RESET: Day 22

Celebration Church.

We are so, so glad that you're here with us today.

Celebration Church at home.

This is our celebration everywhere experience, which means that all of our different locations, all across the globe, this is our time where we intentionally take the church from the four walls and bring it into our homes.

This is why we're outside.

We want to show you what it looks like to take the kingdom of God beyond just our local gatherings.

We're so, so glad that you're with us today.

I'm expected that God is really going to speak.

Our hope is that you have some community around you, some family, some friends.

Take a picture.

Let us know that you're with us.

I love to celebrate what God is doing with our community when we're all together, whether it's in our local gatherings or whether it be in our homes and in our very community touch points, we know that God is with us and that He is going to speak to us today.

If you have your Bibles, I want to invite you to join me in the book of Joshua.

We're going to get there in just a moment, but Joshua 23 is where we're going to kind of start at, and then we'll move over to another passage of scripture.

If you've been a part of our community for the past couple of weeks, then you know that we've been in this amazing season of prayer and fasting.

21 days of really getting after God.

And what we've defined fasting is fasting just means to abstain, to kind of disconnect from, to create some space for us to really be able to experience what God has for us.

And we thought it would be a great time to do that in the beginning of the year.

We think it's a great place for us to kind of reset some things.

In fact, that's kind of what we labeled this season.

This season, this series has been a season of reset.

And here's what reset means it means to set again or to set differently.

And I really believe that for many of us, God wants to reset some things in our lives.

He wants to reset our posture.

He wants to reset some relationships.

He wants to set them again, give us a new perspective, almost like a blank canvas.

And our theme scripture that we've been looking at over the past couple of weeks, it's found in Isaiah chapter 43.

Isaiah 43 · chapter mention

It's a familiar passage, and I've been reading it over the past couple of weeks, but my hope is that it's really getting deep into your hearts.

I want to read it to us one more time as we prepare to conclude this amazing series.

It says this do not remember the past events.

Pay no attention to the things of old.

Look, I am about to do something new.

Even now it is coming.

Do you not see it?

Indeed, I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.

I love some of the phrases that are in here, especially at verse 19, where it talks about look.

That means we have to perceive, pay attention.

I'm about to do something new.

God's saying, I'm about to do something new, but you can look, you can see it.

It's not a hidden secret.

However, it's going to require us to reposture ourselves, to reset some things in order for us to see it.

That God indeed wants to make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.

This is the God that we serve.

This is what this season and what this series has really been all about is that God wants to do something new.

I think one of the biggest limitations to God doing a new thing is that we can't let go of the old thing.

And I believe that this is a great season for us to recognize we need to disconnect so that we can really be open to what God wants to do in this new season.

As I said, we're going to look at Joshua chapter 23.

Joshua 23 · chapter mention

We're going to look at a few verses here, and then we're going to jump over to Joshua chapter 24.

Joshua 24 · chapter mention

But starting here at verse number one, here's what the word of the Lord says to us.

It says, A long time after the Lord had given Israel rest from all the enemies around them, Joshua was old and advanced in age.

So Joshua summoned all of Israel, including its elders, its leaders, judges, and officers, and said to them, I am old and advanced in age.

And you have seen for yourselves everything the Lord your God has done to these nations on your account, because it was for the Lord, because the Lord was fighting for you.

I want to pause there for a moment.

What Joshua was saying is that you've seen firsthand some miracles, some things that you should not have been able to overcome, but you didn't do it in your own strength.

You may have had to be obedient.

You may have had to do some things, but it was the Lord who was fighting for you.

I want to encourage somebody right now that maybe you're thinking of a battle that's in front of you right now.

Maybe your battle isn't from a historical context.

Maybe it's very present.

It's very in front of you.

You know the names of some of the things that you're struggling with.

But the Bible says right here, the people of God, when they allow themselves to align themselves with the things of God, with the will of God, with the heart of God, and you begin to be obedient to what God is telling you to do.

It says that the battle is not yours, it's the Lord's.

And what I want you to know is that you and your faith with Jesus, it's not a fair fight, no matter what is lined up against you.

Stand, be firm, and recognize that the battle is not mine.

God is fighting for me.

He's going to remove every obstacle as long as I play my part with being obedient and being in step with God.

The Bible says here at verse number four, see, I have allotted these remaining nations to you as an inheritance for your tribes, including all the nations I have destroyed, from Jordan to westward of the Mediterranean Sea.

The Lord your God will force them back on your account and drive them out before you so that you can take possession of their land as the Lord your God has promised.

