See It Differently (Larry Brey)

0:00:04.960 --> 0:00:06.200 Hey, this is Stephen Ferdick. 0:00:06.240 --> 0:00:09.280 I'm the pastor of Elevation Church and this is our podcast. 0:00:09.440 --> 0:00:11.600 Be sure to subscribe so we can get you these 0:00:11.640 --> 0:00:14.960 new sermons every week. I hope you're blessed today. 0:00:22.320 --> 0:00:24.599 Come on, church. How about we put our hands together. 0:00:25.600 --> 0:00:28.520 How about we open our mouth? How about we release 0:00:28.600 --> 0:00:32.600 the phrase? How about we lift up the name Above 0:00:32.800 --> 0:00:37.920 all names, they're not the name of Jesus. Every tongue 0:00:37.960 --> 0:00:43.040 would confess, every knee would vow that he is Lord. 0:00:43.080 --> 0:00:45.920 He's Lord in my heart, he's Lord over your life, 0:00:46.120 --> 0:00:50.280 He's Lord in this place. Let's magnify, let's lift up. 0:00:50.760 --> 0:00:53.239 It is right that we would praise them in this 0:00:53.440 --> 0:00:57.080 place today. Oh my soul, what a beautiful time of worship, 0:00:57.120 --> 0:01:01.240 worshiping the name of Jesus, the name of Jesus. And 0:01:01.320 --> 0:01:04.400 every single one of us will receive a reward one 0:01:04.480 --> 0:01:08.000 day when we get to see him face to face 0:01:08.040 --> 0:01:11.800 and he speaks over you, well done, good and faithful servan. 0:01:11.840 --> 0:01:15.120 That's the goal of our life, to run after Jesus, 0:01:15.160 --> 0:01:17.759 to just And I'm seeing people in the faith running 0:01:17.800 --> 0:01:20.320 after him. I know you don't feel like you're moving fast. 0:01:20.400 --> 0:01:24.399 It's all about their direction. You're moving towards Jesus today, 0:01:25.280 --> 0:01:28.119 and as we move towards Christ, there's some voices from 0:01:28.160 --> 0:01:30.520 your past telling you, do you know what you did? 0:01:31.880 --> 0:01:34.720 They're trying to tie you to your past like a shame. 0:01:35.360 --> 0:01:37.720 But your future is in front of you with Jesus. 0:01:41.440 --> 0:01:44.240 The Apostle. Paul talks about that in Philippians. He calls 0:01:44.240 --> 0:01:48.280 that trash, say trash those thoughts of your past, those 0:01:48.280 --> 0:01:51.120 things that you're shackled to. As you move into the future, 0:01:51.200 --> 0:01:57.760 you're tied back to it. What's your it? What's that 0:01:57.960 --> 0:01:59.880 thing that you feel like you left in the past, 0:02:00.040 --> 0:02:02.800 but it's in the car with you this morning. What's 0:02:02.840 --> 0:02:05.120 that thing that's intimidating you, making you feel like you 0:02:05.160 --> 0:02:07.200 got to slow the pace because you're not worthy to 0:02:07.280 --> 0:02:09.960 run after Jesus. The devil can't steal the direction, but 0:02:10.040 --> 0:02:15.079 he can get you to forfeit the speed. What's the it? 0:02:16.639 --> 0:02:18.920 Paul tells us to forget it. What's the it you 0:02:19.000 --> 0:02:23.240 need to forget today? An unnamed enemy will never be defeated. 0:02:23.240 --> 0:02:25.600 What's the it? What's the it? What's the it? Some 0:02:25.680 --> 0:02:27.639 of you the it you hope nobody sees? 0:02:27.760 --> 0:02:28.160 The it? 0:02:28.200 --> 0:02:30.720 Is the browser on your search history. You hope you 0:02:30.800 --> 0:02:33.919 cleared what is the it's And Paul says we need 0:02:33.960 --> 0:02:37.280 to forget it and run into the future towards Jesus, 0:02:37.320 --> 0:02:41.359 that we need to forget what's behind move into the future. 0:02:42.080 --> 0:02:44.840 But Paul just doesn't talk about the trash being the 0:02:44.880 --> 0:02:47.600 it he needs to forget. He talks about the trophies 0:02:49.000 --> 0:02:50.800 because some of us feel like if I could just 0:02:50.880 --> 0:02:54.160 have it, then I would be good. Any other it 0:02:54.320 --> 0:03:01.440 than Jesus is not it? What's your it? If I 0:03:01.440 --> 0:03:03.400 could just marry it, if I got a little more 0:03:03.440 --> 0:03:05.440 of it in my bank account, if I could just 0:03:06.120 --> 0:03:12.240 everybody would praise me for it. What's your its? Theologian said, 0:03:12.560 --> 0:03:19.440 Jesus plus nothing equals everything, but Jesus plus anything equals nothing. 0:03:20.960 --> 0:03:25.359 I wonder what you're it is today? And I want 0:03:25.360 --> 0:03:28.280 to give you a verse before we sit down. Out 0:03:28.280 --> 0:03:31.240 of Philippians, chapter three, verses twelve through fourteen. This is 0:03:31.240 --> 0:03:35.200 what Paul has to say about it. Say it. It 0:03:35.400 --> 0:03:38.120 just isn't the trash. It is also the trophies, because 0:03:38.120 --> 0:03:40.440 Paul said, man, I've got a lot of things that 0:03:40.480 --> 0:03:42.720 I've been running after. The goal of my life wish 0:03:42.720 --> 0:03:45.200 to be noticed, to be a person of fame. He 0:03:45.840 --> 0:03:50.720 listens inheritance and his accomplishments, and that used to be it, 0:03:51.640 --> 0:03:54.400 and then he had is such a profound encounter with 0:03:54.520 --> 0:04:00.360 Christ it changed. I wonder how God wants to grades 0:04:00.400 --> 0:04:04.120 you're it today? One of the it of putting in 0:04:04.160 --> 0:04:07.720 your pocket is the thing you've been motivated by. I 0:04:07.760 --> 0:04:10.680 wonder if somebody else's praise, who might not even be watching, 0:04:10.760 --> 0:04:13.120 is the it you're working for. And Jesus is over 0:04:13.160 --> 0:04:16.000 here saying I'm it. I'm all you need. I'm all 0:04:16.040 --> 0:04:18.960 you need if you just run towards me. But you 0:04:19.080 --> 0:04:23.880 gotta forget it. Paul says this. He says, not that 0:04:23.920 --> 0:04:26.760 I've obtained all of this or have already arrived at 0:04:26.839 --> 0:04:29.400 my goals, but I press on to take hold for 0:04:29.440 --> 0:04:33.240 that which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, 0:04:33.600 --> 0:04:36.719 I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold 0:04:36.760 --> 0:04:40.359 of It's but one thing I do. Forgetting what is 0:04:40.400 --> 0:04:43.240 behind and straining toward what is it? I press on 0:04:43.520 --> 0:04:45.719 toward the goal to win the prize for which God 0:04:45.960 --> 0:04:50.400 has called me heavenward. In Christ Jesus, what's the it 0:04:50.560 --> 0:04:53.560 you need to forget today? And here's the title that 0:04:53.600 --> 0:04:55.680 I want us to consider for the next few minutes 0:04:55.960 --> 0:04:58.880 we're together. It is this, Say it out loud, say 0:04:58.960 --> 0:05:02.640 see it differently. Now, you didn't say it like you 0:05:02.760 --> 0:05:04.400 meant it. Say it like you had coming from your 0:05:04.440 --> 0:05:08.360 deepen your soul. Say see it differently. A high five 0:05:08.440 --> 0:05:11.480 someone on your way to your seat. Thank you, worship teams. 0:05:12.040 --> 0:05:15.320 Tell me welcome all of our locations. We're honored to 0:05:15.360 --> 0:05:17.400 have you with us today. Normally you would see Pastor 0:05:17.400 --> 0:05:19.600 Stephen or Pastor Holly in the pulpit, but today you 0:05:19.640 --> 0:05:24.359 get me. I am l B. I am one of 0:05:24.400 --> 0:05:26.760 the pastors here at Elevation. My wife Janet, and I 0:05:26.839 --> 0:05:29.400 had the privilege of having a front row seat of 0:05:29.400 --> 0:05:31.480 one of the greatest moves of God on the planet 0:05:31.520 --> 0:05:33.920 for the last twenty years. And I look out and 0:05:33.960 --> 0:05:37.120 I'm like, Holy cow, Lord, you did immeasurably more than 0:05:37.120 --> 0:05:40.960 we could ever ask or imagine. God, you are that good, 0:05:41.040 --> 0:05:44.000 you are that kind. And I would be remiss if 0:05:44.000 --> 0:05:46.119 I didn't take a minute to celebrate our pastors, Pastor 0:05:46.160 --> 0:05:52.520 Stephen and Pastor Holly. Tell me thank them. For twenty 0:05:52.600 --> 0:05:56.400 years they've faithfully preached the Word of God, and they're 0:05:56.400 --> 0:05:59.400 incredible on the platform, but they're even greater off the platform. 0:05:59.800 --> 0:06:02.640 They love their family, the way they lead this church, 0:06:02.680 --> 0:06:05.440 the way they pray for you and intercede for us. 0:06:05.520 --> 0:06:09.040 You are led by some incredible pastors. Pastor Stephen, Pastor Holly. 