Episode Transcript
Hey, this is Stephen Ferdick.
Speaker 2I'm the pastor of Elevation Church, and this is our podcast.
Speaker 1I wanted to thank you for joining us today.
Hope this inspires you.
Hope it builds your faith.
Speaker 2Hope it gives your perspective to see God is moving in your life.
Speaker 1Enjoy the message.
Speaker 3I'm standing on the promises of Christ, my King.
I'm standing on the promises of God.
How about you?
Speaker 1How about you?
The storm came, but.
Speaker 3My house stood because it was built on the rock.
Speaker 4And I come to the end of this year saying thank you Lord.
Speaker 3I could complain, but I won't.
Speaker 1Thank you Lord.
I could be afraid, but I refuse.
Speaker 5I refused the spirit of fear.
Speaker 3I have faith.
Speaker 4Hi, run.
Speaker 1In God.
Speaker 4Wow.
Kind of caught me off guard, right there.
Now, a little praise service.
It is good, in fitting for the upright.
Speaker 1To praise him.
Speaker 4It is appropriate for you to praise him.
Speaker 1It's appropriate for you to praise him.
Grab a hand next to you.
Would you repeat after me?
Speaker 4Father, I pray for the person on my right and on my left.
Bless them today, Bless them so good that it makes every curse irrelevant.
In the name of Jesus.
Bless them so good that they have faith and confidence for whatever they're facing.
Jehovah, Jirah, meet their need.
Jehovah Nissi fight their battle.
Jehovah Shahlom be there peace.
Thank you Jesus.
Amen, Amen, Amen again clapped us as in the house.
Speaker 1It's offering weekend.
I have a break giving sernon prepared for you.
Speaker 4Today, and today you're gonna help me preach in just a few moments.
Speaker 1Those who are here physically and those who are online are going to be bringing their offering.
And whether you're doing that online or whether you're doing that in person.
Speaker 4Yeah, the first fruits belong to the Lord.
Speaker 1We are stewards, not owners of anything.
Speaker 4I have my offering ready as I have prepared this offering for every twenty years.
I never prepared the offering and God didn't tell me to bump the number up a little bit.
I didn't tell Holly yet, but that happened again this morning.
There are two checks in this envelope.
Man, I'll talk to you about it later.
There was the one that I planned and then the one that God spoke.
Speaker 1You know, God will speak to you.
Speaker 4I have never asked anyone in this church to give a specific amount of money.
I just told you to ask God and do what he tells you.
And that's what I'd like to talk to you about for a few moments today, remain standing and turning your Bible to John chapter two.
I need to be a little bit quicker today, So y'all listen fast.
We're going to have bonus worship at the end.
You picked a great day to come today.
These people are going to help me preach God's word.
What a privilege it is.
In John chapter two, the Bible says, on the third day, a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee.
Jesus's mother was there, and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding.
Speaker 1When the wine was gone, Jesus's mother said to him, they have no more.
Speaker 4Wine, woman, Why do you involve me Jesus for great mother's day?
Speaker 1Verse Hall, you might want to preach that my hour has not yet come.
Speaker 4And his mother said to the servants, do whatever he tells you.
Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons Jesus said to the servants, fill the jars with water.
Speaker 1So they filled them to the brim.
Then he told them.
Speaker 4Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.
Speaker 1They did so, and.
Speaker 4The master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine.
Speaker 1He did not realize.
Speaker 4Where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water new.
Then he called the bridegroom aside and said, everyone brings out the choice wine first, and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink.
Look at this verse for the end of our year.
But you have say the best till now.
What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory and his disciples believed in him.
I read you eleven verses just for the sake of reading you one.
Go back to verse five, and I'll give you my message today.
His mother said, to the servants, do whatever he tells you.
Do whatever he tells you.
I want to use as a subject today for this sermon.
Mary's prayer.
Mary's prayer.
Speaker 1Father, I ask now that you would answer this prayer.
Speaker 4Speak to your people give them courage to obey in the name of Jesus.
Speaker 1Amen, you may be seated.
Speaker 4That's not exactly a Christmas scripture I read you, but it features the main character of Christmas, so it counts Mary.
And Mary, the Mother of Jesus, was, in many ways, you could say, the initiator of the first miracle that he did.
