Don't Let The Attack Distract You

Hey, this is Stephen Ferdick.

I'm the pastor of Elevation Church and this is our podcast. I wanted to thank you for joining us today. Hope this inspires you. Hope it builds your faith. Hope it gives your perspective to see God is moving in your life.

Enjoy the message us, get up, give me us Sophia.

God, So.

Yes, God, our Father born in heaven. How will it be your name, your kingdom?

Come, Your will be done.

Mynarch, bless it is in heaven.

Give us this say our daily bread.

And forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us. And lead us not into temptation.

But deliver us.

Jesus is in this place. Deliver us from evil. For Thine is the Kingdom, power and the glory, forever.

And ever, not for five minutes, forever and ever, and right here.

I want the whole church say Amen. A men means so be it. A man means I'm coming into agreement with God's plan for my life.

Life.

Amen means that no word from God returns. Boy. Amen means that my Father has the final Say amen means that I read to the back of the book and I know how this ends. Heaven wins. Amen means I'm born again. Amen means no weapon formed a guess and me will prosper. Amen means I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me. You didn't know. Amen meant all that digit Say it again. Amen. If he says I'm blessed, I'm blessed. Say amen. If he says my

Say amen.

Come on, everybody in the comments right now, even watching this on social media, putting Amen in the comments. Let the devil know. I agree with God. I belong to Jesus. He's the one who never let's go on every mountain. I belonged to him, in every valley. I belonged to him. The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want I'm guided. I got a good shepherd. I'm guarded. He's the Kate, He's the light of the world. He is my risen resurrected king. And I'm getting knocked out of this situation.

You would lift your hands.

And raise him too. Say man, what do we how are we gonna get out of this?

We can get out?

And when the hollywool where, that's what burn? Massa, that's it. Orry to God, Bless the name of the Lord, for he is worthy to be praised. Every season of my life, he's been a friend to me, and he's worthy to be praised. I don't know what I would do without God. I don't know where i'd be without Jesus. I have a kind of idea and it doesn't look good. But look at your neighbor and say, you already look better this.

Year than you did last year. Come on, tell him one more thing.

Look at him and say look at him and say repeat after me. Say I can tell you've kept your resolutions. Tell them your skin is glowing, your physique is lean. Happy New Year, Elevation Church. For the first time that I've been able to say that to you.

Our epham around the world. Let's celebrate our.

Brand new campus, our twentieth location elevation Somerville. Happy new Year, happy new campus.

So many things to tell you. We've got so much to catch up on. God has been so good. The last time that I stood in the pulpit, we were taking our year end offering, and you stepped up big this year, and I told them to wait until I got back so I could announce to you that you gave to the Lord and the Gospel of Jesus Christ for the building of his kingdom and helping the poor and reaching the loss and serving the world. Eleven million,

All right, good word?

We miss that together. So every year, every year I come before you and just say, let's do another one. Y'all want to do another one. Another year of preaching God's word. Another year of releasing worship into the earth that can heal broken hearts. Another year of standing beside children who don't have fathers and mentoring them. Another year of showing up with coats and blankets for people who

If you're not dead.

God's not done, and God is not done with this church yet. I'm getting ready for the next twenty years. God is with me with this gray hair. God is with me. And I'm just going to take a moment right now, if you'd stretch your hands toward this pulpit. Lord, let every word that goes forth from this church this year brings salvation, deliverance, miracles, correction, comfort, everything you want to do.

God is all about you.

I pray that even today, as I preach, that you would see fit to use me like a woodwind instrument, something that your breath could use to produce a sound that would produce a melody from Heaven that would be medicine too someone's heart.

Lord. I bring before you every.

Person that's in this room, the nineteen other rooms where we physically gather, every place where somebody couldn't go to church or they were just too.

Lazy, speak your word. One time, a man said, I don't even need to have.

You come in my house, Jesus, if you just speak your word, it's enough to heal.

Today.

Lord, we just ask for a word from you our daily bread, not enough so we can come to church once at the beginning of the year, check it off the list, and then spend the rest of the year asking God why I didn't show up. But enough word to nourish us for the needs of this moment. You are Jehovah Jirah, and you're.

In this place, and I give you the praise in Jesus' name. Amen, clap your hands.

