The Cost of the Calling | KidsQuest Pastor Nolan Carpenter

you'll be so kind to return back to your seat there is a beautiful presence of the lord i am 110 convinced that our choir will not go in the rapture god's going to call them home a few days early they're gonna they're gonna start practicing for that rapture moment our choir is gonna be singing a breakout up there i believe that in jesus name in jesus name i feel just a beautiful presence of the lord in this place and and uh if you will before we open um with a scripture text if you just if you'll pray for me i'm gonna be really selfish right now just you'll pray for me that god has given me a burden tonight for for for someone and a group of people that are called uh have a calling of god in their life but i need your help uh to pray for me that i would deliver that burden like god would intend for me to deliver it so if you just pray i'm going to be really selfish for a moment if you would just pray for me right now god i thank you god i thank you for the opportunity god to be in your house tonight god asks that you would help me jesus i asked that you would anoint me god i asked that you would use me god i counted a privilege and an honor to stand before such a great group of people tonight god i ask that you would help me lord anoint my lips anoint my mind oh god just give me clarity god i believe god someone needs to hear what god i believe you've given me lord tonight god we do everything in your name and someone said in jesus name oh i heard brother ammons do this one time he started to tear up he said man i got something in my eye and so i got to my eye there i hope it comes out let's maybe tear up a little bit and i want to i want to give honor to our honors do i want to give honor to pastor carpenter pastor erickson pastor hammond and we know that pastor carpenter and sister carpenter are out preaching in i believe it's savannah tennessee an anniversary service there and they send their love to you great people and then brother and sister hammond are preaching right around denver colorado and they have heard great reports from their services today and what a tremendous word we heard from pastor erickson this morning about disciple making i thought that was so needful amen i give him honor and and then of course i give my wife honor tonight and uh thank god for her every every single every single day pastor erickson's message uh this morning really uh brought clarity and a confirmation to what i believe god spoke to my heart and again i know pastor erickson mentioned this just a little bit ago about our fast day on wednesday in preparation for the movement conference and i got to reading about the first miracle that jesus performed which was the turning of water into wine and and it's very it's very neat in my opinion the first group of people that recognized that jesus just did a miracle it says it says when jesus said to them go draw give to the governor of the feast it said that they didn't the people there didn't know that it was water made to wine but the servants knew it they put in parentheses and i believe it's something it looks like a little winky face like it wants you to notice what it would just happen it was but the servants knew and and i think in this season that we're getting ready for this conference that many people around the world will come in and want to learn about the great things at first apostolic i just believe that god is going to bless the servants of this church in their season because you know what it takes to put on something like this and i i do believe that god is going to do something for the servants of fac during this time if you would turn with your bibles with me to luke 14 luke 14 25 and i give honor to you great people to stand before you tonight and that's an honor to preach to you tonight immediately following the altar service in which i'll direct you on how this will take place but with all the teachers every school teacher every day care teacher we will ask that you will line up at your classroom and the elders will go around and anoint every teacher every classroom every desk we might go in the bathroom and anoint those but everything in this building will be anointed in preparation for a great school year that's going to start on tuesday and i'll direct you as soon as altar is over this evening we'll go and we'll do that luke 14 25 says and there went great multitudes with him and he turned and said unto them if any man come to me and hate not his father and mother and wife and children and brethren and sisters yea in his own life also he cannot be my disciple and who has whosoever does not bear his cross and come after me cannot be my disciple for which of you intending to build a tower sitteth not down first and counteth the cost where rather he have sufficient to finish it i want to preach for just a few moments with the help of the lord on the cost of a calling the cost of a calling you put your bibles down now let's invite god's presence into this place tonight god we thank you god for what we've felt in this place so far we thank you for the lies to the chains and the hearts that have been touched so far in this service god we know that you poured out your spirit when we begin to praise and we begin to worship you but god i believe it just set an atmosphere and a god a foundation for your word to come forth tonight god i pray that someone who has called god to do something great in the kingdom of god would listen intently tonight to what thus saith the lord says god i don't want to speak tonight but god i pray god that you would speak to those hearts tonight god who have a calling of god on their life and we do everything in your name in jesus name someone said in jesus name amen you may be seated you may be seated the cost of a calling winston churchill said we make a living by what we get but we make a life by what we give we make a living by what we get but we make a life by what we give ford's magazine wrote an article on leadership and it says that leadership is not merely about success it says that abraham lincoln and martin luther king were great leaders not because they were successful within their different worlds or even because they were successful despite the constraints of their world they were great leaders because they transformed their world