January 26, 2024 • 23 mins
We all feel weak sometimes. So where can we find strength when we need it most? Learn how to increase your strength by starting at the source.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Hey, this is Stephen Ferdick.
Speaker 2 (00:02):
I'm the pastor of Elevation Church and this is our podcast.
I wanted to thank you for joining us today. Hope
this inspires you. Hope it builds your faith. Hope it
gives your perspective to see God is moving in your life.
Enjoy the message. Who set your standard? Have you even
thought about it? Or this is just inherited? Who set
(00:23):
your standard? You look into celebrities for your standard? Really?
Them the ones who are so miserable they can only
be happy when they have attention.
Speaker 1 (00:36):
Really, that's your standard. Who set your standard?
Speaker 2 (00:48):
Who set your standard of what you will and will
not listen to?
Speaker 1 (00:53):
Who set your standard?
Speaker 2 (00:55):
Oh you think you're better than us, That's what they'll
say when you start living with standards.
Speaker 1 (01:00):
Oh you think you're better than us.
Speaker 2 (01:02):
No, it's just that I know how much I need
a source that is not me, because I am weak
without him. In fact, I'm nothing without him.
Speaker 1 (01:11):
So excuse me.
Speaker 2 (01:12):
But the battle that I'm in is too real for
me to play around and live my life with exposed.
Speaker 1 (01:18):
Places and low standers. So I gotta get this right
this year.
Speaker 2 (01:26):
I like that.
Speaker 1 (01:27):
I like that boy right there.
Speaker 2 (01:28):
He looks like a teenager with standards right sitting there
leaning in in church. Some kids would be texting in church,
but not you. You look like you want something from God. Boy,
you look like you got a mission. You look like
God might use you. Don't you live down to the
level of your friends. Your friends don't know anything yet
(01:48):
God has taking you places.
Speaker 1 (01:50):
Stand up on your feet right now. Yeah, you stand
up right now.
Speaker 2 (01:54):
Raise the standard, don't.
Speaker 1 (01:56):
Lower it when you show up at school.
Speaker 2 (01:58):
God walks through the wen show up at school the
presence of God.
Speaker 1 (02:11):
Raise the standard.
Speaker 2 (02:17):
You're really gonna let your unmarried friends tell you how
to do your marriage.
Speaker 1 (02:24):
I'll tell you if I had a wife, I wouldn't.
Speaker 2 (02:26):
Uh huh, you said all I needed to hear in
that if I had a wife hard, if I wanted
what you had, i'd do what you're doing.
Speaker 1 (02:35):
But I want something better.
Speaker 2 (02:47):
It's your standard. Sometimes our standards need to be lowered. Yeah, yeah, no,
sometimes they do because sometimes it takes too much to
make us happy. Who set the standard for what it
takes to make you happy?
Speaker 1 (03:04):
Who set the standard for what.
Speaker 2 (03:05):
It takes to have a good day. I'm bad about
this one bad meeting, and I had a bad day. No, no, no,
it's like that old man told me that time.
Speaker 1 (03:15):
I said, how you doing? He said, I'm alive.
Speaker 2 (03:17):
I thought, well, you didn't answer me, and then I realized,
yes he did, because for him to be alive, he
woke up, it's a good day.
Speaker 1 (03:33):
He woke up, it's a good day. We'll set your standards.
I mean, when did.
Speaker 2 (03:40):
We come to the point when kids had to watch
a movie in the car.
Speaker 1 (03:49):
Trip to target.
Speaker 2 (03:50):
I used to have to dry ride four hours with
a crayon and a book, and now you need alsa
to get the Harris Teeter set the standard that we
ought to mine.
Speaker 1 (04:09):
Through What time I was complaining? I preach on a
Saturday night. My friend came he's on staff at another church.
Speaker 2 (04:17):
And I was apologizing to him because the crowd was
a little down because I was used to being packed
out an elevation on Saturday night. I said, I'm sorry, man,
it was kind of it was kind of down today.
Speaker 1 (04:29):
He said, your down day would be my revival.
Speaker 2 (04:40):
I needed that because sometimes you let your standard get
out of control. Sometimes as the church, we want to
put a standard on the world that we ourselves don't
even exemplify. We can't even figure out racial reconciliation within
the context of the community of faith.
Speaker 1 (04:58):
But then we want to judge it when it's in
the world.
Speaker 2 (05:03):
For God's got a remnant. God always has a remnant.
