Filled to the Brim | Ps. Keith Pittman

Welcome to the Celebration Church Orlando podcast.

Thank you so much for listening today.

We hope it encourages you and inspires you.

Here's today's message.

Given up for the one, the only Pastor Keith Pitney.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

What is going on, Church Family?

How are you guys doing?

I hope you all are doing well.

We are so excited, as you can probably see, about this new series and all that we believe that God's going to do.

But before we jump into today's message, I do want to take a moment to honor and acknowledge all of the families that made the decision to dedicate their children today.

So can we give it up for all the families that that participated in our child dedication?

It's such a sacred moment.

And so right before service today, we had an opportunity to gather with these precious families and pray with them and partnership and believing that as they dedicate, as they set apart, as they set their children aside with the belief that God is going to then steward their lives in such a way that it's going to order their steps, and we as a church couldn't be more excited to be invited into those moments like that.

So thank you all, family and friends, for traveling in for this sacred moment.

Something that as a church we take very, very seriously.

Also, that is why I'm wearing a blazer today.

You guys get a blazer for me about three times a year.

Child dedications, Easter, and maybe Christmas.

We'll see.

So take all the pictures you get because I'm wearing a hoodie next week.

All right.

I am pumped for today's series.

If you have your Bibles, I want to invite you to join me in the Gospel of John, chapter two.

As you have you heard mentioned over and over again, we're we're loving what this series is expected to do.

We're loving the journal that accompanies it.

And even if you're part of our online community, maybe you're not in the greater Orlando area, this is available for you to download digitally online.

We have the kids' component that goes with it.

We have something for the youth as well.

It's something that we really believe is going to equip families to take the conversation beyond just this room.

Not only in your own personal devotion, but if you do have children that are connected to our community, it's going to allow you to be able to have um continuous conversations because they're learning um the same material in their environments.

And we're believing and hoping that this is going to stoke um Christ-centered conversations in your home at the dinner table in a way that's really going to help us to grow closer to the things of God.

So I want to let you guys know that the journal is meant to go in alignment with the series.

So there's context that is often in the journals that I won't spend a lot of time on, but if we're in this thing together, you'll see how all these bridges do connect.

But I do want to set up the series this way.

Um, maybe you're relatively new to the faith and this whole idea about the gospel of John, what's the distinction from the others?

And I know for me, um, when I first got saved and I began to read Matthew, and then I got to Mark and to Luke, I began to see basically the same story being told in a different perspective.

And at the time, I didn't understand it.

Well, that's because it's four different perspectives of the same Jesus.

And so as you read through these different perspectives, you begin to see the emphasis that each of the writers focused on with their specific lens of it.

We look at Matthew's writing and we see that for him, he wanted to emphasize the kingship of Jesus.

You deal with a lot of messianic fulfillment with Matthew's writing.

With Mark, we see the servanthood of Jesus.

So you get a chance to see Jesus more as a servant through his writing.

Same stories, but often accentuating moments where he served his people.

We look at Luke and we see the humanity, the manhood of Jesus.

We just see the practicality of him, of uh him being a human being.

But then when we look at when we look at John's gospel, we see the Godhood of Jesus.

John just jumps straight out from the gate and says, Hey, let's, before we get all started and start talking about baby Jesus and all that stuff, I just want to let y'all know that Jesus is God.

Now that we got that clear, let's move on from there.

It's often considered to be one of the most engaged gospels because it simplifies these profound biblical concepts in a way that only John can do it.

It shows Jesus through the lens of being the creator, it shows Jesus through the lens of him being pre-existence.

It shows Jesus to be Lord of our lives.

And what I found in my own life that every time I read the Gospel of John, that I see Jesus more clear.

I see him much bigger.

It reminds me of any Chronicles of Nardia fans out there.

A couple of us, a couple of us.

Um we'll we'll we'll we'll take the movies, we'll accept that as well.

But you know, the real folks are the ones who read the book.

Um but but but but I'm I'm just saying, I say that because I haven't read it.

I'm just saying, I just thought it felt right to say it there.

I don't know why.

Um but the movies are great.

But but there's a there's a part, there's a part where where Lucy the the young girl and Aslan, which is this lion king, um, so the the lion king Aslan, which is actually symbolic of Christ, but there's a moment when Lucy sees him again, and when she sees him again, she's like, Aslan, you've gotten so much bigger.

And he says, No, I haven't.

You've grown.

And what you'll find as you grow, you will see me bigger.

Jesus can't get any bigger than he already is.

But what happens as we mature in our faith and we grow in our faith, we see God bigger and bigger and bigger.

And my hope is that while we're on this journey and we're engaging things that maybe we're familiar with, things that maybe we heard of, maybe things that are new to us, that this journey is going to allow us to see Jesus bigger and bigger and bigger while we're engaging this all together.

Our foundation scripture for this series is found in John chapter 20.

John 20 · chapter mention

You don't have to turn there, but it'll come up on the screen, verses 30 and 31.

John, towards the end of the book, tells you why he wrote, because he's the last one to write the gospels.

