I Know The Way (Holly Furtick)

you're watching from today. This ministry is reaching all over the world today. We pray that wherever you are, that this time of worship will reach you. So right now I'm looking on my YouTube feed and I'm looking to see who you are and where you're from. So that way we can just have one big choir today. I see Donna from Harrison, Arkansas. It's good to see you, Donna. I see Chris, Chris from London. I see Patty from Valentine. This is the building I'm in Valentine. Let me tell

you something, Patty. It looks really different here today. It looks like the rapture happened and we missed it today. I'm telling you, it's just really something to get used to. I wish we'd all been ready, Chris, did the rapture happen and we missed it? Well, God's presence is still in the place wherever you're watching from, whether that's Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, I see you, Jakarta, Indonesia. Wow, Vermont is joining us today. You don't see Vermont in the chat al lot. I

just want to. I want to put out a campaign for Vermont to come a little stronger next week all right on Easter. Hey, we're having Easter next weekend. Did you hear that the resurrection wasn't canceled? Say that again, Pastor Vernick. The resurrection passing not bit castled, and it will be televised. Thank you Lord. The resurrection has not been canceled. I might use that for the title of my sermon for Easter. The Resurrection has not been canceled. Put it in the chat if you know that's true.

God is still raising up the dead things in our life. When we speak the name of Jesus and believed in faith, miracles still happen, Miracles still happen, bodies are still being healed. How does that song go. Bodies are still being raised. Bodies are the resurrection has not been canceled. Aymen, we can't go into that again. Brandon starts speaking in tongues and all the Baptists people log off the stream, so we can't do it. India's here, New York City is here,

praise the name of the Lord. New Jersey is here. That's right, the resurrection has not been canceled. I'm still here, Devil. I'm still here from Kansas. I'm still here from Romania. I'm still here from Kingsville, Texas. The resurrection has not been canceled. I see you. So we're going to see you next weekend. We're not closing. The sermons about to happen in a minute, but I'm going to I'm going to just put out a word that Easter, this Easter

is going to be magnificent. And what we're going to do, We're going to bring resurrection to your home. We're going to bring resurrection to your home, resurrection power to your home. And how many of you could use some resurrection power right now, just even for your energy, or your emotions, or your patience, or your or your checking account. I don't mean to get personal. God is so good and uh, what we're really deciding in this season. I was telling

the church a few weeks ago. I gathered some of our leaders online. These are people who serve and give and make such a difference, and I was showing them that because they continue to honor God, especially in the area of finances, this ministry is positioned for a miracle, position for a miracle, and a lot of times I think when we say a miracle, we're thinking about the miracle that we want to see, But what about the miracle that we need to be That's important right now,

that's important. So if you've been following, we've been trying to show you as a church family, I'm like stuck on this one camera. Let me give this camera some love. Yeah, I feel like I'm really really like these other two cameras are probably feeling really left out. Hello, other camera. So I was sharing with them how when we trust God, we crown him as king by the decisions that we make. And so this is the season of our lives, my life,

your life, Chet's life, Holly's life. Where we decide is Jesus king and not like a Burger king, you know, Burger King is like, have it your way. Burger King is the Jesus who was feeding the five thousand and then when he said eat my flesh and drink my blood, eye and the bread of life. Then many followed him no more, and they decided they didn't want that kind of king. And that's kind of what happened leading up to Easter Week. We call this Palm Sunday all around

the world, and it represents the triumphant entry. We call it when Jesus came into Jerusalem, but he was riding on a donkey, which is such a crazy transportation means for a king. It's a prophecy in Zechariah nine to nine it said that your king will come, but he's going to be riding on a donkey or a cold And so when he came into Jerusalem, they were like, Hosanna, hosanna, you know, which means save now help us, and they

threw their cloaks on the road for their king. But you know, by the time he got to the cross on Friday, they had kind of decided maybe that they didn't want this kind of king. Maybe they wanted the kind of king that always met their expectations, that liberated them from everything oppressive. But the way into his kingdom was through suffering, And sometimes we don't like to think about that, but it doesn't make it any less true.

