Hang tight while we fetch the video data and transcripts. This only takes a moment.
Connecting to YouTube player…
Fetching transcript data…
We’ll display the transcript, summary, and all view options as soon as everything loads.
Next steps
Loading transcript tools…
The Lord Will Lighten Your Load | Pastor Steven Furtick | Elevation Church | Elevation Church | YouTubeToText
YouTube Transcript: The Lord Will Lighten Your Load | Pastor Steven Furtick | Elevation Church
Skip watching entire videos - get the full transcript, search for keywords, and copy with one click.
Share:
Video Transcript
Video Summary
Summary
Core Theme
This sermon uses the biblical story of Jacob's journey to Egypt to illustrate how God helps individuals carry their burdens, not by removing them, but by providing support and strength through His presence and divine intervention, transforming "weight" into "wings."
Mind Map
Click to expand
Click to explore the full interactive mind map • Zoom, pan, and navigate
I feel like we might fly away today if we really get ahold of that,
really start singing about that. High-five your neighbor and say,
"He's that good…and then some." You don't even know what I'm praising him for. If you did,
you'd praise him with me. If you did, you'd get up here higher. If you did, you might
start jumping. You might start leaping. It's all right. Get that cardio in. Get that gratitude in.
[Worship]
Let everything that has breath… Let everything that's out of breath from
jumping… Jump a little more and praise the Lord! Come on, Riverwalk! You know you want to do it.
Come on, Uptown! I need 50 jumpers at Blakeney! I need somebody in your living
room! Give your calf muscles a workout and get up on your feet and give God…
This is it right here. Bless heaven! Come on. Clap those hands like you love Jesus!
I'm going right to my message. The Spirit of the Lord is in this place. I'm going
right to my message. The Spirit of the Lord is in this place. Chains
are going to break today because the Spirit of the Lord is in this place.
The anointing destroys the yoke. The Spirit of the Lord is in this place.
I'm so glad I listened to the Lord. Last night, he told me to get a little extra sleep because y'all
were going to be ready today. I'm so glad I did. I was in bed at 8:20 p.m. getting ready for y'all,
and that's an hour earlier than my normal bedtime. (And now I'm stalling to catch my breath from
jumping.) Tell your neighbor, "I'm glad you're breathing." Tell them, "I'm glad you brushed
your teeth." We have a good time in church. I said, "We have a good time in church." It doesn't
mean we're not going through rough patches in our lives, but we have a good time in church.
I welcome you here today. All of our guests, all of our eFam, all of our church family, welcome
today. I'm so glad you're here. I accidentally started preaching a sermon series a few weeks ago,
and I've been talking to you about when God calls your name. I was trying to figure out what to call
the series, and finally, in my fourth week, the Lord told me what to call it. It's called Called.
That's what it's called.
Tell your neighbor, "I'm called." Called a lot of different things by a lot of different people,
I'm sure. Did you enjoy last week when I was talking about "Martha, Martha"? How many of
you felt seen when I was showing Holly be pulled apart by the demands of life?
How many of you preached the message back to yourself a little bit throughout the
week when you felt yourself pulled here and pulled there?
And just reminded yourself that being present in the moment that God has given you is always the
priority. Presence is the priority, even when your plan changes, even when your problems are
overwhelming. Let's see. We've done "Moses, Moses." We did "Simon, Simon." These are the
ones I've preached so far, different people in the Bible that God called their name, not once,
but twice, just right there together. "Moses, Moses." "Simon, Simon." "Martha, Martha."
Today is "Jacob, Jacob." Genesis, chapter 45. As many sermons as you've heard me preach on Jacob,
I've never preached from this passage. Genesis, chapter 45, verse 25,
and then we'll go all the way to chapter 46, verse 5. You say, "That's a lot of Scripture." Well,
I'm making up for all the Bible reading days you skipped this week. I'm doing you a favor.
Now, hear the Word of the Lord. The Lord has a word for you today. I've been pacing
back and forth waiting for you to get here. I'm so thankful for the way he speaks. Now,
a little bit of background. The children of Jacob have gone to Egypt,
and they found out not only is there food in Egypt while there's a famine in Canaan where
they live but that their brother Joseph, who they betrayed years earlier, is in command.
He has promised them, "If you will come back and bring our father Jacob, I'll take care
of you. Everything you did to me is not going to be held against you. I have moved past it,
and I'll take care of you." So, with this message, they arrive to Jacob who, remember,
22 years earlier, was told that his son was dead, or led to believe that his son was dead,
when, in fact, it wasn't true. He'd been pushed in a pit, but he wasn't dead.
He was sold into slavery, but he wasn't dead. He was falsely accused years later and went to
prison, but he wasn't dead. Tell your neighbor, "Somehow I'm still here." Just tell them,
"Somehow I'm still here. That's why I'm praising him." Now we pick up
the narrative in Genesis 45:25. "So they…" The brothers of Joseph, the sons of Jacob.
"So they went up out of Egypt and came to the land of Canaan to their father Jacob.
And they told him, 'Joseph is still alive, and he is ruler over all the land of Egypt.'
And his heart became numb…" Isn't that unexpected? He gets the greatest news he
could ever hope to receive, and instead of his heart being happy, his heart goes numb.
Now, after his heart goes numb, the writer gives us a little bit of an explanation as to why he was
unable to receive this good report. It said, "…for he did not believe them. But when they
told him all the words of Joseph, which he had said to them, and when he saw the wagons that
Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of their father Jacob revived. And Israel said,
'It is enough; Joseph my son is still alive. I will go and see him before I die.'"