0:06:09.080 --> 0:06:11.159 We honor you, we love you, we thank you. 0:06:11.960 --> 0:06:12.200 Ah. 0:06:12.400 --> 0:06:15.640 Such a joy to be with you. I get the 0:06:15.640 --> 0:06:17.800 privilege of opening up God's Word with you. We're gonna 0:06:17.839 --> 0:06:19.680 be in the Book of Philippians. My hope is to 0:06:19.720 --> 0:06:22.480 pull on a thread to show you one theme that 0:06:22.560 --> 0:06:26.440 runs through this incredible Book of Philippians. But I didn't 0:06:26.440 --> 0:06:29.200 own a Bible until I was twenty seven, and I 0:06:29.200 --> 0:06:31.640 remember getting my first Bible, ripping a cellphane off it 0:06:31.680 --> 0:06:33.880 and smelling it. I was like, it's my Bible. I'm 0:06:33.920 --> 0:06:36.279 so proud of it. And I went to a Bible 0:06:36.279 --> 0:06:38.960 study the next day with some people that were theologians, 0:06:38.960 --> 0:06:42.000 they were doctors, and they're talking about provenient grace and 0:06:42.080 --> 0:06:45.919 propreciation and oh Badia, and I'm like, oh my, and 0:06:46.120 --> 0:06:49.960 like and they're flipping to these books in the Bible. 0:06:50.000 --> 0:06:52.320 And I was so excited about my Bible the night before, 0:06:52.320 --> 0:06:54.839 But sitting in that space, I didn't even open my 0:06:54.880 --> 0:06:57.640 Bible because I felt too dumb to engage with the 0:06:57.680 --> 0:07:00.760 word of God. Whether you're a season or you just 0:07:00.800 --> 0:07:03.599 tore the sellafan off, God has something for you from 0:07:03.839 --> 0:07:07.520 his word today. Every other book you read, this is 0:07:07.520 --> 0:07:10.280 the only book that reads you. I might have some 0:07:10.360 --> 0:07:12.400 motivation to get you to the parking lot, but the 0:07:12.440 --> 0:07:14.720 word of God will sustain you, It will fill you, 0:07:14.840 --> 0:07:18.440 it will challenge you, it will encourage you. And I 0:07:18.560 --> 0:07:21.320 want to be in this book of Philippians. And because 0:07:21.360 --> 0:07:22.560 I think the thing I want you to help you 0:07:22.560 --> 0:07:26.760 see today is to see it differently. Whatever you're it 0:07:26.800 --> 0:07:29.280 is because a lot of times we'll see scripture and 0:07:29.320 --> 0:07:31.880 we conform it into our image rather than being conformed 0:07:31.920 --> 0:07:35.200 into its image. I'll pull a verse out of Philippians, 0:07:35.200 --> 0:07:36.880 and there's a lot of verses that we will like 0:07:36.920 --> 0:07:40.640 shoehorn to make it fit our situation. Philippians, Chapter four, 0:07:40.720 --> 0:07:44.280 first four thirteen. It's this verse that everybody uses. I'm 0:07:44.320 --> 0:07:47.840 five foot seven on a good day, but I can 0:07:47.960 --> 0:07:50.840 use this verse. I can do all things through Christ, 0:07:50.920 --> 0:07:52.680 who strengthens me to say I'm going to play in 0:07:52.720 --> 0:07:56.600 the league one day. Oh yeah, And I will make 0:07:56.800 --> 0:07:59.640 the verse. See what I want to see from it, 0:08:00.040 --> 0:08:01.400 and I need someone to look at me and say, 0:08:01.440 --> 0:08:03.640 you're short and you cannot jump, you will never play 0:08:03.640 --> 0:08:08.720 in the NBA. You need to see it differently. Some 0:08:08.800 --> 0:08:10.760 of you have this career of wanting to sing, and 0:08:10.800 --> 0:08:15.040 someone just needs to look at you and let us 0:08:15.040 --> 0:08:20.800 see this differently. I wonder how God wants to upgrade 0:08:20.840 --> 0:08:25.480 your imagination today. I wonder what it is you need 0:08:25.520 --> 0:08:29.400 to see differently. I want to look at Philippians four 0:08:29.520 --> 0:08:31.679 six is where I want to like begin this thread 0:08:31.680 --> 0:08:34.480 from the Book of Philippians. It's this passage that if 0:08:34.480 --> 0:08:37.960 you've been around church, you've heard it preached, you've said it, 0:08:38.000 --> 0:08:40.240 you might have even had someone say it to you. 0:08:40.280 --> 0:08:42.560 Philippians four to six. It says, do not be anxious 0:08:42.600 --> 0:08:45.600 about anything, but in every situation, with prayer and petition, 0:08:45.640 --> 0:08:48.960 with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And yes, it says, 0:08:49.040 --> 0:08:52.200 do not be anxious. But maybe the author Paul sees 0:08:52.240 --> 0:08:54.960 it a little bit differently, because I think sometimes in 0:08:55.000 --> 0:08:56.880 our context will use it. And I remember the first 0:08:56.920 --> 0:08:58.840 time I heard this. First I walk up to a 0:08:58.880 --> 0:09:00.960 mentor and I'm like, I'm kind of struggling with some 0:09:01.000 --> 0:09:07.160 anxiety and he's like the Bible says, don't be anxious. Well, 0:09:07.160 --> 0:09:10.240 thank you, Captain obvious. That really helps me. Here, I'm 0:09:10.240 --> 0:09:11.800 coming to you to help me learn how to not 0:09:11.840 --> 0:09:15.080 be anxious. Well, just don't be anxious. That's what I 0:09:15.160 --> 0:09:18.080 got for you. It's what the words. And it's like, 0:09:18.280 --> 0:09:21.040 is that all that Paul saw when he looked at 0:09:21.040 --> 0:09:23.560 that passage? I don't think. So I want to kind 0:09:23.600 --> 0:09:25.760 of tee off on that because I think sometimes we'll 0:09:25.840 --> 0:09:27.160 use that. And I was talking with one of our 0:09:27.160 --> 0:09:30.400 youth team the other day and Rachel was sharing about 0:09:30.400 --> 0:09:33.160 one of the youth that's struggling with anxiety because it's 0:09:33.160 --> 0:09:37.200 a present reality. And sometimes when I don't see the 0:09:37.320 --> 0:09:40.880 verse accurately, I beat people over the head with it 0:09:40.920 --> 0:09:44.000 and make them feel like they're failing. It's like looking 0:09:44.040 --> 0:09:45.439 at me and saying, if you had more faith, you 0:09:45.600 --> 0:09:49.920 just be taller. I'll be well, thank you. It's like 0:09:49.960 --> 0:09:52.360 I got a broken arm and it's sticking out ninety 0:09:52.400 --> 0:09:54.360 degrees and I go to a doctor. Yep, it's broken. 0:09:55.400 --> 0:09:57.839 I come for you to help me, not just to 0:09:57.960 --> 0:10:00.640 tell me it's broken. Some of you standing out in 0:10:00.679 --> 0:10:02.160 the rain and people look at you like you're wet, 0:10:03.040 --> 0:10:06.200 how about you get an umbrella and help me. I 0:10:06.240 --> 0:10:09.400 think there's something for us to see in this text 0:10:09.400 --> 0:10:12.199 that we often do not see in our perspective. And 0:10:12.320 --> 0:10:16.200 Rachel's talking about this youth who's like, I'm struggling with anxiety, 0:10:16.520 --> 0:10:18.120 and she says, I feel like God's mad at me 0:10:18.160 --> 0:10:20.000 because the Bible says don't be anxious, and I just 0:10:20.000 --> 0:10:21.120 don't know how to do that. And I feel like 0:10:21.120 --> 0:10:24.840 I'm failing God. And some of you maybe that's your 0:10:24.960 --> 0:10:28.160 it today. If I could just be free from it, 0:10:28.240 --> 0:10:31.600 then I would blank blank blank. And I think there's 0:10:31.600 --> 0:10:33.520 something from this Book of Philippians that God wants us 0:10:33.559 --> 0:10:38.400 to see today. This is a letter that Paul the Apostle, 0:10:38.480 --> 0:10:41.199 he writes to the Philippian Church, and it's unlike any 0:10:41.280 --> 0:10:44.959 of his other letters. Paul had planted about twenty ish 0:10:45.120 --> 0:10:47.960 churches up to some people saying, we have twenty churches 0:10:48.000 --> 0:10:53.680 here at elevation is pretty amazing physical locations. And obviously 0:10:53.720 --> 0:10:56.480 you know which one is my favorite. It's like my kids, 0:10:56.480 --> 0:11:00.080 which everyone is in front of me, is my favorite. 0:11:00.160 --> 0:11:03.600 But I think the Philippian Church was Paul's favorite church. 0:11:03.640 --> 0:11:06.040 And I'll prove it to you from the text because 0:11:06.080 --> 0:11:09.960 the Philippian Church, they hear that Paul is in prison, 0:11:10.480 --> 0:11:13.040 so they gather an offering and they send it to 0:11:13.120 --> 0:11:18.160 him in Rome. All twenty churches heard about it, but 0:11:18.200 --> 0:11:20.320 the Philippian Church is the only one to do something 0:11:20.360 --> 0:11:23.960 about it. He says this of the Philippian Church, he says, 0:11:23.960 --> 0:11:27.320 they are my joy and my crown. This is not 0:11:27.400 --> 0:11:30.000 a letter of rebuke. It's not a letter of correction. 