Elevation with Steven Furtick - It’s Not Over (Jabin Chavez)

Episode Date: May 26, 2024

Things really can change for you. Your past is not your prophecy. Stop allowing fear to predict your future, and begin to see it how God sees it. Pastor Jabin Chavez encourages us: “It’s Not Over.” Do The New You is available for purchase wherever you get books. Go to http://dothenewyou.com to get your copy today. To support this ministry and help us continue to reach people all around the world click here: http://www.elevationchurch.org/giving/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 faith. Hope it gives you perspective to see God is moving in your life.

Enjoy the message. Let's get Jesus the best phrase. You've been saving it all day. Come on, let's lift up the name. That's above every name. Wow. So honored to be here. And just while you're standing, I want to, first of all, thank my friend and my big brother, Pastor Stephen Ferdick, not only for this opportunity, but, you know, God uses people. How many know that? Can I get an amen to somebody? God uses people.

And God used your pastor to change my life. And I am honestly where I'm at. today because of his wisdom, his friendship, his care, and just the way his sermons, his songs. And I want to just say, to God be the glory for a man that is so important to everyone in this room, every location, every eFam member to the world. And I want to honor Pastor Stephen and Pastor Holly Ferdig today just for The gift that they are to all of us. Can we put our hands together, let them know we love them? Amen.

And it is such a huge honor to be with you today. Before you're seated, find at least three people. Tell them it looks like you're losing weight. Come on, tell them, tell them it looks like you're... FAM around the world. Looks like you're losing weight. You're looking good. All of our locations.

You're looking good. Wow, wow, wow. I don't know what... I don't know if it's... keto or Osam pick. I don't know what it is, but you're looking good. Hey, thank you to, I feel like, was that elevation rhythm? I don't know, but, or am I just old? Am I just old now where it all looks like kids leading worship? But make some noise for that amazing worship. They just, wow. Great job, Tim. Great to see you. Great job with, man, the youth ministry is just incredible.

Let's go right to the word. I'm fired up. We're going to go to First Kings 17. I got a lot to say. So I want to go to the Word, First Kings Chapter 17. While you're turning there, if you don't have a Bible, don't worry to come up on the screen. But if you do, go ahead and turn with me. I do want to bring greetings from Las Vegas.

We started City Light Church six years ago. And God is just really blessing and breathing on that work. And I'm grateful. And if you're, if you're ever in Vegas, don't laugh. Are y'all guilty? I don't know what happened at every other location, but there's a real little naughty smile that just filled the whole. I don't know why you come to Vegas. I think you come to street evangelism. Amen. You're, you're all the people with the signs right on the strip preaching. You reach out to the blackjack dealers. Amen. And to, I don't know why you come. If you're ever in Vegas, come say hi. I'd love to see you and love to see you in church on a Sunday morning. 1 Kings chapter 17. Then the Lord said to Elijah, anybody grateful that God speaks? Hallelujah.

Go and live in the village of Zarifath near the city of Sedone. I've instructed a widow there to feed you. So he went to Zarifat. And as he arrived at the gates of the village, he saw a widow gathering sticks there. And he asked, would you, would you bring me a little cup of water? And as she was going to get it, he called to her. I love, this is the most man move in the Bible. Y'all ready?

Every husband and wife knows this move right here. And can you get me a little snack? Can you just get me a little, babe? Can you get me a little bread? Give me a little sandwich, babe. She said, I swear by the Lord, your God, I don't even have a single piece of bread in this house. I only have a handful of flour left in a jar and a little cooking oil left in the bottom of this jug. I was just gathering sticks to cook the last meal and then my son and I will die.

Elijah said to her, don't be afraid. Go do what you've said, but make a little bread for me first. This is amazing that God did not say make one big piece of bread, cut it three ways, and we'll all have a piece. He said, make mine first because when you put God first in your life, I have to believe that every time I put God first in my life, a miracle is happening in the kitchen. So he said, make mine first. Then use what's left over to prepare a meal for you and your son. For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel says. There will always be flour and olive oil left in your containers until the time when the Lord sends rain and the crops grow again. So she did as Elijah said. She and Elijah and her family continue to eat for many days.

