I Wasn’t Left, I Lingered (Stephen Chandler)

which is kind of like my home region. So like a whole church all a Union church showed up, and I mean it was unbelievable. And I was in that atmosphere and I ain't gonna lie. I was bawling my eyes out. I was a complete mess. And I began to think in the Old Testament, every time God would do something amazing for people, they would grab stones and they would build an altar and they would worship in

that moment. And what that altar was for is as years went by, when they walked past those stones, their kids would act, Dad, mom, what are those stones about? And Dad would say, let me tell you about the time when our God parted the ocean in front of us. Let me about how that time when giants fell, because our God is also Here's the thought that crossed my mind. Here here in the New Testament Church, we don't stack stones,

but songs are almost like modern day altars. I promise you you have a worship song that's connected to a victory or a loss that you've experienced in your life. And when you hear that song, it brings you back to the place where God delivers you, where he covered you, where He kept you. And I was just thinking, I

am so grateful for this house. I'm so grateful for Pastor Stephen and Pastor and the songs that have come out of this house has carried me and hundreds and thousands of people closer to God through trials, through hardship, through setbacks. And it's because you have pastors that hear from God, that are humbled before the Lord and are leading according to the will of God. So is one more time? Can you put your hands together? Can you? Can you go nuts for your pastor? We love you,

Pastor Steve and Pastor Holly. All right, let's reach go ahead, grab your sea, grab your seat, turning your Bible to Luke Luke chapter two, Luke, chapter two, Verse forty one. I have with me the greatest thing that has ever happened to me on planet Earth, next to salvation, and that is my beautiful African clean side. Chandler is in the building, my beautiful wi y'all. Her birthday was on Friday.

She just can y'all shout happen birthday? Come on type it in the chat whatever campus you make her blush. I think they have a picture of my family. You can see how much we love each other because we got cheering. And I always feel bad showing this picture because it makes everybody feel bad because they realize that my family is more beautiful than theirs, and that's really mean and offensive. But you see the picture, it's true. Standing next to me is my beautiful daughter. Her name

is Zoe, she's five. On my lap is my twin, my homie, he's four. His name is Roman. And then holding my wife's holding our youngest are ten months old. She looks like an angel. She is a fallen angel. She does not know Jesus and she likes to remind us. At about three point thirty in the morning that she is a heathen. So pray for Jade Mariah that she would get some Jesus and some holy ghosts, or at least a little bit of sleep, so that we can

enjoy enjoy our rest. We're blessed, we're grateful. We're really blessed because we left them home, so we are in great sleep. Oh, before I appreach, y'all, I've got a book coming out. Come on now. It's called Stop Waiting for Permission, and I'm asking man, grab that book. It will change your life. One of my favorite verses in all of Scripture is Proverbs twenty five to two. Proverbs twenty five to two says it's the glory of God to conceal a matter, and it's the glory of kings

to reveal a matter. Here's how I interpret that verse. That God is hidden greatness inside of you. You may not realize this, but there's a genius inside of you. There's an anointing, there's a gifting, and God is hidden it inside. Why the hide it because if you find it without him, you'll abuse it. But when you find it in Him, you will realize that there's something inside of you that will transform this world. And that book

literally is a step by step guide. It really is what God, the journey God took me on of just thinking that I'm kind of a nobody and invisible in all this, and then realizing that there's so much that God has placed inside of me. So you could pre order that wherever books are sold. All right, we're done with a QVC commercial. Here we go, Luke, Chapter two, verse forty one. If you're ready for the words, somebody say, yeah,

come on, here we go. It says this his parents, and this is Jesus's parents, Mary and Joseph, went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the Passover. When he was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem according to the custom of the feast. When they had finished the days, as they returned, the boy, Jesus lingered, No, I need you to say lingered. Somebody say lingered, Come on, type it in the chat. Somebody say, lingered. It's the

whole message. Jesus lingered behind in Jerusalem, and Joseph and his mother did not know it, but supposing him to have been in the company, they went a day journey and sought him among their relatives and acquaintances. So when they did not find him. They returned to Jerusalem seeking him. Now I gotta pause because y'all not catching the tension in this passage. Y'all marry and Joseph lost God. Now I don't know how you are. Maybe you're one of