And in a time like this, where there is so much suffering and so much uncertainty, and so much confusion, and so much despair, and I'm not talking about what's going on in the world, I'm talking about what's going on in my heart and your heart. And we're praying for those who are on the front lines and those who are putting their own bodies and lives at risk to help us through this time. And we're praying for them, but we also have to make a decision who's on

the throne in our hearts. And what I thought was so cool Chunks, I copied the text that you showed me from. I'm not going to say his name, but one of our og elevators, original glorifiers, that's what OG stands for. In this pulpit. He has been in the church for I want to say a decade or more. He's not some fly by night click online. Oh, I'm gonna check out five different churches on YouTube and see which one I like. Oh, he's saying something I don't like.

I'm gonna skip that one. He's not that kind of church member. He's in it all the way, and so I copied this. Let me find it real quick what he texted to his campus faster listen to this. This is such a great message for us as a church, as we are positioned to be a miracle, as we are positioned to reach people during this time. He was sharing after our leadership event. He said, I'm so thankful

for this message. He said, I have gotten caught up into doing what I say I will never do, and that is listen to a lot of news and opinions that are negative that draw you into dark places. Funny how addicting it is, and once you start, it's hard to quit, like eating carbs. It's so cool to see how we at Elevation have been able to help other churches and even increase our outreach and grow in a time everyone else is shrinking. It made me very excited

to know we have been a part of this. Somebody put it in the chat on position for a miracle. And then he goes on to say, I have questioned my giving decisions at times. Who wouldn't you know? The first thing that you want to do when things are unstable is try to hold on tighter. And so he says, I have invested a whole lot into elevation. I started to think it wasn't very prudent, but I realize now

I have a diverse giving portfolio. I like that he's watching the dal Jones go down, but he's watching the Kingdom of God move forward. He said, I have a diverse giving portfolio, heavily loaded with growth stocks. And then he spells it out in case in case we're slow, I mean elevation and not so much in investments on this earth. Last night, he said, seeing what the church has done and uplifted my spirits knowing that I had

zero regrets in my giving. It's truly a high growth, high yield investment with a great err eternal rate of return. I just made that up, he says in parentheses. Now listen to this. This is what I want to say to you. Cash is king is the mantra right now in business. It is the oxygen to get you through this uncertain time. Delay payable, stay on top of receivables, and liquidate slow moving inventory. Get and keep cash. The next ninety days will be extremely tough and many won't survive.

We know if we can survive, we will drive. On the other end, he says, I believed and have focused on cash is King, and it hit me I was being a heretic. Christ is King. Christ is King. Right here on the verge of Easter Sunday, we declare Christ is King. That's what you ought to type right now in the chat. Christ is King and my rock and where my refuge is. Yes, cash is extremely important, and we will focus on cash flow management. But there can only be one king. He hasn't failed me yet, and

we especially need to remember that now. He said, I should write a song about that. A crazy thought hit me, and this really blessed me because you know, we sing songs to God, but where our treasure is, that's where our heart is. So listen what he said. A crazy thought hit me. What if I give a big check now in a time of uncertainty and everyone and everything is saying that would be stupid in a time when we are losing money and should reduce or eliminate giving.

What if I wrote the single largest check that I've ever written to the church. And then he asked how much is that because he didn't have the record and then he did it. And I just think that's awesome because the man who's that text is watching right now. And because of you and your faithfulness to Jesus Christ, we're positioned for a miracle because you crown Christ as king, not just with your lips, Hosannah, Hosanna, Hosannah, but with your life. And I want to thank God for the

thousands of you who do that. You pray, you give, you serve, and we're not stopping. Christ is King. If you believe it, put it in the chat, and don't just put it in the chat. Tell your checkbook, come on, tell your you got to tell your emotions. Christ is King and everything that comes against him must bow in the name of Jesus. If you believe it, give me about nineteen twenty second praise break right now, just to declare Christ is King. Christ is King, Christ is King.

Come on, you don't have to be contye ain't to know. Jesus Christ is King of kings. We crowned kings. So thank you, Thank you for your continued generosity positioning us. We've reached record numbers of people during this time, and we're gonna keep on reaching. So join me this Friday, remember seven pm Eastern Time, with a rebroadcast at ten Eastern time, and you can do the math on your time zone. We're gonna be having a special Good Friday time of communion, prayer and worship with me and Holly

and our team. And then on Easter Sunday we're going to add a special extra service for two pm Eastern Time. We're just gonna have church all day. We're gonna have church until Jesus comes back again. If you didn't already come and we missed it, We're gonna keep being here showing up. Jesus Christ is King of Kings and Lord of lords. I'm excited about it. Are you excited about the Word of God? Thank you Jesus. Well, I'm bringing out the secret weapon today. Holly Ferdick is preaching the