Now chapter 46, verse 1. "So Israel took his journey with all that he had and came
to Beersheba, and offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac. And God spoke to
Israel in visions of the night and said, 'Jacob, Jacob.' And he said, 'Here I am.'"
That's presence. "Here am I." "Then he said, 'I am God, the God of your father. Do not be afraid to
go down to Egypt, for there I will make you into a great nation. I myself will go down with you
to Egypt, and I will also bring you up again, and Joseph's hand shall close your eyes.'" The
one you said goodbye to is going to be the one who says goodbye to you in your dying breath.
The final verse I want to read to you before we preach… "Then Jacob set out
from Beersheba. The sons of Israel carried Jacob their father, their little ones, and their wives,
in the wagons that Pharaoh had sent to carry him." The prophetic word I've been assigned
to preach to you today may come across, on the surface, as very simple, but it is really the
deepest belief you could ever hold, and it is this: The Lord Will Lighten Your Load.
I know you had a lot on your mind even coming in today, but the Lord will lighten your load.
I know sometimes people take advantage of you because you're available to them,
but the Lord will lighten your load. I know you've done some bad things in your life,
and you feel kind of guilty about them, but the Lord will lighten your load.
I know you're trying to make a plan right now, and stuff keeps moving, and stuff keeps shifting,
and people keep moving, and people keep shifting, but the Lord will lighten your
load. I know you're stubborn and you don't like to ask for a lot of help, but the Lord
will lighten your load. I know your shoulders are tense. You really need a massage today,
but I'm going to give you a message today instead. The Lord will lighten your load.
Turn around and tell 12 people, "The Lord will lighten your load." Put it in the chat. "The Lord
will lighten your load." Put it right there in the chat. "The Lord will lighten your load." And you
may be seated. You can rest for the rest of the message. The Lord will lighten your load. Now, I
have a love/hate relationship with simple sayings like that. "The Lord will lighten your load."
On one hand, I think that the highest degree of clarity in communication is simplicity. So,
really, for me, the art of studying the Scripture is to simplify the Scripture,
to find one message in the Scripture that we can all take, whether we're 12
or whether we're 82 or whether, like Jacob here in this passage, we are 130 years old.
Did you know Jacob was 130 years old when the Lord told him, "Get up and go to a place
300 miles away, a place you've never been in, a place that you will not recognize,
a place that you will not fit into, a place that you will be tempted to reject. But I'm sending you
to Egypt because there's a famine where you are, and you have to move." Jacob is 130 years old.
As we step into this moment of Jacob's life… I gave a little bit of this away. I intended to
save it so I could tell the story and keep you in suspense. He is really on
the verge of one of the greatest moments he has ever experienced. In just a few weeks,
he will be reunited with his son, the son that he mourned for 22 years. But you can't exactly
call it a happy moment for Jacob either, can you? Because as we saw in the Scripture that I read,
sometimes you get good news, but you can't take it in because of what you've been through.
Sometimes you can't receive truth because the truth has to work its way through the trauma.
Sometimes you can hear something that actually is factual,
but your frustration or your pain or your failure will take you into
a moment where even though you hear the truth, even though you hear the word,
and even though it's something you desire to believe, unbelief does not unwind automatically.
Through a process of coming before the Lord and spending time with the Lord and putting
yourself in environments like this… Go ahead and give yourself a hand for coming to church today,
by the way. I learned to look at it differently. I used to think,
"I don't have time to go to church" if I was busy.
Now I've learned that when I'm really busy, I don't have time to not come to church,
because I need to be in a place where my heart is not numb. I need to be in a place where I can
be known by God and accepted by him. So, you wouldn't exactly call this moment in
Jacob's life happy, would you? He has lost two decades plus two years with his son,
and he's kind of suspicious that his boys were the ones who were up to it. And he's right.
But at the same time, there is a hope for him that "Maybe, just maybe, I'm going to see Joseph. I'm
going to see Joseph. This is better than going to Disneyland, y'all. I'm going to see Joseph.
I've been told that Joseph has secured a spot for me in Goshen, and I'm going to
live off the fat of the land as the father of Joseph, who has risen through all adversities.
Like a fruitful vine, he climbed over every wall. They shot their arrows at him,
but Joseph's hand remained steady. I'm going to see Joseph." At least he hopes. But here is
the lesson from Jacob's response to the news that Joseph may be alive. When you've been really hurt,
it is hard to keep hoping. When you have been really hurt, it is hard to keep hoping.
I promise you I won't depress you the whole message, but I just don't
want to bring you in like this is some glorious reunion and reconciliation,
because if we oversimplify and we make it a cliché ("The Lord will lighten your load"),
then what happens when three hours from now you get some bad news? Or what happens when you get
to work tomorrow and your boss did not get my sermon title that the Lord wanted to lighten
your load? "Didn't you get the memo? The man of God said the Lord would lighten my load."
Well, they are not the Lord, and they may put more on you. Isn't that a dumb cliché,
by the way, when we say, "The Lord will never put more on you than you can bear"? The Bible
doesn't say that. Read the Bible. Stop quoting what you heard from your grandma
without checking it against the Bible. She was approximating what she heard one time,
but the Bible says that no temptation has overtaken you and God will give you
a way of escape. It doesn't say that God won't put more on you than you can bear.
