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Today I have a word from the Lord for
somebody. I only have two verses this
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week. I was meditating on where
to go after we talked last week
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about God Can Use This Too. This is a
little bit of a sequel to that message.
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I love to preach Bible stories and use the
different elements to use different things,
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but sometimes I feel like it's good to
just come to something that's a simple
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instruction in the Word of God. Hopefully this
will help us to apply what God has planted in
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our hearts. We're going to go to Philippians
2:12-13 for a moment. I'm preaching from my
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daughter's Bible today, so you will notice an
extra anointing, gentleness, and vivaciousness.
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I've given all three of my kids Bibles that
I preached from. I preach five years from
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a Bible and then give it to a kid, give it to
another. So, we'll see if Abbey's is more anointed
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than Elijah's and Graham's today. I cycle through
them, see which one of them has been praying for
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me the most. All right. Listen to this verse.
Just because I said it's shorter, just because
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I said it's simple, don't disengage your brain,
because I really want you to pay attention to
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what the Lord is saying here through the apostle
Paul in this epistle to the church at Philippi.
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The Word of the Lord says, "Therefore, my dear
friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my
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presence, but now much more in my absence—continue
to work out your salvation with fear and
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trembling, for it is God who works in you to will
and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose."
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That's all I want to read today, but I want to
give you my sermon title. It's a common saying,
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so I'll say it, and then you fill
in the blank when I stop and point
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at you. Ready? You can play along
online too. After I say the title,
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I'll read the Scripture again for you just
so we can get it down deep. God will work it…
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Congregation: Out.
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Steven: Right. I set you up, though. That is
amazing. "God will work it out" is something
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everybody wants to believe about the situation
they're facing, whether it's a custody battle
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or a medical situation or relational tension,
but the message God gave me today is just one
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word different. I'm going to change just
one word. I'm not changing the word God,
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and I'm not going to change the word
will. I'm not going to say he might,
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he could, or he can. But instead of "God will work
it out," I want to preach on God Will Work It In.
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I'll read the verses again, and you'll
see where I'm coming from. This is not
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just wordplay. I don't just think of
a clever thing I can call a sermon
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that sounds good so you can feel good for a
minute. The text says in Philippians 2:12,
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"Therefore, my dear friends, as you have
always obeyed—not only in my presence,
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but now much more in my absence—continue to
work out your salvation with fear and trembling,
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for it is God who works in you to will and
to act in order to fulfill his good purpose."
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Now, as you take your seat, prayerfully
reach around and tell seven people,
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"God will work it in." Praise the Lord
for what he's working out. Praise the
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Lord for what he's working in. I'll
make that make sense if I do my job.
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I'm going to have fun preaching
this today. I already decided. I
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was thinking today… Holly was eating this
tomato soup she made for herself. None of
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us like tomato soup but her. She just
made it for herself. She was having so
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much fun eating that tomato soup I was like,
"What else is in there?" She was like, "No,
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I'm just excited. I've been growing tomatoes,
and I finally used my tomatoes in the soup."
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That's how I feel about my sermons
when I get to eat it with you,
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and I hope you like tomatoes too. Here we go.
In Philippians 2:12-13, the apostle Paul is
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writing an epistle to the church in Philippi,
and both of those are miracles. The fact that
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Paul is an apostle is the first miracle. Paul,
the artist formerly known as Saul of Tarsus?
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When the Lord wanted to reach the Gentiles, he
found somebody who was persecuting the church.
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The persecutor of the church is now one of the
lead preachers in the church. You never know how
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God is working in somebody's life. Don't write
people off. Don't count people out. Don't slap a
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label on them because this is the way they always
are. The way God always is means more than the way
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they always are, least of all yourself. Don't ever
underestimate how God can work in somebody's life.
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Think about that. He took him from the persecutor
of the church to a preacher. I guess he needed
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someone who understood the system from the inside
in order to overturn it. That's why God will often
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call you into something you struggle with, because
the thing you struggle with the most is the thing
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you're most qualified to help somebody else step
through. So, when the Lord needed to reach the
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Gentiles, he said, "I can't call Peter for this.
I'd better call Saul and change his name to Paul."
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So, it's a miracle that he's an apostle. His
whole title apostle, the apostle Paul… He had
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been something completely different, and
God changed him. That's one reason we were
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praising him today while we were singing
in church. I wish you could have heard the
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worship if you're watching this online later.
I wish you could have been in here with us,
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because we were praising him because he didn't
leave us like we were. That causes something
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to explode inside of you when you realize he
takes persecutors and turns them into preachers.
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The second miracle (I mentioned that there
were two in the text) is not implicit. You
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have to go beneath the surface to get
this one. He is writing the letter,
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the epistle… Somebody asked me, "Is that
like an apostle's wife?" No. Epistle just
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means letter. It's a letter that ended up being in
the Bible. It was written to a specific audience,
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the church at Philippi. It was not
written from where it was written to.