Let's give it up for Mary.
Everybody clap those hands and thank God for Mary.
Now we don't pray to Mary.
We pray to God the Father through Jesus.
But Mary's prayer is what I want to talk to you about today.
Speaker 1Not to hail Mary or anything like that, but I want to talk to you about Mary's prayer today.
Speaker 4In order to illustrate this, I want to tell you two unusual things that happened to me this week.
Now, I not only study the scriptures, but I study my life, and I think that sometimes God preaches through ordinary events.
One thing that happened to me this week that was kind of unusual.
The Lord prompted in my heart to give a specific amount of money to a church that is just getting started, a brand new church.
I know what that feels like.
And I saw the budget for their launch of their church.
And I know the pastor pretty well, and I knew how hard it was going to be to transport all of the families that are going to start and all of that, and I said, you know what, I want our church to help their church, because when you're starting out, every little bit matters.
And so what we did we sent ten percent of their entire budget from our church to help them start their church this week.
Speaker 1Now we do that all the time.
Millions of dollars go out through this ministry.
There are pastor after pastor after pastor.
Speaker 4Who would stand on this stage and tell you thank you for your faithfulness and your generosity.
Speaker 1But what made this one unusual was.
Speaker 4I got a text from the pastor after I told him the gift was on the way, because I wanted him to know.
I wanted to know he could count on us, and I thought that might help him sleep better at night if he knew he was just at least moving towards the goal.
And I sent him the number and he text back and said, this is insane.
Speaker 1You are not going to believe this.
Speaker 4And he sent me a voice memo that he had sent me back in March.
Speaker 1Now it's December so back in March, he had sent.
Speaker 4Me a voice memo, and on the voice memo, I listened to it again and I checked the date in the timestamp.
And this was before he knew he was starting a church.
This was before, definitely before we decided.
Speaker 1To give him any money.
Speaker 4And he had left me a voice memo saying, I had the craziest dream.
I dreamed that you gave me the exact It was the exact amount of money that we did give him.
Speaker 1And I didn't remember the voice memo, and.
Speaker 4Maybe he like did a mind game on me and planted that, like maybe it was inception, maybe he's.
Speaker 1Just that smart.
Speaker 4But even so, I thought it was crazy.
It was the exact amount, and it wasn't a round number.
You're like, it was probably like twenty thousand dollars or fifty thousand.
No, it was fifty five thousand dollars.
So who just why fifty five?
Why did he dream fifty five in March?
Unless he's the biggest manipulator of all time.
I think sometimes God will prompt your heart in order to provide for somebody in a way that you can't predict.
Speaker 1And I'll give you the second story.
Speaker 4The second story is not quite as dramatic, but it's still kind of cool.
I was on a date night with Holly over at Lomma's the other week.
Speaker 1We ordered the mozzarella.
We ate the appetizer.
Speaker 4The warm mozzarella is very, very worthwhile for all of the calorie counters.
You definitely should spend some now between the appetizer and the main course.
I got up just for a quick bathroom break, and on my way back from the bathroom, I don't know what told me to do it, but something was like check Graham location.
I knew where Abby was, I knew where Elijah was, but it was like, check on Graham, where's Graham at tonight?
Not because I don't trust him, I was just curious.
So I pulled up on my phone checked his location.
He was at a Mexican restaurant just right next door.
So I told Holly, I'll be right back.
I'm gonna go see Graham real quick.
I'm gonna surprise him.
Speaker 1And it worked out so great because.
Speaker 4I saw through the window as I was walking by this neon yellow beanie that he wears, so I knew it was him.
Speaker 1So I sneak around.
There's five guys sitting.
Speaker 4At the booth, and I just popped my head right over the booth and I say, what's up?
And his face looked like like I had been off at war for a year and he gotn't seen me, and he's like, what are you doing here?
I'm like, I'm on a date with Mom, just st the mozzarella.
Speaker 1Want to come check on you?
Saw you on the phone.
How'd you know I was here?
I checked you on the phone.
Don't you ever forget I can find you anywhere.
Speaker 4But then just something prompted me as I was leaving the restaurant.
Speaker 1And it's a small thing.
Speaker 4I'm not saying it's huge, but it was just like, hey, hey, for their meal, and I had some cash, so I said.