He most certainly will put more on you than you can bear so you won't get confused and think
you're him. That's actually God's job security, to call you to do things you can't do without him,
so you won't get there and be without him and think you can do it. I need the
Lord in my life. I need the Lord, and I have an "every six days" reminder when I
come preach to you. And do you know that my favorite thing to do that does not involve
my family is to be up here and share the Word of the Lord with you? It really is.
But, if you were to ask me two hours before I get up here, "Are you excited to preach?" I
would have a difficult time, if you hooked me up to a lie detector, just saying a straight "Yes,"
because I am excited, but (and please don't tell all the Pharisees that
want to quote a Scripture verse at me when they hear this) I'm also anxious.
I know the Bible says, "Don't be anxious," but that was Paul. He's
farther along than I am. I'm anxious. I'm anxious, will I say it right? I'm anxious,
will you hear it right? I'm anxious, will I leave the best part out? I'm anxious,
will I say something that is not exactly correct and maybe lead you astray?
Even when I preach about this kind of message, let me tell you what makes me anxious. I'm
scared that you will hear that Jacob went to Egypt and use it as an excuse to run away from
something hard in your life, because people will even take a phrase that you preach on
with a good intention, like, "The Lord said to Jacob, 'Don't be afraid to go to Egypt…'"
They will somehow translate that into the Lord saying, "Quit your accounting job, even though
you have four mouths to feed, and open a coffee shop because you like coffee." But maybe what the
Lord is really saying is, "Drink more coffee and keep accounting, because you've got a whole family
to feed, and those kids need to go to college." So I'm worried about all of that. I'm worried about
"Will it be boring?" I'm worried about "Will I say too much, say too little?" I'm just being honest.
I came up with a way to explain it, and I thought it might help you. Now,
this is a trademarked word. This word belongs to me, but you can borrow it
for the situations in your life where you feel excited but you also feel anxious. From now on,
we call that "anxcited." You got anything in your life that you feel that way about today? So,
if you ever ask me before I preach, "How do you feel?" I'm going to tell you, "I'm anxcited."
You'll say, "Pastor Steven, anxcited ain't a word." And I'll say, "It may not be a word, but it
is a reality." The fact is if I focus on getting it wrong, I'm going to feel completely paralyzed.
If I focus on pleasing people, I'm going to feel completely paralyzed. If I focus on not leaving
anything out, I'm going to stand up here like I'm performing for you, but this ain't Vegas. If
I focus on feeding you what God gave me for what you're going through in your life, I'm excited.
So, I want you to understand that both options are always available. I can be anxious. I can
be excited. I'm like Jacob sometimes. I can't really name how I feel. I can't really name
the season I'm in. On one hand, I'm really happy to be in front of you. I'm really thrilled with
the prospect of being a vessel for God to use, and on the other hand, I'm terrified. And don't
look at me judgmentally, because you don't like to give speeches or hear your own voice either.
So I'm excited. I'm anxious. I'm anxcited. I don't know how to spell that, but I certainly know what
it feels like. I'm anxcited. And I believe there's somebody in the room today that feels
that way about this season of your life. "I'm anxcited." Tell your neighbor, "I'm anxcited."
"I'm kind of shaky in it, but I'm kind of looking forward to it. I'm kind of
relieved that things are changing, and I'm kind of terrified that things will never be the same."
"I'm kind of feeling a sense of adventure in my life because I got fired,
and I'm also watching my bank account, and it's running the wrong way from abundance.
It's moving in the wrong direction. So, I'm kind of excited to have free time, but I'm
kind of not excited. I'm a little anxious about having less money, because now I'm stretched,
and I'm stretching toward something I didn't expect. In this season of my life, I'm anxcited."
Somebody asked me recently, "What do you and Holly feel about being
empty nesters soon?" I said, "Soon? Abbey is 14. Why are you trying to
run her out of the house? She just started wearing makeup. Give me a few more years."
I'm anxcited about my kids growing up. I'm anxcited about releasing them into the world.
I'm anxcited about being in Charlotte. Some of you just moved here in the last month.
Some of you moved here to be a part of this church. How do you feel about
I'm crying sometimes. I miss my friends in Austin, and I'm looking forward to meeting
new ones here." I'm just trying to tell you that sometimes the clichés we use oversimplify
the depth of the human experience and to remind you that you will always be both.
Anxious and excited both look like shaking hands. Anxious and excited both feel like
sweaty palms. Anxious and excited both put butterflies in your stomach,
but whether those butterflies are a burden or a blessing depends on which one you lean into.
The news reaches Jacob. "Joseph is on the throne in Egypt. He is the prime minister
of the most powerful nation on earth, and he has sent us with an instruction
to bring you back. He said we don't even have to worry about bringing our own stuff with us,
because when we get there, he's got us." I don't know who this is a word for,
but when you get there, God's got you. Don't overburden the process by overplanning your
steps. I said, "Don't overburden the process by overplanning your steps."
When you get there, he's got you. The process of God speaking to Jacob
is a very complicated process, because he's already changed his name to Israel. In fact,
if you read the account in Genesis, chapter 46, you are forgiven if you are a little
confused. Let's read it together again and see why it's confusing.
Remember, Israel is Jacob's new name. It's not only the nation that he fathered,
but it is the name he was given. It's the name of his strength. Jacob, on the other hand, is the
name of his weakness. It speaks of his tendency to deceive and manipulate and chase and compare.
