God is Bigger: Take Courage

Welcome to the Awakening Church podcast.

We exist to awaken this generation to new life in Christ.

Thanks for tuning in.

To find out more, go to awakeningchurch.com.

Welcome to Awakening.

My name's Ryan.

We're absolutely thrilled to have you uh tune in this morning.

And it's hard to believe that next Sunday is Easter already.

And honestly, I gotta just be honest.

When I realized that we were not able to gather in person in Easter, and we saw that, you know, coming a few weeks ago, I was so sad, you know, and we're wrestling like it.

I mean, this is the biggest Sunday of the year for us.

It's at the center point of Christianity is the resurrection, the historic resurrection of Jesus.

This is the Super Bowl of our faith.

And we're like, we're not gathering, we're not getting everybody together.

And I'm just like crushed and sad.

And yet then I began to realize this obstacle of us not being able to gather together is actually an incredible opportunity for the gospel to go out in ways that has never been before.

In fact, in fact, I believe us not gathering together is gonna allow us to have greater impact than any other Sunday in the life of our church.

And I think because of this COVID season that we're living in, this crisis, I believe this might be the most impactful Easter in the history of our country.

See, people never more have been searching for answers to life's deepest questions and looking for hope.

And we need more now than ever this the hope of the resurrection and the gospel of Jesus.

In a world filled with bad news, we need the good news that God loves us.

And so I there's two things actually happening this week that I see that are just so profound that I want to invite you in to making an incredible Easter impact.

The first is on Wednesday, uh, we're praying and fasting together as a church.

It's called If My People, and it's not just our church, it's tons of other churches in the Bay Area.

It's exciting, thousands of people gathering together, praying together.

The church is uniting in prayer, and we're actually gonna have a multi-church prayer service on the Transform the Bay for Christ Facebook page, and we'll get all the information out to you.

But would you pray and fast on Wednesday with us?

Would you tune in at noon for our prayer service with a bunch of other pastors, noon to 1230?

It's really exciting.

And the other thing that's happening that is again, it's actually a movement of churches.

It's not just our church.

We're joining in the course of what God's doing here in the Bay and across the country is a movement called Jesus Changed My Life.

This is cool.

And I want us to engage in this.

Uh, it's happening not only just in California, but churches across the country.

And here's what this is: this is we're asking you to video yourself a 60-second selfie video of sharing your story about how Jesus changed your life.

And then this week, Holy Week, would you post it on your Instagram, your Facebook, or your Twitter and uh page and hashtag JesusChangedMyLife, and then our handle, awakening SV, uh, for all of that.

It would be amazing.

Here's what's gonna happen the gospel is gonna get shared by thousands of people sharing how Jesus changed their life.

Not just us, but churches in uh the Bay Area are doing it and all across the country of how Jesus changed my life.

And in this season, people who are scrolling their phone, just trying to numb out, are gonna come across how Jesus changed your life.

And God's gonna use your story this Easter season to change someone else's life.

And so I want you to go ahead this week, and we have some stuff up on our website about, you know, how to share your story and some of those sort of things.

You can check that out.

But I'm really excited for Easter because you know what we celebrate in the midst of this crazy corona season, we celebrate God is bigger.

We celebrate that the cross is greater, that death is defeated, and that Jesus is alive.

And next Sunday, we're throwing a massive celebration that Jesus is alive.

Well, this morning we're continuing our series we kicked off last week called God is Bigger.

And I hope you're enjoying it because it's reframing our attention and focus on who God is in the midst of these swirling, chaotic, uncertain times.

And we asked this question What do you do when you find yourself caught in the middle of a pandemic?

We never thought we'd ask this question, but this is the question we're asking.

What do you do when you find yourself caught in the middle of a pandemic?

And we looked at Isaiah, the prophet Isaiah's story, Isaiah chapter six, and we said, when you're caught in the middle of a pandemic, you look up and you see God for who he is.

You get your eyes off of the circumstances, get your eyes onto God.

And when you do that, you're gonna look in.

You can't help it, but you begin to see yourself as you truly are.

And there's this healing whole process of confession that God takes us through, and then we look out and we begin to see our world as it truly is and the needs around us.

We get our eyes off ourselves and onto others, and we ask questions like this How can I serve?

How can I care?

How can I love?

Now, it's hard to believe that it was literally four weeks ago was our very first church online broadcast.

Doesn't it feel like we've been doing this forever?

And time is weird in this corona climate, isn't it?

Like, I mean, it just seems like a day is a month and yet a blink all at the same time.

