I’m Going Through But I’m Running Over

Hey, this is Stephen Ferdick.

I'm the pastor of Elevation Church and this is our podcast.

Be sure to subscribe so we can get you these new sermons every week.

Hope you're blessed today.

Grace and anal jests.

Like you to grab the hand of the person next to you or put your hand on their shoulder, make a connection.

No one untouched.

Father, We thank you for your presence and the permeation of your grace in this temporal moment. In these are mortal bodies, we invite the fullness of the Godhead in Christ flow through us. Now, living water, saturate every parched place, quench and phil to overflow every thirsty soul.

Here's our cup, Lord, We lift it up. Lord, I pray for the person on my right and on my left.

Fill them, feed them until they want no more. We declare this done in the mighty name of Jesus, and we clap our hands.

Anticipation of your reign is in our hearts. Ay man hed night Lord the God.

Alright, well, what a special presence of God? How many appreciate his presence when He touches you? And nobody can touch you like God can. There's no place like the presence of God. Amen, no place like home. I hope you feel at home here. Those of you who are visiting for the first time, those of you who come every week, I hope you feel at home here. Those of you who are watching online, I hope you feel at home here. And so we're excited to bring God's word. There is a pop up in La today. He La.

I'll tell you what, if you could see this weather in Charlotte, you'd wish you were here. We get it all. It's we could be seventy and seventeen in one week. Here we drive in variety, here the forecast.

Shout out to our pop up, shout out to all of our locations.

I don't take the time enough.

We have twenty locations meeting all across the region, in different parts.

Of the country, in the world.

Less thank God for all of them, our evam around the world.

We're all getting ready, so much to prepare for.

Ask you to stay standing for just a moment, because after I get through these announcements, I'm going to read my scripture and I want us to stand in honor of the Word of God. But I want to underscore that our Christmas services will begin Friday, December twenty second through Sunday to twenty fourth. There are too many times for me to list specific to each location. It gets complicated with time zones and building capacities.

So you'll just go to Christmas at Elevation dot com, Christmas.

At Elevation dot com like that, and they'll give you the times and locations.

On December thirty first, church will.

Be online only, and then we'll be back in person Sunday, January seventh. Now before we give God praise for Christmas. All right, now, before we get to any of that, We've got our year end offering next Sunday, December ten. Give God praise for that. Come on, we live to get got so excited I went ahead and wrote my check Thursday and put it in the offering.

Get it in the ground early in case it rains. I want it to be ready and I love doing it, and I hope you do too. No pressure to you.

You can come every week and never give anything we'll give to you. But if you believe in this, if this gospel saved you, if you want to help us get it all around the world, then show up next week with an offering and sew it in faith so that people far.

From God can be raised to lie.

Let's build up the kingdom together. Let's week, Let's lit up Jesus together, Holly.

That will be awesome. It's our declaration of trust. We're calling our trust offering. That's the subtitle, our expansion, our outreach.

It will be amazing.

And guess what today I want to read you the most famous Bible verse on trust in the whole Bible, other than Proverbs three to six, second most famous, and I want to share it with you. Now.

This word for you may feel very personal.

Don't be surprised if it does, because the Lord gave it to me, and he knows what you're going through.

So don't get worried.

Does past our half cameras in my house when I start saying some of this stuff. I don't know what you're going through, But God does. He gave me this word I believe for you. Actually, before we read Psalm twenty three, I want to do it out of order. Give me second Corinthians eight one and two. Then Psalm

Oh yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah. Bressed out shakings again. All right, y'all be seated. I'll be seated. Yeah, I'll be seated. Be seated. How many married people in the house. You better put some enthusiasm on that will. How many would agree marriage changes everything.

It changes everything, and they don't tell you that marriage not only changes everything in your relationship to the person you're marrying when you commit to be with them all the time. But the thing that surprised me about my relationship with Holly is how much my relationship with her changed my relationship with other things, not just my time, like, oh.

Well, now I've got to be home, you know, the old ball and chain. We don't feel like that. I don't feel like that about her.

At all, But over time, how her preferences have assimilated into me, and now her references have become the prism not prison prism through which.

I experienced so much of life.

And so the way that my wife feels about things changes the way that I feel about so many things in my life. My relationship with my wife changed my relationship with so many other things in my life. I'm sure she'd say the same about her relationship with me.

Early when we were married, we woke up one.

