Speaker 1: Holly, and I wanted to say a special hello to
Speaker 1: our epam, our extended family around the world. Hey, before
Speaker 1: we get into the message, let me tell you about available.
Speaker 1: This is a special season for our church. It's a
Speaker 1: tradition for the people of Elevation. Every year we gather,
Speaker 1: we appreciate and anticipate, and we also give. This is
Speaker 1: our yearly time for everybody who receives from this ministry
Speaker 1: to give so that the ministry can go forth, And
Speaker 1: this year we've themed it around the word available. Available.
Speaker 1: That's all God has ever wanted is for us to say,
Speaker 1: here I am, send me, use me. And you have
Speaker 1: the opportunity to do that. So if you've been blessed
Speaker 1: through the ministry, it's good to receive. It's even better
Speaker 1: to give. If you want to make a donation, a
Speaker 1: one time gift or a recurring gift, just be a
Speaker 1: part of what God is doing here. We so appreciate it.
Speaker 1: You can get all the details at Elevation Church dot org.
Speaker 1: I'm gonna sat Elevationworship dot Com. I guess you could
Speaker 1: go there too, but the giving is at Elevation Church.
Speaker 1: What you just did, you have Elevation, were your sweatshirt. Hey,
Speaker 1: but Elevationchurch dot org and you can select available. And
Speaker 1: we use all of these resources to continue to preach
Speaker 1: the gospel, not only in physical locations like this one,
Speaker 1: but through the amazing opportunity God has given us to
Speaker 1: impact the world through technology. And we want to thank
Speaker 1: all of you who are apart. We couldn't do it
Speaker 1: without you. Thank you for being a part of our family.
Speaker 1: Thank you for being a part of this move of God.
Speaker 1: Go to Elevationchurch dot org dot com if you're not
Speaker 1: already there and be a part. This is going to
Speaker 1: be an amazing, amazing season. And Holly and I are
Speaker 1: believing that your best is ahead. Last week I preached
Speaker 1: on yes, and this week I want to preach on
Speaker 1: why yes is God's favorite word. He loves to say yes.
Speaker 1: He loves to say yes when you ask him, God,
Speaker 1: would you allow me to experience your presence. He loves
Speaker 1: to say yes. God loves to say yes to his children.
Speaker 1: Ask anything according to his will. He hears you, he
Speaker 1: longs to do it. He loves to say yes. He
Speaker 1: loves to say yes when you ask him to heal
Speaker 1: your heart in places that it is broken by people
Speaker 1: who didn't know how to treat you. He loves to
Speaker 1: say yes. God loves to say yes when you ask
Speaker 1: him God, I'm lonely. Can I have your comfort right now?
Speaker 1: He loves to say yes to you. You have to
Speaker 1: come crawling in God's throne room like some kind of
Speaker 1: fugitive like you have to hide or Gabriel might throw
Speaker 1: you out. God would sooner throw an angel out of
Speaker 1: his throne room than turn away one of his children.
Speaker 1: He loves to say yes to you. I don't know
Speaker 1: who this is for, but you need to know. He
Speaker 1: loves to say yes when you ask him to bless you.
Speaker 1: He loves to say yes. Now. Sometimes he will bypass
Speaker 1: the blessing that you asked him for to give you
Speaker 1: the blessing that you didn't even know to ask for,
Speaker 1: because He's able to do immeasurably more than we ask,
Speaker 1: or imagine. God loves to say yes, ask to the
Speaker 1: questions you didn't even know to ask. And that's what
Speaker 1: we talked about last week, and if you weren't here,
Speaker 1: I hate it for you. But this week I just
Speaker 1: want to talk about why, which incidentally is my kid's
Speaker 1: favorite word. They love to hear yes. But they love
Speaker 1: to ask why. And that's what we want to center
Speaker 1: our teaching around today. The scripture, I don't make you
Speaker 1: stand for the whole service, in case you're just kind
Speaker 1: of wondering about that. I would like you to remain
Speaker 1: standing for just a moment in honor of the reading
Speaker 1: of God's word. And this is a picture in scripture
Speaker 1: from two different gospel accounts mentioned this one incident. For me,
Speaker 1: I use it as a way of kind of understanding generosity,
Speaker 1: and it gives me a demonstration of the kind of
Speaker 1: life that I aspire to live. And I'm not saying
Speaker 1: I live this way, but I really want to. So
Speaker 1: I made a promise to God that I would try
Speaker 1: to preach from this scripture at least once a year,
Speaker 1: just to see how am I doing. Am I settling
Speaker 1: into complacency? Am I taking God's presence for granted, like
Speaker 1: you'll see some people do in this text? Or do
Speaker 1: I value and honor Him? And so that's what I
Speaker 1: want to preach about today. The scripture says in Matthew
Speaker 1: twenty six, verse six, while Jesus was in Bethany in
Speaker 1: the home of a man known as Simon the Leper,
Speaker 1: and you thought your nickname was bad. A woman came
Speaker 1: to him with an alabaster jar of on sale perfume.
Speaker 1: Did the Bible say something different? Okay? For this woman
Speaker 1: came to him with the jar of reasonably priced perfume.
Speaker 1: Y'all pray for me. It is early very expensive perfume,
Speaker 1: something that cost her, something that was significant to her.
