Elevation with Steven Furtick - He Was The One

Episode Date: September 10, 2023

Assume that God is using you. In “He Was The One,” Pastor Steven teaches us that instead of judging our current season, we should trust that it is significant to where God is taking us next. If you’ve just made a decision for Christ, please respond HERE: http://ele.vc/tIepfr To support this ministry and help us continue to reach people all around the world click here: http://www.elevationchurch.org/giving/ Scripture References: 2 Kings 14, verses 21-22 Isaiah 6, verse 1 2 Chronicles 26, verses 1-5, 16-23 Matthew 1, verses 9-16 Luke 17, verse 15See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Hey, this is Stephen Ferdick. I'm the pastor of Elevation Church, and this is our podcast. Be sure to subscribe so we can get you these new sermons every week. I hope you're blessed today. So sit down and let's get into it today. I'm going to sit down with you.

We'll get into the sermon a little differently. I'm going to do it like if it was Jeopardy. Does anybody watch Jeopardy? At my mom's house on Wednesday night, she cooks for us and we watch Jeopardy and then Wheel of Fortune. But I'm more on that Wheel of Fortune intelligence level, if I'm being honest with you, than the Jeopardy Intelligence Level. I really am.

That's true. And so Wheel of Fortune is really our show. It's called Vittles, Vinyls, and Vana. I go over to my mom's. She cooks Vittles for us. And then she picks out a vinyl. I've got a record player, so we'll listen to something like Credence Clearwater Revival, or something safe, sanctified, sanctimonious, like that.

And then we'll watch Van Nu White. Anyway, that's not the point. I'm going to do my sermon illustration like it's Jeopardy, and not to put you on the spot, but just to kind of get into the subject for today. And I want you to play along if you're at home. Okay, so I'm going to say a description of like a Bible character, we won't go along with this. And then you'll just say, in the form of a question like they do on Jeopardy,

who is blank, if you know. You don't know it's okay. Put it online if you do know it though. He was the one who built an ark. He was Noah. Good, good, good, go. Put it on that wheel of fortune level for a minute first, okay? He was the one who stretched out his staff and who is Moses, that's right.

I'm not going to trick you, but I am going to get harder. He was the one who fought the Battle of Jericho and the walls came tumbling down, who was Joshua. Good. All right. He was the one who took a rock, a big old ugly nine-foot giant standing in front of him, hit the giant when the rock. Had five, only needed one because he had good name. Who is David? Okay. Now, the next one, I've got to read this one. He was the one who rebuilt Elath and restored it to Judah after Amaziah arrested with his ancestors. You got that chat GPT out, didn't you for that? That's right.

I didn't know it either. We came across it in our Bible reading. I'm in a Bible reading club with my oldest son and Kelsey and beautiful Holly Ferdick. And we came across this passage. We're reading through Second Kings, and I am going to give you the answer. It's in Second Kings, 14, 21 and 22. and it came across this phrase, and I'm trying these days to give you the sermon in the spirit that I received it more and more. So that means less distance between how God speaks it to me and how I speak it to you.

And so I don't want to dress it up too much where it loses its impact. So for me, I was just reading. The Book of Second Kings can get kind of monotonous. It's got all these bad kings in the northern kingdom of Israel. There wasn't one good one. And then in Judah, the Southern Kingdom, because it was a divided, kingdom. There are eight good kings, but there's like over 20 kings in all. So it's mostly like going through and saying, this is the king that reigned during this prophet's tenure as a prophet,

and he was a bad king, and he did some things right, and then he did some things horrible. So you just kind of get in this mode reading it just day after day, chapter after chapter, where you're just hoping, like, maybe this guy will get it right, because they keep letting the nation worship idols and keep going, stop worshiping the idols, worship God. And then you wonder if, like, maybe somebody would say that about you if they watched your life, too. So, you know, stop worshiping money, stop worshiping stuff, stop worshiping acceptance, stop. Anyway, maybe not you, just me, just me, just me, just me. Okay, okay, okay, okay.

So we come across this, and this phrase stood out to me. I'm going to give you two verses from 2nd, Kings, 14, 21, and 22. Coming up on the screen right now. Then all the people of Judah took Azariah, Azariah, who was six, 16 years old and made him king in place of his father, Amaziah. He was the one who rebuilt Elath and restored it to Judah after Amaziah arrested with his ancestors. So let's play again. He was the one who rebuilt Elath and restored it to Judah after Amaziah arrested with his ancestors.

Who is? Verse 21, Azariah. The kid who became a king at 16 years old. Do any of you have teenagers? Have you been a teenager? Can you imagine being a king at age 16? And yet, he was the one to do it. And that's the title that I want to use for the message today, a very simple thought.

He was the one. He was the one. Say that out loud. He was the one. And put it in the chats or the comments if you're joining us online. He was the one. They didn't ask him. They didn't let him run for office.