And when we did this, I quoted A.

W.

Tozer on our very first broadcast, and I said this a scared world needs a courageous church.

The world's scared, anxiety-ridden, fear is only growing as the disease spreads.

And what a W.

Tozer would say, and I believe he's right, is a scared world needs a courageous church.

Well, how do we become this courageous and fearless church?

Well, God's bigger.

Look up.

We gotta reorient our eyes on the God who is bigger and above.

And then where we're going today, God's bigger.

Take courage.

Take courage, church.

I want to teach us today about how in the midst of really uncertain times, you you don't have to wait for courage.

You can actually take courage.

And for some, you're wrestling with me right now, and you know, that quote by A.W.

Tozer is like, my fearless church and a scared world, Ryan, I'm scared.

Ryan, I'm anxious, I'm nervous.

I mean, we thought, you know, a month ago this was something, and then now it's something bigger, and now it's something bigger.

And it seems like every day it escalates.

How in the world do I take courage in the midst of these times?

Like I'm really afraid.

It's not the world out there, it's me.

Where do I find courage?

Well, that's what we want to talk about this morning.

And first, let's actually define courage and get clear on what it is and what it's not.

Because courage, courage is not the absence of fear.

It's not like you experience no fear whatsoever.

And courage is actually not carelessness, it's not recklessness, it's not, you know, throwing caution to the wind and just kind of doing what you feel you want to do.

Courage, listen to this, is the ability to face and deal with danger or fear without flinching.

It's facing fear, it's facing danger, and it's going, I might be afraid, but I'm going to continue forward on what I know is the correct or right path.

I like how uh Nelson Mandela said it in his memoirs.

I read this a year ago, and he defined courage this way in his fight for equality.

He said, I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it.

The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.

A scared world needs a courageous church.

So, where do we find courage when we need it most?

How do you live courageously in the midst of these uncertain times?

Like we said last week, uncertain times are nothing new for the people of God.

In fact, it is in the soil of uncertainty, through the storms and the turbulent season, that God does some of his greatest work through the church.

And we're gonna look at one such leader, Joshua.

Joshua was one leader that was thrust into this incredibly chaotic, uncertain time in an impossible situation, and he had to lead.

And in his story, we actually are gonna learn where do we find courage in these uncertain times?

And so if you got your Bibles, would you open up to Joshua chapter one, verse one?

Joshua chapter one, verse one.

If you're actually using your Bible, the analog version, which is awesome, you can do that.

You can just go to the front and flip over five books after that.

Uh, then it's Joshua right there.

We pick it up, verse one, it says this.

After the death of Moses, the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua, son of Nun, Moses' aide, Moses, my servant, is dead.

Now then, you and all these people get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I'm about to give them to the Israelites.

I will give you every place where you set your foot as I promised Moses.

Now, now let me set the context for you.

Let me paint the picture of what's happening here.

Uh, one commentator rightly noted it would be difficult to overestimate the importance of Moses to Israel.

Moses was the great liberator and leader of the Israelite people.

Moses led the people 40 years prior to this out of slavery and bondage from Egypt, and he's leading them into the promised land, and that's where they were headed.

It took 40 years.

Moses is the one who set Israel up as its own nation.

He's the one that was went on to Mount Sinai and brought down the Ten Commandments.

He was bridging the gap between Israel and God.

And yet he lived, left something uncomplete, incomplete.

He never was able to lead the people into the promised land.

And here we find Joshua taking over the reins of Moses.

And he's being called to do what his mentor and leader never was able to do and fulfill the purpose and the calling his mentor and leader was to do.

Now, think about this.

Joshua sitting on the far side of the Jordan River, same place where Moses sat 40 years prior, looking into it, and they were unable to go in.

They're so afraid to go in.

Sitting there, assuming the heavy weight of leadership, having to step into the very shoes of the great leader Moses.

Just imagine.

Imagine the doubt, the anxiety, the sleepless nights Joshua must have had.

Notice this.

Everything they were about to do they had never done before.

They were entering a land that was completely foreign to them.

Everything we're about to do, we've never done before.

We've entered a land that's completely foreign to us, shelter in place, a disease wiping out so much of our life as we know it.

And we're just trying to figure out how do we navigate this.

Joshua, I mean, just imagine the pressure he felt in that moment to lead and to provide.

And I think some of you are in that very space for yourselves or for your families or for your friends.

The uncertainty he must have felt, the inner questioning and wondering, is he up for the task?

Will he make it?

I want you to listen very carefully to what God says to Joshua in the middle of that moment.