abraham lincoln was moved against slavery of a human being and and then martin luther king jr comes along and he was moved against the unfair inhumane treatment of african-american citizens both these men were successful in changing their world but there was a cost to their calling they were called to change they saw that something was not right and they were called to change what they perceived and what they knew was not right but the cost of their calling was their life quite possibly why we read in matthew 22 14 for many are called but few are chosen is the chosen chose to pay the cost of their calling multitudes when we we pastor erickson mentioned that this morning multitudes would follow jesus but only 12 would pay the cost to be a disciple it was so popular to come to to see what jesus was going to do would jesus spit in some dude's eye and would he would go home seeing or or would he he would he call some man's name at a tomb and would he come out when lazarus comes out of the tomb that was so that was what the multitude would want to do was to follow jesus but the 12 the disciples would pay the cost of a calling of god in their life salvation is free salvation is free for everyone but a calling will cost you something salvation is for every single person and it's cheap it's free all you have to do is come accept it go down in the name of jesus receive the gift of the holy ghost it won't cost you a thing but the calling will cost you something matthew 13 44 jesus is talking about the kingdom of heaven it says again the kingdom of heaven is like unto a treasure hid in a field the which when a man hath found he hideth and for great joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath and buyeth the field again it puts it in a different scenario says the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man seeking goodly pearls who when he had found one great pearl of great price went and sold all that he had and he bought it the calling of god is gonna cost you everything there is one price to be called of god and to step into that calling it's gonna cost you everything one story that speaks to me in different ways every time i read it is the story of the rich young ruler this rich young ruler comes and he is so excited he i can imagine that he is running as he sees jesus and he's a young man so i'm sure he's quick and i'm sure he's agile and he comes and slides at the feet of jesus it says and he kneeled to him mark 10 17 and asked him good master what shall i do that i may inherit eternal life and jesus said unto him why callest thou me good there is none good but one that is god then jesus goes into this moral code to make sure the young man is living right he says thou knowest the commandments do not commit adultery do not kill do not steal do not bear false witness to fraud not honor thy father and thy mother and he answered and said unto him master all these things i have observed from my youth he says jesus you know that i have lived a good life i've lived a moral life up to this point all these things that you have said i have observed them from my youth if you will notice with me that everything that jesus has said to this point has to do with man to man or or woman to woman or human to human it has to do with us people it says defraud not don't defraud your brother honor your father and your mother do not steal that the all these rules all these things have to do between you and i and he answered and sent him after all these things observed from my youth then jesus beholding him loved him and said unto him him one thing thou lackest go thy way sell whatsoever thou hast give to the poor and thou shalt have treasure in heaven come take up the cross and follow me so to this point the young man's doing really good but when jesus takes it a step further because a young man is living right he is doing right he is not in sin and jesus puts a call on his life he says if you will go and you'll sell all that you have and you give to the poor pick up your cross and follow me that was the only thing that jesus said to him that had to do between him and god he had the human to human thing he wasn't in sin against his brother his mother as father as friends he wasn't in sin against the human human stuff but when jesus saw that he loved him and gave him a call that god did not give to just anyone it would not be just anyone that jesus would say i want you to pick up your cross and follow me jesus christ offered to this young man to become one of his disciples he offered to him to come and be one of his disciples jesus did not give this opportunity to just anybody there's many people that jesus touched and healed and he said hey go to your home go back to your place and i want you to broadcast what i did in your life but there was something about this young man that was different jesus gave him a call and the young man sits there or stands there and i'm sure that he knows he's rich he knows what he has he knows what he's comfortable with because he is the rich young ruler he's got he's young he's not wasted in years he has a lot of life left ahead of him and he has to look at the cost of a calling to see if it would be worth it he judges between what jesus is wanting him to do and how much it's going to cost him and he begins to to ponder this in his mind jesus was asking the rich young ruler son you don't know this but i want to show you many miracles that i will do on this earth you have the opportunity to see me open up the blinded eyes and you have the opportunity to see me do the rest of my miracles here on earth young rich young ruler you have the opportunity to see the greatest uh act of love towards humanity when i would go on a cross and die for your sins rich young ruler rich young ruler you don't know this but on the day of pentecost the holy ghost is going to fall and if you if you just come accept the call you'll be in the upper room i don't know you might be a part of the service but you're going to be in the upper room to receive the the holy ghost for the very first time but in the midst of all that he looks and the cost was too great for the calling of god in his life if you are called of god and you know that god has something planned for your life it is going to cost you something it's going to cost you it's going to cost you treasures here on earth