Strong and Courageous Part 4 - Archie Callahan

0.000000 4.640000 We continue the series today called Strong and Courageous and we're going to talk about the God

4.640000 10.880000 of miracles. How many of you believe in miracles? Anybody believe in miracles? I believe in miracles.

10.880000 15.760000 We're going to look at Joshua chapter 10. We're going to begin at verse 12 and we're going to

Joshua 10 · chapter mention

15.760000 23.360000 look at what happened in Joshua's day. Joshua was the next leader of the nation of Israel after Moses.

23.360000 31.680000 Moses had died in Deuteronomy chapter 34 and in chapter 1 of Joshua, God calls Joshua to take

Deuteronomy 34 · chapter mention

31.680000 39.040000 the reins of leadership and to lead his people into the promised land. You know, oftentimes we

39.040000 49.280000 call it the promised land, but it's often the problem land. It wasn't that Joshua had no problems

49.280000 56.240000 when he entered into the promised land. He had a lot of problems. He had 31 kings staring him down

56.240000 63.920000 that ruled 31 cities. So it became a problem land. You know, oftentimes in life we want a problem

63.920000 70.400000 free life. Can I explain this to you? Can I just declare this loud and clear? There is no

70.400000 76.880000 life without problems. If you've got a job, you've got problems. If you own a business, you've got

76.880000 82.880000 problems. If you've got children, you've got problems. If you're married, just leave it right thing.

82.880000 89.760000 You've got problems. Because there is no problem for life. If anybody tells you that, they are lying

89.760000 96.960000 through their teeth. Because life is full of problems. Even when you get saved and you come to

96.960000 103.840000 salvation and you become a new creation in Christ Jesus, you're going to have problems. You just

103.840000 110.480000 have the great one living in you, Jesus, who helps you through every problem. Even David understood

110.480000 115.520000 that. He said, "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, you are with me."

115.520000 119.280000 So David knew that there were going to be some lonely times. There were going to be some times

119.280000 126.080000 that he walked where death was a shadow and it was a disappointment, but he knew God was with him.

126.080000 132.640000 So let's look at Joshua chapter 10, verse 12 through 15. It says, "On the day the Lord gave the

Joshua 10:12–15

132.640000 138.880000 Amorites over to Israel," Joshua said to the Lord in the presence of Israel, "Son, stand still

138.880000 146.160000 over Gibbian and you, moon, over the valley of Agilon." So the sun stood still and the moon stopped

146.160000 151.600000 till the nation avenged itself of its enemies. As it is written in the book of Jasher.

151.600000 158.400000 Jasher, the sun stopped in the middle of the sky in the late going down about a full day.

159.120000 165.600000 There's never been a day like it before or since, a day when the Lord listened to a human being.

165.600000 172.720000 Surely the Lord was fighting for Israel. Then Joshua returned with all Israel to the camp of

172.720000 180.720000 Gilgal, to the camp of Gilgal. Jed Hill, who serves as our campus pastor over at our Greenborough

180.720000 188.480000 location some 10 years ago or so, had a horrific motorcycle accident in Hollywood, California.

189.440000 196.480000 And he really crushed his face. He had to have multiple surgeries on his jaws, both sides,

196.480000 204.240000 his chin, lost many teeth. But over a year ago he began to experience pain in his jaw.

204.240000 211.520000 He went to the dentist, had some X-rays and they discover that he had a crack that had formed

211.520000 217.840000 in his jaw that was surgically repaired. So he would have to go back in and a few weeks after

217.840000 224.880000 taking some medicine to have that surgically repaired. But between that diagnosis and when he would

224.880000 232.000000 go back to have surgery, we were on a staff retreat. And he was in pain and all our staff pastors

232.000000 239.280000 gathered around Jed and began to pray for him and to believe for a miracle. And we prayed and we

239.280000 245.040000 prayed and we saw God. And the next morning Jed woke up and he didn't feel the pain that he was

245.040000 250.560000 suffering from. A couple days later he went back to the dentist and before they would do the surgery

250.560000 255.280000 they were going to make sure that they were going to hit the right place in the surgery so they

255.280000 264.960000 redid his X-rays. And to their amazement Jed's jaw was completely healed. Why? Because we serve a

264.960000 273.440000 God of miracles. We serve a God that can do exceeding abundantly above all that we could ask or think.