Word of God. Everybody, say hey, Holly, come on, say it in a chat so she can see it. Say it from Whales and where else from. Welcome her from all over the world. This is my wife, this is the love of my life. This is my partner. This is Somebody said that Holly was their favorite verdict and they were like, no, offense, but Hally's my favorite verdict. I was like, hey, man, I'm the president of the fan club. I am the president of your fan club. You live what you teach. You're a better woman than

even you are a minister. But today, as you look into that camera and welcome the world into the presence of God, I pray that God would use you. Thank you to bring comfort, healing, hope and perspective. Thank you to each and every one of us. God, thank you for your servant, for this woman of God. Bless it as she who comes in the name of the Lord in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen, Come on, receive Holly, not with a kiss, but just tell her hello. I love you, babe.

Did you just get choked up while you were praying for me? I think he did. I really think he did. That touches me. I just want to say welcome to everyone who's joining us this morning, Happy Palm Sunday. My kids have been doing online school, as I know many of yours are too, and my kids actually have daily check ins where their teachers take role and they type in the chat here. So I thought I could take

roll this morning. I used to be a teacher, so let me know if you're here, where you're watching from give me some love. Maybe tell me who's watching with you. I have my daughter Abby here this morning. She's sitting with her dad in my very small cheering section. And you know, speaking of Abby's dad who got choked up praying for me. There is no way to begin to describe the gifting and the anointing that is on my

husband's life. It can truly only be experienced. And he has helped us through so many tough seasons and this one is no exception. I wish you could see the way he is leading our staff, our teams, our church. We are on the move and we have a general who is leading the charge. And I don't know if you're grateful for him, but I'm grateful for him. So when you type in the chat, we love you, Pastor Stephen,

his messages have just been as always. They inspire me and they encourage me, and they challenge me and they're relevant all at the same time. And I really don't know how he does it. And also I want to say I am so proud of our church. I know that my husband just read that amazing text message and we have gotten to see every week how our church is giving back to our communities all around. And I just want to encourage you and invite you to be

involved in our church more now, more than ever. Our campus pastors at all of our campuses, our EPAM, they are available, They're praying for people. Get involved on your campus Facebook page. God is moving and God is working and he is ministering to us during this time. And our staff. I am so proud of our staff, from e kids to outreach to all of our pastoral staff.

So I just want to encourage you. Don't draw back during this time, move forward, get more involved and allow us to speak over you and encourage you and pray for you. And retweet. I'm not even on Twitter. I don't know why I'm saying retweet, but share the things that are going on with our church and invite your friends to join in what's going on. I feel like people are thirstier than ever right now, and they're more open because I mean, in reality, they're home and they're bored.

And so if this message and these the messages of this church are speaking to you, share it personally, share it, text someone and say this really helped me. I think that you'll like it. There's so much content coming out of our church right now, and I am so proud of to be a part of this movement and to be included among the generous people of Elevation Church. It's just such an amazing time to be to be a

part of the family of God. So, Okay, I am really excited to get to speak to you this morning because God has been speaking so much to me over the past few weeks, and I truly I'm bursting. I cannot wait to share it with you. I believe that you are going to be blessed by this today. So would you do me a favor, And wherever you are, just turn your hands up in a posture of receiving, and I'm going to pray for us. So, Lord, we

join our hearts together. We join our faith together, all across this world, from people who are in their living rooms, in their bedrooms, in their kitchens, in their workplaces. God, we join our faith together, and we collectively ask that you would speak to us. Our hands are open as a symbol that we want to receive a word from you today. Would you speak to us God, We are listening.