Verse number six is a crucial one.

So be very strong and continue obeying all that is written in the book of law of Moses, so that you do not turn right or to the left.

God is ultimately encouraging his people.

You've seen some things.

Maybe you're still expected of some things.

The text even insinuates that there's still some battles that's ahead of them.

But it says, be obedient.

Continue to be obedient.

Don't let off the gas just yet.

Be obedient and look at God's word and allow that to be the thing that directs your path.

So that way you don't go left and that you don't go to the right.

It means that the word of God is going to keep you on the right path.

Verse number seven.

And so do not associate with these nations that remain among you.

Do not call on the names of their gods or make an oath to them.

Do not serve them or bow to them or worship to them.

Instead, be loyal to the Lord your God as you have been this day.

To sum that up, what he's saying is don't allow yourself to be corrupted by the culture that you find yourself in.

Isn't that a timely word for us right now?

Don't allow what's around you, don't allow the structures, the all the things that's around us to begin to infiltrate your faith.

Do not compromise God's word for your life.

Ultimately is what it's saying.

Joshua then goes on to provide a very prolific summary of the journey of the children of Israel, dating all the way back to the beginning with Abraham, as he's preparing to kind of like conclude the icing on the cake, so to speak, of his life and ministry, he parts us with these words.

Joshua 24, verse number 15.

After he explains everything that God has kind of done for the people of God up to the point where he's about to breathe his last breath, he says this.

But if it doesn't please you to worship the Lord, remember that word Lord means Yahweh, the personal name of God.

If it does not please you to worship Yahweh, choose for yourselves today, will you worship the gods of your ancestors who worship beyond the Euphrates River?

That's back in the Egypt days, or the gods of the Amorites in the land in which you are living.

But as for me and my family, we will worship the Lord.

We will worship Yahweh.

As for me and my house, this is a scripture that I have declared over my family for years now.

As for me and my house, as for me and my family, we are going to worship Yahweh.

We're going to worship the Lord.

That's what I want to talk to us about today.

Today we are we are kind of like shifting from one season to the next.

And what I want to encourage us with right now is that we have a choice to make.

We have a decision to make to determine what the rest of the season will look like.

You may have heard it before, but I truly believe that this can be your best year ever if it's your best year spiritually.

And what I want to do is I want to encourage us on how to keep that same momentum and keep that same energy.

If you're taking notes, I want you to write this message title down, Day 22.

Let's pray.

God, we thank you so much for your word.

We thank you for these opportunities for us to gather in your name, even if it means gathering in our homes, Lord.

We truly believe that where two or three are gathered, that wherever we are at, God, that you are in the midst.

You did some incredible things with the people that were spread out amongst the community.

And we're believing that, God, right now, that you are allowing people to be invited into experiences that may not walk into the doors of a church, but will walk into a home and experience your love, your grace, your forgiveness, and your peace.

I pray for that community right now in the name of Jesus.

And Lord, I just pray for the next few moments that you give us open eyes to see you, open ears to hear you, and open hearts to receive everything that you have for us.

It's in Jesus' name that we pray.

Amen.

I want to ask us a quick question.

It's kind of rhetorical because I kind of know kind of where we are just as a country, as a culture, as a people.

But have you ever really like set your mind to something?

I mean, like, really, really had like an a bold, audacious goal.

I know for some of us, we may have been a little bit reluctant with setting any goals after coming out of 2020 in a year of vision and expectation that maybe we've been a little bit apprehensive.

But but for a lot of us, we still have some goals and some dreams and some things that we that we truly want to accomplish in 2021 that we want to accomplish in this year.

We know that this time of year kind of produces that.

We know that there's there's apps and journals and things that are meant to try to help us stay on track.

And all of us have so many different types of goals.

We have we have financial goals.

There are many among us that that want to pay off debt, pay off student loans, kind of get into a better financial position.

We have others that that want to get uh a little bit some things healthier in their lives, healthier relationships, get more connected to community, making sure that they they learn a new skill, something along those lines.

But then, you know, some of the most popular ones is also like just getting better in shape, just just dropping a little bit away, being a little bit more healthy or sleeping a little bit better.

And and we all can relate to having these bold, audacious goals that we kind of have like this, this, this, this timeline and also this this finish line all in mind.

And I can relate to every single thing that I mentioned here.

Specifically, regardless of how you look at it, I have some financial goals, I have some personal goals, I have some things I want to do with my family, I want to go on vacation, all these things.