All the other gospels were written, he was familiar with them, and so he wanted to bring a perspective that he felt that the other gospels didn't.

And so he says that he wrote this.

He says, Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples that are not written in this book.

Verse 31 But these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, that in by believing you may have life in his name.

John was saying that these other ones were sometimes meant to prove that Jesus was Lord.

These other ones were written through a lens to help you understand the relatability of Jesus.

I'm writing to you so that you can understand that Jesus is Lord, and because you believe that, there is life in his name.

He says that this book is meant to serve as a sign.

That word sign means indicator, it means a distinguishing mark.

It's something that sets it apart.

You see, the thing about Jesus and the signs that he performed, he's not the only person in the Bible to perform miracles.

People have been raised up by prophets.

But the thing that set Jesus apart was that there was something inside of him that allowed him to change the physiology of chemical makeup.

It allowed you to see that he was able to actually exalt power and authority over the winds and the waves.

We've seen the signs that Jesus performed were a little bit different.

Even when he raised up Lazarus from the dead, who was decaying, what you see in Jesus that set him apart from other people who are miracle workers is he could take things from utter decay, utter nothingness, and bring it into existence.

Jesus is different.

And I believe that that's meant to be an encouragement for some of us right now.

Because if we're honest, we don't have to come to church to be encouraged.

We can watch a TED talk, we can go to a podcast, and we can hear someone give us some good information, but good information is not the good news.

And what what we want to make sure of is in this series that while there's a lot of different wells we can drink from that can encourage us at times, that can give us some wisdom sometimes, that there is nothing quite like Jesus who's able to take nothing and create something out of it.

This is why we're going through this series in this season.

My belief is that as we read through these stories, that we're gonna walk away with this idea of saying that what God has done for others, he can and will do for me.

Let me say that again.

What God has done for others, he can and will do for me.

Let me say that one more time.

What God has done for others, he can and will do for me.

It's getting to a place where we're making these declarations that we're saying that the same God that is able to resurrect the dead can certainly resurrect my dead situation.

That the same God that is able to heal them is the same God that's available and that can heal me now.

The idea of us engaging the word of God in such a way that we can walk away with this faith, with this boldness that says that what God has done for others, I'm expecting him to do that for me.

That is what we are truly believing God for.

So looking here at the Gospel of John chapter 2, I want to read a familiar verse to you.

John 2 · chapter mention

In fact, we actually read from this passage two series ago in our happiness series through a completely different perspective.

That's the beautiful thing about the word of God is that you can revisit something that you've already read, but because it's the living word of God, you can get a different perspective from it.

So if you want to get a different perspective than what I'm going to share today, go to our happiness series and see what this text says in regards to relationships.

But today we're going to look at it through a powerful miracle that takes place.

Starting at verse number one, it says this three days later was a wedding.

In the village of Cana and Galilee, Jesus' mother was there.

Jesus and his disciples were guests also.

When they started to run low on wine at the wedding banquet, Jesus' mother told him, They're running out of wine.

Jesus said, Is this any of our business mothers?

Yours or mine?

This isn't my time.

Don't push me.

She went ahead anyway, telling the servants, Whatever he tells you to do, do it.

Six stone water pots were there, used by the Jews for ritual washings.

Each held about 20 to 30 gallons.

Jesus ordered the servants, fill the pots with water, and they filled them to the brim.

Now fill the pitchers and take them to the host.

And Jesus said, as Jesus said, and they did.

When the host tasted the water that had become wine, he did not know what had just happened, but the servants, of course, knew.

Everybody I know begins with their finest wines, and after the guests have already had their fill, then brings out the cheap stuff, but you've saved the best till now.

Verse number 11.

This act in Cana of Galilee was the first sign that Jesus gave.

The glimpse of his glories and his disciples believed in him.

After this, he went down to Capernaum along with his mother, brothers, and disciples, and stayed for several days.

Jesus chose to use this moment as the moment that he revealed his glory, his disciples believe, and that kicked off the trajectory of his earthly ministry.

It was a supernatural transformation that took place that I believe sets the tone for everything else that we see Jesus do.

Today I want to speak to you on the subject matter of transformation.

And I've entitled today's message, Filled to the Brim.

Filled to the Brim.

Let's pray and let's see what it is the Holy Spirit wants to speak to us today.

God, we thank you.

We thank you so much for moments like this where we can gather together in your name.

And our hope, our expectation is that you're going to meet us here.

Your word declares that we're two or three are gathered in your name, that you're amongst us.

So you're amongst us, whether we're in this room, you're amongst us, whether we're sitting at home, you're amongst us, if we're listening to the podcast later.

Wherever we find ourselves, Lord, we know that you are with us.

So we invite you to speak to us, to challenge us, to encourage us.

And Father, we pray for open eyes that we can see you, open ears that we can hear you, and open hearts to receive everything that you have for us.

It's in Jesus' name that we pray.

Amen and amen.

You know, church, I I would categorize myself as a glass half full type person.

