Faith To Stay

We're about to go into week two of our new sermon series, everybody. God has something for you today. Welcome to all of our campuses. Welcome to our eFam watching all over the world. I want to take a moment and greet you to let you know that there is no distance in the Spirit, that wherever you are, the Lord is, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. So I pray that today you might feel free to worship God, that you could just have a distraction-free environment just to come before him today and hear from him. How many are glad that you made it to the house of the Lord another day? Praise the Lord. So many beautiful faces, so many wonderful stories and testimonies. Just look around this room for a moment. Everybody you're looking at today had a time in their life where they didn't think they'd make it. But they did. Would you just touch your neighbor real quick and say, I just wanted to see what a miracle feels like? Come on. Tell your neighbor, You look like a miracle. Turn to your other neighbor and say, You look like you need a miracle. Tell them, It's a good thing you're sitting next to me, because when I start singing, prison doors fly open. When I start praising… Let me test my microphone. When I say, Halle, you say. When I say, God is good, you say. And all the time, when I say, Thank you, you say, Jesus. We came to see King Jesus. Now, your outfit looks beautiful, but I didn't come to see your outfit. I came to see King Jesus. Your hair is pretty. I can tell you got it cut and colored, but I didn't come to see your hair. I came to see King Jesus. I like your jeans, whether they're baggy or skinny. I think you're wearing them well. I didn't come to see your skinny jeans or your fat jeans. I came to see King Jesus. So, let's take a moment and put all the attention on him. I came to see him high and lifted up and shining in the light of his glory, and the train of his road filled the temple. I saw the Lord seated on a throne. See the King. Today we're going to go right back to John, chapter 1. I have a special message to share with you today from the Lord's heart in John, chapter 1. It is so funny to me how I outline all of my message series for nothing. I was going to move to John, chapter 2 this week, but the Lord directed me to stay in chapter 1, and I think I know why as he has been speaking to me during worship. This message will be something you can talk about at home.

I'm going to give you some stuff today that you will need to unpack with some friends. If you're not a part of an eGroup in the church, we don't charge for it, so what's your excuse? What is your excuse for not getting together with these wonderful people who get together and discuss the Word of God? But at the very least today, I believe the Lord is going to give you something to meditate on. I want to start in verse 35, a little bit before where I read yesterday. Verse 35. Jesus Christ is collecting his first five followers. The Bible says, the next day John was standing with two of his disciples, and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, Behold, the Lamb of God. I love that. A lot of people saw Jesus walk by, but John recognized who he really was. You know Jesus is walking up and down these aisles today waiting for somebody to recognize him for who he is. Jesus is walking up and down these aisles today looking for somebody to be honest enough to say, I need your help, Lord. I can't do this on my own, God. I'm exhausted today. Did you know Jesus is looking for a head to lift today? Jesus is looking for somebody today who will say, Come home with me, Lord. I need you to get in the car with me. I need you to help me to deal with this situation in my house. I have a lot of strife. I have a lot of friction. I'm not even sure if we can make it. John said, Look, behold, the Lamb of God. Now watch this. The two disciples, his two disciples, John the Baptist's two disciples, heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, "'What are you seeking?' Like I say to my kids when they're being nice to me, "'What do you want? You didn't come in here just to give me a kiss. I know better. What do you want?' And they said to him, "'Rabbi,' which means teacher, "'Where are you staying?' He said to them, "'Come and you will see.' So they came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day, for it was about the tenth hour." One of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, "'We have found the Messiah,' which means Christ.

He brought him to Jesus.' Jesus looked at him." Now, a lot of people looked at Simon, but they didn't see him for who he was. Y'all are slow today. Remember, a lot of people looked at Jesus and didn't see him for who he was. A lot of people looked at Simon and didn't see him for who he was, but Jesus looked at Simon and said, "'You are Simon, the son of John. You shall be called Cephas, which means Peter.'" I want to talk to you today about something very important. The title of this message is Faith to Stay. Father I honor you and I bless you in advance for the way your word will speak and the testimonies I will receive as it goes forth. Your word does not return void. It accomplishes the purpose which you sent it to do. I thank you that not one drop will be wasted today, that it will water the soil of what you've already been doing in this person's life, and that it will bring forth fruit and abundant harvest in your time. We thank you and we trust you in Jesus' name. Amen. You may be seated. Did you enjoy last week's message? Amen. If you missed it, go get it online. It's all there. I'm not sure if it was the same online. It was good in the room. It was good in the room, to where sometimes you have to be there. You have to be in the room, the room where it happens. Good job coming to church today. If you didn't make it today because you couldn't, that's all right.

