TEAM CONFERENCE: DawnCheré Wilkerson - Day 1

Welcome to the Celebration Church Orlando podcast.

We are so glad you joined us, and we hope you are encouraged by today's message.

Celebration Church, would you mind helping me?

Get the warmest welcome that we possibly can.

Come on, how are we doing tonight?

Good.

Hey, I know everybody in this room loves Jesus, but just keep standing for a minute because here's the deal.

This weekend, God has prepared this weekend for us.

How many of you believe that?

And and as I come into this room, there's expectancy in my heart.

Because I know God's brought us together from Miami to Orlando to right here.

Gray City is here.

He's brought us together with a purpose.

Okay, so right now I just want to ask you, how many of you believe that?

How many believe that?

Okay, now I want you to give shout to God like you believe it with all your heart, like you're expecting it.

Amen.

Amen.

Well, hey, before you're seated, why don't you look to your left and right?

Hi five somebody.

Tell them I'm glad I'm sitting next to you.

It's so good to be with you tonight.

We we brought a whole crew from Miami.

Some of my dearest friends, some of the people that really are leading the charge back in Miami, been with us every step, and they're they're family to us.

And we've got the Freemans, we've got the Del Vintas, we've got the Tumas, we've got the love of my life.

Where is he?

Right there.

Been in love with this guy since I was 17 years old, Rich Wilkerson Jr., will you just put your hands together for my family right here?

I love you guys.

Thanks for being here.

Pastors Keith and Megan, we're so honored to be here with you.

We really are.

The spirit that both of you carry, it's it's contagious, and it actually fills the room.

It fills the room with warmth, and it fills the room with grace and strength.

And I'm grateful to spend this night with every single one of you.

Um, you know, three years ago we embarked on a journey much like yours of planting a church, and we are in two schools, and so we know that daily thing of load-in, load out.

Come on, does anybody know what I'm talking about right now?

Okay.

We're on the same team.

And what I love about your churches is that we sent at least 30 people to here to be with you when we launched food three years ago.

And you guys hosted us and you taught us everything that you knew, and you treated us like family, and we went back to Miami so inspired, so pumped up for our first loaded experience.

And so, right now I just want you to put your hands together for yourself because you are inspiring so many people, just with the way that you lead and you love.

So, right now I'm gonna take a minute to turn to the to the word because we're gonna get started.

If you have your Bibles, turn with me to 1 Corinthians chapter 11, verse 1.

1 Corinthians 11:1

1 Corinthians chapter 11, verse 1.

1 Corinthians 11:1

I'm reading from the Passion Translation.

It simply says this, and it'll be on the screen.

I want you to pattern your lives after me.

Just as I pattern mine after Christ.

And you know, as we kick off this weekend together, Heart Over Hype, I can't think of a cooler name than that.

Like that speaks straight to my heart.

I love it.

We're taking that back to Miami.

Rich and I are already, we've already decided.

But as we kick off this weekend, I just I want to talk to you from this thought for the next few minutes.

Walk this way.

Walk this way.

So you bow your heads with me as we pray.

Lord, I thank you so much for this weekend.

Thank you for every man, woman, every student, every grandparent, everybody in between.

Lord, you know our stories.

God, you're interested, but more than interested, you're invested into every part of our lives.

And so, God, I thank you that you're doing more than we see right now.

And God, the best is yet to come.

We believe that wholeheartedly because when it's about you, Lord, that's the only way things end.

And so we love you and we thank you.

Everybody said.

Oh, come on, everybody said.

Amen.

Well, um, we've had some fun news in the last few weeks in our family.

You know, my husband and I, we've been in ministry for about 12 years together.

We're both PKs.

We grew up in church, multiple services on Sunday.

It's beautiful.

It really built our love for God and for his house.

And we met 17 years ago, been married close to 13 years.

But yeah, and so we went on this eight-year infertility journey in the middle of our marriage, where for eight years we were asking God to allow us to have a baby, and there were a lot of moments where we hit roadblocks and we didn't feel like we knew what the future held.

But about a year and a half ago, a miracle occurred in our family, and we uh we have our first son, Wyatt Wesley Wilkerson.

