An Open Handed Life

Hello and welcome to the Arise Church Podcast.

We are so glad you're here and want to thank you for joining us

today for the audio version of our Sunday morning message.

We want to invite you to join us in person at our Sunday morning

celebration every Sunday at 10 AM.

We are located on Old Jenks Rd. in Apex, NC.

I would love for us to do this. Would you please help me give a

big warm welcome to Tuff Harris as he comes and ministers to us

this morning and as he comes, his wife Mary is here.

Mary, will you stand up? And they're daughters with them.

Some of the other kids went. Would you help welcome their

whole family here in Jesus name? Thank you so much.

You guys have been so welcoming and and we got to spend some

beautiful time and you guys have stayed.

It's it's the second time I've been here, the first time my

family's been here. I dipped a toe in Asheville.

We had a conference there. I really didn't get much of

North Carolina. We flew in, did a conference,

flew out. It was, it was just kind of a

quick, a quick moment. But but yeah, you guys have been

so welcoming. I met a lot of you guys already

and got to hear some of your stories and some of your

encounters with Montana and the mountains and some animals and

and we got all the good stuff, you know, all the animals, the

big ones. And so you guys are all welcome

at any time. Stay at the training center,

come and visit. And yeah, we'll we'll point you

in the right direction and just make sure you bring some bear

spray and some some bells. You know, some people joke

around about how those bells are more like a dinner bell than a

in deterrent. But yeah, we just want to thank

you, Ty, Lily Lilia and your family, Faith Jude Jewel.

Like, man, we love you guys so much.

We just feel, feel so connected, so close, just being able to do

ministry, spend some time together.

The last few days I, I found out a little bit about pastor Ty.

He, he loves, has a shares the same passion with me and my son,

which is fishing. And he mentioned earlier we, we

were fishing off the, the pier and, and he'd, he'd went home

early and, and Jude and I just kept going.

We knew it closed down at 10, but we're trying to get those

last little nibbles in and, and we ended up hooking into a big

one. We didn't know what it was, but

I mean it, it took the pull it, it took the line and, and it

just, it just ran and is going left and was going right.

And then it stopped and I'm like, Oh, I, I snagged up and

I'm pulling, pulling. Next thing it's it's, it's up

again. I'm like this thing is heavy.

And it got so heavy. My, my right bicep was cramping.

My wrist was hurting. And, and you've seen the scene

before where you're just going down the pier, just knocking

everybody over and. Everyone's like, whoa, they're.

Trying to get their line out of the way and, and it was a

struggle. I mean, it was, it was a big

time struggle and we were hanging on to it and, and all

the way until I had to call out for help.

I literally was like Judah, you got to get some help because we

went into the area and it was starting to get dark and I, I

couldn't see down below and I was just struggling.

I was struggling to try to just bring it to the, to the surface

of the water. And so I, I told you, I was

like, you got to you got to get help.

You got to. Run and, and ask some of these

guys to to help out. And so he he runs over and just

randomly starts tapping strangers on the shoulder and

said, Hey, we, we need the flashlight and then another guy.

We need a net and then another guy.

By that time it's the buzz is going and the whole pier is just

like surrounding me and you're like, you know, cheering me on

and talking about what it could be.

And some guys were already telling me what it is.

And the legends start going. You know, I knew.

I I fished off. This thing, you know, decades

ago and caught this, the monster and all that kind of stuff.

But it was interesting because I was struggling, but sometimes

the struggle is what brings us together like, and and this is

not my sermon that I'm preaching today, but it was just

fascinating to me. And I was, I was telling Thai

about that. I was like, man, I love the

pier, how everybody just jumps in.

We didn't know it was a lizard fish.

When that fish came out, we looked at it and it's just had

this ugly lizard face with big teeth and you're like, what is

this? Nobody knows.

And he's, I looked at him and he's like, I don't know what it

is. And then some guy behind his

that's a lizard fish. You know, it's like, wow,

everyone's kind of willing to jump in and help out.

But when we're really struggling, you know, there's,

there's definitely a sermon in that.

And again, I'm not preaching that, but but wow, what a what a

cool picture to see. Sometimes when you're in great

need, desperate need to be able to, to not struggle, but

struggle together with people. It became a fun moment, became

awesome. And we just really enjoy that.

I didn't get to pull it out. We all figured it was a Stingray

that wasn't going to let go And, and, but everybody had a good

time, you know, fighting this thing for a while and, and kind

of getting behind me on that one.

Yeah. I just wanted to, to thank the

worship, the, the worship leader, Rob and, and then team,

let's just give me a hand. That was that was amazing.

I love that. You know, I've always, I've

always wondered, man, it'd be awesome to be a, a worship

leader. And how do those guys do that?

How do they, how do they lead? And just just such an awesome

voice. And, you know, there's so many

buttons on this. And I'm always wondering is, is

it a button they push and then all of a sudden they're just,

they're amazing. I think it is.

You know there's a few buttons on this one.

It says worship leader. It says wrapper.

You guys have a wrapper button and you also have a, you have a

Sean Connery button on this one it says Sean Connery.

I guess you can turn into Sean Connery all of a sudden.

And so I'm going to try one of these buttons out which.

One, should I go? I'm going to go.

For the wrapper button ready. Just because you Christian don't

mean that you the coward acts one verse 8 says Jesus gives you

the power in your hour of need to be free.

Give God the deserve glory for what he's doing in your life.

Remember, he's the one who took your envy and strife.

So if you really want to be down with God, it's get on your knees

and pray like me. It's true when they say you pray

you stay. Don't serve him for a week, but

all eternity because he's big G. Yeah, I love this Mike.

I absolutely love this mic. I'm going to have to push it

over to sermon right now. All right, I'm going to.

I'm going to preach a good sermon like Ty usually does.

Now, now. Let's let's start off with a

little. Prayer, I'm actually going to

pray I'm enrolled in, in the Crow tribe in Montana.

They're, they're known as the Abzalaga Nation, but I want to

pray a small prayer in that and then I'll translate it and then

I'll, I'll pray from there. So.

Bow your heads akbarak diya aho gaji hinababe ichish SHO daje

chawagila zichish hook balak BA duhilechiya sash ichik diwa gum

daza palasa ichik akbarak diya aho gaji.

Great father, great creator. Thank you so much for this day.

It is a beautiful day and I thank you for calling me to

yourself. You call me rejoices in prayer

and my father who is a well known warrior.

It is good to see you today. My heart is happy and I'm full.

So great Creator, we thank you today for this opportunity.

We thank you for all that you've created, the beautiful creation,

the fish in the sea, the birds of the air, the people that are

sitting here today, Lord you. Your handiwork is amazing, Lord,

we marvel at who you are and we just bring all of that glory

back to you and just say thank you, we honor you, we worship

you in this moment and in your name we pray.

