WEBVTT 00:00:02.319 --> 00:00:04.879 Welcome to the Celebration Church Orlando podcast. 00:00:05.280 --> 00:00:06.719 Thank you so much for listening today. 00:00:07.120 --> 00:00:09.199 We hope it encourages you and inspires you. 00:00:09.839 --> 00:00:10.800 Here's today's message. 00:00:11.279 --> 00:00:14.160 We're going to transition now into the message today. 00:00:14.240 --> 00:00:18.800 And I'm so, so excited about the word that God has placed on my heart for us today. 00:00:18.879 --> 00:00:24.800 So if you have your Bibles, I want to invite you to go ahead and join me in 1 Kings chapter 19. 00:00:25.039 --> 00:00:26.960 1 Kings chapter 19. 00:00:27.120 --> 00:00:30.480 You may remember that we spent some time in 1 Kings last week. 00:00:30.559 --> 00:00:33.280 And so we're going to kind of continue where we left off that. 00:00:33.359 --> 00:00:39.520 As we're turning there, I do want to just go ahead and highlight and again welcome everyone who is joining us possibly for the first time. 00:00:39.600 --> 00:00:47.359 So, church, for those of us who are watching online, can we put our hands together and welcome everyone who's watching us online and those who are checking us out through the podcast later? 00:00:47.439 --> 00:00:49.359 We're so, so glad that you are here. 00:00:49.520 --> 00:00:53.039 If you're ever in the Orlando area, we want to invite you to come and worship with us. 00:00:53.200 --> 00:00:55.920 There's several ways that you can connect and stay engaged with us. 00:00:56.079 --> 00:00:58.320 You can go and register for our services right online. 00:00:58.399 --> 00:01:01.920 We do our social distancing and do everything we can do to keep you safe. 00:01:02.079 --> 00:01:03.439 I'm excited about this season. 00:01:03.520 --> 00:01:13.120 And as I look at what this moment is for us, I truly believe that the Bible talks about where there's two or three that are gathered in the name of Jesus, that he's there in the midst. 00:01:13.280 --> 00:01:25.840 And I believe that every time that we gather together in the name of Jesus with a dedicated focus on him, that he meets us exactly where we are, and what often determines our ability to get a breakthrough or to get a revelation is the really the posture of our heart. 00:01:26.000 --> 00:01:31.200 So over the next few moments, my prayer, my hope is that we can lean into what it is that God wants to speak to us today. 00:01:31.280 --> 00:01:37.519 I don't believe that there's any such thing as a coincidence that God has led you here for such a time as this. 00:01:38.400 --> 00:01:42.480 Well, guys, 2021, we made it. 00:01:44.959 --> 00:01:47.280 Somebody's excited about it, some some are. 00:01:47.680 --> 00:01:49.680 2021, guys, we made it. 00:01:52.239 --> 00:02:02.959 I I was I was thinking a lot about like, okay, like 2021, and I was really thinking of like, what are some ways that I can just begin to kind of get the gears going a little bit, some ways that we can kind of celebrate um this season. 00:02:03.040 --> 00:02:04.560 So I came up with a couple of slogans. 00:02:04.640 --> 00:02:08.240 So by by your applause, I'm gonna I'm gonna know which one I'm gonna lean into. 00:02:08.319 --> 00:02:11.120 So 2021, here's a phrase 2021. 00:02:11.840 --> 00:02:12.960 We made it. 00:02:13.599 --> 00:02:18.719 We made it because sometimes just making it out of 2020 is something worth celebrating. 00:02:18.879 --> 00:02:20.800 So 2021, we made it. 00:02:20.879 --> 00:02:24.400 Let's put it on a bumper sticker, let's celebrate the fact that we made it through 2020. 00:02:24.479 --> 00:02:29.039 But then the other, the other slogan, the one that I'm leaning a little bit more towards, is 2021. 00:02:29.840 --> 00:02:31.680 It's got to get better from here. 00:02:33.360 --> 00:02:36.240 It's like it's it's only up from here, guys. 00:02:36.319 --> 00:02:37.520 Like we started from the bottom. 00:02:37.680 --> 00:02:40.000 Now we're here, like we're we're making, we're making progress. 00:02:40.080 --> 00:02:44.000 I believe that this is a year that we can expect God to do some incredible things. 00:02:44.080 --> 00:02:54.479 But but also as I'm thinking about what this year is, what it represents, what it means for all of us, it's it's it's recognizing that we have new opportunities and and we have permission to dream and begin to move forward. 00:02:54.560 --> 00:02:55.840 That's what this year does for us. 00:02:55.919 --> 00:02:57.919 It gives us the space and permission to do that. 00:02:58.000 --> 00:03:09.039 And so for me, I've been considering what are some things that I'm going to endeavor to do in 2021 that I didn't do, didn't get a chance to do, or was reluctant to do in 2020 or even the years before that. 00:03:09.199 --> 00:03:13.120 I realize that sometimes you have to you have to upgrade your dreams. 00:03:13.439 --> 00:03:20.400 Because if we if we don't upgrade our dreams, we downgrade the possibilities and end up living in a nightmare of regret. 00:03:20.879 --> 00:03:22.319 Oh, y'all catch that? 00:03:22.560 --> 00:03:29.199 Sometimes you have to upgrade your dreams because if not, we downgrade the possibilities and end up living in a nightmare of regret. 00:03:29.280 --> 00:03:40.000 And what I don't want to do is end up allowing what 2020 was to keep me from dreaming for what God wants to do with me in this next season, and I end up missing out on what could potentially be in front of me. 00:03:40.080 --> 00:03:56.159 So I've been thinking a little bit about what are some things I want to engage in this year that I did not get a chance to do last year, what are some things that I feel like could be opportunities for me to kind of spread my wings a little bit, and some of them are very deep and spiritual, some of them are dealing with family, but some of them are a little recreational. 00:03:56.240 --> 00:04:03.360 And so I've decided that 2021 is going to be the year that I am going to go hunting. 