0:11:30.320 --> 0:11:32.440 It's not a letter of getting better theology. It is 0:11:32.480 --> 0:11:35.920 a thank you note. They initiated the gift, and the 0:11:36.000 --> 0:11:38.240 thank you note is the book of Philippians sent back 0:11:38.280 --> 0:11:41.160 in response. Some of you got married five years ago 0:11:41.240 --> 0:11:43.320 and you still have not written the thank you notes 0:11:43.320 --> 0:11:46.240 for those gifts you were given. Paul writes that kind 0:11:46.240 --> 0:11:47.920 of letter and he wants to thank him, thank him 0:11:47.920 --> 0:11:51.240 for your extravagant love. And I think the Philippian Church 0:11:51.320 --> 0:11:54.320 is his favorite, because Paul also says this, because the 0:11:54.320 --> 0:11:59.640 Philippian Church, they see it differently. All other nineteen churches 0:12:00.600 --> 0:12:03.320 that Paul was in prison, and they all felt bad 0:12:03.360 --> 0:12:06.800 about it, but none of them did anything about it. 0:12:07.720 --> 0:12:10.040 Here's what it says of the Philippian Church. Fourteenth verse, 0:12:10.080 --> 0:12:13.160 Chapter four verse fifteen and sixteen. It says, moreover, as 0:12:13.160 --> 0:12:15.400 you Philippians know, in the early days of your acquaintance 0:12:15.400 --> 0:12:17.800 with the Gospel, when I set up for Macedonia, not 0:12:18.040 --> 0:12:20.400 one shirt shared with me in the matter of giving 0:12:20.400 --> 0:12:23.840 and receiving, except only you. For even when I was 0:12:23.880 --> 0:12:27.160 in Thessaloniki, you sent me aid more than once when 0:12:27.240 --> 0:12:30.520 I was in need in order. Hey, Philippian church, you're 0:12:30.559 --> 0:12:32.600 my favorite. Now. I won't tell all the others, but 0:12:33.320 --> 0:12:36.640 he writes them this letter to thank them. It's absolutely 0:12:36.720 --> 0:12:40.760 beautiful because the Philippian chirts saw it differently. I wonder 0:12:41.760 --> 0:12:43.920 if we're that kind of church that would see in 0:12:44.000 --> 0:12:48.120 need in the community differently. It's one thing to hear 0:12:48.160 --> 0:12:51.199 about it and feel bad. It's a whole other thing 0:12:51.240 --> 0:12:54.199 to get up and do something about That is the 0:12:54.280 --> 0:12:56.680 kind of church we are. We've always been that kind 0:12:56.720 --> 0:12:59.640 of church that gets up and does something about it. 0:13:00.040 --> 0:13:01.960 But he also wants to say, hey, hey, I know 0:13:02.040 --> 0:13:04.080 you feel bad that I'm in prison because maybe they're 0:13:04.280 --> 0:13:06.520 getting like a defense fund. We need to get Paul 0:13:06.559 --> 0:13:08.800 good lawyers to get him out of prison. Poor Paul, 0:13:08.920 --> 0:13:10.640 I feel so bad for you. He's like, no, no, no, 0:13:10.960 --> 0:13:13.520 you need to see it differently because Paul says this. 0:13:13.600 --> 0:13:15.600 He says, I want you to know, brothers and sisters, 0:13:15.600 --> 0:13:18.320 what has happened to me really has served to advance 0:13:18.400 --> 0:13:21.160 the Gospel, and it's become a parent throughout the whole palace. 0:13:21.200 --> 0:13:24.960 Guard that I am in shame's for Christ, and all 0:13:25.040 --> 0:13:27.679 the brothers and sisters are encouraged to preach the Gospel 0:13:27.720 --> 0:13:31.320 more boldly. You need to see it different The man 0:13:31.559 --> 0:13:34.280 is in prison, and he says, you don't feel bad 0:13:34.320 --> 0:13:37.760 for me. I need you to see it differently. I 0:13:37.800 --> 0:13:41.280 wonder what you're sitting in that you need to see differently. 0:13:41.840 --> 0:13:45.240 Because he pends this letter from prison. Paul would write 0:13:45.240 --> 0:13:51.559 about five letters prison epistles this and Colossians and Ephesians, 0:13:51.640 --> 0:13:54.080 and a few others. But in the beginning of this 0:13:54.200 --> 0:13:56.640 letter he starts with this. In chapter one, verses three 0:13:56.640 --> 0:13:59.240 to five, and he writes this letter to the Philippian Church. 0:13:59.280 --> 0:14:02.920 This extrava the group eight hundred miles from him as 0:14:02.960 --> 0:14:05.160 he is in prison, and he says, I thank my 0:14:05.280 --> 0:14:08.439 God every time I remember you in all my prayers. 0:14:08.480 --> 0:14:11.760 For all of you, I pray with joy, say joy 0:14:12.600 --> 0:14:14.880 because of your partnership in the Gospel. From the first 0:14:14.960 --> 0:14:17.480 day until now joy. That is a weird word to 0:14:17.480 --> 0:14:21.200 put into prison letter. The man is looking at prison walls, 0:14:21.240 --> 0:14:23.800 and he's got four guards on four hour shifts around 0:14:23.840 --> 0:14:26.800 the clock as he's waiting to go to trial. Here 0:14:26.840 --> 0:14:29.120 he is looking at his circumstances and he writes a 0:14:29.200 --> 0:14:30.600 letter in the first word that comes out of his 0:14:30.640 --> 0:14:34.760 mouth is joy. Say joy. Paul teaches us a lesson 0:14:34.800 --> 0:14:39.680 to see it differently. He's looking at his circumstances and realizing, 0:14:39.760 --> 0:14:42.640 my joy does not come from my circumstances, but my 0:14:43.160 --> 0:14:47.480 joy determines my circumstances. And he sits there and he 0:14:47.520 --> 0:14:50.880 thinks about this because he will use the word joy 0:14:51.080 --> 0:14:54.680 or rejoice sixteen times in this letter. The letter's only 0:14:54.720 --> 0:14:57.560 four chapters. It's one hundred and four verses. It's not 0:14:57.720 --> 0:15:01.160 a long book. About every seven or eight verses the 0:15:01.200 --> 0:15:04.000 word joy makes an appearance on the scene. I wonder 0:15:04.040 --> 0:15:06.560 if I were to pluck every seventh verse that comes 0:15:06.560 --> 0:15:08.280 out of your mouth and paint a story with that, 0:15:08.520 --> 0:15:11.680 what would I show the world? I wonder what is 0:15:11.760 --> 0:15:14.120 leaking out of you? Because you're letting what's around you 0:15:14.200 --> 0:15:17.920 determine how you see it. Paul is in a physical prison, 0:15:17.920 --> 0:15:20.320 but he is in the presence of Jesus. Some of you. 0:15:20.400 --> 0:15:22.200 The prison is not the walls around you. It's the 0:15:22.240 --> 0:15:26.640 perspective of your mind. That's the prison you're shackled to today. 0:15:27.400 --> 0:15:31.480 And he says, joy, Say Joy, Joy, because and he 0:15:31.560 --> 0:15:33.800 thinks about this, this is not a willy nilly kind 0:15:33.800 --> 0:15:36.720 of Pollyanna faith of all just God's gonna work it 0:15:36.760 --> 0:15:40.000 all out. No, it's a real faith that he keeps 0:15:40.000 --> 0:15:42.440 his eyes wide open. He says, I know the reality, 0:15:42.480 --> 0:15:46.840 but there's a greater truth because my savior, Jesus took 0:15:46.880 --> 0:15:49.520 on flesh. He is full of God, and he crawled 0:15:49.560 --> 0:15:51.080 upon the cross, and he gave up his life, and 0:15:51.080 --> 0:15:53.880 he defeated death. And because he defeated death, I do 0:15:53.960 --> 0:15:56.720 not have to fear death. So prison guards, what you got? 0:15:56.760 --> 0:16:00.880 He is one thought away from joy. I thought about 0:16:00.880 --> 0:16:03.120 this old song, and I think about this. It's just 0:16:03.280 --> 0:16:04.920 when I think about the Lord, how he picked me 0:16:05.000 --> 0:16:07.000 up and he turned me around, how he placed my 0:16:07.080 --> 0:16:11.400 feet on solid ground, and makes me want to shout hallelujah, 0:16:11.640 --> 0:16:14.880 Thank you Jesus. You know you've got joy when you're 0:16:14.880 --> 0:16:18.000 thinking in the middle of the circumstances, not when he 0:16:18.120 --> 0:16:21.360 gets you out of it. Some of you are deferring 0:16:21.440 --> 0:16:24.360 joy because it determines your joy and it is not 0:16:24.560 --> 0:16:28.760 Jesus Ah. I love how Paul is preaching, write out 0:16:28.800 --> 0:16:32.680 to get go on this thing joy, say joy, and 0:16:32.720 --> 0:16:34.560 then he goes on to say joy because of your 0:16:34.680 --> 0:16:38.160 partnership in the Gospel. That's a beautiful word to write 0:16:38.200 --> 0:16:41.200 down in your notes if you're a note taker. He 0:16:41.240 --> 0:16:45.400 talks about partnership, say partnership. What it means is it 0:16:45.400 --> 0:16:49.640 means fellowship, He means intimacy, it means partnership. He will 0:16:49.720 --> 0:16:52.280 use that word to only describe the Philippian Church. None 0:16:52.320 --> 0:16:55.360 of the other nineteen get that label. He didn't call 0:16:55.440 --> 0:16:58.280 any of them partners. There's something key for us to 0:16:58.400 --> 0:17:01.520 zoom in on. This Philippian Church is extravagant because they 0:17:01.560 --> 0:17:04.560 realize we're a partner. Not in Paul's missions trips, but 0:17:04.680 --> 0:17:10.520 in the Gospel. I love it. Purpose is discovered through partnership. 0:17:12.320 --> 0:17:14.320 Some of you are playing a solo sport and you 0:17:14.320 --> 0:17:18.480 will never find purpose on your individual flight. Purpose is 0:17:18.520 --> 0:17:21.280 only discovered in partnership. When we link arms to the 0:17:21.280 --> 0:17:23.399 person to our right and purpose to our left, and 0:17:23.440 --> 0:17:26.119 we let the business be all about the Gospel going forward. 