How Did I Get Here?

TL;DR Summary

In this engaging sermon, Travis Greene explores the theme of unexpected life circumstances and divine purpose. He draws the audience in by sharing personal anecdotes and humor, setting the stage for a message of hope and divine orchestration. The sermon invites listeners to reflect on their own lives, questioning how they arrived at their current situations and encouraging them to see God’s hand in every twist and turn.

Greene delves into the story of blind Bartimaeus from Mark 10:46-52, illustrating how Bartimaeus’s faith and persistence led to his healing. He emphasizes that Bartimaeus’s shout to Jesus was not just a cry for help but a declaration of faith, recognizing Jesus as the Messiah. Greene connects this story to the broader theme of being marked by God, explaining that divine purpose often involves overcoming obstacles and that one’s current struggles can be a setup for God’s glory. He also references John 9 and the story of another blind man to illustrate that challenges can be opportunities for God’s works to be displayed.

The sermon encourages listeners to embrace their current circumstances as part of God’s plan, urging them to trust in His timing and purpose. Greene challenges the audience to adopt a proactive faith, praising God not just for what He has done, but for what He is about to do. He concludes with a powerful call to action, inviting those who feel stuck or marked by past failures to shed their old identities and step into the new vision God has for them. The message is one of hope and transformation, reminding believers that their setbacks are setups for divine breakthroughs.

Full Sermon Transcript

Hey, you know what would be really awesome? If we could get together in person and really meet, like be in the same room worshiping God, preaching, praying, and believing. Elevation Nights 2023 fall comes with that opportunity, coming to a bunch of cities out October 3rd through October 12th. We’re going to be in Florida, Missy Duluth, Georgia, which is Atlanta, Birmingham, Alabama, Lubbock, Texas, Dallas, Texas, and Houston. There’s got to be one of those you can come to. Go to elevationnights.com right now, get your tickets. We’ll see you there, Elevation Church.

Wow, wow, wow. So first of all, what we not going to do is act like you don’t have the greatest pastor in the world. Come on, can we get real noisy in this building and all around the globe for Pastor Steven Furtick? Holly, Elijah, Graham, apps, love you. I’m excited to be here. I’m black, and that’s just how we’re gonna start. We’re going to start there. My roots are Pentecostal, and Pentecostal, that’s like a fraternity or something. They’d be like, that’s my dog. That’s not a frat.

I was going to use a headset today so I could dribble with my left hand, but I woke up feeling preachy, so I told them give me a handheld because we about to go up, Elevation. I love Pastor Steven. He is a songwriter, he is an architect, and he is the greatest communicator in the world. To be on his platform is beyond a blessing. But something funny happened to me. I told myself that I will be validated as a good preacher when he invited me. Let me tell you how gracious God is. He refused to allow me to be invited as long as I believed that because when Heaven wants to affirm you, it doesn’t use opportunity, it uses opposition.

I know you’re anointed not by the stages but by the scars that you got. I need you to high five your neighbor like you in Valentine and tell them I know I’m anointed. The struggles that you overcome reveal your anointing. We know that they all on David work not from the throne he sat on but by the giant that fell at his feet. If open doors can make you, then closed doors can break you. Quit waiting on man to validate you.

I’m afraid that in our churches, Heaven believes in us, and I’m gonna tell you something you never heard before: hell believes in you. This is why the devil and all his imps and wimps have been coming against you because he knows how much you carry. He doesn’t bother you if you’re not a threat, but if the devil’s been trying to come against you and your family and your neighborhood, I need you to give God 10 seconds of praise like you know no weapon formed against you shall prosper. Come on, praise him like you’re an overcomer, praise him like the battle’s already over. I’m not praising them for victory, I’m praising them from a place of victory in Jesus’ name.

So I have a very prophetic word for Elevation. It’s really for the Columbia campus because they up the street from me, but if the shoe fits, you can wear it in here or Orlando or Greenville or wherever you’re watching from. Told them to send me a list, it was too long. What y’all do have is some campuses, my God. We’re gonna be a marketing. It’s my custom to share the title after I read the scripture, but today I’m gonna share it before because I believe God is about to bring your name up.

