Killing Your Inner Coward

Speaker 1: 0:00

Now I have a question for you that you might be reluctant to answer. You might not want to, you may not want to answer it, and I understand why. But here it is, okay. I'm going to ask have you ever, at any point in your life, ever felt like a coward? Yeah, okay, we've got some honest people in here today. Other people are like no, I'm hard all the time, I'm good, I've never been scared, so that's okay. I got a story that might make you feel a little bit better if you felt like you've never been afraid. There was this time.

Speaker 1: 0:36

One time, when I was living in Virginia Beach, I went on a police ride-along with my friend who was a Virginia Beach police officer. Okay, now, it was pretty cool because the part of Virginia Beach that he was assigned to was the good part of town, so it wasn't a lot of trouble going on. It was nice. It was really an opportunity for me to hang out with them. He was getting married and I was officiating his wedding, and so it was a good time for us to hang out, so it was cool. I got to meet him at the police station. I went inside. I got to grab the weapons from the cabinet that they use, put it in his patrol car. And I got to ride shotgun in the patrol car and I'm not going to lie, when you're riding shotgun in the police car you're feeling kind of like, yeah, better watch out, I'm here, you know. So it was a pretty cool experience. So here you go.

Speaker 1: 1:27

At first, like I said, not a high crime area in Virginia Beach we did a couple of tickets, a couple speeding tickets. We assisted an offender, bender, at one point, nothing too crazy, until we were driving down Virginia Beach Boulevard, which is a lot like Hull Street for us. We're driving down the boulevard and all of a sudden his radio starts going nuts, pursuit, pursuit, all vehicles, pursuit. And then Seth, my friend Seth, his car, where we were, was the closest to the car that they were chasing. And so Seth looked at me and says it's on, it's game time. I'm like, okay, all right. So he hits the lights, hit the sirens, he does a sharp U-turn. We're speeding down, the cars are getting out of the way, it's awesome. Then we see the car that was called in and this car is speeding. It's going in and out of lanes, going kind of crazy. Then all of a sudden that car turns into a parking lot, stops right in the middle of the parking lot. Seth drives up by it. A couple other police cars comes, we park. Seth looks at me and says, jacob, get out of the car. And I'm like me. He's like yeah, man, get out of the car, get out of the car. I'm like, okay, so I get out of the car.

Speaker 1: 2:37

All the police officers come out of these different vehicles. They got their hand on their holsters and I'm like this finna, go down right now. And so I'm like, ok, I'm watching. And then the guy in the car starts going nuts. He's moving around and then every police officer is like show me your hands, show your hands. They pull out their guns. And I'm like, oh my gosh, I'm going to get shot today. Because what I realize is all these police officers have bulletproof vests on. I'm wearing my Harry Potter shirt and Dumbledore didn't put no protection spell on me. So you want to know what I did.

Speaker 1: 3:15

I sat back in that police cruiser. I peeked my head out. I sat in there. They go up to the car. My friend Seth goes to the driver's side. Other police officer goes to the passenger side. Seth goes in there, yanks the guy out, cuffs him. I get out of the car.

Speaker 1: 3:28

I said, hey, we did good, guys, we did good, get this guy out, get this guy out. But I was scared. I was scared. I'm not going to lie, he didn't have a weapon, he was just trying to hide some stuff, but I was pretty scared in that moment. I have to admit, I felt a little bit like a coward in that moment.

Speaker 1: 3:48

But what tends to happen as warriors? We are good at putting on a game face, aren't we? We're good at putting up a front. We love to let everyone know yeah, I'm strong, I'm confident, I'm brave. And while we can be the best at putting up a front, inside, often inside, our insecurities privately scream louder than our faith. Our fears get the best of us, and that's why today, as we continue our series Warrior, I want to look at a warrior that I think a lot of us can relate to.

