OFF MENU | Pastor Steven Furtick | Elevation Church

Oh my God, you showing good.

I'm praising you because.

Hey, how big?

How big is your. Because let me hear it right now.

If you have a reason.

Don'T put.

The pentatonic Pentecostal chords in there on that. I tell you what. Somebody is praising him today because they woke up today. That's a good start. Now listen. Some people don't praise God because they.

Woke up to see another day.

But if you ever thought you wouldn't.

See another day and you did, then.

You have a reason to praise him. Everything that has breath and is thankful, praise the Lord. Somebody is praising him because they had something to eat today. Listen, I'm not saying it was healthy.

That was your decision. I'm not saying you aren't still hungry. But. Somebody is praising him today because he fed me.

Somebody is praising him today because I.

Had somewhere to sleep last night that.

Was soft and comfortable.

Somebody is praising him because this week you smiled again.

It's been a long time since that.

Smile was on your face and you.

Felt a trickle of joy.

And you're about to see an avalanche of God's blessing come against your depression.

Somebody is praising him today because somebody is in church with you that you.

Thought would never be back in church, but they came today.

Somebody is praising him because although the medical diagnosis doesn't look good right now, you know that Jehovah Rapha is your healer and that he is the resurrection and he is the life. Somebody is praising him today because although I'm not where I want to be, I look back at my past and I thank him that I'm not who I used to be. I'm praising him.

Wows.

Now you fill in the blank. I'm praising him because he's faithful. I'm praising him because he's King of Kings. I'm praising him because he's my Elohim. I'm praising him because he's my shepherd.

I'm praising him cuz I shall not want. I'm praising him cuz he met me in the valley. I'm praising him for every mountain he brought me over. Give him a personal praise right now. Put it in the chat. I'm praising him because God wanted you didn't leave me like I was. You didn't leave me like I was. And I'm praising you before. And I'm praising you because you make that good. You're good to me. You've been just that good. So good to me. No. Without show, where would I be? Oh my God, you sure been good. To me he's good to me.

He'S.

Been good to me. High five. Seven. People say he's been good to me. Yeah, he's really that good. Yeah, he's really worthy of it. Yeah, I really love him. Yeah, I really appreciate him. Yeah, I really know him. Yeah, he really did it.

Jesus is real to me.

Y' all want to keep singing that?

All right.

Download it on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, Amazon Music. Go get a cassette. It's sure been good. The new song is out now, but I have a feeling for some of you, that's not a new song. For some of you, that has been the song of your heart through every season of your life. That life hasn't always been good, people haven't always treated you good. But he has always been good through it all.

For we know that in all things.

God works all things together for good. They're not all good.

He's all good. How many know it was all God.

In my life that I made it this far?

I still want to see in the comments. Hey, efam, I want in the comments every.

Because you can think of while you're praising him. I'm praising him because. And just fill in the blank. We're praising him today because you're here.

With us, Elevation Ballantyne. Let's welcome our Efam around the World welcome. We're glad you're here for the final installment of our series, Ghost Rider. This is it, y'.

All.

We got to make it count.

All right.

Well, it's at least the series or the season finale. And then we might do a season two sometimes because we only got to Acts 10. The birthday girl herself, Holly Furtick, left us last week in Acts Chapter nine. I'm going to pick up where Holly dropped you off in Acts chapter 10. I want to say not only happy birthday to you, Holly, and all the things I wrote in that letter I wrote you at 4:30am if there were typos, please forgive me them if I got a little mushy at the end or a little inappropriate with some of the things I said at the end, you'll forgive me. But thank you for the way you nourish our family, our dreams, for the ways you fight against our fears and insecurities with the loveliness of your poise and the precision of your words and encouragement when I call you the Holy Spirit. I'm kidding. Kind of. The Holy Spirit is the greatest guide I was ever given in my life, and the Holy Spirit is the second greatest. You know what's crazy. There are so many times where the first guide, the Holy Spirit, used the Holy Spirit in a way to steer me. Because sometimes I won't listen to him, but I will listen to you. Thank you for seeing the best in us. Thank you for bringing the best of you. You're amazing. Is it a coincidence that today is Pentecost Sunday, 50 days after the Resurrection, where the church celebrates the birth of the church and the giving of the Holy Spirit? And May 19th happens to be this year, a Sunday, the birthday not of the church, but of my Holy Spirit. I told her this week, where your birthday falls, I would take the weekend off and go do it. She said, well, would you just preach a special birthday sermon for me? I said, deal. We wanted to close this series where we've been talking about the Holy Spirit. How many are grateful, by the way, for the Holy Spirit and for what he's teaching you in your life, that he is so much more than a goosebump or a good feeling. He can give you a goosebump. He can give you a good feeling. If God has given out goosebumps, I'll take them. How about you? People say that faith is not feelings. Well, I need sometimes to feel God's presence because I feel a lot of other things too. But the book of Acts has also spoken of the Holy Spirit in so many ways as being the promise of God, the gift of God, the fountain of God, the outpouring, the baptism of the Holy Spirit. As mentioned, the fullness, the power, the witness and the guidance of the Holy Spirit. I believe the Lord led me to this special path message today, not only, of course, for Holly, but for all of us as we are listening now for what the Spirit says. For those of you who are here for the first time, we don't stand for the whole sermon. We stand for the Scripture, then we sit, and then standing is discretionary from that point forward. But I ask that you stand wherever you are for the reading of God's word. Acts, chapter 10, verse 9. Maybe you're going to have a birthday too. Maybe God is going to birth something in your life that you weren't even prepared for today. The Bible says in Acts 10:9, about noon the following day, as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the roof to pray. He became hungry and wanted something to eat. For some of you, that's your new life verse. I want something to eat. Lord, I claim Acts 10:10 over my life, I want something to eat. While the meal was being prepared he fell into a trance. He saw heaven opened and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners.

