God Prompts (Mary’s Prayer)

0:00:01.520 --> 0:00:02.800 Hey, this is Stephen Ferdick. 0:00:02.840 --> 0:00:05.840 I'm the pastor of Elevation Church, and this is our podcast. 0:00:05.880 --> 0:00:08.320 I wanted to thank you for joining us today. Hope 0:00:08.320 --> 0:00:10.680 this inspires you. Hope it builds your faith. 0:00:10.760 --> 0:00:12.840 Hope it gives your perspective to see God is moving 0:00:12.920 --> 0:00:13.560 in your life. 0:00:13.840 --> 0:00:14.800 Enjoy the message. 0:00:18.320 --> 0:00:22.880 I'm standing on the promises of Christ, my King. I'm 0:00:23.000 --> 0:00:26.160 standing on the promises of God. How about you? 0:00:27.840 --> 0:00:29.760 How about you? The storm came, but. 0:00:29.840 --> 0:00:33.200 My house stood because it was built on the rock. 0:00:34.400 --> 0:00:36.680 And I come to the end of this year saying 0:00:36.800 --> 0:00:37.720 thank you Lord. 0:00:39.240 --> 0:00:41.160 I could complain, but I won't. 0:00:41.440 --> 0:00:45.440 Thank you Lord. I could be afraid, but I refuse. 0:00:46.000 --> 0:00:48.480 I refused the spirit of fear. 0:00:49.080 --> 0:00:50.120 I have faith. 0:00:50.600 --> 0:00:51.920 Hi, run. 0:00:53.640 --> 0:00:54.200 In God. 0:00:56.840 --> 0:01:00.920 Wow. Kind of caught me off guard, right there. Now, 0:01:01.600 --> 0:01:06.800 a little praise service. It is good, in fitting for 0:01:06.840 --> 0:01:07.720 the upright. 0:01:07.440 --> 0:01:08.039 To praise him. 0:01:08.040 --> 0:01:12.240 It is appropriate for you to praise him. 0:01:12.319 --> 0:01:14.600 It's appropriate for you to praise him. Grab a hand 0:01:14.600 --> 0:01:21.880 next to you. Would you repeat after me? 0:01:22.000 --> 0:01:28.520 Father, I pray for the person on my right and 0:01:28.640 --> 0:01:33.800 on my left. Bless them today, Bless them so good 0:01:35.240 --> 0:01:40.760 that it makes every curse irrelevant. In the name of Jesus. 0:01:41.959 --> 0:01:47.600 Bless them so good that they have faith and confidence 0:01:48.440 --> 0:01:55.360 for whatever they're facing. Jehovah, Jirah, meet their need. Jehovah 0:01:55.400 --> 0:02:03.120 Nissi fight their battle. Jehovah Shahlom be there peace. Thank 0:02:03.160 --> 0:02:09.400 you Jesus. Amen, Amen, Amen again clapped us as in 0:02:09.440 --> 0:02:09.880 the house. 0:02:12.240 --> 0:02:16.560 It's offering weekend. I have a break giving sernon prepared 0:02:16.600 --> 0:02:16.919 for you. 0:02:16.919 --> 0:02:21.000 Today, and today you're gonna help me preach in just 0:02:21.040 --> 0:02:21.800 a few moments. 0:02:21.880 --> 0:02:25.000 Those who are here physically and those who are online 0:02:25.000 --> 0:02:27.520 are going to be bringing their offering. And whether you're 0:02:27.560 --> 0:02:29.840 doing that online or whether you're doing that in person. 0:02:30.000 --> 0:02:33.040 Yeah, the first fruits belong to the Lord. 0:02:34.840 --> 0:02:37.000 We are stewards, not owners of anything. 0:02:37.639 --> 0:02:40.919 I have my offering ready as I have prepared this 0:02:41.040 --> 0:02:44.680 offering for every twenty years. I never prepared the offering 0:02:45.200 --> 0:02:47.480 and God didn't tell me to bump the number up 0:02:47.480 --> 0:02:50.080 a little bit. I didn't tell Holly yet, but that 0:02:50.120 --> 0:02:53.639 happened again this morning. There are two checks in this envelope. Man, 0:02:54.000 --> 0:02:57.840 I'll talk to you about it later. There was the 0:02:57.880 --> 0:02:59.960 one that I planned and then the one that God spoke. 0:03:02.000 --> 0:03:03.280 You know, God will speak to you. 0:03:04.560 --> 0:03:06.720 I have never asked anyone in this church to give 0:03:06.760 --> 0:03:09.520 a specific amount of money. I just told you to 0:03:09.560 --> 0:03:13.160 ask God and do what he tells you. And that's 0:03:13.200 --> 0:03:14.520 what I'd like to talk to you about for a 0:03:14.520 --> 0:03:17.080 few moments today, remain standing and turning your Bible to 0:03:17.160 --> 0:03:20.040 John chapter two. I need to be a little bit 0:03:20.120 --> 0:03:24.760 quicker today, So y'all listen fast. We're going to have 0:03:24.800 --> 0:03:28.000 bonus worship at the end. You picked a great day 0:03:28.040 --> 0:03:31.600 to come today. These people are going to help me 0:03:31.720 --> 0:03:37.800 preach God's word. What a privilege it is. In John 0:03:37.880 --> 0:03:41.560 chapter two, the Bible says, on the third day, a 0:03:41.600 --> 0:03:46.080 wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus's mother was there, 0:03:46.640 --> 0:03:49.720 and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to 0:03:49.760 --> 0:03:50.240 the wedding. 0:03:51.120 --> 0:03:54.000 When the wine was gone, Jesus's mother said to him, 0:03:54.200 --> 0:03:55.160 they have no more. 0:03:55.040 --> 0:04:01.200 Wine, woman, Why do you involve me Jesus for great 0:04:01.240 --> 0:04:01.760 mother's day? 0:04:01.840 --> 0:04:04.440 Verse Hall, you might want to preach that my hour 0:04:04.680 --> 0:04:05.800 has not yet come. 0:04:06.520 --> 0:04:09.680 And his mother said to the servants, do whatever he 0:04:09.760 --> 0:04:13.840 tells you. Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind 0:04:14.000 --> 0:04:18.360 used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from 0:04:18.360 --> 0:04:23.640 twenty to thirty gallons Jesus said to the servants, fill 0:04:24.120 --> 0:04:25.680 the jars with water. 0:04:25.880 --> 0:04:30.039 So they filled them to the brim. Then he told them. 0:04:29.920 --> 0:04:32.839 Now draw some out and take it to the master 0:04:33.279 --> 0:04:34.080 of the banquet. 0:04:34.680 --> 0:04:36.320 They did so, and. 0:04:36.279 --> 0:04:38.800 The master of the banquet tasted the water that had 0:04:38.800 --> 0:04:40.640 been turned into wine. 0:04:40.680 --> 0:04:42.360 He did not realize. 0:04:41.839 --> 0:04:45.240 Where it had come from, though the servants who had 0:04:45.320 --> 0:04:48.960 drawn the water new. Then he called the bridegroom aside 0:04:48.960 --> 0:04:52.840 and said, everyone brings out the choice wine first, and 0:04:52.880 --> 0:04:55.960 then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too 0:04:56.080 --> 0:04:58.680 much to drink. Look at this verse for the end 0:04:58.720 --> 0:05:02.479 of our year. But you have say the best till now. 0:05:03.480 --> 0:05:06.520 What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was the 0:05:06.520 --> 0:05:10.839 first of the signs through which he revealed his glory 0:05:11.400 --> 0:05:16.240 and his disciples believed in him. I read you eleven 0:05:16.360 --> 0:05:18.440 verses just for the sake of reading you one. Go 0:05:18.520 --> 0:05:21.159 back to verse five, and I'll give you my message today. 0:05:21.880 --> 0:05:29.159 His mother said, to the servants, do whatever he tells you. 0:05:30.640 --> 0:05:34.600 Do whatever he tells you. I want to use as 0:05:34.640 --> 0:05:40.720 a subject today for this sermon. Mary's prayer. Mary's prayer. 0:05:42.360 --> 0:05:46.760 Father, I ask now that you would answer this prayer. 0:05:47.720 --> 0:05:51.400 Speak to your people give them courage to obey in 0:05:51.440 --> 0:05:52.440 the name of Jesus. 0:05:52.839 --> 0:05:56.200 Amen, you may be seated. 