Lionhearted People

Y'all sound great for a Memorial Day weekend.

You know, pastors get nervous about this day because most people, it's a long weekend, they miss church.

But that's why God made it rain today.

So that He spoiled your plans, so that you could be in the house of God.

We're grateful.

2 Samuel chapter number 23, as we continue in our series, lions and giants and bears.

But God.

2 Samuel chapter 23, verse number 20.

2 Samuel 23 · chapter mention

Benea was the son of Jehoida, the son of a valiant man from Kabziel, who had done many deeds.

He had killed two lion-like heroes of Moab.

He had also gone down and killed a lion in the midst of a pit on a snowy day.

And he killed an Egyptian, a spectacular man.

The Egyptian had a spear in his hand, and so he went down to him with a staff, wrestled the spear out of the Egyptian's hand, and killed him with his own spear.

Then Benea the son of Jehoida did, uh, because of these things that he did, he won a name among three mighty men.

He was more honored than the thirty, but he did not attain to the first three.

And David appointed him over his guard.

From this text, I want to minister to you from the subject, lion-hearted.

Not faint-hearted or half-hearted or hard-hearted, but lion-hearted.

There is a reward for those that have that kind of faith in God.

God is not looking for people who have their toe kind of dipped in the things of the Spirit.

God is looking for people who are not partially in, but who are all in, who are aggressively all in, who don't know any limits for the cause and the kingdom of God.

And that's what I mean by lion-hearted.

And so let's pray.

Father, in the name of Jesus, would you minister by your grace and by your power to every person?

We give you all the praise.

And everybody said, You may be seated.

There is something inside humanity that is fascinated with courage, isn't there?

We love stories about people who refuse to quit.

They don't bow, they don't break under pressure.

People who uh, you know, just never ever give up.

And that's why we like movies like Braveheart or movies like Rudy or my favorite of all time, movies like Rocky.

And that's why stadiums erupt when the underdog gets back up off the mat one more time.

It's because deep down we understand something powerful that you can never underestimate the heart of a champion.

And so we admire athletes that play hurt.

We admire soldiers that keep fighting, cancer survivors that keep believing, single moms that are working multiple jobs and still raising their kids, business owners that lose everything and get back up and build again, believers that keep worshiping despite the pain that they are carrying.

And we love we we love this.

We love these stories.

It gets us inspired.

And it's the kind of spirit that God is looking for.

God is looking for the Esters.

They're often slave girls and yet they become queens in nations.

God is looking for the Josephs, people who are betrayed by their family and sold into slavery and unjustly imprisoned, and yet rise to become a prime minister.

Nehemiah's who are their lives are considered disposable by those in power, but yet they they rise up and they build an entire nation.

Paul's who are lied about and left for dead and experience all types of trouble and tragedy and yet rise up and write two-thirds of the New Testament and change a generation of faith forever and ever and a lifetime of faith.

And we can go on and on about all the people that God has celebrated and the kind of people that God is looking for.

These are not perfect people, these are not people who have perfect conditions, not people who have perfect timing, but people who are driven by godly conviction because they are all in for the cause of Christ.

People that I'm calling lion-hearted people.

And I'm wondering today, are there any people that are like that out here?

Any people who are just not partially in, not people just saying, God, I'm just barely gonna do the minimum for what you've called me to, but God, I want everything you have, and God, I'm going after what you have with reckless abandon.

There's a there's a hunger on the inside of me that pushes me further than the ordinary person would go.

Lion-hearted people.

Beneah was one of them.

And this morning we're introduced to him.

He's an overlooked warrior in the scripture.

He he's he's named amongst David's mighty men.

We skip over his story so often, but but in the middle of describing all of these mighty men that David had, the Bible says something really interesting about him.

It says he went down into a pit on a snowy day and he killed a lion.

Normal people don't do that.

Normal people don't chase after lions.

No, normal people don't go into a lion's den, like, yeah, I'm gonna pick a fight with a lion today, and I'm not gonna fight him out here in the open.

I don't have a gun in my hand, but I'm just gonna go right into the den and I'm just gonna have a battle with a lion.

Normal people don't do that.

But Benea had something inside of him that was greater than the conditions around him, and that was a godly conviction.

And that becomes the tension of the entire message because most people are waiting for perfect timing, perfect conditions, perfect certainty, perfect clarity, perfect opportunity before they obey God, before they step out in faith, before they pursue purpose, before they trust God fully.

But real success in the kingdom of God is not a matter of conditions, it's a matter of godly conviction.

And lying-hearted people say, My confidence is not in the conditions, my confidence is on God on the inside of me.

I may not be the brightest, I may not be the smartest, I may not be the most advantaged, but I've got a heart that is fully surrendered to Christ.

And you know what the Bible says about hearts that are fully surrendered to Christ?

Here's what it says Second Chronicles chapter 16, verse number nine.

2 Chronicles 16 · chapter mention

It says, the eyes of the Lord go to and fro throughout the whole world, throughout the whole earth and other words, God is searching, but he's searching for something specifically.

And the fact that God's eyes have to go to and fro means that that what he's searching for is not something that's easy to find.