That's the way that I'm I'm wired.

I'm a person that I very rarely obsess over the lack.

I tend to be a person that looks at things as the glass is half full.

I was raised in a household where my mom would usually say the statement that a little is a lot when you got Jesus.

Come on.

A little is a lot when you got Jesus.

Hey mom, I know you're watching.

So it's it's one of those things that really formed me.

But even beyond my walk with God, I've I've I found myself to be a person that I don't focus on what's missing more often than not.

I acknowledge it.

I'm a realist, but at the same time, I also understand that as long as I got a little bit, there's always something that we can work with.

So I'm a glass half full type of person.

However, we we also know that there are some things that if they're half full, that just don't cut it.

That that that's just not good enough, especially if you paid for it to be full.

Let me give you a couple of examples of when half glass full doesn't quite work.

Um I would say leaving your house with only 20% on your cell phone, that just that just don't cut it.

You can pray all you want, but at some point you're gonna run out of juice.

Looking at you, Megan.

Um it it could it confounds me that every morning when we wake up and we're in the car, she's already on 8%.

I'm like, you just gotta charge it at night while you sleep.

It's not that difficult.

Y'all pray for her.

So those are one of those moments where it being empty, that just that just doesn't cut it.

A little bit of gas just doesn't cut it.

You can you can pray all you want, but you will be stranded on the side of the road, just having a little bit of gas just don't cut it.

I can you guys believe this?

There was a time where I went to go and buy a vehicle.

I'm literally at the point of about to sign the documents.

I do the last glance over it, and I see that the tank only has a quarter of a tank left.

I'm like, okay, cool.

I'm like, so you guys gonna go um and fill it up?

They said, I'm sorry, sir, it's not our policy to fill the tank up.

I said, Well, it's not my policy to buy a car that don't have a full tank.

Deuces.

Like, I'm like, are you I'm about to spend thousands of dollars and you can't put five on it?

Come on, man.

Like, are you are you kidding me right now?

So I'm I'm one of those types, like, I want every drop.

I'm the type of dude that when I go to the gas station and even when it clicks the first time, I'm gonna maneuver the thing a little bit.

I want every single drop because that extra 58 cents may give me another four miles.

You just never know how it all works.

I want every single drop.

Another thing that I believe that is not gonna cut it when it's half full is when I open up a bag of potato chips.

Oh my gosh.

In all the technological advances that exist, you mean to tell me you can't figure out a way to make sure that the chips stay fresh, but give me a little bit more?

There's nothing more frustrating than when I open up a bag of chips and there's four left in there.

There's nothing more annoying than that.

Y'all didn't take half my money, so give me a little bit more chips on it.

We all know that feeling, but when we go to the drive-thru and we open up the french fries and we see there's about eight fries in there, and you're like, surely, they must have all fallen into the bottom of the bag and there's not?

Are you kidding me?

I pay for an upcharge and you guys gave me four fries?

That just don't cut it.

But I gotta believe that the worst offender of them all is when you do go through the drive-thru.

As you can see, a lot of my references have something to do with food.

Y'all pray for me.

Um but when you do go through a drive-thru and you have the illusion that it's full.

I'm talking about when you get something to drink and they give you 98 pieces of ice and you have this little cup with 98 pieces of ice.

I'm certain that if we were to do a science experiment and really tabulate the ratio, there may be like one eighth of actual substance, and all of the rest of it is ice.

It feels heavy.

It feels like you got a lot of substance in there, but when you let that ice melt a little bit, all you get is some weird thing that's not quite lemonade, it's not quite water, you don't even want to drink it anymore.

It doesn't, it just doesn't work that way.

How frustrating is it that it gives you the illusion that it's full, but it lacks substance.

It it lacks potency.

I I've come I've come to believe this that there are times in our very own lives that it seems as if it seems as if we're full.

That illusion of the ice is there, but if we really were to drill down into it, it's watered down.

It lacks substance, it lacks true impact, something is missing.

This is substantial because I've learned that whatever we're filled with becomes the overflow that we live from, that whatever we're filled with becomes the overflow that we're that we live from.

And if I'm filled with with ice, something that's watered down, that lacks substance, I'm living from a place of brokenness and despair.

I I've learned a valuable lesson about anatomy recently.

Maybe you guys remember just a couple of short weeks ago, um, I celebrated my 46th birthday.

And you know what I was greeted with three days before my 46th birthday?

Waking up with debilitating back pain.

I was like, Lord, is this what it means to be old?

Like you go to sleep one way and you just wake up in pain for no reason.

I was confident that Megan made a beat me up in my sleep.

Like it was like, what in the world happened to me?

I had no idea where it came from.

Like there were moments where I was genuinely concerned, like, am I going to be able to preach this Sunday, or do I need to go to the hospital?

Like it was it was bad.

So I ended up going to the doctor.

I ended up going to a chiropractor, and they began to explain to me anatomy.

And this was what was so profound about it.

They said that, you know, some things were out of alignment in my life, and this is how they explained it.

They said, Are you under stress?

