Finding Peace in the Middle of the Storm | Troy's Story

[SPEAKER_00]: Please stand for the reading of God's Word.

[SPEAKER_00]: My name is Kim Vier, and I will be reading from Matthew 11, 25 through 30.

[SPEAKER_00]: At that time, Jesus declared, I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yes, Father, for such was your gracious will.

[SPEAKER_00]: All things have been handed over to me by my father, and no one knows the son, except the father, and no one knows the father, except the son, and anyone to whom the son chooses to reveal him.

[SPEAKER_00]: Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

[SPEAKER_00]: Take my yoke upon you and learn from me.

[SPEAKER_00]: for I am gentle and lowly and heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

[SPEAKER_00]: For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

[SPEAKER_00]: This is the word of the Lord.

[SPEAKER_01]: All right, thank you so much Kim.

[SPEAKER_02]: Those words of Jesus, probably a passage you guys know, have read, have memorized, have heard a lot, maybe you have it painted on your wall somewhere at your house.

[SPEAKER_02]: Come to me, all you who are weary and heavy laden, I will give you rest.

[SPEAKER_02]: Just this invitation from our Lord Jesus to anyone and everyone.

[SPEAKER_02]: That's kind of the qualification for you to know the Lord and to walk with the Lord is really just that you come.

[SPEAKER_02]: All right, that's you come, that you trust in him, that you look to Jesus and rest in him and all things.

[SPEAKER_02]: Now, let's use your said and then done.

[SPEAKER_02]: We know that and we are all going through 100 things in our lives that we could.

[SPEAKER_02]: give as a reason why that's difficult for us right now to pursue the Lord.

[SPEAKER_02]: I am you are as well.

[SPEAKER_02]: And from time to time, here's what I know.

[SPEAKER_02]: I think it's it's helpful for us to listen to and see a real world example of what it looks like when we do just

[SPEAKER_02]: trust in Jesus through even the hardest of things and pursue him and pursue knowing him deeper and walking with him more faithfully no matter what that looks like in our life and and going through good times and going through really hard times.

[SPEAKER_02]: Last couple weeks we've talked through Psalm 23.

[SPEAKER_02]: through the Valley of the Shadow of Death, and just being again this invitation that we have to come and sit at the table with the Lord.

[SPEAKER_02]: That's what we talked about last week.

[SPEAKER_02]: And then it's just been good for me and I hope for you as well to be reminded of God's invitation.

[SPEAKER_02]: That's just a word I want us to hear today.

[SPEAKER_02]: It's just invitation.

[SPEAKER_02]: That's what the Lord is always doing to us.

[SPEAKER_01]: Come on, you know, inviting us in.

[SPEAKER_02]: So today, today, we're going to get to hear a story.

[SPEAKER_02]: We're going to get to hear a story from a brother, a very good friend of mine, who's going to share with us just exactly that how the Lord has been really inviting him in and drawing him close and working in his life through what I would consider to be a very difficult situation in circumstance.

[SPEAKER_02]: So if you guys would, we're going to welcome up here, Mr.

[SPEAKER_02]: Troy, Gonzales, Ms.

[SPEAKER_02]: Zones, to come on Troy, if you would.

[SPEAKER_01]: All right, thank you guys.

[SPEAKER_02]: getting set there.

[SPEAKER_02]: So if you guys know Troy, many of you do, some of you may not, but Troy, just in the last, well, he's going to share his story with us, but just in the last several months has been put into the position that you guys see him in right now.

[SPEAKER_02]: And actually, you may have seen him actually recently more going around in a wheelchair, not today.

[SPEAKER_02]: Not today, praise God, and you're going to share that some of some of that with us.

[SPEAKER_02]: But I will say this, and I'm so glad that we all get to hear this story this morning is that the Lord's work in your life

[SPEAKER_02]: It's just been astounding and I don't mean the fact that you can get up on two feet at the right I mean something deeper than that that I know we're gonna hear about here in just a second So let me pray for you if you guys will just let's pray for joy together and then choice is your story with us Let's pray Lord.

