1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:02,600 Let's give him praise in this house this morning. 2 00:00:05,200 --> 00:00:06,700 No, I don't think you heard me. 3 00:00:06,700 --> 00:00:10,000 I said, let's give him praise in this house this morning. 4 00:00:11,300 --> 00:00:14,600 Sometimes we sit down a little too long. 5 00:00:14,600 --> 00:00:16,600 We get a little stiff legged. 6 00:00:16,600 --> 00:00:19,000 We get a little stiffness in our body. 7 00:00:19,000 --> 00:00:22,300 Sometimes we forget what wells up inside of us 8 00:00:22,300 --> 00:00:27,200 when we know that an Almighty God is worthy of our praise. 9 00:00:27,200 --> 00:00:30,100 He's worthy of our magnification. 10 00:00:30,100 --> 00:00:33,600 He's worthy of our adoration. 11 00:00:33,600 --> 00:00:36,100 Don't sit there and get stiff legged. 12 00:00:36,100 --> 00:00:38,100 Let's worship God. 13 00:00:38,100 --> 00:00:40,100 Hallelujah. 14 00:00:40,100 --> 00:00:41,400 Hallelujah. 15 00:00:44,600 --> 00:00:47,900 Church, if there's ever a time we don't need to be lacking 16 00:00:47,900 --> 00:00:50,600 in our worship, it's the day and time 17 00:00:50,600 --> 00:00:52,200 that we're living in today. 18 00:00:53,700 --> 00:00:55,000 You say, well, he's just saying that 19 00:00:55,000 --> 00:00:58,000 because he's about to take the offering, no. 20 00:00:58,000 --> 00:01:00,600 I'm saying that because it's true. 21 00:01:00,600 --> 00:01:02,600 And we're believers of an Almighty God 22 00:01:02,600 --> 00:01:05,500 who knows he's worthy to be praised. 23 00:01:08,100 --> 00:01:10,500 Give him praise again in this house tonight. 24 00:01:10,500 --> 00:01:13,000 You can be seated if you can. 25 00:01:13,000 --> 00:01:14,800 Don't know if I could, but you can. 26 00:01:18,000 --> 00:01:20,700 I just feel God's presence in this house this morning. 27 00:01:20,700 --> 00:01:24,200 And I'm excited to see what he's going to do today. 28 00:01:26,200 --> 00:01:27,400 But as you gather your offering 29 00:01:27,400 --> 00:01:30,900 and get your tithes ready to bring this morning, 30 00:01:30,900 --> 00:01:32,200 I'm going to do nothing different 31 00:01:32,200 --> 00:01:34,400 than our pastor does each and every week, 32 00:01:34,400 --> 00:01:37,000 and that's pray blessings on you. 33 00:01:38,000 --> 00:01:40,800 Because I believe that as we continue to worship 34 00:01:40,800 --> 00:01:44,100 in our giving, God opens up those windows of heaven 35 00:01:44,100 --> 00:01:46,200 to bless us. 36 00:01:46,200 --> 00:01:49,200 My wife calls me constantly from the grocery store. 37 00:01:49,200 --> 00:01:52,500 You won't believe what I got this for. 38 00:01:52,500 --> 00:01:54,500 I just tell her that's another blessing 39 00:01:54,500 --> 00:01:57,100 pastors done prayed down on us. 40 00:01:57,100 --> 00:01:57,900 Amen. 41 00:01:59,100 --> 00:02:02,300 God is good all the time. 42 00:02:02,300 --> 00:02:04,600 Father, I love you today and I thank you, 43 00:02:04,600 --> 00:02:07,300 Lord, for this gathering of unique individuals in this place. 44 00:02:07,300 --> 00:02:09,600 And I pray, God, that you would bless them 45 00:02:09,600 --> 00:02:11,700 as they bless the household of faith this morning. 46 00:02:11,700 --> 00:02:14,600 I pray, God, that you would pour out your blessings on them. 47 00:02:14,600 --> 00:02:16,600 Lord, give them increase and raises. 48 00:02:16,600 --> 00:02:19,300 God, let them find the sales all over town. 49 00:02:19,300 --> 00:02:22,500 Lord, I pray that beyond the blessing of finances, 50 00:02:22,500 --> 00:02:24,900 you would bless them in their health and in their well-being. 51 00:02:24,900 --> 00:02:27,700 God, I pray that you would anoint and touch each and every one. 52 00:02:27,700 --> 00:02:31,300 In Jesus' name, I pray you can come and bring your own. 53 00:02:33,900 --> 00:02:35,900 He is worthy of our praise. Amen. 54 00:02:38,900 --> 00:02:41,800 God is good all the time. 55 00:02:41,800 --> 00:02:44,400 All the time, God is good. 56 00:02:44,400 --> 00:02:47,900 When I look across my life, it's not hard to find 57 00:02:47,900 --> 00:02:50,900 that God is good, he's faithful. 58 00:02:50,900 --> 00:02:54,900 Pastor and Sister Kathy are preaching for a dear friend of theirs 59 00:02:54,900 --> 00:02:56,500 in Linden, Tennessee, this morning. 60 00:02:56,500 --> 00:02:59,400 Remember them in your prayers? 61 00:02:59,400 --> 00:03:00,900 One of the pastor's closest friends, 62 00:03:00,900 --> 00:03:02,000 pastor's of church out there, 63 00:03:02,000 --> 00:03:04,500 and he's there ministering to them this morning. 64 00:03:04,500 --> 00:03:07,300 So, unfortunately, you're stuck with me. 65 00:03:07,300 --> 00:03:11,600 I'm, you know, if I can be second best, that's all right. 66 00:03:11,600 --> 00:03:12,900 Amen. 67 00:03:12,900 --> 00:03:14,900 I'm okay with that. 68 00:03:14,900 --> 00:03:20,600 I learned a lesson in the past couple years that, 69 00:03:20,600 --> 00:03:22,500 I mean, I say in the past couple years, you know, 70 00:03:22,500 --> 00:03:25,700 in ministry, it's never about the individual, right? 71 00:03:25,700 --> 00:03:27,800 The ministers in the house know what I'm talking about. 72 00:03:27,800 --> 00:03:30,200 It's about just doing the will of God. Amen. 73 00:03:30,200 --> 00:03:33,400 And I know that if God's with me, I'm going to do his work. 74 00:03:33,400 --> 00:03:34,600 Amen. 75 00:03:34,600 --> 00:03:35,600 So, that's what I'm going to do today. 76 00:03:35,600 --> 00:03:39,700 But I want to let you guys know where Pastor and Sister Kathy were. 77 00:03:39,700 --> 00:03:43,600 So, just be praying for them, traveling back and forth. 78 00:03:43,600 --> 00:03:46,500 I know they'll covet those prayers. 79 00:03:46,500 --> 00:03:51,600 But I want to preach today out of Judges, the book of Judges. 80 00:03:51,600 --> 00:03:55,100 And I'm going to be in chapter seven. 81 00:03:55,100 --> 00:04:01,200 I'm going to be in verses two through verse eight. 82 00:04:01,200 --> 00:04:05,400 Judges chapter two, chapter seven, verse two through eight. 83 00:04:05,400 --> 00:04:07,600 You guys want to stand for the reading of God's word. 84 00:04:07,600 --> 00:04:11,400 One last time. 85 00:04:11,400 --> 00:04:13,900 Say amen when you got it. 86 00:04:13,900 --> 00:04:15,700 Amen. 87 00:04:15,700 --> 00:04:18,000 And the Lord said to Gideon, 88 00:04:18,000 --> 00:04:21,200 the people who are with you are too many for me 89 00:04:21,200 --> 00:04:23,700 to give the Midianites into their hands. 