but you are going to trade it for treasures in heaven god wants to do something in your life but it's going to come at a great cost it's going to cost you everything did you did you consider the cost but this young man would never be heard of again because he wasn't willing to pay the cost of his calling jesus says that it's easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than it is for a rich man rich man to enter into the kingdom of god of course i don't i don't believe for one moment that this this is talking about an actual rich man someone who is who is blessed beyond measure because the promises of god are if you give to the kingdom then you just can't help but to receive something and i don't believe this is talking about an actual person who has a lot of money but i do believe it is talking about someone who is not willing to sacrifice if you're not willing to sell what you have give to the poor and pick up your cross and follow jesus it's going to be hard for you to enter into the kingdom of god there's no telling what this young man could have been a part of there's no telling what this young man could have seen if he only would have paid the cost of this calling and there is no telling what this church can experience we've experienced miracle after miracle in this church pastor erickson mentioned it tonight when the sacrifices of this building went forth and what a beautiful sight we see here tonight but we will be known by our potential if we do not keep paying the cost of what god wants to do because god wants to do a great work through this church but it's going to cost us everything it's going to cost us some nights after we get done working that we come to the church and we teach a small group it's going to cost you something it's going to cost you a meal on wednesday but it's the cost of what god wants to do god wants to pour out miracles in this place but it is going to cost us something we will merely be known by our potential if we don't pay the cost of the calling of god on our life young people we will be a nameless generation if we aren't willing to pay the cost of the calling of god to every great ministry and every great man and woman of god that you see we see them coming and preaching under the anointing and singing under the anointing of the holy ghost and that is the reward of the cost that they paid the seasons of their life that did not make sense and the the the seasons where they would be questioning god on why you would do this why why would this one die and why would my son or daughter pass away why would this happen to me it's the cost of a calling it's going to cost you everything but when you realize that you have purchased a field that you know there's a treasure in that field that field is expensive because it cost you everything but when you begin to realize that there is a treasure in the field of god that is is is priceless then what you paid is not all that much because you gain a treasure you can focus on the cost and you can focus on what it costs you to be a part of the ministry team at fac and and you got to get here early for practice you gotta you gotta you gotta read these systems and oh my goodness i just wanna come and serve but there's a cost to serving god there's a cost of being in the ministry but when you look back if you focus on the cost of what it takes you'll easily get burnt out i promise you but when you begin to get off what it cost you and to realize that there is a treasure hid in the field then the cost is not all that bad because you have a treasure in the kingdom of god that is priceless yeah you cost you everything but you have treasures in heaven not on earth but you have treasures in heaven because you paid the cost of a calling the cost of a calling you may be seated and sometimes it's hard it's it's difficult to to recognize the treasure in the field because in the parable that jesus spoke it says that it cost the person it cost them everything they had to go sell all that they had and the treasure was hid in a field it was hid in the field i don't know it took some digging i it wasn't just set on the the top of the mountain for someone if you buy it you just go run up and get it it's hid in the field the call of moses was to go deliver the children of god and lead them in an exodus out from egypt exodus 3 and 10 is where we read about this call it says exodus 3 and 10 come now therefore and i will send thee until unto pharaoh that thou mayest bring forth my people the children of israel out of egypt and moses said unto god who am i that i should go into pharaoh and that i should bring forth the children of israel out of egypt and he said certainly i will be with thee and this shall be a token unto thee that i have sent thee when thou has brought forth the people out of egypt ye shall serve god upon this mountain the call of moses was to go and deliver the children of god and lead them out of bondage of egypt moses then would we read all about it he he leads them and brings them to mount sinai and and moses would also take them to the land of media to in this land this this place called median would be the place where they would enter into a covenant marriage with god they would they would learn how to serve him they learned that they were in covenant with god but way before moses could lead the children of israel out of egypt and way before moses would lead the children to this land of of midian way before moses would lead them to a mountain called sinai he moses could not take the children of of israel anywhere somewhat he couldn't take the children of israel somewhere he hadn't been before before moses would lead the children of god in their exodus from egypt he first had to have a personal exodus from egypt because when he killed the egyptian and we know the story he fled from from egypt but before he led them out he had already been there before way before he would lead the children of israel out of egypt he personally had to escape egypt himself years before he would take the children of israel to mount sinai moses visited that same mountain alone and this is where the burning bush took place the scripture calls it the mountain of god before he took israel there he had to go there himself before he took the children of israel to midian and taught them to how to be one with god he went to that