And uh yeah, Rich will show a picture tomorrow morning of him, but it's WWW World Wide Web.

Those are his initials.

And then the miracle just continues because we just announced two weeks ago that the second one is on the way.

So here's the deal: God is faithful, amen.

And he does so much more than we could ask or imagine.

And so, for those of you, if you're in a waiting season, I just want to start by speaking life and faith over you.

That God sees you.

And you know, as you serve these seeds, they bring a harvest.

And even now, in your waiting, you're not wasting the season, you're not on pause, there's no delay in your life.

God's developing you, He's doing more than you see.

How many of you believe that?

I believe it wholeheartedly.

But here's the deal I'm from Shreveport, Louisiana.

Can you tell at all?

I I've got this southern accent that doesn't seem to leave me, even though I've been in Miami for 13 years.

And the thing that I love about Miami, well, when I first moved, there was so much that was different, Louisiana to Miami.

Miami is a melting pot of culture, so many different languages.

It's beautiful to see all the culture that is represented in our city.

But when you go to South Beach, it's a completely different experience.

And it's a whole different culture, if you know what I'm talking about.

And one of the most fun things to do in our city is to just simply people watch.

Is there anybody in here that enjoys people watching?

Here's the deal: if you've never done it, it's a blast, especially in Miami on South Beach.

You just head down, get a little coffee at a coffee shop, sit by the sidewalk, and you just get to watch life unfold around you.

I'm telling you, it's more exciting than a movie.

You're gonna see people walk by on their honeymoon in the fight of their life.

You're gonna see people chasing their children down the street.

You're gonna see parents hiding from their children on the street.

You're gonna see people balancing eight coffees in their hands.

You're gonna see people late for work, you're gonna see people taking a leisurely stroll.

You're gonna see so many different things.

And the truth is, each person has their own unique walk.

And it's interesting, even without hearing a word that they're saying, just to watch the way that they walk.

You know, you may not know this, but your walk is as unique to you in many ways as your fingerprint.

And it is very, very hard to duplicate.

People would tell you that as they study people's walk, there's so much they can tell about them.

And as we read First Corinthians, when it's saying like, pattern your life after mine, what it's clearly saying is like, watch the way I walk.

And that's gonna teach you how to walk.

Are you with me?

If we were to put, if we were put on this earth to communicate the love of the Father, then the way that we walk is communicating more than we think.

And see, here's the deal: this room represents so many different teams, but we're all one body, right?

And and people may never hear a word that you say, but it's your posture and the love of God that's in your heart and your willingness to show up early in the morning and set up and then load out.

The way you walk is doing more than you think in the lives of those around you.

And you know what's beautiful is the way that you walk is teaching other people how to walk.

It's so cool to see this in community.

And we're just gonna talk like we're family because that's what this weekend is about.

Here's the deal: the best way for people to get involved in this community is for them to watch you and the way that you walk.

So the question is how are you walking?

What's your posture like?

What's your pace like?

What does it look like and feel like when you walk into the room?

Because it doesn't matter what your title is or what team you serve on, the seeds you're sowing matter, and your spirit goes first.

This is heart over hype.

If you believe it tonight, come on, put your hands together.

We gotta learn to walk this way.

Watchman Ni, the famous Chinese evangelist, he said it this way.

He said, Walking is the practical outworking of that heavenly position here on earth.

What's he saying?

He's saying, well, the way you walk and the way you carry yourself and the way that you're living your life as a Christ follower, it comes from something deep within.

It comes from you knowing that you're seated in the finished work of Christ.

That as you load and load out, you're not trying to achieve salvation, that you're not trying to achieve God's approval.

The reason why you're showing up is because you know you serve a heavenly father that's smiling at you, that has eyes full of love, that adores you, that's proud of you, that is pushing you forward into the purpose that He He planned for your life before your life ever began.

It comes from a heavenly position, it comes from a security within your heart that leads to a security in your step.

This is the power of our walk.

And Paul speaks often of our walk.

He says, walk worthy of your calling.

Walk worthy of your calling, walk in love, he says.

He says, Don't walk like the Gentiles, be renewed in your mind.

When your mind is renewed, you're gonna walk differently.

He says, Walk as children of the light.