0:06:00.040 --> 0:06:03.520 That's not exactly a Christmas scripture I read you, but 0:06:03.880 --> 0:06:08.080 it features the main character of Christmas, so it counts Mary. 0:06:09.600 --> 0:06:14.760 And Mary, the Mother of Jesus, was, in many ways, 0:06:14.760 --> 0:06:17.800 you could say, the initiator of the first miracle that 0:06:17.880 --> 0:06:20.359 he did. Let's give it up for Mary. Everybody clap 0:06:20.440 --> 0:06:25.920 those hands and thank God for Mary. Now we don't 0:06:25.920 --> 0:06:29.360 pray to Mary. We pray to God the Father through Jesus. 0:06:30.160 --> 0:06:33.240 But Mary's prayer is what I want to talk to 0:06:33.240 --> 0:06:33.920 you about today. 0:06:34.240 --> 0:06:36.960 Not to hail Mary or anything like that, but I 0:06:37.000 --> 0:06:40.760 want to talk to you about Mary's prayer today. 0:06:41.240 --> 0:06:43.000 In order to illustrate this, I want to tell you 0:06:43.000 --> 0:06:46.039 two unusual things that happened to me this week. Now, 0:06:46.560 --> 0:06:49.960 I not only study the scriptures, but I study my life, 0:06:50.040 --> 0:06:52.920 and I think that sometimes God preaches through ordinary events. 0:06:53.880 --> 0:06:55.600 One thing that happened to me this week that was 0:06:55.680 --> 0:07:00.280 kind of unusual. The Lord prompted in my heart to 0:07:00.400 --> 0:07:03.320 give a specific amount of money to a church that 0:07:03.440 --> 0:07:05.719 is just getting started, a brand new church. I know 0:07:05.760 --> 0:07:09.560 what that feels like. And I saw the budget for 0:07:09.640 --> 0:07:12.360 their launch of their church. And I know the pastor 0:07:12.400 --> 0:07:15.400 pretty well, and I knew how hard it was going 0:07:15.440 --> 0:07:18.800 to be to transport all of the families that are 0:07:18.840 --> 0:07:20.920 going to start and all of that, and I said, 0:07:20.960 --> 0:07:23.760 you know what, I want our church to help their church, 0:07:24.600 --> 0:07:29.160 because when you're starting out, every little bit matters. And 0:07:29.240 --> 0:07:32.400 so what we did we sent ten percent of their 0:07:32.520 --> 0:07:35.400 entire budget from our church to help them start their 0:07:35.480 --> 0:07:36.239 church this week. 0:07:38.400 --> 0:07:41.840 Now we do that all the time. Millions of dollars 0:07:41.880 --> 0:07:45.760 go out through this ministry. There are pastor after pastor 0:07:45.800 --> 0:07:46.560 after pastor. 0:07:46.320 --> 0:07:48.120 Who would stand on this stage and tell you thank 0:07:48.160 --> 0:07:50.480 you for your faithfulness and your generosity. 0:07:50.760 --> 0:07:53.280 But what made this one unusual was. 0:07:53.760 --> 0:07:56.280 I got a text from the pastor after I told 0:07:56.320 --> 0:07:58.640 him the gift was on the way, because I wanted 0:07:58.680 --> 0:08:01.040 him to know. I wanted to know he could count 0:08:01.040 --> 0:08:03.000 on us, and I thought that might help him sleep 0:08:03.040 --> 0:08:04.680 better at night if he knew he was just at 0:08:04.760 --> 0:08:08.520 least moving towards the goal. And I sent him the 0:08:08.600 --> 0:08:11.440 number and he text back and said, this is insane. 0:08:12.080 --> 0:08:13.320 You are not going to believe this. 0:08:14.200 --> 0:08:16.200 And he sent me a voice memo that he had 0:08:16.240 --> 0:08:17.520 sent me back in March. 0:08:18.160 --> 0:08:21.640 Now it's December so back in March, he had sent. 0:08:21.520 --> 0:08:24.000 Me a voice memo, and on the voice memo, I 0:08:24.040 --> 0:08:25.400 listened to it again and I checked the date in 0:08:25.440 --> 0:08:27.840 the timestamp. And this was before he knew he was 0:08:27.840 --> 0:08:30.880 starting a church. This was before, definitely before we decided. 0:08:30.560 --> 0:08:31.360 To give him any money. 0:08:31.960 --> 0:08:33.599 And he had left me a voice memo saying, I 0:08:33.640 --> 0:08:37.760 had the craziest dream. I dreamed that you gave me 0:08:39.160 --> 0:08:45.080 the exact It was the exact amount of money that 0:08:45.160 --> 0:08:45.960 we did give him. 0:08:46.320 --> 0:08:48.920 And I didn't remember the voice memo, and. 0:08:48.880 --> 0:08:53.360 Maybe he like did a mind game on me and 0:08:53.880 --> 0:08:57.000 planted that, like maybe it was inception, maybe he's. 0:08:56.920 --> 0:08:57.880 Just that smart. 0:08:58.720 --> 0:09:00.920 But even so, I thought it was crazy. It was 0:09:01.040 --> 0:09:05.480 the exact amount, and it wasn't a round number. You're like, 0:09:05.520 --> 0:09:08.719 it was probably like twenty thousand dollars or fifty thousand. No, 0:09:08.920 --> 0:09:13.640 it was fifty five thousand dollars. So who just why 0:09:13.760 --> 0:09:16.720 fifty five? Why did he dream fifty five in March? 0:09:16.960 --> 0:09:21.400 Unless he's the biggest manipulator of all time. I think 0:09:21.440 --> 0:09:26.240 sometimes God will prompt your heart in order to provide 0:09:26.280 --> 0:09:29.600 for somebody in a way that you can't predict. 0:09:30.760 --> 0:09:32.880 And I'll give you the second story. 0:09:33.000 --> 0:09:35.160 The second story is not quite as dramatic, but it's 0:09:35.160 --> 0:09:37.120 still kind of cool. I was on a date night 0:09:37.160 --> 0:09:39.400 with Holly over at Lomma's the other week. 0:09:39.440 --> 0:09:41.640 We ordered the mozzarella. We ate the appetizer. 0:09:41.720 --> 0:09:45.280 The warm mozzarella is very, very worthwhile for all of 0:09:45.320 --> 0:09:50.000 the calorie counters. You definitely should spend some now between 0:09:50.000 --> 0:09:52.680 the appetizer and the main course. I got up just 0:09:52.720 --> 0:09:55.679 for a quick bathroom break, and on my way back 0:09:55.679 --> 0:09:57.880 from the bathroom, I don't know what told me to 0:09:57.880 --> 0:10:00.640 do it, but something was like check Graham location. I 0:10:00.679 --> 0:10:02.800 knew where Abby was, I knew where Elijah was, but 0:10:02.840 --> 0:10:04.960 it was like, check on Graham, where's Graham at tonight? 0:10:05.000 --> 0:10:06.520 Not because I don't trust him, I was just curious. 0:10:06.520 --> 0:10:08.520 So I pulled up on my phone checked his location. 0:10:08.880 --> 0:10:11.360 He was at a Mexican restaurant just right next door. 0:10:12.040 --> 0:10:13.600 So I told Holly, I'll be right back. I'm gonna 0:10:13.600 --> 0:10:15.120 go see Graham real quick. I'm gonna surprise him. 0:10:15.120 --> 0:10:17.479 And it worked out so great because. 0:10:17.920 --> 0:10:19.920 I saw through the window as I was walking by 0:10:20.160 --> 0:10:24.760 this neon yellow beanie that he wears, so I knew 0:10:24.800 --> 0:10:25.240 it was him. 0:10:25.640 --> 0:10:27.880 So I sneak around. There's five guys sitting. 0:10:27.600 --> 0:10:30.160 At the booth, and I just popped my head right 0:10:30.200 --> 0:10:33.360 over the booth and I say, what's up? And his 0:10:33.440 --> 0:10:35.520 face looked like like I had been off at war 0:10:35.640 --> 0:10:38.840 for a year and he gotn't seen me, and he's like, 0:10:38.880 --> 0:10:40.360 what are you doing here? I'm like, I'm on a 0:10:40.440 --> 0:10:42.000 date with Mom, just st the mozzarella. 0:10:42.080 --> 0:10:43.480 Want to come check on you? Saw you on the phone. 