Now I Know Why

this year we've themed it around the word available. Available. That's all God has ever wanted is for us to say, here I am, send me, use me. And you have the opportunity to do that. So if you've been blessed through the ministry, it's good to receive. It's even better to give. If you want to make a donation, a one time gift or a recurring gift, just be a part of what God is doing here. We so appreciate it. You can get all the details at Elevation Church dot org.

I'm gonna sat Elevationworship dot Com. I guess you could go there too, but the giving is at Elevation Church. What you just did, you have Elevation, were your sweatshirt. Hey, but Elevationchurch dot org and you can select available. And we use all of these resources to continue to preach the gospel, not only in physical locations like this one, but through the amazing opportunity God has given us to impact the world through technology. And we want to thank

all of you who are apart. We couldn't do it without you. Thank you for being a part of our family. Thank you for being a part of this move of God. Go to Elevationchurch dot org dot com if you're not already there and be a part. This is going to be an amazing, amazing season. And Holly and I are believing that your best is ahead. Last week I preached on yes, and this week I want to preach on why yes is God's favorite word. He loves to say yes. He loves to say yes when you ask him, God,

would you allow me to experience your presence. He loves to say yes. God loves to say yes to his children. Ask anything according to his will. He hears you, he longs to do it. He loves to say yes. He loves to say yes when you ask him to heal your heart in places that it is broken by people who didn't know how to treat you. He loves to say yes. God loves to say yes when you ask him God, I'm lonely. Can I have your comfort right now?

He loves to say yes to you. You have to come crawling in God's throne room like some kind of fugitive like you have to hide or Gabriel might throw you out. God would sooner throw an angel out of his throne room than turn away one of his children. He loves to say yes to you. I don't know who this is for, but you need to know. He loves to say yes when you ask him to bless you.

He loves to say yes. Now. Sometimes he will bypass the blessing that you asked him for to give you the blessing that you didn't even know to ask for, because He's able to do immeasurably more than we ask, or imagine. God loves to say yes, ask to the questions you didn't even know to ask. And that's what we talked about last week, and if you weren't here, I hate it for you. But this week I just want to talk about why, which incidentally is my kid's

favorite word. They love to hear yes. But they love to ask why. And that's what we want to center our teaching around today. The scripture, I don't make you stand for the whole service, in case you're just kind of wondering about that. I would like you to remain standing for just a moment in honor of the reading of God's word. And this is a picture in scripture

from two different gospel accounts mentioned this one incident. For me, I use it as a way of kind of understanding generosity, and it gives me a demonstration of the kind of life that I aspire to live. And I'm not saying I live this way, but I really want to. So I made a promise to God that I would try to preach from this scripture at least once a year, just to see how am I doing. Am I settling into complacency? Am I taking God's presence for granted, like

you'll see some people do in this text? Or do I value and honor Him? And so that's what I want to preach about today. The scripture says in Matthew twenty six, verse six, while Jesus was in Bethany in the home of a man known as Simon the Leper, and you thought your nickname was bad. A woman came to him with an alabaster jar of on sale perfume. Did the Bible say something different? Okay? For this woman came to him with the jar of reasonably priced perfume.

Y'all pray for me. It is early very expensive perfume, something that cost her, something that was significant to her. And so she took the expensive perfume and poured it on his head as he was reclining at the table. When the disciples saw this, they were indignant. They asked a question, why this waste? Why? Why this waste? They asked, this perfume could have been sold at a high price and the money given to the poor. Aware of this, Jesus said to them, why I love how Jesus fights?