0:17:26.119 --> 0:17:28.520 That's where we find purpose, and that's why I love 0:17:28.560 --> 0:17:32.639 the church, God's redemptive plan. So uses that word to 0:17:32.680 --> 0:17:36.439 talk about partnership. He will use that word three times, 0:17:36.440 --> 0:17:39.800 partnership once in chapter one, once in chapter two, once 0:17:39.840 --> 0:17:41.560 in chapter three, and all of these are key for 0:17:41.640 --> 0:17:46.040 someone to understand. How do I see it differently? In 0:17:46.800 --> 0:17:50.439 Chapter two, verse one, he talks about partnership with the 0:17:50.440 --> 0:17:54.520 Holy Spirit. He says, is there any encouragement from belonging 0:17:54.560 --> 0:17:58.440 to Christ, any comfort from his loft, any fellowship together 0:17:58.920 --> 0:18:01.919 in the spirit? You mean, I'm just not called to 0:18:01.960 --> 0:18:06.240 be in fellowship intimacy with people. I'm called to be 0:18:06.240 --> 0:18:08.640 an intimacy with the Person of the Holy Spirit. Yes, 0:18:09.600 --> 0:18:11.600 if you have placed your faith in Jesus, if you 0:18:11.640 --> 0:18:14.199 have received the gift of salvation, the Person of the 0:18:14.240 --> 0:18:16.919 Holy Spirit comes to dwell in you as you are 0:18:16.920 --> 0:18:19.960 the new Tabernacle. You are the new dwelling place of God, 0:18:20.000 --> 0:18:22.200 and he lives inside of you. He's not a power, 0:18:22.240 --> 0:18:24.639 he's a person, and he's speaking to you, and he 0:18:24.680 --> 0:18:27.560 wants to have fellowship with you. And you find purpose 0:18:27.560 --> 0:18:29.920 when you listen to the Person of the Holy Spirit. 0:18:30.720 --> 0:18:33.040 Some of you are listening to your person, and you 0:18:33.119 --> 0:18:36.520 wonder why you're getting into accidents because the person of 0:18:36.520 --> 0:18:38.760 the Holy Spirit's trying to drive, but you keep holding 0:18:38.800 --> 0:18:41.480 on the wheel. What does it mean for you to 0:18:41.520 --> 0:18:45.239 have purpose in life? It's when you partner with the 0:18:45.240 --> 0:18:48.880 Holy Spirit, and when that person gets your order wrong 0:18:48.920 --> 0:18:50.840 at the coffee shop, rather than you're blowing up in 0:18:50.840 --> 0:18:54.160 your flesh, the Holy Spirit says, how about you extend 0:18:54.240 --> 0:18:56.400 some extravagant grace to the barista who's in a really 0:18:56.440 --> 0:18:58.359 dark place right now and has sent you there on 0:18:58.359 --> 0:19:00.119 an assignment, and I strewed your order up so that 0:19:00.160 --> 0:19:02.000 you would be a blessing. But when you're led by 0:19:02.000 --> 0:19:04.080 the flesh, you'll bless them and you won't bless them. 0:19:04.359 --> 0:19:06.439 What does it mean to be in partnership with the 0:19:06.480 --> 0:19:11.159 Holy Spirit the person of God? And then in chapter 0:19:11.200 --> 0:19:14.560 three he says this, it's not just it's not just 0:19:14.640 --> 0:19:17.399 in partnership with people, not just the person of the 0:19:17.400 --> 0:19:20.520 Holy Spirit. But in three verse ten, Paul says this. 0:19:20.560 --> 0:19:23.119 He says, I want to know Christ, Yes, to know 0:19:23.160 --> 0:19:27.679 the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing 0:19:27.680 --> 0:19:33.040 in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death. We're 0:19:33.040 --> 0:19:36.399 called to have partnership with people the Holy Spirit, but 0:19:36.840 --> 0:19:42.080 the very person of Jesus. Yes, Jesus wants to partner 0:19:42.119 --> 0:19:45.520 with you. Yes, he wants to commune with you and 0:19:45.520 --> 0:19:51.680 have intimacy. Yes, in that place of suffering. And when 0:19:51.680 --> 0:19:53.680 I look around this room, I see people that I've 0:19:53.720 --> 0:19:55.760 known for all these years, and I see stories and 0:19:56.320 --> 0:20:00.399 people who have gone through significant suffering. And around him 0:20:00.480 --> 0:20:05.240 like sometimes there's a suffering that comes that only the 0:20:05.240 --> 0:20:08.680 person of Jesus can minister to you. And I see 0:20:08.680 --> 0:20:14.399 my friend Manuel here and he lost his daughter a 0:20:14.440 --> 0:20:16.600 couple of years ago to cancer, his sixteen year old daughter, 0:20:17.640 --> 0:20:19.359 and then just a few months ago he loses his 0:20:19.400 --> 0:20:23.439 wife to cancer. And known this man for more than 0:20:23.480 --> 0:20:26.840 a decade. And when you sit with him and you 0:20:26.880 --> 0:20:30.439 see the suffering he's walked through. He talks about getting 0:20:30.440 --> 0:20:34.679 to a place that Jesus sat with him and Jesus 0:20:34.720 --> 0:20:37.800 wept with him. There is a suffering that you and 0:20:37.880 --> 0:20:41.080 I go through that only the person of Jesus can 0:20:41.119 --> 0:20:44.840 occupy that space. It says of Jesus, he was a 0:20:44.840 --> 0:20:49.400 man of suffering, familiar with sorrow. And Paul would say 0:20:49.400 --> 0:20:51.359 in the Book of Romans that there is a pain 0:20:51.440 --> 0:20:53.840 that happens on the earth that there are no human 0:20:53.880 --> 0:20:56.439 words for, and the holy spiritual of the innercy but 0:20:56.600 --> 0:21:00.920 just groans. And I'm so glad that my friend Manuel 0:21:00.960 --> 0:21:03.439 tells me about meeting with Jesus in that place, and 0:21:03.480 --> 0:21:04.840 you ask him, how are you getting through it? It's 0:21:04.880 --> 0:21:10.520 because of Jesus. But purpose is discovered through partnership. Some 0:21:10.560 --> 0:21:12.960 of you have a suffering and you felt like God 0:21:13.000 --> 0:21:15.639 is punishing you, and rather than inviting the person of 0:21:15.720 --> 0:21:19.280 Jesus into it, you've closed the door on it. Without 0:21:19.320 --> 0:21:21.840 inviting the person of Jesus in, it will only be pain. 0:21:23.600 --> 0:21:27.360 But when you invite Jesus in, who wore our suffering 0:21:28.040 --> 0:21:31.520 by a stripe, squear healed. It doesn't mean he answers 0:21:31.560 --> 0:21:34.120 all my questions. But I can find purpose in it. 0:21:35.000 --> 0:21:36.879 And now I see people in this room become a 0:21:36.880 --> 0:21:40.879 part of a club you never wanted to join. And 0:21:41.000 --> 0:21:43.640 the relationship you get with Christ you would never trade away. 0:21:43.680 --> 0:21:46.080 But you you wouldn't have chosen that way to get there. 0:21:46.720 --> 0:21:49.000 But now as soon as somebody else goes through what 0:21:49.040 --> 0:21:52.240 you went through, you immediately identify and you step in 0:21:52.359 --> 0:21:54.800 and you partner with them in their pain. That is 0:21:54.960 --> 0:21:57.800 called the church I was suffering. Were not a part 0:21:57.800 --> 0:22:01.360 of our condition, but God and into it with us. 0:22:01.400 --> 0:22:04.200 He wants to partner with us. And this Church of 0:22:04.240 --> 0:22:08.000 Philippi has partnered with Christ and it's just beautiful. And 0:22:08.040 --> 0:22:10.560 they're separated by eight hundred miles. Paul is in Rome, 0:22:10.640 --> 0:22:13.440 the Philippian Church is eight hundred miles away. And here's 0:22:13.480 --> 0:22:16.720 the thing, partnership, fellowship. It's not about being in the 0:22:16.720 --> 0:22:19.399 same building, it's about being in the same spirit. That 0:22:19.520 --> 0:22:21.920 is one of the reasons I love this ministry here 0:22:21.960 --> 0:22:25.200 at Elevation because we are not limited by location. We 0:22:25.280 --> 0:22:27.719 got somebody watching in Cambodia. You're a part of this 0:22:27.760 --> 0:22:29.720 ministry just as much as somebody else sitting in the 0:22:29.760 --> 0:22:31.680 room because Paul is in a different room than the 0:22:31.760 --> 0:22:34.760 church in Philippi and they're sharing in the partnership of 0:22:34.800 --> 0:22:40.040 the Gospel. And I love this Philippian church. Let me 0:22:40.119 --> 0:22:41.680 kind of illustrate what this church would have looked like. 0:22:41.680 --> 0:22:45.159 It would have been one of Paul's smallest churches, because 0:22:45.640 --> 0:22:47.959 you read in the Book of Acts three thousand were 0:22:47.960 --> 0:22:50.800 added to the Church of Jerusalem. One day he would 0:22:50.840 --> 0:22:54.679 launch churches in Ephesus that would be hundreds to thousands 0:22:54.720 --> 0:22:57.680 in Corinth the same thing. But Philippi, this is probably 0:22:57.720 --> 0:23:00.280 the smallest church. It would have been dozens. It would 0:23:00.320 --> 0:23:02.480 have been this little section over here in about five 0:23:02.560 --> 0:23:05.480 rows back on. That would have been about the size 0:23:05.560 --> 0:23:08.040 of this ministry. And here we are, two thousand years 0:23:08.119 --> 0:23:11.680 later talking about a partnership with the smallest thing. Significance 0:23:11.760 --> 0:23:17.440 is never determined by size. It is always demonstrated by sacrifice. 