That's that's some goals that we have.

But you know, another thing that I have is, yeah, man, I I want I want to get in shape.

I want to I want to spend a little bit more time, like being able to go to the beach and and letting the six-pack flex, you know, flex a little bit.

Why not?

Why not?

So so we all have some goals and some things that we absolutely would love to accomplish.

What I what I recognize is that when we have these goals, that it takes a little bit of work to execute it.

See, for me, I recognize that the quarantine 15 is a very real thing.

It's amazing how hungry you can be when you're sitting at home in between Zoom calls.

So for me, I know that I wanted to put some things in place.

And so with us going to this season of 21 days of fasting and praying, I thought it would be a great opportunity for me to use the momentum spiritually as we're kind of abstaining from some things anyway, but also connected to a good plan that I can really like accentuate um this journey that we're on.

As I was doing some research to try to find like what is going to be the best meal plan for us while we're on this journey, I came across this article that was very startling because you find ones that are saying this is the absolute best.

Then you have another article that says that that's actually the worst.

Then you have another article saying that this is the best, and then they're saying that all these different things, but I came across this one that I thought was very provocative.

The tagline simply said, Diets don't work.

It was a little bit of clickbait, and I and I bit on it.

I wanted to go and check it out to kind of see what the context of it was.

But as we began to kind of read through the article and seeing the details and the points that the person was making, I kind of understood what they were saying.

They were saying that the reason why diets don't work is because unfortunately, once you kind of get to that magic size, we all know the size that we want to get into.

That that shirt, that dress, whatever it is that you're looking to try to get into, that a lot of times, once we get there, we get to that magic number that a lot of times we we celebrate, we're glad that we got there, but then we can unfortunately go right back, we can revert back to eating the very things, doing the very things that put us in a position that we were working towards losing the weight in the first place.

It turns out that progress actually ended up being a thing that could actually completely stop you from having success.

See, there's a difference between making progress and having success.

There's a difference between making a little bit of a difference and having a little bit of transformation.

It turns out that what diets do, they may allow you to lose weight, but they don't often lead to full transformation because what leads to full transformation is a complete lifestyle change.

It's not something that we should do for a limited amount of time, but it's something that we have to commit to shifting so that we can reap the benefits of that decision the entirety of our lives.

What an amazing thought to consider that I'm not looking for a quick fix, but I'm looking to make a change to my lifestyle so I can ride the wave of that for the rest of my days.

Who would have ever thought that progress could be viewed as the Achilles heel for success?

Because when we set those goals and we reach them, if we don't have a plan, we end up reverting right back to what we used to have.

If we don't have somewhere to outfit it, we can revert right back.

We can put so much energy into achieving something that once we get it, we don't know what to do with it because there is no plan for it.

You see, what a plan does is a plan is the thing that allows the vision to live beyond the accomplishment of the goal.

But if the goal is the only thing, then once we get there, we don't know what to do with it.

We just we end up putting it back on the shelf and back into the box.

I I remember this summer, my family and I, we were, we were in this place where we were, we're gonna try to get these new shoes.

You guys know anything about me, man.

You know I'm a little bit, just a little bit of a sneakerhead.

Not not too much, not obsessive, not anything weird, but but every now and then if a new shoe comes out that I feel like it complements my style, my swag a little bit, I'm gonna go ahead and lean into it.

So it was this summertime.

I still remember it when these shoes came out.

And so I had all the digital devices out.

My kids had the digital devices out.

They were all gonna try to go for the shoes.

I kind of go up and I hit the button, and I'm thinking to myself, I typically don't win these drawings, but I won it.

My kids were so angry and I was so filled with joy.

Have you ever been just filled with joy because you knew somebody else wasn't happy?

They were hating on me a little bit.

But but it was amazing how I was so excited because something I didn't expect to get, I actually ended up getting it.

Come on, I'll preach a whole nother message here if I had enough time.

But I ended up getting it.

But here's the thing when the shoes showed up at my front door, I brought them into the house.

I kind of brought it in like a like a newborn child.

Just it was so precious to me.

I opened it up and I almost had like the ah moment.

Like it was it was all great.

My kids were so, so frustrated and annoyed.

I showed it to them and then I boxed it up, and then I remember my wife saying to me, What are you gonna wear with it?

Crickets.

I I had I had absolutely no answer.

I ended up taking the shoes, putting them back in the box, putting them on the shelf, and not wearing them for several weeks because I didn't even have anything planned to wear with it.