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It's a miracle this Scripture exists
because of the conditions Paul wrote
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it in. Not a writer's cottage by the sea. Not
a retreat situation in the mountains. Rather,
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he wrote this from prison. I
wanted to point that out to you,
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because sometimes you get more focused on
where you are than what God has called you
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to do and be, and you start acting like
your environment rather than changing it.
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You know, walk into school and start talking
like a foolish… You're actually a great,
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faithful child of God, but you get in an
environment, and you start changing. Paul
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would get in an environment and change
it. That's what made him different. He
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was also a great multitasker. Y'all say
that men can't multitask. I beg to differ.
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The apostle Paul, while serving a prison sentence,
is writing sentences that we now call Scriptures.
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The beautiful thing about this miracle is you
may not be an apostle, and you might not write
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an epistle, but let me break it right down
to where you live. Any situation in your life
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that isn't getting better (I want you
to think of that situation right now),
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you can do what Paul did. You can get busy
while you wait on it to get better. While
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you're waiting for it to change, change. While
you're waiting for a better opportunity, obey.
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The Bible says Paul was a great man of faith,
yet his faith did not keep a snake from biting
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him last week, did it? But his faith enabled
him to shake the snake off of his hand and
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use the incident… Everything that happens in
your life, good or bad, use it. Sometimes I
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feel like the moment God is working with me on
a specific area, that area will be attacked.
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I used to think that meant God wasn't really
working there, but if you read the Scripture,
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it's very interesting how it's worded. Paul
writes to the church and says (verse 12),
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"Therefore, my dear friends, as you
have always obeyed…" This Scripture
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is definitely not about me. "Always
obeyed." No, no, no. I think this is
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some kind of reverse psychology Paul is putting
on them, because they're fighting and arguing.
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Later in the book of Philippians he
name checks two women and tells them,
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"Y'all stop fighting." That's in chapter 4. I'm
not going to preach that this week. But he says,
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"If you were able to obey not only in my presence,
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but now much more in my absence…" Think
about the sadness of Paul, the apostle,
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being in prison. He's in a shipwreck. He gets on
another boat three months later. He goes to Rome.
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He's under house arrest for two years, and he
writes four epistles…Ephesians, Colossians,
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Philippians, and Philemon, the Prison Epistles.
They call them that. They were written in prison,
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but we quote them in church. So, where you
are right now has tremendous potential. Even
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your darkness has tremendous potential to
be harvested to bring somebody else light.
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The Bible says that God, who caused his light
to shine out of darkness, gives his Holy Spirit
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into our hearts, and we have this treasure in
earthen vessels that the excellency of the power
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might be of God and not of us. It's God doing
it. It wasn't God throwing Paul in the cell,
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but it was God on the inside of Paul that caused
him to pick up a pen while he was in there.
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Because he picked up a pen while he was in there,
you and I are shouting over stuff he said today.
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Somebody else needs to be shouting in five
years because you didn't give up. Somebody
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else needs to be praising God in 10 years
because you stayed the course. What you need
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to keep going is in you. Say it by faith. "It's
in me." He said, "You have an opportunity now."
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The opportunity is this. Paul says absence is
an opportunity for application. That's the best
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thing I'm going to say all day. One of our staff
members sent me a stack of different things she
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had written down from the sermons I preached. She
said, "I just want you to see that we hear you."
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In the notes she put, she would work
through the word she heard. I'm just asking,
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and I'm not going to ask you to raise your
hand. Do you work through the word you've
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heard or does it go in one ear and out in the
parking lot when you get stuck in traffic?
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You start lifting up your hands, but only one
finger on the hand. That single-finger praise.
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But seriously. I'm using it as a joke because I
don't want it to feel condemning, because that's
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not really my style, because I don't really have
room to do that. How many words has God given
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me that I did not work through? I don't mean
you have to take notes to be saved. God knows
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he's not going to check your highlighter colors
when you get to heaven. "Only pink? You're going
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to pink-only heaven. Oh, pink, green, yellow,
red. Yeah, you're going to multicolor heaven."
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The process by which you mix the Word with
faith is when you take what I say and ask God,
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"What are you saying to me about my situation
through what he said?" That's the process where
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you filter, and that's the process where
your faith is strengthened. I used to go
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to a therapy session where I would work on an
issue in my life. After the therapy session,
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I would have a major… I don't want to
call it a relapse, but in whatever area…
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I don't mean drugs or alcohol in these cases,
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but whatever I just talked through would be very
challenged in my life in the next 24 hours. So,
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I brought that to the therapist. I'm like, "I
might have to fire you, because every time we
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get off the phone my life gets worse." The
therapist said, "So you can get better."
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Sometimes when it isn't getting better, you
are. You don't get patience by praying for it;
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you get patience by being annoyed. You have no
idea. There are people who are helping you get
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patient who you are complaining about, and you
need to be paying them. They are your personal
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trainers for patience. I'm not saying we want
it, but I'm just saying God can use that too.