Morning and it was raining outside, and I looked over at her and she was awakened.

She was smiling.

She said, I just love a good rainy day, so relaxing, so cozy, and I'm like, oh, you're one of these people. Rain to me is depressing. I know it shouldn't be. The joy of the Lord is my strength. Pray for me. My sanctification process is still in progress. I'm buffering, and she's like, oh, what a blessing a rainy day. Now we can just you know, relax and all of that. So through her eyes, over the last twenty one years, I've kind of come to see it. It can be relaxing.

Yeah, yea yeah. Remember when it rained early one Sunday.

About the third or fourth week we had this church yall, and the attendance momentum was going good. It rained, The attendants dropped by thirty percent. I found out people don't need much to stay home from church, and I was mad about it, and I went back just kind of disappointed in all because in those days we were just, you know, really trying to survive week the week.

This goofball is smiling, just grinning ear to ear.

I don't know if you know him, but he's just a very over the top personality.

I said, what you're smiling about? Silly?

Had we had twenty percent? Did you not see all those empty seats for the rain? He said, did you not see our greeter team? He had bought these umbrellas with elevation logos on him and he was waiting for a rainy day he got to use his umbrellas. He's grinned. He's in the grin and like Mary Poppins, I'm like Ebenezer Scrooge, and it's just about you know.

And really.

I bring that up because I wanted a simple way to say something that's kind of deep and kind of hard to talk about. Is that your relationship with Christ should change your relationship with adversity. You like the metaphor better about the rain, didn't you? The rain was cute? Yeah, my relationship with Christ. You know how we say Jesus changes everything, true, but needs some explanation. Jesus didn't make me sick foot three when he saved me.

He didn't change everything.

Jesus isn't fixing this bald spot on the back of my head. I'd have to pay somebody in Miami to do that. He's not gonna change everything.

Jesus, not Jesus.

Jesus changes. Jesus changes the way I see everything. Therefore, Jesus changes everything by changing me. And as he changes me, having him, knowing him, walking with him, being in relationship with him, like my relationship with Holly, it changes the way I.

See the rain.

When you see these leaves falling off the trees around here, if you're the one who has to blow them out of the driveway, they're a nuisance. But if you're the soil, those are nutrients. Is it a nuisance or is it a nutrient. It depends on whether you're the soil or whether you're the person who's responsible of lawn maintenance and making it look esthetically pleasing.

Now, Paul says, and I'm finally to the text. I want you to know about this church in Macedonia.

They are amazing, but they are not affluent. They have an abundant mentality in a scarcity situation.

Many of us are the opposite.

We have an abundant situation, a scarcity mindset, whether it's because of our over commitment to all of the things that we've done to impress people or get people to like us. And it doesn't even really work because the moment that you stop doing it, they stop liking you. So they didn't really like you, they liked what you were doing for them. And now you've run yourself ragged for somebody you don't even have a real relationship with, and it can leave you feeling depleted.

Paul says, just the opposite.

Always thought this scripture was a paradox not a contradiction. A paradox a contradiction to things that can't.

Both be true, can't both be true?

Paradox doesn't look true on the surface, but dig beneath it a little bit, it's true. I'll give you a paradox. Less it's more. No, more is more unless it's not. And no, that doesn't mean I'm only going to preach for twenty minutes this week because less it's more. But there are times where your silent presence will mean more than your best advice. You know that you ever had somebody on what they didn't say was a blacks so less was more. That's a paradox. How About the paradox

You feel the Lord might be in the moving truck. Ministry sometime in twenty twenty four.

Huh, how about the paradox of purpose and then the paradox of provision, which is really central to this text. Paul said, there was a church in Macedonia and out of their poverty. It's unclear in this situation exactly what was happening to them, other than it was the effect of persecution. Now they're giving an offering to the Church at Jerusalem and they don't have themselves many basic needs met.

Ever.

Watch me work this out now, because I'm talking about our adversities and our achievements. No event should become your identity. That is a fragile, flawed foundation to build your house on. One storm can knock it down. No achievement. It should be me in my mind. No achievement, no talent, no ability should be conflated with my character.

As I decide who is it that I am? I remember a lady told me one time, I grew up in the Low Country where you did. And she said, I have a bone to pick with you.

I said, a bone to pick with me? You are from the low country talking like this, let's pick. She said, I got.

A bone to pick with you.