00:04:06.159 --> 00:04:10.080 So let me address the black elephant in the room. 00:04:11.759 --> 00:04:18.319 People that that look like me typically don't go into the woods with people that don't look like me with guns. 00:04:18.480 --> 00:04:19.519 It's just a lot of history there. 00:04:19.600 --> 00:04:21.360 So it's something that we tend to avoid. 00:04:21.439 --> 00:04:26.879 I want to speak for all of us, but I stand on good authority and saying that that's an area that we typically scale back in. 00:04:27.040 --> 00:04:35.439 However, I have so many friends that have been nudging me and encouraging me to kind of step into this space that I'm like, you know what, this is the year that I'm gonna give it a shot. 00:04:35.600 --> 00:04:41.040 Now, now, truth be told, it's I did go hunting once before, and and it wasn't a good experience. 00:04:41.199 --> 00:04:43.680 In fact, it was it was downright terrifying. 00:04:43.839 --> 00:04:47.839 After all of the peer pressure, reluctantly I decide, okay, I'm gonna go. 00:04:47.920 --> 00:04:51.439 This happened a couple years ago, and I still remember it just as if it was yesterday. 00:04:51.600 --> 00:04:58.879 I remember the the excitement of waking up at three o'clock in the morning, it was freezing outside, and I'm like, man, people actually pay to do this. 00:04:58.959 --> 00:05:04.800 Um, but then I get taken out into the woods, I get dropped off at this tree stand, and it is pitch black. 00:05:04.879 --> 00:05:11.920 Um I'm put up into this tree stand, I don't see anything, and all I begin to do is I just begin to hear all these these noises. 00:05:12.160 --> 00:05:14.240 I begin to hear all this distraction. 00:05:14.319 --> 00:05:20.639 Now, I'm not sure if you know what it feels like to sit in this space where you can't see anything, but you're hearing a lot of noise. 00:05:20.720 --> 00:05:22.319 It's almost like Blair Witch Project. 00:05:22.399 --> 00:05:25.839 I just wanted to get my phone out and just like have like a last will and testament to my wife. 00:05:26.000 --> 00:05:27.040 I was I was terrified. 00:05:27.120 --> 00:05:37.600 It was it was overwhelming to my senses as I began to think about I have I have I have the arsenal, I have a weapon, I have ammunition, but it's so dark, I can't even see what I'm aiming at. 00:05:37.759 --> 00:05:40.399 I'm hearing a lot of different sounds that has me terrified. 00:05:40.560 --> 00:05:41.920 I don't know what's going on out here. 00:05:42.000 --> 00:05:46.879 I'm freezing, I'm shivering, and I'm thinking to myself, why would anyone ever sign up for this? 00:05:47.279 --> 00:05:48.319 It's so dark. 00:05:48.560 --> 00:06:01.360 I felt like I was having sensory overload because I'm pretty sure all of us know that feeling of of being in a place where where you have heightened senses and you can't see, but you you know that you need to move forward, but but it's dark and and it's it's cold and you don't have proper direction. 00:06:01.439 --> 00:06:05.600 And what I've just described may feel like what 2020 was for many of us. 00:06:05.920 --> 00:06:09.360 I have the I have the arsenal of faith. 00:06:09.600 --> 00:06:19.120 I I even have the ammunition of prayer, but it's so dark, I don't know where the target is, I don't have clarity, I don't have perspective. 00:06:19.279 --> 00:06:24.879 And while I'm sitting on this thing of this joy that I'm supposed to have in Christ, I don't know what I'm supposed to do with it. 00:06:25.759 --> 00:06:33.839 This is the reality that I found myself in a couple of years ago, but I believe that this is a reality that many of us find ourselves in right now. 00:06:34.079 --> 00:06:41.920 This idea of like, yes, I'm a person of faith, but I don't even know what to do with it, and it feels quite overwhelming right now. 00:06:42.399 --> 00:06:55.759 You see, the Bible tells us a story about these two individuals that I believe that sometimes we can miss the human side of calling, we can miss the human side of stepping into the thing that God is ultimately calling us to do. 00:06:56.079 --> 00:07:07.839 See, last week we talked about this prophet named Elijah, Elijah with a J, and how he his ministry was birthed as a result of tension, that he experienced this tension and it activated calling. 00:07:08.160 --> 00:07:12.800 It activated his ability to recognize his vulnerabilities, but it also drew him closer to God. 00:07:12.959 --> 00:07:18.079 I think we we recognize that tension can give birth to some things that can ultimately help us to grow. 00:07:18.319 --> 00:07:22.240 But there was a moment where you can clearly see that he was overwhelmed. 00:07:22.399 --> 00:07:28.639 It so overwhelmed that the fact that he felt isolated and alone that he he retreated from the mission field that God had called him to go to. 00:07:28.720 --> 00:07:37.040 He ended up going out to a cave and and dealing with where he was, and he made this statement to God, Lord, I am all alone. 00:07:37.600 --> 00:07:45.519 I'm I alone am the only one that has been standing on your behalf, and and God encouraged him and said, Man, you're not alone. 00:07:45.680 --> 00:07:48.639 There's actually a community of people that I have preserved and kept. 00:07:48.720 --> 00:07:55.040 In fact, I need you to get up and go back and find your predecessor because I am not done with you yet. 00:07:55.279 --> 00:07:58.879 That was kind of the crescendo last week is that God is not done with us yet. 00:07:59.040 --> 00:08:02.000 And what I want to do is I want to pick up exactly where we left off. 00:08:02.240 --> 00:08:11.600 This moment where Elisha is so overwhelmed and fearful that he's all alone, but then God speaks to him and gives him some instructions to help him to move forward. 00:08:11.680 --> 00:08:24.720 Starting at verse number 19, the Bible says, Elijah left there, and there, being that isolated place out in the wilderness, he left there and found Elisha, son of Shaphat, as he was ploughing. 