0:23:19.600 --> 0:23:22.479 And this church, why would they respond in such an 0:23:22.520 --> 0:23:25.200 extrivagan way, say we've got to do something about Paul 0:23:25.640 --> 0:23:27.640 in prison. Could you hand me that bag? Run underneath 0:23:27.680 --> 0:23:29.920 you there? So they sit together like, we got to 0:23:29.960 --> 0:23:32.080 do something. We just can't talk about it, feel bad 0:23:32.080 --> 0:23:33.520 about it. We need to do something. We need to 0:23:33.520 --> 0:23:36.000 take up a love offering. Being around church in the 0:23:36.080 --> 0:23:38.920 length of time you've heard about love offerings, sometimes they'll 0:23:38.960 --> 0:23:41.200 guilt you into giving. They had the guilt nobody into 0:23:41.280 --> 0:23:43.880 giving to this thing year. But they said, our man 0:23:43.960 --> 0:23:48.160 is in prison, he shackled, he's waiting trial, and we've 0:23:48.200 --> 0:23:50.040 got to do something about it. So what are we 0:23:50.440 --> 0:23:52.840 going to do. We're going to gather our reserves. Underneath 0:23:52.840 --> 0:23:55.320 your seat there, could you reach and grab dead? Yeah? 0:23:55.320 --> 0:23:58.480 I didn't make it easy and some he says, I 0:23:58.880 --> 0:24:01.840 got a new cloak. How about we send that to 0:24:01.840 --> 0:24:04.240 Paul because he's probably gonna be cold, because sometimes we 0:24:04.280 --> 0:24:05.720 think about giving Oh I got the thing I don't 0:24:05.760 --> 0:24:09.040 use anymore. I said, no, no, no, no, we're gonna we're 0:24:09.040 --> 0:24:12.879 gonna have send him extravagant love. We're gonna give him 0:24:12.880 --> 0:24:14.960 the best becky underneath your seat right there, could you 0:24:14.960 --> 0:24:16.600 grab me that? And so he says, I know Paul's 0:24:16.640 --> 0:24:18.439 like a like a writer, and I just got this 0:24:18.560 --> 0:24:20.400 new parchment, So how about we send that to him 0:24:20.720 --> 0:24:22.359 as well? And they put it in the bag because 0:24:22.359 --> 0:24:24.080 we need to send something to Paul. We just don't 0:24:24.080 --> 0:24:26.280 want him to feel bad. We want to do something 0:24:26.280 --> 0:24:28.440 about it. But I got some new parchment. But underneath 0:24:28.440 --> 0:24:31.720 your seat, you've got some pens, and you've got some ink. 0:24:31.720 --> 0:24:34.000 Would you put it in the bag. I wonder what 0:24:34.000 --> 0:24:40.560 you're sitting on today. I wonder what you're sitting now. 0:24:40.640 --> 0:24:46.560 God said, I need to release and underneath your seat 0:24:46.840 --> 0:24:48.680 he had some because we need to send him money 0:24:48.680 --> 0:24:51.600 because he's in prison. They give no food, no clothes, 0:24:51.800 --> 0:24:59.680 no time to put it in the bag. Yeah, so yeah, yeah, 0:24:59.600 --> 0:25:01.239 why don't you put in the back because I want 0:25:01.280 --> 0:25:05.400 to keep it in my pocket. How did they see 0:25:05.440 --> 0:25:10.520 it different? This is either something I worship or something 0:25:10.560 --> 0:25:19.520 I use to worship. It changes once you encounter Christ, 0:25:19.680 --> 0:25:22.879 you serve with it. And now like, okay, we got 0:25:22.920 --> 0:25:25.120 eight hundred miles we got the gift collected, we got 0:25:25.119 --> 0:25:27.840 some money, we got some stuff, and now we need 0:25:27.840 --> 0:25:29.720 to get it to Pall eight hundred miles away. We 0:25:29.760 --> 0:25:34.680 can't call ups, there's no courier service. So at this 0:25:34.800 --> 0:25:37.080 point in Christian circles, whenever you talk about we got 0:25:37.080 --> 0:25:40.000 an opportunity, this is wherever starts looking at the ground. 0:25:40.200 --> 0:25:44.600 And because when I picture the Philippian Church, I'm picturing 0:25:44.600 --> 0:25:47.040 people like, no, pick me, let me go, Let me go, 0:25:47.200 --> 0:25:50.080 because the only way you'll see it differently is when 0:25:50.119 --> 0:25:56.159 you don't see self in the picture. One person agreed 0:25:56.200 --> 0:26:00.560 in the back, thank you. Now, no you can't telling God? 0:26:00.600 --> 0:26:02.240 Would you change it? And he says, no, no, I need 0:26:02.280 --> 0:26:04.639 to change the way you see it. You need to 0:26:04.720 --> 0:26:08.399 see it differently. And so they picked a guy named Epaphroditis. 0:26:08.480 --> 0:26:12.399 Say Apaphroditis, as it's hew word, we'll just go with e. 0:26:13.000 --> 0:26:15.440 If if you're pregnant looking for a name. I can 0:26:15.600 --> 0:26:19.239 just submit to you a Paphroditis. So Epaphroditis is going 0:26:19.320 --> 0:26:20.959 to be the guy to deliver the thing. He's got 0:26:21.000 --> 0:26:22.879 to go three hundred and fifty miles of land, one 0:26:22.920 --> 0:26:25.160 hundred miles of ocean, and three hundred and fifty miles 0:26:25.160 --> 0:26:26.720 of more lands just to get to roam. It's going 0:26:26.800 --> 0:26:28.600 to take him six weeks with good weather, up to 0:26:28.680 --> 0:26:31.440 three months with bad weather. And someone's like, absolutely, and 0:26:32.320 --> 0:26:35.119 we got our own e right here. You don't know 0:26:35.200 --> 0:26:40.760 this guy, but this is Chris Everett. When I think 0:26:40.800 --> 0:26:45.000 about it, Paphroditis, this is right here, this because what 0:26:45.040 --> 0:26:47.560 you don't know about this man is he represents the 0:26:47.560 --> 0:26:50.520 generosity of our house. Because that's what Epaphroditis got to do. 0:26:50.760 --> 0:26:52.359 He got to be the one to show up at 0:26:52.359 --> 0:26:55.000 the prison and represent the people of Philippi with an 0:26:55.000 --> 0:26:58.440 extravagant love offering. Oh my soul, this is Chris. He's 0:26:58.480 --> 0:27:00.720 a part of our outreach team. He gets to take 0:27:00.800 --> 0:27:03.520 offerings collected by the House of God and show up 0:27:03.560 --> 0:27:06.880 in places and let us bless you on behalf of elevations. 0:27:07.400 --> 0:27:11.760 This is a Paphididacey, This is thank you Chris for 0:27:12.960 --> 0:27:18.200 doing that. I like to think aspirationally I would sign 0:27:18.320 --> 0:27:20.879 up for that, but in reality I kind of like 0:27:20.920 --> 0:27:23.600 take a back seat to that. Why because I'm all 0:27:23.640 --> 0:27:27.600 about me Jesus. Wait now, the song is all about you, Jesus. 0:27:28.800 --> 0:27:32.159 But if Paphroditis is like I will inconvenience myself. And 0:27:32.200 --> 0:27:35.720 if we think about Chris Everett e going being gone 0:27:35.720 --> 0:27:37.520 because you're not just gonna deliver it. You're gonna stay 0:27:37.520 --> 0:27:40.880 with him because he has no capacity to go by groceries. 0:27:40.920 --> 0:27:43.320 So you're gonna stay there meet his needs, and you're 0:27:43.320 --> 0:27:45.000 gonna come back whenever the prison is said. And so 0:27:45.000 --> 0:27:49.639 you're gonna hit pause on your life dot dot. I 0:27:49.680 --> 0:27:53.000 want to follow you, Jesus, But have we done by 0:27:53.040 --> 0:27:57.199 four o'clock? If it's on Tuesdays after nine am, but 0:27:57.240 --> 0:27:59.560 before ten am, and it's got to be between sixty 0:27:59.600 --> 0:28:03.119 eight and sixty nine degrees. We have a conditional calling. 0:28:03.160 --> 0:28:05.119 If it meets the right conditions, then we'll sign up 0:28:05.160 --> 0:28:08.080 for it. The Philippian Church did not carry a conditional calling. 0:28:08.280 --> 0:28:10.159 And the reality is when God comes to you and 0:28:10.200 --> 0:28:12.600 the Holy Spirit is saying I want to partner with you, 0:28:12.600 --> 0:28:17.280 you treat Jesus like a silent partner in a business. 