There was always enough, man, I love this about God. There was always enough flour and olive oil left in the containers, just as the Lord had promised through Elijah. I want to just look at verse 12 very quickly, and then we're going to dismantle a lie that she believed. I'm going to eat this meal. and die. And it's here that Elijah comes with a different word, a faith word, a hope word, a God word, a prophetic word. And I want to come with that. I want to, I want to contradict the devil today.

I've come to disagree with the demons that have been lying to you. I've got good news for you today. And I want to speak from this idea, it's not over. It's not over. Can you just maybe elbow who's next to you, make them a little uncomfortable. Tell them, it's not over. Come on, tell them. Come on, online around the world. Tell them, it's not over. It's not over. Do you all believe it today? Give the Lord one more shout of praise and we're going to get into this word. Bless your word, Lord, in Jesus' name. Amen. And amen. prophets in the Old Testament are called seers, seers, seers. S-E-E-R-S. They are seers. They seeers. We think of prophets as speaking and they do, but before they would say a thing, they would see a thing.

God would take them up into the spirit realm. Pastor preached about trances last week and about Peter getting caught up into the spirit. He would take prophets up into the spirit and he would say, Ezekiel, what do you see? Jeremiah, what do you see? I say, what do you, tell me what you see? And then they would say what they saw, because it was very important for God to communicate that there is more going on than meets the natural eye. Oh, I'm trying to slow down already, but I already feel like preaching, and I just started. He's trying to tell them that there's more than the five senses. There's more than the natural. There's more than what your eyes can see. There is a spiritual realm. There is a spiritual place. There is an element called faith in that place,

in the kingdom place, in the God place, nothing is impossible. So he has to get them to see that there's more to see than what they see. And then they are to say what they see in the spirit realm because God knows something. God knows that if you can get a vision from God and a word from God, you become unstoppable. That when I get a vision from God and a word from God, nothing is impossible. That though the giants are great, I have a word from God. And though the mountains are high, I have a word from God. And though my kids are acting crazy right now, I got a word from God. And though I don't even know where my spouse was last night, I got a word from God. And Though I don't know how I'm going to pay the bills, I got a vision from God.

And what I see right now with my eyes does not look like what I saw in the spirit. But if I can get a vision, I can make it. Because without a vision, the people perish. They lose control. They lose hope. They lose all of their hope. But with a vision, I can make it. This is what happened to Elisha in Second Kings.

When the enemies surround Elisha and his servant, and his servant comes to him and says, My Lord, my Lord, we're surrounded by enemies. And Elisha prays. And Elisha does not pray, God, help us. Elisha does not pray, God, where are you? Elisha does not pray, God, we need a victory. Elisha prays not for himself or against his enemies. Elisha prays for his servant.

And here's this prayer. And I don't think his servant was expecting it. Lord, open his eyes. Because he thinks we have an enemy problem, but he has a vision problem. You think you got a devil problem, you got a vision problem. You think you got a demon problem, you got a vision problem. You might think you got a boss problem. Maybe you have a vision problem.

You might think you got a wife problem, sir. Maybe you have a vision problem. Because once God opens my eyes, I can now see what's... God open my eyes. So I don't live my entire. your life, sing with these, but never sing what you're doing in my life. Or I will end up praying the wrong prayers, go into the wrong places, hanging with the wrong people, singing the wrong songs. But if God can open my eyes, I can do everything God's called me to do.

I think we ought to give God a praise right there. Because that's the power of this church. That's the power of every song we sing. That's the power of doing a new you. is that I can now see from heaven's perspective. I remember the first time my little daughter realized we were in an airplane as she looked out the window and the world started getting so small. The people are small, dad, the mountains are small. And I go, they didn't get any smaller. You just got higher.

I'm telling you, God can take you somewhere where you see and where you hear and where you say. something radically different. And it's here that God helps this woman to see. It's here that God helps this woman to hear a better word. It's here that she catches a vision for herself or her family and for the famine that she finds herself in. And I believe today, it's a vision day. I believe God's going to release sight today.

Firstly, you have to see your future. You have to see your future. The woman says, I'm going to eat this meal and die. Wow. Put that on your dream board, huh? That's an awkward Instagram post. But this is what she believed. This is what she thought.