He didn't get to decide if he had a career in politics. The people, the Bible says, then all the people of Judah, verse 21, took Azariah, who was 16 years old and made him king in place of his father, Amaziah. Amaziah, you know, he did some dumb stuff. He did some good stuff, he did some dumb stuff. There's a motivational speaker who likes to say, every life is either a warning or an example. Which one do you want your life to be? I don't mean to argue with the motivational speaker, but don't you think every life is a warning and an example?

At some points, it depends on which part of my life you're looking at, whether I'm a warning, or an example. It depends on what point in time you judge it, whether it would be a warning or an example. We've all seen people whose examples that we tried to follow until we found out that their example that was being set was leading toward an end that we couldn't have seen coming. And yet I'm grateful for the grace of God because he uses it all. In the case of Amaziah, the dad that you read about in this passage, You know, he did some amazing stuff. The Bible said he was the one who killed these 10,000 Edomites and ran them off a cliff.

He did that to take back some land that God had given the people. Then he turned around and did something so dumb. He attacked the King of Israel, who was stronger than him. And the King of Israel tried to warn him. He's like, yo, man, you're just a, like, you're a thistle to me. That's what he said. And he said, don't come and try to start this with me. And he's like, I am not the one.

You know, I just said he was the one. He's like, I am not the one you want to mess with. And he was right. And he goes in and punishes him greatly. So the people take that king, Amaziah, and they're like, we're putting your son in your place. And he doesn't really have a say in the matter. They begin to reign together when Azariah is 16. And then after Amaziah dies, Azariah takes the throne.

He was the one the Bible says. Let's go back to that phrase again, because this is where I want to focus. He was the one who rebuilt Elath and restored it to Judah after Amaziah. His father rested with his ancestors. So I was telling Holly after we read that chapter that day, I said, that really spoke to me how the Bible said, he was the one. And she's like, okay. And she actually said this to me, she's like, I thought it was the most boring chapter we've read in weeks. I didn't get anything out of it.

I said, but let me tell you. And we went for a walk, and I said, it made me realize that when it's all said and done, the summary of your life usually will be condensed to a few things in the end. And that's one of the reasons why I really prioritize my family as a pastor, because you can get another pastor, but Abby only gets one dad. Thought you'd support me in that. I don't care about you. I just know that either by choice or if it was by coercion,

I know you don't want another pastor. That would be a downgrade. But no, I'm kidding about that. I mean, there's different people God we used to feed you in different seasons, and I don't have any problem if God uses somebody else in your life. But she only gets one. In fact, I was remembering when I read the phrase, he was the one. Somebody say, he was the one.

He was the one. That's what I want to talk to you about. I was remembering when I went to a wrestling tournament to watch Graham, and he won the whole tournament. And after the tournament, it's the first big tournament that he won. This is a few years ago. And he won. And I almost didn't go to the tournament because I had to schedule somebody else to preach for me to go to the tournament. And I looked at him after he won.

We're sitting at Pizza Hut. We're all great book it. and athletic celebrations happened. And I said, Can you imagine if you had won the whole tournament and I hadn't been here? And he goes, but if you hadn't been here,

I probably wouldn't have won it. Remember that? And I miss stuff that my kids do, just like you do all the time. But it reminded me of something. That even if I'm stuck in this narrative in my life that, you know, I'm really no one special, I'm really no one and I have no one.

It's a lie. If I believe that, that I am no one and that I have no one, as so many of us do, I think that's the thing that devil just tries to get you to believe over and over again in different ways. And they'll put evidence in front of you and thoughts inside of you to try to convince you that I am no one, I have no one. Those two things. Write those down because I want you to be like a detective on the devil this week. For when he says it to you, you're like, oh yeah, that's what the sermon was about.

Because we all sometimes feel like I am no one. Nobody compared to that person. No one that really makes a difference. I mean, come on, Pastor Stephen. You're preaching about a king in the Bible who restored and rebuild a city. What does this have to do with me? I'm just trying to get my kid to school one time on time next week. Just one time on time.

That would be my Bible verse. He was the one who got his kid to school one time on time. If you can't tell you that you're not one, I'll tell you you have no one. So I said to Holly, I said, that really touched me to know that the Bible said he was the one. In fact, in Second Kings, I knew I couldn't stay in that chair very long. How long did I make it? Five minutes. In Second Kings, it goes three times. It says, he was the one and it talks about one certain king. He was the one and it talks about another certain king. He was the one and it talks about another certain king. And then first you're reading this

going, well, this has nothing to do with me because I'm not a king and I'm not in charge of military resources or they won't even trust me to bring coffee because they know it'll be spilled by the time I get there. I can't get the coffee order right. I'm not the one like that, But I ran it over and over again. And I thought about Graham, and I thought about my life, and I thought about the things that God has called me to do, and I thought about the people that God has called me to shepherd. And I realized that we need to talk about he was the one.

