Little By Little (Rich Wilkerson Jr.)

the Kingdom of God through a year end offering. A couple of weeks ago, we all joined together to finish twenty twenty with favor d y'all remember thousands of you brought your best gift and offering of worship for the King of Kings committed to tithe for the first time. And I think that's absolutely amazing, and I want to congratulate you and tell you to expect God to move in a great and supernatural way in your life because

of your faith. I want to tell you that somebody put it in the chat again or say it out loud if you're here, He made a way and because of your giving, you made a way to give away. This is not how much we took in in the offerings so far, and there's still time to participate Elevation Church dot org slash Favor. But I felt this, it's not too late for favor. I don't know who this

is for. It's not too late for favor, even if you're watching this weeks after I preach it, and we're already well into the year twenty twenty nine, living on Mars with Elon. It's not too late for favor. But this is what I wanted to celebrate. And I knew you would want to rejoice in the Lord and give thanks about the outreach money that we've given away already over one million dollars given not to the church but

through the church. That's what's going back out. Come on, Let's give God a great praise for faithful people who know how to walk in the favor of God. We walk by faith, not by sight. So on, behalf of all of the pregnant mothers through the Human Coalition that we're helping on, behalf of those in Kenya, Haiti and the Congo through the Medical Benevolence Foundation. On, behalf of those in our community that are receiving financial literacy education.

All of our mothers completing their degree across the country through safe journey and community and schools. I wanted to say thank you. You're the best church in the world. It's an honor to be your pastor, Holly, and I love you. Did you get everything you wanted for Christmas? If not, put it in the chat and I'll see if I can. I'll see if i can work something out.

That'd be fun. Everybody. If you didn't get what you wanted for Christmas, put it in the chat and I'm going to pick one person and send you what you didn't get this week. I'm going to do that. Put it in the chat, but not until you've gone to church dot Lord slash favor and given your tithe in that order, who's ready for the Word of God. Pastor rich Wilkerson Junior is in the house. This is my friend.

He and his amazing wife Don Sheried are two of the most brilliant lights for Jesus Christ burning on the planet today. They pastor the Great Voo Church in Miami, Florida. We're honored to know you, honored to be friends with you. There's no one that we wanted to preach the last Sunday in the year, but you and trust me this church. This church has so many different people that come through. But I really prayed about it. Who should take us out of one year and into the other. And the

Lord said, get rich, get rich. Everybody put in the chat, get rich, and right now you're about to get him. Merry Christmas, everybody. I brought you an amazing preacher. Welcome to Elevation Ministries Global Apath. That's a rich Wilkerson. Oh, come on, church, why don't we go ahead and give Jesus, Come on a big shot of praise. Come on, anybody thankful that you're still here right now, come on and give him praise. It is so so good to be I just noticed that they took away the real pulpit.

It gave me the miniature pulpit. But I like this. I love this church so very very much, and what an honor it is to be here. And all of the epham We're so glad that you're joining us on the last Sunday of the year. And help me think, man, it's not always how you start, but it's always about how you finish. Anybody grateful that you're finishing the year in church. I believe that God's gonna speak to us today.

If you're in the auditorium, why don't you maybe you a airfist bump and say you look better than I remember. If you're in your living room, why don't you just hug that person because you're allowed to grab a seat all over the place, grab a bible. That's the cutest pulpit I have ever had in my entire life. It is honestly, such an honor, such a joy to be in Charlotte, North Carolina at Elevation Church. I just think that this is the greatest church. Anybody proud and grateful

to be a part of Elevation Church. Oh, come on, we can do better than that. Come on. This is a church that's leading all across the world. And for my wife and I, we just honestly count it as one of the real privileges of our life and of our ministry to get to come and be here and share today and things like this. A ministry like this doesn't just happen. It happens because God of a man, and God appoints a woman and they give them a vision.

And I just got to say to Pastor Stephen and Pastor Hawley, I don't have the words to articulate just how much your leadership and how much your friendship has meant in our lives. For many, many years from Afar, we have watched from a distance and been inspired and quite frankly, been so impressed with all that God has done with you. But it's been these last few years getting to be up close and personal with you, that I haven't just been impressed. I have been deeply encouraged

and your life it just speaks volume. And honestly, I've got a message on my heart. But more importantly, honestly, I's almost more important than the message is for me to get up on this stage today, after the year we just had, after the year that so many of us in the Body of Price have gone through, and I just felt like it was part of my assignment to make sure I took a moment to say thank you.

Thank you for being stabled, thank you for walking in character, thank you for not flinching, thank you for having integrity, thank you for standing firm, thank you for not backing down. Thank you for continuing to create, thank you for continuing to have bold vision. Come on, somebody, can we thank God for the Man of God and the Woman of God and what they have meant for all of us. Thank you, thank you, thank you. You make it look way too easy, because what's happening here is not hard.

