WEBVTT - Focus Your Faith 0:00:00.800 --> 0:00:03.360 So why don't you just take twenty three seconds since 0:00:03.400 --> 0:00:06.320 this year twenty twenty three and praise God for the 0:00:06.360 --> 0:00:10.240 opportunity to be in this cressus today. You can do 0:00:10.320 --> 0:00:14.760 it online. Hey. By the way, we're probably coming to 0:00:14.880 --> 0:00:20.840 a city near you this spring. Elevation Nights twenty twenty three, 0:00:21.079 --> 0:00:34.520 April eighteenth through April twenty seventh Austin, Texas, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 0:00:35.200 --> 0:00:45.600 Kansas City, Missouri, Denver, Colorado, Saint Louis, Missouri, Fort Wayne, Indiana, 0:00:46.400 --> 0:00:53.280 and Toronto, Toronto, Toronto, Toronto Elevation Nights dot com. Get 0:00:53.280 --> 0:00:56.360 your tickets right now, or you're gonna be sad because 0:00:56.360 --> 0:00:59.440 they're gonna sell. You'll be standing out there in the 0:00:59.520 --> 0:01:02.920 parking lot talking about a breakthrough. But God gave you 0:01:02.960 --> 0:01:05.120 one and you didn't take it when he gave it. 0:01:05.160 --> 0:01:07.600 Gets your ticket, Get your tickets, Get your tickets. Get 0:01:07.640 --> 0:01:13.000 your tickets at Elevation Nights dot com dot com dot com. 0:01:13.040 --> 0:01:17.120 Oh God, are y'all gonna put up with me like 0:01:17.160 --> 0:01:22.200 this all day? Oh? Man? I think it's the bandana? 0:01:23.200 --> 0:01:27.240 Did it tell me I need a bandana? Good to 0:01:27.319 --> 0:01:32.280 have you, Joel, Hey, I'm excited about the Elevation Rhythm album. 0:01:33.280 --> 0:01:38.760 When are we putting that out? Oh? That thing is 0:01:39.240 --> 0:01:44.600 it's called this is the Gospel, and I think you 0:01:45.240 --> 0:01:50.840 are going to find it to be very very good. 0:01:53.040 --> 0:01:55.720 So that'll be coming soon from Elevation Rhythm. God is 0:01:55.720 --> 0:01:58.600 doing a new thing, new songs, new season, new strength, 0:01:58.880 --> 0:02:02.560 new series. I start in two weeks ago. Now I 0:02:02.640 --> 0:02:04.880 kind of head faked you. I said I'm starting a series. 0:02:04.960 --> 0:02:07.720 Then I was gone. But now I'm back and I'm 0:02:07.760 --> 0:02:15.160 ready to bring it Joshua. Chapter one, Chapter one, new chapter. 0:02:15.320 --> 0:02:19.760 Somebody say that out loud, new chapter. We're preaching from 0:02:19.760 --> 0:02:23.239 this thought, there's so much more to the story and 0:02:23.560 --> 0:02:29.840 believing that for every family, every business, every person who 0:02:29.960 --> 0:02:33.120 maybe is recovering from a heartbreak or you're hoping for 0:02:33.160 --> 0:02:35.600 freedom from an addiction in your life. And we took 0:02:35.639 --> 0:02:38.760 that specific line from a song we've been singing around 0:02:38.840 --> 0:02:41.760 here called More than Apel, and it says, there's so 0:02:41.919 --> 0:02:47.640 much more to the story. You're not done with me yet? 0:02:47.880 --> 0:02:50.840 How many are glad that God didn't throw you away? 0:02:51.880 --> 0:02:56.799 Oh so the people that aren't clapping didn't make mistakes, y'all. 0:02:57.639 --> 0:03:00.359 They are in pristine condition. But some of us did 0:03:00.440 --> 0:03:03.639 so much stuff. God could have junked us and just 0:03:03.720 --> 0:03:07.640 written us off, but he didn't. And there's a reason 0:03:07.720 --> 0:03:10.920 for that. If you're breathing, there's a reason for that. 0:03:12.000 --> 0:03:15.680 If you're here, there's a reason for that. There's a 0:03:15.720 --> 0:03:17.839 reason for it. I believe there's a reason God sent 0:03:17.880 --> 0:03:20.880 you to this message today. You got on this YouTube 0:03:20.960 --> 0:03:23.399 channel and you were looking for a cooking video. Well, 0:03:23.440 --> 0:03:28.760 I've been cooking all right, the bread of life. The 0:03:28.800 --> 0:03:30.960 Lord wants you to receive this word. Now, let's go 0:03:31.000 --> 0:03:37.640 to Joshua Chapter one, verses seven through eleven, and I'll 0:03:37.640 --> 0:03:42.840 