So, the Bible says in Genesis 46, at this pivotal moment in Jacob's life,
"So Israel took his journey…" We're talking about a man whose name has been changed.
"…with all that he had and came to Beersheba, and offered sacrifices to the God of his father
Isaac. And God spoke to Israel…" New name. God spoke to Israel. Strength. God spoke to Israel,
which means prince. God spoke to Israel, the changed Jacob. "God spoke to Israel in visions
of the night and said, 'Jacob, Jacob.'" If his name is Israel, why are you speaking to Jacob?
I want to give you a principle to take with you today into every situation you encounter
this week. Wherever God calls your Israel, you have to take Jacob with you. It's going to be
good in a minute. Let me work on this word for a minute. You've been confused lately,
because some habits have been sneaking back up on you that you thought you let go of. Because
some sins have been trying to strangle the life of you, but you thought you broke the choke hold.
Because some things you said you never would do again, you started doing them again,
and you're carrying it like a secret in your heart. Because somebody got up and
told you that if you accepted Jesus, you would leave the old you behind,
and that is true positionally. God no longer relates to you on the basis of any sin you've
committed. Every single one of the sins you committed was nailed to the cross. Its effect
was canceled. Your record is clean. Your sins have been blotted out. All of that is true.
You have been delivered from the penalty of sin. You have been delivered from the power of sin. Sin
is no longer your position. Sin is no longer your identity. But although you have been delivered
from the power, although you have been delivered from the penalty, and although it is no longer
your position, you still have some patterns called sin that go with you into your future called now.
I want to preach this, because you are Israel, and you are Jacob, but you are kind of "Israe-acob."
I'm going to preach it till you get honest. I'm going to preach it till you stop polishing
your halo and pretending like you didn't cuss once this week. I'm going to preach
it till you stop pretending like you've got the right to make comments on YouTube about
other people's faith when you know good and well you are not always on a church website,
when you know good and well there's some Jacob that came with you to church.
"Aren't you just giving the people permission to sin?" Uh,
they're doing pretty good without permission, ma'am. Trying to give you power, perspective,
and presence, that when God speaks to your Jacob, you don't run away and hide.
Okay. Something very meaningful. I always prepare three illustrations for each point,
and then I try to stand in the room and figure out which one makes sense for right now. Usually,
if you're looking at me all stuffy, I'll go to the safe one, but today I feel kind of free.
One time I apologized to Holly because I'm not always relaxed. We were on vacation,
and I said, "I know you really like this version of me." It had been three weeks
since I had to work on a sermon, and three weeks of not having to be anxcited puts me in
a very relaxed state of mind, relaxed and lazy. "Relazy." I get "relazy."
I said, "I know you love this version of me." Man, you should see my Southern
small-town charm come out. I'm speaking to everybody, holding doors for everybody,
buying ice cream for skaters that I used to would have said were punks, but I'm buying ice cream.
They smell like weed. I'm buying them ice cream, telling them about Jesus. It's a great state.
I said, "I know you love this version of me." She said, "Yeah, I do." She said, "But I love all of
them." (That was the biggest collective "Aw" in church history. You made history today, church.)
That did something for me. It did something for me, because I realized that she knew that we
wouldn't be on vacation if I was never stressed, at least not staying indoors with plumbing.
That meant a lot to me. That means a lot to a man. It means a lot to a woman. When
you appreciate the fact that the parts of me that are not that great come with the package,
not so that I can continue to be a complete schizophrenic before I preach, but…
It unburdened me a little bit. I'll tell you what it was. I'm going to give you
four things that were a part of Jacob's journey today that you can practically
apply to your life. The first one I've spoken of, but I want to be really clear. I want to
talk to you about the weight. Write it down, please…W-E-I-G-H-T, weight. Not wait as in a
period of time that lapses before you know a conclusion, which would be appropriate too.
Twenty-two years that he has held in his heart the horror of losing his son Joseph. "It's kind
of hard to get happy in five minutes when I've held this 22 years." Have more compassion on
people as they change, including you. You know how when you drive down the interstate they have
weigh stations for truckers? I wish we could have one of those in the church for Christians.
We wouldn't be measuring whether you're down three pounds or not. I would love to know if you carry
too much into this room today so that we could unburden you before you head back out, because
you are dangerous with too much weight, and you're dangerous with too little weight. There are some
responsibilities that God has placed on you that are the answers to the prayers you prayed.
The Lord was telling me one time that I was complaining about prayers I had prayed six
months ago being answered. Do you follow me? In other words, he did it, and then I got it,
and it was heavy. Nobody ever tells you this. Blessings are heavy. Blessings are
heavy. Everybody who's praying God will give you a baby, blessings are heavy.
I don't care 8 pounds, 10 pounds, 12 pounds. Abbey said the other day she had a dream that
she came out weighing 130 pounds. The truth of the matter is that the weight Jacob is carrying…
I just want to talk to you a little bit about it today, because he's carrying not only his own pain
and his uncertainty but the responsibility that his name represents an entire nation.
Talk about weight. Talk about heaviness.
A few weeks ago, I talked about how heaviness and happiness sit at the same table,
how heaviness and happiness live in the same heart. If we wait for the heaviness
to go away to be happy, we will defer our joy and postpone it indefinitely. Waiting
on a future time to praise God when all of your kids are doing well is a trap.
