April 19, 2024 • 46 mins
There is a gap that exists between where we are now, and where we want to be. But sometimes, in order to move forward in confidence, you have to take a look back.
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
Hey, this is Stephen Ferdick. I'm the pastor of Elevation
Church and.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
This is our podcast.
Speaker 1 (00:05):
I wanted to thank you for joining us today.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
Hope this inspires you. Hope it builds your faith.
Speaker 1 (00:10):
Hope it gives your perspective to see God is moving
in your life.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
Enjoy the message.
Speaker 1 (00:16):
Are you excited for the Word of God today? Let's
get to it. Look at Hebrews Chapter ten, verse thirty
five through thirty seven, and this is a scripture that
is so loaded with power. I almost feel like I
could read it, drop the mic, walk off the stage
and not even say anything about it.
Speaker 2 (00:36):
But I'm not going to do that. I'm and keep
the mic and talk about it for a little while.
Let me read it.
Speaker 1 (00:40):
It says, so, do not throw away your confidence. It
will be richly rewarded. Now you need to perseverere so
that when you have done the will of God, you
will receive what He has promised.
Speaker 2 (01:01):
Four in just a little while. Touch your neighbors say.
It won't be long now, It won't be long. Now,
in just a little while.
Speaker 1 (01:12):
He who is coming will come and will not delay.
Instead of giving this message a title, I just want
us to make a faith declaration together.
Speaker 2 (01:25):
You're ready.
Speaker 1 (01:27):
Now, I need you to say this loud and proud,
so you convince the devil that you mean business. Shout
out so loud your neighbor gets startled when you say it.
You're ready, Come on in every location, Are you ready?
Speaker 2 (01:39):
Say this?
Speaker 1 (01:39):
My confidence is coming back. Tell five people yours is too.
Yours is too my confidence. You may be seated, God bless.
Speaker 2 (01:53):
You coming back.
Speaker 1 (01:58):
It's coming back quickly. That God kind of confidence, not
that Instagram confidence posting something taking it down four times
if it doesn't.
Speaker 2 (02:09):
Get enough likes in three minutes.
Speaker 1 (02:11):
Letting half my body hang out of my clothes so
somebody will tell me I look good.
Speaker 2 (02:15):
That's not confidence, that's compensation. I want a God kind
of confidence.
Speaker 1 (02:25):
It's important that I say that because confidence has a context.
If I were to say it in a Biblical context,
it would mean something different than in a Kardashian context.
You just want to get no slightment to any Kardashians.
No Kardashians were harmed in the making of this sermon.
I'm just saying that context is important, and the writer
of Hebrews has a daunting task in that he is
(02:46):
trying to strengthen and reconstruct, in some ways, the confidence
of a group of Christians who are in crisis. In
order to do this, he employs to rhetorical devices. He
uses contrast and context. Contrast and context. He's speaking to
(03:15):
them in the midst of a trial, really a crisis
of confidence, and he's trying to get them focused on
Christ in their crisis. Because remember when Peter did that,
when he focused on Christ in his crisis, he transcended
(03:35):
the laws of buoyancy.
Speaker 2 (03:37):
And it's amazing what you can get up above when
you focus on Christ in your crisis.
Speaker 1 (03:44):
In order to bring them to this focal point of
Christ in crisis, he starts in Hebrews chapter one by
giving them a context of the superiority of Christ and
the New Covenant in this setting. In this context, he
presents them with a picture of a Christ who is better,
(04:04):
better than the angels theological term the superiority of Christ.
But we would just say he's better. He's better than
anything you can name. He's better than anything you can inhale.
He's better than anything you can snort. He's better than
anything you can chug. He's better than anything.
Speaker 2 (04:22):
You can date.
Speaker 1 (04:23):
He's better than anything that you can give your life to.
Speaker 2 (04:26):
He's better. Somebody's shout, he's better.
Speaker 1 (04:29):
He's better than the mediator of the old covenant.
Speaker 2 (04:31):
That's Moses.
Speaker 1 (04:32):
And it is in this context that he must present
to the people a motivation for perseverance by establishing their
confidence in crisis. And so not only does he provide
a contrast the mosaic sacrificial system and the.
Speaker 2 (04:48):
Temple cultic law to the hope that we have in.
Speaker 1 (04:51):
Jesus Christ, that the sacrifice has been made once and
for all.
Speaker 2 (04:57):
You know how I know it's been made once and
for all.
Speaker 1 (04:59):
I saw your car coming into the parking lot today,
and I didn't see any bulls or oxen on.
Speaker 2 (05:05):
The bike rack of your vehicle.
Speaker 1 (05:07):
I didn't see you with the knife to slit their
throats so that you could make atonement for your sins.
Why because you came in with confidence that Christ is enough,
that Christ is enough to atone for my sin and
to make write all of my mistakes. And the author
of Hebrews is re establishing the confidence of people who
have lost their confidence. I found out in life you
(05:29):
can lose a lot of things and get them back
if you keep your confidence. The devil cannot take your calling.
The Bible says that the gifts in calling of God
are without repentance.
Speaker 2 (05:40):
He doesn't change his mind when you lose your way.
Speaker 1 (05:44):
So since the devil can't take your calling, he attacks
your confidence because if he can get you to give
him your confidence, he can keep you from functioning in
your calling.
Speaker 2 (05:57):
If he can get you to believe that.
Speaker 1 (05:58):
You're raising your kids just like your mom raised you,
and your mom raised you in a way that was
detrimental and destructive, he can get you to repeat the
patterns and miss the opportunity for progress. Because he stripped
you of your confidence. You can have a great calling
and no confidence. Joyce Meyer says, and she's coming for
(06:19):
a Code Orange revival, so maybe she'll tell you when
she comes. She said, a believer without confidence is like
a jet without fuel, sitting on the runway. All that equipment,
but no power to get up above the circumstances. That's
how sister Joyce said it. Ask your neighbor got confidence?
Remember they used to have got milk? Well, I want
to know got confidence? Christians without confidence? It should be
(06:43):
an oxymoron. I mean, the whole context of the Gospel
is confidence. If it doesn't make you more confident, it's
not the gospel. If you ever heard something preached to
you and you walked up from it like crap, you're
the gospel in the correct context. And the author of
Hebrews is giving some context to the crisis, perhaps he
(07:07):
should preach to our nation right about now, because I
hear people saying weird stuff. They say, this is the
worst it's ever been. Really, really, it's worse than it's
worse than slavery, worse than it's ever been. I mean,
there are some things that are bad, but can we
put it in context. One time I was at a
(07:29):
pastor's roundtable and a young white pastor who wasn't much
older than me spoke up and said, our nation is.
Speaker 2 (07:35):
More divided than it's ever been.
Speaker 1 (07:37):
And he shouldn't have said that in that context because
there was an older African American pastor, probably over the
age of seventy, who had lived through segregation. And he
spoke up and said, young man, I appreciate your sentiment,
but allow me to provide some context. And about fifteen
minutes later, that white guy wanted out of the room.
(08:00):
Asked me the other day he said, Daddy, are all
presidential elections this crazy? Because he's only ten and he's
looking for some context. And of course it took me
a moment to think through all of the presidential elections
that I've witnessed. In two thousand, it was pretty crazy.
We barely found out who was the president by the
(08:22):
time their term was over. I don't know if anybody
remembers that, but it was. It was crazy then. And
I've explained to him how in the context of you know,
other parts of the world, we have a pretty peaceful
transition of power when you put it in context, and
some cultures power doesn't change hands unless blood runs in
the street. So I want to give him a context.
(08:46):
Sometimes you've lost your relationships because you've lost your context.
That is, someone will do one thing to offend you,
and in the light of that one thing that they
did to offend you, you will walk away from the
hundreds of things that they did that caused you to
love them. The devil is a master of trying to
create a crisis in your life by causing you.
Speaker 2 (09:08):
To lose your sense of context.
Speaker 1 (09:10):
I'm laughing because a lady over on my right side
was hitting a man I don't know what that was about.
But touch somebody and say, keep it in context.
Speaker 2 (09:18):
That's what you.
Speaker 1 (09:19):
Gotta do, Eve, because the serpent will come up to
you and say, did God really say you can't eat
from any tree in the garden? And you got to
remember God didn't say he can't eat of any tree.
He said, don't eat of that tree. But the enemy
wants to take it out of context, to get you
to look at all the things you can't do and
miss all the things you can do, and to get
you to think that Christianity is boring, or that it's
about rules and regulations, to take it out of the
(09:40):
context of relationships. But how many of you know that
we have a great high priest whose name is Jesus,
and the author of Hebrews wants to help you get
your confidence back. But you can't have confidence without context.
Could I would love to back up just a few
(10:02):
verses and provide a context for this admonition where he says.
Speaker 2 (10:09):
Do not throw away your confidence see us a pretty powerful.
Speaker 1 (10:17):
Admonition exhortation within itself, but when you give it its
full context, it's even more powerful. Would it be all
right if I backed up just a few verses and
give you some context.
Speaker 2 (10:28):
I would love to give you the whole Book of Hebrews.
Speaker 1 (10:31):
I didn't think it'd be good for us to do
the whole book in one day, but maybe we could
hit verse nineteen real quick, where he's encouraging this community
of faith that is an identity crisis, losing friends because
of their faith, suffering loss in their personal life, in
their relationship with their possessions because of their faith. And
(10:53):
he says, therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have somebody shouted,
we have confidence.