For all of those times in your life where you feel like I am no one, and I have no one. So what I said to Holly was, this guy in the Bible, there were three of them, I said, they list their accomplishments, even though all three of them technically failed at turning the nation around. But it still gives you this little glimpse in there. He didn't get it all right, but he was the one who did something right. And I think we need to learn how to, I don't want to say talk back to the devil because we'd probably be better to talk to God. But just can I say we need to defy the devil every once in a while to defy the devil when he says You know you're no one because look how many followers they have

Look how many friends they have look how far long they are in their career Look how much money they have you don't know how much money they have Every bit of what they're wearing on their body might be borrowed They don't know if they paid for that brand name in cash Oh I'm I'm no one and I have no one and the Bible speaks up for this king Azariah and it says

he was the one who rebuilt Elath and restored it to Judah he rebuilt and he restored he rebuilt and he restored he was the one

he didn't get it all right he didn't remove the high places where they were worshipping the Canaanite gods but he was the one who rebuilt and restored. And I came to remind somebody today, you are the one. See, I can see we need to talk about this because you're slow to warm up to the idea because you've been in that I'm no one. And you even think that's humble, right? You even think that's godly. I must

decrease that he may increase. It does not increase God for you to shrink back from what he called you to do. Somebody say he was the one. He was the one. Yeah, yeah. And it's important that we know that because if you just read about this, and his name was Azariah, but I even studied about Azariah, and you know what? I found out, what? I'm playing tennis with myself up here sometimes. I found out that the king named Azariah, who I thought I had never heard of before, is the same guy called Uzziah that Isaiah mentions in the famous throne room scene in Isaiah chapter 6.

Now check this out. He was the prophet who prophesied to Azariah whose name was also Uzziah. Uzziah was his throne name. Azariah was his personal name. And there's only one consonant different in Hebrew. So if we need Van der Weite to come out, And we just change one letter.

This is the guy who Isaiah the prophet says, Isaiah chapter 6, verse 1, In the year King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord. High and lifted up, seated on a throne, and the train of his robe filled the temple. In the year that Uzziah died, that's the same guy. Uzziah, that's the same guy that is talking about. He was the one that died the year Isaiah saw the Lord and had his lips touched with cold. Now, that connection doesn't seem too significant to you yet, but it will when I'm done. Because I want you to understand something right quick, right off the bat, right now, right here, right now, and never doubted again.

If you knew what God was doing through you right now and what God was going to do through you, the devil could never discourage you again. if you knew, oh, touch your neighbors say if you knew what God was doing through you. Put it in the future in case they have a hard time seeing it right now. In case they have a low bank balance right now. In case their kids aren't speaking to them right now. In case their mom isn't speaking to them right now. In case their job sucks right now. In case they're single right now and wishing that they weren't single.

I mean, there's nothing wrong with being single unless you wish you weren't single. But if you look back at them one more time, and tell them for me, just make the announcement say, if you knew what God was going to do, the devil couldn't discourage you, couldn't pay you enough to quit, couldn't defeat you, couldn't depress you, if you knew he was the one, and they made him king at age 16, you never been thrust into something you felt like you weren't ready for yet? Have you ever just had somebody put something on you that you didn't even want to wear? Have you ever had that moment? I think every parent has this moment.

Oh, I am the grown-up. This guy, and he has to become a king. And he did something so amazing that we're talking about it today. He's the one. I'm sure he wondered, just like you do and I do, why would I be the one? I'm sure he felt in the shadow of his father, just like you feel in the shadow of some of your challenges.

is. I'm sure he felt insufficient. But yet he was the one who res- Oh, I got the other one. Yeah, there's three of them. I've read the wrong one. He was the one who rebuilt Elath and restored it to Judah after Amaziah. So I'm thinking to myself, right, reading this, let me sit back down. I'm going, Elath must be a really big place if the Bible takes time to say, that of everything that he did, he rebuilt and restored Elath. And I pulled out this map in my Bible, y'all, and Elat isn't that big. It wasn't its size that made it significant. It was where it was situated. Elath was a port city. Elath was at the northern tip of a gulf. Elath was in the territory of the Edomites.