If you didn't make it because you didn't, you need to get here sometime. Come and see what the Lord will do. I think right here in John, chapter 1, are two of the most important questions that adorn the entire Holy Writ. In other words, some of the most important things in the Bible get said right here in John, chapter 1. I'm going to break them down for you one by one, and then we'll go get some lunch, if you're so inclined. The first thing is the thing Jesus asks, and the second thing is the question these two disciples give Jesus in response to his question. I'll pull your attention back to the screens for just a moment, where Jesus turned around and asked his soon-to-be disciples, who were just following him for the first time, "'What are you seeking?' Then when they asked him back a question, they said, "'Where are you staying?' Those two questions will form the skeleton of my sermon today. The first one is about the most important question you can ever answer correctly. What are you seeking?' The first question Jesus asked wasn't, "'Do you believe in me?' The first question Jesus asked wasn't, "'Will you follow me?' The first question Jesus asked in John's gospel is, "'What are you seeking?' I found out the reason that question is so important is that because whatever you answer that question with is exactly what you're going to find." One of Jesus' most popular teachings goes like this. Seek and you will find. He was talking about the kingdom of heaven. But did you know that seek and you will find is not only true of the kingdom? It's also true of complaining. If you seek something to complain about, you'll find it. If you seek something wrong with my outfit today, you'll find it. I tried to iron it. I tried to smooth it out. I tried to make sure it fit, but I'm sure for somebody it's too tight. For somebody else it's too baggy. If you seek something wrong with what I'm wearing, you'll find it. If you seek something I say today that makes no sense, you'll find it. Somebody was recently telling me about a part in my sermon they didn't understand. I said, that's the...

The only part you didn't understand… I can give you three more I didn't understand, and I'm the one who said it. If you seek something you don't understand in this sermon, you'll find it. But if you seek something you do understand that you don't want to do but you understand it almost so well that you focus on something you don't understand to avoid having to do something you do understand, you can find something in this sermon that will point right to the situation you're dealing with. What are you seeking? I've often taught in marriage two of the most important tools are the magnifying glass and the mirror. I didn't bring a mirror, but I did ask them to get me a magnifying glass today. I'm not going to use it much, but just how in marriage, if you look for something to be offended about, you find it. If you look for something your partner doesn't have that you wish they had, you'll find it. If you look for something they didn't reciprocate or something they didn't appreciate, you'll find it. Some of you found a few of them on the way to church today. Just a few things to be frustrated about. If Holly wanted to turn this on me… I'm so thankful she doesn't. There are all kinds of reasons she could find not to be on this front row, but when she sits and listens to me preach every week with her notebook open, it's not because she's married to a perfect man. It's because she has made a decision to have a perspective that in spite of all of the faults she could find in me, she can also see something so beautiful that comes through a vessel she knows is so flawed. Can you find something that is beautiful in a vessel that is flawed? The Bible says we have this treasure in earthen vessels so that the power of the excellency might be of God and not of us. It means God puts it in a cracked clay pot so that what's inside gets more attention than what's on the outside. I wanted to remind you as we begin this sermon today to focus a little bit more on the favor that is in your life than the flaws that are in your life. I wanted to remind you of that about this church, because the favor of God is on this church. I don't know if you feel that way, but I feel that way. The favor of God is on this church. Not a week goes by hundreds of people getting saved every single week. Not a week goes by that at least 100 people aren't saved in this church. The favor of God is on this church. When we have a small baptism in this church, it's 300 people getting baptized. That's a little tiny baptism at Elevation Church. The favor of God is on this church. You know how I can tell? All kinds of different people worship God in this church.