Amen. So today, hopefully we can learn

a little bit about a little bit about my history and how we got

to this point. But I also want to help you guys

with winning. How many of you guys like to

win? So you've heard it before.

There's winning and Nope, there is not winning and losing.

Today we're going to teach you guys that there's winning and

learning, two different things. There's winning and learning.

And this is something not that I've learned playing football,

but also in ministry and just doing life.

You know, if we have a winning and losing mentality when we

lose, that doesn't feel good, right?

But if you have a winning learning mentality, when we feel

like we lose our behind or we're hurting or there's something

going on in our life and it's just that like, if we feel like

we're losing, if we put in that category, we're just going to

avoid it. But I want to encourage you that

that that's the best time. That's the character

development. That's the building blocks that

that I believe that the Lord has has taken us through to give us

something deeper than just winning because winning feels

good. You know, if your sports team is

winning and, and everything's going well, if you're losing it,

it's just, it's not a good year. You just kind of hope for next

year, I guess. But winning, learning, a

mentality that I would like to share with you guys today.

And people always ask me about, you know, all the teams that I

played on, Miami Dolphins, Tennessee Titans, Pittsburgh

Steelers, and I actually played a a little.

Stint in Edmonton. I went up to Edmonton right

before I retired and they used to be called the Eskimos, now

they're called the Elks and just had a had a moment out there.

But I've been on teams that went to the Super Bowl.

I've been on teams that had the best record in the National

Football League. I've been on teams that won one

game an entire year. And people always ask me, man,

you've played for a lot of coaches, successful coaches, you

played for a lot of organizations, a lot of

different systems, which one works?

Which one is the one that that is definitely the one that works

that's going to take teams to the Super Bowl.

Is it, is it their lifting program?

Is it their coaching? Like what is it?

And I always tell them the same thing every single time.

The one that works is the one that you commit to.

And it doesn't really matter which one has the best facility.

It doesn't matter which one has the best coaching, has the best

offseason trades or free agents coming in that year, Which one

works? Is the one that you commit to

and I would I would submit to you that whatever we learn in

the word of God isn't isn't the best Bible study.

It isn't the best church to go to.

It isn't the best worship leader or preacher that I listen to or

the podcast that I listen to. It's the one that you commit to

and I think it's so true in following the Lord is is it

could take us. You could take a simple

scripture or a simple chapter and just commit to it.

Just say, I want to understand. I want this to be a part of who

I am and it will transform you. Or you can just keep listening

to all the gurus and all the podcasts and all the people in

the preachers and wait for them to tell you that nugget that

that's the one that's going to unlock me.

That's the one that's the system I'm going to follow.

But I'll submit to you. It's the one that you commit to.

So for the next, you know, few moments that we're together,

let's just commit to. Learning and winning.

That sounds pretty good, right? Winning and learning.

I love that. So.

So who am I? Tough.

Harris, nice to meet you on the count of three.

I want you all just to yell your name really quick 123 Nice.

I'll I'll remember all those. But yeah, grow up.

Grew up in Montana on the Crow Indian Reservation in Montana.

Half Native American, half mix of all kinds of other things

enrolled in in the in the tribe. And.

It was hard for me. It was hard.

I didn't really fully fit in to any group.

I I was wasn't enough of, of anything wasn't enough native to

to fully fit in with the natives.

I wasn't enough white to fit with the the those kind of the

two options you had in Montana. There wasn't a a whole lot in

Montana, but those are kind of the two options, native white

and those groups kind of ping pong me back and forth.

You don't really fit here. But the thing that that drew me

together was sports. Sports was the one that was

like, hey, but he's athletic. He can run.

So that was my, my ticket of acceptance to get in.

And it was hard. It was hard to grow up in the

reservation. And there's, there's just a lot

of difficulties that the reservation deals with and a lot

of different history how we got to this point.

And really the reservation is, is a place of segregation.

It's just they're set apart, put on their own reservation.

They, they're supposedly governing themselves and taking

care of themselves. But not every tribe is, is

figuring it out. There's a lot of struggle and

there's a lot of pain and that that was life.

That was just life that was normal.

And I had a mom who was a praying mom and I had a grandma

who was a praying grandma. Thank God for the praying moms

and the praying grandmas for the kids like us who are running

around trying to figure out on the reservations and in the, in

the, the hills and the wherever we're at just trying to figure

out life. And, and, and it's those

grandmas and those moms and those, those faithfully praying

parents that, that we're here today, you know, and many of you

can attest to the same exact story of we don't know where

we'd be without them praying grandmas and praying moms.

And for me, I had a mom that was faithfully reading her Bible,

faithfully praying. And I remember specifically just

seeing my mom at the foot of her bed, just praying all the time,

crying out to God and just seeing that.

And I would hear the things she's praying for.

She wasn't silent in her prayers.

And I would sit there and I would listen to what she was

praying for. Days would go by, weeks would go

by, months would go by. And occasionally I'll see those

prayers be answered. The very prayers that she was

praying were being answered. And so I saw at a young age that

God was faithful. Sometimes he wasn't faithful in

the exact moment, but he was faithful to those prayers.

Almost every prayer that I, I heard my mom prayer have either

come to pass or is in the process of coming to pass right

before our eyes. And, and I know that, you know,

the scripture that says the prayers of a, of a righteous

woman will prevail. And so I encourage you guys, my

Indian name and, and my prayer, I mentioned it earlier is

rejoices in prayer. I was named my by a clan uncle.

They went through the ceremony of the process and he named me

and it's rejoices in prayer. I love to pray.

I like to pray. And so I love and like to pray

because I see the power of, I saw the power of it in my life.

I saw the power of it through my, through my family, through

my mom's prayers. And so I'm a believer.

I'm a believer in the way and, and so growing up, there was a

lot of opportunity for us in church.

We actually grew up in a really small town.

We had a very small church, but occasionally we'd have a guest

pastor or even the pastor himself.

We would do this thing called altar calls.

He would always have the altar call either at the middle of the

service, end of the service. Sometimes we started with one.

There was altar calls all the time, but there was these altar

calls and I think I went to 37 altar calls every single time.

He was like, do you want to accept Jesus as your Lord,

personal Lord and Savior? It was a yes, I came and got

received it. We only had a, you know, a dozen

people in our church, but our church numbers as far as

salvations was pretty high. And I think it was because of

me. I think it was because I went 32

times that year and and they're reporting some good numbers back

to whoever they're reporting to you, right?

How many salvations do you guys have?

Wow, you guys are there's a revival down there, Revival of

1. He keeps coming, but they're

going to count it. So but yeah, so I didn't, I

didn't know what it meant fully to follow the Lord.

I just knew I I was committing and committing to it.