Paul is saying something really clearly to you and I.

He's saying, Hey, there's an obvious way to walk, there's a right way to walk.

And what he challenges us to do is watch the way I walk and emulate that way so that you can learn how to walk.

We've all had people teach us how to walk.

Maybe on your job you have somebody that you look up to.

Maybe there's someone in your family that you admire and that you aspire to walk like.

But when we choose to surrender our life to Jesus, whether we're 65 or five years old, we we have a new teacher.

Because every single one of us, the moment we open up our heart to God, the Holy Spirit fills our life.

Let's remind ourselves of the stuff that really matters this weekend.

And we have the great teacher, we have the comforter, we have the counselor within every single one of us.

And you know what?

He's a patient teacher, but he's also a persistent teacher.

He doesn't give up on us or push us aside.

His voice is always willing to speak to our situation if we open up our hearts.

And I don't know about you, but I'm thankful that we have the Holy Spirit.

If you're thankful for the presence of God tonight, come on, let's put our hands together, let's give God praise.

We have a great teacher.

So tonight you need to understand that the Holy Spirit teaches us.

And what does he teach us?

Well, first of all, he teaches us to walk willingly.

Everybody say that.

Say walk willingly.

I mean, how practical is this?

Your faith is not that a routine, a repetition.

You are not a robot, you do not wake up and wind yourself up or plug yourself in and just go through the motions.

When we say walk willingly, this is the secret to your walk with Christ.

This is the secret to your walk in this community.

Because you cannot move forward until you are willing.

Some of you in this room, you want to move forward.

People have painted a picture of a purpose before you.

You see it in the distance.

But your stubbornness and your unwillingness to be molded by the leaders around you, by the voices that care about you, by the power of the Holy Spirit within you, your unwillingness has made you wait where you are.

When if you would just choose to walk willingly, you would take step after step forward into what God has for you.

I've seen this in my own family.

Like, my son is running all over the place right now.

But I remember when he was learning to walk, and here's the deal: like, I would just grab his little chubby, amazing thighs, and I would move him in the motion of walking.

And I would try to show him that this is how you walk, this is how you move.

Before you walk, you gotta crawl, buddy.

Like, let's get moving.

I'd move his legs with my hands.

But how many of you know I can't make him walk?

That even as an infant, that he has to be willing to learn to walk.

And whatever age we are today, I want to tell you something.

God has more for you in front of you, but it is all dependent, not upon your accolades, not upon the labels, not upon what your position is or what you've achieved.

How many of you believe tonight?

It all depends on your willingness, it all depends on your lean-in, it all depends on your heart being willing to learn how to walk.

And I see this every single week in our community.

I can tell you about people who walked in through the doors of our church, much like this, and knew nothing about community, knew nothing about service, knew nothing about the things of God.

And because they walked willingly, they outran people who had been in church for 40, 50 years because God was able to accelerate their path because they had a willing heart.

Oh, come on, is anybody with me tonight?

God's just looking for some men and some women who are willing, willing to serve, willing to go the extra mile, willing to learn a new way, willing to lean into processes that you aren't familiar with, willing to master what your leaders put within your grasp, willing to forgive, willing to forget, willing to work with others, willing to value others' opinions, willing to walk humbly.

Oh, it's all willingness.

We have a leader on our team who walked into our first or second um interest meeting.

He and his fiance at the time had an encounter with the presence of God and rededicated their lives.

They had never been in a church like ours before.

But they just started to show up and serve.

They started to lean in, they started to learn the processes, they started to care about the details, they started to worship with all their heart.

I'll never forget at one of our meetings.

He walked over to me and said, Hey, I think it's awesome, but I just want to ask you, like, why do we raise our hands?

I got to have a conversation with him about we raise our hands as an act of surrender, that we're releasing everything we've been holding on to and and we're receiving everything that God is.

We raise our hands as an act of worship to God, that God, you're worthy.

I celebrate everything else.

Lord, you're way more worthy than everything else I get excited about.

We raise our hand because the word of God directs us to, but this is how fresh he was to the walk.

Can I tell you today, just three years later, he and his wife lead one of our locations?

That they are leaders in our house, that they are teachers in our house, that they, because of their lean-in, oh come on, how many of you believe tonight?

