Courage for Your Calling | Pastor Earl McClellan

It keeps on shouting. And then it will get in your family. And your family will say the same thing to you that fear has been saying to you. And then you think, "I guess that's confirmation. I guess this is just who I am." And it's not who you are because they're inconsistent with the Word of God. So I'm trying to get us back to God's Word and God's truth and God's power and God's reality. Because if we can get there, then we can be the men and women that God has called us to be. Hey, if you have your Bibles, I want you to open up with me to the book of Philippians chapter one. Philippians chapter one. So excited. Hey, how's the no shade November going? If you don't know, it's one month of no complaining. One month of no complaining. Someone texted me this past week and he said, "I got an idea." How about, every time somebody complains, they gave a dollar to heaven to earth. He said, "We'd have that five million in a week." I like that. It's probably true. But we are in no shade November reading to the book of Philippians. We're going to read this. It's only four chapters. We're going to read it once a week, every week for the month of November. What this is doing is allowing the Word of God just to keep on sinking deep into our hearts, rather than just skimming over the top. We're going to keep on repeating the same words over and over and over so we can begin to mature and develop in our walk with God. Philippians chapter one, verse number 18, I'm going to start right in the middle of verse number 18 with the word "yes." He says, "Yes, and I will continue to rejoice. For I know that through your prayers in God's provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, what has happened to me will turn out from my deliverance. I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage. Can everybody say courage? Courage so that now as always, Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is game." Whoo, what a, what a passage of Scripture. If you like to take notes, the title for today is "Courage for My Calling." I was reading through the book of Philippians, that verse number 20 jumped off the page at me. This is how God tends to speak to all of us as we're reading His word. There's something that's highlighted in this word, these words actually sufficient courage just jumped off the page. So we're going to go through this today and believe in that God will grab ahold of all of our hearts. Picture with me for a second, a picture with me for a second, a five-year-old, a five-year-old boy. He's in his bedroom. To the middle of the night, he's got his covers pulled up over his face, not all the way over, but just over his nose. And he is shivering in fear because he's got to go to the bathroom, but he's afraid of the dark, so he doesn't get up. Or go with me to a little girl, she's 12 years old, and she's at school. The teacher has said something up front, and she doesn't totally understand what the teacher was saying. So she wants to ask a question, but she doesn't raise her hand. She doesn't raise her hand because she's concerned that all of her friends are going to think that she's dumb. Go with me to a 19-year-old young man. He's in college. And now, in his sophomore year, he has his group of friends, but everybody's going to party on Friday night, and he's not really about that life anymore.

But he doesn't want to speak up because he's concerned and fearful that they're all going to kind of paint him with some certain brush, and now he'll no longer be invited and won't be in and won't have some people to hang with. Go with me to a 27-year-old woman. This woman just graduated from law school. She's sharp. She's at her law firm and all the partners. At least some of them, they're doing some shady things. It's not quite right, but she doesn't want to speak up even though she knows she ought to because she does not want to waste all those years of education and doesn't want to lose her job. Look at a picture of family, a couple. They're 38 years old. They feel in their hearts, they're supposed to be taking that step to get involved again. But they are burnt out and maybe even got burned last time they were involved. So instead of taking the step and getting involved, what they choose to do instead is fill their life up with good things rather than God, things. I got just two more examples. A 54-year-old guy, he's into peptides and testosterone. He's taking it. I mean, he's taking it like it's going out of style. He doesn't care where the peptides are from. He's taking them over and over again. He's trying to relive those glory days. He's got Wolverine. He's doing all of them. And now his body is starting to look really, really good. But inside, he's got some issues. But he's scared to share about his vulnerabilities because he doesn't want to look weak. Last one, a picture woman, she's 71 years old. And she's lived a lot of life, gone through plenty of ups and downs. And she sees on her face the wrinkles from a life well lived. When she sees those wrinkles, she sees old. Not realizing that those wrinkles are actually a testimony and declare the goodness of the grace of God that is able to carry you through every single season of life. But she looks at these wrinkles and goes, "I'm done.