Speaker 2 (11:01):
Now. We may not be accessing our confidence right.
Speaker 1 (11:04):
Now, but we have it. How many of you have
a phone? How many of you are talking on it
right now? Just because you have it doesn't mean you're
using it. Sometimes we think we need more confidence, when
all we really need to do is use the confidence
(11:24):
that we already have by virtue of the power of
Christ in us.
Speaker 2 (11:29):
I feel like preaching a.
Speaker 1 (11:31):
Little bit today because somebody's going to get their confidence back.
By the time I put my microphone down, the Lord
told me some of you have been losing your confidence,
but he wants you to know that you have confidence
to enter the most holy place that was the place
(11:51):
where only the high priest could go. And even he
couldn't go in the wrong way, or he wouldn't come out, well,
he would come out. Body would have to drag him out,
because the presence of God was so strong in the
most Holy Place that if you.
Speaker 2 (12:06):
Didn't go in ceremonially clean.
Speaker 1 (12:09):
You would fall down dead in the presence of the
glory of God. How many are glad for a new Covenant?
I think the whole top section of Blakeney would fall
over dead if you had to be clean to come
to church today, I think the whole I think the
preacher would fall dead on the stage if you had
(12:29):
to be clean to come to church. And so he's
he's talking about this new Covenant and he's excited about it,
telling them come on in to the most Holy Place.
How do you come in by the blood of Jesus,
by a new and living way open for us through
the curtain that is His body. And since we have
(12:50):
a great high priest over the House of God, let
us draw near to God with the sincere heart and
with the full assurance that faith brings our hearts sprinkled
to cleanse us from a guilty conscience.
Speaker 2 (13:04):
And having our bodies washed with pure water.
Speaker 1 (13:07):
I was only going to read verse nineteen, but the
context of this is so powerful. I think I ought
to keep going? How many think I ought to keep going?
Come on, this is the covenant, the promise of God.
This is your relationship with him. Describe to find and
elaborated upon.
Speaker 2 (13:22):
Let us hold.
Speaker 1 (13:23):
Unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised
is faithful, He who promised is faithful. You hadn't always
been faithful to him, but he's always been.
Speaker 2 (13:35):
Faithful to you.
Speaker 1 (13:36):
And let us consider how we may spur one another
on toward good deeds, not giving up meeting together as
some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another.
Speaker 2 (13:52):
And all the more as you see the day approaching.
Speaker 1 (13:57):
And so he's helping me before he tells me to
keep my confidence, He's helping me to see where my
confidence comes from. Let's talk about where Christian confidence comes from.
Because there are three things he mentioned in the text
I just read, and they all start.
Speaker 2 (14:13):
With the letter C.
Speaker 1 (14:17):
At least they will when I get done with them.
Helps me remember them better. He mentions, your conscience, it's
kind of hard to have full confidence when you have
a troubled conscience. It's kind of hard for me to
get up and preach to you when I have things
(14:40):
in my life, areas in my life where I haven't
been obedient. You know, there have been time before I've
been getting ready to preach, and before I could come
out on the stage, I had to make a phone
call and get something right, because if I come up
here in my conscience isn't clear. I don't mean that
I have to be perfect when I get up. If
that were the case, only J than Joseph will be
(15:00):
allowed to preach at Elevation Church. But I'm saying some
of you lost your confidence because you violated your conscience,
and so now in relationships you can't really look people
in the eye because of what you're hiding, because of
text messages you hope your wife doesn't see, because of
(15:28):
unresolved bitterness and forgiveness that God has initiated but you
have not completed. The devil is really masterful at this,
because if he can't get your calling without your confidence,
he'll get to your confidence through your conscience. So then
he will tempt you with something that he knows will
(15:48):
define or defile rather your conscience. And now, because you
have a defiled conscience, you have no confidence. To come
into the presence of God requires confidence. The presence of
God is the only place where your conscience can be cleansed.
Speaker 2 (16:04):
We just read it in Hebrews.
Speaker 1 (16:06):
He said that the most holy place the presence of God,
that place of surrender, that place of contact with God.
That's the place where the blood of Jesus is sprinkled
to purify your conscience. But if you don't have confidence,
you won't come in. So now the only place where
God can heal your conscience you don't go into.
Speaker 2 (16:27):
Because you've lost your confidence.
Speaker 1 (16:29):
You stop coming to church at the time when you
needed church the most. I'm gonna look at the camera
because somebody's watching me online today. You almost came, but
you felt guilty about something, and you let the devil
tell you that you couldn't come. But the context of
my relationship with God is not my behavior, is the
(16:49):
blood of his son. It was already shed. And when
those drops hit the crowd, mercy hit my life. Grace
covered my sin, His compassion cover all the wrong things
I had done, will do, and even the things I'm
doing right now, so I can come on in to
the presence of God with my head held high like
(17:13):
a child of the King. I'm not a slave to fear.
I'm a child of God, my spirit Christ.
Speaker 2 (17:19):
How I'm a father. I needs your help. I'm in
a crisis. Come on in.
Speaker 1 (17:30):
Hear the voice of God saying to somebody, come on in,
Come on in. I know what you did last summer.
Come on in. I know what you did in your twenties.
Come on in.
Speaker 2 (17:42):
I know what you did at nine forty seven am.
Come on in. Tell somebody say, come on in.
Speaker 1 (17:50):
We need you to know that the context of Christian
confidence is not your ability to conform to a set
of behaviors.
Speaker 2 (17:59):
That's the old covenant.
Speaker 1 (18:01):
That's bringing a turtle dove to church and sacrificing it.
But we have a great high Priest, and he is
the context of my confidence. A context of my confidence
is a clear conscience. And then you know what else
I need. I need a community. I know your confidence
(18:25):
has been shaken lately.
Speaker 2 (18:27):
That's why you need some people. Would you tell the
person next to you, I need people like you in
my life. I really do, I really do.
Speaker 1 (18:46):
Let us not give up meeting together, as some are
in the habit of doing.
Speaker 2 (18:52):
I need people in my life because.
Speaker 1 (18:56):
I really believe if I hadn't grown up at Monk's
Corner United Method Church and it Jackie didn't tell me
God has a special plan for your life. When I
first got saved, I might have gone right back to
the way I was living. The temptation that is being
countered by the author of Hebrews is the temptation to
turn back that no sooner do you get started in
the pursuit of a promise from God than you lose
(19:19):
your confidence and turn back. You lose your confidence because
certain people don't like it. Certain people don't understand it.
Certain people aren't going the same way as you. Certain
people don't support or endorse your decision to be a
disciple of Jesus Christ.
Speaker 2 (19:34):
That's why you need certain other people, certain other people.
You can't do this alone.
Speaker 1 (19:43):
I like to say, back in the early days when
I first started preaching, you have to follow Christ for yourself.
But you cannot follow Christ by yourself.
Speaker 2 (19:53):
So I need a new community.
Speaker 1 (19:55):
I need a new community, somebody to look me in
the eyes from time to time and say I think
you still got it.
Speaker 2 (20:03):
I think you ought to press on.
Speaker 1 (20:05):
If you don't have those people in your life, there
is no hope for you holding on to your confidence.
Because everybody in their head has a little confidence committee.
They sit around that table, and you have the committee
member called past experience.
Speaker 2 (20:25):
And boy, he'll speak up real quick when you decide
to do something for Gott. You tried that once, how'd
that go?
Speaker 1 (20:33):
He'll show you the treadmill that you bought, it's now
a cote rack. And then there's past experience. And let's
see who else sits at the table. You got past experience,
and maybe you got the committee.
Speaker 2 (20:50):
Member of self loathing and doubt and all these people.
If you don't have one time the profit.
Speaker 1 (21:00):
Elisha needed to teach his protege faith because they were
surrounded by enemies. And that's all that the protege could see.
That's all he could see, what was against him. I
took away his confidence. He cried out, oh my Lord,
what shall we do now? Sometimes that's that's the only
(21:23):
prayer you can pray.
Speaker 2 (21:27):
And Elisha gave him a different context.
Speaker 1 (21:31):
When he prayed, open his eyes, Lord, that he may see.
And when he blinked and opened his eyes again, nothing
had really changed except.
Speaker 2 (21:41):
His vision opened his eyes.
Speaker 1 (21:44):
The second time he saw that what was surrounding them
was surrounded by the armies of the Living God.
Speaker 2 (21:52):
You know, I believe.
Speaker 1 (21:53):
God wants to bring people in your life who can
surround what surrounded you until you see the protection, the provision,
and the promise of God coming to pass in your life.
Speaker 2 (22:11):
I'll be honest.
Speaker 1 (22:12):
There are certain people I look for when I preach
because they boost my confidence.
Speaker 2 (22:18):
Certain people I look away from real quick Taylor secret.
Speaker 1 (22:23):
The right side of this Valentine campus is really spiritual.
They will shout you down, only to be matched by
this intersection.
Speaker 2 (22:34):
And the people in the.
Speaker 1 (22:35):
Back as well as the left side of the room. Look,
give me a wide shot. Can you show the other
campuses how we built this room. We built this Valentine
campus where you can't sneak in, you can't fall asleep.
Speaker 2 (22:51):
Somebody will see you. We wanted you to know when
you come to.
Speaker 1 (22:56):
Church you're surrounded, because you might up to church in trouble,
and we and tempted and tested and try, but somebody
shall I'm surrounded. Come on, tell seven people you're surrounded.
Even if you want to go back, I won't let you.