Everybody. I'm going to have you seated before I read my scripture, which I don't normally do, but before I do, give out about twenty six hugs divided by two. Give five hugs and tell somebody I'm glad you're here today. Hey, we're sending you a big hug online to our epam all around the world. Just remember, God is speaking this message exactly where you need it to be. He's not limited by time, or by space or by location. May this message speak to your heart today. I have prayed

In a powerful way.

Let's thank our band, our worship team for leading us so well in the presence of God today.

Make sure you get the new music from Elevation Rhythm.

Thank God, I'm free play it everywhere that the devil has been trying to keep you bound and let him know it won't work this year.

I'm coming out of these chains.

Also, make sure that you get the opportunity to be a part of Elevation Nights.

Now.

I know that for most of you who are here locally, you probably won't be getting on a plane, but we're going to be visiting eight cities, and these nights are powerful, and these nights are miraculous and these nights are unforgettable. We're going to be in Hershey, Pennsylvania, Brooklyn, New York, Indianapolis, Milwaukee, Grand Rapids, Michigan, Knoxville, Tennessee, Columbus, Ohio, and Rosemont, Illinois.

We'll see what we can do for them.

Elevation Nights dot Com, where you can get your tickets February twenty fourth through March the fifth. I thank you for the privilege of being able to minister God's word to you another year.

What an honor.

I'll be sharing today from the Parable of the Seed in Matthew chapter teen, Verses twenty four through thirty.

Matthew Chapter fourteen, Versus twenty four through thirty.

Now this is not the parable that's normally called the parable of the seeds. The parable of the seeds that we hear more about is actually the parable of the soils.

Okay, Because Jesus taught these parables.

He would go out and he would give a teaching, and on one level it would sound simple, but you reflect on it and you pray about it, and it really helps you to see what the Kingdom of God is like, and it helps you to see.

What you're like.

And one of those parables that has helped me so much through the year, he talks about a seed that was sown in four different places. One was sown on rocky soil, so because the soil was too rocky, the bird came and snatched it up. So that seed got snatched, so it didn't do what it was supposed to do. And then there was one seed that was sown in a place where it was scorched by the sun, which

Heat of trial.

It tests that seed before it has had the chance to develop, and you don't pass the test. The third type of seed that he talks about is one that gets choked out, or we could say, strangled by the cares of this life just getting busy. And in each of these instances, the seed represents the word of God, and the sower is God, and the seed is good in each of those instances, but it is not successful

I studied it, but I'm not.

Going to preach it because you may be encouraging your kids right now or instructing your kids right now, or working on something in your life. And most of the things that you try, and most of the things that you say, won't get through to them. But if one does, somebody say, if one does. If one does, it can change a life. If one does, it can change the generation. If one does, it can change a bloodline. Most won't.

If one does well.

This is a scripture that I want to give you today from Matthew chapter thirteen, about a parable of two different types of seed, not different types of soil, which represents the condition of our heart, but two different types of seed. I'm gonna read it to you and then we'll talk about it for just a few moments. Jesus is teaching many parables, and they're collected here for us to read. And it says Jesus told them another parable. The Kingdom of Heaven is like a man who sewed

The word good. It was good seed.

But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then.

The weeds also appeared.

The owner's servants came to him and said, sir, didn't you sow good seed in your field? Where then, did these weeds come from?

An enemy? Did this? He replied.

The servants asked him, do you want us to go and pull them up? No, he answered, because while you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time, I will tell the harvesters, first collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned. Then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn. I have a simple message from the Lord for your heart today. And the Lord told me to tell you don't let the attack distract you.

That's what it is. It's a distraction.

And he told me to tell you, don't let the attack distract you. Write it down in your notebook, type it in the comments. Don't let the attack distract you. And I love preaching the second Sunday of a new year because by now your new year's resolutions have become good intentions which you have modified to become more realistic. The new year's energy has been sufficiently tapered and sufficiently adjusted to match the realities of daily life for most people.

The Lord will receive it.

As an offering, you know, because we modify it in real life. You know, one thing that I noticed about this parable that Jesus gave in the passage, and I believe you noticed it too, is that wherever there is wheat there will always be weeds. You know, Jesus isn't just giving us a little discourse about how problems creep up in our life.

Here, he's making a bigger point.

Specifically, he's letting us know that it is not your job to judge others. It's not your job. It's not your job because you're not God. And if I can say a little more directly, you suck at judging.

That's how you bought that timeshare.

That's how you bought that vacuum cleaner, because you suck at judging. Honestly, even when it comes to the work that I create, I've taught myself it's.