0:10:43.480 --> 0:10:44.640 How'd you know I was here? I checked you on 0:10:44.679 --> 0:10:49.760 the phone. Don't you ever forget I can find you anywhere. 0:10:51.640 --> 0:10:55.640 But then just something prompted me as I was leaving 0:10:55.640 --> 0:10:56.120 the restaurant. 0:10:56.160 --> 0:10:56.920 And it's a small thing. 0:10:56.960 --> 0:10:59.920 I'm not saying it's huge, but it was just like, hey, hey, 0:11:00.080 --> 0:11:02.640 for their meal, and I had some cash, so I said. 0:11:02.440 --> 0:11:04.360 Have y'all paid yet? They had already eaten. I said, 0:11:04.360 --> 0:11:05.080 have y'all paid yet? 0:11:05.120 --> 0:11:06.920 After I adapted everybody up, have y'all paid yet? 0:11:07.120 --> 0:11:08.800 No, sir, and I just put. 0:11:08.720 --> 0:11:11.079 The money down on the table, probably twice as much 0:11:11.080 --> 0:11:13.440 as they needed, and said, here you go, love. 0:11:13.320 --> 0:11:16.360 You see and going back to see Mom, I walked out. 0:11:16.600 --> 0:11:18.160 I came back home later and I'm gonna let him 0:11:18.160 --> 0:11:19.560 tell you the rest of the story. Come on up here, son, 0:11:19.800 --> 0:11:22.400 y'all give it up for Graham. Now, this is kind 0:11:22.400 --> 0:11:26.280 of crazy. This is kind of crazy. See what you think, 0:11:26.360 --> 0:11:28.200 he fan, But to me, this was kind of crazy. 0:11:28.320 --> 0:11:30.720 Grab that mic and tell them. When I got home, 0:11:30.760 --> 0:11:33.080 I said, what did you think when I popped up 0:11:33.080 --> 0:11:34.880 at the restaurant. He said it was crazy. I said, 0:11:34.880 --> 0:11:36.840 you didn't expect me. And then you said, no, there's 0:11:36.880 --> 0:11:37.640 even more to it. 0:11:39.559 --> 0:11:39.760 Yeah. 0:11:39.800 --> 0:11:42.040 The reason why it was so crazy is because I 0:11:42.040 --> 0:11:44.000 guess probably won't even believe it. But when we were 0:11:44.040 --> 0:11:47.719 there at the restaurant, you can ask Evan. We were 0:11:47.760 --> 0:11:50.800 talking about generosity and one of my friends was talking 0:11:50.800 --> 0:11:52.959 about how one of his favorite things that he's been 0:11:52.960 --> 0:11:56.080 preaching about telling people about his generosity, and it just 0:11:56.080 --> 0:11:58.600 sparked that conversation. We were talking about how if you 0:11:58.600 --> 0:12:01.000 don't if you're not generous, if you don't trust God 0:12:01.040 --> 0:12:04.040 with your money, what you're really saying is that and 0:12:04.080 --> 0:12:06.160 we said this, Exactly we were saying is that you 0:12:06.160 --> 0:12:09.520 don't view God as a father because everyone knows that 0:12:09.559 --> 0:12:14.960 a father provides for his children. And so as we're 0:12:15.000 --> 0:12:18.040 saying that, we have that whole conversation and then we 0:12:18.080 --> 0:12:20.480 wait a little bit, and then a couple of minutes later, 0:12:20.559 --> 0:12:24.480 we just see a head top above the booth and 0:12:25.840 --> 0:12:27.560 we were tapping him up. It was crazy. And then 0:12:27.600 --> 0:12:29.600 he puts the money on the table and he walked away, 0:12:29.640 --> 0:12:31.679 and we kind of paused for a second. We were like, 0:12:32.200 --> 0:12:35.559 when we're just talking about a father providing for his children, 0:12:35.840 --> 0:12:37.360 and so we just thought it was really cool that 0:12:37.720 --> 0:12:40.520 we got an in real life illustration of how a 0:12:40.559 --> 0:12:42.040 father provides for his children. 0:12:44.400 --> 0:12:49.520 Hey, I'm a good good father. Who you are? That's 0:12:49.520 --> 0:12:53.760 who I am? Who were the Jeane Jacket better vote 0:12:53.800 --> 0:12:59.200 on line? I thought that was crazy. I thought that 0:12:59.280 --> 0:12:59.680 was crazy. 0:13:00.000 --> 0:13:02.880 Actually going into our Giving weekend, in just a few moments, 0:13:02.920 --> 0:13:06.040 thousands of people all over this church are going to 0:13:06.040 --> 0:13:07.520 come forward and make a declaration. 0:13:08.200 --> 0:13:12.800 I have a father. He's faithful, he cares for me, 0:13:13.840 --> 0:13:17.240 he provides for me. I just want to remind you 0:13:17.320 --> 0:13:19.120 for two seconds. 0:13:18.720 --> 0:13:23.360 Or maybe like twenty five minutes, two things about God. 0:13:23.400 --> 0:13:28.240 One is God provides for you, and the second is 0:13:28.320 --> 0:13:34.959 God prompts you. God provides for you, and God prompts 0:13:34.960 --> 0:13:39.440 for you. God prompts you. God provides for you, and 0:13:39.520 --> 0:13:44.960 God prompts you, so you may be surprised where God 0:13:45.000 --> 0:13:48.319 provides for you and how God provides for you. He 0:13:48.400 --> 0:13:51.719 might pop up at a Mexican restaurant. Next time, he 0:13:51.800 --> 0:13:55.280 might do it at a Chinese buffet. He could do 0:13:55.280 --> 0:13:58.760 it anywhere. Tell somebody he could do it anywhere. And 0:13:58.800 --> 0:14:00.959 now look at your other neighbor. You've ignored every time 0:14:01.000 --> 0:14:03.840 I've said, touch your neighbor today and tell him. He 0:14:03.840 --> 0:14:06.120 can do it through anyone. 0:14:07.880 --> 0:14:08.640 You don't believe me. 0:14:09.240 --> 0:14:12.240 God prompted Elijah in the Bible to go to the 0:14:12.280 --> 0:14:16.040 brook and prompted a bird to bring him bread. God 0:14:16.080 --> 0:14:18.840 can do it anywhere. He can do it through anyone. 0:14:19.480 --> 0:14:23.080 A bird isn't even a person. And God is my provider. 0:14:23.880 --> 0:14:25.640 I want to build your faith a little bit today. 0:14:25.800 --> 0:14:29.560 Just say it out loud. God is my provider. Say 0:14:29.600 --> 0:14:34.040 God provides for me. He's a good father. He provides 0:14:34.040 --> 0:14:37.520 for me. He provides for me in the strangest of places. 0:14:38.120 --> 0:14:40.680 If it takes him bringing water from a rock in 0:14:40.720 --> 0:14:44.480 the wilderness, God provides for me. If it takes him 0:14:44.480 --> 0:14:46.760 sending a shepherd with a stone to bring down a 0:14:46.880 --> 0:14:50.600 giant because the whole army is too afraid, God provides 0:14:50.640 --> 0:14:53.520 for me. If it takes him using a stick over 0:14:53.560 --> 0:14:55.560 a red sea to make a way for me to 0:14:55.640 --> 0:14:59.240 my freedom. God provides for me. Put it in the 0:14:59.320 --> 0:15:04.280 chat for me. God provides for me. If it starts 0:15:04.320 --> 0:15:06.360 with a little bit of oil and I borrow a 0:15:06.400 --> 0:15:09.680 few jars, the capacity will never be on God. The 0:15:09.720 --> 0:15:13.720 capacity will be on me because God provides for me. 0:15:14.440 --> 0:15:18.480 You're saying, is this prosperity theology. No, this is just 0:15:18.680 --> 0:15:22.440 gospel belief, faith in a God who gave his son 0:15:22.520 --> 0:15:26.080 for me. How should he who gave his son not 0:15:26.280 --> 0:15:28.440 also freely give us all things. 0:15:28.480 --> 0:15:31.840 God provides for me. He meets my needs. 0:15:32.280 --> 0:15:35.640 He opens doors for me, He closes doors for me. 0:15:36.120 --> 0:15:39.360 He brings people into my life. He shows people out 0:15:39.440 --> 0:15:42.880 of my life. He yanks stuff out, he plants stuff in, 0:15:43.320 --> 0:15:46.080 He waters stuff, he calls forth stuff. 