WHO WILL CRY OUT? - Pastor Levi Ferguson | Elk Grove

WHO WILL CRY OUT? - Pastor Levi Ferguson | Elk Grove  

05.03.26  | Faith x Family x Future

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:14

God, we love you. We thank you, Lord, that you're so good we can't even begin to imagine just how good you are. And as good as we think you are, God, our imagination fails us. Because, Lord, you're so much better than that, God. And so we ask this morning, God, that you would just continue to move and show us just how good you really are, Lord. Holy Spirit, we ask that you would open every ear in this room, every eye in this room, every heart in this room, every mind in this room, so that we can truly see who you are, so that we can truly know you, Lord. And we ask, Holy Spirit, that you would move us to obey you as we hear your word, God. Continue to use our students powerfully, Lord, miraculously, to build your kingdom and bring your name glory. And I ask, Holy Spirit, that you would give me your words. Move me out of the way. And may it be only you, Lord, that we see. We praise you, God. We thank you. We ask all this in the name of Jesus. Amen. And now I have the blessing and privilege to announce to you somebody very special. This is Chanel. Everybody say hello to Chanel. Chanel is one of our student leaders, aka midterns. She's a very MVP midtern. And today I get to announce to you Chanel as our student preacher. Chanel, how do you feel about that today? How do you feel about speaking to the people?

SPEAKER_02 1:50

I don't know, guys. I think I'm too young for this.

SPEAKER_00 1:54

Too young, too young. That's all right. That's all right. Because Chanel was just telling me backstage that really the only reason she came out here was to say hi to everybody. Everybody. Everybody say hi to Chanel again. And give Chanel a big round of applause as she goes back to the audience. As Chanel is making her way back to the audience, let me direct your attention to the Word of God. 1 Timothy 4 12 says something really, really profound. And it's very relevant to what we're talking about right now. Chanel says she feels too young. Look at what these words say. Don't let anyone look down on you because you are what? Hold on. Don't let anybody look down on you because you're what? Wait a minute, wait a minute. Let's do that one more time. Don't let nobody look down on you because you're what? Young. And yet somehow that's what we tend to do, isn't it? We look at students and we got a whole section full today. We look at students and we think they ain't been through enough yet to be used by God powerfully. Let them just live their lives, let them just enjoy their life, let them be young. But sometimes, this is what I believe that that's the precise reason that God uses the young is because we look at them and we think they're too young. And yet God wants to use them greatly. And so these words they continue. Don't let anybody look down on you because you're young. And let me just say to everybody right now, Chanel, first of all, don't look down on yourself because you're young. Students in the audience, don't look down on yourself because you're young. Don't let anybody else look down on you because you're young. And let me say to everybody in the audience today, make sure you're not the one that's looking down on them because they're young. Look at what the words continue to say. Don't let anybody look down on you because you're young, but do what? Set an example for the believers in speech, conduct, in love, in faith, and in purity. And so what I'll say to you is this this morning. As the youth director at Midtown Church, one of the visions that God has given me for our students, one of the goals that God has given me for our students is that they would love Jesus and live for Jesus in such a way that everywhere they go, when they step foot into their schools, people will look at them and they will set the example of what it looks like to love Jesus, to live for Jesus. And in some cases, when they go home in their homes, they would set the example of what it looks like to love him with everything they got. But not just that. Here's what I believe. I believe that God has a calling on their lives. He wants to raise them up in such a way that not only do they set the example in their schools and in their homes, but when they come here and you look at them, they set the example for you. And you look at them and you say, if God is going to use them that way, if God is working in them in that way, then I know he can work in me and use me in that way too. They're the example. That's the calling that God has on their lives. I 1000% believe that and praise God in advance for what he's gonna do in their lives as he raises them up and uses them. Speaking of age requirements, age expectations, which by the way, our society has a lot of age requirements, right? A lot of age expectations. How old do you gotta be to drive? Okay? How old do you gotta be to get a job? Okay, maybe you never thought about this one. How old do you gotta be as a kid to make pancakes? What's the age requirement for a kid to make pancakes? You ever thought about that one? See, my daughter, and we have a picture of her, praise God, she's in the audience. If I point her out, she'll be mad. I ain't gonna do that. My daughter is 16 years old, so we have this picture of her when she was young. She's 16, she's an absolute beast, she makes good grades, she's the captain of her track team. She is a chef. That girl be putting her foot in some mac and cheese, y'all. I'm trying to tell you. And she's a baker. So when she was about three years old, she came to me one morning and she said, Daddy, and that's how she said it because she's from Georgia and she used to have an accent and she don't have one now. But that's how she said it. She said, Daddy, can you make me some pancakes? Now I don't eat pancakes. I don't like pancakes, which is insane because I like every other dessert, every other sweet, every other treat on the planet. And my wife is in this room right now. I ain't gonna point her out either because she'll be mad. But she will confirm to you and let you know, yes, that man is gonna tear some sweets up. I don't like pancakes. I don't eat pancakes, so I never went through the trouble of learning how to make pancakes. And so when my daughter came to me and she said, Daddy, can you make me some pancakes? I said, Baby, I don't know how to make pancakes. And at three years old, she then proceeded to give me step-by-step instructions on how to make pancakes because she did it before. So she said, Daddy, you crack the egg, you put it in the bowl, you put the milk in, you put the flour in, you put the sugar in, you mix it up, you pour it in a pan, and you cook it, Daddy. Three years old. Why do I tell you that story? Because we need to get to a place where we understand that our children are much more capable of doing things than we think they are. But more importantly than that, we have to get to a place where we have a change in perspective where we get God to give us his perspective on their lives, and we realize that God intends to raise our children up and use them greatly to change this world. That's his desire, his calling on their lives. Jesus, when he chose his 12 disciples, when he called his 12 disciples to follow him, those disciples were a lot younger than you probably think they were. And in Matthew 17, 24 to 27, Jesus is talking about a temple tax, which when you hear this passage, you're gonna think, why are we reading this? But in Matthew 17, verses 24 to 27, Jesus actually gives us a hint at how old his disciples really were. Listen to what Matthew 17, verses 24 to 27 says.

