Francis Chan: God is Strong. Am I?

I have been gone for a couple weeks and a notice and the bulletins you can't even spell my name right anymore so with an A and okay I've missed you too uh it's it's been it's been cool last last Sunday I was actually at our church plant in in Texas with Doug Fox and you know the coolest part I mean the services were great I got to teach there the coolest part of going to the church in Rockwall this last week for me personally was I was pretty exhausted I'd done something in Dallas the night before and so then Sunday morning I driving in the parking lot and Doug happens to drive in the exact same time and so I see you know all these people in his car so I'm like oh cool I get to see Frannie of the kids you know catch up but as he gets out of the car it's not as family that's in there it's it's for homeless people that come out of his car and I I can't tell you how blessed I was by that because you show me one other senior pastor who in preparation for your message or Sunday morning you're out picking up homeless people and bringing them to church it's it's a rare thing that's going on out there and I you know a lot of times we see what God's doing here in simi valley but we got to remember the people that have left here and gone and death and other things a lot of our friends move to Texas to help start this church and just so you guys can be encouraged and know that God's live them well and in cornerstone Rockwall Texas and God is doing some great things there last last couple weeks have really been amazing I've been been everywhere I mean literally it's like this is a different city every day and and just watching what God's doing and getting the opportunity to share what God is doing here and people are so encouraged by what is going on and Simi Valley it's just so weird but but it's it's funny cuz you never know what you're gonna get when you go to these conferences and you never know how they're gonna introduce you and about a week ago I was in Florida and there was an introduction of me that there will never be a more unique introduction of me ever like you you can't top this one and it's on video and I want to show it to you because there's no spiritual value to this it's just hilarious so here's the you know I'm getting ready to speak and here's what happens oh man they don't supposed to speak after that you know anyways like I said no spiritual value in that just just a great laugh I wanted to share with you guys it's it's it really has been amazing though what God's been doing and how many people around are just listening in on on the faith of the people of you guys and what's going on in this church and how many people are just looking to hear more and more stories of what's going on in the congregation of this church and Simi Valley and so it's just such a blast to be a part of something like that I want to talk about something this morning and I want to be careful in fact you know I want to pray because last service was so good you know just everything like just the spirit just falling on this place and a lot of times when something like that happens I think okay I want to do everything just like last service but then that never works you know because God is a creator and he wants to do new things all of the time and he's not a duplicator and and every time I go God do exactly what you did last service you know that's just not what he's about because it's a different group of people in this room there's different needs and different words may need to come out of my mouth and different responses and I just want to pray that God really moves in us during this specific service so would you join with me father you're Almighty God and somehow you know what everyone needs and somehow you can even control the words out of my mouth I ask that you do that that I would surrender my lips completely to your Holy Spirit and that everyone here would surrender their ears to the Holy Spirit their hearts to just be willing to listen and be encouraged by your word however you want to present it in Jesus name Amen yeah you know sometimes I there's this whole thing with repetition I don't know what what you're like but you know how we each have our own little idiosyncrasies I don't like repetition you know like I won't watch a movie twice that's just silly to me you know some he hasn't watched something over and over him because you liked it so much isn't and so I tend to not not repeat myself a whole lot even from this stage you know if I teach something I just taught that eight years ago you know they'll remember and and yet that's so bad because in scriptures certain things are repeated over and over and over again and because of my issues I tend to not repeat them and yet this is something that I go you know what Lord yeah that that's totally wrong I need to I need to repeat something I need to say something over and over again at least this month I want to talk about courage and you and I know I just spoke about this not too long ago and I want to let you know that I'm going to speaking about it more and more and the reason why is I see it throughout Scripture a lot and I also want to repeat myself on this topic because I may be the one guy that keeps telling you to believe in the power that's in you the Holy Spirit that's in you there we live in a world where everyone's telling you you can't pull this off what we live in a time when when people even in the church don't believe in the power of the Holy Spirit and what