It contained all kinds of four footed.

Animals as well as reptiles and birds. Then a voice told him, get up, Peter, kill and eat.

Surely not, Lord.

Peter replied, I have never eaten anything impure or unclean. There are reptiles and birds on this sheet. I can't eat that. That is not on my diet.

That is forbidden in Leviticus 11.

And I am a good observant Jewish boy. I can't do it, Lord. I never have and I'm not going to start now. Verse 15.

Then the voice spoke to him a second time.

This is the persistence of God.

Do not call anything impure that God has made clean. This happened three times.

Peter is kind of hard headed.

And immediately the sheet was taken back to heaven.

While Peter was wondering about the meaning of the vision, the men sent by Cornelius found out where Simon's house was and stopped at the gate. They called out asking if Simon, who was known as Peter, was staying there. I'm going to make a whole sandwich out of that verse, so we'll come back to it.

Verse 19. While Peter was still thinking about the.

Vision, the spirit said to him. Simon, I hate to interrupt your deep thoughts, but three men are looking for you. So get up and go downstairs. Do not hesitate to go with them, for I have sent them. Peter went down and said to the.

Men, I am the one you are looking for.

Why have you come? The men replied, we have come from Cornelius the centurion. He is a righteous and God fearing man who is respected by all the Jewish people.

A holy angel told him to ask.

You to come to his house so.

He could hear what you have to say.

Then Peter invited the men into the house to be his guests. The next day Peter started out with them and some of the believers from Joppa went along. The following day he arrived in Caesarea. Cornelius was expecting them. Say Amen for the word of the Lord. Say it again a little louder please. Amen. Now go back to. This is the verse I want to dedicate to Holly and to all of you. On Pentecost Sunday, Holly's birthday, he became hungry and wanted something to eat. And while the meal was being prepared. Now look at your neighbor and tell them, God is preparing something amazing for you. Tell them again. God is preparing something amazing for you. Put that in the comments too. Say, God is preparing something amazing for you. Now flip it a little bit. Turn to your other neighbor, your second choice. Say this and God is Preparing you for something amazing.

So Peter is hungry. Somebody has been hungry. Somebody needs something from the Lord today. You need bread from heaven. You need water from the rock in the wilderness of your despair.

Here it comes.

God is preparing something.

But today I want to tell you a little secret. It's going to be off menu.

The title and assignment of my final.

Installment of our series, Ghost Rider is off menu.

Speak, Lord.

We're listening. In Jesus name, amen.

You may be seated.

I feel something special about to happen in our lives today. Of all of the wonderful things I would miss about Holly if she ever was raptured and I was left here, I would not miss the moments before we order our food in a restaurant together. Our second favorite thing to do together is to go out to eat. First favorite is pray and recite Philippians. We're just different. Our taste in food is different. But, but the only thing. Well, first of all, she likes to order appetizers. And I have this thing that appetizers make the meal take 35 more minutes and I don't like it. The second thing is I pretty much walk in the restaurant knowing what I'm going to eat, whether I've been there or not. There are three items that are pretty common to every menu. Protein based. So I'll order one of those. My wife, on the other hand, I have to tell you something about her. You see her up here on the stage and she looks wonderful. She's even more wonderful the more you get to know her. She mentioned how her favorite kinds of stories to read are stories where the character goes through something and it's really difficult. She talked about that last week. Did you hear that message?

Now what?

What a word. Aren't we all wondering that? Now what God, I prayed for this baby. You gave me this baby. Now what? God, I got them out of the car seat. Now they want the car keys. Now what? That's such a good word. In the process of her speaking to you, she left something out. She said her favorite thing to read was a story with the character goes through the truth. That's not true. My wife, Holly Furtick, her favorite thing to read in the entire world is a menu. I have seen this woman study a menu at a restaurant we have gone to every Thursday night for 18 months. We're not very adventurous. We go to the same restaurants. It's the same menu. And she studies it like it was the Declaration of Independence. And she's in the eighth grade history class. She studies it like it is a contract for an entire Condominium. She studies it like it is a Nicholas Sparks notebook letter that she was left by the love of. She studies it like it is the state capitals and she is about to go to geography.

She studies it. I have seen her late at night.

Before scrolling on her phone.

It looks kind of suspicious because she.

Looks so happy scrolling on the phone.

And I'm like, what are you looking at, Candy Crush?