She said, I listened to your sermons, and you don't talk like where you come from.

She had a deep Southern accent.

She said, why don't you talk if you're from Monk's Corner, South Carolina? Why can't I hear your Southern accent when you preach?

I said, lady, I don't know. I didn't take a class, I didn't have it cast out.

I don't know. I can put it on anytime I want to, but I don't know.

It just kind of fell off along the way. And it's a good question, right, Like what she asked me, why.

Don't you talk like where you come from?

I got a bone to bid with a lot of believers.

How our mouths speaks so much about what we're missing, and we claim to have Christ as the center of our life.

I feel like preaching.

In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God. And the word was God, and through him were all things made that were made. Colossian says, so the beginning was the word. The word was Jesus. Jesus is in you. If Jesus is in you and you came from him, then why do you say you can't make it? If Jesus is in you and you come from him, and all the fullness of the deity dwells in Jesus, not baby g Jesus. I'm talking about reigning Jesus. I'm talking about Christ in you, the hope of glory.

Come on, let's practice.

Say I'm blessed, I'm highly favor I'm anointed for this. I'm absolutely dead smack in the center of God's will for my life. He woke me up this morning. My cup is overflowing. Hi oe him the praise. You know where I come from. And I wonder, did you forget where you came from.

Because of what you went through? Yay, though I walk.

Through the valley of the Shadow of death, but that Psng'm twenty three verse four. We're not there yet. David started this whole thing off by saying the Lord is my shepherd identity I walk through the valley event. Flip the whole thing around and you'll feel better. Flip the whole thing around and you'll be able to breathe again. Flip the whole thing around and you might be surprised. What you see about your situation is that no success makes me who I am. No failure limits what I

That shocked me.

People I have been around and had no idea what they were going through. People I was in regular contact with, and I had no idea their family member committed suicide. They didn't tell anybody, didn't even tell their pastor didn't.

Know if they could, felt ashamed about it.

I had a conversation with someone that I loved very much the other day and they made a statement that I believe expresses the sentiment of many of us, spoken or unspoken. He was in the middle of a spiraling emotional state and he said to me.

I hate myself so much right now. I hate myself so much right now.

I didn't say anything because that kind of statement needs.

A little bit of space.

But after he had said it as much as he needed to say it, I said, let's say it a little bit differently this time.

Let's say it, but let's say it different. Let's say it like we know where we come from.

Not. I hate myself right now. I hate how this is making me feel right now. You see it now I'm talking to addicts. Not I hate myself because I do this. I hate how this sin change me to the me that I don't have to be anymore. That is pattern, program based, not potential conscious. I hate this event, but the event is not the identity.

So now I can fight it because I am not it. Say this. I am not it. My mama told me.

Pick the best one, and I.

Am not it. Give God praise that you're not it.

I did it, but I'm not it. I'm in it, Oh, but I'm not it. It's with me in church this morning, but I'm not it. It came with me, but it's not gonna get in me.

And even if it's in.

Me, it's gonna get out because I'm not built.

Right. So my relationship with Holly changed the way I saw the rain. My relationship with christ then therefore changes my relationship with what I'm going through?

What are you going through? That nobody really knows?

Don't say it out loud because you won't say the real one. I don't need a single one of you to put it in the chat because what it really is doesn't belong on YouTube, does it?

What are you going through? Going through?

My friend texted me this is probably like four years ago, and he said that was a great sermon. What are you going through? I said, what you mean? He said, nobody preaches like that unless they're going through something. And that is one thing about adversity, isn't it adversity. I'm gonna tell you three things that adversity is. If you know Jesus. Okay, if you don't know Jesus, adversity is a closed door that you can't get past. If you don't know Jesus, it's a Jericho wall you can't get over.

Gallons of ice cream and let's just get in shape. January one.

If you don't know Jesus, but if my relationship with you changed my relationship with the rain, maybe my relationship with Jesus can change my relationship with adversity. The first thing that it won't do. I'm gonna give you three things that it does do. But the first thing that it won't do is it wont make you avoid. And if it would, then David wouldn't say yay though I walk through the valley. You can't avoid certain adversity. I

But sometimes God gives.

You a command as your first school of learning and adversity as your summer school. Does that make any sense, y'all looking at me?

Kind of weird? I can't decide if yeah, it won't because if it said yay though.

I look at the valley of the shadow of Death and God.

