Four Cups: God's Core Promises

as we walk out the journey of life we each begin to thirst for something more we want more than just life the way we know it it's a thirst for more peace more fulfillment more purpose that was God's plan all along since the ancient times he has made promises that he will quench that thirst and the promises he made long ago are the same promises he has made for us today all right great to see all of you here today welcome to week number one of a six-part series that we've called four cups will tell you more about that in just a moment but I always like to begin by saying hello to our campuses but today I want to say hello to grants mill so glad to be back on in the pool big baby backhoe yeah what's up everything okay yeah so I've been gone the last three Sundays speaking at other our locations and then also in the correctional facilities and had a blast but I'm glad to be right back here at Grantsville three weeks ago I had them one of the most life-changing experiences of my life to be with the ladies at Tutwiler they're watching right now ladies we love you guys so much I literally came and I were there together and had one of the most memorable days of my life there with you and so I wanted to give you a special shout out and then last week went to Bibb County Correctional Facility one of the nine locations that were in across the state and they just had a fantastic time and broke a broad coach Pat Sullivan with me he's a member of our church he of course head coach at Sanford and the 1971 Heisman Trophy winner and so each coach calls me a couple of days before we were to go into the facility said what do you think I think I got hardly ever do this what do you think about me bringing the Heisman and letting the guys see it I'm thinking dude I want to see it yeah good idea you know it's cute so he brought it out and just that we had a fabulous time and he spoke to the men and then I preached to them as well and also in these three weeks had the opportunity of visiting our newest location up in Huntsville and I'm glad to report to you guys that there is a thriving very large congregation of people in it the most beautiful facility and they're doing things exceptionally well up there so proud of pastor Allen and the team there so to all of our campuses all 10 locations and to all those in the correctional facilities and those watching the theater next door here or online or one of our network churches that actually use our messages every week we welcome all you guys we're so glad you're here today how about a grand spiel come on say hello to your church family yeah all right so I've just written a brand-new book and I'll tell you a little bit more about that in just a second but it came out on Tuesday and I'm very excited about this book but I wanted to take the story behind how it all happened because about three years ago I had the opportunity to take my first trip to the nation of Israel to do a Holy Land to her and I did it with about 40 of my pastor friends and it was fantastic yeah absolutely fantastic in every way a highly recommended it ought to be on your spiritual bucket list you will not be sorry if you make that just something you try to accomplish in your lifetime but it was very different than what I was expecting and that some of that had to do with the tour guide that I had he loves God and but he's an archaeologist he loves really digging into you know exact facts and so there so when you get to Israel you know one of the things you want to do is you want to go to all these sites there you want to be where Jesus was I want to I want to step in the very places where Jesus stepped in and so you have all these places the Sermon on the Mount and the Mount of Transfiguration and where the wedding at Cana and all these places when we get there they have the spot but it's called the traditional location of it and our tour guide took great pleasure in telling us it probably didn't happen here I was like oh you know I was like I was ready for this kumbaya moment and he's left me that that does Holy Spirit just flew away every time he said that you just like man you're just got a you're crushing my feet moments here and he's like oh no I probably you know because you go to this baptism where the baptism in the River Jordan there's people there getting baptized you're like oh it's right here and he goes no no it's probably eight miles down the river like oh you know oh terrible and so in fact we went to Nazareth where Jesus grew up and they have a first-century home there still that they they've excavated and you know you can look at and see what kind of houses or homes they they would have lived in and of course they're very archaic as you can imagine and he said oh by the way when you're looking at this this is probably similar to where he was born I'm like he was born in a stable barn cows pigs a little manger straw it's pretty I've got it on my coffee table yes Purdy you know it he goes no it wasn't a barn anyone really wasn't what we you know stables didn't look like you know like an American stable us I went there and I said well then what did it look like he said what they probably their stables were probably caved soon as he's born Jesus was born in a cave know like well it'll look pretty on my coffee table okay I don't want to cave in my front yard anyway just kind of ruin it for me a little bit and so the last day we're good we're gonna do we're doing the the Via della Rossa the the last steps of Jesus