It's impossible. And right before I come up on the stage, I was reminded that em Bounds quote the Great Scholar. He says, the church is looking for a method, but God is looking for a man. And people come from the east and the west and north and south to come and see the method of elevation Church. But guess what you just got to get next to the man and the woman of God. And that's where it's happening. And I just came to honor you today. We give honor where honors do all glory to God. But we

give honor today to pastor Steve and Holly. Come on one more time in the chat. Can we just let them know on the last Sunday how thankful we are for them. I love you. I gotta do it. I gotta do it. My name is Rich I come from Miami, Florida. I lead a church called Vood Church. Really weird name for a church, but it's working out okay so far. My wife dontree, she is here with me today. We

just celebrated fourteen years of marriage. I love your baby girl, and our church we launched it five years ago, and just so much of what's happening in Miami is due to the leadership of this house. And so what a joy, what a privilege it is to open up God's word. And I think this is an important Sunday because today, wherever you're tuning in from, I believe the fact that

you're here it says a whole lot about you. I know this has been a shaky year, this has been an uncertain year, but I'm believing that we are going to finish strong Today. Mark chapter eight is where I want to read from. We gonna read a few verses and then you know, I had a great Christmas. I hope you had a great Christmas. But we've had the holidays, and I'm just glad to be in church on this Sunday. This is like one of the few times I've gotten to preach in front of a live audience. So I'm

already feeling a little bit more normal. My faith is already being built a little bit. And so for the next I don't know, thirty minutes or so, I'm a holler like I got a word in my heart, and I'm all trust God that those of you on the other side of this camera are sensing what we are sensing in this room today. Mark chapter eight. Uh, look at me holding this bible. I left my bible on the airplane. The devil was already trying to mess with me.

Got off the airplane, left my preaching bible, left my sword on the airplane. But praise God for Pastor Stephen. I got a different Bible, so it's going to work. Mark chapter eight. Here we go. I hope this one's anointed. Here we go. Mark chapter eight, verse twenty two. It says this. It says they came to Bethsadia, and some people brought a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him. He Jesus took the line man by the hand and

let him outside the village. When he had spit on the man's eyes and put his hands on him, Jesus asked, do you see anything? He looked up and said, I see people. They looked like trees walking around. Watch this verse twenty five. Once more, everyone say once more. Once more. Jesus put his hands on the man's eyes. Then his eyes were opened. His sight was restored and he saw everything clearly. Jesus sent him home, saying, don't go into

the village. I want to take a few moments today and I want to use this text the last Sunday of twenty twenty we made it. I want to preach from this subject little by little, little by little, and I believe this is going to be a word in your This is gonna be a word in your heart today, and would just pray with me. Let's just invite God's presence into this place. Let's invite God to do what only he can do through this word. Lois, thank you

that you're here, We thank you that you're moving. We thank you today God for this incredible year that we've walked through. While it was at times turbulent, Lord, we believe that we're coming out stronger than how we started. I pray now today, God that you would have your way in this place, that the e faan that's watching Lord would sense your presence in a mighty way, change us, transform us, heal us. May we never be the same again.

We love you, Jesus, and in jesus mighty name, come on, if you grew with that prayer, all of God's people said, come on, All of God's people said, come on, if you love Jesus, make a little bit of noise all over this place. Oh, come on, you can do better than that. Give him a big shout. I grew up in a in a strong, strict Christian home. In fact, i'm four generations Pentecostal preacher. Amen. I like that he knows the cue right there, Amen. And I was just

thinking about my childhood throughout this season. It's holiday season, and in my home, my parents just they had rules for rules, right, They just it was strict guidelines, just strong traditions. The fall is full of all these different holidays, you know, But in our house we would change holidays up or we would have traditions. For instance, we didn't celebrate Halloween. It was Hallelujah Day. Where's the real saints at Harvest Fest? Hello? You know what can you dress up?

We're not goblins or skeletons. Were disciples. I mean, how many disciples can you be? You know, like, how do you differentiate yourself? You know, I got an ear in my hand. I'm Peter. Okay, we get it, you know, Like it's just how I grew up. Thanksgiving we do these big recitals. Everyone had to come and perform at the Thanksgiving Chris, My mom used to have this closet true Story in our house that gifts that were given to us that she didn't think that we needed true story,

she would put them in the gift closet. Why so that when we had a function the following year that we needed a gift, there was always a gift on supplied to gift. Pray for me. I know my childhood was messed up. My first slow dance. Our God is an awesome God. I think some of you all parents out there, how to make your kids, you know, dance to do it again? I think we need to up the game with the DJ. The DJ at the party his name was Crazy Larry, had a red and stint

pee tie on. He's like, all right, everybody, who's ready for the slow dance? Our God? He's an awesome gody. I'm like, what is this. It's just my childhood and we had traditions and I was just thinking about traditions on the way over here, and one of the traditions my mom had that that I appreciate now is maybe your parents did this too. But every year, like clockwork.