pick up one other verse as well. It's one of 0:03:42.840 --> 0:03:44.800 those scriptures got to breathe before you read it, because 0:03:44.800 --> 0:03:48.480 it's good. God is coaching up Joshua to do with it. 0:03:49.080 --> 0:03:52.080 He has to do that Moses couldn't do, but Joshua's 0:03:52.080 --> 0:03:56.480 called to do it. Break limitations and break barriers and 0:03:57.120 --> 0:03:59.960 lead the people into something great to glorify his name. 0:04:00.560 --> 0:04:04.640 So let me get ready for this verse seven. Be 0:04:04.840 --> 0:04:12.320 strong in my imagination, when I said that, y'all are 0:04:12.400 --> 0:04:17.160 like shouting and stuff. So we're gonna talk about your 0:04:17.200 --> 0:04:24.360 attitude when we appreciate this message. Be strong and very courageous, 0:04:25.680 --> 0:04:30.240 be careful to obey all the law. You're like, well, 0:04:30.279 --> 0:04:33.760 that's mine, the careful part. I'm the careful one. You 0:04:33.760 --> 0:04:39.559 don't normally see those two together, courageous and careful. Usually 0:04:39.600 --> 0:04:42.920 it's like, don't climb up there on that thing, You're 0:04:42.920 --> 0:04:44.719 gonna break your neck. That's the first thing our parents 0:04:44.760 --> 0:04:46.240 start telling us is all this stuff we're gonna break 0:04:46.240 --> 0:04:49.680 our neck doing and get killed doing so. I thought 0:04:49.680 --> 0:04:54.280 it was fascinating that they're right there together. Be courageous, 0:04:54.320 --> 0:04:58.159 not just courageous, but very courageous, and be careful. Isn't 0:04:58.200 --> 0:05:01.360 that interesting? I love these little tensions in the text. 0:05:01.360 --> 0:05:04.600 That's what helps me to really see the truth in it. 0:05:05.520 --> 0:05:10.120 Be very courageous and be careful to obey all the law. 0:05:10.200 --> 0:05:13.600 My servant Moses gave you, do not turn from it 0:05:14.440 --> 0:05:18.760 to the right or to the left. That you may 0:05:18.760 --> 0:05:23.920 be successful. Well, brother Steve, the Lord doesn't care if 0:05:23.960 --> 0:05:28.200 we succeed, does he not? Did he say that you 0:05:28.279 --> 0:05:31.839 may be successful? I mean, I want this sermon to 0:05:31.880 --> 0:05:34.960 succeed today. I hope you do too. I don't want 0:05:34.960 --> 0:05:37.480 to just talk and you get put down three notes 0:05:37.520 --> 0:05:40.960 and lose the note sheet before you even get to Tuesday. 0:05:41.000 --> 0:05:43.240 I want this sermon to get in your heart, and 0:05:43.279 --> 0:05:45.359 I want you to succeed. I want this sermon to 0:05:45.440 --> 0:05:47.880 work when you have to go to court next month. 0:05:47.920 --> 0:05:50.800 I want this sermon to work when you have to negotiate. 0:05:50.839 --> 0:05:52.839 I want this sermon to work when you have to 0:05:52.839 --> 0:05:55.080 say no to the thing you've been saying yes to 0:05:55.240 --> 0:05:57.640 for the last seventeen years. I want this to work 0:05:58.440 --> 0:06:02.560 for you in your life. He wants you to be 0:06:02.600 --> 0:06:05.960 successful wherever you go, and look at this. Keep this 0:06:06.120 --> 0:06:10.880 book of the Law always on your lips. Meditate on 0:06:10.920 --> 0:06:13.680 it day and night, so that you may be careful 0:06:14.400 --> 0:06:19.440 to do everything written in it. Then you will be 0:06:19.480 --> 0:06:24.960 prosperous and successful. Have I not commanded you be strong 0:06:25.760 --> 0:06:30.360 and courageous. Do not be afraid, do not be discouraged, 0:06:30.400 --> 0:06:38.360 For the Lord your God will be with you wherever. Oh, 0:06:38.400 --> 0:06:42.719 that sounds like a blank check to me. Wherever you go, 0:06:43.880 --> 0:06:46.760 who We're going to test the limits of that in 0:06:46.800 --> 0:06:50.400 a moment. You'll see verse ten. So, Joshua, last time 0:06:50.440 --> 0:06:54.960 I preached, I preached now, Joshua, right, God is bringing 0:06:55.000 --> 0:06:58.960 something into your life now, and God is always bringing 0:06:59.040 --> 0:07:03.640 something new into your life. So Joshua ordered the officers 0:07:03.640 --> 0:07:06.440 of the people. Go through the camp and tell the people. 