Let me say the obvious that maybe you've never thought about. She did not know that. she didn't know it'd be her last meal she didn't have a weather app on her phone she didn't know if god was going to send rain tomorrow she didn't know if someone was going to bring her food in the morning she didn't know she was in the presence of a prophet

she had no idea about her future but she was predicting her future based off of the worst case scenario I'm going to eat this meal and die she didn't know that and every time we speak from spirit of fear we are declaring the worst case scenario even though we don't know see this is fear fear is not always fright fear is not always this feeling of panic like we

think fear is it's over fear is i guess the famine won fear is i tried and failed fear is i guess this is my last meal fear doesn't feel like what you think is going to feel like. Now I know this because since I planted our church six years ago, I've had three panic attacks. Now, I didn't have panic attacks before I planted the church. Before I planted the church, I was an evangelist. I preached, I traveled, and I lived in Newport Beach, California. Amen. It was just, you don't have panic attacks in Newport Beach. You just, everybody's a Christian. The dolphins are saved. You go see them out swimming, speaking in tongues. You know, I, uh, I, I mean, it's like, it's anointed. Everybody's smiling or at least has enough Botox that looks like they're

smiling. You know, everybody's happy. Everybody's got tan. Life was good. And then I moved to Sin City. And I planted this church. I thought I was having a heart attack. Three times I thought I was having a heart attack. I'd go into the emergency room. Hi. Are you good, good, good. I'm good. I just need a, I just need a sign in. Sir, what's wrong? I'm dying. I'm having a heart attack. Man, they freak out. They get you to the front of the. the line, I mean, it goes into code. By the way, if you ever want to get to the front of an ER, no, never mind, don't do that. But I was just telling you, I mean, they get you, I mean, it's like, it's 20 minutes of

mayhem. They're taking blood. They're putting little electrical things all over. I mean, they're freaking out for 20 minutes. And all of a sudden, boom, they're gone. And there I am just sitting there in a, in a gown for an hour in a cold room. The breeze is blowing in places I didn't know I had. And the doctor walks in.

Mr. Chavez, I got good news and I got bad news. The good news is you are not having a heart attack. The bad news is you're having a panic attack. You're depressed. I said, number one, I am having a heart attack. I feel like an elephant is on my chest. I can feel my heart. I can't breathe.

I know. He goes, no, you're having a panic. All the numbers are good. You're having a panic attack. And it felt like I was dying. But really, I was just so fearful of my future that I told myself this must be it. But I've come to declare to somebody at Elevation Church today, it's not over. This is not your last meal.

This is not the end of the road for you. This is not how it ends. This is not your last year. This is not how it ends for you. God is still writing your story. Oh, can I get a good amen in the house of the Lord? See, fear lies. Fear lies to you.

And fear assumes and declares the worst case scenario. Fear tries to predict my tomorrow by the challenges of yesterday. She judged her future by the drought that she's been in. And she cursed her tomorrow based off of the pain of her past. I understand there's challenges in this room. I understand there's pain in this room. I understand there are very hard seasons in this room in every room. People watching all over the world.

And you're going, but you don't know what I'm going through. But I want to declare a truth over you. Your past is not your prophecy. Ooh, I felt that in my sanctified soul. Just because it's been one way doesn't mean it will always be that way. Just because I've been in a season doesn't mean that season lasts. Every season changes. The storm can't last forever.

Eventually God will make it rain again. Eventually the trout ends. Eventually things can change. Your past is not your prophecy. It is not my prediction. It is a real part of my story. it's not the end of my story. It's a chapter in my book, but it's not the final chapter of my book. Let me tell you something about the enemy of your soul. Let me tell you something about the devil.

The devil is a present devil. Let me say it like this. He is. He is. He roams around like a lion seeking whom he may devour. He is. He is. He's present. this is radically different than the God that you serve. They're not in some crazy cosmic battle. They're not arm wrestling for your soul. Don't worry about it. Because God is radically different. God is everywhere.

Oh, God was. Do I have a scholar in the house? And he is. And he is to come. Which means that God is in your past. God is working in your future and God, God is preparing you in your present. God is all places at once. Paul said about Jesus that he feels time and space, that he's here and he's there and he's

everywhere all at the same time. This is good news because, see, when the enemy speaks to you, he can only speak to you in your present. I'm going somewhere. He doesn't know your future. He speaks to you in your today. and he lies to you about tomorrow and he hopes you believe it. But his guess is as good as yours.

