Lead Pastors Conference: Eric Peoples

[00:00:00] Speaker A: And sometimes we're thinking to ourselves, I should go back to where I came from, because at least I know what's back there. [00:00:06] Speaker B: But the Lord is calling us forward and moving. And I want to encourage you this morning as you posture your heart to realize, to lean into the reality that surrender is not just something we do once in a while, it's a lifestyle we live. [00:00:30] Speaker C: Welcome to the well and Elam Fellowship Leadership Podcast. Join us today as we hear from Dr. Eric Peepers as he gives his teaching at the Lead Pastors Conference. [00:00:41] Speaker B: Enjoy. You gotta make a decision about that. You gotta, you know, take what you get. You know what I mean? Just like those moments, I've. I've just. I've learned along. Along the way that. Well, let me. Let me preface this way. First of all, you're gonna be encouraged this morning, okay? Even, you know, I've got a. I've got a personal trainer that helps me. I decided I had to do something. It was either surgery or had to go to the gym and actually start working on my. My body Travels was brutal. And, man, this morning, I didn't like him. Just. I didn't like it. I did. I wasn't. I wasn't excited about going into the workout. I wasn't. I just wasn't zealous about it all. And he goes, why? [00:01:29] Speaker A: He goes, why you not. [00:01:30] Speaker B: Why are you not excited this morning? I said, because two days ago, I'm still thinking about our workout. Two days ago I had a little bit of surgery. And he goes, well, we've got to rehab you this morning. I want to take some time to rehab some of you along the lines of your expectation. The Lord gave me a picture this morning of their sum. It's that it was, the Lord said, a stream, a trickle, a stream or a river. [00:02:00] Speaker A: And so I kept on. [00:02:01] Speaker B: I'm screaming, the Lord spoke that to me when we. When we planted 13 years ago. And that word for us was. And I think for me, it was a level of managing my expectations and what I could see. I mean, I'm like, lord, I see oceans with. Lord said, no, no, it's going to start off as it's a trickle. And brother Paul Johansen was so gracious to me. He said, eric, the key in planting this church is going to be not building it on the gifting of your life, but on the presence of the Holy Spirit. Because if it's built on your personality, then it will be built on your preference. And how many of us have seen monuments built to another's preference? As opposed to the prophetic word. You know, when you ask the question, I go into different places, organizations, they [00:02:49] Speaker A: go, so why do you do that? They go, well, we've always done that. [00:02:53] Speaker B: And I say, well, why have you always done that? And the answer is, usually it's because we always have, or someone told me, as opposed to it actually has a meaning to it. Now, this morning, I'm going to share some things with you that, quite honestly, they're not going to. It shouldn't be anything new for you, but it will be, I believe, revelation, where you'll see it the way God sees it. In particular, for some, there's a trickle in your life right now because you've believed people who have your confidence and they've been throwing rocks in the dam of your life. They've been damming up areas in your life. Actually, you've been letting them do that because your confidence has been shaken. [00:03:36] Speaker A: I mean, you've probably been through, you [00:03:37] Speaker B: know, Covid lasted two weeks. Right, Right. Remember that? [00:03:41] Speaker A: Something in the last two weeks? [00:03:43] Speaker B: Best, believe me. Okay. [00:03:45] Speaker A: Anybody still got kind of got a little PTSD from that, that whole thing, like, you have to decide that you're going to actually trust the energy and investment you make in leadership. [00:03:58] Speaker B: Okay, just me. Awesome. Yeah, that's what I did. I studied. I study organizations. Why they lasted, why they failed, why they How. In most cases, the issue was mission drift. You start off with great determination, but in the end, it's mission drift. So some of us have aligned ourselves what we thought were divine associations and relationships, and they weren't. They're just people who had giftings and skill sets, but they leaned more into their natural abilities, and they've been throwing rocks in the stream of your life. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal that to you. For some of you, the Lord's giving you wisdom on how to actually extract those things. I keep on hearing the word of the Lord, said, watch and see me work. Be encouraged in that, because it's not by mind or power, but it's by his spirit. Just so you know, you just make sure you're not making. You know, I know for me, I grew up in New Jersey. And Brother Bernard Evans said, eric, why? Everything's not a street fight. I hey, when I was young, I grew up, it was like, you know what? If you. You know what? Let's just. Let's just settle it and then we move on. I'm so great glad that the Lord doesn't deal that with us. Amen. Yes. Learning about his grace and mercy. [00:05:19] Speaker A: And so I want to encourage you in this way, no matter where you [00:05:22] Speaker B: are, there's still room for you to grow. [00:05:24] Speaker A: And if you decide you're not going [00:05:26] Speaker B: to please get out of the way, then just do it. It's less painful [00:05:33] Speaker A: then. [00:05:33] Speaker B: People don't have to hear about the good old days. [00:05:37] Speaker A: And this now generation of leaders don't [00:05:39] Speaker B: care about your good old days. They want to understand how does your life presently apply to the story to help them launch into the