I don’t know how it happened for me. I was minding my business and chunks text me and said are you available? I’m wondering how did my name get brought up? God’s about to bring your name up because this is the season, hear me, that God ain’t looking for gifts. I got degrees, but I’ma talk how I wanna talk. God ain’t looking for gifts, he’s after hearts. There’s so many people that can sing, man, we don’t need another song. We need hearts like Chris and hearts like Jen and hearts like John South, man, we need hearts and God’s about to bring your name up. Here’s the title for today: how did I get here?

Let me preach because my wife tells me I take too long to transition. I’m not gonna show a family picture, they’re all on the ground, but my wife is a dime piece on the front row. I love you. Mark 10. Mark 10:46. Then they came to Jericho, a teacher for a city that you can’t just read the Bible, oh snap, you gotta read the Bible. It’s the second read. Then they came to Jericho as Jesus and his disciples together with the large crowd were leaving the city, a blind man Bartimaeus, which means son of Timaeus, was sitting on the roadside begging.

When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, Jesus, son of David, have mercy, have mercy. Many rebuked him. Don’t you hate when you’re sitting next to the loud one? You’re like, okay, I get it, you grateful, I am too, but my God. They told them be quiet, fam. Jesus, you ever brought your mama to church? I said Mom, I’m preaching at Elevation, do not come. My mom be tearing the whole row up in the back. I said be quiet, man, but he shouted all the more. I love that. Son of David, have mercy on me.

I really want to preach this next verse, but I got something else to preach, but the next verse says Jesus stopped. There is a D if you’re in the audio, there is a frequency, there is a shout that is packed with enough desperation to get a busy Jesus, a focused Jesus to stop. Oh my God, are there any Praises in the room that know how to get them to stop by? Come on, the only reason I’m in church today is because he stopped by. The only reason I’m in my right mind is because he stopped. The only reason I didn’t cut somebody this week is because he stopped by. He stopped by, he stopped by, he stopped by. When he stops, anything is possible. Who am I to deny what the Lord can do? Whatever is impossible for you is easy for him when he stops by.

All right, let’s keep reading. You ready? Let’s sit down. He stopped by and said call him. I like that. So they called the blind man, cheer up, on your feet, he’s calling you. Now the way my imagination works, I want to be the same people who just told him to hush. That’s why you can’t listen to people. One second they saying hush, in that second and saying cheer up. Cause what do you want from me, dog? I mean, throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet, came to Jesus.

Jesus is really funny. He said, hey, what do you want me to do for you? Blind Man’s like, ah, let me see. Is that Rabbi? I want to see, man. I like this. Go, Jesus said, your faith has healed you. Your shout has healed you. Your resilience has healed you. Somebody took your last 20 to get to church today. That’s the thing that healed you. The fact that you believed in spite of what you were facing. And the Bible says, I like this word, immediately. I feel it coming all of a sudden, immediately.

This ain’t for everybody, this is just for 50 people and a two-year-old that can give them a praise and say nothing about to happen quicker than you can even imagine. Immediately, immediately he received his sight, followed Jesus along the road. How did I get here? Lord Jesus, I’m a prayer prayer. You ready? How did we get here? Amen.

You can take your seats. All right, how did I get here? How did I get here? How did I get here? This past week I went to North Myrtle Beach, that’s where my dad is buried, where my mom is from, and we went there to visit my grandma. My grandma’s 92 years old. Yeah, yeah, her classmate was Harriet Tubman. My grandma is so old to see many presidents. I walk in and my grandma, she’s like Isaac, her side is failing her because she, you know, she’s up in age. She’s sitting there with her snuff. You’re not from the country if you don’t know what snuff is. No teeth but snuff.

I said Grandma, my Grandma had 14 kids y’all. After 10 you don’t even feel them no more. There’s another child, they just, she got 14 over 40 grandkids. I walk in and I’m like Grandma and she’s like Who’s That Girl? Get over here. I go over to her and I say grandma is me and I can’t talk. Yeah, I got speech impediment. If you laugh, you laughed and that was not a joke. I thought it was just me. My speech marks me so my grandma she knew it and she was like you. I have to spend some time with her.