he can do sometimes we just look at the scriptures and go well yeah that was back then and you guys it's it's not about back then it's it's about always it's about ever since the beginning of this book and all the way to the end the followers of God were filled with courage there was a fearlessness in them there was a confidence of my God will come through we grew up with these stories we really did but but but some of us we lost it in there somewhere to the point where you you come to service and now a lot of viewers just scared you're fearful you know some of you moms here you know for mother's day it's like oh can I really pull off this task of being a mom can't really do this well can i really be an example to my kids can I get them there can I get it you know and and there's there's fears there's fears of us as dads and as parents parents are more afraid than ever you know well if I tell my kid no maybe he won't like me maybe she won't like me anymore and so we've got these kids just running out of control just doing whatever because we're scared of why don't lose your friendship what if I do this and so it's just easier to just say yes to everything and just let them have what they want because at least they still kind of like me and and there's just the I mean goes from there to our jobs and the economy and and then it then then to go towards to even think about doing great things for the Lord it's like we lose all of that and yet from the beginning when I read these stories it's about people who say no I'm not afraid and all the way to the end all the way to the book of Revelation where it says you know what those who conquer those who make it through there it says in revelation 21:6 those are the ones that I'm going to bring with me and I'm gonna say them I'm going to be their God they're gonna be my children but the cowards they're just believing and he goes on to describe the lake of fire and it's like no okay we got to beat those bold people those courageous people and I just want to remind you week after week about how much power is in you those who have the Holy Spirit of God inside of you I mean think about how many of you guys grew up in church like you went to Sunday School as a little kid how many went to Sunday School is located that way okay okay about half of you about half of you okay remember the stories that we'd hear in Sunday school what were your favorite stories that from from Sunday school as a little kid Daniel Daniel in the lion's den good David and Goliath right Jonah Esther no uh Exodus yeah the whole part in the Red Sea oh yeah Jesus they talked to him wait what did he do oh okay whoa what else what other stories rumor from child Joshua the prodigal son yeah Samson Stephen Joseph yeah see think about these stories though man it was weird first service why I said what did you remember it was like in unison everyone goes David and Goliath like like that was and I still remember I always loved David and Goliath week I mean it was it seemed like every other week it was David and Goliath but I didn't care I didn't care I loved the story of the scrawny little guy with these rocks in his pocket and looking at this giant go man I can take him down I am gonna take him down I don't care how big he is I'm gonna take him down cuz I've got my god you know you mentioned Daniel on the lines and then we love that story it's like we watched how God would rescue him you know it's like he's gonna be there and me Lions everywhere but you know what God's gonna shut the mouths of all the Lions and then there was Shadrach Meshach and Abednego remember them and there we go no we're not I bow to that ayah we will not bow down I don't care if everyone else bowels down I'm not gonna bow down and they're like well then we're gonna throw you in this big pit of fire this fiery furnace and remember what they say they go go ahead God will rescue us our God can rescue us I don't care if you throw me in a pit of fire and so as a kid you're hearing these things going yeah you know and sure enough they throw them in this pit of fire this fiery furnace and what happens you know like wait now there's four of them how did that fourth guy get to who is that who is that and then then then they come out of the fire and and it says they'd even smell like smoke that nothing happened to them and everyone's amazed and we love that story we loved the story of the exodus someone mentioned with Moses we'll let my people go let them go we're gonna send bunch of plagues on you well this last ones can be terrible and then you get to the Red Sea and he just parts the Red Sea and God's people go through and these are the stories remember the story of Joseph you know soul in this slavery but just kept believing kept believing kept believing we love the story of Elijah standing on Mount Carmel against 450 prophets of Bale and he's just mocking them mocking them mocking them he was fearless he goes man oh my god is gonna take you down there's a matter you can jump sing all day long your gods not gonna listen you he's not real my gods are real God and so these are the stories we grew up with with his courage and don't you remember as a kid just having this faith like God can do anything through me and you just walked out with this courage and I was just even remembering back to when I was in high school and I first started believing for myself and it was real to me and and I really in my head thought you know what God could use me to reach my whole campus I bet you by the