I believe God is raising up elevation Church as a remnant.
Speaker 1 (05:11):
In this day to.
Speaker 2 (05:13):
Raise the standard of what church can be and how
broad this message really is. We're here to raise the standard.
I wonder who set your standard?
Speaker 1 (05:25):
See?
Speaker 2 (05:25):
How can you expect God to be your strength if
he didn't set your standards? How can I expect success
if I don't have a standard of excellence. If I
have not established a standard of excellence in my life,
why would I expect God to bless my blemished offerings.
(05:50):
You could take a little time off your sermons, you
know nobody would notice. But why would I ask God
to bless something that my whole heart wasn't in. It's
hard to preciate in church because in church people think
that if it's for God, it doesn't have to be good.
Church can become a place where we just bring God
(06:11):
any old thing. We show up on time for something
we buy a ticket for, but we thirty five minutes
late to get the church, and it doesn't matter because
it's like the preliminary stuff or something like that.
Speaker 1 (06:21):
Just bring God any old thing and listen.
Speaker 2 (06:24):
I am not talking about keeping God's standards so that
you'll earn his love. This is not about keeping rules
so that God will love you. It's because living right,
because He does not living up to a standard, but
(06:44):
living out of a standard. Christ in you the Hope
of Glory, or as Romans says, that the righteous requirements
of the law might be fully met in us who.
Speaker 1 (06:54):
Walk not after the flesh but the spirit.
Speaker 2 (06:57):
For years I read it that the righteous requirements of
the law might be met by us. Now I realize
it's not something God wants from me, as something that
he wants for me. He has given me a standard.
He has called me his child, and to live beneath
that is to be like Eve and to speak to
something that you should be stepping on. But a lot
(07:22):
of times we have an expectation with no standard. A
standard of excellence means doing the best with what you have.
And until I've done the best with what I have,
I don't feel like I should ask God to do
what he can do if I haven't done what I
can do, and you run into all kinds of problems
(07:45):
with this, you know, even from early in the church.
Speaker 1 (07:48):
Early in the church, I.
Speaker 2 (07:49):
Wanted to have a standard, you know, and we didn't
have money, but I wanted a standard. And we didn't
have equipment, but I wanted a standard. So I was
the worship leader when we started, the standard was lower.
Speaker 1 (08:00):
Than it is now. I got in at a good time, okay,
I was the only one available, and.
Speaker 2 (08:08):
So so I had to organize the band, and I
bought in this guitar player for one of our first rehearsals.
Speaker 1 (08:15):
And he came in and he didn't practice. He said,
I got busy this week. I didn't practice this week.
But I'm good. So I let him practice with us.
Speaker 2 (08:24):
Then after practice, I pulled him aside because I didn't
want embarrass him. I said, hey, man, we won't be
needing you Sunday because you didn't practice.
Speaker 3 (08:32):
He said, really, He said, You're going to kick me
out the church because I didn't practice.
Speaker 1 (08:35):
I said, no, you can come to church, you just
can't come with a guitar on and standing on the stage.
You come to church. All you want, I said, your.
Speaker 2 (08:42):
Seat, the chant playing, And I gave him a fifty
dollars gas card. I said, here you go, man, and
but you're not playing. He said, your standards are too high.
Speaker 1 (08:56):
Nobody.
Speaker 2 (08:57):
He said, nobody's going to want to be a part
of this ministry because the standards are too high.
Speaker 1 (09:01):
And he was right, nobody this whole thing just I
heard a story. Listen.
Speaker 2 (09:11):
I heard a story last night from an e group
in our church. The couple that came a couple of
years ago. They were sharing their story how they got here.
They said, we hated it when we first came, and
I was waiting for the twist, you know, because you're
here now and you came years ago, they said. We
came in and somebody at the door said we couldn't
bring our Starbucks in church. And we had just spent
(09:32):
five dollars each on our Starbucks. And I sat through
the first part of the sermon all mad about my Starbucks.
But then in the middle of the sermon, I started crying.
And then when we left the church, we were getting
in our car and.
Speaker 1 (09:50):
Somebody chased us down.