Something about when your side is failing, your senses are heightened. I was interesting about this text. I learned this from Pastor Furtick. You preach every line in the text. So the first thing I want to acknowledge in this text is that the blind man is in Jericho. The word Jericho means fragrance or to smell. Isn’t it interesting that he’s blind but he can still smell the roses? So I want to tell you don’t allow your low place to cause you to miss the beauty of the season you’re in.

He’s in Jericho. This is not a Mountaintop message because most of the people were asking how did I get here aren’t on top. You feel like you’re at the bottom. You’re asking how did this happen to me? How did I get here? My last great memory was a wedding photo and now I’m a widow. That was my mom at the age of 29 when my dad died on a Sunday morning. I was five years old. How did I get here? How did I get in the back of this police car? How did I get in divorce court? Come on y’all don’t look at me that’s on The Voice.

How did I get here? My life was heading in one direction and then one decision, one thing caused me to get into an uncertain, unfamiliar, and unexpected place. How did I get here? How did I get here? How did I get addicted? How did this happen to my child? How did I get here? You may think you may be sitting here thinking like man my situation’s rough. Listen to me, your situation cannot compare to being blind in the first century fam. That was the lowest of the lowest. They had nothing. There was no Braille for reading, there were no guide dogs to help them, there was no ADA compliance. You were just stuck begging and that is the circumstance that this man is in.

But I want to preach to the people who feel like your place that you’re in is a surprise to you. The good news is that what is new to you is old to your God. Your future is his past. Your life is a rerun to him. I watched a movie with a friend of mine named Carlin, clearly a Dwight, there’s no black people named Carlin and Colin. I was watching this movie years ago, years ago called Avatar, the first Avatar. This thing, you know, people were bragging about how beautiful it is. Guys, I’m scared of everything, okay? All Creatures here below, don’t invite me to your house if you got a dog. I hate coming to your house. You’ll be like oh I forgot to tell you I got a dog. You don’t forget to tell somebody black you got a dog first of all.

Second of all, don’t forget, let me just, and then don’t tell me he don’t bite. No, he don’t bite to you. He don’t bite, he’s just nibbling. He got a taste for dark meat and this is so I’m scared, I’m scared of all animals, right? So I’m watching Avatar, I’m freaking out. This is creatures, they blue and running around, supposed to be beautiful. I’m freaking out, I got my hat, I’m covering myself. Colin grabs me, he says wait, don’t leave. I said Colin, you wait because when black folks get scared we get violent. That’s what happens, we don’t know, we just.

Colin told me, he said trap, trap, don’t leave, it gets better. What qualified Colin to tell me this is because he already saw the movie before. So when God gives you a word, I don’t care how it looks, he’s confident in the word he gives you because he already saw your life before. Do you hear what I’m telling you? He’s not just Alpha, he is Omega, my God. So there’s nothing that you face that’s new to him. He saw it coming. Tell somebody he saw it coming, he saw it coming, he saw it coming.

So here’s this blind man and maybe he didn’t know this was going to happen in his life, but God did and he had a plan for him anyway. Even in the low place there is a plan. Even in the low place there is a place. There’s another story in John chapter nine about another blind man. This story is interesting because this man was blind from birth, right? The disciples, here’s something that happened in the first century because they didn’t have medical understanding. So they thought, they thought this, if you were blind you were cursed. Clearly you did something wrong. This is what they believed.

They believed it so much so that Jesus’ 12 thought the same thing. They walk up on this blind man in John 9 and they asked him, they said hey who sinned, him or his parents? He was blind from birth, that’s a dumb question. How he gonna sin before he was born? Jesus answered them, he answered them in verse three, he says hey man, no one sinned, get this verse right here, but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him. Can I tell you something? What this means, ladies and gentlemen, is that it’s all a setup.

I had this thought, in order for a way to be made, that means that a way has to be blocked. If something is standing in between you and promise, then it has to be a setup. If there’s something that you see that does not match what he said, it has to be a setup. The Red Sea for Moses was a setup for God. Jericho’s wall for Joshua was a setup for God. Goliath for David was a setup for God. Death for Lazarus was a setup for God. So if it’s in your way, tell your neighbor it’s just a setup.