through the the gates of Jerusalem and all the way to the cross and so that's a very touching moment those are the exact places but right before we would we went to the place where he spent the night before he went to cross the Garden of Gethsemane the Mount of Olives you can go to this garden of olive trees and and of course Jesus prayed that last night that's where he was arrested that's where it all began and so you're there and so we decided to take communion together Lebanon church my whole life communion is it's a cup and it's some bread right that's what it is and our tour guide said no that's not what it is like no don't tell me he we've been doing it wrong all these years and actually when he when he told me what it would have looked like on that night on that Thursday night before Jesus went to the cross I got one of the greatest revelations of my life he says no actually when Jesus would have observed the Passover meal the Passover celebration we're going to talk about that next week the Passover meal he said actually from the book of Exodus to today when Jewish people celebrate the Passover is actually there would have been the bread but there would have been not one cup but for I'd say well tell me more about these four cups say yeah they would actually read through one passage of Scripture the same passage has been read through since since the book of Exodus mode the Moses story until today that they'd read this one passage in in that passage has these four statements and they drink a cup of wine with each statement nonce things are kind of coming together because in Luke 22 when you have the Last Supper in Scripture the cups mentioned several times and I always knew that was like wait I don't understand why there's mentioning it so many times because it just one right and now it's all coming together here there were Jesus would have had there would have been four cups of wine that they would have had at that past Passover meal and he says that's nothing so they all represent he said God's plan for people's lives it was God's plan that he had for the children of Israel when they were in Egypt but that those plans are eternal you can see them he said those same four things are all throughout scripture there in the Great Commission of Jesus they're all throughout the book of Acts they're all throughout the New Testament Old Testament it's cover to cover and I thought yeah I know those four because we had already organized our church around what I knew to be the Great Commission of Jesus around the four things that God wanted to do in people's lives I thought it originated with Jesus I had no idea it had always been in God's heart he has always felt this way about you and me well I came home intrigued by that and we had already taught these four but not around these four cups so I rewrote the membership class material which you can actually go through today at all the campuses we have our membership class a one-hour class where you can find out about our church and about our structures our government you know how we handle finances who I'm accountable to our vision where we're going with all this is a goal look like ten years from now you can kind of get all those questions answered and perhaps make this your home church that happens today at every location you could do that all right and but AUSA let's let's let's align this let's bring back this original statement from God these four these four cups and and then I started teaching us about two years ago I started teaching it in pastors conferences and I speak to more than 10,000 pastors every year in different conferences and more than 3000 of them will physically come to Birmingham throughout this year more trained them and we just give to them and we're helping a bunch of churches who are struggling we're helping them grow in a minute we created called called grow where we invest in them and and I needed a resource I needed something to give them because I started teaching them these four cups these are the four things that God wanted to do that if you're going to have a great church you have to build your programming and your ministry around the four things that God wants to do not what you want to do but what God wants to do in people's lives and and I really didn't write the book to write a book I wrote the book because I needed something to give in our membership class and something I could give to these these growth pastors in any way it released and thank God thank God for it and we've got copies available for you today and as always everything we already make available to you is at cost and it's it's it's in fact we do that for everything the coffee whatever we have we we make that at at cost for you guys and but if this book makes anything you know it's full price for those outside you know if it does make anything we decided to give every penny of it to help these churches that are struggling and we're going to invest in in them to help their churches grow and implement these ideas y'all think that's a good idea everybody so yeah we're just gonna invest in them so anyway it's out there check it out if there's something you're interested in but we wanted to do a series around this and I want to teach you things that I did not include in the book and I want to take you on a spiritual journey I want to take you to a place that has been at the heart of Highlands since the day it was created in fact again a lot of you don't know this that Hollis was created with one thought in mind