See, I think what happens a lot of times is that we have goals, we have ambitions, we have dreams and things we want to do.

But the goal becomes the altarpiece, so to speak.

And when we actually accomplish it, we don't have a plan on what to do with it.

And now that we have it, we end up putting it back on the box and putting it right back on the shelf.

You see, I recognize that for many of us, that is where we are.

The thing that I love about relay races is that they don't end when the baton is passed.

What if, what if what we think is the finish line is actually just a milestone?

See, with relay races, it's lines on the road, but just because the baton is passed, they're not actually supposed to come to a stop.

They're supposed to keep moving at an even rapid rate.

You know what I think?

That maybe what you think is a finish line is a milestone.

And what we need to do is we need to change our pace, not our pursuit.

Often, once we reach the goal, we stop pursuing, we stop getting after it.

And what I believe God wants to speak to his people today is that maybe you've accomplished some goals, maybe there's some things in front of you, but no matter what you do, even if you grab a hold of what God wants you to grab a hold of, make sure you can change your pace, but don't change your pursuit.

Over the past 21 days, as we've been seeking after God, we have heard some incredible testimonies.

We're gonna have a we're gonna have gatherings and moments where we're gonna catalog these and encourage our church with it.

But but some of the testimonies that we've heard are are people who have been in positions where they've been addicted to drugs.

But in this season of 21 days of prayer and fasting, that the addiction has been broken off of them and they're getting connected to community that's gonna help them to sustain their success.

I've I've talked with folks that were literally on the verge of divorce, and as they were about to like really commit to it, they found themselves saying, okay, we're gonna commit to this season of fasting and praying and just seeing what God's gonna do, and now God is bringing restoration and adequate support to them so they can continue to pursue and fight for the thing that God has placed in front of them.

We've heard miracles about people who have been diagnosed with cancer, but as they standed on, stood on the word of God, they trusted, they prayed, they believed, they still followed what the doctor said, but they were looking at the report of the Lord, and now they are completely healed.

I've I've heard instances of people who have had other types of illnesses and issues, and the doctors have all but given up on them, but somehow God has moved amongst them, and I believe that that is what God wants to communicate to us, that these testimonies are powerful, that the prayer and fasting has been able to do something so powerful amongst our community.

But now we're at day 22.

We've been praying, we've been fasting, we've been seeking after God, we've been reading his word, we've been getting closer to him.

But now that we're at day 22, what are we gonna do?

Are we going to shrink back?

Are we going to lose the momentum?

Are we gonna go back to doing the things that we used to do?

Are we gonna somehow find a way to catalog, to capture the things that God has been doing amongst us to ensure that it doesn't stop here?

Where you are is not a finish line, it's a milestone.

And I want to encourage you right now that you are not supposed to stop, that you got to continue your pursuit.

You can change your pace, but don't you stop your pursuit because there's some other things that God wants to bring into your life.

You see, this is where the children of Israel find themselves.

They have been in bondage for 400 years.

And so, what what Joshua is doing is he's reminding them of their journey, he's reminding them of their history because he knows that he is the last of the generation of remembering when they were in Egypt all the way through the 40 years of bondage, and now they've made it to the promised land.

So there's a new generation that may not have that perspective.

So as he's using his his godly wisdom in his final days and moments on earth, he turns and gathers the people together and he's like, listen, some of you may not know this, but but but God called Abraham out of a place of obscurity and and began to bring him on this journey of getting to this promised land that you may hear us talk about frequently.

After Abraham, his sons are then born, and then we finally get to we get to Israel, Jacob.

Jacob's name is changed to Israel, and now he's the one that produces the 12 sons that end up becoming the 12 tribes of Israel, and while we refer to them as the Israelites, the descendants of Abraham.

They find themselves in Egypt, and while they're in Egypt, they end up being in a condition and position of being oppressed for 400 years.

And while they were there, scripture says that they cried out to God.

It was a place of complete degradation, it was a place of complete brokenness.

They it was a place where they were oppressed, they didn't want to be there anymore.

And God showed up.

He sent Moses, and Moses led them through the wilderness.

Because while they were on this journey of making it to the promised land, here's what the reality was is while they were, while they were still on this journey, they may have been out of Egypt, but Egypt wasn't out of them.

So the wilderness was an opportunity for them.

They got to kind of get disconnected from the environment that they've been from, so that way they can steward adequately the promises that God had in front of them.

It's from this place that that Joshua is speaking as he's preparing to leave, and he's saying, But there's been some some hard-fought lessons.