God has more for your life.

And it's just a willing heart.

It's just a willing heart.

What do we have to be willing to do?

We have to be willing to work.

Because here's the deal: God has welcomed us into his family.

Uh, we're no longer spectators, and that's why you're here.

I applaud you.

This weekend is about building you up, not beating you up, because you're all heart and soul, baby.

You're the ones who are showing up and making such a difference.

But you've got a revelation that maybe a lot of the people who walk through these doors on Sunday they don't know yet.

But through the way you walk, they can discover it.

Isn't that cool?

And and you have to be willing to work because there's a harvest at hand.

And the Bible says that the harvest is plentiful, the workers are few.

So pray for the workers.

Like we have to pray for the workers.

The harvest is ready.

God's expecting us to show up and to give everything we have for the kingdom of God.

James chapter 2, verse 14 says, My dear brothers and sisters, what good is it if someone claims to have faith but demonstrates no good works to prove it?

James 2:14

How could this kind of faith save anyone?

Here's the deal people are watching you as you work.

And it's not enough.

Can I just be honest with you?

It's not enough for you just to show up.

It's not enough for you just to show up on time.

And I hope you're on time.

I actually hope you're early because that's how leaders lead.

Amen.

Anybody with me?

But they hear me like we lead with our spirits.

So, yeah, it's early in the morning.

Yeah, it's late at night.

But man, my spirit was is what brings strength to the situation.

Why be here at all if we're not gonna enjoy the work we're doing together?

I believe this is a house that's gonna make hard work look fun.

That people are gonna walk through, they're gonna wanna join the load-in team.

They're gonna be dying to be a part of the loadout.

They wanna learn the board in the back, they wanna serve behind the curtain, they wanna serve in kids.

Why?

Because your spirit is contagious.

Because you make hard work look fun.

Does anybody want to do that?

Come on.

I believe there are people in this room that that's who you are.

That you make hard work look fun.

That when problems arrive, arise, you're not like just talking about it and magnifying it, you're solving it.

You're hustling until the last second runs out.

There's still an opportunity to solve it.

There's still a way.

Pull things together.

That's who you are, that's who God's created you to be.

You're a leader.

Make it happen.

God's equipped every single one of us more than we even know.

But we have to understand that our willingness is not just a willing to willingness to suspect.

Hey, I know, friends, that is not God's plan for your life.

It's a willingness to work.

But here's the deal: here's the context of being willing to work.

We have to be willing to work in relationships.

The church is not a place where you just kind of do your own thing, guys.

This is this is a family, this is a unit.

God has a plan for his church, and you know what the plan is?

That we would walk together, that we're one body.

Why does God give us that picture again and again?

He paints the church as a body, as a bride, as a building, because he's getting a picture across to us that yes, there are many parts, but they all come together.

A body walks in the same direction.

My leg doesn't decide to go this way while this one goes that way.

I would be in a lot of trouble.

It would make no sense.

I actually wouldn't be able to move forward or backwards.

I'd just be stuck.

And when we are willing to work, we have to be willing to work in a relationship.

Ephesians chapter 4, verse 31 says this lay aside.

Ephesians 4:31

I love this because this picture of lay aside to me is what we were saying.

Lay your burdens down.

Like sometimes we pick up burdens that God never even intended for us to carry.

And some things weigh you down, but you can't even walk.

Like sometimes I got this 25-pound baby on my shoulders, on my hip, and then I got my backpack, and I'm trying to carry a bag.

It's too much for me.

I have to lay something down, or I can't walk any longer.

It's too heavy for me.

And what Ephesians is saying is lay aside bitter words, temper tantrums.

And oh, yeah, that's not just for babies.

I've seen some grown adults throw temper tantrums, lay aside revenge, lay aside profanity, lay aside.

Insults, but instead be kind and affectionate towards one another.

Has God graciously forgiven you?

Then graciously forgive one another in the depths of Christ's love.

How many of you love that verse?

Come on, let's put our hands together for a promise like that.

So our walk is inextricably tied to others.

Your purpose is tied to the people around you in this room.

Like, whether you want to admit it or not, you need them more than you think you do.

And you know what?