that we thought there might need to be a place for people who said this there has to be more there has to be more I mean I love God and I've been in church but there just has to be more than what I'm currently experiencing that's even where the name came from Church of the Highlands let's go to higher Heights let's continue to pursue all that God has for us so I want to begin a series with this simple thought and that is more than three thousand years ago God made some promises to a group of people in Egypt the Israelites and those promises continue to stand at the heart of everything he wants to do in your life today God the God of the universe has an offer on the table for you he's made you some promises and I want to just talk about the idea of promises today this is not in the book but I think it'll bless you really good get your message notes out and your worship guide take some notes along with me look at this verse in 2nd Peter chapter 1 God has given us his very great and precious say the word out loud his precious promises so that through them so the promises have a purpose it's like when you discover the promises they do two things one is this is huge I hope you grab this so that through promises you're able to participate in the divine nature so chances are you're you're participating in something right now and it isn't quite so divine like why even a lot of Christians are living very natural lives let me say it this way so the world's realities are greater than God's realities you're not looking like Scripture you're looking like what the devil has planned for your life because you're participating in a natural life and God this is God's never designed you to live a natural life he's designed you to live a supernatural life can I get a better amen somebody in this house woman yeah it's true so promises help you participate in that nature and will help you escape the corruption that's in the world well I'd like to have both of those like God has promises for you that will let you live a supernatural life and those promises the Bible calls the Word of God the sword of the Spirit these promises or a weapon that allow you to escape the corruption that's in the world caused by evil desires jump is down if you're taking notes this is the definition of promise it's an offer with a guaranteed result it's an offer and I just want to dangle this carrot in front of you and let you know that God has an offer on the table now check it out chances are all of us haven't fully realized that offer let me say it this way so God has more on the table he has more that he that is available to you that you're not realizing yet there's an offer and it's in the form of promises we're going to look at those promises today God has a promise for you and when God fulfills his promises they always come to pass God's promised it like chances our promises have been made to you maybe by a spouse maybe by a parent maybe by your employer and they broke those promises all of us have been on the receiving end of broken promises not God not your God God always keeps his promise Joshua 21 says not one of all the Lord's good promises to Israel ever failed every one of them were fulfilled and let me point this out while they were living they thought God was not going to fulfill it it looked like it wasn't but he ended up doing it usually never in the way that we think but he always fulfills it and some of you have thought that but no God does go back on his promises like they're in there and I'm not getting that no no no I'm telling you he always fulfills them and I'm going to show you how in just a moment Hebrews chapter 6 says this way just go to the New Testament when God wanted to guarantee his promises he gave His Word a rock-solid guarantee God cannot break his word and because God cannot break his word and his word cannot change the promise of God is also see this were now unchangeable in other words they are eternal they are unconditional he always wants to do them there's nothing you can do to say God says well forget it then you can't have it no no they are unchangeable you need to know that and we who have run for our very lives to God a little bit have every reason to grab these promises with both hands and never let go and that's the journey we're going to go on I'm going to reveal them to you and help you grab hold of them and live them out so that you can have more than you're currently experiencing now if you're happy with where you are and you have a desire to to go to higher heights it's not be the best church for you because we are going we are we are going to pursue all that God has for us amen everybody now it's an unbreakable spiritual lifeline what what is the promises reaching past all appearances and they will take you right to the very presence of God I'm dangling that in front of you right in the very presence of God so three things you need to know about promises jot these down if you're taking notes and that is that you need to know what these promises are like you need to know his promises and a lot of us know some of them and some of you don't know any of them and but there are a lot of promises God has made you some promises and they need to be made known to you look at this verse in first chronicles Oh Lord for the sake of your servant and according to your will you have done this great thing and David was worshiping because you have made known all these great promises he celebrated the fact that I see it now God he said Chris where are all