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While you're waiting on God to work some
things out, whatever that area is… If you
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need a breakthrough in your business, I believe
with you for a breakthrough in your business. If
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you believe for a breakthrough in your marriage,
I believe for a breakthrough in your marriage. If
15:11 - 15:15
you are believing for a husband or a wife to come
into your life because you don't want to be alone,
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I believe with you and stand with you
for that. But just know that some people
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are praying for a breakthrough in the
marriage that they prayed for yesterday
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that is struggling now because they believed
the lie that the situation would fix them.
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When I say, "God will work it in,"
I'm not just trying to be clever.
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I thought about how we're wanting God
to affect situations, and that's great,
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but Paul said, "My absence in this prison
is actually a gift for you in Philippi."
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Because when you're hearing the Word
or when you're learning something,
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you're getting it at a mental level, and
that's wonderful. Instruction is wonderful.
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There's a man in the church right
now who taught me a lot about tennis,
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a great tennis pro out here. That's wonderful,
but the thing about instruction is it is limited
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until you have an opportunity for integration.
Integration happens when what you were taught is
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challenged or tested and you have to remember
under pressure what you learned in peace.
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So, be careful coming to church,
because in this peaceful environment,
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God is going to provide after the peaceful… For
Paul he provided a prison where he wrote four
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epistles. For the church at Philippi, he did
not leave Paul's physical presence with them,
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but he gave his presence within
them so that when Paul's presence
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was taken away from them, his
presence within them intensified.
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What I'm trying to say is anything in your
life that goes away and you think you need it,
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God is going to release something greater
in your life that you didn't even know you
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had until you got into a situation where
you needed it. So, eventually Paul says,
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"Continue in it." Continue to work out.
Now, that's not a literal workout thing.
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Y'all, I remember the first time somebody called
me… I guess it was to my ego or whatever. They
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were like, "So, as a lifter, what are your
splits?" In case you need me to interpret, "As a
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weight lifter, what body parts do you work out on
which day?" Nobody had ever asked me that before.
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I figured, "Oh, I must be giving evidence that
what I've been doing is actually improving my
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physical frame to the point where I'm
a lifter." Do you know how good it felt
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to be called a lifter? I'd lifted a lot, but
I'd never been called a lifter. I was walking
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around the house. I didn't tell anybody, but
I was looking at the kids. They were like,
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"Daddy." I'm like, "Lifter. You
can call me lifter, Mister Lifter."
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I was so proud for three days, because what I
did was integrated in my life in such a way… If
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you would, look at your neighbor and say, "As
a praiser, when do you praise God?" Ask them,
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"What are your splits?" Tell them, "Well, I
praise when I feel it; I praise when I don't. I
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praise on the mountain; I praise in the valley. I
praise when I'm sure; I praise when I'm doubting.
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I praise when I've got it; I praise
when it's gone. I praise when I feel it;
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I praise when I faith it. I'm not faking
it; I'm faithing it, because if I faith it,
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it will form me." So, let's break it down. The
absence is an opportunity for application. When
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I used to work out, I needed somebody to
be there to make me work out. I found out
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they were really good partners when I heard
their voice even when they weren't there.
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What I love about God… A good instructor is
not satisfied simply with your assimilation
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of information. A good instructor will
sometimes create absence. And life will.
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You're in a season right now. The Lord
was speaking to me about it. I don't
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know who it's for. I don't need to know
who it's for. You know if it's for you.
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You're in a season right now where it is
very important that you integrate what God
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has given you. It is feeling intense
right now because of the absence of
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something you think you need to
have. Paul said, "In my absence,
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much more than my presence…" You have to
remember what you know about God. In the
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absence of joy, you have to remember how
to rejoice. In the absence of harmony,
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you have to remember to be a peacemaker. In the
absence of money, you have to stay creative.
20:42 - 20:47
God will sometimes take resources away
from you to remind you of something you're
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not using. One of the worst things God
can give some people is too much money,
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because they will start stuffing themselves
with stuff and forget the substance of who
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they were that led them to the point
that they had the wealth to begin with.
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That's why the Word says, "When you have
become great, do not forget the Lord your God,
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for it is he who gives you the power
to get wealth." I think that as much
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as God's presence provides comfort, absence
creates opportunity. I want to really get
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this home to you. Okay? So just bear with me for
a minute. Let me put another tomato in this soup.
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My oldest Elijah and I had a great conversation.
When he left for college… For a couple of years
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after Buck and Chunks stopped coming over to help
me work out, he was my workout partner. When he
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left for college (he went three hours away), I
was so depressed I would still go lift weights,
21:53 - 21:58
but I wouldn't even put my shoes on or turn the
lights on. I wouldn't even turn Metallica on…I
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mean, Maverick City and Kirk Franklin.
I forgot where I was for a minute.