those people you don't lose anything. You know where your car keys are? Your wallet? All the time. I lose things, I lose car keys, I lose wallets, I lose children sometime, I have never lost God. Listen, you're panicking when you check your pockets and you realize God ain't there, says now. So it was that after three days that they found him in church. He was in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and

asking them questions. And all who heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers. So when they saw him, they were amazed. And his mother said to him, son, why have you why'd you put us through this? Why? Why get done this to us? Look, your father and I have sought you anxiously. And he said to them, Yo, you gotta understand he was God, but he was also twelve. He's like, what y'all looking for? He said, Why did you seek me? Did you not know that I must

be about my father's business. This is a moment where Mary had to decide do I grab them Messiah by his ear or do I just say yes Lord? But they did not They didn't know what he was. They'd understand this statement which he spoke to them. Let's pray, Father, God. We're grateful. God, We're grateful, and we don't take for granted your presence. God. You said, wherever two or three are gothered in your name, there you'll be also. God, there's two in this room. This to what every campus.

There's hundreds and thousands of people watching across the world. And God, you you wouldn't show up and not transform, and not speak and not heal. So God we say, have your way, and God, when you speak, we will obey. In Jesus' name, we pray. Somebody shout Amen. Amen. At the end of twenty twenty one, the last week of December, I've been doing this for years. I just took about a week off between Christmas in New Years and kind of just get some time away to pray, to plan

my next year and all that other good stuff. And this year it was different. I'm fasting and praying, I'm spending time with God, and God gave me a specific word for twenty twenty two. Now. It's not super deep or super spiritual, whatever is. I don't want to set you. Oh you got a prophecy. It just God just gave me a word. And before I give you that, you just got to understand. This doesn't happen to me often. I'm not the guy that has a word for every

single year. This is twenty nineteen the year of harvest, twenty twenty the year of abundance. Didn't see that come in twenty two. I'm just not the guy that gets a word every year. So this was just different for me. But I just felt this still small voice that God said. Twenty twenty two is the year of purpose. He says, Stephen, this is a year where you can't afford to waste a lot of time. This is a year where you

have to be intentional. You have to be focused, you have to know what I've called you to do, and you have to be about. Twenty twenty two is the year of no. Come on out, that says some of y'all. Free. No, I'm sorry, I can't make it. No I'm sorry. I can't do that. No, I'm sorry. I'm not even sorry.

Actually I won't be there. It's a year where God says if people would lock in on their calling, lock in on their purpose, would be intentional about their life, they would see a wind of favor sweep behind them. You'll see doors open that you didn't even know could open because you're not just living a happenstance life or let's see how it goes or what happens. But I'm locked in on who God's called me to be and

what He's called me to do. Somebody say purpose. There's nobody that's walked the planet that has lived a life of more purpose than Jesus. You've got to understand. Even before he was born, it was documented and prophesied the purpose on his life. The Bible says this in Luke, chapter one, verse thirty two. Talking about Jesus, it says, he will be great. Let's not even go any further. Can you imagine the pressure? Hey, no pressure, but you have to be great. If you're not great, your life

is a failure. He said he will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob's descendants. Watch this forever. His kingdom will never end. Now that's a great Bible, but that's a lot of pressure for a three year old. I mean, let's be real. You are the king of kings of Ludi Wars. You're taking over David's throne and your kingdom can never end. Could you imagine the pressure

that Jesus lived under? Could you imagine the focus, the intentionality. Can you imagine he couldn't say what everybody else was saying, He couldn't go where everybody else was going, He couldn't do whatever. Could you imagine being fourteen knowing that there's a cross in your future? Can you imagine the pressure of being the Messiah and having to pick a prom date? Now, you can't just go to problem with anybody like, there's

a calling on your life, there's purpose. You have to live with a focus and any No, here's the thing. We look at Jesus, we know he's the Missigh and we're like, well, of course he had to live with purpose because the whole world was counting on him. But what we don't realize is you have purpose as well, that God called you and knows you and has a specific,

unique purpose for you here on earth. The Bible says in Acts seventeen that God picts your city, he picked the time in the calendar that you would be born. He picts your family. He sets you up for the kingdom purpose that he has for you. There's even prophecy about you in Scripture and Jeremiah one to five. It says this, God says, I knew you, Steven. I like doing it. Can you just put your name in the Bible, say I knew you, whatever your name is, Gabe or whatever.