Millionaires worship God in this church. Right next to people making minimum wage, the favor of God is on this church. We worship the name of Jesus. We celebrate the name of Jesus. We are not the same, but we worship the name that makes what we have in common way more important than what we have that's controversial or divisive. The favor of God is on this church. If you want to see it, you can find it. On the other hand, if you want to find a reason not to come back next Sunday, you could probably find one in the parking lot. You could probably find a driver with an Elevation sticker on their car who looks like they need to go back to driver's ed and they're 43 years old. You could probably find a reason to flip somebody the bird when you leave here, or you can find a reason to lift your hands and say, "'Thank you, Lord, for the Word, and I don't mind waiting in traffic.'" I'm just trying to say, what are you seeking is not a question to be skipped over. It is so important what you attune your mind to. It is so important that you look for where God is working in this situation. I know you're in the hospital. God is in the hospital. I know you're in rehab. God is in rehab. I know you're in trouble. God is in trouble. I know you're depressed. God is in the lowly and the contrite heart. I know you're going through a divorce. God is with you while you lay your head on your pillow alone at night. I know you're in the middle of a custody battle. God is helping raise your kids. You're not a single parent at this moment. You are a parent in co-parenting relationship with the Creator of the universe. If I seek, I can find. But if I look for a reason to believe that God is not with me, I could get one of those too. I could collect evidence for either verdict in my life. I could either make up my mind that my best days are behind me, and I could collect evidence to prove that my best days are behind me, and I could point to the stiffness in my joints and the grayness in my beard and the lack of energy in my life and the people who have left me, or I could turn around and look at all of the people who didn't leave me and all of the strength I still do have left and all of the ability God gave me that did not diminish and all of the wisdom I have gained from the valleys I have traversed through. The Lord is with me. Joseph said, "'The Lord is with me.'" How do you know that in the prison? I looked for him in the prison. I got out my magnifying glass. I decided I was going to search in every nook and cranny until I found Jesus. Now, the good news about Jesus that I told you this week is that he doesn't look like something you can fit in your pocket.

The Bible says in the beginning was the Word. You won't be needing this to look for Jesus. You'll just be needing this. You'll only be needing this. All you have to do is say, "'Show me, Jesus. I need to see you in my situation. I need to see you in my life. I need to see you.'" Don't be offended I threw Jesus down. He's high and lifted up. He ain't going nowhere. You can't let him down. You were never holding him up. I feel like preaching. I came to see if anybody… Ask your neighbor what you're looking for. If you look for a reason to be miserable, I'll help you find five. I'll give you some addendums. I'll give you some footnotes. If you want a reason to think the world is a dumpster fire, I'll give you a reason to think the world is a dumpster fire. But if you change your feed, you'll change your focus, and you will see there is a favor of God. Look, the Lamb of God. When John said that the world was not perfect, when John said that justice was not established for Israel, he was pointing to the Lamb of God and recognizing him as the King of kings. How many of you really love deep Bible study? I put this point in for you. It takes faith to look at a lamb and see a king, just like it takes faith to look at a broken situation and see an open door of opportunity, just like it takes faith to look at your kids when you know they're on drugs and declare that they're delivered. It takes faith to focus. I don't know if I can get past this point. Lord, you gave me more points than this, but do you want me to stay right here? Because I will. Look, the Lamb. That requires a lens, doesn't it? One day, I was looking out my window, and I had a funny thought. The trees were dirty. The house I could see through the window was dirty. The car I could see in the driveway was dirty. Of course, you understand that it wasn't the world I was looking at that was dirty. It was the window. Seek and you'll find. Sometimes you need to clean what you're looking through. For me to see King Jesus, sometimes I have to change my lens and look at a lamb and see a king. I haven't given you much background on this passage yet, have I? When Jesus says to these two disciples, who are you seeking? Skinner, I don't even know if you knew this, and you know everything about the Bible. One of the disciples is Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, and it says that.