And I'm like, No, I'm a Christian, I don't get stress.

He can do all things, right?

We all got those scriptures that we have that are on our screensavers and that we post when we're in despair to convince everybody that everything's good.

No, I don't get stressed.

But apparently, my body was telling a different message.

Because what they began to explain is the way that our anatomy works is that when we enter into a place of stress, that our bodies often kind of react to what we call fight or flight.

So that means that if a bear were to come in here, no matter how tired you are, your body, and the way that God wired us, it automatically knows to shut down the parts of your body that it doesn't need to divert the energy so that you can run or so that you can fight.

That's fight or flight.

The problem is when you get into that space and you never come out of it, the areas that were shut down now become vulnerable.

It's possible for you to end up getting injured because you're living in a state of constantly being in fight or flight mode and your body never reverted back to the place where it needs to be whole because some things are out of alignment.

I learned a valuable lesson that about myself that entering into the COVID season of pastoring and all the moving parts, that sometimes you can just move forward and you proclaim the things of God, you can move forward with strength and focus, but then you enter into this spiritual fight or flight mode.

But if you don't come back into the place where you're centered and dependent on Jesus, that you end up living from a place of overflow that eventually, eventually, your body's gonna break down, eventually you're gonna sustain injury, eventually you're gonna find yourself experiencing brokenness and discomfort.

See, the whole idea that my doctors told me was the solution was to get my body in alignment, to get my mind, my spirit, my soul in alignment so that wholeness could flow through it.

I said, Doctor, you're preaching the gospel and don't even know it.

Isn't that interesting?

That you can be at a place where you're empty, a place where things are watered down, but if we can just get into alignment with God, that wholeness can flow from us.

This is the message of the gospel.

And whether we see it or not, this is absolutely the context of the passage that we're about to look at.

See, we have to understand that weddings were an incredibly important day then as they are even now, but there was some significant impact that would happen if a wedding didn't work out properly.

You see, for the bride and groom, for many of them, this is the best treatment they were ever going to experience in their lives.

Because once the wedding is over, they're gonna go right back to their regular lives, grinding and hustling and raising their family.

So the wedding ceremony would sometimes take upwards of two weeks.

And that was a moment where they could be treated like kings and queens and everyone is treating them with honor.

So it was a big deal for the bride and groom.

It was such a big deal that if the wedding didn't work out the way it was supposed to, that people could be sued for it because this was our our one moment.

So you can only imagine that as they recognize that the wine is beginning to run low, the stress that that creates, the anxiety that that begins to create, the panic that begins to get produced as a result of this.

It's in the middle of this fiasco we begin to see the ingredients fall into place.

We have lack that's there, we have we have the mother that is there, Jesus' mother.

We have Jesus there, his disciples are there, we have these vessels that are there, and somehow all of these things are in the same place, and it's a matter of how we engage them that will determine what the outcome is.

I want you to hear that.

That in this instance, that there is there is desperation, but Jesus is there.

There is disciples, but Jesus is there.

There are vessels, but Jesus is there.

That means that we have the same ingredients for a miracle in our lives that they did right there, but it's all about how we choose to engage Jesus.

This is the moment that begins to take place, and then Jesus makes this statement get these water pots and fill them to the brim.

That was a massive catalyst that set into action the miracle that we now celebrate.

I don't know about you, but I know that there's some areas of my life that I know I want to live filled to the brim.

I don't want it to be watered down with ice, I don't want it to be half full, but there's some areas of my life that I know that I want them to be filled to the brim.

I want to get to a place where it's overflowing because you know when it's filled to the brim, you can sometimes spill it.

And the idea that God wants to fill us to the brim is the idea that if we do spill, we're spilling.

Love, we're spilling grace, we're spilling mercy, we're spilling his goodness.

But what we're filled with becomes the overflow that we live from.

And so as we look at this text, there's a couple of things I want to highlight that I believe that God wants to instruct us to make sure that we're filled to the brim with.

Here's the first thing I want you to write down Be filled with faith.

Be filled with faith.

We don't want our faith diluted.

We don't want a faith that gets watered down.

Be filled to the brim with faith.

The Bible says that Mary, the mother of Jesus, is there.

She's brought into the loop of all that's going on, this deficit, and she brings Jesus into the matter.

The question that I have to ask is in a moment of crisis, that in a moment of pain, and in a moment when we recognize discrepancy, are we involving Jesus in the process?

Here's the thing that we know about Mary.

She was fully aware who her son was.

She was fully aware that Jesus was going to be the Messiah.

She was aware of that when the angel came and presented himself to her and said that you're carrying a child and this child is going to do some incredible things.

She was aware of it.

So what the Bible says is that she hid those things in her heart.

So now Jesus is now 30 years old.

So can you imagine from infancy being told that your son is the prophesied Messiah?

Jesus is born.

He goes through being a teenager.

She sees glimpses of it, but now he's 30 years old.

Imagine from that mom's perspective, man, I thought if Jesus was a Messiah, that we'd be living in a better neighborhood, right?