Did you beat a new level? What's happening over there?

She will be reading a menu for a restaurant in a city we are.

Going to in two and a half months. The woman loves a menu.

Am I preaching the truth?

Abby, Abigail, Faith. I'm picking on her, but I love it because I'm the one who leans over to her. What would I like here after all of that? I just said, it's really nice to have somebody who studies the menu.

But when I can't understand Elevation Church.

And forgive me, because this is last week, my series. My wife's birthday is Pentecost Sunday, celebrating the Holy Spirit and all that. I'm excited about it.

Why would you read the whole menu? Study it in advance. I mean, she will grill the server. If you are a server and you.

Get us at the restaurant, we will tip big, but you will earn it.

Because you will be answering a quiz. It will be a quiz.

There will be a quiz.

I've watched her do it so many times.

The broccoli chicken with the lemon cream sauce. Tell me about the lemon cream sauce. The server is always so nice because she's so nice. Well, ma', am, it's a sauce that consists of lemon and then there's cream. The level of nuance. Is it like lemony? Lemony or is it more creamy? Lemony cream.

More cream than lemon or more.

Tell me about the honey sriracha. It's honey sriracha. I've come to admire it in a way.

What I want to know is, after.

All, all of that, when the server says, thank you for dining with us tonight, we have a few specials that.

Are not on the menu. Would you like to hear about those? I'm thinking, like, no way. She prepared for this like it was the bar exam. We're not just going to take a flyer on something the chef whipped up because he was tired of what he has to make every night.

She'll lean in and go, yes, tell.

Me about the specials and leave nothing out. I'm going, oh, God, just bring me a steak or a burger patty and some A1. I can make it work. Do you have some peanuts?

I Asked her recently, why do you.

Want to hear about the specials?

She said, well, what if it's something fresh? What if it's something new? I guess what she's doing is, since I'm so boring and I take her to the same three restaurants over and over again, she's creating a new experience in the same place.

I want to be a little bit.

More like you because as I get off of this way too long opening illustration, I indulged in, and I thank you for allowing me to indulge. I was thinking about how in Acts, chapter 10, you were probably wondering why I was reading that story to you. You're reading to me about somebody who went up on a roof and prayed and went in a trance and went downstairs. What does that have to do with this divorce I'm going through? What does that have to do with this situation with my kid who probably needs to go to rehab, but I can't make them go and I can't force them, and now they're not even under my jurisdiction anym. What does this that happened 2000 years ago have to do with what I'm going through today?

Your story is not really that different.

From Peter's, other than the fact that you have air conditioning, so you don't have to go up on a roof to pray to catch the breeze that's coming in from the port city called Joppa. And probably you have a little different diet than Peter. You know, the Bible talks about how this sheet came down from heaven while he was praying. Let's take note of that in verse nine before we move any further. It says about noon the following day, as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the roof to pray. I think there are some situations you have to pray your way through because you can't figure them out. Now, anytime life gives you a situation where you can't figure it out, that's an opportunity for you to learn to pray your way through what you can't figure out. That does not mean you will have to spend every waking minute of your life reciting prayers and reading scriptures. But it does mean that you will have to learn how to prepare yourself for what God has prepared for you. I see Peter here praying on the roof, and my question is, what is he praying about? He has a lot to pray about. There's a lot of pressure on Peter. Anybody got a lot of pressure on you? You're embarrassed to say yes to that because you're like, well, not compared to Peter. He's taking the gospel to the world. Well, I mean, you're taking the gospel to somebody you're responsible for, somebody you're fighting through something that doesn't seem to want to let you go. If nothing else, you have the pressure of struggling against that old nature in you that keeps making you want to act like you don't know God, even though you do. If nothing else, you have the pressure of waking up another day and feeling like you have more agenda than you have energy. So we pray our way through pressure.

Or the pressure pushes us over the.

Edge and pushes us into places of.

Hiding that are dangerous. I don't want to get sidetracked by.

This because honestly, I'm not just so.

Interested that Peter was praying or that.

He was praying at noon, which, by the way, was not even a required time to pray. This was like a bonus prayer for Peter.

Let's take a moment in the church. We beat up on Peter a lot.

How he went to walk on water and he slipped and fell. How he cut off somebody's ear in the garden when they were coming to get Jesus. How he was cussing and denying Christ when he went to the cross.

Let's give Peter, like five seconds of.

Attaboy, hand clapping, ovation that he's up there praying when he doesn't have to be praying.

I think we should do that. I think we need to humanize these Bible characters. I think you ought to keep those hands going because you're in church right.

Now and you don't have to be.

Just like you clapped for Peter. I want you to clap for yourself for a minute. I want you to clap for yourself for a minute that you made it to church today. I know you're not praising yourself, but praise God that he got you here today. Praise God that he brought you back to church another day. I didn't say you prayed an hour before you came, but you came.

I thank God you're here.

Wonder what he was praying about, don't you? I mean, like Pastor Holly shared last week, he just raised somebody from the.

Dead and he never did that before.

Now he's staying in the city and.

Certainly the paparazzi are looking for him, trying to find Peter in Joppa. So now in order to get a little bit of perspective, he has to go up on a roof to pray.