Air lifts me out I will fear no evil. Yea, though I.

Glide over the valley of the Shadow of Death, I will fear no Well, I bet you won't. You're gliding over it.

Somebodys they go through.

So when you go through adversity, whatever that adversity is, and I don't mean to say that in a generic way. The Lord specifically gave me that word adversity, and he told me to focus on that adversity in your life. The first thing that adversity is when you put it in the hands of Jesus, it is an adjuster. Adversity in the hands of God serves as an adjuster. Not all adversity comes from the hand of God. It al

Shout about that. Shout about that.

You should and watch this not all the time, But Paul said, sometimes our tendency is to get too high to identify ourselves with our achievement. So Paul said, this is later in Second Corinthians. I just remember the scripture he said. Therefore, to keep me from becoming conceited, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan sent to buffet me.

Buffett is not like Warren.

This sitting a stock in his account.

It beat me, but it didn't defeat me.

It was an adversity sent to get me grounded in God's grace. Sometimes God will allow adversity even if he doesn't send adversity to adjust you in your life, because he knows right now you're moving a little fast.

He knows right now you're looking down on people a little bit.

He knows right now, if I give it to you, you'll eat it, you won't sow it. So I've got to get you in a place where you can recognize.

That I'm your shepherd. It's an adjuster.

God will use adversity to adjust you.

You still the kids all the time when they were very little. Stop growing up. Stop it. You're so cute right now, Stay really cute like this.

Stay at age nine where you think I'm smart, only like seven years away from you.

Thinking I'm an idiot and being right. That's the worst part. You're gonna be right. You're gonna think I'm an idiot, and you're gonna be right and abby. You say same thing every time I say stop.

Growing up, and she'd go, I can't, but spiritually you can. Physical growth you have no choice about. Spiritual growth is a choice.

I'm saying.

You don't always get to choose what you go through, but you have to choose to grow through.

What you go through.

All right, three people in the back, I'll come appreciate to you. All growth is chosen in the spirit, not in the physical. You know, as it relates to our height and certain things about our bodies, certain certain parts of that are not chosen. But growth spiritually is. So I would ask you the question about the valley.

In your life. Remember, David said, I walked through the valley, Paul said.

The Macedonian Church, out of their severe affliction or adversity, welled up generosity.

They learned how to give through what they lacked.

They were brought into a place of abundance by their adversity. That's the way it works, if you choose to allow God to do it through you. Adversity can often be an adjuster. The second thing that adversity does, and I'll give you a.

Few scriptures to prove this. It says that the Lord is near to the broken hearted.

It says that God is a very present help in the time of trouble. David's said, He's with me in the valley. So the second thing that adversity will do, it will give you access. Access. Adversity is an all access pass to the places in God you can't get any other way. Adversity is a like when we go out on Elevation Nights, let me stop real quick in do an advertisement. February twentyeth through twenty ninth Elevation Nights dot com.

We can't wait to see you there when we go out.

When we go out, I have do a little advertisement, little product placement when we go out. The team that's working on Elevation Nights, they have a pass. They can go anywhere in the State Farm Arena, anywhere.

They want to go. If it says access all areas, they can go anywhere.

I said to one of them one time, isn't it funny if we tried to come back here tomorrow night and just walk in, you know, and Florida Georgia line. They don't even play together anymore, do they? Honey to update the reference me going to Taylor Swift or something like that.

Hey, I'm here.

They let me in at the last one on elevation nights. I can go anywhere, right, No, no, no, you.

Got to have a pass for that.

And the fact that I'm here for this event gives me access to certain areas. When you go through certain things, you will discover a grace that you only get when you go through those things. And even though the thing is not what you would have chosen to go through, it is going to, I declare prophetically and biblically.

It is going to give you grace.

So that adversity is the access point by which the extra grace will be released by God. You will go through things in your life, and when you get through them, people will say how did you get through that, and you will only be able to say, I don't know. God gave me a grace for it. A grace for it. Shout like you know the shepherd, say I got a grace for it. Come on, tell your neighbor, I got a grace for it. I'm going through it, but I got a grace for it. And if I've got to

So if you're going.

Through something that you hadn't been through before, you're about to get a grace that you've never had before. I feel like preaching You're about to.

Receive an annointing overflowing like you've never known it before.

God'll feel you for this.