these promises they are in his word if you want to know what the Bible is the Bible is a book of promises and in it or the lifeline the things that we grab hold up with both hands that will lead you right into the very presence of God it'll let you experience the divine nature and help you escape from the corruption of the world that is why it is absolutely imperative that if you want to grow in your walk with God you want to experience all that God has for you you need to read your Bible every day every day get in God's Word every day and not to read it to conquer it we encourage people to read what's called the one year bible which is a little bit of the Old Testament New Testament a psalm and a proverb every day if you do it every day you read through the whole Bible but the goal isn't to read through the whole Bible the goal is not to conquer the one your Bible the goal is to every day is to to discover a promise in that doctor just grab hold of one verse one promise and so if you go to our website or use the Hollande's app I mean like it's the one your Bibles on the home page because it narrative that you find the promises of God here's what I want you to do Church listen listen read your Bible every day with one with one goal to get one nugget one truth one verse like every day it doesn't all speak to me hope that makes you feel better okay at all all of it did always speak to me but every day I leave there going wow now that's good and I'ma hang on to that promise Allu tell you when life doesn't make sense you need to hold on to the promises of God whenever you're going through something difficult you need to hold on to the promises of God like for every situation one of the disciplines that Tammy and I do is that for every situation we find a verse in every situation and we're currently going through a struggle right now and we've got something we're just we're dealing with and we have found a verse we're holding on to it is the promise of God and I'm telling you there's not a situation you can face where God hasn't given you one of his great and precious promises like if you have fear in your heart Psalm 27:1 the Lord is my light and my salvation whom shall I fear if you're going to like you got the devil on your back first John 4 for greater see who's in me then he who's in the world I apply that to my life Romans 8:37 no and all these things God has made me more than a conqueror through him who loved me Luke chapter 10 verse 19 I have been given authority to trample on snakes and scorpions I have been given power over all the enemy nothing shall by any means harm me I'm going through financial struggles Philippians 4:19 that God shall supply all my need according to his riches in Christ Jesus it has sickness in my body Psalm 103 bless the Lord O my soul all that's within me I'm going to praise His Holy Name who forgives all my sin and heals all of my diseases first Peter chapter 2 verse 24 that Jesus took the stripes on his back and by His stripes I healed I mean you can hang on to the promises of God it's been three weeks since I preached and I'm fired up everybody you go to the dentist crown him with mini crowns no just kidding that's not a verse I'm kidding but there is a verse that says open wide da mouth and I will fill it so there's your dentist verse all right years ago Tammy now our house got broken too while we were in it so like when we first got married we living a little I mean it's about 800 square foot townhouse apartment was a two-story townhouse apartment and we were upstairs asleep we just came down the next morning down the stairs and the bottom floor was gone front door open back door open everything everything gone looked out the window and our windows have been shattered both cars and our cassette players in our have been take it out and I mean it was a dark day and not only do you lose all your stuff but the feeling of being violated and there's the fear honestly it's going to bed the next night it's kind of crazy kind of feels kind of crazy we found us a verse and The Book of Psalms it says there will be no more breaching of our walls and there'll be no more going into captivity and we put that on a note card at both doors and we just claimed God's promises for our possessions and our stuff when our kids started driving Psalm 121 the Lord will bless you're coming in you're going both now and forevermore I mean I have one of my kids Lord I really need this promise on their live and you find you a verse you got to know the promises of God because when life doesn't make sense you can hold on to the promises of God it's good preaching I don't care what y'all say here's a segment all right and that is I need to understand them and this is where some of you say no God gods into false advertisement like he says stuff and he really doesn't do it well that's because you don't understand the promises here's a verse that's not in your notes if you want to jot it down numbers 23:19 God is not a man so he does not lie he is not human so he does not change his mind has he ever spoken and failed to act has he ever promised and not carried it through twitch Sameer thinking yeah he's not carried it through and that's where you would not know not under fully understand promises then actually there's two things you need to know about its promises and the one is that when God has them he doesn't change his mind they are eternal they are unconditional you cannot get away from you cannot sin enough to keep him wanting to fulfill them in your