And of all those altar calls? I don't know which one took, but

one of them took, you know, and I thank God for being faithful

for. For my little heart being turned

over and I'm and I remember I'm I'm only I'm only about 9 years

old nine years old up that time trying to figure this thing out

and so I'm also a a husband and actually I need a little water

and I did that on purpose because I want Mary to come up

and deliver the water to me Everybody give her a little hand

beautiful as you can see here my beautiful wife I got a beautiful

wife three beautiful children and one ugly 1 and I think we.

We have a. Picture that we can pull up and

we can see, yes, there's my, my family.

We just recently took this in the fall.

Montana is already a little chilly in the fall.

You can see the little ugly one, the little one between my son

and and my, my daughter, there is a little pug Boston terrier.

And she, it looks like a guy, but looks like a boy dog.

But it's a she and she's pretty ugly.

But she doesn't know that anymore, even though, even

though we tell her that because she's deaf too, poor little

thing, she's deaf and ugly and, but we love her.

That's, that's all, that's all that matters is we love her.

So I was raised in this little tiny town.

It was, it was called Saint Xavier, Montana.

It was on the Crow Indian Reservation and we literally had

less than 100 people. There's more people in this room

than in my hometown. And so I, I literally, I, I

didn't know what I didn't know. The world was really tiny,

really small. The things that we, we

discovered and learned were literally things that we saw

either on television or heard stories of people traveling and

coming back with these big grand stories and that we didn't know

what the world was all about. Little tiny town.

We never left and have a lot of money.

So we never left that little town.

But again, sports was, was the thing that drew me back into

these groups. I was accepted.

And so I put a lot into sports and my, my parents started

training us. We, we had a little, little

ranch and, and had some horses raised some pigs at one point,

some chickens and they would train those horses and they

ended up running those horses and, and we had one that, that I

think 1, seven or eight quarter horse short, short races.

And she was awesome. It was, it was amazing horse.

They trained her from basically birth all the way to all these

championships. We had her for like 30 years.

She was an old, old bear at that point.

But we love this horse. And they would, they would, we

would have chores, taking care of these horses, learning how to

train horses. And that was just life, you know

it. We'd race these horses through

the fields, the plowed fields, it strengthens their legs and

we'd brush them down, water them down.

And at the end of the day, at a hard working training these

horses, we'd give them some oats.

And later my, my family, we started getting into sports and

they took a lot of those same, same tactics and, and put them

into our training. You know, they're like, you got

to strengthen your legs, like we strengthen our horses legs.

We know how to get these animals fast.

And so we'd same like the horses run us through the fields and

just get our legs strong. We had these plowed fields.

It's just kind of like similar to like running on the beach,

you know, trying to strengthen our legs.

And at the end of the day they'd hose us down and gives us some

oats. Somehow it worked, right?

So I have a book in the back that that I wrote.

It's 101 outstanding recipes for an athlete.

I can say dad jokes because I told you I have 3 kids, right?

So I can say these, but yeah, so we currently reside in Billings,

Mt and that's, that's home for us.

Now. My wife is actually originally

from Minnesota. She was a golfer.

We've met at the University of Montana.

She was on a golf scholarship. I I was a walk on for the

University of Montana football team and I met her and I, I

didn't tell her I played football for a few weeks.

I had to, I had to, had to test her to see if she was in it for

the right reasons. Like I told her right out the

gate, I'm a football player. Maybe she was in it for the

wrong reason, right. But, but we dated for a while

and I didn't tell her and so I was going to reveal it to her.

So I said, Hey, I need you to meet me at the game and we're

going to go to the, to the Griz game.

I was red shirting and I said, I, I need you to meet me in this

section. I got a ticket for you and, and

I'll meet you down there. And so she's walking down all

the way to the bottom where where the section is.

And she's she's walking, it's roped off.

It's like roped off. And she's like, well, how do I

get into the section? And it's all the red shirt

football players and. And she just immediately thought

he's playing a joke on me, like he's playing some sort of joke

on me. And then in the middle of all

these just brawny, just big shoulder, tall, masculine men is

this little guy. Hey, Mary, with my little jersey

on, it was kind of baggy. It wasn't even tight on me.

I'm like, hey, Mary? And she's like, oh, OK.

So she stands by me. She's looking at me and I'm just

like, hey, I play football. And she's like, really?

You play football? And I'm like, yeah.

And. And so we ended up dating for

six years because it took me 6 years to become a man and, and

try to figure out how to do this because I, I didn't know what it

meant to date. I didn't see a lot of pictures

of what it meant to date, to have a healthy relationship, to

get married. My parents were married by the

grace of God and they stayed together and they're still

together today. But, but I did not see a healthy

marriage. I did not see a healthy

relationship. I didn't see healthy courting

and date. I, I didn't know what that

looked like. And so six years of testing and

trials and tribulations dating my wife, my, my girlfriend at

the time, and she was thoroughly tested.

Like she went through through a lot, lot of pain and suffering.

And it wasn't because I wanted that for her.

I just didn't know how to get this, this out.

Like, how do I get out all the garbage and get in what the Lord

has instructed me. And so when we were dating, we

were together. There was times where it felt

like we're winning. And then the other times there

was a lot of learning. There was a lot of learning and

trying to figure this out. And again, I didn't know what it

looked like. I didn't, I didn't see the

picture. I didn't have a, a picture for

me. So a lot of what I've had to do

in my life is a lot of pioneering, like figuring out

and just kind of making those, those mistakes.

And again, they're not losses. They're building blocks for the

Kingdom of God. If we're willing to give them

back to the Lord and say you can use them and he'll build a

character back and you he'll give you back and, and he'll

just dawn on you one day. Wow, where did I get this?

How did I, how did I get this wisdom, this knowledge, this

understanding and you can look back at that building block that

God was like I was with you and I allowed that because that is

what you're standing on today. That is the blocks that you're

standing on to be able to, to share and give your testimony

and, and give your, your heart that will help others understand

that they're story is not lost. There is no loss in the Kingdom.

God will use every bit of it. You know what, I think some of

we were talking a little bit about some hunting and stuff

with some of the guys here. But with in hunting, especially

with the natives back in the day, there was, there was not a

single piece of the animal that they did not use.

I mean, every single piece was, was useful for something.

There was no waste. And it reminds me of the Kingdom

of God where God doesn't let things go to waste and just put

it in a scrap pile and say that's, that's unuseful.

He will use it every bit of the mess, every bit of every aspect

of our life if we allow him. So a lot of people are like,

man, how did you make it from this little town, Saint Xavier

to the NFL that that seems like a big leap.

And so I got a list of things here, just some qualities that.

What it takes to be an NFL player?

Just a few. Of them here confidence,

bravery, assertiveness, fearlessness and leadership and

I possessed at a very high level absolutely none of these

qualities. I did not have these qualities.

I was actually really shy, really timid, unsure of myself.

There was a few things that I was sharing with athletes.

I was fast. I can catch a ball.