90 00:04:23,700 --> 00:04:27,500 Lest Israel claim the glory for itself against me, 91 00:04:27,500 --> 00:04:30,300 saying, mine own hand has saved me. 92 00:04:30,300 --> 00:04:33,800 Now, therefore, proclaim in the hearing of the people, 93 00:04:33,800 --> 00:04:36,600 saying, whoever is fearful and afraid, 94 00:04:36,600 --> 00:04:40,900 let him turn and depart at once from Mount Gilead. 95 00:04:40,900 --> 00:04:46,600 And 22,000 of the people returned and 10,000 remained. 96 00:04:46,600 --> 00:04:48,400 But the Lord said to Gideon, 97 00:04:48,400 --> 00:04:50,800 the people are still too many. 98 00:04:50,800 --> 00:04:55,200 Bring them down to the water and I will test them for you there. 99 00:04:55,200 --> 00:04:57,600 Then it will be that of whom I say to you, 100 00:04:57,600 --> 00:05:01,100 this one shall go with you, the same shall go with you. 101 00:05:01,100 --> 00:05:04,100 And of whomever I say to you, this one shall not go with you, 102 00:05:04,100 --> 00:05:07,300 the same shall not go with you. 103 00:05:07,300 --> 00:05:09,300 So he brought the people down to the water 104 00:05:09,300 --> 00:05:11,100 and the Lord said to Gideon, 105 00:05:11,100 --> 00:05:15,800 everyone who laps from the water with his tongue as a dog laps, 106 00:05:15,800 --> 00:05:18,300 you shall set apart by himself. 107 00:05:18,300 --> 00:05:22,300 Likewise, everyone who gets down on his knees to drink 108 00:05:22,300 --> 00:05:24,400 and the number of those who lapped, 109 00:05:24,400 --> 00:05:28,200 putting their hands to their mouth was 300 men. 110 00:05:28,200 --> 00:05:32,300 But all the rest of the people got down on their knees to drink water. 111 00:05:32,300 --> 00:05:35,600 Then the Lord said to Gideon, buy the 300 men who lapped, 112 00:05:35,600 --> 00:05:40,100 I will save you and deliver the Midianites into your hand. 113 00:05:40,100 --> 00:05:43,800 Let all the other people go, every man to his place. 114 00:05:43,800 --> 00:05:47,800 So the people took provisions and their trumpets and their hands 115 00:05:47,800 --> 00:05:50,300 and he sent away all the rest of Israel, 116 00:05:50,300 --> 00:05:54,300 every man to his tent and retained those 300. 117 00:05:54,300 --> 00:05:57,900 Now the camp of Midian was below him in the valley. 118 00:05:57,900 --> 00:06:01,400 Father, I love you today and I thank you for this opportunity 119 00:06:01,400 --> 00:06:02,800 to preach your word. 120 00:06:02,800 --> 00:06:04,700 God, I pray as your word has been broken 121 00:06:04,700 --> 00:06:06,300 that I know it will not return forward. 122 00:06:06,300 --> 00:06:08,500 But I pray God that you'd open up our hearts, 123 00:06:08,500 --> 00:06:10,700 open up our spiritual ears to hear 124 00:06:10,700 --> 00:06:12,500 what the Spirit is saying to us this morning. 125 00:06:12,500 --> 00:06:15,900 And God, I give you all the glory and honor and praise in Jesus' name. 126 00:06:15,900 --> 00:06:18,400 Amen. You guys can be seated. 127 00:06:23,600 --> 00:06:28,100 When I was in high school, my sophomore year of high school, 128 00:06:28,100 --> 00:06:31,000 which for some of the younger ones in the house, 129 00:06:31,000 --> 00:06:33,100 I know my youth, they don't understand that, 130 00:06:33,100 --> 00:06:35,200 but I only had three years of high school. 131 00:06:35,200 --> 00:06:39,000 Some of you guys remember ninth grade was considered middle school 132 00:06:39,000 --> 00:06:41,200 when I was in school. 133 00:06:41,200 --> 00:06:44,200 So my sophomore year was the year they moved the ninth grade 134 00:06:44,200 --> 00:06:45,900 or the freshman up to the high school. 135 00:06:45,900 --> 00:06:49,100 But I was a sophomore in high school 136 00:06:49,100 --> 00:06:51,700 and I remember I was on the football team 137 00:06:51,700 --> 00:06:55,400 and I remember they had these drills during spring practice 138 00:06:55,400 --> 00:07:00,800 and I had to go up against this guy who was a senior. 139 00:07:00,800 --> 00:07:04,600 He was bigger. He was stronger. He was faster. 140 00:07:04,600 --> 00:07:07,700 When I say go up against him, it was one-on-one, 141 00:07:07,700 --> 00:07:09,600 mano y mano, right? 142 00:07:09,600 --> 00:07:11,700 On the same team, but we're practicing. 143 00:07:11,700 --> 00:07:13,900 Spring practice is where you're tested and tried 144 00:07:13,900 --> 00:07:15,300 and do you have the metal? 145 00:07:15,300 --> 00:07:17,900 A lot of people quit during spring practice, right? 146 00:07:17,900 --> 00:07:20,600 Things get really hard. They give up and go the other direction. 147 00:07:20,600 --> 00:07:24,300 But I looked across from the field where I was 148 00:07:24,300 --> 00:07:29,500 and I saw this guy and I was like, I am in trouble. 149 00:07:29,500 --> 00:07:32,900 Because I had watched them play as a freshman in high school 150 00:07:32,900 --> 00:07:36,600 and I knew this individual was a very good football player. 151 00:07:36,600 --> 00:07:38,800 I'll just say that. 152 00:07:38,800 --> 00:07:42,600 He would lay the wood as some of you might know that terminology. 153 00:07:42,600 --> 00:07:47,300 He'd hit you hard and have no, it wouldn't take no apologies for it. 154 00:07:47,300 --> 00:07:48,900 He was just a really good football player. 155 00:07:48,900 --> 00:07:50,100 And here you have me a sophomore. 156 00:07:50,100 --> 00:07:52,800 I'm thinking I've been off more than I could chew. 157 00:07:52,800 --> 00:07:55,800 And I go up against this guy head to head and I'm thinking, 158 00:07:55,800 --> 00:08:01,600 Brian, you're going to have to give it all you got to stand a chance. 159 00:08:01,600 --> 00:08:05,700 You're going to have to give everything you have inside of you against this guy 160 00:08:05,700 --> 00:08:07,200 or you're going to get obliterated. 161 00:08:07,200 --> 00:08:09,200 That's what was going through my mind as a sophomore. 162 00:08:09,200 --> 00:08:13,400 It's a new world of football from middle school to high school, right? 163 00:08:13,400 --> 00:08:16,400 So I go up against this guy and as I looked at him again, 164 00:08:16,400 --> 00:08:19,200 I knew I was outmatched. I knew I was outweighed. 165 00:08:19,200 --> 00:08:21,000 He was bigger, faster, stronger. 166 00:08:21,000 --> 00:08:25,200 I knew I had a problem and I was in for a lot of pain. 167 00:08:25,200 --> 00:08:27,200 But as the coach said, go, here we go. 168 00:08:27,200 --> 00:08:29,200 We take off and we square up. 169 00:08:29,200 --> 00:08:31,300 Bam, there was a collision like a car wreck. 170 00:08:31,300 --> 00:08:35,800 You know, they say when you play football, every collision is like a mini car wreck. 