Speaker 1Have y'all paid yet?
They had already eaten.
I said, have y'all paid yet?
Speaker 4After I adapted everybody up, have y'all paid yet?
Speaker 1No, sir, and I just put.
Speaker 4The money down on the table, probably twice as much as they needed, and said, here you go, love.
Speaker 1You see and going back to see Mom, I walked out.
Speaker 4I came back home later and I'm gonna let him tell you the rest of the story.
Come on up here, son, y'all give it up for Graham.
Now, this is kind of crazy.
This is kind of crazy.
See what you think, he fan, But to me, this was kind of crazy.
Grab that mic and tell them.
When I got home, I said, what did you think when I popped up at the restaurant.
He said it was crazy.
I said, you didn't expect me.
And then you said, no, there's even more to it.
Speaker 1Yeah.
Speaker 6The reason why it was so crazy is because I guess probably won't even believe it.
But when we were there at the restaurant, you can ask Evan.
We were talking about generosity and one of my friends was talking about how one of his favorite things that he's been preaching about telling people about his generosity, and it just sparked that conversation.
We were talking about how if you don't if you're not generous, if you don't trust God with your money, what you're really saying is that and we said this, Exactly we were saying is that you don't view God as a father because everyone knows that a father provides for his children.
And so as we're saying that, we have that whole conversation and then we wait a little bit, and then a couple of minutes later, we just see a head top above the booth and we were tapping him up.
It was crazy.
And then he puts the money on the table and he walked away, and we kind of paused for a second.
We were like, when we're just talking about a father providing for his children, and so we just thought it was really cool that we got an in real life illustration of how a father provides for his children.
Speaker 1Hey, I'm a good good father.
Who you are?
That's who I am?
Who were the Jeane Jacket better vote on line?
I thought that was crazy.
I thought that was crazy.
Speaker 4Actually going into our Giving weekend, in just a few moments, thousands of people all over this church are going to come forward and make a declaration.
Speaker 1I have a father.
He's faithful, he cares for me, he provides for me.
I just want to remind you for two seconds.
Speaker 4Or maybe like twenty five minutes, two things about God.
One is God provides for you, and the second is God prompts you.
God provides for you, and God prompts for you.
God prompts you.
God provides for you, and God prompts you, so you may be surprised where God provides for you and how God provides for you.
He might pop up at a Mexican restaurant.
Next time, he might do it at a Chinese buffet.
He could do it anywhere.
Tell somebody he could do it anywhere.
And now look at your other neighbor.
You've ignored every time I've said, touch your neighbor today and tell him.
He can do it through anyone.
Speaker 1You don't believe me.
Speaker 4God prompted Elijah in the Bible to go to the brook and prompted a bird to bring him bread.
God can do it anywhere.
He can do it through anyone.
A bird isn't even a person.
And God is my provider.
I want to build your faith a little bit today.
Just say it out loud.
God is my provider.
Say God provides for me.
He's a good father.
He provides for me.
He provides for me in the strangest of places.
If it takes him bringing water from a rock in the wilderness, God provides for me.
If it takes him sending a shepherd with a stone to bring down a giant because the whole army is too afraid, God provides for me.
If it takes him using a stick over a red sea to make a way for me to my freedom.
God provides for me.
Put it in the chat for me.
God provides for me.
If it starts with a little bit of oil and I borrow a few jars, the capacity will never be on God.
The capacity will be on me because God provides for me.
You're saying, is this prosperity theology.
No, this is just gospel belief, faith in a God who gave his son for me.
How should he who gave his son not also freely give us all things.
Speaker 1God provides for me.
He meets my needs.
Speaker 4He opens doors for me, He closes doors for me.
He brings people into my life.
He shows people out of my life.
He yanks stuff out, he plants stuff in, He waters stuff, he calls forth stuff.
Speaker 1God provides for me.
Speaker 4I'll know who is for But you got a lot of needs at the end of this year.
But your needs are not greater than Jehovah Nissi.
Speaker 1God provides for me.
Shout it out loud.
God provides for me.
Speaker 4Now we're used to sermons about God providing for us in the wilderness, that is the drastic, dramatic situations in our life.
But here we find the first demonstration of the provision of Jesus in the Gospels is not in the wilderness, but at a wedding.
Speaker 1He can do it anywhere.