Why with? Why? Huh? I do this to my kids too? Why do we have to wash the dishes? Why do you expect to eat? Look at somebody and say fight? Why with? Why? Jesus said, why are you bothering this woman? She has done a beautiful thing to me. The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have me. When she poured this perfume on my body, she did it to prepare me for burial. I tell you the truth. Wherever this gospel has preached throughout the world,

what she has done will also be told. In memory of her. You may be seated in God's presence. Yeah, man, your kids will wear you out asking why. True story. The parents didn't know what I'm talking about her too tired to even answer me. But as how, they learn about the world. Even this week, Abbi was asking me why Christmas trees are a thing? So I googled it when she wasn't looking, and then told her the answer. That's the best thing about your kids not having data

on their phone. You can stay wise for lata blah. Now my boys they're older, they know everything. They're fourteen and twelve. They already know more than me. They stopped asking why years ago, but still in that stage of asking why, and she went on this whole thing. I'll put a video on the screen in a minute to show you of what it's like to be a parent. I want you to watch as my eight year old daughter deconstructs Christmas and then ask yourself the question do

you really want to have kids? So just check this out. It's only a minute video, Like why is Christmas based on trees. But Jesus born in tree. No, he was born in a manger. Our gifts should be in a manager or around the manager or something. But Jesus was not born in a tree. We should not be celebrating a tree. We should be celebrating Jesus' birth. But he died on a tree. He got on the cross. What's a cross madeo though? What where does wood come from?

A tree? But are we celebrating Jesus's death? No, that's Easter Easter, your Easter eggs, in your Easter rascas. She'd be under a tree, because that's what Jesus died. But it did Jesus die on Christmas? No, he was born on Christmas. I want to tell you a little bit about why I give today. I want to explain that to you just from my heart. Earlier in the week, on Monday, I had a sermon prepared about the Gospel going to the gentiles, and the Lord was like, I

hope you like that sermon. It's not for now, because this week I want to talk about my why in hopes that you might find your why. How many of you are givers? It's kind of an interesting question. To ask, it's like, well, compared to what you know. And I remember early in our marriage when I made the decision about tithing. For instance, tithe means tent, and it's the principle of putting God first in your finances. And it's like everything that God gives me came from him and

I want to return the first portion back to Him. Now, the only people that start shifting around in their seats when I say the word give or tithe or anything like that are the greedy people. So don't worry about them, because for those who give, you understand that it is the greatest privilege of your life to give back to the God who gave everything that you have to you.

And when Holly was working at Township three Elementary under Tropsy mcclooney, which is the best principal name in history, every check we got from the Cleveland County School System, I was proud to write ten percent of it back

to Christ Covenant Church. I started doing that in college and then if I would go preach somewhere and they would give me, you know, Pepperoni pizza and three hundred dollars for preaching to twelve kids on the weekend, I would come back home, and the first thing I would want to do was to make sure thirty went to my church. Then as we began to experiment with the offering, it became a great privilege to ask God, out of all that you have given to us, what can we

give back to you. I remember the first time I experimented with this was when the Lord was speaking to me about giving a month of the salary back to him. And then when we did that, there was a five thousand dollars I inng direct emergency fund that we had put aside, and the Lord began to speak to us. And when I say God would speak to us, there was nothing out loud. I wish it was, but it's more of a it's a louder voice than out loud. It's something that you know inside of you, and that's

how the Holy Spirit would speak to us. And remember giving that emergency fund to our church. At the time, I wasn't the pastor of the church, but I remember giving that. As a matter of fact, I can look back at so many times in this church where we've been at this moment, and some of the greatest times that God grew my faith was in the process of me. I'll say it like this, getting to give back to God. And I say it like that because that's really how

I see it. I never thought that I was doing God a favor by giving to him financially, anymore than I thought I was doing him a favor when I praised him with my songs, or any more than I thought I was doing him a favor when I breathe in and breathe out. It's just a natural reflex of someone who has been born again to give back to the God who gave them life. I'm gonna let all the givers take five seconds and thank God for everything

he gave you. So we're in this season right now where I think that this woman in Matthew twenty six has something to teach all of us about why we give to God, whether it's time that we give to God, whether it's money that we give to God, why do we do it? And I only preach once or twice a year about finances, but I'm always preaching about giving and either talking about what God has given you that you've received or what you offer back to Him as

a gift. And in this passage, it talks about a woman who walked into a room full of men and had an intention to give something significant to Jesus. And I broke it down in my studying to three different whys or three different reasons that she would give. Her motive is not on the surface of the text, but I think that if we just study it for a moment, we can see three different things. One is worship, one

is wisdom, and one is witness. And those are the three things I want to preach about for just a moment. Is why this woman gave an expensive gift to Jesus. And it's as I study it, and as I've reflected on it, it's why I give too, And I believe it's why so many of you give. And this is a church that gives big, No for real, you are sitting around, maybe not the person right next to you, but somebody on your row is a big giver. That's why there's a Gaston. That's why there's a Lake Norman.