It's in Jesus name. I pray amen. All right, So several weeks ago back when our children went to this place called school, my husband and I decided to go on a hike on his day off. And here in Charlotte, you can drive about an hour to find a decent hike. So this particular day, I did a little bit of research, and I decided that we were going to go to

Morol Mountain State Park. And I looked on the park website because I wanted to find the most challenging hike, and so I decided that we were going to hike sugar Loaf Trail. Now, I don't know if you've ever tried to hike the state park trails. I don't even know if the state parks in other states are different than the ones here in North Carolina. But I personally have found in my limited experience that the maps make everything look so easy on paper. Sugar Loaf Trail is

the orange triangles. All you have to do is follow the orange triangles. But it's a totally different story when you actually get on the trail because the trails overlap and it can be tricky to stay on the one that you want. You would think follow the orange triangles

is easy, but it's just not not for us. So almost every time that we go hiking, which really isn't that much, we start on one trail and then we finish on another, and it usually isn't that big of a deal as long as you end up at your car, right, I mean, look, the verdicts we aren't the most skilled when it comes to hiking. We're a little bit better at Netflix, but sometimes we have to force ourselves to go outdoors and when we do, we don't regret it.

So anyway, this particular time, I am determined that we are going to stay on sugar Loaf Trail because I wanted to count as my exercise for the day, and the park information said sugar Loaf had the best incline. It actually described it as strenuous. But don't get excited if you live in Colorado. Don't picture free solo. This is the foothills of North Carolina. Okay. So I told Stephen, because maybe I should back up and explain to you that my husband doesn't have a very good sense of direction.

I hope he doesn't get mad at me for telling you this, But this very morning, this very morning, he told me that he got lost coming to Valentine from our house and he says, he just missed the turn. The thing is, he had so much on his mind. He's just so brilliant and so creative that he can't pay attention to the turn. So when anyway, that's not the point. When we go on a hike, I'm in charge of where to go, and so I said to him.

I was like, this is gonna be The problem is I don't have the greatest sense of It's not my sense of direction, it's more of my ability to stay on track and pay attention. But I'm in charge, and so I said, this is going to be so easy. All we have to do is follow the orange triangles. So everything starts off great. We're walking at a nice pace,

and we're talking without being interrupted. I think we are even holding hands at one point, and the trail is so peaceful, and we even walk through this really cool tunnel of like baby pine trees that were growing up. I think I have a picture here. We are, aren't we cute? Don't we look like we're enjoying the great outdoors? So we're weaving our way down the trail, and just like I expected, we start getting blue squares and white

circles along with our orange triangles. And I get to talking and like I always do, and I realized at one point I haven't seen an orange triangle in a little while, and so I keep talking and acting like everything's okay, and we continue on and I keep thinking the orange triangles are going to reappear, but they don't, and it doesn't feel right because the trail is getting easier, and I started I saw a picnic table, so I remembered, okay, a while back, we passed the split in the trail,

so I think we need to double back and take the other path. And I can start to feel pastor Steven tense up because he does not like to be lost. He doesn't want to be lost in a car, he doesn't want to be lost walking in a city, and he certainly does not want to be lost hiking in the woods. Remember we're Netflix people, so some of you might be thinking, what's the big deal of me being

lost as an adventure, not to him. So we're on the second path and we come to this tunnel of baby pine trees, and I realized that now we're walking back to our car, and so I say, okay, I think we need to turn around again, and Stephen looks at me. I swear he looks at me and he says, Holly, I'm not going to be lost much longer. And I said, don't worry. I know exactly where we are now, I

know the way. I totally lied, thankfully. When we circle back one more time, I finally spotted the little orange triangle on a tree off in the distance, on a very small trail, and we were back on track, and we had a great day today. I want to talk to you about what you should do when you feel like pastor Stephen, and you're thinking, I can't be lost for much longer. So my sermon is, I know the way. Have you ever noticed that when you start to feel

lost at first, you coach yourself. You say things like everything's fine, orange triangles are going to start to appear very soon. You start telling yourself phrases I love idioms. I always misuse them, but I just love them so and I'll start telling myself phrases like things are off to a rocky start, or it's just a bump in the road and I just need to stay the path. And then maybe you progress to the phase of questioning your decisions. I thought this was what I was supposed

to do. I thought I was supposed to take this new job. I felt like the Lord was leading us here, but now I'm not so sure. Maybe I heard wrong, maybe I did the wrong thing. And then the next phase for me is disappointment, and I start to tell myself things like this is not how I I thought this hike would be. I thought we would just hold hands and stay on the trail and climb to the

top and see the beautiful view. But here I am circling, frustrated, lost, And then I start to worry because I realized that I can't continue to live in this place, this feeling of being lost. I can't be here much longer. I can't keep acting like everything's okay. I can't keep pretending like I know the way to go. I thought that God was leading me here, but now I'm not so sure. And now I can't hear him and I can't feel him,

and I don't know the way anymore. And then I tell God, God, I just I don't know how much longer I can last. Today. I want to look with you at Psalm seventy seven, because this passage of Scripture. Sorry, that's kind of a a loud. This passage of scripture is about a man who has lost his way and he can't feel God anymore. And I feel like he has so much to teach us. So I've got the verses coming up. Let's look at Psalm seventy seven, Verse one.