Maybe if you're a new mom, you.

Have to go in the bathroom sometimes and pray. Maybe your prayer closet is your bathroom for a little while, but they will find you in that bathroom.

There is no safe place for you.

To Go and pray.

I think it's interesting that he went up on a roof because I think that's a high place. I think sometimes while we're just around all the stuff of our life and just. Just around the surroundings and just around the demands. That's why I think anytime you can get to church physically, get to church.

Physically.

Especially if the church is called.

Elevation, because we've tried to get you higher for a few minutes.

He's up there praying. As he's praying, we don't know what he's praying. I imagine he is praying about his purpose, God, how do you want me, little old me, Simon Peter, the disciple who cursed while the rooster was crowing. How do you want me to keep this going? I mean, it's amazing how you used me to heal that man at the gate called Beautiful. It's amazing how you used me to preach and convert all these people. It's amazing how you were there with me in the prison. It's amazing how you used me to get Annias off of his mat. It's amazing how you used me to get Tabitha up, that woman who had made all of those things for all of these people. But now I'm in Joppa. Now he's still in Joppa, but he doesn't really know what he's doing in Joppa. But he's in Joppa and he's stopping somewhere and he doesn't know where he's going, but he has stopped somewhere that he is praying about where God has him and where God is taking him.

And he's praying. Then he gets sleepy while he's praying, and he sees something in his vision that completely freaks him out. A blanket comes down from heaven. This is where everybody who really thinks while I read the Bible is like, so, Pastor, when you say Peter got high, are you just talking about the roof he went up on?

Did they have mushrooms back then?

Pastor, what's going on that he would see this blanket? Oh, you just see blankets with birds and stuff on them every day. The stuff that happens in the Bible.

That's the way we like it, though. The Bible stuff can be weird, supernatural, freaky, crazy, but we're just trying to pay our bills. What I am suggesting to you is that the God who showed Peter this Jesus wants to show you something too. Somebody shout, God, show me something. Be more specific. Holy Spirit, show me something. That has been my biggest prayer of the last year. You can rip it off and use it. I just pray, God, show me something. What did I not see about that?

Conversation that I should have seen?

God, what did I miss while I went through my day that you want me to incorporate into my tomorrow? God, what was the thing I missed today? That if I don't pick up on it and adjust it, I will multiply the mistakes of today into tomorrow? God, what is the thing I have thought I was right about all my life that I'm really wrong about right now? What are the answers I knew yesterday that have become irrelevant in this season of my life that I am still clinging to that are keeping me from being who I need to be? Peter was praying. I wonder, was he praying for an opportunity to take the gospel to the Gentiles? Now, the Gentiles, just to catch you up a little bit, they were not bad people, but they were not God's covenant people. God's covenant people were the Jews. God always had a plan to bless.

The Gentiles through the Jews.

He told Abraham, I will bless you and you will be a blessing, and all of the peoples of the earth will be blessed through you. So now Peter is standing in the continuation of something God spoke centuries before he was ever born. This thing did not start with you. It's bigger than you. Everything you're going through is connected to.

Something bigger than you.

One of the greatest gifts the Holy Spirit can give us is a wide lens on our life. To realize that there will come somebody after you that is dependent on your example, that there has come somebody before you who has given you an example to follow, and that those who came before you might have had chains on them you have the power to break because God called you and assigned you to break them. That's a wide lens. When you worship, it gives you a wide lens. When you worry, it narrows the scope of what you're going through. When you don't pray, you feel nothing but pressure. But I came to tell you, if you will pray your way through this pressure, it doesn't have to be a long prayer. It doesn't even have to be a focused prayer. Peter was half asleep and God spoke to him. As long as you will set your heart in the direction of God. He wants to speak to you more than you want to hear him. He wants to show you more than you want to see it. Stop talking to God like you have to negotiate a hostage out of the situation. He wants to give you wisdom, wants to give you opportunity, wants to show you open doors, wants to tell you who to call, wants to tell you who to talk to, wants to bring people in your path. He just Wants to know, will you be prepared?

Peter was preparing because I don't know what's next, but I have to get ready for it. So I have to pray my way through this thing. I have to pray my way so I can prepare. I almost brought my screen out today because I wanted to show you something. I wanted to write the word prepare on the screen and spell it the way you would think was wrong, but the way that would actually be right. I was just going to write God is preparing you, but I was going to spell it P, R, E, P, A, I, R, prepare. I was going to let it sit there for about 15 minutes until all of the OCD grammar police started throwing stones at me at the stage. Like Stephen in Acts, chapter seven. Just up here taking the stones just before I died and went unconscious. Throwing your elevation pins at me and stuff. You spelled it wrong. I was going to say, no, no, no. God is preparing you for what he has prepared you for. I believe while Holly was growing up in Miami, Florida, and I was growing up in Moncks Corner, South Carolina, that the experiences and gifts God was giving me in Moncks Corner and the experiences and gifts God was giving her in Miami were two ingredients that were meant to go together to make the ministry God has privileged us to serve within.

Today.