Even if you want to fall short. I'm not about
(23:18):
to let you quit. You've come too far by faith.
Speaker 2 (23:21):
We're gonna lean on him together.
Speaker 1 (23:23):
We're going forward surrounded, got a community even within our staff.
Speaker 2 (23:31):
It shocked me.
Speaker 1 (23:32):
On Wednesday, I've been teaching our staff and one of
the subjects I brought up was confidence. And in between sessions,
we were singing one of my favorite new songs that's
gonna be recorded for the new album, and we sang
it today in church.
Speaker 2 (23:46):
Many of you be watching on TV and you won't
get to hear it yet.
Speaker 1 (23:49):
But the song says, I believe I'll see you do
it again. I believe I'll see you do it again.
And we were singing it and the staff singing it,
and there's a line in that song that says, this
is my confidence. You never failed me yet, this is
my confidence. And the Spear of the Lord spoke to
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me and said, go up on stage right now. And
I was supposed to introduce Holly for her session, and
the Lord told me she won't mind.
Speaker 2 (24:20):
She can wait and give an alter call for your staff.
And I said, Lord, you mean that I got staffed
that aren't saved. He said, well, yeah, probably that too.
But that's not the kind of alter call. I mean,
I'm skidded.
Speaker 1 (24:40):
And he said, I want you to call for people
who are having a crisis in confidence. So when I
did it, I said, I want you to come forward.
If you're having a crisis in confidence, I want you
to come to the stage.
Speaker 2 (24:51):
I thought three people would come.
Speaker 1 (24:53):
I turned around, and all of a sudden, they didn't
come to the stage. They started coming on the stage.
They misunderstood my instruction, and it wasn't three of them.
It was more people that came to the stage than
stayed in the seats.
Speaker 2 (25:10):
And the next thing I know.
Speaker 1 (25:11):
I was surrounded by these staff members and I went
through everything in my head.
Speaker 2 (25:15):
I was like, did they hear what I said?
Speaker 1 (25:16):
Because I didn't say if you struggle a little bit
with your confidence, you know, because if you give an
altar call broad enough, you can get the whole room
to come.
Speaker 2 (25:24):
You know what I'm saying. If you felt.
Speaker 1 (25:27):
Defeated, come, you know, you could just stretch it out
if you're here today.
Speaker 2 (25:35):
But I didn't say, if you, you.
Speaker 1 (25:37):
Know, weren't outfit today and you're not feeling so good
about it anymore, you feel kind of fat, come on
to the stage and pray over your outfit.
Speaker 2 (25:45):
I said, a crisis and confidence.
Speaker 1 (25:48):
And over half my staff came and I prayed with
them for about twenty minutes, and I said, we are
going to leave some chains on the stage today. But
probably the best thing I did for him was turn
around and give them some context that there are times
where the pressure to preach becomes so great, and my
(26:10):
doubt in my own ability to lead the church becomes
so strong. There have been times where I have fantasized
about just walking out on independence and hoping maybe a
truck will come. I know I seem confident up here,
(26:31):
and maybe I shouldn't tell you this. Some of y'all
are going to pray for me, write me a prescription
or something like that. I'm not saying I walk around
feeling that all the time. I'm not saying I'm suicidal.
Speaker 2 (26:42):
I was just.
Speaker 1 (26:42):
Trying to get them to see that their lack of
confidence does not have to be the death of their calling.
Speaker 2 (27:00):
And the Devil's got some of you right now.
Speaker 1 (27:03):
You are at that Hebrew's ten crossroads of confidence, trying
to decide whether to stay and raise your children or not,
trying to decide whether continuing to pursue Christian values is
even possible, or should you just.
Speaker 2 (27:20):
Give into the addiction and go back the other way?
Trying to decide.
Speaker 1 (27:26):
I called my staff on the stage, and I even
shared that about my own life, because I have seen
too many callings abandoned at the crossroads of confidence.
Speaker 2 (27:39):
And if you just would have pressed on a little more,
you would have seen the breakthrough.
Speaker 1 (27:43):
The author said, in just a little while, he who
is coming, he who is coming, will come and not delay.
Speaker 2 (27:52):
When the devil really puts the pressure on.
Speaker 1 (27:55):
That's a side that you are in proximity to the
promise that you've been pressing toward. We're praying on the stage,
and I felt my confidence coming back, and it just
hit me.
Speaker 2 (28:11):
If that was my staff, and they are paid to be.
Speaker 1 (28:14):
Christians, what's going on in the congregation, what's going on
out there?
Speaker 2 (28:26):
What is the devil telling you?
Speaker 1 (28:28):
If he's telling the preacher, you know, you probably preached
your best sermons by now, and they all heard everything
you got to say. You know, you built that Valentine
building too big, Never gonna fill that one up. That's
what he's saying to me. I can't imagine. I mean,
I'm the man of God. I can't imagine what he's
(28:50):
telling you. I can't imagine the mistakes that he's bringing up.
I can't imagine the dumb decisions that he replays in
your mind. Just that five clip that runs randomly every
time you go to step out, I can't imagine. And
so he mentions, He says, you need a clear conscience,
(29:11):
and only the blood of Jesus can do that. And
you have the blood of Jesus. So be confident when
you come before God. Come before him with confidence. And
you need a community.
Speaker 2 (29:22):
Guy says something to everybody who came to church. Oh God,
I know you're struggling a little bit.
Speaker 1 (29:26):
I know you got some things, but you're around the
right people right now, and we're going to do this together.
Speaker 2 (29:34):
But it's going to take consistency.
Speaker 1 (29:40):
Don't give up meeting together. Encourage one another all the more.
As you see the day approaching. You see his biceps.
Speaker 2 (29:49):
They didn't get like that one time in the gym.
Speaker 1 (29:53):
The first time he went to pick up the forties,
they were real heavy and he it was grunting on himself.
Now he just picks up the eighties in the nineties
because he picked up the fifties and the sixties. Confidence
comes from consistency. Well, I guess you're not confident. You
(30:17):
only let me preach to you once every three months.
You only open your Bible on special occasions, Like, I
guess you're not confident? How could you be? Confidence comes
through consistency. They were interviewing Serena after she won her
(30:40):
what was it, her four and thirty second Grand Slam title,
tied the record. They said, how do you deal with
the pressure of this big moment and rise to the
occasion as you have so many times? And I left
at her response, it was instant classic. She said, well,
I've played a lot of tennis.
Speaker 2 (31:04):
I thought that was so great. How do you deal
with the big moments? Well, I played a lot of tennis.
Speaker 1 (31:10):
You see somebody who has a lot of confidence, they
tell you how they got it.
Speaker 2 (31:15):
They prayed a lot of prayers.
Speaker 1 (31:19):
Yeah, how softly Serena speaks after she wins, I played
a lot of tennis.
Speaker 2 (31:25):
You see somebody who asked tremendous peace in their heart.
They forgave a lot of people.
Speaker 1 (31:33):
You see somebody who knows how to persevere through dry
seasons and hard times. They read a lot of Bible verses,
and so he sets confidence within the context of a
clear contest, within the context of a strong community, within
(31:56):
the context of a commitment to consistency. And now he says,
let me get to my preaching part. How'd you like
that set up? This won't take long, So do not
throw away your confidence.
Speaker 3 (32:13):
It will be richly rewarded. Don't do it. Don't throw
away your confidence. It will be richly rewarded.
Speaker 1 (32:27):
And you need to persevere so that when you have
done the will of God, you will receive what he
has problemise. Now, it's interesting to me that in order
to get them to press forward, he tells them to
look back. In verse thirty two, the writer says, if
you want to go forward, here's what you need to do,
(32:48):
remember those earlier days. This fascinates me because I've always
been told that the way to gain confidence is to
not look back. You know, you can't think about the past,
can't think about what happened.
Speaker 2 (32:59):
You just got to even behind.
Speaker 1 (33:01):
Well, in this particular instance, the author advocates a type
of memory management that will actually build your confidence.
Speaker 2 (33:08):
Remember those earlier days.
Speaker 1 (33:11):
After you had received the light, when you endured in
a great conflict, full of suffering.
Speaker 2 (33:17):
He says, You've been through much worse than this, and
you made it.
Speaker 1 (33:22):
Do you know what I know. I don't know what
you've been through. I don't know what it looked like.
I don't know how horrible it was.
Speaker 2 (33:26):
You could tell your story, I could tell my story.
I know one thing about you. You made it.
Speaker 1 (33:32):
You're still here. I know that about you. I don't
even have to know your name. I just know by
the fact, by the virtue of the fact that you
showed up, that you made it. And so sometimes it's
just as simple as remembering that you made it. You know,
when I'm stressed out and we're opening a new campus
(33:53):
and I just flew back from Australia and a jet
lagged and tired, and one of my best friends in
the ministry is going through a terrible crisis and I'm
walking through that with him, and all of it's hitting
on the same weekend, and I'm coming out to open
a campus and police are being shot in the streets
and young men are being gunned down in the streets
and I'm managing how to talk about that and open
(34:13):
a campus, and you know, and my best friend is
going through something, and everything's going and I haven't slept
and I'm coming out and part of me is telling
God backstage, I can't do this, I can't do this.
And you know, when I start talking like that, the
spear of the Lord will speak back to.
Speaker 2 (34:27):
Me, and all he says, is this really.
Speaker 1 (34:32):
Because I thought I remembered you in a white jeep Cherokee,
a nineteen ninety white jeep Cherokee where you would leave
on a Thursday and you would go preach at.