Elbow, your neighbors say, he'll feel me for this. This is an event. This is an event. This is an event. I'm getting through this. This is an event. I'm not living here. Don't put this as my permanent mailing address.

Your one Valley road.

Don't come visit me in the valley next December, because I'm going through this.

Yay.

Wow.

Yeah, I'm talking about the kind of grace that'll make you say yay as you go through the valley.

Somebody saw yay, got a freach one name. Yay. Nobody says yay when the bill's overdue.

Yay. That's crazy. David said, yay. I know it, manute a little different. Let's have some fun.

Come on, come on, come on, say yay. I wish you would confuse the devil this week. He's got you in the valley. You know when they.

Call you and tell you the bad news and you just say, hang on a second, mute, yay. You know how she broke up with you in October and you thought you'd spend.

The rest of your life alone. I want you to go back to October in your mind. Let God anoint your head with oil.

Change the way you think about that thing, and realize, if that was meant to me, it would be meant to be. If it was meant for me, it would be. But if it went away, it couldn't stay.

Somebody say yay shay, whoa.

I feel Jesus on this. I feel Jesus on this. Jesus got to the tomb of Lazarus. He said he's dead, and I'm glad. Somebody shall yay. Well, why would you be glad? Because these are his friends and he's about to show them something nobody else has ever seen.

I need you to get happy.

Not about the valley that you're going through, but about the grace of God that is coming to you.

Somebody shout yay, yay, yeah, yeah.

Whoo.

I'm not afraid because yeay yay.

Now I'm telling you this message is real to me. I was shouting like this at five forty five this morning. I was scared I was gonna wake the dog up and happy, said he pete on the couch.

I think I made the.

Dog Pius passed because I was walking around.

My living room at five forty five saying, yay, yay, yay goes.

That's so in tears, we'll reaping joy.

Yeah, I'm gonna get up now.

Yeah.

Yeah, this is today the Lord today in.

My shepherdsy so he enables me.

You can't minimize people's pain like this, pastor Steven. I'm not minimizing nothing. I'm just trying to reframe the way you see the rain. I'm trying to get you to rethink the leaves. Did you have somebody leave you? What if that's nourishment for.

Your next season in the soul of your life.

I said, I'm going through, but watch this I'm going through. Don't let what I'm going through fool you. I'm going through, but I'm not dry inside. I'm going through, but I'm not without a witness. I'm going through, but God is speaking with me. I'm walking through this valley, but I'm not walking through it by myself.

Yay, though I walk, I walk. You notice in the text in verse five, in verse five, is this good to y'all? The Lord said, ten people will love this message. Ten people will love this message. He said.

In verse five something was running and it was the coup. He said, my cup runneth over. But in verse four something was walking and that was you. Yay, though I walk, I walk, and the cup runs. I need y'all to help me today because my voice is a little bit weak, and I don't know what I was doing just now pushing it because all week, every day I was recording my book by audio and.

I did not hold back. I did not put my late night FMDJ voice on this thing.

This was not boys to men intros like tone level, voice level, This is no base in it.

I preach that thing all seventy thousand words.

Let me put an advertisement my new book, Do the New You, February thirteenth, everywhere Books are Souls pre order right now at dothanewu dot com.

Advertisement. And I did it.

I did it all week, and one thing I noticed when I was doing it, when I would rush, I would mess up because you want to get done, because you get tired of hearing yourself talk. How many of you'd like to hear yourself talk? It's not fun, okay, So I do this out of love for you. I don't like to hear myself talking more. You like to

The secret to getting through was to slow down. That's why I.

Said that wait on the Lord will walk. Yea though I walk, slow down. You're worried because you're trying to get there too fast. You're worried because you're trying to do it all in one day. You're worried because you're trying to keep up with people who are ten years.

Older than you.

You're worried because you're trying to keep up with people who are more messed up.

Than you are. They just hide it better. You're worried.

Because you're trying to take in all the information and the human history all in the same device at the same time. Slow down, shut down, and walk through the valid you want to get out of the valley. I understand well the way through it is to walk. When you run to something else to escape it, you don't become stronger through it. You can't run over if you don't go through. That's the paradox of provision. You can't run over and have wisdom to give others if you do not go through the weakness.

With God for yourself. That's what the season has been about.

The enemy has been lying to you, telling you that the valley, the shadow, and the enemies at the table represent the end for you.

They don't. None of those things do for you.