Speaker 2 (09:52):
The same person that told us we couldn't have our
Starbucks in church said, while you were in service, we
went and got you a Starbucks gift car and chase
them down with the Starbucks S gift card. And it
wasn't even my sermon that William to Christ. It was Starbucks,
(10:14):
But it was a standard. See because I feel like,
why should I ask people to tithe to this ministry
and then have lazy staff members who don't even want
to practice. Why should I expect you to invite your
friends to church and not have a standard of excellence
on this stage? Why should I expect God to bless
something that I am not invested in? Why should we
(10:35):
expect God to bless our lives with success when we
have not established a standard of excellence. This is my
year to bring my best to God, to bring him
a worthy offering. I will not offer the Lord that
which cost me nothing.
Speaker 1 (10:54):
How can I.
Speaker 2 (10:55):
Expect God to bless me with success when I have
no standard of excellent us? How can I expect God
to bless me with abundance when I have no standard
of stewardship. The standard comes before the strength. He will
be a spirit of justice to the one who sits
in judgment, and a source of strength to him who
turns back the battle at the gate. The standard, then
(11:16):
the strength, the standard, then the strength. So if I
want God to be my provider, I have to make
a plan. Why would God give me provision if I
don't have a plan for it. Why would God bless
me with more when I'm not even generous with what
I have? Why would he pour out of his resources
into closed hands. I need a standard. That's why I
(11:41):
give the first ten percent to God. That's my standard.
He's first. This is off limits. It's not for negotiation.
This is my standard. God comes first. Your children shouldn't
even have to ask you are we going to church
this week unless you got the Flooh, of course we're
(12:04):
going to church. It's our standard. I don't care who's playing.
It's our standard. I don't care who's preaching. It's our standard.
I don't care how bad the parking lot is.
Speaker 1 (12:17):
It's our standard that God is working. I'll sit in traffic.
He's God. I got standers. I got standards. See, and
that's where my strength comes from. My standards.
Speaker 2 (12:36):
I don't have to waste time making decisions about standards
that I should have said a long time ago.
Speaker 1 (12:41):
I don't have to negotiate between the gates. I have standards.
Speaker 2 (12:47):
How can I expect God to give me stability if
I don't have a standard of integrity. A lot of
times we ask God to help us feel better. Sometimes
we're not going to feel better until we do better.
And when you're managing secrets that you won't bring before
(13:09):
God and confessed to him so that he can begin
the process of healing, you will always feel off inside.
God can't be the source of your strength if he's
not the source of your standards. How can I expect
God to give me influence if I will not embrace
the standard of sacrifice that influence requires. I want the influence,
(13:32):
not the sacrifice. I want the resurrection, but not the crucifixion.
Speaker 1 (13:39):
We'll sell your standards.
Speaker 2 (13:42):
How can I expect to live in freedom if I
do not embrace God's standard of forgiveness. If I hold
on to every offense and let it all in the gate,
don't turn back to battle. If I'm looking for reasons
to be offended, looking for reasons to be angry, I
should not be surprised when I find myself in a
(14:02):
low emotional state. How can I be free from what
I let walk right through my front door? How can
I expect to walk in freedom if I have not
chosen to walk in forgiveness. It is the standard of
forgiveness that enables me to live in freedom.
Speaker 1 (14:24):
I don't forgive you for you.
Speaker 2 (14:28):
I forgive you because I want to be free. How
can I expect God's peace in my life if.
Speaker 1 (14:40):
I don't control my meditation?
Speaker 2 (14:43):
How can I receive strength that God is trying to
give me if I just let any thought in? How
can I expect to live in a state of joyful
celebration of my progress if I allow myself to constantly complain.
And sometimes I'm complaining or criticizing. I can be real
critical because I got that excellence thing. And the flip
(15:06):
side of excellence is judgmental when I try to put
my standard on you, which is always wrong, which is
always wrong. And so now I've opened my mouth and
I thought I was complaining or I thought I was criticizing,
and I told myself, I'm just letting it out. No,
I'm letting it in. I left my gate wide open
(15:30):
to the enemy because I have no standard. But when
I set a standard for my speech and my thoughts,
I turned back the battle at the gate.
Speaker 1 (15:39):
And now I'm.
Speaker 2 (15:40):
Not in the stranglehold of a system of thought that
I allowed myself to flirt with. And now I'm living
in a state of joy, and I'm living at a
level above the serpent, and he's under my feet. And
I am not negotiating with what God called me to
trample on. I said, I'm not going to conversate with
what God has given me the ability to crush. I'm
(16:02):
taking my stand and I'm setting my standard. How can
I expect God's strength if I do not embrace God's standard?