Everything else my life was just I was so unsure of myself.

I did not know how to live this life.

I didn't know how to walk this out, but by the grace of God,

staying in the word of God, staying in Proverbs, staying,

you know, my dad said, read Proverbs everyday.

It's kind of like a multivitamin.

You know, it's just like you need it everyday, just a little

bit here, a little bit there. It's, it's going to help you.

It's going to help you get through life.

It's going to give you wisdom. It's a literally of nine years

old. I, I made a, a commitment.

I'm going to, I'm going to read the word of God and I stick to

Proverbs and I read it and, and that wisdom over time again,

just like my mom's prayers, I'd see her pray and I can see the

benefit of that in the future. I knew if I'm reading the these

proverbs and just letting it saturate my mind and my thoughts

and when I'm making decisions, I could see it play out.

It went from like I read it and I believe and I want to believe

it to I played it out and it was actually something that happened

in my life. And then it became a strong

belief and just seeing it over and over.

God's word, not just in Proverbs anywhere.

I was exploring all over the Bible and realizing his word

everywhere was just stabilizing my thoughts, stabilizing my

future, stabilizing and not just in a hopeful way, like I hope it

works out someday or maybe sign of kind of sort of maybe it was

like, no, it was concrete for me.

You can't undo the testimonies that I have, the things that

I've walked through that God showed up time and time again

and he just sealed it in my heart, sealed it in my mind that

his word was true over and over and over again.

And some of it I still struggle to wrestle through trying to

figure it out, but I know he's faithful to reveal it in its

time. And so I don't, I don't want to

rush it. I don't want to to push it to

say I read it. I need to see it tomorrow.

I need to see it today because his faithfulness with my mom and

her prayers, the faithfulness as a child, a little 9 year old boy

trying to figure life out and it just takes some of it takes

time. It's the building blocks that

he's putting in your life that is building up to a place of one

day you'll stand, you'll be able to see further and do things

much, much more than you ever thought you could before.

I never thought I'd leave, leave that little town of Saint

Xavier. Going to town meant we went to a

town of 2000. That was huge for us.

We're like, well, we're going to town, you know, and there's a

movie theater there and all kinds of stuff that was huge for

us. I didn't think I'd ever go much,

much further than that. But just letting God build

those, those blocks, letting him put him under me and, and

solidify what I believed. And it could take you anywhere.

And I always tell, I always tell kids, I tell people that that

like God wants, he wants, well, he has a plan and a purpose for

you. We read in scripture that he

before, before we even born, he had a plan and a purpose.

And so those blocks, he knows exactly how to, to put them

under your feet. And we don't at times, sometimes

we're trying to force it. We're trying to trying to get

ahead of our, you know, sometimes on the mountain in

Montana, we talked about getting over your skis a little too far,

you know, and that's, that's where you get into Rex.

That's where you force the issue When, when you just got to kind

of sit and ride it, ride it because God has a path and

you're going to get there. You just got to be patient.

And so how did, how did I, or I should say what, what did I use

to, to get to this point where it's winning or learning?

Because it, because it wasn't easy, because many times I had

the deep sense and the deep feeling that I lost this one.

I think when our relationship, I think we broke up of the six

years we dated, I think we broke up at least once a year, at

least once a year minimum. And it's just devastating about

the feeling of I just lost. I lost that one and just praying

again and just thank God because she got Mary got a word early in

our relationship and she hung on to that word, powerful, strong

word. And it was just you were made

for tough. That was it.

That's all she heard in her time of prayer and her time on the

end of her bed trying to figure it out is you were made for

tough. And I think I don't know if she

had a single friend that that likes me, at least not one that

lived anywhere near us. But they were just like, why

Mary? Why would you?

Why would you be with this guy? Why would you hang out with him?

He's he's torturing you, you know, and, and I was trying to

figure it out and trying to figure it out.

It just everyone around her was like, no, but there was only one

yes. And the yes was the Lord you

were made for tough. That's all.

That's the word she got early. And after that it's kind of

radio silence. It was just like radio silence.

You had to trust that one word that she got about me.

And so she hung on to it faithfully.

And again, I was, I was also testing her.

I was testing her through like all the, all these different

ways is, is she going to hang in there?

Is she going to be the one? And, and I knew early, I really

knew early, but, but again, it was, how do I pull that trigger?

How do I, how do I get going and, and, and move this down,

down, you know, the football term, how do we move this down

the field? How do we get some first downs

on this? You know, and I just felt like I

was losing every, I felt like I was fumbling.

I felt like I was throwing interceptions and it just was

not going anywhere. And until I fully committed, you

know, I was, I was curious for a long time, is it her?

Is it not her? Should I, should I not?

Lord, it just seems like it would be a lot easier if if it

was like this and looking for it a certain way until I, until I

in my heart, in my mind, I fully committed to say I am committing

100% fully to this process. And I literally said when I said

that in my heart, in my mind, I said, will you marry me?

The moment I committed, I just immediately looked at her in the

eyes and said, will you marry me?

I was trying to figure out how am I going to propose?

How am I going to do this? How am I going to lead a family

and and a wife? I had no clue.

But the moment I committed everything just it just started

unfolding and I didn't know the full, I didn't know the full

game or what I was about to get into and all of the stuff.

But I knew the first step. I knew the first step and that's

all I needed. And so if we're going to

football analogies, football is like you're not going to know

how the game is going to go in the second quarter or the third

quarter or the fourth quarter, but you can train and prepare

for the same mentality. And every quarter that we're

going to win in this quarter, we're going to win in this

quarter. We're going to win in all four

quarters. And if we have to go overtime or

double over, we're going to win in those in that quarter too.

And everything else we're going to learn.

We're going to learn as we go. The teams that were really

successful that I was on, they didn't get down on each other.

They didn't, they didn't ever say we're losing, we're behind.

They didn't, they didn't use that kind of language.

It was a mentality that was we're going to win this quarter,

We're going to win our our one-on-one battles.

We're going to win on 3rd down. We're going to win in the red

zone. It was just we're going to win.

And everything else was learning on the fly.

So I learned a ton from sports that the teams that were really

successful had that mentality. They're just like we're going to

win and they prepare to win. They don't just hope to win,

they prepare to win. And when they don't win, they

use it just like the Kingdom. They used it for knowledge and

understanding and building blocks For the second quarter,

for the third quarter, for the fourth quarter.

You get in the fourth quarter, we're down by three touchdowns.

We're not losing. That's not even a mentality that

we carried. We're not losing.

We're actually, we've learned a ton to this point and we're

going to use that going into this fourth quarter.

We won games when I was at the University of Montana.

We had my red, including my red shirt year.

We had five Big Sky championship games.

Went to the national championship.

We ended up losing. We took second, but did we lose?

No. We learned, right?

We learned and they went on to win even more championships and

they went to the back to to the national championship a few

times even after I left. And they just kept learning.