next move of what God wants to do through their life. [00:05:51] Speaker A: Sometimes the stories of pain are actually what keep them. That's what I love about Elam Fellowship. I love the fact that leaders spent time. Phil. [00:06:01] Speaker B: Phil was talking about Elmer Frink, dude, he was awesome. I was a student at Elam and you know what I used to do? And his wife June. Well, this is side note. They would. He'd invite me on Wednesdays to come to his house and I'd have lunch and we had the same thing every time. It was a blt. Blt. Bacon, lettuce, cheese and tomato. Sister June Frank would make it and they would. But they would make me one. [00:06:29] Speaker A: So I always ate before I went [00:06:31] Speaker B: down because I was starving. I was like, I gotta eat food. [00:06:33] Speaker A: Otherwise I'm gonna be focused on, are you gonna finish that? [00:06:36] Speaker B: You know, just like, wow, I'm hungry. [00:06:38] Speaker A: But I went with. I met with him on Wednesdays and I. [00:06:43] Speaker B: With the sole question of, tell me about what you've been through, what you learned. And he would tell me about revival. He would tell me the stories. He told me about stories where people in parking lots and stepping over them. He'd tell me about just the. How God moved and so what. How that set me up in so many ways. [00:07:04] Speaker A: And some of the stuff he went [00:07:05] Speaker B: through, you know, it's interesting. [00:07:07] Speaker A: People love the move of God when [00:07:09] Speaker B: he does it the way they want. [00:07:13] Speaker A: I don't want to be uncomfortable. People love when God moves, but they get frustrated when they pray and he [00:07:20] Speaker B: doesn't do what they say. So having the opportunity to sit with him and learn and hear the painful stories, the glorious stories, the amazing stories, those still reverberate in my life. And I realized, man, you know what the safest place as a leader is? Living in a place where you recognize nothing I have, I've deserved. And I. That's one of my points in my message. You. You're not good enough to do what God's doing. He's faithful. [00:07:55] Speaker A: And so I want to share just [00:07:56] Speaker B: a couple thoughts with you. This morning, I think that are going to encourage you. And it's. I'm using the text. It's nothing new for you, but again, again, my iPad. See, brother, if you weren't believing in technology, you'd be fine. Now. The title message is more than gold or silver. You're like, oh, I know what that is. [00:08:18] Speaker A: I'm going to do a basic overview [00:08:20] Speaker B: looking at Acts 1, 2, and 3. And I'm doing that just because I'm [00:08:25] Speaker A: doing this to look at or frame [00:08:29] Speaker B: out for us what anticipation, expectation could look like and how Jesus shows us what it should look like. Now, it's interesting when anything that you're going through, in different times, most cases, God speaks to you, you're excited. Heck, yeah. Let's go. Lord, that's awesome. [00:08:47] Speaker A: And so there's an aspect of anticipation. [00:08:50] Speaker B: This thing, we're doing it, we're going. [00:08:53] Speaker A: I want to encourage you in these [00:08:55] Speaker B: days we have together, this time we have together. Don't be afraid to actually share what's really going on. No one's holding with scorecard, and you don't have to try and impress anybody. [00:09:05] Speaker A: There are people in here who could [00:09:06] Speaker B: tell you stories about me that you would not be impressed. I'm telling you. Bob Rulewitz. Bob Rulitz. I was a camp director, pulled me to the side one day. He's taller than me and chewed me out. I was being absolutely ridiculous. [00:09:21] Speaker A: And it was. He was so gracious, though. I'm like, I just got to submit to this. He just, man, you're just. And I can't tell you the number [00:09:29] Speaker B: of times I've had another young leader that I've had to deal with. And I've been reminded of the mercy and grace you showed me. So I'm not up here to impress you. I'm just saying we, as brothers and sisters in Christ, we're not done in so many ways. God is still. If you're still breathing, there's something left to your story that's amazing, that's powerful. And it doesn't matter if you have silver or gold. And a challenge for some of us is we're in the middle of it. Lord, I remember what you said. And so I launched out in a great expectation. But I'm feeling the grind. [00:10:09] Speaker A: Like, where's all that zeal, Lord? [00:10:12] Speaker B: Well, it's okay. Sometimes it's not well. That's what I've learned, really. [00:10:17] Speaker A: It's really about zeal. [00:10:18] Speaker B: It's just being consistent. It's just kind of doing it anyhow. I'm Just going to be faithful. [00:10:25] Speaker A: I know that we're. I hate the thing. [00:10:26] Speaker B: Plot on, plot on. Drives me crazy. But it's true. [00:10:31] Speaker A: It's true. Sometimes you're in it and you're like, I'm not sure. I'm standing in the middle and I see the tunnel, the light at the end of that tunnel and that tunnel. And sometimes we're thinking to ourselves, I should go back to where I came from, because at least I know what's back there. [00:10:47] Speaker B: But the Lord is calling us forward and moving. And I want to encourage you this morning as you posture your heart, to realize, to lean into the reality that surrender is not just something we do once in a while, it's a lifestyle we live. [00:11:04] Speaker A: And, you know, as you get to think about what God can do in anticipation, I'm encouraged by what we see [00:11:12] Speaker B: in Paul and Peter, in John's life [00:11:14] Speaker A: as they're actually walking to or on their way to prayer like they always did. Three