SPEAKER_03 10:20

Dharma 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 accept. Jesus said to them. 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 to drag mud coin. Take it and give it to them for my tax and yours.

SPEAKER_00 11:02

That's Tyrone. Y'all give Tyrone a big round of applause. One of our students right there, our elgro students, praise God. So, with this passage, let me point you back to verse 24 and ask you some questions. Who was with Jesus? How many disciples are there? Twelve. Okay, good. Now go to verse 27. How many people paid the temple tax? Two. Why is it that there's 12 disciples and one Jesus, but there's only one disciple and one Jesus paying the temple tax? So in that day, in that time, in that society, the temple tax was only paid by people who were 21 years old or older. So then that tells you what about the disciples? Except Peter. They were all younger than 21. They were young. Now, if you open your Bible and you start reading, and you read the Gospel of John, and you read 1 John and you read 2 John and you read 3 John and you read the book of Revelation, that John, scholars say and estimate that John, when Jesus called John to follow Jesus, he was about 13 or 14 years old. And he was the youngest disciple. And so when you read in the Gospel of John, and you read in the Gospel of John that John is calling himself the disciple that Jesus loved, that starts to make a little bit more sense, don't it? Or how about when he makes a point of letting you know that he outran Peter to the empty tomb? Starting to make a little bit of sense, ain't it? How about this? There's a story in the Gospels where an argument breaks out among the disciples and they're arguing about who should be considered the greatest. Now I don't know about you, but that sounds a whole lot to me like a conversation that's being had among teenage boys. I'm better than you at this, I'm the best at that, I'm better than you at that, I'm the greatest, I'm the goat, I'm the greatest of all time. That sounds like a conversation between teenage boys. Right? What about this? There's a story in the Gospels where a mother takes her two sons, one of them being John, the other one being James, brings them to Jesus, and she says, When you become king, can my son sit on your right and on your left in your kingdom? I don't know about y'all, but that that just seems a little bit odd to me if that's two grown men and they mama is taking them to Jesus, and she's like, Can they sit on your right and your left? If those were grown men, they would do it themselves, right? Mary, the mother of Jesus, 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. It ain't just the New Testament, y'all. If you go back to the Old Testament and you open your Bible and you read a book called the Book of Esther, the book of Esther is all about a young lady who scholars estimate to also be in her mid to late teens, who chose to be allowed to be used by God, to stand up for her people, to risk everything, including her life, in an effort to save her people. That's the book of Esther. But if you look at the age of many of the prophets in the Old Testament, they are estimated to be very young as well. As a matter of fact, Jeremiah himself had something to say about his age. And scholars estimate that Jeremiah was between 17 and 19 when God called him to be a prophet. And in Jeremiah chapter 1, verses 4 to 7, you get that calling. In Jeremiah chapter 1, verses 4 to 7, he has something to say about his age. Listen to what Jeremiah 1, verses 4 to 7 says.

SPEAKER_02 15:30

The word of the Lord came to me, saying, Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you. Before you were born, I set you apart. I appointed you as a prophet to the nations. Alas, sovereign Lord, I said, I do not know how to speak. I am too young. But the Lord said to me, Do not say, I am too young. You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you.