I wrote a song years ago called Made A Way and I wrote this song. Here’s what’s significant about this song. I wrote it when we desperately needed a way to be made. My wife’s water broke halfway during her pregnancy of her first child. The doctor literally told me Mr. Green, I’m sorry, we’re gonna take the baby, you guys can go home and try again. Obviously he’s not gonna make it. We know a God who’s still a healer. I know some people think his power stopped in the Bible. God who is still able to turn your situation around. We know a God whose blood still works. Does anybody know this Jesus that I’m talking about?

So we started praying, we started praying. My son was born at 28 weeks, two pounds. He was in the incubator for two months. My wife was in the hospital for two months. Her legs were withering away. I mean, this was a desperate situation, but this is what I need you to hear. This is where I wrote the song you made a way. I did not write a song that said you’ll make a way. I wrote it in past tense. You ready? Because anything God’s about to do, he’s already done. You hear what I just said? Anything God’s about to do in your life is already done.

Ladies and gentlemen, this is the difference between reactive praises and proactive praises. A reactive praiser waits till they see the solution, waits till they see the victory, waits until the X-ray is turned around in their favor. But a proactive praiser says I walk in with that, I enter the date with Thanksgiving, I enter this course with praise. I got enough history with God to know that he’s able to do exceedingly abundantly above all I can ask or think. I’m not gonna wait till my situation turns around to give him praise. I’m gonna praise him in advance.

Proactive, he’s not going to just make a way, he’s already made a way because it’s a setup. Anybody can praise him when you turn around and Pharaoh’s army is drowning, that’s elementary. Ooh, the enemy go, but it takes a radical crazy faith to see the sea close in front of you or an army coming behind you and say God, you still worthy because I know you didn’t free me to leave me. God, you still worthy because if you did those 10 plagues, what is this sea? Who is this uncircumcised Philistine? What is cancer? What is depression? What is anxiety for my God? It’s easy, it’s easy.

So God has been conditioning the unconditional worshiper in you. Some of our worship is too circumstantial. If I feel like it, don’t let Starbucks run out of your favorite drink on your way to church. Oh, my whole day just ruined. That’s a conditional praiser. But maybe God has had you in Jericho, how to worship him here it is, even when you don’t feel like it, even when your head hurt a little bit, even when your child didn’t show back up home last night, even when Bank of America, what are you telling me right now?

Come on, I just need 10 people. I gotta move in this message. I’m not gonna be greedy. Give me 10 people. I got Elijah up top, that’s all I need. I need 10 people that I give them a praise in advance because you know God’s about to pick you up, turn your situation around. It’s about to work in your favor. Grab your neighbor and tell them it’s about to work in your favor. It’s about to work. I feel it, I feel him turning and I feel him moving it in your favor. It’s all a setup because man’s setback is God’s setup.

Hey, hey, can you trust God in the setup? Can you trust him in the setup? See, the problem with new school Christians, y’all can sit down, I’m about to offend you, is that we act like God owes us something. That’s why I like those three Hebrew boys. They said even if he don’t, I’m not praising them because he will, I’m praising them because he can. So even if it don’t happen like I wanted to, that does not change the consistency of his character. Proactive, proactive, proactive.

What’s interesting about this text is that every gospel account speaks about the blind being healed. Every one of them, Matthew, Mark, and Luke, John, they all talk about Matthew, Mark, and Luke, they all talk about blind Bartimaeus. But Mark’s account is a little different. Mark’s account goes straight from blind Bartimaeus to the triumphant entry. This is a climatic event for Jesus’ healing ministry. Next, it’s passion Sunday, next Palm Sunday, you know what I’m talking about, next it’s riding in.

Interesting, I didn’t really come to talk about Bartimaeus, I came to talk about Mark. This guy Mark is a very interesting character. Here’s why. His mom is the one who hosted the prayer meeting for Peter’s miraculous prison break, which means her house was big enough, which tells me Mark was privileged like me. You can judge me, I’m not from the hood, I’m a military brat. I don’t know what government cheese is. I have my own bathroom since I’m five. I got everything I wanted for Christmas. This is Mark. Mark’s cousin is Barnabas.

So Mark went out with Paul on the first mission trip and Mark is like, you know, you get hyped up and you’re like, I’m going all the way. That was Mark. He was like, I’m going all the way. They get out there, Mark was like, Paul, you crazy dog, it’s cold, I’m hungry. Paul talking about it’s good that we suffer. Mark is like, man, I am going to the crib, I gotta get up out of here. So Mark drops out, Paul gets offended, he starts calling Mark a coward. Barnabas says hold up now dog, Barnabas from Universal City, he like listen, listen cuz, what we ain’t gonna do is be talking about my family like that.