22:07 - 22:13
I'd sit there in the silence just cranking out
the reps. Sometimes, just to make him feel bad
22:13 - 22:17
about leaving me, I would send him a picture of
me sitting there in the dark. It's hard without
22:17 - 22:20
your partner. Then I felt better, because
about a month or two after he'd been gone,
22:20 - 22:24
we were having this deep conversation one
night. He opened up to me. He was like,
22:24 - 22:26
"College is great, but it's hard. I'm
grateful to be here, but it's hard."
22:26 - 22:39
He said, "And it's hard because I have to be both
of us here. I'm so used to having you say, 'Son…'
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Sometimes you got on my nerves, but I needed
that. I needed you to get on my nerves." Y'all,
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I've had a Grammy, a New York Times, and all that
stuff. I felt like I got the greatest reward of my
22:52 - 22:58
life when he said, "Now I have to be both of us,"
because it let me know we've gone from instruction
22:59 - 23:03
to integration.
23:03 - 23:08
It let me know my voice is still speaking. It let
23:08 - 23:19
me know I'm still talking three hours away.
Paul wanted the church at Philippi to know,
23:19 - 23:25
"I'm still talking to you even though I'm
in this prison cell." God wants you to know,
23:25 - 23:30
"I'm still talking to you even though you lost
your mother last year." God wants you to know,
23:30 - 23:35
"I'm still talking to you even though you don't
know how you're going to make payroll next month."
23:35 - 23:39
God wants you to know, "I'm still talking to
you even though you haven't felt goose bumps in
23:39 - 23:44
a while, and while everybody else seems to be
rejoicing, you feel kind of empty." God says,
23:44 - 23:53
"This is not absence; it's integration,
because my sheep know my voice." The most
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powerful moment of your life to work a word
from God is not just when you're putting it
23:58 - 24:05
in a journal to write it down but when you
are putting it into practice to live it out.
24:05 - 24:13
This is a practice season for you. This absence
you feel, this thing that has changed… I wish
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I could sit down and get to know your exact
situation so we could have an exact conversation,
24:19 - 24:24
but Paul wrote one letter to the whole
church and said, "It's good that I'm gone."
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That's what Jesus said to the disciples. "If
I leave you, I'll send you the Holy Spirit.
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I can send you something greater than just
my words. I can give you my Spirit." Greater.
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Integration. God is doing something greater in
your life. Something goes away and something
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greater comes. This is the rhythm of God.
Give him praise. God will work it in.
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I want to study this a little bit
more. "Therefore, my dear friends,
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as you have always obeyed—not only in my
presence, but now much more in my absence…" I
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can't get off of this. God said the absence of
what you think you need in this season is an
25:23 - 25:29
opportunity for you to get attuned to what you
really have. The best thing that happened to
25:29 - 25:35
me to be able to effectively minister to you was
when we couldn't have people in church in 2020,
25:35 - 25:41
because it taught me not to need your energy
to be effective to minister God's Word.
25:41 - 25:45
When I couldn't ride on the waves of
your energy, I had to let God make a
25:45 - 25:51
wave inside of me with his Word. So I came
out of it never more alive and in love with
25:51 - 25:56
the Word of God because of something that
was taken away. Now, I'm not using this
25:56 - 26:01
to talk about me or tomato soup or weight
lifting, although I am proud to be a lifter.
26:03 - 26:11
I want you to see that the absence creates
an opportunity for application. This was
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weird. I don't know if you thought
it was weird when I read it. He said,
26:14 - 26:24
"Work out your salvation with fear and
trembling." I thought that might mean
26:24 - 26:28
when we give the invitation every week for you
to get saved, raise your hand just in case.
26:28 - 26:34
Like, "I don't know. I thought I did this when
I was 8, but I'm scared and I'm trembling that
26:34 - 26:38
maybe what I did last week canceled it out.
So just in case, Lord, I'm putting my hand up
26:38 - 26:43
right there. Yeah, you can give me another one of
those Bibles. I haven't read any of them. I have
26:43 - 26:50
17 of them stacked up at home, but, yeah, give
me another one." Then I realized what he didn't
26:50 - 27:02
say. Watch this. He didn't say, "Work for your
salvation." He said, "Work out your salvation."
27:03 - 27:07
He's not saying earn it. That's contrary to
everything else God gave Paul to teach us.
27:07 - 27:12
That's contrary to the very essence of
the cross of Christ. How are you going
27:12 - 27:21
to earn a grace that was given from a cross
you didn't die on? What he's saying is not
27:21 - 27:28
only to integrate what you've been taught,
what you've been instructed, and apply it…
27:28 - 27:33
Like Vance Havner said, "Never forget in the
darkness what God showed you in the light."
27:36 - 27:41
Now, fear and trembling is a saying
they had, like we might say, "Lock,
27:41 - 27:48
stock, and barrel," which means everything.
They would say, "Fear and trembling" like a
27:48 - 27:53
saying. It was a colloquialism. When he
says, "Work out your salvation with fear
27:53 - 28:00
and trembling," he does not mean be afraid that
God didn't give you what he promised to give you.
28:00 - 28:04
He said you're forgiven. You're forgiven. He said
there's no condemnation. There's no condemnation.