end of the year and by in my senior year I think I can fill this whole gymnasium with people you know just as it I believe that I remember just going through a yearbook calling people like we're cutting class telling people about Jesus is I believe like this is going to happen no I'm gonna change this place and on and on and on all these this belief but then what happens is it seems like through the years people calm you down you know and and and really the older we get and and and I know this isn't true across the board of everyone but for the most part we start to lose that courage we get knocked down here and there and then people start telling you you can't pull it off and and you are faith and that risk and that courage just seems to subside and and it's not right it's it's not good that's not that's not how we want to live and it's so rare that someone even in church gatherings so rare for someone to put their arm around you and remind you of how powerful you are how powerful your God is who dwells inside of you and what you can do you know we kind of we become more and more cowardly and we'll call it responsible you know so that we feel better about ourselves or go no I'm just being responsible it's being a good steward of my life you know cuz God wouldn't want me just kind of throw it all away and you know I'm just being careful you know people go man you spend a lot of time going and speaking to youths being it speaking to college students and why and I go they still believe they still believe that God could do anything like anything and they live like it and and they're looking for 40 year old guys with kids that I'll still do crazy things and they need to believe that God is still God not just when he was when we were little kids but when were 40 when were 80 just go man I'm gonna go for it God's done some amazing things throughout time and you can probably even think right now of times when your dreams were squashed times when you just felt no God wants me to do this thing God wants me to do this thing and then feel things don't happen the way you thought they would and pretty soon people start talking you into being a little bit more responsible and then pretty soon because that's where your flesh wants to go anyways you just go yeah I can't do anything great see sometimes in church I know for me man I was going nuts when I was in high school and then junior college but then I remember getting more educated and going off to Bible College and pretty soon you you meet these people that are more educated than you are and you start to feel really dumb compared to them and then you think well I don't want to say anything because that guy's so much smarter I just listen to him you know and then then the more you learn the more you realize how much you don't know and there's always someone better than you and you think well I can't so that guy's got a PhD in counseling and you know he was a guest of dr. Phil and you know when you start going going going and you just start believing like well what am I gonna do okay and you just you know what maybe maybe they'll just come to church and Francis I'll talk to him or or maybe this will happen or they're so happen to the point where you just don't even believe that guy could do anything great through you anymore and is that really how we want to live it doesn't make sense we're children of God there's a guy in our church there's a guy in our church who bench presses eleven hundred and fifty pounds you can't even fathom it he's the strongest man in the world ESPN we we have we baptized him a while ago we had to turn him sideways you know I mean you know anyone who's bench press is going I don't even get that that isn't it makes sense that's not humanly possible are you sure he's a human you know eleven hundred and fifty pounds eleven fifty world record amazing you know what's more amazing his wife bench presses 405 pounds a girl 400 are you kidding me I will never even come close won't even try out oh that would be a that would be hilarious to try to push 400 pounds up they have kids I don't know their kids my guess they're not picked on a whole lot it'd be weird if they were all scrawny really that would just look weird you guys and I guess what I'm saying is we're children of the most powerful being in existence and it just looks weird when we're scared it just does from cover to cover this is about one being who can do anything who's confident who's just sits there and goes look I I'm the only one who holds the keys to life and deaths and everything else and all about you know from beginning to end is to show off his power and so when his children are weak and scared it just doesn't make sense it looks really strange you know when we've got such a powerful God and maybe it's because we don't focus on him enough and I've been and that's why the more I'm reading the scriptures the more I'm just gonna Lord you know I want to walk around like a child of God a true child of God who's fearless who's courageous because that's what they did that's what followers of Yahweh have been marked by this power and this confidence of my god will come through and we love those stories as kids and and my desire over the next few weeks is just to stir that back up in us again and go you know what yeah I'm further along in my years but why don't I believe like I used to as I grow in my knowledge I want my courage and my boldness to grow with it not not the opposite when's the last time you just went and did something