171 00:08:35,800 --> 00:08:42,000 But when I hit this guy and I came away from that situation pretty impressed with my own self. 172 00:08:42,000 --> 00:08:43,500 I thought, man, Brian, that wasn't too bad. 173 00:08:43,500 --> 00:08:45,300 You didn't get destroyed like you thought you. 174 00:08:45,300 --> 00:08:46,700 I didn't destroy him. 175 00:08:46,700 --> 00:08:47,800 Don't get that wrong. 176 00:08:47,800 --> 00:08:49,500 But I didn't get destroyed. 177 00:08:49,500 --> 00:08:51,600 So I was excited about that. 178 00:08:51,600 --> 00:08:52,700 Y'all can clap. It's okay. 179 00:08:52,700 --> 00:08:54,300 I didn't get excited. 180 00:08:54,300 --> 00:08:57,800 I get excited that I did not get obliterated, right? 181 00:08:57,800 --> 00:09:02,900 Because when I looked at what I was facing, I knew I had a problem on the horizon. 182 00:09:02,900 --> 00:09:07,800 When I looked at what I was about to run into, I knew it could be bad for me. 183 00:09:07,800 --> 00:09:11,500 I knew when I looked at him and I saw that he was bigger, faster, stronger. 184 00:09:11,500 --> 00:09:12,500 He outweighed me. 185 00:09:12,500 --> 00:09:17,200 I knew my circumstances was a lot that I was going to have to try to overcome. 186 00:09:17,200 --> 00:09:19,100 But I was able to overcome it. 187 00:09:19,100 --> 00:09:20,300 Now you think, well, where's the story? 188 00:09:20,300 --> 00:09:21,800 Where's the spiritual story? 189 00:09:21,800 --> 00:09:24,800 It's similar to how Gideon was in this story. 190 00:09:24,800 --> 00:09:26,100 Amen. 191 00:09:26,100 --> 00:09:26,900 You see, you have Gideon. 192 00:09:26,900 --> 00:09:34,400 If you go back to chapter six, what you'll see in the first verse of chapter six is the same thing you see repetitive in the people of Israel. 193 00:09:34,400 --> 00:09:41,500 And that's they did evil in the sight of the Lord and he delivered them unto place name here hands. 194 00:09:41,500 --> 00:09:42,500 Right? 195 00:09:42,500 --> 00:09:46,700 In this case, he turned them over and delivered them into the Midianites hands. 196 00:09:46,700 --> 00:09:51,400 So the people of Israel were captive of the Midianites for about seven years. 197 00:09:51,400 --> 00:09:57,200 And Gideon has been placed with raising an army to try to dig them out of this captivity. 198 00:09:57,200 --> 00:10:04,400 There's a few things we need to talk about and I want to highlight in this, but Gideon had a very big responsibility. 199 00:10:04,400 --> 00:10:06,900 He was to lead these men, this army. 200 00:10:06,900 --> 00:10:12,800 And at this time, as he gathered his army, there was about 32,000 men. 201 00:10:12,800 --> 00:10:16,900 Time for me to go to my notes. 202 00:10:16,900 --> 00:10:25,900 He gathered an army of 32,000 people and God told him the first thing God told him is that's too many people because I want to get the glory here, not Israel. 203 00:10:25,900 --> 00:10:33,400 If you if I deliver the Midianites into your hand and you have 32,000 men in your army, you will take the glory for yourself. 204 00:10:33,400 --> 00:10:34,900 Right? Because that's our natural state. 205 00:10:34,900 --> 00:10:38,000 What did we do to help ourselves? 206 00:10:38,000 --> 00:10:40,200 We need to rely on God here. 207 00:10:40,200 --> 00:10:42,200 And God said, you've got too many people. 208 00:10:42,200 --> 00:10:42,700 You've got to me. 209 00:10:42,700 --> 00:10:47,100 So Gideon said to him, he said, tell him if they're afraid, go to the house. 210 00:10:47,100 --> 00:10:54,900 If they're fearful, go home, which leads me to the very first point I want to talk about today is fear and being afraid. 211 00:10:54,900 --> 00:11:00,800 Gideon and his army found theirself in a very intimidating situation faced against the Midianites. 212 00:11:00,800 --> 00:11:03,400 There's 32,000 men. 213 00:11:03,400 --> 00:11:06,500 He takes 22,000 away. 214 00:11:06,500 --> 00:11:13,200 So when he tells them to leave, if they're afraid, 22,000 guys leave and there's left with 10,000. 215 00:11:13,200 --> 00:11:22,700 Now, if you look around at 32,000 men and you're about to do battle, it's normal to look around and say, I'm pretty confident about our chances. 216 00:11:22,700 --> 00:11:24,200 Right? 217 00:11:24,200 --> 00:11:27,500 If I've got 32,000, it doesn't even matter what I'm facing. 218 00:11:27,500 --> 00:11:30,800 I look around, I'm like my circumstance and my situation says I'm good. 219 00:11:30,800 --> 00:11:32,100 I should be fine. 220 00:11:32,100 --> 00:11:34,100 We got 32,000 warriors. 221 00:11:34,100 --> 00:11:38,300 We're going to go do battle and we're going to be delivered from the Midianites. 222 00:11:38,300 --> 00:11:43,900 But when it shrinks down to 10,000, you might be thinking, I don't know about this. 223 00:11:43,900 --> 00:11:45,400 We got a lot less people. 224 00:11:45,400 --> 00:11:49,400 We got a lot less less people for this battle that we're dealing with. 225 00:11:49,400 --> 00:11:57,100 And with that 22,000 people and 10,000 remained, he had 32 was fighting on their side. 226 00:11:57,100 --> 00:11:58,500 They weren't too afraid. 227 00:11:58,500 --> 00:12:01,700 They were pretty comfortable with the 32,000. 228 00:12:01,700 --> 00:12:04,100 They'd be pretty confident in those numbers. 229 00:12:04,100 --> 00:12:10,800 But I'm sure Gideon was very optimistic with that many soldiers and people that Gideon was going to war with the Midianites. 230 00:12:10,800 --> 00:12:13,300 They had been oppressed for, like I said, seven years. 231 00:12:13,300 --> 00:12:24,100 And it reminds me of when I send my daughter or my wife, when I tell them, hey, run out to the car and get something out of the car for me. 232 00:12:24,100 --> 00:12:35,000 If the floodlights ain't on, if I don't stand at the door and watch for her, it's a scary situation to go to the car at night by yourself. 233 00:12:35,000 --> 00:12:37,100 Ask your kids one time, go home and ask your kids. 234 00:12:37,100 --> 00:12:38,900 Say, hey, go out to the car and get me something. 235 00:12:38,900 --> 00:12:41,100 Will you go with me? 236 00:12:41,100 --> 00:12:44,100 Will you watch for me? 237 00:12:44,100 --> 00:12:45,400 I mean, I've got flashlights. 238 00:12:45,400 --> 00:12:46,100 I'm beaming. 239 00:12:46,100 --> 00:12:46,900 Erica does it too. 240 00:12:46,900 --> 00:12:47,400 Y'all laugh. 241 00:12:47,400 --> 00:12:48,300 It's not just landing. 242 00:12:48,300 --> 00:12:50,700 It's Erica. 243 00:12:50,700 --> 00:12:51,900 She said, baby, I've got to run in the car. 244 00:12:51,900 --> 00:12:53,000 Will you watch for me? 245 00:12:53,000 --> 00:12:53,700 I'm like, watch for you. 246 00:12:53,700 --> 00:12:54,600 I can look out the window. 