o', clock, simple. They're on their way. There wasn't. This wasn't a special day. They were on their way to revival service. They weren't on their way to some meeting. They weren't on their way to some, like, great moment. They were just doing what they always do. This wasn't even on the calendar. They're just doing what they did. It was just them going through the daily rhythms of life. And the Bible tells us that they had actually nothing in their pockets. What they had encountered, according to, in First John, in Acts, chapter one. The Bible says that what they were carrying was the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. That's all that they had. They were aware of that, the presence of God, it had changed everything. And now they're about to discover it [00:12:04] Speaker B: in a new and powerful way. [00:12:06] Speaker A: But the one who would discover it [00:12:08] Speaker B: most, the Bible tells us, was a man who was lame for 40 years. [00:12:12] Speaker A: I want to encourage you this morning in the. [00:12:17] Speaker B: Let me tell you, this is what I want you to hear today. [00:12:22] Speaker A: What you've been building in these past [00:12:24] Speaker B: several years isn't just discipline, it's capacity. [00:12:30] Speaker A: You're not the same person who started this journey. You are not. And what can God do? When you recognize that in your current situation, when you begin to understand that, that what you're becoming is beyond your [00:12:47] Speaker B: personal assessment, everything changes. [00:12:51] Speaker A: And so the question I'm asking you [00:12:52] Speaker B: to consider is not what can God do with you? Well, it's not even what can God do for you right now. Some. There's some things, but here's a big question. What can God do with you? What can he do? [00:13:17] Speaker A: How can he work through your life? Because, you know, we see in Acts chapter one where the disciples, they were asking the wrong question, weren't they? They're asking the question. You see it in Acts chapter 1, 6, 7. So when the apostles were with Jesus, they kept asking him, lord, has the time come for you to free Israel and restore your kingdom? He replied, the Father alone has the authority to set those dates and times. And they are not for you to know. These are people who spent three years with Jesus. They saw his, the resurrection, they experienced that. And their big issue was the calendar. Hey, when are you going to fix everything? When are you going to make this right? And Jesus, I love what he says. Well, he says it kind of like my mother would say it. None of your business. None of your business. [00:14:10] Speaker B: Because we ask the same question, don't we, Lord? When is this breakthrough going to happen in my business, God, when are you going to move? Like, [00:14:22] Speaker A: when will this challenging season end? [00:14:24] Speaker B: I mean, you hear people talk about seasons, right? You hate it. Seasons. I mean, Florida, do you have seasons? I mean, come on, you're hitting, you're [00:14:30] Speaker A: like, we're, this is where is. We're rebuking seasons here, man. I couldn't, I was. Connecticut. [00:14:37] Speaker B: I couldn't. [00:14:37] Speaker A: I was driving as fast as I [00:14:38] Speaker B: could, looking at snow in my rearview mirror. Get to the airport. I was like, get me out of here, get me out of here. [00:14:46] Speaker A: But what I found is, is that if we're not careful, what we do is we get obsessed with the idea [00:14:51] Speaker B: of divine timing, don't we? [00:14:55] Speaker A: And I believe that when we start getting wrapped up in divine timing, it really is a. It's a sophisticated, a sophisticated way of avoiding. [00:15:07] Speaker B: Well, it's a form of avoidance, actually. [00:15:10] Speaker A: You know, I don't know what God's [00:15:11] Speaker B: doing right now, but I'm just going [00:15:12] Speaker A: to, you know, we're just. [00:15:13] Speaker B: Wait, wait. You actually can find out what God's doing? [00:15:16] Speaker A: I think sometimes we don't even take the time to listen because we don't want to hear him say, wait. But I'm so grateful that Jesus doesn't leave the apostles empty handed in this dialogue. He redirects their focus from when to what. [00:15:38] Speaker B: And this is what Jesus gives instead. Acts, chapter one, verse eight. But you receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, my martyrs. My martyrs. Don't forget that word. That's my favorite. [00:15:50] Speaker A: Witnesses. Yeah, martyrs. That means that his who, his who he is the testimony of the goodness of God will supersede anything about my life. [00:16:01] Speaker B: It's living for him, [00:16:05] Speaker A: telling people about [00:16:06] Speaker B: me everywhere in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth. [00:16:10] Speaker A: And we see there's two gifts that replace that. [00:16:12] Speaker B: From when to what thing in the disciples. First, the presence. The Holy Spirit comes upon you. [00:16:18] Speaker A: I'm not telling you anything new, but I want to remind you today that this isn't information about God. The Holy Spirit isn't about information about [00:16:26] Speaker B: God, is about the habitation of God. [00:16:29] Speaker A: It's about living in a place and [00:16:31] Speaker B: space where we can begin to stir up that which was in us. [00:16:35] Speaker A: The second is power. You will receive power. [00:16:37] Speaker B: How's that looking for you? [00:16:39] Speaker A: How's that working for you today? The Greek word is dunamis. You know that. But that word means capacity beyond your natural ability. But how quickly do we fall into our natural ability? We think about our acquired skills. [00:16:53] Speaker B: Well, you've been in your preaching class. You've gotten a lot of training. You look at your natural ability. See, I can do that. [00:17:01] Speaker A: I'm this. [00:17:02] Speaker B: But what about your spiritual giftings? [00:17:06] Speaker A: One of the things I want to encourage you in is in the consideration in this place and space you're going to. We've got to do better at being able to hear someone say they're doing great. I know for many times we've said we're a humble movement. But you know what? Gila Fellowship has done a lot of [00:17:24] Speaker B: things globally, all over the world. [00:17:26] Speaker A: I was just in Spain a few [00:17:27] Speaker B: weeks ago, saw your picture Mike on the wall. I was with Elliott Tepper and therefore the 40th anniversary and they're this. And you're there for the 30th. So it's just. [00:17:37] Speaker A: And hearing the stories about how Casa Dari and other people messed him up, this brilliant guy for the things of God. And we're literally. Look, when you go to Spain and some of you should get your passports, stop hiding out. And when you go somewhere where you begin, realize that God is bigger than your zip code. And the kingdom of God works and the gospel works. I'll tell you what you. I with him, I literally was walking around seeing the work that God had done. I'm like, man, the fool says in his heart there's no God. And you begin to think about, I mean Ephesians, like now to him was able to do abundantly. And above all we can ask or think or imagine. Things get stirred up in you. Like, man, this is about. It's beyond our natural ability. And when we begin to move outside of this comfort zone, we realize, wait, [00:18:28] Speaker B: God is up to something. [00:18:31] Speaker A: And here's the exchange. The apostles asked about a schedule and Jesus says, no, you're going to get the Holy Spirit. They wanted to know the future. He goes, no, no. This is about eternity. There's something dynamic. And I really believe as we continue to choose to live this surrendered life filled with the presence and power of [00:18:55] Speaker B: God, something is about to happen, something [00:18:58] Speaker A: is about to move. Something is shifting in the world in which we live. I'm grateful for being in a place in a space in the day when I was going to EBI and Z [00:19:11] Speaker B: and well, I'm not sure all their letters that attach to it and that's dis people. But I'm like, but this is. [00:19:17] Speaker A: I remember. [00:19:18] Speaker B: This is what I remember. [00:19:20] Speaker A: I remember 20 years old being really [00:19:23] Speaker B: hungry during a chapel in Cader, preaching a paint off the walls and saying, I don't want to be anywhere but where God is. [00:19:31] Speaker A: And then coming in, classes is canceled. [00:19:34] Speaker B: We're going to continue to pray and contend. [00:19:40] Speaker A: That set me up for right now. I know how to contend. I know how. I know how to. To go step into the eye of the storm where it's all quiet. [00:19:51] Speaker B: How? Because if you take someone there, then they have to rely on you to get there. But if you show them how to get into the presence of God, they can go every time. And I'm thankful to the Lord for leaders whose lives directed and pointed and said, follow me as I follow Christ. [00:20:11] Speaker A: Are you hearing me this morning? And when the presence of God becomes your platform, we see that in Acts, chapter three, verses one through eight. And I'm just gonna this part here. Peter and John looked at him intently. This is the guy we know. [00:20:25] Speaker B: Is that the gay call? Beautiful. [00:20:27] Speaker A: He's lame. Been there entire life. When Peter and John looked at him intently and Peter said, look at us. The lame man looked at them eagerly, expecting some money. But Peter said, I don't have any [00:20:39] Speaker B: silver or gold for you, but I'll give you what I have. In the name of Jesus the Nazarene, get up and walk. [00:20:44] Speaker A: Then Peter took the lame man by [00:20:46] Speaker B: the right hand and helped him up. Man, look at, look throughout Scripture, how many times is a hand extended where someone's being pulled up? Peter experienced it. Remember, he stepped out by faith out of the boat and Jesus pulled him up. There's moments, there's testimonies, there's a witness in your life where you've had Moments, divine moments where divine connections and opportunities that you're going to step into, I believe in the next year or because you're aware of not only what you carry, but who you are in God, that you'll be able to extend the hand, you'll be able to say that [00:21:16] Speaker A: you'll literally be able to see a life changing, destiny altering response to your obedience in God. Because you said, I'm, I'm, I'm in. [00:21:25] Speaker B: I'm in. [00:21:27] Speaker A: And here the Bible tells us that the man had been the gate every single day and here the disciples were walking past him. You're going to tell me the disciples going to the temple with Jesus in Jerusalem hadn't walked past this person all different times? Of course he had. But something now was different. Peter and John looked at him intently. The Bible tells us there was a look of expectation something could happen. I believe that the presence of God [00:21:56] Speaker B: changes how you see things. [00:21:59] Speaker A: I do. I wonder, I think about that little [00:22:01] Speaker B: boy who had five loaves and two fish. What did lunch look like the next day? Like you're just walking around, you're like [00:22:08] Speaker A: you don't even need five loaves of two fish, but you're packing every day because you're like, something could happen today. Something's about to shift. Is there anybody in here that's