The Edomites had once been a territory of Israel, but they had broken away. Uzziah's father had brought Edom back to a point. Uzziah did something more important. He restored the port city so that the trade could happen beyond the borders of Judah. Now can I preach? Sometimes we have no idea what's really important because we judge significance by size. We judge significance by status. But the thing that God wants you to know that Uzziah, Azariah, the artist formerly known as Azariah,

the thing that God wants you to know about him was he was the one who was remembered for what he rebuilt and for what he restored. What he rebuilt and what he restored didn't seem very big, but it was very important because it was a port city Because if he got the port city working again, the ships could come and go Imagine the hustle and bustle of commerce and economy and exchange and trade that could happen when he got the port city back There are some things that the enemy will fight you over in your life that don't seem very big on the surface But he knows it is a port city in your life. And if you get this one right, and if you get this one back, and if you get this one fixed, and if you get this one under control, and if you get this one flowing, and if you get this one working,

and if you get this one open, and if you get this one rebuilt, and see, that's why you can never judge the significance of the season that you're in by the size of the opportunity, according to your eyes. If you only knew, I will prove it to you. Not from the Bible. I'll prove it from my life. Because I've never seen Elath. I've never been there. But I have had moments in my life where God was using something that I didn't think it was important, but it was a port. So when Elijah went to college a few weeks ago, he said, I got to get a job. I said, probably. He said, How do I get one? I said, there's many different ways.

He said, how did you get one? I said, well, I never really had a real job. I mean, I got all these scholarships to get to college. I applied for every scholarship. I did work study where you could get some of your tuition paid. I did everything I could. I mean, I worked jobs when I was a kid. I did a, y'all know about my jobs.

I cremated animals. I sold fireworks. I cleaned churches. I sold explosives, burn dogs, and cleaned the house of God. Let me see your resume. But when I got to college, I felt like I was called to preach, right? Nobody else shared that opinion at college. Back at home, I preached my first sermon when I was 16.

I wasn't a king like Uzziah at 16, but I preached my first sermon at Monks Corner United Methodist Church and then Pastor Mickey. He was the one who sat on my parents' floor and said, God's hand is on your son. And for my mom and my dad, they were the ones who let me go be a youth minister while I was still a youth. But when I went to college, nobody was asking me to preach. I found a guy on campus.

This is what I told Elijah. I said, you need to, one day if you ever meet him, thank Jay Hardwick. He said, who's Jay Hardwick? I said, he was the one. I had talked to him in 15 years. I would text him, but I don't have this number. Maybe he'll see this.

Jay, reaching out. You were the one. When I came up to you in the cafeteria, and I said, I heard you're a preacher. And you said, yeah, I mean, I'm trying to be it. I said, me too. I want to preach. Like you preach.

And you said to me, okay, when somebody calls me for an invitation and I can't go, I'll tell him to get you instead. And I said, I'll eat your crumbs. I'm not picky. I'm not picky. Once you've run a crematory, you preach anywhere. I said, that would be awesome. He was the one that told Mason to put me on the summer impact team

where I ended up traveling with Holly. He was the one. And he never sent me a bill. He never took a commission. As far as I know, he never took credit. They'll be running all around the state of wherever he lives now, saying, yeah, I gave Ferdic his start over there at elevation. But he didn't really care about that.

It's like he was so important in my life. And I never even told my son about him until just the other day. So the next time the devil tells you you have no one, and he starts hitting you with this loneliness that he hits you with, when he hits you with loneliness, hit him with a list. Somebody say he was the one. All right, let's get inclusive. Say she was the one.

I knew y'all were getting offended. Reflect this Friday night, and I don't want to start anything early. I mean, I've told you a thousand times that really Holly started the church, not me. I was going to start it when I was about the age I am now. And 18 years ago, she turned to me and said, it's time for you to start church. God's called you start. We've got people around us what we need, and you've got what you need right now to do it,

and we're going to do it right now. If she wouldn't have talked me into doing it then, I would have learned too much to do it at this point in my life. I would have learned too much. She was the one. She was the one. And I look around a room like this, see, and I don't just see a crowd. I see ones.

I see ones. He was the one that convinced me we could do elevation nights. He was the one that was with me at Green Day when Billy Joe Armstrong called me on stage to play guitar. Y'all, that happened before I was 16 years old. I was at a Green Day concert, and I turned to my other friend that isn't here anymore, and I said, what if Billy Joe calls me to play his guitar on stage? He said, shut up, that's stupid, it's never going to happen. And in the middle, until the Holy Ghosts, in the middle of the Operation Ivy Song knowledge,

Billy Joe Armstrong stops and say, does anybody out there play guitar? And my friends picked me up, and he was one of them, and picked me up like I was Mufasa, like I was the choice. He's the one. And I played that thing. Oh, I killed it, too. I was ready for my moment. Times I wanted to find Billy Joe Armstrong. I never met him and say, hey, you remember that night in Charleston in 1994?

Now, he did it every night. So for him, it was just another night. It was the one. I preach hard because I preach every six days. But for you, this might be the one. I'm going to preach a lot of messages. But for somebody, this is the one. For someone, this is the one.

And I'm not talking about me just to talk about me. I'm trying to get you to see that for someone, you're the one. You're the one. You might be like Billy Joe Armstrong. Go on to do another city. He went on to Charleston, West Virginia. He went on to Minneapolis, Minnesota. He never even knew he left a boy back in Monk's Corner, South Carolina.