Waiting on a future time to praise God when all your debts are paid off is a trap.
Waiting on a future time to praise God when nothing in your body hurts is a trap. Waiting
to praise God, waiting to enjoy your life, waiting to be thankful, waiting to smile, waiting to laugh
until you know how this is going to turn out, waiting until the outcome is clear for you to
make a commitment to serve Jesus is a trap. That's why Jacob had to set out with a heavy heart.
Sometimes you have to head there heavy. Sometimes you have to move there weighed down. Sometimes you
have to take a step forward, knowing, "I don't even know about the next one yet, but I will
take this one." So, the process of coming to the Lord is to learn how to take the weight he gives
you. But I will remind you today that God can't help you carry something he never called you to.
One New Testament writer said to lay aside all the sin and the weight that easily besets you.
Sometimes I think we're carrying sins that we won't give up,
but other times I think we're carrying weights that aren't exactly sins but are
taking up the space in our life that could be used for trusting God, that could be used for
creative solutions. If the Devil wants to destroy you, he will get your mind so full
of stuff that does not matter anyway to get you moved off of what you are uniquely called to do.
And to realize that Jacob in this moment is receiving good news,
but he is still grieving what he's been through; receiving good news,
but very anxcited about where he's going. It may give you a little compassion for
yourself that I have this weight. It's not that my heart is hard; it's that it's heavy.
As he is considering this… I mean, picture it. He has to decide, "Am I
going to believe that this is possible?" Just like you are deciding, Dove's Nest,
"Am I going to believe that my recovery is possible?" Just like you are having to decide,
college student, "Is it really worth it to live for Jesus?" Just like you are having
to decide in this season of your life, "Am I going to call a therapist and start to work
on this so I don't just carry this forth as my template for the rest of my life?"
As he is trying to decide whether to leave what is familiar and walk in what is fearful and point
himself in the direction of the unexpected pregnant possibility that God has answered
his prayers that for 22 years lay dormant, not dead… The Bible says in verse 27 that
as he was carrying this weight… Everybody say, "Weight." Come on. Say it louder. Say, "Weight."
I want you to say it as loud as it is heavy to you. One, two, three. Yeah,
the crushing expectations that you had of yourself, the crushing disappointment of
what didn't happen. Some of you are like, "I'm doing good today." Weigh
in next week. We'll check you next week. Something could happen between… You know,
something could get on your truck this week that could make you break down in
tears and not be so arrogant. So never judge somebody because of what they are carrying.
One sidenote. I met a man a year ago, and when I met him I said, "He is so arrogant."
All he did was talk about himself. I've never met somebody so arrogant. I walked
away and thought, "I have discernment." I saw him again a year later. He said,
"I wanted to tell you something. The first time you met me…you couldn't have known this,
but I had just received news the day before that I lost my job. I had been throwing up in a hotel
room all night, so I apologize if I came across a certain way." I'm like, "You did. You did."
Isn't it crazy that I couldn't even see who he really was because all I could see was
what he carried? Tell your neighbor, "I'm really a good person. If you catch me at the right time,
I'll buy you some ice cream." See, the Lord is speaking to Jacob while he's trying to move
forward as Israel. I said, the Lord is speaking to Jacob while he's trying to move forward as Israel.
He's trying to decide, "Do I believe?" How would you believe these boys? Do you
remember what they did? They brought Joseph's coat to their dad and said,
"Is this the coat you gave Joseph?" Because they were always jealous of him. They dipped
it in blood to make it look like he was mauled by animals. And he was. They were the animals. Now,
he was on his way to Egypt, and God was using all of that sovereignly, but in that moment,
all Jacob felt was sadness. He kept that coat for 22 years. It's all he had left of his son.
Now these same boys… They've gone down to Egypt. They found out there's food. There's
going to be five more years of famine, and Joseph says, "Come. I've got you. When you get here,
I've got you." So they go back to Canaan and they say, "Dad, we've got to go. Joseph is alive. He's
going to take care of us." There's hope in his heart, and there's heaviness in his heart.
The weight almost… Watch this. It almost keeps him from going. I love this word in the Bible.
(Put up verse 27.) "But when they told him the words of Joseph, which he had said to them…" Now,
get ready to shout a little bit, because this part that comes next is really important. It
was one thing to hear their words, because they've said a lot of things, and they've
lied about it. It is one thing to believe people. It is one thing to believe a preacher.
But it is another thing when God gives you evidence of his presence that you can't deny.
I believe I'm talking to about 225 people today somewhere in this room at Ballantyne, that your
heart has been heavy, but you've got evidence that God is not quite through with you yet.
Now, the Devil would love for you to look past the evidence, but watch this.
The Bible says he was trying to believe, trying to take it in, trying to wake up his heart,
trying to revive his spirit, trying to convince himself, trying to get a move on,
trying to make a plan, but his heart was numb and he couldn't move. Now give me my verse.
When he heard the words of Joseph, which he had said to them secondhand,
and when he saw the wagons… That's the second word I want you to write down: wagons.
I've got weight. I'm going through some things. I've got weight. I've got unanswered questions.
I've got weight. There are some people who have disappointed me. I've got weight. Somebody say,
"I've got weight, but I've also got wagons." This is the part where if you are Pentecostal
even by 5 percent, I want you to look out your window today, spiritually speaking,
and look at all the wagons that God has sent to bring you where you're supposed to be.