247 00:12:54,600 --> 00:12:56,400 You're right there. 248 00:12:56,400 --> 00:12:57,100 There's floodlight. 249 00:12:57,100 --> 00:13:00,000 I got so many floodlights on my house, you can land an airplane in my driveway. 250 00:13:00,000 --> 00:13:01,500 There's no way. 251 00:13:01,500 --> 00:13:06,400 Nobody's getting close to the house, right? 252 00:13:06,400 --> 00:13:14,100 But when we're with someone, when we're with a group of people, when we have numbers, we tend to feel more comfortable. 253 00:13:14,100 --> 00:13:17,100 And that's the place Gideon was with 32,000 men. 254 00:13:17,100 --> 00:13:17,700 They were comfortable. 255 00:13:17,700 --> 00:13:20,000 They were OK. 256 00:13:20,000 --> 00:13:22,200 And 22,000 leave. 257 00:13:22,200 --> 00:13:25,600 Now you have 10, things start to get a little nervous. 258 00:13:25,600 --> 00:13:31,700 I start to think to myself, Lord Gideon, first of all, if I'm a member of the Army, I'm thinking Gideon, what are you doing here? 259 00:13:31,700 --> 00:13:32,700 You're leading us. 260 00:13:32,700 --> 00:13:34,000 What are we doing here? 261 00:13:34,000 --> 00:13:34,600 Why are all these? 262 00:13:34,600 --> 00:13:36,400 Why did you tell them to leave? 263 00:13:36,400 --> 00:13:39,100 They were afraid and they couldn't be there. 264 00:13:39,100 --> 00:13:44,100 But that made everybody afraid. 265 00:13:44,100 --> 00:13:52,100 The Israelites, God's chosen people, were reduced to living in caves and mountains to stay away from the Midianites for seven years. 266 00:13:52,100 --> 00:13:54,200 They were hiding and running from the Midianites. 267 00:13:54,200 --> 00:13:59,200 Gideon was able to build an army of that many people that were tired of running. 268 00:13:59,200 --> 00:14:00,600 They backed him. 269 00:14:00,600 --> 00:14:01,400 They supported him. 270 00:14:01,400 --> 00:14:03,300 They were ready to go fight for their deliverance. 271 00:14:03,300 --> 00:14:08,800 However, you notice that even though they had strong numbers, they were still very afraid. 272 00:14:08,800 --> 00:14:11,300 At least 22,000 of them went home. 273 00:14:11,300 --> 00:14:12,400 They were so afraid. 274 00:14:12,400 --> 00:14:19,800 They had been bullied for so long and had even at the 32,000 people on their side, they were still too afraid to do anything about it. 275 00:14:19,800 --> 00:14:28,200 But the Bible tells us in 1 Peter 5, 8 that our enemy, the devil, who is an intimidator and an oppressor, that he be sober, be diligent, 276 00:14:28,200 --> 00:14:34,500 because your adversary, the devil, walks about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. 277 00:14:34,500 --> 00:14:40,000 I came, stopped by here this morning to tell you that it doesn't matter how afraid you may be. 278 00:14:40,000 --> 00:14:44,100 It doesn't matter that the numbers look like they're against you or not on your side. 279 00:14:44,100 --> 00:14:49,100 It's okay because the one person that you do have with you is God Almighty. 280 00:14:49,100 --> 00:14:51,100 And he's going to walk with you through that fear. 281 00:14:51,100 --> 00:14:53,000 He's going to walk with you through that valley. 282 00:14:53,000 --> 00:14:57,900 He's going to walk with you and give you the deliverance that he's planned to all along. 283 00:14:57,900 --> 00:14:59,500 So don't worry about your fear. 284 00:14:59,500 --> 00:15:01,100 Don't worry about any of that. 285 00:15:01,100 --> 00:15:02,600 God is with you. 286 00:15:02,600 --> 00:15:04,000 Amen. 287 00:15:04,000 --> 00:15:10,100 Isaiah 41, 10 tells us, fear not, for I am with you. 288 00:15:10,100 --> 00:15:12,900 Be not dismayed, for I am your God. 289 00:15:12,900 --> 00:15:14,000 I will strengthen you. 290 00:15:14,000 --> 00:15:15,000 Yes, I will help you. 291 00:15:15,000 --> 00:15:17,400 I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. 292 00:15:17,400 --> 00:15:19,700 And that's a powerful verse. 293 00:15:19,700 --> 00:15:24,900 But if we stopped at fear not, would we get it? 294 00:15:24,900 --> 00:15:27,800 If we stopped at fear not, would we get it? 295 00:15:27,800 --> 00:15:29,200 Or would we ask why? 296 00:15:29,200 --> 00:15:33,600 It's okay to ask why because it tells us, for I am with you. 297 00:15:33,600 --> 00:15:34,400 Amen. 298 00:15:34,400 --> 00:15:35,500 Stop right there. 299 00:15:35,500 --> 00:15:37,900 The rest of the scripture is great, but that's all I need to know. 300 00:15:37,900 --> 00:15:40,300 God, I need to know you're with me in my fear. 301 00:15:40,300 --> 00:15:42,700 I need to know you're with me when I'm afraid. 302 00:15:42,700 --> 00:15:44,000 But he is with us today. 303 00:15:44,000 --> 00:15:45,400 Amen. 304 00:15:45,400 --> 00:15:46,900 Amen. 305 00:15:46,900 --> 00:15:49,700 The second thing you notice in the story is that, 306 00:15:49,700 --> 00:15:51,400 Judges 7, 4 through 7 says, 307 00:15:51,400 --> 00:15:54,700 but the Lord said to Gideon, there's still too many people. 308 00:15:54,700 --> 00:15:57,200 You have 10,000, there's still too many. 309 00:15:57,200 --> 00:16:00,200 He begins to give Gideon specific instructions on how 310 00:16:00,200 --> 00:16:04,500 he is going to help him thin that number down even more. 311 00:16:04,500 --> 00:16:08,200 So he tells them, lead the men down by a creek or a river 312 00:16:08,200 --> 00:16:11,000 and let them to drink from the water. 313 00:16:11,000 --> 00:16:13,600 And there's two separate ways they can drink from this water, 314 00:16:13,600 --> 00:16:16,400 but if they drink this way, they're going to go with you. 315 00:16:16,400 --> 00:16:18,600 If they drink this way, they're not. 316 00:16:18,600 --> 00:16:21,300 Those who knelt down on their knees and leaned down to the 317 00:16:21,300 --> 00:16:24,800 water to drink it with their face down were the ones that 318 00:16:24,800 --> 00:16:26,500 did not get to go. 319 00:16:26,500 --> 00:16:30,500 The ones who lapped the water up in their hands and lapped it 320 00:16:30,500 --> 00:16:32,900 like a dog were the ones you're going to take with you. 321 00:16:32,900 --> 00:16:35,900 But when he went him through this process and described to 322 00:16:35,900 --> 00:16:37,600 them, here's how you're going to thin it out, 323 00:16:37,600 --> 00:16:41,100 he ended up with 300 people. 324 00:16:41,100 --> 00:16:47,100 So he went from 32,000 to 10,000 to 300, 325 00:16:47,100 --> 00:16:52,200 facing an army the size of 135,000. 