Speaker 1: And so she took the expensive perfume and poured it
Speaker 1: on his head as he was reclining at the table.
Speaker 1: When the disciples saw this, they were indignant. They asked
Speaker 1: a question, why this waste? Why? Why this waste? They asked,
Speaker 1: this perfume could have been sold at a high price
Speaker 1: and the money given to the poor. Aware of this,
Speaker 1: Jesus said to them, why I love how Jesus fights?
Speaker 1: Why with? Why? Huh? I do this to my kids too?
Speaker 1: Why do we have to wash the dishes? Why do
Speaker 1: you expect to eat? Look at somebody and say fight?
Speaker 1: Why with? Why? Jesus said, why are you bothering this woman?
Speaker 1: She has done a beautiful thing to me. The poor
Speaker 1: you will always have with you, but you will not
Speaker 1: always have me. When she poured this perfume on my body,
Speaker 1: she did it to prepare me for burial. I tell
Speaker 1: you the truth. Wherever this gospel has preached throughout the world,
Speaker 1: what she has done will also be told. In memory
Speaker 1: of her. You may be seated in God's presence. Yeah, man,
Speaker 1: your kids will wear you out asking why. True story.
Speaker 1: The parents didn't know what I'm talking about her too
Speaker 1: tired to even answer me. But as how, they learn
Speaker 1: about the world. Even this week, Abbi was asking me
Speaker 1: why Christmas trees are a thing? So I googled it
Speaker 1: when she wasn't looking, and then told her the answer.
Speaker 1: That's the best thing about your kids not having data
Speaker 1: on their phone. You can stay wise for lata blah.
Speaker 1: Now my boys they're older, they know everything. They're fourteen
Speaker 1: and twelve. They already know more than me. They stopped
Speaker 1: asking why years ago, but still in that stage of
Speaker 1: asking why, and she went on this whole thing. I'll
Speaker 1: put a video on the screen in a minute to
Speaker 1: show you of what it's like to be a parent.
Speaker 1: I want you to watch as my eight year old
Speaker 1: daughter deconstructs Christmas and then ask yourself the question do
Speaker 1: you really want to have kids? So just check this out.
Speaker 1: It's only a minute video, Like why is Christmas based
Speaker 1: on trees. But Jesus born in tree. No, he was
Speaker 1: born in a manger. Our gifts should be in a
Speaker 1: manager or around the manager or something. But Jesus was
Speaker 1: not born in a tree. We should not be celebrating
Speaker 1: a tree. We should be celebrating Jesus' birth. But he
Speaker 1: died on a tree. He got on the cross. What's
Speaker 1: a cross madeo though? What where does wood come from?
Speaker 1: A tree? But are we celebrating Jesus's death? No, that's
Speaker 1: Easter Easter, your Easter eggs, in your Easter rascas. She'd
Speaker 1: be under a tree, because that's what Jesus died. But
Speaker 1: it did Jesus die on Christmas? No, he was born
Speaker 1: on Christmas. I want to tell you a little bit
Speaker 1: about why I give today. I want to explain that
Speaker 1: to you just from my heart. Earlier in the week,
Speaker 1: on Monday, I had a sermon prepared about the Gospel
Speaker 1: going to the gentiles, and the Lord was like, I
Speaker 1: hope you like that sermon. It's not for now, because
Speaker 1: this week I want to talk about my why in
Speaker 1: hopes that you might find your why. How many of
Speaker 1: you are givers? It's kind of an interesting question. To ask,
Speaker 1: it's like, well, compared to what you know. And I
Speaker 1: remember early in our marriage when I made the decision
Speaker 1: about tithing. For instance, tithe means tent, and it's the
Speaker 1: principle of putting God first in your finances. And it's
Speaker 1: like everything that God gives me came from him and
Speaker 1: I want to return the first portion back to Him. Now,
Speaker 1: the only people that start shifting around in their seats
Speaker 1: when I say the word give or tithe or anything
Speaker 1: like that are the greedy people. So don't worry about them,
Speaker 1: because for those who give, you understand that it is
Speaker 1: the greatest privilege of your life to give back to
Speaker 1: the God who gave everything that you have to you.
Speaker 1: And when Holly was working at Township three Elementary under
Speaker 1: Tropsy mcclooney, which is the best principal name in history,
Speaker 1: every check we got from the Cleveland County School System,
Speaker 1: I was proud to write ten percent of it back
Speaker 1: to Christ Covenant Church. I started doing that in college
Speaker 1: and then if I would go preach somewhere and they
Speaker 1: would give me, you know, Pepperoni pizza and three hundred
Speaker 1: dollars for preaching to twelve kids on the weekend, I
Speaker 1: would come back home, and the first thing I would
Speaker 1: want to do was to make sure thirty went to
Speaker 1: my church. Then as we began to experiment with the offering,
Speaker 1: it became a great privilege to ask God, out of
Speaker 1: all that you have given to us, what can we
Speaker 1: give back to you. I remember the first time I
Speaker 1: experimented with this was when the Lord was speaking to
Speaker 1: me about giving a month of the salary back to him.
Speaker 1: And then when we did that, there was a five
Speaker 1: thousand dollars I inng direct emergency fund that we had
Speaker 1: put aside, and the Lord began to speak to us.