My mom used to have this food pantry and she would take us inside the food pantry and on the backside of the door, she would line up all of my brothers. There's four of us. I have an older brother than two younger brothers. And every year she would line us up on this back of this pantry door and she would measure our height. And every year she would take a sharpie marker and she would mark the

place of where a height is. And throughout the years, you know, it was fun to kind of come in there because you could you could see your growth from the year before, and to be honest with you, like most years, like there wasn't some big thing to see. I think the one year I hit puberty, you know, I gained a couple more inches than normal. But for the most part, if I'm being honest with you, the

growth was gradual. In fact, if I'm really being honest as I'm thinking about it, unless I was measuring the growth, I wouldn't have even known I had grown, because the growth was just little by little. I wonder today if this is actually how faith works. I wonder if some of us in this room and those of us that

are watching online. I wonder if part of our problem, especially with twenty twenty, is that when we think about faith, we only have one category of words associated with faith supernatural, phenomenal, suddenly, suddenly, immediate. And I'm not against these words. I like these words, but I'm concerned if these are the only words that

are associated with your faith. What happens is is we find ourselves in seasons where we are struggling, and the reason why we're struggling is because we only have one picture of what faith looks like. And there's people today that are watching on the last Sunday of the year, and you're struggling in your faith. In many cases, you're frustrated with God, maybe you're disappointed with yourself, maybe you're offended with other people. Why because you've got the wrong

measuring stick? You say, why do I feel this way? Many of us the big problem when it comes to our faith. If we could just really narrow it down, if we could just really simplify it, if we could really get to the root problem. The problem is it's just all going too slow. It's just not happening as fast as I thought it would. I thought by now I would have had the promotion. I thought by now I wouldn't still be controlled by my schedule. I thought

by now I would be married. Hello, there's still time in twenty twenty. I thought by now we would have conceived a child. I thought by now that I would have had a breakthrough. I thought by now I would have been healed. I thought by now I would have paid off my bills. I thought by now I would

be farther than I really actually am. All but, friends, I wish today that we had a pantry door measuring stick for your faith, because something tells me, if you could look back throughout the years, what you would discover is that mark by mark, you have been maturing, you have been growing. It's just been gradual. It's just been little by little. I know you're not where you want to be yet, but baby, you have come a long way. Come on, anybody thankful that you've come a long way

on this journey. You're growing gradually. In fact, say that all I'll say. I'm growing gradually. I'm growing gradually. It's little by little. I love the quote by J. R. Tolkien. He's the one who wrote The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings, and he says, little by little, one travels far. God speaks to the Israelites in Deuteronomy, and he says, little by little, you will take the nations. Don't be surprised when you ask God for miracles if he answers

you with gradual change. I just think, when I look back on this year, if I had the pantry door measuring stick, it wouldn't be impressive. It would just be little by little, I'm further than when I started. See what I love about God, and I just this is just where I feel like we're supposed to end this year. What I love about God is not all of God's miracles are immediate. Some of God's miracles are progressive. They

don't happen overnight. They happen over time. What if I told you, come on you, fam, I could teach you how to grow. I just can't teach you how to grow overnight. What if I told you I could teach you some principles and some keys and some think steps you could take. I just can't teach you how to grow overnight. I can teach you how to grow over time. And what I love about Mark chapter eight, the text that we have today in front of us, I just think.

I think it's such a great text for us to end this year on, because what you have in Mark chapter eight is you have a story of a miracle in motion. You have a progressive miracle, you have a gradual game, you have a phenomenon in process. It's a slow bro Sometimes when you grow, it feels slow. And today I just want us to walk through the verses, and I want to encourage your spirit as you're coming to the end of this year, do not miss the

praise party. Why would you want to step into twenty twenty Listen, I'm telling you an If you can get a revelation to praise God in twenty twenty, woo, there's no telling what the praise is going to be like in twenty t twenty one. I would step into this year praising God with your spiritual family. But before we get there, let's just start right here today with Mark chapter eight, and let's look at this picture, this story

of a little by little miracle. The scripture says in Mark chapter eight, verse twenty two, it says they came to Bethsadia and some people, everyone say some people. Some people brought a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him. I just want to stop because I want to give you the context of what's taking place in Mark eight.

In Mark eight, Jesus has just finished feeding four thousand people, and now he has got his crew, his posse, his disciples, and they are walking into this village known as beth Sadia. And when he gets to beth Sadia, a group of people come over and they begged Jesus. They say, Jesus, please, can you touch this man who is blind? He can't see anything, and we believe if you touch him, you

can heal him. What I wanted to stop for just for a moment, because I just know that there's some faithful people that have been a part of Elevation Church for many years, that had been on the journey for a decade, that had been sowing, that had been giving, that had been praying. Please understand that God uses people to bring people to Jesus. I just want you to see it. It's just it's really simple. We don't know

their names. All we know is some people see. If we're all being honest, that no doubt right, God gets the glory. He's the one who performs the miracle. But what you'll notice throughout the scriptures is the scriptures don't shy away from the fact that He invites you and I in to be a part of the process of the miracle. Remember in One Corinthians chapter three, where Paul says, I planted seed a Paula's watered seed, but only God

makes it grow. He's giving God glory, but he doesn't stop or negate the simple truth that you and I get to plant. You and I get to water. And if you're watching it, I know there's some people that I watched it. If you just think about it for a moment, just consider how many people were a part of you coming to know Jesus. Just none of us can truly say it was just me and God. All of us have to say, oh man, there was that

coworker who kept inviting me. There was that friend that said, hey, why don't you turn your browser onto Elevation Church and listen to my pastor. There was that spouse who was gracious. Come on. There was that book that captured you. There was that song that melt you. There was that grandmother who never quit praying for you. Come on, anybody thankful out there for a loved one who said I'll stand in the gap. I'll keep on praying I will be

a part of the some people. I wonder today, do we want to be a part of the some people? That's how God moves. He finds some people that will say no, Servian is not beneath me. Therefore, leadership is not beyond me. It's just about It's just about some people. The question comes to all of us. And this is the question you have to ask, do you care more about titles or testimonies because we don't get their names,