They need you.

So you got to value yourself and you got to value the people around you.

And you got to know that God has put you together for a reason.

All your personalities are not the same.

That's not what the church needs.

What the world needs is a picture of different backgrounds, different ages, different stories, all because of the love of Jesus.

Walking together as a family, forgiving one another, loving one another, encouraging one another, building one another up.

How many of you believe that's the plan of God for this house, for the future of this community?

That we would walk together.

There was a breakthrough in my marriage.

When I realized, and I'm a really stubborn person, so it took me a little longer probably than most.

But when I realized that God had put rich in my life, not just to make me happy, not just to make memories together and raise a family together, but one of the primary reasons my husband is in my life is to help shape me into God has called me to be.

And it goes both ways.

It's the same for this community.

You miss out when you underestimate the voices around you, when you don't lean in, when you don't let people close, when you don't laugh together, when you don't celebrate together, when you don't eat together.

All of these things are things that unite us.

And can I just be honest with you?

Like the voices around you, they're gonna speak encouragement to you, but your leaders are also gonna speak correction and love to you.

And that's not because they want to beat you down, that's because they see the path of purpose that God's placed in front of you, and they want you to be better.

And you know what?

We can't be better until we lay some things aside, until we're able to run this race with a heart that is willing to work and willing to work together.

How many of you believe that?

Come on, if you believe that today, put your hands together.

God's called us to work together.

He's not only called us to walk willingly, but the Holy Spirit also teaches us to walk wise.

Everybody say that with me.

Walk wise.

Okay, so here's the deal.

Willing, willingly and wisely, they're two different things.

They work together, but we actually need the Holy Spirit to teach us both ways.

And Proverbs chapter 3, verse 21 says, My child, never drift off course from these two goals for your life.

Proverbs 3:21

This is pretty straightforward.

To walk in wisdom and to discover discernment.

Don't ever forget how they empower you.

Here's the deal: you cannot discover discernment until you learn to walk in wisdom.

Wisdom brings discernment.

And the Holy Spirit in your life, as you open up your heart to him, he wants to continue to cultivate discernment and wisdom within you so that you can know how to walk.

Because it's not just walking, but it's knowing where to go.

Leaders in this room, you need wisdom to lead.

You need discernment about the people that you lead.

You need discernment about how you're leading them.

And all of us as leaders, as we walk into this new season that God has set before us, I believe there's more wisdom that God wants to pour into your heart to lead like never before.

I believe that God wants to give you discernment through the power of the Holy Spirit that can speak straight to the issues of those that you lead and that you love.

Don't you believe that God loves you that much?

Don't you believe that God loves those that you lead that much?

That He would give you specific words of encouragement and faith and love to speak right into their souls, right when they need it.

Sometimes we're walking and we don't even see the obstacles in front of us.

And in Rich's parents' church, where we served for eight years.

This is a funny character story, and it's funny but kind of in a sick way.

There was a clear glass wall separating the main room from the overflow.

And you guys, we all did it at one point or another that we were not paying attention and we walked into the glass wall.

There's nothing worse than hearing that bud and knowing what just happened to someone.

Some of us in this room, we keep hitting obstacles and we don't even see them coming back.

We don't know why we can't get around these obstacles.

There is a door, there is a pathway, there is a way that is right.

And if you'll lean into the Holy Spirit within your heart, if you'll seek wisdom, God wants to pour out wisdom from heaven so that you can speak to marriage difficulties, so that you can speak into your children's life, so that you can have the wisdom to solve issues within the teams that you lead.

But we've got to seek it, and we have to lean into the voice of the Holy Spirit.

So many times we feel like it's an attack from the enemy, but really we're just not listening.

Really, we're not leaning in.

There is more for every single one of us.

How many of you believe that the Holy Spirit is waiting to speak, waiting to lead?

Don't blame it on something else, someone else.

Let's look to our hearts, let's seek the wisdom of the Holy Spirit.

See, when we walk, it's a journey.

And as I walk, there's a journey that I'm taking right now.

And it's not just the distance that I'm covering, it's the amount of time that it takes to cover this distance.

Yes, there is territory to take, but there is also time to value.