But there is a detail in this text that suggests who the other disciple is, and it blessed me to recognize it today. It can be kind of confusing to read the Bible if we're just throwing out all of these names, because even in this passage here, I told you to turn to the book of John, and then I told you that John pointed at Jesus, but it's not John that wrote the book. It's John the Baptist. John the Baptist, by the way, is not his nickname or something like that, like Pete the Presbyterian, Ernie the Episcopalian. It's not like John the Baptist. That was actually what he was out there in Bethany doing is baptizing people. He was telling them, "'Repent, repent, repent. The kingdom of God is at hand. One is coming who is mightier than I, and I'm not worthy to untie his sandals.'" So, he's saying all of this, and then he sees what he's been saying. He points the attention, and he says, "'Look, the Lamb of God…' He gives us a great object lesson in the times where God will require you to take a step back by faith. We always talk about stepping forward in faith, but there are times where God will strip you of your main character energy and tell you to step back in faith. You'll find yourself saying things like, "'He must become greater. I must become less.'" In order for somebody to see King Jesus, I have to step aside. Now, for me, at different seasons of my life, sometimes that's looked like knowing who I'm not and staying in my lane. One of the things I realized early in my ministry… is that although I loved worship and love writing worship songs, I am usually more effective writing songs than I am singing them. I can sing them too if I choose to, but through realizing that God gave me a primary gift and God gave me a secondary gift and that my passion isn't always my gift, I've been able to be a part of preaching God's Word in this church and helping to write songs through all of the awesome singers we have here. Don't you believe we have awesome singers here? I'm just using that as an example here of a time where God might call you to stay in your lane and to know what you're called to do. So, as John the Baptist is pointing, there are these two disciples. One is Andrew, and I'm going to show you in just a moment how I know the other one was John who wrote the book. Now, he doesn't say that, because John, when he writes his gospel, keeps calling himself this nickname. He says, The One That He Loved. It's one thing to speak about yourself in the third person, but this takes it to an entirely different level of confidence and swag. When they went to see Jesus… I don't know if you noticed this when I read the text. It was about the tenth hour. The reason that detail is in the text… Why would you take the time to say

that? It's not symbolic or anything. It simply means, counting from 6 a.m., which is when the Jewish day started, that it was about four in the afternoon. The reason it was included in the text as a detail is because whoever was writing it was there. They didn't just hear about it. They were there. It is an eyewitness account written by none other than the disciple Jesus loved. At least, that's what he called himself. I personally think I'm the one he loves. I don't know about you, but I'm God's favorite kid. Would you tell your neighbor real quick, I'm God's favorite? Tell him, Be careful how you treat me, because I'm his favorite. You cuss me out, you have to talk to my dad about it, because I'm his favorite. He really likes me, so you might want to say nice things to me, because I'm his favorite. John, who is in his own mind the favorite of Jesus, is following Jesus. Can we take a moment and appreciate the faith it would take to follow someone on the basis of one sentence that was said about him? I thought that was amazing. However long they've been following John the Baptist, all it took was one directive, and they became the disciples not of John but of the one John was pointing to. How much faith do you have for the unfamiliar? How much faith do you have to detach from the way you've always defined yourself? Do you always have to go to a white church? Do you always have to go to a black church? Or will you go to the church God sends you to regardless of how people may define it? Do you always have to go to a Pentecostal church? Do you always have to go to a quiet church? Or will you go to the church God calls you to? Does it always have to look like the lens you have for you to recognize the lamb in it? Are you able to adapt? When God says change, change. It takes a lot of faith to change. It takes faith to change how you parent the kid. It takes faith, because you've been watching over them when they were little, making sure they didn't get hurt, but you can't keep them when they're 23 from climbing in a tree. They might fall down, and the best you can do is help them with the bills. It takes faith to let them try new things. It takes faith to change the relationship. It takes faith to let go of some of the control. It takes faith just to completely change. I mean, they pivot on a single sentence to a person they know nothing about except that they know John has called him the Lamb of God. When John said, "'Look, the Lamb!' they followed Jesus." They did not ask permission. They did not interview him. They did not submit a questionnaire. They did not check Yelp. They simply followed Jesus. That's what it says in verse 37. They followed Jesus. That takes faith to follow Jesus. I'm

going to say it again until you get it. This is not following Jesus like you and I follow Jesus. Our definition of follow is based on Instagram, TikTok, and the artist formerly known as Twitter, We follow somebody on X. We follow somebody on Instagram. It is as simple as hitting a button. For them, this required a complete shift in their belief system. This was not a button. This was a belief. To transfer all of your belief into someone you've never seen and to follow somewhere you've never been… That takes faith. And so, we celebrate the fact that they stepped behind him, perhaps quietly. How many steps they took before they were addressed by the rabbi, we don't know. How long did Jesus let them walk before he turned around and acknowledged? How long did he check to see that they were still coming? How long did Jesus continue to keep his stride unbroken? Because he was on a purpose, for a purpose, with a purpose, not turning off of his path for anybody until he finally broke the silence, silence turned around and said, what do you seek? And the disciples didn't say anything very deep back. In fact, they didn't answer him at all. They said, where are you staying? John is so clever. The word staying that he uses here is the same word that he uses in John 15, where he says, abide, stay in me, and I will abide, stay in you. It's the same word, not a letter different. So, what seems on the surface so simple is setting us up for a revelation that's so deep. It is that they had the faith to take steps with the Savior. And boy, don't we love to see somebody take a step of faith. Don't we love to see somebody get baptized and take a step of faith. Don't we love to see somebody raise their hand at the end of the service and say, I am giving my life to Jesus today. And we love it so much. We stay till the end. We don't slip out and get to our car early just because we want to get out before everybody else. We stay because we care and we celebrate that they are starting their relationship with Jesus. I know. I know. I know. We celebrate that. We celebrate when somebody goes, you know, I'm just going to move there by faith. I'm going to St. Louis. I'm stepping out in faith, St. Louis. I know there's a lot of unknowns. There's a lot of uncertainty, but we will celebrate somebody who can step into uncertainty because most of us are creatures of comfort, and we stay in areas of familiarity. When we watch somebody break free and audition for American Idol or we watch somebody break free from the cage and just step out and do something completely different… I'm going to be a chemist at age 63. I've never studied chemistry