And then it says to show himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to him, whose heart is led not by conditions but by conviction, who are with God and all in on the things of God, whether the conditions are good or whether the conditions are bad, whether this is to their advantage or to their disadvantage.

They are loyal to God.

They are ready to die for the cause of Christ.

They're willing to lay their life down.

This is true Christianity.

We have got it confused, and we think that, you know, half-hearted is okay, and we think that, you know, you know, just faint-hearted is okay.

But God is looking for the lion-hearted, and that's the heartbeat of this series.

Lions and giants and bears, but God.

Daniel, he faced lions but God, and David, he faced giants but God, and giants returned, but God.

And now today we see a man who walks into a pit on a snowy day against a lion, but God, because the defining factor in every story is not the size of the enemy, it's not the intensity of the battle or the difficulty of the conditions.

The defining factor in every story is God.

Is are you on God's side or not?

Because if God is on your side, who can be against you?

And I think one of the reasons why we love this, or these kinds of stories, they resonate us with us, is because we've all had these kind of days.

Pit days, snowy days, lion days, things were attacking us.

And we all know what it's like when life is unfair or life seems unkind, and when it's easier to quit than it is to continue to fight hard, fight hard.

When our oh, but God is looking for these kind of people who say, you know what?

I don't care how difficult the fight is, it may I may be in a pit, it might be a snowy day, I might be facing a lion, but God is still with me.

And so today, what I want to talk to you about how do you live a lion-hearted faith?

What is that?

What does that look like?

What are the conditions?

What are the the characteristics?

And the first thing I want to share with you is lion-hearted people understand that real faith requires risk.

Risk.

2 Samuel 23, verse 20, we're gonna camp on this scripture.

2 Samuel 23:20

He also had gone down and killed a lion in the midst of a pit on a snowy day.

Think about this for a moment.

Everything in that verse is risky.

Fighting a lion.

That's risky, I would say.

In a pit, nowhere to go.

That's pretty risky.

On a snowy day, you got no footing.

That's pretty risky.

Lion-hearted people, though, they understand something that comfortable Christians don't.

And that is real faith requires risk.

Matter of fact, there is no such thing as safe faith.

It doesn't exist.

It's an oxymoron.

You know y'all know what an oxymoron is, right?

It's two things that mean different things, and you put them together and they mean something else, right?

And so I love oxymorons.

They're some of my favorite things.

They're kind of fun to say.

So, like jumbo shrimp.

That's an oxymoron, just in case you know.

Working vacation, oxymoron, right?

Passive aggressive oxymoron.

Here's one of my favorite ones.

Pretty ugly.

You pretty ugly.

I mean, clearly misunderstood.

Random order, awfully good, exact estimate, genuine limitation.

By the way, I love that one exact estimate.

Contractor comes and give you an exact estimate.

Well, why are you calling it exact?

Why are you calling it an estimate then?

Can it just be the price?

I'm gonna give you an exact estimate.

And so all of these things oxymorons, but say faith, it's also a contradiction of terms.

Because here's the reason why: it requires no trust.

And when there is no trust, there is no faith.

The very nature of faith is that it demands movement before there is outward alignment.

See, what we want is we want God to align everything before we move.

We want all the circumstances to be right before we move, but that's not how it works.

God aligns the circumstances after we step out, before we see it, before we feel it, before circumstances can confirm it, before conditions line up.

Faith says, I don't have all the details, but I trust the God who does.

And the reason faith requires risk is because faith requires trust, and trust is the backbone of our relationship with God.

You can't have you can't have intimacy, you cannot surrender, you can't have obedience without trust.

In short, you can't walk with God without trust.

That's why the scripture says, trust in the Lord with all your heart.

Lean not on your own understanding and all your ways acknowledge him, and he will direct your path.

In other words, trust God with all your heart when you cannot trace him with anything in your head.

When everything in your head is saying something different, when the conditions are different than the conviction, you still need to go by the conviction.

There are too many people who go by the conditions to determine whether they're gonna obey God.

So you're waiting for everything to line up in order to do what God says.

You're waiting for the conditions to give you permission to act upon your conviction.

But what you don't understand is your conviction changes your conditions.

Too many of you are waiting for your conditions to change so that you can follow through on your convictions.

What you don't understand is your convictions will change your conditions every single time.

And so people are waiting for the right time and the right moment and the right circumstances and the right this and the right that and the right this.

But trust is required.

And trust means you act before there is alignment.

I was teaching the Bible school students this week.

We we have a class that's called Biblical Prosperity.

And uh, by the way, there is a difference between biblical prosperity and natural prosperity.

And by the way, God wants his kids to be prosperous.

Can you say amen?

Don't let anybody fool you, beloved.

I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as your soul prospers.

God delights in the prosperity of his people.

How about this verse?

Bring all the tithes into the storehouse.

Listen to the prosperity, and I'll open unto you the windows of heaven and pour you out a blessing that there will not be room enough to receive.

That doesn't sound like a God that wants you to be broke.

That doesn't sound like a God that wants you to be barely getting by.

Matter of fact, the Bible says, given it shall be given unto you.

How?

Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over.

Doesn't sound like a broke God.

And so I was teaching them about biblical prosperity and and I was showing them in the scripture.