I thought I might try sitting for a while, because you know, I used to be a teacher, and teachers they sit. Psalm seventy seven says I cried out to God for help. I cried out to God to hear me when I was in distress. I sought the Lord at night. I stretched out untiring hands, and I would not be comforted. The man is having trouble sleeping. He he's in distress and his mind won't let him rest. And I have had so many conversations with friends lately

telling me that they're having trouble sleeping. We're all worried. What's keeping you up at night might not be the same thing that's keeping me up. Well, I'll just tell you what's keeping me up. I'm just going to be honest and have a little honest moment here. I keep worrying that I have the virus and to the point where, about a week ago, I had a really bad allergy attack and I woke up in the middle of the night coughing, and I couldn't go back to sleep because

I started making a case. Am I am I alone in this? Can somebody please tell me in the chat if this has happened to me. I keep making the case that I'm in the early stages of the virus, and I started thinking, I'm laying awake at night, my eyes are wide open, and I'm thinking of all the people that I've been in contact with, and what if I exposed people, you know, I went to the grocery store. What if I got some person sick? And then I start worrying about what about my family? Who will take

care of my family if I get really sick? And what if my kids get sick? What if Pastor Stephen gets sick and he can't preach to anyone anymore? Anybody help me out? Have you been there? Have you been awake at night worrying about your finances? Losing sleep because I'm afraid? And the Psalmist goes on to say, I remembered you, God, I grown I meditated. He's trying to do all the right things, but my spirit grew faint. You kept my eyes from closing. I was too troubled

to speak. I thought about the former days, the years of long ago. I remembered my songs in the night, nighttime questions. They're so dark. They keep you on this loop that takes you nowhere, and you can't get your mind subtled, and you can't get rest, he says, my heart meditated. He's trying to get a hold of himself, but then he starts asking crazy questions. Listen to this, he says, Will the Lord reject forever? Will he never show his favor again? Has his unfailing love vanished forever?

Has his promise failed for all time? Has God forgotten to be merciful to me? Has he and his anger withheld his compassion? Is God mad at me? Can you relate to this? Because I can. When I get anxious, I start to jump to these crazy conclusions, and then I start to search for an answer for everything. So I plan out these elaborate, if then scenarios, and then I find myself worried about problems that don't even exist. What do you do when you find yourself in this place?

I want to share with you today some of the things that God has been showing me about how to break this cycle in my mind. And the Psalmist is about to show you. Don't you love the Bible? I love the darkness and the humanity in this psalm. I love knowing that I'm not the only one who goes through periods where God feels far away. He says, God, can you are you hearing my cry? I am crying out to you? So I want to show you what he does next. But spoiler alert, He's not gonna show

us the way out. We actually ever know who even wrote this psalm, what he was going through, or how he got out of it. In the end, he's going to show us how to shift our perspective. Perspective is everything, because I found that my initial response to every situation in my life one hundred percent of the time is how does this affect me? What if I get sick? What about my canceled plans? This is not the way

I thought this would go. And then after I do that, I turn it on God, just like the Psalmist, and I think I know why It's easier to blame God than to take responsibility for my own heart and my own attitude, So it's easier for me to say, God, are you hearing me? What about your promises? God? You must be angry with me. But thankfully the psalmist doesn't stop there, and we won't either. Do you remember my husband's sermon from a few weeks ago called There's a

whole in your story. If you miss that sermon, you have to go back and watch it because he said this, and it's forever in my mind. He said, don't let doubt and self centeredness cut you off in the middle of your story. It's okay to feel the doubt. It's okay to think about how you're being affected by this situation. But realize that we are in the middle of the story right now, and you can feel those feelings. But you can't stop there. You can't lose faith. You can't

keep circling in this loop of making up stories. You have to get to the next part. So part one of this psalm is my worries, Part two is his ways, and verse ten is the shift, the shift from going from myself to my God. Look at this, says then I thought to this, I will appeal in the years when the most high stretched out his right hand. Watched this because he's about to go from what if to worship.