How can we expect God to give our nation unity
(16:23):
if we do not embrace his standard of equality? He
will be a spirit of justice to the one who
sits in judgment. And when we allow inequality and prejudice
(16:44):
and stereotypes and oppression to go unchecked and then ask
God to make us one, we are violating the very
principle that will create unity. And then we come up
(17:04):
on a weekend and we celebrate Doctor King rightfully, but
we celebrate him at the wrong level because we celebrate
his speeches. The Doctor King's life was not about speeches.
Speaker 1 (17:23):
It was about standards.
Speaker 2 (17:30):
And I'm so afraid that we want God.
Speaker 1 (17:36):
We want God to be our mascot.
Speaker 2 (17:39):
We want God to be like one of those little
you know, those little stuffed animals, the ones that talk
when you pull the string.
Speaker 1 (17:47):
And we got our little.
Speaker 2 (17:48):
Jesus doll that we pull out, and we pull the string,
and Jesus has about three little things that he says,
you know, love your neighbor, and love your enemies. And
we pull the string. We pull the string, and he
just as these little sayings. And we don't want his standards.
We just want his sayings. And we'll listen to speeches. Well,
(18:10):
we'll listen to I have a dream. But a dream
without action, and a dream without process, and a dream
without justice is a delusion. So we got to raise
the standard and declare that some things are not all right.
There has to be a standard. We are the people
(18:31):
of God. Where is our standard? We can't wait for
anybody else.
Speaker 1 (18:44):
To set our standard.
Speaker 2 (18:45):
We are the Church, we are the light of the world.
Speaker 1 (18:48):
We are the ones in the King. It's us.
Speaker 2 (19:00):
Not be the source of our strength. If He is
not the source of our standards. We cannot poison the
well and then complain about the water. Do you hear
what I'm trying to say. We've got to stop it
at the source to draw a bloodline in the name
(19:22):
of Jesus and say this stuffs here. These are my standards.
I will not apologize. I will not always live up
to them, but I am pressing toward the mark for
the pride.
Speaker 1 (19:37):
Of the high calling. I got a hot calling, and
I will not live with low standards.
Speaker 2 (19:51):
God is looking for somebody to turn back the battle
at the gate at the gate at the very beginning
of the year. You know, most people want to get
get out of the gate strong. We want to get
in the gate strong, take ownership and responsibility for our attitudes.
Speaker 1 (20:13):
And He will be.
Speaker 2 (20:15):
Spirit of justice to the one who sits in judgment,
source of strength to the one who turns back the
battle at the gate. If you want to be one
of those that he speaks about who will turn back
the battle at the gate, I want you to stand
to your feet right now on every campus, because I
(20:38):
believe God has given us an opportunity. The gates of
change start with our standards. I kind of wish we
could sit down after this, kind of wish we could
take a moment and look at areas of your life
where you're feeling weak and you need stre Because in
(21:01):
the area where you need strength.
Speaker 1 (21:03):
That's where you need standards.
Speaker 2 (21:06):
I'm not talking about twenty rules for you to keep
that you tried to keep last year. I'm not talking
about that kind of religious spirit that builds a ladder
for you to climb to God. I'm talking about a
ladder that came down to you. And the first step
of these changes is standards. Standards.
Speaker 1 (21:27):
What are your standards? Who set them?
Speaker 2 (21:30):
Who set the standard for you of what it means
to be a man? Who set the standard for you
of what it means to be a Christian? Just to
pray a prayer one time, show up to church when
it's convenient, Try not to cuss too much. The devil
is a liar. There's a higher standard. This thing is
meant to consume all of my life. That changes the
way I see, the way I speak, the way I think,
(21:52):
the way I treat my brother, the way I treat
my sister. I got a new standard here, and God
is looking for people at the beginning of this year
who will raise the standard. The beautiful thing about it
is that He is not going to cause you to
(22:15):
have to reach the standard.
Speaker 3 (22:17):
He's only calling you to raise it, and he will
give you the grace.
Speaker 1 (22:25):
The draw a line and say stops here.
Speaker 2 (22:30):
Are there some things in your life today that you
need to say stops here. I'm not going to talk
that way, think that way, live that way. I'm not
going to just allow unrestricted access to everything that wants
to come into my space or my spirit to dominate my.
Speaker 1 (22:45):
Life and sabotage.
Speaker 2 (22:48):
My story. This year, I'm raising the standard, and when
the enemy comes in like a flood, the spirit of
the Lord will as a standard against him.
Speaker 3 (23:02):
He will be a spirit of justice, a wreath for
the remnant
Speaker 2 (23:09):
Him.