326 00:16:52,200 --> 00:16:55,400 When you think about that and you think about being 327 00:16:55,400 --> 00:16:58,800 outnumbered, they were extremely outnumbered. 328 00:16:58,800 --> 00:17:01,600 They were outnumbered before, but now God had put them in a 329 00:17:01,600 --> 00:17:03,800 position where they were even more outnumbered. 330 00:17:03,800 --> 00:17:07,800 Even after the army had dropped to 10,000, which is impressive, 331 00:17:07,800 --> 00:17:10,000 they still had too many. 332 00:17:10,000 --> 00:17:13,900 And now the army shrunk down another 9,700 to 300 was all 333 00:17:13,900 --> 00:17:15,600 that were left. 334 00:17:15,600 --> 00:17:18,000 Extremely outnumbered, looking at their circumstances, 335 00:17:18,000 --> 00:17:20,100 looking at everything they're about to go through, 336 00:17:20,100 --> 00:17:21,500 overwhelmed in their mind. 337 00:17:21,500 --> 00:17:23,600 And sometimes we think that same thing. 338 00:17:23,600 --> 00:17:26,900 You may be thinking that today that you're terribly outnumbered 339 00:17:26,900 --> 00:17:28,300 and you may be thinking things like, 340 00:17:28,300 --> 00:17:30,900 I'm sure they were thinking things like the odds are 341 00:17:30,900 --> 00:17:31,800 stacked against us. 342 00:17:31,800 --> 00:17:33,300 They're looking around at each other, boys. 343 00:17:33,300 --> 00:17:35,900 We are in trouble here. 344 00:17:35,900 --> 00:17:37,800 The odds are stacked against us. 345 00:17:37,800 --> 00:17:39,300 We're most likely going to die. 346 00:17:39,300 --> 00:17:41,700 They're telling each other we're going to die today. 347 00:17:41,700 --> 00:17:45,000 It's just us versus an entire army. 348 00:17:45,000 --> 00:17:47,100 There's no way we can win this. 349 00:17:47,100 --> 00:17:48,700 We're alone in this battle. 350 00:17:48,700 --> 00:17:50,900 The people who have bullied us and beaten us for years, 351 00:17:50,900 --> 00:17:52,100 we're all alone. 352 00:17:52,100 --> 00:17:54,000 Do you blame them for thinking these things? 353 00:17:54,000 --> 00:17:56,800 I would be willing to say that some of us even think that very 354 00:17:56,800 --> 00:17:57,600 same thing. 355 00:17:57,600 --> 00:17:59,500 We look around at our circumstance. 356 00:17:59,500 --> 00:18:01,100 We look around at our atmosphere. 357 00:18:01,100 --> 00:18:03,300 We look around at everything going on around us and we 358 00:18:03,300 --> 00:18:05,900 immediately think there's no way we can win this. 359 00:18:05,900 --> 00:18:07,200 We're down and out. 360 00:18:07,200 --> 00:18:09,500 There's no way I can overcome my situation. 361 00:18:09,500 --> 00:18:11,700 There's no way I can overcome my circumstance. 362 00:18:11,700 --> 00:18:13,500 The odds have been stacked against me. 363 00:18:13,500 --> 00:18:15,500 The enemy is pressing in on all sides. 364 00:18:15,500 --> 00:18:16,600 I'm outnumbered. 365 00:18:16,600 --> 00:18:18,000 I'm extremely outnumbered. 366 00:18:18,000 --> 00:18:18,800 I've got depression. 367 00:18:18,800 --> 00:18:19,700 I've got anxiety. 368 00:18:19,700 --> 00:18:20,400 I've got addiction. 369 00:18:20,400 --> 00:18:24,500 I've got fear of broken inside, divorce, sickness, worry, and 370 00:18:24,500 --> 00:18:24,700 doubt. 371 00:18:24,700 --> 00:18:27,100 Whatever it is that you're facing, I came to tell you that 372 00:18:27,100 --> 00:18:30,600 even when you're outnumbered, you are mighty in God and 373 00:18:30,600 --> 00:18:33,400 anything that comes against you, you are willing to overcome 374 00:18:33,400 --> 00:18:35,100 with the presence of God. 375 00:18:35,100 --> 00:18:38,200 Don't accept the fact that your circumstances stay one thing. 376 00:18:38,200 --> 00:18:41,900 Accept the fact that you are a child of the living God and I 377 00:18:41,900 --> 00:18:45,300 can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. 378 00:18:45,300 --> 00:18:45,800 Amen. 379 00:18:45,800 --> 00:18:47,500 Give him praise in this house today. 380 00:18:52,500 --> 00:18:54,300 Little is much when God is in it. 381 00:18:54,300 --> 00:18:55,700 There was 300 men. 382 00:18:57,700 --> 00:19:01,300 And God was planning on delivering them with 300 men 383 00:19:01,300 --> 00:19:05,600 versus an army of 135,000. 384 00:19:05,600 --> 00:19:09,200 But God is very unconventional with his methods, isn't he? 385 00:19:11,100 --> 00:19:16,700 There was a time in my life that I was seeking God passionately. 386 00:19:16,700 --> 00:19:19,500 I knew I had a call in my life and I didn't know what it meant, 387 00:19:19,500 --> 00:19:21,700 but I was seeking the Lord. 388 00:19:21,700 --> 00:19:22,900 I wanted to know what it meant. 389 00:19:22,900 --> 00:19:24,900 I wanted to dive deeper. 390 00:19:24,900 --> 00:19:28,500 I wanted to press in a little farther. 391 00:19:28,500 --> 00:19:31,100 But there was some confusion in my life. 392 00:19:31,100 --> 00:19:34,000 Things weren't going the way that I thought it should be going. 393 00:19:34,000 --> 00:19:34,800 There was conflict. 394 00:19:34,800 --> 00:19:36,800 There was a constant struggle and a battle. 395 00:19:40,000 --> 00:19:42,300 When I look now, I won't go into details. 396 00:19:42,300 --> 00:19:45,700 We'll be here all day and I know you are thinking it's cold in here. 397 00:19:45,700 --> 00:19:46,800 My team lost yesterday. 398 00:19:46,800 --> 00:19:48,600 I'm sad, right? 399 00:19:51,100 --> 00:19:54,700 But all you need to know is that God delivered me. 400 00:19:54,700 --> 00:19:57,800 And but how he did it was very unconventional. 401 00:19:57,800 --> 00:19:58,600 I look back at it now. 402 00:19:58,600 --> 00:20:02,200 I'm like, God, I just asked for the thing. 403 00:20:02,200 --> 00:20:04,200 That's all I wanted was the thing. 404 00:20:04,200 --> 00:20:09,900 But he did all these other things that affected the one thing plus so much more. 405 00:20:09,900 --> 00:20:16,100 Because our perspective is very little when it comes to the grand scheme of what God has going on. 406 00:20:16,100 --> 00:20:20,200 But when I look back now, I'm like, God, I knew I see now what you were doing. 407 00:20:20,200 --> 00:20:21,500 And thank you so very much. 408 00:20:21,500 --> 00:20:25,500 Not only did you do a 360 in the thing that I was asking about, 409 00:20:25,500 --> 00:20:29,800 but you did it even so greater than I had imagined. 410 00:20:29,800 --> 00:20:30,700 God is good. 411 00:20:33,400 --> 00:20:34,300 He's very unconventional. 412 00:20:34,300 --> 00:20:38,200 He was unconventional in this, his deliverance of getting this army. 413 00:20:38,200 --> 00:20:39,500 He took the 300 men. 414 00:20:39,500 --> 00:20:41,900 They're down to 300. 