I mean, I know you annoying here Damascus, listen, that’s still my cousin man, you can’t be talking about blood cousin. So the Beatles break up, this is a true story, they break up, he’s like yo, I’m out. I’m gonna tell you two reasons I’m so glad that Mark left Paul. I’m gonna give you the second one later in about 10 minutes. The first reason I’m so glad that Mark left them is because Mark now it’s hooked up with a man named Peter. Mark don’t leave Paul, Mark don’t get connected to Peter.

Why is this important? I don’t know if you know this or not, but Mark’s gospel is actually Peter’s gospel. So now Mark is a student and the whole book of Mark is Mark writing but Peter speaking. This is why it’s the shortest gospel, this is why it gets straight to the point because Peter was a straight shooter. This is why it’s the only gospel to talk about Peter walking on water. Nobody else talked about it, Peter was like don’t miss this one part because Mark was like gotcha. It’s the only gospel that talks about Peter denying Christ three times.

So tell me Peter also wanted us to know his flaws. He’s the only gospel that talks about getting money from fish. So Mark gets exclusive content, it is director’s cut, this is straight from Peter y’all. Peter wasn’t just one of the 12, he was in the top three. This is the man who walked with Jesus everywhere, he was in the inner circle. So Mark now got the inside scoop and he’s taking all of these notes, all these cliff notes, getting them down.

This is why, you ready for this? This is why I’m so glad that Mark wrote this. Y’all, this thing sent me all the way up. I’m so glad Mark wrote this because you got to understand the context of the content. Mark is actually feeling like a reject. Mark is at home scratching his head wondering is there any ministry left in me? Mark is like I came from a woman of faith and here I am a ministry dropout. Is God’s hand still on me? Is it? Have you ever felt like that before? Has God’s hand still on me?

Here I am talking about I believe God and I’m pregnant and I’m not married. Is God’s hand still on me? Can God still use me? I was an entrepreneur known for taking risks but I dropped the ball. I gambled and I lost everything. Can God still use me? This is Mark. He’s wondering how did I get here? Peter sees him and says there’s still value in you. How does Peter know that? Because Peter also was a dropout. Peter knows what it feels like to drop the ball. So he invites Mark in and Mark starts writing this.

Here’s the reason I’m glad Mark wrote it, you ready? Because Mark knows what it means to be marked by God. If anybody knows what it means for God’s hand to still be on you, Mark knows it. Here’s a significant part, you ready for this? Mark is the only one who names Bartimaeus. Imagine with me Mark’s sitting there taking notes, Peter talking, and he leans over and said Peter, but what was his name? Peter said his name is Bartimaeus. Y’all, this thing jumped out at the pages and hit me in the heart because this is God’s way of telling us when you’re marked by God, he’ll bring your name up.

When God’s hand is on you, it does not matter what hand is against you. Somebody knows what I’m talking about. When God is for you, it doesn’t matter who posts stuff against you. There were so many haters that thought Elevation was going to close in year five, but look at us now, started from the bottom now we’re here. When God marks you, it doesn’t matter what giant, what disease, what famine, what hater, what devil try to rise against. I need you to punch your neighbor in the kneecap and tell them you’re marked by God.

That’s why the car wreck couldn’t take you out because you’re marked by God. The part that is how to stand back and wait cause you’re marked by God. That’s why you didn’t take your own life because you’re marked by God. Don’t count me out, don’t count me out, don’t count me out, I’m marked. I brought a prop, you can’t preach the Elevation without a prop. Marked, marked, blind Bartimaeus was marked without even knowing it because even when you can’t see Jesus, he sees you. When you’re marked, he had to die on you. When you’re marked, he has his eye on you.

So glad for the stick. Some of y’all like oh Jesus, this can go real bad. That’s how I felt last week in Fort Worth. It’s when God gave me this message. I was in Fort Worth with my little sister who lived there and she said I gotta take you to stockyard. Anybody from Texas? Good for you. She said I got to take you to stockyard. Y’all, we went to stockyard. I said what in the Andy Griffin? It was crispy white cowboy hats. I said I’m one wrong move away, God, I’m this close to Elevation, don’t let me get killed. I almost made it to the mountaintop, let me at least let me get through next weekend.