0:07:06.880 --> 0:07:10.480 Get your possessions ready. Three days from now you will 0:07:10.480 --> 0:07:13.960 cross the Jordan here to go in and take possession 0:07:13.960 --> 0:07:16.400 of the land. The Lord your God is giving you 0:07:16.480 --> 0:07:19.600 for your own. Drop down to chapter two, verse one, 0:07:20.480 --> 0:07:27.200 last verse. Then Joshua, son of None secretly sh sent 0:07:27.400 --> 0:07:35.040 two spies. Secretly, secretly sent two spies from shie Em. 0:07:35.280 --> 0:07:46.920 It's a long eye, very important, shteem, y'all are so 0:07:47.160 --> 0:07:54.600 bad kind of church is this? Secretly sent two spies 0:07:54.600 --> 0:07:59.160 from Shiam. Go look over the land, he said, especially Jericho. 0:07:59.600 --> 0:08:04.040 So they went and entered the house of a prostitute 0:08:04.720 --> 0:08:12.800 named Rahab and stayed there. Very interesting. The title of 0:08:12.840 --> 0:08:15.360 this message is focus your faith, and that's what I 0:08:15.400 --> 0:08:17.239 want to teach you about today, how to focus your faith. 0:08:17.920 --> 0:08:20.880 And then the little subheading is do the thing that 0:08:20.920 --> 0:08:24.480 you would do, Do the thing that you would do. 0:08:25.000 --> 0:08:28.600 Tell your neighbor, do the thing that you would do, 0:08:28.600 --> 0:08:31.560 Do the thing that you would do. Father, I thank 0:08:31.600 --> 0:08:35.439 you for what you spoke. Help me just to step 0:08:35.480 --> 0:08:41.600 aside now and let you deliver your word. But you 0:08:41.640 --> 0:08:47.000 can use me. God. I'm available to you in Jesus' name, aymn, 0:08:47.960 --> 0:08:50.200 tell somebody focus on your way down to your seat, 0:08:50.280 --> 0:09:00.360 Focus your faith, Focus your faith. I don't know if 0:09:00.400 --> 0:09:02.280 you got to hear my last sermon, but I was saying, 0:09:02.280 --> 0:09:06.959 how I've been reading through the Bible real slow. With 0:09:07.120 --> 0:09:12.080 my oldest boy. We had this conversation where he asked me, 0:09:12.559 --> 0:09:16.800 shouldn't every Christian be required to read through the whole 0:09:16.800 --> 0:09:20.880 Bible at least once before they die. He said, it's 0:09:20.880 --> 0:09:24.120 so much better when you take the whole thing in 0:09:24.679 --> 0:09:29.160 and kind of you get invested in it. And he said, 0:09:29.200 --> 0:09:31.319 I realized that now I just used to pick little 0:09:31.320 --> 0:09:34.760 scriptures and this would definitely be one to pick. Right, 0:09:35.320 --> 0:09:38.040 be strong and courageous. The Lord will be with you 0:09:38.080 --> 0:09:41.240 wherever you go. It's like, all right, going to the club, 0:09:41.320 --> 0:09:45.480 I'm going out here. And isn't it crazy that right 0:09:45.559 --> 0:09:48.320 after God said that I'll be with you wherever you go, 0:09:48.760 --> 0:09:51.800 they went to a prostitute's house. I guess they were 0:09:51.920 --> 0:09:55.600 checking this out like like really like everywhere we go. 0:09:57.640 --> 0:09:59.880 And of course they weren't in the prostitute's house for 0:10:00.080 --> 0:10:04.440 any other reason than the fact that Rahab's resume included 0:10:04.440 --> 0:10:10.719 a history of hiding men. This is what I mean 0:10:10.720 --> 0:10:12.880 by the Bible is so cool when you read it, 0:10:13.280 --> 0:10:15.480 why Rayhab's house? And then on one hand you think 0:10:15.520 --> 0:10:19.080 maybe they're sinning, but they're not. They're going to a 0:10:19.120 --> 0:10:23.680 place that seems unlikely, in a territory that is full 0:10:23.679 --> 0:10:30.319 of enemies, and so they go to Rahab's house the Prostitute. Now, 0:10:30.640 --> 0:10:32.800 I don't want to speak much about Rehab the Prostitute 0:10:32.840 --> 0:10:34.599 this week, but maybe should show up next week. This 0:10:34.679 --> 0:10:36.680 might be a two week or or something like that. 0:10:37.040 --> 0:10:40.280 I really want to get on this