0:15:46.120 --> 0:15:47.440 God provides for me. 0:15:47.840 --> 0:15:50.040 I'll know who is for But you got a lot 0:15:50.080 --> 0:15:52.400 of needs at the end of this year. But your 0:15:52.480 --> 0:15:54.880 needs are not greater than Jehovah Nissi. 0:15:55.120 --> 0:15:59.720 God provides for me. Shout it out loud. God provides 0:15:59.760 --> 0:16:00.000 for me. 0:16:02.640 --> 0:16:06.480 Now we're used to sermons about God providing for us 0:16:06.480 --> 0:16:10.000 in the wilderness, that is the drastic, dramatic situations in 0:16:10.040 --> 0:16:13.720 our life. But here we find the first demonstration of 0:16:13.800 --> 0:16:16.960 the provision of Jesus in the Gospels is not in 0:16:17.040 --> 0:16:19.080 the wilderness, but at a wedding. 0:16:19.680 --> 0:16:20.760 He can do it anywhere. 0:16:22.400 --> 0:16:24.760 He can bless you just as good in the high 0:16:24.800 --> 0:16:28.840 times as the low times. The Bible says that they 0:16:28.840 --> 0:16:31.560 were at a wedding and the wine ran out, but 0:16:31.760 --> 0:16:35.800 Jesus was on the scene. And you'll notice that Mary 0:16:36.240 --> 0:16:37.960 prompts Jesus to do. 0:16:37.880 --> 0:16:38.720 Something about it. 0:16:39.080 --> 0:16:42.280 She doesn't exactly pray to him, She just makes him 0:16:42.320 --> 0:16:45.680 aware of the situation. Have you ever just made God 0:16:45.760 --> 0:16:48.280 aware of a situation? Like? 0:16:48.360 --> 0:16:50.080 God, you see how they're treating me right. 0:16:50.160 --> 0:16:51.960 And I'm not saying you should smite them or anything 0:16:52.040 --> 0:16:53.760 like that or give them a hernia, But God, you 0:16:53.760 --> 0:16:54.640 see how they're treating me. 0:16:54.720 --> 0:16:57.280 Right. I'm not telling you to give them a flat tire. 0:16:57.080 --> 0:16:58.760 But you see how they just cut me off right? 0:16:58.920 --> 0:17:00.760 And you saw it and flip I'm off right. God, 0:17:00.880 --> 0:17:03.440 I'm not trying to give you any ideas. But Mary 0:17:03.520 --> 0:17:07.600 says to Jesus they have no more wine, and he says, woe, 0:17:07.640 --> 0:17:08.960 and why do you involve me? 0:17:09.560 --> 0:17:13.359 My hour has not yet come. But the Bible says 0:17:13.400 --> 0:17:14.640 in verse five that his. 0:17:14.840 --> 0:17:19.800 Mother watched this interesting strategy, said to the servants, do 0:17:20.640 --> 0:17:26.240 whatever he tells you. Now she's talking to Jesus. They 0:17:26.280 --> 0:17:29.480 have no more wine. Jesus talks to her. That has 0:17:29.560 --> 0:17:30.080 nothing to. 0:17:30.080 --> 0:17:34.240 Do with me. She turns away from Jesus to the servants. 0:17:33.760 --> 0:17:36.840 And says, do whatever he tells you. 0:17:38.000 --> 0:17:38.840 God provides. 0:17:40.280 --> 0:17:43.560 So if God provides, why didn't Jesus say yes when 0:17:43.600 --> 0:17:46.160 she asked him the first time? 0:17:47.760 --> 0:17:49.120 So here's what I think about it. 0:17:50.280 --> 0:17:53.439 I think a lot of times in my life recognizing 0:17:53.480 --> 0:17:56.840 that God is my provider and that he is my father. 0:17:57.480 --> 0:17:59.879 I mean, you heard Grandma here, I'm his father. 0:18:01.280 --> 0:18:03.119 When I showed up with my head over the booth, 0:18:03.800 --> 0:18:05.600 he didn't know what blessings I brought. 0:18:05.400 --> 0:18:07.680 With me, but I was happy to do it. 0:18:08.960 --> 0:18:14.800 Yet, isn't it true that sometimes you treat God more 0:18:14.880 --> 0:18:15.880 like your phone. 0:18:17.119 --> 0:18:21.840 Than your father. I hope y'all got all your shout. 0:18:21.560 --> 0:18:25.600 And done before I got to this point, because I 0:18:25.680 --> 0:18:28.879 realized that many of us. 0:18:30.240 --> 0:18:39.399 Treat God like chat gpt on our phone. 0:18:39.520 --> 0:18:43.359 And when we say I sought the Lord and he 0:18:43.359 --> 0:18:48.400 heard and he answered, what we mean is I told 0:18:48.520 --> 0:18:52.280 God what he needed to do for me, and he 0:18:52.320 --> 0:18:52.639 did it. 0:18:54.880 --> 0:18:55.880 And so we end up. 0:18:56.160 --> 0:18:59.840 How many of you use chat GPT regularly and you 0:19:00.080 --> 0:19:02.720 out of shame to admit it. But you would never 0:19:03.000 --> 0:19:06.920 use it in a class. You would never use it illicitly. 0:19:07.520 --> 0:19:12.399 You would never use it to prepare a sermon. I 0:19:12.400 --> 0:19:15.320 would never do that, but I might ask chat GPT, Hey, 0:19:15.320 --> 0:19:17.480 what's the weather going to be like in Charlotte tomorrow? 0:19:18.400 --> 0:19:20.280 You know, oh, it's going to be cold tomorrow. It's 0:19:20.320 --> 0:19:21.879 going to be real. How cold? Give it to me 0:19:21.920 --> 0:19:25.200 in degrees not celsius fahrenheit. 0:19:26.240 --> 0:19:28.040 I heard of one student, not a student who goes 0:19:28.080 --> 0:19:30.160 to this church, but I heard of one student who 0:19:30.160 --> 0:19:33.600 regularly uploads their math worksheets to chat GPT and tells 0:19:34.000 --> 0:19:36.919 chat GPT answer these problems for me. 0:19:37.200 --> 0:19:38.600 Give them all in number form. 0:19:38.720 --> 0:19:40.600 Don't show your work, don't try to teach me how 0:19:40.640 --> 0:19:41.040 to do it. 0:19:41.160 --> 0:19:44.040 Just give me answers. Not a student in this church. 0:19:46.200 --> 0:19:51.840 This is a revival generation in this church. But think 0:19:51.880 --> 0:19:52.360 about it. 0:19:53.359 --> 0:19:58.480 When you talk to chat GPT, you prompt chat GPT 0:20:00.200 --> 0:20:03.760 according to your preference to meet your purpose. 0:20:04.560 --> 0:20:05.800 I would demonstrate it for. 0:20:05.720 --> 0:20:08.040 You right now, but I don't trust chat GPT. 0:20:07.840 --> 0:20:10.719 Enough to say the right things back. What I am 0:20:10.800 --> 0:20:13.160 telling you is that when. 0:20:13.000 --> 0:20:18.439 We begin to think that we prompt God like we 0:20:18.520 --> 0:20:22.520 prompt chat GPT, because some of us do our entire 0:20:22.560 --> 0:20:27.720 prayer life is pretty much like we're just prompting God. Hey, God, 0:20:27.880 --> 0:20:29.600 I need you to provide for me. I got this 0:20:29.680 --> 0:20:31.399 meeting at nine o'clock. I need you to help me 0:20:31.400 --> 0:20:34.360 through this meeting. In Jesus name, Amen, God, I need 0:20:34.400 --> 0:20:36.439 you to give me a new job. I don't like 0:20:36.480 --> 0:20:38.400 my job and I need a new job and when 0:20:38.440 --> 0:20:39.879 that's not going to be really hard, but it's going 0:20:39.920 --> 0:20:40.720 to pay really well. 0:20:40.880 --> 0:20:42.920 And I don't be gone from my family very much. 0:20:42.960 --> 0:20:44.560 Lord, But if you could give me a job that 0:20:44.600 --> 0:20:46.480 will provide for me above the amount of time that 0:20:46.520 --> 0:20:47.800 I'm willing to spend working in it. 0:20:47.960 --> 0:20:49.480 And God, I would like to have a lot of. 0:20:49.480 --> 0:20:51.439 Authority, but I don't want to lead any people because I. 0:20:51.400 --> 0:20:52.359 Don't really like people. 0:20:52.560 --> 0:20:54.640 So I'd like to be able to be an introvert 0:20:54.680 --> 0:20:56.879 but still have a lot of authority within the organization. 