True story, the old black man blind is walking with a stick. He was this close to the road and I wanted to pull over and help him. Right before I did, a cowboy couple came and grabbed his hand and I said oh my God, this is a preach because when you’re in the dark, you’re not picky about who help you. Oh yeah, when you’re in the dark, you’re not selective about who decides to give you mercy. That’s what I’m grateful for Elevation because it’s a safe place.

That’s some black people that’s been going here and your family like how you following that white man? He said ciao, I was blind so long, I’m not selective about who leading me to the light. I’m not selective about who’s helping me. I’m not selective about who seeks value in me as long as he believes in the blood. The only color that matters here is red. I gotta get to the light, I gotta get out of this dark place.

Here he is. There’s people who think that the only darkness is sin. That’s not the darkness to beware of, you ready? It’s lacking vision. There’s so many people here who’s been lacking vision. You’re wondering where are you God? What happens when I obey him and it feels like he disappears? If you don’t know what I’m talking about, you haven’t lived long enough. I believe it’s promises but my situation don’t look like what I’ve been declaring and I’m wondering where do I go from here? Where do I go from here? How do I get out of this?

Ladies and gentlemen, this is blind Bartimaeus. He’s stuck in a cycle, he’s stuck in a circle, he’s stuck going around lacking vision. There are people watching today from all over the world, pastors who are trying to build a church that won’t grow, businessman who has this business plan that won’t get off the ground, parents that’s believing God for your teenager who won’t listen, can I get an amen? Lacking vision.

What’s interesting about this, let’s go back to Jericho. Bartimaeus’s ancestors got into Jericho with a shout, but Bartimaeus got out with a shout. He got out with a shout and he shout until Jesus stopped and the Bible says, my favorite part, that he followed him. He followed him. I like this because Bartimaeus, he refused to stay where he was. Listen, I may be here but I don’t have to stay here. I may be in this abusive relationship but I don’t have to stay in it. I don’t know who I’m preaching to, you’re too embarrassed to tell your parents that I got been hitting you. Child, you better get you and your Chihuahua and get to stepping.

I might be in here but I don’t have to stay here. Bartimaeus says I’m following Jesus. Here we go, here we go. Verse 48, many rebuked him, told him to hush, but he shouted all the more, son of David, have mercy on me. The haters try to silence him. I like Barney, he didn’t talk to them, he didn’t speak about them, he spoke above them. When God is taking you somewhere, oh let me just park here just for one second, quit feeling like you gotta reply to all the haters online. The battles that you engage in reveal the level you own. Next time somebody said did you read that? Yeah, but I’m above that. Look, I’m above that. I need you to hit somebody, tell them you’re above that, you’re above that.

So we shout son of David. This title son of David was reserved, hear me, for the Messiah exclusively. So I wonder just the fact that he shouted, it’s what he said. What he was saying was that Jesus, you’re surrounded by a lot of people, hear me, but they don’t see you like I do. He says I see you, I see the real you. They see you as a miracle worker, I see you as a messiah. They see you as a problem solver, but I see you as a promised one. They see you as a leader, but I see you as Lord. I see you, I see you.

Here’s the title to Jesus, got Jesus to stop in his tracks. He stopped because the only thing worse than physical blindness is spiritual blindness. Here we go, verse 49, Jesus stopped and said call him. They said cheer up, on your feet, he’s calling you. Hey, you may feel stuck but he’s calling you. You may feel disqualified, Mark, but he’s calling you. You may feel under, but he’s still calling you. Favorite part, verse 50. Throwing his cloak aside, throwing his cloak aside, he got up and ran to Jesus.

You know what this significant because the cloak is the only thing that marked you as a legitimate beggar. When I throw this on you, fall out so they think I’m anointed. That’s where I came from, man. He threw his cloak aside, he threw his cloak aside, he threw his cloak aside. He took off the thing that marked him as a beggar, hear me, this is where he gets crazy. He took it off before he was healed. We got to crank up just for a second, just for a second. He said I don’t know what you about to do Jesus, but I know I won’t need this no more.