I believe we were prepared. You still don't get it. My second illustration is this. Before I preach, I always take out of my pocket this thing. It just seems unnecessary weight to be up here preaching, so I always take it out of my pocket. I went to take it out. Do y' all know what this is? I'm not going to do a product endorsement, but this is the thing. Yeah, okay. Drives you crazy when you see somebody walking around like they are such a baller. They can't take that out of their ear for five minutes to check out in the grocery store line. I do it, too, but I'm usually just listening to something. I'm usually not talking to anybody. Sometimes if I want to get somewhere quick, I'll put it in and pretend like I'm talking to somebody just so I can walk through.

Yeah, we'll get back to you on that.

That'll be great. Funny, because I can't hear your phone through this Bluetooth AirPod, but I can hear mine because my phone is.

Paired.

You don't know.

I might be listening to Fred Hammond or Drake up here right now, but it's my phone.

I wouldn't have to make this work.

With this, because I'm not waiting until I get up Here to pair it. It's prepared. Prepared.

The voice I would hear in my ear would be relative to the device.

This instrument was paired to.

The Bible says, walk in the spirit and you will not fulfill the lust of the flesh. Is the problem with the voices that are going through your mind, that are sabotaging your strength, sucking you dry of your joy, and causing you to lose your confidence in what you know good and well God called you to do? Is it possible that you have been prepared to the wrong device? Is there something that's going on in your mind today? I'm just asking because when I read the passage, you were like, this is a weird word. One pastor. Is it really? Or is it a picture that Peter, even though he wasn't prepared to raise a dead girl, he wasn't prepared to go to Cornelius House. He wasn't prepared to speak to a centurion in Acts, chapter 10 that he was prepared. I think it's possible. I think it's possible that although you don't feel ready for this season of your life, that although you feel alone in this season of your life, that although you feel you don't have the skills it takes for this step of faith God has given you, that although you feel like you're the wrong one for the job, I think it's possible that God has been preparing you for the exact assignment you are designed to accomplish. I will fulfill it. Say it out loud. I will fulfill it. If it's for me, it will be. That's why I want you to disconnect from every device that is not a part of your destiny. Every voice, every website, every social media app, everything you play on your head in a loop, and you call it your truth. It's not your truth. You are in a trance, baby. You are in a trance of thinking. This is the way I have to be. This is who I've always been. This is how the world is. This is how every teenager is. Not every teenager. Baby, you haven't met me yet. I'm full of the Holy Ghost and.

Fire, and I'm baptized and I'm bold.

And I'm born again. And I'm fired up and I'm prepared. All right, I'll do it. The Lord said I have to tell you about David. He saw Goliath. What could prepare you for Goliath? Oh, I killed a lion. Oh, I killed a bear. Oh, I got a slingshot. Now, when I hook up this instrument to this device, when I hook up this experience with this challenge, sometimes you forget what You've got.

Yeah.

Sometimes you remember where you've been. Sometimes that's a good thing. But sometimes you have memorized a menu that is no longer available to you.

Can I preach this thing, y'?

All?

I have to get you ready for the summer.

Yeah, I have to get you ready for the summer. Everybody is trying to get a beach body. I'm trying to get you a beach spirit. The biceps won't help you.

Whenever all hell breaks loose in your.

Family, none of that is going to matter a bit.

But what matters?

Because we're talking about food, but God is using the food.

If you thought this passage was actually about food, you need to read it.

Again through the lens of the Holy Spirit.

Peter did. He's up there hungry.

And whenever you're hungry, everything looks good.

Isn't that the truth? Ask Esau how good a bowl of.

Beans will look when you're hungry. That's why some people date the wrong people. Okay, verse 10.

He became hungry.

Eating stuff you never would have ate. Well, he became hungry and he wanted something to eat. Okay, verse 10. This is so good. You have to see this. You have to see this.

While the meal was being prepared. What was being prepared?

Put it in the comments.

What was being prepared?

The meal wasn't the only thing being prepared. Peter was being prepared. Part of that preparation process was an unpairing. An unpairing with this past. The Spirit of God confirmed to me so many times through our worship experience today when we were singing, and I'm sorry for all of you who didn't get to hear all of the songs. Everything we sang today was a confirmation of what he gave me to preach. It was like it was paired together. One of the things you may not have seen on the surface was there was a video for my wife's birthday, and people were saying, thank you, Pastor Holly. Thank you, Pastor Holly. Thank you, Pastor Holly, for the words you've spoken. And I thought it was appropriate. Although we do not praise men, we praise God who gives us men and women as gifts. So it was right that they celebrated you, but it wasn't that they celebrated you that touched me. It was what they called you, Pastor Holly, because it took me back to the memory of the time you said, I will never marry a pastor. She said that. Now you is one. Simon would have never seen himself as a shepherd, but Jesus called him Peter and said, feed my sheep. God was preparing Jews and Gentiles. It was prepared. God needed somebody who was an official apostle to knock down that barrier officially and get the gospel to the Gentiles. I'm glad he did, because I am a Gentile. I'm glad the gospel didn't stop with what Peter thought about it. He's preparing me.

