Elevation with Steven Furtick - I Don't Think I'm Ready For This (Holly Furtick)

Episode Date: February 8, 2021

God has prepared you (even when you don't feel ready). In “I Don't Think I'm Ready For This,” the first lady of Elevation Church, Holly Furtick, teaches that even when we don't feel ready for the next step, God has already made a way ahead of us.See 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. I wanted to thank you for joining us today. Hope this inspires you. Hope it builds your fate. Hope it gives you perspective to see God is moving in your life.

Enjoy the message. Holly is going to share our anniversary message. She's never preached on the church anniversary. She always makes me work on the church birthday. This year, it's her turn. All over the world right now, people are joining us, and they're hungry to hear from God. And God has sent us somebody today who lives the Word of God.

And that's going to make it so much more powerful. Her authenticity only gets deeper, the closer that you come. Matter of fact, she was all this week watching old videos of the church crying. And we were sitting around a table in Shelby, North Carolina, getting ready to get started. Even before you were here, Autumn, and you've been here a long time. But even before that, when we were sitting around the table in Shelby, North Carolina, and she said, come watch some of these. It'll touch your heart.

I said, I don't want to watch it. I don't, you know, like, there's a fine line between, like, getting back to your core and then cringing at everything that, you know, like how my voice sounded and everything. But I snuck in and watched one of the clips. I wanted them to show it real quick with mute. I'm not going to let them hear my voice or what I was saying. But what I want you to notice is that that guy in the three sizes too big buttoned who didn't deserve this woman that God gave him notices on August 14th, 2005, just about six months before we had our first public service, I believe, that in just a moment, here comes somebody in the room.

What's he doing? He's moving back for the person who's supposed to be sitting beside him. And there's Elijah, who's 15 now, the OG of the Elevation Corps team. What I want you to see is her smile, and I want you to see how she carried Elijah and how you've carried what God has put in your heart for our ministry with grace and poise and dignity for 15 years. You did it smiling and you did it kindly, and we're thankful for the word that God gave you for us today. Last year, Bishop Chakes preached my anniversary. There's only one person I'd rather hear from. Let's thank God for Holly Ferdick. Happy birthday, church.

Everybody could have Pastor Stephen Ferdick introduce them. That's just the best. Welcome to everyone worshiping with us from your campus or your living room or your watch. You may have already typed in the chat where you're joining us from, but let's do it again. Say hi. I'm just so excited to be here today and be celebrating the anniversary. It's always one of my favorite weeks. in our church. You guys worship team. Thank you. You're amazing. And by the way, Maverick City,

you guys have led worship the last three times that I have preached. So I just want to say we should, you know, keep going. Can make it a thing. Make it a thing. And by the way, that little collab that he was talking about, can I say collab, collaboration? I can't wait for you to hear it. It is unlike anything out there. It is anointed. It is fresh. It is incredible.

And I'm so excited for it. When's it coming out? Soon. Soon. That's all you need to know. Okay. If you're in the room, you can sit down. It's been 15 years.

And earlier this week, I got to spend some time with our staff just listening. to stories and testimonies of how God has moved in each of our lives to this ministry. And I'm just, I'm so grateful that I get to be a part of this church. And as I was personally reflecting this week, I was watching old videos and looking through old pictures, I just, I couldn't be more grateful for the faith of our pastor. because he has taught me about what faith actually looks like more than any other person, more than any Bible verse. He has shown me that there are two sides to faith, that there's the faith that has the confidence

to speak up in the moment and declare something or decide something like he just said, this is just the foundation. I can't tell you how many things I've heard him say from the front row that I was like, Like, whoa. One time he said that we were going to give the entire week's offering back into our community. And we didn't have a lot of extra money or any extra money in the bank at that time. One time he declared that we would reach 10,000 people by 2010. And I don't remember how many people we had at the time, but it wasn't close to 10,000 people in attendance. or when he decided that we needed to move all of our online worship experiences to YouTube.

There's all these decisions that I've watched to make over the years, and that's one side of faith, and it's the side of faith that's backed by an intimate relationship with God, one that hears an ax. But then there's this other side of faith, and you get to see the here and act side of Pastor Stephen, but there's this other side of faith, and we all experience it, but we don't know that it's normal. And that side of faith is the side that actually looks and feels like fear and doubt. And you don't know how many times I have heard my husband say, do you think we're doing the right thing? Is this irresponsible?