273.440000 281.120000 I like what James chapter 5 says verse 14, "Is anyone among you sick? Let them call on the elders

James 5 · chapter mention

281.120000 287.280000 of the church and pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord and the prayer

287.280000 295.760000 offered in faith." Say faith. "We'll make the sixth person well and the Lord will raise him up and if

295.760000 306.000000 he has sinned he will be forgiven." Over in Hebrews chapter number 11 verse 6 it says this without

306.000000 314.880000 faith it's impossible to please God. The only way to be a pleaser of God and not a pleaser of people

314.880000 322.480000 is to operate in the realm of faith. And so as we look at Joshua and Joshua chapter 10 we can

Joshua 10 · chapter mention

322.480000 330.880000 understand that God is a God of miracles. You might be asking what is a miracle? A miracle is

330.880000 340.640000 defined as the supernatural act of God that transcends natural law, displaying God's power and authority

340.640000 347.840000 to carry out his purpose and plan in the earth. It's when God steps in and defies natural law.

347.840000 355.840000 He stepped in and healed Jed's jaw. He stepped in and saved you. He stepped in and redeemed you.

355.840000 364.720000 It's when God steps in and does something that defies natural law. So without faith it's impossible

364.720000 372.880000 to please God. In Joshua chapter 10 within context the king of Jerusalem heard that Joshua had

Joshua 10 · chapter mention

372.880000 381.360000 defeated AI and its kings. He had made a peace treaty with the Gibbianites and the king of

381.360000 390.080000 Jerusalem got irritated at Joshua. He formed an ungodly alliance with four other kings to attack

390.080000 398.080000 Gibbian to keep the peace treaty from holding firm. The enemy is always trying to rob you of your

398.080000 406.880000 peace. He's always trying to step in and to take your peace from you. And so these five kings came

406.880000 414.320000 against the Gibbianites and the king of Gibbian and the Gibbianites began to cry out to Joshua

414.320000 420.880000 save us. Now you got to understand something about Joshua. Joshua is a type of Jesus in the Old

420.880000 431.120000 Testament. Joshua's name means Yahweh's is salvation. Jesus name is Yahweh saves. So there is salvation

431.120000 439.280000 linked to Joshua and Jesus came to save his people from their sins. And so they began to cry out

439.280000 448.400000 to Joshua save us. And Joshua took the armies of God, marched to Gibbian and destroyed the enemy

448.400000 456.880000 completely. And that day he won a battle, but he didn't just win it. He overwhelmingly won the battle.

456.880000 462.960000 But in that battle, there was a miracle. And he took some steps to get to that miracle. How

462.960000 469.680000 do you know without faith, it's impossible to please God. If we want to please God, we're going to

469.680000 477.360000 have to act in faith. Faith without works is dead. So if I have faith, my faith is displayed

477.360000 484.560000 when I take action. I mean, you know, faith does not immobilize you. It mobilizes you for action.

484.560000 491.840000 So if I'm actually a person of faith, it will be revealed in my life. It will be revealed in my

491.840000 498.080000 prayers. It will be revealed how I treat my neighbor, how I treat my spouse, how I, you know,

498.080000 506.480000 guide my family in tough times. And so Joshua was a man of faith. In fact, if you read the book of

506.480000 512.480000 Joshua, even if you start in chapter one and even go just to chapter 10, you begin to discover that

512.480000 520.240000 Joshua begins to grow as a leader. His leadership ability grows. His ability to hear God grows.

520.240000 527.040000 His ability to be courageous and to be strong grows. His overall faith begins to grow.