motivational thing where 0:10:40.280 --> 0:10:43.320 he said, be strong and very courageous, be careful to obey, 0:10:43.960 --> 0:10:46.360 do not turn from the right to the left, that 0:10:46.400 --> 0:10:49.080 you may be successful. And then did you notice how 0:10:49.080 --> 0:10:53.360 he said in verse nine, do not be afraid, do 0:10:53.520 --> 0:10:57.800 not be discouraged. I love that sermon I did a 0:10:57.840 --> 0:10:59.880 few weeks ago where I had Graham come up here 0:10:59.880 --> 0:11:02.840 and put his forearm on my neck, and I was 0:11:02.840 --> 0:11:05.839 saying how at a wrestling match I heard a woman's 0:11:05.880 --> 0:11:09.480 screaming stand up, and like, how hard it is to 0:11:09.520 --> 0:11:11.480 do these things that we read about in the scripture. 0:11:12.240 --> 0:11:14.800 And I have not had so much feedback on a 0:11:14.840 --> 0:11:18.880 sermon in years as I got just going around people 0:11:18.920 --> 0:11:20.960 saying I loved when Graham was on top of you 0:11:21.000 --> 0:11:23.199 for like seven minutes, just grinding you into the ground. 0:11:23.240 --> 0:11:25.880 That was awesome. That was your best sermon ever. I'm like, 0:11:25.920 --> 0:11:27.720 do you remember the scripture? No? But that was really 0:11:27.760 --> 0:11:30.120 cool how Graham was like, because because I feel like that, 0:11:30.160 --> 0:11:31.920 because I feel like that in my life, and I 0:11:31.960 --> 0:11:33.800 can't say I ever could really name it, but when 0:11:33.840 --> 0:11:36.920 you acted it out, I was like, yes, exactly. You're like, 0:11:37.080 --> 0:11:40.480 don't be afraid. It's like, dude, you talk to people 0:11:40.760 --> 0:11:43.559 about God for a living. If you went to work 0:11:43.600 --> 0:11:46.040 where I went to work, you would understand my fear. 0:11:46.240 --> 0:11:48.520 So I think we found a point of connection there 0:11:48.840 --> 0:11:52.320 that is kind of crazy sometimes in your life. And 0:11:52.360 --> 0:11:54.920 so when when he says, don't be afraid, and then 0:11:54.960 --> 0:11:59.160 he says God says, not me. God says to Joshua, 0:11:59.720 --> 0:12:03.880 don't be discouraged. I'm really thankful that he said that 0:12:03.920 --> 0:12:08.680 to Joshua, who had to lead millions of people into 0:12:08.760 --> 0:12:13.560 a brand new land to fight a great, big enemy. 0:12:13.840 --> 0:12:16.200 Because you might be able to tell me I don't 0:12:16.240 --> 0:12:18.520 have a right to say it, and you might be right, 0:12:19.200 --> 0:12:22.400 but how many of you have this level of stress 0:12:22.720 --> 0:12:26.280 in your life? You are leading millions of people into 0:12:26.320 --> 0:12:29.480 a land that you have no real map for, and 0:12:29.679 --> 0:12:34.520 you're fighting enemies that are twice your size and experience. 0:12:35.200 --> 0:12:41.480 So then this applies to you. Do not be afraid. 0:12:41.520 --> 0:12:44.160 I was talking to a friend the other day who 0:12:44.240 --> 0:12:47.760 studies sociology, and he said, the thing that has been 0:12:47.760 --> 0:12:49.920 different the last few years in the people that he's 0:12:49.960 --> 0:12:53.120 worked with, whether they're millionaire CEOs are people that he's 0:12:53.160 --> 0:12:57.559 working with within the prison system, is that fear comes 0:12:57.640 --> 0:13:04.200 first when something changes in your life, and then comes discouragement. 0:13:06.240 --> 0:13:09.520 He's telling me this on the phone. Remember you came 0:13:09.559 --> 0:13:10.719 over the other day and I was like, I got 0:13:10.720 --> 0:13:12.200 this phone call and y'all were talking. I was like, 0:13:12.200 --> 0:13:13.360 I gotta go. I got a phone call. So I 0:13:13.400 --> 0:13:15.520 get on the phone with this guy. We had an appointment. 0:13:15.720 --> 0:13:19.600 He said, I've been noticing as we help people that 0:13:19.679 --> 0:13:24.480 we need to deal with the discouragement because fear is, 0:13:24.559 --> 0:13:26.720 oh no, it's changing. I don't know what to do. 0:13:26.800 --> 0:13:32.120 I better adapt. But after you've spent a season trying 0:13:32.120 --> 0:13:39.479 to adapt and it doesn't work, fear turns into discouragement. 