00:08:24.959 --> 00:08:28.240 Twelve teens of oxen were in front of him, and he was with the twelfth team. 00:08:28.399 --> 00:08:31.519 Elijah walked by him and threw his mantle over him. 00:08:31.680 --> 00:08:39.360 Elisha left the oxen, ran to follow Elijah, and said, Please let me kiss my father and mother, and then I will follow you. 00:08:39.519 --> 00:08:42.399 Go back, he replied, for what have I done to you? 00:08:42.639 --> 00:08:45.600 In other words, he was saying, Okay, go back, but don't forget what's happened here. 00:08:45.679 --> 00:08:46.799 Don't forget that you've been called. 00:08:46.879 --> 00:08:49.600 Don't forget this mantle is now on your shoulders. 00:08:49.840 --> 00:08:50.720 Verse 21. 00:08:50.879 --> 00:08:55.360 So he turned back and from following him, he took the team of oxen and slaughtered them. 00:08:55.519 --> 00:09:02.240 And with the wood's oxen yoke, he took the plough and he cooked the meat and he gave it to the people, and they ate. 00:09:02.399 --> 00:09:06.799 Then he left, he followed Elijah, and he served him. 00:09:07.279 --> 00:09:16.000 I love how this phrase is put together in the New King James Version because it says that he stood, that he followed, and he served him. 00:09:16.480 --> 00:09:33.519 Today I want to talk a little bit about this idea of moving forward and trying to figure out how do I resolve the conclusion of one season while stepping into the next season and not allowing myself to get inundated or overwhelmed with what it lays in front of me. 00:09:33.679 --> 00:09:39.519 If you're taking notes, I want you to simply write this topic down because I think it's one that can anchor us as we go into this new year. 00:09:39.600 --> 00:09:42.000 I've entitled today's message, Overwhelmed. 00:09:42.159 --> 00:09:45.200 Let's pray and let's see what it is that God wants to speak to us today. 00:09:45.360 --> 00:09:48.480 Lord, we thank you so much for allowing us to gather in your name. 00:09:48.639 --> 00:09:57.279 I pray over the next few moments that you give us open eyes that we can see you, open ears that we can hear you, and open hearts that we can receive what it is that you have for us, God. 00:09:57.600 --> 00:10:03.120 God, I invite you to inspire us, to challenge us, to convict us, and to help us to move forward. 00:10:03.360 --> 00:10:05.120 We give you this time in Jesus' name. 00:10:05.360 --> 00:10:07.519 Amen and amen. 00:10:08.240 --> 00:10:17.600 You know, when I when I think about this idea, this concept of being overwhelmed, it's something that I would say that many of us are undoubtedly familiar with. 00:10:17.759 --> 00:10:23.279 Uh a practical definition of overwhelmed is simply this it's defined as being given too much of something. 00:10:23.440 --> 00:10:26.879 Just given too much, like I just, this is just too much for me to handle. 00:10:27.039 --> 00:10:31.440 It means to be inundated, it means to have a strong emotional effect. 00:10:31.600 --> 00:10:34.000 It means when too much effect is provided. 00:10:34.080 --> 00:10:40.080 And some of you in here are understand what that feels like when you can feel overwhelmed by uh by someone else's cologne or perfume. 00:10:40.159 --> 00:10:41.600 We know what that feels like from time to time. 00:10:41.679 --> 00:10:42.399 We know that feeling. 00:10:42.559 --> 00:10:48.000 We know what it feels like for some of y'all that are single to be overwhelmed by somebody that keeps hitting you up and dropping and sliding in your DMs. 00:10:48.080 --> 00:10:50.720 We know what that feels like, to be overwhelmed and it's like, man, slow back. 00:10:50.799 --> 00:10:57.519 I I as a as a now a grandfather, I'm recognizing that I I understand that there's a limit to my awareness in the game. 00:10:57.600 --> 00:11:07.360 I'm I'm trying my best to help my son Caleb, who's 16, with how to navigate through this mind field of relationships, but I also understand that, man, I've been out of the game for 25 years. 00:11:07.440 --> 00:11:11.440 My my knowledge and wisdom as it relates to relationships has died a long time ago. 00:11:11.519 --> 00:11:13.519 So I'm like, hey son, did you did you text her? 00:11:13.600 --> 00:11:14.240 Did you call her? 00:11:14.320 --> 00:11:15.759 He's like, Dad, no one does that anymore. 00:11:15.840 --> 00:11:18.559 I'm like, man, like what happened to just good old-fashioned, I like you. 00:11:18.639 --> 00:11:19.679 I'm gonna give you a phone call. 00:11:19.759 --> 00:11:24.000 I remember back when I was coming up, you would simply send a note, do you like me? 00:11:24.240 --> 00:11:25.440 Yes or no? 00:11:26.159 --> 00:11:28.159 And for me, I only had one box. 00:11:28.240 --> 00:11:28.480 Yes. 00:11:28.559 --> 00:11:32.639 You didn't have an option to say no, you didn't have an option to say maybe, you didn't have an option to say I think about it. 00:11:32.720 --> 00:11:34.399 It was just yes, because why wouldn't you? 00:11:34.559 --> 00:11:38.000 But I remember the good old days, but I realized that there's there's a limitation to it. 00:11:38.080 --> 00:11:43.120 So now I'm learning in this culture that you don't want to overwhelm somebody by responding and engaging too quickly. 00:11:43.279 --> 00:11:48.399 So we know what it feels like to be overwhelmed where it seems like there's too much that is happening all at the same time. 00:11:48.720 --> 00:11:54.559 Another definition of overwhelmed is to be buried down or to drown under a heavy mass. 00:11:54.799 --> 00:11:56.480 That that doesn't sound fun at all. 00:11:56.639 --> 00:11:59.279 To be bogged down, to be to be weighed down. 00:11:59.440 --> 00:12:08.480 And with those definitions, I think there are times that we can feel overwhelmed at work where we have so many things that are in front of us. 00:12:08.559 --> 00:12:13.279 I I like to say it this way: we don't have a lot of time on our hands, but we have a lot of hands on our time. 00:12:13.440 --> 00:12:19.200 There's a there's a lot of things that need to get done, but I just don't have enough time or capacity or capability to do it. 00:12:19.279 --> 00:12:22.559 And we know what it feels like to feel like this is weighing down too much on me. 00:12:22.639 --> 00:12:24.000 I feel a little overwhelmed. 