that was just absolutely insane in the eyes of everyone else but you had the confidence you knew that was what God was calling you to do I want to turn us to a one passage in particular one of my favorite Old Testament stories and it's a story of Caleb Caleb and Joshua someone mentioned Joshua but I turn to turn to the Book of Numbers chapter 13 and as you turn there I want to throw a couple of quotes on the screen first one is by Tertullian it was one of the early believers when the early leaders in the church lived around 180 ish ad it says the Lord challenges us to suffer persecutions and to confess him he wants those who belong to him to be brave and fearless he himself shows how weakness of the flesh is overcome by courage of the Spirit this is the testimony of the Apostles and in particular of the representative administrating I'm sorry and in particular the representative administrating spirit a Christian is fearless aw Tozer writes this we met we may as well face it the whole level of spirituality among us is low we've measured ourselves by ourselves until the incentive to seek higher plateaus and the things of the Spirit is all but gone we've imitated the world saw popular favor manufactured delights to substitute for the joy of the Lord and produce a cheap and synthetic power to substitute for the power of the Holy Ghost he says you know are we just doing what the world does if we bring the most gifted people you know then we can muster up some sort of power or are we really about the power of the Holy Spirit are we really believing in the same crazy insane power that we saw in Scripture and of all these great men and women of God see in in numbers chapter 13 we have the story of that's that's when uh that's when a god had just led the people of Israel you know away from the Egyptians he you know through all the plagues on them you know it's it's the whole Prince of Egypt thing and then you know Moses goes to the Red Sea and the armies chasing them and he divides the water they go through there in the desert and God is going to take them to this promised land and God goes okay we're here we're here this is the promised land right in front of you and and so what happens in numbers chapter 13 is a they send some spies remember that I love this story of the spies they said you know what let's let's have people scope out the land and so they decide to send 12 they picked 12 guys that go you know what let's send them in there and they'll spy it all out and then in verse 25 they come back after spying out the land numbers 13 verse 25 it says at the end of 40 days they returned from spying out the land and they came to Moses and Aaron into the congregation of the people of Israel in the wilderness of Parana Kadesh they brought back word to them and to all the congregation and showed them the fruit of the land and they told him we came to the land to which you sent us it flows with milk and honey and this is its fruit however the people who dwell in the land are strong and the cities are fortified and very large and besides we saw the descendants of a nak there the Amalekites dwell in the high land of the Negev that the Hittites the Jebusites the amorite said well in the hill country the Canaanites dwell by the seat along the Jordan but Caleb quieted the people before Moses and said let's go up at once and occupy it for we are well able to overcome it the men who had gone up with him said we are not able to go up against the people they're stronger than we are so they brought to the people of Israel a bad report of the land that they had spied out saying the land through which we have gone to spy out it's a land that devours its inhabitants and all the people that we saw in it are of great height and there we saw the Nephilim the sons of anak who came from the Nephilim and we seemed to ourselves like grasshoppers and so we seemed to them so you've got these these spies that come back the twelve of them come back and there's two of them Joshua and then here it mentions Caleb who says we can do this thing let's go you know what God already split the Red Sea killed the firstborn of all of Egypt I think he can pull this off let's go but the other ten looked around they go man did you see how big those people were and they come back and they they stir the whole congregation of you hey you guys let's be good stewards of our lives you know if we die out there you know what's going to happen to our kids we're just being responsible we can't win this thing now way too big it's Justin way too out there let's let's just calm down and you know we got this far that should be glad that we're still alive and and all of the people followed those ten they didn't listen to Caleb they didn't listen to Joshua you got you got two people they're gonna know we can do this thing you've got ten they're saying no we can and suddenly everyone everyone is discouraged everyone stops believing and then you have in chapter 14 God's response to that in numbers chapter 14 verse 26 it says this the Lord spoke to Moses and to Aaron saying how long shall this wicked congregation grumble against me I've heard the grumblings of the people of Israel which grumble against me say to them as I live declares the Lord what you have said in my hearing I will do to you your dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness and all of your number listed in the census from twenty years old and upward who have grumbled against me not one shall come into the land where I swore that I would