I've got nothing left to offer." When God is actually asking her to begin to mentor and pour her life into others, but she doesn't do it for fear that she's washed up. I discovered whether you're 5, or you're 12, or you're 19, or you're 27, or you're 38, or you're 54, or you're 71, you might not need courage like every moment of your life, but you do need courage in every season of life. There are these times that you know you need to step up. You need to take a step. You need to speak up. You need to throw your shoulders back. And today I'm praying by the time we're all said and done. They would have courage that would not come from ourselves, but would come from the God of heaven. In Philippians chapter 1, as we're reading here, going back with me to verse number 18, I'm going to remember that the Apostle Paul here says, he says, "I will continue to rejoice." I think this is important, because last week we talked about how the Church of Philippi even got started. That Paul showed up and there was this very wealthy business woman, very wealthy and influential business woman, and she was the first one to give her heart to Christ in the area, and then she opens up her home, and her whole household gets saved. This woman Lydia was the very first convert to Christianity in the area, planting the very first church in Europe. This is what happened. The Apostle Paul now is writing a letter to these people that he loves and cares for so much, but he's not writing from Cabo. He's writing from Rome, and he's on house arrest. He's in prison. So this man who was in prison and a few years from writing this letter is actually going to be killed for his faith. He is on death row. He is about to be executed. He's about to die. And in the midst of all of that, not only is he writing letters of encouragement,

he is also rejoicing in the midst of it. So yes, I will continue to rejoice. He says verse number 19, why? For I know some things. I know that through your prayers and God's provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance. I love this. He says, I know that it's going to turn out for my deliverance. I know I got a lot of things shouting at me right now, but I know it's going to turn out for my deliverance. He's saying, I know God is good. He's saying, I know God is faithful. He's saying, I know God is true to his word. He's saying, I know God has my back. He's saying, I know I'm not alone in all of this. He's saying, I know God has the ability and the strength to carry me all the way through what I'm facing right now. I know what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance. If you're under the sound of my voice today and you don't have a lot of hope in your life right now, can I please ask you to get your eyes just off of your situation and put them back on the glorious cross of Jesus Christ? It is a reminder to every single person. But he also says, "The only one that happened "turn out from my deliverance." He gives two really beautiful things here that are pillars to help carry him. Verse number 19, "For I know that through your prayers," can everybody say your prayers? "Through your prayers in God's provision "of the Spirit of Jesus Christ."

He's saying here are two things that can sometimes be overlooked. People praying for you and the provision of the Spirit of the living God. If you don't have anybody who is praying for you, I want you to pause baby even right now. Send the text message and say, "Hey, can you please begin to pray for me?" You need to have people in your life that are praying for you and have your back spiritually. That when you are facing some type of obstacle, some type of difficulty, or you're on your way to another level, you got some people you can text. You got a connect group. You've got some friends. You've got a circle to say, "Hey, can you please take my name "before the throne room of God "because in order for me to get through the thing "that I'm facing, I need someone to be praying for me." And this has always been a very strong piece of any church that you have people that pray. I love it. I love it when somebody says to me, "Hey, I got a job interview." Or, "Hey, this is going on in the hospital." Or, "This is what's happening with my family." I say, "Let us know, write it down on the card. "We got your back."

And as we go to God, I don't know how it all works, but we send these prayers up to God and God sends power down to his people. So do not underestimate the power of people praying for you, but neither do I want you to underestimate the power of the Holy Spirit. That is not just, can you pray for me? And sometimes people think that's us wishing. We're not wishing. We're hoping in the God of heaven that he's gonna move in mind and empower. And we pray by faith, but then also the provision of God's Spirit. And you and I know that the Holy Spirit is the one to sustain us and carry us. And it's filled us with his presence. So now I'm reading through this, by the time I get to verse number 20, I see this courage word, just jump off the page. And I'm seeing courage above the page. It makes me think, what's coming to Paul's mind when he's thinking about courage? What might be running through his brain? So I want you to go with me to Acts chapter six. Go with me to Acts chapter six. Y'all still with me? Acts chapter six. In Acts chapter six, something amazing is happening. The church is growing exponentially. But the church is growing so much

that it's actually outpaced its systems, okay? We felt this, even here in Shoreline City. We got Midway Hollow right now. Shout out to Midway Hollow. I mean, this is phenomenal. We sent like a hundred leaders over there to Midway Hollow. When you send a hundred leaders from a place, that means you have a gap of a hundred leaders. So now you've got new people stepping into positions of leadership and authority that have not had those positions before. So I'm looking at the doors, making sure like we don't have any hosts standing at the doors, mean mugging people. (congregation laughing) What are you doing here? It's like, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. I'm like, how did you become a host? You know, we smile here at Shoreline City. Not in my old church, my old church, we... We growl that people when they come in. It's like, oh, I gotta train you here. How we do it is we are happy that people are here and we're reminding them of the worth and the value that the finished cross of Jesus Christ has given them. So that's why we treat them with so much worth and dignity here. So, but it just, it's part of growth. Churches, businesses, families, you parents that have one kid,