00:12:24.080 --> 00:12:42.559 I think this season exposed how we can even feel overwhelmed when we're at home, doing our best to navigate through a season for some of us who are working from home while simultaneously trying to stay adequately connected to community while somehow trying to parent and help your kids with their schoolwork while still trying to be engaged with your spouse or in your relationships. 00:12:42.639 --> 00:12:47.840 That that feeling of having so many things in front of you but not knowing quite how to process through it. 00:12:48.000 --> 00:12:50.639 We could feel overwhelmed even at school. 00:12:50.879 --> 00:13:08.320 I've I've I've watched my son as he's engaged in in school, and what on the surface seems to be a fairly simple thing to do, it could be very challenging and frustrating when you're trying to learn remotely, and it seems as if the teacher is overwhelmed and you're wondering, is this really going to stick or make a difference at all? 00:13:08.799 --> 00:13:12.960 I think that there's times that we can even be overwhelmed when it comes to our next steps. 00:13:13.120 --> 00:13:18.879 Because the truth be told, there's a lot of pressure that can sometimes come with going into a new year, a new season. 00:13:19.120 --> 00:13:31.279 At this time of year, undoubtedly, we've looked on the internet, we've seen on social media, we've seen all the wisdom that's available to us, the 38 things that I learned in 2020, the five leadership principles that's gonna help you. 00:13:31.360 --> 00:13:36.399 And you're thinking to yourself, man, like I just I just survived and made it through 2020. 00:13:36.480 --> 00:13:39.519 I I don't have even vision for 2021 yet. 00:13:39.600 --> 00:13:52.480 Am I talking to anybody in here that that knows what it feels like that you want to have goals, you want to have plans, you want to have things all mapped out, and we can look at other people that seem to be so clear about what they're going to do going into the next year, and you're like, man, I'm just glad that I made it. 00:13:52.720 --> 00:13:55.759 That feeling of feeling overwhelmed, like, man, am I behind the gun? 00:13:55.840 --> 00:13:57.919 I haven't even started my Bible reading plan yet. 00:13:58.000 --> 00:13:59.519 And today is the third day of January. 00:13:59.679 --> 00:14:00.240 Is it too late? 00:14:00.320 --> 00:14:01.440 Do I just wait until next year? 00:14:01.600 --> 00:14:05.519 We can feel overwhelmed because sometimes we don't feel like we have it all together. 00:14:05.679 --> 00:14:07.519 We don't have all the clarity. 00:14:07.759 --> 00:14:19.279 You see, this is the reality that we often find ourselves in emotionally, and sometimes we can think that in scripture that we had these superheroes in the Bible that didn't deal with some of the same feelings and emotions that we deal with as well. 00:14:19.600 --> 00:14:22.080 See, except for Jesus, they all were flesh and blood. 00:14:22.320 --> 00:14:25.840 Except for Jesus, they all had responsibilities and things that they had to navigate. 00:14:25.919 --> 00:14:31.200 And when we look at this particular narrative, we see opportunities for people to feel overwhelmed. 00:14:31.360 --> 00:14:41.039 Remember for Elijah, the first Elijah, that he had this weighty responsibility of being this prophet that was going to confront the culture and represent the kingdom of God. 00:14:41.120 --> 00:14:49.039 But then there was this moment where he completely felt overwhelmed because he felt isolated, he felt alone, and he began to remove himself from his calling. 00:14:49.279 --> 00:14:55.039 But it was time for him to transition to the next season, and even in that, there's a little bit of overwhelming that can take place. 00:14:55.279 --> 00:15:02.159 Because we know that every new season creates new opportunities, but with every new opportunity also creates new obstacles. 00:15:02.399 --> 00:15:16.960 And what I believe for some of us, that we could be in that in-between space of being like Elijah, where we feel isolated and alone and overwhelmed, or we could be like Elisha, who's isolated in the field and don't know if God's ever gonna use you to do anything different than what you're doing right now. 00:15:17.120 --> 00:15:27.600 I believe that there's a tension to manage between the narrative of these two individuals, and I believe there's some points that if we can pull from that, that can anchor us and really set us up as we're going into 2021. 00:15:27.840 --> 00:15:29.919 Today I've given you guys a couple of bonus points. 00:15:30.000 --> 00:15:34.720 We're gonna talk about six things that I think can help us as we go into 2021. 00:15:34.879 --> 00:15:40.320 Three things that we should avoid, and three things we should absolutely do going into 2021. 00:15:40.399 --> 00:15:41.039 Here's the first thing. 00:15:41.519 --> 00:15:43.679 We're gonna try to hit through some of these fairly quick. 00:15:43.840 --> 00:15:45.440 Here's the one thing I want you to avoid. 00:15:45.519 --> 00:15:48.799 Write this down, put it in your soul, get it embedded into your heart. 00:15:48.960 --> 00:15:52.639 It let this be the year that we avoid comparison. 00:15:53.840 --> 00:15:56.399 Let this be the year that we avoid comparison. 00:15:56.559 --> 00:15:57.519 I see you over there, sister. 00:15:57.600 --> 00:15:58.799 I'm with you and thank you. 00:15:59.039 --> 00:16:00.799 Avoid comparison. 00:16:01.039 --> 00:16:02.000 Avoid comparison. 00:16:02.159 --> 00:16:03.360 I'm gonna look at the camera. 00:16:03.519 --> 00:16:04.399 Avoid comparison. 00:16:04.559 --> 00:16:07.360 Let this be the year that we avoid comparison. 00:16:07.440 --> 00:16:08.799 Let's let's break this all down. 00:16:08.960 --> 00:16:17.120 What scholars believe is they believe that Elisha, the second one, that he was a businessman, that he was functioning inside of his father's and his parents' business. 00:16:17.200 --> 00:16:22.159 That as a businessman, that he was he was overseeing the work that was happening out in the field. 