415 00:20:41,900 --> 00:20:43,700 They know they're outnumbered. 416 00:20:43,700 --> 00:20:45,600 They're thinking we're all going to die. 417 00:20:45,600 --> 00:20:47,000 What do we do? 418 00:20:47,000 --> 00:20:50,300 Gideon said, here's what we're going to do, boys. 419 00:20:50,300 --> 00:20:51,300 We're going to get ready for fight. 420 00:20:51,300 --> 00:20:52,700 He took the 300 men. 421 00:20:52,700 --> 00:20:56,100 He broke them up into three separate groups. 422 00:20:56,100 --> 00:21:04,600 And he armed them with a trumpet, a clay jar, with a torch inside that jar. 423 00:21:04,600 --> 00:21:07,000 Now they're ready for battle, right? 424 00:21:07,000 --> 00:21:08,200 Now they're ready for a fight. 425 00:21:08,200 --> 00:21:15,200 They're going to go to war with the clay jar, a torch, and a trumpet. 426 00:21:15,200 --> 00:21:18,700 I know if it's me, I'm thinking, I don't know about this battle plan you got going on, Lord. 427 00:21:18,700 --> 00:21:20,600 But you got me a torch. 428 00:21:20,600 --> 00:21:21,800 I know they got swords. 429 00:21:21,800 --> 00:21:22,900 I know they got shields. 430 00:21:22,900 --> 00:21:24,100 I know they got stuff going. 431 00:21:24,100 --> 00:21:27,000 I got a torch and a trumpet. 432 00:21:27,000 --> 00:21:30,400 I got some questions, Lord. 433 00:21:30,400 --> 00:21:33,400 But Gideon instructed them what to do. 434 00:21:33,400 --> 00:21:36,900 The trumpet in one hand, the jar on one, and the torch inside. 435 00:21:36,900 --> 00:21:38,200 And he instructed them. 436 00:21:38,200 --> 00:21:40,900 He said, do as I do. 437 00:21:40,900 --> 00:21:44,100 And they surrounded the camp, all three sides. 438 00:21:44,100 --> 00:21:50,100 In my mind, I didn't look this up, but in mind, you have the camp and you have one on the sides and the front, right? 439 00:21:50,100 --> 00:21:52,100 Because they're in a valley. 440 00:21:52,100 --> 00:22:00,500 So they surrounded this army of 135,000 in the middle of a change of the guard at nighttime where they slept. 441 00:22:00,500 --> 00:22:05,900 And Gideon instructed the troops, do as I do when we do it. 442 00:22:05,900 --> 00:22:14,100 And he said he was going to, at that moment, when it came time to move, he blew his trumpet and broke the jar. 443 00:22:14,100 --> 00:22:16,500 And then all the 300 men followed suit. 444 00:22:16,500 --> 00:22:20,100 They blew their trumpets and broke the jar. 445 00:22:20,100 --> 00:22:22,800 And they yelled out their battle cry. 446 00:22:22,800 --> 00:22:30,000 And the Bible says that the enemy camp went crazy and turned their swords on each other. 447 00:22:30,000 --> 00:22:34,700 And God delivered them out of the hands of the Midianites that way. 448 00:22:34,700 --> 00:22:43,500 An army of 300 men armed with a torch and a trumpet with jar pictures and torches. 449 00:22:43,500 --> 00:22:48,500 If it's me, I'm questioning this plan. I'm like, I don't know about this. 450 00:22:48,500 --> 00:22:53,800 But an interesting thing that they did was they kept moving forward. 451 00:22:53,800 --> 00:22:55,900 They didn't stop and they didn't buck Gideon. 452 00:22:55,900 --> 00:22:58,300 They said, OK, we're going to trust in you, man of God. 453 00:22:58,300 --> 00:23:01,400 We're going to follow you. And they followed him. 454 00:23:01,400 --> 00:23:04,900 They kept moving forward. They surrounded the enemy while they were sleeping. 455 00:23:04,900 --> 00:23:08,300 They blew the trumpets and broke the pictures of the torches inside. 456 00:23:08,300 --> 00:23:13,700 And one of the best verses that I love is the one where it says, then 300 blew their trumpets. 457 00:23:13,700 --> 00:23:18,100 The Lord set every man's sword against his companion throughout the whole camp. 458 00:23:18,100 --> 00:23:22,100 So you need to understand that the enemy may have weapons to use against you. 459 00:23:22,100 --> 00:23:26,400 The enemy may be armed to the teeth with all the weapons that they need to destroy you. 460 00:23:26,400 --> 00:23:31,400 But what God's going to do is he's going to take those very same weapons that the enemy had against you 461 00:23:31,400 --> 00:23:34,000 and use them to turn them on their own enemy. 462 00:23:34,000 --> 00:23:38,800 The enemy would destroy themselves with the weapons that they created to destroy you. 463 00:23:38,800 --> 00:23:43,700 Why? Because God is for me, not against me. 464 00:23:43,700 --> 00:23:48,100 They were given specific instructions. God told Gideon, I'm going to deliver the Midianites into your hand. 465 00:23:48,100 --> 00:23:51,200 And that's what he did. Unconventional. 466 00:23:51,200 --> 00:23:54,100 We don't understand sometimes how God decides to work it out. 467 00:23:54,100 --> 00:23:58,700 We don't understand the movements of God, the ins and outs. And that's OK. 468 00:23:58,700 --> 00:24:02,000 Can I say that? That's OK. 469 00:24:02,000 --> 00:24:05,000 Sometimes we don't have the answer when we want our answer. 470 00:24:05,000 --> 00:24:07,600 Sometimes the answer we get is not the answer we want. 471 00:24:07,600 --> 00:24:12,600 Sometimes we don't get any answer at all. And God says, wait. 472 00:24:12,600 --> 00:24:16,300 I heard this this past week and pastors want to said it when he preached, but as a quote, 473 00:24:16,300 --> 00:24:19,800 he said that stuck in my mind. I can't get out of it. 474 00:24:19,800 --> 00:24:24,300 It's been with me all week. But he said in the waiting, he preached on patience. 475 00:24:24,300 --> 00:24:29,300 But in the waiting, we're looking for the answer. We're seeking for the way out. 476 00:24:29,300 --> 00:24:33,300 We're seeking for the deliverance always. The minute we go through a trial, 477 00:24:33,300 --> 00:24:37,600 the minute we go through a hard time, we're seeking for an answer automatically. 478 00:24:37,600 --> 00:24:41,600 That's OK. But there's a time of waiting. There's a time of patience. 