See there's a cast of characters in Psalm twenty three, including a valley, a shadow, and enemies.

Yay, though I walk through.

The valley of the shadow of death, I'll fear no evil, for thou art with me.

Thy rod and staff they come from me, aren't you glad? God has a rod.

The staff is how he brings me back. The rod is how he keeps everything away that threatened to devour me. I need both of those. So then sometimes he'll use an event to bring me back to him. Sometimes he'll use an event to keep a wolf away from me. But his identity is the lens through which I've view every event. In my life, not the other way around. Once I've decided he's the shepherd. That means I'm settled in this and my cup is running over? Well, where

Elvis had a.

Number one song on the chart the last time you said that. And then we have this misconception, don't we that the adversity that we're going through will prevent us from being blessed right now? And I think that's the thing I really wanted to put us. The core of this message is that it's one thing to say, when I get through this, then I will be happy, hole successful, reach there I will be when I get through this, I will be at peace, amount of.

Money I'll be secured, and you won't.

Because it's never there, he said out of their trial. In the midst of it welled up a rich generosity, and David said, my cup runs over at the table in the presence of my enemies in the shadow of the valley of death. I want to walk through all three of those very quickly. There are three symbols in this text of adversity. Each of them represent adversity. Number one is the valley. You're in the valley.

You're going through.

The valley you are going through. You will not live there. You will not live there, you will not die there. You will not move your kids and grandkids into that spot in the valley. That's why you're going through it. They won't have to go through it quite like you do.

I believe my.

Dad broke the spirit of suicide off of my life by not killing himself because his dad did so.

Number One, it's a valley, but I'm passing through.

My friend Brandon Lake was telling me a couple years ago he just wrote a song.

I said, was it good?

He said, that's just a song about the valley.

I said some advice.

Said yeah, valley represents hard things in our life. I said, Brandon Lake, you have to explain to me what a valley represents in the Bible. You think I'm an idiot. I went to cemetery seminary.

I know about the valley well.

A valley is a metaphor in the Bible, and it means any thing we.

Go through that we don't quite understand.

The low moments in a motion said man, I don't know what the valley is.

Same as I know what the valley is. Do I really do I really.

Hadn't gone through what some of you gone through. Do I really know the valley? Do I really know the shepherd? Until I've really known the valley? Can I really run over until I go through and go through and walk through. You don't get the cup full lying down? Did you notice the whole sermon will be you don't get the cup filled lining down? He said, He makes me lie down in green pastures, but then I had to get up and walk, and then he filled my cup.

You will go through this. You will go through through seasons where you're quite to your sanity. You will go through seasons.

Where you quote train up a child in the way that should go in when.

They're old, they won't depart from it. And you will go through.

Seasons of thinking, well, they're not going to get old, so I'm gonna kill them before they get old, and then they're going to depart from the earth.

And you will.

He said, there's a shadow in the valley, the valley of the shadow of death. You won't always see yourself correctly Jesus, correctly your situation or your next step.

Clearly.

All these people that always know everything God spoke all the time, check their medicine cabinet.

I'm gonna say stuff now, because you know.

What, when you're really in a valley and people are very mountain shouting cute stuff to you about it, and you're in the shadows and people are on their turning their iPhone light trying to tell.

You stuff, the valley has a shadow.

And in that place, listen to me, child of God, as you walk through that valley, as you moved through that shadow, he said, there's a table, and there's enemies.

But the Lord showed me something.

He said, all of those adversities are advertisements. For there to be a valley, there have to be two mountains. For there to be a valley, there has to be the mountain I came from, which is the last time God did it for me, and the mountain He's taken me to, which is my next testimony and my next level of effectiveness. The valley is advertising the next mountain. How about the shadow, which is advertising. For there to be a shadow, there must be a sun. Since I

Oh God, He's a very present help in the time of trouble. No weapon formed against me. I told you I wanted to preach.

Will prosper so if I've got an enemy, that means there's a table.

If there's a table, that means there's a cup.

And if there's a cup, it's about to overflow.

Somebody. I find somebody say, I'm running over. I gotta get to this table.

I'm running over. I gotta get to this miracle. I'm running over. I was scrolling the other day. I was watching something. I showed it to my kids. I said, isn't that great? They said, no, Dad, that's sponsored content. I said, what you mean sponsored? They said, right there, paid promotion. I said, no, this is a good video for fitness. They said no, he's trying to sell you a twelve week course for nine hundred and ninety eight dollars and some protein powder.