[SPEAKER_02]: Thank you again that you're God that we know and trust you Lord and and we can just

[SPEAKER_02]: Look to you as our great and faithful Father, sustainer, healer, Savior.

[SPEAKER_02]: Lowering prayer of a choreo right now, let him share his story with faithfulness and boldness, honesty and clarity, and without fear, in any way, or without any angst, God, that He would just share with us what you have done in His life in Jesus name.

[SPEAKER_02]: Amen.

[SPEAKER_01]: I'm gonna start by saying, find man and women that are willing to lift you up like that

[SPEAKER_01]: I'm Troy.

[SPEAKER_01]: I'm a great believer in Jesus Christ.

[SPEAKER_01]: Let's struggle with loss and ego.

[SPEAKER_01]: I'm going a little bit of a script.

[SPEAKER_01]: I'm going a little bit of a script.

[SPEAKER_01]: My story is about finding peace in a middle of a storm, in the middle of the darkest time.

[SPEAKER_01]: I was still paralyzed, and now the Lord has healed me in a miraculous way, right?

[SPEAKER_01]: Less than four weeks ago, I was completely paralyzed in my legs.

[SPEAKER_01]: Couldn't pick up a fork with my hands.

[SPEAKER_01]: So tremendously fast, the Lord is healing me.

[SPEAKER_01]: We're grateful for that.

[SPEAKER_01]: So I want to give the glory for that to God.

[SPEAKER_01]: Uh, labeled warning.

[SPEAKER_01]: I'm I'm not far.

[SPEAKER_01]: I'm structuring the in the military and I always start with out of speak English.

[SPEAKER_01]: So if you don't understand me just raise your hand, I'll repeat it slowly.

[SPEAKER_01]: My story is a testimony of surrendering to Jesus during a time of struggle and pain.

[SPEAKER_01]: Matthew five four says bless our those who mourn for they will be comforted.

[SPEAKER_01]: For context purposes, I will give you a brief background on myself, just to illustrate where I've come from in terms of self-reliance and where the lower has taken me through a time of struggle.

[SPEAKER_01]: But also a time of surrendering and a time of finally giving the reins of my life to Jesus.

[SPEAKER_01]: I am originally from Bolivia, South America.

[SPEAKER_01]: I grew up in a Christian family, but a very

[SPEAKER_01]: where the stronger, the better fighter, and the one that has the most women was the men to look up to.

[SPEAKER_01]: So I'm also my life, I lived that way.

[SPEAKER_01]: When I was 18, I left Bolivia and I came to the United States with a goal of joining the military.

[SPEAKER_01]: I wanted to be the baddest thing I can be.

[SPEAKER_01]: Here's later, my love goal happened and I joined the Army at 22.

[SPEAKER_01]: Six years later, I switched to their force.

[SPEAKER_01]: During my military career, I was blessed to join on a lead for us in the Air Force called Phoenix Raven.

[SPEAKER_01]: This was the hardest thing I've ever done yet the most rewarding.

[SPEAKER_01]: It drove the Alps and so many of the wars helped me obtain a dream job and took me over 30 countries across the world.

[SPEAKER_01]: Through the years, I also became a SWAT operator and a leader of operators.

[SPEAKER_01]: I always strive to be the strongest, most dangerous person in a room at a given time.

[SPEAKER_01]: because I had to set the example for my subordinates and my leaders.

[SPEAKER_01]: This made me a very self-reliant egocentric, cocky person.

[SPEAKER_01]: I knew that there was nothing in this world that I couldn't achieve with discipline and hard work.

[SPEAKER_01]: I always loved Jesus, but I didn't live for Jesus.

[SPEAKER_01]: I just fitting into my life where I could

[SPEAKER_01]: In times of danger, I completely forgot about him.

[SPEAKER_01]: And I fell back to, I got this.

[SPEAKER_01]: I can make this mission successful.