And in order for you to walk the way that God's called you, you've got to understand that there is a journey ahead.

Not one person in this room has arrived.

We all walk willingly, we all walk wisely, but you also, if you want to walk wisely, you've got to learn to value the time that God has given you.

Because we may have the same path ahead and we may all be walking in the same direction, but all of us dictate the pace that we walk in.

You know what?

The Holy Spirit wants to accelerate your step.

He wants you to be able to run and not go grow weary, he wants you to be able to walk and not faint as you wait upon the Spirit of God that is within you.

But the truth is that's where your power lies.

It lies in seeking the face of God.

And you know what, the time that you think it's gonna take, it may not take that long, or it may take ten times longer.

But when you're being led by the spirit, you have the assurance that everything is in his perfect time, that he is leading your steps, guiding your steps.

Oh, I can testify about that all night because for eight years I felt like I was going at a slower pace than I should be, and I didn't have any way to accelerate it.

But you know what?

God showed me that I could keep serving in the weight, that I could keep showing up in the weight, that I could keep choosing joy in the weight, and I don't want to speak life over you today.

You cannot dictate the time to accelerate, but when you walk with a willing heart, God will accelerate things at the right moment and He'll make up for the lost time quicker than you ever could dream or imagine.

Oh, come on, do you believe it tonight?

We serve a God that redeems the time.

And if God has set us within the boundaries of time, then it should send a sign and a signal to you and I that we should value it.

Because he is not limited by time, but we are, so we should look at it as a resource, something that we use, parameters in our life to take advantage of.

This is what Paul talks about in his lifestyle.

1 Corinthians chapter 9, verse 24.

1 Corinthians 9:24

He says, Isn't it obvious that all runners on the racetrack keep on running to win?

But only one receives the victor's prize.

Yet each one of you must run the race to be victorious.

A true athlete will be disciplined in every respect, practicing constant self-control in order to win a laurel wreath that quickly withers.

But we run our race to win a victor's crown, and it will last forever.

For that reason, I don't run just for exercise or box like one throwing aimless punches.

But I train like a champion athlete.

That's what you guys do week after week.

God is shaping you into champion athletes.

He says, I subdue my body, I get it under control so that after preaching the good news to others, I myself won't be disqualified.

This is who we are called to be.

We are called to train like champion athletes.

You are not second rate, you have not been pushed aside by God, you have not been counted out or discounted.

Where God has placed you, He's placed you there because you're valued there and because he wants to use you beyond your dreams.

But the question is, will you value the time?

Will you value the team?

Will you value the effort that it takes to go the distance in front of you?

I believe the best is yet to come for this community.

I believe God has miracles in store.

I believe he has provision waiting.

I believe he has doors that he's gonna open, but we've got to be willing to walk, we've got to be willing to train, we've got to be willing to work willingly.

See, I just really believe tonight that when we walk in wisdom, that we use the time wisely.

We use the time wisely to create real relationships, not false intimacy.

If there's a release in your heart every time you post some long blurb on Instagram or Facebook, that's a red flag.

That is not counseling for you, that is not uh a place for you to receive some sort of peace from your processing.

You need deep relationships.

And you know where those relationships are?

They're in this room, they're waiting for you.

Oh, yeah, but she won't get coffee.

She might not, but I bet this girl over here will.

There's so many people for you to take advantage of developing relationships with.

There's so many people that you are the answer to their prayer if you get up and walk across the room and introduce yourself and ask them if they want to hang out sometime.

You need real relationships.

This is called walking in wisdom, walking in strength.

Do you believe that tonight?

We need real relationships.

This is what the world is looking for.

Wisdom means to use the time that you have to create discipline, to create order, to have routine in your life that brings strength and dependency.

That's why in these teams, that's why there are groups, so that you can have something that you can depend on, that you can participate in, that you can sew into, and that you can know you're gonna receive from.

We've got to use wisdom.

Use the time to develop the gifts that God has placed within you.

How are you shaping yourself?

How are you sharpening yourself?

Who are you learning from?

Don Sheree, I know the most on my team.

You know what?

There's so many resources online.

There's conferences you can attend, there's things that you can sharpen so that you can come back to this community and make it even better than it was before.

There is never a lid on our learning.