I said, I said, I just want you to see in the scripture how many times the Bible says that God made so-and-so rich.

God, not themselves, but but God wanted them to be wealthy.

And then I said, but this requires trust.

And I said, I want to teach you the foundation for all biblical prosperity, and that's something that we call the tithe.

And you all know what the tithe is?

The tithe is when we give God 10% of all of our increase.

But what's important about the tithe is that it's not any 10%, it's the first 10%.

Say to me, why is that important, Pastor?

Because if I wait to see if I have it left over, it requires no trust.

See, my relationship with God is based upon trust.

And so my mind says, How can giving away 10% of what's already not enough cause me to have more than enough?

My mind says I gotta wait for my conditions to align in order for my conviction to kick in.

But my conviction says, if I trust God with what I have at the beginning, God will open up the windows of heaven and pour me out a blessing that there will not be room enough to receive.

So I give God not the last portion, but I give God the first portion.

See, God is always into first, it requires our trust.

And people who understand, lion-hearted people who live by convictions, understand that that's why faith is never safe.

Because it always requires me to step out into something that from the conditions are uncertain in every way.

And the other thing that lion-hearted people understand because faith always requires trust, is that they're not afraid to fail.

There's a lot of people who are paralyzed simply because they are afraid to fail.

Failure is not proof that you should stop.

Many times failure is proof that you are courageous enough to try.

And God often uses failure as our greatest teacher.

Henry Ford said it this way: He said, failure is the ability to begin again more intelligently.

I know what not to do next time.

I'm smarter now than I was before.

Remember, last week we talked about as you mature in God, you begin to fight smarter and not harder.

And so when you fail in a certain area, it doesn't mean quit, it means now I'm smarter to keep on going.

And of course, you have to discern between godly resistance and godly persistence.

So there are some things where you will fail in because it's a stop sign.

And that's why you need to be led.

Today is Pentecost Sunday.

That's why you need to be led by the Spirit of God.

Your relationship with God was never meant to be lived apart from the Spirit of God.

Matter of fact, the Spirit of God is the one who's supposed to tell you whether this is God pushing back or this is you needing to push further.

Godly resistance or godly persistence.

Don't be like Balaam.

Remember him?

He was riding a donkey because he wanted to curse Israel.

And God kept putting an angel in front of him, and the donkey kept stopping it.

He would beat it, he would kick it, he would strike it, he would speak to it, he would do all these kinds of things.

But he was beating his head against a wall because God was creating the resistance.

When God is creating the resistance, you stop.

But when the enemy is creating the resistance, what do you do?

You go forward in godly persistence.

And how do you know the difference between the two?

The spirit of God on the inside of you.

And so we have to understand that people who have lying-hearted faith, they're not afraid to fail.

They understand that failure is often a teacher.

All of the people that we celebrate in life, they experienced failures before they became great.

Thomas Edison failed hundreds of times before he invented the light bulb.

Michael Jordan got cut from his high school basketball team.

Abraham Lincoln lost nearly every election before becoming president.

Howard Schultz was rejected by banks over 200 times before he launched Starbucks.

Steve Jobs was fired from the company that he started before returning and changing the world.

Oprah Winfrey was told that she was unfit for television.

And Babe Ruth struck out over 1,300 times.

Yet every one of them, what did they do?

They got back up and they kept going.

Why?

Because lion-hearted people are not afraid to fail.

Failure is not always proof that God said no.

Sometimes failure is simply part of God teaching you how to win.

God wants you to win.

And ultimately, failure teaches us how good God is.

There's a famous song that's coming, going viral right now.

It's called Pain Taught Me.

Anybody hear the song out there?

Y'all don't follow it?

Okay, anyway.

I guess it's not I guess it's not that popular.

But but I heard this song and I thought it's a good song.

I understand.

But but how about goodness taught me?

How about goodness taught me?

And so I wrote a song called Goodness Taught Me.

You'll hear it soon.

And so so what's amazing to me about this is what here's what failure teaches me.

Failure doesn't teach me all these other things, it teaches me how good God is.

You say, why does failure teach you, Pastor, how good God is?

Because failure tells me that even though I made a mistake, God still makes a way and he's still merciful.

Failure tells me that even in the middle of my weaknesses, God is still faithful.

Sometimes in the middle of our imperfect attempts, God keeps working on us, God keeps growing us, God keeps teaching us, God keeps strengthening us, and it teaches me that God is good despite my conditions.

Some of the people with the deepest faith are not people who have never failed, they're people who have discovered that even when they failed, God has never failed them.

And lion-hearted people understand that failure is not final unless you quit.

And some of you need to hear this today because failure doesn't disqualify you from future opportunities in God.

Matter of fact, sometimes it's a sign that God can give you more opportunities.

You say, What do you mean, Pastor?

Well, because you tried.

There's a whole host of other people who play it safe.

They sit on the sidelines, they never step out, they never attempt to do anything great for God.

And so, of course, they don't fail, but they never accomplish anything anyway.

They are what we call comfortable Christians.

They not, they just want to just, I just want to be comfortable.

I don't want any pain.

I don't want any resistance.

I don't want any pressure.

I don't want any of this.

And so they never do anything.