[SPEAKER_01]: I always loved Jesus, and I wanted to live for him.

[SPEAKER_01]: But many times, my love for sin was bigger than that.

[SPEAKER_01]: At the beginning of 2026, I deployed to the Middle East, Europe and Asia.

[SPEAKER_01]: during, during this mission, I contracted an illness that triggered an out of immune response that attacked the nurse in my body.

[SPEAKER_01]: And it left me completely paralyzed in my legs and mostly paralyzed in my upper body.

[SPEAKER_01]: When I wrote this, I was still in the wheelchair barely able to move.

[SPEAKER_01]: So it wasn't not until I was, until in the darkness,

[SPEAKER_01]: Sorry, I lost track here.

[SPEAKER_01]: He was not until I was very deep in the darkest time of my life that I finally surrender my whole life and the sirens to Jesus.

[SPEAKER_01]: He was then when I found myself completely dependent on all other people for help, they had to feed me, tend for me, whole personal hygiene needs, all daily life necessities and activities that we take for granted.

[SPEAKER_01]: I have a pregnant wife at home and a seven-year-old daughter that had to care for me with everything.

[SPEAKER_01]: Thankfully, my parents came later from Bolivia to help.

[SPEAKER_01]: During this time, I was completely helpless.

[SPEAKER_01]: I felt like I burdened to my family.

[SPEAKER_01]: And right in this testimony is a very, very first time I met this.

[SPEAKER_01]: I began to have intrinsic thoughts on suicide.

[SPEAKER_01]: I am a huge advocate of mental health and suicide awareness because I've lost many friends to this.

[SPEAKER_01]: Now, this was different.

[SPEAKER_01]: I was thinking that no one wants to live like this and I will say my family a lot of trouble.

[SPEAKER_01]: The enemy is a liar, you know.

[SPEAKER_01]: I knew that they started to come from God.

[SPEAKER_01]: On my lowest, I cried out to God and I surrendered it all to Him, that no matter what the outcome of this was, all I needed was Him.

[SPEAKER_01]: This is when everything changed.

[SPEAKER_01]: My problem was still there.

[SPEAKER_01]: I was still declining.

[SPEAKER_01]: The valley was dark and scarier.

[SPEAKER_01]: But Jesus.

[SPEAKER_01]: Psalm 23 says, even though I walk through the darkest valley of the shadow of death, I shall not fear for you are with me.

[SPEAKER_01]: My problem was still there.

[SPEAKER_01]: I was still paralyzed and continued to the climb.

[SPEAKER_01]: But instead of fear, I have peas as repassible understanding.

[SPEAKER_01]: Throughout this time, more about and stressful things happen.

[SPEAKER_01]: I had to drill up thousands of orders in repairs to our house, because of the septic floated all over the house, in addition to thousands of orders in medical things.

[SPEAKER_01]: But through it all, peace and joy, a happy and joy that only got to give.

[SPEAKER_01]: During these time of darkness, I worship and I think in 40 times of hardship because he got me closer to him.

[SPEAKER_01]: During this time was I actually had a real encounter with God.

[SPEAKER_01]: He was that changed my life forever.

[SPEAKER_01]: I'm never going to be the same person after this encounter we got.

[SPEAKER_01]: He was wonderful.

[SPEAKER_01]: The more I worship and thank him, the problem was still there, but now I knew my God is bigger.

[SPEAKER_01]: and all I need is him.

[SPEAKER_01]: My problem was still there, but I was happy and joyful because God is good.

[SPEAKER_01]: He provides and he comforts.

[SPEAKER_01]: The power of worship is huge.

[SPEAKER_01]: Worship in the middle of your storm and you will find peace and hope through Him.

[SPEAKER_01]: Because He will guide you through it.

[SPEAKER_01]: God use a Spain and suffering for His glory.

[SPEAKER_01]: We all know the story of the three in Babylon that prefer it to be burned, then give up their faith.

[SPEAKER_01]: So say, remember those three that were thrown in the furnace and the Garth saw forth in there with them.