I gotta take this off of me. Somebody put it on me, but it’s not my identity. Put this label on me, but it’s not mine. Did he put his name on me? He took off what they put on him. He said I don’t know where we’re going, but I’m not staying here. I don’t know where we’re headed, but I’m not staying here. I don’t know what the future holds, but I know who holds the future. Take this off of me. Somebody give him a little break like you breaking out. I’m breaking free, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Now, now I’m almost there, I’m almost there, I’m almost there, I’m almost there. Now he followed Jesus, watch this, watch this, watch this, out of Jericho to Jerusalem for the triumphant entry, Palm Sunday. Imagine Peter, James, John, vote for the James, Bartholomew, Judas is still there, about the older boys standing there watching Jesus ride in on a donkey and the Epic beggar. I’m sorry, when I do that I feel the Holy Ghost. You got the Holy Spirit, I got the Holy Ghost.

The ex-beggar is standing there with the disciples scratching his head wondering how did I get here? How did this preach to us? Because God wants you to know, I need everybody under the age of 50 to sit down. If you 50 and older, I want you to stand up because this is your word now. There’s somebody here in denial, you are, you’ve been 49 for 10 years, stand your butt up. Stella Got Her Groove Back, your boyfriend think that you 30, you it’s 52, stand up.

This is what God told me to tell you. You may have missed some things in the past 50 years, God’s about to open up your eyes and you won’t miss his next move. What you haven’t seen, and I want to talk to everybody who’s half a century old and tell them you’re about to see it. I don’t know what you missed, but you about to see it. The Lord told me to tell you, you don’t have a problem believing God for everybody else, told yourself as long as my child make it, I’m okay. God says you have a child, but you’re my child, you’re gonna see it, you’re gonna see it.

Get your vision back, you’re gonna see it. Now I need everybody to give God a praise like he’s about to open up your eyes. Eyes haven’t seen, ears haven’t heard what God’s about to do in your life, you’re gonna see it. All right, I’m done. This is crazy what I’m about to say, this is crazy what I’m about to say because I haven’t preached yet. I got four minutes to really preach and I’m gonna hit that clock because I want to come back. You ready for this? Tell your neighbor get ready, this is crazy.

The second reason I’m glad Mark left Paul is because if Mark didn’t leave Paul, The Beatles wouldn’t have broken up. If the Beatles didn’t break up, Mark would have been in the Philippian jail with Paul, homesick on Paul’s second missionary trip. If Mark was homesick in the jail, then the right praise partner named Silas wouldn’t have been with Paul. So maybe God caused it an eviction in that last relationship to create vacancy for the right partner. Did you hear what I just said? Silas had to be there because the Bible said at about midnight.

Wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute, at about midnight. Hey Matt, make it dark, I know you able, make it midnight. At about midnight, oh yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah. Hey, hey, midnight is the darkest moment. Ain’t it funny that Paul and Silas were blinded by their situation, but they are, they refuse to allow their sight to silence their shout. They never asked for freedom because all you have to do is shout loud enough for Jesus to stop and when he stopped, he brings everything you need.

The Bible says, watch this, watch this, Bartimaeus took off his clothes, God took off their chains. I’m counting three and I want you to shout for your vision to come back. I counted three, we’re gonna shout, Matt, you gonna turn the lights up and we’re gonna give God 30 seconds of a Pentecostal different praise because you bout to see again, your family about to see it again, your business is about to see it again, yeah, the light is coming back to your head. Are you ready to tell? I want you to doubt the name that’s above every name for at the name of Jesus, name is tremble, at the name of Jesus, chains break, at the name of Jesus.

One, two, three. How did I get here? Now what’s crazy, here’s why your child matters because when Paul and Silas shouted, the Bible says not only their chains fell, but everybody around them were standing free wondering how did I get here? Can I prophesy some of you going back home and your child gonna be free from that addiction wondering how did I get here? Somebody prayed for me, somebody praised for me, somebody shouted for me.

Lift your hands, Lord Jesus, thank you for giving sight to the blind, giving sight to the blind. I receive this vision, I’m gonna believe again because a small vision is an insult to a big God. I’m gonna see you again, I’m gonna believe again in Jesus’ name, amen. Come on, give them a praise. God bless.

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