WHO WILL CRY OUT? - Pastor Levi Ferguson | Sacramento

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Transcript

SPEAKER_04 0:14

It's a blessing and a privilege to be here for Faith Family Future Takeover, for the youth takeover today. I am so excited. And as we jump into this takeover service, I have the blessing and privilege to introduce somebody very special to y'all. This right here is one of our youth leaders, one of our midterms. Everybody say hi to Chanel. Chanel say hi to everybody. Hi, everybody. So it's my blessing and privilege to be able to introduce Chanel as our youth preacher today. Chanel, how do you how do you feel about that? How do you feel about preaching to the people today?

SPEAKER_01 1:00

I don't know, guys. I just think I'm too young. I can't do this.

SPEAKER_04 1:04

Too young. Too young. All right. That's okay because Chanel was telling me backstage that really the only reason she came out here was to say hi to y'all today.

SPEAKER_01 1:14

Hi guys. Good morning.

SPEAKER_04 1:16

So everybody say hi to Chanel again. And give her a big round of applause as she goes back to her seat. And as we're jumping into this message, I need y'all to do me a favor as we kick this off. Look at somebody next to you say, You look like you need to cry out to the Lord. Look at somebody else next to you, say the youth will cry out. Now look up to the Lord and say, God, help us cry out to you today. God, we love you. We thank you that you're in this place right now. Holy Spirit, we ask that you would come and move. Holy Spirit, we thank you for the students that you have placed in this church, God, and that today you're using them to serve this church. And that you're raising them up to be a people who are fully surrendered to you, who are fully committed to you, who are going to follow you until their last breath, God. And we pray that today you would use them powerfully. And we pray that today you would open every ear in this room, every heart in this room, every mind in this room, every eye in this room to receive your truth and to see you for who you really are, God. Holy Spirit, I ask that you would give me your words to speak, that you would move me out of the way, and that your will would be done, God. We love you, Lord. We thank you. We ask all this in the mighty name of Jesus. As Chanel just came and said hello and walked off stage, I want to direct you to a scripture, 1 Timothy 4.12, that is very relevant to Chanel being on stage. 1 Timothy 4.12 says this. Don't let anybody look down on you because you're young. But don't look down on yourself because you're young either. And what I would say to each and every one of you in this room today, brothers and sisters, is make sure you're not the one looking down on them because they're young either. Because we tend to look at the young and we think that God will not use them yet because they ain't been through enough yet. Just let them live their life and enjoy it. Let them be a kid. But we need to understand that God has a plan for these children, and you see it in these words. 