place called midian and found a wife there and there he learned how to enter into a covenant with his wife and before he taught the children of israel in the land of midian he had to learn it for himself you want to know why moses had the confidence to keep leading the children of god when they were murmuring when they were complaining it's because he had already been to where they were going that he had already been everywhere they were going the cost of the calling is you are going to have to go through things when you feel lonely it's going to test you and that you're climbing that mountain alone and it's going to try you when things don't make sense you're learning how to serve god but that is where you make up your mind that you're going to pay the cost of your calling because once you get through it and once that mountain is behind you you are able to take people through the same thing that god brought you through you can't take someone anywhere you haven't been before but moses had full confidence and he had full anointing to lead people to a mountain because he had climbed that mountain before he he had full confidence to take them to a land where he would teach them this is how you serve god because he had been there before some of the things that we go through in life we don't need to to blame it on the devil and i know that some of those things happen we can blame some things on satan but god takes us through some things through some things so we can bring people right along with us because you can't take someone somewhere you haven't been before but when you are able to minister to someone and say honey i know that i know exactly where you are because i've climbed that same mountain and i want to bring you up that is true ministry because whatever you have been through in your life you can look back and you can see someone climbing that same mountain and you could say i've been right where you are i've been faithful when you're climbing the mountain and that is the true purpose of ministry because it cost you something you can't take someone where you have never been before it is a cost of a calling and when you begin to to think about it in that way when you begin to think of that's what ministry is you know this is so shallow of a minister right here this is so shallow of this is this is ministry but this is not all ministry if you're able to help someone paul couldn't preach to people until he had the revelation of jesus christ he couldn't preach about the revelation until he got it himself so whatever you have been through in whatever cross that you've had to bear you can help someone carry that same cost so then we look at it if you've been through anything you are a minister you are a ministry because you have paid the cost of your calling you can help someone get through matthew 24. we see here in the scriptures and when jesus was in bethany in the house of simon the leper there came unto him a woman having an el having an alabaster box a very precious place and poured it on his face and as when his disciples saw it they had ignition saying to what purpose is this waste for this ointment might have been sold for much and given to the poor the disciples were confused and borderline angry that this woman had wasted this thing this alabaster box they they looked at it as a waste of a sacrifice could this not have been given to the poor jesus you know this was expensive what this woman just poured on you and and the disciples were angry and confused but jesus looked at it as the cost of her calling when jesus understood at verse number 10 he said unto them why trouble ye the woman for she hath wrought a good work upon me for ye have the poor always with you but me ye have not always for in that she hath poured this ointment on my body and she did it for my burial verily i say unto you wheresoever the gospel shall be preached and listen to this wheresoever the gospel shall be preached in the whole world there shall also this that this woman hath done be told for a memorial of her what would be told of a memorial of her the cost that she was willing to pay jesus said disciples you guys don't get it this woman has done this it was her calling to do this for my burial and wherever the gospel the saving name of jesus christ the gospel message shall be preached there also shall this what this woman had done be told for a memorial of her this sacrifice of the woman the cost that she was willing to pay would be preached everywhere the gospel was to be preached what others looked at as a waste would still be talked about over 2 2000 years later because the gospel is still being preached the cost that she was willing to pay was to be a memorial for her the cost that she was willing to pay got her closer to jesus the cost that she was willing to pay got her closer to the savior and i don't know about you but it challenges me that what others look at as a waste it is a memorial jesus says that shall be told from generations to generation i can think about the sacrifice that people in this church has made and others looked at it as a waste but god looks it as it as a memorial of what you have done in a memorial of the cost that you were willing to pay just this afternoon i was thinking about story after story of of people who have sacrificed in in this church and i got to thinking about james stevens i got to thinking about the time that he was a he was an air traffic controller uh at uh tyson mcgee tyson and and pastor had a vision of of a gymnasium that he wanted to build and so james stevens took it upon himself to to have early retirement to come work and build the gymnasium for apostolic christian academy i can't think of a better a more of a cost than a man to retire from his career to come and work on a gym that a bunch of students at apostolic christian academy would would play in and then i got to thinking about his his his grandchildren that would play on the sports teams here at the academy and that they got to enjoy what the previous generation sacrificed for and it's a memorial for james stevens it's a memorial of the cost that he paid and i just asked my generation that what will we be told of years and years from now what we'll be told of that we did and the cost that we paid because i don't want to be a nameless uh young rich young ruler when it comes to it