Is this going to work? Is this right? Did I, why did I say that? And you've taught me over the past 15 years that if there's no fear, you know, if there's no fear, it doesn't really require very much faith. And you've taught me that faith requires work, and it requires grit and perseverance, even though you're throwing up behind closed doors when no one else knows. You've taught me that it's okay when what you believe you heard from God doesn't necessarily line up with what you feel or see in your current circumstances.

I think about our Matthews campus. If you're part of our Matthews campus, and you don't know the story of your campus, you better ask Larry Brigh. Because, I don't know, I have so many memories. But I'm also thankful for all the people who have come alongside us over the years and have joined their faith with ours, whether it's people who are on our staff and who have come alongside or people who have just given faithfully and volunteered week after week.

And I just know that you would agree. with me that as I stand here and say thank you, Pastor Stephen, for letting us ride your spiritual coattails. Your faith has allowed us to see what God can do through us. Type it in the chat if you're watching. God is just getting started. I believe that the next 15 years is going to be just as to. I love you. Okay. Can I preach today? I cannot wait to share with you. the things that God has been teaching me. I knew that I wanted to preach this when I read this story and literally everything that Stephen has been preaching for the last two months just kept leaping off the page at me, like something from every sermon. So I'm so excited. Are you ready?

Okay. I've got my preaching pants on. I'm going to tighten my belt. Let's pray. Lord, we thank you for this church. We thank you for your church. 15 years seems like a lifetime when we think about all that you have done. Most of all, we thank you that this is the place. I thank you that this is the place where you speak to me. And no matter where we're watching from, whether it's in our living rooms or on our computers, driving in our cars, God, we're here. We're here. We're listening. Would you comfort us? Would you encourage us? Would you inspire us? Would you challenge us today? We want a touch from you, Lord. We want to hear from you. Speak through me now. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

Before I read our scriptures, Judges 6, you can make your way there. It's in the beginning of the Bible. I want to take a poll. So let me know in the chat. Do you put stickers on your car? Just give me a thumbs up or a thumbs down. My dad never, ever let us put stickers, bumper stickers on his car. So I never put stickers on my car until this sticker. All done. That's your folder. This one's mine. Tell this one.

By the way, these are free. If you ask your campus pastor from one, or you can order one online. I don't know if they're free online, but they're free, I guess. Anyway, nothing against all other stickers. And sorry, Dad, but I had to put a sticker on my car. I started thinking about other stickers that people put on your car, on their cars. It's kind of funny. When you see people's stickers, you like, what made you want to put that on your car?

Some of them you can understand, you know, like this. I never put one of these on my car, but let me know in the chat if you ever put one of these on your car. Most of these belong to first-time parents. Then you move up in the world and you get one of these. Well, we don't have a dog. But here's the funny thing about these. These are cute, you know. But then some people get really carried away with these. Like the fish

permanent. You know, this is your car. Okay, sorry, I got a couple more. I'm going to go a little faster. We have these. No comment. Here's one I'm never going to put on my car. If you have one of these on your car, congratulations. We are so proud of you. That ain't happening for me. And then, okay, here's one more, because, you know, you see these statements that people put on their cars, and you just wonder, like, here, I'm going to show it to you first. See if you can stand still. Happened to this guy. He was like, I'm getting a freaking sticker. Recently, though, I joined, like, a club of sorts, and I had to put another sticker on my car next to my elevation one.

And it's this one. God, as my witness, no one could have prepared me for this stage of parenting. I've heard people say that teaching your kids to drive is hard and scary and there's a lot of yelling. But guys, to date, 15 years I've been a mom, to date, this is the hardest thing that I have done. I'm not throwing Elijah under the bus. He's doing a great job. But this is like getting in a roller coaster, getting on a roller coaster, that could actually crash. And we have three kids. Thank God we stopped at three, because I have to do this two more times. And I will never forget the day that we walked out of the DMV. I don't know who was more proud Elijah or me. It was such a

great moment. We had a little bit of drama because, you know, there's a pandemic going on. and let's just be honest, the DMV was rough before COVID. So this was our second trip to the DMV, and I'm not going to go into deals about why it was a second trip, but let's just say I did go back in. The sign said, do not come in because you had to wait outside. I did go back in. I was like, I need help. Anyway, so Elijah gets his permit, and he's completely.

the state's required 30 hours in the classroom. He's done six hours behind the wheel with the instructor. He's passed his test, and he was ready to get behind the wheel. And as we walked to the car, I just confidently said, all right, you're driving us home. And he looked at me and he said, I don't think I'm ready for this. So inside, I was not confident at all. But I really got in my head that I wanted him to have this memory of him, of him, driving away from the DMV. So I mustered up all my courage, and I said, of course you're ready. This is how you learn to drive. Let's go. So we got in the car, and he adjusted his seat, and we made sure the mirrors were right, and he put the car in drive. And I just, seriously,