Speaker 2 (34:44):
A youth rally in Squirrelville, Georgia. And you would go
preach at the youth rally Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Saturday night.
You would leave, stop.
Speaker 1 (34:57):
At the gas station, get six diet and dues, drive
back to Shelby, North Carolina, through the middle of the
night and get back and lead worship, be there for
the rehearsal at seven am and have everything set up
for the worship team and you would lead the music.
And then Sunday night you go to Charlotte and do
your little core team meetings for your church plan that
you were asking me to bless.
Speaker 2 (35:18):
And you would have the families there and no.
Speaker 1 (35:20):
New people would have showed up, but you would pre
trite through it, and you wouldn't get discouraged, and you
wouldn't get defeated, and you wouldn't get disappointed.
Speaker 2 (35:28):
But you'd just pretrike through it.
Speaker 1 (35:29):
And you stand up and say things boldly, and then
you get up Monday morning with a hangover, holy hangover,
and you would get in your write jeep Cherokee again
and drive to Greenville. And sometimes you have Elijah three
months old screaming in the backseat, and Holly and Elijah
would go with you and you drop them off at
your in laws house, and then you go to seminary
(35:50):
and you'd sit there from nine am to nine pm
in a systematic theology class.
Speaker 4 (35:56):
And you get back to Charlotte and you do it again,
and you do it again. You do it again, and
you did it before, and you can do it again.
And you did it before, and you can do it again.
You did it before, you can do it again. And
some stands up on the inside of me and I tell.
Speaker 1 (36:11):
The devil, I'm that same dude that ran up and
down the roads of I twenty six and I eighty
five in a cheap Cherokee with the newborn baby. I
believe God. Then I believe God. Now I saw him
come through, then I'll see him come through again.
Speaker 2 (36:27):
I've seen him move a mountain, and I believe. Somebody said,
I believe.
Speaker 1 (36:34):
I'm gonna preach until your confidence comes back.
Speaker 2 (36:41):
How do you get it back? You get it back
in the gap? Touch?
Speaker 1 (36:46):
Somebody say, you get it back in the gap?
Speaker 2 (36:49):
Can I talk about the gap?
Speaker 1 (36:52):
Give me eight minutes? Come here, man, help me preach
about the gap. Please please please come here, JJ, help
me preach about the gap. Who else should help me
preach about the gap? I think Jared Hogan's beard should
help us preach about the gap.
Speaker 2 (37:04):
Come on, there's this gap.
Speaker 1 (37:06):
He said that after you have done the will of God,
you will receive what he has promised. So we're on
a journey and we're making progress. But in the midst
of our progress we lose our confidence. Where do we
lose it? We lose it in the gap. There's always
(37:27):
a gap, he said. There is a space of time
between when you have done the will of God and
when the will of God becomes a parent in your life.
Speaker 2 (37:40):
There's a space. There's a gap. So these gentlemen will
each represent something.
Speaker 1 (37:46):
JJ.
Speaker 2 (37:47):
You represent where I want to be and you, sir
name please LaMarcus.
Speaker 1 (37:55):
LaMarcus is going to represent where I am, and I'm frustrated.
Speaker 2 (38:03):
In the gap.
Speaker 1 (38:05):
Where I am is not where I want to be.
Who I am is not who I want to be.
I'm in the gap. So here I get discouraged, and
here I get weary, and here I want to quit,
and here I want to withdraw. See, the church that
(38:30):
the writer of Hebrews is addressing are not so much
walking away from their faith as they are weakening in it.
It's not a matter of we don't believe in Jesus anymore.
It's a matter of wanting to withdraw from believing for
the fullness of the promise of life in Him. And
(38:51):
I would think that's where most people in church struggle
is in this gap between where I am where I
want to be. So there is another gap, and this
is where Jared's gonna help us, because this second gap
(39:12):
is the distance not between where I am and where
I want to be, but this gap is the distance.
Speaker 2 (39:24):
Between where I was and where I am. Come on,
talk to me, somebody, talk to me. We're gonna put
it in context today. We're gonna put it in context. Today.
You've been wanting to quit because all you see is this.
But every once in a while, I'm almost done.
Speaker 1 (39:44):
Every once in a while, you need to look back
over your shoulder, look back with me, and remind the devil.
I'm not where I want to be. I'm not who
I'm gonna be, but I'm not who I was. So
I think if I already made it this far, if
I've already seen this much, if I've already believed God
(40:04):
through so much breaking and through so many battles, I
think I'll press.
Speaker 2 (40:09):
On and see what the end is gonna be.
Speaker 1 (40:18):
In that good, in that good, I got it back
in the gap.
Speaker 2 (40:24):
I got it back.
Speaker 1 (40:25):
When I look back and realize that God is.
Speaker 2 (40:28):
Still with me. And so you're gonna have to get
your confidence back in the gap. Somebody shot My confidence
is coming back, and I need you to understand that
my situation didn't change.
Speaker 1 (40:39):
Yet, but the return of my confidence for seeing the
improvement of my situation in just a little while, He
who is coming will come and not delay.
Speaker 2 (40:49):
But I'm not waiting for.
Speaker 1 (40:50):
Him to come back for my confidence to be restored.
I'm gonna raise him right now. I'm gonna bless him
right now. I'm gonna believe that right now.
Speaker 2 (40:59):
Come on, help, let me preach.
Speaker 1 (41:00):
The spirit of God is in this place, and my
confidence is coming back. See because in that gap is
every lion and every bear that I've already killed. So
come on, Goliath, my confidence is coming back.
Speaker 2 (41:23):
My confidence is coming back.
Speaker 1 (41:28):
I don't know the way forward, but the same God
who got me through that gap.
Speaker 2 (41:39):
Is with me in this one. Clap your hands, get God.
Speaker 3 (41:43):
Praise.
Speaker 2 (41:44):
Come on, clap your hands, get God. Do you know
what praised us? Everyone's standing, everyone's standing. Do you know
what praised us?
Speaker 1 (41:57):
Praise puts your problem in context. When you praise God
with your mouth, when you praise God in your mind,
when you praise God in your heart, it puts your
problem in the context of God's power.
Speaker 2 (42:25):
Some of you allowed your problem to weaken your confidence.
This is beautiful the way the Lord gave it to me.
Speaker 1 (42:32):
I'd like to give it to you, and I get
out of your way.
Speaker 2 (42:36):
He said, do not throw away your confidence.
Speaker 1 (42:39):
The reason that spoke to me is because a lot
of us would blame life experiences and circumstances, and even.
Speaker 2 (42:46):
The devil for taking our confidence.
Speaker 1 (42:50):
Something that happened to using someone said to us something
someone did to us. But the author of Hebrews didn't
talk about other people or the devil. He said, your
confidence is your responsibility.
Speaker 2 (43:07):
Do not throw away your confidence.
Speaker 1 (43:13):
For those of you who have lost confidence in your
life today, listen to me.
Speaker 2 (43:17):
Nobody took it from you. They can't.
Speaker 1 (43:21):
Nobody can take away from you what they didn't give
to begin with. When you lose your confidence, it's because.
Speaker 2 (43:30):
You gave it away. Here's the good news.
Speaker 3 (43:33):
If you're the one who gave it away, you're the
one who.
Speaker 2 (43:37):
Can get it back. Come on, Church, take it. Take
it back.
Speaker 1 (43:44):
Take back your confidence, take back your hope, take back
your future, take back your dream.
Speaker 2 (43:53):
Take back your calling. Take it back.
Speaker 1 (43:56):
In the name of Jesus, we have a great high priest.
Speaker 2 (44:00):
The cortness rip.
Speaker 1 (44:01):
The veil is gone, the blood is set, The place
is me, The way is before you, the past is
behind you.
Speaker 2 (44:09):
Get up a sell a friend.
Speaker 1 (44:18):
So we say with confidence Hebrews thirteen six.
Speaker 2 (44:27):
The Lord is my helper. I will not be afraid.
No no, no, that's not how we say it. We
say it with confidence. How would you say it if
you were confident? Let me hear you try it.
Speaker 1 (44:44):
So we say with confidence. Now I'm not the devil,
but if I were, I would not be convinced. So
we say, with the Lord is my helper, I will
(45:07):
not be afraid.
Speaker 2 (45:09):
Let me see how that felt. I say. We tried
it at another time.
Speaker 1 (45:13):
So we say with confidence, for.
Speaker 2 (45:17):
Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid. Try
it again.
Speaker 1 (45:21):
So we say, with confidence, the Lord is my helper.
Speaker 5 (45:26):
I will not be afraid. The Lord is my helper.
I will not be afraid. For Lord you matter help
the devil. I will not be afraid. For Lord is
my helper. I will not be afraid. I will not fear.
My God is still be My God.
Speaker 2 (45:43):
Is still great. My God is too faithful.
Speaker 1 (45:46):
My God is too good, My God is too wise,
My God is too awesome.
Speaker 2 (45:51):
It's gracious to a mason.
Speaker 1 (45:53):
I've come to the farm to quit, and my confidence
is coming.
Speaker 2 (46:05):
Thank you for joining us.
Speaker 1 (46:06):
Special 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 Elevationchurch dot org slash podcast for.
Speaker 2 (46:19):
More information, and if you enjoyed the podcast, you.
Speaker 1 (46:22):
Can subscribe You can share it with your friends. You
can click the share button, take a screenshot and share
it on your social stories and tag us at Elevation Church.