but i want to be someone that paid the cost of what god wants to do in this place i want it to be a memorial for my generation that we were willing to sacrifice because we knew that we had a calling of god in our life while others ridiculed and why others made fun of the costs we were willing to pay jesus says it's going to be a memorial every time the gospel is preached they may enjoy the sacrifice that you made amen i could think about the the sacrifice that went into these pews i can think about the sacrifice that went to when we had to order the carpet and and and you know my generation we came in on the the the high end of it we came on the very end of it when we started working jobs and were able to give and i i'm thankful for that but i can't just help but that that when you begin to you begin to sacrifice and you begin to to pay the cost of the calling of god on this church and you begin to pay the cost of the brick on the outside and and to see your children and your grandchildren walk through the very doorways that you pay people paid for isn't the cost worth it it was it was a field that cost us everything but when you realize that there is a treasure when you realize that there is a treasure in that field the cost was so worth it what about the carpet that you you great people we took up an offering for the carpet in this building it would be the very carpet that your grandchildren would kneel down at and receive the gift of the holy ghost was the cost worth it it was worth it because it's going to be told as a memorial for what you great people have done the cost did you consider the cost jesus asked quite possibly that we don't have the miracles and the miracle signs and wonders take place like the previous generation did was because we aren't paying the cost of what it takes convenience has just crept its way in and convenience has has branded my generation to win sacrifice just doesn't make do i have to do that do i have to pay that cost it's really not that big of a deal and now i know why that god doesn't move like the previous generation and i i realize now why the miracles are not being poured out like previous generations it was poured out on them it's because the cost is not being paid you know mantles were not meant to take to the grave mantles were not meant to take to the grave it would be saul that was looking for the voice of god and this is after the spirit of god had departed from him and the man of god samuel had had passed on he was dead and saul don't understand it i don't even know how this really works but saul gets the bright idea to to get a hold of a witch the bible calls it a medium and could talk to the people who were dead but there was a problem when saul had convictions and saul was right with god we could say he was right with god he expelled all those people all those people all those witches all those mediums he expelled them from the land when he was right with god he expelled all those kinds of people when he was paying the cost of his calling but he had to compromise to try to hear a word from the lord when you lose sight of the cost and when you don't pay the cost you begin to compromise because it doesn't make sense you begin to focus on what it's cost you and not the treasure in the field when you begin to to look at the cost and you say i don't think it's worth it that's when you begin to compromise so he journeyed down to a city called endor and saul disguised himself and and he he went to this witch and he said i need you to do me a favor i i don't know if it cost him something or if he had to pay money but he disguised himself because of course she would knew she would know who king saul was and and she he said i need you to do me a favor i need you to call the old man who's in the grave his name is samuel so she did and as she began to to do whatever she did to call someone up from the grave and and and she begins to see it and saul ask her in first samuel 28 14 what form is he of and she said an old man cometh up and he is covered with a mantle and saul perceived that it was samuel and he stopped with his he stooped with his face to the ground and bowed himself how did saul know that it was samuel it's because he still had his mantle mantles are not meant to take to the grave they're not meant to be buried but they're meant to be transferred to the next generation but samuel would not give his mantle to a generation that would not pay the cost of the calling of god on their life the older generation gave their life for this message the trendsetters here tonight gave everything they had to build this beautiful church they gave everything they had to win the lost they gave everything they they had to build this church that we worship in tonight and we are fools young people to think that they are going to give their mantle to a generation that will not pay the same cost that they paid we would be absolute fools to believe that they're going to give us something because they gave it all for this message they believed in the gift of the holy ghost when it wasn't popular they were ridiculed they were mocked and it will be a memorial told of them but we are absolute crazy to believe that we'll have the same results that they had if we're not willing to pay the cost they won't give it to a generation that gives them to their flesh they aren't going to give their mantle to a generation that wants revival but won't pick up a bible study chart they won't give it to a generation that wants the miraculous but is not willing to pay the cost that it takes for the miraculous to take place but they want to transfer their mantles and their anointing to a generation that will pay the cost a generation that is sold out a generation that is buying the truth and is not going to sell it a generation that will give its life for this message the generation that's going to pay the cost and i know i'm preaching to to young people mostly tonight i'm preaching to anyone who has a call of god on their life but to a great calling there is a great cost to really do what god wants to do in our lives is going to cost us something it's going to cost us everything luke 4 27 one of the opening scriptures and whosoever doth not bear his cross and come after me he cannot be my disciple for which of you intending to build a tower sitteth not down first and