They just kept learning. They didn't give up.

They still have a win mentality and they're still going today.

They're still have a a this year.

This year is an undefeated record.

But the teams that I've been around that that just been

fascinating to watch. Like what's the difference?

Because some teams have great better players, faster players,

Some teams have better coaches, coaching staff, and it's just

like, what's the difference? What's the difference?

And it really is a mentality. And I believe the Lord is, is

helped me with that in, in life because there is winning and

there's learning. And if, if we put it in the

loose category, we can easily fall right into, to a place of

depression and fall right into a place where it just seems

hopeless. Because the blocks that God

wants to put in your life, the building blocks, the foundation

that he wants to give you. Sometimes it takes a lot of

energy and a lot of pressure and a lot of what seems like a

mistake in the in the wrong direction and all that stuff.

And it can get exhausting. You know, a season can get

exhausting when it doesn't seem like, when it seems like, man, I

I trained all offseason and then I sprained my ankle and I'm out

for two weeks. And then you, you can get

frustrated pretty easy. You know, you work a lifetime to

get to this point and you tear your shoulder and you're out for

the season. And it's like, wow, like life

can hit you pretty hard. But I remember taking that same

mentality into the training room.

I broke my foot one year. I tore my shoulder one year.

I hurt my neck, my back, like so many injuries, so many stories.

But as I went into that training room, it wasn't, I lost, I'm

here and I'm, I'm giving up. I took that same mentality, that

same winning mentality. I'm going to go in, I'm going to

win in the training, I'm going to show up and I'm going to give

everything I got because at the end of the day, everything that

I wanted to do was, was for the glory of God.

And so if I'm just winning and then saying, praise the Lord,

it's, it's awesome. God is good.

And then I lose and then I go and hide.

And I don't want nobody to see that side of it.

I think we do that in the Kingdom of God.

I think we, we love to show the winds.

We love to show the celebrations and, and oh man, look what I

did. And then when we make a mistake

or something's not going right, we tend to hide.

But I want to encourage you guys, just like the pier, just

like the fishing event, man, Sometimes we're struggling and

we're about, we're about to snap the line.

I mean, it is so heavy what we're trying to hang on here.

It is so heavy. Call out for help, call out for

for someone. I need a flashlight, I need, I

need a net, I need some I need I just need help.

And it was amazing it it is amazing.

Strangers will show up, people will show up.

People want to be useful. People want to be used.

You know, we always think, oh, I don't want to interrupt anybody.

That's the best part of life. That's the best part of life is

to interrupt. And I'm my nature is to from the

town of 100 people is to to hide and be man, there's so many

people like getting overwhelmed with 200 people right now.

He's just like there's, there's so much going on where where my

upbringing, where I'm from, it's like I tend to like want to

default back to that. But I would encourage you guys.

It's the struggle. It's it's the seeming losses and

and the pains and stuff is what the character that's it's really

where the character is built. Winning builds a little bit of

character just a little bit, but it's actually in the in the

feeling of loss or the feeling of behind or the the fourth

quarters when you're down. And it's like, man, I don't know

how I'm going to recover this. I don't know how I'm going to do

this. It's just one play at a time.

We always say that in football, it's just one play at a time.

And I want to share just a little bit of scripture before I

get into a couple stories that I want to share with you guys.

And it's out of Isaiah chapter 402931.

A lot of you will know this. And 29 says, He gives power to

the weak, and to those who have no might he increases strength.

Even the youth shall faint and be weary, and the young men

shall utterly fall. But those who wait on the Lord

shall renew their strength. They shall mount up like wings,

like eagles. They shall run and not be be

weary, and they shall walk, and they shall not faint.

I love the Scripture in Psalm 2714.

Very similar weight on the Lord. Be of good.

Courage and He shall strengthen your heart.

Wait, I say on the Lord with exclamation mark.

Wait, I say on the Lord. In the last scripture,

Lamentations 325, the Lord is good to those who wait for him,

to the soul who seeks him. These were scriptures.

I remember just thinking He's asking me to wait.

But I've learned waiting isn't waiting around.

Waiting isn't just sitting there just saying God is going to do

it. Because I think a lot of times

it's, it's really easy to see Scripture like this or, or pray

a prayer in such a way that God is going to do it.

You know, you sit back and just say, I'm just praying, God will

do it. He'll take care of that.

You know, someone's offended me, so I'm going to pray and God

will take care of that. You know, something happened in

my life, praying God is going to take care of that.

When very rarely in my life have I ever had a moment where I just

pray and God just takes care of it.

And I think it's for good reason.

I think if, if we just prayed and it happened, I think we

would get really, and again, just like my, my 100 town

tenancy, I'm going to go back to my defaults.

If we were to pray and it happened, I think we would, we

would get a default in our prayer lives that just says God

is our, you know, our wish, wish genie where we just literally

just wish for something and he makes it happen.

I don't know, I don't, I don't care about the bat behind the

scenes. I don't care about any of that

stuff as long as I pray and he does it that I think we can get

caught in a prayer life of just wanting for him to do things for

us when Jesus himself said it is better that I go now, I think

100% of us would agree if we walked with Jesus for three

years and saw the miracles and saw what he was able to do and

see the power that he walked in. It is not better that you go

actually like we cannot do that. We're inadequate, we're

insecure. We we don't have what you have.

And he says it's better that I go.

Why? Because when I leave, not many

days from now, there will be one who comes and he will help you.

He didn't send the doer, He sent the helper.

And that implies that you're the doer.

He's called you to be the doer to walk this out to trust him to

trust in the Lord to wait upon him is that you're going to be

doing this and the waiting for him to return one day for him to

show up on the scene to as we pray and wait for him to do

something. It's actually an active waiting

for you to start stepping into it because on the cross he said

it is finished. It is finished.

He's seated at the right hand of the father.

His work is finished and he sent a helper that is going to help

us do now. And so we're in this season.

We're in this time where we're still waiting.

We're still waiting on him in so many ways.

We're waiting for him to show up in in our finances, in our lives

and and literally someday he's going to come again.

And we're we're waiting for that moment and we're excited for it.

But how are we waiting is very important.

Is it I'm sitting here waiting for you or as I'm actively

winning and learning out there because he's building something

in you and that testimony that that those blocks of your life

is what the world needs to know. They need to know how good God

is in, in the hard times. They need to know how how good

God is when, when we're behind in the fourth quarter, we're on

our knees and we're trying to figure this one out.

And it's those who trust in him that waiting in some

translations, it's, it's those who trust in the Lord, Those who

wait and trust deeply in the Lord, he's going to renew that

strength. And so my freshman year, I

haven't even played a, a game yet.