and then one day you have five, it's just different. One is easier than five. Let me just tell you that right now. But then by the time you get to seven, I heard it's all the same. You just kind of throw them all in a room and let them fend for themselves. (congregation laughing) Anyway, the church is growing during this time and it's outgrown the systems. So in order for the church to be healthy, they begin to pull on serve team, leaders, people in the church to say, hey, I'm willing to step up. So Acts chapter six, verse number five. It says the proposal, please, the whole, But let's want to focus in on Stephen. So now there's an issue, churches growing, systems are breaking down. We need to bring some more leaders into place. So they're looking for people who are full of the Spirit and wisdom. Stephen's like, "Hey, I'll step up." So Stephen's willing to serve in the parking lot, serving kids, serve as a host in this particular passage. He's willing to serve the widows, their food, and make sure they get all the food that they need. So now he's helping out. And as he's helping out, we find out that Stephen, this guy's amazing. This guy has the ability to not only serve meals to widows, he also has the ability to speak. And he is incredibly articulate. I mean, sharp, a debater. Matter of fact, God begins to use him in such mighty ways through science and wonders. And he's beginning to debate with the religious leaders so much. The religious leaders, some people, they actually lie on Stephen. They send some people to sabotage his life, to take Stephen to put him in front of what's called the Sanhedrin, which is essentially the religious senate of the day. And he is now about to have a senate hearing, and he's going to stand trial. So what? We get to Acts chapter 7. In Acts chapter 7, Stephen is standing there, and he is preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. I mean, I'm talking from the Old Testament to the New Testament. And you can read it if you're ever wanting a great

synopsis of the Bible. That's a great synopsis right there. It is theologically rich. It is incredibly articulate. It is so smart. The guy just goes through line by line, by line, by line, by line. The religious leaders aren't interested in hearing it. Now go with me to chapter 7 verse 54. When the members, chapter 7 of Acts verse number 54, when the members of the Sanhedrin heard this, they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him. But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. Look, he said, "I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God." At this, they covered their ears and yelling at the top of their voices. They all rushed at him, dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named. What's the name right there? Saul. While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, "Lord Jesus, receive my Spirit." Then he fell on his knees and cried out, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them." When he had said this, he fell asleep, which means he died. Chapter 8 verse number 1, "And Saul approved of their killing him." Here is Stephen. He just starts serving widows their food. God starts flowing through him in signs and wonders. He comes before this big Senate hearing before the Sanhedrin, preaches the gospel of Jesus Christ, and they don't want to hear what he's saying. They grab him from the Sanhedrin, pull him out of the city, and they do not try to kill him, meaning metaphorically or they are actually literally about to kill this man. They take up stones and they grab these stones and they begin to hurl them at Stephen. And as they are hurling these stones at Stephen, Stephen does not begin to complain. He doesn't say, "God, why'd you let this happen to me?" He doesn't say, "God, where are you right now?" As a matter of fact, he looks up and he sees Jesus standing at the right hand of God, and he lets everybody know that I see Jesus right now in the midst of my pain and in the midst of me being yelled at, in the midst of all these stones coming right away. I see Jesus and he's standing at the right hand of God. I see heaven opened up. His eyes are fixed on the right place. And as his eyes are fixed on the right place, it does not stop the stones from coming. The stones keep on coming. So now with a bloody eye and maybe internal bleeding and maybe your But he falls to his knees and he's about to die and when the man is about to die He does not say God. I hate them God killed him instead. He says Lord. Would you please forgive him? They don't even know what they're doing. He's echoing our Savior when he was on the cross