1 Timothy 4 12 doesn't only say, Don't let anyone look down on you because you're young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, and in purity. And so, as the interim youth director here at Midtown Church, one of the visions that God has given me for the youth, one of the goals that God has given me for the youth is that they would give their hearts to Jesus in such a way and live for Jesus in such a way that everywhere they go in their schools, they set the example of what it means to follow Him. That in some cases, when they go home, they're setting the example of what Jesus looks like to their family. But not only that, that they would set the example for you. And that you would look at them and be like, if God is using them that way, if they're following Jesus that way, then he'll use me that way. I can follow him that way. Because I believe that God is calling them to set the example for you, calling them to show you what it looks like to follow Jesus, what it looks like to love him with everything they have in their being. Speaking of age requirements, age expectations. We have a lot of age expectations in our society, do we not? For example, how old do you have to be to drive? How old do you have to be to get a job? Okay. Maybe you never thought about this one, but here's a good question. How old, what is the age requirement for a child to make pancakes? I don't know if you ever thought about that one before. So the reason I asked that question, I have a 16-year-old daughter, and they have a picture of her. You get to see her when she was young. She's 16, but when she was three, she came and asked me something. Now, this girl, she's a beast. She makes good grades, she's a track star, she's a chef. That girl is gonna put her foot in some mac and cheese, y'all. I'm trying to tell you. She's a baker. But when she was three years old, she came to me and she said, Daddy. She said it like that because she was born in Georgia. She doesn't have the accent anymore, but when she was three, she came to me. She said, Daddy, can you make me some pancakes? And I do not eat pancakes. I don't like pancakes. Therefore, I've never made pancakes. It's crazy because I like every other sweet treat, every other dessert on the planet. My wife will testify she's not here today. I want to tell y'all too, she's a baddie. Hot with a triple T, finest woman on the planet, that's my wife. But she would tell y'all that I'm telling the truth right now. But when my daughter was three years old, she came to me, she said, Daddy, will you make me some pancakes? I said, Baby, I don't know how to make pancakes. And then at three years old, she proceeded to give me step-by-step instructions on how you make pancakes. She said, Daddy, you take the egg, you crack it, you put it in the bowl, you put the flour in, you put the milk in, you put the sugar in, you mix it up, you pour it in a pan, and daddy, you cook it. Three years old. And why do I tell you that story? Because we have to move from a place where we have a different perspective on the way that we see our children. They are more capable than we think they are. And God's ability to use them never depended on their age, but on his own ability and what he can do. And more important than seeing them, even than just seeing that they can do more than we think they're capable of, is understanding that the God who created them created them to change this world and to use them greatly to do so. That's why they were born, that's why they breathe, that's why they live, that's why they have their being and their existence, because God is raising them up to change this world. And so, as we look to the scriptures, I want you to understand that Jesus' disciples, when he chose them, when he called them to follow him, they were a lot younger than you probably think they were. In Matthew 17, verses 24 to 27, we get some really interesting information. So in this text, Jesus is talking about a temple tax. But in Matthew 17, verses 24 to 27, we're actually given a clue on how old the disciples were. Listen to what Matthew 17, verses 24 to 27 says.