[SPEAKER_01]: It's a great reminder that through tribulation, he that's not abandonous.

[SPEAKER_01]: He is with us.

[SPEAKER_01]: We just need to cry out to him and surrender.

[SPEAKER_01]: This leads me to another illustration of faith at a Christian father daughter retreat where that's where it told to gather the blind-forwarded daughters through the woods.

[SPEAKER_01]: But before the exercise started, they had to give their three their daughters three specific instructions.

[SPEAKER_01]: I heard these in a podcast and a Christian podcast.

[SPEAKER_01]: Well, the first instruction was, I will never leave you.

[SPEAKER_01]: The second was, you can ask me anything.

[SPEAKER_01]: And the third was, you should only listen to the sum of my voice, as a sum familiar.

[SPEAKER_01]: In the beginning, it was easy because that's we're able to talk to their daughters and they had their hands and their shoulders.

[SPEAKER_01]: But as they progress, that that's where told to remove their hands from their daughter's shoulders and remain quiet unless their daughters remember the instructions they could ask, there, that's anything.

[SPEAKER_01]: Once that's became quiet, the daughter started to get off track, and the counselors offer help to the daughters.

[SPEAKER_01]: However, he led him into a ditch of the trail, because they were listening to some one's elses voice.

[SPEAKER_01]: So they fell lost in a long.

[SPEAKER_01]: Then sadly, the guy telling the story, he's daughter remember the instructions and they said that, are you there?

[SPEAKER_01]: So he says, yes, maybe I'm here.

[SPEAKER_01]: I never left you.

[SPEAKER_01]: And when she asked, can you help me?

[SPEAKER_01]: He was able to get her back on track.

[SPEAKER_01]: You see, these gifts are great, example.

[SPEAKER_01]: Or how we forget sometimes that the law is always with us.

[SPEAKER_01]: We just need to ask him to help us and comfort us.

[SPEAKER_01]: One of the ways that God answered my prayers during this time was using my church family to go above and beyond.

[SPEAKER_01]: to help my family, and I can't think of enough.

[SPEAKER_01]: How God's people showed up in the time of need wasn't credible.

[SPEAKER_01]: I won't mention specific names, because I don't want to leave anyone out, but I had your family come to my house, build me a ramp for a wheelchair.

[SPEAKER_01]: Others drop another ramp for the front, land me an electric wheelchair, install handicapped bars in the shower,

[SPEAKER_01]: The meal train we received amongst all their things that were all such you blessing.

[SPEAKER_01]: And this is not the first time church family shows up, actually I'm going all the time deployed back in 2023 my wife had tremendously hard time while I was going and church family showed up in a tremendous way as well.

[SPEAKER_01]: Then, so forever grateful for that.

[SPEAKER_01]: For his scripture, we see God tells us to trust Him because He's with us.

[SPEAKER_01]: Jesus said, come to me, all who are weary at burden, and I will give you rest.

[SPEAKER_01]: Him Psalm 34, 18, the Lord is near to the broken hearted and saves the crash in spirit.

[SPEAKER_01]: In Isaiah 43, two says, when you pass through the waters, I will be with you.

[SPEAKER_01]: and through the rivers, they shall know of or well me.

[SPEAKER_01]: When you walk through fire, you shall not be burned.

[SPEAKER_01]: In Son's 234, even though I walk through the valley, I'll the shadow of that, I will not, I will fear no evil for you are with me.

[SPEAKER_01]: You're raw and stuff, come first me.

[SPEAKER_01]: John 3, John 1633.

[SPEAKER_01]: In the world, you will have tribulation, but take care.

[SPEAKER_01]: I have overcome the world.

[SPEAKER_01]: So Jesus never promised us an easy life.

[SPEAKER_01]: He promised us that suffering will know how to find a word.

[SPEAKER_01]: Second Corinthians, one, three, or four, bless, be the God, for all comfort of all comfort, who comforts us in our afflictions.