SPEAKER_00 15:51

So God. That's Chanel, by the way. Give Chanel a big round of applause. Chanel, say hallelujah in that mic.

SPEAKER_02 15:59

Hallelujah. Say praise God. Praise God. Say we love you, Jesus. We love you, Jesus. Say thank you, Jesus. Thank you, Jesus.

SPEAKER_00 16:09

In Jeremiah 1, we get this calling from God where Jeremiah's called to be a prophet. Jeremiah's young. And he's like, God, I can't, I can't do that. I'm too young. I can't say what you want me to say. I can't, I'm too young. And God says, Don't say that. Don't say that about yourself. What I want you to do never depended on your ability or your age, anyways. It only ever depended on me and what I can do. And so he says, You're gonna go where I send you. You're gonna do what I tell you to do. You're gonna say what I tell you to say because I'm gonna give you what you need to do it. So if you go 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. In the Great Commission, Jesus is giving this worldwide, world-changing, all-important mission to his disciples. He's telling them to go to the world and he's gonna use them to change the world. And as he's giving this all-important, worldwide, global, world-changing mission, he's putting it into the hands of teenagers, young people, and he's entrusting them with that mission. Matthew 28, 18 to 20, we we get that mission. Matthew 28, 18 to 20, listen to what it says.

SPEAKER_04 18:06

Therefore, therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have that commanded you. And surely I am with you always to the very end of the age.

SPEAKER_00 18:27

That's a riot right there, y'all. Say hallelujah in that mic. Come on, give it back. That's all right. Praise God. Praise God. So the Great Commission, this global mission, Jesus is telling his disciples who are again under the age of 21, except Peter, teenagers, many of them, he's telling them, go to the world, go to all the nations, teach them what I'm like by living like me, teach them what I'm like, show them what I'm like by loving like me, show them what I'm like, and teach them to do the same. Teach them to follow me. He's saying, go to the world and love out loud like me. And he's placing that mission into the hands of teenagers. Go to the nations, go to all the world. Speaking of going to all the nations, I don't know if you could tell by now, I ain't from around here. Got a little twangy twang, y'all. So I'm from this place called Hotlanta, aka Atlanta. Some people will call me an AT alien. Raise your hand if you know who Outcast is. So if I say, I'm sorry, Miss Jackson, what about this? Aha, hush that fuss. Hey, what what's the name of that song? What's the name of that song? Say it louder. Rosa Parks. Hey, the praises will come from the mouths of the babies, amen. Um Rosa Parks. Everybody knows who Rosa Parks is. Because on December 1st, 1955, Rosa Parks was seated on a bus. A white man demands that she get up out of her seat and move to the back of the bus, and she refused, and she was arrested, and that became one of the most important moments in the civil rights movement. Everybody knows who Rosa Parks is, but not everybody knows who Claudette Colvin is. Claudette Colvin, on March 2nd, 1955, at 15 years old, was on a bus going home from school, and a white woman demanded that she get up out of her seat, move to the back of the bus, and Claudette Colvin, at 15 years old, she refused. She's arrested. Her actions inspire Rosa Parks. Her actions inspire Martin Luther King Jr. 15 years old. That becomes one of the most pivotal moments in the civil rights movement because Martin Luther King Jr. then, inspired by their actions, by the actions of a 15-year-old, organizes the Montgomery bus boycott. Inspired by the actions of a 15-year-old. And Martin Luther King Jr. intentionally worked with young people regularly because of that, because he knew what they were capable of. So Claudette Colvin at 15 years old, she inspires Martin Luther King Jr., she inspires Rosa Parks. And this vision, this dream that Martin Luther King Jr. has is partly inspired by people like that. And so Martin Luther King Jr., he had this vision, he had this dream that one day little black boys and girls would join hands with little white boys and girls. And today, as a result of people like Claudette Coven at 15 years old, who inspired Martin Luther King Jr., as a result of people's actions like that, young people that sit in that section right there. People just like that. We sit in this room today, that vision, that dream of Martin Luther King Jr. becoming a reality. Because back then this room wasn't even possible. And now we sit in the same room together and we sing praises to God together. We cry out to God together. And that's the title of this message Who Will Cry Out? Who will cry out? I came this morning to tell you that the youth will cry out. But I came this morning also, this is the second point. To let you know that you better cry out. See, it wasn't just Martin Luther King Jr. that had a vision. Isaiah the prophet had a vision too. Isaiah the prophet is given a vision in Isaiah 6, 1 to 4. And scholars estimate that Isaiah, when he received this vision from God, he was about 19 years old. Isaiah 6, 1 to 4 records that vision that Isaiah had. Listen to what Isaiah 6 verses 1 to 4 says.