in my life. I don't even know how to use Plato, but I'm going to be a chemist at age 63. I'm going back to school. I'm going to start this. We celebrate that so well, but can I tell you something? Staying is underrated, because the same way you think it takes faith to step, I think it takes faith to stay. I will prove it to you not from my own mind or experience. I will prove it to you from this text. When they said, "'Where are you staying?' he said, "'Come and you will see.'" Verse 39 is the clearest verse that gets across my message today in this entire passage. "'So they came and saw where he was staying.'" Watch what they did next. Applaud them for stepping out. Applaud them for following the Lamb. It takes faith to be led by a Lamb. It takes faith to look at a Lamb when you can't see a king. All of that takes faith to give up on your plans. All of that takes faith. But I want to celebrate something different today. Look at it in verse 39. "'So they came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day.'" I celebrate that they had faith to stay, and you celebrate that they had faith to step, but I celebrate that they had faith to stay. Could it be that in this season of your life, with all of the turmoil, with all of the trauma, with all of the unknowns, with all of the transformations and metamorphoses you're going through, God is calling you to a greater level of faith? This season of faith will not be defined by your step. It will be defined by your stay. God said today, if I would preach this message like he gave it to me, he would put your focus and your eyes on Jesus and give you the faith to stay. I don't know who this is for, but you're where you need to be. I don't know who this is for, but don't move a muscle. I don't know who this is for, but pillow your head on the lion and take a nap, because God is going to be shining through about four hours from now. Stay where he puts you. Blessed are those who are planted by the streams of water. I feel like preaching, because If you quit, we'd give you a going-away party. If you started, we'd give you a showing-up party, but I want to give somebody a stay-and-put party today. The fact is it would have been easier for you to leave. It would have been easier for you to walk off. It would have been easier for you to wring your hands and throw in the towel and give up on God.

It would have been easier for you to switch churches 13 times in the past 15 years. It would have been easier for you to say, "'Let me find a younger woman.'" It would have been easier for you to say, "'Let me find a richer man.'" You could have tried your chances out there on the open market, but instead you stayed, and I celebrate the stayers today, because it is in staying that you see. You're telling me not to take the job? I don't know. What's the job? You might should take it, but I'll tell you one thing about the job you take. You are going to be going to work at that company with you, so make sure that before you go to work for somebody else, you let God work on you enough that you like the person you go to work with when you go to work, because if you go to work and you don't like who you work with… I'm talking about you. If you don't like who you show up with, you can turn a vacation into a hell. You can turn a mansion into a ghetto. You can turn anything… Oh, God. If you don't learn to stay, you will never see, King Jesus. Can we stay with you for a day? Jesus said, "'All right, you can stay. You can stay. Come stay with me.'" I thought that was so cool that the first thing we see about Jesus in the Scripture is through staying. I'm all for steps of faith, but I think today that the majority of us in the church aren't being called so much to a step as a stay. I'll break it down more. I know it's kind of confusing. Where are you going to go to college when you graduate high school?