527.040000 531.920000 In chapter one, God tells him four times, be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid. Do not be

531.920000 539.280000 discouraged. In this chapter 10, God tells him one time. And then he turns around, Joshua turns around

539.280000 546.400000 and tells the people of Israel, be strong and courageous. This guy was having to be pumped up by God

546.400000 552.560000 multiple chapters. And now he's turning around and telling the nation of Israel, hey, just as God told

552.560000 557.840000 me to be strong and courageous, now I'm telling you to be strong and courageous, do not be discouraged,

557.840000 564.160000 do not be dismayed. God is with us. We will win the battle. So I want to give you three

564.160000 569.520000 miracle steps that we have to take in order to see a miracle. I believe the first step is ask,

569.520000 579.600000 simple ask, say ask. Look what it says in Matthew 7, 7, ask and it will be given to you. What is that

579.600000 589.840000 word ask really mean? It means to crave, it means to desire, it means to call for. It's in the

589.840000 600.320000 erus tense, which means it's in the imperative form. It's actually not just in the erus or imperative,

600.320000 609.200000 but it's in the present erus imperative tense, meaning this, it's a continuous act. It just doesn't

609.200000 614.960000 mean that you ask God one time. This is what it literally means in the Greek. We don't see it in

614.960000 620.960000 the English because our English doesn't capture what God is actually saying through Jesus in Matthew 7,

620.960000 630.800000 7. He is saying ask and keep on asking. Anybody got kids that ask and they keep on asking? They just

630.800000 640.160000 wear you out. They just like that's what the picture is here. It's like a kid asking a parent and they

640.160000 647.760000 don't stop. Dad, can I use the car? Dad, can I use the car tonight? Dad, can I use the car? Dad,

647.760000 654.400000 will you buy me a cell phone? Dad, I need a cell phone. It's just this bugging. And this is what it

654.400000 662.000000 captures in the Greek. When we ask God, we ask and we keep on asking and we seek and we keep on seeking

662.000000 670.160000 and we knock and we keep on knocking to the one who asks what happens. He receives. And so we have

670.160000 679.680000 to learn to ask. Now in this chapter 10 of Joshua, we see an audacious ask by Joshua. He's fighting

679.680000 688.720000 this battle. The son is about to go down but he wants to finish and completely destroy the enemies

688.720000 702.080000 of God. And he knows his time is running out and he makes this big audacious ask. He says son, stand still.

704.560000 713.520000 I don't think you can get any bigger than that. Come on. He's asking that God will reset the clock.

713.520000 721.520000 That God would reset time. That God would stop the celestial

721.520000 733.840000 planets in the galaxy, in the universe. And he says son, stand still over Ghibin. He didn't just say

733.840000 739.760000 son, you know, you stand still over here. He says I want you to stand still over Ghibin so I can

739.760000 746.480000 defeat the enemies of God. You can't get any bigger and you might be saying, man, I don't think God

746.480000 753.520000 can supply my knee. I mean, you can't get any bigger than that. It's audacious. If he could say that

753.520000 762.800000 in the old covenant, how much more can we pray big audacious prayers to God? How much more can we

762.800000 775.120000 believe God for the supernatural? Ask. And it will be given you. I remember in 2004 here,

775.120000 781.920000 Bridge Church, we began to ask God for land. It seemed impossible. Even when we were looking at

781.920000 789.760000 the initial 18 acres here, we negotiated on this land for about seven, eight, nine months with a guy

789.760000 798.880000 who owned it. He wouldn't budge. And so I think we paid over $850,000 back in 2004 for these 18 acres.

798.880000 807.200000 There was nothing on this land. It was just trees, wood. We had about 350 people. That was a lot of

807.200000 815.280000 money. Come on, that's a lot of money today. And that was a whole lot of money back in 2004. But we

815.280000 821.920000 just kept believing. We kept asking and God gave us his property. And we paid that 18 acres off in 29

821.920000 827.440000 months. Why? Because it was an audacious act. And we could have sat around and said, Lord, we believe

827.440000 833.840000 you're going to give us land. But you have to step out in faith and move toward the promises of God.

833.840000 842.880000 And just like Joshua, son, stand still. Don't move. Overgivians stand right here. And let me do what

842.880000 848.880000 God's called me to do. See, on the day the Lord gave the Amorites over to Israel, Joshua said to the

848.880000 856.800000 Lord in the presence of Israel, how many, you know, your faith sometimes will cause you to say things

856.800000 863.440000 in the presence of people. And in the presence of people, you look like a fool. Come on, somebody.