thinking or sensing or seeing that church growth and acceleration. Something's happening. Something's about to shift. I believe that God is up to something amazing. Should we choose the assignment? I mean before the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, this guy was just background noise. He was just a part of a group of other people begging for things. But something happened after the spirit of God, he became an assignment. I believe there's new and fresh assignments. There's new marching orders that are coming. There's an expansion process of God that's at work. It is not about do you believe God, it's will you obey him? [00:22:58] Speaker B: I don't have silver or gold, but what I do have, I'm going to give to you. Isn't that powerful? See, I, I, I just am convinced more and more as I'm, I'm considering this. A surrendered life offers what it has, not what it lacks. That's kind of crazy now. I mean, you think about it. Someone, someone sees a miracle and all of a sudden they've got a website, a 12 part series, a book deal, you know, you're going on tour. [00:23:31] Speaker A: How did that, how did the move [00:23:33] Speaker B: of God become so uncommon? [00:23:37] Speaker A: You go on tour about it. How did it happen? And I'm not that old, but I can. The stories. There's places in space I go to now where it's like, God moves. I'm not like, oh, yeah, that's so crazy. I can't believe it. No, I expect it. I love the fact that Peter didn't apologize about what he didn't have. He didn't apologize about what he lacked. But you know what? We keep on apologizing as a church. [00:24:02] Speaker B: Oh, I'm really not gifted to that family. [00:24:05] Speaker A: Who cares? Just be you. Stop with the identity crisis. Stop moving around, trying to be somebody else. Because here's the thing. This is a beautiful part about this. This platform that we see built here in the scripture was built by obedience and not orchestration. This is my last point here. I'm not going to belabor the point. We have influence that we can't manufacture. [00:24:26] Speaker B: Isn't that good? [00:24:28] Speaker A: You can't manufacture it. And the call is to live in that tension of rest and availability. Acts chapter 3, 9, 11 says all the people saw him walking and heard him praising God. When they realized he is the lame beggar they had seen so often, the beautiful gate, they were absolutely astounded. They all rushed out in amazement to Solomon's Colonnade where the man was holding [00:24:52] Speaker B: tightly to Peter and John. Isn't that awesome? Peter didn't have Instagram, he didn't have Facebook, he didn't have Snapchat. He didn't have TikTok. He didn't have any of it. If you know what I'm talking about on my social media. If you don't know what I'm talking about, you need to talk to your grandchildren so you know what's going on. Peter didn't have to recruit an audience. The transformed life drew them. A man who never walked was leaping and running around praising God. Even the next door neighbor that you might not like can't ignore God moving. [00:25:33] Speaker A: And this is the influence that Jesus promised he did not influence through position [00:25:41] Speaker B: or prediction, but through presence, producing power [00:25:45] Speaker A: that creates undeniable evidence. So there I am. It's sprinkling a little bit. [00:25:54] Speaker B: I'm in a gas station in my town. [00:25:58] Speaker A: And the Lord speaks to me. This guy is sitting, is also at [00:26:03] Speaker B: the, at the pump. And the Lord speaks to me and [00:26:05] Speaker A: says, tell him the decision he and [00:26:06] Speaker B: his wife made is going to be fine. It's the right one. That's all I got. Yep. And the same, same feeling that your faces are telling me, you're like, really? Wow, that's the guy. He Wasn't a big guy. And so here am I. I'm just hanging out, dude. [00:26:24] Speaker A: I'm hanging out, like, on a Monday [00:26:26] Speaker B: after church, after work service. [00:26:29] Speaker A: It was a crazy weekend, and I don't look like I'm the guy who [00:26:31] Speaker B: should be delivering a message about anything from God. Okay? [00:26:34] Speaker A: I'm not talking. I wasn't street. I was. Short T shirts and a hat on backwards, just hanging. And I'm like, I just. I need to. You know how sometimes you got to [00:26:43] Speaker B: pressure test that word? Take that. I call you take the beach ball, and you push it down under the water, and if it pops back up, you ever heard some really weird words? [00:26:51] Speaker A: You're like, I wish you'd have held [00:26:52] Speaker B: that underwater just for another second, because God would have showed you that wasn't him. [00:26:57] Speaker A: You want to hear funny about Mike [00:26:59] Speaker B: Cavanaugh on this one? [00:27:00] Speaker A: Look at Mike. He's like, which one is that? Remember the Merry Christmas? Do you remember the one where the person's like. The lowly spirit would say, it was, ho, ho, ho, ho, ho, ho. [00:27:10] Speaker B: It was like, during Christmas time, Mike's like, hold it, hold it, hold it. [00:27:16] Speaker A: Or even though I have another one, because I attended the church where he's pastoring time, where the person's like, I. The Lord am even afraid. Like, he's like, no, no, no. It was like. It was great. You were like. He was like, you don't you. Have you ever been in a meeting where you're wishing the person stood up and responded sooner? I was good. Mike was like, okay, yeah, we're gonna. He just. [00:27:39] Speaker B: It was so great. [00:27:39] Speaker A: Like, no, we're just gonna shut it down. It was gracious. Didn't even really address it and say, that actually wasn't the Holy Spirit at all. He just, like, kept moving. Like, okay, cool. I just. But