0:13:41.160 --> 0:13:46.479 I said, say that again. He said, fear turns into discouragement. 0:13:46.679 --> 0:13:51.040 Fear comes first. And then when you've tried to stabilize 0:13:51.080 --> 0:13:54.160 through a turn or a transition, or some change, whether 0:13:54.200 --> 0:13:56.480 it's big picture change or little picture change in your life, 0:13:56.600 --> 0:13:58.960 or just trying to make a change in your life 0:13:59.040 --> 0:14:03.080 from the inside. At first you're afraid. But then after 0:14:03.160 --> 0:14:06.160 the fear has run his course and you've done all 0:14:06.200 --> 0:14:08.679 that you know to do to make this work and 0:14:08.720 --> 0:14:12.640 it didn't, then the fear turns to discouragement. And I 0:14:12.679 --> 0:14:17.200 interrupted him. I said, that's Joshua one nine. He said, 0:14:17.240 --> 0:14:20.080 is what now? Because he's a Christian, but I preach 0:14:20.160 --> 0:14:23.000 the Bible, and he's more fluent in the human mind. 0:14:23.160 --> 0:14:26.120 I said, that's Joshua one nine. That's what I'm gonna 0:14:26.120 --> 0:14:29.000 be preaching in a few weeks to my church. They're 0:14:29.040 --> 0:14:32.360 in the same verse. Y'all aren't gonna believe this, because 0:14:32.400 --> 0:14:35.600 anytime that the Bible says what we're just now finding 0:14:35.600 --> 0:14:40.880 out makes me think God's pretty smart, makes me think 0:14:40.920 --> 0:14:45.000 God knows stuff, makes me think I can trust him. 0:14:45.760 --> 0:14:48.239 How many know you can trust him? In the transition? 0:14:53.240 --> 0:14:56.200 Have I not commanded you verse nine? Be strong and courageous, 0:14:56.240 --> 0:15:01.400 Do not be afraid, Do not be afraid, Do not 0:15:01.480 --> 0:15:05.000 be discouraged. When you go into this land, you're gonna 0:15:05.000 --> 0:15:08.320 be afraid. But when you get in, because God knows 0:15:08.320 --> 0:15:11.840 what's ahead in this story. He knows that after they 0:15:11.880 --> 0:15:14.560 all get circumcised, they're gonna be hobbling over trying to 0:15:14.560 --> 0:15:17.400 walk around the walls of Jericho, trying to fight the 0:15:17.440 --> 0:15:19.760 Battle of Jericho after that surgery. You didn't know they 0:15:19.760 --> 0:15:22.560 did that after surgery. See, there's more to the story. 0:15:23.040 --> 0:15:24.800 Come back, I'll teach you. I'll teach you all the 0:15:24.800 --> 0:15:26.560 cool stuff in the Bible that they didn't put in 0:15:26.600 --> 0:15:29.240 your Sunday school. They always taught you to blow the 0:15:29.280 --> 0:15:30.920 trumpet around the wall of Jericho. They didn't tell you 0:15:30.920 --> 0:15:33.560 you've just been circumcised before you start walking. There's so 0:15:33.720 --> 0:15:40.080 much more to the story. This is not a boring story, 0:15:40.800 --> 0:15:42.880 and yours isn't either, which means it's gonna have twist 0:15:42.920 --> 0:15:47.520 and turns, which means that God is bringing you into 0:15:47.840 --> 0:15:50.840 a place. But the plot, okay, learned, I've learned this. 0:15:51.320 --> 0:15:55.520 He said, you're gonna be afraid, and then you're gonna 0:15:55.560 --> 0:15:58.400 fight some battles that you're gonna win. The first one 0:15:58.440 --> 0:16:02.560 was Jericho, first one. The second one was called I 0:16:02.880 --> 0:16:06.440 it's spelled A I I, and they did it wrong 0:16:07.080 --> 0:16:10.280 and they got beat. So now I'm thinking that what 0:16:10.360 --> 0:16:13.720 God knew when he's talking to Joshua is the first one, 0:16:14.400 --> 0:16:17.400 you're gonna be afraid, but it's gonna work. The second 0:16:17.400 --> 0:16:20.080 one you're gonna go in a little overconfident. It's not 0:16:20.120 --> 0:16:22.200 gonna work, and you're gonna be on your face. So 0:16:22.280 --> 0:16:28.240 don't be afraid, don't be discouraged. And so y'all have 0:16:28.280 --> 0:16:31.120 a good week. Don't be discouraged, and we just all 0:16:31.120 --> 0:16:34.000 go out and we don't be discouraged. Just don't be 0:16:34.200 --> 0:16:42.720 just don't be don't be discouraged. Does that mean I 0:16:42.760 --> 0:16:50.000 should never feel like like I'm taking for granted. No, 0:16:50.040 --> 0:16:52.800 you're gonna feel like you're taking for granted sometimes. And 0:16:52.880 --> 0:16:54.960 Moses led to people forty years and all they did 0:16:55.000 --> 0:16:58.000 was holler at him when they got thirsty. And then 0:16:58.040 --> 0:17:00.480 when Joshua took over they were like, hey, just like well, Moses, 0:17:00.520 --> 0:17:03.200 we're gonna obey you. I'd be like, no, thanks, you 0:17:03.240 --> 0:17:07.320 show some gratitude. You're gonna be taking for granted. Every 0:17:07.480 --> 0:17:11.080 mom say amen, this is my early Mother's Day message. 0:17:11.080 --> 0:17:14.200 You're ready, the sign that you're good is that they 0:17:14.200 --> 0:17:21.000 take you for granted. How many of y'all think the 0:17:21.040 --> 0:17:23.520 person who turned on the lights in the church today. Nope, 0:17:23.560 --> 0:17:27.520 they just do it, so you don't never say thank you. 0:17:27.560 --> 0:17:32.240 They're that good. Sometimes you're taking for granted because you're 0:17:32.280 --> 0:17:35.879 that good at it. Sometimes we take God for granted 0:17:35.920 --> 0:17:42.119 because he's that good. If God made you do fifty 0:17:42.119 --> 0:17:44.280 push ups before every breath he gave you, you'd start 0:17:44.280 --> 0:17:45.840 thanking him for the breast to see if you get 0:17:45.840 --> 0:17:48.560 down to forty, you start bargaining with God. But he's 0:17:49.720 --> 0:17:54.480 come on, y'all, he's that good. He's that good all 0:17:54.480 --> 0:17:56.400 the way from the back to the front. Say he's 0:17:56.440 --> 0:18:00.159 that good. Yeah, he's that good at his job. So 0:18:00.200 --> 0:18:02.640 he doesn't want us to take his presence for granted. 0:18:03.440 --> 0:18:06.399 And he enunciates said clearly, so there can be no 0:18:06.520 --> 0:18:10.000 mistake about who's doing the work. I the Lord, your 0:18:10.040 --> 0:18:14.119 God will be with you wherever you go. And truthfully, 0:18:14.480 --> 0:18:18.640 that's why you're here because He was with you. That's 0:18:18.680 --> 0:18:21.520 why you survived everything you survived because He was with you. 0:18:22.560 --> 0:18:25.200 It really is the only reason that we made it 0:18:25.280 --> 0:18:28.760 through because He was with us. Let's give God praise 0:18:28.800 --> 0:18:38.000 that he's with us. When he says do not be afraid, 0:18:39.240 --> 0:18:44.400 then he must not be talking about a feeling. Why 0:18:44.400 --> 0:18:46.280 would he tell me to do something that I can't 0:18:46.320 --> 0:18:49.199 help be like put me out in the rain and 0:18:49.200 --> 0:18:51.159 telling me, don't get wet. Where's my umbrella. I'm not 0:18:51.160 --> 0:18:52.639 giving you one. Don't get wet. Well, I got to 0:18:52.680 --> 0:18:56.439 go inside. Don't go inside, but don't get wet. So 0:18:56.520 --> 0:18:59.040 go into the promised land. Fight the enemies. Don't be afraid, 0:19:00.280 --> 0:19:03.560 don't be discouraged. Keep showing up doing the thing that 0:19:03.600 --> 0:19:05.400 you know you're supposed to do, but feel like it's 0:19:05.400 --> 0:19:07.000 not going anywhere, and you just keep let your big 0:19:07.040 --> 0:19:09.040 balance go down instead of up, going the wrong way 0:19:09.080 --> 0:19:11.280 instead of the right way. But keep showing up and 0:19:11.320 --> 0:19:17.640 don't be discouraged. Keep on loving people who are unlikable, 0:19:18.160 --> 0:19:22.520 but don't be discouraged. Let me do this for myself. 0:19:22.960 --> 0:19:26.600 Keep on preaching, and keep on preaching and preaching and 0:19:26.600 --> 0:19:29.440 preaching and preaching and preaching and preaching. And know that 0:19:29.480 --> 0:19:31.640 some of the people that you preach to are never 0:19:31.760 --> 0:19:36.160 going to listen to it, but don't be discouraged. Some will, 0:19:36.240 --> 0:19:42.080 some won't. Don't be discouraged. Keep sowing words of encouragement. 