He boosted my popularity past the high school quarterback in one moment. But he just went on. And so when the devil tells you that you have no one, that you are no one and that you can't see how God is using you. Oh, I got a tip for you. Ready? Ready? Assume that God is using you.

Assume that God is using you. You got it? How do I know God is using me? You won't. Assume that God is using you. Assume that God is using you. Usually they say, you know what? Assuming does.

It makes a, you know, whatever, whatever. But in this case, I am actually advocating that you assume that you are the one that God wanted that person to come across in their path because you might have something valuable that they need. And for everybody who's been stuck in self-pity, there is no quicker way out of self-pity than to fulfill God's purpose. So assume, I know y'all don't like this. Because sometimes we don't want to be the one. I don't want to encourage anybody. When is somebody going to encourage me? Sometimes I don't feel like preaching and I want to add you the microphone.

You say something. I'm going to do it one day. I'm going to walk in. I'm going to take the stage. And the first person that looks bored, I'm going to throw in my microphone. Say, here, you do it. You do it. Just talking.

He was the one. He was the one. He rebuilt. and restored. He was remembered for what he restored. Will you be? This is the decision in this season of your life that you are making without even knowing that you are making it. On behalf of others, you know, as Holly and I began to talk, we started to realize something about relationships. Now, I'm going to try to talk about this. If I don't really do a good job with it, I'll come on YouTube this week and do a bonus teaching on it.

So pray I do a good job, so I don't have to go back in and do it again. There's a lot of relational resentment that can build up in your life, people that disappoint you. And I'm no different than you. I get disappointed in people. The man that we're reading about in this scripture, Uzziah, in many ways he was a disappointment because he didn't bring the nation back to their rightful place, and I'll show you in just a moment. It even got worse than that. But before I show you how bad it got, let me just talk about your disappointments and people. Because as Holly and I began to talk, I said, you know, Jay Hardwick was the one that

kind of put us on that team, wasn't he? And we never even thought about it. Who was someone in your life that you don't think about? And I'm not talking about the Hall of Fame, like mom and dad and all that stuff. I'm talking about Billy Graham and the Apostle Paul and Jesus. It's going to be in the comments. Jesus is the one, Stephen. Jesus.

He's the one. I'm going to say it for you. But moving us long from there, there's people that you think they're going to be the one to be with you forever, but they're not. But just because they're not the one that was with you for a little while, or just because they're not with you forever, doesn't mean that they didn't serve an important purpose in your life. I don't know this is four, but I really need to say it.

Some people in your life are port people. They move through. You move on, they move on. Just because they didn't stay planted doesn't mean they weren't important. And what this will help you do when the enemy says, you have nobody, look at how they let you down, look at how they didn't come through for you, look at how they don't get you, look at what they weren't able to do, look at how you believed in them, look at how you thought they were going to be the perfect partner, look at how you thought they were going to be, I want

to revisit this for a moment. so that you stop focusing on the disappointment and start focusing on the deposit. Because I could tell you somebody right now, and you could do the same for me, you could say, man, she was the one that I counted on and she let me down. But if we took it a little deeper, there was something God used that person in your life for. And even if it was just a port moving through, you understand what I'm saying about ELAF? We have Elath relationships, and they may not last as long as we wanted them to, and they may not be everything that we wanted them to be. And if we're not careful, so careful with our souls, the devil will set up camp in that disappointment and say, you have no one.

But they were the one. They were the one for a while. Look at what they added to your life. Yeah, but they betrayed me. It was Judas that got Jesus to the cross. He was the one that God used more than any of the other disciples, because it was Judas that God used to get Jesus to the place where he paid for your sins and mine. Even the people that hurt you, God used.

I don't say that coldly. I don't say that to celebrate abuse or neglect or abandonment. I just know that someone has been living in this place. for a long time. I have no one. And you are so good at listing the disappointments that you're missing the deposits. And not only those that are gone, not only the people that planted seeds, not everybody that starts with you is supposed to stay with you, not only that, but there are fresh people that God is bringing into the port of your life. And if you do not do the work in this season, of setting free and forgiving the things that disappointed you, you will not be open to the deposit.

And so you stay poor and you stay sad and you stay alone. But if you will get your eyes off of who left and put your eyes on what they left, that God is still watching over in your life to bring you to a new level. I declare and decree he will rebuild and restore everything that the locust hate every year that the canker worm gnawed up after all it wasn't them that blessed you anyway he was the one God was the one his mercy was the conduit his grace was the power get ready to shout you've had your eyes on people Put your eyes on Jesus. He was the one.

Got too focused on others. Got too focused on stuff. Forgot that he was the one. Somebody say he was the one. Who brought me through depression. Say he was the one who forgave all my sins and healed all my diseases. He was the one whose blood washed me clean. He was the one who knelt in a garden of Gatsimony with me on his mind

and pressed through to the cross. He was the one. That's why I know he's not through with you. Because it was him all along. Uzziah rebuilt and restored the port. I'm going to ask you a question. When we write your 2nd Kings chapter 14 verse 21 and 22, what are we going to say? He was the one.