He's going to shift his focus from self what if God has forgotten me, to the character and the nature of God. He says, I will remember the deeds of the Lord. I will remember your miracles of long ago. He's forcing himself to remember. He says, I will consider all of your works and meditate on all of your mighty deeds. Your ways, God are holy. What God is as great as our God. He's reminding himself about who his God is. You are the God who performs miracles.

You display your power among the people with your mighty arm. You redeemed your people, the descendants of Jacob and Joseph. Your thunder was heard in the whirlwind. Your lightning lit up the world. The earth trembled and quaked. He serve a big God, he says. Your path led through the sea, your way through the mighty waters. Though your footprints were not seen. You led your people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron. Sometimes the only way

forward is to circle back. This is so beautiful to me. What do you do when you're awake in the night instead of circling on all of those questions, in all of those stories, you stop and you remember how great and how powerful our God is. He's a good God. He's a miracle working God. He's a deliverer. He is the God who makes himself known to his people and his promises. Do stand What has God done for you? Can you take a second and look back over your life?

Because He's been there for you, He's provided for you. And what makes you think that he's going to stop now? I don't know about you, but this is not my first dark night. The problem is when you're in the middle of the night, it's hard to remember the things that you have come through. For some reason, it always feels like it's never been this bad before. But if you can just force yourself to remember, he was with me the last time, he will be with me all

the way through this one. I love the part where he says your way was through the sea. You're digging deep. You've got to remember how God parted the Red Sea and he brought his people through on dry land. What does the song say, We just sing it. You made seas into highways. Instead of worrying about well, what is coming, You've got to use all of that energy, all of that fear, and rechannel it to recall the times where He was with you in the past, the times where

He made a way through for you. I wish we could shout about all the times that He was with us. I wish we could play popcorn. We used to do that when I was a teenager in youth group, and you would just shout out things. And I wish you would shout out in the chat that when you were sick, that He healed you in your body, when you were going through a divorce, he was with you all along the way. When you lost your job, he provided for you.

Tell me the ways that God has been with you, because I know that we serve a God who makes a way for us, though his footprints were not seen at the time. When I look back look at the verse again, it says your path made away through the mighty waters, though your footprints were not seen. Even when you don't see it, He's working. And the Psalm closes by telling us that he leads us like a flock. I love all of the metaphors in the Bible that

remind us about the Lord being our shepherd. It's truly throughout the Bible, but my favorite one, and probably yours too, is Psalm twenty three. The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. What a comfort it is to know that our shepherd is leading his flock, and he knows where the green pastures are. He leads us to the water when we're thirsty.

He is with us every step of the way. And when I think about God being our guide, I think about a few years ago, we got to go to Israel, and of course we hired a guide, because that's what you do when you go to Israel. Otherwise you would just roam around and wonder what things were. Our guide his name was Aria, and it was Aria's job as our guide to take us around to all of the famous sites in the Bible that we could squeeze into

our ten day trip. So of course you want to hit the Garden of gessimone and the tomb and Mount Carmel where Elijah called down the prophets, and the Mount of Olives where Jesus fed the five thousand and the Jordan River in the upper room, and we wanted to see all of these sites. We had a list of the things we wanted to do. But while we were driving from place to place, our guide were a microphone, and he was constantly pointing things out to us along

the way from within the bus. He would say, this is an olive grove. Look out to the left, this is an olive grove. And then he would teach us and he would say, olive trees are stable enough to live thousands of years through droughts and through storms, and the oil that comes from olives is what represents the Holy Spirit. And he would just teach us all along the way. I remember one particular day we were on our way to the Sea of Galilee and he pulled the bus over to the side of the road and

he said, we got out here. I'm telling you. We were literally on the side of the road, the highway with cars going past, and we walked up this rocky hill and he said, I want to show you. This is a cistern. This is what a cistern looks like. A cistern is where Joseph's brothers threw him when they were about to throw throw what did they sell him into slavery? And then he began to teach us about shepherds, and he told us he said the shepherds would live

just outside of town right here. See how you can see the town off in the distance. And he'd say, they would live right here, And they would while the sheep were having babies and the lambs were young, they would stay just out side of the city so that the sheep could drink from these cisterns. But as soon as the lambs were old enough to travel, they would go up to two hours away from the city and lead the sheep to graze in greener pastures near the springs.