Now we've got a choice to make, because I'm anxcited. I'm heartbroken
but I'm hopeful. The weight is trying to get me to stay depressed,
but the wagons are calling me to move on. I want to know which one is your faith in,
the weight or the wagons. God sent me with a prophetic word for somebody.
You've got wagons waiting for you. You've got transportation waiting for you.
High-five everybody you can reach and say, "Here come the wagons. Here come
the wagons." And there is no way… Ooh, I feel like testifying. There
is no way I'd be here… There is no way I'd be here if it had not been for the wagons.
All right. Y'all help me get happy about the wagons. The wagons, the wagons, the wagons.
Jacob is like, "I don't know if this is true. I don't believe these boys. These boys are rascals.
These boys are liars. Reuben is a liar. Simeon is a liar. Judah is a liar. Who can I trust? All
my boys are dysfunctional. All this weight is too much for me. I've been 22 years in this condition.
I don't know if I should believe this." And while he's listening to them, he is stuck in the weight.
But when he saw the wagons, when he saw those wagons… When Joseph sent his brothers back,
he said, "Take the best wagons that Egypt has to offer. Hold on. Let me ask my boss. Pharaoh,
I've got to go get my dad and bring him back. Would you let me borrow some wagons?"
Pharaoh said, "Yeah. I don't even worship their same God, but I will
send them the transportation to bring them here to eat."
God doesn't even have to use the right thing to get you where you're supposed
to go. Can I say it like I feel it? God is going to use some stupid stuff to get
you there. God is going to use some ridiculous things to get you there,
some weird wagons. "What are these wagons? I've never seen wagons like this before.
Aren't these Pharaoh's wagons?" Yeah, but they're under God's jurisdiction.
So, I'm explaining how God came to get him with the wagons, because God knew he had a limp.
He knows where you're weighty, and he knows where you're weak,
and that's what the wagons are for. Give me the verse again. Ain't that anointed, Mom? I said,
ain't that anointed, Mom? If my mom doesn't think it's anointed, I need to shut it down.
But when he saw the wagons… Are you back there, Justin? Can you circle "When he saw
the wagons"? Oh, when he saw the wagons that Joseph had sent to carry him… I want you to
circle carry too. I think that's the key right there for the Lord lightening your load today.
I don't think he needs to take something off you; I think he needs to put something under you. The
Lord will lighten your load, not by decreasing the weight but by sending the wagons. What are
your wagons, and why won't you get in them? Why do you keep not joining an eGroup? You think the
whole group has COVID but you? You aren't going to catch nothin' from them maybe but Jesus.
You might catch some joy, might catch some peace, might catch some better habits,
might catch some accountability, might catch some spiritual discipline,
might catch a Dave Ramsey budget makeover. You might catch something good. You keep
praying about the weight of your financial burden, but you won't get on the wagon. Get
on the wagon. Limp to the wagon. You can get on the wagon weeping. Just get on.
You can get on the wagon worried. Just get on. You can get on the wagon with
all of your weight. These are good wagons. These are trustworthy wagons,
because Joseph sent them, because God sent them. He will help you carry what he called
you to and nothing that he didn't, which is why it becomes so important.
I talked about the weight. I talked about the wagons. Can I talk for a moment about
the worship? Okay. This is important. He sets out in the wagons. He says, "Oh,
the wagons are here. That must mean it's true." I use this to illustrate all of the things God
is sending in your life to convince you that he's with you in spite of all of your feelings
saying that he isn't. They are there. Sometimes you can't see the wagons through your weeping.
So he gets on. Right? I would love to read the whole chapter to you where it lists all
the people he had to take, because you would start to feel how weighty it is,
and you would start to identify. He has to take them, their children,
and some grandchildren, because he's 130 and he has accumulated a lot.
Now they're on there with animals. They're on there with people. They're on there with
people that act like animals. I did not mean to describe your family vacation.
But let's make this real. Let's make this live. Let's not leave this in BC.
Let's bring it to right now. Let's bring this to your life.
He's on the wagons, but he's still worried. I think this is the part that maybe can help
you Wednesday, to worship God Wednesday. I don't really preach with the intention
for you to worship God Sunday. I want you to worship Wednesday when it's weighty,
when you are on your way and you're worried.
So, in Genesis 46:1, it looks like they're going straight to Egypt to get the food,
because that's where the food is. That's where Joseph is. But Israel,
the better part of Jacob, took his journey with all that he had, including Jacob. I'm
going to say it again. Your silence does not intimidate me from making my point.
You bring you with you. You bring you with you. If you get a promotion,
I hope you're a good boss, because you bring you with you. If you get a partner,
you bring you with you. If you have kids, you bring you with you, and all they are
going to do is show you you in a fun house mirror. You bring you with you. So, when it
says Israel took his journey… And then people say, "Enjoy the journey." I hate that cliché.
How am I supposed to enjoy the journey with 70 jokers I can't trust,
with a land I'm headed to that I have never seen that I cannot research,
that I can't even really understand what it's going to be like, with the sadness of my past
following me here? "So Israel took his journey with all that he had and came to Beersheba…"
Beersheba is on the border of southern Canaan. What does that mean? It's right there on the
edge of going to Egypt. If he gets past Beersheba, he's going all the way. So he stops there. Watch
what he does when he stops. He takes some of those animals that were in that wagon that
would have represented something he accumulated in Canaan, and he offered sacrifices to the God
of his father Isaac. Next verse. "And God spoke…" Verse 1. He offered sacrifices, and God spoke.