So he whispers in the woman's ear, this is your last meal. You're going to die. She goes, this is my last meal. I'm going to die. He don't know that just like she don't know that. This is radically different than God. God establishes the end from the beginning. He starts in your future

He doesn't guess about your tomorrow Oh this is good news This means that when God gives you a promise He's not guessing Am I helping anybody right now He doesn't go I hope it works out Good plans for you

Let's see He says I know The plans that I have for you They are plans to give you a hope Can we get a little rowdy at this first service of the day? I'm talking to somebody. And when God talks to you, he talks to you from your future into your present. And he says, come on over to this side.

I've got good plans. I've got a good. And he's not hoping it happens. He knows it'll happen. Oh, this is so different. This is the God you serve. This is the God who gives you. promises. This is the God we sing about. He knows exactly what he's doing. And he's got good plans for you.

Jesus talks about a spirit in the last day. He talks about a mentality that would fill the earth in the last days. Luke 21 says that the people will be terrified. How I know that that's just that's just like the spirit of the world. just scared. Is the world scared today than it was 100 years ago? I'm not sure, but now we got these little phones. Y'all know what I'm saying? And you wake up in the morning and you turn them on and it tells you, that phone tells you the worst.

So we're terrified because 100 years ago, they didn't know there was a tornado in Nebraska and an earthquake in Japan and a war in the Middle East. They didn't know. They were just living their life. But now we have 24-hour access to news. Good news doesn't sell. Only bad news sells.

So it's constant bad news. And we are feeding and it become addicted to bad news. We've become addicted to concern. We've become addicted to panic. And now we feed on it 24 hours a day. And Jesus said this would be the tone. This would be the spirit. This would be the stronghold.

This would be the mentality of the world's system. that fear would grip us. We would be terrorized, terrified. Oh, but there is another spirit for the child of God. I want to declare to you that the opposite of fear is not faith. The opposite of fear is the Holy Spirit. Because the spirit of God is not a spirit of fear, but he is power, love, and a sound mind. And there is another spirit for the people of God.

God, Acts chapter 2, verse 17. God says in the last days, see, this is the last day scripture preachers don't preach about, but this is my favorite last day scripture. And by the way, it's the clearest last day scripture in the Bible. In the last days, I will pour out my spirit on all flesh. I'm going to pour out my spirit on your sons and your daughters. I've got a plan for your children. I've got a plan for families. I've got a plan for your six-year-old, and I've got a plan for your 16-year-old. I've got a plan for your marriage. I've got a plan for land for families, I will pour out my spirit on all flesh and you will prophesy and you will see dreams and you will have vision. And when the spirit of God comes upon you, he removes the fear.

You will not allow it in your soul. God can turn it around for you. It's not over. This is not your last meal. I want you to see, I want you to see your future. I want you to see it like God sees it. They shall prophesy, he said. Prophecy. That's not just closing your eyes and speaking in King James English. It's talking like God talks. It's getting a word for your family.

It's getting a word for your future. It's getting a word for your business. It's speaking about tomorrow like God speaks about tomorrow. Number two, you have to see your calling. I have. I have instructed, I have commanded a widow there. I have commanded a widow there. I have commanded a widow there. I have instructed a widow there. I don't know if you, if you think about this language, but it feels like,

it feels like Elijah is going to walk into the village and say, hey, I'm here. And she's going to go, OMG, it's you. You're the guy. I was in prayer and the Lord talked to me about you. He's giving me an instruction. He's giving me a commandment. Come on in. I got bread bacon. I got water in the jug.

Let's go. Come on. Come on. Come and eat. God's been talking to me. That's not what happens. He walks into town and she has no idea who he is. And I think the reason is is because this word instructed isn't the best English word.

The better word from the Hebrew language that it was written in is, I have appointed. A woman there. I have chosen for special use. I have anointed a woman there. And she thinks she's going to die, but she's anointed. She's given up on her future, but she's appointed. She has no more hope, but my calling is on her. She thinks it's the end for her and for her family, but she has no idea.

my hand is upon her. Some of you are in a very low place right now. Some of you think this must be the end of the road. I've tried everything, but I guess the drought won. No, there's an anointing on your life. There's a calling on your life. You have been chosen for special use and you don't even know it. Because see, Elijah had an anointing on his life that she needed. But listen, she had an anointing on her life that he needed. They both had oil. Why are they always asking me to serve in this church? Because you have oil.