The things that he showed us along the way were as memorable to me as the famous sights that we had come to see. And I think about if I had gotten on the bus each day and put my headphones in and taken a nap and gotten to the destination, I would have missed out on so much of the experience of seeing and taking in everything around me. And it has opened up my eyes when I read a passage like he guides. He guides us in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. I can picture the shepherds

leading their sheep to the greener grasp. God is your guide, and he's revealing himself to you all along the way. Every day he's trying to show you. This is my grace, here's my joy. And sometimes I think that I miss what's right in front of me because I'm worried about what's down the road. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his namesake. Goes on to say, even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of Death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me.

It comforts me to know that as we walk through the valley the shadow of death, my shepherd is with me the whole way. And by the way, it's not death, it's just a shadow. And as you walk through the valley, just make sure to keep going. And when you're up at night and the shadows are so scary, if you can shift your focus, you'll find that the shepherd, your shepherd, is right there leading you through. He's your guide. He's not your uber driver. You're rod in your staff. They

comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies, And this is my favorite verse in Psalm twenty three. It says you anoy my head with oil my cup overflows. A couple of years ago, I came across this book. It's called A Shepherd looks at Psalm twenty three. It's by a man named Philip Keller, who was an actual shepherd, and in this book he takes you through verse by verse explaining the Psalm from

a shepherd's perspective. Isn't it amazing how God can take a passage of scripture that's so familiar, like Psalm twenty three. I memorize it when I was a little girl in kindergarten. I have a very vivid memory of my kindergarten teacher having our class recite it. But then He can use that same passage of scripture and bring you comfort throughout your life if you'll just go back to Sometimes when I am in a season of feeling lost, I go back to the passages of scripture where God has already

spoken to me before. And God used this book in my life a couple of years ago to just make this passage come alive. And a couple of weeks ago, right before everything started shutting, down. God just brought Psalm twenty three. He led me back to this passage of scripture, and I pulled out this book and I went to my favorite chapter, and it's the chapter on this verse. He anoints my head with oil and he talks about

nose flies. Now, I know that you did not turn on church today to hear about nose flies, but I have to tell you about this, and I promise you it's going to help you. So I'm sorry it's a little bit gross, but just stick with me. Nose flies attack sheep in the summertime, and what happens is they'll land on the sheep's moist nose, and sometimes they'll crawl inside and lay eggs in the sheep's nose cavity. And

let me just read to you from the book. It says this their attacks the flies on animals can readily turn the golden months of summertime into a time of torture for the sheep and drive them to almost distraction.

For this, for relief from this agonizing annoyance, he tells us that the sheep will deliberately beat their heads against trees and rocks and posts or brush, And then he goes on to say, because of all of this, when the nose flies hover around the flock, some of the sheep will become frantic with fear and panic in their attempt to escape their tormentors. Some may run so much that they drop from sheer exhaustion. And on some occasions they may refuse to graze in the open at all.

And when I pulled this out and I read this, I was like, this is me right now. I'm afraid of the flies that have not even landed on me yet, and I'm running around getting groceries, stalking my pantry and my freezer like the world is over, watching the news and the numbers and making up scenarios, and unable to rest, unable to graze, exhausted with worry, irritated with my kids. But listen to this. At the first sign of the flies among the flock, he will apply an antidote of

oil to their heads. Once the oil has been applied to the sheep's head, there was an immediate change in behavior. Gone was the aggravation gone, the frenzy, gone, the irritability and the restlessness. Instead, the sheep would start to feed quietly again, and then soon lie down in peaceful contentment. He anoints my head with oil. He anoints your head

with oil. So maybe sitting down and tuning in and watching church today may have been that breath of fresh air that you needed, a time for you to recenter your focus. But one hour a week is not enough oil. The book says that the sheep have to have the oil applied regularly to protect them from the flies throughout the summer, and so do you. He anoints my head with oil, my cup overflows. My cup cannot overflow if

my head is not first anointed. So when I feel myself getting irritated with everyone around me, when I feel the frenzy and the fear creeping in, when I start spiraling into my what if scenarios, I need a fresh anointing for me. This could come in several different ways. It might mean that I turn the TV off and turn on a sermon, or I turn on some worship music.