I knew you before you were formed within your mother's womb, before you were born. I sanctified. What does that mean? He said, I set you aside for special use. He said, you are appointed as my spokesperson to the world. Listen to me. There is purpose on your life. God said, before you were even born, I knew you. I called you. I planned you to have an impact on earth that nobody else could have. I know your parents told you that you were a surprise. They didn't see you come in.

But hear me, you were not a surprise to God. God had purpose for you before you knew you. Watch this, God had purpose for you before you made your biggest mistake. So many people, all we can see is the biggest moment of shame in our life. And we say, well, because of that, God can never use me. Watch this. God is all knowing, and he planned your purpose knowing that that mistake would be in your story. And yet he still said, I have purpose for you. He still said I want to use you in a way that

you will not even imagine. Somebody say, there's purpose on my life. Now here's the problem with purpose. The problem with purpose is I don't get to do what everybody else does. The problem with purpose is I can't go where everybody else goes. I can't say what everybody else says. And watch this, I have to go through some things that other people don't have to go through because they don't have the same purpose on their life. So I

have on my life. I'm a huge football fan. We're getting ready to go in a football season, and we like watching football on TV or high school games or whatever it may be. Before it gets to TV, before they get to the game, they have August, come on, how avery gonna play football? Back in the day, August there's the worst month of the year for a football player. Why because there's no games, there's no television, there's just

heat and practice. My football coach, he would say, Steven, go run this hill until I remember you exist and we are out there suffering. Not everybody is going through what we're going through, but not everybody gets to play what we play. Hear me, I know I'm not. I'm like, three minutes in my message. I don't want to tick you off or anything like that. So I'm gonna talk about myself and instead of talk about you, I'm gonna throw myself unto the bus and you could jump under

the bus with me. But I find myself complaining about how difficult life is. Sometimes the only bit I have to go through and it ain't up there pastor this church, and these people are crazy, you know what. I call it prayer time, But I'm actually I'm actually just complaining. And I feel like the Holy Spirit You've been jacked

up in your prayer time at some point. I feel like the Holy Spirit said, yes, you're going through things that other people don't have to go through, but I'm using you in a way that I'm not using other people. So do you want to be normal and unused or do you want to go through some difficult seasons but be used by God in a great way? Hear me? Some of you have been looking around at your life and saying, my siblings aren't going through the same drama

that I have to go through. My coworkers aren't running into the same setbacks. Why why? Here's why. Because you're cold, Because there's purpose, because there's destiny, because God's hand is on your life, because you're favored. Yeah, you're going through things that other people don't have to go through. But God's gonna use you in ways, and He's not using somebody. Shall I have purpose? I want to preach a message.

You may have thought that I was preaching. I haven't started preaching yet, but I want to preach the message today called I wasn't Left. I lingered. I wasn't left. I lingered. My sophomore year in college at the University of Maryland College Park, the greatest university on planet Earth. Fear the Turtle. It's like the worst mascot ever. But sophomore year in college, it was just I was running like a madman. I was taken to over twenty credits because I was trying to get out of school as

fast as possible. I was working for my dad's company, like twenty five hours. I was the student pastor at the church forty five minutes away, so I'm driving up to Maryland. So it was just kind of running racket. Plus I loved Jesus. What do you mean by that? I mean that my idea of college was not being drunk every Friday, laying in a bush on Root one on campus, wondering where my room key was. That just wasn't my idea of a college experience. And sophomore year,

I didn't have classes on Friday. So every Thursday night I'd jump in my car, i'd go to work. I'd go home, and I'd be at church leading worship over the weekend and all that kind of stuff that I'd come back Monday morning. And almost every single Monday morning, when I come back to my dorm, my roommates says Stephen Man, you missed a party. Man. This weekend was crazy. I mean, the party was lit, the cops showed up,

they were shooting rubber bullets. It was I don't know why every party in Maryland ended with rubber bullets from the like you. He's like, where where you? And it happened week after week, and he got so frustrated that I was missing all these parties, y'all. They staged an intervention, y'all. I walked in my door one Monday. There's a bunch of dudes that Steven, sit down. What's going on? So, Stephen, we're worried about you. You're you're missing out on the

college experience, You're missing out on life. And I'm like, I'm having a college experience. I'm can season. D's just like, y'all, I'm in the professor's office begging for seven percentage points. So I'm having a college experience. And he's like, no, no, no, He said, You'll never get to have this season of your life. He said. He got so mad. He said, Steven, this is you, and this is life passing you by.