I don't care so much where you go to college as the fact that you stay close to God when you get there. So go to the one you can afford. Go to the one that makes sense to you. Go to the one you have an offer for. You see, I'm talking to you because it's more important that you stay pure when you get there than it is that you select correctly where you're going to go. So much of our agony in life is about going and getting it right and, "'Oh, Jesus, am I following you right? Am I doing the right thing?' We get so paralyzed by that when they saw Jesus because they stayed. I told you you were going to talk about this message at home, and what I thought was you'll probably use this message against each other. See I told you we weren't supposed to move. See I told you we weren't supposed to sell the house. God said stay. Well, that's not what he meant. No, that's not what I mean. I am talking about the faith to stay even when everything inside of you is telling you to rebel and run. Many of you will not be here in this church this time next year, and if that's because God has moved you somewhere else and you're being fed there, then I celebrate. But if it's because you found it hard to follow Jesus and you thought that stepping out was what it meant to have faith, then I did not correctly teach you that it takes faith to stay. It doesn't take faith for you to be into the Bible one month and then into New Age Crystals the next month and then into self-help and motivational teaching the third month, and by the fourth month we can't even keep up with your location anymore and we've got you on Life360, but we don't know what weird part of the map you've gone to because you won't stay anywhere and you won't build anything.

The first time you hit a question in the Scripture and the first time you hit something you don't understand about God, you think you've got to run from God, but what if the thing you don't understand about God is just the reinforcement that you're not him? What if the thing you don't understand about Jesus is the invitation to come deeper into him? Do you really think that when you found Jesus you were finished? You weren't finished when you found him. In fact, you didn't even really find him. He found you, and he found you a mess, and he cleaned you up, and he welcomed you home, and you've got to learn to stay this time. You cannot keep running to the hog pen every time it gets hard. You cannot keep running to escape mechanisms that leave you a slave every time it gets hard. You've got to stay somewhere. where you have to stay positive, surrounded by problems. You have to stay looking for the Lamb of God. You have to stay looking for redemption. You have to find a reason to forgive, a strength to forgive. You have to find something to say to yourself to get yourself up in the morning. You have to stay in faith when everything inside of you is screaming fear. I'm going to tell you how I get my messages from God. I stay in the chair until he speaks. If he doesn't speak in the chair, I get on my face on the floor, and I stay on my face until he speaks. If he doesn't speak when I'm on my face on the floor, I pace around the house, and I stay pacing. But even if I'm moving, I'm staying. I might have to change locations, but I'm staying. I might have to change clothes, but I'm staying. I might have to downsize some of my life, but I'm staying. I might have to change some affiliations, but I'm staying. You keep saying that faith will bring you out, but I believe God can give you the faith to stay rooted, planted, more fruit, much root, abounding fruit, if you abide. They stayed with him that day. Oh, that's an important detail. Don't miss that. They stayed that day. God doesn't call you to have the faith to stay for 10 years. Just that day. Just that day. You can follow Jesus the whole way that way. I talked to somebody who was sober one time. They've been sober seven years. I met them just

this past Elevation Knights tour. They said, "'I've been sober seven years.'" I said, "'Seven years, how?' They said, "'No, I didn't stay sober seven years. I stayed sober one day and another day and another day and another day.'" Do you see what I'm saying? I stayed another day. That's how you do it. You stay another day. Tell your neighbor, "'Stay another day. Stay another day.' That's all you have to do. You don't have to forecast out into the future. You are losing your strength because you are projecting too far into your future. Stay another day. Stay another breath. Stay another moment. Stay another day. That's all I have to do is stay another day." That day they stayed with Jesus. The Bible does us so dirty, y'all. John did us dirty. He just completely cut to the next scene. They stayed with him that day, and they ran to Peter and said, "'We have found the Christ.'" I want to know what happened in that house. What did he say? What did he do? We know he didn't do a miracle, because the first miracle isn't until John, chapter 2. It says in John, chapter 2… This was the first of the signs that Jesus performed in Cana, which is where Nathanael was from, who we preached about last week, who Jesus told, "'You'll see greater things than these.'" Then the next thing he saw was a miracle of water becoming wine in his own hometown at a wedding. But he wasn't turning water into wine in that house that day. He did that in John, chapter 2. They weren't drinking wine in the house. What was he saying in that house that day? We don't know except that they stayed. Sometimes I can't explain it to you, but just by staying you get to see it. Isn't that true, Chris? Where's Chris? He's always in here. He's been my worship leader for 18 years. He's won two Grammys. Had a bunch of babies. Like I said, he had them. And Beth is right by his side. He told me about 17 years ago, I don't care if I ever win a Grammy. He said, I don't care if I ever get to go on Good Morning America. And he's done that too. I don't care if I ever have a platinum record, a gold record. He said something so powerful. He said, I want to see what my life can be if I plant it in one place and serve God. I'm going to stop again because my heart is not the heart of just a speaker but a pastor. I am not saying that you were wrong to change jobs. I'm not saying that you would be wrong to break other people's hearts.

