Thank U Next (Tim Somers)

gorgeous wife, that's my queen. She got me buzzing. And that's my big boy Brodi. He's thirteen years old. I know I don't look that old. Thank you, I appreciate it. And then I got my little three year old Genesis. I know you say that now, and I want you to look at you a real quick say, I'm so glad I'm sitting next to you. Okay, pick your second choice. Look at your second choice. Let them know I'm so

glad I'm sitting next to you too. Come on you see, let them know, let them know you could find your way to your seat. So honored to be able to be here. It wasn't last week. Absolutely incredible. It was amazing. And I know what you're thinking, Bishop TD Jakes, Jim, It's okay, it's okay. I'm not judging you, all right, but we're gonna be in the Book of Matthew. Everyone say, Matthew, this is gonna be very interactive. I'm a youth pastor. I understand the attention span. Okay, I understand it. So

I'm not going to give you four verses today. Okay, four verse, says Matthew. Chapter three, verses thirteen through seventeen. It says this, Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan. Look at your neighbor and say, God's always on the move. They don't know what's about to Giddo. Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. But John tried to deter him, saying, I need to be baptized by you. Why are you coming to me? Pleyah,

Jesus replied, let it be so. Now. Everyone say now come on, everyone say now it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness. And then John consented it as soon as Jesus was baptized. He went up out of the water, and at the moment, heaven was opened, and he saw the spirit of God descending like a dove, alighting on him. In a voice from heaven said, this is my son, whom I loved, and with him, I am well pleased. I want you to look at your neighbor real quick, and I want you

to tell him the title of my message. I want you to say thank you next, thank you next. Now, if this was a youth service, i'd hit that ariana grande instrumental right now. But since it ain't, I'm still going to hit it. Get it, Okay, you stop. I can already hear the YouTube comments flying right now online. How dare them? You know, the Summer's House likes to have a lot of fun. Okay, maybe a little too much fun every once in a while, hens you TV, But we really like to have a lot of fun.

And if I'm honest with you, the fun happens around dinner time. Okay. Now, we're not this perfect fan like every single night at six thirty, it's just glorious and confetti and everyone's just happy. No, it's not like that whatsoever. However, we do like to have fun. Now, you got to understand we've got a thirteen year old and a three year old. That is a dynamic. Okay, it's a dynamic, all right. And if I'm honest with you, like we like to play some music, you know, So we play

like you know Ariana Grande, like dancing. My three year old is like, oh, like his dance move is like this. It's like he does this, that's what he does. I don't know where he gets that from, but that's actually kind of good, I think. Okay, and we'll play We'll play songs like Yummy by Justin Bieber. You know I'm talking about My son always looks at me and he's like, Daddy, you have a lot of tattoos in that video. Y'all are smarter than Saturday. They did not get that. He

thinks I look like just some beaver. He thinks I am him. I know. It's cute. It's precious anyways. But one of my favorite things that we do around dinner time is we always eat and have dessert, Like always like we're gonna have a cookie, We're gonna have some candy, We're gonna bake a cake by we I mean my wife. But you know what I mean. We are always gonna have me some dessert. Okay, how many of you like dessert? You like some sugar. That's the diet that I love. Okay,

I love me some sugar. And so we do it all the time. So my son realizes he's grown up in this, and he's like, all right, what he understands is that my wife always makes the dessert first, put it in the fridge, put it in the freezer, do whatever she got to do, and then she starts the main course. Well what begins happing. My son's like, oh okay, I see how this works. Hey mom, why are you making the dinner? Can I have me a piece of cake? Like?

