Is There Anything I Can Do For You? (Chad Veach)

Hey, this is Stephen Ferdick.

I'm the pastor of Elevation Church and this is our podcast. I wanted to thank you for joining us today.

Hope this inspires you. Hope it builds your faith.

Hope it gives your perspective to see God is moving.

In your life. Enjoy the message. Anybody happy to be in church today?

When I was growing up, my parents used to always quote that scripture. I was glad when they said, unto me, let us go to the wood, to the house of the Lord. And I'm just so thankful to be an Elevation. Do you love your church today? Do you love your pastors today? I'm a preacher just the moment. But and again I want to just say I reiterate Pastor JJ

Let's pray, Let's come.

On, let's really stir off faith to help those that are in need right now. The devastations overwhelming, and what an opportunity. I see it as an opportunity for the church to step up and be what we're called to be. A men and so I love your church and I love your pastors, and I got to.

Be with them.

I live in Los Angeles and the tour Elevation Worship Nights came through Los Angeles, California. I gotta tell you, LA wasn't ready for Pastor Steven. They weren't ready for him. And I have never been to a concert where every single song that they sang when they started it, I was like.

Oh, this is my favorite one.

This is my favorite one, This is my favorite Then they sing another one. I'm like, Oh, put this one right here, because I got memories with these songs. I've been through some things with these songs. I cried in my part of these songs. Come on, clap and give honor.

We're honoring to.

Do if you're grateful for the cycle bye of Elevation Church and Pastor Stephen.

And Holly.

And we're we're we're called. We're called to give honor where honor is due. You know how sometimes the rent is due. Today I feel like the honor is due, and Pastor Stephen is a gift not just to Charlotte and the Elevation but to the world.

To the Body of Christ.

And I say, right, now just as he's resting today, I say we pray for him right now, just as a church, you know, just a hedge of protection over his family, that the blessing of God would be all over his home and his life. And Pastor Hawley the same. Come on, church, let's just pray for Pastor Stephen right now. Father, we declare in the name of Jesus, your goodness and your mercy will follow them all the days of their life.

Yay.

My wife and I just celebrated sixteen years of marriage. She is blessed. Come on, we have four children. We're about to be in the odds. I'm about to have thirteen, eleven, nine and seven. We like a rock band. We put them out every two years. But I stopped that years ago. I said, oh no more. I told my wife we would have been good with two. We would have dominated two kids, but we had two too many. They're dominating us now. But God has been so good to us.

But just to believe is not that fun.

But the adventure of a lifetime to me is when you say yes to following Jesus.

You never know where He's going to take your life.

You never know what God's going to do in you, and you never know what God's going to do through you. And so I want to talk today as you discover, as you walk with God, you discover what has He gifted you to do on this earth?

What is He placed in your life. The more I follow Jesus, the.

More I discover my gifting, my talents, my unique makeup to go make a difference in the world. Look here Romans, Chapter twelve, verse four. I love these scriptures as Paul He's writing for by the grace given to me. I say to every one of you, do not think of yourself more highly than you ought to. That's a word for cowboy fans. Come on, somebody, helle lojah. I felt the Holy Ghost when I said it too. I felt the Holy Ghost when I said it. I was like, who is it for?

Bam? Cowboy fans. Cowboy fans are so cute. Y'all are cute. Y'all are cute because every year.

I let me preest a word, okay, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you.

For just as each of.

Us has one body with many members, as these members do not all have the same function. So in Christ, we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. You know what I love about seeing that video about what we're doing to help, is that we need Samaritans, purse, we need convoy of hope, we need elevation church.

Come on, anybody, thankful. We're just playing our part in a really big thing. Verse six.

We have different gifts according to the grace given to.

Each of us.

If your gift is prophesigned, then prophesie in accordance with your faith. If it is serving, then serve. If it is teaching, then teach. If it is to encourage, then give encouragement. If it is giving, then give generously. If it is to lead, do it diligently. If it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully. Love must be sincere hate what is evil, cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in love, Honor one another above yourselves, never be lacking in zeal but keep your spiritual fervor

See?