Not my job to judge it. It's just my job to make it. Especially when you write a song. You don't know Chris Brown, you'll know Chris Brown, formerly an R and B.

Singer, but now the main worship leader at Elevation Worship. Look at what the Lord has done. I always call him the real Chris Brown. He's my favorite worship leader in the world, always has been, always will be since first time I heard him. But I'm gonna take something else. He sucks at judging whether a new song is good or not. He called me. One Sunday. We had a new song that we wanted to introduce, and I wasn't going to be there to preach, and he was leading it and he called me after it.

I said, how to go?

He said, not too good. I don't think the song is very good. The song was Graves into Gardens.

You remember that? Remember that, CV you suck at judging.

You're great worship leader, you're handsome, you're a great man of God.

You're wonderful of being a dad and a husband, but you suck at judging.

And I chose to say it that way because some of y'all are so tripping and stumbling over the fact that I said the word suck.

Judging me for that, that.

You just prove my point, because if you think if the most important thing is whether I say the word suck or whether I say it more fancy, it's not your job to judge. If you're tripping over what I'm saying, you're making the very mistake that I'm warning you about. Thereby validating the wisdom of my point and the way

Whoever has ears let them hear.

And we read this, and we are so quick to say, that's right. Those evil people, those sinners, those terrible democrats, Republicans, independence, whatever category that you wanted to put right there, it exposed something about your heart, whatever you wanted to see.

The weeds as.

Tells me something about what you see in the mirror. And let me explain that for a moment. Go back to verse forty two. It says that the evil ones will be thrown into the furnace.

But watch this verse forty three.

That comes right after it says the kingdom of their father. So the furnace of judgment belongs to the fo not the children.

The furnace of judgment is.

Not yours to put people in the.

Furnace of judgment.

Is not your place to have a Facebook conversation about what everybody else thinks and why they're so stupid to think it.

I shouldn't be preaching like this. My first Sunday back in the year, I might run, y'all a law from the church.

But notice in the parable it says that it was his field. And I'm learning more and more in my life that if it's his field, that means it's his furnace. That means God has to be the one to decide who's right and who's wrong. God has to be the one to decide who is on his side and who is not. I remember, very early in my ministry there was a pastor that I greatly admired, and he was mentoring me in many ways, and he was bringing up examples of the right kind of ministry and the wrong

He's a serious student.

This man you can tell by watching him he is meek, he is mild, he is christ Like. That's who you want to be like. Not this guy over here, that guy right there. Five years later, the guy who knew Greek, the guy who was so humble, was discovered to have been having an affair on foreign mission trips that he was taking pretending to be spreading the Gospel for twelve years.

With one woman in Russia while he looked humble.

The man who was so prideful and cocky and arrogant is still doing the ministry today that he was doing twenty years ago. What am I trying to say? You suck at judging, and so do I. We don't know who God is going to be used in ten years from now. We don't know who God is going to raise up. So why y'all are looking at me like you're confused about this? Let me break it down a little bit finer. Some of the people that you dated are proof of the fact that you are not very

Always do it God's way.

And what I'm trying to say, and I'm kind of going all around the barn to say it, so let me just land the plane.

We all got weeds. We all got We's say it out loud. I got We's put.

The asse at the end of that, just making sure. Tell him about the biblical kind of weeds. It's called darnell. Darnell.

It is this type of weeds seed.

The Bible says, Can I preach about this for a moment. The Bible says that the man planted.

A good seed in his field. Everybody say his field.

I'm gonna point this out to the over and over again as.

I preached today. It was his field.

It belonged to the farmer, It belonged to the man. He planted the seed in his field. It was his property, it was his territory. To do with it as he wished. He planted a good seed in the field. The seed was doing what it was supposed to do. It was growing. And since the seed was doing what it was supposed to do and growing, an enemy noticed the growth of the seed and said, if I don't do something about

Among the wheat. Say it weeds among the wheat. Notice what he couldn't do.

He could not pluck up what God had planted. He could not change what had already been done. He could not cost the seed that was in the ground to stop being what it was meant to be.

He could not destroy the seed.

The only strategy he had was to distract the harvesters.

So here's the progression of growth in our life.

We advance a little bit like the seed was doing, and then we get attacked. How many of y'all almost have to laugh at how quickly the devil attacked the very.

Thing you were advancing in this year already just wave at me.