This word says that you know better to have true praise in that mind. up with your boyfriend. In fact, some of you need to end it with him so you can stay with him. That would probably be real confusing if you were listening to this and not watching the video, wouldn't it? Stay with God. I thought it was interesting that fruit that Chris didn't even care about came to him because he stayed planted in what God cares about. They stayed with him that day. It's almost like there's foreshadowing in this text. They stayed with him that day, but what happened the next day? Well, the next day he decided to leave for Galilee. They found Philip and said, "'Follow me.'" Then they found Nathanael, and then they took off and went to the wedding and all of that. Do you know that more would be revealed to these disciples through where Jesus stayed than where he stepped? I was thinking about this, because we're in a series called See King Jesus. These disciples were so surprised to see Jesus at a wedding turning water into wine like, "'Jesus, we have to get out of here. The wine is gone.'" Jesus is like, "'No. This is what we came for.'" We showed up to stay after the wine is gone so that after everything seems to be over we could turn what seems to be nothing into something. But then their next stop was at the temple where Jesus made a whip and started driving out the people who were charging the people for an exchange rate and charging them for sacrifices and lying to people in the house of God. He said, "'You're robbing the people instead of praying.'" Now, notice this. All in John, chapter 2, they go from wine to whips, and it's the same Jesus doing both. One represents provision, and one represents correction, and it's the same Jesus doing both. Sometimes we'll stay with him through the provision, but we won't stay with him through the correction. It's the same Shepherd of the Stars who orders both. Sometimes we will follow God because he's ordering our steps. "'Yes, Lord, let me make the right decision. Yes, Lord, let me make the right investments. Yes, Lord, let me meet the right people. Yes, God, bring the right opportunities, the right scholarships.' And as long as he's ordering our steps, we're good, but what about when he orders your stay? For example, in John, chapter 4, Jesus shows up to a place called Samaria, which is a place where the Jews wanted to go around, but Jesus went through it. Not only did he go directly through Samaria, which was a place of great political, economic, and social tension, but the Bible says in John, chapter 4, verse 6, that when he got there, his disciples went to get lunch,

and he sat down on a well and stayed. In the heat of the day… The Bible says at noon or the sixth they counted. He stayed in the sun waiting for a woman who would become an evangelist to the area. They saw something of him as he walked, but they saw even more when he stayed. On his way to the temple in John, chapter 5, he stopped by the pool of Bethesda, and there was a man there who had been stuck there for 38 years. Jesus, who had more important things to do and more important people to see and more important places to go… He stayed by this man until this man was able to walk. You can see a lot about the Savior by when he chooses to stay. In John, chapter 6, the multitudes had come to hear him preach, and he taught so long they got hungry. The disciples said, "'They have to go. They have to leave. We have to get out of here, man. There's not enough food.'" Jesus said, "'No, they can stay. You don't have to feed them, but I'm going to. They can stay.'" You can see a lot about a Savior who won't turn a hungry soul away. You can see a lot about a Savior who says, "'No, she can stay. He can stay. I know they made some mistakes, but they can stay. I know you didn't plan for it, but they can stay.'" You can see a lot about the Savior from where he stays in John, chapter 7, when his brothers were like, "'You have to go up and prove yourself. You have to go to one of the feasts.'" Jesus said, "'No, I'm good in Galilee. Y'all go. I'm going to stay.'" You can tell a lot by the Savior from where he stays. In John, chapter 8, there was a woman who came to him who was caught in the act of adultery, and Jesus, who had the right to throw a rock at her and punish her by penalty of the law of Moses for adultery, got down in the ground. You can tell a lot by a Savior who stoops and stays in the dirt while others are casting stones. You can tell a lot by a Savior by where he stays. In John, chapter 9, there was a man who was born blind. He was blind from birth, and Jesus said, "'It's a Sabbath, but I'm going to heal you anyway, because I'm going to stay and heal you even if it costs me controversy.'" You can tell a lot by a Savior who stays. John, chapter 11, brings us to the pinnacle of this message, the faith to stay. The Bible says in John, chapter 11, verse 1, Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair. So the sisters sent word to Jesus, "'Lord, the one you love is sick.' When he heard this, Jesus said, "'This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God's glory, so that God's Son may be glorified