life there's not a level but you also need to know that they are not only unconditional but they're conditional like every promise has a premise it has some role that you play in it like walking in a right relationship with God I have things I can give my kids but I can't if they choose not to be a part of the family they have to stay in right relationship and then I've got blitzed up way more stuff than they have and I can bless them I need to walk in the right relationship so many things well God's not faithful yeah but you are you in a right relationship second thing you need to know is that he always he always requires faith now let me just give you some pastoral advice get used to it see some of you still want God to give you stuff but you don't want to use your faith you just wanted to do it and he's not gonna do that because he wants you to trust him depend on him and that he knows will make you very close to him so without faith it's impossible to please him what's faith it's that leap I don't think it's there but he told me to go there and know it was there that's faith step out and believe it even if you don't see the circumstances that's how you get the promises and here's the last thing you need to know is that God does it his way and in his time and that's the part again we don't really care for and God's kind of slow he's patient and he does that because while he's delivering it on the promise he'll teach you something in the process and I've told him God I'm fine with going to heaven stupid and dumb just let me you know and he goes no we don't learn some stuff while we're here and he does that but if you if you'd stay in obedience walk in faith and let him do it his way with his time he never fails second Corinthians says it this way back to your notes for no matter how many promises God has made they are always yes he did it man he actually did it and so through them men he did it is spoken by us to the glory of God so you need to know them you need to understand them and this is what the series is all about third thing write it down and that is I need to pursue them I need to pursue them so they're not going to automatically come to you you've got to chase them down and I'm going to help you we're going to take a spiritual journey this is a this is a spiritual maturity series this is a you're gonna look back six weeks from now and not be in the same place you used to be series you're gonna love it it's gonna be awesome it's going to be fun all right but notice what David King David said about these promises psalm 119 your promises have look at this have been thoroughly tested and some of you haven't thoroughly tested them you claimed them it didn't happen you walked away david said oh that didn't work let me find out how it works and he kept doing it he tested it and now your servant loves them eight verses later he said this he says my eyes stay open through the watches of the night that I might meditate on them on your promises so there was like thinking about him all the time when he went to bed he was thinking about how he could pursue God's promises now it's going to take that kind of zeal and energy in order for you realize them but if you do it's glorious it's four glorious living and I am making a personal guarantee in fact I looked up the etymology of the word promise first used in the fifteenth century this word promise comes from two word the pro in the mist part or two words and it literally means to send forth but specifically meaning it always makes a guarantee listen about your future okay so I can make a guarantee about your future that if you know them understand them and pursue them that there's a better life than you're currently living did you hear what I just said so like if you like it when it is we envy you okay but if you think men there's a better life yes there's a better life and I'm and I'm offering you to take this journey with me through the four cups because the original promise these original four promises that God made to the children of Israel that Jewish people talked about every Passover they are what our church has been built on the principles that this church has been built on they stand as listen the core the four core promises that God made let me stay this way so all the other promises center around these four like these are the heart of them all the promises he got thousands of them for you but these are the big four and they're found in Exodus chapter 6 this is that verse that Jewish people read when they take Passover which we'll talk about next week therefore stated in surah lights I am the Lord and therefore the jewish people call before i wills i will bring you out that's the first thing God wants to do I just got to get you out of there I'm not worried about changing you I'm not worried about fixing you I'm not ready I'm not ready to tell you how what your life's all about I just got to get you out of there I can't even start working your life until I get you out of Egypt so I got to bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians then I will free you this is interesting to me I will free you from being slaves well it sounds like what you already did like you got me out of slavery I'm not a slave anymore and now you're gonna free me from being a slave yeah because there are a lot of people that aren't slaves anymore you're not slaves anymore but you still have a heart of slavery the way I like to say it is they were out of Egypt but Egypt was still in them they were thinking