There is never a lid on us expanding our capacity, thinking new thoughts, bringing new ideas to the table.

How are you expanding your wisdom?

How are you using wisdom when it comes to the personal counsel for your life?

Some of you are in really difficult situations right now.

Maybe you're walking through grief.

You don't need to walk through it alone.

I'm just I'm just talking to you honestly tonight.

Like, you need to walk through grief counseling.

You need to walk through with other people, not that are constantly talking your ear off, but people that show up when you need them.

Others of you in this room, you need marriage counseling.

So stop putting it off.

Ask for the resource.

Make the call, make the appointment.

Make more than one appointment.

Make it a regular part of your schedule and give God that time and see what God will do with that time as you allow him to shape you and mold you through the wisdom of those he's placed around you.

Get the counsel you need.

What are the dreams God's placed in your heart?

Don't keep them to yourself.

Get somebody in your life who's gonna speak life over you.

You can be mentored from afar, you can be mentored through through sermons, you can be mentored through resources, you can be mentored through books, but choose to expand your life because as you expand, this community expands.

As you expand, your team expands.

Oh come on, do you believe it tonight?

When you decide to think big, your team decides to think big.

Right now, I'd love for the team for the team to come up because we're gonna have a moment of worship and prayer.

But here's the deal the truth is sometimes we don't feel like we have the strength to walk.

In every one of our lives, we could go row by row, seat by seat, and every one of you will come to a place in your life where you feel like you don't have the strength to walk.

And here's what the enemy does.

He makes you feel like because you don't have the strength to walk, that you shouldn't show up to participate anymore.

He makes you think that because you don't have the strength, because you feel like you don't have the strength to get through the season you're in, that you should bow out quietly, that you should isolate yourself, that you need time alone.

That is the biggest lie and deception from the enemy.

And you know what?

When we believe that lie, we hurt ourselves more than we think.

Because community is exactly what we need.

On my toughest days when I don't want to wake up in the morning, when I don't want to show up, those are the days I know I need to the most.

Because how how deep and how hard the fight is to get through these doors to serve and to be on team and to prepare what God has placed in my hand.

Once I walk through the doors and there's a moment of worship, all of a sudden my heart is rearranged, it's realigned, it's recalibrated, and the Holy Spirit suddenly gives me exactly what I needed.

I needed to be in community, I needed to continue to serve.

I needed it more than this house needs me.

I know that for sure.

And every one of us goes through seasons where we just want to bow out quietly because we don't feel like we have the strength to walk.

Can I tell you that is not an invitation from heaven, my friend?

That is not the Holy Spirit, that's the enemy wanting to limit your walk, wanting to stifle your walk, making you think that if you stop walking, that you'll feel better.

You won't feel better.

What you need is what God has placed before you.

What you need is to strive and to strain towards the prize that God has placed before you through the name of Jesus.

Because there's more.

God doesn't want you to miss out on it.

He wants you to lean in and to find the healing that you seek and find the friendship that you seek, find the purpose that you seek.

I can't tell you how many years of my life serving in church, grew up as a pastor's kid, knew everything about our community.

I don't want to say church as a whole, but and still in my 20s, so many nights of tears every couple months of what is my purpose?

What am I doing?

What's going on?

God, I've worked in so many different aspects of church, and it was God's plan for my life because He values every part of the church.

I worked at cafe, the bookstore I built out.

I worked with marketing, I worked with worship.

There's so many different things that were a part of my journey.

And you know what?

I'm just getting started.

God has more that He wants me to dig my feet into and value.

Whether it's my deepest passion in life, He has something valuable there.

So for all of us in this room, like maybe you're in a really dark time, or maybe this is the best time of your life.

I know there are people in this room that you're walking through infidelity, that you're walking right now through heartbreak, you're walking right now through loss, perhaps it's miscarriage, perhaps you're walking through infertility, perhaps you're walking through a really disappointing time where you were let go from your job and you felt like that was where you needed to be.

Yet there are other people in this room that you just had that baby, and you just got that new job that you prayed for, and you just got that breakthrough, and God just healed your body.

This is what we find within the body of Christ: celebrations and circumstances that are outside of our control.