make you dwell except Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of nun but your little ones who you said would become a prey I will bring in and they shall know the land that you have rejected but as for you your dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness and your children shall be Shepherds in the wilderness forty years and shall suffer for your faithlessness until the last of your dead bodies lies in the wilderness according to the number of days in which you spied out the land forty days a year for each day you shall bear for the iniquity 40 years and you shall know my displeasure I the LORD have spoken surely this will I do all this wicked generation who are gathered against me in this wilderness they shall come to a full end and there they shall die and the men who Moses sent to spy out the land who returned and made all the congregation grumble against him by bringing up a bad report the land the men who brought up a bad report of the land died by plague before the Lord of those men who went to spy out the land only joshua the son of nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh remained alive so God was not pleased he's never been pleased with cowardice he's never been pleased with people who don't believe that he can come through and that he can do anything I mean don't you see it there yeah I mean he says you know what here's what's gonna happen because you guys fight it out for 40 days and you come back and you get all these people disbelieving that I can take him down you know what I'm gonna make you wander around for 40 years and he says to those people every one is 20 and over just guess what you're never going to the promised land you're all gonna die here in the wilderness and those 10 spies who convinced you of all that they're gonna die right now I just put a plague on them okay everyone's gonna wander and die except for Joshua and Caleb because they believed in me and then all the little kids and they're gonna build up a new generation and they're we're gonna take this land my question to you is who do you resemble do you resemble Joshua and Caleb or do you resemble everyone else who's looking at the problems in life looking at God's calling for your life and things that he's asked you to do and you just start listening to those voices telling you you can't do this you can't do anything great because the reason why I can talk about this so easily is because I've heard all those voices my whole life man I've heard everyone telling me you can't do it you can't change the world you know there's always going to be poor people out there you can't rescue every kid that's been trafficked by these sex offenders not going to save la you you know you can't help all those inner city poor you can't you can't do you can't do that yeah yeah all the voices you got to be responsible you got to be this you got to be that and meanwhile in my soul I'm trying to fight for this faith I used to have when I was a little kid you know when I was younger and I just believe that God could do anything through me and and there are things that I knew I knew God wanted me saying there not go in a place and I'll know God wants me to say something and I'll just get so scared because I know how people were I got I got scared this morning again even don't were dumb things dumb things even showing that video you know I think I'll just be fun whatever but then I hear these boys people in the past that have said for instance why do you always feel like you have to be funny and he'll confront me they can friend me on anything but it's just like why do you have to be funny up there it's not even trying to funny comes out it just is loves it's it's Who I am I can't you know I can't go up there not be me you know it's just I'm hilarious you know it's just see it's just but all of that it gets in your head uses like no you know don't don't be this don't be to fight why do you have to be so convenient why do you have to be so hard why do you have to be this because we want it we weren't just calm everyone down and make them normal we want to because let's face it we were all weird at one point right and everyone just kind of calms you down and then even with our dreams before the Lord and things that he called us to do and to say people mellowed us out and said you can't do that if this is like it's like a Christian Prozac it's just you know no don't go to those extremes you know we want you right here we just want to calm you down mellow you out we just and it's like is that what you see in Scripture no Scripture was always about no you yeah right on right on your courageous you're you're insane you believe when no one else believes you stay that way and I prayed your boldness will get even greater that's what we talked about a few weeks ago remember when the people were amazed they were astonished by the boldness of Peter and John and so now here's the leaders astonished by their boldness they come out of jail and what do they do they gather the believers together to pray for greater boldness they didn't gather two believers together to put their arms around him and go hey calm down calm down you know what you're gonna die who's gonna take care of your family you know calm down let's let's let's not do this let's not do this I mean you know you don't to preach that much you know I mean they're after you they're gonna kill you and that's not what the believers prayed for it was for boldness it's like wow you believe like a little kid you