Speaker 1: And when I say God would speak to us, there
Speaker 1: was nothing out loud. I wish it was, but it's
Speaker 1: more of a it's a louder voice than out loud.
Speaker 1: It's something that you know inside of you, and that's
Speaker 1: how the Holy Spirit would speak to us. And remember
Speaker 1: giving that emergency fund to our church. At the time,
Speaker 1: I wasn't the pastor of the church, but I remember
Speaker 1: giving that. As a matter of fact, I can look
Speaker 1: back at so many times in this church where we've
Speaker 1: been at this moment, and some of the greatest times
Speaker 1: that God grew my faith was in the process of me.
Speaker 1: I'll say it like this, getting to give back to God.
Speaker 1: And I say it like that because that's really how
Speaker 1: I see it. I never thought that I was doing
Speaker 1: God a favor by giving to him financially, anymore than
Speaker 1: I thought I was doing him a favor when I
Speaker 1: praised him with my songs, or any more than I
Speaker 1: thought I was doing him a favor when I breathe
Speaker 1: in and breathe out. It's just a natural reflex of
Speaker 1: someone who has been born again to give back to
Speaker 1: the God who gave them life. I'm gonna let all
Speaker 1: the givers take five seconds and thank God for everything
Speaker 1: he gave you. So we're in this season right now
Speaker 1: where I think that this woman in Matthew twenty six
Speaker 1: has something to teach all of us about why we
Speaker 1: give to God, whether it's time that we give to God,
Speaker 1: whether it's money that we give to God, why do
Speaker 1: we do it? And I only preach once or twice
Speaker 1: a year about finances, but I'm always preaching about giving
Speaker 1: and either talking about what God has given you that
Speaker 1: you've received or what you offer back to Him as
Speaker 1: a gift. And in this passage, it talks about a
Speaker 1: woman who walked into a room full of men and
Speaker 1: had an intention to give something significant to Jesus. And
Speaker 1: I broke it down in my studying to three different
Speaker 1: whys or three different reasons that she would give. Her
Speaker 1: motive is not on the surface of the text, but
Speaker 1: I think that if we just study it for a moment,
Speaker 1: we can see three different things. One is worship, one
Speaker 1: is wisdom, and one is witness. And those are the
Speaker 1: three things I want to preach about for just a moment.
Speaker 1: Is why this woman gave an expensive gift to Jesus.
Speaker 1: And it's as I study it, and as I've reflected
Speaker 1: on it, it's why I give too, And I believe
Speaker 1: it's why so many of you give. And this is
Speaker 1: a church that gives big, No for real, you are
Speaker 1: sitting around, maybe not the person right next to you,
Speaker 1: but somebody on your row is a big giver. That's
Speaker 1: why there's a Gaston. That's why there's a Lake Norman.
Speaker 1: That's why there's a Blakeney. That's why there's a river
Speaker 1: walk formerly known as rock Hill. That's why because somebody
Speaker 1: was a giver. And now so in this moment of time,
Speaker 1: I want to explain why. And a lot of people
Speaker 1: ask me why a lot of things about Elevation Church.
Speaker 1: They ask me why is the music so loud? They
Speaker 1: ask me, why do you holler when you preach? God's
Speaker 1: not deaf. Well, he's not nervous either, And if I holler,
Speaker 1: He's not going to jump. God doesn't have a panic
Speaker 1: attack when I yell. I see people get excited about
Speaker 1: other things. I'm excited about Jesus. Is that such a sin?
Speaker 1: So let's talk about worship. Let's talk about the things
Speaker 1: that you wonder. Why. See, kids will ask why. Grown
Speaker 1: ups just wonder. You don't ever stop asking why? You
Speaker 1: just stop asking it out loud. In this passage, the
Speaker 1: disciples were just playing about it. Why this waste? Think
Speaker 1: of the insult to their rabbi that this accusation represented.
Speaker 1: How come on, he's he's he's a good teacher, but
Speaker 1: really the whole bottle of perfume, I mean, come on, really?
Speaker 1: Like the preacher. Somebody asking me on time, why do
Speaker 1: they stand up on the front few rows when you
Speaker 1: start preaching horror? I was like, well, I don't know,
Speaker 1: Maybe you have to ask them. Maybe they value the
Speaker 1: word of God like some sports fans value a touchdown
Speaker 1: by some people that they don't know were in some
Speaker 1: spandex running around the field talking about a fantasy football
Speaker 1: and somebody that would never put anything in your rear life.
Speaker 1: But God has given you grace and mercy with every
Speaker 1: rising of the sun. Oh no, you would have to
Speaker 1: ask them. You'll lack like y'all want to take ten
Speaker 1: seconds and give God worship? Well, go ahead and well anyway,
Speaker 1: the word worship is not talking about music. Only only
Speaker 1: in modern church culture have we taken the word worship
Speaker 1: and used it to describe a genre of music. Okay,
Speaker 1: I got my I've got my my rock playlist, I've
Speaker 1: got my country playlist, I've got my hip hop playlist,
Speaker 1: I've got my worship playlist. Wait a minute, Wait a minute.
Speaker 1: Worship is not a genre. Worship doesn't start when somebody
Speaker 1: comes up and grabs a guitar on stage. Worship is
Speaker 1: not an activity that is confined to the realm or
Speaker 1: the expression of music. When you really understand worship, you understand.