I know how much God has done for me. I know what God has done in my life. God pulled me out of a pit, set my feet upon a rock, put a new song in my mouth. I don't know about you, but I was dead, but now I'm alive. I was blind, but now I see. Come on, anybody thankful today for what Jesus has done? Has God been good to anybody here today? Come on, give him a better praise than that. If you believe God is good, God, God like to say this way. God has been better

That I could do for you?

Because I know your faith fulness, I know you're healing power, I know what you've.

Done for me. But I just want to just pause for a second and say, Lord, is there anything that this? Is there anything that.

I could potentially possibly do for you? When we moved to LA we left Seattle, Washington to move to Los Angeles. We got we got out of Egypt, y'all, and so it rained too much up there. So when we moved down, we had two kids in those days, just two of them, and we were driving down. We didn't we didn't have a staff, we didn't have an office, we didn't have we didn't have a house.

We found our house.

We were on I five in Sacramento and my wife was looking on Craigelist for a place to live, and so we found it. But we were in Sacramento, so we still had a long drive. So we sent a friend to go check out the house the neighborhood. She couldn't get in, but she could check out the house. She said, the neighborhood's fine, So we said yes to the house. We got the home on Craigslist. We rented a house to go plant the church while we were there.

We need the money. Holley lujah.

Yes. And what I remember about this girl from New Zealand when we planned a church and she helped us, there was eleven people that started in our living room. Started this church is O Way Church in LA. And what I remember about this girl the most is that she would go to everybody in the church and she'd always ask if she could help, like, may.

Yeah, can I help you? Mat see anything I could do? Mate? Yeah?

Shock mock blue yeah, Mike, good on you. But I remember that's what I remember. Is there anything that I could do to help? This is like me and my house with my wife. My wife runs our home, she runs our house. She is the boss at our house. I don't have a clue what's going on. So I just every day breakfast, lest your dinner. I'm like, can I do Can I help? Is there any do you need? Can I do anything to help? She said the other day,

They are.

They are mesmerized by their talent. They are mesmerized by their ability. Vanity of vanities. Look at how awesome I am. Look at how great I am, Look at the business I can build, Look at the songs I can write. No, I want to encourage you today. Don't fall in love with your gift, fall in love with your God, says Romans Chapter one. Romans Chapter one says they started to

Don't fall in love with your gift, fall in love with your God.

Where are the loud people at Let me just hear you if you're loud. Hey, they were waiting, weren't they loud? People can't wait to be loud. They just excited, like they just wake up loud. I'm half Mexican. Any Latins in the house, I'm underlies. Hey guess now that's end the Hons. God does not make quiet Latins. This is impossible. We come out the womb loud like Labama, Mama. We just bought us. Look us forever, Hans. That's the way God made you. Where are the quiet people?

At?

Quiet people don't even like to raise their hand. That's the way God made you, and we need you.

To be you.

Walk confident in your calling, walk confident in your grace.

But don't fall in love with your grace. Don't fall in love with your gift. Fall in love with your maker. Fall in love with your creator.

Fall in love with your savior, fall in love with his presence. Oh, come on clap today if you want to love God more than you love yourself. There's a story in Daniel, chapter four of King nebuk nez King nebuk Nezzer. One day he walks out on his roof and he's out on the on the on the rooftop and he's walking around.

He's like, dang, you look at me, am I not amazing?

Look at look at what I've look at what I've created. Around somebody that's so impressed with himself. You ever be around somebody that's just like, Wow, you're still talking about you.

That's crazy. Wow.

Hold on, let me just you drop that name. Let me give it back to you. Just real, sorry, you just there's another one. King Nabucanza's walking on the palace, so he's like, wow, look at me, look at what I've done.

Is Danis chapter four. Well, you can't make this up. This's in the Bible Dange four, verse twenty nine.