Speaker 1: 4:23

He's what I would call the hesitant warrior and just to give a little context, he was one of the Israelites, and the Israelites are very afraid of an evil and oppressive group, the Midianites, who for seven years ravaged Israel. They burned their lands, burned their homes, killed their families, and so God calls a man named Gideon to action. And Gideon and his people are very afraid. They're scared for their lives. And I can relate to Gideon when you read the story. I can relate to him because there's parts of him that were that was very, very courageous. He was ready to step up, ready to do it, ready to go for the charge. But then there's other times when he cowered back, when he was afraid. There's times when he showed bravery and courage, and there's other times that all he wanted to do was retreat, and he was. And for him he was the only family member that worshiped the one true God of Israel. The others in his family have been duped by cultural influence and worshiped Baal, and you can imagine he was probably ridiculed and persecuted for standing up for what he believed in. So he was brave, but then at times he found himself constantly hiding from the bad guys because he didn't want to get caught and he didn't know how to defend his family. Here's the thing Gideon, at the same time, was full of courage and full of fear, and sometimes that's a conflict that we have.

Speaker 1: 5:50

Check this out, check this out in Judges 6. It says this Oprah was in the Bible when his son, Gideon, was threshing wheat in a wine press to keep from the Midianites. You're like what does that mean? Threshing wheat in the wine press? What it means was he was so scared of the Midianites he was trying to hide his harvest so they wouldn't steal it. They wouldn't steal it from him, he was afraid. So basically the picture when the angel of the Lord sees him, he's doing something cowardly, he's afraid, he wants to hide. But check this out what the angel says.

Speaker 1: 6:26

When the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, he said to him the Lord is with you, mighty warrior, mighty warrior. And I like to say to every man and woman in this place today the Lord is with you, mighty warrior, the Lord is with. Whether you feel it or not, whether your life circumstances communicate that truth or not, whether your insecurities or your fears or your doubts or your hopes communicate that. The Lord is with you and he calls you mighty warrior, calls you mighty warrior. And what's interesting to me is the moment the angel of the Lord says that to him. You have the heart of a warrior.

Speaker 1: 7:08

Immediately, gideon's insecurities rise to the top. Immediately, gideon's fear goes to the top and self-doubt starts to arise. And that's why I call him the hesitant warrior. And so, today, what we're going to learn, we're going to learn this how do we kill the inner coward in all of us, how do we kill that part of us that cowers back when God is calling us up?

Speaker 1: 7:34

Warriors, if you're anything like Gideon, you find yourself occasionally full of faith and oftentimes full of fear. And so, if you hesitate sometimes, I got three truths I want to give every hesitant warrior, and the first one is this Every warrior must fight their inner fear of failure. You have to fight your inner fear of every single one, because every time you go into battle, you may feel partially prepared and partially afraid, but every warrior must fight their inner fear of failure. Take the angel the Lord says to him, says to Gideon you have someone to protect, you have a kingdom to advance and you have a battle to win. You have a battle. I've prepared you, you're equipped, you're a mighty warrior. This is your kingdom assignment. Now Go do it.

Speaker 1: 8:30

But Lord Gideon replied but Lord, haven't we been there before? Like God, I know you want me to overcome this. Or God, I know you want me to challenge this. Or, god, I know you want me to wake up early and pray. Oh God, I know you want me to challenge this. Oh God, I know you want me to wake up early and pray. Oh God, I know you want me to love that person who is so unlovable. But, lord, I don't know if I can do it. I don't know. I don't know if I can do it. He says how can I rescue Israel? I love this. He says my clan is the weakest in the whole tribe of Manasseh, is the weakest in the whole tribe of Manasseh, and I am the least of my entire family. Talk about feeling insecure. He's like my family's the weakest and I'm team captain of the weakest. Why are you calling me for? The Lord says this to him though I've given you everything you need. And the Lord says to you today he's given you everything you need. Go in strength that you have. And Gideon replies but, lord, I'm not good enough.