Listen here.

God says to Joshua, as I was with Moses, so I will be with you.

Wow.

The same way I met and walked with Moses, you have full access in exactly the same way.

And then he goes on, I will never leave you nor forsake you.

Like my presence will never draw away from you.

I'm with you.

I'm in it.

I'm not sending you out to go figure it out.

I'm actually in it with you.

I'm walking it with you.

I'm going through it with you.

And then he says, This be strong and courageous.

Why?

Because you'll lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors to give them.

You gotta be strong, you gotta have courage.

You have a purpose, you have a plan.

I'm the God who fulfills my promise, and I swore we're gonna take them into the land, and you're the one who's gonna lead them.

And he says this again be strong and very courageous.

No, notice this: be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you.

Do not turn to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go.

I think it's so powerful as we're reminded that he says, success is found in you walking closely with God, not you figuring out the future, not you figuring out the economic reality.

He says, no, no, those aren't bad things, but success has to do with how closely you walk with God.

He goes on, this book of the law, uh, keep always on your lips.

Meditate on it day and night so that you may be careful to do everything written in it.

Then you'll be prosperous and successful.

Now, verse nine.

I want us to memorize as a church.

I want us this week to put it to memory, to get it deep in our heart.

And it goes this way Have I not commanded you, be strong and courageous.

He says it again three times.

He says, be strong and courageous.

Now notice what he says next.

Do not be afraid, do not be discouraged.

Why?

For the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.

All right, I'm gonna have you do something in your home or your apartment or wherever you're watching.

Um, and I'm gonna ask you to do it.

It might be a little weird, and that's okay.

Um, would you say this out loud with me, this verse?

And so, Nick, go back one slide with me, and we're gonna say it out loud.

You ready?

We're gonna repeat it, and I want us to get this deep.

You ready?

You ready to go with me?

Okay, here we go.

Have I not commanded you be strong and courageous, do not be afraid, do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.

I want you to take time this week and put that singular verse into memorization, into your heart, so that God can use the word that he's giving you in this sermon to encourage you, that he can bring that to your mind and your heart throughout this week and throughout this season.

So, so how do we find courage when we need it most?

I want to suggest there are actually four things in this text that God wants to speak to you this morning about.

Where do we find courage?

Well, the first thing I want you to notice is God's calling on your life requires courage.

God's calling on your life requires courage.

God said three times, have I not commanded you, be strong and courageous, be strong and courageous.

Well, why in the world would God say, be strong and courageous?

Because what God is calling Joshua into required courage and it required strength.

He says, No, no, no, I am calling you to something that is gonna require courage of you.

Now, here's the problem in America.

We have built our lives and our theology around safety and comfort, convenience and happiness, so that when courage is required, we feel as if God has let us down.

All of a sudden, we're confronted with circumstances in our life where we have to face fear and we have to move forward in the face of fear.

And we go, God, where are you?

What's going on?

He's going, No, no, no.

I'm with you and my calling on you, you need to have courage.

God tells us up front, this is going to require courage.

Now, here's what I love: God doesn't just require courage from us, He actually, He actually models it for us.

See, we're celebrating Easter, the God who responds in courage.

The incarnation of God becoming flesh.

The reality that Jesus would allow himself to be hung on a cross by the ones he created.

Now think about this.

Friday before or night before he was crucified in the Garden of Gethsemane.

Jesus is praying.

And he's praying, Father, if it's all possible, take this cup from me.

But not my will.

Your will be done.

It's stressed to the point that he's bleeding drops of blood, or he's sweating drops of blood.

Father, if it's all possible, like I don't like what's ahead.

I understand the gravity and the consequences and the pain, and it's hard.

But I'm gonna move forward in the face of it.

I like how John Stott said it.

Insistence on security is incompatible with the way of the cross.

What daring adventures the incarnation and the atonement were, what a breach of convention and decorum the Almighty God should renounce his privileges in order to take human flesh and bear human sin.

Jesus had no security except uh for his father.

So to follow Jesus is always to accept at least a measure of uncertainty, danger, and rejection for his sake.

See, God's calling on your life will require courage.

Well, I guess the question then is what is God's calling?

Jesus makes it so clear.

It goes back to the great commandments.

He says this in Matthew chapter 22 Love the Lord your God with all your heart.

Matthew 22 · chapter mention

Love your neighbor as yourself.

All the law, all the prophets, everything that was being passed on to Joshua in that moment hangs on those two commands.

See, the calling on your life is to love God and love others.