I'm trying to hear from the Lord about this given situation. Like, what I'm saying to you is, take. [00:27:56] Speaker B: Take notice. [00:27:57] Speaker A: There are people in our lives that have modeled and have been through it. Why do we have to keep going through the struggle and strain trying to [00:28:05] Speaker B: figure it out ourselves? [00:28:06] Speaker A: Just say you don't know what you're doing. Just call. Hey, I'm. Dude, I'm struggling. [00:28:10] Speaker B: I'm trying to figure this thing out. [00:28:14] Speaker A: My church is growing at a ridiculous rate right now. [00:28:16] Speaker B: I'm not that good. I'm not. [00:28:19] Speaker A: I'm in New England. Everybody is very intelligent. [00:28:22] Speaker B: They know everything, but they know nothing. Ridiculous. What's going on? [00:28:26] Speaker A: But you know what? God's going. You know, I'm going to flex here [00:28:30] Speaker B: and show you what I can do. Amen. What do I need to do? Get out of the way. I just need to keep on surrendering. Keep on re surrendering. [00:28:38] Speaker A: And you understand the areas in your heart of resurrender where you say things like this, man, you know what? Like, there's so many new people coming here. It's like, I just. It's just really tough. And you say to other people who are going through a challenging time, they're like, shut up. It's like the person who had newborn baby and you say, are you getting sleeping. Oh, yeah. Baby slept through the night from day one. You're like, man, I hate you. Wow. Like, my first child was like, we [00:29:05] Speaker B: were like birth control. [00:29:06] Speaker A: We were like, dude, for 14 months, like, never slept through. [00:29:09] Speaker B: We're like, I guess we're done with one. We're one and done because we're good. I can't do this. This is terrorism. This is terrorism. We couldn't do it, right. [00:29:18] Speaker A: And so you're going through these things, these moments of learning and growing. And so I look at the guy and I'm like, [00:29:28] Speaker B: okay, because I hate [00:29:30] Speaker A: that thing where you say you negotiate [00:29:32] Speaker B: through yourself and then you regret it for the next five years. [00:29:36] Speaker A: So I said, hey, this is going [00:29:39] Speaker B: to sound maybe a little odd for you, but [00:29:44] Speaker A: I'm a man of prayer. And the thought that came in my mind was, God won't let you know that your wife. [00:29:53] Speaker B: The thing you and your wife have been considering, the decision you're making is the right decision. Don't worry about it. [00:30:02] Speaker A: You know how we have right in the net for you, maybe the next. Here's the next part of the movie, because some of you think that must have been so nice, probably hugged you and said, that's so cool. He said, why would you say that to me? He's pumping. He's pumping his gas. Remember, he's pumping his gas. He goes, why have you said to me? I said, I, you know, I pray. And he goes, okay. He takes a. Takes a gas thing at the hose out of his car, puts it in his car, closes it, gets his car and drives off. I was like, where's the whole part? Like, what must I do to be saved? Right? Like, what's that? Where's that, like, cool story you tell everyone to church because now they're convicted about not sharing their faith. And I'm like, dude, you just. It was so terrible. I had, like, four more gallons of pump. It started raining harder. I'm like, I'm just an idiot. Fifteen minutes later, I get a phone [00:30:59] Speaker B: call from one of my folks in the church. [00:31:00] Speaker A: He goes, hey, were you just down [00:31:03] Speaker B: at the Shell gas station? [00:31:06] Speaker A: Yeah. I go, yeah, how'd you know? He goes, well, my neighbor just told me. This big black guy told me he heard from God about, like, the thing he and his wife. [00:31:16] Speaker B: I'm like, okay, right. [00:31:20] Speaker A: See how we sterilize the whole Christian thing, right? We, like, clean that thing up. [00:31:24] Speaker B: So anyway, my parishioner called me and said, pastor, I know you're a man of God and you heard from the Lord. [00:31:31] Speaker A: None of that. That was his how he figured out [00:31:34] Speaker B: it might be me. [00:31:35] Speaker A: I said, yeah, man. He goes, it's crazy because we've been praying with his wife, he and his wife, for the past month, because she got a cancer diagnosis, and they had two options, and they, they were so wondering if it was. If that was the right decision. And they're going to. He was going to get guests, and they're heading to the doctors where right now. [00:31:55] Speaker B: I said, that's awesome, man. Like, well, he goes, we. [00:31:59] Speaker A: We've been telling them that God knows right where they are the whole time, [00:32:03] Speaker B: and that just freaked him out, and that's why he left. I said, dude, well, that's cool. Thank you for your help, because that freaked me out, too. [00:32:12] Speaker A: See, I, I, I, I'm just, I'm trying. I'm trying to, to, to. To. To stay in this. It's like, how do we live in this place and space of surrendered influence? And I just want to share with you just some brief thoughts about this first shift from timing to trust. Stop asking when and start asking who. Who has God placed in your path today that you've been walking past? Sometimes it can be somebody in your church, Bernadette, who drives you crazy. I want to be a part. I want to be on the worship team. Your voice is terrible. [00:32:49] Speaker B: Who's going to tell them? [00:32:50] Speaker A: Well, your worship got. [00:32:51] Speaker B: Person like, they don't want to hurt anybody's feelings. You're like, I will hurt their feelings. We can't do this. [00:32:58] Speaker A: But maybe there's