0:20:57.320 --> 0:21:01.520 God in Jesus' name, Chat God. 0:21:06.880 --> 0:21:10.080 But God is not GPT. 0:21:12.119 --> 0:21:21.879 You don't prompt God. God prompts me. God prompts me. 0:21:23.160 --> 0:21:26.000 I mean the disciples were always having to learn this 0:21:26.160 --> 0:21:29.040 check it out. They were in a remote place. Jesus 0:21:29.119 --> 0:21:32.879 was teaching people. The disciples go up to Jesus and 0:21:32.920 --> 0:21:36.480 they say, hey, Jesus, you've been teaching a long time. 0:21:36.880 --> 0:21:39.960 You need to shut this down. The people are hungry. 0:21:40.080 --> 0:21:42.439 They didn't care about the people. They were hungry. So 0:21:42.520 --> 0:21:45.280 what are they doing? They are prompting Jesus. 0:21:45.520 --> 0:21:47.760 It'd be a good idea for you, Jesus, if you'd. 0:21:47.720 --> 0:21:50.600 Send the crowds away. They can go get something to eat. 0:21:50.680 --> 0:21:53.080 Send them away, Jesus said, they don't need. 0:21:52.920 --> 0:21:55.960 To go away. You give them something to eat. Now, 0:21:56.000 --> 0:21:58.200 this is what's interesting about the disciples. 0:21:58.520 --> 0:22:01.600 They already knew that Jesus could do the supernatural. 0:22:02.040 --> 0:22:03.959 They had seen demons. 0:22:03.440 --> 0:22:05.760 Come out of people, They had seen the best. 0:22:05.800 --> 0:22:10.159 They went forth in the ministry. Great miracles happen. But 0:22:10.280 --> 0:22:14.280 just because you've been discipled once doesn't mean that you're 0:22:14.280 --> 0:22:15.119 fully developed. 0:22:17.119 --> 0:22:18.920 I was talking to my friend the other day about 0:22:18.920 --> 0:22:23.159 somebody that they discipled back in college. And when they 0:22:23.200 --> 0:22:25.919 discipled this person back in college, it's been like thirty 0:22:26.040 --> 0:22:28.760 years now, and the person that they discipled, I don't 0:22:28.760 --> 0:22:29.000 know if. 0:22:28.960 --> 0:22:30.399 Y'all have ever heard that term before. 0:22:30.720 --> 0:22:33.359 It's like we use it to say, mentored them spiritually. 0:22:33.720 --> 0:22:36.919 You know, they disciple this person, and this person is 0:22:37.119 --> 0:22:38.640 so far off the map. 0:22:38.720 --> 0:22:40.959 Now this person is a mess. 0:22:41.359 --> 0:22:43.119 And I looked at the person who was bragging that 0:22:43.160 --> 0:22:45.760 they discipled the other person. I said, you discipled them, 0:22:46.000 --> 0:22:47.840 and they said, yeah, I discipled them. And I said, 0:22:47.960 --> 0:22:53.640 I think you need to reciple them, huh, because sometimes 0:22:53.640 --> 0:23:01.120 we need to be recipled. Sometimes we forget who our 0:23:01.160 --> 0:23:06.160 source is and where our help comes from. And sometimes 0:23:06.200 --> 0:23:11.120 we pray and God provides, but we start prompting God 0:23:11.240 --> 0:23:14.800 for what we want. And I came to say today 0:23:15.359 --> 0:23:16.600 God is. 0:23:16.480 --> 0:23:19.359 The prompter, not you, not me. 0:23:20.240 --> 0:23:22.879 We don't get to tell Jesus who to snd away. 0:23:23.520 --> 0:23:25.840 We don't get to tell God what to do, even with. 0:23:25.840 --> 0:23:29.280 Our own lives. I will preach this whether you like 0:23:29.359 --> 0:23:29.919 it or not. 0:23:30.680 --> 0:23:34.280 God is not your phone, He is your father. You 0:23:34.359 --> 0:23:37.959 don't give the commands he does. We don't draw the 0:23:38.000 --> 0:23:40.760 lines around our life. We don't get to tell God 0:23:40.800 --> 0:23:43.520 what we will and won't do with our gift. He 0:23:43.600 --> 0:23:46.920 gave the gift, it's his to use. We don't get 0:23:46.920 --> 0:23:49.800 to tell God when it should happen. We have to 0:23:49.880 --> 0:23:53.000 trust him with the tithing. If the timing and the 0:23:53.080 --> 0:23:56.880 tithing little slip right there. Why would we say we 0:23:56.920 --> 0:23:59.879 trust in God when we won't even bring him what 0:24:00.240 --> 0:24:03.400 he gave to us to begin with. I feel annoyted 0:24:03.480 --> 0:24:06.560 to break the spirit off of people today who are 0:24:06.600 --> 0:24:09.080 saying I'm seeking the Lord, But all I'm really doing 0:24:09.200 --> 0:24:11.440 is telling the Lord what I think he needs to do, 0:24:11.960 --> 0:24:15.040 when maybe he has a command that contradicts my own 0:24:15.119 --> 0:24:18.359 preferences that he is trying to bring forth in my life. 0:24:20.640 --> 0:24:24.880 So all that to say, I trust in God more 0:24:24.920 --> 0:24:29.320 than I trust in myself. And that's why Mary's prayer 0:24:29.480 --> 0:24:32.440 wasn't Jesus, do whatever I tell you? 0:24:34.400 --> 0:24:39.359 It was verse five, Do whatever he tells you. 0:24:39.880 --> 0:24:42.920 Most of us do the exact opposite with God. God 0:24:43.280 --> 0:24:47.600 chat God, do whatever I tell you, and I'll say 0:24:47.600 --> 0:24:49.600 it real nice and everything like that. But what I'm 0:24:49.640 --> 0:24:52.760 really saying is, God, do send me a husband. Make 0:24:52.840 --> 0:24:55.600 him not too tall, not too short, not too busy, 0:24:55.800 --> 0:24:58.119 not too lazy. God, make him able to sing, but 0:24:58.160 --> 0:25:01.320 not arrogant about his singing ability. God, as we're good 0:25:01.520 --> 0:25:06.320 Amen in Jesus' name, spin around three times, yabad abad you. 0:25:05.960 --> 0:25:07.680 Do it, Jesus, chad geot. 0:25:08.000 --> 0:25:12.080 But see see you're not holding God in your hands. 0:25:12.359 --> 0:25:15.880 He's holding you in his hands, and we. 0:25:15.880 --> 0:25:19.880 Need to be recifled. Come on, help me preach, Rosalind. 0:25:20.160 --> 0:25:25.480 You are not holding him, He's holding you. That's why 0:25:25.520 --> 0:25:28.080 I've never felt like I was doing God a favor 0:25:28.119 --> 0:25:31.200 when I gave. I never felt like I was doing 0:25:31.200 --> 0:25:31.840 God a favor. 0:25:31.880 --> 0:25:32.640 When I praised. 0:25:33.080 --> 0:25:35.119 I never felt like I was doing God a favor 0:25:35.160 --> 0:25:37.720 when I preached. God, you mean you would let me 0:25:38.240 --> 0:25:42.480 open your word, as filthy as I am, as flawed 0:25:42.520 --> 0:25:45.680 as I am, as unfinished as I am, you would 0:25:45.720 --> 0:25:48.080 let me open your word and preach. 0:25:48.560 --> 0:25:51.760 You would let me lead a church that's reaching the world. 0:25:52.040 --> 0:25:54.960 I'm honored to do it. I'm privileged to do it. 0:25:55.119 --> 0:25:58.280 You don't know me anything, God, If you never do 0:25:58.359 --> 0:26:03.199 anything else for me, just your salvation is enough. You 0:26:03.400 --> 0:26:07.480 provide for me, and you prompt me, and I don't 0:26:07.520 --> 0:26:08.600 prompt you. 0:26:08.600 --> 0:26:11.160 You don't have to do what I want you to do. 0:26:11.200 --> 0:26:14.280 You know the plans you have for me, You know 0:26:14.400 --> 0:26:15.720 the hope you have for me. 0:26:17.320 --> 0:26:18.800 And I trust in God. 0:26:20.080 --> 0:26:24.280 I trust in God, like Abraham trusted in God. God 0:26:24.280 --> 0:26:27.800 prompted Abraham, he said, go to the land, I'll show you. 0:26:27.800 --> 0:26:29.640 You would say, God, show me and I'll go. 0:26:29.640 --> 0:26:32.119 God said, go and I'll show you. I'm not gonna 0:26:32.160 --> 0:26:35.480 give you all the details. You don't prompt God. God 0:26:35.520 --> 0:26:38.760 prompts you. Come on. Can I talk about Moses. 