SPEAKER_01 23:52

Above him were seraphim, each with six wings. With two 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, their door posts and thresholds shut, and the temple was filled with smoke.

SPEAKER_00 24:11

That's Kyla, y'all. Y'all give her a big round of applause. You still got the mic? Say praise God in the mic.

SPEAKER_01 24:19

Praise God.

SPEAKER_00 24:20

Say we love you, Jesus.

SPEAKER_01 24:21

We love you, Jesus.

SPEAKER_00 24:22

Say thank you, Jesus.

SPEAKER_01 24:24

Thank you, Jesus.

SPEAKER_00 24:24

Amen.

SPEAKER_01 24:26

Amen.

SPEAKER_00 24:27

So in Isaiah 6. Isaiah at 19 years old gets this vision from God. And in this vision, he sees God face to face. And as he's seeing God face to face, these angels are crying, uh flying around, and they're crying out, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty. The whole earth is full of his glory. And as Isaiah sees this vision of God and he sees God in his holiness. He sees himself for who he is. He sees himself in his own sinfulness. And he can't stand it. In verse 5, he responds and he says, Woe is me! I am undone. I can't hold myself together. It is too much for me to take. I'm falling apart, he says. And that angel to me brings a burning coal and touches his lips. He says that he cleanses him, he forgives him. But he calls him. And then Isaiah cries out. Isaiah is crying out to the Lord. He has this vision. And how I wish today in this place that somebody in this place would get a vision of God like Isaiah and see God in his holiness. How I wish today in this place that somebody in here would have a move of the Spirit of God and your heart would cry out, holy, holy, holy. How I wish today that in this place the Holy Spirit would move in your hearts. How I wish today that like Isaiah, the Holy Spirit would move in my heart. How I wish today that like Isaiah, the Holy Spirit would move in all of our hearts, and we would cry out, holy, holy, holy, and that this place would be shaken. Like Acts chapter 4, this place would be shaken. I wish today that everybody in this room would get such a vision of God that, like Isaiah, as he sees God in his holiness, we would cry out. And we would say, as we hear the voice of the Lord calling, whom shall I send? Who will go for us? We would cry out and we would say, Here am I, send me, I'll go. I'll go where you want me to go. I'll do what you want me to do. I'll say what you want me to say. I'll cry out for you, God. As I think about those words, I'm reminded of Matthew 21, 16. Jesus is traveling, and children are crying out all around him, and they're saying, Hosanna to the Son of David! Hosanna to the son of David. In other words, Jesus, save us, Jesus, save us. See, these youth have been crying out all morning long. Oh, but I don't think they've done yet. I think they still got something to say. Midtown youth, what y'all got to say? Jesus is traveling through a town, and his disciples are crying out, Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord. And the Pharisees, the religious leaders of his day, they look at him and they say, Rebuke your disciples, make them be quiet. And Jesus responds, and he says, Even if they're silent, the rocks will cry out. Oh, brothers and sisters. I don't know if you're in a rocky place today. I don't know if maybe even you feel like you hit rock bottom, but I'm here to tell you some good news today because in Matthew 16, 18, Jesus looked at Peter and he said, You're called Peter, that means rock, but on this rock I will build my church. I'm reminded of the words of Ezekiel 37 when God takes Ezekiel into the valley of bones. A valley is a low place, y'all. Full of bones, dead things, dead situations. I don't know where you're at in life. Maybe you feel like you're in a valley, you're in a low place, you're in the darkest place you've ever been in, you're in the lowest place you've ever been in. But I'm here today to tell you that there's some good news for you because even if you feel like you're the lowest rock under a rock on the bottom of the valley, Ezekiel is told by the Lord, he says, Prophesy to these bones, hear the word of the Lord. And then in verse 11, it tells us that that's the people of Israel, that's his own people in that valley, that's his own people in dead situations, that's his own people who don't think they got no more hope. It tells us that. See, God is speaking to you this morning, he's crying out to you, and he's saying, Cry out to me, cry out to me. I don't know what you've been holding back, I don't know what he's been telling you to do, I don't know what he's been telling you to say, I don't know where he's been telling you to go, but I know this sister, your song has been silent too long. Brother, your voice has been quiet too long. Ain't nobody heard your song in a long time, but today is the day. God is saying to you today, hear the voice of the Lord. Cry out to me, whatever you've been holding back, whatever I've been telling you to do. It's time for you to cry out and say, I'm ready. Let's go, God. I'm ready.