It's almost comical, right, It's almost like two on the nose, Like really devil, like really really like.

That, you're going to be that obvious. You're you're just gonna do it right in my face like that.

At least in the parable the man snuck in and did it at night. Some of us, the devil's just doing it in broad daylight, just attacking things that are advancing. So now you're advancing. The seed is growing, and you're attacked. And when the enemy attacks you and what God is doing in you, you get distracted.

He can't destroy the seed.

It's not his. He can't destroy the seed. It's already planted. He can't destroy the seed. What God put in the seed is still in the sea. He doesn't have permission to do that. But what he can do is distract you so that you will destroy yourself and some of the things that are attacking you in your life right now. The attack doesn't matter unless it distracts you from what God has called you. I'll break it down for you with a few pastoral examples.

Thank you so much. It feels good to be wanted, feels.

Good to be loved, feels good to be supported. But you know, you have to preach through all kinds of seasons, And there have been seasons in this ministry where I have had to preach what God gave me to preach even though I felt attacked. And in my earlier years of preaching, I would become hyper focused on any attack that was coming my way. I don't just mean critics, I mean any attack. Like if a staff member resigned,

No, it's an attack. I rebuke the devil. Why do you rebuke it. It's not an attack. It's an adjustment.

You got to adapt. Life just happens. But there have been seasons, and I remembered one very specifically. Well, I've been looking forward to sharing this with you because it was so fresh and so vivid. What was happening in our church was explosive, and much like the seed in the Passage, it was growing, growing, growing. God planted this church in Charlotte in two thousand and six. I didn't plant it.

He did.

And what God plants, God protects. And God was doing all kinds of miracles for us. If we needed a building, he opened a building. If we needed a volunteer, scent a volunteer, if we needed funds. He would send people with money. God was just providing and protecting. But in one season of our ministry, and it was over ten years ago, this vicious attack began. And if anybody was here at the time, you will remember several phases of the attack.

The last phase of the attack was the hardest for.

Me to stomach, because they begin to imply, on news stories that were on the eleven o'clock news that at Elevation Church we fake baptisms. In other words, they were saying that we have people pretending to be baptized.

I guess, just so we could put it on camera.

Not only was that not true, but it was a direct assault against the most meaningful expression of faith that a person can make, to be baptized.

And I felt so attacked not only.

On my own behalf, but on behalf of everyone who was going to work who had been baptized at this church, hearing the lie that had been perpetuated, the attack that had been age saying your baptism was it fake? And I was praying about this one day, and I was asking God very specifically something that you may have been praying about a situation or an attack in your life as well.

I prayed, God, make it stop, Make it stop.

By this point, there had been several attacks against our church, and this one just felt like too much.

And I said, God, make it stop.

And I will never forget what the Lord said to me in my spirit, not in audible words or not in a physical impression, but in a way that he gave me a thought that I have carried with me to this moment, and I share it with you today. The Lord said, I can stop the attack, but if I stopped the attack, I have to stop the impact that created it. So now you have to decide do you want the attack to stop bad enough to give

Up stories about your baptisms.

But maybe what God was doing in this church was so unbelievable that the enemy saw it and said, if they keep baptizing people like this, there's gonna be a water shortage in Charlotte and a people shortage in Hell. And so I got a plant, a little lie to try to get them to stop doing what God's started.

As a matter of fact, put a scripture up.

There, just in anyone, I don't care which, and just put it up there, and just put the week appeared, We circle the word appeared. Look at that. Why did I tell him to do that? Because he started coming to the church because he heard about the baptisms on the news.

From the attack. Y'all don't want to mess with me.

And now he's the one helping me preach the word. So God used their words as a weapon.

Oh God, And.

Now let's talk about you.

No weapon forved against you shall prosper.

And that brings the sun rise.

This against you, you shall convin this is the heretance ut the service of the Lord, and their righteousness is from me.

So one thing the enemy didn't realize when he was planting those weeds is that you can plant all the weeds you want to devil.

And let me just remind you this year, this year, there will be weeds.

There will be no weed free week in your year this year.

Sit back down.

You know how we do these little New Year's slogans come alive in twenty five, you know it's gonna well, could be said it's gonna get fixed in twenty six. No, it's not either. It's gonna be mixed in twenty six. It's gonna be some wheat. It's gonna be some weeds. It's gonna be some joy. It's gonna be some morning. It's gonna be some weeping. It's gonna be some reeping. It's gonna be some friends. It's gonna be some enemies. It's gonna be some frenemy. You can't tell the difference

Read it again, sir, Now the servants are freaking out like we do. Sir, didn't you so good? See it in your field? Where's come from? Who did this? What's going on? This is the devil? Whose fault is this? Only as so many, so many did this?