The calling on your life is to seek God with all of your heart, soul, mind, and strake, and then to serve your neighbors, your friends, the people around you is to know God and to make him known.

Now listen up, don't miss this.

This is important.

God's calling on your life hasn't changed even though the circumstances of your life has.

I want to say it again.

God's calling on your life has not changed, even though the circumstance of your life has changed.

See, you still have his purpose and plan.

He's still calling you and inviting you into what he's doing in this world.

And the circumstances and the landscape has changed around us.

But he says, listen, your purpose and your aim is to love God with all that you have and to love neighbors in the way that you would want to be loved, in the way that you would love and care for yourself.

What does it look like to love your neighbor?

Let me give you just maybe a few ideas.

First, I think it's obeying the laws and guidelines in this pandemic.

I think it's important that we love our neighbors by protecting the most vulnerable around us.

It looks like this.

It's loving our neighbors by maybe having a neighborhood happy hour where you do the, you know, our neighbors have been doing it.

It's a 5 p.m.

We do physical distancing, and now with the CDC new regulation, we'll add the face mask on top of that.

It's where we're asking this question: how can I help?

How can I help?

Instead of the question what so many are asking, what can I hoard?

See, the reason it takes courage is hoarding gives us some level of security because we can get as much as we can and feel like we feel good about that.

And yet the gospel and the calling of God on your life is how can I help?

How can I serve?

How can I take care of you?

It looks like this calling and checking in on people and praying for them, serving those who are elderly, making sure they're taken care of.

It looks like praying for people that you know and inviting them to our Easter service.

Friends, for some, the most courageous thing you're gonna do this week, and it's gonna be a brand new step for many of you, is to step into the Jesus Change My Life movement, where you're gonna record.

I wish I had my phone on me, uh, where you're gonna record yourself sharing how Jesus changed your life.

And for some, you've never shared that story.

And it's time for you to go public with your faith, and you're gonna be bold about it because people desperately need to hear good news, and you have good news and you experience good news, and you're gonna share it, and God's gonna use it, and you step into that, and where we love our neighbors.

See, God's calling on your life requires courage.

But not only does it require courage, I want you to see something else.

God wants to encourage you.

Do you notice that in the midst of Joshua's circumstances and the what was going on around him, God comes to Joshua and he encourages him.

Isn't that such good news?

God wants to encourage you.

He wants to like think about that, infuse courage.

Like before you are lacking courage, before you're trepidation, before you're uncertain, God wants to come and he wants to fill up your heart, fill up your soul with courage.

He wants to infuse courage to you.

And I think this is so important.

So don't miss this.

See, to have courage isn't somehow look within yourself.

You know, I think that's kind of like we're waiting to somehow muster something up and try to find it, or we wait until something happens, you know, maybe I got to put on the right music to kind of get into the zone.

No, no, no.

It says actually, God is the one who wants to deposit courage in you in this season.

Well, how does God infuse courage into us?

I want to bring us back to a moment, a snapshot that we see when Joshua was a young man.

He was the protege of Moses, and as his protege, he would follow him wherever he went.

And Moses would go into what we call, or I don't call it, the Bible calls it, the tent of meetings, and he would meet with God face to face.

It says as one would speak to a friend, and Joshua would follow him in here.

Notice what it says in Exodus 33, verse 11.

Exodus 33:11

It says this.

Then Moses would return to the camp, and Joshua, who followed Moses everywhere.

Watch what he does.

But his young aide, Joshua, son of none, did not leave the tents.

And we know this.

Isn't there something about being in the presence of God that you just don't want to leave?

In fact, when we gather as a community in person, one of the ways that I see, like, man, the Spirit of God worked powerfully is people just linger.

They just hang out in the Silicon Valley rush, hurry, everything else.

They're like, no, we just want to stay in this space because being in the presence of God just it is so powerful and wonderful, and you don't want to leave it.

It says in Joshua, he did not leave the tent.

In fact, one translation says it this way and Joshua lingered in the tent.

See, how does God infuse courage?

God infuses courage to those who linger in the tent of God.

See, we got to linger in the tent of God and give time to be in his presence for him to fill up and infuse us with courage.

See, God in this moment, right now, wants to fill you up with courage.

But the question is, what tent are you lingering in?

See, I think in the midst of this pandemic, a lot of us are lingering in the tent of anxiety and worry.

I think some of us are lingering in the tent of Netflix and numbing out and just binging and trying to get our minds off of whatever.