He's not just preparing a meal, he's preparing me. Are you so focused on the meal that you don't even see the mission? Are you so focused on this day's needs, this day's inconvenience, this season's hunger, this season's annoyance? It is so typical for me to get so irritated so I will miss something that could have been a miracle because of something as small as an irritation. I thought it significant on our last week of the Ghostwriter series to talk about how sometimes the greatest things God brings into our life are off menu. They are not things. When I say menu, I'm talking about how you expected him to use you.

I'll never be a pastor's wife.

Cool.

I'll just make you a pastor. Then you'll have to be a pastor's wife. I'll never be free. You say, well, God says, good, I'll just give you the blood of Jesus and I'll declare you righteous, and I'll set you free. And if the Son sets you free.

You'Ll be free indeed. I just do what I want to do.

You can't call unclean what God has called clean. That's what he told Peter. We look at the passage and we see a bunch of characters.

There's this guy. I didn't get to tell you about him, but this guy Cornelius, he's amazing.

He's over a hundred soldiers. He is very, very faithful. He's not a believer. He's not a Jew. He's not circumcised. He's definitely not a Christian yet. But God wants to give him the Holy Spirit. So one day, he's praying at 3pm this is amazing.

While he's praying at 3pm one day.

God is already preparing him with somebody.

Who'S going to be praying at noon the next day.

But that's beside the point. While you are praying about stuff, God is preparing stuff. Don't worry if you don't see what he's preparing because he was praying 30 miles away. Hey, don't stop praying just because you don't see proof. The proof might be on the way while you're praying. So Cornelius sees an angel. Now, Peter didn't see an angel. Peter heard a voice and saw a sheet.

I think one of the reasons for that is that he had had three years With Jesus, when he called him Lord and said, I can't do this, he knew the voice because he was prepared. I'll leave this illustration alone after this. Even if it was paired, if I left it back there, it would be too distant to pick it up. That's why you have to stay close to God in your heart throughout the.

Day.

For it to connect. It must be close. God didn't leave you. You left him in your heart. Do not leave Jesus in this church today. When you leave, you have the Holy Spirit. He goes with you. This is a moving menu. Yeah, this is like a faith food truck. It's going to show up wherever you need it this week. It's going to show up wherever you need it this week. Boy, I needed it yesterday. I was about to road rage real bad on somebody. That relationship with Jesus has Peter so.

Familiar that even though he does not.

Recognize what God is showing him because he sees a sheet with animals and.

He'S not supposed to eat them, and I don't know, isn't that how most of our life feels? Honestly, it's not so clear always. If the Bible had a verse, should.

I let my aging parent move in with me, or should I provide them with a nursing home? If I provide them with a nursing home, how will I pay for it? Because I don't have any money anyway. If the Bible gave you an exact verse about that, but it says, my.

God will supply all your needs, it.

Does not go into that level of detail. The detail in this passage is fascinating. How Peter sees this sheet and the Lord tells him something about food, but he is using the food. Check this out. To show Peter his future. What he is saying to Peter, he's saying to you and I, God is saying, just because it's not on your menu doesn't mean it's not on mine.

Just because.

You don't think I can do it doesn't mean it's not already happening.

Just because you don't see a way.

It would turn around at this stage doesn't mean it's not already halfway turned for notice.

What the Bible says. About noon the following day, as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the roof to pray.

Drop down to verse 17.

While Peter was wondering about the meaning of the vision, the men sent by Cornelius found out where Simon's house was. When the angel came to Cornelius, he said, go find a guy named Simon the Tanner. When you get there in Joppa, you're going to ask for a man who used to Be called Simon, but he.

Goes by the name Peter.

So the men get there when. While Peter was wondering about the meaning of the vision, in my prayer this morning, I saw somebody who is wondering, what does this mean? Here I am, single again. What does this mean? Here I am going back through this cycle again. Thought I was through with it. What does this mean? My kids aren't speaking to me. What does this mean? I cannot get through this door because of my employment record. What does this mean? Here I am in a situation where I feel rejected. Should I fall back now, or is that a sign to try harder? Is the fact that it hasn't happened yet a sign that I'm doing the wrong thing and I should try something else? Is the fact that I'm struggling the way I'm getting stronger? Or is it a sign that God is redirecting me now while Peter is praying about all of this, like, you've been thinking about this and wondering, what does this mean? I'm going through this. What does this mean? That I'm anxious? What does it mean? I'm so afraid. What does it mean That I feel like I'm out of options. What does this mean? While Peter was still wondering about the meaning of the vision, verse 17, the men sent by Cornelius found Simon's house and stopped at the gate. So God said to tell you while you're wondering about your next step, the answer is already at the gate waiting for you. I'll declare it again. While Peter was praying, the men were already there. I am so slow. Church, forgive me. I am so slow. I read verse nine about 15 times.

And I didn't get it.

About noon the following day, as they were on their way approaching the city, Peter went up on the roof to pray. I pictured it like this. While Peter and the other disciples that he had met there in Joppa were going back to the city, they'd probably been out all morning doing some ministry, preaching some crusades. As they got to the city, they stopped at the house. And Peter is like, I'm going to go up there and pray. But that is not the they that is referenced in verse nine. Put it up again about noon the following day.