Speaker 1: Let me say, like this worthship, what is God worth
Speaker 1: to you? The problem with the disciples question is that
Speaker 1: it devalued the woman's act because it devalued the presence
Speaker 1: of Jesus. One of the reasons they may have been
Speaker 1: so exasperated by what they saw to be too much
Speaker 1: is too much. I don't understand why people have to
Speaker 1: lift their hands in worship. Why do they do that?
Speaker 1: Maybe they have something they need to give to God.
Speaker 1: Maybe they've been fighting all week and they're throwing up
Speaker 1: their hands to say God, I need you. Maybe they're
Speaker 1: carrying something that is too heavy for them to carry alone.
Speaker 1: Would you stop judging somebody else's worship when you don't
Speaker 1: even know their warfare. They came in here fighting the death,
Speaker 1: fighting depression, and now they got thirty minutes to say God,
Speaker 1: I glorify you. They need a sea turned into a highway.
Speaker 1: They need bones turned into armies. Why do I throw
Speaker 1: up my hands because I need him? I need him
Speaker 1: like my next breath. I need him more than I
Speaker 1: daily bread man. He's my present help. He's my friend
Speaker 1: that sticks closer than a brother. He's the one that
Speaker 1: never walked away. He's the one that I can call
Speaker 1: to in the middle of the night when nobody else
Speaker 1: will take my call or return my text. He's the
Speaker 1: one that picks me up. He's the one who's not
Speaker 1: ashamed to be identified with me. He's the one who
Speaker 1: knows everything about me, even the dirty, little dark stuff,
Speaker 1: and still says I'm the righteousness of God. He's the
Speaker 1: one who spilled his blood from me. Excuse me if
Speaker 1: I'm excited to get a pray. Yeah, don't ever apologize.
Speaker 1: You're praising God. Everybody worship something, why not worse of
Speaker 1: the one who made you. Everybody worships something so apart
Speaker 1: from the practical value that Jesus only has one week
Speaker 1: to live, and this woman is anointing his body for
Speaker 1: burial with this expensive perfume that she saved up for
Speaker 1: something special, and she realizes now is the moment, and
Speaker 1: she realizes that now is the time, and she realizes
Speaker 1: that I should not look around and see what everybody
Speaker 1: else is doing, because they have gotten used to Jesus.
Speaker 1: He's worthy. It's not a waste. My dad used to
Speaker 1: walk around the house tearing the paper towels in half,
Speaker 1: but I didn't get it until because at that stage
Speaker 1: of my life I thought it was just weird. But
Speaker 1: one day my mom explained to me how poor he
Speaker 1: was growing up, and then I got it. You will
Speaker 1: never understand what somebody does you will never understand someone's actions.
Speaker 1: You will never understand. See in this passage of scripture,
Speaker 1: this woman is doing something that the others see it wasteful.
Speaker 1: Maybe there's something she was responding to that they had
Speaker 1: not experienced. And I'm gonna just go ahead and tell
Speaker 1: you right now, the woman in this text was someone
Speaker 1: who knew firsthand the grace of God. Do you know
Speaker 1: firsthand the grace of God? Because people who just hear
Speaker 1: about Jesus and they haven't really owned their faith, they
Speaker 1: don't understand this kind of worship, the worship that starts
Speaker 1: when the songs are over, the worship that begins when
Speaker 1: you reach down and say, God, you deserve this, You're
Speaker 1: worthy of this. So all of the men are at
Speaker 1: the table and the woman comes into the room. Who
Speaker 1: is this woman? You ever wonder that, like the people
Speaker 1: in the Bible, that it doesn't tell us much about
Speaker 1: their background. John chapter twelve, I'm gonna show you why
Speaker 1: this woman was willing to worship. It's funny thing. Holly
Speaker 1: is a worship stalker. You don't need to know this.
Speaker 1: She looks around the church for people who are worshiping,
Speaker 1: and then she just watches y'all she told me about
Speaker 1: one of you. You're in the room right now, but
Speaker 1: I'm not gonna call you out by name. She's like,
Speaker 1: there's this one she At first it's sounded kind of
Speaker 1: sketchy when she says, she said, there's this one man
Speaker 1: in the church that I love to watch him when
Speaker 1: he worships house. Maybe he needs to find another go
Speaker 1: to Forest Hill or something like that, you know what
Speaker 1: I'm saying. But she would see this particular person. He's
Speaker 1: in the church right now. I'm just not gonna look
Speaker 1: anywhere near him. But it wasn't like that, she said,
Speaker 1: He just she said, no matter what song we're singing,
Speaker 1: it's not like a preference thing. There would just be
Speaker 1: I look at him, he just crying. And it wasn't
Speaker 1: like he wasn't one of these He didn't bring a
Speaker 1: praise banner into the church or show far. You know,
Speaker 1: he didn't like grow up. He didn't understand all of
Speaker 1: the protocol of it. But she was so moved when
Speaker 1: she saw how much worship meant to him, because you know,
Speaker 1: at the same time, you got somebody like sneaking in
Speaker 1: the back because they didn't want to really have to
Speaker 1: deal with the hassle of checking their kids in so
Speaker 1: the time of just right to come there, and then
Speaker 1: they slip out during an invitation. He wasn't like that.