00:16:22.240 --> 00:16:28.960 And as he was out in the field, he would he would be able to watch and and see what was going on, that he's this man that was isolated in the field. 00:16:29.759 --> 00:16:33.600 But undoubtedly, he was very familiar with the ministry of Elijah. 00:16:34.159 --> 00:16:37.039 Elijah was this world-renowned prophet at this point. 00:16:37.120 --> 00:16:41.120 He was very familiar with him, but Elisha was in the field. 00:16:41.840 --> 00:16:55.279 I can I can imagine for Elisha, the second one, that that while he's out in the field, just managing his family's business, that there are there are moments that he's wondering to himself, I I wonder, I wonder if this is it for me. 00:16:55.759 --> 00:17:00.000 I I know I may have gone to school for this, but I feel like there's something else on the inside of me. 00:17:00.080 --> 00:17:07.119 The fact that a mantle was placed on his shoulder, that means that God was already storing something on the inside of him, but his calling didn't match his assignment. 00:17:07.200 --> 00:17:13.839 So now he's out in the field plowing, being faithful to the environment that he was in, but often wondering, is this it for me? 00:17:14.400 --> 00:17:19.920 See, sometimes it can be overwhelming to sit in silence and listen to the echo of wasted potential. 00:17:20.319 --> 00:17:22.880 To feel like, man, I I know that there is more in me than this. 00:17:23.039 --> 00:17:28.559 I know that I have more that I can contribute to this, but right now I'm just here plowing the field. 00:17:28.799 --> 00:17:33.440 It can be overwhelming to do the everyday things without clarity for the future. 00:17:33.759 --> 00:17:40.079 He's just out in the field, isolated, just plowing this field, wondering if this could be it for me. 00:17:40.319 --> 00:17:46.160 Looking at his friends' social media feed and seeing that they're very active, that they look very vibrant, that their life looks good, but here I am. 00:17:46.319 --> 00:17:49.359 I'm just I'm just plowing the field. 00:17:49.920 --> 00:17:56.160 Looking at what's happening around us and finding himself saying, compared to them, man, my life looks very stale and boring. 00:17:56.319 --> 00:17:59.119 I'm just out here plowing this field. 00:17:59.440 --> 00:18:11.519 We all can find ourselves in that space where we can look at our lives, but then begin to look at other people's lives, and we do this comparison thing, and we can begin to feel a little bit in our feelings about where I'm at versus where this individual is at. 00:18:11.599 --> 00:18:12.880 Man, we went to school at the same time. 00:18:12.960 --> 00:18:15.920 They graduated just like I did, but but it looks like they're further along than me. 00:18:16.000 --> 00:18:17.039 They're doing so much better than me. 00:18:17.119 --> 00:18:24.000 And then that comparison can sometimes compel us to walk away from the very thing that God has called us to do. 00:18:24.480 --> 00:18:29.519 We gotta be careful about when we overly scroll because it's possible that can grip your soul. 00:18:29.920 --> 00:18:40.559 That you can find yourself looking with everything that's happening with everyone else, and now all of a sudden it begins to get a hold of us because we begin to compare things like, well, when I posted this picture, this person didn't like my picture, but they liked that person's picture. 00:18:40.640 --> 00:18:42.400 Or when I text that person, they didn't respond to me. 00:18:42.480 --> 00:18:47.200 We can find ourselves comparing ourselves to others, and it can cause us to lose contentment. 00:18:47.759 --> 00:18:49.039 Here's a case in point. 00:18:49.279 --> 00:18:57.599 If you if you follow me on on social media, you may have noticed that on Christmas evening that my that my family and I that we posted a picture of us posing together. 00:18:57.759 --> 00:19:00.319 Do we have that we have that picture I want to show of me and my family? 00:19:00.400 --> 00:19:01.839 Look at that, look at that photo. 00:19:02.480 --> 00:19:04.079 Got our matching pajamas on. 00:19:04.240 --> 00:19:06.160 Let me see if I can mimic that pose. 00:19:07.119 --> 00:19:09.519 Just just just just just chilled and laid out. 00:19:09.680 --> 00:19:12.559 So so here's what here's what I found when we when we posted this picture. 00:19:12.640 --> 00:19:12.960 Watch. 00:19:13.039 --> 00:19:18.240 So when I posted this picture, we began to get inundated with all types of comments and responses. 00:19:18.400 --> 00:19:20.640 Oh my gosh, the family, you guys look so great. 00:19:20.720 --> 00:19:24.880 Oh, me and my spouse, I wish that they would wear matching pajamas with me as well. 00:19:25.039 --> 00:19:26.480 And and and that's perfectly fine. 00:19:26.559 --> 00:19:27.839 But but but here's the point. 00:19:28.000 --> 00:19:33.200 As I began to look at some of the comments and seeing how people were reacting to it, here's what we didn't post. 00:19:33.279 --> 00:19:34.400 Here's what you didn't see. 00:19:34.640 --> 00:19:37.599 We we were actually supposed to take that picture on Christmas Eve. 00:19:37.839 --> 00:19:45.599 Reason why we didn't is because we accidentally wrapped up all the pajamas, didn't know which gift it was in, so we had to wait till Christmas morning to unwrap them in order for us to put it on. 00:19:45.759 --> 00:19:46.799 But wait, there's more. 00:19:46.960 --> 00:19:53.759 We ended up going out to an amusement park on Christmas Day, so we went out, we came back home, and when we got home, we were exhausted. 00:19:53.920 --> 00:19:59.920 Like nobody wanted to take the picture, but we knew if we didn't take the picture today, we were gonna miss our window of opportunity to do it. 00:20:00.000 --> 00:20:03.839 So we said, Everybody, go to your room, put on the pajamas so we could take this picture. 00:20:03.920 --> 00:20:07.039 You're gonna smile, you're gonna be happy about it because Jesus was born. 00:20:07.279 --> 00:20:10.400 Meet me back here in the living room in exactly five minutes. 