Hey, this is Stephen Ferdick.
Speaker 2 (00:02):
I'm the pastor of Elevation Church and this is our podcast.
I wanted to thank you for joining us today. Hope
this inspires you. Hope it builds your faith. Hope it
gives your perspective to see God is moving in your life.
Enjoy the message. Who set your standard? Have you even
thought about it? Or this is just inherited? Who set
(00:23):
your standard? You look into celebrities for your standard? Really?
Them the ones who are so miserable they can only
be happy when they have attention.
Speaker 1 (00:36):
Really, that's your standard. Who set your standard?
Speaker 2 (00:48):
Who set your standard of what you will and will
not listen to?
Speaker 1 (00:53):
Who set your standard?
Speaker 2 (00:55):
Oh you think you're better than us, That's what they'll
say when you start living with standards.
Speaker 1 (01:00):
Oh you think you're better than us.
Speaker 2 (01:02):
No, it's just that I know how much I need
a source that is not me, because I am weak
without him. In fact, I'm nothing without him.
Speaker 1 (01:11):
So excuse me.
Speaker 2 (01:12):
But the battle that I'm in is too real for
me to play around and live my life with exposed.
Speaker 1 (01:18):
Places and low standers. So I gotta get this right
this year.
Speaker 2 (01:26):
I like that.
Speaker 1 (01:27):
I like that boy right there.
Speaker 2 (01:28):
He looks like a teenager with standards right sitting there
leaning in in church. Some kids would be texting in church,
but not you. You look like you want something from God. Boy,
you look like you got a mission. You look like
God might use you. Don't you live down to the
level of your friends. Your friends don't know anything yet
(01:48):
God has taking you places.
Speaker 1 (01:50):
Stand up on your feet right now. Yeah, you stand
up right now.
Speaker 2 (01:54):
Raise the standard, don't.
Speaker 1 (01:56):
Lower it when you show up at school.
Speaker 2 (01:58):
God walks through the wen show up at school the
presence of God.
Speaker 1 (02:11):
Raise the standard.
Speaker 2 (02:17):
You're really gonna let your unmarried friends tell you how
to do your marriage.
Speaker 1 (02:24):
I'll tell you if I had a wife, I wouldn't.
Speaker 2 (02:26):
Uh huh, you said all I needed to hear in
that if I had a wife hard, if I wanted
what you had, i'd do what you're doing.
Speaker 1 (02:35):
But I want something better.
Speaker 2 (02:47):
It's your standard. Sometimes our standards need to be lowered. Yeah, yeah, no,
sometimes they do because sometimes it takes too much to
make us happy. Who set the standard for what it
takes to make you happy?
Speaker 1 (03:04):
Who set the standard for what.
Speaker 2 (03:05):
It takes to have a good day. I'm bad about
this one bad meeting, and I had a bad day. No, no, no,
it's like that old man told me that time.
Speaker 1 (03:15):
I said, how you doing? He said, I'm alive.
Speaker 2 (03:17):
I thought, well, you didn't answer me, and then I realized,
yes he did, because for him to be alive, he
woke up, it's a good day.
Speaker 1 (03:33):
He woke up, it's a good day. We'll set your standards.
I mean, when did.
Speaker 2 (03:40):
We come to the point when kids had to watch
a movie in the car.
Speaker 1 (03:49):
Trip to target.
Speaker 2 (03:50):
I used to have to dry ride four hours with
a crayon and a book, and now you need alsa
to get the Harris Teeter set the standard that we
ought to mine.
Speaker 1 (04:09):
Through What time I was complaining? I preach on a
Saturday night. My friend came he's on staff at another church.
Speaker 2 (04:17):
And I was apologizing to him because the crowd was
a little down because I was used to being packed
out an elevation on Saturday night. I said, I'm sorry, man,
it was kind of it was kind of down today.
Speaker 1 (04:29):
He said, your down day would be my revival.
Speaker 2 (04:40):
I needed that because sometimes you let your standard get
out of control. Sometimes as the church, we want to
put a standard on the world that we ourselves don't
even exemplify. We can't even figure out racial reconciliation within
the context of the community of faith.
Speaker 1 (04:58):
But then we want to judge it when it's in
the world.
Speaker 2 (05:03):
For God's got a remnant. God always has a remnant.
I believe God is raising up elevation Church as a remnant.
Speaker 1 (05:11):
In this day to.