She's like, no, son, you got to make a happy plate. Now, if you don't know what a happy plate is, a happy plate is an empty plate. And if you make an empty plate, that's a happy plate. And we'll put the cake on the plate afterwards. You get what I'm saying. You got to make a happy plate. You can use that if you want. All right, it works, it really does. And uh like, hey mom, can I have some cake? No? Son, sorry, you got to make a happy plate. What are you

talking about what my son did. He got really smart. He's like, Mom, can have some cake? No, you can't have a cake. Okay. Cool. He walks across the living room, goes upstairs, go to my room, and says, dad can have some cake. I was like, yeah, why not? Sure? I want some cake? Can you bring up a piece for me? Absolutely? It goes downstairs, go get some cake and starts eating it. All of a sudden, I'm here in a little scuffle. Volume is raising. My wife does

not yell. I'm like, what is going on. I'm like, I walk downstairs. I'm like, what's going on? What is happening right now? Like? Well, I thought him he couldn't have any cake, and you know he's eating this cake. Now, I'm like, what a terrible kid. You're kidding me, Genesis. Now we started talking, were like, all right, look, we gotta understand. Gotta make the happy plate, then you can eat cool. My son comes around, He's like, Mom, can I have some cake? No? Dad? Can I have some cake?

I got you boy? No, Bubba, can I have some cake? Nah? Now here's what you gotta understand. He started doing this funny thing. Like to this day, I still laugh it's bad. My wife's like stop, turn around, do not laugh. He cannot see you do that. I mean, it's hilarious. He will now start asking and he like like, I don't know how he got all these facial expressions, but he's very he's very dramatic. He very dramatic. Okay, So now he asks and he says, mom can have some cake.

She's like no, and he goes like this. He puts his head down and puts his eyes down and bucklers out his lips like like this no, and then he side eyed you like, did that work right? Like he's pouting. He's got attitude. I don't care. He's three. It's funny to me. I'm like, God, that's so cute. And goes to me, Dad can have some cake? Nah, Bud, I'm sorry, you gotta make apvy plate. No. But he's like this tall right goes to Baba, Hey, Baba, can I have

some cake? Cat? I some candy? Nobuddy, Sorry, you gotta make avy plate. No. Have you ever found yourself doing this to God? Before God? If I could just get that promotion, Felicia don't need it. I need it. I need that promotion. I've been working hard. And he's like, ah, but I'm working on some things with you, sweetheart. I don't think so, not right now? No, how do you do that? How do you do a? Side eight to Jesus?

I don't even know right, Like, if I could just find me a man, please come on, give me a man, Lord, give me like a we're working on self control right now. No, no, right, like you know, a lot of us walked into this room today and we're like, man, I'm ready to get blessed. I'm talking about I'm excited for church fourteen years. Pastor Stephen about to bring the word. Tim Summers walks up. No,

don't we find ourselves doing this. We think we know what's best for ourselves, don't we, As Legendesis thinks we. He just thinks he knows exactly what is best for him. But if I gave him desert every single night first, it would ruin everything, including my sanity. This is where John is in this passage because this as in verse fourteen, John tries to deter him. In the New King James version, I love this one, it says he tries to prevent him.

He's trying to prevent Jesus to perform a miracle right now he's seeing. John says, I need to be baptized by you. I need to be baptized by you. I don't need to be baptizing you. Why do you come to me? John tries to prevent the miracle because in this moment, he thinks he knows exactly what's best, and oftentimes we can think we know exactly what is best for our lives. Have you ever been there before? I know I have. I'm raising my hand. Why do we think that it is because we think we know exactly

what's coming up. We're like, no, I know what I'm gonna do next. Absolutely, I mean I've got a plan. I've got a plan. I'm organized. I'm a visionary. How many planners in the house. How many visionaries in the house. I'm a visionary. Maybe not much of a planner, but a visionary. I'm always thinking about what is next. I'm gonna let you know right now, this message is gonna be hard for you. This message is going to be very,

very hard for you to comprehend. But I really believe that God wants to speak something directly to you today, because in all reality, we have no clue what God is going to do next, and I like it that way. I never want to limit God to my understanding. I'm okay with that. And at this moment, John has no clue what Jesus is about to do, because in verse thirteen we go back one Versus says, then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John.