They're like the one talent guy in the parable of the talents.

You remember him?

God comes along, three servants, five gives five talents to one, two talents to another, one talent to another.

The five-talent person, they venture out, they say, we gotta invest this thing.

We gotta do something with what God gave us.

We gotta take a risk, right?

We we can put it here and it may lose, but you know what?

God wants us to produce increase.

And so we're gonna do something with the two-talent guy.

They do it.

And because they stepped out when conditions maybe weren't perfect, but they trusted God, they got increase because God stepped in.

But then you had the one-talent guy.

He said, God, I was afraid.

I was afraid to lose what you got me, gave me.

And so I so I buried it in the ground.

Here, here you go, here's what you have that belongs to you.

What was the I was afraid to risk, and because I was afraid to risk, what does God say?

He says, Take it from the one who I gave the one to, so that he has nothing, and give it to the ones who are willing to step out.

Can I tell you what what failure, even if you if risk, even if you fail, actually does?

It tells God that you will at least step out and try.

And here's what God will do God will make you smarter through it, so the next opportunity that comes your way, you won't fail, but that you'll succeed, and God will trust you with more.

And because the fear of failure and the fear of all sorts of other things often paralyzes us.

So many people, they stop, they get they get caught, they get stuck.

The enemy is always saying, What if?

Well, what if you step out and you fail?

What if you step out and this doesn't work?

What if you step out and you look foolish?

You know what I've learned?

That whenever the enemy says what if, I say, God will.

Talk back.

Remember, we talked about this?

So many of you, you talk back to everybody, right?

Nobody can tell you nothing.

You gotta talk back to everyone, you're gonna give a person, but the enemy just whispers in your head and you just stay as dumb as can be.

I mean dumb in the sense of mute, you know, that kind of dumb.

Even though the other dumb applies probably too.

But you don't say nothing.

But I've learned if the enemy says what if, I'm not gonna let a what if stay in my mind.

I'm not gonna allow the enemy's words to have the last word in my mind.

I'm gonna condition my spirit and my mind.

Well, God will.

What if you fail?

God'll make a way where there seems to be no way.

God will give me another attempt, God will show up.

Well, what if you lose money?

God will give me more money on the next day.

Well, what if, what if, what if?

God will, God will, God will.

People who are lion-hearted people, they're willing to step out.

And that brings us back to Beniah.

The Bible says he went down into a pit on a snowy day and he killed a lion.

He pushed past the fear, uh, the roar of fear.

He pushed past the roar of what if, he pushed past.

Say faith, he trusted God enough to move toward the roar.

Stop staying stuck because you won't step out.

If you are ever going to accomplish anything significant for God, you're going to have to step out in uncomfortable situations before everything looks absolutely perfect.

Now don't step out blindly.

Step out because God is leading you.

Step out because God is telling you.

But number two, lion-hearted people respond, and we've talked about it, but I want to kind of dig in.

Respond based on conviction, not conditions.

Notice again, he had gone down, killed a lion in the midst of a pit on a snowy day.

A snowy day.

It's never a good day to fight a lion, by the way.

I don't know.

You remember who's that person that used to play with the tigers all the time?

Famous people, anybody know?

Siskel and who?

Siegfried and Royd.

Remember, like they had lions as pets?

What was it?

Was there a movie about it?

Oh, it was a Netflix thing.

Well, well, how many of you know they wound up getting bit by the lion?

You shouldn't play with lions.

Like, like it's never a good time to fight a lion.

Like, and every time you've seen these people, you thought, oh, that's pretty cool.

But you're always wondering, that lion is gonna get ticked off one day.

Something's not gonna be right with that lion one day.

He's just gonna get them.

You don't like that.

So it's never a good day to fight a lion.

But it's particularly not good to fight a lion on a snowy day.

It's particularly not good to fight a lion in his own den.

Why?

Because those conditions are not right.

No home field advantage, no ideal conditions, no favorable environment, no, no obvious reason to believe that this was the right moment, but he went anyway.

Because lion-hearted people understand something.

If you wait for perfect conditions, you become paralyzed in life.

I'll start giving when my finances improve.

You will never start giving.

I'll get married when everything is perfect.

You probably never get married.

I gotta wait for the person who meets everything on my list.

You know, everything on my list.

If they don't meet everything on my list, and conversely, like don't settle either, by the way.

Right?

There are some people that they they just, well, you know, it's been a long time, you know.

I guess I'm being too choosy, and all of a sudden you go settling for somebody not even saved.

I'll get them saved.

You know, I'll bring them to church.

I'll make sure they start loving Jesus.

Where in the Bible does it talk about missionary dating?

Where in the Bible does it say it says, do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers.

Why?

Because one of the biggest, the biggest foundation of your life should be your faith.

And if your faith is not in alignment, there's not going to be compatibility in those areas of your life.

But here's what happens your conditions, it's been a long time.

I'm getting old now.

Change your convictions.

Instead of your convictions, changing your conditions.

I'll get married when everything is perfect.

I'll start serving when life slows down.

I'll launch a business when fear disappears.

I'll forgive them when they apologize.

None of those things work.

And listen to what the Bible says.

