20:45.000 purpose on your life, being left behind is no longer 0:20:45.080 --> 0:20:49.119 your concern. And this passage, it says that Mary and 0:20:49.200 --> 0:20:52.400 Joseph went to Jerusalem for the Passover celebration. They were 0:20:52.440 --> 0:20:55.840 there for seven days, which lets us know that Mary 0:20:55.880 --> 0:20:58.880 and Joseph they were church folks, not church folks. They 0:20:58.920 --> 0:21:03.720 were church folks. The religious law only required to beat 0:21:03.760 --> 0:21:06.440 them to be there for two days, so for them 0:21:06.480 --> 0:21:09.080 to have been there for seven days, they were like, oh, 0:21:09.119 --> 0:21:12.639 we going to church every time the doors are open. 0:21:12.800 --> 0:21:15.399 Seven days they would feast and they would worship, and 0:21:15.400 --> 0:21:17.800 then they would celebrate. And then the last day it 0:21:17.880 --> 0:21:22.720 says that they left, but Jesus lingered behind. Now, because 0:21:22.760 --> 0:21:24.280 we have all the scriptus, we're able to look at it. 0:21:24.359 --> 0:21:26.240 It's very easy to judge people in the Bible that, 0:21:26.280 --> 0:21:29.320 come on, now, how do you lose God? Like, that's 0:21:29.359 --> 0:21:32.120 not that that just just keep an eye on God. 0:21:32.160 --> 0:21:35.560 But you gotta understand. Because it was such a long journey, 0:21:35.800 --> 0:21:39.200 they were probably traveling with aunts and uncles and cousins 0:21:39.200 --> 0:21:42.159 and grant, there's probably fifty to one hundred people they 0:21:42.200 --> 0:21:45.520 were traveling with. They probably just assumed, oh, Jesus is 0:21:45.520 --> 0:21:47.919 with his uncle, Jesus is with his aunt. And it 0:21:47.960 --> 0:21:50.959 wasn't until three days went back and Jesus didn't come 0:21:51.000 --> 0:21:52.840 to bathe, he didn't come to brush their teeth, he 0:21:52.880 --> 0:21:55.359 didn't come asking for more money. That they're like, okay, 0:21:55.400 --> 0:21:59.800 there's a problem here. Three days they search all of 0:22:00.040 --> 0:22:04.199 Jerusalem and they find him sitting in a temple talking 0:22:04.200 --> 0:22:09.840 to adults rabbis and explaining scripture, debating theology, and Mary said, 0:22:10.200 --> 0:22:13.640 how could you do this time? And Jesus says a statement. 0:22:15.280 --> 0:22:18.679 He said, don't you know, I must be about my 0:22:18.880 --> 0:22:22.120 father's business. Here's what he was saying. He said, there's 0:22:22.160 --> 0:22:25.159 a purpose on my life. You gotta understand. I'm a 0:22:25.160 --> 0:22:27.760 little ignorant, so I only see ignorant things in scripture. 0:22:28.280 --> 0:22:31.040 I feel like Jesus was saying, and making my mama 0:22:31.119 --> 0:22:36.679 happy is not the number one purpose in my life. 0:22:37.640 --> 0:22:40.520 You gotta see the awkwardness of this moment. He said, 0:22:40.640 --> 0:22:52.159 I must be about my father's business. And Joseph do 0:22:52.280 --> 0:22:57.960 we call him stepfather? Joseph was like, I've got no business. 0:23:02.640 --> 0:23:04.960 Jesus understood there's a call of God on my life, 0:23:04.960 --> 0:23:09.199 and everybody around me may not always understand it. But 0:23:09.240 --> 0:23:11.960 that's not my problem. A problem is to be locked 0:23:12.000 --> 0:23:14.399 in on what God's called me. I'm gonna give you 0:23:14.400 --> 0:23:16.239 just three quick thoughts, three quick thoughts of how do 0:23:16.320 --> 0:23:19.080 I stay locked in on the purpose that God has 0:23:19.200 --> 0:23:22.080 for me? If you're taking notes, write this down. If 0:23:22.119 --> 0:23:27.040 you are not taking notes, write this down. First thing 0:23:27.080 --> 0:23:33.560 is this purpose cannot be left behind. Purpose cannot be 0:23:33.760 --> 0:23:36.600 left behind you. You may not realize it that they 0:23:36.920 --> 0:23:41.720 all live, but this anxiety of next, next, next, next, next, 0:23:41.880 --> 0:23:44.359 what's gonna happen next? Where do I go next? What's 0:23:44.359 --> 0:23:48.640 my next opportunity? And that cycle started before you even 0:23:48.680 --> 0:23:52.000 realized it. You remember being twelve years old. Somebody's twelve. 0:23:52.160 --> 0:23:54.879 I am twelve right now. I remember being twelve. The 0:23:54.880 --> 0:23:56.160 only thing you can think about is I can't wait 0:23:56.160 --> 0:24:00.199 to be thirteen. I'm a teenager, I'm a teen. You 0:24:00.200 --> 0:24:02.320 go from twelve to thirteen, you realize that you are 0:24:02.359 --> 0:24:07.760 thirteen and powerless. Being thirteen is about as useless as 0:24:07.760 --> 0:24:11.480 being twelve. Now, I can't wait to be sixteen because 0:24:11.480 --> 0:24:13.560 I'm gonna get a driver's license and I'm gonna get 0:24:13.560 --> 0:24:16.320 my freedom. And then you turn sixteen. You have a 0:24:16.400 --> 0:24:21.720 driver's license and a curfew. You realize sixteen ain't all 0:24:21.760 --> 0:24:24.840 that great. Can't wait to be eighteen because when I'm eighteen, 0:24:24.880 --> 0:24:27.200 I'm out of here. I'm going to college, no more curfew, 0:24:27.240 --> 0:24:29.600