He was the one. I know some of you in here, I want your Second King's 1422 to read like this. He was the one who battled through the addiction that his dad couldn't defeat and beat it for his own kids. He was the one. She was the one who forgave her mom for never telling her that she was loved for making her perform. And because she forgave her mom, she was able to face herself and love herself and see herself

as a daughter of God. She was the one. I'll see crowds today. I don't know why God gave me this anointing. I just see ones. I just see ones. One God, one person. Which one you want to be? Because this can go the other way, too. He was the one who gave up on himself because he really He got tired of making excuses. And so eventually he just brought his lifestyle, his belief in God down to the level of his lifestyle, rather than bringing his lifestyle up to the level of his belief in God. I want to tell you something about Uzziah, and we might want to sit down for this. Uzziah did really good. In fact, Second Chronicles 26, it kind of says the same thing about him, but it gives us a little more detail.

I bring you this in a spirit of humility because, look, I know when you hear a strong word from God, and for some of you this is a strong word from God. And it's not because of me. It's because of the importance of your life to what God wants to do through you. And so this word is hitting you right now because this is an ELAT message for you. This is a port sermon for you. What goes forth from here is important. You don't think it is yet.

You don't even know why you're the one. I had a man come up to me after I preached one time and he said, preacher, when you were preaching, you said, this message is for someone, I don't know who. And he goes, I just want to let you know I was the one. And he said a little bit of what he was going through. I said, thank you for telling me. somebody else came up and they had overheard and it was a man and a woman and the woman said she was really funny she said um i didn't mean to eavesdrop but i heard that man that came before

and uh this is my husband joe and i just want you know that man that was here before he was wrong because uh he was the one you were talking to then pointed at her husband somebody say i'm the one see i'm the one that decides which one i'm going to be he was the one who rebuild and restored If you're like this in ruins right now, you didn't control that. You may have contributed to it. But will you be the one who rebuilds and restores? I know God wants to be the one who helps you do that. I know that.

He'll be the one that will empower you to do it. Uzziah does amazing things, y'all. For a guy who had to start being a king at age 16, wow. He defeats three of the Philistine countries, knocks down their walls. He puts these watchtowers all around Jerusalem, they can see where their enemies are coming from. And then after he builds the watchtowers, he puts these special military devices where they can shoot the arrows and hurled the stones and their enemies can't see them. He buys new military equipment for every single one of the soldiers,

and there are 300,000 and 700 of them. Soldiers. He gives them all new equipment. He's also a gardener. He does amazing things with agriculture. This guy is amazing. Amazing. And so are you. in some ways. But the Bible says something really scary to me. Let's look at it. Second Chronicles 26. Then all the people of Judah took, Uzziah, who was 16 years old, made him king in place of his father, Amaziah. We already read that. This is a different account of it.

He was the one who rebuilt Elath and restored it to Judah after Amaziah rested with his ancestors. We already read that, but this is a different account. Now watch this. Uzziah was 16 years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem, 52 years. His mother's name was Jecholiah. and she was from Jerusalem. He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, just as his Father Emma Zahia had done. He sought God during the days of Zechariah.

Zechariah was the one who mentored him, who instructed him in the fear of God. And listen to this verse, it's going to feel haunting. As long as he sought the Lord, God gave him success. The next several verses really break that down. All the successes God gave him. It says that God strengthened him, God helped him. God upheld him. God resourced him.

If you go all the way down to verse 16, it says, but after Uzziah became powerful, his pride led to his downfall. He was unfaithful to the Lord as God and entered the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of incense.

Now listen to this. Azariah, the priest, this is a different Azariah, as if it wasn't confusing enough already. There's got to be two Azarias and one who isn't going by the name Azariah anymore. Thanks a lot, Chronicle writer. Asariah the priest with 80, let us listen to this. Back into the scene. Asariah, the priest with 80 other courageous priests the Lord followed him and they confront King Uzziah and said, it's not right for you, Uzziah to burn incense to the Lord.

That's for the priests, the descendants of Aaron, who have been consecrated to burn incense. Leave the sanctuary. You've been unfaithful. You might be honored by the Lord God. The kings weren't allowed to burn this incense. It was for the priests. It was for the priests. to do. You know, you always get in trouble when you try to do what God called somebody else to do. When you start wishing you could be this one or that one, and see, Uzziah was powerful. God called him. Don't get it twisted. God anointed him. God put the crown on his head, no matter whose hands he used to position it there. It was God that did it, but then he got out of his place, and even when he was corrected, he wouldn't listen. Now listen to this verse

19, because God is bringing you to this point today, and I want you to hear this as a warning for your life. Uzziah, who had a censor in his hand, ready to burn incense, became angry. While he was raging at the priest in their presence before the incense altar in the Lord's temple, leprosy broke out on his forehead. When Azariah, the chief priest and all the other priests looked at him, they saw he had leprosy on his forehead, so they hurried him out. Indeed, he himself was eager to leave because the Lord had afflicted him.