I cannot, cannot reiterate enough. Handing your child the keys to your own vehicle, you pay money for. And letting them drive you, it's like a loss of control that can only be experienced. But I put on a smile and I was like, you're going to. But I didn't really think it all the way through, because I don't always think things all the way through. And we had to get on I-85 to go home. So, and like, it's okay, it's okay. Everything's okay. And so our entrance came up and I prayed and I stayed calm and I talked him through it because that's what you have to do when you're teaching a kid how to drive. You have no idea how much stuff you do without thinking while you're driving. So I'm like, speed up, not that fast, slow down, but don't break,

look to see if any worse. And so we picked up speed and we're going. And just when I was at a level of threshold of fear and anxiety that I could possibly stand, it started to rain. I promise you. And I said, pull over, I'm not ready for this. That's the title of my message today. I don't think I'm ready for this. Had to do something that you were not ready for. But you're already in it. We encounter situations like this every day.

Sometimes it's a season of life that you weren't ready for, but here you are. Sometimes it's a pandemic. And you find yourself doing a job that you weren't really hired to do. Sometimes it's things beyond your control that happen. Maybe you're now caring for an elderly parent or fighting an illness that you didn't expect. How many of you would agree that if you waited until you feel ready or qualified to do something, you're never going to do it? So today we're going to look at the life of Gideon, a young man who was minding his own business.

He was trying to survive just like everyone around him. but God came to him, and he called him out to lead his nation, even though he didn't think he was ready. Let's look at this. Judges, Chapter 6, verse 1. The Israelites did evil in the Lord's sight, so the Lord handed them over to the Midianites for seven years. The Midianites were so cruel that the Israelites made hiding places for themselves in the mountains, caves, and strongholds. Whenever the Israelites planted crops, marauders from Midian, Amalek, and the people of the east would attack Israel, camping in the land, and destroying crops as far away as Gaza. They left the Israelites with nothing to eat, taking all of the sheep,

goats, cattle, and donkeys. These enemy hordes coming with their livestock and tents were as thick as locusts. They arrived on droves of camels too numerous to count. and they stayed until the land was stripped bare. So Israel was reduced to starvation by the Midianites. Then the Israelites cried out to the Lord for help. Stripped bare, reduced to starvation, they cried out. The sad thing about this is that it's only a few generations after Israel fled slavery in Egypt. And here we find them hungry and hiding in their own land. Have you ever been hungry and hiding

when you were supposed to be flourishing and free? Maybe something happened to you and you feel stripped bare. It's funny how unexpected circumstances can just come and knock us off our feet. They just come from nowhere. And it can be a job. It could be an illness. It could be the end of a relationship. Or some of us have experienced a sudden onset of anxiety. And it could even be a change that you thought was going to be awesome. Like maybe you went away to college, but now you're just struggling to find your place. Like you thought this was going to be amazing. And now you're like, lonely. And maybe this isn't where I was supposed to be. And could be even like, Israel. a series of your own poor decisions that led you to this place of confusion in pain.

And I think when things like this happen, our natural instinct is to withdraw. I don't want to admit to others that I need help. I don't even want to cry out to God because I feel like I should be doing better than this. We feel like it's our own fault that we're suffering. And the thing about hiding is that it feels right at the time, but then it only makes you feel more isolated and alone. And for whatever reason that we find ourselves in this place, we start to convince ourselves that no one understands, no one cares. And so we just pull away even more. And we become starved for meaningful interaction with others in hunguously.

grief or acceptance, and it makes you kick into scavenger mode. You ever been in scavenger mode? And you're mad at everyone. You're mad at the world. And you're trying to satisfy your soul and all the places that never really fulfill you. And that's where we find Israel at the moment. I just wonder if you can relate, if you've ever experienced this feeling. They know they shouldn't be in this place. They know they don't have to continue to live this way. And the Bible tells us that they got to the point where they were so impoverished that they cried out to the Lord for help. And I think it's so interesting that sometimes we have to get so low before we finally cry out

to God. Don't worry. This sermon is not depressing because God hears our cries. That's what you have to know today. And in my experience, God hears my cries. but usually relief comes in the form of action on my part. Something I'm going to have to do. And that's where I want to spend the bulk of our time today.