And the the Master because he represents God in the parable. Look at this, He's like an enemy did this because that's what an enemy does. That's what an enemy does, That's what a devil does. I read about a book that Mel Robbins wrote called the Let Them Theory. I didn't read the book, but I like the title. It's like people want to talk about you. Let them. Your kids want to leave without a coat and it's cold outside.

Let them. They're not going to die of hypothermia. They will figure it out. Kids are resilient.

They need a little frost bite. Let them.

And I wonder if we could write one together today this year in your life called let him. Don't let the attack distract you. You give so much focus on how the devil is discouraging you, and now discouragement is all you see everywhere.

You got so many things going right in your life, so much wheat, but all you see is weeds. You a little.

Perfectionist, your little type a personality, your little enneagram number one just always could be better. Just oh man, I gotta get these weeds out this year.

No you don't. I'll tell you why.

If Jesus's field wasn't weed free, what makes you think yours is gonna be? Jesus couldn't have a weed free field, but you can. No, it's gonna be mixed in twenty six. It's gonna be mixed in twenty six. It's gonna be at eight am in the morning. This is the day that the Lord has made. It's gonna be by three pm in the afternoon. My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me? It's gonna be wea, It's gonna be weeds. And stop judging stuff before God is done with it.

Free in one sense, I am, but I am not.

Trying to keep a problem a weed free. I'm trying to be spirit filled this year so that whatever is planted around me. And you got to know that the Master is very, very methodical in what he plants, and he knew from the moment he planted this seed that the enemy would attack it. Now, the Master wasn't surprised. The servants were, so they said, what do you want us to do about it? Do you want us to pluck it up? Do you want us to remove it?

Which scripture did I give you?

Justin tewoond Samuel or First Kings, we're reading about David. Yeah, one time David was running through his city that he used to rule over from his son, Absolom, and his son was trying to take his crown from him. And the son's name was Absolom, and David actually had to go flee from his own son. And as he was leaving the city, he approached Bahiram. You couldn't pronounce it either,

Now remember David's pretty good with a stone, So this is a bad idea.

Though all the troops in the Special Guard were on David's right and left.

In other words, he could have done something about it.

And as he cursed, Shimie said, get out, Get out.

You murderer, you scoundrel.

The Lord has repaid you for all the blood you shed in the household of Saul, in whose place you have reigned.

God's getting you back.

The Lord has given the kingdom into the hands of your son Absalom.

You have come to ruin because.

You are a Murderer's planting all these seeds of doubt in David's mind. Then Abishai, which one of David's guys, said to the King.

Why should this dead dog curse my lord?

The King?

Let me go over and cut off his head.

But the king, David said, what does this have to do with you, sons of zahu Ayah. If he's cursing because the Lord said to him, curse.

David, who can ask why do you do this?

David then said to Abishai and all his officials, my son, my own flesh and blood, is trying to kill me. In other words, I got bigger problems. I got bigger things to deal with than this dude. And I came to remind you. You've got bigger priorities. You've got too much to do to be offended by them. You've got bigger fish to fry than this guy, whose name I can't even pronounce. You're David, how much more than this Benjamin? Leave him alone, let him curse. You want us to

Do about this attack? David said, it may be that the Lord will look upon my.

Misery and restore to me his covenant blessing instead of his curse today. In other words, what David is saying is that he cannot curse what God has already blessed, so let him. He cannot destroy what has God's dna. He cannot steal what God has spoke. He cannot negate what God has established. He cannot cancel out what God has called. How many different ways do you need me to say it to get you to see it won't work? Let him come, let the flood rage. God will lift

Weeds where there's wheat.

But there's one thing that the enemy should have realized that he didn't realize, and he would have saved his energy and realized that the weeds weren't worth planting. Because you've got to remember, no matter.

What the enemy plants in your life, God got there first, and he prepares a.

Table for you in the presence of your enemies.

So let the devil try, because it must be that if God isn't removing those weeds, how many can picture some.

Weeds that are in your life?

As I speak this word, Every weed free person, run to this altar right now, because you have the weed of delusion?

Am I right man?