Twelve months later, he was taking a walk on the flat roof of the World Palace in Babylon. As he looked out across the city, he said, look at this great city of Babylon. By my own mighty power, I have built this beautiful city as my row residence to display my majestic splendor. So you gotta be careful, because if you don't give glory to God, You're gonna give

See what God can do through you.

And and the thing about pride is the moment you stopped thinking that you have pride is when you're really gonna mess up. A couple of years ago, I was in Atlanta, Georgia, and I was preaching that passion City church for Pastor Louis Giglio, and I love Pastor Louis.

He is like he is the Steve Jobs of Christianity.

And so we had this great night at church, and we went out to dinner afterwards, and and we were at the valet waiting for the cars to pull up, and as we're about to leave each other, he passed. Louis got really close to me, like like up in my face, and he and he and he says to me, hey, I want you to and he's like right here, and I was like, I want you to. And he starts telling me about going low. I want you to go low. I want you to be a man of humility, a

It didn't matter. I would have been.

Like, like, he's looking into my soul. So he's in my face and he's like, let's go low, let's let's be humble. And I'm like, you know Christians where they put on the Christian face. I'm just thinking, like, buddy, you better back up. So he's up in my face.

He's a go lo.

So he gave you know, he five ten minutes and then you know, and we part our ways. And about two three months later, I was in Atlanta and I text Pastor Louis, hey, let's get breakfast tomorrow. So we met up and we had two three hour long breakfast. We had the best time. And we're leaving and we're waiting for our ubers outside and he gets up in my grill and he goes, hey, I want to say something to you, and he goes, I want us And I almost said, let me guess, go low, but I

That one messed up. Samson.

Samson just just like, oh, man, long hair, don't care.

You know, I'm good. Come on, man.

Delilah's like, Sammy, sam.

They're here again.

He's like, oh, sugar, you know how I roll, man, I'll take care of it again. He didn't know what cost him his life this time. See, my problem is we fall so much in love with talent, so much in love with gifts. We're gonna live off gifting, live off talent, and we're gonna stop being dependent upon the grace and the provision. And come on, I don't know about you, but I'm not too powered to beg for the mercy and the goodness and the grace of my God. I need him. I need his daily bread today. I

Not falling in love and living on my gif I'm living for the glory of the living God, the one that died for me, the one that rose from me, the one that called my name.

Give them a praise today. If you want to live for God and now yourself, you be careful with that prideful spirit. You be careful with that worldly spirit. In a narcissistic society, narcissism wins, but not in kingdom culture. Jesus said, the first are gonna be last, and the last are.

Gonna be first.

He said, the greatest of all of them is the servant of all of them. You want to know who I use. I don't use rock stars. I don't use people that puff themselves up. I use people that go low. I use people that humble themselves and said, I ain't nothing without your grace and less you bless me unless you touch me, unless you raise me.

Give them a praise today.

If you're thankful for the love of Jesus in your life, you be careful. You be careful about pride. Watch this, put it on the screen. Watch what pride does. Pride is a sinful, arrogant, haughty, self reliant attitude. Or spirit that causes a person to have an inflated.

Or puffed up view of themselves.

Those who are proud think of themselves as better than others and look down on others with contempt.

See the problem with pride is pride is.

The only disease that makes everybody else sick besides the person that has it. Pride can be recognized in others and cannot be seen in yourself.

I got on that plant, Say who are you talking to? Going low? Who are you talking to?

Going low? Lord said, I'm talking to you, Homi. It's a sinful, arrogant, conceited, puffed up Am I not awesome? Am I not amazing? I don't know how to tell you this. Yeah, man, we saw you. But we're not impressed with gifting. We're impressed with the one that told the sun to get up this morning. I'm impressed with the one that owns a cattle on a thousand hills. I'm impressed with the one that the earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof.

Don't you fall in love with gift? Look at the contrast. Watch humility. Humility is so beautiful.

Humility is seeing ourselves as we truly are fallen in sin and helpless without God. Humility is often characterized as genuine gratitude, a lack of arrogance, and a modest view of oneself. I like to think of it as an accurate view of self. Humility is not thinking less of myself. It's thinking less about myself. Humility has that see pride. Pride walks into a room and goes here, I am. Humility walks into the room and goes there, you are. Humility walks in the room and says, I got something

Do for you? Don't fall in love with your gift.