[SPEAKER_01]: So we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction.

[SPEAKER_01]: Philippians 467, do not be anxious about anything.

[SPEAKER_01]: And the piso gap, which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ.

[SPEAKER_01]: I say of 41, 10, Matthew 11, 28, revelations, 21, four, all those scriptures that talk about how God is with us in the darkest times, and he will come for us.

[SPEAKER_01]: Lastly, I want to leave you with something incredibly encouraging that I heard from Pastor Josh Hoardton during one of his sermons online.

[SPEAKER_01]: He didn't give him a crown.

[SPEAKER_01]: He gave him a lieeth.

[SPEAKER_01]: When God wanted to raise Jaws F to the palace, he didn't give him a shortcut.

[SPEAKER_01]: He gave him prison.

[SPEAKER_01]: When God wanted to make Esther a queen, he didn't give her comfort.

[SPEAKER_01]: He gave her a crisis.

[SPEAKER_01]: When God wanted to make Moses a leader, he didn't give him a stage.

[SPEAKER_01]: He gave him wilderness.

[SPEAKER_01]: There are times that we feel God is breaking us, but he's actually building us.

[SPEAKER_01]: Today, I'm thankful that the enemy tried to use these to harm me, but God is using it for good.

[SPEAKER_01]: I pray that this encourages someone today to surrender that they're to surrender to the lower, even in their minds of your storm, even in the midst of your storm, because I know from personal experience, he can, and he will.

[SPEAKER_01]: Carry you through it.

[SPEAKER_01]: Thank you for allowing me, sure.

[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, that is good y'all.

[SPEAKER_01]: That is good.

[SPEAKER_01]: All the puns.

[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, man, so good, dude, so good.

[SPEAKER_02]: Couple of questions, man, as I'm thinking and just listening to your story, not know, I've read it before, but one, I know, because we taught a couple of weeks ago, you were talking about, even some military buddies, you have that you've been able to have some conversations with.

[SPEAKER_02]: How's that, Ben, as they've been kind of seen what you're going through, because I know a lot of those guys live in that world of your tough, and you are.

[SPEAKER_02]: I mean, you're an instructor to a lot of those guys, too, and what are those conversations

[SPEAKER_01]: Well, everybody was sad to see me down, obviously, because this has been a long time.

[SPEAKER_01]: I was at a hospital for almost a couple of months.

[SPEAKER_01]: And the doctor sent me home with good luck.

[SPEAKER_01]: Like, with it, everything we came for you.

[SPEAKER_01]: And,

[SPEAKER_01]: unfortunately, it's not working, right?

[SPEAKER_01]: And then the Lord has killed me after it.

[SPEAKER_01]: So for his glory and he's timing, right?

[SPEAKER_01]: But yeah, the guys see me progress and see me talk different and and give all the glory to God is for them is also encouraging.

[SPEAKER_01]: And he's using this time

[SPEAKER_01]: for me to be able to testify to them at a different level with Christ.

[SPEAKER_01]: And so I don't want to...

[SPEAKER_02]: I mean, you have a ministry opportunity now, especially being in an air force and having those guys around you that probably don't get to hear these kinds of things and see these kinds of things.

[SPEAKER_02]: And even somebody who is, I mean, gosh, if you all know, Troy, Troy, you could beat me up right now.

[SPEAKER_02]: I know this.

[SPEAKER_02]: Like, you're a tough dude, you're a big strong guy and Troy's on security team here.

[SPEAKER_02]: I mean, that's who you are and what you do for a living, both in military, but with the GBI, right, and doing all the kind of stuff.

[SPEAKER_02]: And to see a man, yeah.

[SPEAKER_02]: really accept the discipline of the Lord and not discipline because you did some bad, but just discipline in the sense of he's a good father that wants to grow you who wants to strengthen you.

[SPEAKER_02]: I think that that's a huge testimony, right?

[SPEAKER_02]: And those guys can get to see that and we've, you know, got to see that.

[SPEAKER_02]: What about, what about your family?