counteth the cost where whether he has sufficient to finish it it's going to cost us something to be a disciple the multitude it's a popular place to be in a multitude but it's a costly place to be a disciple because salvation is free salvation is absolutely free but the closer that you get to jesus the more it's going to cost you the closer that you get to jesus the more it's god i feel it right now the more it's going to cost you you want to be in the multitude that's fine a multitude i'm sure some of them probably were saved and and it's all salvation the multitude will make it but if you want to be called of god you want to be used of god it's going to cost you something it's going to cost you time when it doesn't make sense it's going to cost you when you're tired before you go to work and you just get on your knees and you begin to pay the cost of what god wants to do in your life it's going to cost you something it's going to cost you something to be a disciple did you count the cost of your calling satan is is after our time he's after our time he wants to keep us busy with things that do not matter he wants to keep us with keep us busy with earthly treasures and earthly desires and if you don't believe me then then let me just read a couple things to you that can that were created to occupy our time social media let's read all the social media sites how about we there's facebook whatsapp messengers wechat instagram twitter qq tumblr pinterest q zone tick tock reddit viber snapchat line telegram medium youtube you think he's after our time you think he's after our time let's go to the news channels if you're not on social media and like watch the news let's go to all the news channels abc nbc cnbc abc bloomberg television c-span newsmax cnn fox fox news spectrum news cbs news local news national news and world news he's after our time sports nfl mlb nhl nba mls premier league at wnba canadian football league australian football league pga nascar formula one ncaa xfl and fifa you think he's after our time what about board games if i haven't hit you yet hopefully i hit you with some board games there's katan monopoly chess scrabble pandemic well we all should be good at that risk candy lane go pictionary connect four war jenga yahtzee battleship sorry cranium and my personal favorite apples to apples you think he's after our time you think how many things have been created to occupy our time what about gaming consoles playstation playstation 2 3 4 xbox xbox 360 xbox 360 s xbox one wii psp and if that wasn't enough that you just couldn't play it at home they made portable games in my day it was called the game boy that was my favorite game board ds psp and all the apps that come on your phone you not think he's after our time do you not think he's trying to occupy us all right what about hobbies if i hadn't hit you yet this duck and i might miss you but there's knitting there's writing there's photography gardening sewing drawing exercise hiking painting scrapbooking crochet cooking sports uh card games woodworking pottery camping cycling shopping puzzles hunting stamp collecting that's kind of weird uh cross if you use if you collect stamps i'm so sorry that's like sister erickson if you collect stamps i am so sorry you look like a stamp club oh yeah you don't okay all right she is not a stamp collector false alarm all right and cross stitch i just dug myself in a hole there hobbies he's after our time he's after our time now i'm not obviously preaching of all all those stuff those have you know those have as long as we have our priorities correct those are all well and good in our lives i'm not preaching about all those stuff but now it makes sense why the older generation that was ridiculed and the older generation that was made fun of preached about a lot of those stuff they preached against a lot of those things why not because necessarily it was sin but it occupied your time which would bring you further and further away from god because there is a cost to getting closer to god all those things are after our time they're after our minds to be occupied with when we're supposed to be thinking on heavenly things but we can't hear god because we have these headphones in that we're listening to things that they're things that they're things all by knowing that god is saying hey i'm right here are you not paying the cost of being my disciple and again again i'm involved with a lot of those things but if those things take the place of god in my life then it becomes sin because the closer you get to god the closer that you get to the calling of god in your life it's going gonna cost you something it's saul's inauguration day it is the the time the the biggest day in saul's life to this point it's the time where they would take the crown and they would place it upon his head and i don't know the rituals of his inauguration day when they would proclaim him to be king but it was his day it was his day to step into a position that every single person there that day i'm sure would love to have that crown on on their head but it was saul saul was the bible says that he was head and shoulders above everyone else he was the person that they could look up to and he was so popular that the people chose him to be king he was he had influence he had all the potential in the world because he was the best at everything he was a man of war and he was so skilled he was probably good looking and they were saying this is our king this is someone we want to lead to be our king we want him to lead us to to war we want him to lead us to prosperity because he if anyone can he can do it so god allowed it to happen and it's his big day the band is playing they're all dressed up because the king is about to come forth and be crowned and sit on his throne so the festivities start and and i'm sure the people were all excited then begin to notice something's a little wrong i can see maybe the planners of that day begin to become frantic and they begin to run around they they they tell the people hey we're just going to delay this for a moment we're going to just put things on hold band you're going to play the same song over and over and over again sometimes like we do at offering time you know we play it over and over again just to try to delay it a little bit because there's a problem we can't find the