I'd rather fall in love with God, the one that gave me these gifts.

Right down number two. I love this.

Your gift and God's mission go hand in hand. Your gift, whatever God has gifted you to do whatever, whatever it is, whatever God has gifted you to do. And by the way, I'm not concerned whether you have one, two, or five, because all of us are trying to turn our two into four and our five into ten, or are one into two. It doesn't matter how many gifts you God are your talents. None are better than each other. I'm just telling you, though, When you take your gift and

God has something for you to do on this earth. I think this is right.

Why Pastor Rick Warren's book The Purpose Driven Life did so well because all of us want to wake up with meaning. We want to wake up with purpose. We want to discover God. Why do I exist on this earth? You were created in Christ Jesus for good works. God prepared something for you to do to help the Body of Christ to help the Church of the Living God. You want created to sit on the sideline. God has called you to get into the game. You got to fight the good fight. You got to finish the race.

You got to.

Become who God has called you to become. And when you put your gift back in God's hands. It's an old, cheesy saying. I found this one because I heard it when I was a kid. This this one is called it depends on whose hands it's in.

I love this one. It depends on whose hands it's in.

A basketball in my hands is worth about twenty five dollars. When I read that, I thought, you don't shop at Dick Sporting good and you don't know inflation. Let's go forty five dollars. But a basketball in Lebron James hands is worth about seventy five million dollars. It depends on whose hands it's in. A baseball in my hands is worth about eight dollars. Again, let's go back to Dick

It depends on whose hands it is in.

A rod in my hands will keep away a wild animal, but a rod in Moses's hands will part of a mighty red sea.

It depends on whose hands is in.

A slingshot in my hands is a kid's toy, but a sling shot in David's hands is a mighty weapon. It depends on whose hands it's in. A two fish and five loaves of bread in my hands is a couple of fish sandwiches, But two fish and five loaves of bread in Jesus' hands will feed five thousand people. It depends on whose hands is in. Come on, clap elevation. I'm putting my life back into his hands. Whoever wants to save his life must lose his life, totain your soul.

You gotta lose the world. Come on, give your gift.

GIF, you're calling, GIF, you're anointing, Give your talent and put it back into his hands. So many of us are frustrated because it's in our hands. It's in our hands. My Bible says, it's not by power, and it's not by might, but it's by my spirit, says the Lord. I'm not living off my talent or my gifting or my own intellect. I'm telling you, in your own strength, you can build a business, but you put your talent in God's hand.

You could build the Kingdom of God. In your own hands.

You might be able to build a family, but you put your life into God's hands, and you can build a legacy for a thousand generations. And your own strength, you might be able to make some money. But in God's strength you depend on him. He'll be able to bless people in North Carolina. He'll be able to bless people all over America and all over the world. It depends on whose hands it's in. Some of us are like, uh, well, you know, I don't know. I don't know if I

It is in heaven. Do you understand the difference.

It's pivoting, and instead of asking what God can do for me today, I start to ask, Lord, is there anything I can do for you today?

Hey? Write that down number three? Is that? Ask not what God can do for you?

Ask what you can do for God? Anybody today? Come on, be honest, anybody today. You need a miracle today. Let me just see your hand. You need a miracle? I got both my hands up. But you know the Bible says that before you ever say a prayer, God already knows.

What you need.

And if he could take care of grass and he can take care of birds, how much more can he take care of you?

So one thing about God, we know.

He's gonna be faithful, he's gonna be consistent, he's gonna be true. And so instead of I don't need to ask God for anything today because I know He's gonna take care of me my whole life. You ever sing that song I love the C. C. Wins version? You ever sing that song? All my life? You have been faithful? Don't you love that one?

I love you?

Never see anybody sing that song deadpan? All my life? You have been faithful all my life. You have been so so good.