Speaker 4He can bless you just as good in the high times as the low times.
The Bible says that they were at a wedding and the wine ran out, but Jesus was on the scene.
And you'll notice that Mary prompts Jesus to do.
Speaker 1Something about it.
Speaker 4She doesn't exactly pray to him, She just makes him aware of the situation.
Have you ever just made God aware of a situation?
Like?
Speaker 1God, you see how they're treating me right.
Speaker 4And I'm not saying you should smite them or anything like that or give them a hernia, But God, you see how they're treating me.
Speaker 1Right.
I'm not telling you to give them a flat tire.
Speaker 4But you see how they just cut me off right?
And you saw it and flip I'm off right.
God, I'm not trying to give you any ideas.
But Mary says to Jesus they have no more wine, and he says, woe, and why do you involve me?
Speaker 1My hour has not yet come.
But the Bible says in verse five that his.
Speaker 4Mother watched this interesting strategy, said to the servants, do whatever he tells you.
Now she's talking to Jesus.
They have no more wine.
Jesus talks to her.
That has nothing to.
Speaker 1Do with me.
She turns away from Jesus to the servants.
Speaker 3And says, do whatever he tells you.
Speaker 1God provides.
Speaker 4So if God provides, why didn't Jesus say yes when she asked him the first time?
Speaker 1So here's what I think about it.
Speaker 4I think a lot of times in my life recognizing that God is my provider and that he is my father.
Speaker 1I mean, you heard Grandma here, I'm his father.
Speaker 4When I showed up with my head over the booth, he didn't know what blessings I brought.
Speaker 1With me, but I was happy to do it.
Speaker 4Yet, isn't it true that sometimes you treat God more like your phone.
Speaker 1Than your father.
I hope y'all got all your shout.
Speaker 4And done before I got to this point, because I realized that many of us.
Speaker 1Treat God like chat gpt on our phone.
Speaker 4And when we say I sought the Lord and he heard and he answered, what we mean is I told God what he needed to do for me, and he did it.
Speaker 1And so we end up.
Speaker 4How many of you use chat GPT regularly and you out of shame to admit it.
But you would never use it in a class.
You would never use it illicitly.
You would never use it to prepare a sermon.
I would never do that, but I might ask chat GPT, Hey, what's the weather going to be like in Charlotte tomorrow?
Speaker 1You know, oh, it's going to be cold tomorrow.
It's going to be real.
How cold?
Give it to me in degrees not celsius fahrenheit.
Speaker 4I heard of one student, not a student who goes to this church, but I heard of one student who regularly uploads their math worksheets to chat GPT and tells chat GPT answer these problems for me.
Speaker 1Give them all in number form.
Speaker 4Don't show your work, don't try to teach me how to do it.
Speaker 1Just give me answers.
Not a student in this church.
This is a revival generation in this church.
But think about it.
Speaker 4When you talk to chat GPT, you prompt chat GPT according to your preference to meet your purpose.
Speaker 1I would demonstrate it for.
Speaker 4You right now, but I don't trust chat GPT.
Speaker 1Enough to say the right things back.
What I am telling you is that when.
Speaker 4We begin to think that we prompt God like we prompt chat GPT, because some of us do our entire prayer life is pretty much like we're just prompting God.
Hey, God, I need you to provide for me.
I got this meeting at nine o'clock.
I need you to help me through this meeting.
In Jesus name, Amen, God, I need you to give me a new job.
I don't like my job and I need a new job and when that's not going to be really hard, but it's going to pay really well.
Speaker 1And I don't be gone from my family very much.
Speaker 4Lord, But if you could give me a job that will provide for me above the amount of time that I'm willing to spend working in it.
Speaker 1And God, I would like to have a lot of.
Speaker 4Authority, but I don't want to lead any people because I.
Speaker 1Don't really like people.
Speaker 4So I'd like to be able to be an introvert but still have a lot of authority within the organization.
Speaker 1God in Jesus' name, Chat God.
Speaker 4But God is not GPT.
Speaker 7You don't prompt God.
God prompts me.
God prompts me.
Speaker 4I mean the disciples were always having to learn this check it out.
They were in a remote place.
Jesus was teaching people.
The disciples go up to Jesus and they say, hey, Jesus, you've been teaching a long time.