I I thought if Jesus was a messiah, things will be a lot better.

So can you imagine for her wondering when Jesus is going to step onto the stage and walk in his calling and when is she going to benefit from it?

But the Bible says she stored it up in her heart.

So something inside of her that when they're at the wedding, that when they're in this moment, and it wasn't even about her, that she said, This is the moment that I'm going to begin to push on my son to step out into the very thing that he's called to do.

Of all the things that she likely saw.

And here's one of the things that many scholars believe that Joseph, Jesus' adopted father, that he was dead at this point.

So that means that she could have pushed on Jesus to resurrect Joseph.

She could have pushed on Jesus to do a lot of different things, but she waited until they were at a wedding banquet, and that is when she said, Jesus, now is your time.

She came to Jesus not knowing what the expectation was, but she came to Jesus having the faith and believing that now is the time that I know that you're going to do what I know you're capable of doing.

The thing that I love about this is that it's a reminder that whenever there's a deficit, the difference that allows us to recognize whether there's desperation or being diligent is if we are filled with faith.

We all know that the Bible says that it's going to rain on the just and the unjust.

But when you're filled to the brim with faith that hasn't been diluted by the world, that hasn't been diluted by fear, that hasn't been diluted by our emotions, that when we feel the pressure come on, that faith begins to flow from it.

What Mary shows us is that what you are filled with becomes the overflow that you live from.

I believe that God is compelling all of us to be people who are filled to the brim with faith.

Faith is this it's the it's the strong belief in a specific outcome.

It's not a theory, it's not a vague thing, but it's saying, I'm believing God is going to do this in my life.

That's the definition of faith.

It's believing in a very specific outcome.

So how do I develop faith?

Well, according to Romans chapter 10, verse 17, it says, faith comes from hearing.

Romans 10:17

That is hearing the good news about Jesus Christ.

That means that our faith tank is filled as we engage the word of God.

Why do we think that the enemy fights us so much to keep us from reading our devo?

Why does the enemy fight us so much with coming to church?

Why does the enemy fight us so much with getting around a Christian community that can speak the word of God?

Because the moment that we begin to position ourselves around the word of God, it begins to build our faith.

And then we become crazy enough to believe that what God did for them, He can do it for me.

Because when my faith begins to engage the Word of God, and I begin to see how God was able to part the Red Sea for the children of Israel.

It allows me to know that even if my past is trying to chase me down, that God is able to allow me to walk through on dry ground.

That's what faith happens when you begin to engage the word of God.

I can read the word of God and see where God caused dead things to come to life, and it builds my faith because I may be looking at a dead situation right now, but then I remember that the same God that did it for them will also do it for me.

So it builds my faith tank up.

And now when I feel the pressure in my own life that I begin to regurgitate scriptures and truth of what God's word says, instead of me reacting to my feelings, I want to be filled to the brim with the word of God because that is the thing that allows me to have faith.

Faith to remove mountains, faith to walk on things that should consume me.

Faith to know that I can be in the midst of the lion's den, but know that God is gonna allow me to not come to any harm.

Faith to know that even if I'm in a fiery furnace, like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that God is with me in it.

That's what happens when we begin to allow our lives to engage the word of God and allow faith to be the overflow.

It means that no matter what the facts are, it doesn't replace the truth.

Because of the difference between facts and truth.

Facts may be what the doctor says, but the truth says that you are healed in Jesus' name.

It's understanding the distinction between what the world says is facts and the truth of God's word.

I want to be a person that's filled to the brim with faith that my response when I find myself in a moment of crisis is that I engage Jesus with a belief, with an earnest expectation that I'm going to see him perform in my life.

The other thing that I believe that God is compelling all of us to be filled with is to be filled with obedience.

To be filled with obedience.

Can we start this thing next week?

Like we never know what was going on.

But I love how Mary responded.

She turns and she says to the servants, Whatever he says, just do it.

Who knew that the first Nike ad was in the Gospel of John, chapter 2?

John 2 · chapter mention

Just do it.

Whatever he says, do, just do it.

So now these servants are standing there having no context that he's the Messiah, having no idea of the prophecies that Mary has received.

So Jesus then turns and looks at them and says, Hey man, just go get some water and fill it to the brim.

That makes no sense, Jesus.

Imagine the servant saying, like Mary said that she was gonna go get her son, but I honestly thought that you were just like her wine plug.

I I didn't know.

I I thought you were gonna ask us to go get it out the back of the trunk or something.

You're you're actually asking us to go get these gallons of water and take these stone pots that are used for people to wash their hands, and that somehow is supposed to play a part in this miracle.

Just do it.

Just just do it.

I I want to live a life that even when Jesus is telling me to do something that makes absolutely no sense, that it's not diluted with worry and asking a bunch of questions, I want to be a person that just does it.

Many of us who are who are parents know those moments when we're we're trying to push our kids to do something that's outside of their norm.

I I know with raising our kids, I remember those moments when we were trying to teach them how to swim.

I remember specifically with Keith Jr.