You see people sing this song. Oh they sing this song because you're like this.

If I could sing right now like pastor Steven, I will be hitting those notes right now.

But he didn't give me that talent.

When you think about all my life, you have been so so.

Good to me.

Your goodness is running after it's running after me, and I know you're going to continue to be faithful. So I don't even need to ask today what Because my whole life you've shocked me and surprised me with your blessing.

Come on, let's be honest.

You didn't even get this far in your prayers, did you. You didn't even get this far in your dreams because God had a better plan. So I don't need to ask God what he could do for me today. I'm asking God, is there anything I could do for you? Is there anything I could for you? Is there anything?

Lord? I just want to say, Lord, is there? It reminds me of this lady.

She sneaks up on Jesus at a dinner party, and she is so grateful for her sins to be forgiven that she sneaks up and she starts to pour out her worship.

Look here at Luke seven.

I love this scripture right here put on the screen verse thirty seven. A woman in that town who lived a sinful life learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisees house.

So she came there with an alabaster jar of perfume.

As she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair and kissed them and poured perfume on them.

She's not asking Jesus for anything.

Jesus, Lord, is there anything I could do for you? You've blessed me, You forgave me my debt, you healed my body, You've been good to my family. She's pouring out her worship. I'd rather be in that place than the one that's saying I need you to hook me up today. We should just turned the tables. God has been so good. Why don't we just say?

Lord? Is there anything? God? Is there? Is there anything I can do for you?

One of my favorite stories about Jesus is he sends these two guys into the town right before he dies on the cross. He says, go into the town and there's gonna be a guy in town that has a donkey, and just tell the man the Lord has need of it and he'll know and and and bring it back.

And so two of the disciples going to town.

Could you imagine having the job of these two disciples they go, they're just going in town. They're just knocking on doors, you know, they finally see the God and they're like, hey, yeah.

We're team Jesus, and uh, hey, bro, don't get mad at us. We just you know, we just messengers.

Uh yeah, the the Lord needs your donkey, bro, don't be mad at us. The Lord needs your donkey. And and sure enough the guy has a donkey and he gladly offers it up. Whenever I read that story, my imagination goes, I wonder if that morning that man got up this morning and that morning I just said, Lord, is there anything in my stable? Is there anything in my home? Is there anything in my life that you could you could use?

See? The Lord knew go to that guy.

Maybe maybe other people will say no, Maybe other people will turn your way. May maybe other people are too selfish, maybe other people are too self centered. But this guy, I know, he'll give it up. Let's just get some cultural context. That was not a donkey in his day. That was like asking for a cybertruck. This was his best. And they said, the Lord has need of it. The Lord hath needed need of your donkey, And he said, oh, it's yours.

See.

I wonder today what God could tap into in your life because he needs it. Here's somebody in your neighborhood, there's somebody in your family, there's somebody in your life.

They need your gift.

They need your talent, they need your anointing, they need your grace, they need your voice, they need your testimony. They need what you've gone through, and it will. The Lord has need of it. The Lord has need of your time. The Lord has need of your treasure. The Lord has need of your talent. And what can we do for the glory of the Living God? Have we just asked the Lord today?

Lord? Is there anything that I can do for you? Hey?

Man, last thing today, Worship team, you can come join me. Number four write is down. Free yourself from comparison and jealousy. Free yourself, Give free today. What do they say about comparison? Comparison is the thief of joy. By the way, when you get to heaven, you will not be held accountable for what other people do. You'll be held accountable for you. And when I stand before my Maker, That's why I love proverbs for proverbs for says, do not look to

Enter into the joy, and enter into the rest of your Master.

You did fight the good fight, and you did finish your race. And you were faithful, and you were humble. And we're thankful for what we put in you. You have the gift of prophesie, and you prophesied with faithfulness. You had the gift to give, and you gave with faithfulness. You have the gift of serving, and you serve with all humility. I don't know about you, but this world is not my home. I'm a citizen of a greater place. And when I die, I'm gonna die empty. I'm gonna

I did not live for the lust to the flesh.