[SPEAKER_02]: I know Caitlyn and Cali.

[SPEAKER_02]: I mean, they've been there with you through this and Caitlyn's pregnant.

[SPEAKER_02]: You guys got another little girl on the way.

[SPEAKER_02]: How, how, how has those, how have those relationships been strengthened through this?

[SPEAKER_01]: We've seen the hand of the Lord throughout all this tremendously.

[SPEAKER_01]: It has been absolutely tough, you know, that especially at the very beginning when he was just her, having to juggle school, she's also in car practice school.

[SPEAKER_01]: So, juggle school, hospital, home, all that on her own, it was extremely overwhelming.

[SPEAKER_01]: And then just we see the overwhelming love of God through the church family, you know, showing up and helping with things.

[SPEAKER_01]: folks from church coming and picking me up to take me to appointments and coming up to stay with me at the hospital.

[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, and our relationship with guy has grown because now we make it up our already.

[SPEAKER_01]: Something I heard also is like having that true encounter with guy is not just something emotional.

[SPEAKER_01]: It is a change of priorities.

[SPEAKER_01]: And now we're making up our priority to get together and pray in worship.

[SPEAKER_01]: Just make it a daily habit and cultivate that.

[SPEAKER_01]: And it's just wonderful.

[SPEAKER_02]: That's amazing.

[SPEAKER_02]: One more question.

[SPEAKER_02]: How have your prayers changed through this?

[SPEAKER_02]: Would you say they have, how are you in some ways?

[SPEAKER_01]: Tell us about it a little bit.

[SPEAKER_01]: If your prayers changed.

[SPEAKER_01]: I just wanna thank God, you know, all the time

[SPEAKER_01]: I, at the very beginning, was asking for healing, and I wanted to be back, but I know for a fact that it the lower would have healed me at the very beginning, I would not have half.

[SPEAKER_01]: these encountered with him.

[SPEAKER_01]: I would know how to surrender the way I did.

[SPEAKER_01]: So now I just want to, all I do is just thank him and worship him.

[SPEAKER_01]: I just want to worship him because through that, I've just found so much strength and so much comfort and peace.

[SPEAKER_02]: It's amazing doing it.

[SPEAKER_02]: That's amazing.

[SPEAKER_02]: Well, I hope y'all heard what he just said in the poignancy of,

[SPEAKER_02]: I've prayed for healing, and look, if you need healing, pray for healing, we should pray for healing.

[SPEAKER_02]: The Lord says, ask, we should ask for the things that we need and at the same time, knowing what God's plan is good and right, and I'm not trapped my hope is not in, whether I'm not going to be healed today, my hope is I know Jesus, as you've been sharing and my faith is growing, and I'm being refined and sanctified through that.

[SPEAKER_02]: It does.

[SPEAKER_02]: It changes our prayers.

[SPEAKER_02]: It changes our love with you.

[SPEAKER_02]: It changes our priorities, right?

[SPEAKER_02]: That's the change.

[SPEAKER_02]: You know, like, you know, being physically healed and you're still on that path and still on that journey.

[SPEAKER_02]: By the way, I love the fact that this story is not over.

[SPEAKER_02]: I mean, sometimes we tell testimonies when they're on the other side, but you're still in the middle of it and you're still growing.

[SPEAKER_02]: You're still healing.

[SPEAKER_02]: And we see those things happen from time to time.

[SPEAKER_02]: And I kind of make distinctions between there's old world, old creation miracles and there's new creation miracles.

[SPEAKER_02]: Old creation miracles like being able to walk when you cut and that's an old creation.

[SPEAKER_02]: It's a miracle.

[SPEAKER_02]: Right.

[SPEAKER_02]: But it's old creation because we know the new creations coming in.

[SPEAKER_02]: You're going to get a new body anyway.

[SPEAKER_02]: The new creation miracle though of peace, peace of joy.

[SPEAKER_02]: Right.

[SPEAKER_02]: Those kind of things that you have experienced.