0:28:17.320 --> 0:28:20.399 A silent partner has no voice in the organization, but 0:28:20.480 --> 0:28:23.719 they get to enjoy all the benefits. I wonder how 0:28:23.760 --> 0:28:25.199 many of you have turned down the dial of the 0:28:25.240 --> 0:28:28.439 Holy Spirit. You're not even listening to it. And the 0:28:28.480 --> 0:28:30.440 Holy Spirit is trying to tell you. Give that up, 0:28:30.640 --> 0:28:32.639 take it out from underneath your seat, Quit building your 0:28:32.640 --> 0:28:35.640 stone on storehouses. How about you start serving somebody else 0:28:35.720 --> 0:28:39.520 rather than serving your self. But I got the dial 0:28:39.560 --> 0:28:41.880 turned down, and the Holy Spirit isn't even speaking. I 0:28:41.920 --> 0:28:44.880 guess he just doesn't speak to me. No, I've made 0:28:44.960 --> 0:28:49.640 him a silent partner, and a paphroditis, it says this. 0:28:50.240 --> 0:28:52.600 So Paphfriditis delivers the offering, and here we come in 0:28:52.680 --> 0:28:56.320 chapter two, verse twenty five and twenty eight. Paphorditis gets there. Now, 0:28:56.400 --> 0:28:58.880 Paul writes in his letter, because the offering shows up 0:28:58.880 --> 0:29:01.880 with the paphoriditis he gets. And then Paul writes this 0:29:02.000 --> 0:29:05.200 letter back. And if Paphriditis actually delivers the letter back, 0:29:06.040 --> 0:29:07.880 he says, but I think it necessary to send back 0:29:07.920 --> 0:29:10.400 to you. A Paphordite is my brother, coworker, fellow soldier 0:29:10.520 --> 0:29:12.960 who is also your messenger, whom you sent to take 0:29:13.000 --> 0:29:15.720 care of my needs. For he longs for all of 0:29:15.760 --> 0:29:17.880 you and is distressed because you heard he was ill. 0:29:18.520 --> 0:29:21.800 Indeed he was ill, and he almost died. I'm sorry, er, Chris, 0:29:23.280 --> 0:29:25.320 but God had mercy on him, not only on him, 0:29:25.360 --> 0:29:31.920 but also on me to spare me sorrow upon sorrow. 0:29:32.200 --> 0:29:35.480 The most interesting verse there. I thought Paul was the 0:29:35.480 --> 0:29:39.480 man of joy, and here he's talking about sorrow. To 0:29:39.600 --> 0:29:42.800 be fully human doesn't mean you don't have suffering. To 0:29:42.880 --> 0:29:45.320 be fully human means both can exist in the same space. 0:29:46.280 --> 0:29:49.400 Maturing in our faith is to have joy and suffering 0:29:49.480 --> 0:29:51.680 and sorrow in the presence of both of each other, 0:29:51.720 --> 0:29:55.360 and neither one disqualified the other. And some of you 0:29:55.400 --> 0:29:57.360 don't feel like you have permission for joy because you 0:29:57.360 --> 0:30:01.200 have some sorrow. Here we have Paul ill, I've got sorrow. 0:30:01.320 --> 0:30:03.600 And here's the reality. This next verse will flip you out. 0:30:03.640 --> 0:30:05.320 Some of you, you've read the Bible your whole life. 0:30:05.320 --> 0:30:09.120 Thing you've never seen this verse, he says, they're twenty eight. Therefore, 0:30:09.200 --> 0:30:11.400 I'm all the more eager to send him to you, 0:30:11.680 --> 0:30:14.000 so that when you see him again, will I may 0:30:14.040 --> 0:30:20.720 have less anxiety? Now does anybody see the apparent contradiction 0:30:20.880 --> 0:30:24.719 that Paul has posed to the people in Philippi. Chapter four, 0:30:24.840 --> 0:30:27.760 verse six is do not be anxious about anything? And 0:30:27.800 --> 0:30:32.239 we only preach chapter four verse six. Have you any 0:30:32.280 --> 0:30:35.440 of you ever read chapter two twenty eight? Have you 0:30:35.520 --> 0:30:37.760 even even know that verse was in the Bible? He says, 0:30:37.800 --> 0:30:39.520 I want to send this sick guy to you so 0:30:39.560 --> 0:30:44.920 I will have less anxiety. Here's what I want to 0:30:44.960 --> 0:30:50.760 have subtitle for this sermon, upgrade your anxiety, because we 0:30:50.960 --> 0:30:53.200 translate the same word in the English, but it's two 0:30:53.200 --> 0:30:56.840 different words in the original language. In chapter four, verse six, 0:30:56.920 --> 0:31:01.000 it is the concerns of self, he says, do not 0:31:01.040 --> 0:31:04.160 be anxious about yourself? Who can add a day of 0:31:04.200 --> 0:31:10.040 their life by worrying? In chapter two, it is the 0:31:10.080 --> 0:31:15.400 concerns of others who be anxious. That's the subtitle about 0:31:15.400 --> 0:31:19.680 the right thing. There's an anxiety that somebody else has 0:31:19.720 --> 0:31:22.160 that you are called to carry. But the reason I 0:31:22.200 --> 0:31:27.720 can't carry their anxiety is because I'm consumed with mine. 0:31:28.720 --> 0:31:33.040 How do I see it differently? So Paul is speaking 0:31:33.080 --> 0:31:37.200 to the Philippian church and he's giving them this lesson 0:31:37.240 --> 0:31:41.200 and how to see it differently? And when I take 0:31:41.240 --> 0:31:46.200 a group photo of all of us, and so I 0:31:46.200 --> 0:31:50.880 take a group photo, and who do you look for 0:31:50.960 --> 0:31:54.480 first in the photo. We're all narcissistic. We all start 0:31:54.480 --> 0:31:58.760 with self. That's the problem is we stop there. We 0:31:58.880 --> 0:32:02.720 only ever see ourselves in the scene. I'm gonna sound 0:32:02.720 --> 0:32:04.160 like an old man for just a minute, as one 0:32:04.200 --> 0:32:08.200 of the elders of this church. How do we handle anxiety? 0:32:08.240 --> 0:32:11.200 It all depends on which anxiety you're caring. Is it 0:32:11.200 --> 0:32:13.880 yours or somebody else's. What does it mean to upgrade 0:32:13.880 --> 0:32:16.800 our anxiety and consider somebody else's. We live in a 0:32:16.840 --> 0:32:21.360 world that worships self. We're in a world and the 0:32:21.400 --> 0:32:23.520 mind of the flesh, and what we're going to contradict 0:32:23.600 --> 0:32:26.200 right now is very practically the mind of the flesh 0:32:26.200 --> 0:32:29.000 in the mind of the spirit. The mind of the 0:32:29.120 --> 0:32:32.320 flesh is what you're born into the world with. The 0:32:32.360 --> 0:32:35.000 mind of the flesh is telling you trust yourself, look 0:32:35.040 --> 0:32:39.560 out for yourself, discover yourself, find yourself, defend yourself, indulge yourself. 0:32:39.760 --> 0:32:42.840 And it's all about self promotion, self protection, self fulfillment, 0:32:43.040 --> 0:32:47.080 self gratification, and being true to your self. And we 0:32:47.160 --> 0:32:51.880 live in a world that idolizes self care. And I 0:32:51.920 --> 0:32:54.680 have searched the scriptures, I cannot find anything in the 0:32:54.720 --> 0:32:59.520 text that talks about self care. And what I do 0:32:59.600 --> 0:33:03.000 read in the text that Jesus said, if anyone would 0:33:03.040 --> 0:33:05.600 come after me, he must pick up his cross daily, 0:33:06.360 --> 0:33:12.520 deny himself and follow me. How do you see it differently? 0:33:13.440 --> 0:33:17.120 I like self care, I mean, get your protein, get 0:33:17.160 --> 0:33:23.240 your workout. But self care without self denial is self 0:33:23.240 --> 0:33:31.240 indulgence and it leads to self worship. If you look 0:33:31.400 --> 0:33:33.800 hashtags for self care, you'll see one hundred and one 0:33:33.880 --> 0:33:39.000 million hashtags. Do you assert your self denial about twelve thousand? 0:33:41.040 --> 0:33:43.560 Paul said, do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, 0:33:43.640 --> 0:33:49.600 but in humility consider others better than yourself. Denying the 0:33:49.640 --> 0:33:55.240 flesh doesn't mean you deny that anxiety exists. It means 0:33:55.240 --> 0:33:58.760 that you don't let it dominate your thinking and drive 0:33:58.800 --> 0:34:03.600 your decisions. And what I want to contrast is the 0:34:03.600 --> 0:34:07.040 mind of the flesh and the mind of the spirit. 0:34:08.080 --> 0:34:10.719 When we are born into this world, we are hardwired 0:34:10.760 --> 0:34:14.000 with the mind of the flesh. The flesh is self seeking, 0:34:14.120 --> 0:34:17.640 self serving, and it is wicked. And we're living in 0:34:17.680 --> 0:34:21.520 a culture that's all about ubu and the scriptures are 0:34:21.520 --> 0:34:24.680 all about no, no, no, that's the problem. We need to 0:34:24.719 --> 0:34:28.800 deny that. What you see in the Philippian Church is 0:34:28.840 --> 0:34:32.320 the Philippian Church was concerned about Paul. Paul was concerned 0:34:32.320 --> 0:34:35.360 about the Philippian Church, and then then the Epaphroditis was 0:34:35.400 --> 0:34:38.920 concerned about Paul. And then Paul became concerned about a paphroditis, 0:34:39.040 --> 0:34:41.040 and then the Philippian Church learned that he was sick, 0:34:41.080 --> 0:34:43.640 and they became concerned about a paphrodize and you see 0:34:43.840 --> 0:34:47.480 everybody else. The reason they saw it differently is they 0:34:47.480 --> 0:34:53.520 weren't seeing self. What does it mean for us to 0:34:53.560 --> 0:34:57.600 deny ourselves in Philippians? Because the question here is not 0:34:57.719 --> 0:35:00.200 what do you see? But it's how do you see? 0:35:00.840 --> 0:35:03.480 A little bit of trivia about me. I've had cornea 0:35:03.560 --> 0:35:06.360 transplants on both of my eyes, so I have donor 0:35:06.400 --> 0:35:08.399 tissue in both of my eyes. In my early twenties, says, 0:35:08.440 --> 0:35:11.279 I was legally blind in both eyes, and I had 0:35:11.320 --> 0:35:15.400 a genetic condition that deformed my corneus. And we couldn't 0:35:15.400 --> 0:35:17.600 fix it with contacts, we couldn't fix it with lasik, 0:35:17.800 --> 0:35:19.920 we couldn't fix it with all the King's horses and 0:35:19.960 --> 0:35:22.720 all the king's men couldn't put it back together again. 