And the pride of life and the lust of the eyes.

I live for the glory of the Living God. Oh, come on, give them a place. Is there anything that.

I can do for you?

Stay standing? Stay standing? Is there anything I can do for you? God? I know I'm not I know I'm not a Bible expert. I know i'm not the smartest.

I know i'm not the most talented, and they look more talented than me. But I'll tell you, God, I came into this world with nothing. That I'm leaving with nothing. As for me. In my house, we will serve the Lord blessed to be the name of my God. I got nothing without you, Jesus. You're all I've ever had.

Come on, clap today.

You're all I've ever had. You're all i've ever needed. You're all I've ever wanted. As a deer paying it for the water brooks, So my soul.

Longs for you.

God.

I'm just telling you.

I'm telling you you ain't living till you start giving. You ain't living till you start dying. Come on, I'm dead. I'm dead to this world. Baba, says Glatians too. I have been crucified with Christ. I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I that live, but it's Christ that lives through me and the life that I come on, somebody now live. I live by faith in the Son of God, who gave his life as a ransom for me and I can't believe. I can't believe he called

In your mouth?

He didn't give you all that grace and all that talent so you can make money, so you can make a platform, so you could live for the glory of you. See what God could do through you? Ask not what God can do for you today? Why don't you just say, Lord, is there anything I could do for you today?

Because you've done so much? Has God done a lot for you? Are you thankful today?

Come on? Anybody got the attitude of gratitude today? All my life? You have been faithful my whole life, You've been so good? And can you believe that He uses broke desperate, not all the way putting together people like us to tell people about the glory of the living God.

I like to say this way.

We're just nobody's trying to tell the world about somebody.

Come on, clap if you believe that today I'm a nobody. I'm a servant. Come on, clap, I'm a servant today. I'm a servant. I'm gonna die to myself. I'm gonna make much of his name, not my name.

We don't live for something bigger than ourselves. You know, everybody that God used in the Bible had problems. Everybody that God used in the scriptures had issues. Use no perfect people, because there are no perfect people. So if you're already coming up with excuses all past you yet I can't be used. You know, I gotta I gotta pass, I got I got, I.

Got pain, I got you know, issues in my life. You know I used to be by the way. Can we just stop.

Making more much of our past and make a lot more about our future. We got so many believers today that can tell me more about what you're coming from and can't hardly tell me what you're going for.

Come on, your future as greater than your past. Come on, what's in front of you.

And what God's got in store for you is greater than what you came out of. Everybody that God used in the Bible was just like us, not perfect people that had problems, people that had stories, people that were in process, under construction, everybody that God used, but He still used them.

Amen, And so God can use you. It's an old, cheesy list, but put on the screen.

I love this just to just to kind of teach you today that God can use people like us.

Look at this.

Noah was a drunk, Abraham was too old, Isaac was a daydreamer. Jacob was a liar. Leah was ugly. How ugly you got to be? Did the Bible call you ugly? You forever ugly? You asked an eternity?

Ugly? Joseph was abused.

Moses had a stuttering problem. Gideon was afraid, Samson had long hair and was a womanizer. Rayhab was a prostitute. Jeremiah and Timothy were too young. David was an adulter and a murderer. Elijah was suicidal. Isaiah preached nicked. May that never happen in this church in the name of Jesus. That's a word for pastor tim today.

Jonah ran from God. Naomi was a widow, Job went bankrupt.

John the Baptist Ate, Bugs, and Peter did not Christ.

But they were all used for the glory of the Living God.

Come on, let's just ask him today, Lord, is there anything that I.

Can do for you? Come on, Elevation lift the hand of heaven. Father.

We thank you today that you are good and greatly to be praised. And so we just asked today Lord, we humble ourselves. Lord, we go low.

Lord. Here's my gifting, here's my calling, here's my talent, here's my time. If you can use anything, Lord, you can use me.

I live for your name and not my name, in Jesus' name. And everybody said, together, come on, let's clap and worship God today.

Thank you for joining us.

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God bless you.