That's why there's a Blakeney. That's why there's a river walk formerly known as rock Hill. That's why because somebody was a giver. And now so in this moment of time, I want to explain why. And a lot of people ask me why a lot of things about Elevation Church. They ask me why is the music so loud? They ask me, why do you holler when you preach? God's not deaf. Well, he's not nervous either, And if I holler, He's not going to jump. God doesn't have a panic

attack when I yell. I see people get excited about other things. I'm excited about Jesus. Is that such a sin? So let's talk about worship. Let's talk about the things that you wonder. Why. See, kids will ask why. Grown ups just wonder. You don't ever stop asking why? You just stop asking it out loud. In this passage, the disciples were just playing about it. Why this waste? Think of the insult to their rabbi that this accusation represented.

How come on, he's he's he's a good teacher, but really the whole bottle of perfume, I mean, come on, really? Like the preacher. Somebody asking me on time, why do they stand up on the front few rows when you start preaching horror? I was like, well, I don't know,

Maybe you have to ask them. Maybe they value the word of God like some sports fans value a touchdown by some people that they don't know were in some spandex running around the field talking about a fantasy football and somebody that would never put anything in your rear life. But God has given you grace and mercy with every rising of the sun. Oh no, you would have to ask them. You'll lack like y'all want to take ten seconds and give God worship? Well, go ahead and well anyway,

the word worship is not talking about music. Only only in modern church culture have we taken the word worship and used it to describe a genre of music. Okay, I got my I've got my my rock playlist, I've got my country playlist, I've got my hip hop playlist, I've got my worship playlist. Wait a minute, Wait a minute. Worship is not a genre. Worship doesn't start when somebody comes up and grabs a guitar on stage. Worship is not an activity that is confined to the realm or

the expression of music. When you really understand worship, you understand. Let me say, like this worthship, what is God worth to you? The problem with the disciples question is that it devalued the woman's act because it devalued the presence of Jesus. One of the reasons they may have been so exasperated by what they saw to be too much is too much. I don't understand why people have to lift their hands in worship. Why do they do that? Maybe they have something they need to give to God.

Maybe they've been fighting all week and they're throwing up their hands to say God, I need you. Maybe they're carrying something that is too heavy for them to carry alone. Would you stop judging somebody else's worship when you don't even know their warfare. They came in here fighting the death, fighting depression, and now they got thirty minutes to say God, I glorify you. They need a sea turned into a highway. They need bones turned into armies. Why do I throw

up my hands because I need him? I need him like my next breath. I need him more than I daily bread man. He's my present help. He's my friend that sticks closer than a brother. He's the one that never walked away. He's the one that I can call to in the middle of the night when nobody else will take my call or return my text. He's the one that picks me up. He's the one who's not ashamed to be identified with me. He's the one who knows everything about me, even the dirty, little dark stuff,

and still says I'm the righteousness of God. He's the one who spilled his blood from me. Excuse me if I'm excited to get a pray. Yeah, don't ever apologize. You're praising God. Everybody worship something, why not worse of

the one who made you. Everybody worships something so apart from the practical value that Jesus only has one week to live, and this woman is anointing his body for burial with this expensive perfume that she saved up for something special, and she realizes now is the moment, and she realizes that now is the time, and she realizes that I should not look around and see what everybody else is doing, because they have gotten used to Jesus.

He's worthy. It's not a waste. My dad used to walk around the house tearing the paper towels in half, but I didn't get it until because at that stage of my life I thought it was just weird. But one day my mom explained to me how poor he was growing up, and then I got it. You will never understand what somebody does you will never understand someone's actions. You will never understand. See in this passage of scripture, this woman is doing something that the others see it wasteful.