An angel comes to Gideon, and he's going to call him to action. Gideon is going to be the one to lead the nation of Israel in a fight against their oppressors, and their oppressors are big. And we're going to watch Gideon question and doubt. But then we're ultimately going to see him put his faith into action in an incredible way. Spoiler alert, because I'm not going to get to the end of the story. I'm just going to tell you about it now. Gideon and only 300 men defeat the Midianite army of over 150,000 men. And Gideon lives to be an old man.

Today I want to talk through the events that led up to this epic victory. Because you know we love to sing, I'm going to say a victory for the battle. The battle does belong to the Lord. But that doesn't mean that you get to sit up in the stands and watch like a spectator. So what do you do? When you know you're entering into a new season, a new battle, a new calling, a new role, how do you shift from how you're currently surviving to actually. living out that faith that's inside of you. God never wants us to live in hiding. He never

intended us to live with fear lurking around every corner. He doesn't want us scavenging for scraps of encouragement on social media. When you cry out to him, he hears you and he helps you, but he doesn't do it for you. Because it's in that place of crying out. and questioning and acting, even when we aren't sure, even when we don't feel ready, that's where God does some of his greatest work within us. And as we talk through this story today, I'm going to give you four things to remind yourself about God when you're facing a new situation and you don't feel ready. Not four things to remember about yourself. Yes, you can do all things to Christ who strengthens you. But when it comes time to put your faith

into action. We have to remember who is really on our side. That's what I want to talk about today. So let's get down. Verse 11, then the angel of the Lord came and sat beneath the great tree at Oprah, which belonged to Joash of the clan of Ebie Azar. Gideon, son of Joash, was threshing wheat at the bottom of a wine press to hide the grain from the Midianites. The angel of the Lord appeared to him and said, mighty hero, the Lord is with you. First thing that you must remember is that when God calls you, he calls according to your potential. I don't know much about wheat, I like to eat it, or wine presses, but I'm pretty sure that you're not supposed to thresh wheat in a wine press. Gideon was hiding from the enemy.

And he was just trying to get enough food, enough wheat to feed his family. He was just trying to get by one more day, just an ordinary day for him in hiding. And an angel comes to him. And some translations say that the angel calls him mighty warrior. There's nothing mighty or warrior about Gideon in this moment. He's hiding. He's starving. Aren't you grateful that God calls us according to the potential he sees in us?

Not our past decisions, not our present circumstances. Don't you wish you could actually see yourself the way God sees you? I think back to starting this church. I remember Stephen and I dreaming and planning, dreaming and planning about one day planting a church. And we would say things like, you know, one day when we're older, maybe when we're 40, maybe when we're wiser, when people would actually want to follow us. But very clearly, God just spoke to us. And it was just, we just knew it was time for us to start this church. We were 25 years old.

Let me put that into perspective for some of you. We'd only been out of the college dorm room for three years. We were not pastors. We were not church planning experts. We were children. God doesn't see you as unemployed. He sees you as a provider. God doesn't see you as a stressed out mom. He sees you as a nurturer. He doesn't see you as insecure. He sees you as confident in your own personality, in your own skin. You might be hiding. But that's That's not who you really are. And God is not looking for perfection.

Because if he was, he wouldn't have picked us. He wouldn't have picked me and he wouldn't have picked you. He's looking for potential. He is perfectly okay with the space between who you are right now in this moment and who you're going to become. Because he sees the fighter in you. He sees a person who will fight for progress. He sees a person who will fight for their family.

He sees a person who will fight to keep their integrity and their honesty, even when it gets hard in their job. A person who will fight to do the right thing, even when it feels like everyone else is doing the wrong thing. That's who you are. The thing is, in Gideon's current state, he's so bitter about his situation. I don't even think he heard the mighty warrior part, because he got caught up on the part where the Lord says, hold on. Let me get back to it.

He got caught up on the part. Look at what the angel says. This is verse 13. Sir, Gideon replied, if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? And where are the miracles our ancestors told us about? Didn't they say the Lord brought us up out of Egypt, but now the Lord has abandoned us and handed us over to Midian? Getting got caught up on the Lord is with you part. He's like, what kind of promised land is this? That's what he wants to know. Isn't the Bible amazing? Because don't tell

me that you've never spoken to God like that. Don't tell me you've never prayed. Where are you? And why is this happening to me? Have you ever prayed? Have you ever thought, everyone else is getting a breakthrough but me and my family? Can I be honest with you? I have prayed some prayers to God that I really hope he wasn't listening. I said things like, seriously, God, you're going to bless them. It's supposed to be my dream job.