Ecclesiastes 11:4, he who observes the wind will not sow.

Ecclesiastes 11:4

He who regards the clouds will not reap.

In other words, if you wait for perfect conditions, you'll never do anything.

Faith does not respond to convictions, conditions, faith responds to conviction.

So if the condition doesn't determine if I move, how do I know when it's time to go?

If it's not the conditions, how do I know that God wants me to go?

I want to give you four quick things.

Number one, you get a word from God.

And by the way, the Bible says the written word is a more sure word of prophecy than somebody coming up to you and said, The Holy Spirit just told me and gives you a prophetic word or a word of knowledge or a word of wisdom.

We love the spectacular, but can I tell you something?

If you cannot obey the written word of God, there will be no prophetic word in your life.

The word of God is a more sure word of prophecy.

Hebrews tells us when you get a word from God, that's how you know it's time to go.

Hebrews chapter 11, verse number three.

Hebrews 11 · chapter mention

By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God.

Now, most people look at this and they think this is talking about the creation of the earth or the universe, but the original language is amazing in this verse.

It's not talking about either one, it is talking about specific periods of time within human history.

We're changed by a word from God.

And if you read all of Hebrews chapter 11, it talks about Noah and Abraham and David and Esther and Samson and all the Bible greats.

Hebrews 11 · chapter mention

And what did they have?

They had a word from God.

And every time they had a word from God, their conditions were the complete opposite.

Abraham, you're gonna be the father of many nations.

Yeah, but I'm 90 and I have no kids yet.

Yeah, but I didn't ask you to go by conditions.

I asked you to go by conviction, and if you go by conviction, it will change your condition.

Noah, I want you to build an ark.

Yeah, but but but why?

Because it's gonna flood.

What do you mean, flood?

Well, it's gonna rain.

Well, what do you mean, rain?

Yeah, the stuff's gonna come out of the sky, water's gonna come out of the sky.

Never seen that before, God.

I didn't ask you to go by your conditions.

God, all it's been sunny.

God, all it's been is bright.

I didn't ask you to go by that.

I asked you to go by your conviction.

You need to be convicted enough that when God speaks to you, you act.

Listen to me, don't waste your word.

When God gives you a word, can I tell you why God gives you a word?

Is because it is filled with the ability to change your circumstances.

And so God will give you a word.

And if you don't obey that word, guess what you just did?

You wasted your word, you failed to see your circumstances changed because you would not do what God said.

How do I know it's time to go?

God gives you a word.

Number two, how do I know it's time to go?

You have to obey the unction.

Obey the unction.

Back in old church, we used to sing a song, I got a feeling.

Anybody remember that song?

Everything's gonna be alright, be alright, be alright.

Pesca case on come up here in a second.

No, I'm just playing.

And most people say, well, you know, shouldn't go by feelings.

We walk by faith and not by sight.

Don't go by feelings.

And I agree we shouldn't go by emotions, right?

But how many of you know faith has a feeling?

Faith has a feeling.

Faith is a no-so here, even though it's a I'm not sure so here.

Faith is I'm not exactly sure why I feel compelled to do this here, because my mind is saying, don't do that there.

What I'm seeing is different from what I'm seeing.

What I'm seeing in my spirit is different from what I'm seeing with my eyes, because faith is a spiritual eye that sees beyond the conditions and is motivated by the conviction.

An unction on the inside, a no-so on the inside.

How do I know that?

What do you feel here in your spirit?

Why do I go by my spirit?

Because guess where the Holy Spirit lives?

Guess where I'm gonna hear God more than anything else.

Here's the reason why some people never never hear God.

You pray and you go like this.

I don't know why God doesn't speak to me.

Pray, watch this.

Pray, praying.

Shh.

Pray and why?

Because you need to be still and know that I'm God.

You need to pray and shh.

What's God saying right here?

Because as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons and daughters of God.

Pentecost Sunday, the Holy Spirit was poured out.

He was poured out in power, he was poured out in might.

He was poured out to be your guide.

He was poured out to give you wisdom.

He was poured out so that you would know how you're supposed to go in life.

He was poured out so that you would be led by the Spirit of God in your life.

And so, as a believer, watch this.

You ought to go by your gut.

How many of you know when you go by your gut, you're going by the spirit within your spirit?

Can I tell you something?

As a believer, your first impulse is usually correct in your spirit.

Not your first fleshly impulse, right?

If somebody curses at you, your first impulse is right?

I'm not talking about that.

Right?

But I'm talking about in here, because have you ever had this happen?

You do this out here, and you hear at the same time almost in your spirit.

You have a you almost hear the opposite in your spirit, but you're not learning, you haven't learned how to be governed by the spirit of God.

So you're impulsive in your flesh instead of going by what's in your spirit, but your spirit, the unction on the inside, and this is all throughout the Bible.

Matter of fact, in Acts chapter 20, here's what the apostle Paul said.

Acts 20 · chapter mention

He said, I go bound in the spirit to Jerusalem, not knowing the things that befall me there, save the Holy Ghost witnesses to me that bonds and afflictions await me.

And here's my question: why would you go where suffering is awaiting?

Because you're not being led by conditions, you're being led by convictions.

I don't go, you don't go, we don't go because the conditions are right.