We've had entire generations of people that have left and that have not made it to the promised land as a result of disobedience.

When Joshua takes the lead, he leads them into the promised land.

He's the one that is given that opportunity, that leadership opportunity to lead them in.

He they fight the battle of Jericho and then they spread out and they continue to fight and they get the things that God has for them.

And it seems as if they are at the finish line.

It seems as if they are at their day 22.

I'm on the other side of seeking after the things that God has for me.

But what Joshua wanted to make sure, he did not want them to grow complacent.

He did not want day 22 for them to revert back to what it was before they even were on this journey and they could lose everything that they have.

I think that the tendency for some of us is that once we get what God has for us, is we take our foot off the gas.

Our tendency can be now that I'm married, I'm going to stop dating my spouse.

Now that I got my degree, I'm going to stop learning.

We can get to a point where we actually meet what we believe is the finish line when it's supposed to be a milestone.

We may can change our pace, but we shouldn't change our pursuit.

And ultimately, what Joshua is communicating to the community is that, man, we've made it into the promised land, but don't get comfortable.

God still has some other things for us, but we got to continue to keep our diligence and our faithfulness and our loyalty to him.

Don't allow the culture to corrupt us.

Ultimately, when we look at Joshua is saying to his community, there's three points that I want to extract to encourage us today.

Just three simple points that I think could be an encouragement for us.

Here's the first thing that he ultimately says He says, make a decision.

Just make a decision.

He starts off by saying, make a choice.

I want you to make a choice.

It's an interesting thing when we think about how powerful our choices is.

There is so much power in our choices.

Here's the thing like a good marriage doesn't just happen.

You have to choose it.

And then when you make that choice, you steward the choice that you made.

It doesn't magically happen, but you're making a choice.

Every day I'm choosing to say yes.

And with that yes, I have a plan on how I'm going to execute that yes.

We have to make a choice.

You see, what he wants to help them to understand is that God's love is unconditional.

But his favor, his blessings, they do have some stipulations attached to it.

See, we can read throughout the course of the Bible these little statements there where it says if.

See, it's that statement like, if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray, you know the rest of it.

I'll hear from heaven and then I'll bring healing.

But you see that one word that is all hinged upon, if.

See, what God is saying, if you choose me, if you're obedient, if you follow me, then there's some things that's going to come along with it.

But but if you do not, my love is unconditional, but you've chosen to go a direction where my favor and my blessing and my grace isn't.

My love is for you, but you've chosen to go down a path.

That seems right, but it can lead to destruction.

What he wanted to make sure of is that we're in a place where it looks as if we're at the land of milk and honey, the place of provision where we have what God wants us to have, but we have a responsibility.

We have to make a choice to continue to steward this relationship, to steward obedience, to stay in alignment with God.

And what I want to encourage you is that maybe in this season of fasting and praying, you've abstained from some things, you've pursued God, you've gotten revelation, you've gotten clarity, you've really been in this place where you've really feel like you are in communion with God.

I think that we have a responsibility and an opportunity to continue to steward that.

Maybe your fast will shift a little bit.

Maybe you won't continue to abstain from everything, but I think we have a choice to make.

And that choice is to continue to pursue God.

Even after you get the breakthrough, continue to pursue God.

Even if you don't get the breakthrough yet, continue to pursue God.

He wanted to encourage them to make a choice.

Choose this day.

Please continue to make a choice that's going to move you forward and not one that takes you backward.

Here's the second thing that he ultimately says.

After he tells them to make a choice, he ultimately is telling them, don't go back.

So simple.

Just don't go back.

He makes this compelling argument where he says, you can choose where where you want to worship.

You can choose what you want to do.

And here's what your options are.

You can choose to worship the God of your ancestors.

You know, the ones that were back by the Euphrates rivers, or even the ones that are here with the Amorites.

Here's ultimately what he's what he's communicating.

This is back when you were in Egypt.

Now remember earlier, I mentioned how when they were in Egypt, it was a place of oppression.

It was a place of abuse.

It was a place where they were being um, they were just being um destroyed and broken down and their identities was being stripped from them.

It was from that place that they cried out to God, saying, Lord, we need you to come in and bring healing and restoration.

We need you to deliver us from this place of bondage.

But but when you read the narrative, what you'll find is that when God showed up and he began to move amongst the community, he began to move them from the place of bondage.

Isn't that interesting that sometimes when we're praying and asking God to move on our behalf, the way that the move of God works is sometimes he's moving us.