0:26:39.880 --> 0:26:42.480 God told Moses go to Pharaoh and say, let my 0:26:42.560 --> 0:26:46.400 people go. Moses didn't tell God what to do to Pharaoh. 0:26:46.560 --> 0:26:51.640 God told Moses what to say. God prompts me say it. 0:26:51.960 --> 0:26:55.560 God prompts me. I don't prompt God. I don't give 0:26:55.640 --> 0:26:58.200 God my ten year plan. I don't even tell God 0:26:58.240 --> 0:26:59.879 what I'm supposed to preach about. 0:27:00.280 --> 0:27:02.640 I ask him, what do your people need? 0:27:03.080 --> 0:27:06.040 What is the fresh word from heaven that you want 0:27:06.080 --> 0:27:10.040 to deliver? What is that brother, that sister dealing with 0:27:10.200 --> 0:27:10.760 this week? 0:27:11.040 --> 0:27:13.920 That if a word comes from heaven and you prompt 0:27:13.920 --> 0:27:17.359 their heart and they follow in obedience, if you will 0:27:17.440 --> 0:27:22.080 do whatever he told you, you will see him do 0:27:22.760 --> 0:27:28.680 exceedingly unbuttonedly. I'm preaching, Graham, ah bah bah, you ask 0:27:29.320 --> 0:27:33.680 or think or imagine high five three people say I've 0:27:33.720 --> 0:27:41.760 got a father, and he'll stick his head over the 0:27:41.840 --> 0:27:49.159 booth and he will pay for your meal. 0:27:50.400 --> 0:27:54.600 He's my provider and he's my prompter. And come back, Graham. 0:27:54.640 --> 0:27:55.639 I got to show you something. 0:27:56.040 --> 0:28:00.440 This boy every Sunday night is living in the blessing 0:28:00.840 --> 0:28:04.720 of the faithfulness of the ministry of the people in 0:28:04.800 --> 0:28:05.359 this church. 0:28:05.520 --> 0:28:09.960 Because see, I want to tell you something the next meal. 0:28:10.000 --> 0:28:15.000 I want you to buy for somebody that you're sitting with. 0:28:16.280 --> 0:28:20.440 Because God is a provider, but he's also a prompter. 0:28:21.880 --> 0:28:26.040 So how can we always just want the provision if 0:28:26.040 --> 0:28:27.200 we don't want to be prompted? 0:28:27.800 --> 0:28:29.600 And I'm not saying you're cheap, and I know you're 0:28:29.680 --> 0:28:32.120 kind of broke, and that's all right for another couple 0:28:32.160 --> 0:28:33.600 of years, because I got you for. 0:28:33.560 --> 0:28:35.080 A minute, but not for that long. 0:28:36.359 --> 0:28:39.960 But every Sunday night, this boy is teaching a Bible 0:28:40.040 --> 0:28:42.320 study at this church. 0:28:42.920 --> 0:28:45.480 And I'm proud of all of my kids, but. 0:28:45.480 --> 0:28:47.360 I just wanted to use him because he has the 0:28:47.440 --> 0:28:52.840 gene jacket on. Look, this boy is preaching a Bible 0:28:52.840 --> 0:28:58.040 study every Sunday night, and it started with God prompting him. 0:28:59.400 --> 0:29:03.400 Everybody's say, God prompts me. Pray it like a prayer. 0:29:03.440 --> 0:29:06.880 Say God, prompt me, Prompt me what to do about 0:29:06.880 --> 0:29:09.400 this issue with my parents, Prompt me what to do 0:29:09.480 --> 0:29:12.040 about this situation with my kids? Prompt me what to 0:29:12.080 --> 0:29:14.760 do about this situation with the company. Prompt me, God 0:29:14.800 --> 0:29:17.280 prompt me, not like Chad, GPT like Lord, show me 0:29:17.280 --> 0:29:18.880 which city to move in, and make sure it has 0:29:18.880 --> 0:29:20.560 a good climate, and make sure it also has good 0:29:20.600 --> 0:29:23.200 economic opportunities. And God make sure there's also good friends 0:29:23.240 --> 0:29:24.200 there in a good church there. 0:29:24.280 --> 0:29:24.960 And when I get to. 0:29:24.920 --> 0:29:26.880 The church there, God make sure that the services are 0:29:26.880 --> 0:29:29.120 long enough really touch me deeply, but short enough to 0:29:29.120 --> 0:29:31.040 get me out in time for lunch, and deep enough 0:29:31.040 --> 0:29:33.000 where I can be disciple, but wide enough and broad 0:29:33.080 --> 0:29:34.720 enough so I can invite my own church friends and 0:29:34.760 --> 0:29:35.480 they can understand. 0:29:35.720 --> 0:29:41.600 This is not GPT, this is g B. God prompts me. 0:29:42.040 --> 0:29:44.360 And God prompted you to start a Bible study for 0:29:44.400 --> 0:29:47.360 your friends. And we did it upstairs in the playroom 0:29:47.400 --> 0:29:48.280 on Sunday nights. 0:29:48.480 --> 0:29:49.640 And I would watch this. 0:29:49.560 --> 0:29:52.880 Boy, and sometimes it would be five people, sometimes. 0:29:52.480 --> 0:29:53.000 It would be ten. 0:29:53.120 --> 0:29:55.080 Let me show you what a big group looked like. 0:29:55.160 --> 0:29:57.920 This was just this past summer. A big group. Look 0:29:57.960 --> 0:30:00.240 at that screen. A big group the other one look 0:30:00.240 --> 0:30:09.560 at that screen. A big group was nine kids. God prompted, 0:30:09.640 --> 0:30:13.120 and he was passionate for his friends to know Jesus. 0:30:13.600 --> 0:30:16.800 I related to that because I remember when God prompted 0:30:16.880 --> 0:30:21.160 me to run the Fellowship of Christian Athletes at our school. 0:30:21.280 --> 0:30:24.040 I said, athletes kind of slow because it stood for FCA, 0:30:24.600 --> 0:30:25.840 and some of them weren't. 0:30:25.600 --> 0:30:27.040 Living right, so they used to make fun of it. 0:30:27.040 --> 0:30:29.680 They would call it FCA Fellowship of Christian Alcoholics. 0:30:29.920 --> 0:30:32.440 But I did not endorse that. That was not good. 0:30:33.280 --> 0:30:35.600 I was trying to get them saved, and I would 0:30:35.600 --> 0:30:37.840 teach Bible studies. And so when I saw you doing that, 0:30:37.880 --> 0:30:41.360 I was like, that's good, that's good. And then one 0:30:41.400 --> 0:30:43.720 week I don't know, but twenty people came. 0:30:44.320 --> 0:30:44.680 And see. 0:30:44.880 --> 0:30:47.680 When God prompts you with something, he will give you 0:30:48.120 --> 0:30:58.120 a small prompt with a big purpose. The Lord's doing 0:30:58.120 --> 0:31:00.520 the work in this place today. The hearts are receptive. 0:31:00.560 --> 0:31:02.560 You can feel it. There's faith in the room. You 0:31:02.600 --> 0:31:06.720 can feel it. God's presence is here, you can sense it. 0:31:06.720 --> 0:31:08.360 It's the prompting of the Holy Spirit. 0:31:08.760 --> 0:31:10.760 It may not be in regards to an offering, or 0:31:10.760 --> 0:31:12.440 it may it may be a Bible study. 0:31:12.440 --> 0:31:14.840 He was prompted to start a Bible study. He was 0:31:14.920 --> 0:31:16.680 patient as week after. 0:31:16.520 --> 0:31:18.760 Week as friends wouldn't come, they would come, they wouldn't come, 0:31:18.800 --> 0:31:21.000 they would come, maybe only Austin would show up, maybe 0:31:21.000 --> 0:31:24.280 only Evan would show up, maybe only Colton would show up. 0:31:24.640 --> 0:31:25.960 It would just be week after week. 0:31:26.080 --> 0:31:28.040 But God was prompting him and he was faithful, and 0:31:28.080 --> 0:31:28.880 I watched him do it. 0:31:29.880 --> 0:31:32.000 One week when they had that big crowd. 