We go because the Spirit of God is giving us instruction.

And I don't know about you, but I believe with all my heart, I'm 100% in on this.

God is smarter than me.

I believe he knows more than me.

I believe he sees further than me.

I believe he knows what's up ahead.

I believe he can see what I can't see.

I believe he knows the conditions.

I believe God is guiding my steps.

So if God says go and my flesh says no, guess who I'm going with?

God every single time.

You have to obey the unction.

Number three, wise counsel.

Wise counsel.

Let's know what the scripture says.

For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us.

In other words, I ran with the Holy Spirit was saying to me by some people that I could trust.

Let me define people who you can trust.

Step number one, or number one thing on the list: strong growing relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.

If it doesn't begin there, the Holy Ghost and us don't work.

They can't hear what the Holy Ghost is saying because they don't have a thriving relationship with the Lord.

Can God use donkeys and can God use sure he can?

But the people that you need to get counsel from are people who can hear the Spirit of God, people who have fruit in their life.

And what some of you do is some of you seek out people who will agree with you so you could do what is wrong in the eyes of God.

And then you say, I tested it.

By the way, do you know that you could even ask chat?

By the way, if you're still using chat, elevate to Claude, it's much better.

You could ask chat, you could ask Claude certain things, and if you ask it a certain way, you get a certain answer.

Some of you ask things a certain way because you want a certain answer.

That's why I like what David said.

He said, Lord, search me and let me know if there's anything bad in me.

God, I'm not gonna ask you a certain way.

God, I'm just laying myself before you.

God, what do you want?

Not God, what do I want?

Not God, what do I want somebody to tell me?

But God, what do you want?

Wise counsel.

But how about this one?

Very simply, is it right or is it wrong?

Some of y'all are praying a lot about stuff that it's right and wrong.

Why need to pray about stuff that is very clearly defined in the Bible?

Very clearly defined.

We're wondering, should I forgive somebody?

I gotta pray about that.

I gotta pray about serving.

Y'all then laugh hard at that one.

Y'all just looked at me.

Pray about these things.

Why are we praying about stuff where there's clear right and clear wrong?

Should I be faithful to my spouse?

Should I date somebody that doesn't love the Lord?

Should I date somebody that that's not a Christian?

Why are we praying about these things?

What makes you think?

Here's what you should be praying about.

God, I pray that I'm courageous enough to allow myself and my spirit to do what you say in your word is the right thing to do and the wrong thing to do.

That should be the prayer.

How do I know to go?

Whether it's right or whether it's wrong.

Number three, lion-hearted people run toward the roar.

Notice what he does.

He went down.

He went down.

He went after the lion.

Lion under lion-hearted people understand that God responds when you step out.

If you don't step out, God doesn't respond.

Faith without works is what?

It's what?

What does that exactly mean?

Here's what it means: it means it doesn't produce, it means it comes up empty.

You know what Wayne Greske once said?

He said, you miss 100% of the shots you don't take.

In other words, if I'm not acting, if I'm not stepping out, how can I expect to score?

How can I expect to see the intervention of God?

And God is not looking for any type of faith.

God is looking for aggressive faith.

God is looking for not timid faith, but he's looking for aggressive faith.

Faith like Beniah who runs toward the roar, not passive or paralyzed, not faith endlessly analyzing while never obeying, but faith that makes a move, faith that responds and acts.

I call it rhino faith.

You ever hear this about rhinos?

They could run 30 miles an hour.

Rhinos, you know, right?

Rhinoceroses.

That big animal can run 30 miles an hour.

There's only one problem.

They can only clearly see 30 feet in front of them.

So they're going 30 miles an hour hard, fast.

Can only see 30 feet in front of them.

And you know what a group of rhinos together are called?

A crash.

Do you know why?

Because God gave them a horn on the top of their head.

You know why?

Because they can't see but 30 feet in front of them.

So what do they do?

They run with their head down.

They're like, if I can't see 30 feet, I might as well not even look.

I'm just gonna go like this with my head down.

And you know what God is saying?

God is saying that's the kind of faith that He's looking for.

He's looking for people who have rhino faith.

You get a word from God, you get an unction from the Holy Spirit, you get wise counsel, you know what's good, you know what's right, and you know what's wrong.

Put your head down and go for God.

Crash through whatever you have to crash through.

Sadly, most Christians have squirrel faith.

Y'all skittish little circumstance comes up, you're like, oh, I guess I can't pray anymore.

Because I can't go to church anymore, because I can't read my Bible anymore, because I can't get my tithe this week.

Squirrel faith.

God's looking for aggressive faith.

God, my conviction is greater than my condition.

God, I'm gonna run toward the roar.

And that's why the Bible says, when it talks about rhino faith, it says that when we have a problem, James chapter 1, verse number 6, let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, driven and tossed without wavering, without retreating every time.

James 1 · chapter mention

Fear speaks.

Here's how faith responds: faith runs toward the roar.

He says, Let not that man think he shall receive anything of the Lord, for a double-minded man's unstable in all his ways.

God is basically telling us how to receive and how not to receive.

He's telling us that aggressive faith is what he's looking for.

Aggressive faith is what he responds to.