know I'm gonna pray that you even be getting more bold see my favorite part of that story of the spies is it doesn't end there my favorite part of this story is what happens 45 years later 45 years later I just love this passage I even I was reading it during the first service and I just started welling up with tears because I loved it so much it's in Joshua here's 45 years later Joshua 14 Joshua 14 and what's happened here is it's 45 years later and caleb is still alive just like God said everyone else is dead but Joshua and Caleb are still alive okay God God predicted this and God's been right every time so far and he says look everyone's gonna die off these guys will die of a plague but these two guys because they believed in me they're gonna live and they're the only ones they're gonna walk into this promised land and the little kids and so so here you have I love this okay it's it's a Joshua of 14 verse 7 and here's Caleb speaking listen to his words I was 40 years old when Moses the servant of the Lord sent me from Kadesh Barnea to spy out the land and I brought him word again as it was in my heart but my brothers who went up with me made the heart of the people melt yet I wholly followed the Lord my God and Moses swore on that day saying surely the land on which your foot is trodden shall be an inheritance for you and your children for ever because you have wholly followed the Lord my god and now behold the Lord has kept me alive just as he said these 45 years since the time that the Lord spoke this word to Moses while Israel walked in the wilderness and now behold I am this day 85 years old I am still as strong today as I was in the day that Moses sent me my strength now was as my strength was then for war and for going and coming so now give me this hill country of which the Lord spoke on that day for you heard on that day how the Anakim were there with great fortified cities it may be that the Lord will be with me and I shall drive them out just as the Lord said it's not just beautiful picture an 85 year old man getting up in front of a crowd and going 45 years ago no one believed and I was like let's do this thing 45 years ago guys I remember 45 years ago just coming back and go no we can do this thing we can do this thing we can do this thing even though my brother's like no we can't no we can't I said I believe completely in the Lord picture the 85 year old man now is love this because man it's been 45 years I'm 85 but you know what I'm just as strong as I was when I was 40 so let's go do this thing now cuz God promised it and so I can rush up that hill and I'll take down this army because it's never been about me yeah I probably look a lot different than I did 45 years ago but I'm just as strong because it's not about the flesh it's about God being with me I think that that that story just hits me because I sure want to be that don't you don't you want to be one of those two don't you want to be the 85 year old that believes even more than you did when you were 40 and I guess that's what concerns me as I think of my faith when I was a kid and I think about my faith at 40 41 but I'm sorry pretend I'm still 40 and you know I'm looking at a pattern and it's not leading me to where Caleb was at the end of his life I mean this is if that's the direction of your faith and you just and I understand it you just you hear it people are telling you you can't you can't and you had dreams you had things you wanted to say and you just didn't say it you just didn't do it or a couple things failed and you thought oh okay you know what I'm just not gonna try anything great anymore and and our faith starts to die and that's why that's why this story means so much to me because I'm going man I want to if the Lord tarries and if he has me live that old man could I just be more on fire for the Lord when I'm 85 or am I gonna keep listening to all of these voices that try to calm me down mellow me out come on no one lives that way anymore that was for back then but to read the book of Acts and go man I don't see that to read the book to read Genesis and go I don't see how to see the book of Revelation and look at the end go man no I'm not gonna be one of those cowards I'm not gonna be one of those ten I wanted I want to be like Caleb to believe holy holy on the Lord that man you know what he says if I seek his kingdom first everything's gonna be taken care of I I swear it'll happen oh no that's being irresponsible all no not anymore in that 21st century now we've got methods of you know taking care of yourself and looking to the future back then they had to they had to use faith we don't have to now because we've set up other systems and what God gave that as provision to you so it's like no no I don't believe it I believe I'm supposed to us to live by faith and I believe the older again I should take bigger steps of faith and it's harder because once kids are involved it's kind of like has a dumb illustration but just came to me so many of I'm supposed to UM you ever gamble you shouldn't but uh I I don't anymore but but that I used to be one thing just to be honest with you that I struggled with like I never lost anything real big but just the excitement of winning you know and I remember is this is one of younger and one time I I got a ticket I was heading to Utah to speak at a camp and I got to take it on the way there so I thought you know halfway there I thought I know what I'll do I'll stop in Vegas and win the money back to pay for the ticket because