another seat on the [00:32:59] Speaker B: bus for her [00:33:02] Speaker A: second shift. [00:33:03] Speaker B: From lacking to leveraging, what do you have? [00:33:08] Speaker A: Not what do you wish you had? What do you have? [00:33:14] Speaker B: I'm so grateful to the Lord that it's the body of Christ and not the team of God, because the team [00:33:20] Speaker A: of God, you can be replaced. [00:33:21] Speaker B: But you know what? The body, you get cut off something. You're like, something's missing. [00:33:26] Speaker A: That's odd. An arm sitting on the floor. That's. That's a crime scene. [00:33:34] Speaker B: Peter's poverty became his platform. Your limitation might actually be your launching point. Some of us need to learn how to ask for help the right way. Some of us need to realize, hey, you know, I'm going through a tough time. [00:33:51] Speaker A: Forget the whole conversation. I'm three days from closing a church. Ask for help. There's a difficult situation going on with a leader. You're not sure how to do it. And here's my question. Who told you? [00:34:04] Speaker B: You're supposed to know. [00:34:08] Speaker A: Who told you? [00:34:10] Speaker B: Well, that was a course that I [00:34:11] Speaker A: covered at DBI really well in grad school. Who cares? It's real time stuff that we go through. Like, wow, okay, this is really challenging. I need help. [00:34:23] Speaker B: Number three, shift from building to being. You don't have to manufacture influence. You have to carry presence. [00:34:36] Speaker A: The crowd of Solomon's Colonnade gather because [00:34:38] Speaker B: something undeniable happened, not because Peter promoted it. [00:34:43] Speaker A: That's be encouraged today because you know what, what can God do with the surrender life? And you know, you're in this room because you've lived it. I'm just trying to encourage you in this morning to say, keep going, don't quit. It's worth it. There's people in my life and I just think about the conversations that were had. I remember sitting there after traveling on a ministry trip with Phil with this word, this music ministry team, and I had a prophetic word. I was going to share that. It was right on. But [00:35:17] Speaker B: yeah, Phil's like, you're not saying that. And I remember George Veach sitting there at a meeting and George Veech saying, I didn't know George Veech. [00:35:24] Speaker A: I never met him. But he did say this to me. He goes, you are like a baby with a gun in its hands. [00:35:31] Speaker B: When the prophetic. [00:35:39] Speaker A: I didn't know what to do with that. I'm like, I don't. Like I didn't have some prophetic class I went through. I thought just again, I hadn't been trained. I was there in a place to be trained, to be loved on, to be covered and protected. I just didn't know what that looked like because I hadn't experienced that kind of love. [00:35:58] Speaker B: I hadn't experienced that kind of mercy. And we have, so why not give it away? I'm just encouraging not to grow weary in well doing. Just to trust the Lord with what you have. [00:36:12] Speaker A: And he's a God of more than [00:36:13] Speaker B: enough and what he can do through you as you surrender that [00:36:18] Speaker A: that's that's, that's amazing. I could tell you stories about key people in Elam Fellowship changed my life forever. [00:36:27] Speaker B: Things that they have no idea save me, change me. [00:36:33] Speaker A: Change how I thought about me. Even I remember Carl Spencer. I didn't know who this guy was. I'm sitting there in a cafeteria. [00:36:40] Speaker B: He walks up to me, grabs my face. I'm from Jersey, dude. Like, bro, you put your hands on me like, like we got a problem. [00:36:49] Speaker A: But he's crowned Spencer. [00:36:51] Speaker B: Of course I know that. [00:36:51] Speaker A: He grabs my face and starts singing Jesus loves me this I know. I'm sitting down. He goes, jesus loves me this I know. He goes. For the Bible tells us so. [00:37:02] Speaker B: He goes, the Lord wants you to [00:37:04] Speaker A: know I love you, young man. This is this. [00:37:08] Speaker B: He goes, I just, I'm just so happy you're here. [00:37:13] Speaker A: I'm like, oh, that's a nice old guy. [00:37:15] Speaker B: Then I'm walking through this area and I see his face on the. [00:37:20] Speaker A: He's a picture of the lobby. Like, who is this guy? Hear me, hear me. [00:37:29] Speaker B: He didn't walk up to me and say, just so you know who I am, I'm Carl Spencer. I'm actually my. My father prophetically started this school and [00:37:39] Speaker A: now I'm going to sing a song [00:37:40] Speaker B: to you and you're going to be really blessed because you got to know me. Not at all. None of that. Just blessing along the way. I'm just. [00:37:53] Speaker A: It's such an honor to be here [00:37:55] Speaker B: with you this morning and to share [00:37:56] Speaker A: some of these things because, you know, if we get, if we figure out what this. [00:38:00] Speaker B: The different parts and pieces here, the [00:38:02] Speaker A: Lord's putting his finger on your life and you're not trying to influence, trying [00:38:05] Speaker B: to stir up something. You're remembering what Jesus actually gave you, what's imparted to your life. Wow. And this is, this is what I'm learning more and more. The power of consistency. The power of consistency that is your legacy. When people know that what you say and who you are, they can count on you. Doesn't even matter what they say about you. [00:38:39] Speaker A: Yeah. So and so. It's just, he would be it. He was just so annoying to me. But was he there for you? [00:38:45] Speaker B: Yes. Were they there for you? Yes. And last thing I want to leave with you before I just want to really just say, just