Speaker 1: He'd be standing in line so he could get close
Speaker 1: to the front, and then he would just cry through
Speaker 1: the whole worship set and didn't do like this slight
Speaker 1: I unlike this song. Why are they singing that over
Speaker 1: and over again? I don't understand. Okay, there's nothing better
Speaker 1: than him. No, there's nothing. There's nothing, there's nothing, there's nothing. Okay,
Speaker 1: I get it, there's nothing. There's nothing you want me
Speaker 1: to do. But you would just cry. When she found
Speaker 1: out his testimony what he had been through, she got
Speaker 1: it once she understood the depth John chapter twelve, which
Speaker 1: follows by the way, John chapter eleven is a deep church.
Speaker 1: We teach the deep stuff. In John chapter eleven, Jesus
Speaker 1: raised a man named Lazarus from the dead. In John
Speaker 1: chapter twelve, the Bible says something very interesting. It says,
Speaker 1: six days before the Passover, Jesus arrived at bethany where
Speaker 1: Lazarus lived, whom she Jesus had raised from the dead.
Speaker 1: But you can't understand my chapter twelve unless you understand
Speaker 1: my chapter eleven. Please understand, Chapter eleven is a bankruptcy
Speaker 1: term in the US tax Code. But when I'm talking
Speaker 1: about it, I'm talking about a spiritual bankruptcy that I
Speaker 1: know that I know that I know that there were
Speaker 1: dead things in my life, that there was shame in
Speaker 1: my life, that there was nothing else for me to
Speaker 1: do but call on the name of the Lord, and
Speaker 1: the Bible says verse two. Here a dinner was given
Speaker 1: in Jesus's honor. Martha served while Lazarus was among those
Speaker 1: reclining at the table with him. Then Mary took about
Speaker 1: a pint of pure nard and expensive perfume. Now I
Speaker 1: understand why it was such a natural thing for her
Speaker 1: to do, to pour out something that was expensive and significant,
Speaker 1: because she had seen Jesus do something. See this is
Speaker 1: the same story. John Is recorded it from his point
Speaker 1: of view. Matthew recorded it from his point of view.
Speaker 1: Matthew said, it was a woman who came in and
Speaker 1: poured out the oil. Jossey, let me tell you about
Speaker 1: the woman. She saw her brother in the tomb. Four
Speaker 1: days Jesus showed up and said, roll the stone away.
Speaker 1: When he said rolled the stone away, he called her
Speaker 1: brother out, so by the time he got to Bethany
Speaker 1: and she knew. This is the one who raised my
Speaker 1: brother from the dead. This is the one who heard
Speaker 1: my cry and pity my groan. This is the one
Speaker 1: who saw me through the deepest valley of my life.
Speaker 1: This is the one who stood by me in the
Speaker 1: dark time. This is the one who gave me help.
Speaker 1: This is the one who gave me strength. I don't
Speaker 1: give because it makes sense. It's my worship. He's my God,
Speaker 1: and he's worthy of it. All the worshipers sout real quick.
Speaker 1: So so it's so important that we understand giving is worship.
Speaker 1: It's worship worship. It's say, God, you deserve so much more.
Speaker 1: But out of what you've given to me here it
Speaker 1: is what do you do? A whole series about taking
Speaker 1: an offer? And I just don't get it, man, I
Speaker 1: don't know. Why are you buy direct TV package for
Speaker 1: NFL games? Man, I just don't get it. You invest
Speaker 1: in what you value. They saw it as a waste.
Speaker 1: She saw it as worship. They said, it doesn't take
Speaker 1: all that. She said, He's worthy of so much more.
Speaker 1: And the reason that they called it a waste is
Speaker 1: because they did not understand her worship. What is he
Speaker 1: worth to you? I don't want to waste opportunities to
Speaker 1: worship him. No, I don't always feel like praising God.
Speaker 1: I don't always feel like but I don't want to
Speaker 1: waste the chance to worship him. And she knew. See,
Speaker 1: this is where the wisdom comes in, because his worship
Speaker 1: and his wisdom. She knew that if I keep this,
Speaker 1: if I keep the perfume, then you know, smell good
Speaker 1: for a little while. But watch what Jesus said. He
Speaker 1: said in Matthew twenty six thirteen. Wherever the Gospel is preached,
Speaker 1: what this woman did will be told. So what she did?
Speaker 1: You know she never said a word. Isn't that amazing
Speaker 1: that she worshiped without words. Some of the greatest acts
Speaker 1: of worship will not be through things that are produced
Speaker 1: by your vocal cords. But you said, where your treasure is,
Speaker 1: there will your heart be also. And that's so true.
Speaker 1: And to really understand the Kingdom of God and how
Speaker 1: God works, you understand the wisdom of giving. It's not
Speaker 1: just good to give, it's smart. It makes good sense
Speaker 1: to give, at least I think it does. Because everything
Speaker 1: I've ever bought on this earth started to depreciate, and
Speaker 1: none of it that I bought I can take with me.
Speaker 1: And I've bought a lot of stuff, and I've regretted
Speaker 1: some of it. I have never regretted anything I have
Speaker 1: given to God. Ever, and Judas is in the room.
Speaker 1: We know it was Judas because John's gospel says it.