0:31:32.760 --> 0:31:35.240 There was a kid there who was a part of 0:31:35.280 --> 0:31:38.280 our residence program for worship, kind of like an apprenticeship 0:31:38.320 --> 0:31:42.600 or discipleship program we have for worship leaders. And they 0:31:42.600 --> 0:31:45.240 were finishing Bible study and Graham said, Dad, do you 0:31:45.280 --> 0:31:48.240 have an acoustic guitar that Daniel can play? And I 0:31:48.280 --> 0:31:50.920 have a few guitars, and some of them are real nice, 0:31:50.920 --> 0:31:52.080 So I got one of the other ones. 0:31:54.320 --> 0:31:55.840 You know, there's a bunch of boys up there. I 0:31:55.880 --> 0:31:59.120 don't really trust him like that, And I handed Daniel 0:31:59.160 --> 0:31:59.600 the guitar. 0:32:00.120 --> 0:32:03.120 Within two weeks, Look what was happening in the same 0:32:03.200 --> 0:32:04.360 playroom from a prompt. 0:32:04.360 --> 0:32:04.920 I show them the. 0:32:04.880 --> 0:32:36.120 Video, remember that, Yeah, y'all. 0:32:38.720 --> 0:32:40.920 That's the room over the kitchen. 0:32:40.560 --> 0:32:44.200 In our house. The floor was shaking so hard in. 0:32:44.160 --> 0:32:47.080 The kitchen I thought they were about to come through 0:32:47.120 --> 0:32:49.320 the roof. Remember in the Bible, when they tore off 0:32:49.360 --> 0:32:50.880 the roof to get the man to Jesus. 0:32:51.120 --> 0:32:53.120 I was like, y'all are not coming through my roof. 0:32:53.160 --> 0:32:55.880 This is not the Bible. I do not have homeowners 0:32:55.920 --> 0:32:58.800 insurance for that. Can y'all see that in the news. 0:32:59.200 --> 0:33:02.400 Wouldn't that be in news for three weeks straight? If 0:33:02.400 --> 0:33:04.560 if fasterferred? It killed the kids at the e group 0:33:04.560 --> 0:33:05.600 at the Elevation Church. 0:33:06.360 --> 0:33:08.720 But the floor didn't give way because it was built 0:33:08.800 --> 0:33:09.400 on the rock. 0:33:12.320 --> 0:33:15.400 Come on, it was a solid foundation. 0:33:15.600 --> 0:33:19.000 We were standing on the promise and the floor was shaken, 0:33:19.040 --> 0:33:21.320 and I said, Graham, this is good, but y'all gotta move. 0:33:22.080 --> 0:33:24.440 Y'all gotta go. I don't know where we're gonna go. 0:33:24.680 --> 0:33:27.320 But see, there are some people in this church who 0:33:27.400 --> 0:33:30.960 were prompted years ago. And what you don't understand is 0:33:31.040 --> 0:33:34.920 every Sunday night now, hundreds of these kids get together 0:33:35.120 --> 0:33:36.240 showing my next video. 0:33:36.360 --> 0:33:37.560 Please at our. 0:33:37.440 --> 0:33:40.560 Matthew's location and watch these kids. 0:33:42.160 --> 0:34:03.480 And how they're praising, and that. 0:34:05.840 --> 0:34:12.040 That praise, that praise y'all with me church. That praise 0:34:12.680 --> 0:34:18.160 started with a prompting Graham. Look out here. 0:34:19.840 --> 0:34:25.280 Everybody whoever gave to this ministry or serves in this ministry, 0:34:25.760 --> 0:34:26.319 stand up. 0:34:32.040 --> 0:34:32.200 Now. 0:34:32.200 --> 0:34:35.520 What y'all are doing is amazing, and I thank God 0:34:35.560 --> 0:34:42.279 for it. But y'all's praise started with their prompting, and 0:34:42.320 --> 0:34:53.640 they said, yes, y'all's praise started with their prompting. And 0:34:53.680 --> 0:34:57.880 I wonder what God's going to prompt today, And I 0:34:57.920 --> 0:34:59.680 wonder who is going to be praising God. 0:34:59.680 --> 0:35:01.520 I read the strangest verse, y'all. 0:35:02.360 --> 0:35:05.359 I read a verse from Galatians one twenty four where 0:35:05.400 --> 0:35:09.800 Paul said something so unusual. He said, and they praised 0:35:09.840 --> 0:35:15.799 God because of me. What a thing to say. Every 0:35:15.840 --> 0:35:20.160 single one of you who gives today, somebody is going 0:35:20.200 --> 0:35:21.240 to be praising God. 0:35:22.000 --> 0:35:23.160 Some mom is going to. 0:35:23.120 --> 0:35:25.160 Be praising God because their kid came. 0:35:25.000 --> 0:35:25.720 Back to Christ. 0:35:26.200 --> 0:35:34.480 Somebody is going to be praising God because of you. Now, Graham, 0:35:34.520 --> 0:35:36.359 you can go sit down, and you can sit down 0:35:36.400 --> 0:35:39.360 for a moment to get out your offering card and envelope. Please, 0:35:42.719 --> 0:35:46.839 the Holy Spirit is in this place, and the only 0:35:46.880 --> 0:35:50.560 instruction from the Holy Spirit is do whatever he tells 0:35:50.600 --> 0:35:51.960 you to do. 0:35:53.280 --> 0:35:55.080 How long have we been trying to get God to 0:35:55.120 --> 0:35:57.239 do what we want him to do? But have we 0:35:57.320 --> 0:35:59.000 asked him? God? 0:35:59.000 --> 0:36:00.480 Out of all the gifts you've given me, out of 0:36:00.520 --> 0:36:02.800 all the resources you've given me, you are the source. 0:36:03.920 --> 0:36:09.080 You are g o D. You are my God. Mary's prayer. 0:36:10.920 --> 0:36:14.239 You remember what Mary said when the Angel told her 0:36:14.280 --> 0:36:16.920 that she was going to give birth to Jesus in 0:36:17.040 --> 0:36:21.600 Luke chapter one, verse thirty seven. He said, no word 0:36:21.640 --> 0:36:24.600 from God will ever fail. And Mary said, I don't 0:36:24.640 --> 0:36:27.000 see how it's going to happen. I don't really understand it, 0:36:28.000 --> 0:36:34.719 but I am the Lord's servant. May your word to 0:36:34.840 --> 0:36:41.000 me be fulfilled. That was Mary's prayer. You know, we 0:36:41.080 --> 0:36:45.040 do just the opposite. Sometimes we say, God, may my 0:36:45.200 --> 0:36:47.520 word to you be fulfilled. 0:36:48.320 --> 0:36:49.400 Here's what I want you to do. 0:36:49.520 --> 0:36:53.080 Lord. But no God can do immeasurably more than you 0:36:53.120 --> 0:36:56.680 ask or imagine. I didn't want a hundred kids jumping upstairs. 0:36:56.280 --> 0:36:56.800 In my house. 0:36:56.840 --> 0:37:00.440 That's a nightmare. But what I thought was a nightmare 0:37:00.480 --> 0:37:03.880 God turned into a revival. May your word to me 0:37:04.880 --> 0:37:09.680 be fulfilled. God is a provider. God is a prompter. 0:37:10.880 --> 0:37:14.520 He prompted Peter to go to a man named Cornelius's house, 0:37:14.560 --> 0:37:17.560 and the Gospel came to the Gentile world. He prompted 0:37:17.600 --> 0:37:20.399 a man named Anaius to lay his hands on brother Saul, 0:37:20.440 --> 0:37:23.360 and brother Saul became Paul, and the Gospel went forward 0:37:23.400 --> 0:37:27.440 to the Roman Empire. What is God prompting you to 0:37:27.520 --> 0:37:32.759 do what's the word that you want to choose? As 0:37:32.800 --> 0:37:35.120 one year ends and another begins. And oh, by the way, 0:37:35.160 --> 0:37:37.680 I'm not just speaking to people in the room, those 0:37:37.680 --> 0:37:40.359 of you all over the world who are blessed by 0:37:40.400 --> 0:37:44.320 this ministry. Now you have been blessed to be a blessing. 0:37:45.040 --> 0:37:48.000 Is God prompting you to make a difference. I believe 0:37:48.040 --> 0:37:50.640 the next twenty years of our ministry are going to 0:37:50.680 --> 0:37:53.400 make the first twenty years of the ministry look like 0:37:53.440 --> 0:37:54.359 a startup in. 0:37:54.360 --> 0:37:55.719 A garage somewhere. 0:37:56.000 --> 0:37:58.800 I believe God is about to do something so amazing 0:37:59.080 --> 0:37:59.920 that we'll be talking. 