Speaker 2 (46:30):
Thanks again for listening. God bless you.
Hey, this is Stephen Ferdick. I'm the pastor of Elevation
Church and.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
This is our podcast.
Speaker 1 (00:05):
I wanted to thank you for joining us today.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
Hope this inspires you. Hope it builds your faith.
Speaker 1 (00:10):
Hope it gives your perspective to see God is moving
in your life.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
Enjoy the message.
Speaker 1 (00:16):
Are you excited for the Word of God today? Let's
get to it. Look at Hebrews Chapter ten, verse thirty
five through thirty seven, and this is a scripture that
is so loaded with power. I almost feel like I
could read it, drop the mic, walk off the stage
and not even say anything about it.
Speaker 2 (00:36):
But I'm not going to do that. I'm and keep
the mic and talk about it for a little while.
Let me read it.
Speaker 1 (00:40):
It says, so, do not throw away your confidence. It
will be richly rewarded. Now you need to perseverere so
that when you have done the will of God, you
will receive what He has promised.
Speaker 2 (01:01):
Four in just a little while. Touch your neighbors say.
It won't be long now, It won't be long. Now,
in just a little while.
Speaker 1 (01:12):
He who is coming will come and will not delay.
Instead of giving this message a title, I just want
us to make a faith declaration together.
Speaker 2 (01:25):
You're ready.
Speaker 1 (01:27):
Now, I need you to say this loud and proud,
so you convince the devil that you mean business. Shout
out so loud your neighbor gets startled when you say it.
You're ready, Come on in every location, Are you ready?
Speaker 2 (01:39):
Say this?
Speaker 1 (01:39):
My confidence is coming back. Tell five people yours is too.
Yours is too my confidence. You may be seated, God bless.
Speaker 2 (01:53):
You coming back.
Speaker 1 (01:58):
It's coming back quickly. That God kind of confidence, not
that Instagram confidence posting something taking it down four times
if it doesn't.
Speaker 2 (02:09):
Get enough likes in three minutes.
Speaker 1 (02:11):
Letting half my body hang out of my clothes so
somebody will tell me I look good.
Speaker 2 (02:15):
That's not confidence, that's compensation. I want a God kind
of confidence.
Speaker 1 (02:25):
It's important that I say that because confidence has a context.
If I were to say it in a Biblical context,
it would mean something different than in a Kardashian context.
You just want to get no slightment to any Kardashians.
No Kardashians were harmed in the making of this sermon.
I'm just saying that context is important, and the writer
of Hebrews has a daunting task in that he is
(02:46):
trying to strengthen and reconstruct, in some ways, the confidence
of a group of Christians who are in crisis. In
order to do this, he employs to rhetorical devices. He
uses contrast and context. Contrast and context. He's speaking to
(03:15):
them in the midst of a trial, really a crisis
of confidence, and he's trying to get them focused on
Christ in their crisis. Because remember when Peter did that,
when he focused on Christ in his crisis, he transcended
(03:35):
the laws of buoyancy.
Speaker 2 (03:37):
And it's amazing what you can get up above when
you focus on Christ in your crisis.
Speaker 1 (03:44):
In order to bring them to this focal point of
Christ in crisis, he starts in Hebrews chapter one by
giving them a context of the superiority of Christ and
the New Covenant in this setting. In this context, he
presents them with a picture of a Christ who is better,
(04:04):
better than the angels theological term the superiority of Christ.
But we would just say he's better. He's better than
anything you can name. He's better than anything you can inhale.
He's better than anything you can snort. He's better than
anything you can chug. He's better than anything.
Speaker 2 (04:22):
You can date.
Speaker 1 (04:23):
He's better than anything that you can give your life to.
Speaker 2 (04:26):
He's better. Somebody's shout, he's better.
Speaker 1 (04:29):
He's better than the mediator of the old covenant.
Speaker 2 (04:31):
That's Moses.
Speaker 1 (04:32):
And it is in this context that he must present
to the people a motivation for perseverance by establishing their
confidence in crisis. And so not only does he provide
a contrast the mosaic sacrificial system and the.
Speaker 2 (04:48):
Temple cultic law to the hope that we have in.
Speaker 1 (04:51):
Jesus Christ, that the sacrifice has been made once and
for all.
Speaker 2 (04:57):
You know how I know it's been made once and
for all.
Speaker 1 (04:59):
I saw your car coming into the parking lot today,
and I didn't see any bulls or oxen on.
Speaker 2 (05:05):
The bike rack of your vehicle.
Speaker 1 (05:07):
I didn't see you with the knife to slit their
throats so that you could make atonement for your sins.
Why because you came in with confidence that Christ is enough,
that Christ is enough to atone for my sin and
to make write all of my mistakes. And the author
of Hebrews is re establishing the confidence of people who
have lost their confidence. I found out in life you
(05:29):
can lose a lot of things and get them back
if you keep your confidence. The devil cannot take your calling.
The Bible says that the gifts in calling of God
are without repentance.
Speaker 2 (05:40):
He doesn't change his mind when you lose your way.
Speaker 1 (05:44):
So since the devil can't take your calling, he attacks
your confidence because if he can get you to give
him your confidence, he can keep you from functioning in
your calling.
Speaker 2 (05:57):
If he can get you to believe that.
Speaker 1 (05:58):
You're raising your kids just like your mom raised you,
and your mom raised you in a way that was
detrimental and destructive, he can get you to repeat the
patterns and miss the opportunity for progress. Because he stripped
you of your confidence. You can have a great calling
and no confidence. Joyce Meyer says, and she's coming for
(06:19):
a Code Orange revival, so maybe she'll tell you when
she comes. She said, a believer without confidence is like
a jet without fuel, sitting on the runway. All that equipment,
but no power to get up above the circumstances. That's
how sister Joyce said it. Ask your neighbor got confidence?
Remember they used to have got milk? Well, I want
to know got confidence? Christians without confidence? It should be
(06:43):
an oxymoron. I mean, the whole context of the Gospel
is confidence. If it doesn't make you more confident, it's
not the gospel. If you ever heard something preached to
you and you walked up from it like crap, you're
the gospel in the correct context. And the author of
Hebrews is giving some context to the crisis, perhaps he
(07:07):
should preach to our nation right about now, because I
hear people saying weird stuff. They say, this is the
worst it's ever been. Really, really, it's worse than it's
worse than slavery, worse than it's ever been. I mean,
there are some things that are bad, but can we
put it in context. One time I was at a
(07:29):
pastor's roundtable and a young white pastor who wasn't much
older than me spoke up and said, our nation is.
Speaker 2 (07:35):
More divided than it's ever been.
Speaker 1 (07:37):
And he shouldn't have said that in that context because
there was an older African American pastor, probably over the
age of seventy, who had lived through segregation. And he
spoke up and said, young man, I appreciate your sentiment,
but allow me to provide some context. And about fifteen
minutes later, that white guy wanted out of the room.
(08:00):
Asked me the other day he said, Daddy, are all
presidential elections this crazy? Because he's only ten and he's
looking for some context. And of course it took me
a moment to think through all of the presidential elections
that I've witnessed. In two thousand, it was pretty crazy.
We barely found out who was the president by the
(08:22):
time their term was over. I don't know if anybody
remembers that, but it was. It was crazy then. And
I've explained to him how in the context of you know,
other parts of the world, we have a pretty peaceful
transition of power when you put it in context, and
some cultures power doesn't change hands unless blood runs in
the street. So I want to give him a context.
(08:46):
Sometimes you've lost your relationships because you've lost your context.
That is, someone will do one thing to offend you,
and in the light of that one thing that they
did to offend you, you will walk away from the
hundreds of things that they did that caused you to
love them. The devil is a master of trying to
create a crisis in your life by causing you.
Speaker 2 (09:08):
To lose your sense of context.
Speaker 1 (09:10):
I'm laughing because a lady over on my right side
was hitting a man I don't know what that was about.
But touch somebody and say, keep it in context.
Speaker 2 (09:18):
That's what you.
Speaker 1 (09:19):
Gotta do, Eve, because the serpent will come up to
you and say, did God really say you can't eat
from any tree in the garden? And you got to
remember God didn't say he can't eat of any tree.
He said, don't eat of that tree. But the enemy
wants to take it out of context, to get you
to look at all the things you can't do and
miss all the things you can do, and to get
you to think that Christianity is boring, or that it's
about rules and regulations, to take it out of the
(09:40):
context of relationships. But how many of you know that
we have a great high priest whose name is Jesus,
and the author of Hebrews wants to help you get
your confidence back. But you can't have confidence without context.
Could I would love to back up just a few
(10:02):
verses and provide a context for this admonition where he says.
Speaker 2 (10:09):
Do not throw away your confidence see us a pretty powerful.
Speaker 1 (10:17):
Admonition exhortation within itself, but when you give it its
full context, it's even more powerful. Would it be all
right if I backed up just a few verses and
give you some context.
Speaker 2 (10:28):
I would love to give you the whole Book of Hebrews.
Speaker 1 (10:31):
I didn't think it'd be good for us to do
the whole book in one day, but maybe we could
hit verse nineteen real quick, where he's encouraging this community
of faith that is an identity crisis, losing friends because
of their faith, suffering loss in their personal life, in
their relationship with their possessions because of their faith. And
(10:53):
he says, therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have somebody shouted,
we have confidence.
Speaker 2 (11:01):
Now. We may not be accessing our confidence right.