28:04 - 28:10
It is being afraid to live your life without
the awareness of that, because you know if you
28:10 - 28:18
ever lose awareness of who God is to you and in
you, you will make the stupidest mistakes. So,
28:18 - 28:26
I want you to work out (you're about to
see it) what God has already worked in.
28:26 - 28:31
God is working on you, and you are a work
in progress, but your salvation is not. It's
28:31 - 28:40
finished. There's nothing more to be done. That's
why Jesus said, "It is finished." God already
28:40 - 28:45
worked that out. If you've placed your faith in
him, you are already saved. Now you are taking
28:45 - 28:52
what God gave you and working it out. That's what
I told Elijah. I said, "This is your season to
28:52 - 28:58
grow. Every conversation we've had down here
lifting weights together, every time I've ever
28:58 - 29:03
corrected you that you wanted to kill me, but you
knew I would kill you if you tried to kill me…"
29:03 - 29:06
"Every single one of those things…
Now that we're not together,
29:06 - 29:11
now that it's not like it was, it gets to
go deeper inside of you." God is taking
29:11 - 29:18
you deeper in this season. He did not
depart from you; he's taking you deeper.
29:26 - 29:37
You are worried about something God has already
worked out. Why do you do that? Because you
29:37 - 29:44
stop at verse 12 and never read verse 13. Do you
know how many people will take verse 12 and stop
29:44 - 29:52
right there? "Therefore, since you were obeying
when I was there, keep that same energy," Paul
29:52 - 30:00
is saying. "When I was preaching, y'all were
saying, 'Amen.' Now keep that same energy."
30:00 - 30:05
A couple of Tuesdays from now, no matter who
wins the election, no matter who's acting crazy,
30:05 - 30:10
keep that same energy, because we had
Republicans, Democrats, Black, white,
30:10 - 30:15
Hispanic, male, and female all in the same church
and we were all unified. We will not let a culture
30:15 - 30:21
that divides us be greater than a King who defines
us. Y'all keep that same energy out there in
30:21 - 30:27
the world. All right? Over the next two weeks,
don't you get Facebook crazy and be church sane.
30:33 - 30:47
I don't know where that came from. It just came
to me. I decided to work it in. I don't know
30:47 - 30:52
where this snake came from; I just decided to
shake it off and work it in. I don't know where
30:52 - 30:57
that feeling came from; I just decided to work it
in. I don't know where that temptation came from;
30:57 - 31:01
I just decided to pray extra this week,
because if I'm going to get extra temptation,
31:01 - 31:11
I'm going to need extra grace, so I'm going to
pray extra prayers. I'm going to work this in.
31:13 - 31:20
The reason you keep worrying about stuff God
has already worked out is because of the way
31:20 - 31:30
you keep thinking. "…not only in my presence, but
now much more in my absence—continue to work out
31:30 - 31:44
your salvation with fear and trembling…" You
stop there. Church, that's a comma. I feel
31:44 - 31:51
like I'm a multitasking preacher. I talk about
fitness, English grammar, theology, parenting,
31:51 - 31:59
recipes, tomatoes. I work it all in. "Work
out your salvation with fear and trembling."
31:59 - 32:05
Now, if you read that, you will be
worried, because you are trying to
32:05 - 32:16
work out something without God. What gets
me tripped up every time I get overwhelmed…
32:16 - 32:20
And I'm not talking about just having
butterflies or getting nervous. I think
32:20 - 32:24
all that is good. But when I get overwhelmed
to the point where it really shuts me down…
32:24 - 32:29
You know how there's that line between when
you're working on something and it's wearing
32:29 - 32:38
you out and you realize, "Huh. This feels kind of
cyclical because it's making me sick." If that's
32:38 - 32:43
where you are in the feeling, read what comes
after the comma. "Work out your salvation with
32:43 - 32:50
fear and trembling, for it is God who works
in you." That's a very interesting thought,
32:50 - 32:59
isn't it? It is God who works in you. Don't forget
that while you work it out. Don't forget that.
32:59 - 33:05
Don't get so good at trying to figure stuff
out on paper that you forget to work stuff
33:05 - 33:10
out according to purpose. The Bible said it
is God who works in you to will and to do
33:10 - 33:17
according to his good purpose. God starts with
the purpose, not the person, and then he finds
33:17 - 33:22
the person who will accomplish that purpose,
and he shapes the person who will accomplish
33:22 - 33:29
that purpose. That's why you can know God is
working on you right now and working in you.
33:32 - 33:35
I will never forget sitting down to work
on something one time. I'll tell you
33:35 - 33:41
exactly what it was, because I think it's a great
illustration. I had the opportunity several years
33:41 - 33:46
ago to interview Bishop T.D. Jakes right here
on this stage at Elevation Church, and I was so
33:46 - 33:55
honored to do it. He is my preaching hero. He's
my friend now too, but if someone is your hero,
33:55 - 34:00
even if they're your friend, you still get
really nervous, even if it's not their fault.