It might mean that I get off of Instagram and I open up my Bible app And I don't just open it up randomly and try to find a random passage of scripture, but I select a Bible study plan and a passage of scripture that I can read through, and that every time I pick up my Bible and I pick up my phone, I know where I'm going in the scripture. It may mean that in the morning when I wake up, that I listen to a scripture reading rather than checking the number of confirmed cases that

happened overnight. Sometimes for me, it's just a moment alone when I feel myself becoming overwhelmed and I feel myself getting irritated with everyone around me. I just take a step back, and I take a moment, and I take a couple of deep breaths, and I say a prayer for help, And as I'm breathing, I just inhale God's grace, and then I exhale a prayer of gratitude. God, Thank you that you are with me in this moment. God

help me. It's a cry for help. As believers in Jesus, we have access to the Holy Spirit who stands by ready to give us exactly what we need moment by moment. But he will not compete. He will not compete with CNN and Netflix and Facebook. He anoints my head with oil. My cup overflows. They're in that order for a reason. You can't overflow and help those around you until you are first anointed with oil. I know you don't know the way. I know some days that you're faking it.

I know right now that we are all taking this day by day, sometimes minute by minute. Don't wear a mask, wear a mask. It's a scary time when our entire world is collectively facing an obstacle where we cannot see a way through, and we have no idea how much longer it's going to last. But you know what we do have. We have God's word and it is a lamp unto our feet, and it is a light unto

our paths when we're lost. It is our light. And if you will meditate on the words in this book, God will speak to you and he will calm your heart. I want to close with Jesus's words to his disciples because I believe Jesus has something that he wants to say to us today. These are God's words for us during our time together. This is John fourteen, and Jesus is talking to his disciples and he says, do not let your hearts be troubled. That's a word for me today.

Don't let your hearts be troubled. He says, you believe in God, believe also in me. My father's house has many rooms. If that were not so, would I have told you that I'm going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me, so that you may be where I am. You know the place where I am going. And then Thomas speaks up, bless his heart, thank you Thomas for asking what everybody is thinking. Don't you love the person

who asks the question that everybody's thinking. So Thomas says, Lord, we don't know where you were going, so how can we know the way? And Jesus answered to him, I love Jesus's answer to him, Jesus said, I am the way, the Truth, and the life. I don't have to know the way because I know the way. He is the one who was with you in the past. He's the one who is with you on this journey right now, in this moment today, And like I said, he stands by with the oil that you need for each moment.

And we can find comfort that He has gone before us into our future to prepare a place for us. What if what God is doing for you in this time, is giving you an opportunity for you to know Him deeper, for you to truly know Him as your Prince of peace, for you to come out on the other side of this trial knowing Emmanuel God with us. Thomas was completely missing the point, just like we all do. He was like, Lord, we don't know the way. He was concerned about the destination.

He was concerned about the end, and Jesus is saying, you don't need to know the end because you know me. I am the way. I am with you right here, right down, in this very moment. You're not lost. You may feel lost, but you know the way. So tonight, when you wake up worried, just whisper to yourself, I know the way. Tomorrow, when you're tired of being alone in your house day after day after day, maybe you only have your pets to keep you company, you say

this out loud, I am not alone. I know the way. Moms, when you're wondering how you're going to make it to bedtime, take a breath inhale God's peace, exhale, I know the way. If you're tired of feeling lost, if you're tired of just I can't feel this way much longer. Just remember you know the way. I know the way. What a word. Wow. I just got home and I just wanted to record

a video and just pray with you. I thought what Holly said today was so personal and so powerful and so appropriate for the season that we're in that many of us just feel confused and maybe even aimless, restless, But we know the way, the way, the truth and the life. That's what Jesus called himself. So right now,

let me just agree with you in prayer. God, would you lead us like the shepherd that you are, each moment of the days ahead, and help us to hear your still small voice as you call us the green pastures of your presence. I pray for my brother or my sister, whatever their need is today, I know you're able to meet it according to your glorious richest in Christ. Thank you that your wisdom and your peace are ours

in abundance in Jesus' name. Amen, thank you so much for your love, for your support, those of you who give to support this ministry, just so we can keep the gospel coming to people, so we can keep telling them about who Jesus is and what God is able to do. Holly and I love you, our Elevation Church family. We're standing strong. We're here for you. Don't forget to subscribe. Let us know how we can be praying for you. See you real soon, Okay, love you, God bless