And the one thing about it, Graham, check this out. Gee, the type of weeds that were growing, you couldn't tell that they weren't wheat until they had grown a little bit. They looked exactly the same until the head came up and then they're like, oh no, this is not wheat, this is a weed.

And sometimes you don't know. Sometimes you don't know. I'm never going back to the way I was. Look at what the Lord has done. I'm never going back to the way.

A little the video and you know, the kids just screaming at the camera, But what if they were singing it, like like just for real though, like, look at what the Lord has done.

I'm never going back, but I'm still gonna cuts. You know what I'm saying, Look here what the Lord has done. I'm never going back, But I still get drunk because what we're saying is, look here what the Lord has done. I'm never going back, but I'm still gonna lusk.

You know, just whatever y'all struggle with. The fact is.

What's really going on in our hearts sometimes doesn't match what's coming out of our mouths. And we really do want to grow, and we really do want to be free, and we really do want to be more loving.

But the enemy isn't going to stand by and watch you grow without attempting to.

Plant something alongside your destiny that will disrupt it.

I just want to remind you that the attack is a distraction.

And God knew when he planted you that what he gave you was stronger than what would come against you. Right, look at what the Lord has done in your life. Look how far he has already brought you. How many can say I have a testimony. God has done so much in my life.

It's amazing. You would say that, but it came with weeds, didn't it.

And you have been believing the lie lately that you have got to get rid of all the weeds before you can enjoy the weak.

It's a lie. I come against it.

I break the spirit of depression off of your soul that has been telling you that you cannot worship while you still have weeds.

We all have weeds.

Surprise you what the person next to you is struggling with. And just because you can't see the weeds doesn't mean they're not real. But have you come to a point in your life where all you are seeing in this season is the weeds? Have you got one kid that is in trouble and you have failed to appreciate the two that are doing good.

That means you have become two weed focused.

Have you got nine things in your body that are working well, but the one thing that is not working right just causes you to obsess and you are googling every possible thing that might be wrong with you and taking out every life insurance policy because you got a headache one Thursday. Are you letting one headache really make you stop believing that God is my healer and that God is my sustainer and that God is my source.

Somebody say I'm good seed. I'm good seed.

And all things work together for the good of those who love the Lord and are called according to his purpose. So this week I want you to think a little bit less about the weeds and a little.

Bit more about the wheat.

Because when the passage starts, we've got wheat and we've got weeds. But at the end of the passage, one is going to be burned and one is going to be in the barn. And I came to declare today the fire will not burn you. You're going to the barn, baby, you belong to God. You are God's child, You are God's planting, You are God's Oh, you are God's master Peace. I belong to God. Try your best, devil, it won't work.

Stop judging stuff.

Before God is done. I asked one parent the other day. They said, the kid that gave me the most trouble ended up bringing me the most blessings. You can't judge this thing while it's still growing. You can't label.

This thing while it's still in process.

You cannot categorize your life based on the way you feel right now. And you cannot quit eleven days into January just because it's mixed.

In twenty six.

Naw, baby, the Lord is at my right hand. The Lord stood by my side. Many deserted me. God never did.

I got battles, I God blessed.

I got weeds. I got weeds, I got goodness. I've got mercy, and they follow me all the days of my life. So all I wanted to tell you today is don't let the attack distract you. That's what it is. It's a distraction. You have been growing. You've got what it takes to grow. You've got what it takes to make this decision. You have got what it takes to do the job. You've got what it takes to learn the skills. You've got what it takes to do the inner work and get some healing.

You've got what it takes because you've got God.

You're in the field He wanted you to be in, and God knew there was going to be a fight when he puts you in that field.

Don't tell me he didn't. He's God. I'm built for it. High five three. People say you're built for it, too, built for it, Yeah, man, built for it.

You know what I almost called the message, bro, I almost called it, don't burn your bread. Don't burn your bread. The wheat has the potential in it to be bread if you don't pluck it up and throw it into the fire, if you don't give up on what it can be. Because of what it is right now and what's against it. Don't burn your bread. I didn't call it that. I almost called the message this is my other almost called the message. Look at your neighbors, say don't pluck it up.

But I decided that I would just tell you stand to your feet. Don't let the attack.

Distract you, because if you don't let it distract you, it can't destroy you.

The word of God is incorruptible. See you've been born again by imperishable sea.