SPEAKER_03 9:05

After Jesus and his disciples arrived in Capernaum, the collectors of the two Drachma temple tax came to Peter and asked, Doesn't your teacher pay the temple tax? Yes, he does, he replied. When Peter came into the house, Jesus was the first to speak. What do you think, Simon? He asked. From whom do the kings of the earth collect duty and taxes? From their own children or from others? From others, Peter answered. Then the children are exempt, Jesus said again. But so that we may not cause offense, go to the lake and throw out your line. Take the first fish you catch, open its mouth, and you will find a four drachma coin. Take it and give it to them for my tax and yours.

SPEAKER_04 9:50

That's Amaya, Susie's daughter. Y'all give her a big round of applause. Amaya, say in that mic, praise God. Praise God. Say in that mic, hallelujah.

SPEAKER_03 10:01

Hallelujah.

SPEAKER_04 10:01

Say thank you, Jesus.

SPEAKER_03 10:03

Thank you, Jesus.

SPEAKER_04 10:07

So you might be reading this passage and thinking, what is he talking about? Like, why are we reading this passage? So let me take you back to verse 24. Look at verse 24. Who was with Jesus? His disciples. How many disciples are there? 12 disciples. Now look at verse 27. They'll scroll down to it. How many people paid the temple tax? Two. So there's 12 disciples, and only one disciple and one Jesus is paying the temple tax. Why? The temple tax. In that day, in that age, in that society, was only paid by people who were 21 years or older. So what that tells you about the other disciples is what? They were young, they were under the age of 21. And as a matter of fact, John, who wrote the Gospel of John when you read your Bible, who wrote 1 John, who wrote 2 John, who wrote 3 John, who wrote the book of Revelation, when you read the Bible and you see John in the Bible in those books, the John that is being spoken of is a follower of Jesus who scholars estimate was 13 or 14 years old when Jesus said, Come and follow me. And so when you read through that gospel of John and you read things like John calling himself the disciple that Jesus loved, that starts to make a little bit of sense, don't it? Or how about when he tells you a couple of times that he outran Peter to the empty tomb of Jesus? Starts to make a little bit of sense, right? Or how about this? We have this story in the Gospels about the disciples getting into an argument. An argument breaks out among the disciples, and what are they arguing about? Who should be considered the greatest? Now, I don't know about y'all, but when I read that, when I hear that, that sounds a lot like a discussion and argument that would be had among teenage boys. I'm better at you than this. I'm the greatest at this. I'm the goat. I'm the greatest of all time. That sounds like an argument that would be had among teenagers. What about this one? In the Gospels, we also have a story of a mom bringing her two sons who are followers of Jesus, disciples of Jesus, James and John. She brings them to Jesus and she says to Jesus, Whenever you become king, can my son sit on your right hand and on your left? I don't know about y'all. But that's a little odd to me if that's two grown men and their mama is bringing them to Jesus. And he's like, and she's like, Hey, can my son sit on your right and on your left? That's a little odd. Because if that was grown men, they would do it themselves. What about the uh the mother of Jesus, Mary? Scholars estimate that she was in her mid to late teens when God called her to be the mother of Jesus and when she gave birth to Jesus. But it's not just in the New Testament, y'all. See, if you go back to the Old Testament, you got this book called the Book of Esther. The Book of Esther is about a young woman who is estimated to have been in her mid to late teens as well. And when you read this book, what you find out is that this was a young lady who was willing to be used by God. She was willing to stand up for her people, risk everything, including her life, to save her people. That's the book of Esther. But it's not just Esther in the Old Testament. If you look at the prophets and the lives of the prophets, you will find out that many of them were very young as well. For example, Jeremiah. In Jeremiah chapter 1, verses 4 to 7, Jeremiah himself has something to say about his age. And Jeremiah, when he was called to be a prophet, is estimated to have been about 17 to 19 years old. And so in Jeremiah chapter 1, verses 4 to 7, he says something about that. Listen to what Jeremiah chapter 1 verses 4 to 7 says. Amen. So in Jeremiah 1, 4 to 7, God is calling Jeremiah to be a prophet. And he's telling him, I got something for you, Jeremiah. And Jeremiah's like, no, no, no, I can't speak. I'm too young. God says, Don't say that. Don't say I'm too young. I got something for you. And what I'm calling you to do isn't dependent on what you're able to do, it's dependent on me. He says, Don't say you're young. You will go to whoever I send you. You will go wherever I send you. You will say whatever I tell you to say. You will do whatever I tell you to do. And so when you get to the New Testament, all the way back to the New Testament, you get this thing called the Great Commission. The Great Commission is found in Matthew 28, verses 18 to 20. And in the Great Commission, what we have is Jesus giving this global, world-changing mission to his followers to go to every nation, to go to all people on the planet, and bring the saving message of Jesus to all people. It's a result of the Great Commission that you and I sit in this room today that we're here together in such diversity. But when Jesus gave this mission in Matthew 28, 18 to 20, he was entrusting it to teenagers, to young people. He said, You go for me. And so listen to what Matthew 28, 18 to 20 says.

SPEAKER_00 17:45

Then Jesus came to them and said, All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always to the very end of the age.

SPEAKER_04 18:09

That's Brooke, y'all. Brooke, say God is good.

SPEAKER_00 18:14

God is good.

SPEAKER_04 18:15

Say God is greater than we can imagine him to be.

SPEAKER_00 18:17

God is greater than we can imagine him to be.

SPEAKER_04 18:20

Say God, we love you.

SPEAKER_00 18:21

God, we love you.