0:38:00.480 --> 0:38:02.040 Do you remember when we only. 0:38:01.840 --> 0:38:05.400 Had twenty campuses? Do you remember back in twenty twenty five, 0:38:05.760 --> 0:38:09.080 back in the old early days. God is about to 0:38:09.120 --> 0:38:14.840 blow our mind. And it starts with the prompting Graham. 0:38:14.840 --> 0:38:18.080 You're at the living room tonight because Greg and Autumn 0:38:18.120 --> 0:38:21.360 said yes to a prompting. Eighteen years they've given to 0:38:21.400 --> 0:38:24.640 this offering. Chunks and Amy, twenty years they've given to 0:38:24.680 --> 0:38:25.320 this offering. 0:38:25.760 --> 0:38:28.520 Twenty years. Eric and Nicole have given to this offering. 0:38:28.920 --> 0:38:29.560 Nine years. 0:38:29.640 --> 0:38:33.000 Jonathan Joseph's and Anna Joseph's have given to this offering. 0:38:33.320 --> 0:38:36.759 God has been faithful to us, and. 0:38:36.640 --> 0:38:39.600 When you don't give, you say I don't trust that 0:38:39.640 --> 0:38:43.480 I have a father who can provide for me. But 0:38:43.560 --> 0:38:45.400 if you've ever seen him pop his head up behind 0:38:45.400 --> 0:38:49.360 your booth and take care of your needs, now is 0:38:49.400 --> 0:38:51.279 an opportunity for you to tell him, thank you. 0:38:52.600 --> 0:38:59.439 What more could we do? He's done everything for us. 0:39:01.520 --> 0:39:04.480 So our word for this year is going to be 0:39:04.520 --> 0:39:09.680 the word light. Jesus said, my yoke is easy and 0:39:09.719 --> 0:39:14.080 my burden is light. And a lot of times I 0:39:14.160 --> 0:39:18.560 realized that I take on things like they're all on 0:39:18.640 --> 0:39:19.600 me and not on God. 0:39:20.360 --> 0:39:22.239 And that's a sin, y'all. 0:39:22.360 --> 0:39:24.799 So this year I'm going to take Jesus at his word, 0:39:25.320 --> 0:39:26.840 and I'm going to hook up in the harness with 0:39:26.920 --> 0:39:29.520 him a little bit more, and I'm going to ask 0:39:29.600 --> 0:39:32.680 him to make my burden light this year. How many 0:39:32.719 --> 0:39:34.319 of you will agree with me this year that the 0:39:34.360 --> 0:39:38.719 Lord will make my burden a little lighter? Yeah, and 0:39:38.800 --> 0:39:41.200 I'm doing good. Don't worry about me. It's not like 0:39:41.239 --> 0:39:45.280 I'm on the verge of burnout. But that's an example. Jonathan. 0:39:45.320 --> 0:39:47.880 You said your word was come up and say it 0:39:47.920 --> 0:39:52.520 with me. Stirred. Stirred I love that word. Say it 0:39:52.560 --> 0:39:56.080 in the microphone. Jonathan's word is stirred. What a great 0:39:56.080 --> 0:40:00.359 word to talk about the water into wine. They took 0:40:00.400 --> 0:40:03.400 the water, poured it in the jars Jesus told him to, 0:40:04.080 --> 0:40:05.680 and somewhere when they stirred. 0:40:05.320 --> 0:40:08.680 It, it became what it could never be. What a 0:40:08.719 --> 0:40:12.400 great word. We ain't even plan this. Look how in 0:40:12.400 --> 0:40:15.320 tune with God? You are a mighty man of valor. 0:40:16.600 --> 0:40:18.799 In just a moment, all of our campus pastors are 0:40:18.800 --> 0:40:19.680 going to share with you, and I. 0:40:19.680 --> 0:40:22.000 Want you to take a moment and pick the word. 0:40:22.080 --> 0:40:23.719 First of all, that's the first thing I want you 0:40:23.800 --> 0:40:24.080 to do. 0:40:24.320 --> 0:40:27.560 And then campus pastors, you come right now as everyone seated, 0:40:27.600 --> 0:40:30.279 as everybody's preparing to worship. We've saved time. I am 0:40:30.600 --> 0:40:35.520 on my clock. Miracles do happen. But will you pray 0:40:35.520 --> 0:40:41.359 Mary's prayer today? Do whatever he tells you, and then 0:40:41.400 --> 0:40:43.840 get ready, because when you do what you can do, God. 0:40:43.680 --> 0:40:47.839 Will do what you cannot do. Somewhere they stirred that 0:40:47.960 --> 0:40:49.040 water and it became wine. 0:40:49.080 --> 0:40:52.560 You hear me, Abby, When you do what you can do, 0:40:53.239 --> 0:40:56.680 God will do what you cannot do. 0:40:56.800 --> 0:40:57.440 Pick your word? 0:40:57.800 --> 0:40:59.760 Anybody got one? 0:41:00.320 --> 0:41:01.000 Holler it at me? 0:41:04.200 --> 0:41:07.959 Do it Lord, all that put it in the chat 0:41:08.040 --> 0:41:11.000 right now online you're giving give us the word that 0:41:11.040 --> 0:41:14.320 you're believing God for. As a matter of fact, before 0:41:14.360 --> 0:41:16.040 I turn it around, let's read some of the ones 0:41:16.080 --> 0:41:17.520 that are coming through online right now. 0:41:17.600 --> 0:41:22.479 JJ. This is an amazing moment. Tell somebody the Lord 0:41:22.560 --> 0:41:22.879 is here. 0:41:23.320 --> 0:41:23.759 Lord, is. 0:41:25.480 --> 0:41:29.279 That you love This weekend, I can feel the faith. 0:41:29.000 --> 0:41:33.960 And generosity of so many people, so faithful, fearless, helped 0:41:35.320 --> 0:41:37.040 faith gez Vessel. 0:41:37.719 --> 0:41:43.160 Yeah, restore, move free light. That's my word. I can't 0:41:43.200 --> 0:41:43.600 take my. 0:41:43.600 --> 0:41:46.879 Word, bill a Boo twenty three. 0:41:46.920 --> 0:41:49.160 You can't have my word. That's to use your name, 0:41:49.200 --> 0:41:50.279 bill a Boo twenty. 0:41:50.000 --> 0:41:57.440 Three, Get off my word, move a blaze yield Provider 0:41:58.239 --> 0:41:59.400 is coming through so fast. 0:41:59.600 --> 0:42:00.759 What's your word? What's your word? 0:42:01.120 --> 0:42:04.719 May your word God to me be fulfilled, not just 0:42:04.760 --> 0:42:07.080 whatever I think. I want you to do what you 0:42:07.200 --> 0:42:09.960 want to do through my life, what you want to 0:42:09.960 --> 0:42:10.960 do through this church. 0:42:11.320 --> 0:42:14.960 This is your church. We are your people. You are 0:42:15.040 --> 0:42:17.719 our father, God. I bring the needs of all of 0:42:17.719 --> 0:42:18.640 these people. 0:42:18.400 --> 0:42:21.799 Before you today from every nation that is watching right 0:42:21.840 --> 0:42:23.359 here in this local community. 0:42:23.520 --> 0:42:25.200 You have been good to us. God. 0:42:25.280 --> 0:42:29.320 You are Jehovah Jirah and in this place this sees, 0:42:29.360 --> 0:42:32.319 in this moment of their life. Would you meet every 0:42:32.360 --> 0:42:37.040 need as we do what you tell us to do 0:42:37.920 --> 0:42:38.719 in Jesus name. 0:42:39.600 --> 0:42:47.560 Amen, Thank you for joining us. 0:42:47.840 --> 0:42:50.279 Special thanks to those of you who give generously to 0:42:50.360 --> 0:42:53.840 this ministry. Is because of you that this ministry is possible. 0:42:54.320 --> 0:42:56.480 You can click the link in the description to give 0:42:56.600 --> 0:43:00.520 now or visit Elevation Church dot org slash popodcast for 0:43:00.600 --> 0:43:03.680 more information and if you enjoyed the podcast. 0:43:03.440 --> 0:43:06.160 You can subscribe. You can share it with your friends. 0:43:06.440 --> 0:43:08.719 You can click the share button, take a screenshot and 0:43:08.800 --> 0:43:10.879 share it on your social stories and tag us at 0:43:10.920 --> 0:43:11.759 Elevation Church. 0:43:11.840 --> 0:43:18.480 Thanks again for listening. God bless you.