Don't let it distract you. You make an advance, you get attacked, You get attacked, you get distracted, You get distracted, you get destroyed. But if you can focus on where God is growing you put your hand over your heart. Say this is good soil. Say this is God's soil. There's something that God spoke to you that you haven't really been able to get in touch with lately because you've been so distracted.

You have been so distracted.

It has been a long long time since you've been able to have clarity about what God spoke to you. And you found your broken focus leading to a lack of peace now, as it always happens. But if we can get back to the God who put it in you to begin with, you are going to survive whatever attack the enemy sins against it. It can't be stronger than God. It can't be stronger than his word. It can't be better than him. It can't be bigger than him.

It's not possible. But you've been distracted. So now, Lord, our hearts are turn to you. Yes, Lord, our hearts are yours.

Our lives are yours, our dreams are yours, our plans are yours.

Our future is yours. I thank you for where you planted me as a seed. God. I thank you for where you planted each and every one of these people.

I think for the gifts you gave them, the abilities you gave them, the talent you gave them, the person that you gave them, the unique struggles and challenges that have formed them and forged them in the fire of trials to make them strong.

And ready for what they're going through.

Now.

They will not burn. They'll be light those Hebrew boys who went.

Into the fire and said, even if God doesn't get us out, he'll join us right up in it.

Because I'm good seed. I'm good seed. Lord.

I want to pray today for the person who has never placed their faith in you. Would you just join me in this prayer as a church, I'm going to pray for someone who needs to give their life to Jesus Christ. And right now it is very possible that the reason God brought you here today, or the reason that you joined us online, is for this moment. If you see, it's not by might nor by power that we become strong in the Lord.

No, the seed was good because of who planted it.

And it's time for you to stop playing around with your life and waiting on one day when it's more convenient to live for God.

No, now is your moment of salvation. Today is your moment of change. And I don't want you to face the fire of judgment. I don't want you to live your life apart from God, and neither does God.

And that's why He sent Jesus, the perfect seed, the one who gave his life on the cross and rose again that you could have life.

And now, in this moment, I want to pray with you.

You know, the Bible says that if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead.

You will be saved. It's not by works it's by grace. You are saved through faith. And right now, if you'll pray this prayer and mean it with your heart, God will hear you.

God will save you, and you will be born again, and this can be your new beginning. We're going to pray out loud, repeating after me as a church for the benefit of those who are coming to Christ in this moment. Repeat after me, Heavenly Father, today is my day of salvation. I am a sinner in need of a savior. And I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and the savior of the world. And

I receive this new life. This is my new beginning. I am a child of God.

On the count of three, shoot your hand up. If you prayed that one, two, three, I want to celebrate with you.

Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord. That's beautiful, Praise the Lord.

Online.

You could just put.

It in the comments I received. Jesus.

Come on, let's clap our hands all over the room.

Everybody, everybody, everybody, come on, Let's thank God.

For all the decisions that were made today.

God is so good.

Well, campus, pastors, you can have it. Grab hands with the person next to you here, Valentine, look at him and tell them don't pluck it up, because God is not through with you yet another day to be in the presence of God. Come on, Holly, I ain't got no hand to hold. It's gonna be an amazing year in your life. Ben Yeah, God's gonna give you wisdom, strength, encouragement, stamina.

God's gonna do that for each and every one of these people that we pastor.

To look at your neighbor, Look at your neighbor and say, God's gonna do that for you too. Tell him he's gonna meet you, he's gonna fill you, he's gonna carry you, he's going to keep you. Tell him you're gonna grow. Come on, Tell him like a trainer, you're gonna grow. Tell them like they need to do two more reps. Tell them you're gonna grow. Look at them and shall say, don't pluck it. Oh, don't let the attack distract you.

It's a sign you're on course. It's a sign you're significant.

It's a sign God's got you. And now unto him, lift your hands, who is able to do immeasurably more than you ask, think or imagine, according to his power, Whose power, his power that works mightily in us. To him be gloried through Christ Jesus in the Church. Now and forever, Say amen, same man again, goodbye, see you next week. Don't fuck it up.

Thank you for joining us.

Special thanks to those of you who give generously to this ministry. Is because of you that this ministry is possible. You can click the link in the description to give now or visit Elevationchurch dot org slash podcast for more information and if you enjoyed the podcast, you can subscribe.

You can share it with your friends.

You can click the share button, take a screenshot and share it on your social stories and tag us at Elevation Church.

Thanks again for listening.

God bless you.