The University of Montana, I, I won an entire season of waiting

because I was a red shirt. And so I didn't even play, I

didn't even play a single down. And I remember I was, I was a

red shirt waiting for for something to happen, waiting to

even get on the team. I walked on and I didn't earn a

scholarship till that second year.

Finally say you worked hard enough, we'll give you a

scholarship. So I hadn't even played a single

down yet. And I'm just waiting on him for

for whatever he wants me to do. I'm working hard, I'm in the

gym, I'm figuring it out. So I'm waiting on him.

And while I'm waiting, I'm working really, really hard to,

to get my body ready, my mind right, everything.

So if something happens, if an injury happens, if anything

happens, I'll be the guy. But I'm also waiting a little

bit beyond that because when I was nine years old, I made an

agreement with the. Lord, I said.

Lord. I'll follow you.

I'll give you my life. I've turned it over 37 altar

calls like I think I'm ready. And so I'm turning it over to

him and and I'm giving it to him.

But now I'm waiting. I said, I'll do whatever you

want me to do with my life at nine years old, 10/11/12, I'm

still waiting. I don't know what he wants me to

do. I said in the meantime, I'm just

going to keep playing some football.

I'm just going to keep playing some football.

So actively waiting, learning a sport, learning how to excel in

this, in this sport. But in the back of my mind,

always waiting for for his call in my life.

And I started having success to junior high, high school, into

college, and now I haven't even played it down yet.

And the coach is addressing us much like this.

And we're all kind of listening to him.

He's going to tell us, you know, what we're going to do getting

the trip itinerary. We're going to head and go play

the main Black Bears in in Maine.

And he says we need someone to do Chapel service on the road.

If if anybody's willing to step out, one of the players to do

just early in the morning before the game, just little Chapel

service sounded about like that. Nobody said anything.

Anybody, anybody. And it's not me because I'm a

freshman. I'm unproven.

I haven't even stepped on the field.

Like I have no respect on the team yet.

It's not me. So I'm, I'm sitting back waiting

for someone to say something. I'm waiting because I'm like, I

know, I know seniors that are Christians on this team.

I know some juniors that are leaders.

So I'm waiting. And then he says, well, I guess

we're just going to be heathens on the road.

And I was like, I can't play for a team that declares we're

heathens on the road. We're going to lose every game,

right? But I'm not going to, I'm not

saying anything. I don't have any of those

courage and that ability. I don't have those things.

So I'm sitting back and then all of a sudden I, I just hear a

little whisper from the Lord. How about you?

And when he said that it was like those movies when a

concussion grenade goes off and it's like it just blew up in my

head. Like the coach is talking,

things are happening in slow motion and I'm just like trying

to collect myself and, and I just heard from the Lord and he

said, how about you? And I'm just like, I don't even

know what he said the rest of the meeting.

He broke the meeting. We're about to get on to fly out

to play the main black bears and, and something in me.

I didn't know what to do, but I knew I someone's got to do

something. And if no one's going to do it

and God's asking me to do it, how about me?

I got to do something. I don't know what to do.

So I sheepishly like just shaking legs, just walked over

to the coach, like, and his back, his turn.

And I'm just like, I'm not going to do it.

I'm going to do it. I don't know.

Hey, coach, He's like, yeah, I was like, I could do Chapel that

morning. I could do Chapel.

And he said, oh, yeah, keep it simple.

A little poem, prayer and just like, pray for the guys, you

know? And I was like, OK, OK, coach, I

got you. I got you, you know, and we fly

to the main black bears. I haven't even played a game

yet. I didn't sleep a wink that

night, not because it was my first collegiate game because I

had to do Chapel service the next day.

So I'm up all night. I'm just over at the the little

desk they give you and I'm drinking some water and trying

to figure this out and I'm just praying like, Lord, you got to

show. I don't know what to do.

And my first sermon sounded a lot like this.

I looked at my sheet of paper and I went like this and it was

monotone and I don't even think I took a breath the whole time.

But I don't know what it is going to Jesus.

Name Amen. And that was it.

That was it. I was, that was my sermon.

That was my first one. And I was just like, I'm so glad

that's over. Thank you, Lord, for asking me

to do that one thing. I'm glad I'll never do it again.

And then I heard him say thank you.

And for him to say thank you, I was like, for that, you can't,

you can't be serious. You can't be thanking me for

there was nothing in that. There was no substance.

There was no, you know, I tried to say your truth and I prayed

for the guys, but I, I didn't know what I was doing.

And he said, thank you. It was a building block.

You see, I felt like I lost. I felt like, man, I'll never do

that again. Because the, the feeling of

losing is you don't ever want to do it again.

You don't like losing. Some guys said, I, it's not

about winning. I just don't want to lose.

They go all the way to the Hall of Fame with that thinking.

They just like, I just don't want to lose.

That's how much they don't want to lose.

They'll work their life and leave their families and do all

these things just so they don't lose.

That's how much they don't want that feeling.

And I didn't want that feeling ever again because I felt like I

lost. I stood before everybody and I

felt like I, I lost. I was like, I do not want to do

that again. And when the Lord said thank

you, I didn't understand what winning was.

I didn't understand how to learn and use every bit of what God

has in the Kingdom of God, even the losses, even the feelings of

that. And I remember when he said

thank you, I started putting all my my gear on.

It's my first game. I wasn't even thinking about the

game. I mean, I'm just, I'm doing my

assignments and stuff and I'm playing as hard as I can.

I played so free. I played so free.

I wasn't even nervous for the game.

These guys are giants. We're going against all these

guys and then they were a good team and that's some big boys on

our team. I just, I didn't even think of

it. I was player of the game, my

very first collegiate game, because I blocked a punt and I

sprung it for a touchdown and just did all these things 'cause

I was out there just playing so free.

This is easy. Football was easy.

It was Chapel that was hard. Chapel was, I'd rather pull my

hamstring and like all these stuff and get hit and snap

bubbles and blood. That was the easy part.

Chapel was hard and just for the next 4 years of my collegiate

career, I became the chaplain and I just one building block

after another, figuring out how to how to serve him and and

share my testimony and give. And he was just like he was

every time, every time afterwards.

And I it still gets emotional because it's, it sounds like

every moment I've I've said yes to him.

It's just thank you. I just, I need someone to take a

step. I need someone to do it and I

will help you. I will empower you.

I'll give you what you need because the Holy Spirit is a

helper ready and willing on standby at all times.

No sleep ready to go. So if you wake up in the middle

of the night and you're praying, it's right there with you if you

need, if you're in your desperate need and you're at the

last your, your last straw. It's like he's there and he's

willing and there's there's no rest and he's willing to help

you. But someone's got to take a

step. Someone's got to move in that

direction. Someone's got to say yes

sheepishly as it is like we're going, we're going.

But God is faithful. He's absolutely faithful to show

up time and time again. Active waiting.

Waiting isn't sitting around it's active waiting.