34:00 - 34:05
I was so nervous to interview that man,
because I wanted to do a good job for
34:05 - 34:21
him. He was promoting a book called
Soar. I sat down for weeks beforehand,
34:21 - 34:26
and I would work, but mostly I would
worry. It wasn't like I wasn't getting
34:26 - 34:32
anything done. By the time I got done being
a complete stress ball for several weeks,
34:32 - 34:40
I think I counted 75 note cards of
questions to ask the man about the book.
34:40 - 34:44
Everybody would say, "Aren't you excited to
interview Bishop Jakes?" and I'd be like,
34:44 - 34:49
"Yeah." Excitement and anxiety can kind of feel
34:49 - 34:57
the same sometimes. What you call it
depends on what you're focused about.
34:57 - 35:03
When I look back on it, I regret all of
the stress I felt from the pressure that
35:03 - 35:08
wasn't even real. The fact of the matter is
he could have had anybody interview him for
35:08 - 35:14
the book. He wanted me to do it. He could
have gone anywhere he wanted. He didn't go
35:14 - 35:23
to Oprah. He came to Furtick. He didn't come to
Dr. Phil. He came to Dr. Furtick. But I couldn't
35:23 - 35:28
feel that way about it, because I thought,
"What am I going to ask him? He's so smart."
35:28 - 35:34
The very reason I was stressed was the very reason
I should have relaxed. Not five minutes after we
35:34 - 35:41
got on this stage and he sat in his chair and
I sat in mine… I had my whole stack. I said my
35:41 - 35:50
first question to him. Twenty minutes later, I
still had 74 questions left, and the interview
35:50 - 36:03
was only 90 minutes. I remembered in that
moment, "Oh, it's Bishop. He's good at talking."
36:03 - 36:07
"Oh, all this time I've been thinking about
this." Like, "I've got to carry it. What am
36:07 - 36:10
I going to do if my questions are stupid? And
what if the people look at me funny? What if I
36:10 - 36:13
mispronounce a word? What if he doesn't
sell any books? What if he never wants
36:13 - 36:16
to talk to me again? What if I accidentally say
something that wasn't intended to be offensive,
36:16 - 36:18
but I was just trying to be casual
and it came across as disrespectful?"
36:18 - 36:28
All of this to interview one of the greatest
talkers in the world. The only thing I had to
36:28 - 36:45
do to be successful in the interview was this. You
know, just a reverse nod for variety and effect,
36:45 - 36:55
but between those two nods, he had
it covered. I see you stressing about
36:55 - 37:01
something in your life today. I don't know
what it is. I don't need to. God knows.
37:01 - 37:06
I see you playing out the situation over
and over again. You call it preparation,
37:06 - 37:12
but it's not preparation, because it is eating
through your peace. Here you are thinking, "Well,
37:12 - 37:17
when I get to that in three weeks, it's going to
be terrible." "Oh, when my kids become teenagers…"
37:17 - 37:22
They are yet toddlers. You have 12 years to
read books about this crap you're going to be
37:22 - 37:27
dealing with, and by then all of the books will
be saying different stuff than they say today.
37:27 - 37:32
I see you looking at a situation in the
future of your life, and you are afraid.
37:32 - 37:41
I'll tell you why you are afraid. You forgot
God is going to be there when you get there.
37:41 - 37:50
I remembered, "Oh, Bishop is going to be there.
He's a good talker." I wish you would remember
37:50 - 37:55
with all of the scenarios you're playing out in
your mind and all of the ways it could go wrong
37:55 - 38:00
and all the stuff you're scrolling through,
talking about "Is it another world war…?"
38:00 - 38:08
Well, what are you going to do about it if it is?
Are you going to go fight in it? Whatever happens,
38:08 - 38:21
you're going to have God. If it's a prison, he'll
be your cellmate. You're going to have God. "Oh,
38:21 - 38:30
yeah. I forgot. I'm going to have God in it
with me. That's why I'm not stressed about
38:30 - 38:34
retirement, because I've never seen
the righteous forsaken. I was young,
38:34 - 38:41
and now I'm old. I've never seen the righteous
forsaken, nor his seed begging for bread."
38:41 - 38:46
"God is going to be in this with me. God
is going to be in the challenge with me.
38:46 - 38:50
God is going to be in the uncertainty.
God is going to walk into that doctor's
38:50 - 38:55
office with me. God is going to be on the
other side of this painful breakup with me.
38:55 - 38:59
God is going to be with me when I make
my first appointment with a counselor.
38:59 - 39:05
God is going to be with me when I show back up
first day to school and I'm 27. God is going
39:05 - 39:09
to be with me when I open up my finances
and begin to get it in order and humble
39:09 - 39:15
myself. I forgot about God. That's why I
was shaking. That's why I was trembling,
39:15 - 39:23
but I'm not trembling anymore, because
I'm trusting that when I get there…"
39:29 - 39:36
My bracelet fell off, but let me work it in.