863.440000 871.040000 You know what I'm saying? Joshua said this in the presence of Israel. Son, stand still. How many of

871.040000 878.320000 those Israelites thought he was off his rocker? This guy has gone crazy. I don't think we read the

878.320000 885.200000 Bible, but we don't really read it. You get behind the eyes of the Israelites. Oh, man, he thinks he's

885.200000 894.240000 Moses. I believe, yeah, Moses is going to do that. But Joshua, come on, Joshua, you're trying to do

894.240000 901.120000 something Moses never did. And their minds, they probably can't even find them what he is saying.

901.120000 908.400000 Son, stand still. But he didn't just ask the son to stand still. He said, "Moon, you do the same."

908.400000 922.000000 So everything stopped. Joshua's prayer stopped time. What can your audacious ask?

922.640000 934.880000 Stop. Can it stop the enemy of stress and anxiety and worry overcoming you? Can your audacious

934.880000 941.440000 ask bring you provision? I believe it can. Can it bring you healing? I believe it can. Can it do

941.440000 947.920000 supernatural things in your life? I believe it can, but you have to step out in faith and begin to

947.920000 955.040000 please God with active faith, not a faith that's stale, not a faith that's stagnant, not a faith that's

955.040000 963.360000 immobilized, but a faith that's willing to walk forward even when I can't see the hand of God.

963.360000 969.680000 Oftentimes, we don't move until we see God move, but I've come to realize God doesn't move until I

969.680000 977.680000 move. So I have to step out in faith. I have to trust God. Number two, believe, say believe.

977.680000 989.920000 I mean, we are believers by nature. If you're a Christian here today, you are a believer. You are a

989.920000 1001.920000 believer. I'm a believer. And sometimes we think God can save us, give us a new life in Christ,

1001.920000 1008.400000 but we don't believe that He can heal us. We don't believe that He can do other miracles.

1009.920000 1018.480000 The Bible says, have faith in God. Jesus said this in Mark 11, 22, have faith in God.

1018.480000 1026.000000 Notice where He says to put your faith. He didn't say put your faith in your job. He didn't say put

1026.000000 1030.960000 your faith in your spouse. He didn't say put your faith in your pastor. He didn't say put your faith

1030.960000 1035.840000 in your ability, your talent, your intellect. He didn't say put your faith in government. He didn't

1035.840000 1042.320000 say put your faith in the Republican or the Democratic Party. He said have faith in God.

1042.320000 1052.320000 God should be the object of our faith. Why? Because God is the only one that is trustworthy.

1052.320000 1063.840000 God is the only one that is totally authentic and totally trustworthy. He said have faith in God,

1063.840000 1068.560000 but you say pastor, you don't know me. I have all these abilities. I have all these talents.

1068.560000 1072.800000 I have all this, this stuff around me. I mean, all that can be gone tomorrow.

1072.800000 1084.480000 God is eternal. That's why Jesus said have faith in God. He becomes the foundation and the

1084.480000 1099.760000 object of our faith. What is faith? Glad you asked. At the very core or foundation of faith is simply

1099.760000 1110.720000 knowing God. If you don't know God, you can't have faith. If you don't know the will of God,

1110.720000 1118.400000 you have no ability to have faith for something. Daniel 1132 says it this way,

1118.400000 1124.640000 "The people that know their God shall display strength and take action."

1124.640000 1137.280000 My faith grows to the level of my knowledge of God. So if I have a knowledge of God that makes

1137.280000 1144.160000 him real small, my faith is small. If I've been taught that there's a big devil but there's

1144.160000 1151.520000 a little God, I have no faith. Can I declare to you today there is no cosmic battle going on between

1151.520000 1162.240000 God and Satan? That ended at the cross. It was through the cross and Jesus is dead in resurrection

1162.240000 1170.880000 that he defeated the devil. First John 3 for this purpose was the Son of God made manifest that he

1170.880000 1177.200000 might destroy the works of the devil. When did he destroy them at the cross through the resurrection?

1177.200000 1184.960000 Satan's been defeated. He has been defanged. He's aligned that roars but he has no teeth.

1187.760000 1197.440000 That battle was won at Calvary. So there is no cosmic war between God and between the devil. God won

1197.440000 1203.840000 in Christ Jesus. You are victorious. You are on this side of the resurrection. You're not

1203.840000 1209.280000 trying to win. You've already won. You're not just a conqueror. You're more than a conqueror

1209.280000 1219.600000 through Christ Jesus. So we fight from victory and not for victory. I want to say that one more time.