That little 9 year old made a decision to commit that 20 year

old made a decision to commit to his wife every commitment that

ever made this says yes Lord with just fear and trembling in

my knees and trying to figure this thing out is been blessed

has been the best blessings of my life.

I tell people that are stuck in decision land.

The ones who are are in between like should I go left, Should I

go right. I don't know what to do with my

life. You know, is it her?

Is it him? Is it the job?

Is it, you know, what should I do?

And when people ask me for advice, I was just tell him I

said choose the harder path. Choose the harder path.

Why? Because it says broad is the way

that leads to destruction. Narrow is the path that leads to

to life. It's the hard path.

There's a reason why very few travel it because everybody's

sitting around waiting for something.

They're waiting for that big job opportunity.

They're waiting for for some windfall.

They're waiting for that person to show up.

When I was playing with the Tennessee Titans, I had a really

good friend who I love him to this day, just taught me so

much. We walked together, did so many

things together and he was an interesting guy.

One thing that he did in his waiting, because he wasn't

married, Mary Mary and I had had been married just like one year

at that point and we went to a couples Bible study and my buddy

went with us, but he didn't have a girlfriend.

He didn't have a wife, but he went to couples Bible study and

everybody made fun of him. I didn't make fun of him because

I loved him and but everyone else is like, what are you

doing? You are the funniest guy ever.

Like this is a couple's Bible study.

If you, if you didn't get the flyer, this is a couples, you

know, and everyone would joke around about, but he was waiting

for his wife, but he was not, he was not sitting there waiting

for her. So I know so many guys just

sitting there. Oh, she's going to be this,

she's going to be that. And I'm waiting for her to show

up. She's going to show up one day

and I'll man, I'm going to know her instantly.

All that stuff. And they're just, they're

dreaming about who they're going to be with.

And if they're not saying it, they're they're chasing it, you

know, and it's like they're trying to figure out who who

they want. But my buddy was, I've never

seen anybody wait so well. He waited and waited and his

waiting, he was actively getting ready.

I'm just like, what a picture of us actively getting ready for

his return. One day, right, God will show up

and man, it'll be, it's going to be a great and terrible day.

Great for those who know him, maybe terrible for those who

don't. But but just what kind of

waiting are we doing? Are we waiting where we're

actively waiting, getting ready as if it's going to happen,

'cause my buddy man, that picture that he showed us was

like, he's like, it's going to happen.

Imagine. And one thing he said that stuck

in me is like, imagine if she showed up and saw me waiting for

her in a couple's Bible study getting ready, right, Right.

The woman would be like, Oh my God, it's you.

Oh my gosh, You know, like how many times do we pray for that?

We pray that he's, he's getting ready.

We pray that she's getting ready, You know, like how many

people actually actively get ready and that kind of stuff as

opposed to just sit back. She'll show up one day, he'll

show up one day. That job will show up one day.

The things that we want, the things that we, we're going for

it it'll, it'll show up. We're praying hard that it's

going to show up when all the while the Lord is like, it's an

active waiting and it's a trust so deep that says I'm taking a

step and it's not a step that all this is easy for me.

I can easily go down this route. It's the step that's like I am,

I'm in fear 'cause that is, I don't want to go in that

direction. Choose the harder path, harder

the better. I always say harder the better.

Why? Because I always say with with

championships, if if they handed out championship trophies and

you got them at Walmart and they were 699 and every, hey, go pick

one up man, Everyone gets a championship trophy.

Was it really a championship trophy?

Is it really worth like putting it on the shelf and be like,

man, we worked so hard for that, for every bit of that.

Or is it the one that says thousands and 10s of thousands

are going for it, but only one gets the prize?

Paul instructed us. He said run in such a way that

you get a prize, the price of the high call that he has in

your life. Every single one of you have

building blocks that they have got you to this point and

there's more building blocks to get you to the next point and

it's not going to be easy. And I would I would submit that

as we're looking as we're actively waiting for him, it's

not awaiting where we're sitting back hoping.

You know, I I from the reservation, there's been so

many missionaries that have come to the reservation.

There's people come through, you know, traveling evangelist,

different stuff and, and they, and they speak of all these

great things that God is going to do and, and the movements

that are coming and all these things.

And, and we've, we've sat in the Pew and just hoped big, I mean,

big, we, we've had times where we're just on our face, just

snob bubbles like crying God show up, he's going to do it.

And we're literally on our face and these, these ministers are

preaching and just, and our hope just grows.

But I've lived that scripture that says hope deferred makes

the heart grow sick, just hoping and hoping that it never comes,

hoping for these businesses to come back to the reservation

that never comes, hoping for a prosperity for the people that

they can enjoy purpose in their life again.

And it just never comes. And people are wandering and

struggling and suffering and hurting.

And then the Lord spoke to me and he's like, there's so many

mountains, not just in Montana, but there's so many mountains

that are in front of the Native Americans, so many mountains.

But hope doesn't move those mountains.

Faith will move those mountains. It's an act of faith.

It's an act of someone's got to take a step.

Someone's got to climb that mountain.

Someone's got to take a chance because we can hope and pray and

say, God, you can show up and do it.

God said, I did, I did it, now it's on you.

And so. God is faithful to His word, if

we stand on that word, if we let Him build that building, that

building block, don't rush the process.

Some of the prayers, some of the things that we're hoping and

believing for. I remember I told that same

friend and a group of people, I said, the Lord, the Lord is

going to, he's going to give us a house and he's going to give

us a, a facility. And I didn't even know I was

describing the training center. I was describing our process

and, and disciple in guys and, and girls and all this stuff.

And I just said God's going to do it like he's going to do it.

But but every day just actively taking steps in prayer, actively

working in that direction. And I just kept praying and

waiting on the Lord. So much waiting.

People thought my call was the NFL.

Like literally people were like, I remember just telling people,

yeah, I'm waiting for whatever, whatever God has for me.

But actively like doing steps towards trying to figure what

what that is. And I didn't know what it was,

but I knew it was there because I was believing and, and hoping

and praying and just putting all that together.

And one day, and I always tell people like, whatever he gives

you, whatever he's put in your hand, just leave it open Because

if you do that, that's there's no more in, you know, there's no

more out, but there's no more in either.

And so just leave that hand open because I had the NFL in my hand

and I was faithfully given everything I had to it.

And one day he shows up and he says, is it mine?

And I said, yeah, it's always been yours from since I was 9.

I said, I'll do whatever you want me to do, but I'm going to

play a little football. And he and he, he put football

in my hand through junior high high school, broke some NCAA

records all the way to the NFL, started playing for these

awesome teams on these just childhood dream stuff.

But I left it open. And he says, is that still mine?

And I said, yeah, that's always been yours.

He took it out and it was empty. And he filled it up with a

vision, with an idea, with a dream that was so powerful.

And I knew that he was calling me to that.