God would honor that you know and and so I I stopped and uh and you know there's this thing called uh oh when you when you just let it ride you know I was down you know I it was really dumb I was up all night and kept taking another twenty bucks add another twenty bucks really really dumb especially if you believe in the sovereignty of God gambling is ridiculous you know now it's like well what's God gonna do bless me you know he's in control he knows what cards coming next but I just remember you know just letting it ride letting it ride and you know it started with two bucks and I just let it go you know sometimes four bucks a bucket pretty soon I had a hundred dollars sitting there and I thought this tickets gonna be 200 bucks and if I win this hand you know and I remember my buddy next to me goes hey you don't have the guts to let it ride and I'm like oh yeah watch this you know and I get dealt a ten and a three know what my - I do I do got a hundred but see it was easy to let it ride when I was two bucks it's easier you know you know but 100 bucks and I I already made the decision it's like okay and that ten comes out I'm like no no I lost everything you know it was easy you know when I was a little bit now and a hundred bucks on the table and you just let it ride and bet it all and I lost it all see in a lot of ways I know the sinful illustration I'm not saying good to gamble I'm telling you sin okay so their own email okay here's the thing my point my point I probably won't use their the other services so okay so you guys are lucky okay the point of this is when you're younger to risk for the sake of the kingdom it seems like the two bucks isn't it well what am I gonna lose that's why you know even Jesus says it's it's harder for the rich it just is they got more to lose you've gotta India go into some of these slums and you go hey you know what leave everything God's got a better life for you okay great you come to see me Valley and go hey leave everything are you kidding me you know how much I have and the older you get pretty soon it's like long I don't know if I want to bet everything because now I've got a wife I've got kids I've got a home I've got a life insurance I got this this this is all right you you telling me to bed at all just believing that he's gonna come through so it gets harder doesn't it that the more you go in life it just seems like wow it was easy to bed it all back then but now I don't know I got bigger bigger responsibilities and it gets harder and harder and harder and so our faith and our risk and our courage we just I just want to play it safe I just want to play it say let me pull out 98 dollars and I'll throw a couple back there I'll put two back down on the table I'll bet that I don't want to do that I want to be 85 years old and fed at all oh I'd be 85 and go nothing's changed God still god I want to be Caleb and and I know there's something in a lot of you that knows exactly what I'm talking about because you'd let go of things you stopped believing and I just want to pray for you this morning and I want you to for me because this is what i hunger for I've got enough people telling me that I can't do it just every once in a while it'd be nice to hear a voice that says you know what you have a mighty God I just want to lay my hands on you and pray for you and that's what I want to do for you this morning some of you like I said some of you moms Mother's Day you're struggling with courage I say this because we've gone through it as parents you just you start doubting yourself when you start going man I can't you know the frustrating thing is you can't make your kids love Jesus no matter what you do what do you do force it on them you think if you do everything right then they're gonna believe and follow him now I've seen some pretty awesome parents godly men and women who've had kids that just went the opposite direction you got no control and it's all in God's hands and I'm just telling you ladies don't put all that pressure on yourself don't take yourself that seriously you know the Holy Spirit comes into your child's life and you pray like crazy for that to happen and you model it in the home just be a woman of God and don't believe the lie that we'll all I'm supposed to do right now is just raise yes that's your priority but God may be calling you to other great things too there may be people in your neighborhood crazy things God's called you to and maybe people told you no you can't do all that and some of you guys that are feeling like man I'm not even providing the economy and everything else I just I can't even focus you're telling me to have visions of great things God's gonna do I'm just trying to stay alive and I'm going man that's no way to live where's the faith and when you were a kid that just believed some of you some of you guys are in sin you just are you're in some major sin and and and people have told you your whole life well you can't just it doesn't happen that way you don't just change overnight but then you read the scriptures in the world seems like some people did you know and it's hard and you go man it seems like it says here the spirit can put to death the deeds of the flesh like putting to death kill it and then there's part of you that doesn't want to hear all these other voices and just want to hear the voice of God this is no I can kill this sin I know by the power of the Holy Spirit promise me I can kill it and you want to believe in that but no one else is encouraging you there