1219.600000 1228.160000 We fight from victory and not for victory. We're already victorious and we live and move and

1228.160000 1235.440000 have our being in him and we live the life of victory. Now sometimes even though we're

1235.440000 1243.360000 positionally victorious in Christ our mind talks us out of that victory. See many of us today we're

1243.360000 1250.480000 not fighting the devil. We're fighting our thoughts. We're fighting the negativity that runs rampant

1250.480000 1258.080000 through our minds. We're fighting thoughts of lust, thoughts of anxiety, thoughts of stress,

1258.080000 1265.600000 thoughts of death, thoughts of demise, thoughts of destruction and negative plaguing thoughts that

1265.600000 1273.200000 keep us from living a life of victory. I am preaching good in this Baptist church. I'm telling you.

1273.200000 1281.840000 It's not Baptist church. And I'm not against Baptist. I have plenty of Baptist friends.

1284.000000 1289.680000 But I'm just telling you, some of you, you spend your whole life thinking you're fighting the devil

1289.680000 1296.240000 and you're fighting your thought life. How do you win the battle of your mind? You renew your mind.

1296.240000 1301.440000 When you come to church you don't remove your mind when you step through the door. You renew it.

1301.440000 1307.440000 That's why I preach the word. I have nothing else to preach. I don't have poems to preach. I don't have

1307.440000 1312.800000 little Bible lessons to preach. I preach the word of we are and we try to go deep. I mean if you

1312.800000 1317.440000 preach shallow you get shallow Christians. If you preach deep you get deeper Christians. Amen.

1317.440000 1322.800000 And you get people that can stand the test of time. And so I'm going to preach a little deeper

1322.800000 1327.440000 because I want you to go deeper because there's going to be storms that come against your life.

1327.440000 1332.960000 And if you're not prepared for the storm you will buckle under the pressures of life. And we need

1332.960000 1341.760000 to fix our eyes on Jesus in 2026. That's about the best rhyme I can get and that came from my wife.

1341.760000 1352.480000 So how do we renew our minds? Paul tells us in Romans 12, too. Do not be conformed to the pattern of this

1352.480000 1362.960000 world. How many know everybody on planet earth is trying to get their vision in you. Did you know

1362.960000 1371.280000 television is the medium of somebody telling you a vision that they want you to accept.

1371.760000 1381.600000 God's Word is the vision for your life. Paul says do not be conformed to this world, the pattern of

1381.600000 1388.240000 this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. That word transformed is a Greek word

1388.240000 1395.120000 metamorpho where we get our word metamorphosis. If you want your life and if I want my life to be

1395.120000 1403.440000 transformed it will not be transformed unless I begin to think as God thinks. Here's the problem.

1403.440000 1409.200000 Sometimes we don't know how God thinks because we never get in his thoughts because we refuse to

1409.200000 1419.680000 get in his word. And so we think we're thinking like God because we take second hand knowledge from

1419.680000 1424.880000 other people and we apply it to our lives even if that second hand knowledge is false knowledge.

1424.880000 1430.960000 I love your parents and I love my parents but how many you know my parents were not totally right.

1430.960000 1442.480000 Neither was yours. Don't talk about my mama. I'm just saying you got to get in the word. The word of

1442.480000 1448.880000 God is not some religious book that you use when you're in trouble. The word of God according to

1448.880000 1454.400000 Hebrews 4-12 is living active, operative, energized and effective, sharpening it to edge of sword.

1454.400000 1458.240000 Pearson as far as the division of the soul and the spirit and able to judge the thoughts and

1458.240000 1464.640000 intentions of the heart. So if I take the word of God which is a double edge of sword and I put it

1464.640000 1471.840000 on the inside of me it begins to show me what is ungodly and what is godly. So I begin to cast down

1471.840000 1478.080000 negative thoughts and I keep the God thoughts that begin to transform my mind and when my mind is

1478.080000 1484.080000 transformed my life is transformed and when my life is transformed my relationships are transformed

1484.080000 1489.920000 my marriage is transformed my finances are transformed why because they come under the authority

1489.920000 1500.800000 of the Lord Jesus Christ. So do not be conformed to this word. Have you ever noticed you get depressed