And I wasn't shocked because I already knew that back when I

was 9. I already knew that God,

whatever you put in there is always good.

Like sometimes it's hard, but it's always good.

You know, winning championships and trying to raise the trophy

is hard, but it's always good. It's like whatever he's called

you to in your life, it's, it's not just winning.

And and if it's not winning, we're not going to follow you.

It's winning and it's learning and it's everything else in

between that he wants for you. But there is no loss in the

Kingdom. There is no losing in the

Kingdom. He even gives us the end result.

He tells us how the fourth quarter ends.

He gives it all to us. And that should come for us the

most to give us great hope. But not just hope, the kind of

hope that leads to a faith that says we can take steps

powerfully to believe for our communities to believe, for our

families to believe, for our marriages, to put us back in a

place of such power. Knowing that man, if he is

faithful through my life and all these building blocks.

These building blocks are like those stones that you put in

your life and you and you repeat, you put them on repeat.

You teach them to your kids. You teach them to your families,

you teach them to your friends. That's our testimony.

How are we going to overcome this, this battle?

How are we going to overcome this life?

There's so many pitfalls and it's it's a struggle.

And the Lord says by the blood of the Lamb, I did it in the

word of your testimony that you're going to do something.

We got to be tested. We got to walk through it.

We're not just going to sit around waiting for him, but

we're going to move forward in power.

And so I want to pray for you guys that we can move forward.

Many of you already know, as I'm speaking, there's, there's been

a decision. You've been hanging on decisions

for a long time. Some of you know that man, I, I

feel like I've been waiting kind of the sit back kind of waiting

and I know I need to take some steps and, and they're scary,

they're hard, but I want to encourage you guys harder the

better because in the Kingdom of God, there's winning.

You're going to win and you're going to win often.

And then there's learning. God's going to give you

everything you're going to need. And it's a setup.

He's literally setting you up for the future.

I don't know the future. I know some of it.

I know what he's giving me. I know the parts of it we know

in. Part we prophecy in part, we

believe big, we hope big, but we got someone's got to take a

step. Someone's got to move forward.

And so let's let's all stand right now.

So some of you I just feel like have been in that, that waiting

season. It's been a long wait, but there

is no loss. There is no loss.

The waiting and the strengthening.

He promises he's going to give you wings.

We're going to fly. We're going to see that vision.

We're going to see that future that that we know God has it for

you. You've seen it in dreams.

You can see it even now as you close your eyes.

God has not given up on it. In fact, He knows the plan.

He knows the process. He knows the path.

That is so difficult. And he says, I am proud of you.

Even though we're walking and we seem like we're failing, he

looks at me and he says thank you.

Someone's got to take a take a step.

Someone's got to make a move. Someone's got to believe.

Someone's got to take action. I truly believe actions kill

demons, the demons in our lives that hold us back and lie.

All they have is lies. They're going to lie to you to

say you failed so bad. I don't think you're coming back

from this one. You're in the fourth quarter and

you cannot come back from this. But I want to let you know, not

only is Jesus going to come back somebody, He's the greatest

comeback of all time and He's coming.

He's coming for you. How is he going to find us?

How is he going to find you? Is he going to find you waiting

actively like my friend who he could see his wife, he could see

his life, he could see those children being raised.

He could see the business that he was going to own.

He's seen the pastor, the church that he was going to be pastor

and he saw before it all happened.

Why? Because he was waiting.

He was. Waiting and getting strength

from the Lord. You may not have it in your

hand, but leave the hand open because he wants to feel it.

Father, I pray for everybody here.

Lord, I pray for every mind, every heart.

Lord, I just pray that you fill them up.

Lord, stir it up. Lord, I just pray, Lord, that

you help us stir the Spirit in our lives.

It's there. It may be dormant, it may be

sitting there. But Lord, I just pray that you

stir it up. Lord, stir it up so it's

overflowing. It's not only for us, Lord, that

overflowing that spill is for, is for someone else's fill.

Lord, I just pray that you fill them up.

Lord, help us, Lord, to not just see our own problems, but we can

see the problems of others. And we can say, I know a God who

has a solution for that. I have someone that I've been

walking with. We just have to stir it up

together. And Father, when the weight of

the world is pressing down and we're struggling and, and we

can't hang on any longer, Lord, I just pray you help us to be be

bold and courageous enough to say I need help.

I need help. This is too heavy.

And Father, I pray, Lord, that you help us be the ones that

come to people's aids as we hear the voices, as we hear the cries

of those who need help. Help us, Lord, to come and

surround the people, Lord, to help him.

Help him in the time of need. Lord Father, I pray for those

who are that feel feel dry. They feel like man, I.

I just need. To be filled up, filled up to

the top Lord, whether it's in their finances, their

relationships, whatever area Lord that they may be struggling

with, Lord, let them know that that's a building block that's

coming that actually is required to get to that next level.

Help them to to fall in love with your word like James

James 1 · chapter mention

chapter 1, Count of joy. When we're in various trials,

we're being created and fashioned and formed for that

building block to stand on to do your work.

Lord, I thank you, Lord, that you've you've given us great

trials, Lord, before us so that we be can be tested and approved

and that we can go to that next level that you've called us to.

Lord, we all know it. We see it, we sense it.

Some of us have stepped into it. It's not over.

There's always more. There's always more because

there's more people who need to know.

There's always more people who need a touch, a fresh drink of

water from the overflow of our lives.

So Father, I pray that you fill everybody up here today, Lord,

fill them up oh so much where it's just spilling out of this

place, Lord, into the community, into the schools, into the the

playing fields where the kids are.

Lord, they all, they need you, they want you and they don't

even know what yet. Lord, help us to carry the

message powerfully. Help us to carry it to a place

where it is dry. Help us to plant, Lord, in

places that make no sense. Help us to go and make that

decision to go to to distant places, Lord, that make no

sense. Lord, we will follow.

Lord, I pray, Lord, that people will get a single word from you.

A single word has transformed my life.

I pray that you give them a word, Lord, that'll set them on

a trajectory that will transform their life.

Lord, you are faithful and you are willing, Lord.

So Lord, we offer our lives a living sacrifice, holy and

acceptable and pleasing to you. Lord, let it be a fragrance and

aroma to sacrifice our life and leave our hand open.

Whatever you want to place in our hand, Lord, we steward, we

take care. Of and tell you, come again, the

greatest comeback of all time. Lord, we anticipate you, we

actively wait upon you, and we are strengthened together and we

help one another. We thank you, Lord, and in your

name we pray. Amen.

We want to thank you again for joining us for the Arise Church

podcast. We hope you were encouraged by

what you heard today. You can find

[email protected] and on Instagram at Arise Church NC.

If you need prayer or support or are interested in learning more

about Arise Church, we encourage you to connect with us online or

in person at our Sunday morning service.

Thank you and God bless.