0:35:23.640 --> 0:35:25.880 And no matter what I tried in my human effort, 0:35:25.880 --> 0:35:29.880 I would always have a distorted picture. That is the 0:35:29.920 --> 0:35:33.560 mind of the flesh. And it is so prevalent and 0:35:33.640 --> 0:35:36.520 so pervasive that we had to cut it out and 0:35:36.560 --> 0:35:40.840 give me a whole new surface to see things through. 0:35:42.920 --> 0:35:46.520 And the mind of the flesh is You're hardwiring. If 0:35:46.560 --> 0:35:51.080 Paul says this in chapter chapter three, verses eighteen and nineteen, 0:35:51.239 --> 0:35:53.600 he says, for I've often told you before, and now 0:35:53.680 --> 0:35:56.560 tell you again, even with tears, many live as enemies 0:35:56.600 --> 0:35:59.040 of the Cross of Christ. And what he's talking about 0:35:59.080 --> 0:36:01.840 is people of RELEGI gated the Holy Spirit to a 0:36:01.880 --> 0:36:06.680 silent partnership. He's not talking about people trying to destroy Christianity. 0:36:06.880 --> 0:36:09.680 He's talking about people claiming Christianity yet living in a 0:36:09.760 --> 0:36:13.080 very different way. I will come on Sunday, I will 0:36:13.080 --> 0:36:15.040 wear the bling, but I will do my own chink 0:36:15.080 --> 0:36:18.400 kajing kajing. I was really bad, but I liked it. 0:36:18.400 --> 0:36:26.440 It was good because here's what he says. In verse seventeen. 0:36:26.520 --> 0:36:29.120 He says, again, this is the mind of the flesh. 0:36:29.320 --> 0:36:35.120 Their destiny is destruction. Their God is their stomach. They're 0:36:35.160 --> 0:36:38.600 being driven by flesh, by the carnal nature, trying to 0:36:38.680 --> 0:36:42.279 satisfy yourself. And he says, and it becomes and their 0:36:42.280 --> 0:36:47.160 glory is in their shame. And eventually that gluttony becomes 0:36:47.360 --> 0:36:49.960 their glory. And now they start posting it for everybody 0:36:50.239 --> 0:36:56.000 to see, the depravity. And he says, their mind is 0:36:56.040 --> 0:37:03.799 set on earthly things. The mind of the flesh is 0:37:03.800 --> 0:37:06.560 caught up in earthly things. The it is, if I 0:37:06.600 --> 0:37:13.560 could have it, how do you see it differently? I've 0:37:13.560 --> 0:37:17.239 got to have a different mind. What you think in 0:37:17.280 --> 0:37:20.479 your mind is what you see with your eyes. Paul 0:37:20.600 --> 0:37:23.799 contrasts that with the mind of the spirit in Philippians 0:37:23.840 --> 0:37:27.040 chapter four, right after he talks about do not be 0:37:27.040 --> 0:37:29.360 anxious in anything but everything, with prayer and petition, present 0:37:29.440 --> 0:37:31.719 your request to God, and the peace of God will 0:37:31.760 --> 0:37:35.080 guard your heart and mind. In Christ Jesus, he goes 0:37:35.160 --> 0:37:39.720 right into this. Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever true, whatever 0:37:39.800 --> 0:37:42.400 is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, 0:37:42.440 --> 0:37:45.920 whatever is admirable, if anything is excellent or praise worthy, 0:37:46.040 --> 0:37:51.240 think about such things. That's the mind of the spirit. 0:37:54.040 --> 0:37:58.799 And it's amazing how Paul is saying the anxiety in 0:37:58.840 --> 0:38:01.759 yourself to deny that means I'm not going to let 0:38:01.800 --> 0:38:04.960 that dominate my thinking. But the way I deny myself 0:38:05.040 --> 0:38:09.919 is by serving somebody else. This is the upside down 0:38:09.960 --> 0:38:11.719 part of the kingdom. Because the world tells you to 0:38:11.760 --> 0:38:15.480 get ahead, you've got to store it up to get ahead. 0:38:15.480 --> 0:38:18.759 You've got to be concerned about yourself. But the mind 0:38:18.800 --> 0:38:23.880 of the spirit the kingdom, the greatest will be the least, 0:38:24.719 --> 0:38:27.440 and the least will be the The first shall be 0:38:27.520 --> 0:38:31.480 the and the last will be the Those who are 0:38:31.480 --> 0:38:36.000 fresh others will they themselves be. Some of you have 0:38:36.040 --> 0:38:38.759 an anxiety that you're trying to satisfy through self care 0:38:42.040 --> 0:38:45.440 that will never be filled. It will leave you empty, 0:38:45.520 --> 0:38:49.239 drinking salt water, and you wonder why you're parched. But 0:38:49.320 --> 0:38:52.600 the currency of the Kingdom is very different. You see, 0:38:52.600 --> 0:38:54.560 the currency of the world is it's all about self, 0:38:54.960 --> 0:38:57.360 and we borrow that currency from the world, and we 0:38:57.400 --> 0:39:01.239 wonder why we're spiritually bankrupted. Is that will not work 0:39:01.280 --> 0:39:05.960 over here in the Kingdom. The way you get filled 0:39:06.040 --> 0:39:14.200 up is by being poured out. That's the kingdom. That's 0:39:14.280 --> 0:39:20.440 the kingdom. So you want to see it differently. How 0:39:20.440 --> 0:39:22.400 about the very thing you want? You go find someone 0:39:22.400 --> 0:39:26.360 to serve. Some of you feel like you're not noticed. 0:39:26.360 --> 0:39:30.120 How about you notice somebody today. Some of you have 0:39:30.120 --> 0:39:31.640 a whole day of self care with getting all the 0:39:31.719 --> 0:39:35.480 nails done. Praise God, get your nails done. But I 0:39:35.560 --> 0:39:38.080 wonder if there's a fourteen year old drowning and anxiety 0:39:38.120 --> 0:39:41.160 in the space, what would it look like for you 0:39:41.200 --> 0:39:44.839 to invite them along and just pour into somebody else 0:39:44.840 --> 0:39:48.000 what you want poured into you. Some of you, men, 0:39:48.840 --> 0:39:52.839 your partnership with Jesus is a private entity. It's all 0:39:52.880 --> 0:39:57.000 about you building and accumulating trophies, and it's not a 0:39:57.000 --> 0:40:01.840 public corporation meant to bless everyone. And my sanctuary is 0:40:01.840 --> 0:40:04.560 the golf course. I wonder if there's a twelve year 0:40:04.600 --> 0:40:06.600 old little boy who doesn't have a father that would 0:40:06.600 --> 0:40:08.640 love for you to just how about you come up 0:40:08.719 --> 0:40:11.840 golfing with me, and the very thing you want you 0:40:12.080 --> 0:40:16.440 give away and from that God brings it back to you. 0:40:21.160 --> 0:40:27.480 And then four verse nine, he says, think about love 0:40:27.560 --> 0:40:29.719 these things. It's a thinking thing. How's you think in 0:40:29.800 --> 0:40:32.520 your mind? Is what you see with your eye? You 0:40:32.560 --> 0:40:35.800 will only see it differently when you have a different mind. 0:40:36.800 --> 0:40:40.360 An old mind will not have new thoughts. You cannot 0:40:40.440 --> 0:40:44.680 upgrade an outdated operating system that is defunct. It will 0:40:44.719 --> 0:40:47.200 not work. You will not see it differently. And he 0:40:47.239 --> 0:40:50.240 says this in verse nine, He says, whatever you've learned 0:40:50.239 --> 0:40:52.600 to receive from me and seen in me, put it 0:40:52.719 --> 0:40:56.359 into practice. Say practice it sound like Alan Ivers said, 0:40:56.360 --> 0:41:03.439 we talk about practice man practice means repetition. Because Paul 0:41:03.480 --> 0:41:06.480 would also pen do not conform any longer to the 0:41:07.040 --> 0:41:11.480 pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing 0:41:11.560 --> 0:41:18.320 of your You've got such ingrained patterns about self. Unless 0:41:18.360 --> 0:41:22.080 you're intentional, you'll just fall into the patterns. And the 0:41:22.120 --> 0:41:24.640 difference between a road in a rut is one gives 0:41:24.680 --> 0:41:26.279 you direction, the other one you can't get out of. 0:41:30.520 --> 0:41:34.720 And he says, it's in the mind, it's in the space, 0:41:34.760 --> 0:41:36.840 but you need to put it into practice. All of 0:41:36.880 --> 0:41:40.440 you are going back to it and you're looking at God. 0:41:40.440 --> 0:41:42.960 If you just change it, then I would be happy, 0:41:43.280 --> 0:41:44.640 I guess. Says no, No, No, I need you having 0:41:44.640 --> 0:41:48.120 a new mind looking at it. If my husband would 0:41:48.160 --> 0:41:56.000 just get his it together, it says no. If you 0:41:56.040 --> 0:41:59.719 would get it in your mind, you would see potential 0:42:00.000 --> 0:42:05.560 where you've only seen problems. How on earth can I 0:42:05.640 --> 0:42:09.600 be in a prison and have purpose? It's because I 0:42:09.760 --> 0:42:14.719 reasoned in my mind Jesus defeated death. I don't have 0:42:14.760 --> 0:42:18.520 to fear death. Now what you've got prison guards. And 0:42:18.560 --> 0:42:22.319 where Paul closes this whole thing, his central treatise, right 0:42:22.400 --> 0:42:26.759 in