It's an AD. I said, it's an AD. They said, yes, an AD. That's not a class. That's an AD. He's just trying to get you. They hide it. They put it there where you can't see us. An AD hide it, you'll know it's an AD.

The devil puts suff in a shadow, an adversity, an extreme trial, a stubborn child, a breakup, a broken heart, something that causes you to think you're going to lose your mind. But you won't because the next time it happens, you're gonna pray.

God anoint my head with oil.

Show me how to see this in a different way.

Everybody puts your hands out like this. Put your hands out.

Like this, like you're ready to receive a running over blessing. Like you're ready to receive a running over blessing. All right, now, pray, Lord fill my cop Well, the Lord said, before I can fill your hands, I've got to fix your head.

He annoints my head with oil so I can see. Is this good to you?

The next time is a valley moment in your life. The next time it's a valley low in your emotion.

The next time you.

Go, oh, oh God, where's that come from? Realize it's an adversity and it's an advertisement. It means that this valley is pointing at another mountaintop experience that you will stand on and see God's goodness and proclaim his faithfulness to another generation. It's an ad The next time you see a shadow, realize there could not be a shadow if there were not a sun. So God, I thank you for the revelation that is ahead of me. And the next time you see enemies, get your napkin.

You're fork. This is the preachy side of the church. I'm on the wrong side of the church. The next time.

You see your enemies, the next time you see your adversary, I want you to see an advertisement that he would not be fighting you like this.

He would not be fighting you.

Oh yeah, we're gonna fight him.

We're gonna fight him, because he wouldn't be fighting me like this.

He wouldn't be fighting you like this. He wouldn't be fighting The Lord is my shepherd.

I so.

Na one, annoying her mind. Yeah, you over here, over here.

Annoying her mind, annoying her mind, annoying her mind.

I don't understand the emotionalism. I'm not going through anything. You better save this message on a book mark.

You better put this message on a favorite cous The miracle.

The miracle, if you really look back on.

It, it's not that I went through and then I was running over. It's that I was running over while I went through. And I don't know how, and I don't know how, and I don't know why he did it. But I want you to know about the grace God gave the Macedonian Church. I want you to know about the grace God gave me. When I think about him and how He got me through some of the things that looked at the time like the adversary had me it was advertising.

How could I get you to see it? That's what it's a product placement.

God wants you to know today that the thing you're going through is pointing to what you're going to be running over with. Oh God, Oh God, Oh God, I need you to fill me in the valley if.

I get through this. No, no, no, as I go through this.

Right here, right now, and the presence of an adversary does not mean the absence of the Lord. You just got to do it with anxious feelings. Yay, though I walk, you don't have to run. Your cup will.

Walk.

Why I got goodness and I got mercy.

If you have a Hallelujah, this is where it goes. O God and I God, nurse.

Man. God.

It's gonna help you get your mind right. He's gonna annoy your head with oil. I God, stay down like that.

I like that.

Yeah, just like that, like a worship, like a worship.

Yeah, the good sad bird leads me to the ward.

What's that next part seven, he annoys me. That's it, annoys me.

Lads, they.

Sing the next one. Chris, now my call? How many gotta running off?

Her heart?

Hes brothering, No, God, we're thankful today, Hovey, Yeah, I'm thankful.

Yay.

Hey, Tabo, I can see it, jee No, but I don't fear it.

Hobby Telfy twelve.

It's time smoothing, Holly small a little man.

Let's have some charts now, Holly, Yeah.

And I got Percy ays right there, right there.

This is what I pray for.

You lift your hands, annoyed their head with oil, Lord, to see the things in their way as opportunities for you to make them better.

Somebody say, annoy my head. Lord. That's where my real challenge is.

Is in believing you and trusting you and thinking like you think. God, I thank you for everything you brought into my life. God, I thank you even for the things that may leave my life, because I understand this valley is an advertisement, this shadow.

Is an advertisement.

These enemies are preparing a table for me to demonstrate your glory. God, I say the best part for last, Joe, look at me second Corinthians four sixteen, give you the heart of my message one more time. Therefore, we do not lose heart, though outwardly we are wasting away. I'm not trying to talk about your wrinkles and saggy this or that, or mine or either.