You need to shut this down.
The people are hungry.
They didn't care about the people.
They were hungry.
So what are they doing?
They are prompting Jesus.
Speaker 3It'd be a good idea for you, Jesus, if you'd.
Speaker 4Send the crowds away.
They can go get something to eat.
Send them away, Jesus said, they don't need.
Speaker 1To go away.
You give them something to eat.
Now, this is what's interesting about the disciples.
Speaker 4They already knew that Jesus could do the supernatural.
Speaker 1They had seen demons.
Speaker 4Come out of people, They had seen the best.
Speaker 1They went forth in the ministry.
Great miracles happen.
But just because you've been discipled once doesn't mean that you're fully developed.
Speaker 4I was talking to my friend the other day about somebody that they discipled back in college.
And when they discipled this person back in college, it's been like thirty years now, and the person that they discipled, I don't know if.
Speaker 1Y'all have ever heard that term before.
Speaker 4It's like we use it to say, mentored them spiritually.
You know, they disciple this person, and this person is so far off the map.
Speaker 1Now this person is a mess.
Speaker 4And I looked at the person who was bragging that they discipled the other person.
I said, you discipled them, and they said, yeah, I discipled them.
And I said, I think you need to reciple them, huh, because sometimes we need to be recipled.
Sometimes we forget who our source is and where our help comes from.
And sometimes we pray and God provides, but we start prompting God for what we want.
And I came to say today God is.
Speaker 1The prompter, not you, not me.
Speaker 4We don't get to tell Jesus who to snd away.
We don't get to tell God what to do, even with.
Speaker 1Our own lives.
I will preach this whether you like it or not.
Speaker 4God is not your phone, He is your father.
You don't give the commands he does.
We don't draw the lines around our life.
We don't get to tell God what we will and won't do with our gift.
He gave the gift, it's his to use.
We don't get to tell God when it should happen.
We have to trust him with the tithing.
If the timing and the tithing little slip right there.
Why would we say we trust in God when we won't even bring him what he gave to us to begin with.
I feel annoyted to break the spirit off of people today who are saying I'm seeking the Lord, But all I'm really doing is telling the Lord what I think he needs to do, when maybe he has a command that contradicts my own preferences that he is trying to bring forth in my life.
So all that to say, I trust in God more than I trust in myself.
And that's why Mary's prayer wasn't Jesus, do whatever I tell you?
Speaker 1It was verse five, Do whatever he tells you.
Speaker 4Most of us do the exact opposite with God.
God chat God, do whatever I tell you, and I'll say it real nice and everything like that.
But what I'm really saying is, God, do send me a husband.
Make him not too tall, not too short, not too busy, not too lazy.
God, make him able to sing, but not arrogant about his singing ability.
God, as we're good Amen in Jesus' name, spin around three times, yabad abad you.
Speaker 1Do it, Jesus, chad geot.
Speaker 4But see see you're not holding God in your hands.
Speaker 1He's holding you in his hands, and we.
Speaker 4Need to be recifled.
Come on, help me preach, Rosalind.
You are not holding him, He's holding you.
That's why I've never felt like I was doing God a favor when I gave.
I never felt like I was doing God a favor.
Speaker 1When I praised.
Speaker 4I never felt like I was doing God a favor when I preached.
God, you mean you would let me open your word, as filthy as I am, as flawed as I am, as unfinished as I am, you would let me open your word and preach.
Speaker 1You would let me lead a church that's reaching the world.
I'm honored to do it.
I'm privileged to do it.
Speaker 4You don't know me anything, God, If you never do anything else for me, just your salvation is enough.
You provide for me, and you prompt me, and I don't prompt you.
Speaker 1You don't have to do what I want you to do.
Speaker 3You know the plans you have for me, You know the hope you have for me.
Speaker 1And I trust in God.
Speaker 4I trust in God, like Abraham trusted in God.
God prompted Abraham, he said, go to the land, I'll show you.
Speaker 3You would say, God, show me and I'll go.
Speaker 1God said, go and I'll show you.
I'm not gonna give you all the details.
You don't prompt God.
God prompts you.
Come on.
Can I talk about Moses.
Speaker 8God told Moses go to Pharaoh and say, let my people go.
Moses didn't tell God what to do to Pharaoh.