0:19:42.080 --> 0:19:45.439 Don't be discouraged. Keep on trying to do the Okay, 0:19:45.440 --> 0:19:47.080 I got to bring it up, the eating right thing, 0:19:47.240 --> 0:19:50.880 step on the scale. Don't be discouraged, keep doing it. 0:19:53.560 --> 0:19:55.920 And so I realized that God is not talking about 0:19:55.920 --> 0:19:59.920 a feeling here at all. He's talking about a folk. 0:20:03.480 --> 0:20:06.480 That was the breakthrough for me. As I thought about 0:20:06.520 --> 0:20:10.719 what to teach you about when you feel discouraged, I 0:20:10.760 --> 0:20:15.080 realize that God is not commanding Joshua or Jimmy saying 0:20:15.840 --> 0:20:22.119 don't feel discouraged. He said, don't be discouraged. That means 0:20:22.760 --> 0:20:26.320 there must be a big difference to God between what 0:20:26.440 --> 0:20:32.680 I feel and who I am. Between what I feel 0:20:33.760 --> 0:20:38.600 and who I am. I'm depressed right now. I've got 0:20:38.760 --> 0:20:42.400 joy inside. I just have to learn how to bring 0:20:42.440 --> 0:20:46.879 the joy from the inside out forward into my life. 0:20:47.160 --> 0:20:54.159 This condition is not my identity. I'm glad about that, 0:20:54.320 --> 0:20:59.560 because I feel some funny feelings. Sometimes I feel some 0:20:59.600 --> 0:21:04.800 freaky stuff. Sometimes I feel sometimes some stuff makes me 0:21:04.920 --> 0:21:08.960 so frustrated and discouraged. And God says, that's fine, you 0:21:09.119 --> 0:21:15.159 feel it, but don't be it. That's fine that you 0:21:15.320 --> 0:21:19.040 feel it, but you don't have to behave like it. 0:21:20.280 --> 0:21:25.280 You don't have to believe everything fear tells you. You 0:21:25.359 --> 0:21:29.960 don't have to believe everything that you think. Just because 0:21:30.000 --> 0:21:32.359 you think it doesn't mean you have to believe it. 0:21:33.320 --> 0:21:34.679 You can check that out. You know, they have like 0:21:34.720 --> 0:21:38.720 airport security, and certain stuff doesn't get through. Certain stuff 0:21:38.760 --> 0:21:41.120 you can say to your mind, Ah, that's not coming 0:21:41.160 --> 0:21:45.560 through today, not today, Come again tomorrow. Maybe there'd be 0:21:45.560 --> 0:21:47.560 a different TSA agent at the gate. I don't know. 0:21:48.119 --> 0:21:49.960 Maybe you can get it through tomorrow, but not today. 0:21:50.960 --> 0:21:54.640 Because I'm in a season that God is doing something 0:21:55.240 --> 0:21:59.880 and especial in my life, and I can feel it. 0:22:00.000 --> 0:22:03.720 It's coming from my spirit. And I don't have everything 0:22:03.760 --> 0:22:06.840 in the spirit worked out yet in my situation, but 0:22:06.920 --> 0:22:10.360 I'm not limited by my situation. And even the very 0:22:10.520 --> 0:22:13.959 language that I use has to be very peculiar in 0:22:14.040 --> 0:22:17.760 this season, because what I say in this season is 0:22:17.840 --> 0:22:30.600 going to determine what I step into. Do not be discouraged, 0:22:32.119 --> 0:22:39.240 Do not be afraid. You have seen glimpses of yourself 0:22:40.040 --> 0:22:44.919 that reveal your God's potential. You've seen them in certain 0:22:45.000 --> 0:22:48.679 moments where you were kind, You've seen them in certain 0:22:48.680 --> 0:22:51.879 moments where you were hospitable. You've seen it in certain 0:22:51.920 --> 0:22:54.280 moments where you said, no, that's fine, you right in 0:22:54.320 --> 0:22:56.879 the front seat, I'll sit in the bag. Not only 0:22:56.960 --> 0:22:59.040 did that once in nineteen eighty eight, but you did 0:22:59.040 --> 0:23:02.720 it once. You have seen seasons when you were disciplined. 