And what he did is he was moving them from the place that was calling the bondage.

He was moving them from the place that was causing the suffering.

And while they were on this journey, they complained the entire time.

Like, the entire time.

They would they would revert back and really, really reminisce about how great they had it back when they were in Egypt, the place of bondage, the place that they needed to get God to deliver them from.

But they found themselves reverting back to, man, it's uncomfortable now, so I wish that things were the way that they used to be.

Isn't that interesting about the human condition?

That we would rather eat a buffet of bondage than bread from heaven.

Because they would often refer back to the meals that they had while they were in Egypt.

A meal that no one would ever eat, meal that the Egyptians were viewed as forbidden, that it was disgusting, and now they're longing for that.

Meanwhile, they were getting bread from heaven, they were getting water directly from God Himself, and that wasn't good enough.

It's interesting how sometimes we can have an appetite for things that lead us backwards when God is just saying, But can you be good and content with what I want to provide for you?

What Joshua was ultimately doing is, man, like, don't forget where you came from.

Don't forget when you were being abused.

Don't forget when Pharaoh was treating you terribly, don't forget you were crying out to God to get out of this situation.

And now that it's a little uncomfortable, don't don't go back.

Don't go back to the way that they used to be.

God has so much more for you.

And what I suspect is that in this season of fasting and praying, as we've been abstaining from some things, we recognize that the things that we've been abstaining from aren't good for us anyway.

So don't go back.

Because if we go back, the very thing that we were seeking God for becomes a thing we're seeking God for the next year because we went back to it and we hit the reset button.

What I believe God wants to do is He wants us to have sustained freedom.

But the way that we have sustained freedom from the past is by continuing to move forward.

What Joshua was doing with the community is saying, don't forget that God has delivered you from a place that was broken and then may be uncomfortable right now.

You may not have all the answers right now, but God is moving you forward.

Can you be content with bread from heaven instead of the buffet of bondage because sometimes our appetites want things for us that is not what's best?

I believe God is challenging us in these seasons.

Can you be okay with me giving you what you need instead of you getting what you want?

That's a word right there.

Can we be content with God giving us what we need instead of what we want?

This is what Joshua is saying.

We may have some things that we want, but it may not be the best for us.

And sometimes when we're on this journey with God and we want to see a move of God, a move of God often looks like God moving us, and sometimes it's uncomfortable, but don't go back.

Joshua is compelling them to not go back.

But here's a third and final thing that I want to share with us: prioritize God.

Prioritize God.

Joshua tells them, make a choice.

You can go back if you want, but don't go back.

But as for me and my house, we're going to serve the Lord.

He's prioritizing God.

He's making a statement that as for me, this is the way that I'm going to function moving forward.

It's a declaration statement, it's drawing the line in the sand.

I was raised in a Christian household.

My mom, she would often walk around at home singing and praising God, and that was just a normal thing for us.

That was just normal for us.

But I remember I got to a point where she didn't necessarily force me to go to church.

So I kind of had like a proxy relationship with God.

My mom kind of had me covered, so to speak.

And I remember being able to ride that wave, and I would occasionally go to church with her.

I would occasionally read the Bible whenever I felt like I really needed to hear something from God because I felt like I was in a situation that I couldn't handle on my own.

But I had this one tragic event that happened.

My cousin got killed in a car accident.

Many of you guys may have heard me tell the story, and it really allowed me to wrestle with my mortality, make me really question what my next steps were going to be.

And as a result of that, that vulnerable moment, I opened up my heart and I allowed God to become the Lord of my life.

But I remember the next day after I woke up, it was like, okay, I had this amazing experience at an altar.

It was powerful, but now it's the next day.

Now it's Monday.

I got to go back to work.

I got to go right back to doing the things that I used to do.

And what I used to think about was this I used to think that no one knows about the life transformational experience that I just had.

But I got to go to work, I got to be there on time.

But I remember there was a decision that I had to make as I was around the same friends, as I was still doing some of the same things around some of the same people, that I had to make a declarative statement.

As for me and my house, we're going to serve the Lord.

And I remember when I got to that point where I said, you know what?

I had an encounter with God.

And going forward, this is what that looks like for my family.

And I made that decision.

We're going to honor God.

And here's what we're going to do.

We're going to go to church.

We're going to give.

We're going to serve.

It was making these statements and saying, and this is what we're going to do.

It's making a decision and stewarding it.

I believe what Joshua was doing is he was saying, as for me and my house, we are going to serve God.

This is what we're going to do.