[SPEAKER_02]: I mean, that's the miracle miracle.

[SPEAKER_01]: Even through being paralyzed.

[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.

[SPEAKER_01]: I had that comfort and and and piece that.

[SPEAKER_01]: just you just can't explain you know it's just something that comes from God and and people was like how are you so smiling and you know joyful through all this I would I would be wrecked like what is that piece that surpasses all understanding the only guy can give you the experience for real well let's pray for joy together y'all in a

[SPEAKER_02]: We'll be done with this.

[SPEAKER_02]: Lord, thank you so much that we've gotten here this story today.

[SPEAKER_02]: Thank you, God, that you are working in his life and continuing to.

[SPEAKER_02]: God, we do want to ask for your continued physical healing in his life.

[SPEAKER_02]: Now, we pray for him to continue to grow and strengthen his legs and his body.

[SPEAKER_02]: They who would be able to walk again, normally, and be able to get back to the activities he loves to do, both with his family and at work.

[SPEAKER_02]: military and all those things.

[SPEAKER_02]: And God, we just praise you with joy in his family today for the faith, for the faith that has grown.

[SPEAKER_02]: The sanctifying work of joy and peace that you're producing in him and that we get to be witnesses to with him together today.

[SPEAKER_02]: Thank you, God, so much for that.

[SPEAKER_02]: And thank you for our brother.

[SPEAKER_02]: Thank you for all of your church, Lord, that we can gather together and love one another together and be with one another together through thick and thin through good times and hard times

[SPEAKER_02]: through even through one another, coming along side each other, hearing each other's stories, and being there through the darkness, because that's what you've called us to do, called us to be in Christ is the hands of feet of Jesus too.

[SPEAKER_02]: So thank you for your church, and thank you for the stories we all have in Christ in the redemption that you are, constantly working out in our lives.

[SPEAKER_02]: God, we thank you, we love you.

[SPEAKER_02]: In Jesus name, amen, amen.

[SPEAKER_02]: Y'all thank Troy again for sharing the story with us.

[SPEAKER_02]: Man, that's right, having brothers, y'all, having brothers.

[SPEAKER_02]: I told you a little bit ago, man, if you're not connected here, I believe we can help you get connected here, and I mean, this is a great reason why, because you're going to go through stuff in your life.

[SPEAKER_02]: I'm going to go through things in my life, or any people around me.

[SPEAKER_02]: Maybe not always, physically helping me, you know that way, but spiritually, we need one another.

[SPEAKER_02]: And the truth is, where Jesus said that in Matthew chapter 11 of drawing near to Him, being invited in close to Him, in relationship with Him, come to me, all you who are worried, all you who are heavy laden.

Matthew 11 · chapter mention

[SPEAKER_02]: All right, you said, I will give you rest, I will give you rest, and we know you guys know as well as I know, again, that's not necessarily a physical change that's going to happen here there or whatever it is that that physical thing God will provide.

[SPEAKER_02]: We know this.

[SPEAKER_02]: But we seek first His kingdom as we come to Him.

[SPEAKER_02]: We seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and He'll add the other things to us as well.

[SPEAKER_02]: And we trust him day by day by day.

[SPEAKER_02]: And the truth is this as well.

[SPEAKER_02]: Yes, sometimes you and I need help drawing near to the Lord and that invitation.

[SPEAKER_02]: We need help with that.

[SPEAKER_02]: I need help with that at times, and you need help with that.

[SPEAKER_02]: We need people to encourage us, we need people to pray for us, we need people to just show up.

[SPEAKER_02]: And we had a funeral in here yesterday, and a lot of y'all showed up, just show up.

[SPEAKER_02]: and be with one another, speak to one another, pray for each other, come for each other, in times of needing, in times of trial, because that's how, together as the body of Christ, we accept the invitation of Jesus together.

[SPEAKER_02]: And I just wanna end my time about just reiterating what Troy said, because Troy gave us a little challenge in an invitation there, and I appreciate that.