the middle of this amazing book, is in Philippians, 0:42:26.840 --> 0:42:30.799 chapter two, verses five through eleven, and he says this. 0:42:32.719 --> 0:42:36.560 He says, in your relationships with one another, have the 0:42:36.600 --> 0:42:41.080 same mindset as Christ Jesus. You see the battle in 0:42:41.160 --> 0:42:43.360 the mind, the mind of the flesh, the mind of 0:42:43.360 --> 0:42:45.640 the spirit. And he says to you, if you want 0:42:45.680 --> 0:42:47.840 to see it differently, have a different mind, have the 0:42:47.840 --> 0:42:50.840 mind of Jesus, because when you have the mind of Jesus, 0:42:50.840 --> 0:42:54.759 you will see it differently. And he says, this is 0:42:54.840 --> 0:42:59.359 of our Savior, who, being in very nature God, did 0:42:59.360 --> 0:43:01.719 not consider it quality with God, something to be used 0:43:01.760 --> 0:43:05.719 for his own advantage. You see he's throwing shade on 0:43:05.760 --> 0:43:08.959 the first atom. Adam thought he would be like God, 0:43:09.360 --> 0:43:11.520 and he trusted his own wisdom, and he looked at 0:43:11.520 --> 0:43:13.319 something that said, oh it's pleasing, and he ate it. 0:43:13.360 --> 0:43:15.600 And he didn't see that it would kill him. Some of 0:43:15.640 --> 0:43:17.560 you are eating your own wisdom, and you wonder why 0:43:17.560 --> 0:43:24.319 you're dying. It's the mind of the flesh. It's what 0:43:24.360 --> 0:43:27.280 I think is right, It's what I'm justified in doing. 0:43:27.520 --> 0:43:30.680 It's what I think I deserve. And it says of Jesus, 0:43:30.760 --> 0:43:32.560 he deserved all of doubt, Yet he didn't use it 0:43:32.600 --> 0:43:36.880 for his own advantage. In the garden, he said, do 0:43:36.880 --> 0:43:40.440 you not know my father would release twelve legions of angels, 0:43:41.160 --> 0:43:44.200 seventy two thousand angels could come. He says, no, I'm 0:43:44.200 --> 0:43:46.520 not going to take advantage of what is mine. He 0:43:46.600 --> 0:43:49.040 was fully God and he's fully human, but he's not 0:43:49.120 --> 0:43:51.279 just fully human. He shows you the true human that 0:43:51.320 --> 0:43:55.600 you and I were made to be. Self care will 0:43:55.600 --> 0:43:59.919 never conform you into the image of Christ self denial will, 0:44:02.960 --> 0:44:06.759 it says. Rather, he made himself nothing by taking the 0:44:06.840 --> 0:44:09.840 very nature of a servant. You mean he's seated in 0:44:09.880 --> 0:44:13.520 glory and he takes on the form of a slave. Yes, 0:44:14.120 --> 0:44:17.319 he humbled himself and being found in the appearance as 0:44:17.360 --> 0:44:20.600 a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death. 0:44:21.400 --> 0:44:23.799 Death wasn't giving the orders. He was telling Death what 0:44:23.880 --> 0:44:26.879 to do. He was being obedient to Father that led 0:44:26.960 --> 0:44:29.200 him to death. And some of you will not listen 0:44:29.239 --> 0:44:31.239 to the Holy Spirit because you don't like the destination. 0:44:32.560 --> 0:44:33.840 And what do I want to tell you? When you 0:44:33.880 --> 0:44:35.960 look at it through the mind of Jesus, he will 0:44:36.000 --> 0:44:38.680 give you the grace to take another step and another step. 0:44:38.719 --> 0:44:40.680 I don't want to do it, deny it, but I'm 0:44:40.680 --> 0:44:45.160 gonna follow the Holy Spirit as he leads me. Became 0:44:45.200 --> 0:44:48.919 obedient to death, even death on a cross. You see, 0:44:48.960 --> 0:44:51.200 the world saw the cross and as an instrument of 0:44:51.200 --> 0:44:56.759 torture and death and justice. And Jesus looked at that 0:44:56.800 --> 0:45:00.680 same cross and he saw deliverance. He saw he he 0:45:00.800 --> 0:45:06.680 saw wholeness. He saw it differently. What prison are you? 0:45:06.920 --> 0:45:11.240 In the mind of the flesh will not see anything different. 0:45:12.360 --> 0:45:15.600 But the mind of the spirit can bring me joy 0:45:15.640 --> 0:45:20.520 in the middle of a prison cell. Therefore God exalted 0:45:20.600 --> 0:45:22.880 him to the highest place, and he gave him the 0:45:22.960 --> 0:45:25.640 name that is above every name, that at the name 0:45:25.760 --> 0:45:29.080 of Jesus, every knee should bow in heaven and on 0:45:29.120 --> 0:45:32.160 earth and under the earth, and every tongueing knowledge that 0:45:32.280 --> 0:45:36.200 Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God, the 0:45:36.239 --> 0:45:39.440 Father that is our savior, that is our King, that 0:45:39.640 --> 0:45:43.920 is our Redeemer, that is our Manuel, God with us. 0:45:44.239 --> 0:45:47.239 He came to walk on this earth for you, for me, 0:45:47.800 --> 0:45:51.600 to forgive you of our sins. He came to make 0:45:51.640 --> 0:45:58.880 you hold everyone standing in all of our locations, because 0:45:58.920 --> 0:46:01.120 when you're born in this world, you're born dead in 0:46:01.160 --> 0:46:07.279 your sin, and it's so pervasive that Jesus needed to 0:46:07.360 --> 0:46:10.600 die so that you could be forgiven. And for some 0:46:10.680 --> 0:46:13.239 of you, God is knocking on the door of your 0:46:13.239 --> 0:46:16.120 heart right now, and he's saying, would you let me in? 0:46:17.480 --> 0:46:20.799 Would you choose to receive the gift of salvation by 0:46:20.880 --> 0:46:24.719 confessing your sinner in need of a savior. Some of you, 0:46:24.719 --> 0:46:27.600 you have tried to do everything in your human strength, 0:46:28.239 --> 0:46:31.040 in your human power, and it will not satisfy what 0:46:31.080 --> 0:46:35.600 could only be satisfied through Jesus. And when you receive 0:46:35.719 --> 0:46:40.200 the gift of salvation, you also receive the person of 0:46:40.239 --> 0:46:43.840 the Holy Spirit who comes inside you, and he dwells 0:46:43.880 --> 0:46:46.760 within you. Would you buy your heads, would you close 0:46:46.800 --> 0:46:50.880 your eyes? Would you open your heart to consider? Have 0:46:51.000 --> 0:46:55.480 you trusted in Jesus? And at the name of Jesus, 0:46:56.239 --> 0:46:59.600 every need would bow and every tongue would confess and 0:46:59.840 --> 0:47:04.160 is moment for someone to bow their knee and to 0:47:04.200 --> 0:47:07.880 confess with their mouth that they're a sinner and you 0:47:07.920 --> 0:47:09.640 need to save your church family. We're going to say 0:47:09.640 --> 0:47:12.960 a prayer together out loud for the benefit of somebody 0:47:12.960 --> 0:47:16.439 who's recognizing I need to be rescued from my sin. 0:47:17.960 --> 0:47:20.560 Pray this with me, church family. I believe that Jesus 0:47:20.640 --> 0:47:25.239 Christ is the Son of God who died on the 0:47:25.239 --> 0:47:29.239 cross and rose from the grave to forgive me of 0:47:29.280 --> 0:47:33.279 my sin. I give you my life, I give you 0:47:33.320 --> 0:47:38.040 my sin, I give you my shame. Forgive me, and 0:47:38.080 --> 0:47:42.040 I'll spend my life following you with your heads to 0:47:42.080 --> 0:47:43.680 body and your eyes to close. If you just place 0:47:43.760 --> 0:47:46.319 your faith in Jesus, I am going to count to three, 0:47:46.320 --> 0:47:48.719 and when I get there, without hesitation, you are going 0:47:48.760 --> 0:47:51.200 to boldly shoot your hand into the air on the 0:47:51.239 --> 0:47:54.080 counter of three, one, two, three. Come on, shoot that 0:47:54.120 --> 0:47:57.360 hand up. Come on, all across the auditorium, all across 0:47:57.440 --> 0:48:00.120 all of our locations. Come on, if you're online, let 0:48:00.200 --> 0:48:04.120 us know you just made that decision, the greatest decision 0:48:04.120 --> 0:48:06.680 you will ever make, a decision no man can take 0:48:06.760 --> 0:48:11.080 from you. Come all us worship the name of Jesus. 0:48:13.719 --> 0:48:16.279 Hey I hope you enjoyed the podcast, and if you did, 0:48:16.840 --> 0:48:19.440 make sure to share it and subscribe so we can 0:48:19.480 --> 0:48:22.080 get you all of these new messages as soon as 0:48:22.080 --> 0:48:24.880 they're available. I also want to take a moment and 0:48:24.960 --> 0:48:26.720 thank all of you who are a part of Elevation. 0:48:27.239 --> 0:48:30.600 Whether you support us financially, or serve with us, or 0:48:31.000 --> 0:48:33.719 just share these messages, it's because of you that we're 0:48:33.719 --> 0:48:36.680 able to reach people all around the world. And if 0:48:36.680 --> 0:48:39.160 you want more information on how to be a part 0:48:39.200 --> 0:48:43.120 of Elevation, click the link in the description. Thanks again 0:48:43.160 --> 0:48:46.120 for listening. Make sure to leave a review, share the message, 0:48:46.160 --> 0:48:56.640 and subscribe. God bless you.