1502.160000 1513.200000 and if you trace it back it's because you begin to think on something. How many of your thought

1513.200000 1519.280000 life can take you many places? Some of you are sitting in here right now. It's ugly outside

1519.280000 1527.120000 and you've been thinking about the keys, the Florida keys. And you're there but you're sitting in

1527.120000 1536.000000 Virginia Beach. I wish I was in the Bahamas so you start thinking that and so you just leave this

1536.000000 1541.440000 building but your body's here. I see you. You're like this but you're not here. Why? Because your mind

1541.440000 1548.480000 can take you to places. Some of those places are negative places. Some of those places are places

1548.480000 1556.240000 of pain and hurt and heartache and places of yesteryear. You can be in the present and you can be

1556.240000 1564.320000 exported and transported 20 years back into your past and you begin to get upset. I mean you can learn

1564.320000 1574.320000 to stop that. God can empower you to stop that. Paul said take every thought captive not after you've

1574.320000 1584.480000 meditated on it 40 days at the moment it comes into your mind. You said nope. I'm going to take that

1584.480000 1590.320000 thought. I'm not going to think that about that person because somebody said to me something about

1590.320000 1597.360000 that person that shaped my view of that person. I don't know that person. So I'm going to take

1597.360000 1602.320000 that thought captive and I'm going to think good of that person regardless of what that other person

1602.320000 1610.960000 said about them. I got quiet here didn't because we do it all the time because we allow the opinions

1610.960000 1615.280000 of other people to shape our opinions of some people and we don't even know the people.

1615.280000 1626.000000 We do it all the time. People are always shaping how we think. If you watch news any at all

1626.960000 1636.480000 your mind has been shaped. They are mind shapers. They're fashioning you. You got to learn to think for

1636.480000 1642.720000 yourself. You got to get in the truth. You got to know the truth. And Jesus said if you know the truth

1642.720000 1650.640000 it's going to set you free. So you got to believe. Mark 11, 24. Therefore I tell you whatever you

1650.640000 1662.800000 ask for in what prayer, prayer. Believe that you have received it and it will be yours.

1662.800000 1671.440000 Whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it and it will be yours. Believe

1671.440000 1678.000000 that you have received it. Believe that you have what received. I'm going to say it again. Believe

1678.000000 1694.960000 that you have received it. When? When you pray. When you pray. God heard Daniel pray. But Daniel

1694.960000 1703.520000 didn't receive in the natural the answer to 21 days later. But he prayed a prayer that he believed

1703.520000 1711.200000 and the answer was already on the way and demonic forces in the heavenly realm held up the prayer

1711.200000 1719.520000 that was prayed 21 days before that. Can I tell you at the moment you pray a believing prayer and

1719.520000 1726.400000 God answers your prayer. Now you have to stay in faith until you see that prayer manifested in your

1726.400000 1736.400000 life. God doesn't answer every prayer. He only answers believing prayers. Have you ever asked

1736.400000 1742.960000 anyone to pray for you and they pray a sad prayer and you know they didn't believe what they were

1742.960000 1750.960000 even pray for. Oh, there's no passion in the prayer. You can't feel God in the prayer. It's some religious

1750.960000 1761.040000 prayer. Lord help him. I'm like, come on. You got more than that. Come on. I need somebody. So when

1761.040000 1769.120000 I really need prayer, I'm going to go to my wife and she can agree with me. I grew up around a

1769.120000 1775.680000 praying woman. My mom, my mom has prayed some audacious prayers and watched God supernaturally perform

1775.680000 1782.400000 miracles. She prayed a prayer. She was healed of cervical cancer. My dad was healed multiple times.

1782.400000 1790.240000 Because people believe in the God that they're praying to. You're not, you cannot pray effectively

1790.240000 1797.440000 if you don't know the God you're praying to. That's why we have to know God. Believe that you have

1797.440000 1808.320000 received it when you pray. Have faith in God. Believe. What does it mean to believe? It means to be

1808.320000 1816.560000 persuaded of or to have confidence in. I'm persuaded. This is the will of God. This is the will of God

1816.560000 1822.720000 for my life. I mean, I don't have to struggle over if it's the will of God to prosper. I already know

1822.720000 1831.920000 that. God wants to prosper his people. He wants to bless you. From Genesis to Revelation, God is

1831.920000 1838.080000 always blessed his children. So I don't have to come to God and say, if it's thy will to bless me,

1838.080000 1843.440000 no, I know it's his will to bless me. I just have to position myself for the blessings of God.