Speaker 1: 9:28

Warriors, this is the very thing that often happens to us. You're, since God, leading you to do something, prompting you to do something. Maybe it'll be something like sharing your faith with a co-worker or a family member, but then, when you go into process, you're like well, what if they start asking questions I don't know the answer to. And then I actually end up causing more problems, like what if I'm afraid I can't do it? Maybe the Lord has been challenging you to maybe start a new business, or to start tithing, or start serving, or make a career change. Make a career change and you're like, but Lord, what if it doesn't work out? What if I do this? What if I step out but it doesn't work out? Maybe for your family it's doing family devotionals. You say, man, I want to take charge of the spiritual temperature of my family. And you're saying to yourself but what if my kids just run around? They don't pay attention the whole time, or if my teenage kids think this is lame?

Speaker 1: 10:17

I'm afraid, see, every warrior must face that inner fear of failure, and that's why we need to build each other up, that's why we need to encourage one another and that is why small groups are so important. That's why, obviously, we don't have groups this upcoming week, but I encourage you to get in one, because when you have things that you're trying to accomplish in your life, man, it's wonderful to have people around you that are here, that are there to protect, connect and help you grow. And help you grow, because we can't do it alone. So I asked you today, warriors, what are you afraid of? What fears of failure do you have?

Speaker 1: 10:53

I can tell you what I'm afraid of. If I can be transparent, I can tell you what I'm afraid of. I know it gets me. The thought of failing. That gets me Like man. I fear about. I fear that all the time. The thought of falling short, not giving my best, not providing for my family, dang, that one messes me up. Letting someone down, that one tears me up way too often. This one gets me a lot. Being a spiritual failure Like man. I see so many stories about pastors who fall and I say, man, god, I don't want that, but that's a fear that sometimes I have, that's a fear I have. So what are you afraid of? Because every warrior must fight that inner fear of failure.

Speaker 1: 11:32

And that's why point number two is so incredibly important. Because in Jesus come on, in Jesus, you have everything you need to fight and win Like. I want to say that one more time because every word of that statement is so important. In Jesus you have everything you need, not partially, not a little bit, not maybe, but you have everything you need to fight and be okay, fight and just make it out. Fight and get kicked in the head like that guy at the UFC fight last night. No, fight and win. And every word of that statement is so important because not on your own, you don't On your own, you don't have everything. On your own, you'll be in trouble all the time, but in Jesus you have what you need. Check this out.

Speaker 1: 12:23

And this is what the Lord says to Gideon. The Lord turned to him and said go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian's hands. Am I not sending you? He asked him a question. He says you can do it, because aren't I the one sending you? And if I'm the one sending you, you think I'm going to send you out there to do something that you're not going to succeed in? He said I'm the one sending you out there. See, warriors. I hope you'll understand that God has given you someone to protect, a kingdom, to advance a battle, to win, and you do have enough strength in Christ. You do have enough power in Christ, you do have enough faith in Christ, in him. You have everything that you need. You are strong and a mighty warrior in the power of God. And the good news is this this is the part I love right here the weapons you and I fight with. The weapons we have, man, they're not weapons of the world, they're not the same weapons that the world has. Your spiritual weapons have divine power to pull down strongholds.

Speaker 1: 13:28

The Apostle Paul tells us this you have what you have the helmet of salvation. You want to know what that means. The helmet of salvation, that means when those anxious thoughts try to try to pollute your mind, man, you can set your mind on things above. I got the helmet of salvation. You have the breastplate of righteousness. It's not your righteousness, but it's the righteousness of Christ. You have the shield of faith, which is to quench out the fiery darts of the evil one I used to be like. What does that mean? You get to fight in darts. You want to know what that means. It's those little jabs, those little thoughts, those little things we tell ourselves that you can, you won't and you'll always be those little things that get us, those little things that tear us down, those little things, and we can fight those things. We don't have to submit to them. You have the sword of the Spirit, which is the living word of God, sharper than any double-edged sword. You have the belt of truth. That's some Batman stuff. Take out that shark repellent. You know. You have the shoes prepared with the gospel of peace and you can pray in the spirit on all occasions. This is going boldly before the throne of grace and God, check this out. God will hear your prayers, give you grace and mercy in your time of need. That's the truth Warriors. The Lord is with you, mighty warriors.