Do you think John knew that Jesus was coming from Galilee to the Jordan. Absolutely not, absolutely not. Hey, I don't know where you are at right now. I don't know what situation that you're going through, but I can tell you right now, God is on the move. He's going from Galilee to your Jordan. He's going from Galilee to your marriage. He's going from Galilee to your relationship with your kids. He's going from Galilee to provision. He is Jehovah, Jirah, my provider. John had no clue that

Jesus was on the move. John's baptizing people, he's preaching the gospel, he's increasing his reach. And what you got to understand is from Galilee to Jordan's like a seventy mile walk. And they didn't have no tesla's back in the day Okay, so this ain't one hour. I'm talking. This dude is walking. Jesus is walking. I mean maybe he was on a donkey, so like that's a fast walk. That's it. Okay, this is a long time. This is

a couple of days at least, maybe even a week. Again, I don't know if you've been in a situation for two years, two months, two days, or two seconds. God is working on your behalf, whether you know it, see it, feel it, or understand end it at all. But as much as we think we do, we have minor control over what is next. Minor control. Because Jesus replies, let it be so now. In the message translation, it says do it now. That just says to me that Jesus

was an eight on the enneagram. You know what I'm saying. He said, do it, do it right now. It is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness. Jesus is letting John know I know what needs to happen next. I need you to focus on what's happening now. I know what's happening next. You focus on right now? Why Jesus. What happens next is always up to Jesus. But what happens now is always up to you. It's always up to you. When you look at the verse fifteen when it says it is proper for us to

do this to fulfill all righteousness. Those words right there, fulfill and righteousness. These are weighty words in the passage on why Jesus needs to be baptized. Have you ever thought about this? Why did Jesus need to give baptized? Then don't make any sense to me. You created water, You can become water if you'd like. What do you what do you mean? Why does Jesus need to be

baptized in this very moment? But what he's helping John understand is that I am fulfilling the role as an obedient everyone say, obedient, obedient son of God by practicing the righteousness of some admitting to God's will. Jesus knew I'm gonna get on the cross, I'm gonna die for all the sins I'm gonna I'm gonna raise from the grave, and I'm gonna change the entire world. But in order for me to do next, you right now have got to baptize me so that I can help everyone in

the world understand. This is how you are obedient in the righteousness of submitting to God's will. I don't. Oh, that's the that's the God I want. I want to serve. He ain't cutting any corners. He could have, and I don't know if we would have even questioned it. He didn't cut a single corner and said, no, this is exactly what needs to happen. This is what needs to happen. And right now you can start taking out that TV

real quick, guys, Thank you so much. In verse sixteen, it says this, as soon as Jesus was baptized, he came up out of the water, and at that moment, heaven was opened, and he saw the spirit of God sending like a dove and alighting on him. In a voice from heaven said this is my son whom I love, and with him I am well. Please. Did you ever think that John knew that the heavens were gonna crack open? Did you ever think that a dove was going to

descend down to earth? He never thought that. Why because he tried to prevent the miracle beforehand. He didn't even know Jesus was going from Galilee to the Jordan. He had no clue, no clue when have we found ourselves preventing God's miracle in our lives? Have you ever thought that you've known better for yourself? Nah, this isn't the way it needs to happen. This isn't going according to plan. John never intended for any of this to happen, but

Jesus did. Jesus knew a little bit more than John did, which can kind of be hard to understand. Oh, Jesus knows more than me. That's how we act sometimes, that's how we live. I know better than God. I'm stepping on toes that hurt. I'm stepping on my toes. I can find myself thinking. I know I've got everything ready, I know exactly how it needs to go. I know exactly what my sons need to do. Jesus is giving us insight. We got to be in the now. We got to be in the now. When you think about it,

what's next? As always? Now, you know that God will never give you next? He never will and he can't. He can't give you next. You don't believe me? You ready, what's next? Now? What's next? Now? What's next? Now? What's next? Now? He will never give you next? Why do we focus our entire life on it constantly. Now, don't hear me say, don't plan, don't don't think about next, don't be a visionary. No. Do you think our church has a vision for what's

gonna happen next? Absolutely? You think we think about it one hundred percent. Do you think we try and plan for some things. Absolutely, but it's not the priority. When next becomes a priority, it ultimately becomes prevention. It ultimately prevents what God is actually trying to do. We've got to understand we do not know what's best. God knows what's best. That's why I love our church. That's why