1843.440000 1850.880000 I have to position myself in humility. What are you talking about pastor? I'm positioning myself in

1850.880000 1857.280000 humility when I, how do I do that? By living my life according to God's word. See, oftentimes we

1857.280000 1863.840000 want God to bless us in our rebellion. And I'm not talking about some crazy rebellion where you're

1863.840000 1871.680000 way out there, but you could be walking in subtle rebellion. You know it, but hey, you feel, you feel

1871.680000 1876.480000 justified in your righteousness, which is really unrighteous behavior.

1879.200000 1886.160000 Anybody who felt that way? Is it just me? Yeah, me. Yeah. Okay. And so we begin to pray prayers when

1886.160000 1891.200000 our hearts are not humble enough to say, Lord, you're right. So I'm going to bow my knee to your word

1891.200000 1898.800000 and come up under your authority and live my life like that. So if it's impossible, please God

1898.800000 1906.080000 without faith, I must be a person of faith. How many, you know, if God says one thing in His word,

1906.080000 1913.440000 it's very important. Just one thing. If He says two things, the same way, that must be very important.

1913.440000 1919.360000 If He says it three times, wow, we better pay attention to it. But if He says it four times,

1919.360000 1928.880000 you can take it to the bank, seal the deal. So in God's word, four times, He tells us to live by faith,

1928.880000 1935.520000 a back at two four, the righteous will live by faith. Romans 117, the righteous will live by faith.

1935.520000 1941.760000 Galatians 311, the righteous will live by faith. Hebrews 1038, the righteous will live by faith.

1941.760000 1944.880000 And if He shrinks back, I will not be pleased with Him.

1944.880000 1952.800000 Multiple times, God tells us to live by faith. And He says in Hebrews, He says, if you're going to

1952.800000 1959.360000 live by faith, you're going to have adversity, but don't shrink back. I mean, oh, Joshua never shrank

1959.360000 1965.280000 from the battle. He pursued the battle. And right in the middle of the battle, he had this audacious

1965.280000 1972.480000 ask. And he believed that God can make the sun stand still. I can tell you today, you need to be

1972.480000 1979.920000 persuaded of and confident in the ability of God that when you ask, when you pray, you believe

1979.920000 1986.400000 that the God who made the sun stand still can do the impossible for you.

1987.840000 1999.280000 Number three, receive. Receive. You ask, you believe, you receive Matthew 7-8 for everyone who

1999.280000 2016.000000 ask receives. That word everyone in the Greek means everyone. That's deep. Everyone, everyone.

2016.000000 2033.200000 Everyone, everyone who ask receives. But I have to be in the posture of reception. I have to

2033.200000 2045.680000 posture myself to receive. That word receive there, it means to crave also that I'm going to receive

2045.680000 2054.000000 what I'm asking for. There's a desire to receive. You see, receiving is the reward of asking.

2054.000000 2065.680000 Believing prayers become receiving prayers. It's possible to pray to God and not believe.

2065.680000 2070.320000 Anybody ever done that before? I have. I just throw up a Hail Mary.

2071.840000 2083.360000 Rajasthaba. No, if I'm praying, I got to believe that I'm going to receive and receiving

2083.360000 2092.880000 is the reward of asking a God that is able to supply all my needs according to His resting Lord

2092.880000 2099.840000 by Christ Jesus. Paul said in Philippians 4-4, rejoice in the Lord always and again I say rejoice.

2100.320000 2112.320000 He said, "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything with prayer, petition, with thanksgiving present

2112.320000 2120.960000 your requests to God and the peace of God that transcends all understanding will guard your hearts

2120.960000 2128.320000 in minds in Christ Jesus." He said, "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything." Say everything.

2128.320000 2137.440000 Prayer and petition. There is no need to small and there is no need to grade that you can't

2137.440000 2147.280000 bring to God in believing prayer and receive the answer. But my prayers, I found this to be true,

2147.280000 2154.320000 if my prayers are coming out of a relationship with God, they will be in a line with His will for my life.