479 00:24:41,600 --> 00:24:47,100 But in that patience and in that waiting, God's grace is still applied to you. 480 00:24:47,100 --> 00:24:51,800 So the quote is God's grace sometimes is better than the answer. Amen. 481 00:24:51,800 --> 00:24:57,300 I think when we move and operate inside God's grace, it's better than the answer we're waiting on, 482 00:24:57,300 --> 00:25:00,600 because sometimes God's not ready for us to get that answer. And it's OK. 483 00:25:00,600 --> 00:25:03,800 But we need that answer. We're looking for that answer. But in the meantime, 484 00:25:03,800 --> 00:25:10,300 let's surround ourselves and know that we're in the grace of God. Amen. 485 00:25:10,300 --> 00:25:16,400 Amen. Though it may be unconventional, though God may do some things that you're like, 486 00:25:16,400 --> 00:25:21,600 I don't know what's going on. God has a plan for you. 487 00:25:21,600 --> 00:25:26,300 He has a purpose for you in your life. Amen. 488 00:25:26,300 --> 00:25:30,800 So I encourage you today. It's OK. If you're afraid, know that God is with you. 489 00:25:30,800 --> 00:25:34,800 If you're outnumbered, know that God is with you. It may be unconventional, 490 00:25:34,800 --> 00:25:40,300 but God is still for you. So many times today, we, even as Christians, 491 00:25:40,300 --> 00:25:46,400 let our circumstances and our surroundings affect who we are and who we believe in. 492 00:25:46,400 --> 00:25:52,400 Do you believe in an almighty God or not? One of the things that for the longest time, 493 00:25:52,400 --> 00:25:55,900 Erica couldn't stand about me and yes, she's my wife. She loves me. 494 00:25:55,900 --> 00:26:01,000 I know she does. When she don't want to, she still does. Right? 495 00:26:01,000 --> 00:26:05,800 But one of the things she couldn't stand about me early on in our when we really started 496 00:26:05,800 --> 00:26:09,400 pressing in to see God, what do you have in store for us? 497 00:26:09,400 --> 00:26:13,100 What calling, purpose and plan do you have for our life? 498 00:26:13,100 --> 00:26:16,600 When we really started pressing in, things would come our way. 499 00:26:16,600 --> 00:26:20,800 For instance, when we were looking for a house, we decided our first house we bought 500 00:26:20,800 --> 00:26:25,800 when we were married, we decided let's put it up for sale and let's just see what happens. 501 00:26:25,800 --> 00:26:29,100 We had no plan, no realtor. We were just like, let's put it up for sale, see what happens. 502 00:26:29,100 --> 00:26:31,200 We sell it, we sell it. If we don't, we don't. That's fine. 503 00:26:31,200 --> 00:26:34,100 We had one daughter, we had a land and we were looking to have more kids. 504 00:26:34,100 --> 00:26:38,400 We needed more space. We put it up for sale and little did we know within 30 days, 505 00:26:38,400 --> 00:26:42,400 we were looking for a house because we didn't have nowhere to go, but we sold ours. Right? 506 00:26:42,400 --> 00:26:46,500 So then we're like, hey, mom-in-law, can we live with y'all? 507 00:26:46,500 --> 00:26:50,700 Anyway, we moved in with her parents and we were thinking it's fine. 508 00:26:50,700 --> 00:26:54,000 This is temporary. We're praying, Lord, we know you can provide. 509 00:26:54,000 --> 00:26:58,800 You give us a home. We're wanting a home. We're wanting somewhere we can be there for a while. Right? 510 00:26:58,800 --> 00:27:01,700 So we're praying, we're seeking God. We go to look at this house. We loved it. 511 00:27:01,700 --> 00:27:04,600 It was gorgeous. Well, she loved it. I was just like, I just want a big bathroom. 512 00:27:04,600 --> 00:27:09,300 But anyway, she loved it. We go there, look at this house. 513 00:27:09,300 --> 00:27:12,800 And we didn't get it. We didn't get the house. Right? We put an offering on it. 514 00:27:12,800 --> 00:27:19,100 It didn't happen. Well, we fell apart. Right? We're praying, Lord. What happened? 515 00:27:19,100 --> 00:27:21,600 We're seeking you. We need a house. We're living with mom. 516 00:27:21,600 --> 00:27:28,700 I'm like, we need help. What happened? We had to learn some patience there. 517 00:27:28,700 --> 00:27:32,300 But then we found another house. And we're like, this is the one. 518 00:27:32,300 --> 00:27:36,200 We just feel it. You know, we feel a lot, right? As Christians, we feel. 519 00:27:36,200 --> 00:27:40,600 I just feel it. This is the one. This is the house. 520 00:27:40,600 --> 00:27:44,300 We go look at the house and make the offer. 521 00:27:44,300 --> 00:27:47,500 It was one of those, I don't think there was a realtor involved in this. 522 00:27:47,500 --> 00:27:50,500 It was like, we found it. We went and talked to the owner. It was just us. 523 00:27:50,500 --> 00:27:54,600 Made an offer. She accepted it. Praise the Lord. Praise Jesus. 524 00:27:54,600 --> 00:28:01,200 We had a house. Thank you, Lord. Right? It's victory. We're dancing. We're shouting. 525 00:28:01,200 --> 00:28:06,900 Well, the appraisal comes back on that house and it does not appraise for what we agreed to pay for. 526 00:28:06,900 --> 00:28:09,700 And that's a problem. Anybody that's bought a house knows what I'm talking about. 527 00:28:09,700 --> 00:28:14,500 You ain't paying it. The bank ain't going to give you money for something that ain't worth. Right? 528 00:28:14,500 --> 00:28:18,800 So we went back and sat down with this lady in the dining room of what we thought was our, 529 00:28:18,800 --> 00:28:21,900 this is our blessing. God's given us this. 530 00:28:21,900 --> 00:28:24,500 We sit down in this dining room with this lady and we start talking about it. 531 00:28:24,500 --> 00:28:28,100 She is, she's, she's firm on this house is worth that. 532 00:28:28,100 --> 00:28:34,800 I don't care what the appraisal says. I can't go any lower than what we agreed. 533 00:28:34,800 --> 00:28:39,900 Desolation, right? Complete destruction of mine and my wife's mentality 534 00:28:39,900 --> 00:28:44,200 and what we thought was going to happen and what didn't happen. 535 00:28:44,200 --> 00:28:48,600 We're on our vehicle and we're driving back to Target where we met up to drive together 536 00:28:48,600 --> 00:28:53,500 and we're going out to the house and on the way there, she's crying. 537 00:28:53,500 --> 00:29:02,100 I'm getting mad. Right? And I'm mad because I start thinking, I start looking and I'm, 538 00:29:02,100 --> 00:29:09,400 the enemy is causing this. These emotions, this anger, this desperation. 539 00:29:09,400 --> 00:29:13,000 We're supposed to be believers of God. We're supposed to be followers of God. 540 00:29:13,000 --> 00:29:17,300 We're supposed to rely on Him and trust in God. We're supposed to do all those things. 541 00:29:17,300 --> 00:29:21,800 We're letting it affect us this way. I'm getting mad at the devil. 542 00:29:21,800 --> 00:29:25,700 I'm getting mad at the enemy. And when we get to Target, I said, look, we're going to take, 543 00:29:25,700 --> 00:29:29,900 I'm going to take your hand and we're going to pray because this is not what God intended. 