He said, you're getting left behind. I think I ticked them off because I started laughing, and I don't think that's the response that he wanted. But I didn't know how to explain to him, Hey, my entire existence doesn't revolve around four years at this university. Like I'm glad that I'm here, and I'm gonna have a good time, and I'm actually having more fun than you think I am.

But I have purpose, I have focused. There's some I wanted to tell him my life is going somewhere, but that was a little bit ignorantcause then it would imply so I didn't. But I kind of did because I had seen something further ahead. I wasn't overwhelmed with the fact that I may have been missing out on what everybody thought that this moment was all about. Here's what I've discovered. People of purpose are not concerned about being left behind. There's this anks, there's this anxiety of men,

I gotta keep up with life. I gotta make sure that I'm relevant. I gotta make sure that I don't get left behind. But when you realize that there's a purpose on your life, being left behind is no longer your concern. And this passage, it says that Mary and Joseph went to Jerusalem for the Passover celebration. They were there for seven days, which lets us know that Mary and Joseph they were church folks, not church folks. They

were church folks. The religious law only required to beat them to be there for two days, so for them to have been there for seven days, they were like, oh, we going to church every time the doors are open. Seven days they would feast and they would worship, and then they would celebrate. And then the last day it says that they left, but Jesus lingered behind. Now, because we have all the scriptus, we're able to look at it. It's very easy to judge people in the Bible that,

come on, now, how do you lose God? Like, that's not that that just just keep an eye on God. But you gotta understand. Because it was such a long journey, they were probably traveling with aunts and uncles and cousins and grant, there's probably fifty to one hundred people they were traveling with. They probably just assumed, oh, Jesus is with his uncle, Jesus is with his aunt. And it wasn't until three days went back and Jesus didn't come to bathe, he didn't come to brush their teeth, he

didn't come asking for more money. That they're like, okay, there's a problem here. Three days they search all of Jerusalem and they find him sitting in a temple talking to adults rabbis and explaining scripture, debating theology, and Mary said, how could you do this time? And Jesus says a statement. He said, don't you know, I must be about my father's business. Here's what he was saying. He said, there's

a purpose on my life. You gotta understand. I'm a little ignorant, so I only see ignorant things in scripture. I feel like Jesus was saying, and making my mama happy is not the number one purpose in my life. You gotta see the awkwardness of this moment. He said, I must be about my father's business. And Joseph do we call him stepfather? Joseph was like, I've got no business. Jesus understood there's a call of God on my life, and everybody around me may not always understand it. But

that's not my problem. A problem is to be locked in on what God's called me. I'm gonna give you just three quick thoughts, three quick thoughts of how do I stay locked in on the purpose that God has for me? If you're taking notes, write this down. If you are not taking notes, write this down. First thing is this purpose cannot be left behind. Purpose cannot be left behind you. You may not realize it that they all live, but this anxiety of next, next, next, next, next,

what's gonna happen next? Where do I go next? What's my next opportunity? And that cycle started before you even realized it. You remember being twelve years old. Somebody's twelve. I am twelve right now. I remember being twelve. The only thing you can think about is I can't wait to be thirteen. I'm a teenager, I'm a teen. You go from twelve to thirteen, you realize that you are thirteen and powerless. Being thirteen is about as useless as

being twelve. Now, I can't wait to be sixteen because I'm gonna get a driver's license and I'm gonna get my freedom. And then you turn sixteen. You have a driver's license and a curfew. You realize sixteen ain't all that great. Can't wait to be eighteen because when I'm eighteen, I'm out of here. I'm going to college, no more curfew, I'm free. And you turn out to be eighteen and you have freedom and you're broke. All of a sudden,

you realize eighteen ain't all that great now. I was like, I can't wait to be twenty two because I'm gonna get out of college. I'm gonna get a job. You get out of college, you got a job, and you got bills, and you're still broke. Two. Ain't that great? Okay? Now I need to get married so I get somebody else to help me pay these bills. The only reason you get married. And then the second you get married, you sign that marriage certificate. The ink isn't even dry.