I love our pastors fourteen years. That's why we can come in and spend the entire weekend last weekend, and we can celebrate one hundred and fifty thousand salvations, twenty thousand baptisms, fifty two million dollars given to outreach, because we understand we're gonna celebrate right now one of our core values. We will not take this for granted. It's about expressing gratitude. That's all we did last week, expressing gratitude for what God has been doing in our lives

and in our church. Like imagine this Jesus rolls up and you're in the Lazy River and Jesus comes to you and he's like, hey, I want you to baptize me. Are you saying what John said? Probably not anymore. After you've heard this, I realized, like, well, maybe I would have still asked some questions. But now we're reading this page and I'm like, no Ah, Jesus coming to me saying, hey, I want you to baptize me. I might Oh really me, Okay, great, let's do it. Thank you? What an honor. This is huge?

Are you serious? Okay, grab my hand, I'll hold your nose. Oh my god, your hair is beautiful. Wow, I love it. Right coming in grateful, I'm coming in with some gratitude. Let me tell you something. Our job is thank you. His job is next. That's our responsibility, because the revelation of next only comes with the realization of now. I'll say it a different way, the revelation of next only comes with the responsibility of now. We have looked at now as something that we can just move to the

side with. In all reality, that is the only thing that God has ever given you is right now. It's right now. It's right now. What's next? Now? What's next? Now? What's next? Now? That's that's it. That's all we have. And for a generation as a society and a culture for who always asks what's next? I dare to say this, Show me you're now, and I'll show you you're next. Show me what you're doing right now, Show me how you're praying right now, show me what you're believing for

right now? Every single one of us has been given something. You've been given something. What are you gonna do with it? Why compare? What's the chart that you're comparing off of? That didn't make any sense? Every single person in this room has breath. You have time? Why what's next? Now? What's next? Now? In those moments are going quicker than you think? What are you doing with right now? Are you okay with just coming in and being like I

attended church? That's good, that's great, I'm fine. You know, eleven years in full time ministry. I know I don't look that old, but eleven years in full time ministry. You've pastor the whole entire time. People will ask me, man, how do you how do you get so many teenagers apart and coming to your events and wanting to be a part of the thing. I was like, teenagers aren't the hard ones that's the hard Make a little relevant.

Talk to them the way that they talk at school, and you know, focus on one thing during the you know, the sermon, and like you Gucci, Gucci, gang, gutca gang. Am I right? Okay? Maybe not, it's the parents that are difficult. I could say that'd be why it's same here. I have found myself almost allowing things and I'm like, wait, that didn't make any sense. Why am I doing that? Like we we were gonna put Brody in that picture. It was in sixth grade. The dude's a giant, okay.

He's twice the size of everyone in his class. Okay, and he wants to play basketball like this dude no matter what, Like you don't even care if he got any skill. He's just tall. So it's gonna work in sixth grade, okay. Like, man, we want to put him in this camp, like we're so excited, like you know, he could be the next you know whatever. I'm like, okay, cool, let's do it. Awesome. Then I realized it happened on the weekends. I say, hey, Bud, I'm sorry, man, I'm sorry,

you know what my son said. I can't lie. I have to tell the truth. He's like, I get it. I didn't even have to really tell him the entire reason. He just knew, like ye had dad is on the weekend. I was like, oh, and like that's maybe like our one parent success, you know. I just I'm not the hero or anything like that. I just say this is one parent parental success. I was like, yes, he gets it. He understands the value of every single weekend in church.