[SPEAKER_02]: For anybody in this room today, that just needs to go, you know what?

[SPEAKER_02]: I need to surrender something to the Lord.

[SPEAKER_02]: Because surrender is also an invitation.

[SPEAKER_02]: Surrender doesn't always feel like an invitation.

[SPEAKER_02]: Does it?

[SPEAKER_02]: Surrender feels like an obligation.

[SPEAKER_02]: It feels like somebody's twisting your arm at times.

[SPEAKER_02]: But as now, but Jesus said, he didn't say I'm gonna make you do this.

[SPEAKER_02]: He said, come to me.

[SPEAKER_02]: Just come to me, you lay this down because that's the invitation.

[SPEAKER_02]: You find out when you lay down the thing that you're holding on to.

[SPEAKER_02]: So desperately, you feel like you're losing something, but the reality is what?

[SPEAKER_02]: You are gaining.

[SPEAKER_02]: Troy, have you lost or have you gained?

[SPEAKER_02]: You have gained.

[SPEAKER_02]: We're gaining as we lay things down before the feet of Jesus.

[SPEAKER_02]: You know this.

[SPEAKER_02]: And if you've done it before, you know this is true.

[SPEAKER_02]: So whether that is fear and anxiety about some situation in your life, whether it's just trying to control some particular circumstance going on right now and maybe my wife were in that of just what we want to control things so bad about things we're going through.

[SPEAKER_02]: So maybe it's just that.

[SPEAKER_02]: Maybe it's just let go of that today.

[SPEAKER_02]: You can't control everything.

[SPEAKER_02]: You're not sovereign.

[SPEAKER_02]: You're not the Lord.

[SPEAKER_02]: I don't want to burst anybody's bubble in here today.

[SPEAKER_02]: Actually I do.

[SPEAKER_02]: You're not God.

[SPEAKER_02]: I'll burst that bubble, if that's the bubble you got.

[SPEAKER_02]: You're not God, you're not the Lord.

[SPEAKER_02]: He's sovereign, and He's good.

[SPEAKER_01]: So if you need to lay something down, man, just let go of it.

[SPEAKER_02]: Okay, just let go of it.

[SPEAKER_02]: We're gonna sing and just worship the Lord once more this morning.

[SPEAKER_02]: Our prayer room will be open when we're done, but you know what, I just wanna get the invitation now.

[SPEAKER_02]: I'm gonna hang out over here.

[SPEAKER_02]: If there's anybody else in the prayer team in here that just wants to come down and be down here while we sing, if you need prayer for something,

[SPEAKER_02]: Specifically, you just want to come and kneel and pray or you want to pray at your seat, I just want to invite you to listen to the Lord to respond to Him how you need to, or if you want to stand and sing, stand and sing.

[SPEAKER_02]: All right, let's pray together.

[SPEAKER_02]: Thank you, God, for your goodness to us.

[SPEAKER_02]: Thank you for your invitation to us and crush Jesus.

[SPEAKER_02]: God, thank you that you are a gentle

[SPEAKER_02]: but you do call us, you do invite us.

[SPEAKER_02]: We've got to pray that we would not wrestle with you this morning.

[SPEAKER_02]: And in those of us who maybe feel like we're trying to strong arm things in our old lives or be tough, that we would just admit right now, I've got them not always tough.

[SPEAKER_02]: I'm weak and I'm needy and I'm poor.

[SPEAKER_02]: But you said the lesson are the poor and spirit.

[SPEAKER_02]: But there's as the kingdom of heaven.

[SPEAKER_02]: Blessed are those who mourn for they will be comforted.

[SPEAKER_02]: Blessed are the pure and heart.

[SPEAKER_02]: When we lay down those things and come bring us from you, we are pure and heart and you said, they will see God, God, let us see your work in our lives today as we just lay it down before you.

[SPEAKER_02]: We love you.

[SPEAKER_02]: Thank you.

[SPEAKER_02]: Jesus name them.