And and him being on a the side of the pool knowing that he'd been using his floaties, knowing he's been taught how to kick, how to swim.

He's been taught all these things, but now is the moment that you gotta push off the edge and actually begin to swim.

I'm about four feet away from him.

I'm like, son, just do it.

I don't want to sink, Dad.

I'm here.

Just do it.

Because as your father, I'm never going to tell you to do something that's going to harm you and that I'm not there to catch you.

Just do it.

And I remember that powerful moment when my son looked me in my eye.

He said, You got me.

I said, I got you.

And he pushed off the edge and he began to kick his feet.

He began to swim and he sunk like a rock.

I was like, I've never met someone with the bone density that just caused you to drop to the bottom like that.

All of my teachable lessons went out the window.

I'm like, good God.

Never go on a cruise, son.

Stay away from water at all costs.

28 years old and still afraid of baths.

Anyway.

But here's the thing: I caught him.

I picked him up.

So even though he was afraid, and even though he was concerned, and even though he began to sink, his father was there to bring him out of it.

It was a it was a powerful lesson for him that was developing trust.

And I wonder if there's times where we're standing on the edge of our lives and we feel that God is prompting us, compelling us to do something, and we're so afraid.

But if we only could recognize He's our Heavenly Father, He's not going to tell us to do anything that's going to bring us any harm.

And even if even if it doesn't work out, He's going to catch us.

He's never going to leave us or forsake us.

So, what is the thing that God is compelling you to do?

Just do it.

Sometimes it may mean being generous when you don't have it all.

Just do it.

Sometimes it may mean being a person who forgives and they really don't deserve it.

Just do it.

I can't tell you how many times God has prompted me to go and apologize to my wife.

Wait a minute.

First and foremost, this is not sisterhood.

Um, this is not sisterhood.

Okay.

Here's why I say that.

Because I'm never wrong.

Come on, fellas.

You know what I'm talking about?

You know what I'm talking about?

Some men are literally afraid to clap right now.

That's mine, that's fine.

I'm locked in with you, bruh.

But you know how many times, like, I'm prompted to, hey, I'm sorry.

And in the back of my mind, I'm like, I literally did nothing wrong.

I'm sorry.

You ever have to apologize for your teeth?

I'm sorry.

My bad.

You're right.

I I shouldn't breathe like that.

You're right.

I should have read your mind.

You're absolutely right.

Father in the name.

There's nothing that's drawing me closer to Jesus than my marriage.

Anyway, anyway.

Just do it.

Just do it.

I I remember, you guys may have heard my story.

I remember when my biological father walked out of my life.

I was four years old.

My stepfather came in, he's the one who raised me.

That that is my dad.

But I I remember about 23 years ago when my biological father got sick.

And so there was a moment where it was like, man, like he he may not make it.

Do you want to come out and visit him?

I'm like, nah, I'm good.

I'm good.

And I remember my stepfather coming to me and saying, son, I I need you, I need you to go and see your dad.

You you don't want to live a life of regret.

You don't know how this thing is going to shake out.

I'm like, no, I'm good, I'm good.

And he said, No, I need you to do this.

And somehow, between his words and this overwhelming sense of peace and this burden to do it, I did it.

I remember walking into the hospital room and seeing my my biological father connected to these ventilators, machines breathing for him.

He was in a coma at this point.

And all the anger, all the rage, all the disappointment slowly began to dissolve.

So I remember sitting next to him.

I pulled up a chair.

I sat next to him.

And I began to share with him the milestones in my life that he missed out on.

Dad, you you missed out on me learning how to ride a bike.

Dad, you, you missed out on man, you missed out on my first fight.

I mean, I still won, but you missed it.

Um Dad, you missed my you missed my first girlfriend.

I just began to unpack the things that were harbored in my heart.

And after I finished with this 10-minute speech, I said, but I forgive you.

Those words didn't make any sense because he he didn't do anything to deserve it.

He he he didn't apologize, he didn't he didn't redeem the time, he didn't redeem the the abandonment that I had, but but somehow I just said, But I forgive you.

In church, I felt this wave of peace that began to land on me in a way that I have not since experienced.

I saw my dad while he was in a coma tear up.

He squeezed my hand and then he died two days later.

What I want you to know is I don't know what my emotional state would have been, specifically now as a mature Christian, if I didn't go back and respond to the moment when God was prompting me to just do it.

Sometimes it may not make sense, sometimes it may be uncomfortable, but when God is telling you to just do it, even beyond your comfort, there's a peace that surpasses all understanding that allows you to stand for a place of victory instead of the enemy haunting you with what you should have done, just do it.

Be the type of person that is filled to the brim with obedience and just do it.

Here's the the third and final thing, and then we're gonna we're gonna close.

Be filled to the brim with the Holy Spirit.

Come on, be filled to the brim with the Holy Spirit.

At first glimpse, when we look at this profound miracle, we not we may not recognize that this is a setup for the Holy Spirit.

But but I want you to see what takes place here.