Speaker 1 (11:04):
Now, but we have it. How many of you have
a phone? How many of you are talking on it
right now? Just because you have it doesn't mean you're
using it. Sometimes we think we need more confidence, when
all we really need to do is use the confidence
(11:24):
that we already have by virtue of the power of
Christ in us.
Speaker 2 (11:29):
I feel like preaching a.
Speaker 1 (11:31):
Little bit today because somebody's going to get their confidence back.
By the time I put my microphone down, the Lord
told me some of you have been losing your confidence,
but he wants you to know that you have confidence
to enter the most holy place that was the place
(11:51):
where only the high priest could go. And even he
couldn't go in the wrong way, or he wouldn't come out, well,
he would come out. Body would have to drag him out,
because the presence of God was so strong in the
most Holy Place that if you.
Speaker 2 (12:06):
Didn't go in ceremonially clean.
Speaker 1 (12:09):
You would fall down dead in the presence of the
glory of God. How many are glad for a new Covenant?
I think the whole top section of Blakeney would fall
over dead if you had to be clean to come
to church today, I think the whole I think the
preacher would fall dead on the stage if you had
(12:29):
to be clean to come to church. And so he's
he's talking about this new Covenant and he's excited about it,
telling them come on in to the most Holy Place.
How do you come in by the blood of Jesus,
by a new and living way open for us through
the curtain that is His body. And since we have
(12:50):
a great high priest over the House of God, let
us draw near to God with the sincere heart and
with the full assurance that faith brings our hearts sprinkled
to cleanse us from a guilty conscience.
Speaker 2 (13:04):
And having our bodies washed with pure water.
Speaker 1 (13:07):
I was only going to read verse nineteen, but the
context of this is so powerful. I think I ought
to keep going? How many think I ought to keep going?
Come on, this is the covenant, the promise of God.
This is your relationship with him. Describe to find and
elaborated upon.
Speaker 2 (13:22):
Let us hold.
Speaker 1 (13:23):
Unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised
is faithful, He who promised is faithful. You hadn't always
been faithful to him, but he's always been.
Speaker 2 (13:35):
Faithful to you.
Speaker 1 (13:36):
And let us consider how we may spur one another
on toward good deeds, not giving up meeting together as
some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another.
Speaker 2 (13:52):
And all the more as you see the day approaching.
Speaker 1 (13:57):
And so he's helping me before he tells me to
keep my confidence, He's helping me to see where my
confidence comes from. Let's talk about where Christian confidence comes from.
Because there are three things he mentioned in the text
I just read, and they all start.
Speaker 2 (14:13):
With the letter C.
Speaker 1 (14:17):
At least they will when I get done with them.
Helps me remember them better. He mentions, your conscience, it's
kind of hard to have full confidence when you have
a troubled conscience. It's kind of hard for me to
get up and preach to you when I have things
(14:40):
in my life, areas in my life where I haven't
been obedient. You know, there have been time before I've
been getting ready to preach, and before I could come
out on the stage, I had to make a phone
call and get something right, because if I come up
here in my conscience isn't clear. I don't mean that
I have to be perfect when I get up. If
that were the case, only J than Joseph will be
(15:00):
allowed to preach at Elevation Church. But I'm saying some
of you lost your confidence because you violated your conscience,
and so now in relationships you can't really look people
in the eye because of what you're hiding, because of
text messages you hope your wife doesn't see, because of
(15:28):
unresolved bitterness and forgiveness that God has initiated but you
have not completed. The devil is really masterful at this,
because if he can't get your calling without your confidence,
he'll get to your confidence through your conscience. So then
he will tempt you with something that he knows will
(15:48):
define or defile rather your conscience. And now, because you
have a defiled conscience, you have no confidence. To come
into the presence of God requires confidence. The presence of
God is the only place where your conscience can be cleansed.
Speaker 2 (16:04):
We just read it in Hebrews.
Speaker 1 (16:06):
He said that the most holy place the presence of God,
that place of surrender, that place of contact with God.
That's the place where the blood of Jesus is sprinkled
to purify your conscience. But if you don't have confidence,
you won't come in. So now the only place where
God can heal your conscience you don't go into.
Speaker 2 (16:27):
Because you've lost your confidence.
Speaker 1 (16:29):
You stop coming to church at the time when you
needed church the most. I'm gonna look at the camera
because somebody's watching me online today. You almost came, but
you felt guilty about something, and you let the devil
tell you that you couldn't come. But the context of
my relationship with God is not my behavior, is the
(16:49):
blood of his son. It was already shed. And when
those drops hit the crowd, mercy hit my life. Grace
covered my sin, His compassion cover all the wrong things
I had done, will do, and even the things I'm
doing right now, so I can come on in to
the presence of God with my head held high like
(17:13):
a child of the King. I'm not a slave to fear.
I'm a child of God, my spirit Christ.
Speaker 2 (17:19):
How I'm a father. I needs your help. I'm in
a crisis. Come on in.
Speaker 1 (17:30):
Hear the voice of God saying to somebody, come on in,
Come on in. I know what you did last summer.
Come on in. I know what you did in your twenties.
Come on in.
Speaker 2 (17:42):
I know what you did at nine forty seven am.
Come on in. Tell somebody say, come on in.
Speaker 1 (17:50):
We need you to know that the context of Christian
confidence is not your ability to conform to a set
of behaviors.
Speaker 2 (17:59):
That's the old covenant.
Speaker 1 (18:01):
That's bringing a turtle dove to church and sacrificing it.
But we have a great high Priest, and he is
the context of my confidence. A context of my confidence
is a clear conscience. And then you know what else
I need. I need a community. I know your confidence
(18:25):
has been shaken lately.
Speaker 2 (18:27):
That's why you need some people. Would you tell the
person next to you, I need people like you in
my life. I really do, I really do.
Speaker 1 (18:46):
Let us not give up meeting together, as some are
in the habit of doing.
Speaker 2 (18:52):
I need people in my life because.
Speaker 1 (18:56):
I really believe if I hadn't grown up at Monk's
Corner United Method Church and it Jackie didn't tell me
God has a special plan for your life. When I
first got saved, I might have gone right back to
the way I was living. The temptation that is being
countered by the author of Hebrews is the temptation to
turn back that no sooner do you get started in
the pursuit of a promise from God than you lose
(19:19):
your confidence and turn back. You lose your confidence because
certain people don't like it. Certain people don't understand it.
Certain people aren't going the same way as you. Certain
people don't support or endorse your decision to be a
disciple of Jesus Christ.
Speaker 2 (19:34):
That's why you need certain other people, certain other people.
You can't do this alone.
Speaker 1 (19:43):
I like to say, back in the early days when
I first started preaching, you have to follow Christ for yourself.
But you cannot follow Christ by yourself.
Speaker 2 (19:53):
So I need a new community.
Speaker 1 (19:55):
I need a new community, somebody to look me in
the eyes from time to time and say I think
you still got it.
Speaker 2 (20:03):
I think you ought to press on.
Speaker 1 (20:05):
If you don't have those people in your life, there
is no hope for you holding on to your confidence.
Because everybody in their head has a little confidence committee.
They sit around that table, and you have the committee
member called past experience.
Speaker 2 (20:25):
And boy, he'll speak up real quick when you decide
to do something for Gott. You tried that once, how'd
that go?
Speaker 1 (20:33):
He'll show you the treadmill that you bought, it's now
a cote rack. And then there's past experience. And let's
see who else sits at the table. You got past experience,
and maybe you got the committee.
Speaker 2 (20:50):
Member of self loathing and doubt and all these people.
If you don't have one time the profit.
Speaker 1 (21:00):
Elisha needed to teach his protege faith because they were
surrounded by enemies. And that's all that the protege could see.
That's all he could see, what was against him. I
took away his confidence. He cried out, oh my Lord,
what shall we do now? Sometimes that's that's the only
(21:23):
prayer you can pray.
Speaker 2 (21:27):
And Elisha gave him a different context.
Speaker 1 (21:31):
When he prayed, open his eyes, Lord, that he may see.
And when he blinked and opened his eyes again, nothing
had really changed except.
Speaker 2 (21:41):
His vision opened his eyes.
Speaker 1 (21:44):
The second time he saw that what was surrounding them
was surrounded by the armies of the Living God.
Speaker 2 (21:52):
You know, I believe.
Speaker 1 (21:53):
God wants to bring people in your life who can
surround what surrounded you until you see the protection, the provision,
and the promise of God coming to pass in your life.
Speaker 2 (22:11):
I'll be honest.
Speaker 1 (22:12):
There are certain people I look for when I preach
because they boost my confidence.
Speaker 2 (22:18):
Certain people I look away from real quick Taylor secret.
Speaker 1 (22:23):
The right side of this Valentine campus is really spiritual.
They will shout you down, only to be matched by
this intersection.
Speaker 2 (22:34):
And the people in the.
Speaker 1 (22:35):
Back as well as the left side of the room. Look,
give me a wide shot. Can you show the other
campuses how we built this room. We built this Valentine
campus where you can't sneak in, you can't fall asleep.
Speaker 2 (22:51):
Somebody will see you. We wanted you to know when
you come to.
Speaker 1 (22:56):
Church you're surrounded, because you might up to church in trouble,
and we and tempted and tested and try, but somebody
shall I'm surrounded. Come on, tell seven people you're surrounded.
Even if you want to go back, I won't let you.
Even if you want to fall short. I'm not about
(23:18):
to let you quit. You've come too far by faith.