Maybe there's something she was responding to that they had not experienced. And I'm gonna just go ahead and tell you right now, the woman in this text was someone who knew firsthand the grace of God. Do you know firsthand the grace of God? Because people who just hear about Jesus and they haven't really owned their faith, they don't understand this kind of worship, the worship that starts when the songs are over, the worship that begins when you reach down and say, God, you deserve this, You're

worthy of this. So all of the men are at the table and the woman comes into the room. Who is this woman? You ever wonder that, like the people in the Bible, that it doesn't tell us much about their background. John chapter twelve, I'm gonna show you why this woman was willing to worship. It's funny thing. Holly is a worship stalker. You don't need to know this. She looks around the church for people who are worshiping, and then she just watches y'all she told me about

one of you. You're in the room right now, but I'm not gonna call you out by name. She's like, there's this one she At first it's sounded kind of sketchy when she says, she said, there's this one man in the church that I love to watch him when he worships house. Maybe he needs to find another go to Forest Hill or something like that, you know what I'm saying. But she would see this particular person. He's in the church right now. I'm just not gonna look

anywhere near him. But it wasn't like that, she said, He just she said, no matter what song we're singing, it's not like a preference thing. There would just be I look at him, he just crying. And it wasn't like he wasn't one of these He didn't bring a praise banner into the church or show far. You know, he didn't like grow up. He didn't understand all of

the protocol of it. But she was so moved when she saw how much worship meant to him, because you know, at the same time, you got somebody like sneaking in the back because they didn't want to really have to deal with the hassle of checking their kids in so the time of just right to come there, and then they slip out during an invitation. He wasn't like that.

He'd be standing in line so he could get close to the front, and then he would just cry through the whole worship set and didn't do like this slight I unlike this song. Why are they singing that over and over again? I don't understand. Okay, there's nothing better than him. No, there's nothing. There's nothing, there's nothing, there's nothing. Okay, I get it, there's nothing. There's nothing you want me

to do. But you would just cry. When she found out his testimony what he had been through, she got it once she understood the depth John chapter twelve, which follows by the way, John chapter eleven is a deep church. We teach the deep stuff. In John chapter eleven, Jesus raised a man named Lazarus from the dead. In John

chapter twelve, the Bible says something very interesting. It says, six days before the Passover, Jesus arrived at bethany where Lazarus lived, whom she Jesus had raised from the dead. But you can't understand my chapter twelve unless you understand my chapter eleven. Please understand, Chapter eleven is a bankruptcy

term in the US tax Code. But when I'm talking about it, I'm talking about a spiritual bankruptcy that I know that I know that I know that there were dead things in my life, that there was shame in my life, that there was nothing else for me to do but call on the name of the Lord, and the Bible says verse two. Here a dinner was given in Jesus's honor. Martha served while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him. Then Mary took about

a pint of pure nard and expensive perfume. Now I understand why it was such a natural thing for her to do, to pour out something that was expensive and significant, because she had seen Jesus do something. See this is the same story. John Is recorded it from his point of view. Matthew recorded it from his point of view. Matthew said, it was a woman who came in and poured out the oil. Jossey, let me tell you about

the woman. She saw her brother in the tomb. Four days Jesus showed up and said, roll the stone away. When he said rolled the stone away, he called her brother out, so by the time he got to Bethany and she knew. This is the one who raised my brother from the dead. This is the one who heard my cry and pity my groan. This is the one who saw me through the deepest valley of my life. This is the one who stood by me in the dark time. This is the one who gave me help.