Like I could just camp here all day. It doesn't say Deacon so and so, it doesn't say pastor so and so, it doesn't say mister missus. It just says some people, just some people. I'm just part of the some people. I'm just I'm just here to help be a vehicle. I'm just here to help people meet Jesus. Talk about this favor offering. There's still time to be a part of this offering. But please make no mistake about it. This money is designated to help accelerate the vision.

We got great programs, We've got great expansion ideas. It's awesome the things that Elevation is gonna do. This is one of the most trustworthy places that you can sow ascend. This is healthy, healthy soil. Listen, seed is cheap, soil is expensive. Find a place that's got some healthy soil. Take your little and watch how God will turn it in to Ah. Come on, somebody, this is healthy soil. But let's just be real. You want to know why

we're giving in the favor offering. You want to know why we're giving above and beyond at the year end. It's not so the budgets can be met. It's not so we can turn the lights on. It's because we want to see people who are far from God, people who are desperate. We want to see them encounter the love of Jesus Christ. Come on, somebody given praise today. I want to be a part of the sum people God. I don't care about a title. I just want the end of my life that I wasn't collecting titles. I

was collect testimonies. I saw God move in my lifetime. No, you don't know my name, but I got a feeling you're gonna know his name. I saw God move, I saw God meet our needs. I saw God heal blinded eyes. I collected testimonies. You gotta decide are you do you want titles or do you want testimonies? Do you want testimonies? And these people they just they just want to see God move and they bring this man to Jesus, and like Jesus, they beg him. We don't know their names,

please touch him now. Now you can read this and quickly if you if you don't just do a little bit of context study, you would miss how scandalous this request is. Jesus at the time is considered a rabbi, a Jewish rabbi, and rabbis they don't go around touching people that are sick or touching blinded eyes. Why because the paradigm or the theology or the thinking of the day was was that your your ailment or your sickness

was a result of your sin. And so rabbis couldn't touch something that was considered sinful because that would make them unclean. But thank God that Jesus is not some regular rabbi. Thank God that Jesus stepped out of divinity and wrapped himself up in humanity, and he came to touch the messiest areas of our life. He came to touch the broken areas, the areas that you have been hiding the areas that you don't want anybody to see or notice. He came to take your mess turn it

into greatness, because whatever he touches, he always transforms. Whatever Jesus touches, he transformed. Anybody out there thankful that God touched you. Come on, anybody in the chat right now, can you just witness and testify He touched me and touched me. Church is Bundy to me because right there's things that we say in church sometimes that we don't always think about how hilarious they are, you know, like we have all these cliches and things that we do.

Even right now today, I'm doing things that only a subculture of Christians would understand. You know, God is good and all the time. Let go and you guys know my messages. You're covered by the blood of the Lamb. Can you like imagine if you're a guest covered? But I don't want that. I was preaching one dive Bastor Steven at a conference. I'll never forget it. And the preacher was good. He was he had the group going and they were fired up. And some preachers can just

say the coolest stuff from the microphone. I haven't. I haven't learned this yet. But he was preaching and he was like, I don't drop F bombs. I dropped J bombs. I'm like, what does that even mean. We're like, nobody knows what it means, but it's provocative and it certainly gets the people going. He goes, I don't have an AK forty seven, I have a John three point sixteen. He went, good, good, good, people were standing wing. Oh. I was like, I want to do that, so I

think it's real good in you're living room. Well, no, it's not a demon, it's the Holy Spirit working. I'm thankful that God touched me. He touched me. We started our church five years ago and I remember as we started to grow, it started to grow, and it was actually quick growth. We went from one service to two services, to three services, to four services to five services. At one point we were in six services and a small little auditorium in Wyndwood nine am, eleven am, one pm,

four pm, six pm, eight pm. I'd preach all six of them. I was just oh, let's go. You know, you get done. You're like, I think I need therapy. And it was it was hard starting the church because you know, you're trying to build a culture, and you're trying to get people to lean in and believe. And I remember at the time it was really difficult because we were trying to build up the parking Lot team, and in Miami we have what you kind of call

what would you say? What would I say? It's the weather is unpredictable, it's not hot, it's hot hot, it doesn't rain, it rain rains. It's all to the second Power, okay. And like to this day, I've never met only at Elevation Church where you find someone who's like, I am called to park cars for Jesus. Like most people don't. That's not their spiritual gift, you know. They're like they're like, nah, I'm not. I'mnna be on the stage, bro, you know, like,