Speaker 1: 14:47

The problem is, though, so often we hesitate, we cower, we feel afraid and in the process, we fix our eyes on the mountains in our lives and we take our eyes off the mountain mover. And friends, may we be good at looking at the mountain mover, because the mountain man, that mountain, I'm going to be real with you guys. The mountain, it is scary. There's things that have happened to us, things that have happened to you. Your fear isn't just random. It's not because you just, oh, I'm just scared, just because no life happened. Things happened, people hurt us, problems didn't go the way we want. The problems went in ways that we didn't think they were going to go. Things happen in our lives and they jade us and they hurt us, and we fall back and we are afraid. And I'm going to tell you this the more you look at your mountain, the more your mountain seems like you can't climb it. But the more you look at your mountain mover, that mountain has to go from here to there.

Speaker 1: 15:55

Come on, am I preaching to anyone today? Because I'm feeling a little fiery. It's probably because I didn't get a lot of sleep last night, but I'm feeling fiery today. I'm feeling fiery today because there's people in here. You've been dealing with the same problem year after year, year after year. Same this, same that. And God wants to bring freedom to your life. He's ready to bring hope to your life, to get in this thing. Okay, because you have a battle to win. You have a fight to go after. We see this happening with Gideon. God is saying Gideon, go fight.

Speaker 1: 16:29

And what happened to Gideon was this His brother, his brother, was murdered by the Midianites, his family ravaged by the Midianites. He was afraid and he had justification to his failure and to being afraid. There's reasons why, and so do us, but check this out. God says to him you have to engage in the battle. You have to engage in the battle Even if you're afraid. I need you to engage in the battle. I need you to not give up. God says you have what it takes.

Speaker 1: 16:54

And Gideon's looking at his army and saying God, I only got 32,000 men. I don't feel like I'm strong enough, I don't feel like that can take the Midianites. But then God did something crazy. God just doing his God things, just doing stuff that we'd be like, god, what you doing. God says right, right, right, right, gideon, you're right, you're right. 32,000, yeah, 32,000. Gideon, that's actually too many people. And Gideon's like what do you mean too many people? God's like yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, you got too many people. And the reason why you got too many people? Because if, with that 32,000 people, if you go and defeat the Midianites, the Israelites are going to think they overcame your enemy because of their own strength and not because I sent you Check this out. God says, as the Lord said to Gideon, you have too many warriors with you. If you let, if you let all, all you fight the Midianites, the Israelites will boast to me that they saved themselves by their own strength.

Speaker 1: 18:00

God says to Gideon tell every warrior who's afraid that may look strong on the outside but they're afraid on the inside. Tell them to go home. So Gideon imagine Gideon. He's like hey guys, ok, we're going to hit the Midianites pretty soon, but for real, if you're kind of afraid, you can. You can go ahead and go home. You can go home.

Speaker 1: 18:24

And then people start leaving. And Gideon's like whoa, whoa, whoa, jimmy, where are you going? We needed your arms, dude. He's like no man. And Gideon's like, oh, no, this ain't good.

Speaker 1: 18:37

Then, after the first round, they're left with only 10,000 warriors, 22,000 leave and go home. And Gideon's thinking man, I definitely don't got enough. Now he's like I, definitely. And then he's like God, what's going on? I don't got enough. And then God says yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, uh-huh, yeah, you still got too many. And Gideon's like God, remember, I'm the weakest, I'm the weakest. And God's like yeah, yeah, yeah, tell them to go drink some water and based on the way they drink water, I'll know who's on your team. And Gideon's like what does water got to do with anything? What are you talking about, god? And so Gideon's like all right, guys, just you know we're doing some training real fast.