We're not going to go back on it.

We're not going to find ways to negotiate around it.

Watch this.

We are going to build our lives around God instead of trying to find places to fit God into my life.

Imagine that for a moment, where I'm no longer trying to see where God fits into my schedule, but my schedule is now the thing that is built on the things of God.

What Joshua is encouraging us to do is in this season, prioritize God.

Put him first.

Allow him to be the foundation of our entire lives.

I really believe this, that whatever you build on is what you stand on.

And Jesus gives us this beautiful illustration of a home that is built on sand.

And when the storms come and the rains come, because they will come, it doesn't have stability and it will fall apart.

But it does say, but if you can build your life on the rock, the rock of our salvation, that rock being Jesus, the chief cornerstone, if I can build my life on him when the storms come, when a rain comes, when the waves beat against the walls, I will be able to endure it.

I believe what that means is when you live a life where you build it by prioritizing God, you have a foundation that even when all hell is breaking loose, you will not fall because heaven's on the inside of you.

That is what God's word is for his people is making sure that we recognize that we're going to build our lives on the rock, and that's going to be the foundation that we have.

We're going to prioritize God.

And I want to encourage you that in this season, maybe you've been getting up a little bit earlier seeking after God.

Maybe, maybe you've been doing some devotionals, maybe you've been journaling.

Here's what I want you to do.

It's day 22, it's the day after.

Keep doing it.

Keep seeking God.

Keep reading.

Keep praying.

Keep fasting when God leads you to do it.

This is not the place for us to look at this as a finish line.

This is a milestone.

Change your pace, but don't change your pursuit because God is not done with you yet.

I have never regretted doing the God thing.

Whenever God has placed something on our heart, and sometimes it's required sacrifice.

Sometimes it's been a little uncomfortable, but I've never regretted doing what God has called me to do.

And my encouragement for you is no matter where you are, no matter what you've walked through, no matter what this season has been, you'll never regret putting God first in every area of your life.

Prioritize God.

But now as we close, I want to talk to somebody else because I recognize that while we're talking about this momentum, this idea of getting into the promised land, us getting a hold of everything that God has for us, I know there's others in our community that are still waiting for their answered prayer.

They're still waiting for their promised land, so to speak.

You're waiting for that revelation to come and hit you.

So for you, maybe you've been seeking after God, but you haven't quite got the clarity or breakthrough just yet.

For me, I want to tell you to don't let go.

See, there's a story in scriptures that tells us about Jacob.

And Jacob has lived a life where he's been running from God and making mistakes.

But there's this moment when a man has a collision with his creator.

And what scripture says is there's this moment where as he's having this encounter with God, that Jacob is given this opportunity to let go and go back to normal or to hold on.

And Jacob makes this statement I will not let you go, God, until you bless me, until things are different.

I will not let go until I see a change.

I want to encourage somebody right now, I feel this in my spirit, that there's many of us that are on the verge of letting go.

You've prayed, you've fasted, you don't see the results.

You've done everything you can and you haven't seen a breakthrough.

But let me encourage you in the same way that the scriptures encourage us through the narrative of Jacob, don't you let go.

You hold on and you don't let go until you see your breakthrough.

You don't let go until you see the identity change.

You don't let go until you see that you're walking differently.

You don't let go until you see the revelation.

You don't walk, you don't let go until you see that God has transformed it.

You hold on and you don't let go.

I know that there's moments when it feels like we can't hold on any longer.

This is when your community comes up.

This is the narrative of Moses when he had his hands up and his arms got tired, but then the community came up to help him to keep his hands lifted up or to help him to grab a hold of the things that God had in front of him.

And I believe this is why our communities are so important.

If you feel weak, let somebody know and let them pray with you.

Let them help hold your arms up, but don't you let go.

I believe the enemy loves to get us to a place where we think that the things that we're holding on to, there is no breakthrough, and we begin to get discouraged and we give up.

But that is a lie.

And I want to let you know that you have a community of people that's praying with you, that's standing with you, that wants to encourage you and encourage you and tell you this don't you let go.

God is not done with you yet.

I don't know what you're walking through, I don't know what your circumstance is, but I know in our community there are people that are still holding on for a spouse.

There are people that are still holding on for a job.

There are people who are still holding on for clarity.

And it can seem as if even after a season of prayer and fasting, it's day 22, and I want to let go.

Don't let go.

Don't let go until you see the change.

And when you see the change, you grab a hold of something else.

Because as we see, just because you've got the promised land, it doesn't mean that God is done.