And that aunt, he's saying, so where the baby's at? Even made it to our honeymoon yet? And as soon as the babies come, then you want them to grow up. Can't wait till they leave? Wait, I thought you couldn't wait for them to come. And then as soon as they leave, when y'all gonna get married, And as soon as they get married, when you're gonna make me some grand babies. And it goes on and on and on and on. It doesn't matter where we are. We're always

looking at next. Come on, now, you you just got a promotion, and you're already thinking about what the next one is. You're making more money today than you've ever made in your life. But you can only obsess on the next thing that you can afford. It's next, It's next, and here's what we don't really. It's a prison that torments us, and then we beg an obsess over why I haven't I made it over there yet? Why hasn't this opportunity I was just thinking. This prison of next,

it's literally a jail cell that has four walls. One of the walls of that tormenting prison is the wall of delay. It's just this nauseous feeling of I should be further than I am right now. Man, If only I had taken that opportunity, if only I had that favor, if only this, if only that, and we end up obsessing over why we aren't where we should be. We feel delayed. Another wall of that prison is the wall that I call of denied. Man, that person turned me down,

I'd be further along. If they had hired me, I'd be further along. If they had opened that door, I'd be further along. They just didn't like me, and that's why I'm stuck here. Another wall of that prison next is the wall that I call destroyed. They had not been for that car accident, if I hadn't gone through that sickness, if that divorce hadn't taken place, if we hadn't gone through that pandemic. God still have my business

or whatever it. Maybe there's some event in my life that has kept me from the next that I think I deserve, and then the last, Well, I'm doing well, y'all, they're all d's. You see this. I put my work in today, delayed, denied, destroyed, and discouraged. I don't deserve next. I've made too many mistakes. I've blown it too badly up. I've messed us up. I've messed that up. I've messed

us up. I've messed that up. And we find ourselves in this prison of obsessing over where we think we should be instead of looking around and seeing, Wait, where am I right now? Hear me, elevation. If God has not moved you to a new season, it's because there's still miracles that are untapped in your current season. God hasn't opened the door for next. It's because there's more that He has in the now that he desires to do in your life. Hear me. There's miracles that are

waiting for you in July. There's miracles that are ahead of you in twenty twenty three. But June's still got some miracles in it. I'm telling you God still has some open doors that he's bringing in twenty twenty two. There are some things that God is looking to do in your life, somebody say now, But so often we're so obsessed over next we miss the fact that there's

a supernatural move of God in the now. People who don't realize that there's purpose on their life, they will actually leave the call of God just to stay relevant, just to feel like that. They will leave where God told them to be, just because I've found something that looks like it'll take me forward and move me where I want to go. People of purpose are not concerned about keeping up with the Joneses, but realize that if this is where God has me, there's something that he's

looking to do now. Ecclesiastpes. Three one says this to everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under the sun. If God hasn't opened the next door for you, it's because there's something that he's looking to do right now. As I was in college, I knew that God had called me to the ministry. I knew that this is what I was going to do for the rest of my life. I just didn't know what doors would open or how it would happen or whatever.

So I just started looking for jobs after college. Now now everyone's like, you know, what were you passionate about? What was your purpose? What were you going after? I was passionate about a paycheck. What industry were you called to? Whichever industry would pay me. I applied to every single company that showed up at that job fair, and I'm telling you in that interview, I was so passionate about what they were doing and building it with Oh I

loved it. I'm giving my life to this on my paycheck shows up on the first and the fifteenth, and I actually got a job that was and I'm not trying to put myself down, but if you see my GPA, you'll see he's telling the truth. That was beat on my resume like it was a miracle. I got a job from one of the top oil companies in America and they, I mean, the job was so sweet. The salary came with a signing bonus. I thought only athletes

got signing bonuses. I'm I'm looking at this paper like, Mama, we made I mean, biggest salary I've ever seen company cars say it was amazing. Only problem was I had to move to Louisiana. That's where the message is a little icky, because I could start trashing Louisiana right now and get a lot of emails and all that other good stuff. There's nothing wrong with Louisiana. I love Louisian I'm good friends, they're great food, cost of living is less than DC. The only problem is God told me