not the parking lot. And it was these early days, and so I was trying to build morale, and so I would go out to the parking lot and that's been the first fifteen minutes. No, let's go do it for Jesus, you know, parking the cars, rallying the team, let's go guys. That I'd run in, I'd preach my message that I'd get out to the park lot. They thought it was a magic trick through I got weren't you just in there? I'm like, nah, I'm just that good, you know, and parking these cars and I'll never forget

one time it maybe laugh so hard. I'm in the parking lot. It's about fifteen minutes in the service, and I've got a bunch of the guys around. We were parking the cars, and this woman drives in and when she drives in, she can't believe that I'm out there, and so she's way over in the distance. But she turns her car around and she starts driving it over towards me, and she's getting excited. I'm getting excited. I like people like, oh, she's excited. I'm excited. And she

just starts to pray like she's just testifying. She's like, oh, God is good. She's going off. She's praising God. And she rolls her window down. Got a group of people now around me. She's like, pastor rich, Oh, this is such a miraculous moment meeting you. I want to let you know that last weekend you touched me. Well, ma'am, excuse me, lower your voice. She wouldn't stop. She said, oh, you touched me. Oh, he touched me. Oh, rich you touched me. And finally, after the third time, I understood

what she meant. I said, Oh, I kind of laughed and shut up. Please, I said, ma'am respectfully, No, I did not, but I know who did. His name is Jesus Christ, King of Kings, Lord of lords, and he's still touching people today. Is there anybody out there who's thankful that God touched you to transform you, that when he found you, he didn't leave you in your brokenness? Do you want a journey? He's still touching people today. Oh, he touched me. And Jesus, Hey, bring this man to Jesus,

and he touches the blind man. But notice about Jesus. When Jesus touches you, he always touches you to take you on a journey. He doesn't leave us here. It's little by little, the scripture says in verse twenty three, it's just beautiful, Jesus, Would you touch this man? Would you touch this man? He's not afraid of your broken area, he's not afraid of your hidden area. He touches us, and he grabs the man by the hand. The scriptureays verse twenty three he took the blind man by the

hand and led him outside the village. Took him outside the village. I'm just want you to see this. He hasn't healed the man yet. Please heal him MEA grabs his hand and walks him outside the village. I don't know what it was about the village and why Jesus doesn't do the miracle in the village. What I do know is that when it comes to Jesus, I do

know that environment is so very, very important. And what I do know is that many of us, the reason why we can't find ourselves sustaining change is because we continue to live in a toxic environment. And I can't say for certain as to why Jesus didn't just heal him right there, but something in my spirit tells me it's because Jesus is sensitive and he's doing something quite

significant in the man's life. I believe that Jesus is taking this man on a journey, and the reason why he's taking the man on the journey is because he wants to give him spiritual sight before he gives him physical sight. Better to be blind walking with Jesus than to be able to see and go alone and so Jesus graciously, mercifully grabs him by the hand and just starts walking with him. Why because Jesus as establishing faith

in his life. Faith is not about physical sight. In fact, by definition, faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we cannot see. It is impossible to please God without faith. We don't walk by sight, we walk by faith. Why do we need faith? We do not need faith to simply get an external blessing, simply to get our back pain, to go away, to simply see disease gone. I believe in all that stuff. If you've got sickness in your body, we're gonna pray

and plead the blood of Jesus over you. But please understand, it's far more important than that. The reason why Jesus gives you faith is because you need faith to follow Jesus. You don't need physical eyesight to follow Jesus. You're going to need some faith to follow Jesus. And before Jesus gives this man physical sight, he says, I'm gonna give you internal faith. I don't know what it is, but I have discovered that some of the most deep and intimate things that God has done in my life have

not happened with the crowd. They have happened in places of solitude. Please learn today there is a difference between being around God and being alone with God. I'm misgathering in person, and I can't wait for the day that I can get back in that room. Faith is tangible. You ever been in a room before? Back Man, There's something in this thing, There's something going on in here. It's called faith. The problem is a lot of people walk into a faith environment and they convince themselves they're

on fire for Jesus. But when they get out into the storms of life, they discover they were just sensing the heat from everyone else surround them. Faith comes from solitude. Solitude is different from isolation. Isolation leads to loneliness. Solitude leads to fulfillment. I'm not alone when I'm alone with Jesus, not lonely when it's just me and Jesus. And to get that kind of faith, he has to take me outside of the village. I have to get away from

the crowd. I'm glad that we're gathering today. I want to plant a seed of faith in your heart that you will reap as you step into twenty twenty one. But please listen to me. We do not just need faith on Sunday, No, sir. We need faith when our world has fallen apart. We need faith when our marriage is barely hanging on. We need faith when we find out from the doctor it's cancer and there's no answer. Oh, come on, somebody. Is there anybody out there who wants

God to establish faith in your life. He's serving the man. Faith is not about spiritual superiority. It's about spiritual survival. I won't make it without this lesson. Come on now, and you want to feel like you got taken out of the village in twenty twenty it's been nine months since our church has gathered. But I wonder, I wonder, is Jesus just get in person, one by one and just saying, Hey, your faith is getting deeper. I know you feel like you're blind, but you're about to see

better than you've ever seen before. Just keep walking. You don't just need faith for healing. You need faith to follow. And the scripture says in verse twenty three, watch this. It's just gonna When Jesus spit on the man's eyes and put his hands on him, Jesus asked, do you see anything? Can we just stop for a moment. Jesus takes him, he still doesn't heal him. He's walked him outside the village. Now he's talking to him, and the first thing he does is he spits on the man's eyes.