Speaker 1: He's like, look at verse four, but one of his
Speaker 1: disciples is John twelve, verse four. But one of his disciples, Judas,
Speaker 1: is garried, who later to betray him. Objected, Why wasn't
Speaker 1: this perfume souled in the money given to the poor,
Speaker 1: It was worth a year's wages? Well, what is he worth?
Speaker 1: What is he worth? Everybody worships something. Whatever you worship
Speaker 1: is what you give weight to. And every time I
Speaker 1: give to God, I'm talking about a financial gift. I'm
Speaker 1: talking about giving God, taking something that is temporary like money,
Speaker 1: and giving it to God, who is eternal. I see
Speaker 1: it not only as an act of worship. I see
Speaker 1: it as a wise investment. I used to tell them
Speaker 1: when we started the church, Oh, y'all should have heard
Speaker 1: me preach back then. I was ruthless when we started
Speaker 1: the church. Ruthless. I'd be up there saying stuff like, hey,
Speaker 1: we need your seat. If you're not going to do
Speaker 1: anything around here, help out in the kids. We didn't.
Speaker 1: We have four hundred seats in the backpack behind the
Speaker 1: pipe and drape. But I'm up there about we need
Speaker 1: your seat. I wanted everybody to understand that. But the
Speaker 1: only thing about it at that point was I was
Speaker 1: telling them you're getting in on the ground floor of
Speaker 1: what God is doing. And some of the people that
Speaker 1: were there at that point are here today, and some
Speaker 1: of them because they gave is the reason why you're
Speaker 1: here today. I think you were worth it. I think
Speaker 1: you were worth it for this ministry to be here
Speaker 1: in the year twenty nineteen. Have y'all noticed the world
Speaker 1: has gone completely crazy? And I could put an expletive
Speaker 1: in that sentence and it wouldn't be strong enough. Have
Speaker 1: you noticed that the world has gone completely crazy? And
Speaker 1: it makes what we're doing so much more necessary? So
Speaker 1: I think it's wise when great men of God said
Speaker 1: to give what you cannot keep, to gain what you
Speaker 1: cannot lose. You smell that. That's Mary's perfume, two thousand
Speaker 1: years after she poured it out wherever The Gospel is preached.
Speaker 1: What this woman did will be told it was worth it.
Speaker 1: It was worth it. I bought a rainbow vacuum cleaner.
Speaker 1: It wasn't worth it. I went to Disney World. It
Speaker 1: wasn't worth it. I'm dead serious, y'all. It wasn't worth it.
Speaker 1: But when we started the church and we begin to give,
Speaker 1: like so many will do. You know what's crazy about
Speaker 1: the moment we're in right now is that the Gospel
Speaker 1: has never been more needed and there have never been
Speaker 1: more opportunities to make it available. Right now, while I'm
Speaker 1: preaching to you, there are thousands of people around the world.
Speaker 1: I'm not talking about down this ta in an Indian
Speaker 1: trail and the kids had a flu so they didn't
Speaker 1: come around the world that are connecting to this message.
Speaker 1: Does that matter to you? Is it a value to you?
Speaker 1: We invest in what we value, and this matters to me.
Speaker 1: And for every time that I wrestled with God to
Speaker 1: be here to preach, it was worth it. If it
Speaker 1: breaks a chain off of your life, it was worth it.
Speaker 1: If it helps your marriage stay together, it was worth it.
Speaker 1: If after your marriage falls apart, it is there for
Speaker 1: you to help you breathe in the moments where you
Speaker 1: feel your chest collapsing. If your kids come to Christ
Speaker 1: in this ministry, it's worth it. If you have a
Speaker 1: place where you can come and be accepted by the
Speaker 1: Blood of Christ, it is worth it. It's worth it.
Speaker 1: I'm telling you, it's wisdom for you to give to
Speaker 1: something that goes beyond you. Do. Y'all believe me that
Speaker 1: there's people all over the world watching right now. They
Speaker 1: wake up in the middle of the night so they
Speaker 1: can catch it live. They could watch it later in
Speaker 1: the week. They don't want it later in the week.
Speaker 1: They want to win as fresh out the oven coming
Speaker 1: like hot bread. I feel a Coroba's annointing coming like
Speaker 1: hot bread to the table. They want the hot bread.
Speaker 1: Put it on. I'm going to show them because I
Speaker 1: see some skeptics in the room doing It's crazy how
Speaker 1: they clap when we're giving the outreach money away to
Speaker 1: help people, but then when we talk about giving it
Speaker 1: as an act of worship, you about Judas always says,
Speaker 1: but I'm not looking for Judas's approval. I came for Jesus,
Speaker 1: I worshiped Jesus, I love Jesus. Judas didn't die for me.
Speaker 1: Jesus did. I'm not concerned about the critics. I'm concerned
Speaker 1: about the cross. So give me. I need a phone
Speaker 1: with YouTube on it. Elevation Church YouTube. Now I need this.
Speaker 1: This is going to be a demonstration of how the fragrance.
Speaker 1: Remember when Lazarus died and Martha was like, I can't
Speaker 1: open the tomb. It stinks in there. What a difference
Speaker 1: a chapter makes. In chapter eleven, it smelled like death.
Speaker 1: In chapter twelve, it smelled like perfume. See, we can
Speaker 1: fill the earth. I'm not talking about a little squirt.
Speaker 1: I'm talking about filling the earth with the knowledge of
Speaker 1: the glory of the Lord, like the waters cover the sea.