to stay in Maryland. The problem is the only Spiry said there's something I've called you to do here in Maryland, and I'm sitting and wrestling. I'm like, God, look at this job. I could tithe off of this job. You can always bribe God with money, right. I was like, clearly, this is the will of God. And the more I tried to pray my way into it, the more discontent I felt. And then I said, Okay, God, you told me to stay, Fine, I'll stay. Where's the other job

in Maryland with a comparable salary and my signing bonus? Silence? God didn't even say wait six months, He said nothing. Do you know how awkward it is turning down a job and you don't have a good reason. They literally said, tell us what the other their company offered you, and will beat their offer. They offered me half. You want half more? No, the job of taking is paying me half. They're like, this guy's not bright enough to hire. I'm glad we missed that. And I'm always in trouble. Is

it bad to say that God's annoying? It is? It is, I'll say it. You won't if he hits me with lightning. You're far enough away. Here's the annoying thing about God. And I say that with all reverence and all fear. He never gives you all the details. Steven, stay in Maryland, don't leave the state. Why Abram go to a land? What land? I'll show you? How do I know what I'm there? You know? I mean here eight years or twelve years later? How many of the years has been union,

church people, campuses and all that. Now it makes sense why he had me stay in Maryland. But back then, when when I say nothing was going on, It's just like and I realized that people of purpose are willing to be left behind just because God said I have something for you here. If I live in it, think so got to get to next, got to get to the next. God get I will find myself outside of the will of God. Here's what the Bible says in

Matthew chapter six, verse thirty four. Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don't get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes. I feel like God is saying through this verse, why are you so excited about tomorrow? It doesn't get easier because not like tomorrow's a cakewalk. I'll help you with tomorrow when we get till tomorrow. But there's a miracle that is still here today. Y'all

want to have some fun. Y'all ready to shout. I'm reading this passage and here's the thing that blows my mind. Jesus wasn't left he lingered. Here is Mary and Joseph feeling guilty that they lost God. They didn't lose him. He ditched them. He probably acted like he was in the caravan, and when they weren't looking, he slipped away.

Jesus wasn't left lingered. I find there's so many people that they live in this position of guilt, They live in this position of regret because there's an opportunity that you missed out on man, if I had just taken that job, if I had just moved to that city, if I had just done this, if I had just done that, man, I wish I could have that chance back.

I would do it differently. Three days into their journey, when they realized that Jesus wasn't with them, what did purpose to purpose turned around and it went back to get what it left because it realized, I can't go where I'm going without the person that God has called me to go there with. Here's what you need to understand elevation. When there's purpose on your life, your opportunity cannot leave you behind. And even if it does leave you behind, it's got to come back and get you

because God has called that for you. And when God says it's for you, it doesn't matter who says that it's not. Hear me. There's some opportunities that you missed out on that are gonna come back and find you. There's some open doors that you walk by ten years ago, and that door is gonna open again if it's the door that God has for you. There's some dreams that you've given up on, and I'm telling you, God's gonna

start stirring that dream in your heart again. Because when you're a person of purpose, somebody say I can't be left behind. Destiny has to come back and get you because it's the call of God in your left. The second thing is this, write this down, Write this down. Purpose leads you to learn. Purpose leads you to learn. Now, now here's the fun thing about preaching. Every time you preach,

your preaching to different people. Not everybody in the room has the same personality, the same place, all that other good stuff. So when people are shouting, everybody's shouting for a different reason. And when people are shouting, they're not shouting for a different reason. Now there's some of you that you're you're like me, You're just like moving forward. You're you're ambitious, you like kicking indoors. And then I'm telling you to get left behind, and you're like, I

don't know who these guy is. Bring back the real Stephen, this isn't black, And then I want to move forward. For some people that are shouting yeah, I don't mind being left behind, You're not shouting yeah out of faith. You're shouting yeah out of complacency. They're not gonna like me after this one because being left behind is different than hanging behind. And it's one thing to say I don't need more to define me. It's a completely different thing to say I don't want more. See, there's a

major difference between complacency and contentment. Contentment is the next promotion doesn't define me. I'm defined in Christ and I am complete and satisfied in who I am today. But I will take that next promotion and when that door opens. Complacency is I don't want anything else out of life. And hear me, complacency is not of God. Psalm says this. He said, asks me, and I will give you the