wrong so they didn't know how to act so God says now that I got you out of slavery I got to get that slavery out of your heart and I'm a free you from that I love the word free and that's what we'll study well study that in a few weeks just that one that one statement third thing he says I've got a promise for you and that is I want to redeem you redeem you I've got to put you back to what you were supposed to be doing because it wasn't slavery and I'm gonna do that with an outstretched arm and with the mighty acts of judgment and then the last thing is I'm gonna take you I'm gonna take you as my own people I'll explain all that in just a moment and I will be your God and then you will know Palance that God is God because you're gonna see this massive change in your life who brought you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians I'm gonna bring you out I'm gonna free you I'm gonna redeem you then I'm going to take you and make you a people group I'm gonna make you something great so let's look at those as a tease here's what we going to do today I just wanted to help you understand there's an offer on the table like there's more than you're currently experiencing next week we're just going to understand this Passover we're going to understand that Jesus and how the cross of Jesus and that Passover celebration in Exodus are literally the same thing that's going to blow your mind but we've got for you next week in its own Palm Sunday where we celebrate the cross and then we're gonna dive into these four cups each one at a time and realize them together as a church let me give you a little preview okay and the first one is that God said God said I will bring you out that was the first promise and that is God's promise for me to be saved God promises me jot it down salvation salvation now here's the question and here really lies the problem is that just about everybody especially in Alabama thinks gauri got that one move on without she got and we say that because we all grew up in church because we think salvation is your church attendance your denomination it's the card you signed no no all that was about your relationship to a church now salvation could have happened but for scores of people they have equated salvation just with their church relationship not their God relationship that's a problem say Kristen how it do I know if I drink from this first cup or not well I'll let the Scriptures speak to you because I'm going to give you a filter to let you know because every one of your in one of these for every one of you like there's more for you to get in one of these four and you might be in this first one if this verse makes any sense Titus 3 it wasn't so long ago that we those of us that have already drank from the first cup that are saved that we ourselves were stupid and stubborn I love the message stupid and stubborn dupes of sin and we were ordered every which way by our glands that means I was my body was calling the shots so if a body wanted it I did it going around with the chip on my shoulder so I was bitter I'm out of control I'm tempted also I was hated and being and hating people right back that's what life without Jesus looks like but when God are kind and loving Savior God stepped in he saved us from all that so let me say it this way if you were still doing all that there might you might still need to drink from this cup look if you're hating and hating back and if your body calls the shots just saying all right God stepped in he saved her small that it was his doing we had nothing to do with it here's what he did he gave us a good bath and we came out of it new people washed inside and out by the Holy Spirit our Savior Jesus poured out new life generously God's gift has restored our relationship with him now that's the crux that's the bedrock of what salvation means let me say it this way if you are not in a relationship with God you're not saved the Bible says that salvation is is when you're in a relationship with God not in relationship with the church that's a good thing but that's not salvation salvation is when you're in a relationship with God so if God is a million miles away you need to drink from the first cup there's a promise available to you so that no longer does your body call the shots no longer do you hate and hate back no that's all could be go you can be a new person in Jesus name everybody and there's more life to come he's given us our lives back and there's more life to come eternal life you can count on this I love it so that's the first cup so all that to say is if you have your own life still there's that different life for you to have and I invite you to drink from the first cup there's an offer on the table for you to be saved everybody and have a real relationship with Jesus can I hear a good amen but there's more scores of Christians are gonna do that and they count that the final step in the process oh that just starts the process cuz then he says now that you're out of Egypt and I've got you this out of there and you're saved now I got to get the Egypt out of you I've got to get the junk out of your life and he says and I will free you I got it free you now chances are let me just say this 80 to 90% of you are in this one so you love God but you've never experienced God's promise of deliverance deliverance now that word freaks people out because you're thinking damn near near near near near near near I mean I write like boo like my head's got a spin you know a Catholic priest has to come