Speaker 1: So here's what I want to do on EFM, Elevation Church.
Speaker 1: Put one on Elevation Church. Put one on my YouTube channel,
Speaker 1: JJ Tim. Put it on the Elevation Worship because we
Speaker 1: stream all over these things. And if you're watching this
Speaker 1: around the world, I want you to put where you
Speaker 1: are watching from and your name, and so I can
Speaker 1: let this church know that they're making a difference. Right now,
Speaker 1: I'm scrolling right now Elevation Church. It's kind of weird
Speaker 1: watching myself preach on a five second delay, but I'm
Speaker 1: gonna do it because I love Jesus. High five. Somebody say,
Speaker 1: it's worth it. It's worth it all over the world,
Speaker 1: from the Netherlands, from Latvia, from Kenya, from Detroit, from Florida,
Speaker 1: from Hungary. Come on, from Syracuse, it's worth it. From California,
Speaker 1: It's worth it. From Singapore, from Brazil, from the Netherlands, y'all.
Speaker 1: I came from Monks Corner, South Carolina. And now people
Speaker 1: are watching and joined up. I'm telling you this is
Speaker 1: the crown floor of something special. This is a move
Speaker 1: of God. I'm in on it. From Australia, from India,
Speaker 1: from Texas. I can't keep up. Look look how worth
Speaker 1: it it is. Look how worth it? Hawaii, Nigeria, Pittsburgh, Colombia,
Speaker 1: with a O in the middle. I can't keep up.
Speaker 1: You got the other one. This is the worship one
Speaker 1: the San Antonio, New Orleans, Trinidad and Tobago, West Virginia,
Speaker 1: tud Did you have any idea when we started this church,
Speaker 1: when I sat across a golden corral, or when I
Speaker 1: told you when we were just getting ready to go
Speaker 1: off and start our lives and you came to followed
Speaker 1: me to college and met my wife's best friend and
Speaker 1: married her and then came on here to Charlotte. Could
Speaker 1: you imagine they'd be saying, Hey, from Nepal, from from
Speaker 1: from the Ivory Coast, from Jamaica. I'm not making this up,
Speaker 1: I promise you, and as fast as I can scroll.
Speaker 1: So I needed you to know why. And it's worship.
Speaker 1: When you give, it's not just to pay the bills,
Speaker 1: to build another building. It is to fill the world.
Speaker 1: Is it? You got the other one? Whose is this? Huh? Chicago, Connecticut,
Speaker 1: Cape Town, South Africa. Kenya, Kenya all caps. They said
Speaker 1: it twice, Brooklyn, Jamaica. Look, I can't keep up. I can't.
Speaker 1: God is stupid. Look, I gotta put this in perspective
Speaker 1: for you. When I walk on, y'all stand up. It'll
Speaker 1: help me close quicker, don't leave, don't leave. I'm just
Speaker 1: saying it's worth it. What's done for Christ is worth it.
Speaker 1: I had no idea you would be here when this
Speaker 1: was starting, but I believe that that you were. When
Speaker 1: Jesus was dying on the cross, he was dying with
Speaker 1: your salvation in mind. Why did he die because he
Speaker 1: thought you? You're worth it? And it's not only worship,
Speaker 1: it is not only wisdom, it's a witness. So it
Speaker 1: could be a witness in Belgium, in the Philippines, in Botswana,
Speaker 1: in London and Aruba. Keep them coming. I know I
Speaker 1: can't keep up. I can't get to all of them.
Speaker 1: I just love to see what God started when one
Speaker 1: woman broke a jar. Everywhere the gospel is preached, you
Speaker 1: have a party there, Like my kids are growing up
Speaker 1: in a church. I got one in this service, and
Speaker 1: I'll have one in the next. And Abby's still too young.
Speaker 1: She's still asking about Christmas trees and stuff. So she's
Speaker 1: in E Kids where they can handle that kind of questions.
Speaker 1: But every time before I come out, I don't think
Speaker 1: I ever showed you this, E but every time I
Speaker 1: don't know if you've see in Elijah, every time I
Speaker 1: come out to preach, and I hope it's okay for
Speaker 1: me to show this. But the photographers here took pictures
Speaker 1: of the first time that each of my boys were
Speaker 1: in service, graduating from E Kids and sat on the
Speaker 1: front road to watch me preach, and they actually, these
Speaker 1: are really good photographers. They found a moment where the
Speaker 1: kids look interested. How hard is that? I'm telling you
Speaker 1: we got great photographers at Elevation Church. Let's thank God
Speaker 1: for the photographers. There's Elijah. It's something that I put
Speaker 1: right by when I walk out to preach to you.
Speaker 1: Before I come in here to connect with thousands of
Speaker 1: people or preach, I want to remember my why, to
Speaker 1: build something that will be generational, something that will be
Speaker 1: beyond just my one little life. I also like this one.
Speaker 1: You can see I don't know who she is. There's Holly.
Speaker 1: Look at that admiration on her face for the Man
Speaker 1: of God. I like that one because it has my
Speaker 1: shoe in there and it says it's like my way
Speaker 1: of saying, like blessed the feet of them that bring
Speaker 1: good news. I'm very symbolic. I'm just very I see
Speaker 1: a lot of stuff in Lussa and then Graham's looking
Speaker 1: like huh. But I see it and it just gives
Speaker 1: me I need a why. I need a why, and
Speaker 1: it reminds me my why that my kids are going
Speaker 1: to grow up in a church where people from all over.