He understands the value of serving out at the youth tent. He understands the value of getting into a group. And we had to force it for years. But he's looking at me like, man, that's exactly what I want to do with my life. But ah, I don't know. I'll step back and then guess what happened. Six months later we found a camp that's during the week But if I it would have been like John trying to prevent it. I would have never have known. Oh, there's another camp

that is accessible that will work perfectly with our schedule. Ah, this is why I'm trying to I mean, people will come up to me parents and they'll be like, oh, man Uthex twenty twenty summer camp teenagers. They look so awesome. Oh my goodness, Can you convince me why my child should go? Are you serious? I gotta convince you. I think it's because we don't understand the ROI on the church, all right, the return on investment in the church. I can send my kid to a basketball camp, I can

send him to private school. He might gain confidence through that. He might, he might get some good friends. He might. I'm not saying it. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. Right, would we all agree? Yeah, it's not a one hundred percent guarantee. The church is a one hundred percent guarantee that you are going to get something beneficial in their life, in your life, in your marriage. It might take some time, but it's the one hundred percent guarantee. Why would I not?

Why would I not? Right now, right now, right now? And the only thing that I realized was either you don't understand the concept of next to now, or you don't understand the return on investment in the church. It baffles me how much access we have and resource that we have as a church, and a lot of us don't take the most advantage of it. As we can, the community that you could have, the friendships, the mentorship. I'm like, this is everything. It might not be what

I planned, but this is everything. I'm like, if I'm a I'm if I'm a parent, I'm signing my kid up for Utex twenty twenty one hundred percent. I don't need to ask any more questions because here's the deal. You're ready for this. Well, what I ain't got no money? Well, I'm glad you said that. I'm glad you went to the table and said you ain't got no money because

guess what we got scholarships. You see how you find out things when you do stuff now instead of like, oh, no, there's no way I got no money, and it gonna even happen. Like when people say like, all right, I'm gonna go to an E group. I go to that E group and then like, I don't necessarily like that E group. That could happen. You'd be like, oh, that egert leader is a little weird, eh, and then God

starts speaking to you, Well, then why don't you start one? No, I'm see, but see how it goes to the next thing. It's a one hundred percent guarantee that God is going to do something beneficial in your life. There's no if ANNs or butts about it. It's a timing thing, and timing. When it comes to next, that's up to God. But when it comes to now, if the only thing I have to worry about is now, that is me. That's

my job. And when He blesses me, when he takes care of me, when he gives me the encouragement that I need, when he sends people on my way, what do I say? Thank you Jesus, What an honor. I knew that if I made this decision right now, that you are gonna come to me, that you were gonna take care of me, that you are gonna let me down. And even though it took two years, I would love to be in this position rather than my own plan.

If I could have everyone standing in this moment. I want to give people the opportunity to come into a relationship with Jesus Christ right now, because for some of you, you've been waiting on what's next. And it's not bad to plan, it's not bad to be organized, it's not bad to be a forward thinker. But when it becomes the priority, you're preventing everything that God has for you and wants for you, wants for your family, wants for your marriage, wants for your soul, and for your spirit.

I think there are many people in this room and across all the locations on EPHAM right now in online who you're saying. You know what. I'm ready right now because this is it. What's next? Now? What's next? Now? That's all you will ever be given. And when you see God do something over and over in your life, you'll realize it's because you could steward now. You could steward it with every head bow and every eye closed.

Anyone who wants to come into a right relationship with Jesus Christ, I want you to pray this prayer along with me, and as a church family, we're going to pray it together. And so I want you to say this, say, dear Jesus, I thank you for who you are. I thank you for who the Bible says that you are. I believe that you died on the cross, you rose from the grave, defeating all sin. Come into my life, make me a new creation, and right now I will follow you for the rest of my life with every

head bow and every eye close. At all locations on the counter. Three. If you just pray that prayer right now and you're saying, you know what, I'm not gonna worry about what's next. I know that in this moment is the moment that I want to make the most out of it. You pray that prayer for the very first time on the counter. Three, I want you to raise your hand. One. Don't worry about next. Two no hesitation, no doubt, no fear. Three, come on, raise your hands.

Come on, let's give it up. Everyone raising their hands making a decision right now at every location it come on. Thank you for joining us. Special things 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 Elevationchurch 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 again for listening. God bless you