go no no no you got to do this you got to do this and pretty soon you look like everyone else in the world with all these systems and there's no benefit to having the Holy Spirit in you I mean some of you are in relationships and everyone say no you can't stay in that you know that's gonna hurt you too much this or that but you've heard the voice of God you've read the voice of God that's knowing stay in and keep loving and keep fighting and you're just worn out and you're going man no one can live through what I've lived through and I just want to say yes you can you can stay in that relationship others of you are in sinful relationships and you need the courage to get out you know it's not right before God but you don't have the security you don't have the courage you don't believe that God would bring someone else you don't believe that if God wanted this together that even though you went apart for a while and got things right before him that he could do because you don't believe you can do anything great and so you want to take matters into your own hands I just want you to believe in again that God's a great God some of you have heard specifically from the Lord you know of things that you were created for and just because no one else does it that way you've backed off isn't this book filled with people there were examples if no one else did it that way and everyone else was against them but they stood kaleb must have looked like a fool for believing and so did Joshua but 45 years later and I'm telling you right now whatever steps of faith God's calling you to take I promise you forty five years from now you won't regret it somebody's saying I don't have 45 years yeah you do and some of you 80 years from now you're not gonna regret it I won't regret it here's what I want to do I don't want to counsel you we do enough talking I want you to have faith again in the power of God I want to pray over you and I don't have some of our elders and some of the pastors and just some of the leaders lay hands on you and pray for you that Kendall is gonna come up she's just gonna worship and sing and play and and if there's something that in your life where you just go you know and I know God wants me to do this and I've just lacked the courage I'm gonna ask you during this time just to come to the front and get on the steps get on the floor and just get on your knees no one's gonna talk to you you're not gonna get counseling from anyone so you have some of the leaders come and lay hands on you and pray over you not even ask you your name because the Bible says that in heaven God knows your thoughts before you even pray them he goes so stop talking so much you think God's gonna listen to you because you spoke so well but there's just this faith I want you to believe that just by a godly man or woman laying his hands on you and praying for you that something would happen that you'd have a boldness to do what you're called to do you can just stay on your knees as long as you want and different people may just come by and lay their hands on you and pray over you and pray for power to overcome the sin in your life the power to walk across the street and talk to that neighbor that you know you're supposed to to possibly change that eternal destiny by the power of the Spirit and maybe some of you today you're going you know what I've never even had the courage to follow Jesus and like I but I believe that he died on the cross he had the courage to die on that cross for all of my sins I believe he rose from the grave but I've never even gotten up and confessed that through baptism because I was scared maybe this is the day where you stand before everyone you were but just by the power of God you come up here it get in that water and you just say you know what I'm done with my old self and you just die to your old self and rise again and you believe that the Holy Spirit will come into you to live the type of life that we're talking about that's strong and courageous and if that's you then you can go in the prayer room and someone will pray with you and will baptize you at the end of service for the rest of us I've been praying for this time that there would just be a time of power unexplainable that as we lay hands on you and pray for you you leave a different person and it's unexplainable not that you're just a little bit stronger but it's like out of control because that's the way that we're in the scripture and I believe it can still happen so if that's you I just invite you to come forward now just get on your knees and some of the elders and pastors come on forward and just soon lay hands on you just pray for you and I know you feel for a god your home smell sure Oh your son you can't find the reasons to believe anymore don't hide your thoughts that's why that's why I live I know every you for you that's why I try to reach you it's hard that's why I know the days are dark now here rusty no there is redemption I know one day your make peace can't fight the feelings Aaron you down but don't hide your shame from me cuz that's why I died that's why I will I know every part of you the you for you that's why I try to reach you today I'm not add it's hard to faith that's why there's great that's why there's grace that's why there's great that's why you

Channel: Crazy Love

Views: 32,374

Rating: 4.8951049 out of 5

Keywords: sermon, Francis Chan, church, GOD, Jesus, Crazy Love, Crazy, Love

Id: CpuDNXWua3M

Length: 54min 29sec (3269 seconds)

Published: Sat Dec 06 2014