Aggressive faith is something that forces you into a position of trust.

In other words, if I never trust, if I never obey, if I never move, why would I expect a response from heaven?

Right, old faith.

I don't care what it looks like, I'm going.

I don't care what kind of sacrifice it is, I'm obeying.

I don't care how unsafe it looks, I'm stepping out anyway.

And all throughout scripture, we see people who ran through the roar.

David runs toward Goliath.

Did you notice that?

He doesn't go.

He runs toward Goliath.

Joshua marches around the fortified city.

Moses stretches his hand over the water.

Peter steps out onto the lake.

Esther walks into the king's court.

Jesus moves toward Jerusalem, knowing the cross is before him.

And now Benea, he goes down into a pit toward a lying, aggressive faith, faith that has a word from God, faith that has an unction from the Holy Ghost, faith that is standing for a righteous cause.

Courageous, outrageous faith.

Not faith that is not sometimes scared.

Can I tell you?

As you develop in your relationship with God, God will ask you to do some things that are naturally fearful.

For instance, how many of you know if God says walk away from a relationship?

That can be fearful.

Can I tell you what the Spirit of God said to me?

Just before the service when I was in the back.

This is your word.

God's not going to embarrass you.

But there's somebody in here.

You need to walk away from the relationship.

The relationship is abusive.

And I believe the person that is he that is doing the abusing is here.

And here's what God's word is to you.

You need to let that person go.

If you're really serious with God, you need to turn your life around and not keep that person hostage to the relationship.

But how many of you know that is scary stuff to do that?

Scary stuff for both people.

But sometimes God will ask you to do scary things in your life.

And courageous faith is not faith without fear, but it's faith that steps out despite the fear.

When God said to Joshua, only be thou strong and very courageous.

What was he saying?

He's saying, Joshua, I know this is a scary set of circumstances, but I'm asking you to step out despite the fear.

The antidote for fear is what God told Joshua.

He said, And lo, I'm with you.

If you are afraid, I want to encourage you right now.

God is with you.

When you step out on a word from God, God will stand by your side.

God ran, David ran toward Goliath, then he guided the stone.

God.

Joshua marched around, then the walls fell.

Moses stretched out his rod, then the sea parted.

Baniah went down, then the lion died.

The action preceded the intervention.

The obedience preceded the miracle.

Because God often does not send power to the paralyzed by fear.

He sends power to the rhinos who walk toward the roar.

Run toward your roar.

Number four, lion-hearted people are perfected in the pit.

Notice what happens?

He goes down where?

Into a pit.

A pit is a low place, a pit is a dark place, a pit is a difficult place, a pit is a place of pressure, it's a place of struggle, it's a place of adversity.

But lion-hearted people understand something.

The pit is not just a place of darkness, it is a place of development.

So when you go into a pit, you have a decision to make.

And the decision is are you gonna get bitter or are you gonna get better in that situation?

Are you gonna resign or refine?

Are you gonna give up or are you gonna go through?

Because the enemy wants to use your pit to stop you, but God wants to use your pit to strengthen you.

The enemy wants the pit to become your grave.

God wants the pit to become your gym.

What I mean, the gym, the place where you get muscles.

And you know what I really love about it?

Because God wants you to work out with the same stuff that the enemy came, sent into your life to kill you.

When you have a successful pit stop, here's what you wind up doing.

You wind up taking what the enemy's got, you wind up going, yeah, look at this right here.

Look at this right here.

Look at this right here.

Look at this, look at how look at this.

Watch me, watch me here.

Look at look at this right here.

Right?

You wind up working out with the stuff that the enemy said to be your grave.

It becomes the gym in your life.

God uses it to give you spiritual muscles in your life.

Do you know in life it's who has the greatest pit stops that determine who wins the race?

Ever watch NASCAR?

By the way, why would people watch that for hours?

Your wife comes over.

Wait, I'm watching NASCAR.

And then people pay money to go there, watch NASCAR.

Now, if I got a driver in there, I can understand that, right?

Like I, you know, anyway.

But you know what?

I first watched it, I thought, look at that dumb car.

Everybody's the first one to 100 laps that wins.

And this idiot is pulling off while everybody else is just going, and you know what they call that pull-off?

They call it a pit stop.

But you know what I learned?

If you don't make appropriate pit stops, even though you're way out in the lead, you lose the race.

You know why?

Because you run out of gas, because you blow a tire, because something happens that slows you down.

And so what looks like delay is really development.

What looks like a setback is really a setup so that you can win the race.

And so God will use your pits as your places of development.

God is giving you muscles so you can go to the next place in your life.

God is building you, God is growing you, God is helping to make sure that you get to where you need to go.

But number five today, lion-hearted people receive rewards.

Notice what the scripture says, 2 Samuel chapter 23, verse 22.

2 Samuel 23:22

These things Benea did, or the son of Jehoida did, and he won a name among the three mighty men.

He was more honored than the 30, but he did not attain to the first three.

And David appointed him over his guard.

David had 130 mighty men, then he had a group of three, and then he had a group of thirty.

In that 130, the top three were the top three.

Then there was a group of thirty.

Beneah, he was the top in the group of thirty.