00:20:10.960 --> 00:20:16.799 We get into the living room and everybody's there, they're tired, half asleep, sitting at the table, but nonetheless, here we are. 00:20:17.119 --> 00:20:28.000 Then we begin to take the photos, and it was so impossible for I'm looking at you, Megan, for my wife to find the photo that she was good with. 00:20:28.079 --> 00:20:31.519 And then my daughter, so find the photo that was gonna work best for them. 00:20:31.599 --> 00:20:33.920 So here we are, about 30 pictures in. 00:20:34.160 --> 00:20:36.319 Me and my son are over it at this point. 00:20:36.640 --> 00:20:37.279 We're over it. 00:20:37.359 --> 00:20:41.440 Like we're just we're taking pictures over and over again, and we finally found the one that was gonna work. 00:20:41.680 --> 00:20:42.720 Post it, we're done. 00:20:42.799 --> 00:20:43.519 I'm going to sleep. 00:20:43.599 --> 00:20:45.039 Don't talk to me till tomorrow. 00:20:46.720 --> 00:20:51.279 But the end result is what everybody celebrates, but they don't see the grind that it took to get there. 00:20:52.160 --> 00:20:59.119 What often happens with comparison, we end up comparing what someone frames to our season of development. 00:21:00.160 --> 00:21:05.359 We we end up comparing our road trip with someone else's final destination. 00:21:05.920 --> 00:21:13.839 We we end up comparing the end result or the thing that no one else sees to our season of grinding, our season of sacrifice. 00:21:14.000 --> 00:21:19.440 We love to post pictures of our vacation, but we very rarely show the sacrifice, the cost, and what it took to get there. 00:21:19.599 --> 00:21:28.480 And then you can have people that may be in the season of development comparing their season of development to someone else's end result and they stop being content with where they are. 00:21:28.720 --> 00:21:38.960 You see, for Elisha, it would be possible for him to get consumed and overwhelmed with comparison looking at his life because he's just plowing in a field and it doesn't seem significant. 00:21:39.200 --> 00:21:48.079 But the reality of it is this if he were to leave the field because he was comparing himself to someone else, he would have missed the mantle that was coming to find and meet him where he was. 00:21:48.240 --> 00:21:54.400 You may be just in a field plowing right now, you may be on the assembly line right now, but God knows how to meet you where you are. 00:21:54.559 --> 00:21:59.680 Many of us are saying, I'm waiting for God, but God is waiting for us to be at the place where he told us to be last. 00:22:00.240 --> 00:22:01.599 Because that is where he's speaking. 00:22:01.759 --> 00:22:03.039 That is where our assignment is. 00:22:03.200 --> 00:22:04.240 That's where the mantle is. 00:22:04.319 --> 00:22:11.359 The Bible says about David that he was out in the field, that he wasn't even invited to go into the father's house when they were looking for the next king. 00:22:11.519 --> 00:22:13.359 David could have got consumed with comparison. 00:22:13.440 --> 00:22:18.880 He could have tried to bogue faithful to the field that he was in, and that the anointing of God knew how to meet him where he was. 00:22:19.039 --> 00:22:22.240 I'm talking to somebody right now that feels very unstable right now. 00:22:22.400 --> 00:22:27.519 You've been comparing yourself to other people and you've been trying to move yourself in a position to get God's blessing. 00:22:27.599 --> 00:22:32.880 But the Bible that I read tells me that God knows how to find you in the wilderness, that God knows how to find you in the field. 00:22:33.039 --> 00:22:35.440 You keep on plowing, you keep on being faithful. 00:22:35.519 --> 00:22:44.000 And I promise you that the mantle of God will meet you exactly where you are, but don't you allow comparison to whisper in your ear to stop you from being content with where you are. 00:22:45.440 --> 00:22:47.440 Don't you move from where you are. 00:22:48.480 --> 00:22:54.480 Let this be the season where we avoid comparison because comparison can kill character. 00:22:54.640 --> 00:22:58.640 It can compromise our calling and cause us to miss out on what God is calling us to do. 00:22:58.720 --> 00:23:05.119 The mantle came and met Elisha where he was because he was faithful to the field that God had called him to be in. 00:23:05.359 --> 00:23:10.640 The other thing I want us to do this year is I want us to avoid looking for man's approval. 00:23:11.279 --> 00:23:14.079 Avoid looking and living for man's approval. 00:23:14.240 --> 00:23:18.160 The Bible says that after Elisha meets him where he's at, he puts the mantle on him. 00:23:18.319 --> 00:23:21.839 Now, mantle is symbolic of calling, purpose, destiny. 00:23:21.920 --> 00:23:26.480 It's this outer cloak that was very symbolic and it was very clear that you were being discipled. 00:23:26.559 --> 00:23:30.000 So this mantle meets Elisha, where he's at in the field. 00:23:30.079 --> 00:23:40.960 And his response when that mantle meets him, his response when that calling lands upon him is he says, Hey, I need to go back and I need to go back and tell my parents about what's going on, and then I'm going to follow you. 00:23:41.119 --> 00:23:43.039 To which Elijah says, Man, go ahead and do it. 00:23:43.119 --> 00:23:45.200 But don't forget what happened here. 00:23:45.440 --> 00:23:47.519 Now, now let me unpack this for a moment. 00:23:47.759 --> 00:23:54.559 Of course, it's healthy for someone when the calling of God meets you where you are, for you to process it with other people. 00:23:54.720 --> 00:23:58.480 The Bible even tells us that in a multitude of counselors, there is safety. 00:23:58.640 --> 00:24:01.680 But but there's something here that I want us to pay attention to. 00:24:01.920 --> 00:24:08.079 In the Bible, when it says that I want to go back and kiss my parents, symbolically that was a sign of acceptance or approval. 00:24:08.319 --> 00:24:12.000 And then his father's name, Shaphat, that name means judgment. 00:24:12.160 --> 00:24:14.000 So let's put this together for a moment. 00:24:14.160 --> 00:24:25.359 That when the calling of God landed on Elisha's shoulders, his first reaction was to go back and get the approval of his parents, to go back and try to not endure his father's judgment. 