Speaker 2 (05:13):
Raise the standard of what church can be and how
broad this message really is. We're here to raise the standard.
I wonder who set your standard?
Speaker 1 (05:25):
See?
Speaker 2 (05:25):
How can you expect God to be your strength if
he didn't set your standards? How can I expect success
if I don't have a standard of excellence. If I
have not established a standard of excellence in my life,
why would I expect God to bless my blemished offerings.
(05:50):
You could take a little time off your sermons, you
know nobody would notice. But why would I ask God
to bless something that my whole heart wasn't in. It's
hard to preciate in church because in church people think
that if it's for God, it doesn't have to be good.
Church can become a place where we just bring God
(06:11):
any old thing. We show up on time for something
we buy a ticket for, but we thirty five minutes
late to get the church, and it doesn't matter because
it's like the preliminary stuff or something like that.
Speaker 1 (06:21):
Just bring God any old thing and listen.
Speaker 2 (06:24):
I am not talking about keeping God's standards so that
you'll earn his love. This is not about keeping rules
so that God will love you. It's because living right,
because He does not living up to a standard, but
(06:44):
living out of a standard. Christ in you the Hope
of Glory, or as Romans says, that the righteous requirements
of the law might be fully met in us who.
Speaker 1 (06:54):
Walk not after the flesh but the spirit.
Speaker 2 (06:57):
For years I read it that the righteous requirements of
the law might be met by us. Now I realize
it's not something God wants from me, as something that
he wants for me. He has given me a standard.
He has called me his child, and to live beneath
that is to be like Eve and to speak to
something that you should be stepping on. But a lot
(07:22):
of times we have an expectation with no standard. A
standard of excellence means doing the best with what you have.
And until I've done the best with what I have,
I don't feel like I should ask God to do
what he can do if I haven't done what I
can do, and you run into all kinds of problems
(07:45):
with this, you know, even from early in the church.
Speaker 1 (07:48):
Early in the church, I.
Speaker 2 (07:49):
Wanted to have a standard, you know, and we didn't
have money, but I wanted a standard. And we didn't
have equipment, but I wanted a standard. So I was
the worship leader when we started, the standard was lower.
Speaker 1 (08:00):
Than it is now. I got in at a good time, okay,
I was the only one available, and.
Speaker 2 (08:08):
So so I had to organize the band, and I
bought in this guitar player for one of our first rehearsals.
Speaker 1 (08:15):
And he came in and he didn't practice. He said,
I got busy this week. I didn't practice this week.
But I'm good. So I let him practice with us.
Speaker 2 (08:24):
Then after practice, I pulled him aside because I didn't
want embarrass him. I said, hey, man, we won't be
needing you Sunday because you didn't practice.
Speaker 3 (08:32):
He said, really, He said, You're going to kick me
out the church because I didn't practice.
Speaker 1 (08:35):
I said, no, you can come to church, you just
can't come with a guitar on and standing on the stage.
You come to church. All you want, I said, your.
Speaker 2 (08:42):
Seat, the chant playing, And I gave him a fifty
dollars gas card. I said, here you go, man, and
but you're not playing. He said, your standards are too high.
Speaker 1 (08:56):
Nobody.
Speaker 2 (08:57):
He said, nobody's going to want to be a part
of this ministry because the standards are too high.
Speaker 1 (09:01):
And he was right, nobody this whole thing just I
heard a story. Listen.
Speaker 2 (09:11):
I heard a story last night from an e group
in our church. The couple that came a couple of
years ago. They were sharing their story how they got here.
They said, we hated it when we first came, and
I was waiting for the twist, you know, because you're
here now and you came years ago, they said. We
came in and somebody at the door said we couldn't
bring our Starbucks in church. And we had just spent
(09:32):
five dollars each on our Starbucks. And I sat through
the first part of the sermon all mad about my Starbucks.
But then in the middle of the sermon, I started crying.
And then when we left the church, we were getting
in our car and.
Speaker 1 (09:50):
Somebody chased us down.
Speaker 2 (09:52):
The same person that told us we couldn't have our
Starbucks in church said, while you were in service, we
went and got you a Starbucks gift car and chase
them down with the Starbucks S gift card. And it
wasn't even my sermon that William to Christ. It was Starbucks,
(10:14):
But it was a standard. See because I feel like,
why should I ask people to tithe to this ministry
and then have lazy staff members who don't even want
to practice. Why should I expect you to invite your
friends to church and not have a standard of excellence
on this stage? Why should I expect God to bless
something that I am not invested in? Why should we
(10:35):
expect God to bless our lives with success when we
have not established a standard of excellence. This is my
year to bring my best to God, to bring him
a worthy offering. I will not offer the Lord that
which cost me nothing.