But I'm going through. But inwardly we are being renewed day by day, step by step.

I see you walking in confidence this week that He's with you, because the valley and the shadow and the enemies all conspire to advertise one thing.

He's with me. He's with me, and he is my shepherd.

And if he advertises himself as a good shepherd.

There's got to be grass. God is as advertised.

If he advertises himself as water, there will be a rock.

God is as advertised.

If he advertises himself as bread, you will.

Not go hungry. He is as advertised if he said I'm the great, I am whatever you need him to be. He is. I'm running over.

I know you can't see it right now, but I'm running over. I know I can't feel it all the time, but I'm running over. Might take my emotions a little while to get with the program and catch up, but God says, I'm running over now with your head bowed and your eyes closed that you've heard the message. I want you to say the title again. See if it feels different. I'm going through and I'm running over. You got what you need. Absolutely, you're going through. You follow through with this.

Father.

I never ever, ever like to make stuff up on the spot. I feel like for somebody in this room, if they don't give their life to you right now, this might be their last chance.

I pray right now for that person. God, as I lead into this moment of invitation, I want my whole church praying with me.

There is somebody who is in here right now who God has been speaking to and they have been running and today in this message, the Lord spoke to them and said it is time for you to give your life to Christ right now.

I want to pray for that person.

Those people there may be many, I don't know, but I want to pray right now. I want our entire church to agree with me and to pray out loud after me repeat this prayer.

It's not a magic prayers, not a magic pill.

But the Bible says that if you will confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart, God raised them from the dead. You will be saved and you will receive His grace. Right now, I'm calling you to Jesus to leave your sin, to leave your excuses, to leave your past, and to come into his arms. They're open wide in this moment. Repeat after me, Heavenly Father. I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and the savior of the world.

And today I make Jesus the lord of my life.

I believe he died that I would be forgiven and rose again to give me life.

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

If you prayed that with me, lift your hands on the count of three, one two degree every location, every location, put.

Among Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord. Praise the name of Jesus. Praise the name of Jesus. Going through. I'm going through, but I'm running over. Clap those hands. If you receive the word to them.

I love him. If you just prayed that prayer to give your life to Jesus Christ, please see someone at the tents on your way out. We don't want you to leave before we have the opportunity to give you a Bible. Pray with you. And celebrate your decision to follow Christ. Holly, join me on the stage. My love, your little rain lover. I got her love in rock music now everybody. She still thinks food fighters are better than Nirvana, But I'm working on him have his way.

Isn't God good?

I want your relationship with Jesus to change the way you go through your week.

I do. I want it to change the way you see your challenges.

I wanted to change the way you talk about yourself and the way you speak to others. I want it to change the way we drive in traffic. We are horrible in our cars, y'all. I want it to change the way you feel about uncertainty. I want it to change it.

Jesus changes every day everything.

Say it again, I'm going through, but I'm not alone.

I'm running over. Now. What you tell your neighbor?

You look so much better than you did an hour ago when he started preaching. You look full now. You look kind of empty of an hour ago, but you look full now. Hey, everybody, when we bring our offering next weekend, let's bring our best online Etham.

You be a part two. Let's bring our best. Let's honor daughter. You never go wrong putting God first. He will not be OutGiving everybody leaving. I understand. I ran over. That's right, I get it.

Grab hands repeat after me. The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. He leadeth me, He maketh me. He provides for me, and He is with me. Would you hug three people and tell him God is with you this week.

I'll see y'all soon. I love you.

Have the best week of your life. God is with you in the middle of it. Praise the Lord. Everybody, look at somebody say yay, yes's God be good.

I'll see y'all soon.

Thanks for joining us today. We pray that God has spoken to you in a unique and power way through the message.

Well.

We are in our year in offering season as a church where we get the opportunity to reflect back on all the ways that God has been faithful to our ministry this year, but also to look ahead at what we're believing God for in the upcoming year and each year as a church. We get to come around a special offering and offering that contributes to both outreach efforts in local and global cities and as well as the expansion of our ministry continuing to reach people all over

Our year end offering.

You'll see two options. The first is to begin tithing. Maybe you've been wanting to prioritize God in your finances, but you haven't taken that step to make a commitment to doing so. This is a great place to begin. Or perhaps you've been giving consistently in this season, God may be challenging you to stretch above and beyond the tithe to give a sacrificial gift to our year end offering.