This was supposed to be ministry. and it feels like everything's falling apart. God, where are you? This is not how I thought it would go. And you say you're with me, but I can't feel it right now. And God is so good, because he's like that parent that completely ignores his kid's tantrum and he just moves right on with his instruction. What he says to Gideon, the Lord turned to him and said, go in the strength that you have and save him. Israel out of Midian's hand. Am I not sending you? God says to Gideon, let's go. Get up. I'm going to use you. Yes, you. Put it in the chat. Yes, you. But I'm not good enough. Yes, you. But I'm not old enough. Yes, you. But I'm too old. Yes, you. Wherever you're watching from, God wants to use you. Sit down.

My second point is this. It prepares you along the way. I'm just going to tell you right now. Yes, you. But you're never going to feel ready. And you're never going to feel full of faith all the time. Feeling full only lasts momentarily. And then the fear sets in.

And then the doubt. And then the hard stuff, like the people come along. He actually comes. You actually have a roommate in college. Stop waiting to feel ready. Stop making excuses for why you can't do the things you're called to do. And let me be a little bit more clear. Most of the time, in my experience, God doesn't call me to do something new.

He calls me to do something that I'm already doing with a better attitude and a bigger purpose. And the temptation is to walk away from what you're doing. doing and start something new. I think I need a new marriage, a new church, a new job. I can't do this anymore. I don't have the strength to keep going in this relationship any longer, but God told Gideon, let's go. The strength that you have is enough for this moment. When God gives you an assignment, he makes it big enough for you to question it and small enough for you to take the first step. You have the strength that you need for the task that you've been given today. If your child is three, you have what you need to raise a three-year-old. And when

they're 13, you still won't feel ready, but you'll be stronger and you'll be wiser than you were 10 years before. God's not going to lay your future out in front of you. If he did, you would never come out of hiding. And it's not because there's this big, bad, terrible situation that's going to happen to you. It's because it's more than you could ask or imagine. We're celebrating our church's 15th anniversary today. And I've been thinking back on all the amazing things that God's done. I can't stop thinking about how we only had to have enough faith to start.

Not to finish. Starting faith. Type that in the chat. Starting faith. That's all you need. The courage to start. This week, my husband, he already told you this, but when I am preparing for a sermon, I get in these rabbit holes, and sometimes it's, I mean, it can be anything.

I think at one point I was looking at camping gear this week. I don't like camping. I was looking at camping gear. But one of the rabbit holes that I went in was watching old videos of our court team meetings. I think I have a picture for you. Okay. Chunks and Amy, this is your living room. This is a picture that I don't think we've ever shown anyone before.

Remember that chair with the fish on it? So here's Stephen preaching. He's preaching his heart out to about 15 people. And he's telling them how we're going to start a church and how the worship is going to draw people in, and the sermons are going to be relevant, and people are going to want to invite their friends. And then, with all the passion that you can imagine, Pastor Stephen Verdick at age 25, he says, and I believe, he has this country accent.

Back then, it's really funny. And I believe, with all my heart, that we are going to impact the city of Charlotte. And I watched that this week. And I thought, when he was like, we are going to impact, I'm like thinking the world. And he's just Charlotte? You're telling me, God gave this man a vision to impact a medium-sized city in the southwestern, southwestern, southeast, United States? The vision wasn't that we would be the fastest growing church plant. The vision wasn't that we would write songs that other churches would sing.

The vision wasn't that we would have a global online ministry that would impact people all over the world. He didn't proclaim passionately that we would have multiple locations. It's easy for me to look back now and just Charlotte. But at the time, Charlotte was massive to us. But today, let's just do a little experiment. Let me know in the chat. Where are you watching from? You're watching later in the archive by this ministry.

Let me know where you were watching from. Nigeria. I mentioned all the people in Charlotte. Hands wherever you are. God wants to do more than you can ask or imagine. But for today, he gives you the strength that you need right now. That's it. Because the thing about strength is, is developed along the way.

Get a little bit stronger. That's how faith grows. The point of faith is for you to look back and see how far you've come, but to look forward and feel a little bit afraid. I love that sermon this past weekend from Pastor Stephen so much. He said, same devils, new levels. But he told us you might be fighting the same battles, but it's a stronger you that's fighting each time.