How bad you want to get healed? Spin on me? Lord. You know what's fascinating to me about this text is there seven different accounts of Jesus healing blind men in the New Testament, and every time Jesus heals someone who's blind, he does it a different way. But I wonder, I just wonder, you know, sometimes I read the stories and I just try to put myself into the store. I just wonder if this man, while he's with Jesus, I

wonder if he's kind of frustrated. I wonder if he's like I wonder if he's heard of the other stories where Jesus has healed people. I wonder if he's going yo, like, I know, we're walking, but I'm still not seeing anything. I wonder if he's disappointed because all of the other stories that he's heard about Jesus did it quickly, but

it seems like with him, he's doing it slowly. Many of you that are in the chat today, you're watching and you're so frustrated because you're looking around left and right and you're comparing you're today to somebody else's and you're going but they're growing and they're flourishing. I don't know if that's really the case. I just wonder if every time you check in on them, all you're seeing is the marks on the pantry door that you weren't there for the gradual growth. You weren't there for the

little by little. You're comparing your slow to their fast, and it's leaving you in a place that you are discouraged. Jesus spits on the man's eyes and he asked the man. He says, do you see anything? I think this is a profound question, because ultimately, this is one of the questions that Jesus was constantly and continually trying to get across in his ministry on the Earth. In fact, it's

a fun word study, like grab your concordance. If you got some time before the New year and look up the words see in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John and you will discover it just shows up over and over and over again that in all of Jesus's ministry, one of his greatest frustrations was trying to get those around him to see what he could see. Can I just speak to the Epham and everybody right now at home?

What you see today is still in the beginning stages for what I believe, all that Pastor Stephen and Pastor Hawley still see for tomorrow. It's so important that we continue to create an environment that we can learn how to see the way that they see. Because God gives us leaders who have vision. And God is asking you today do you see anything? What do you see? Do you see anything? And it's important to God that you

start to see. I'm not talking about physical eyesight. I'm talking about seeing with spiritual eyes that God wants to give you a vision. Close your eyes, what do you see? Faith is the absence of sense. Faith doesn't make sense. And God gives us a vision? Why? Because vision gives pain purpose. Many of us we keep quitting and we keep backing down because we lose the vision. We don't

see anything, and God says, what do you see? Vision gives pain purpose, Vision creates passion, and vision gives direction. I wanted to say it to you this way today, where you're headed is better than where you have been. There is more to come in twenty twenty one. Come on, somebody, if you believe it, thank God in advance. What do you see? What do you see? I'm a man? In verse twenty four, he looked up and said, I see people. They look like trees walking around. What a peculiar thing

to say. He opens his eyes and says, I see trees and they look like people walking around. I think it's really peculiar because obviously he's not seeing clearly yet. Still Jesus has touched him, Jesus has walked with him, Jesus has spit on him. I could preach that one of these days. And now Jesus has asked him, do you see? And the man still goes now, I see people. They look like trees walking around. What a peculiar thing

to say. I heard one preacher one time say, oh, this is because the man was now seen with spiritual lenses and the people walking around that look like trees. Well that's because that's a metaphor of playing the long game, and that you and I were called to be like trees planted by living water. We're not called to be like the grass that withers and fades, were called to be like trees that bend and do not break. I thought that was beautiful. But I'm just not that spiritual.

I'm a little bit more practical than that. I think the obvious reason why the man looks up and says, I see people and they look like trees is because the man still does not have his eyesight back. And what we are witnessing is we are witnessing a gradual miracle. We are witnessing a miracle in process. I don't know, I just I got to make an observation. If you were born blind, you would not know what people look like. If you were born blind, you wouldn't know what trees

look like. It leads mean to bely that this man was not born blind, but instead this man lost his vision along the way. I wonder if you're watching today and this year twenty twenty has taken your vision. I wonder if this year has taken your dream. I wonder if this year has taken your calling. I wonder if you lost your marriage. I wonder if you lost your business. I wonder if you lost some friendships. Can I prophesy today, can I declare to every home and household that which

the devil stole? I declare you can get it back in Jesus. Come on, somebody give him praise all over this place, give him praise today. I'm gonna need some help, worship team. You can get it back that which you lost. I declare you can get it back in Christ Jesus. Why because verse twenty five says once more, Everyone say once more, once more Jesus put his hands on the man's eyes. Oh can I tell you today that you serve the once more God. Come on, anybody believe in

the once more God, the miracle, wonder working power of Jesus. Friends, This this is grace. This is grace that God comes to us when we cannot get to him, and he touches us once more once more. I grew up in church and we just to have these things called alter calls. And in the church I grew up in Yo, you know you there, like my dad would preach. If he saw me talking, he would call me out in the sermon,