There's some stuff that needs to come off of
39:36 - 39:45
you in this season. It happened, so I might as
well work it in. There are some things in your
39:45 - 39:57
life you need to stop stressing about at a level
that assumes you're going to have to do it alone.
39:58 - 40:04
I never get stressed about a sermon if I remember,
"Oh, yeah. God is going to be there." Just like
40:04 - 40:13
Bishop is pretty good at talking, God is
pretty good at "Godding." I'm so tired of
40:13 - 40:21
hearing people say, "Life be life-ing." God
be Godding. (Don't quote me on that. That's
40:21 - 40:28
so corny.) I think sometimes we take the journey
in our mind as if God is not going to be there.
40:28 - 40:33
That was so profound for me when I realized
it. Have you ever been going into a situation
40:33 - 40:38
and were so stressed, and then you remembered,
"Oh, yeah. They're going to be there," and the
40:38 - 40:42
person you thought of…? Now, there are some
times where you're going into a situation and
40:42 - 40:47
remember they are going to be there, and then
you really are reaching for the prescription
40:47 - 40:55
pills. But there are other people… Like, I
know for Holly when Amy is going to be there
40:55 - 41:00
when she's preaching or recording, there are
certain things she doesn't have to worry about.
41:00 - 41:03
She's going over to get ready, and I
can see she's stressed. She's like,
41:03 - 41:07
"I'm good. Amy is going to be there." She just
realizes, "There are things I don't even have
41:07 - 41:12
to think about because she's good at… We've been
together so long. She's going to take care of some
41:12 - 41:20
stuff so I can just focus on what I need to do."
I hear the Lord saying, "I'm going to be there,
41:20 - 41:31
even if Paul can't, even if nobody else does,
even if you've never been there before."
41:31 - 41:39
I only needed three note cards
and two nods. Joyce Meyer said,
41:39 - 41:44
"Worry is a down payment on a problem you may
never have." Isn't that just like the Devil,
41:44 - 41:54
charging you for stuff you don't even need
that you didn't even order? So, he said, "Work
41:54 - 42:03
this thing out." You don't need 75 note cards.
Just make sure the mic is on and nod your head.
42:03 - 42:09
I think as simple as this sounds sometimes
to just assume God is going to be there,
42:09 - 42:13
we should just sit in it for a minute.
What would it change about the situation
42:13 - 42:23
you're afraid of facing if you knew
God was going to be there? One time
42:23 - 42:27
when they got so big on cancel culture,
I thought, "What if they cancel me?"
42:29 - 42:36
God said, "How many people were you preaching
to when I called you?" The answer was "Five."
42:36 - 42:40
The Lord said, "Well, surely you can find
at least five who will come listen to you
42:40 - 42:51
if they cancel you. The whole earth? You can find
five." The fact is whatever happens in your life,
42:51 - 42:57
before it even happens to you, God
already has a way to work it in.
42:59 - 43:06
I didn't make this bracelet fall off. It just
happened. I worked it in. Remember when we
43:06 - 43:13
were at Elevation Nights in Oakland?
The reason they laughed when I said,
43:13 - 43:17
"Oakland…" They're not West Coast
prejudiced or anything like that.
43:20 - 43:25
When we got to Oakland for Elevation Nights…
This was 2022. I will never forget this night.
43:25 - 43:28
Now, when we preach at Elevation Nights,
we're going into these big arenas,
43:28 - 43:34
like basketball arenas and stuff. They're
always telling me, "This is the NBA team that
43:34 - 43:37
plays here." I don't care about basketball.
I don't care about any of that. I just care
43:37 - 43:41
about serving him. No, actually I'm
looking at, "What bands came here? Oh,
43:41 - 43:45
the Rolling Stones were here. That's cool to
me. I don't care who played basketball here."
43:45 - 43:49
But when we were in Oakland… I don't
know what made me wear that big,
43:49 - 43:53
heavy jacket that night. I remember wearing
this big, heavy jacket. I'm up preaching,
43:53 - 43:56
and there are a lot of distractions, because
it's not like a church service where y'all
43:56 - 44:00
are so attentive. Even watching
online right now, you're just…
44:00 - 44:03
At Elevation Nights it's like a concert
and then a sermon. Some of the people who
44:03 - 44:07
are there got totally bait-and-switched.
They had no idea they were going to have
44:07 - 44:09
to sit through a sermon. They
thought it was just music. So
44:09 - 44:18
I am a total buzzkill for the whole room.
But in Oakland it was going pretty well.
44:18 - 44:21
You know, you have to work around the
distractions. This guy is over here eating popcorn
44:21 - 44:27
and chicken fingers. "Does she have a beer while
we're singing 'Trust in God'?" You know, just all
44:27 - 44:34
kinds of things going through your mind. You have
to learn to work around it. But a couple of times
44:34 - 44:40
on these nights, something happens that you can't
work around, and in Oakland something happened.