SPEAKER_04 18:27

So in Matthew 28, 18 to 20, Jesus is calling his followers who are primarily teenagers and very young people. He's telling them to go to the world, to teach them what I'm like, show them what I'm like by living like me, by loving like me, by loving out loud, showing them what it's like to imitate me and be like me. Go to the world and do that. Baptize them, show them who I am, teach them who I am, love like me and live like me. And he's entrusting that to these young people. And so, what I want to say to you today is that God is asking us the question who will cry out? That's the title of this message. And the first point of this message is the youth will cry out. Say the youth will cry out? He will send them to all the nations. And speaking of all the nations, I don't know if you can tell by now. I don't know if you can tell from the little twang, or even if you remember what Susie said, but I ain't from around here. I'm from this place called Hotlanta, aka Atlanta. I'm what they would call an A.T. Alien. If you know who Outcast is, raise your hand. Okay, so if I say, I'm sorry, Miss Jackson. Hold on, hold on, wait, wait, wait. What if I say, ah ha, hush that fuck? What's that song called? Say it again? Rosa Parks. Everybody knows who Rosa Parks is. Everybody knows who Rosa Parks is because on December 1st, 1955, Rosa Parks was seated on a bus. A white man demanded that she get up out of her seat and move to the back of the bus, and Rosa Parks refused. And that became a critical moment in the civil rights movement. Everybody knows who Rosa Parks is. Not everybody knows who Claudette Colvin is. Claudette Colvin, on March 2nd, 1955, months before Rosa Parks took her seat on a bus, Claudette Colvin was on a bus on the way home from school, and at 15 years old, a white woman demanded that she get up out of her seat and move to the back of the bus, and Claudette Colvin at 15 years old refused. She was arrested. Her actions at 15 years old inspired the actions of Rosa Parks. Claudette Colvin's actions, Rosa Parks' actions inspired Martin Luther King Jr., who organized the Montgomery Bus Boycott, which became one of the most pivotal moments in the civil rights movement. Martin Luther King Jr. was inspired by young people and their actions like Claudette Colvin. As a matter of fact, he intentionally worked with people like her all the time, regularly, consistently, because he knew what they could do. And so Martin Luther King Jr. had this vision from God. He had a dream. Part of that dream was that one day little black boys and girls would join hands with little white boys and girls and that they would be able to be in the same room together, sing praises together. It's because of the work of Martin Luther King Jr. and people like Claudette Colvin at 15 years old who were willing to cry out. That now, today, this room is a reality because it wasn't back then. Martin Luther King Jr. had a vision, but he wasn't the only one that had a vision. Isaiah the prophet had a vision. In Isaiah 6, verses 1 to 4, we get that vision. Jeremiah the prophet is estimated to have been 19 years old when he became a prophet. So he has this vision in Isaiah chapter 6, verses 1 to 4. Listen to what Isaiah chapter 6, verses 1 to 4 says.

SPEAKER_02 23:07

With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet. And with two they were flying. And they were calling to one another: Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty. The whole earth is full of his glory. At the sound of their voices, the door post and threshold shook, and the temple was filled with smoke.

SPEAKER_04 23:25

That's Cala, y'all. Kayla, say hallelujah.

SPEAKER_02 23:31

Hallelujah.

SPEAKER_04 23:32

Say, pray, we praise you, Jesus.

SPEAKER_02 23:35

We praise you, Jesus.

SPEAKER_04 23:36

Say, we thank you, God, for being so good.

SPEAKER_02 23:38

We thank you, God, for being so good.