Now, listen to this. I wish the story ended different, but I've got to give it to you how it is in the Bible because I don't write the book. I'm just giving you the mail. The Bible says King Uzziah had leprosy until the day he died. He lived in a separate house, leprous, and banned from the temple of the Lord. Jotham, his son, had charge of the palace and governed the people of the land. Listen this.

The other events of Uzziah's reign from beginning to end are recorded by the prophet Isaiah, son of Amos. Uzziah rested with his ancestors and was buried near them in a cemetery that belonged to the kings for the people said he had leprosy. and Jotham, his son, succeeded him as king. All he did, and the people said, give me verse 23 again, people said, you see that? I'm going to wait for you to find it. You see it? People said he had leprosy. And he died like that, and he died like that, because he forgot that God was the one.

And you die alone when you forget that God is the one. And you live alone when you forget that God is the one. And your worship gets weak when you forget that God is the one. And you start running from what God has called you to when you forget that God is the one. And you feel cut off when you forget that God is the one. How many are grateful that of all the kings that are in Second Kings 14, none of those kings are the one that we came to worship today. Yeah, because people will disappoint you, but God will carry you.

People will leave you. God never will. And the Bible says that King Uzziah died with leprosy, a skin condition that isolated him. But you don't have to. You don't have to stay away. You know why? Because Isaiah prophesied to Uzziah, but he did not prophesy about Uzziah. Isaiah prophesied about another king, a king that would come at a later date. A king that would not come through any human father, but a king that would come that would come not in a palace, a king that would come in a Palestinian environment that would have been

unfit for many animals. See, the thing that I want you to know today for all of you who feel alone, I have no one, I am no one. I can't rebuild. I can't recover. I'm down here and I have to stay here and there is no more for me and I'm not the one and the sermon is for somebody else because I've tried this before, and it didn't work. I wanted you to know this from the heart of God today for his child. Your leprosy is not your legacy. This leprosy, this issue, everybody has something like that. Not a skin disease, not something that others can see on your forehead,

but a label that follows you through life. A condition, an issue, a struggle, a tendency. Something that has been with you and may even be consuming you. But somebody shout, this leprosy will not be my legacy. Say it by faith. This leprosy will not be my legacy. One more time say this leprosy, this label, this limitation, this loneliness will not be my legacy. Now look at your neighbor and say, God is not through with you.

Let me tell you how I know God's not through with you. You know how I know he's not through with you? Because it did not end in Second Chronicles 26 with Uzziah. Flip on over to Matthew chapter 1. I feel I preach him. Because the Bible says, no piano, give me some organ. Uzziah! Who was Uzziah?

the father of Jotham, right? And he died of leprosy. And people said he had leprosy. Well, that's what people said. But that's not what God said. God said he was the one who rebuilt Elah. So I need everybody to give God praise if you're grateful that people don't have in your life. In your life.

People. People. Oh, give God praise if you're set free from what people say. People can say what they want to say. People can say what they want to say. I'm not listening to people. I'm listening to prophecy. What did God say about you?

If he said you're the one, guess what? You're the one. All right, so come with me to Matthew, chapter 1, verse 9. Because you're reading, you're like, they're sad. He died of leprosy. But somebody say, this leprosy is not my legacy. No, because Uzziah, who was he? Well, he was the one who was the father of Jotham?

Who was Jopham? Let's play Jeopardy. He was the one who was the father of Ahas. Who was Ahaz? He was the one. I'm getting happy because I'm thinking about everything God's still going to do in your life that you can't see right now. Everything God's going to bring through you, everything important that God still has in your future. That's why the devil's fighting you so hard.

That's why you can't sleep at night. That's why you're tossing and turning. That's why you're kind of restless. That's why you're kind of lonely because God is raising you up. All right, just preach the text. Just preach the text. Let's go back to the text. Back to the text.

Somebody say, he was the one. Yeah, yeah, yeah. He was the one. Ahas. Who was he? He was the one who was the father of Hezekiah. Verse 10. Hezekiah.

He was the one who was the father of Manassah. He was the one who was the father of Amman. He was the one who was the father of Josiah. He was the one that was the father of Jekinaia. Who was Jekinaia? Somebody shout, he was the one. No, shout at, he was the one. Verse 12, who was the father of Shialtyel?

Who was Shialtiel? He was the one who was the father of Zerubabal. He was the one who was the father of Abidada. He was the one that was the father of Eliakum. He was the one that was the father of Ahor. He was the one who was the father of Zadok. He was the one that was the father of Akim. He was the one that was the father of Elehunt.