Hey boy, shut up, just wet my pants. And I can just remember so many times every service an altar call. Do you ever have that moment where you just you're in God's presence and the man or the woman that's bringing the word, it's like it's coming right for you. You get that moment where your heart's beating, you know, your palms are sweating. It's not an eminem song, it's

the Holy Spirit. And I can just remember throughout my teenage years, just how many you know, people talk about these these moments that like, just that's the day I get my life to Jesus. And I never wavered. That's not my story. I don't know how many times I walk that long aisle. I don't know how many alter calls I responded to, but it was a lot. Thank you God for your grace, and I I just remember coming to the altar and going, God, come on, you

can't forgive me again. God, it's the same thing I know. I'm I did it again. I lost it again. I'm messed up again. Do you have any more chances? Do you have any more opportunities? And every time, every time, and He's saying it right now, God, how much moist is once more? Once more? Once more? More? I'm not

finished with you. Being confident of he who began a good work and you will carry it out into completion once more, the scripture says in verse twenty five says, then his eyes were opened, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. That word restored means to be brought back to its original state. Anyone ever have that thought? In twenty twenty, can we get a do over? Remember the Nintendo when that game wasn't working when you pulled it out. I felt like that a couple of times

in twenty twenty. Reset Please Reset, Please God, God's like restore to the original state. This is why Jesus came. He came on a restoration mission. Ever since Genesis three, when man sinned and shame has come into the world and death, Jesus came not just to save us. He came to restore us. I have this old Jeep and it sits in my driveway. I've had it since I was seventeen. It's paid off, It's just this beautiful car.

I just love it. It's just been a part of my childhood and I've just kept it and I don't drive it much. In fact, I haven't driven it for like six months. And the other day I wanted to use it and I came out, and when I opened the door, I was shocked because the whole entire car was full of mildew and mold. The steering wool was green, and the front seat was green. And I said, how

on earth did this happen? The car when it started, when it worked, And then I discovered that I had just I left the window just cracks, just a little bit, just a little crack, let the rain water get in. Isn't it amazing that when we just leave a little crack to a heart, how the enemy can get a foothold and some of us it was just a little bit of dishonesty, but it's just started to corrupt that heart. Was it was just a little window in the marriage

in twenty twenty, and it just the things deteriorating. It was just a little bit of just a little bit of a lack of character when it came to our business. It was just a little bit of not serving, a little bit of not giving. And I don't know what happened, but I reminded of when the Theologian, when Solomon says, above all else, guard that heart, for it's the wellspring of life. Keep that window close, don't you open up that window. It seeps in and lets the wrong stuff in,

and it's just a little bit. It's just a little bit. But Jesus, he doesn't shy away. He touches the man, and when he touches the man once more, his eyes are restored back to the original state. He can see clearly. Eugene Peterson, he says it this way. He says that the man could see clearly with twenty twenty vision. Anybody feel like it took twenty twenty to give you twenty

twenty spiritual vision. Anyone feel like out there that you had to go through some shaking, you had to go through some turbulence, you had to go through some pain that your eyes might be opened up. Oh. I want to say to people out there right now, to some of you, you have been waiting a long time. Some of you you're on the brink of giving up. But I would say, don't give up, hang on, keep on waiting. You're going on. I've just been waiting so long. No, no no, no, friend,

you are not waiting. God is restoring. I know, but I've been waiting so so long. No, no no, you're not waiting. God is restoring. God is bringing you back to the original state. Keep the window up, keep your heart sealed up, keep it closed up. He's bringing you back, He's restoring you. Some of you know the story of Dontrie and I. We went eight years on an infertility journey. Eight years, could not have kids, talk to doctor after doctor, couldn't seem to find the miracle. I love our God. Its

scripture says he gives every good and perfect gift. God doesn't have a good plan for you, friend, he has the best planned for you. We came to a revelation somewhere on the journey. It feels like we're blind out here in the village. But guess what. It's better to be blind with Jesus than to have eyesight and have a baby in our hands. If we never get a baby, Jesus is more than enough. Our family is complete in Jesus. But don't you We just love God. Eight years of trying.

That number eight means the number of new beginnings. January of twenty eighteen, my wife gave birth to our firstborn son, Wyatt Wesley will Curson. He's a miracle boy. We were happy. We thought we won the lotto. Yo, I got a son. Yo, this is my son, whom I love and then will please. But God's like, nah nah, I'm the God who gives you double for your trouble. And so that's why this passed. October in twenty nineteen, my wife gave birth to our second born son, wild Wesley will Curson. I'm like, I

got two boys. I can't even carry my blessing. I can barely hold them. We're good, God, We're good. But God's like, nah, nah nah, that ain't cool. I'm still working something in your life. Don Shree can't be in that house with three men. She's going to need a companion herself. That's why I'm proud to announce in July of twenty twenty one, my wife is gonna have our

third child. It's a baby girl whoa I would say to you, if the vision seems flow in coming, wait for for those that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. You're not waiting. He's restoring. He's restoring. This year's been long, but he's restoring. He's restoring. I gotta I gotta go, I gotta go, I gotta go. But I love Jesus he does. This progressive New yoricle didn't happen overnight. It happened over time, my jeep, it just