This is the one who gave me strength. I don't give because it makes sense. It's my worship. He's my God, and he's worthy of it. All the worshipers sout real quick. So so it's so important that we understand giving is worship. It's worship worship. It's say, God, you deserve so much more. But out of what you've given to me here it is what do you do? A whole series about taking an offer? And I just don't get it, man, I don't know. Why are you buy direct TV package for

NFL games? Man, I just don't get it. You invest in what you value. They saw it as a waste. She saw it as worship. They said, it doesn't take all that. She said, He's worthy of so much more. And the reason that they called it a waste is because they did not understand her worship. What is he worth to you? I don't want to waste opportunities to worship him. No, I don't always feel like praising God. I don't always feel like but I don't want to

waste the chance to worship him. And she knew. See, this is where the wisdom comes in, because his worship and his wisdom. She knew that if I keep this, if I keep the perfume, then you know, smell good for a little while. But watch what Jesus said. He said in Matthew twenty six thirteen. Wherever the Gospel is preached, what this woman did will be told. So what she did? You know she never said a word. Isn't that amazing

that she worshiped without words. Some of the greatest acts of worship will not be through things that are produced by your vocal cords. But you said, where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. And that's so true. And to really understand the Kingdom of God and how God works, you understand the wisdom of giving. It's not just good to give, it's smart. It makes good sense

to give, at least I think it does. Because everything I've ever bought on this earth started to depreciate, and none of it that I bought I can take with me. And I've bought a lot of stuff, and I've regretted some of it. I have never regretted anything I have given to God. Ever, and Judas is in the room. We know it was Judas because John's gospel says it. He's like, look at verse four, but one of his disciples is John twelve, verse four. But one of his disciples, Judas,

is garried, who later to betray him. Objected, Why wasn't this perfume souled in the money given to the poor, It was worth a year's wages? Well, what is he worth? What is he worth? Everybody worships something. Whatever you worship is what you give weight to. And every time I give to God, I'm talking about a financial gift. I'm talking about giving God, taking something that is temporary like money, and giving it to God, who is eternal. I see it not only as an act of worship. I see

it as a wise investment. I used to tell them when we started the church, Oh, y'all should have heard me preach back then. I was ruthless when we started the church. Ruthless. I'd be up there saying stuff like, hey, we need your seat. If you're not going to do anything around here, help out in the kids. We didn't. We have four hundred seats in the backpack behind the pipe and drape. But I'm up there about we need

your seat. I wanted everybody to understand that. But the only thing about it at that point was I was telling them you're getting in on the ground floor of what God is doing. And some of the people that were there at that point are here today, and some of them because they gave is the reason why you're here today. I think you were worth it. I think you were worth it for this ministry to be here in the year twenty nineteen. Have y'all noticed the world

has gone completely crazy? And I could put an expletive in that sentence and it wouldn't be strong enough. Have you noticed that the world has gone completely crazy? And it makes what we're doing so much more necessary? So I think it's wise when great men of God said to give what you cannot keep, to gain what you cannot lose. You smell that. That's Mary's perfume, two thousand years after she poured it out wherever The Gospel is preached. What this woman did will be told it was worth it.

It was worth it. I bought a rainbow vacuum cleaner. It wasn't worth it. I went to Disney World. It wasn't worth it. I'm dead serious, y'all. It wasn't worth it. But when we started the church and we begin to give, like so many will do. You know what's crazy about the moment we're in right now is that the Gospel has never been more needed and there have never been more opportunities to make it available. Right now, while I'm preaching to you, there are thousands of people around the world.

I'm not talking about down this ta in an Indian trail and the kids had a flu so they didn't come around the world that are connecting to this message. Does that matter to you? Is it a value to you? We invest in what we value, and this matters to me. And for every time that I wrestled with God to be here to preach, it was worth it. If it breaks a chain off of your life, it was worth it. If it helps your marriage stay together, it was worth it.

If after your marriage falls apart, it is there for you to help you breathe in the moments where you feel your chest collapsing. If your kids come to Christ in this ministry, it's worth it. If you have a place where you can come and be accepted by the Blood of Christ, it is worth it. It's worth it. I'm telling you, it's wisdom for you to give to something that goes beyond you. Do. Y'all believe me that

there's people all over the world watching right now. They wake up in the middle of the night so they can catch it live. They could watch it later in the week. They don't want it later in the week. They want to win as fresh out the oven coming like hot bread. I feel a Coroba's annointing coming like hot bread to the table. They want the hot bread.