I think some of us are lingering in the tent of control and trying to, everything feels out of control, so I'm just going to try to get something that feels within my control, or lingering in the tent of performance or approval, or maybe even comparison as you look around and it seems like other people are doing better than you, or making it through better as you scroll the social media feed and you just see, like, wow, man, they're doing great, but I'm getting killed.

See, what tent are you lingering in?

For us to experience the encouragement of God, we have to linger in the tent of God.

That's why the psalmist, look at this.

This is why the psalmist says it this way Psalm 27, verse 14.

Psalms 27:14

Wait for the Lord.

Wait, like stop, wait.

Be strong.

Look at that.

Be strong, and then notice this next line let your heart take courage.

Like you don't have to just hope for courage, you can let your heart take it.

Why?

For those who wait for the Lord.

Again, Psalm 31, verse 24.

Psalms 31:24

Be strong and let your heart take courage.

Who?

All you who wait for the Lord.

Would you identify the tent you're lingering in, the tent that you're drawn to, the tent that you go to, that just maybe it's your addiction, maybe it's you're just trying to check the news feed, maybe it's the worry and the panic and the anxiety.

And would you make a willful decision?

I'm going to linger in the tent of God.

How do we linger?

Joshua tells us right here.

Notice what he says in Joshua verse 9 or verse 8.

Keep this book of the law always on your lips.

Meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it.

Like keep this book on your lips.

I don't know what's on your lips right now.

I don't know what you've been meditating on.

But whatever that is, would you begin to shift your linger factor into God's word?

You know, Christina earlier talked about our Bible reading plan and the podcast.

We want you to linger in the tent of God and get into his word and give you resources to do that.

That's why we're doing our awakening midweek and why we have uh our groups diving in together and responding.

Would you get into God's word and allow his word to get into you?

Because his word is living and active, sharper than a double-edged sword.

It actually is powerful and will transform our life.

As Paul said in Timothy, that all scripture is God-breathing, useful for teaching, training, rebuking, so that the person of God might be fully equipped for every good work.

Even in this season, even in this moment, would you linger in the tent of God?

See, God's calling on your life requires courage, and God doesn't just leave you on your own.

He wants to encourage you.

But we, as we linger in the tent of God, we got to be aware of two big enemies of the heart.

The two big enemies of the heart, you saw it in one nine.

Have I not commanded you?

Be strong and courageous.

And then he says this do not be afraid and do not be discouraged.

Fear and discouragement are the enemies of the heart.

Don't be afraid.

Like I'm afraid.

Don't be discouraged.

Man, it's hard not to get discouraged when I look at what the stock market's doing.

It's hard not to get discouraged when I see how the pandemic's exponentially growing every single day.

Fear is being scared, it's being frightened.

It's where anxiety and panic attacks find their home.

Trepidation there.

Discouragement is when you lose heart or hope.

You feel broken down, you're made low in spirit.

Now notice this.

Fear actually produces or breeds insecurity.

And discouragement breeds apathy.

These are a vicious one-two punch.

And if we're not aware, they'll creep in and become housemates.

And for many in this season, haven't they become traveling companions with you?

And they subtly start to feel like old friends.

And they feel like a safety net, but they will suffocate you.

Here's what God's saying here.

Because I wrestle with this, you know, do not be afraid.

I'm like, oh my gosh, I'm afraid.

And now I feel like a failure because I'm not, I'm afraid.

And it says, do not be afraid.

And I'm like, I can't do that.

Listen, this is what God's saying.

Don't be surprised if you're afraid.

Don't be surprised if waves of discouragement come your way.

Just don't let fear and discouragement have the final word.

Don't be surprised, don't be shocked, don't be caught off our guard.

Be aware that there's enemies of the heart.

Courage is found in your heart.

Remember, we talked months ago, it feels like that, about above all else, guard your heart, watch the streams that are flowing into your heart, linger into the tent of God.

Don't be surprised when fear and discouragement come knocking.

Just don't let fear and discouragement have the final say.

See, courage is not the absence of fear, courage is taking the next right step in the face of fear and discouragement.

And for some, you're like, ah, but I'm afraid.

Do it scared.

Like that, Jesus changed my life.

I'm afraid.

Don't wait until you're not afraid.

Do it scared.

Go ahead and move forward and do it scared.

And then he closes it out.

And this is so powerful.

I'm so glad we're finishing this out.

God's calling on your life requires courage.

God wants to encourage us.

We got to be aware of the two big enemies of heart, fear and discouragement.

Now notice this God is with you.

God's not distant.

God's not aloof.

He's with you right now in this moment.