nations as your inheritance. If I did not withhold my son, how much more will I not freely give you all things? God has more for you. So if I've been left behind, if doors aren't opening, if if I'm in a season of waiting, it's not a season of complacency, it's a season of God. What are you looking to do in this season? How can I maximize this season until next comes? And here's what Jesus did. Jesus learned. Jesus didn't just hang back and you know, just just eat food and

hang out. No, no no, no, no, Jesus went to the temple and he began to learn from the rabbis. He began to debate, He began to unpack scripture. He began to learn and develop himself. Hear me, if next hasn't come, there's something that God's trying to teach you in the now, if a new opportunity, if a door hasn't opened up in front of you, there's something that God is trying to unpack in your life right now. If there's something that you want, you don't have it, Ask God, what

do I need to learn? What revelation am I missing? What Kingdom purpose in this area? Have I not been made aware of? What am I not seeing here? That You're trying to show me? And help me see it? Because as soon as I see it, I can get to where I need to go. If God's left you behind, it's because He's trying to teach you something where you are. I should stay out of trouble right not I like too. Let's just let's just go right up to the edge.

We all were locked down in this pandemic for twelve months, twenty four months, or whatever it may be. Here's what happened. Some people sat, and some people grew. Some people sat in their house and twiddled their thumbs and did nothing. Other people said, well, since I can't get on the plane and I can't go all these wis God, what is it that you're trying to do in me? What are you trying to develop in me? What are you trying to heal me off? What are you trying to

grow me in? God? Since I got a halftime on my life, let me use this time to grow so that when the doors finally do open back up, I'm not the same person that went in. And now that things are opening up, we're beginning to see not everybody spent the last three years the same way. I can either sit and complain about what opportunities are not coming my way, or, like I said, God, you're trying to do something in this moment, and you gotta catch this picture.

There's a twelve year old kid sitting with grown men. These were the educated of the land, These were the most learned of the land. And he was holding his own Why Because purpose will always put you in rooms that are above your head. And when purpose puts you in a room that's above your head, you have two choices. You could either let insecurity overwhelm you, or you could say God has me here because he's trying to teach me something. I got to learn something, I gotta see

something because he's trying to take me somewhere. I remember about eight years ago, I was at a pastor's round table at one of the largest churches in America, probably about sixteen pastors, and I'm telling you, look around these table, and it was like the up and coming who's who. This guy got four thousand people in his church. This guy got ten thousand, this guy got six thousand, this guy got eight thousands. I had two hundred fifty people. You ever, you know one of these things are not

like the other. I missed half of the round table because I'm just trying to figure out why I was there. And I'm sitting at this table, and y'all they were talking about concepts that I didn't even know existed. Even in a position where people are answering questions that you're not even smart enough to ask, they're sitting there talk about Yeah, we're going going, We're gona build this campus. There's gonna be twenty million dollars, and we're building this

location that's thirty million dollars and fifty million dollars. And I just needed three hundred bucks to make the payment on the church's copy machine so the church's coffee machine didn't get repossessed. And I'm just like, I'm grabbing for twenty million dollars, bilding, But how do I get three hundred dollars so I could pay this copy machine bill so that we could keep on printing all the bulletins that we can hang on people as they walked to

the door. Can somebody answer that question? They got to this one moment in the round table. We're saying, you need to understand the demonic principalities of your city and begin in per circles around the demonic principalities of your city. And when you bind those principalities, you will be able to see growth from if your church, I said, princip Prince, Prince, Prince, Prince, I got a demon in my sound system. How do you catch how do you cast that out? How do

you make the feedback stop? But y'all, I'm sitting in that room and over three days I took eight pages of notes, no exactly. For the next three years, I just applied, applied, applied, applied, applied, applied, applied, And next thing you know, hundreds are coming, thousands are coming, Revival breaks out. I learned what a principality was. I start prayer marching instead of obsessing how everybody around tell me was ahead of me. I realized that we're not in

a competition. This is not a race. I have my calling, you have yours. I have my purpose, you have yours. Your success doesn't intimidate me. Your success inspires me, because if God can do it through you, then God can do it through me. So I know you're ahead of me, But do you mind just pausing for one second and teach me something You've got to teach me much, Just teach me. I promise you I'll apply it. Last thing? Is this right? This time? Right? Just down right? Next end?