Put it on. I'm going to show them because I see some skeptics in the room doing It's crazy how they clap when we're giving the outreach money away to help people, but then when we talk about giving it as an act of worship, you about Judas always says, but I'm not looking for Judas's approval. I came for Jesus, I worshiped Jesus, I love Jesus. Judas didn't die for me. Jesus did. I'm not concerned about the critics. I'm concerned about the cross. So give me. I need a phone

with YouTube on it. Elevation Church YouTube. Now I need this. This is going to be a demonstration of how the fragrance. Remember when Lazarus died and Martha was like, I can't open the tomb. It stinks in there. What a difference a chapter makes. In chapter eleven, it smelled like death. In chapter twelve, it smelled like perfume. See, we can fill the earth. I'm not talking about a little squirt.

I'm talking about filling the earth with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, like the waters cover the sea. So here's what I want to do on EFM, Elevation Church. Put one on Elevation Church. Put one on my YouTube channel, JJ Tim. Put it on the Elevation Worship because we stream all over these things. And if you're watching this around the world, I want you to put where you are watching from and your name, and so I can let this church know that they're making a difference. Right now,

I'm scrolling right now Elevation Church. It's kind of weird watching myself preach on a five second delay, but I'm gonna do it because I love Jesus. High five. Somebody say, it's worth it. It's worth it all over the world, from the Netherlands, from Latvia, from Kenya, from Detroit, from Florida, from Hungary. Come on, from Syracuse, it's worth it. From California, It's worth it. From Singapore, from Brazil, from the Netherlands, y'all. I came from Monks Corner, South Carolina. And now people

are watching and joined up. I'm telling you this is the crown floor of something special. This is a move of God. I'm in on it. From Australia, from India, from Texas. I can't keep up. Look look how worth it it is. Look how worth it? Hawaii, Nigeria, Pittsburgh, Colombia, with a O in the middle. I can't keep up.

You got the other one. This is the worship one the San Antonio, New Orleans, Trinidad and Tobago, West Virginia, tud Did you have any idea when we started this church, when I sat across a golden corral, or when I told you when we were just getting ready to go off and start our lives and you came to followed me to college and met my wife's best friend and married her and then came on here to Charlotte. Could you imagine they'd be saying, Hey, from Nepal, from from

from the Ivory Coast, from Jamaica. I'm not making this up, I promise you, and as fast as I can scroll. So I needed you to know why. And it's worship. When you give, it's not just to pay the bills, to build another building. It is to fill the world. Is it? You got the other one? Whose is this? Huh? Chicago, Connecticut, Cape Town, South Africa. Kenya, Kenya all caps. They said it twice, Brooklyn, Jamaica. Look, I can't keep up. I can't. God is stupid. Look, I gotta put this in perspective

for you. When I walk on, y'all stand up. It'll help me close quicker, don't leave, don't leave. I'm just saying it's worth it. What's done for Christ is worth it. I had no idea you would be here when this was starting, but I believe that that you were. When Jesus was dying on the cross, he was dying with your salvation in mind. Why did he die because he thought you? You're worth it? And it's not only worship,

it is not only wisdom, it's a witness. So it could be a witness in Belgium, in the Philippines, in Botswana, in London and Aruba. Keep them coming. I know I can't keep up. I can't get to all of them. I just love to see what God started when one woman broke a jar. Everywhere the gospel is preached, you have a party there, Like my kids are growing up in a church. I got one in this service, and I'll have one in the next. And Abby's still too young.

She's still asking about Christmas trees and stuff. So she's in E Kids where they can handle that kind of questions. But every time before I come out, I don't think I ever showed you this, E but every time I don't know if you've see in Elijah, every time I come out to preach, and I hope it's okay for

me to show this. But the photographers here took pictures of the first time that each of my boys were in service, graduating from E Kids and sat on the front road to watch me preach, and they actually, these are really good photographers. They found a moment where the kids look interested. How hard is that? I'm telling you we got great photographers at Elevation Church. Let's thank God for the photographers. There's Elijah. It's something that I put right by when I walk out to preach to you.