0:23:02.840 --> 0:23:05.160 How many of you have gotten a glimpse of yourself 0:23:05.160 --> 0:23:08.159 that went like, oh, that must be the me that 0:23:08.200 --> 0:23:11.639 God sees when he says you are fearfully and wonderfully made. 0:23:13.240 --> 0:23:15.640 Now I'm not saying that you don't five minutes later 0:23:15.680 --> 0:23:17.680 below the whole thing. But you've seen it right, You've 0:23:17.680 --> 0:23:20.240 glimpsed it. Come on, don't leave me up here. You've 0:23:20.240 --> 0:23:27.560 seen it right. I've met myself strong. Have you met 0:23:27.560 --> 0:23:33.560 yourself strong? I have? I like that guy. Let me 0:23:33.600 --> 0:23:37.919 tell you about strong Stephen gets about strong Stephen, he 0:23:37.960 --> 0:23:40.040 doesn't have to prove his point and win every argument 0:23:42.320 --> 0:23:44.720 because he's coming from a place of strength, not neediness. 0:23:46.280 --> 0:23:48.720 So he can listen to somebody and go like, Okay, wow, 0:23:48.800 --> 0:23:55.000 that's crazy. Let me think about that week. Stephen sounds 0:23:55.040 --> 0:23:59.720 strong because he argues, and a lot of times he 0:23:59.760 --> 0:24:07.960 wins because he's good with these words, mama. But even 0:24:07.960 --> 0:24:13.000 though I win, it's really weakness because when I'm coming 0:24:13.040 --> 0:24:17.080 from a place of strength. I don't need to teach 0:24:17.119 --> 0:24:22.680 you a lesson because it's in God's hands. But weak 0:24:22.840 --> 0:24:27.960 me week Stephen. He's a different He's a whole different situation. 0:24:28.320 --> 0:24:32.960 He is a whole different case study. And that's why 0:24:33.040 --> 0:24:37.560 I was encouraged by verse seven and nine, because I thought, like, Oh, 0:24:38.000 --> 0:24:41.960 Joshua isn't just strong, because God wouldn't tell him not 0:24:42.240 --> 0:24:46.080 to be afraid, and he's not just encouraged or God 0:24:46.080 --> 0:24:49.919 wouldn't tell him don't be discouraged. And it gave me 0:24:50.000 --> 0:24:52.200 hope for what I've been preaching to you all year 0:24:52.600 --> 0:24:57.879 about do the new you. This passage to me communicates 0:24:57.960 --> 0:25:00.840 the belief of a coach that God had in the 0:25:00.840 --> 0:25:05.560 ones that He's chosen, and it also features some correction 0:25:06.160 --> 0:25:08.560 that's going to help us today. How many of you 0:25:08.600 --> 0:25:11.040 want this help that God has for you today. It's 0:25:11.080 --> 0:25:15.359 going to help us today to understand how to track 0:25:15.480 --> 0:25:19.399 back your discouragement and get back on track with what 0:25:19.440 --> 0:25:21.440 God's called you to do. Some of you are completely 0:25:21.480 --> 0:25:23.400 off track right now in your life. You know it. 0:25:24.680 --> 0:25:26.600 You're discouraged, and you know it. You're down, and you 0:25:26.640 --> 0:25:29.680 know it. You're defeated, and you know it. But if 0:25:29.720 --> 0:25:31.840 you track it back, this is what came to me, 0:25:32.040 --> 0:25:34.320 and y'all are going to think, wow, that's not very deep. 0:25:35.320 --> 0:25:39.440 But if you track back your discouragement, it usually has 0:25:39.520 --> 0:25:45.199 to do with your discussions, not just with other people, 0:25:47.480 --> 0:25:51.359 but the conversations that happen inside of your own soul. 0:25:52.480 --> 0:25:55.840 You expect God to give Joshua all the military strategy 0:25:56.359 --> 0:26:00.199 in Joshua one, and yet he focuses way more. I mean, 0:26:00.480 --> 0:26:02.600 he gives him the whole picture. He says, I'm gonna 0:26:02.600 --> 0:26:05.480 give you from the desert to Lebanon, from the Euphrates 0:26:05.680 --> 0:26:09.080 to the Mediterranean. To me, that's like the opening scene 0:26:09.760 --> 0:26:12.639 of a movie where the drone is flying over the 0:26:12.640 --> 0:26:15.520 whole land, or they're showing us one specific place and 0:26:15.560 --> 0:26:18.840 they're giving us a setting. Ah. But then after the 0:26:18.920 --> 0:26:22.000 setting there has to be a good script. And so 0:26:22.080 --> 0:26:25.400 he's given him this script so that he can live 0:26:25.480 --> 0:26:29.560 the story that God wants him to live. And the 0:26:29.600 --> 0:26:33.919 Lord sent me to say some of you, the reason 0:26:33.960 --> 0:26:38.639 that your story feels such a dead end story is 0:26:38.680 --> 0:26:44.359