This entire thing is saturated with the Holy Spirit.

Jesus tells them to fill it to the brim, fill it to the very top.

And it says that they filled it with water.

We just got to finish singing a song that speaks about the Holy Spirit and the many forms that he takes.

And did you know that in Scripture the Holy Spirit is often referred to as water, living water running wild in me?

Jesus makes this statement that if anyone thirsts, let him come to me.

Out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.

It's the Holy Spirit.

Isaiah 44 begins to make this distinction between being in a desert place and God raining down his presence and bringing refreshment into our lives.

We see this powerful illustration of this idea that God wants us to be people who are filled with his spirit to the point that it flows out of our lives.

Paul says it to us like this in Ephesians chapter 5.

Ephesians 5 · chapter mention

He says, Don't get drunk with wine, which is interesting, that is connected to a story about water being turned to wine, which leads to reckless living, but be filled by the Spirit of God.

Paul is instructing us.

When he's speaking about wine, what he's saying is don't look to these worldly crutches and allow yourself to be filled with ideas and worldly satisfactions.

No, I need you to be people who are filled by the Spirit of God.

Because what you're filled with becomes the overflow that you live from.

I'll say it this way: whatever you're filled with is what you are led by.

Let me say that one more time.

Whatever you're filled with is what you were led by.

And you will either be led by the Spirit or you'll be led by your flesh.

Am I filled with the Spirit in such a way that I'm being led by the Spirit of God?

Or am I being filled with my own ideas?

Am I being filled with social media?

Am I being filled with news?

Am I being filled with politicians?

And then that becomes the overflow of my life, and it seems as if the spirituality that's in my life is actually watered down with politics and feelings and emotions.

He doesn't want our faith to be diluted with such things.

We are called to be filled with the spirit.

What we're filled with is the overflow that we live from.

Be filled with the spirit.

Be spirit-led.

Be spirit-filled.

Be sensitive to those moments.

You see, this whole idea is understanding that we all find our place in a place where there may be lack, where there may be a deficit.

But the beautiful thing is God is our provider.

And I believe that today is a day that He wants to fill us with whatever it is that we're missing.

He wants to remove the things that have diluted our faith, the things that have diluted our obedience, the things that have diluted the spirit, so that we can have it filled to the brim to the point that it overflows.

A couple of months ago, I've I really decided to get serious about drinking coffee.

No more curic for me.

I said, you know what?

I want to get to a point where I'm I'm making my own cups of coffee.

Like I'm talking about grinding my own beans.

So whenever we go out to a restaurant and I'm like, and I taste the coffee, like, what kind of beans are you using?

I sound like an expert, I know nothing.

Um but I'm I'm I'm working it out.

So I have this, I have this really cool machine at our house.

Grinds the beans, I can make lattes, americanos, whatever you want.

I have never been more inspired when I go into a coffee shop now because I'm sitting there watching them make their drinks.

I'm like, hey, so what kind of milk are you using back there?

I like to use a whole milk and oat blend myself.

Um don't even know what I'm talking about.

But I look like I do.

But here's the thing for this new fancy machine, um, my daughter and myself are the only ones that really do use it.

And it seems as if my daughter has this profound spiritual gift that by the time I get to the machine, it's always out of water.

Like, and it's always on days where I'm running out, I'm running late, and so I'm like, okay, let me make this coffee real quick, I gotta do all these things.

And when I turn the machine on, it says, empty.

I am so frustrated with her.

And those moments where I'm initially annoyed, there's this little prompting that says, Turn around.

Three feet from here, there's a sink with a faucet with running water that you can go over there and fill it up.

See, a lot of times I would be so frustrated because it's inconvenient, and I would send my daughter text messages, I'll send a screenshot of the screen saying that it's empty.

I'm real petty like that.

They call me Petty Murphy.

Um but then there's those moments where God says you have access to the very thing that you're lacking.

Just turn to the source and fill it up.

And in some weird way, I believe that's the message for every single one of us right now.

That maybe there's some things that are lacking in our lives right now, some areas of our lives that we're saying I'm empty.

Some areas of our lives where to quote Mary, we're running low.

But I believe that that God brought you here today to encourage you.

You have access to the source, and today is the day that he wants to fill you back up because it's possible that you came in here today, and Keith, I'm running low on joy.

I believe that Jesus wants to exchange and transform despair into joy.

I believe that he wants to give peace for chaos.

I believe that he wants to give life for death.

I think he wants to give hope for hopelessness.

I think he wants to give strength for areas of weakness.

I think he wants to give grace for those areas where we feel that there's judgment.

We may have been living from an overflow of deficit, but I believe God wants to fill us to the brim with faith, with love, with joy, with hope, with peace, with obedience, so that our lives begin to overflow of the goodness of God.

I want to ask everyone to stand on their feet at this time.

We're about to go into a moment of worship.

And as we prepare to invite God to fill us, to give us, to give us the faith that we need, to fill us to the brim so that we can have the obedience that we need, to fill us with the brim with his spirit so it overflows from our lives and every environment that we go into.