Speaker 1 (10:54):
How can I.
Speaker 2 (10:55):
Expect God to bless me with success when I have
no standard of excellent us? How can I expect God
to bless me with abundance when I have no standard
of stewardship. The standard comes before the strength. He will
be a spirit of justice to the one who sits
in judgment, and a source of strength to him who
turns back the battle at the gate. The standard, then
(11:16):
the strength, the standard, then the strength. So if I
want God to be my provider, I have to make
a plan. Why would God give me provision if I
don't have a plan for it. Why would God bless
me with more when I'm not even generous with what
I have? Why would he pour out of his resources
into closed hands. I need a standard. That's why I
(11:41):
give the first ten percent to God. That's my standard.
He's first. This is off limits. It's not for negotiation.
This is my standard. God comes first. Your children shouldn't
even have to ask you are we going to church
this week unless you got the Flooh, of course we're
(12:04):
going to church. It's our standard. I don't care who's playing.
It's our standard. I don't care who's preaching. It's our standard.
I don't care how bad the parking lot is.
Speaker 1 (12:17):
It's our standard that God is working. I'll sit in traffic.
He's God. I got standers. I got standards. See, and
that's where my strength comes from. My standards.
Speaker 2 (12:36):
I don't have to waste time making decisions about standards
that I should have said a long time ago.
Speaker 1 (12:41):
I don't have to negotiate between the gates. I have standards.
Speaker 2 (12:47):
How can I expect God to give me stability if
I don't have a standard of integrity. A lot of
times we ask God to help us feel better. Sometimes
we're not going to feel better until we do better.
And when you're managing secrets that you won't bring before
(13:09):
God and confessed to him so that he can begin
the process of healing, you will always feel off inside.
God can't be the source of your strength if he's
not the source of your standards. How can I expect
God to give me influence if I will not embrace
the standard of sacrifice that influence requires. I want the influence,
(13:32):
not the sacrifice. I want the resurrection, but not the crucifixion.
Speaker 1 (13:39):
We'll sell your standards.
Speaker 2 (13:42):
How can I expect to live in freedom if I
do not embrace God's standard of forgiveness. If I hold
on to every offense and let it all in the gate,
don't turn back to battle. If I'm looking for reasons
to be offended, looking for reasons to be angry, I
should not be surprised when I find myself in a
(14:02):
low emotional state. How can I be free from what
I let walk right through my front door? How can
I expect to walk in freedom if I have not
chosen to walk in forgiveness. It is the standard of
forgiveness that enables me to live in freedom.
Speaker 1 (14:24):
I don't forgive you for you.
Speaker 2 (14:28):
I forgive you because I want to be free. How
can I expect God's peace in my life if.
Speaker 1 (14:40):
I don't control my meditation?
Speaker 2 (14:43):
How can I receive strength that God is trying to
give me if I just let any thought in? How
can I expect to live in a state of joyful
celebration of my progress if I allow myself to constantly complain.
And sometimes I'm complaining or criticizing. I can be real
critical because I got that excellence thing. And the flip
(15:06):
side of excellence is judgmental when I try to put
my standard on you, which is always wrong, which is
always wrong. And so now I've opened my mouth and
I thought I was complaining or I thought I was criticizing,
and I told myself, I'm just letting it out. No,
I'm letting it in. I left my gate wide open
(15:30):
to the enemy because I have no standard. But when
I set a standard for my speech and my thoughts,
I turned back the battle at the gate.
Speaker 1 (15:39):
And now I'm.
Speaker 2 (15:40):
Not in the stranglehold of a system of thought that
I allowed myself to flirt with. And now I'm living
in a state of joy, and I'm living at a
level above the serpent, and he's under my feet. And
I am not negotiating with what God called me to
trample on. I said, I'm not going to conversate with
what God has given me the ability to crush. I'm
(16:02):
taking my stand and I'm setting my standard. How can
I expect God's strength if I do not embrace God's standard?