2157.040000 2166.320000 So I'm walking with Him, I'm knowing Him daily and so I began to pray the prayers that are in alignment

2166.320000 2173.440000 with His will for my life. I mean, your kids will ask for things if they're small that they're not

2173.440000 2185.760000 ready to obtain. I'm not giving a 16-year-old a brand-new Corvette that has 7,800 horsepower.

2186.720000 2192.720000 It just ain't going to happen. I know you'll take it. Yeah, but you ate it warm, bro.

2192.720000 2205.920000 I know, Dad, we're picking. I'm not going to do it. Why? Because I know that that will harm him more than

2205.920000 2221.440000 it will help him. So we ask, we believe we receive in that order. I want you to stand.

2221.440000 2233.600000 2026, as we close out this time of consecration for 21 days, whether you're online or in the building.

2233.600000 2244.640000 Why don't we make an audacious ask of God? Why don't we pray big prayers?

2258.320000 2266.160000 We can make our world larger if we believe bigger, but we've got to seek God bigger.

2266.160000 2270.960000 Bridge church needs a lot of things. We need a new building down in Curator.

2270.960000 2275.600000 16 acres of land. We're believing that building is going to start going up this year.

2275.600000 2281.120000 Our green bar campus needs a new building. We've outgrown that building. We've used every square

2281.120000 2285.920000 inch of that building and we're asking God for a building. We're searching. We're seeking. We're

2285.920000 2292.080000 believing. Believe a building is going up and up. Bridge church here at VB, we need to expand.

2292.080000 2297.520000 Thinking about adding another her in 20 seats to this auditorium just to expand in more parking.

2297.520000 2304.560000 Just because of the growth, maybe we can expand and go back to two services. See how long that last.

2304.560000 2311.600000 But God can do big things. What's the big thing that you need God to do in your life?

2312.800000 2319.520000 Is it a business situation? Is a family situation? It's nothing too big. It's nothing too small.

2319.520000 2325.040000 We just come to God in faith. Amen. Let's bow our heads. Lord, I just thank you.

2325.040000 2331.520000 You're the God of miracles and just like you calls the Son to stand still over Gibbian

2333.600000 2346.560000 for Joshua because he had an audacious ask God today. We ask you for the big thing. Now,

2346.560000 2350.400000 don't know what your big thing is, but you need to ask God. You need to be confident enough

2350.400000 2352.720000 in your relationship with God to ask Him.

2356.800000 2364.400000 Lord, I just ask you, as Lee Pastor of Bridge Church, I thank you and I ask you for a building

2364.400000 2372.000000 in Kurta County on that land. God that that 4.7 million dollars is coming in.

2372.000000 2381.840000 God, we don't often see it, but we believe it and then we see it. So we believe, Lord,

2381.840000 2389.920000 because we've asked in faith. God, we ask for a building in Chesapeake. God is that ministry has grown

2389.920000 2397.680000 to 600 people in Greenborough. We need a building. God, you even know before we even ask,

2397.680000 2406.960000 but you desire for us to come to you in faith and ask. So we believe, Lord, that we receive a building

2408.000000 2416.960000 for Greenborough and for Kurta County. God, we believe for expansion here in Virginia Beach.

2416.960000 2426.800000 Give us wisdom. Give us insight. God to increase parking, to increase the seating capacity of this

2426.800000 2434.160000 building. We thank you for growth, Lord, but with growth comes growing pains. God, we believe today.

2434.720000 2438.720000 God, there are people in here that need healing. Lord, we're just believing for healing in their

2438.720000 2445.280000 body today. There are people in here, Lord, that need healing in their minds. We believe mental health

2445.280000 2450.560000 and healing is coming to their minds. We believe God, there's healing and relationships. We believe

2450.560000 2455.360000 there's healing and marriage is there business men and women here that need increase. I pray that you

2455.360000 2463.200000 would increase them more and more that you would give them wisdom for expansion. God, we declare your

2463.200000 2471.840000 goodness over bridge church in Jesus name and everyone said, amen, amen. Come on, give the Lord a

2471.840000 2473.200000 hand clap.