44:40 - 44:44
I was in the middle of my sermon. I was preaching
about Acts 3:1-10. The message was called
44:44 - 44:50
Surprise. I was talking about Peter and John
at the gate called Beautiful. A man showed up,
44:50 - 44:53
and he wasn't expecting to get healed,
and they weren't expecting to be healers,
44:53 - 44:58
but surprise. Right when I'm revving up…
You know, I've gotten my background covered.
44:58 - 45:07
All of the lights in the whole arena go out.
Not gradually, not dimmed…out. I'm thinking,
45:07 - 45:13
"Huh, that's weird. They'll come back on
in a minute." Six minutes and 45 seconds.
45:14 - 45:21
I'm not exaggerating. It felt like
six years. All of the lights go out,
45:21 - 45:26
and the first thing I think the whole audience
thought was, "Oh, this is a part of his sermon."
45:29 - 45:33
So I tell them really quickly,
"This is not a part of my sermon."
45:34 - 45:41
I'm standing up there. Ten seconds go by. Twenty
seconds go by. I'm a professional, man. I've been
45:41 - 45:45
doing this since I was 16. I've been doing this
since I was in Moncks Corner, South Carolina.
45:45 - 45:48
I can do this. I can hold this crowd for a
minute. I can preach through this. But then
45:48 - 45:56
it's 30 seconds. It's a minute. You kind of run
out of steam to stall. "How about those lights?"
45:59 - 46:05
Then it hit me. "You don't know how long
it's going to take for them to work this out,
46:07 - 46:17
so work it in." I'm telling you
the truth. With the lights off,
46:17 - 46:23
I started preaching about when you're in
a dark season. I started preaching about
46:23 - 46:28
how Peter and John weren't always at the gate
called Beautiful, but they had once been in a
46:28 - 46:35
garden called Gethsemane where the Savior of
the world was facing the darkness of our sin.
46:35 - 46:38
What do you do when you're in
the darkness of the garden of
46:38 - 46:42
Gethsemane and the lights are out all
around you and you are uncertain? See,
46:42 - 46:48
because I don't know how long it's going
to take them to put the lights back on,
46:48 - 46:59
so while I'm waiting for them to work it out…
I'm trying to close this message. I really am.
46:59 - 47:05
But there is somebody listening to me who's
waiting for God to work it out, and God is
47:05 - 47:12
saying back, "While you're waiting in this dark
season for me to work it out, for me to show you
47:12 - 47:16
the next step, for me to give you the next crumb,
for me to give you the next notice, for me to give
47:16 - 47:21
you the next relationship, for me to turn this
thing around, for the report to be positive…"
47:21 - 47:29
"While you're waiting for me to work it out,
work it in." I hear God saying, "Work it in."
47:29 - 47:39
"For it is God who works in you…" Show them
the video. About five minutes in, the people
47:39 - 48:15
did something. The people had their phones out. I
didn't tell them to. They just did it. Surprise!
48:15 - 48:25
Give him a shout of praise. Are
you a praiser? Are you a lifter?
48:34 - 48:40
Maybe that's the message God wanted me to
preach. Look at all of those lights. Look
48:40 - 48:50
at all that evidence. Look at all that
praise. Hallelujah! Look at all of that
48:50 - 49:00
strength. Look at all of that glory from
something we didn't see coming. Surprise!
49:00 - 49:08
It's not what I ordered, but it's what God
ordered. God is sovereign. God ordered my
49:08 - 49:23
steps. God is in this with me. Get your
light out! You had that light in your
49:23 - 49:28
pocket the whole time, but you didn't
need to work that light out until the
49:28 - 49:38
light was absent. The absence became
the opportunity for the illustration,
49:38 - 49:45
because while I'm waiting for God to work
this out, I might as well work it in. "God,
49:45 - 49:50
what do you want to teach me through this?
God, how do you want to prepare me for this?"
49:50 - 49:54
I was complaining about something that wasn't
succeeding in this season of my life lately,
49:54 - 49:56
and God said, "Exactly, because you got cocky
49:56 - 50:01
about what you could do, and I needed to
teach you to pay attention. So I took your
50:01 - 50:08
success away for a minute so you would pay
attention to the source of your strength."
50:10 - 50:16
I didn't even plan for us to do this all
together. We didn't work any of that out,
50:16 - 50:30
but we worked it in. I'm going to give you 24
seconds to give God the greatest praise you gave
50:30 - 50:45
him, because he gave you one more day. Nineteen
seconds, 18 seconds… You're running out of time.
50:45 - 50:56
And at midnight, Paul and Silas… You know what
to do! Do it! Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five…
50:58 - 51:03
hey thank you for watching the Elevation Church
YouTube I want you to subscribe that way you can
51:03 - 51:08
know when we go live and post new content make
sure leave me a comment let me know what spoke
51:08 - 51:12
to you today where you're watching from and
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51:12 - 51:17
like to support the ministry financially you can
click the give button now and help us continue
51:17 - 51:23
reaching people around the world for Jesus
Christ thanks again I'll see you next time
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