This is good.

As they were on their journey and approaching the city.

They is not Peter and his voice.

They are the three men Cornelius sent out of the prayer he prayed a day earlier. They are already on the way. I don't know whose word that is. I don't know what they you need in your life. I don't know if the they you need are people to partner with you, mentors to help you. I don't know if the they you need in your life are emotional areas of healing where you need the balm of almighty God. But God said to tell you on this final week of my series on the Holy Spirit, they are already on the way. Get ready, because when you get down there, it's going to be somebody you.

Haven'T even met yet. Get ready, because what God is going to bless you with isn't even going.

To be on the menu.

I thought somebody say it's off menu.

What God has on his mind for you is off the menu.

What God has on his heart to.

Do through you is off the menu.

It's not in your mind.

It's not in your mind senses.

It's not in your past. It's not in your tradition, but it's coming. It's coming. It's coming. It's coming. It's coming. It's coming.

It's coming.

It's coming. It's coming. It's already at the gate. It's already at the gate. It's already at the gate. While you're praying, it's waiting. It's waiting. It's waiting. High five.

Eight people say, it's waiting at the gate. It's waiting at the gate. It's waiting at the gate.

Yeah.

So you have a decision to make, honey pie. You have a decision to make, baby boo. You have a decision to make.

Saint.

You have a decision to make. Simon, you have a decision to make. Peter, because it goes like this. There are three men at the gate and there are two men on the roof.

What do you mean, Pastor Steve? Who else up there? Are you talking about the Lord, Peter and the Lord. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. I read you the verse. I told you we were going to come back to it.

I told you I was going to make a sandwich.

I put it in a Ziploc bag. I told you. Prepared for this field trip. I packed this lunch because I want you to get it. I want you to get it. Even if it's not on the menu. I want you to get it. Even if your mom didn't give it to you. I want you to get it. Even if your dad didn't give it to you. I want you to get it. Even if your kids aren't saying thank you. I want you to get it.

Even if nobody recognizes the value of your life. The Bible says they went to the.

House of Simon the Tanner, watched this, looking for a man when they got there, they called out asking if Simon, who was known as Peter, was there. There are two people on the roof and three people at the gate. There's Simon on the roof. Everything Peter had been before he met Jesus. And there's Peter on the roof. Simon is looking at the blanket, saying, I never did that before. I can't do that. The kind of stuff we say when God shows us what he wants us to do.

Because this blanket is God showing him.

I want to cover the earth with the gospel. I'm worried about a meal. I'm worried about a mission.

Stop getting tripped up on the wrong stupid stuff. They hurt your feelings. Don't let a hurt feeling keep you from your future.

My God, you need to have a birthday every week so I can preach this good.

Holly.

I knew the Holy Ghost was going to show up on Pentecost Sunday. I knew there were some things he needed to talk to you about. Simon, there are some things he needs to say to you. Simon, did you notice that? I want you to notice this. When the Lord starts talking to Simon, Peter, both of them are up there. Simon represents the part of us that is stuck in our tradition and stuck in our limited experience. Stuck in the way we perceive things and stuck in the way we think certain people are and the way we think certain genders and the way we think certain women can do this and men can do that, and people can do this and people can do that. I'll never forget people telling me, when did you decide to become a multicultural church? It was never a decision. Then Kirk Franklin asked me one time, are you ever surprised how much black people like you?

I said, absolutely not.

That doesn't surprise me at all. It's mutual. Prepare. Prepare.

We're not mismatched.

My friend the other day said what a lot of people don't know is you know more gospel music than any white man alive. I said, because I was singing in gospel choirs since I was 16. So this wasn't a surprise to me. Not to me. The reason I bring these traditions up is because those are all pretty cute. What if it's not so mentionable what you're attached to? What if yours is something that's sexual, that makes you feel filthy? What if you are paired to and connected to a cycle of condemnation or compulsion that causes you to keep giving away everything valuable for the next meal? What if within you, it is a severe and chronic emotional condition that people tell you to just rejoice over top of, but it keeps getting down on the inside? What I want you to understand about this precious Holy Spirit you have been given, baptized with, empowered by, filled with, called by, chosen by, a witness to, and guided by in your life the Holy Spirit, who one writer said is the wind and the fire, who is the ship and the sea, who is the horse and the road. Look what he did for Peter. While Peter was wondering about the meaning of the vision, the men stopped at the gate. They called out, asking if Simon, who was known as Peter, was staying there. And this is what must happen in your Life Daily. Verse 19. While Peter was still thinking about the vision, the spirit said to him, simon, catch it, catch it, catch it. While Peter was thinking, what do I do about this? I can't do this. What does this mean? I don't know what you mean. The spirit said, simon. See, because all his life he's been playing Simon says, thinking like Simon, eating like Simon, moving like Simon. But how many know new minds make new moves? Good God, who is this for other than Holly? I mean, this thing is cooking inside of me right now. While Peter was thinking about it, the spirit said, simon, I want to spend less time playing Simon says with myself because my Simon will tell me some stuff I know is not going to move me forward. Just me. My Simon will tell me I mentioned road rage. Hey, drive up around this medium. Go cut them off. Turn this car sideways. Be there waiting for them. Get out. Stand up on top of the jeep with your shirt off. That's my Simon. It is imperative for me.