Why do I got lead in E group? Because you have oil. Why do you want me serving in the house? Because you got oil. Why are they pushing next-gen ministry? I don't feel like holding a baby. You got oil. We need you in the youth ministry. We need you in the children's ministry. We need you serving in a ministry.

We need you using your gifts talent. And I know you're at a low point, but we need you in the House of God. God because there's actually oil that this house needs. She thought it was over. God was anointing her. Oh, and I've been there. I have been at places where I've been so low. But I said yes to my gift anyway.

One time I was preaching for my friend. And I preached, I preach to preach, I preach pretty good. I got to be honest, I don't like all my sermons. I like that one. And I was in a low place. I didn't want to be there. I wanted to cancel, but I preached. And we got off the stage and we went to dinner.

And my friend looked at me, he said, boy, you must be going through it. I said, say less. I said, no. I said, what? I said, why must I be going through it? He goes, because you preach good. He said, you preach like you were dying. You preach, you preach like this was your last servant.

You preach like you were giving it your all. I said, I am going through it. And I'm so grateful that even in my lowest moments, I've got oil on my life. There's a gift on my life and there's a gift on your life. And we need you right now. It is not time to quit. It's not time to leave. It's not time for you to die.

God's oil is on your... Come on somebody shout, I'm anointed. Come on, stop somebody. A high five. Tell them you're anointed. They needed each other's anointing to be sustained through the dream. I've appointed. It was almost like God knew that if she got in the atmosphere of the prophetic. Sorry, my Pentecostal just showed. I try to keep it. I know I'm at elevation. I'm trying to

behave right now. That organ doesn't help. It's like he knew that if she could just get in the atmosphere of the prophet, something would come up. This is why I try never to miss church. whether I'm in person, whether I have to be online, whether I'm traveling. I just tried to be in the House of God because you never know, you never know when God's going to drop. You never know when you're appointing and your anointing is going to rise up. And you go, that's for me. I'm going to make it. I got a calling.

I remember 2016 sitting right over. This is the anointed section. If the rapture happens, you go first because that's where I was sitting right here with this woman pointing at me. That's where I was sitting. And I was at inside elevation. I was sitting right there and they were doing a conference for pastors. And it was there that I got the green light from heaven to plant my church. It was there that God said, don't plan an elevation church.

Don't try to be like Pastor Stephen. Be you. Go plant that church. Go do what. It was there that I got permission. It was there that God said yes to my dream. I'm just telling you never know when you come. Well, there's going to be a lot of people and there's going to be a lot of crowds.

And I don't know. There's a night of worship. I'm going to have to wait in light. Wait in light. Bring a bottle of water. Bring a protein bar. Bring a banana. Get to the house of God because you just never know. And by the way, some of you're like, when you really don't want to come to church, that's when you need to come to church. My best sermons are the sermons I don't want to preach. And my most powerful encounters with God in the house of God is when I didn't want to go, but I chose to get into his presence. and that appointing rose up. Two men I want to tell you about very quickly.

Victor Frankel and Sigmund Freud. Sigmund Freud was a brilliant philosopher. He was an atheist. Sigmund Freud believed that the chief end of man, the highest expression of man, the thing that every man wants is they just want pleasure. That if they can find pleasure and sexual pleasure, they're good. That's all they want.

and Frankl disagreed and I disagree and I think you can look at our culture right now and disagree because we got a lot of pleasure not a lot of happiness so so so Frankl said no I don't think it's pleasure he said I actually think what people want and what people really need is purpose but if you can't find your purpose walk in your purpose step into your purpose you will numb yourself and medicate yourself with pleasure. And I'm not against pleasure, but you can't fall in love with it. Because if you make pleasure, you're God, you'll never have enough. How do I know I love it? You can't give it away? This is my fifth time here. Can I just be a little more? Is it all right? Can I just, let me just push you a little bit. Get the house. Drive the car. Get the boat.

I want you to have a boat. I don't want a boat. I want you to have a boat. And when I visit Charlotte, I want to go on your boat for free. So I want you to have a boat, but don't fall in love with it. Give it a beautiful female name. She won't love you back. Because it's not ultimate, your life is not ultimately about pleasure. Can I say it this way? She could have made her bread and she would have died with a full belly.

She could have said, knock on the next woman's door. And she could have resisted her calling. But instead in the presence of God, she said yes. And it was in that yes that the miracle began to happen. Lastly, you have to see the possibility. See the possibility. The story starts with Elijah walking into town. And here's his request.