Speaker 2 (23:21):
We're gonna lean on him together.
Speaker 1 (23:23):
We're going forward surrounded, got a community even within our staff.
Speaker 2 (23:31):
It shocked me.
Speaker 1 (23:32):
On Wednesday, I've been teaching our staff and one of
the subjects I brought up was confidence. And in between sessions,
we were singing one of my favorite new songs that's
gonna be recorded for the new album, and we sang
it today in church.
Speaker 2 (23:46):
Many of you be watching on TV and you won't
get to hear it yet.
Speaker 1 (23:49):
But the song says, I believe I'll see you do
it again. I believe I'll see you do it again.
And we were singing it and the staff singing it,
and there's a line in that song that says, this
is my confidence. You never failed me yet, this is
my confidence. And the Spear of the Lord spoke to
(24:11):
me and said, go up on stage right now. And
I was supposed to introduce Holly for her session, and
the Lord told me she won't mind.
Speaker 2 (24:20):
She can wait and give an alter call for your staff.
And I said, Lord, you mean that I got staffed
that aren't saved. He said, well, yeah, probably that too.
But that's not the kind of alter call. I mean,
I'm skidded.
Speaker 1 (24:40):
And he said, I want you to call for people
who are having a crisis in confidence. So when I
did it, I said, I want you to come forward.
If you're having a crisis in confidence, I want you
to come to the stage.
Speaker 2 (24:51):
I thought three people would come.
Speaker 1 (24:53):
I turned around, and all of a sudden, they didn't
come to the stage. They started coming on the stage.
They misunderstood my instruction, and it wasn't three of them.
It was more people that came to the stage than
stayed in the seats.
Speaker 2 (25:10):
And the next thing I know.
Speaker 1 (25:11):
I was surrounded by these staff members and I went
through everything in my head.
Speaker 2 (25:15):
I was like, did they hear what I said?
Speaker 1 (25:16):
Because I didn't say if you struggle a little bit
with your confidence, you know, because if you give an
altar call broad enough, you can get the whole room
to come.
Speaker 2 (25:24):
You know what I'm saying. If you felt.
Speaker 1 (25:27):
Defeated, come, you know, you could just stretch it out
if you're here today.
Speaker 2 (25:35):
But I didn't say, if you, you.
Speaker 1 (25:37):
Know, weren't outfit today and you're not feeling so good
about it anymore, you feel kind of fat, come on
to the stage and pray over your outfit.
Speaker 2 (25:45):
I said, a crisis and confidence.
Speaker 1 (25:48):
And over half my staff came and I prayed with
them for about twenty minutes, and I said, we are
going to leave some chains on the stage today. But
probably the best thing I did for him was turn
around and give them some context that there are times
where the pressure to preach becomes so great, and my
(26:10):
doubt in my own ability to lead the church becomes
so strong. There have been times where I have fantasized
about just walking out on independence and hoping maybe a
truck will come. I know I seem confident up here,
(26:31):
and maybe I shouldn't tell you this. Some of y'all
are going to pray for me, write me a prescription
or something like that. I'm not saying I walk around
feeling that all the time. I'm not saying I'm suicidal.
Speaker 2 (26:42):
I was just.
Speaker 1 (26:42):
Trying to get them to see that their lack of
confidence does not have to be the death of their calling.
Speaker 2 (27:00):
And the Devil's got some of you right now.
Speaker 1 (27:03):
You are at that Hebrew's ten crossroads of confidence, trying
to decide whether to stay and raise your children or not,
trying to decide whether continuing to pursue Christian values is
even possible, or should you just.
Speaker 2 (27:20):
Give into the addiction and go back the other way?
Trying to decide.
Speaker 1 (27:26):
I called my staff on the stage, and I even
shared that about my own life, because I have seen
too many callings abandoned at the crossroads of confidence.
Speaker 2 (27:39):
And if you just would have pressed on a little more,
you would have seen the breakthrough.
Speaker 1 (27:43):
The author said, in just a little while, he who
is coming, he who is coming, will come and not delay.
Speaker 2 (27:52):
When the devil really puts the pressure on.
Speaker 1 (27:55):
That's a side that you are in proximity to the
promise that you've been pressing toward. We're praying on the stage,
and I felt my confidence coming back, and it just
hit me.
Speaker 2 (28:11):
If that was my staff, and they are paid to be.
Speaker 1 (28:14):
Christians, what's going on in the congregation, what's going on
out there?
Speaker 2 (28:26):
What is the devil telling you?
Speaker 1 (28:28):
If he's telling the preacher, you know, you probably preached
your best sermons by now, and they all heard everything
you got to say. You know, you built that Valentine
building too big, Never gonna fill that one up. That's
what he's saying to me. I can't imagine. I mean,
I'm the man of God. I can't imagine what he's
(28:50):
telling you. I can't imagine the mistakes that he's bringing up.
I can't imagine the dumb decisions that he replays in
your mind. Just that five clip that runs randomly every
time you go to step out, I can't imagine. And
so he mentions, He says, you need a clear conscience,
(29:11):
and only the blood of Jesus can do that. And
you have the blood of Jesus. So be confident when
you come before God. Come before him with confidence. And
you need a community.
Speaker 2 (29:22):
Guy says something to everybody who came to church. Oh God,
I know you're struggling a little bit.
Speaker 1 (29:26):
I know you got some things, but you're around the
right people right now, and we're going to do this together.
Speaker 2 (29:34):
But it's going to take consistency.
Speaker 1 (29:40):
Don't give up meeting together. Encourage one another all the more.
As you see the day approaching. You see his biceps.
Speaker 2 (29:49):
They didn't get like that one time in the gym.
Speaker 1 (29:53):
The first time he went to pick up the forties,
they were real heavy and he it was grunting on himself.
Now he just picks up the eighties in the nineties
because he picked up the fifties and the sixties. Confidence
comes from consistency. Well, I guess you're not confident. You
(30:17):
only let me preach to you once every three months.
You only open your Bible on special occasions, Like, I
guess you're not confident? How could you be? Confidence comes
through consistency. They were interviewing Serena after she won her
(30:40):
what was it, her four and thirty second Grand Slam title,
tied the record. They said, how do you deal with
the pressure of this big moment and rise to the
occasion as you have so many times? And I left
at her response, it was instant classic. She said, well,
I've played a lot of tennis.
Speaker 2 (31:04):
I thought that was so great. How do you deal
with the big moments? Well, I played a lot of tennis.
Speaker 1 (31:10):
You see somebody who has a lot of confidence, they
tell you how they got it.
Speaker 2 (31:15):
They prayed a lot of prayers.
Speaker 1 (31:19):
Yeah, how softly Serena speaks after she wins, I played
a lot of tennis.
Speaker 2 (31:25):
You see somebody who asked tremendous peace in their heart.
They forgave a lot of people.
Speaker 1 (31:33):
You see somebody who knows how to persevere through dry
seasons and hard times. They read a lot of Bible verses,
and so he sets confidence within the context of a
clear contest, within the context of a strong community, within
(31:56):
the context of a commitment to consistency. And now he says,
let me get to my preaching part. How'd you like
that set up? This won't take long, So do not
throw away your confidence.
Speaker 3 (32:13):
It will be richly rewarded. Don't do it. Don't throw
away your confidence. It will be richly rewarded.
Speaker 1 (32:27):
And you need to persevere so that when you have
done the will of God, you will receive what he
has problemise. Now, it's interesting to me that in order
to get them to press forward, he tells them to
look back. In verse thirty two, the writer says, if
you want to go forward, here's what you need to do,
(32:48):
remember those earlier days. This fascinates me because I've always
been told that the way to gain confidence is to
not look back. You know, you can't think about the past,
can't think about what happened.
Speaker 2 (32:59):
You just got to even behind.
Speaker 1 (33:01):
Well, in this particular instance, the author advocates a type
of memory management that will actually build your confidence.
Speaker 2 (33:08):
Remember those earlier days.
Speaker 1 (33:11):
After you had received the light, when you endured in
a great conflict, full of suffering.
Speaker 2 (33:17):
He says, You've been through much worse than this, and
you made it.
Speaker 1 (33:22):
Do you know what I know. I don't know what
you've been through. I don't know what it looked like.
I don't know how horrible it was.
Speaker 2 (33:26):
You could tell your story, I could tell my story.
I know one thing about you. You made it.
Speaker 1 (33:32):
You're still here. I know that about you. I don't
even have to know your name. I just know by
the fact, by the virtue of the fact that you
showed up, that you made it. And so sometimes it's
just as simple as remembering that you made it. You know,
when I'm stressed out and we're opening a new campus
(33:53):
and I just flew back from Australia and a jet
lagged and tired, and one of my best friends in
the ministry is going through a terrible crisis and I'm
walking through that with him, and all of it's hitting
on the same weekend, and I'm coming out to open
a campus and police are being shot in the streets
and young men are being gunned down in the streets
and I'm managing how to talk about that and open
(34:13):
a campus, and you know, and my best friend is
going through something, and everything's going and I haven't slept
and I'm coming out and part of me is telling
God backstage, I can't do this, I can't do this.
And you know, when I start talking like that, the
spear of the Lord will speak back to.
Speaker 2 (34:27):
Me, and all he says, is this really.
Speaker 1 (34:32):
Because I thought I remembered you in a white jeep Cherokee,
a nineteen ninety white jeep Cherokee where you would leave
on a Thursday and you would go preach at.