God told Moses what to say.
God prompts me say it.
God prompts me.
I don't prompt God.
I don't give God my ten year plan.
I don't even tell God what I'm supposed to preach about.
Speaker 1I ask him, what do your people need?
Speaker 4What is the fresh word from heaven that you want to deliver?
What is that brother, that sister dealing with this week?
Speaker 7That if a word comes from heaven and you prompt their heart and they follow in obedience, if you will do whatever he told you, you will see him do exceedingly unbuttonedly.
I'm preaching, Graham, ah bah bah, you ask or think or imagine high five three people say I've got a father, and he'll stick his head over the booth and he will pay for your meal.
Speaker 1He's my provider and he's my prompter.
And come back, Graham.
I got to show you something.
Speaker 4This boy every Sunday night is living in the blessing of the faithfulness of the ministry of the people in this church.
Speaker 1Because see, I want to tell you something the next meal.
Speaker 4I want you to buy for somebody that you're sitting with.
Because God is a provider, but he's also a prompter.
Speaker 1So how can we always just want the provision if we don't want to be prompted?
Speaker 4And I'm not saying you're cheap, and I know you're kind of broke, and that's all right for another couple of years, because I got you for.
Speaker 1A minute, but not for that long.
Speaker 4But every Sunday night, this boy is teaching a Bible study at this church.
Speaker 1And I'm proud of all of my kids, but.
Speaker 4I just wanted to use him because he has the gene jacket on.
Look, this boy is preaching a Bible study every Sunday night, and it started with God prompting him.
Everybody's say, God prompts me.
Pray it like a prayer.
Say God, prompt me, Prompt me what to do about this issue with my parents, Prompt me what to do about this situation with my kids?
Prompt me what to do about this situation with the company.
Prompt me, God prompt me, not like Chad, GPT like Lord, show me which city to move in, and make sure it has a good climate, and make sure it also has good economic opportunities.
And God make sure there's also good friends there in a good church there.
Speaker 1And when I get to.
Speaker 4The church there, God make sure that the services are long enough really touch me deeply, but short enough to get me out in time for lunch, and deep enough where I can be disciple, but wide enough and broad enough so I can invite my own church friends and they can understand.
Speaker 1This is not GPT, this is g B.
God prompts me.
Speaker 4And God prompted you to start a Bible study for your friends.
And we did it upstairs in the playroom on Sunday nights.
Speaker 1And I would watch this.
Speaker 4Boy, and sometimes it would be five people, sometimes.
Speaker 1It would be ten.
Speaker 4Let me show you what a big group looked like.
This was just this past summer.
A big group.
Look at that screen.
A big group the other one look at that screen.
A big group was nine kids.
God prompted, and he was passionate for his friends to know Jesus.
I related to that because I remember when God prompted me to run the Fellowship of Christian Athletes at our school.
I said, athletes kind of slow because it stood for FCA, and some of them weren't.
Speaker 1Living right, so they used to make fun of it.
Speaker 4They would call it FCA Fellowship of Christian Alcoholics.
Speaker 1But I did not endorse that.
That was not good.
Speaker 4I was trying to get them saved, and I would teach Bible studies.
And so when I saw you doing that, I was like, that's good, that's good.
And then one week I don't know, but twenty people came.
Speaker 1And see.
Speaker 4When God prompts you with something, he will give you a small prompt with a big purpose.
The Lord's doing the work in this place today.
The hearts are receptive.
You can feel it.
There's faith in the room.
You can feel it.
God's presence is here, you can sense it.
Speaker 1It's the prompting of the Holy Spirit.
Speaker 4It may not be in regards to an offering, or it may it may be a Bible study.
Speaker 1He was prompted to start a Bible study.
He was patient as week after.
Speaker 4Week as friends wouldn't come, they would come, they wouldn't come, they would come, maybe only Austin would show up, maybe only Evan would show up, maybe only Colton would show up.
Speaker 1It would just be week after week.
Speaker 4But God was prompting him and he was faithful, and I watched him do it.
Speaker 1One week when they had that big crowd.
Speaker 4There was a kid there who was a part of our residence program for worship, kind of like an apprenticeship or discipleship program we have for worship leaders.
And they were finishing Bible study and Graham said, Dad, do you have an acoustic guitar that Daniel can play?