really as a real symbol today, my ministry time is really, really one of just saying, lord, we're just going to re. Surrender to you. We're just going to. We're just going to live with that attitude, man. Today is a good day. Your mercies are new every morning. There's somebody out there. There's somebody standing on a line that could, could, could. [00:39:16] Speaker A: It could be amazing. I had, I was speaking at a conference. [00:39:20] Speaker B: Actually, I wasn't speaking at conference. [00:39:21] Speaker A: I wasn't speaking at conference. I helped this guy start this conference. Now I was going to have thousands [00:39:26] Speaker B: of people and he asked me to do the offering teaching. [00:39:33] Speaker A: I was like, dude, I remember when [00:39:36] Speaker B: this was like 75 people. [00:39:38] Speaker A: Now you're thousands and I'm doing the offering to you. [00:39:41] Speaker B: Okay, good, let's do that. [00:39:44] Speaker A: I taught that offering. [00:39:46] Speaker B: I was like, I'm going to be all in, Lord, because you said it. [00:39:48] Speaker A: You order my steps. [00:39:49] Speaker B: You're my booking agent. However you want to do this, I trust you. [00:39:53] Speaker A: After I did the teaching, they, you know, 10 minutes to do an offering teaching. [00:39:57] Speaker B: That's so ridiculous. Sorry. That's my personal opinion. [00:39:59] Speaker A: I did in three minutes after this, this man walks up to me and net. Net. [00:40:03] Speaker B: The relationship that was formed and forged [00:40:06] Speaker A: has probably been closer to three or [00:40:08] Speaker B: four million dollars over time since we planted a church. [00:40:11] Speaker A: This guy's like, I don't know what. I just, I just feel like I'm [00:40:13] Speaker B: supposed to help you pay our rent for five years. Like, that's God. [00:40:20] Speaker A: And it's like if we live with the attitude like Peter and John, where I'm just going to do what he says and I have. [00:40:25] Speaker B: It's love without a hook. What can God do? Great adventures. And then you know what happens? Your kids see it and they start doing it and it's ridiculous. It's insane. [00:40:37] Speaker A: My. [00:40:38] Speaker B: My daughter is. She goes after sex traffickers. [00:40:42] Speaker A: She's sitting in the back seat with a guy who's overseeing. He's a. [00:40:46] Speaker B: They actually have just blown this thing up. There are 100 something kids involved. She's sitting in a back seat with this guy and she's getting. Having a conversation about. So how do you think you got here? Like, what started? Like, what was this? [00:40:58] Speaker A: It's being recorded. [00:41:00] Speaker B: Like, what was. What do you think was so broken in your life that you thought it was okay for to break other people's lives? [00:41:08] Speaker A: She's talking to her 25 minutes. People are like in shock because this guy's hearted. They're after him. [00:41:14] Speaker B: They've been searching for. [00:41:15] Speaker A: He's on a wanted list. And she's having conversation and he's spilling his guts out in the back seat of this car about brokenness, getting teared up. [00:41:29] Speaker B: I could have never imagined that the idea of my daughter being in the [00:41:32] Speaker A: backseat, I'm like, wow, better for you [00:41:33] Speaker B: because I don't think he'd have made it to the police department with me. But you know what? God knows exactly what needs to be in those moments. Are we willing? So, Lord, right now I just pray for us here, all of us. [00:41:50] Speaker A: What a privilege. What an honor it is, Lord, wherever we find ourselves, if it's a trickle, if it's a stream, Lord, [00:42:01] Speaker B: even a river, it's yours. [00:42:06] Speaker A: What an honor to be a part of this amazing plan, this great salvation. What an amazing opportunity to serve you for the sake of the gospel, to live for you, for your kingdom to come, for your will to be done. Lord, I thank you that today isn't just some ordinary day, but today because we are filled with the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit. [00:42:31] Speaker B: This could be a miracle day, [00:42:34] Speaker A: Lord. Divine connections, divine associations and Lord, let it be said as we're having conversations across tables and lunches and coffees and things like that, having these kingdom conversations, let it be encouraging, let it be deep, let it be rich, let it be life changing, destiny altering. Let it be so obvious, God, we [00:42:52] Speaker B: can't take credit for it. Holy Spirit, Holy Spirit. Right now we just say yes to the divine exchange right now. Lord. The weariness we just come in. Weariness, we say. Weariness rolls off of you in Jesus name. Refreshing flows in Jesus name. [00:43:20] Speaker A: Eyes to see, ears to hear and [00:43:23] Speaker B: hearts to respond to the power in the presence of God. [00:43:28] Speaker A: Lord, we break right now every heavy [00:43:30] Speaker B: yoke in the name of Jesus, [00:43:33] Speaker A: we [00:43:34] Speaker B: say right now, let the river flow. [00:43:39] Speaker A: Holy Spirit, you breathe on those areas that need to be rekindled. [00:43:48] Speaker B: Holy Spirit, would you give us, lead us and guide us. Thank you for this amazing adventure. You've called us to the Missio day. God, will we partner with you to see humanity restored to right relationship with you? God, we're going to be careful to give you all the glory, all the honor and all the praise in Jesus name. Amen. [00:44:26] Speaker C: Thank you for joining us on another episode of the well An Elam Fellowship Leadership podcast. If you like this episode, be sure to like and subscribe and share it with a friend. We'll see you next week. [00:44:38] Speaker B: Week.