He gave God something, and God gave him something. I am not saying this is a transaction, but it is a
fact. Worship is heaven's strategy to unburden the human heart. Worship is heaven's strategy
to see you with your messed-up mind, to see you with your jacked-up habits, to see you with your
cluttered state of mind, to see you in all of your burdened-ness and say, "Let me lighten your load."
When he offered sacrifices, God spoke and said, "Jacob, Jacob." And he said, "Here I
am. I'm here. I'm anxcited about this journey." Verse 3 says, "Then the Lord said, 'I am God.'"
Aren't you glad that both of those are true?
You're still Jacob, but he's still God. I told you I had a word for you today. The word is you need
to worship when you feel the weight. Pull the wagon over and worship. "Uh, what do you mean,
Pastor Steve? I'm driving right now. Should I lift my hands?" Put your hands on 10 and 2 and
worship. Rehearse the greatness of God until you forget the frustrations of you. "Jacob,
Jacob." "Martha, Martha." "Simon, Simon." "Moses, Moses." "I am God."
I don't care who you think you are or who you're not. You're not bound by any of that. "I am God,
the God of your father." By the way, Isaac made an offering in Beersheba too. So did Abraham. This
was a significant place for Jacob, but he was having to do something his fathers never did.
When you come to a place where you've never seen a model for it,
when you come to a place where you've never seen an example for it,
when you've come to a place where you didn't have anybody to show you the way, when you come
to a place and you don't know how, worship. Worship, and the Lord will lighten your load.
I'm not talking about singing. He didn't sing; he sacrificed. True worship is you giving up
something that you weren't meant to carry. The Lord will lighten your load. Before you go
forward into this next thing, I see you giving up what people think about it. That's worship.
When you give up what people think about it and you get serious about what God has said about it,
that's worship. Some of us cannot move forward in strength because we are too stuck in status.
When you give up on what people say about it, people think about it,
whether you're going to be embarrassed about it… When you worship and you say,
"God, you're so sovereign. Look at all of these wagons you sent…"
I'm telling you, if you want to get from weakness to strength in your spirit this week,
start counting wagons. Instead of telling him how much it weighs,
start thanking him for wagons. "Look at what you've done for me,
God. Look at what you've brought to me, God. Look at how you've helped me." The Lord said,
"Jacob, Jacob, I am God. I know this isn't the same way your fathers went. I know this isn't
the same strategy they had, but I'm the same God. So do not be afraid to go down to Egypt."
Now, I don't know what you need to put in that sentence, but leave it up there. "Do
not be afraid to…" There are two specific times in Scripture that God says specifically what not
to be afraid of. He tells Joseph, "Do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife,
because what is in her is of me," and he tells Jacob, "Do not be afraid to go to Egypt,
even though it seems dangerous, even though it seems risky."
Remember, I'm not telling you to start a hair salon. Egypt does not represent just
whatever thing you want to do. It is what God has called you to do that you are afraid to do,
that you are unfamiliar with. Do not be afraid to do it. Watch this. "For
there [in the unfamiliar place]…" There, in the place nobody in your
family has lived in before. There, in the place where you thought Joseph was dead,
but he's actually waiting for you. "…there I will make you into a great nation."
Verse 4: "I myself will go down with you to Egypt…" To the hospital. Into your senior
years. Into the ninth grade. "I myself," God says, "will go down with you." In other words,
"I'm going to lighten your load, because not only do you have weight, not only do you have wagons,
and not only do you have worship, but when you worship me, the weight lifts and your wagons
have wings. I'm carrying you, because I've got wings. I put wings on your wagon. I put strength
in your weakness. I put a step in your limp. I put power in your spirit. I put wings on your wagons."
My wagons have wings, y'all. I'm going to get there because he's with me. My wagons have
wings. Yeah, I've got weight on me. Yeah, I've got burdens about the future. Yeah, I'm anxcited about
it. Yeah, I'm still Jacob, but I'm not traveling alone, because "They that wait on the Lord will
renew their strength. They will mount up on wings like eagles." I'm going to Egypt on eagles' wings.
I'm going on wings. "They shall run and not grow weary. They shall walk and not faint."
I'm going in the strength of the glory of God. My wagons have wings. My wagons have wings.
I've got angels all around my family. My wagons… Don't be surprised when I rise above it.
The Lord has lightened my load. My wagons have wings. My tears have intention. My worship has
purpose. I know you're carrying a lot, but you're carried too. Your wagons have wings.
He's going with you. I don't know where you're going. You don't either. But I know one thing:
he's going with you. (Give me my camera.) I speak to your burdened soul today. He's going with you.
Awhile back, I was doing ministry with somebody. It was tag team. I looked over at them before we
went up. I could see he was so nervous. I put my arm around him, and I said, "Are you doing
all right?" He said, "No." I said, "Why not?" He said, "I don't know what to do up there."
I said, "Hmm. I'm not good at much, but I'm good at this. The Lord's prepared me. So when
we go up there, I don't want you to worry about anything. I'm going up there with you. And if you
stop talking mid-syllable, I'll pick it up and say the next syllable like we meant to do it."
I could tell he was carrying weight. So I told him, "I'll be your wings." I could
see a tear come in his eye, because he was carrying so much. "I'll be your wingman."
That's what I was telling him. Then I looked him in his eye, and I said something to him.