Speaker 1: I grew up in a church. It was a great church.
Speaker 1: It was eighty people in the church. The town was
Speaker 1: six thousand, and I never knew that when God sent us,
Speaker 1: it's still going, y'all, it's still going this thing. Look
Speaker 1: at this. Look who's lives you're touching right now? How
Speaker 1: God is using you right now? Is a witness and
Speaker 1: witness means two things, you know. It means that we
Speaker 1: have seen God. We have witnessed God do so much
Speaker 1: in our lives, and now we get to witness that
Speaker 1: to the world. That's what I'm passionate about. That's what
Speaker 1: I give my life to. That's what I said yes to.
Speaker 1: I didn't know when I was saying yes to God
Speaker 1: that it was making a way for us to be
Speaker 1: together in this moment. But God did, and he brought
Speaker 1: us together. And it's so confusing. People will ask me,
Speaker 1: why do so many different types of people come to
Speaker 1: your church? I mean, I look around. You've got young people,
Speaker 1: You've got young less young people. You've got you know,
Speaker 1: white people and black people and Latino latina. You got
Speaker 1: to stand. You got all these different people. You got
Speaker 1: some religious people, some people who know the Bible cover
Speaker 1: to cover, some people that wouldn't know the Book of
Speaker 1: Ruth from a baby room. Why why? Why? Because all
Speaker 1: of us have a Lazarus and all of us have
Speaker 1: a jar. When you hear us talk about this offering
Speaker 1: that's coming up. I want you to see it as
Speaker 1: an opportunity to worship, an opportunity to witness, to see
Speaker 1: God move in your life. Would you buy your head
Speaker 1: for just a moment, Epham sitting at your computers, you
Speaker 1: get in on this too, Put your face id bow
Speaker 1: your head all over the world right now, Malaysia, India, Nigeria.
Speaker 1: Never imagined that this would be and we get to
Speaker 1: do it together, y'all. Beautiful thing is, Jesus has already
Speaker 1: paid the price for your salvation. There's nothing you do
Speaker 1: to earn His love. Means Puerto Rico, Charlotte. Somebody's playing
Speaker 1: hooky today, You get her next week. Alice, Texas, Ghana,
Speaker 1: all kinds of countries, Kentucky, pray so loud. I just
Speaker 1: wanted you to know why. I didn't want you to
Speaker 1: think that the church needed to fix the toilets over
Speaker 1: there on one campus at Lake Dormant or something like that.
Speaker 1: It's not about that. It's about when you know you
Speaker 1: have an opportunity to be a part of something that
Speaker 1: God is doing the privilege of giving. That's why we
Speaker 1: give Father I Thank you for each person that you
Speaker 1: have brought to this ministry and the ways that they've
Speaker 1: connected our extended family, our ethm around the world, stepping up,
Speaker 1: making the difference, preaching Jesus shining light in dark places.
Speaker 1: Here at this campus, I preached life from the Valentine location,
Speaker 1: where each week this pulpit represents an opportunity for somebody
Speaker 1: to hear the good news of Jesus Christ, his death, burial, resurrection,
Speaker 1: and his presence. Thank you for the way we experience
Speaker 1: breakthrough in this place, healing in this place, so many miracles.
Speaker 1: Thank you for all you've done for us. Thank you
Speaker 1: for what you've given us. Thank you for every Lazarus
Speaker 1: you've called forth in our life. Thank you that you've
Speaker 1: taken us from death to life, from darkness to light.
Speaker 1: You transfer kingdoms. You took us out of a kingdom
Speaker 1: of this world, and you brought us into the kingdom
Speaker 1: of your son, whom you love. And we thank you
Speaker 1: for this opportunity that we have now in this season
Speaker 1: of our church to give back to you as a privilege,
Speaker 1: and thanks for everything that you have done in our
Speaker 1: lives to this point. We want to be a witness.
Speaker 1: We want to say yes to you. We want you
Speaker 1: to use us in a way, in a powerful way,
Speaker 1: to preach hope, to distribute grace, to care for and
Speaker 1: look after the poor, to bind up the broken hearted.
Speaker 1: Their blind eyes could be opened by the gospel. I
Speaker 1: thank you for the part that each person will play
Speaker 1: whenever you speak to them. I pray that they will
Speaker 1: break their jar. Everybody has a lasarus. Everybody has a jar,
Speaker 1: and I pray that during this season the generosity would
Speaker 1: break forth from your church, your kingdom. Come. Your will
Speaker 1: be done on earth as it is in heaven. In Jesus' name, Amen,
Speaker 1: thank you for joining us. Special thanks to those of
Speaker 1: you who give generously to this ministry. Is because of
Speaker 1: you that this ministry is possible. You can click the
Speaker 1: link in the description to give now, or visit Elevation
Speaker 1: Church dot org slash podcast for more information and if
Speaker 1: you enjoyed the podcast, you can subscribe. You can share
Speaker 1: it with your friends. You can click the share button,
Speaker 1: take a screenshot and share it on your social stories
Speaker 1: and tag us at Elevation Church. Thanks for listening. God
Speaker 1: bless you.