future king we can't find them and and so they begin to to frantically run around and and then they got desperate i guess because they inquired from the lord where is their future king in first samuel 10 and 22 it says they inquired therefore they inquired of the lord further if the man should yet come thither and the lord answered behold he hath hid himself among the stuff the stuff that the people brought that day he was hid among the stuff young people or anyone who's called of god in this place you have so much potential you're we have the best looking young people and i know that to be true we have the best looking young people that we that there is uh they have so much potential everything that our young people set their minds to they're good at they're they're head and shoulders above everyone else as far as respect they're respected in the community they are they are admired people look to them to maybe if i could just get in the fac youth group i could be cool they the people have proclaimed our youth to be the greatest they're admired but how many i think we can ask ourselves this question how many ministries are hidden among the things i've named just a minute ago how much anointing is hidden among netflix and how much anointing and how many times has god tried to speak to us but we're too busy to listen to him how many times is god giving us a a word from the lord and and we have our air pods so loud that we can't hear the voice of god and i know that's not popular i know this is not we're just going to jump up and down and celebrate this but it's the truth because the cost is not popular the cost it's going to be tough to pay the cost because when your day comes when my day comes it's time to put the crown on our head when it comes to our ministry when that day comes that we have we have the greatest potential when we have we're head and shoulders of everyone else that where the people's pick and they begin to look around and maybe god is saying all right nolan it's your time it's your day this is time where the anointing is gonna run from your head to your toes this is the time where they're gonna put the crown it's going to feel so good buddy you've worked for this you know you you've paid a little bit of cost and it's your time all while not only where are you buddy it's your time dude it's young people it's your time it's your time to be great it's your time to step into your calling but all while this same scripture of saul was hiding among the stuff we're so occupied with netflix and hulu we're so occupied with the olympics for the last three weeks we're so occupied with those oh i think god is saying where you at you're supposed to be paying the cost you're supposed to be paying the cost of the field that you buy that there's a treasure in but you're so occupied with things of this world and earthly stuff that we forget that there is a cost to pay there is a cost to pay when my day comes i don't want to be hid among the stuff because the closer you get to god the more it's going to cost you the closer that you get to god the more it's going to cost you if you'd be so kind to stand with me and this this might be an an unusual altar call but previous generations had what they called consecration consecration services it's where they gave something up for a period of time they would they would give up i don't know and they would give up whatever would be taking a little bit of their time it wouldn't be for good but it wouldn't be for a season and i was in one of these consecration services a few weeks ago in florida and it was so powerful to watch young people give up something for a period of time but to consecrate means to anoint consecration means to anoint to set aside and i just believe tonight that there are so many people here that you're wanting to get closer to jesus but it's going to cost you something if it's a calling that you have in your life that you want to step into it's going to cost you something it's going to cost you something and so i wonder tonight this is again going to be an unusual altar call but i wonder to the call of god would we be willing to lay aside something in the next little bit i know we're pushing back the plate on wednesday for god to move at our conference but i wonder in your own personal life if if you can take a a if you can take an expectation of what's going on in your life and the stuff that your ministry could be hidden and the stuff that you're anointed can be found in i wonder if god would honor that by us pushing that to the side especially in the start of this new school year because i don't want my ministry to be hid among the earthly things of this world i don't want my anointing to be hid among the stuff because when it's my day and it's my time to have the crown on my head i don't want to have myself hid among the things of this world the things that are not going to matter the things that are trivial and the things that are earthly i don't want my ministry to be hid among the stuff with every head would be bowed and every eye would be closed if you just want to to get closer to god and you recognize the cost that it's going to cost you it's going to be it's going to be expensive but the more that you're willing to pay and the more that you're willing to lay down the closer that you get to jesus the closer that you get to that ministry if you've had gods you know i'm not just preaching to young people if there's an elderly person that you feel that god has a calling on your life and you just wonder tonight what can i lay down to get closer to god could i lay down some hobbies could i lay down some things that occupy my time and i promise you young people and great people of this church if we begin to lay things aside it's not necessarily sin but it can release some time for us to spend in the presence of god and we begin to remove the stuff in our life then we begin to hear the voice of god clearer and we begin to move the earthly things in our life then we start to hear the voice of god i wonder tonight would someone come to this altar that you say god i made up my mind i'm going to pay the cost of my calling i'm going to pay the cost of what it takes for god to do something great it's not going to be popular you might be ridiculed by your friends you might be ridiculed by so-called spiritual people like the