I believe the Lord would say this to each of his children today too. "Hey, hey, I won't
let you fail." I know every bone in your body that's skeptical is screaming right now. "Then
why did my best friend die of cancer? Then why did the business fail? Then why did the marriage
fail?" Maybe it wasn't a failure. Maybe even when they died their purpose on earth was just getting
started. Maybe the business that failed wasn't the one you were called to run. Did you think
about that? Maybe God's failures are foundations. I want you to let him lighten your load today.
I'm going to tell you something, Jacob. If you try to ride in that wagon and you
let Jacob steer, you won't make it where you're supposed to be.
The word of the Lord came to Israel in the night to speak to the part of you that knows,
"Worship gives me wings." And it can be just the smallest transition in your life.
I'm telling you, I know there are people in here today who are carrying weight,
unimaginable weight, but stand on your feet right now. In the presence of your God,
the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob ("Jacob, Jacob"), the God of "Simon,
Simon," the God of "Martha, Martha," the God of "Abraham, Abraham," the God of "Moses,
Moses…" That God knows your name, knows your needs. He knows your limp. He knows your loss.
He wants to give you wings on your wagon today. The truth is if you're here, it's because you
were carried. Somebody say, "I'm carried." That verse really spoke to me, man…verse 5,
where it says, "Jacob set out from Beersheba. The sons of Israel carried Jacob their father,
their little ones, and their wives, in the wagons that Pharaoh had sent to carry him."
You know how I know you can? Because you're carried. Say that out loud as a confession.
"I can because I'm carried." "I can make it through this. I can find a solution. I can
forgive them. I can continue to work through this. I can recover. I can." Say it. "I can
because I'm carried." Some people will see that, and they'll think your confidence is cockiness.
I'm not cocky; I'm carried. I'm carried. My confidence is in the fact that God is carrying me.
Don't you see how his hand has carried you this far? Then why wouldn't you let
him lighten your load? I imagine Jacob getting back on the wagons,
and they felt a little lighter because he took a few of those animals and sacrificed them.
I imagine him getting back on the wagon and feeling a little bit lighter because he was
reminded of who he really was. I see him getting on the wagon and it's a little bit lighter,
because you can't see it, but my wagon has wings. Be prepared this week. Somebody is
going to tell you, "You look different. Have you lost weight?" Tell them, "Yeah."
Tell them, "Two things happened." Come on. Look at your neighbor and say, "Two things happened
today." Tell them, "I lost weight, and I got wings." Now let's take 20 seconds and worship
the Lord for what he did in this place. Y'all sing a little bit. Come on, worshipers. Where are the
worshipers? Get your hands up. Get your hands up. Get your wings back. Get your wings back.
[Worship]
Come on. Get these wings so you can rise above and make it. He won't let you fail.
He won't forsake you. He will not leave you. He's right here, right now. He is God!
Heads bowed, eyes closed. God is here. He's here to forgive sin. He's here to heal hearts.
He's here to make new. Right now, there are hundreds, if not thousands of people under
the sound of my voice who desperately need to give your life to Jesus today.
You cannot carry it any longer. You cannot do it by yourself any longer. You were not meant
to. He died for you. He rose again to give you life. It is by grace you are saved through faith,
this not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, not of works, so that no one can boast.
And today, God brought you to this place so you could be saved.
So, right now, I'm going to lead you in a prayer,
whether you're online or in the room, and if you'll repeat this prayer after me and
believe it in your heart… The Bible says that if you confess with your mouth that
Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
Right now, the hand of heaven is stretching to you in the person of Jesus Christ. Will you
receive this gift? This is a new beginning for you. This is a defining moment for you. God is
calling your name right now. I want to lead you in this prayer, whether you're coming to him for the
first time or you've wandered and you're coming back. This is your day. This is your moment.
He's calling your name. Call on his name,
and you will be saved. Repeat after me as a church family out loud.
Heavenly Father, today is my day of salvation. I am a sinner in need of a savior,
and I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and the Savior of the world. And today,
I make Jesus the Lord of my life. I believe he died that I would be forgiven and rose
again to give me life. I receive this new life. This is my new beginning. I am a child of God.
On the count of three, shoot your hand up if you prayed that. One,
two, three. All over the room. That's right. That's right.
That's right, Devil. You lost another one and another one and another one and another one, into
the family of God, born again by the Spirit of grace. Let's give Jesus a great shout of praise!
Glory to God. Praise the Lord for all the new lives. Thank you for
staying till the very end. Thank you for coming to church today.
Thank you for showing up in the presence of God. Campus pastors, you can take it.
Did you receive a word from God today? If you received a word from God,
let me hear you make some noise. Shout "Hallelujah" if you received it. I know I
preached long, but you won't even have to fight traffic today, because you…
You got wings. I lost weight, and I got wings,
so I can make it. "Now unto him who is able to do immeasurably more than we ask, think, or imagine,
to him be glory through Christ Jesus in the church now and forever." You're dismissed. I love 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
Click on any text or timestamp to jump to that moment in the video
Share:
Most transcripts ready in under 5 seconds
One-Click Copy125+ LanguagesSearch ContentJump to Timestamps
Paste YouTube URL
Enter any YouTube video link to get the full transcript
Transcript Extraction Form
Most transcripts ready in under 5 seconds
Get Our Chrome Extension
Get transcripts instantly without leaving YouTube. Install our Chrome extension for one-click access to any video's transcript directly on the watch page.