I told you I can't pronounce these words. I'm Wheel of Fortune. I'm Pass A-Jack, baby. He was the one that was the father of Mathin. He was the one that was the father of Jacob. Now get ready to celebrate because who was Jacob? He was the one that was the father of Joseph. He was the one that was the husband of Mary.

She was the one that was the mother of. He was the one. It's not your legacy. I speak Jesus. I speak Jesus over your mind. Jesus. Jesus is the one. Jesus.

Jesus is the one. Jesus. Jesus is the one. Who's going to do it? Jesus. Who's going to see you through? Jesus. Always been him.

It's always been him, bro. Since you were a little boy he was watching out for you. Since you were a little girl, he was raising you up. They called you and he chose you, and you are going to be the one to rebuild and restore so that Jesus can come forth in your life. I declare God is bringing something forth in this moment. Who receives it? Who receives it?

Come on, make your heart of Port City right now. Say, God, I receive it. I receive it. I receive it. Now you're going to be the one. She was the one who went to counseling and worked through her past so that it did not become the lid of her future. She was the one. He was the one who decided to give his gifts to God rather than using him to serve the world.

He was the one. He was the one who decided to open a door for others rather than always trying to make it about himself. He was the one. What one will you? I love that story in the Bible, where ten lepers came up to Jesus. They knew that he was the one who could heal them. I don't know if you get the richness of this. He was the prophet, the priest, and the king.

All of those things in one. They had been to their priest, their priest couldn't do it. They came to Jesus, and he told them, go to the priest, and you will be healed as you go. And in Luke 17, verse 15, the Bible says that one of them, One of the ten when he saw that he was healed, banged back, praising God, as he realized this leprosy is not my legacy. I don't have to stay outside anymore. He's Emmanuel God with us.

One of them. If I preach this sermon, everything I've said today, for one person to come back, it will be worth it. Because I believe you are a port city. I believe things are going to flow through you that are going to change lives you will never meet. Who receives it? Who receives it?

Who receives it? Who receives it? Who receives it? Who receives it? I'll receive it. Yes, Lord. Yes, Lord. Oh, God.

He was the one. Jesus was the one with healing. And it is at his feet that we fall today. Lord God, this is the part of the sermon. Where I stop speaking, but you don't, because there are things that you want to open up for the people that you brought to hear this word today. They have been labeled by life, labeled by lies. But I declare that label will not be their legacy. Alcoholic will not be their legacy.

Addict will not be their legacy. Bitter will not be their legacy. Failure will not be their legacy. Defeat will not be their legacy. their legacy the heritage of the servants of God is the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ and our righteousness comes from you you are the one say it out loud you are the one and so Father I stretch my hands to you today for every time that the devil has tried to tell me I am no one and I have his name is Jesus and he is the one who opens blind eyes he is

the one who causes the lane to walk. He is the one who forgives the sinner. He is the one who raises the dead. He is the one who speaks for the word and we are healed. I wonder who is that one today that God gave me this message for. With your head bowed and your eyes closed, there's someone in here and you need to throw yourself at the feet of Jesus today. We're going to pray a prayer right now. And this prayer is not to people, this prayer is to Jesus. He's the one who can save you. I said, he's the one. Somebody say it, he's the one. You've been running to everything else, you've been run into sex, you've been running to drugs, you've been running to religion, you've been

run into others, you've been run into achievement, you've been run into aspiration, but he's the one. He's the one who can say. So right now, in the stillness of this moment, I want to lead you in a prayer. And if you pray this prayer from your heart, the Bible says that if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. It is your faith in Christ that saves you, not your good works. Just your faith in Him. So right now, if you need to come back to God, if you are that one who needs to come back and receive the grace of God, I want you to pray this with me. We're praying it as a church family. Everybody all together praying out loud, repeat after me. Heavenly Father

I am the one. I am a sinner in need of a Savior. And I believe that Jesus Christ is the one true God. I believe he died, that I could be forgiven and rose again to give me life. I receive this new life. This is my new beginning. I am a child of God. On the count of three, shoot your hand up if you prayed that.

One, two, three. Hands up online. Hands up online. I celebrate you. Celebrate you. A church, the Bible says there's rejoicing over one sinner in heaven. All the angels rejoice when one comes back. Let's celebrate the one.

Come on, let's celebrate somebody's daughter, somebody's son, somebody's brother, somebody's sister. Let's celebrate. Hey, I hope you enjoyed the podcast. And if you did, make sure to share it and subscribe so we can get you all of these new messages as soon as they're available. I also want to take a moment and thank all of you who are a part of elevation. Whether you support us financially or serve with us or just share these messages, it's because of you that we're able to reach people all around the world. And if you want more information on how to be a part of elevation, click the link in the description.

Thanks again for listening. Make sure to leave a review, share the message, and subscribe. God bless you. This is an IHeart podcast, Guaranteed Human.