Speaker 1: 19:21

So everyone grab a sip of water real quick, go to the bank, grab some water. And then they grab the water. And here you go, the guys who just jumped into the water and drank it were the ones that God wanted to send home, but the ones who got by the water, picked it up, cupped it, sipped it. Those are the ones that God wanted to send home, but the ones who got by the water, picked it up, cupped it, sipped it. Those are the ones that God wanted to keep. And now, after that drinking experiment went on, gideon was left with 300 men, and I got to say something to this, though. I got to say something to this Because it's often taught that God wanted the ones who were vigilant, looking for the Midianites.

Speaker 1: 19:59

Those were the 300. Now, this ain't Gerard Butler, this ain't that, this ain't Spartan, this ain't that. I actually think the ones that God wanted were the ones who were looking around because they were sipping. Are the Midianites over there? They ain't over there, right? I think God actually wanted 300 cowards to win this battle and check this out. What happens? And then this is what I want to say to all of us here. This is what Gideon had to learn, and what we have to learn too.

Speaker 1: 20:31

With God, the way forward often starts with a step backwards. With God, the way forward often starts with a step backwards. With God, the way forward often starts with a step backwards. What do you mean, jacob? What do you mean by that? See, sometimes, warriors, in order to win the war, you have to be willing to lose the first battle. You'll see this all the time. You'll make a plan. You're excited, you declare this is my year, this is my time, only to get knocked backwards almost immediately.

Speaker 1: 21:06

Some of you might have said this year, we're going to get out of debt. This year, this is the year. And right after you make that declaration, your car breaks down, roof needs to be replaced, kids got on your Amazon account. You're like, what happened? Took a step forward, three back, maybe for you. You said I'm going to invest in my marriage this year. We're going to be emotionally strong, healthy, romantic. We're doing it, we're going. We're going to go to counseling. We're going to seek accountability. We're going to be emotionally strong, healthy, romantic. We're doing it, we're going. We're going to go to counseling. We're going to seek accountability. We're going to go. And you've had some of your biggest marriage fights ever. You may have said man, I'm going to lose weight this year. This is my time. I'm going to do it. I'm going to exercise every day. It's the end of June and you've been for two walks. What you're going to find is oftentimes the way forward starts with what looks like a step backwards and in a lot of ways, this has been the story of LVC. It's been a story of our church, aaron and I.

Speaker 1: 22:13

We moved up here in 2019 with a small team of people from Virginia Beach. We were able to gather a team of 55 people. We launched with 260 people at our opening service and we did six more services until what COVID happened. Covid happened, closed everything online for over a year and a half and when we reopened, we had a much smaller team, less people attending and to be reopened, we had a much smaller team, less people attending and, to be honest with you guys, if I can be honest with you, there were moments in the beginning that I was like, man, this won't last. This isn't going to last. I even had a pastor offer me a job to take a senior pastor job in St Louis, and his pitch to me was this His pitch was your church won't grow. Covid messed up church plants in 2020. Throw in the towel now before you feel too embarrassed.

Speaker 1: 23:06

But here's the thing Aaron and I knew Aaron and I knew that God called us to Midlothian, virginia. Aaron and I knew this is where we were supposed to be and we were supposed to help everyday people learn how to become Jesus followers. And we went to focus on the flashy side of production and there's nothing wrong with that kind of stuff but that wasn't going to be our focus. We were committed to helping everyday people in their daily lives experience Jesus. To have people come to church and not feel pressure to immediately get on a serve team or immediately start serving, but to be with Jesus and friends. I just got to be honest with you guys.

Speaker 1: 23:42

My training was the opposite of all of that. I trained in from a large church. I got a degree in evangelism Like that. All I knew was how to get more people and bring them in. I had a youth ministry. At one point, our youth ministry was almost 400 young people coming in. I was how to get more people and bring them in. I had a youth ministry. At one point, our youth ministry was almost 400 young people coming in. I was used to it. That's what I knew.