All right? That isn't even the best part. Number three. Purpose doesn't take things personally. I wanted to say purpose doesn't get offended, but I didn't. I said this. Luke two forty says this. So when they saw him, they were amazed. And his mother said to him, son, why have you done this to us? Look your father who's standing here, and won't say a word. You ever noticed how Joseph never speaks Your father and I have sought you. Here's what Mary, she said, Jesus, why did you put

us through this? It says Mary, was when they walked in. Obviously it's church. They're not gonna interrupt. They're watching from the side for a moment, and they see Jesus going back and forth with the rabbis, and he is holding his own It says Mary was amazed. Here's a problem with having purpose on your life. People who don't have purpose will be amazed at God's hand on your life and offended by it at the same time. Wow, it's amazing in what God is doing through you, but you've

forgotten who you are. Well, look at the doors that are opening up. Don't get a big head now, Wow, look at your family, Look at the peace, Look at the joy. I wish I had a family like that. But you think you're better than us. People who don't have purpose are always offended by those who do. Here's the problem. If I'm a people pleaser and the purpose on my life is offensive to others, I will always live an apologetic life instead of a boldness of who God's called me to be Jesus said, Mom, is not

about you. I'm not trying to cause you anxiety. I'm not trying to cause you for I'm not trying to do it. No, no no, no, no no, no no. This is because that's my father's I'm trying to set you up that if you're gonna live a life of purpose, you're gonna have to be okay with some awkward encounters. You're gonna people go coming in, Hey, hey, hey, I got this business opportunity. We gotta go fifty to fifty. I'll put in half to We'll triple our money in the

next six months. We gotta do it. You got the money? M h. Are you doing something else with it? M? Do you think this is gonna work? M hm? And you're still not gonna do it? You don't think I'm good at what? You don't like you? No, that's not what God told me to do. No, he has something else for me. I can't even explain it more than that because he hasn't really give me all the information. But there's a different purpose of my life. Hey call a sinophorees. Hey we should day. M Do you like me?

You think I'm attractive? Do you have any other options, HM, then what's the problem. You're not who God promised to me. Living a life of purpose is awkward. If you're a person that likes every dead body to be happy with you, you will compromise on your purpose. But if you live a life like Jesus lived. I love my mother and I want her to be happy, but that's not the

primary purpose of my life. I love my kids and I want them to be great men and women of God, but not the totality of the purpose of my life. I like when people like me, but it's not the purpose of my life. I'm like everybody else. I love promotion, I love new titles, but that's not my purpose. A purpose is to hear well done, that good and faithful servant. When you make a decision, I'm gonna live a life to fulfill why he placed me here on earth. You're gonna see a peace of joy and a purpose that

you never thought possible. Father God, we're grateful. God, We're thankful. God out of billions of people, got you know us, You called us, you set us apart, You put purpose on our life. Right where you're sitting watching online, whatever location that you're at can you can you pray this perth me say, Holy Spirit, what are you saying to me? And just give God a moment to make this message personal to you. Maybe you're all stressed out about an

opportunity that you're missing. God says you haven't missed anything. Maybe you're complacent in God's saying it's time to learn. Maybe you're worried about who doesn't like you or who's not pleased with your decisions, and God says it's not about that. Or maybe if you'd be honest, you would say, Pastor, I don't know this God that you're talking about, that you say has a purpose for my life. Here's a reality.

There's a great purpose for your life. But you will never discover that purpose until you discover the God of purpose, because your greatest existence is only in the palm of His hand. Wherever you find yourself. You say, Pastor, I can't say that I know God the way that you're talking about, but I want to know this God who loves me and knows me and has a purpose for my life. You can make that decision right where you are not going to have you raise your hand or

type in the chat or anything like that. But write where you are. Just pray this perth me say, Father God, thank you for seeing me, for wanting me, thank you for sending your son Jesus to die on the cross so that all my mistakes, all my sin can be raised. Today. Right now, I surrender, I give you all of me. Be my Lord, be my savior, and use me for your glory in Jesus' name. Amen and amen and amen. Hey, can you celebrate for every single person that made the

greatest decision ever? Well, if you enjoyed today's podcast, there are a couple of things I'd love for you to do. Make sure to subscribe, rate, and review this podcast. You can also help us reach others by investing today at Elevationchurch dot org, slash give and thanks again for joining us on the Elevation Podcast