woman with the alabaster box but when you recognize that god is going to make it a memorial of what you have done then you realize the cost that you've paid was so worth it because there's a cost to your calling there is a cost to what god wants to do i wonder if there's a couple here tonight that you know god has called you for something great you know that god has a calling on your life you know that god wants to speak to you i wonder in the next season i don't know a day a week a month i don't know that's between you and god but could you lay something aside god could you lay something aside for god to speak because he wants to speak to you tonight he wants to speak to you because all the stuff is removed all the things have been removed come on there are great men and women of god and this young this young youth group tonight but they're hidden among the stuff so can we remove the stuff can we push everything out of the way and pay the cost of a calling it's going to cost you something i don't want to be like the rich young ruler had all the potential in the world to be a disciple of jesus christ but his stuff on this earth was too much for him to pay the stuff that he had at home was too much he wasn't willing to give anything up to be a disciple of jesus christ come on care group leaders i know pastor erickson preached so beautifully to you this morning but having a care group is going to cost you something it's going to cost you everything it's going to cost you time it's going to cost you some finances it's going to cost it's going to hurt but when you realize that there's a treasure in that field that you bought that there's a treasure in your care group there's a treasure in the people that's sitting before you then the cost is not that much when you realize that you get to preach to people of things that you've been through yeah i went through losing a child i climbed that mountain i climbed it along and i want to help you get through it then you realize that the cost is not all that much because you have a treasure in that field come on let's consecrate something to god tonight let's consecrate it to god we can just set the the things of this world the stuff we can send it to the side to hear the voice of god young people it would be a good idea to give something up in the start of this school year and i promise you if you would give something up for a season then god will begin to speak to you this school year i promise you i promise you if you pay the cost of what it takes if you pay the cost there's no telling the miracles that god wants to show you there's no telling the things that god wants to do in your life the decision that you make tonight could be spoke about and preached about from generations from now but it's going to cost you something it's gonna cost you something if it's a little bit of time in the morning before we go about our busy days if if it's just setting maybe it's just taking 15 minutes before everybody wakes up and we begin to get on our knees and pray and ask god to help us ask god to lead us to hungry people if it would cost us 20 minutes of sleep when it when we look at the treasure that we bought in the field it's so worth it consecration consecration giving something up for god giving sight for the holy ghost he's moving in a mighty way right now it's a sweet subtle way right now he is moving god i don't want anything i don't want my ministry to be hit among stuff god's so earthly minded that i'm no heavenly good god i don't want anything in my life to be in the way of what you want to do god i give myself away to you tonight i give myself to you come on come on young man of god you can't see it because there's so much stuff in your life god wants to make a mighty man of god out of you but it's hidden among the stuff it's hidden among the things of this world it's hidden among that that thing that takes your time no it's not sin but it sure is going to keep the calling of god from your life because it's hid amongst the stuff come on let's consecrate it to god how much anointing how much how how many ministries are hidden among the stuff tonight how much is it gonna cost you for what god wants to do in your life jesus i give myself away i give myself away so you can use me i give myself away i give myself away so you can use me i give myself away i give myself away so you can use i give myself here i am is well now that we've consecrated some things to god can we all lift our hands in this place this bridge let's lift our hands unless is is come on one more time come on let's just consecrate something to god i feel the sweet moving presence of the holy ghost to this house if you only knew young person what god wants to do in your life if you only knew middle-aged person what god wants to do in your life he's got great plans for you you wonder why you've been through what you have been through in your life you wonder why god is showing you tonight that if you pay the cost you're going to take someone through that same valley and that same mountain that you climbed that same valley low that you went through where you questioned god why would you take me here god why would you lead me through this when you realize that is your ministry to take someone through that same valley that you went through then the cost was so worth it young person middle age trendsetter tonight god wants to do something in your life but it's going to cost us fac as a whole it's going to cost us something it cost us everything to get here into what god truly wants to do in this place and through you great people it's going to cost us something it's going to cost us something come on one more time i'm so sorry to keep prolonging this i just feel the holy ghost to this place god i love you tonight i don't want any aspect in any area of my life to be off limits to you because my ministry might be hidden among that stuff the area of my life that i walk off to you you can have anything else but this certain thing i don't want anything in my life that i'm hiding from you because when my day comes it's time for them to place the crown on my head i'm going to be hidden among the stuff in jesus name in jesus name can we all clap our hands in this place thank you lord thank you lord amen and amen thank you so much for listening to me and i pray that god spoke to you tonight