And you're not fighting this battle alone. Over and over, God keeps telling Gideon, I will be with you. Verse 15, but Lord Gideon replied, how can I rescue Israel? My clan is the weakest in the whole tribe of Manasseh, and I'm the least in my family. Gideon is still not on board with this plan. He's still telling God that he's not the right person for this, that he's not good enough, that he doesn't come from a strong family background. And again, God does not answer these questions. He simply says, I will be with you. And you will

destroy the Midianites as if you were fighting against one man. See, he doesn't tell him he's only going to have 300 people helping him. He doesn't need to know that part. Gideon replied, if you're truly going to help me, show me a sign to prove that it is really the Lord speaking to me. don't go away until I come back and bring my offering to you. And he answered, I will stay here until you return. You got to remember that God is patient. That's my third thing. And I want to make sure you get it. If you only hear me say one thing today, I want you to hear this. God is patient with you. In church, we love to talk about waiting on God. And, and we want to hear me. We want you to hear me. We should. We should definitely wait on God. The Bible tells us, wait on the Lord, be of good courage,

and He will strengthen your heart. And Isaiah 40, 31, they will, they that wait on the Lord will renew their strength. They will mount up on wings like eagles. They will run and not be weary. They will walk and not be faint. But Gideon wasn't soaring on eagles' wings. He was weary. He was hungry. He was fainting. He was out of patience for God. For seven years, Israel was oppressed. by Midian. Seven years is a long time. And Gideon had given up on God. But aren't you glad that we serve a God who never gives up on us? He's so patient. Everyone loves to quote Isaiah 4031. You know what verse 28 says? I've got to show it to you. It says, do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or

In his understanding, no man can fathom. The angel told Gideon, I'll wait here for you to return. And I believe that God is waiting for you, right where you left off. He's waiting for you to return to him. He's patient with your questions. He's patient with your fear. He's patient with your poor decisions. He's waiting for you to come back to him.

I struggled so much with this message because I kept asking God, and Gideon's going to go and he's going to make this sacrifice. And God's calling him to do something. And I kept asking God, what does calling mean to us right now today in 2021? Because calling is such a religious word, you know? I grew up in a good old Southern Baptist church. And we love to talk about calling. Like when you were about to get a new pastor, they would come and preach to the congregation. and it was called in view of a call. I never really knew what that meant, but I do now. But then that

pastor who's preaching in view of a call would give an invitation for you to accept God's call. And usually this meant things like a call to join our church or a call to the mission field or a call to full-time ministry, where it could mean a call to simply surrender your life to Jesus. God can call you to do a lot of things, but the most important call is the one where you decide to surrender your life to him. And that's what I really think God was calling Gideon to do. He was calling him to a specific task, but he was also calling him out of survival mode and into a relationship with him.

He keeps telling him over and over again, I will be with you. Yes, you. I have a lot that I want to do through you. And the Bible tells us that Gideon hurried home, and he started to gather up a sacrifice for the Lord. He cooked a goat, and he made some bread without yeast. Gideon had that flat bread, Faye. Just like his ancestors, a few generations back, Gideon didn't have time for the bread to rise. God was waiting on him.

And more than that, you know, unleavened bread. It had a significance. It represented freedom from oppression. That's the gift that he's going to bring to God. So he gets back to the angel and he brings his sacrifice. I've got to tell you, I thought about this. God, why did Gideon bring a sacrifice? What does this mean? Does God require some sort of sacrifice from us when we come to him? Does he call us to sacrifice our gifts? Does he call us to sacrifice our gifts? gifts, our money, our time. And then I remembered what Paul said in Romans 12. Therefore, I urge you brothers and sisters in view of God's mercy to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God. This is your true and proper worship. What God wants for me is me, all of me.

He wants my whole life, a living sacrifice, one that understands that the purpose of my life is not what I accomplish. It's who I accomplish it with. That's why God kept telling Gideon over and over again, I will be with you. Yes, he was calling him to accomplish something. But I think the point was that Gideon understood that God wanted him. and that God was going to wait patiently for Gideon to accept this calling. So Gideon brings this sacrifice.

It was costly, though. It's costly to give God your life. He brought him a goat and bread. Remember, they were starving. And to me, I think Gideon's sacrifice was saying, God, here's everything I have, because I know that you're the one who truly fills me. I've got to tell you again, God is waiting for you.

right now. Not future you, not skinny you, not married you, certainly not famous you. God doesn't need you to be famous to use you. He's waiting for you to come to him with everything that you don't like about yourself, everything that you don't understand about him, and just surrender yourself in faith anyway. Softly and tenderly, Jesus is a lot of you. calling, the God of the universe, is waiting for you. He's waiting for you. Gideon offers up his sacrifice. That's when he finally realizes that it was, in fact, an angel of the Lord all along. And the Bible tells us that the Lord says to him, do not be afraid. You will not die. and Gideon built an altar to the Lord.