00:24:25.519 --> 00:24:40.079 Again, it's healthy to have accountability, but we got to be careful about when we live our lives that when God meets us where He is, where we are, He begins to stir our hearts to step into a new season, that our initial reaction is to go back and look for man's approval. 00:24:40.480 --> 00:24:44.400 See, this new calling was placed on his shoulder and it's a lot to process through. 00:24:44.559 --> 00:24:46.240 This new thing was put in front of him. 00:24:46.400 --> 00:24:53.519 But while he's in the process of shifting into this new season, he wanted to go back and get his parents' approval. 00:24:53.920 --> 00:25:00.079 We all know what it feels like to have people in our lives that seem to be very, very opinionated about everything we do. 00:25:00.319 --> 00:25:13.359 We know what it feels like to feel like we can't move forward if we don't get the endorsement of certain people, and sometimes it can prevent us from going into the next season that God is calling us to do because we're living a life where we're waiting for man's approval. 00:25:13.599 --> 00:25:18.240 And listen to me, it can be exhausting to live for the approval of others. 00:25:18.400 --> 00:25:24.880 It can be exhausting when we're living and making decisions for the benefit of others so we don't just have to hear other people's feedback. 00:25:25.119 --> 00:25:28.160 Feedback is important, but sometimes feedback can hold us back. 00:25:28.400 --> 00:25:30.559 We know that feeling of that wait. 00:25:30.720 --> 00:25:33.599 There's something that I've learned in 2020. 00:25:33.759 --> 00:25:37.759 It's something that was that should have been in front of me the entire time, but it became very clear to me. 00:25:37.920 --> 00:25:43.039 And if I think if we can resolve this in our hearts, it will change the way that you engage everything that you do. 00:25:43.200 --> 00:25:44.640 Here, listen to me closely. 00:25:44.799 --> 00:25:50.000 If you can put this in your spirit, everything you do will disappoint somebody. 00:25:52.160 --> 00:25:53.759 Let that settle for a second. 00:25:54.559 --> 00:25:58.319 Everything that you do, there will be somebody that will critique it. 00:25:58.720 --> 00:26:02.640 Every decision you make, there will be someone that has something to say about it. 00:26:02.960 --> 00:26:07.599 This season has exposed more than ever that we have critics and experts at things they've never done. 00:26:07.759 --> 00:26:14.960 But nonetheless, if we're not careful, we'll find ourselves being double-minded because we don't know what to do because of the commentary of everybody else. 00:26:15.599 --> 00:26:15.920 Man. 00:26:17.279 --> 00:26:18.400 The pandemic hits. 00:26:18.559 --> 00:26:19.359 Should we be in church? 00:26:19.519 --> 00:26:20.480 Should we not be in church? 00:26:20.880 --> 00:26:21.839 Racial tension hits. 00:26:21.920 --> 00:26:23.839 Should we say something or should we not say something? 00:26:24.079 --> 00:26:28.640 This constant tension of what can I do, what can I not do, what can we say, what can we not say? 00:26:28.799 --> 00:26:31.359 And I'm pretty sure all of us have dealt with that at some degree. 00:26:31.599 --> 00:26:36.799 And what can happen is in an effort to get likes from man, we can miss the well done from God. 00:26:39.200 --> 00:26:40.559 Eight people are excited about that. 00:26:40.640 --> 00:26:42.480 So I'm gonna say it again until the rest of us do. 00:26:42.640 --> 00:26:46.720 In an effort to get likes from man, we can miss the well done from God. 00:26:46.960 --> 00:26:51.519 That sometimes God is gonna put something on your heart that may not make sense to everybody else. 00:26:51.680 --> 00:26:55.599 That sometimes God's gonna lead you to do something that may not make sense to everybody else. 00:26:55.759 --> 00:27:02.079 But I've made up my mind that in 2021, I'm gonna live my life in such a way that I'm gonna pursue what God tells me to do. 00:27:02.160 --> 00:27:07.839 And I'm gonna, of course, vet it with the right people, but I'm not gonna live for likes from man because I want to get the well done from God. 00:27:08.000 --> 00:27:13.759 If you can live this season recognizing that this is a year that if God speaks to me to go left, I'm gonna go left. 00:27:13.920 --> 00:27:17.119 I know that the people on the right are gonna be upset, but I'm following what God says. 00:27:17.279 --> 00:27:19.200 If God tells me to go right, then I'm gonna go right. 00:27:19.279 --> 00:27:23.039 I know that the people on the left are gonna be upset, but I'm gonna follow what God tells me to do. 00:27:23.200 --> 00:27:29.519 I believe that if we can make so much progress, if we stop trying to get approval from man because we know that we're following God. 00:27:29.599 --> 00:27:30.799 I'm approved by God. 00:27:30.960 --> 00:27:32.240 I know that God has spoken to me. 00:27:32.319 --> 00:27:35.359 I'm gonna vet it through the proper community, but I'm not gonna shrink back. 00:27:35.440 --> 00:27:41.920 I'm not gonna fall back because I am not gonna live for the approval of others because I'm pursuing the thing that God has called me to do. 00:27:42.160 --> 00:27:51.279 Let this be a year where we refuse to allow the voices of others to keep us from doing what God is calling us to do. 00:27:51.440 --> 00:27:55.440 Here's the the third thing here that I want us to do avoid looking back. 00:27:55.680 --> 00:27:57.039 Avoid looking back. 00:27:57.279 --> 00:28:12.559 See what Elisha does is when he kind of gets that course correction, he goes back, and instead of him going to his parents' house, the Bible says that he goes back, that he breaks apart the plow, he sets it on fire, and then he slaughters the oxen and then he feeds the community with it. 00:28:12.720 --> 00:28:15.920 There is so much that we can hit on with that, but but time won't permit me. 00:28:16.079 --> 00:28:25.359 But but here's the thing: what we see that Elisha does is he recognizes that as long as I know that I have a plan B, I will never be fully into plan A. 00:28:26.720 --> 00:28:31.519 As long as I know that, hey, if this whole ministry thing don't work out, I'm actually gonna just go back out into the field. 