Before I come in here to connect with thousands of people or preach, I want to remember my why, to build something that will be generational, something that will be beyond just my one little life. I also like this one. You can see I don't know who she is. There's Holly. Look at that admiration on her face for the Man of God. I like that one because it has my shoe in there and it says it's like my way of saying, like blessed the feet of them that bring

good news. I'm very symbolic. I'm just very I see a lot of stuff in Lussa and then Graham's looking like huh. But I see it and it just gives me I need a why. I need a why, and it reminds me my why that my kids are going to grow up in a church where people from all over. I grew up in a church. It was a great church. It was eighty people in the church. The town was six thousand, and I never knew that when God sent us, it's still going, y'all, it's still going this thing. Look

at this. Look who's lives you're touching right now? How God is using you right now? Is a witness and witness means two things, you know. It means that we have seen God. We have witnessed God do so much in our lives, and now we get to witness that to the world. That's what I'm passionate about. That's what I give my life to. That's what I said yes to. I didn't know when I was saying yes to God that it was making a way for us to be together in this moment. But God did, and he brought

us together. And it's so confusing. People will ask me, why do so many different types of people come to your church? I mean, I look around. You've got young people, You've got young less young people. You've got you know, white people and black people and Latino latina. You got to stand. You got all these different people. You got some religious people, some people who know the Bible cover to cover, some people that wouldn't know the Book of

Ruth from a baby room. Why why? Why? Because all of us have a Lazarus and all of us have a jar. When you hear us talk about this offering that's coming up. I want you to see it as an opportunity to worship, an opportunity to witness, to see God move in your life. Would you buy your head for just a moment, Epham sitting at your computers, you get in on this too, Put your face id bow your head all over the world right now, Malaysia, India, Nigeria. Never imagined that this would be and we get to

do it together, y'all. Beautiful thing is, Jesus has already paid the price for your salvation. There's nothing you do to earn His love. Means Puerto Rico, Charlotte. Somebody's playing hooky today, You get her next week. Alice, Texas, Ghana, all kinds of countries, Kentucky, pray so loud. I just wanted you to know why. I didn't want you to think that the church needed to fix the toilets over there on one campus at Lake Dormant or something like that.

It's not about that. It's about when you know you have an opportunity to be a part of something that God is doing the privilege of giving. That's why we give Father I Thank you for each person that you have brought to this ministry and the ways that they've connected our extended family, our ethm around the world, stepping up, making the difference, preaching Jesus shining light in dark places.

Here at this campus, I preached life from the Valentine location, where each week this pulpit represents an opportunity for somebody to hear the good news of Jesus Christ, his death, burial, resurrection, and his presence. Thank you for the way we experience breakthrough in this place, healing in this place, so many miracles. Thank you for all you've done for us. Thank you for what you've given us. Thank you for every Lazarus

you've called forth in our life. Thank you that you've taken us from death to life, from darkness to light. You transfer kingdoms. You took us out of a kingdom of this world, and you brought us into the kingdom of your son, whom you love. And we thank you for this opportunity that we have now in this season of our church to give back to you as a privilege, and thanks for everything that you have done in our lives to this point. We want to be a witness.

We want to say yes to you. We want you to use us in a way, in a powerful way, to preach hope, to distribute grace, to care for and look after the poor, to bind up the broken hearted. Their blind eyes could be opened by the gospel. I thank you for the part that each person will play whenever you speak to them. I pray that they will break their jar. Everybody has a lasarus. Everybody has a jar, and I pray that during this season the generosity would

break forth from your church, your kingdom. Come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. In Jesus' name, Amen, thank you for joining us. Special thanks to those of you who give generously to this ministry. Is because of you that this ministry is possible. You can click the link in the description to give now, or visit Elevation Church dot org slash podcast for more information and if you enjoyed the podcast, you can subscribe. You can share

it with your friends. You can click the share button, take a screenshot and share it on your social stories and tag us at Elevation Church. Thanks for listening. God bless you.