How can we expect God to give our nation unity
(16:23):
if we do not embrace his standard of equality? He
will be a spirit of justice to the one who
sits in judgment. And when we allow inequality and prejudice
(16:44):
and stereotypes and oppression to go unchecked and then ask
God to make us one, we are violating the very
principle that will create unity. And then we come up
(17:04):
on a weekend and we celebrate Doctor King rightfully, but
we celebrate him at the wrong level because we celebrate
his speeches. The Doctor King's life was not about speeches.
Speaker 1 (17:23):
It was about standards.
Speaker 2 (17:30):
And I'm so afraid that we want God.
Speaker 1 (17:36):
We want God to be our mascot.
Speaker 2 (17:39):
We want God to be like one of those little
you know, those little stuffed animals, the ones that talk
when you pull the string.
Speaker 1 (17:47):
And we got our little.
Speaker 2 (17:48):
Jesus doll that we pull out, and we pull the string,
and Jesus has about three little things that he says,
you know, love your neighbor, and love your enemies. And
we pull the string. We pull the string, and he
just as these little sayings. And we don't want his standards.
We just want his sayings. And we'll listen to speeches. Well,
(18:10):
we'll listen to I have a dream. But a dream
without action, and a dream without process, and a dream
without justice is a delusion. So we got to raise
the standard and declare that some things are not all right.
There has to be a standard. We are the people
(18:31):
of God. Where is our standard? We can't wait for
anybody else.
Speaker 1 (18:44):
To set our standard.
Speaker 2 (18:45):
We are the Church, we are the light of the world.
Speaker 1 (18:48):
We are the ones in the King. It's us.
Speaker 2 (19:00):
Not be the source of our strength. If He is
not the source of our standards. We cannot poison the
well and then complain about the water. Do you hear
what I'm trying to say. We've got to stop it
at the source to draw a bloodline in the name
(19:22):
of Jesus and say this stuffs here. These are my standards.
I will not apologize. I will not always live up
to them, but I am pressing toward the mark for
the pride.
Speaker 1 (19:37):
Of the high calling. I got a hot calling, and
I will not live with low standards.
Speaker 2 (19:51):
God is looking for somebody to turn back the battle
at the gate at the gate at the very beginning
of the year. You know, most people want to get
get out of the gate strong. We want to get
in the gate strong, take ownership and responsibility for our attitudes.
Speaker 1 (20:13):
And He will be.
Speaker 2 (20:15):
Spirit of justice to the one who sits in judgment,
source of strength to the one who turns back the
battle at the gate. If you want to be one
of those that he speaks about who will turn back
the battle at the gate, I want you to stand
to your feet right now on every campus, because I
(20:38):
believe God has given us an opportunity. The gates of
change start with our standards. I kind of wish we
could sit down after this, kind of wish we could
take a moment and look at areas of your life
where you're feeling weak and you need stre Because in
(21:01):
the area where you need strength.
Speaker 1 (21:03):
That's where you need standards.
Speaker 2 (21:06):
I'm not talking about twenty rules for you to keep
that you tried to keep last year. I'm not talking
about that kind of religious spirit that builds a ladder
for you to climb to God. I'm talking about a
ladder that came down to you. And the first step
of these changes is standards. Standards.
Speaker 1 (21:27):
What are your standards? Who set them?
Speaker 2 (21:30):
Who set the standard for you of what it means
to be a man? Who set the standard for you
of what it means to be a Christian? Just to
pray a prayer one time, show up to church when
it's convenient, Try not to cuss too much. The devil
is a liar. There's a higher standard. This thing is
meant to consume all of my life. That changes the
way I see, the way I speak, the way I think,
(21:52):
the way I treat my brother, the way I treat
my sister. I got a new standard here, and God
is looking for people at the beginning of this year
who will raise the standard. The beautiful thing about it
is that He is not going to cause you to
(22:15):
have to reach the standard.
Speaker 3 (22:17):
He's only calling you to raise it, and he will
give you the grace.
Speaker 1 (22:25):
The draw a line and say stops here.
Speaker 2 (22:30):
Are there some things in your life today that you
need to say stops here. I'm not going to talk
that way, think that way, live that way. I'm not
going to just allow unrestricted access to everything that wants
to come into my space or my spirit to dominate my.
Speaker 1 (22:45):
Life and sabotage.
Speaker 2 (22:48):
My story. This year, I'm raising the standard, and when
the enemy comes in like a flood, the spirit of
the Lord will as a standard against him.
Speaker 3 (23:02):
He will be a spirit of justice, a wreath for
the remnant
Speaker 2 (23:09):
Him.
Host
Steven Furtick
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