Speaker 1: 24:02

But then I had to take a step back and ask myself am I trying to build a church that Jacob wants to build or am I trying to build a church that Jesus wants to build? And when I took a step back and I started to see the fruit the fruit from the people coming in and hearing stories about lives being literally changed, healing's happening, people's lives, families, directions, things happening but there was a again. There was a part of me. I was like is this, is this what I'm supposed to be doing? Because, because God, I don't know. For example, last summer I did. I said, no, I'm gonna find my guys, I'm to do a men's summer small group. Four weeks in a row, nobody showed up. I was like, dang, I can't even get the men to show up to a group. Like what's wrong.

Speaker 1: 24:48

But God started to show me very clearly be faithful and obedient to the church I want you to pastor, not the church you think you're supposed to pastor. Craig Rochelle said this. He said be careful, don't blame yourself for the declines, because if you blame yourself for the declines, one day you might take credit for the increases. Here's what had to happen. God had to do something in me that felt like a step backwards, so that I could see what God was doing forward so I could see where God was moving. I had to be stripped of everything that appeared to be self-confidence so I could recognize that it's only in Christ is what I need. And some of you may be there right now.

Speaker 1: 25:29

Some of you might be in this moment where you say I got to take a step back and, god, I got to depend on you because my strategic planning won't work, my trying to take control of the circumstance and of that person and of that thing, it ain't working. I got to take a step back, god, I got to take a step back. And if you're saying something crazy for me to do, god, I got to do it. And this is what Gideon has. Gideon is like I don't understand how I had 32,000 men, now I got 300 and I don't got abs. And Gideon, he made fleeces and bargains with God and essentially God said here's your battle plan. Take your 300 warriors, go out with, go out there with some trumpets and some jars and I want you to blow your horn. Gideon's like you want me to blow some horns. That's the battle plan, god, that's the plan you have in mind. And God's like yeah, yeah, do it. Doesn't it sound great? And Gideon's like no, it don't sound great at all, but here you go.

Speaker 1: 26:35

Some commentaries say the Midianite army was more numerous than the grains of sand on the seashore Poetic language for it. There was a lot. There was a lot of enemies. There was a lot of enemies. Do you ever feel like there's a lot of enemies in your life? Do you ever feel that way? And here comes Gideon with an army of 300 people, with some trumpets and some jars of jelly. It didn't make sense.

Speaker 1: 27:01

But check this out. I'm going to read this in Judges 7. This is not going to be on your screen because this morning the Lord kind of put this on my heart to read it out to you guys. It says in Judges 7, 16, gideon, dividing the 300 men into three companies, he placed trumpets and empty jars in the hands of all of them, with torches inside. Watch me. He told them, follow my lead. I love this. He's like, hey, I'm kind of scared, but watch me anyways. When I get to the edge of the camp, do exactly as I do when I and all who are with me blow our trumpets.

Speaker 1: 27:35

Then, from all around the camp, blow your trumpets and shout for the Lord and for Gideon, and Gideon and the hundred men reached the edge of the camp at the beginning check this part at the beginning of the middle watch, at the beginning of the middle watch, just after they changed the guard. The middle watch, the middle watch. That's the latest part in the night. That's the latest part. So, the Midianites, what are the Midianites doing? Sleep, they're sleeping. They're tucked up with their little teddy bears. They're sleeping. God's plan of attack was to attack the enemy. When the enemy was off guard, when the enemy was not ready check this out they blew their trumpets and they broke their jars that were in their hands. The three companies blew the trumpets and smashed the jars, grasping the torches in their left hands and holding it in their right hands, the trumpets that they were to blow. They shouted a sword for the Lord and for Gideon.

Speaker 1: 28:36

And imagine if you're the Midianites asleep in the middle of the night and, all of a sudden, 300 horns start blowing and you start hearing crashes on the floor and fire everywhere You're going to be. The other night, the other night, I was sleeping in my bed, comfortably. I was in a deep sleep. According to my app, I was in a deep sleep and then, all of a sudden, while I'm in a deep sleep, I can sense something over top of me and then I wake up and it's my daughter and I say ah. And then she said ah. And then Erin's screaming, she's crying. I'm like girl, you got to tap my foot or something. This can't be coming up in here on me. I watched too many movies. They blew the horns, they threw the jars and check this out.