But I believe it starts with us acknowledging the deficit in the same way that Mary did.

If you're in here with us today and you would say, Chief, there's some areas where I just I need I need a I need a fresh touch from God.

I need to be filled up, I need a miracle, I need a transformation, I need the darkness to turn into light.

I need the I need the despair to turn into hope.

I I need to I need the sickness to turn into healing.

I need a touch from God to transform what I'm currently standing in.

If that's you, I want to pray for you.

So on the count of three, would you be bold enough to lift your hands up?

One, two, three.

I need a I need a move from God.

I need I need transformation.

I need I need God to change some things in my life.

This was a setup because I'm asking everyone with their hands up to come down to this altar right now.

Come on down here right now.

You know what?

You know what's coming.

Come on down.

Let's put our hands together for every single person.

Thank you.

Come on, we can we can we can keep giving it up for God as they're coming down.

We can come in a little bit closer because I want to I want to pray for us in this in this moment.

You know, I what I what I love about this, about this powerful miracle is that is that we see Jesus' ability to transform a situation.

And all it took was water, all it took was obedience, all it took was faith.

I want to ask our prayer team to kind of come in on the wings because I'm praying that God is gonna pour out his spirit in such a way that it's gonna overflow and we're gonna begin to see transformations.

Our encounters with God are never meant to be a transaction, but they're transformations.

And I'm believing right now in the name of Jesus that whatever you're standing in right now, that whatever emptiness you're experiencing right now, that you're gonna feel the filling of the presence of God, but you're also gonna begin to recognize the transformation that takes place.

I want you guys to be encouraged in this because there's no moment where Jesus does a special magical prayer and it was done.

See, a lot of times we see with the miracles of Christ that there's a moment he prayed about it and it was done.

But you know what happens?

He simply says, fill it up with water and walk it out.

And what I believe is gonna happen right now, that we're gonna just begin to walk it out and we're not gonna know when the transformation took place, but as we pour out, we're gonna recognize there's a change that just took place in my life.

There's something that's different about it.

I don't know when God did it.

It may have happened at the altar, it may have happened in the parking lot, it may have happened when I called that loved one, but something changed on the inside of me.

But we only see the change if we walk it out.

I want everyone to lift their hands up to heaven with an expectation that the presence of God is gonna meet you where we are.

Spirit of God, we thank you so much, Lord, for the access that we have to your presence.

And Lord, I pray right now, God, that we are committed to not live lives that are empty and diluted.

That we're gonna be positive and glass half full people, but we're not gonna be content with emptiness anymore, Father.

We're running low on hope, we're running low on joy, we're running low on provision.

And Father, we're coming to the source with an expectation that you're gonna fill us to the brim, to the point that we're overflowing.

God, I pray for every relationship that's under attack right now in the name of Jesus.

God, I'm praying, Father, for your spirit to pour out in such a way that it begins to bring a transformation into every relationship, that things that were once leading to divorce, that you bring it back to wholeness, that even if there has been divorce, that you bring healing and strength to that family.

God, I pray in the name of Jesus for your presence to rain down in such a profound way, God, that it becomes a testimony of the life that you have been moving inside of them.

God, I pray for finances and resources in the name of Jesus, Lord God.

For those who are dealing with deficit and who are struggling financially, God, I pray for supernatural breakthrough, God, that whatever you need them to walk out, that you give them the strength and the boldness to walk it out.

Father, I'm praying for healing right now in the name of Jesus.

There are those who are in here who are sick.

There are family members who know people who are sick.

But Father, your word declares that by your stripes we are healed.

We're grabbing a hold of that because we believe that if you did it for them, you'll do it for us.

So, Father, I pray for healing in the name of Jesus.

Give us the boldness to walk it out, Father.

I'm praying that we're filled with your spirit in such a way that it flows out of our lives, that we have love, joy, peace, kindness, meekness, God.

I'm praying, Father, for your spirit to move in such a profound way that people can see the transformation that's in our lives, Father.

I come against every assignment of the adversary, Father.

I pray for any chains of addiction to be broken in the name of Jesus.

That if any among us are lonely, God, that we know that you will not leave us nor forsake us, that we can trust in you, Father.

Lord, I pray, God, that your spirit rains down upon all flesh, God, and that we can live lives that become examples of righteousness and hope to a world that desperately needs it, Father.

I pray for those who are struggling in places of darkness, that you illuminate on the inside of them and allow our lights to shine in such a way that it can transform the environments that we're in, God.

We believe you, we trust you, and we declare that if you did it for them, you're gonna do it for us.

That is our expectation, God.

That is what these signs point to, God.

We have a belief and an expectation, God, that we're gonna see the blind eyes open, that we're gonna see sickness healed, we're gonna see dead things come alive in the name of Jesus.

So, Father, we give you all the glory, we give you all the honor and the praise, and we'll forever give you our best selves, God, in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Amen and amen.

Let's put our hands together, let's believe God for the best, and let's worship God when we're time together as a family.

Thanks again for listening.

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