Hey, sis. That's how it says in the Hebrew language. He says, sis, in the Hebrew, y'all need to learn Hebrew. He says, hey, sis, can I have a piece of bread? Can I have some bread? And she says, y'all ready? I don't. And she wasn't lying.

She didn't have bread yet. But she did have the ingredients for bread. I don't have exactly what God's asking of me yet. I don't have my miracle yet. I don't have the answer yet, but maybe I have the ingredients for the miracle. Can I say it like this? Let me say it like this. I preach forever that God will never ask you for something you don't have. And I still kind of believe that. And I kind of disagree with that now because he asks for bread and she didn't have it. But maybe what God will be what God will be, wants from you is not a thing. Maybe he wants a yes. Maybe he doesn't need you to have bread to ask you

for bread. Maybe you just give him your oil. Because this is in this. And this is in this. And I want to give God this. I want to give God this. I want to be all. ready and I want to be all mature and I want to have it all worked out and I want to pray enough and fast enough and talk in tongues enough and not cuss anymore and not that I do don't judge me over here I want to I want to have every elevation worship song memorized and and I see I want to come into elevation when when pastor invites me and I want to come in with bread oh I'm glad you called I got a word for your church but I ain't there yet. I'm 40 years old and I've been preaching for 20 years and I'm still not there. Every time I get

the text, I look at God and I go, God, you got a problem. So I walk up, see, y'all, you might think I up here feeling like Elijah. I don't. I feel like the widow woman. I walk up here going, God, can you do something with this? Go ahead and play. Go ahead and play. God, I don't, I don't have what I feel like I need, but here's my oil. I don't have what I feel like I need to. I don't have what I feel like I need to raise these kids, but here's my oil. I don't know how to run this business and this economy, but here's my oil. I don't know how our marriage is going to make it, but here's my oil. I don't know how I'm going to start this business, but here's my oil. And God, I don't feel like I have what I need to do what you're requiring of me, but I do have some flour. And I do have an

an annoying. And if you'll take what I got, I'll just trust you to do something with it. See, God, God doesn't need what you need to get you what you need. I mean, God's asking this of me, but I don't, so give him a yes while you're waiting on the thing you've told yourself you need. Can I prove it? Jesus shows up to a wedding with his, with his best friends. They show up to a John chapter 2 and pretty much immediately, pretty much immediately, Mary comes to Jesus and says, they're out of wine. Jesus go, why are you making this my problem? I think she's making it his problem. Now, okay, I don't know if this is my sanctified imagination or if I've just been in Vegas too long, but something in me feels like Mary went, you know, we had, we had plenty of wine for the wedding

until Judas showed up and John got a little emotional and Peter had to be the life of the party and fix it. Jesus does not say, yo, Peter, go grab some grapes from the local vineyards, bring them to me. Hey, Judas, you got the money. Go over to Walmart and grab, grab some cases of wine. Jesus doesn't do that. Jesus says, can I have some water?

Can somebody get me some water? I know nothing about fermentation. I know nothing about red wine, but I do know this. I know that this can't become red wine, but I ain't Jesus. Because if you want wine, you need time. And if you want wine, you need grapes. And if you want wine, you need wooden barrels. But if Jesus wants wine, all he needs is vessels.

He's standing. Thank you, Lord. I thank you, Lord. Hallelujah. Somebody say, hallelujah. Somebody shout, it's not over. 1955, 1955, 1555, there's a young preacher. Pastor Larry, there's a young creature named.

Pastor in Iowa, did he want it to come to Orange County, California, and start a work for God. So he wrote a letter to a friend in his denomination and said, I feel like the Lord has put it on my heart to start a church, 1995. Could you help me find a location? I would love maybe a school gym or a seventh-day advantage church, maybe a Jewish synagogue, maybe a church that doesn't meet on Sunday night, maybe a movie theater, maybe a drive-in theater, maybe a school that we could rent. Could you help me find a location? And a young Bob Schuller's friend wrote this letter back. This is not I.

It is impossible to find a church location in Orange County, California. Bob received that letter, trumpled it up, he threw it in the trash, he grabbed a fresh piece of paper, and he wrote down these words. Impossible quotation marks. What an irresponsible word. You know, that's gangster. And a young Bob Schuller would move to Orange County with nothing. He ended up starting a church in a drive-in movie theater where he would stand on the snack shack, preach to a microphone, and then it would go to all the cars. And that church grew in the 50s to 2,000 cars a Sunday.