Speaker 1: 29:23

While each man held his position. Will you hold your position? Will you hold your position for your family? Would you hold your position for the calling that God has placed on your life, or would you coward and run away when things get a little hard? They held their position. When they held their position around the camp, all the Midianites ran crying as they fled. When 300 trumpets sounded, the Lord caused the men throughout the camp to turn on each other with their swords. Gideon and the 300 defeated the Midianites on that day. But I want you to see something they never threw one blow. They never threw one blow. They never drew out one sword. They never had to fight. The Midianites, being so afraid and disillusioned, killed each other.

Speaker 1: 30:21

And this leads me to ask this question for every warrior in here today. Do you have the courage to obey God even when it doesn't make sense, and do you have the faith to know that God will fight for you? We have to attack the enemy when he's not expecting you to attack. The enemy's not expecting you to forgive that person, forgive them. The enemy's only expecting you to overreact to that thing. Practice the art of the over-under reaction. The enemy's not expecting you to wake up early and pray. The enemy's expecting you to complain about people, not get on your knees and pray for them. The enemy's expecting you to watch TV instead of spending intentional time with your spouse. See, choose joy even when you don't want to.

Speaker 1: 31:13

Was Gideon afraid? Heck, yeah, did he listen? Heck, yeah, did he listen? Heck, yeah. And I'll close you with this one verse. The Apostle Paul says this therefore, put on the full armor of God so that when the day of evil comes it's coming that you may be able to stand your ground. After you have done everything, you stand, you keep standing. Warriors, warriors. Hold your position. Hold your position. Do what the Lord has called you to do.

Speaker 1: 31:59

Father Jesus, Holy Spirit, we thank you for your love, we thank you for your goodness, we thank you for your favor, lord, come Holy Spirit, come Holy Spirit, come Holy Spirit. It's for the Holy Spirit very clearly in this room, just loving on people, just loving on people. So come Holy Spirit, pour your love out on us. I really feel like the Holy Spirit is tagging on that spot.

Speaker 1: 32:43

When I said there's a reason why you're afraid of something, it's not just because, not because you're just choosing to be afraid. Stuff happened, life happened, and I specifically feel the Holy Spirit loving on you in that thing. Whatever that thing is for you, from a major thing to a minor thing, the Holy Spirit is loving on you. So come Holy Spirit, come Holy Spirit. And Lord, let us be like Gideon. He didn't have all the answers, but he walked in courage and trust.

Speaker 1: 33:29

And Lord and Lord just reminded me the other time in the scriptures that we see the mid hour, the midnight hour, that the middle watch was. The scriptures that we see the mid hour, the midnight hour, that the middle watch was when Jesus came walking on the water and the disciples were afraid. Jesus tells Peter hey, you come and walk on the water too. Jesus invites you to be with him in your fear. So, jesus, we walk towards you. We got kid drama, lord. We got family drama, we got stuff, but you're good. So we fix our eyes on you, jesus, and not on the mountains in front of us. If you're in here today, you're like Jacob. That sounds good. But I don't know this, jesus personally. Maybe you have, but life happened. You kind of turned away, walked away.

Speaker 1: 34:33

If you want to make a decision to trust Jesus with your life, just right where you are, I want to pray for you. I'm a decision to trust Jesus with your life, just right where you are. I want to pray for you. I'm not going to call you out, nothing like that, just right where you are. If you want to make a decision to trust Jesus with your life, just repeat this prayer with me. You can say it in your heart or whisper it out loud Say Jesus, forgive me for my sins, make me new Today. I make me new Today. I trust you with my life Today. I follow you In Jesus' name. Amen, amen, amen. Let's give God some praise in here today.