in with a cross and get the devil out of you right right deliverance isn't for people with demons deliverance is for people who are still trapped in their old life so you're a Christian but you still your sin nature still is interrupting the process all right so you have this problem saying that that messes you up and embarrasses you don't because the great Apostle Paul confessed in Romans 7 and 8 that he course love God he's planting churches in writing 2/3 of the New Testament but admitted that he was frustrated that his old sin nature was still showing up too much in fact he says I keep wanting to do the good things and I find myself doing the bad things and he he got frustrated because what a wretched person you are who's gonna rescue me from this body of death he was so frustrated in that chapter and I loved it I loved his honesty and he said this about himself in the end of that chapter so then I myself in my mind I'm a slave to God's law so I've decided to follow Jesus I I'm in love with God's law but in the sinful nature I can I'm still a slave to sin like when it knocks on my door I answer it and I do it and I hate that but then he gives us a truth on how to get out of it I want you to see this so it's in the next chapter therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus now it's good for you to know because that means because the question is what does God think about that here you are again on a Sunday you said you wouldn't last Sunday and you did five times this past week and how does God feel about that well the Bible says there is no condemnation so God's not going are you serious really Oh put your hands down you don't deserve to wear two like that that's not good no no that's not good there's no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus so in other words God goes I've got I've got a promise for you in other words he's not frustrated with you he still he puts an offer on the table and it's the couple of deliverance that God wants to cause I've got a plan for that I had a plan not only to get you out of Egypt but I have a plan to get to Egypt out of you and a bunch of you need to experience that you we all need ex-prime because it's still not so so how does it happen through Christ Jesus the law go back of it through Christ Jesus through Christ Jesus the law of the spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death he set me free from it and that's what I want you to experience and for some of you that's where you're on the process here's the problem of that one tons of Christians get perpetually stuck in that one almost been the road my life just working on me how's it going well God's not finished with me yet my evidence we're stuck there and you don't know that there are two more offers on the table for you to move from that and experience even more I'm fired up about this out y'all ain't a minute that's so good Pastor Chris you've reached that burger all right sorry you didn't a minute I came in myself alright there we all right go to the next slide alright so the third offer is to redeem you the redeemed that's the tough word to understand the redeemed means to put something back to its original intent so here's the promise God promises to restore me he promises me restoration like God has something for you he wants you to do now if you don't shout on this next verse you need to check your pulse alright cuz this is good what you're getting ready to see it's in Christ that we cut three find out who we are and what we're living for all right now you need to know this like if you don't know who you are and what you're living for you haven't you have not realized the third promise that God has something he wants to reveal your uniqueness and he has something for you to do and and long before we first heard of Christ and got her hopes up he had his eye on you and had designs for us for glorious living and not only just so you could go wow this is what life's all about it's part of the overall purpose that God is working out in everything and everyone all that to say is God has a plan for your life where you can make a difference on this earth and some of you still don't know what it is like you're living your life and you don't know who you are and what you're supposed to do and you're a piece of the puzzle of what God wants to do to make that planet different you're part of his plan and that's the third promise I'm going to help you find it that's the purpose of our church is to get you out get it out of you and then help you find the plan that God has for you that's what we're all about and then you get to drink from the ultimate it's it's it's where God ultimately wants you to be and the final promise is the most intriguing to me because of the way it's worded he says I will take you as my own people and the notices he's been working on you you you Nally now it's no longer person it's people so at the final stage of God's development in your life he doesn't make you a person he makes you a people you didn't catch it so at the final stage because he's gotten you out and he got the junk out of you and then he helped you find the thing that God's created you to do and then he puts you a part of a family a team a place a city a church with a vision any group sure god never fulfills his best in a person by themselves he always puts you in a group these you'll never find that you'll never never seen in scripture where God says I'm gonna do something just great in you know he's always he's always making a