You know, the most often command in the Bible, in fact, in the new in the NIV, it's almost over, it's over 70 times in the NIV.

The most often command is do not be afraid.

And that command is almost always coupled with this next promise.

For I am with you.

You see, God's presence is enough for you in this moment.

In fact, in major transitions, especially of leadership, we see this progression.

This progression of a calling to be strong and courageous, to obey God's call or commands, and then the promise of his presence.

We see that with Moses and Joshua.

Then we see that with David and with Solomon.

Be strong, obey the commands, and I'm with you.

And then we even see it with Jesus and his disciples.

And yet he flips the script a little bit and it's so good.

And what's known as the Great Commission, Jesus says this.

I believe Matthew or John chapter 17 says, be strong to his disciples.

John 17 · chapter mention

But instead of that, he says, All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.

You don't have to be strong because he's already strong.

He has all authority and all power and all dominion.

He says, You draw from my strength.

Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and Holy Spirit.

Then he says, Teaching them to obey everything I've commanded you.

There we have it again.

Like, friends, we got to become people of God's word, responsive and obedient to his word.

And then Jesus says this.

And surely I'm with you always.

Even to the very end of the age.

And surely I'm with you always.

Even in the middle of this pandemic.

I have not left you.

I am with you.

You know, fully trying to understand the power of his presence and why that's enough has been a struggle for me.

And there was one moment years and years ago that made me understand why God thinks his presence with us is enough.

In fact, it was a number of years ago.

So my daughter's a high schooler, and so this was when she was just a little girl.

And we were at the beach and I was paddleboarding out there, and she came to me, you know, as I came in, she said, Daddy, Daddy, I want to go paddleboarding with you.

I said, Fantastic, that would be awesome.

I'd love to take you paddleboarding.

And so, you know, we get a life vest on her, and we hop on the paddleboard and we get past the breakers, and then all of a sudden she had her feet, let's see if I can do this, up on the paddleboard like this, and her arms clenched tight around her, and she just began to shake.

And she said, Daddy, I want to go back.

Daddy, I'm so scared.

The waves are so big that we're so far from land and it's so deep.

Daddy, daddy, daddy.

And you know what I said to her?

I said, Suck it up, kid.

No, I'm just kidding.

I'm sorry I didn't say that at all.

You know what I said is I actually leaned over on that paddle board and I got as close as I could to her ear and I whispered gently, it's okay, honey.

You're safe with me.

Your daddy's with you.

He's gonna take you through it.

The waves aren't as big as they seem, you're not as far from land as it looks, and the water isn't as deep as it feels.

And it doesn't matter, anyways, because you're with your daddy, and I'm gonna get you through this.

Your heavenly father's with you.

Whispering into your ear.

And he's not whispering into your ear, suck it up, do better.

Why are you afraid?

Why do you keep going back to that addiction?

He's saying, please lean into me, I'm with you.

Don't be afraid, lean into me.

And for some, you think about this.

My daughter at that age, if she had gone out there on her own, it would have been a most fearful and dangerous thing, wouldn't it have?

And it would have been a really scary moment.

And the truth is, there's many who are listening to me right now, and that's exactly where you're at.

You're in the middle of this pandemic, and fear and discouragement are your companions because you don't have a personal relationship with your heavenly father through the finished work of Jesus.

And you have every right looking around to be afraid and scared, and it is, you're like, I don't know how it's gonna end.

And in this moment, would you call upon Jesus?

Cry out to him.

In fact, respond in the prayer chat right now and click on the button and say, I want to begin a relationship with God.

We're gonna have that.

I want to make a commitment.

I made a commitment to Jesus' hand, go up, click that hand in this moment.

Do not wait, do not delay.

Would you turn to God?

Would you call out and say, Jesus, I need you.

Would you come into my life?

Would you save me?

And the Spirit of God will come, reside in with you, and he will empower you through this season.

God is with you.

Would you call upon him?

It's okay.

Your Heavenly Father is saying, I'm with you, and my presence is enough.

Heavenly Father, we invite you in this moment to draw out of us the tents we've been lingering in so that we might lean into you.

God, I ask in this moment as we wait on you, as we are actually being deeply encouraged by you through this moment out of your word, that you would cause us to be a people that linger in your tent.

A scared world needs a courageous church.

You want to encourage us.

May we be that church.

May we be a church that offers hope and life and the good news that you love them, that you came for them.

That God, you're bigger, that the cross is greater, that death is defeated, and Jesus, you are alive.

In Jesus' name.

Amen.