And I have a few guitars, and some of them are real nice, So I got one of the other ones.
Speaker 1You know, there's a bunch of boys up there.
I don't really trust him like that, And I handed Daniel the guitar.
Speaker 4Within two weeks, Look what was happening in the same playroom from a prompt.
Speaker 1I show them the.
Speaker 9Video, remember that, Yeah, y'all.
Speaker 3That's the room over the kitchen.
Speaker 1In our house.
The floor was shaking so hard in.
Speaker 4The kitchen I thought they were about to come through the roof.
Remember in the Bible, when they tore off the roof to get the man to Jesus.
Speaker 5I was like, y'all are not coming through my roof.
This is not the Bible.
I do not have homeowners insurance for that.
Can y'all see that in the news.
Wouldn't that be in news for three weeks straight?
If if fasterferred?
It killed the kids at the e group at the Elevation Church.
Speaker 4But the floor didn't give way because it was built on the rock.
Speaker 1Come on, it was a solid foundation.
Speaker 4We were standing on the promise and the floor was shaken, and I said, Graham, this is good, but y'all gotta move.
Y'all gotta go.
I don't know where we're gonna go.
But see, there are some people in this church who were prompted years ago.
And what you don't understand is every Sunday night now, hundreds of these kids get together showing my next video.
Speaker 1Please at our.
Speaker 4Matthew's location and watch these kids.
Speaker 3And how they're praising, and that.
Speaker 1That praise, that praise y'all with me church.
That praise started with a prompting Graham.
Look out here.
Speaker 4Everybody whoever gave to this ministry or serves in this ministry, stand up.
Speaker 1Now.
Speaker 4What y'all are doing is amazing, and I thank God for it.
But y'all's praise started with their prompting, and they said, yes, y'all's praise started with their prompting.
And I wonder what God's going to prompt today, And I wonder who is going to be praising God.
Speaker 1I read the strangest verse, y'all.
Speaker 4I read a verse from Galatians one twenty four where Paul said something so unusual.
He said, and they praised God because of me.
What a thing to say.
Every single one of you who gives today, somebody is going to be praising God.
Speaker 1Some mom is going to.
Speaker 4Be praising God because their kid came.
Speaker 1Back to Christ.
Speaker 4Somebody is going to be praising God because of you.
Now, Graham, you can go sit down, and you can sit down for a moment to get out your offering card and envelope.
Please, the Holy Spirit is in this place, and the only instruction from the Holy Spirit is do whatever he tells you to do.
Speaker 1How long have we been trying to get God to do what we want him to do?
But have we asked him?
God?
Speaker 4Out of all the gifts you've given me, out of all the resources you've given me, you are the source.
Speaker 1You are g o D.
You are my God.
Mary's prayer.
Speaker 4You remember what Mary said when the Angel told her that she was going to give birth to Jesus in Luke chapter one, verse thirty seven.
He said, no word from God will ever fail.
And Mary said, I don't see how it's going to happen.
I don't really understand it, but I am the Lord's servant.
May your word to me be fulfilled.
That was Mary's prayer.
You know, we do just the opposite.
Sometimes we say, God, may my word to you be fulfilled.
Speaker 1Here's what I want you to do.
Speaker 4Lord.
But no God can do immeasurably more than you ask or imagine.
I didn't want a hundred kids jumping upstairs.
Speaker 1In my house.
Speaker 4That's a nightmare.
But what I thought was a nightmare God turned into a revival.
May your word to me be fulfilled.
God is a provider.
God is a prompter.
He prompted Peter to go to a man named Cornelius's house, and the Gospel came to the Gentile world.
He prompted a man named Anaius to lay his hands on brother Saul, and brother Saul became Paul, and the Gospel went forward to the Roman Empire.
What is God prompting you to do what's the word that you want to choose?
As one year ends and another begins.
And oh, by the way, I'm not just speaking to people in the room, those of you all over the world who are blessed by this ministry.
Now you have been blessed to be a blessing.
Is God prompting you to make a difference.
I believe the next twenty years of our ministry are going to make the first twenty years of the ministry look like a startup in.
Speaker 1A garage somewhere.
Speaker 4I believe God is about to do something so amazing that we'll be talking.
Speaker 1Do you remember when we only.