544 00:29:29,900 --> 00:29:33,000 Whether we get the house or not, that ain't what it was about at this moment in time. 545 00:29:33,000 --> 00:29:38,500 It was about battling with the enemy on who it, what it was doing to she and I. 546 00:29:38,500 --> 00:29:43,400 And there's a battle that happens with each and every one of us because the enemy is the enemy of your soul. 547 00:29:43,400 --> 00:29:47,500 He doesn't care about you. All he cares about is you don't make it to heaven one day. 548 00:29:47,500 --> 00:29:53,700 So I want to encourage you today. And in that story, we said a prayer. 549 00:29:53,700 --> 00:29:58,000 We get in our cars, we head to her mom's house. When we pulled in the mom's driveway, 550 00:29:58,000 --> 00:30:03,300 we already had the phone call saying she was going to accept the offer and we're in the house today. 551 00:30:03,300 --> 00:30:08,500 Yeah. Praise the Lord. They got blessing. 552 00:30:08,500 --> 00:30:13,400 I didn't communicate it clearly because you all missed it. But anyway. 553 00:30:13,400 --> 00:30:18,100 We're living in that house today, but that's what that's how the enemy does us. 554 00:30:18,100 --> 00:30:28,000 Amen. Y'all can stand. I'm going to close. 555 00:30:28,000 --> 00:30:31,900 You're welcome. 556 00:30:31,900 --> 00:30:34,400 Hey, the Bible said laughter do good like medicine, right? 557 00:30:34,400 --> 00:30:39,100 It's all right to laugh in the house of the Lord. 558 00:30:39,100 --> 00:30:44,400 But the Lord causes us to feel that way sometimes, whether it be through our circumstances. 559 00:30:44,400 --> 00:30:53,500 Guys, I pray just this season of pat me on the back moment, but I pray for this congregation every day. 560 00:30:53,500 --> 00:30:57,900 And I don't know your stories. I don't know everybody's circumstance. 561 00:30:57,900 --> 00:31:02,900 I don't know what everybody's going through. But what I do know is we all are going through something. 562 00:31:02,900 --> 00:31:07,500 There's something there's a there's a there's a there's a situation in our life. 563 00:31:07,500 --> 00:31:09,500 There's this there's an atmosphere. 564 00:31:09,500 --> 00:31:15,100 There's something always going on in our life to where we need God to intervene. 565 00:31:15,100 --> 00:31:18,000 I know I do. And I pray for each and every one of you. 566 00:31:18,000 --> 00:31:21,800 Like I said, I don't know what you're going through and that's OK. 567 00:31:21,800 --> 00:31:25,800 But I want to encourage you today. Do not be afraid. 568 00:31:25,800 --> 00:31:29,700 It's not over until God says it's over. 569 00:31:29,700 --> 00:31:36,900 You may be outnumbered, you may be the walls may feel like they're collapsing in on you. 570 00:31:36,900 --> 00:31:42,500 But then I also want you to know that God's very unconventional with how he's going to deliver you. 571 00:31:42,500 --> 00:31:45,600 So you may be going through some things tonight, you may be struggling with some things. 572 00:31:45,600 --> 00:31:53,800 That's OK. The same weapons that the Midianites had that were going to be used to kill God's people. 573 00:31:53,800 --> 00:31:59,700 He turned it around and they used them on each other to slay themselves. 574 00:31:59,700 --> 00:32:06,400 And that shows us that the very thing that the enemy can use against us, God will turn and use it against the enemy. 575 00:32:06,400 --> 00:32:19,900 Amen. Genesis 50 20 says you intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. 576 00:32:19,900 --> 00:32:23,400 Did God cause the pain in your life? No. 577 00:32:23,400 --> 00:32:28,600 But understand there's a purpose for that trial. There's a purpose for that circumstance. 578 00:32:28,600 --> 00:32:32,600 There's a purpose for that situation. We may not understand it. 579 00:32:32,600 --> 00:32:36,400 Your deliverance is on the way. It's going to be conventional and that's OK. 580 00:32:36,400 --> 00:32:41,200 But God will take that hurt and use it to make you stronger each and every step of the way. 581 00:32:41,200 --> 00:32:45,000 Amen. All the head bowed and eyes closed. 582 00:32:45,000 --> 00:32:48,800 Father, I love you today. I thank you for your word this morning, Lord. 583 00:32:48,800 --> 00:33:00,600 I thank you for your encouragement to know that we are not alone, to know that we are in the palm of your hand and you are with us everywhere we go. 584 00:33:00,600 --> 00:33:13,000 Father, even in the trials, even in the tribulation, even in the hard times when we feel like the world is against us or we know that you are with us and we praise you for and we thank you. 585 00:33:13,000 --> 00:33:15,400 There's anyone here today that that needs prayer. 586 00:33:15,400 --> 00:33:17,400 Maybe you're going through that certain situation. 587 00:33:17,400 --> 00:33:20,200 Maybe you're going through something that says I've reached out. 588 00:33:20,200 --> 00:33:24,200 I've tried my hardest. I'm trying to seek God, but I've struggled along the way. 589 00:33:24,200 --> 00:33:29,500 I've been distracted along the way and and my original focus isn't what I wanted it to be. 590 00:33:29,500 --> 00:33:31,700 I've let the enemy mess with my emotions. 591 00:33:31,700 --> 00:33:34,600 I've let the enemy mess with with my heart and in my mind. 592 00:33:34,600 --> 00:33:38,400 And I've fallen. I've done some things I shouldn't do. 593 00:33:38,400 --> 00:33:40,100 These altars are open for you today. 594 00:33:40,100 --> 00:33:43,900 I'd love to come pray with you. 595 00:33:43,900 --> 00:33:49,700 Maybe you're just in a place where you know, I knew the Lord and I've strayed from him. 596 00:33:49,700 --> 00:33:55,800 There's no better time to to rededicate or come to know Jesus as your Lord and Savior than today. 597 00:33:55,800 --> 00:34:01,400 There's no better day than today. 598 00:34:01,400 --> 00:34:03,200 Thank you, Lord. 599 00:34:03,200 --> 00:34:08,400 Thank you, God. 600 00:34:08,400 --> 00:34:11,200 Thank you. 601 00:34:11,200 --> 00:34:16,500 Lord, I thank you today and I praise you. 602 00:34:16,500 --> 00:34:19,000 Thank you for your word. I thank you for your presence. 603 00:34:19,000 --> 00:34:24,600 I felt your presence in this house today. 604 00:34:24,600 --> 00:34:28,300 As we leave this place, Lord, may your words continue to bless, 605 00:34:28,300 --> 00:34:32,000 continue to touch, continue to move in our hearts and lives. 606 00:34:32,000 --> 00:34:34,800 Every situation, God, if there's discouragement, if there's doubt, 607 00:34:34,800 --> 00:34:36,700 pray for your presence to intervene. 608 00:34:36,700 --> 00:34:40,900 I pray for you to intervene in the situations, God. 609 00:34:40,900 --> 00:34:43,000 In Jesus name, I pray, amen. 610 00:34:43,000 --> 00:35:12,900 Can we give the Lord a hand clap one more time?