00:28:31.599 --> 00:28:36.160 Then you can completely miss out on what God is calling, on what God is calling him to do. 00:28:36.400 --> 00:28:42.240 Elisha goes back and he destroys the system that will be easy for him to go back to. 00:28:42.480 --> 00:28:53.200 And I can think that sometimes for us, that as God is calling us and compelling us to step into a new season, that we want to make sure that we leave the bridge to go back to our past available to us. 00:28:53.519 --> 00:28:55.599 We want to make sure that we play it safe. 00:28:56.160 --> 00:29:02.319 But what I've read in this Bible is that God is a lot of things, safe isn't one of them. 00:29:03.279 --> 00:29:09.759 That faith is risky, that that following and not having all the information is risky. 00:29:09.920 --> 00:29:15.440 I I wonder if Abraham had the same logic that we had, what would his story turn out to be? 00:29:15.599 --> 00:29:20.319 The Bible says that God showed up and said, Hey man, I need you to follow me to a land that I'm gonna show you. 00:29:21.039 --> 00:29:22.400 He followed. 00:29:22.720 --> 00:29:31.519 Sometimes for us, we can, okay, I'll follow you, but let me leave 38 breadcrumbs for me to go back to the past so that way if this whole thing doesn't work out, then I'll know how I get back. 00:29:31.599 --> 00:29:41.200 But what Elisha does is he makes a decision in his mind that there's no way for me to truly grab a hold of the future as long as I'm processing what happened in the past. 00:29:41.440 --> 00:29:48.880 I think for some of us as we go into this new season, yes, of course, it's smart to count the cost, to evaluate all the options that are in front of us. 00:29:49.039 --> 00:29:53.839 But when God stirs your heart, let us be people that says that I am not going to look back anymore. 00:29:54.079 --> 00:29:56.240 Paul says, forgetting those things which are behind. 00:29:56.319 --> 00:30:02.319 I'm pressing forward to the mark, the high calling of Christ Jesus, understanding that I am not going to look back. 00:30:02.640 --> 00:30:04.400 Because as I look back, I lose momentum. 00:30:04.559 --> 00:30:06.000 If I look back, I can lose focus. 00:30:06.160 --> 00:30:09.279 If I look back, I will stop appreciating what God is calling me to go through. 00:30:09.359 --> 00:30:11.759 And sometimes moving forward requires faith. 00:30:11.920 --> 00:30:15.759 Sometimes moving forward means I don't have all the facts, but it's going to draw me closer to God. 00:30:15.920 --> 00:30:26.079 If we could be people in this season to say that I am going to move forward and I'm not going to look back, Elisha broke apart the system that would have been easy for him to go back to. 00:30:26.960 --> 00:30:29.839 He didn't want to be held bondage to the past. 00:30:30.079 --> 00:30:36.400 You see, I've learned, church, that bondage isn't what limits your movement, bondage is what limits your mind. 00:30:36.960 --> 00:30:44.160 And as long as my mind can find an escape route, I'll never be faithful to the possibilities that's in front of me. 00:30:44.559 --> 00:30:51.920 Scripture says that Elisha, he broke apart the system, that he that he had to change his mind. 00:30:52.160 --> 00:30:55.200 He had to change the way that he could go back to the past. 00:30:55.359 --> 00:30:59.920 But as a result of that, they were able to slaughter the animals and he fed the community. 00:31:00.079 --> 00:31:01.039 Don't miss this. 00:31:01.279 --> 00:31:04.640 His obedience was able to nourish other people. 00:31:05.200 --> 00:31:06.319 Y'all catch that? 00:31:06.480 --> 00:31:10.480 As a result of him being obedient, it was able to feed his community. 00:31:10.640 --> 00:31:16.160 What if the hunger that people have can be met on the other side of our obedience? 00:31:16.400 --> 00:31:22.799 What if, if I could be faithful with what God is calling me to do, that somehow is going to be the benefit of other people with Elisha? 00:31:22.880 --> 00:31:29.599 The moment that he decided I'm not going to go back, I'm not, I'm going to burn this bridge, I'm going to let it burn, like Usher says, I'm going to let this thing burn. 00:31:29.680 --> 00:31:33.920 I'm not going back, but I'm going to pursue everything that somehow it can nourish the people in your community. 00:31:34.079 --> 00:31:45.279 It can nourish the people in your family when they can see that you've decided to pursue God and that you're not going to go back to the systems of the world that was presented before you that Elisha does a great job and not going back. 00:31:46.319 --> 00:31:48.640 I want to close with this. 00:31:49.519 --> 00:31:57.279 Verse 21 says that Elisha rose, that he followed, and he became his servant. 00:31:57.599 --> 00:32:01.440 You see, we talked about the three things that we should avoid this year. 00:32:01.759 --> 00:32:10.880 But real quickly, I want to tell you the three things that we have to absolutely do in order for us to truly have peace, going to a year that still can sometimes seem a little unclear. 00:32:11.119 --> 00:32:15.519 The Bible says that he took a stand, that he arose, that he stood up. 00:32:16.079 --> 00:32:20.559 See, the first thing I want us to do is stand on the word of God. 00:32:21.279 --> 00:32:25.680 Going into this season, stand on the word of God. 00:32:26.319 --> 00:32:30.880 As you're facing opposition, stand on the word of God. 00:32:31.440 --> 00:32:32.880 Here's what we don't stand on. 00:32:33.039 --> 00:32:34.880 I'm not going to stand on my feelings. 00:32:35.200 --> 00:32:37.119 I'm not going to stand on my ambitions. 00:32:37.279 --> 00:32:39.200 I'm not going to stand on my discomfort. 00:32:39.440 --> 00:32:44.240 What you build on is what you stand on, and what you stand on will determine your stability. 00:32:44.880 --> 00:32:46.880 Stand on God's word. 00:32:47.359 --> 00:32:48.559