There's an enemy that is crouching at the door who's looking for people that have let their guard down.

See, the rest of the narrative goes for the children of Israel.

They were in the promised land, but they began to kind of let off of their discipline.

They began to let off of the things that God had instructed them to do.

Remember, he said, look to the law of Moses so you don't go left and to the right.

And they stopped looking at the law of Moses and they began to drift, and as a result of that, they found themselves in captivity.

This is where the bondage stories begin to kick in again when we think about how Babylon came in.

That happened because they lost it.

They stopped their momentum.

They got to day 22 and they stopped pursuing the things of God.

Let it not be so with us.

Let it be so with us.

That when the enemy shows up and he's knocking at our door, trying to come in, that faith answers the door, that diligence answers the door, that wholeness answers the door, that the enemy doesn't have any access points because the people of God are staying in a posture of pursuing the things of God and we will not let our guard down.

It's day 22.

We're going to hold on to the promises of God and we're going to fight for the things that God has already given us.

I want to pray for us.

But before I do that, I want to talk to somebody right now that maybe you're away from God.

Maybe you know your next step is to simply surrender your life to Jesus.

If you were to take inventory of your soul, you just know.

You just know that you're away from God.

This idea of the promises of God, it doesn't make any sense.

Let me help you to understand that Jesus came and that he died in your place.

And that with that death, all of your sins are forgiven.

And our belief in that and his resurrection, that is what allows us to have a newness of life.

I want to invite you to do that.

That's what this whole thing is really all about, is giving us an opportunity to be a part of God's family, God's community.

Once we do that, that's when we begin to feel that strength and support, and we can begin to pursue the things that God has for us.

So if that's you, I just want to lead you in a prayer.

And as I always say, the prayer is not the thing that changes you, it's our belief, it's our faith.

There's a transformation that's taking place.

I want you to pray this with me.

Lord Jesus, I repent of my sins, and I believe that you died on the cross and that you rose from the dead.

And it's because of that your word tells me that I am now saved.

So please fill me with your spirit and order my steps in Jesus' name.

I really believe that if you pray that prayer and you believe it, that you have now gone from death to life, that you went from darkness to light, and that you are now a part of the community of faith.

What I want you to do is I want you to reach out to us, let us know.

If you're watching this online, make sure you put it in the chat.

We would love to come alongside you and provide you with resources to encourage you in this season.

Don't do this thing alone.

We would love to come alongside to help you to keep your arms up.

But as we wrap up today, I want to close us with a prayer for the rest of our community.

Let's pray.

God, I thank you so much for what you've been able to do in and through us over these past 21 days of prayer and fasting.

And my belief is there's many of us who've got the clarity and the strength and the closeness to you that we were pursuing in the first place.

So, Lord, I pray in the name of Jesus for every person that got a breakthrough, God, that we don't let go, that we don't look back, that we continue to stand firm and pursue everything that you have for us, God, that we don't get comfortable with where we are because we know that you still have more for us.

It's day 22, but we will not let up.

We will not let up.

We will not let go, God, that we will change our pace, but we will not change our pursuit.

We will continue to get after you, God.

We want everything that you have for us and nothing less.

So, Father, I pray a blessing over your people.

Let us continue to have a hunger and an appetite for everything that you have for us in Jesus' name.

Amen.

God bless you, church.

I love you.

I cannot wait to worship with you all next week.

Hey guys, I hope you were blessed by the message that was just shared.

Um, we want to have some next steps for you going forward.

Yes, if you were one of the ones, and we mentioned it earlier, that was ready to take that next step and give your life to Christ, we would love for you to connect with us.

Simply text the word um connect to 25101, and that's gonna be a great way for you to connect with us in our community.

Specifically, though, if you're making that decision to follow Christ, you can text the word decide to 25101, and we're gonna respond and give you some resources.

But even in that decision, maybe maybe you know your next step is to get baptized.

We would love to set up a time for us to baptize you, your family, your community.

We want to celebrate with you, absolutely.

So you can text the word connect to 25101, and we would love to schedule a time for you to get baptized with your family, your friends, or even by yourself to celebrate with these powerful milestone moments.

Our registration for next week is now open, and we would love to have you worship with us.

So go ahead and click that registration link and be with us.

We're gonna have an incredible series where we're gonna be unpacking some things that kind of carries the momentum of the season of Recep into this new month.

It's gonna be a great time for us to come together.

So we love you guys and cannot wait to worship with you next week.

Yep.

See you next week.