He developed a name.

Now don't miss how the story ends, because if you're not careful, you think the story is about a lion.

But the lion is never the point.

The pit is never the point.

The snow is never the point.

The point is who Beneah became.

The text says these things Beneah did, and because of those things, he won a name.

He became more honored.

David appointed him over his God.

Another guard.

In other words, the pit produced promotion.

And sometimes the battle in front of you is more than a battle.

Sometimes it's a divine audition.

And you know what happens if you quit in the middle of your struggle?

You walk out on your audition.

Imagine that you're asked or invited to audition for a part where you can become a movie star.

Just imagine.

Maybe some of you don't want to be movie stars, but just imagine with me.

When you get to preach, you could put whatever example you want in there, okay?

And imagine if you if you if you get the part, suddenly your life changes.

And you walk in and you've prepared everything like that.

And in the middle of saying something, you mess up a word and you're like, ah, and you just walk out.

You walk out of the audition that can change your life.

What some of you don't realize when you're going through these little lower level things, you are being evaluated for elevation.

See, you have no idea.

You think it's about what you're going through right now, but God's got bigger plans for you.

God's got it's a divine audition.

God says, I'm watching you to see how you handle this because I need to know that you can handle what I have for you.

Because I declare to you today, God really has more in store.

There is never a time, listen to me, in your Christian life where you have attained enough.

I'm letting it sink in because all the religious spirits are getting fired up right now.

When is enough enough?

When is enough enough?

Take it away from the one who did nothing and give it to the one who has 10.

But God, 10 is enough.

Isn't 10 enough?

Can I tell you why never is enough enough?

Because when you pass one test, you become qualified to handle more of what God has.

And God keeps adding to the people who He can trust because God is looking for people who are forces in the kingdom of God.

People who are not just ordinary, people who are not just average, lion-hearted people who say, God, you can trust me.

God, you can trust me.

God, you can trust me.

And we don't know this, and the scripture doesn't say this, but I asked the Lord about this.

I said, God, why would he go and fight a lion anyway?

Kind of seems pretty stupid to me, right?

And and and the Bible doesn't say this, so I'm making some some some cultural leaps and intuition.

And if I'm wrong, I'm wrong.

But when we get to heaven, God will say, Yeah, he was right.

In Bible days, lions were threats to flocks, villages, and people.

And if nobody did anything about the lion, they would lose their flocks, people would be get killed, their villages, people would run out of their village.

And so all I believe that Baniah was doing is he was saying, This is what God has put before me.

This is the responsibility that somebody has to do it.

And so what does he do?

He steps up, not because he was working, not because he was actually uh auditioning for an elevation, but because he had a conviction that said, if God has put it before me, I'm gonna do everything that I have and the excellence that I can because whatever I do, I do it as unto the Lord.

And what you need to realize is oftentimes your destiny is hidden within responsibility.

What you need to realize is if you're not responsible at your current place, you give God no reason to elevate you to a new place.

And this is why God is so serious about us doing everything as odd to Him, because God has more in store for you.

Each and every person in this room has only scratched the surface of what God has for you.

God has bigger dreams for you, God has bigger influence for you, God has bigger promotion for you, God has bigger prosperity for you, God has bigger plans for you, God has more for your life.

But in order for you to walk into everything that God has for you, you've got to become a trusted servant in the Lord, which means you gotta do what's before you right now.

You can't look like Panayah, he didn't look, he didn't say, Well, I don't understand why I'm not part of the mighty man.

I'm strong, I can fight.

Why I gotta be the one out here taking care of the lions, risking my life for that.

Why can't I be part of the inner circle?

Why can't I be part of the 30?

Why can't I be part of the three?

You know what he said?

This is where God has put me.

Can I just tell you something?

Promotion belongs to the Lord.

God raises up and he brings down.

God will bring you before kings, God will bring you before great people.

But can I tell you the people that God brings to those places?

It's people who understand that what is in front of them and they have to do as on to the Lord as if it was the ultimate assignment because God has more.

Would you stand to your feet?

Work your window.

You never know which lion is gonna create more influence.

You never know which lion is gonna create more of anything in your life.

More open doors, more promotions, more whatever it is that you ultimately want to see God do in your life.

You never know which line.

Work your window.

How do I work my window?

Some people think they work their window by politicking and this and that and the other thing.

Can I tell you how the cat works in the kingdom?

You work as though you're working onto the Lord with everything that you did do.

I remember I used to preach in a chicken coop every single week to a bunch of teenagers.

Every single week.

That chicken coop was nasty, it was stinky, but it held about 200 kids.

You know what I was doing?

I'm gonna get me 200 kids here.

I go out onto the playground, I play basketball with them.

Sometimes I bet them.

I said, if I could beat you, you need to come to youth group.

All of a sudden they didn't realize they weren't just fighting skill, they were fighting the anointing.

And all of a sudden, they know how that old man beat.

I went old back then, I was in my 20s, right?

And all of a sudden, they'd be in youth group.

Everything that we could why?

Because that chicken coop was an evaluation for elevation.

Can I say, where what's your chicken coop right now?

Where's God placed you in your life right now?

That is your that is your evaluation for elevation.

Can we pray?