It is imperative.

With your polo shirt tied around your head like a bandana on top of the jeep on the way home from church today, let them know that's not right, how they cut you off. And then.

So I need.

I need the Spirit to speak to my Simon.

So when I go downstairs.

I can be Peter.

I need to spirit to speak to.

My Simon and tell me that's crazy.

That's your ego talking. That's just you trying to be somebody important and you're not even thinking about what really matters. I need the spirit to talk to my Simon because the spirit can show me the me that is new. Show me the me that is new me.

New me. New menu.

It kind of works if you put it together. Menu. God says you've been dealing with situations a certain way. You always hide when it gets scary. You've been dealing with situations a certain way. You always numb when it gets uncomfortable. You've been dealing with situations a certain way. You always withdraw the moment it gets too intimate. You get squeamish. And you move out. But God says, you have a new menu. You have a new menu. On this menu is a new set.

Of.

Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self control. This is the fruit of the Spirit. It's amazing because the Spirit started speaking to Simon. When the Spirit spoke to Simon, he said, don't hesitate. Don't try to figure it out in your head. I don't know who this is for, but Simon, stop judging God's capacity by your calculator. Holy Spirit spoke to me four days ago and said, you keep imagining scenarios like I'm not going to be there with you when you go through them. Stop it. Simon says, you might not make it. The Spirit says, I am in you and with you, and I will show you the deep things of God. Eye has not seen, ear has not heard. Neither has it entered into the heart of a man the things God has.

Prepared for those who love him.

But God.

That's 1 Corinthians 2, 10.

Do y' all want to see it? Eye has not seen, ear has not heard. Neither has it entered into the heart.

Of a Simon what God has prepared. But God has revealed them through his Spirit. This is the point I wanted to preach you to today. I know you're hungry, but don't go into a trance on me right now. The Bible said, you have to let his spirit speak to your Simon so this can happen. Verse 20. Get up, go downstairs. Do not hesitate, for I have sent them. Verse 21. Peter went down. It's a good thing, because if Simon went down, the Gentiles never would have got the Gospel. Okay, let me re say that God would have had to pick somebody else. You know, God is going to do it, what he's going to do, how he's going to do it, but Peter would have missed it. Stop sending Simon down into Peter situations. Stop showing up like a baby Christian when you've been knowing God for 49 years.

Years.

God said, I have something. I'm preparing for you, but I have to prepare you for what I have prepared. If Simon goes down, he tells these men, I can't eat with you. You Gentiles go away. But when Peter went down, he said, I'm the one. I don't feel like the one. I don't get it.

I don't understand it, but I'm the one. Now let's go to Caesarea and let's take the Gospel and the Holy Spirit with us. You know, when they got there that says Cornelius was expecting them, he had a Whole crowd there. Peter starts preaching and the Lord did something. He did a lot with Peter. He interrupted him. He's like, shut up already. The Holy Spirit came and they all began to speak with other tongues. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit. And the gospel started rippling through generations to the point that today we are in church as gentiles because Peter came down those stairs. I'm so grateful that even though.

We.

Weren'T on the menu, we were on God's mind. When the Lord sends something into your life this week in your rooftop moments, when the Lord sends something into your life this week in your confused moments and you're wondering what it means, check the gate and send Peter down and say, I'm the one. People wouldn't have picked you. You weren't on their menu. But we have an off menu God.

He takes people who say, I'll never marry a pastor, and he goes, ha, ha ha. Holly.

Ha ha.

Pastor Holly. Get ready for God to do something in your life this week that wasn't even on your menu. Get ready for God to change a situation you gave up on.

Get ready for God to do it in a way that your eyes have not seen and your ears have not heard. High five. Fifteen people say, I'm ready. I'm ready. I'm on the rooftop and I'm ready. I got a relationship with God, and I'm ready. I'm the righteous and I'm ready.

Off menu. Off menu.

You weren't even expecting it, were you?

That's good.

God likes to throw surprise parties, so your pity party is going to be interrupted this week by a surprise party for God to show you that the thing you thought made you pitiful actually makes you powerful. Give Peter down those stairs.

Let's go. Let's have a birthday party. Let's have a birthday party. Bye, Simon. Hey, peter. Give it 25 seconds of praise. Praise the unicorn. You didn't leave me like I was. Give him a praise like Peter. You didn't leave me like I was. And I'm praising you because I'm praising you because you didn't leave me like I was. Leave me like I was. And I'm praising you because I'm praising you because you didn't leave me like I was and I'm praising you.

Hey, thank you for watching the Elevation Church YouTube. I want you to subscribe. That way you can know when we go live and post new content. Make sure to leave me a comment. Let me know what spoke to you today. Where you're watching from and what we can pray for you about. And if you'd like to support the ministry financially, you can click the Give button now and help us continue reaching people around the world for Jesus Christ. Thanks again. I'll see you next time.