And there he named it, Yahweh Shalom, which means the Lord is peace. The altar remains in Oprah, in the land of the clan of Ebbeazar, to this day. When you say yes to God, he gives you peace markers. I didn't say peacemakers. Peace markers. God is calling Gideon to fight. but he wants him to mark the peace that he has in that moment. Yahweh Shalom, the Lord is peace.

This peace was not a call to the end of conflict. The fight hadn't even started yet. This is Shalom. This is a sense of completeness. It's wholeness. And it points to the presence of something you can't put your finger on. And when Gideon experienced it, God spoke loud and clear to him. Do not be afraid. You're not going to die. He made sure he didn't want to forget that. So he built an altar right there that he could look back to. Can you think of any peace markers along your faith journey? I spent some time writing a few of mine out this week. Moments that I look back to when I begin to wonder if God is really with me. Peace markers can be an answer to prayer.

They can be a timely call or a text from a friend that just felt like God must have told them. It can be a sermon. You know, those sermons when you feel like your pastor got hijacked your pastor's mouth and just spoke directly to you and you were about to give up. I love all the stories of our church when people say, I was done. And then I heard God say. When you get one, you've got to make sure. sure you don't forget it. You got to write it down. You've got to tell someone. A piece marker can be a song. Not too long ago, I came to church feeling really heavy with doubt over a decision that we had made

about one of our kids. And at the time when we made the decision, it felt right in the moment. It felt like, yes, we're going to do this. But then a series of events had me doubting. And I was on the front row, just trying to hold back tears. So this is why you've got to come to church. Because they sang a song. They sang that song, this is how you walk on water. And I know God doesn't speak out loud,

but he was speaking loud and clear to me in that moment. He was telling me, one foot in front of the other, one day at a time. Little by little, I'm going to lead you. I'm going to give you the strength that you need right now in this moment to get you through. And, you know, that decision turned out

to be exactly right for that child. But I didn't know it. But God spoke to me in that moment, and I could go back to it. Peace markers can be an event. I remember when we emptied the bank account, when we say we emptied the bank account, there wasn't that much in it. Did it a couple times, but it wasn't, you know, whatever. But we emptied the bank account. It was all that we had to drop eggs out of a helicopter. And we found out the day before the event that the mailer wasn't going to make it to people's mailboxes in time. This is how we were going to invite people to come.

Back then, that's what you did. You put junk mail in people's boxes. It was going to be our first Easter at elevation. And we were going to use this event to get people to hear about our church and to maybe come because more people come to church on Easter, you know, And it's a story that we have told a thousand times in the history of this church, but it never gets old. Because I was there. And I vividly remember thinking, no one's going to show up.

How are they going to know about this event? We wasted all of our money. So we had a pity party in our house. You don't need to tell you what pity parties like. It's pretty quiet. And after a while, Stephen came downstairs, and he said, me and Chunks are going to Kinko's. We're going to print out some flyers. Because he wasn't going to just sit around while there was still time to do something. So we printed off flyers, and we went to Walmart, and we put flyers on people's cars that night before the event. Sorry. It was all we could do, it was all we could think of. And the next day, more people came than we could handle. I have no. I have no. I

idea where all those people came from. I mean, I don't know, maybe thousands, hundreds, I don't know, it was a lot at the time, because we had like 16 people at the time. But the event was a huge success. And that night, we sat in our living room and we watched the story on the local news about our church, our little church. And we were blown away. We didn't know where all those people had come from. We certainly didn't put out that many flyers. How did all those people hear about our little event? We couldn't stop talking about it. And there was this peace.

God was with us in this. You know how many times over the past 15 years we've wondered if people were going to come? Every time we opened a new campus, my husband would ask me, you think people are going to come? If my husband asked me one time, he asked me a thousand times, you think people are going to come. He asked me one time, he asked me a thousand times, you think people are going to come. Every time we started something new. And when our fear felt like more than we could handle, we focused on those peace markers. See, the fear never goes away.

You just get a little bit stronger along the way. And there were so many times that we stepped out in faith to do something that we thought God was calling us to do. we had to look back and remember the egg drop and remember all the other things along the way. You know, on March 14, 2020, when shelter in place was declared, the fear was back in full force. The pity party was back in our house. And you can bet that Stephen Ferdick was pacing the halls of our house because the doors of our church were going to close. and the people were still going to need the message of Jesus Christ more than ever. And he was afraid about preaching in an empty room with the message still translate.

People still showed up. You showed up in the chat. You kept giving. And, you know, over our campus pastors and our staff, we've had to fight to reinvent the way that we do church. From Zoom, we had to pastor people over every step of the way, because the strength that we have is enough for today. It's like manna. God gave us all the strength that we needed at the time. If he gave us all the strength at once, we'd never meet him.