through it.'" Now Jesus loved Martha. He loved her sister, and he loved Lazarus. So, when he heard Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days. You could tell a lot about the Savior from where he goes. You could tell a lot about the Savior from what he says, but you can tell even more about the Savior from where he stays. Now we are confused, and we are forgiven for being confused. Why would verse 6 say he loved them and they needed him, so he stayed two more days? Imagine the confusion of John and Andrew. Didn't you hear Jesus? He's sick. Why are we staying when he's sick? Perhaps Jesus pulled John aside, you know, because John is the one he loved the most. John is the teacher's pet. Maybe he explained to John off the record, "'See, if I go while he's sick, they will know me as healer, but they already know me as healer, and there is something I want to show about my nature, that I can only trust to someone I love. I know they love me, and since I know they love me enough, I can stay here, because they will love me even if I'm late. Abide in me, and you will bear much fruit. Abide in me through anxiety. Abide in me though friends forsake you. Abide in me with sickness in your body. Abide in me when the worst things happen.'" So, he stayed because he had faith. Get ready for this. He had faith to know that I can stay two more days, and when I show up… Jesus, the Son of God. Jesus, the Lamb of God. Jesus, who is the resurrection new. When I get there, I'm going to speak the word, and there is enough power in my word that when I say, "'Lazarus, get up!' he can't stay, so I have faith to stay right where I am, because when I say his name, he's coming out of the grave." We could have had church right there, but you missed your cue. God is not staying away in your situation because he forgot about you. God did not get lost on the way to Bethany. Jesus did not have a bad cell signal and, unfortunately, not get your message. There are times in your life that God shows his love for you by the fact that he trusts you enough to stay. He knows you will stay. He knows you are like Job. They will not curse God, no matter what afflicts their life. They will not walk away from me, no matter who walks away from them, and God knows those who have faith to stay. So, God, I've got faith to stay, because Jesus had faith to stay on a cross when he could have called legions of angels. Peter said, "'Don't you have enough faith to fight back?' Jesus said,

"'Don't you have enough faith to stay?' Don't you have enough faith to trust me?' in this situation. I believe the greatest faith in this room today is in the faith that somebody has to stay, to abide. They stayed with him that day. By the way, when Jesus went to the cross, only one stayed. His name was John. The one who wrote it had the faith to stay. You celebrate Peter who got out to walk on the water. Great. I celebrate John who had the faith to stay at the foot of the cross. Everyone is standing, heads bowed and eyes closed. Father God, we receive your word today. You are an amazing God. You are an incredible God. You are a wonder-working God who never changes. I bless you today, God, because you stayed by my side. So many seasons where others left and you stayed. My prayer today is for someone whose branches are being shaken by the storm of their life, someone who may have moved through that John chapter 11 moment. I pray that you would give them the faith to stay. I thank you that you called Peter the rock long before he ever was, because you knew that your purpose for him would stay. Lord, I thank you today that there is a name, that when that name is mentioned, dead things come alive. So, Lord, we want to take just a moment and look at the Lamb of God, the one who is worthy of all praise, the one who is worthy of all worship, the one whose name never fails, the one who went to the grave on Friday, stayed on Saturday, and got up on Sunday. God, give us that Saturday faith to stay today. We want to see King Jesus high and lifted up. We want to see King Jesus, but we're looking at the Lamb of God today. Heads bowed, eyes closed, all over this room, I believe there is someone today who God is giving you the opportunity to become a follower of Jesus Christ. I want to invite you right now, by the power of the Holy Spirit, in the name of Jesus, on the authority of the Word of God, to place your faith in Jesus, to make that first step of faith, to become a follower of Christ. When you make that step of faith, you're not stepping out on your own. The Spirit of God comes in to be your helper, the Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead, the blood of Jesus Christ that pardons all sin will come and wash your soul and make you a new creation. Heads bowed, eyes closed. You say,

That's me today. Pastor Stephen, I believe the Lord is calling me to this moment to follow him, or maybe I have fallen away. There was a time I was following Christ, but today I'm coming back. If that's you, we're going to pray a prayer right now. We're praying it out loud as a church family for the benefit of those who are coming to God or coming back to God. Repeat after me, church. 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. 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. Praise the Lord, everybody.