And you say, Don Cherie, how do I walk?

How do I walk the journey when I don't feel like I can walk any longer?

Well, God gives us two things that are forever constant in our life, mountaintop or valley.

He gives us worship, and he gives us the word.

And you know what?

Worship is when you choose to walk willingly.

God, I don't feel like raising my hands, but you are worthy in every circumstance.

God, my heart's broken.

I need healing in my body.

Lord, I need a touch from you in my marriage.

God, I need answers for my job.

Lord, I need you to help me with this test coming up for my boards.

Lord, I have an issue with my brother or my sister.

God, I'm having difficulty with my mom or my dad.

But God, as I raise my hands to you, I'm walking willingly.

God, I don't have the answer, but I really, really need you.

That's how we choose to walk willingly.

And see, the word is how we walk wisely.

Because the word is a lamp to your feet, it's a light to your path.

And sometimes when the obstacles come, you need the word of God to penetrate the darkness and show you an alternate route that He has prepared for you to go around the obstacles, to get around the pitfalls, to walk through the difficulties.

And you know what?

You've got two legs.

You've got worship and the word.

You've got worship and the word, and those two legs will take you through the whole journey that God has placed before you.

So when you feel overwhelmed, it's worship and the word.

When you feel broken, it's worship and the word.

When you feel isolated, it's worship and the word.

When you feel defeated, it's worship and the word.

How many of you believe that tonight?

Oh, you've got everything you need for the journey.

You've got everything you need.

You've got the right community.

You've got the right God.

Walk this way.

Walk this way.

Will you stand your feet all over this room?

Just show yourselves away with God.

You guys close your eyes.

I love doing that because it's just a cool way of focusing on the voice that's the most important right now.

That's the Holy Spirit.

I really believe there are people in this room that the Holy Spirit's been talking to you tonight.

Whispering into your heart, walk willingly.

Don't let that stubbornness steal the purpose of God for your life.

Don't let that pride put up a wall between you and the beautiful future God's placed before you.

Don't let your own wisdom trick you into thinking that you know a better way.

Walk willingly.

Holy Spirit's prompting you that you gotta walk wisely.

There's some decisions, some practical things the Holy Spirit wants you to put in place as safeguards for your journey.

To protect you, to provide for you, and to sustain you every step of the way.

If that's you today, just every head bowed, every eye closed.

I just want you to raise your hand because I want to pray for you.

Will you raise your hand right now?

No hesitation.

That's me, don't shrink.

Holy Spirit.

Speaking straight to me.

Got some things that I'm going out of here that I know that I need to implement.

Let my guard down with the Holy Spirit.

Allow him to change me from the inside out.

Have a few conversations.

Make a few calls.

Amen.

Hands going up all over this room.

From the back to the front.

Can we all lift our hands up?

I believe the Holy Spirit's gonna move in this house.

I believe he's gonna speak directly to your situation.

Some of you in this room, you're broken.

But this is not your destination.

God's gonna heal you.

He sees you.

He sees you in your brokenness.

The word of God says he is close to the brokenhearted.

He binds up their wounds.

You are loved, you are seen, you are recognized.

God adores you, he is gonna heal you, and you will lift hands of joy sooner than you think.

You will lift hands of restoration and healing sooner than you think.

God, right now I pray for every single man and woman in this room.

God, I pray that right now they would sit.

Lord, the presence of heaven.

God, that there is, God, there is a crowd watching us, cheering us on as we run our race.

And God, they've gone before us.

And Lord, what they would say to us is do not give up.

There is more than you know in front of you.

God has prepared you for this moment.

He has fashioned your life and your character and your personality and your situation.

Specifically for this city, specifically for your family, specifically for your job.

It is no accident who you are, and God loves who you are.

And so, God, with our hands raised, we say we surrender to you.

God, we surrender our doubts, we surrender our fears, we surrender our questions.

God, with our hands raised, we receive everything you are.

Healing power from heaven, Holy Spirit discernment, freedom from the bondages of our life, freedom from the lives of the enemy.

God, we have joy today.

Lord, we have strength today.

God, we have a heart of celebration.

Because you are everything that we seek.

Come on, lift your hands.

Thank you for tuning in to today's podcast.

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