SPEAKER_04 23:45

So Isaiah got this vision. He sees God and his holiness, and these angels are flying around and they're crying out, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty. The whole earth is filled with his glory. And as he sees God and his holiness, he sees himself and his sinfulness. And he responds in verse 5, and he says, Woe is me. I am undone. I'm falling apart. I can't keep myself together. But the scripture tells us that God sent an angel with a burning coal and he touched Isaiah's lips. And he cleansed him, forgave him. But not only that, he called him. And as we stand here this morning, oh, how I wish that somebody in this room, somebody in this place would get a vision like Isaiah and see the holiness of God. How I wish in this place today that the Holy Spirit would move in your hearts. How I wish today in this place that the Holy Spirit would move in my hearts. How I wish today that the Holy Spirit would move in our hearts and we would get a vision of who God is. And like Isaiah, we would cry out as he's calling to us and we hear the voice of the Lord, whom shall I send? Who will go for us? And like Isaiah, we will say, Here I am, send me. In Matthew 21, 16, Jesus is traveling. All these children are crying out. They're saying, Hosanna to the Son of David. In other words, Jesus, save us! Jesus, save us. And the Pharisees, the religious leaders of his day, they look at him and they say, Don't you hear these children? And Jesus says, Yeah. Haven't you read? From the lips of children and babies, the Lord will call forth his praise. And all I know today, all I know today is that these youth have been crying out all morning long. Oh, but I don't think they've done yet, y'all. Midtown youth, what you got to say? As they're walking off, and they're telling you that you'll they'll cry out, I want to know today. Will you cry out? Who will cry out? The youth will cry out, and I'm telling you today, you better cry out. And as I say that, I'm reminded of Luke 19, 39 to 40. Jesus is surrounded by a crowd of his disciples, and they're crying out, Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord. And again, the Pharisees, they look at him and they say, Rebuke your disciples, tell them to be quiet. And Jesus says, Even if they're silent, the rocks will cry out. I don't know about y'all today, brothers and sisters. I don't know about y'all today, but I know this I don't want no rock crying out for me. I want the youth crying out, but I don't want no youth crying out for me. And today, if you're here and you're in a rocky place, maybe you feel like you hit rock bottom. I got good news for you today, brothers and sisters, because in Matthew 16, 18, Jesus said to Peter, You're called Peter. That means rock. But on this rock, I will build my church. Maybe you feel like you're lower than a rock. See, I'm reminded of Ezekiel 37. When the Holy Spirit is leading Ezekiel all throughout a valley, all throughout a valley, back and forth, back and forth, and what he sees is a valley full of dry bones. If you're in a valley, you're in a low place. If you're in a valley full of bones, you're in a dead place. And he goes on to say, in verses 11 and 12, he tells you that that's the people of Israel, that's God's own people. In the lowest place that they've ever been, in dead situations, they've lost all hope. Their hope is gone. They feel like they've cut off, they've been cut off from God, cut off from life, cut off from everything good. But God says to Ezekiel, Prophesy. Prophesy to them, hear the word of the Lord, and as you hear the word of the Lord, I will call you out of your graves, I will call you out of the valley, I will call you out of the darkness, I will call you into the light. Here's what I want to know today. See, I know that God is speaking to you. I know that God is speaking to you. I know this time for you to cry out. Maybe you need to cry out to Him and say, God, my voice has been silent too long. I'm crying out of silence, brother. They ain't heard your praise in a long time. Sister, they ain't heard your song in a long time. But today, God is crying out to you and He's saying, Cry out to me. Give me what it is you've been holding back. Give me what I've been commanding you to do and you haven't done. What is it that the Lord has been saying to you, you need to do and you haven't done yet? He's crying out to you today, and he's saying, Cry out to me and give it to me and say, I will go where you want me to go, I will do what you want me to do, I'll be who you want me to be, I'll say what you want me to see. Say, and so today, as the Lord is crying out, let the Holy Spirit lead you to cry out to. If you know, you know you've been holding on to something, you know you've been holding back, that God wants you to do something, come to this altar and lay it down, give it to Him, and say, God, I'm ready. I'm ready, God. Wanna ask? Praise God, praise God, praise God. Got leaders coming up. He'll pray with you if you need prayer. But let the Holy Spirit speak to you, hear his voice, and cry out back to you. And say, God, I'm ready. Whatever you want me to do, I'm ready. Wherever you want me to go, I'm ready. Whatever you want me to say, Lord, I'm ready. I'll cry out to you. God, we thank you for the people in this room. We thank you, Holy Spirit, for the way that you're moving, for the way that you're working, for the way that you're speaking, for the way that you're calling people out of dead situations and valleys in their lives, to give their hearts to you, Lord, to cry out to you and say, I'm ready. Whatever you want me to do, God, I'm ready. Holy Spirit, we pray you continue to move right now. You can continue to draw people to fall on their knees and cry out to you, that you would accomplish your will in this place, and may this place be shaken, God. May this place be shaken. We ask that you continue to use our youth, God, to serve our people, but to also be a light to the world, to proclaim the saving message of Jesus to the world, to show them what Jesus is like, God, and to be the example for us. God, we love you, we thank you, we praise you, we ask all this in the name of Jesus.