Speaker 2 (34:44):
A youth rally in Squirrelville, Georgia. And you would go
preach at the youth rally Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Saturday night.
You would leave, stop.
Speaker 1 (34:57):
At the gas station, get six diet and dues, drive
back to Shelby, North Carolina, through the middle of the
night and get back and lead worship, be there for
the rehearsal at seven am and have everything set up
for the worship team and you would lead the music.
And then Sunday night you go to Charlotte and do
your little core team meetings for your church plan that
you were asking me to bless.
Speaker 2 (35:18):
And you would have the families there and no.
Speaker 1 (35:20):
New people would have showed up, but you would pre
trite through it, and you wouldn't get discouraged, and you
wouldn't get defeated, and you wouldn't get disappointed.
Speaker 2 (35:28):
But you'd just pretrike through it.
Speaker 1 (35:29):
And you stand up and say things boldly, and then
you get up Monday morning with a hangover, holy hangover,
and you would get in your write jeep Cherokee again
and drive to Greenville. And sometimes you have Elijah three
months old screaming in the backseat, and Holly and Elijah
would go with you and you drop them off at
your in laws house, and then you go to seminary
(35:50):
and you'd sit there from nine am to nine pm
in a systematic theology class.
Speaker 4 (35:56):
And you get back to Charlotte and you do it again,
and you do it again. You do it again, and
you did it before, and you can do it again.
And you did it before, and you can do it again.
You did it before, you can do it again. And
some stands up on the inside of me and I tell.
Speaker 1 (36:11):
The devil, I'm that same dude that ran up and
down the roads of I twenty six and I eighty
five in a cheap Cherokee with the newborn baby. I
believe God. Then I believe God. Now I saw him
come through, then I'll see him come through again.
Speaker 2 (36:27):
I've seen him move a mountain, and I believe. Somebody said,
I believe.
Speaker 1 (36:34):
I'm gonna preach until your confidence comes back.
Speaker 2 (36:41):
How do you get it back? You get it back
in the gap? Touch?
Speaker 1 (36:46):
Somebody say, you get it back in the gap?
Speaker 2 (36:49):
Can I talk about the gap?
Speaker 1 (36:52):
Give me eight minutes? Come here, man, help me preach
about the gap. Please please please come here, JJ, help
me preach about the gap. Who else should help me
preach about the gap? I think Jared Hogan's beard should
help us preach about the gap.
Speaker 2 (37:04):
Come on, there's this gap.
Speaker 1 (37:06):
He said that after you have done the will of God,
you will receive what he has promised. So we're on
a journey and we're making progress. But in the midst
of our progress we lose our confidence. Where do we
lose it? We lose it in the gap. There's always
(37:27):
a gap, he said. There is a space of time
between when you have done the will of God and
when the will of God becomes a parent in your life.
Speaker 2 (37:40):
There's a space. There's a gap. So these gentlemen will
each represent something.
Speaker 1 (37:46):
JJ.
Speaker 2 (37:47):
You represent where I want to be and you, sir
name please LaMarcus.
Speaker 1 (37:55):
LaMarcus is going to represent where I am, and I'm frustrated.
Speaker 2 (38:03):
In the gap.
Speaker 1 (38:05):
Where I am is not where I want to be.
Who I am is not who I want to be.
I'm in the gap. So here I get discouraged, and
here I get weary, and here I want to quit,
and here I want to withdraw. See, the church that
(38:30):
the writer of Hebrews is addressing are not so much
walking away from their faith as they are weakening in it.
It's not a matter of we don't believe in Jesus anymore.
It's a matter of wanting to withdraw from believing for
the fullness of the promise of life in Him. And
(38:51):
I would think that's where most people in church struggle
is in this gap between where I am where I
want to be. So there is another gap, and this
is where Jared's gonna help us, because this second gap
(39:12):
is the distance not between where I am and where
I want to be, but this gap is the distance.
Speaker 2 (39:24):
Between where I was and where I am. Come on,
talk to me, somebody, talk to me. We're gonna put
it in context today. We're gonna put it in context. Today.
You've been wanting to quit because all you see is this.
But every once in a while, I'm almost done.
Speaker 1 (39:44):
Every once in a while, you need to look back
over your shoulder, look back with me, and remind the devil.
I'm not where I want to be. I'm not who
I'm gonna be, but I'm not who I was. So
I think if I already made it this far, if
I've already seen this much, if I've already believed God
(40:04):
through so much breaking and through so many battles, I
think I'll press.
Speaker 2 (40:09):
On and see what the end is gonna be.
Speaker 1 (40:18):
In that good, in that good, I got it back
in the gap.
Speaker 2 (40:24):
I got it back.
Speaker 1 (40:25):
When I look back and realize that God is.
Speaker 2 (40:28):
Still with me. And so you're gonna have to get
your confidence back in the gap. Somebody shot My confidence
is coming back, and I need you to understand that
my situation didn't change.
Speaker 1 (40:39):
Yet, but the return of my confidence for seeing the
improvement of my situation in just a little while, He
who is coming will come and not delay.
Speaker 2 (40:49):
But I'm not waiting for.
Speaker 1 (40:50):
Him to come back for my confidence to be restored.
I'm gonna raise him right now. I'm gonna bless him
right now. I'm gonna believe that right now.
Speaker 2 (40:59):
Come on, help, let me preach.
Speaker 1 (41:00):
The spirit of God is in this place, and my
confidence is coming back. See because in that gap is
every lion and every bear that I've already killed. So
come on, Goliath, my confidence is coming back.
Speaker 2 (41:23):
My confidence is coming back.
Speaker 1 (41:28):
I don't know the way forward, but the same God
who got me through that gap.
Speaker 2 (41:39):
Is with me in this one. Clap your hands, get God.
Speaker 3 (41:43):
Praise.
Speaker 2 (41:44):
Come on, clap your hands, get God. Do you know
what praised us? Everyone's standing, everyone's standing. Do you know
what praised us?
Speaker 1 (41:57):
Praise puts your problem in context. When you praise God
with your mouth, when you praise God in your mind,
when you praise God in your heart, it puts your
problem in the context of God's power.
Speaker 2 (42:25):
Some of you allowed your problem to weaken your confidence.
This is beautiful the way the Lord gave it to me.
Speaker 1 (42:32):
I'd like to give it to you, and I get
out of your way.
Speaker 2 (42:36):
He said, do not throw away your confidence.
Speaker 1 (42:39):
The reason that spoke to me is because a lot
of us would blame life experiences and circumstances, and even.
Speaker 2 (42:46):
The devil for taking our confidence.
Speaker 1 (42:50):
Something that happened to using someone said to us something
someone did to us. But the author of Hebrews didn't
talk about other people or the devil. He said, your
confidence is your responsibility.
Speaker 2 (43:07):
Do not throw away your confidence.
Speaker 1 (43:13):
For those of you who have lost confidence in your
life today, listen to me.
Speaker 2 (43:17):
Nobody took it from you. They can't.
Speaker 1 (43:21):
Nobody can take away from you what they didn't give
to begin with. When you lose your confidence, it's because.
Speaker 2 (43:30):
You gave it away. Here's the good news.
Speaker 3 (43:33):
If you're the one who gave it away, you're the
one who.
Speaker 2 (43:37):
Can get it back. Come on, Church, take it. Take
it back.
Speaker 1 (43:44):
Take back your confidence, take back your hope, take back
your future, take back your dream.
Speaker 2 (43:53):
Take back your calling. Take it back.
Speaker 1 (43:56):
In the name of Jesus, we have a great high priest.
Speaker 2 (44:00):
The cortness rip.
Speaker 1 (44:01):
The veil is gone, the blood is set, The place
is me, The way is before you, the past is
behind you.
Speaker 2 (44:09):
Get up a sell a friend.
Speaker 1 (44:18):
So we say with confidence Hebrews thirteen six.
Speaker 2 (44:27):
The Lord is my helper. I will not be afraid.
No no, no, that's not how we say it. We
say it with confidence. How would you say it if
you were confident? Let me hear you try it.
Speaker 1 (44:44):
So we say with confidence. Now I'm not the devil,
but if I were, I would not be convinced. So
we say, with the Lord is my helper, I will
(45:07):
not be afraid.
Speaker 2 (45:09):
Let me see how that felt. I say. We tried
it at another time.
Speaker 1 (45:13):
So we say with confidence, for.
Speaker 2 (45:17):
Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid. Try
it again.
Speaker 1 (45:21):
So we say, with confidence, the Lord is my helper.
Speaker 5 (45:26):
I will not be afraid. The Lord is my helper.
I will not be afraid. For Lord you matter help
the devil. I will not be afraid. For Lord is
my helper. I will not be afraid. I will not fear.
My God is still be My God.
Speaker 2 (45:43):
Is still great. My God is too faithful.
Speaker 1 (45:46):
My God is too good, My God is too wise,
My God is too awesome.
Speaker 2 (45:51):
It's gracious to a mason.
Speaker 1 (45:53):
I've come to the farm to quit, and my confidence
is coming.
Speaker 2 (46:05):
Thank you for joining us.
Speaker 1 (46:06):
Special 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 Elevationchurch dot org slash podcast for.
Speaker 2 (46:19):
More information, and if you enjoyed the podcast, you.
Speaker 1 (46:22):
Can subscribe You can share it with your friends. You
can click the share button, take a screenshot and share
it on your social stories and tag us at Elevation Church.
Speaker 2 (46:30):
Thanks again for listening. God bless you.
Host
Steven Furtick
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