Speaker 4Had twenty campuses?
Do you remember back in twenty twenty five, back in the old early days.
God is about to blow our mind.
And it starts with the prompting Graham.
You're at the living room tonight because Greg and Autumn said yes to a prompting.
Eighteen years they've given to this offering.
Chunks and Amy, twenty years they've given to this offering.
Speaker 1Twenty years.
Eric and Nicole have given to this offering.
Nine years.
Speaker 4Jonathan Joseph's and Anna Joseph's have given to this offering.
Speaker 1God has been faithful to us, and.
Speaker 4When you don't give, you say I don't trust that I have a father who can provide for me.
But if you've ever seen him pop his head up behind your booth and take care of your needs, now is an opportunity for you to tell him, thank you.
Speaker 1What more could we do?
He's done everything for us.
Speaker 4So our word for this year is going to be the word light.
Jesus said, my yoke is easy and my burden is light.
And a lot of times I realized that I take on things like they're all on me and not on God.
Speaker 1And that's a sin, y'all.
Speaker 4So this year I'm going to take Jesus at his word, and I'm going to hook up in the harness with him a little bit more, and I'm going to ask him to make my burden light this year.
How many of you will agree with me this year that the Lord will make my burden a little lighter?
Yeah, and I'm doing good.
Don't worry about me.
It's not like I'm on the verge of burnout.
But that's an example.
Jonathan.
You said your word was come up and say it with me.
Stirred.
Stirred I love that word.
Say it in the microphone.
Jonathan's word is stirred.
What a great word to talk about the water into wine.
They took the water, poured it in the jars Jesus told him to, and somewhere when they stirred.
Speaker 1It, it became what it could never be.
What a great word.
We ain't even plan this.
Look how in tune with God?
You are a mighty man of valor.
Speaker 4In just a moment, all of our campus pastors are going to share with you, and I.
Speaker 1Want you to take a moment and pick the word.
First of all, that's the first thing I want you to do.
Speaker 4And then campus pastors, you come right now as everyone seated, as everybody's preparing to worship.
We've saved time.
I am on my clock.
Miracles do happen.
But will you pray Mary's prayer today?
Do whatever he tells you, and then get ready, because when you do what you can do, God.
Speaker 1Will do what you cannot do.
Somewhere they stirred that water and it became wine.
Speaker 4You hear me, Abby, When you do what you can do, God will do what you cannot do.
Speaker 1Pick your word?
Speaker 4Anybody got one?
Speaker 1Holler it at me?
Speaker 4Do it Lord, all that put it in the chat right now online you're giving give us the word that you're believing God for.
As a matter of fact, before I turn it around, let's read some of the ones that are coming through online right now.
Speaker 1JJ.
This is an amazing moment.
Tell somebody the Lord is here.
Speaker 4Lord, is.
Speaker 1That you love This weekend, I can feel the faith.
Speaker 4And generosity of so many people, so faithful, fearless, helped faith gez Vessel.
Speaker 1Yeah, restore, move free light.
That's my word.
I can't take my.
Speaker 4Word, bill a Boo twenty three.
Speaker 1You can't have my word.
That's to use your name, bill a Boo twenty.
Speaker 4Three, Get off my word, move a blaze yield Provider is coming through so fast.
Speaker 1What's your word?
What's your word?
Speaker 4May your word God to me be fulfilled, not just whatever I think.
I want you to do what you want to do through my life, what you want to do through this church.
Speaker 1This is your church.
We are your people.
You are our father, God.
I bring the needs of all of these people.
Speaker 4Before you today from every nation that is watching right here in this local community.
Speaker 1You have been good to us.
God.
Speaker 4You are Jehovah Jirah and in this place this sees, in this moment of their life.
Would you meet every need as we do what you tell us to do in Jesus name.
Speaker 1Amen, Thank you for joining us.
Speaker 2Special thanks to those of you who give generously to this ministry.
Is because of you that this ministry is possible.
You can click the link in the description to give now or visit Elevation Church dot org slash popodcast for more information and if you enjoyed the podcast.
Speaker 1You can subscribe.
You can share it with your friends.
Speaker 2You can click the share button, take a screenshot and share it on your social stories and tag us at Elevation Church.
Speaker 1Thanks again for listening.
God bless you.