got restored. I drove it to my friend. I said, bro help me, and over time he just turned it back and it's in good condition. Restoration is possible. It just might not happen overnight. That's what the Lord show me. This is what Jesus says. I just I gotta go. Jesus says, okay, does this miracle? What does Jesus say? It's last first twenty six, he says. Jesus sent him home, saying, don't even go into the village. Someone say, don't go back to the village. I don't know what's up with

this village. I don't know what Jesus saw that we don't see. But I do know that sometimes people they get healed, but they go right back to the place that hurt them. I know that some people they find freedom, but they go right back to the place that enslaved them. Some people they step into the light, and the moments they step in the light, they find themselves running back to the darkness. Don't go back to the village. In twenty twenty one, come on, someone say, don't go back

to the village. Don't go back to the village. Don't go back to the thing that was holding you back. I don't know why Jesus said don't go into the village, because really, the only evidence I have about the village is good stuff. This is the people who brought the man. This is the sum people who brought the man to Jesus. And it got me thinking, maybe Jesus says, don't go back to the village, not because the village is bad, But maybe it's just as simple of the fact that

it's because the village is big. The village isn't isn't bad, It's just it's big. You know what I've learned on my journey that gradual miracles are no place for the masses. Arenas don't gather for practice. Crowds don't show up backstage, theaters don't fill up to witness the process. And I think Jesus was saying, if you go back to that village big only knows how to celebrate big. And if your measuring stick is simply reduced down to this word big,

you're gonna always feel small. Some of you just keep going. God's gonna do a big thing. God's gonna do a big thing. But you have not defined what a big thing is. And if you just take that miracle right back to the masses, they're just gonna go to the lowest common denominator. And if they would have gone back to the village, the village, you would have said, oh, my goodness, Jesus is a healer. He opens blinded eyes, and that would have been very true, and that should

be celebrated. But I believe Jesus was saying, if you start celebrating the wrong thing, you're gonna repeat the wrong thing. I opened up your physical eyes, but I did something much deeper. For there will be a day when you can't see again, but this time you will know you can keep all walking. Little by little, bit by bit, moment by moment, day by day, you will know I'm not just a healer. I'm a savior whoa it's little

by little. We tend to overestimate what we can do in one year and clearly underestimate what God could do over ten years. God, I'm choosing to follow you day by day, moment by moment, little by little, just a little bit. I'm just growing. I'm just it's gradual. I know you can't see it much, but I'm becoming. Where I'm headed, it's better than where I've been. The only thing more important with who I am today is is who I'm becoming tomorrow. And so you don't see much today,

but little by little I'm growing. How do you build a good marriage little by little? How do you build a great church? Little by little? How do you build a business? Little by little? How do you build healthy friendsttle by little? It's little by little. You need a new measuring stick, You need a new measuring stick. It's little by little, little by little. I just want to pray for people before we sing, because I just sense the power of the Holy Spirit. Some of you are

so disappointed, so hurt, so frustrated, but you're growing. You just can't see it. And some of God's greatest miracles are not immediate. They are progressive. They're progressive. Come on the journey, Church, and you lift your hands towards heaven. Lord, I thank you for every person right now who's listening at the sound of my voice. I think for every person on the other end of that screen. And Lord, I prophesy and declare today that they are growing gradually,

that little by little, Lord, they are making gains. I pray that today, Lord, they wouldn't give up, they wouldn't back down, but they would be full of faith. God. We don't just want to celebrate the immediate. We don't want to get lost in the hype. Lor. We want you to make us holy. We want you to make us strong. We want you to make us deeper. God, I pray for elevation. Church thought. I believe the best

stays are in front of this church thought. I believe that we're just scratching the surface of all the things you're going to do and want to do. But Lord, today we commit once again. It doesn't have to happen overnight. But God, what you did in the first fifteen years, Lord, we're signing up again for another fifteen years. If you can use anything, Lord, use us. We're available to you. We want to be used by you. We're gonna grow slow, We're gonna stay on the path. We're still standing even

after a pandemic. We're still standing, even though the world has been divided, and we're united under the name of Jesus. So we commit again to plant seed to water seed, to plant seed to water seed, to plant seed to water seed, and we're gonna as that our God will make it. Well, believe it. Give God some praise, Come on the workship, lift your hand, lift your voice, come on, sing it out. But I know you are blessed by

that word. Man. Thank God that he sends who we need to speak, and he says what we need to hear in the moment when we need it the most. Hope you had a great Christmas. We're praying for you as we enter another year. We know that nothing magical is going to happen because the calendar changes, but we are believing for a fresh perspective like we heard about today. And I want to thank all of you who gave an are giving to our favor offering. There's still time

to do it, you know. If you believe in what this ministry is doing, get the word out by investing and also by sharing. If you're not subscribed to this channel, and if you've never shared a link with somebody, do that. Man. It's just a wonderful for us to build God's kingdom together and see his will done on earth as it is in heaven. But you'd be blessed and we'll see you real soon. Holly, and I love you very much.