You can go and read the rest of Gideon's story. He went on to lead Israel to freedom. In fact, the Bible says that the Israelites never fought Midian again. And I believe that the message today, it's not about Gideon's battle with Midian. It's about his battle to restore his faith in God. It's about his fight to become that mighty warrior that God saw in him all along. And I believe that God stands before us today, patiently, waiting for you to come back to him. He wants you to experience his presence in our day-to-day lives. He wants you to see that he's

with you, even when your circumstances suggest otherwise. He waits with a great feast for you. You don't have to be hungry anymore, and all he wants from you is your life. He wants All of it. Your pain, your fear, your questions, your faults, your secrets. He wants your gifts and talents, too. But sometimes I think it takes more faith for me to give God the ugly places. Because, God, what do you possibly want with those? He delights in you.

You're his child. All of you. Right now. He's going to give you the strength that you need for every situation that lies ahead. But most of all, he's going to be with you every step of the way, every single step. Lord, what can we say but thank you? And also, God, we're coming back to you right now in this moment. Some of us are coming back for the first time.

Some of us are coming back for the 1,000th time. We're offering our all to you right now, God. Why you want me? But if you want me, you've got me. If this is all you want, I can give you that. God, would you minister to us in this moment? Help us to maybe just feel your presence. You remind us of those peace markers that you've given us all along the journey.

Thank you for your patience. Thank you for your strength. Take a minute. Think about it. Think about the times that he's come through for you. about the moments when you felt so alone, but now that you look back, he was with you the whole time. Moments when he spoke to you, do not be afraid. You will not die. God, you, here's my life.

Thank you that you're going to give me the strength to do everything that you're calling me to do. Yes, you. He couldn't use me. He couldn't use me. I'm not so smart like other people. people. I didn't come from a good home. Yes, you. What man rejects, God selects. Yes, you. You might be the littlest, you might be the loneliest, you might be in the lowest place of your life. But like Holly said, Jesus is calling. Right now, would you bow your head? Close your eyes. Put the distractions aside and listen to that voice. It's a whisper. You won't hear it with your ears. You'll hear it with your spirit. It'll be the voice that's been with you your whole life before the other voices took over.

The voice of the Father, welcoming you back home. Right now I want to make a call all over the world on our church's anniversary. For everyone who has never made the decision to place your faith in Jesus Christ, or you You made that decision, but you've been in hiding. I want to issue a homecoming invitation and tell you that the table is already spread, and the debt is already settled, and Christ already died. It's already covered. It's already done.

The only thing left for you to do is receive it. So right now, pray with me out loud wherever you are. Everyone in the room praying out loud for the benefit of those who are coming. to God or coming back to God. Pray with me right now. Heavenly Father, today is my day of salvation. I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and the Savior of the world. I believe Jesus died for my sin and rose again to give me life. I receive this new life. I receive this new life. make me a new creation. I am a child of God.

On the count of three, if you just prayed that with me, say it in the chat. I received Jesus. One, two, three. I receive Jesus. If you're in the room, shoot your hand up right now. Shoot your hand up right now. I'm coming just as I am without one plea. But that the blood of Jesus was shed for me.

And he is enough and you are enough. Yes, you, yes now, yes here. Today is the day. You're a new creation. You're a child of God. You are loved. You are accepted. You are chosen.

Come on, celebrate it with your hands lifted to heaven. Let's celebrate that homecoming. Let's thank God for his amazing love, his amazing grace that saved a wretch like me, a wretch like you. Yes, you. I know you're not perfect, but there's grace, there's room for you and the family of God. We want you to be a part of our church. You're like, who me?

Yes, you. Somebody say yes, you. But I don't live in Charlotte. You don't have to. Look at this miracle. We're all over the world. We welcome you. We call it EFAM.

Doesn't stand for extended. It stands for everyone. Whosoever will, let him come. I said, whosoever will, let him come. Thank you, Jesus. We love you. Make sure you leave us a comment this week. Make sure you say, I received Jesus if you gave your life to Christ.

Make sure you say that was for me, Holly, if she preached the word that you needed to hear. But you're going to be wrong. Because it wasn't for you, it was for me. She preached that to me, but I'm glad you got to hear it. Praise the Lord. How many receive what God gave us today through Holly? Yes, you. Thank you for joining us.

Special thanks to those of you who give generously to this ministry. It's because of you that this ministry is possible. You can click the link in the description to give now, or visit elevationchurch.org slash podcast for more information. And if you enjoyed the podcast, you 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.

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