body of Christ he he wants to cook it wants to put you together and it's there that that the whole thing becomes so much fun I can't describe it in fact let me said this way you'll have new you'll never even know you'll never even know how great life can be until you're a part of a team making a difference you'll never even know and I'm dangling it in front of you that there's an offer on the table for God to get you out of the bondage if you're in it if you're still letting your glands decide how you live and your hating and hating back you need to get out and then once you get out let him just begin the process of working the junk out of your heart healing you just delivering us from the junk then help you find your design who you are and what you're living for and then he's gonna place you strategically and a place on this earth and a time in this earth where you make a difference and there is no greater joy and you don't even know until you tried it there's no greater joy than when you can lay your head down at night thinkin on making a difference it's God's promise of fulfillment fulfillment in fact the the byline of the book God's timeless promises for a life of fulfillment unconvinced that God listened look amaizing hear this God is never satisfied with what he wants to do in your life until you can say until you can say this first that the thief comes to steal kill and destroy you but jesus said I have come that you might have life and have it to the full and my friends that's God's offer for you today amen everybody you see that all right so be very still very quiet for a moment while I pray for you because there are some of you here today every location just be very still very quiet just for a moment that there's an offer on the table there's an offer and the first is the most important is to get you out of bondage and if you're here today and you say Chris I'm not in a relationship with God God is a million miles away I mean there are some of you you you've had a relationship but you've walked away and you know it it's a broken relationship say Chris how do I know if I need to receive that here's how you're sounding it and that is are you following God's plan or you find your own plan are you living for God are you living for yourself let me say it this way are you calling the shots or is God calling the shots and that's why the Bible says that salvation comes when you confess Jesus is Lord that basically means he gets to call the shots I've decided I'm following Jesus now that offer is in front of you right now you don't have to join this church but there's an offer for you you know the Bible word is its repent that's the nut sounds harsh you know the word literally means change directions like I'm not going that way anymore today I decided I'm going this way I'm gonna pursue God so I'm gonna close in a prayer for every person who says Chris that's a decision I'm ready to make a decision today to follow Jesus or to come back because I once was there but I'm not anymore I'm honest it's not where I'm at and I'm ready with every head bowed eyes are closed please campus pastors come to the stage and help me out and as they come we want to pray for every person who said that's the decision I'm prepared to make today I'm not gonna make you stand up because this is not between me and you and the church it's between you and God I want to lead you through it right there you're seated but you need to be bold and you need to be serious with God and say that's what I'm prepared to do and an unashamed I'm gonna follow Jesus I'm ready to change my direction and follow Jesus today at every location if that's you let me pray for you at every location say Chris count me in once you lift your hands as high as you can't say that's where I'm ready can't lift your hand good lift your hand and sit just lift it up and leave it up there it'd be bold there it is all over this room I'm so proud of you the very top all across this for god bless you today awesome awesome awesome I just can't tell you how fulfilling that is for me to see got one gentleman both hands are livid he's ready put your hands down just for a moment and I want to lead you in a prayer and I want you to make this your prayer and because most of the rest of us have already made that decision we're gonna join with you Church I want you to pray this prayer out loud with them as a show of support come on every voice strong say it strong say Jesus thank you for dying on the cross paying from our sin today I receive your forgiveness I invite you to be the Lord of my life today I'm changing directions and I'm following you with all of my heart come live inside of me make me brand new with all of my heart I'm going to follow you say this phrase now every voice as loud as you can I give you my life thank you Lord for every decision that's made in this room decisions to change course to follow you thank you Lord for literally for hundreds of people drinking from the first promise the first cup you have for them lord I pray for every person this room that you would take them on a spiritual journey God take them on a journey of change of promise of realizing all the chaff let us never be the same in Jesus name and everybody said amen come on give the Lord a great head clap of praise together that's awesome

Channel: Elevate Church

Views: 25,600

Rating: 4.6682925 out of 5

Keywords: Church Of The Highlands, Elevate Church, God

Id: gX351YQgZMI

Length: 45min 41sec (2741 seconds)

Published: Tue Mar 24 2015