He would end up buying property all over that Anaheim area near Disneyland with property upwards of over a billion dollars of real estate. He started the Crystal Cathedral, the hour of power every Sunday morning. The late great doc possible? What an irresponsible word. You know what you're facing. But I've come to declare anything is possible. I don't know what the doctor said, but I've come to tell you all things are possible. I don't know what the school counselor told you about your child, but I've just come to tell you, impossible?

What an irresponsible word. What could God do if you would invite him into your famine? What could God do if you would invite him into your drought? What could God do if you would give him your water? You would give him your flour. If you would give him your oil. Can we just say this one more time all over the room? And let's declare it with all of our heart.

You're not done with me. Dare you to prophesy right now. Every husband, grab your white's hand. Tell them God's still working on me. Family. I just want to ask at every location, would you close your eyes, bow your heads? Thank you, Lord. Every location, even if you can, eFAM around the world, would you just settle your heart for a moment?

I want to ask you the most important question you've ever been asked in your life. Do you know Jesus? Are you right with God? Do you know him for yourself? I know you know about him. I know you know him through Pastor Stephen, but do you know him? I know you know him through the songs and I know you know him through this ministry, but do you know it? Have you had a moment where you've said,

Jesus, I need you in my life. I need forgiveness of sin. I need to be born, not to become a better version, but a brand. The scripture says, anyone who calls on his name would be saved. Anyone who would say, Jesus, I believe you died for me. I believe you rose again for me. I believe that you are Lord. Anyone who would call on his name. And would you surrender your heart? Jaben, I'm going to, I'm going to work on this and I'll come back at the end of the summer. Let me stop drinking. Let me stop cussing. Let me, let me stop. Let me get this hatred out of my heart. Let me, let me get off drugs. Let me, let me work it out with my wife. And then I'm going to come back and I'm going to make it right with God. No, no, no. You can't. If you could, you would have. But you cannot do it. But God can do it. I need Jesus. You're about to pray the prayer. I pray. June 10, 1998 in Del Rio, Texas. I was 15 years old. And I gave Jesus my life. And when I did. everything changed all over this room every location pray with me from your heart these aren't magic words i promise you this is not an incantation this is not this is not some abracadabra say it say something

no no this is your heart cry to heaven pray with me say jesus i believe in you i believe you died for me and he rose again. Forgive me of my sins for the things I've done and make me brand new. Jesus, I make you my Lord and my Savior. I surrender all

today. Thank you, Lord. You just keep your eyes closed all over this room, all over this room, just keep your eyes closed. I can't call you forward. I can't have you move from your seat. I've run out of time, but right where you're standing. in every location, and even online, I'm going to want you to go into the chat and make a commitment to Christ.

But at every location on the count of three, I'm going to ask you to raise your hand if that was your prayer. Jabin today, I'm giving my life to Christ. Jabin today, I'm recommitting my life to Christ. I've walked away from God. I've turned from God. I got distracted. I got discouraged. I got tempted.

I went through a trial and a tribulation, and I walked away from the Lord. but today I'm coming home. Today I've come back. Today I'm running back to the God who's been chasing me. I'm giving my life to Jesus or I'm recommitting my life to Christ. If that's you, on the count of three, right here at Valentine and at every location and around the world, you're going to say yes to Jesus right now. I'm giving my life to Christ, rededicating my life to Christ on the count of three. I want to see your hand.

One, two, three, shoot your hand up all over, all over, all over. I see you. God bless you. you, God bless you. Hold on, hold on. God bless you. God bless you. God bless you. God bless you. God bless you. God bless you. God bless you. God bless you. God bless you. God bless you. God bless you. God bless you. God bless you. God bless you. Let me just see your hand. God bless you. God bless you. God bless you. God bless you. God bless you. Wow. Come on. Let's give God praise for all these that are giving their life to Christ. Oh, come on. You can do better than that. Let's celebrate. Amen. Thank you for joining us. Special thanks to those of you

who give generously to this ministry is because of you that this ministry is possible. You can click the link in the description to give now or visit elevationchurch.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. Thanks again for listening. God bless you. IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.