He is Stephen now being stoned and while this is happening. He's exuding the life and the glory and the presence of God He's living and dying with courage in this moment and The Apostle there's a young man. I'm sorry by the name of Saul Who's holding all of these coats of those who are killing Stephen? Stephen the first martyr and the Christian faith And this guy Saul Is actually the one Who later on we would know as Paul And would be writing the book of Philippians I wonder when he says that I have sufficient courage If he's not thinking back to Stephen He remembers being a young man Hold on those coats going. Yeah kill him kill him kill him But Stephen look over Adam as I just so you know, I don't hate you Because you can't even take my life. I already gave it to Jesus anyway Forgive him. I don't know they don't know what they're doing Maybe he's pulling on this memory right here And she begins to pull on this memory. He's like I want that kind of courage I'm on death row right now. I want that kind of courage. I'm about to die I want that kind of courage. I got a lot of stuff coming at me right now But I want that kind of courage I got people trying to cancel me But I want that kind of courage in the midst of all of that and here he is and he writes these words But I don't want it to get lost on us that Stephen was full of the spirit So here I got a definition for you for courage a biblical definition. This is biblical courage I was on my knees and walking and praying. I'm like Lord. Can you please help me? Understand give me a biblical courage definition. So I'm gonna put it up on the screen. So this is for you This is what dropped in my heart for all of us. Here's biblical courage the grace to do What God wants done?

When someone or something else says run. I Didn't mean for it to rhyme. It just came out that way The grace to do what God wants done When someone or something else says run Keep it up on the screen for just a moment so I can break it down for a second. The grace When we're talking about biblical courage, we are not talking about you being at the center of the strength It is not will power and does not self-help. It is a grace that comes from God Meaning God is the source and he is the empower and the giver and the initiator of the very courage that you need So I'm looking up to God and I'm saying God what I need can only come from you. So now look it's a grace To do it's not a grace just to feel We're looking for goosebumps. I feel courage. Okay. Did you do anything? The grace to do it is active obedience Active obedience even in the midst of not feeling like everything is right. I'm still obeying air anyway It's the grace it comes from God doesn't start with me. It starts with him to do to actively obey To do what God wants done now. This is important Because you got desires like I got desires you got wishes like I have wishes and Sometimes we try to stick God's name on things that are us right? We say oh, the Lord wants me to date you It's like no, that's your flesh That's not that's not God what I have found what I found is When God is asking you to do something you can know whether or not it's God sometimes By whether or not if you can do it on your own or not If you can accomplish it apart from God I'm gonna say it's probably not from God Because God usually puts you in a situation where you go really It requires you to take a step of faith It you would say like God I if this doesn't work. I'm gonna look like a fool and God's like yeah you don't get the glory, I get the glory, that's what God is saying here.

So he intentionally puts us in spaces and places where there's a gap between what we can do and what needs to be done and where we have to have this faith in him. So it's the grace to do what God wants done when someone or something else says, run. Now, this is where we're gonna talk about Intimidators and Bullies. Intimidators and Bullies. I was in fifth grade and a couple years ago, and kidding. (congregation laughs) I wasn't, when I was in fifth grade, there was this kid named Dominic, okay, and he was like the school bully. And if you saw him, you might see why he was the bully. He's one of those fifth graders that was thick. (congregation laughs) You know what I'm talking about? You know, it's like, whoa, okay, fifth grade, huh? Okay. (congregation laughs) You ain't missing a meal, are you big guy? You're just like, you know, he's full back, full back, fifth grader, full back, fifth grader. He hadn't like, you know, grown into all he was gonna be, you know, just yet, but you know, he was throwing his weight around there in fifth grade, right? Letting us know like, he was in charge. So I didn't really mess with him all that much.

I wasn't really in his circle, and I was not really a fighter, you know, or anything at all. So I just kind of avoided, you know, him, you know, a little bit, but I did have a level of fear just because I kind of heard, you know, about Dominic. Well, then this one day, Craig and Dominic are going at each other. And Craig, he's also thick. Craig runs towards Dominic. And he runs towards Dominic, and as he begins to run towards Dominic, I'm like, oh my goodness, you know, here's Thor's hammer and Thor, you know, about to, you know, here's Thanos and Thor, they're about to fight. No, when he begins to run towards Dominic, Dominic actually starts to run the opposite direction. It runs on the steps. We're all looking at this like, wait, what? You're the bully. Why are you running right now? He runs so much. Craig is standing over the little railing, saying, yeah, Dominic, you better run, you better run. And then Craig turns around to all of us. He's like, yeah, he's a punk. I know, I know, he's scared. I knew he wasn't interested in fighting. And I'm like, oh, it kind of opened my eyes. I had in my brain that Dominic really couldn't be beaten. But now somebody else comes in,

and when that person stands up to Dominic, Dominic ends up running the opposite direction. I was praying for us in our biblical courage, the grace to do what God wants done when someone or something else has run. And I know you're like me. You have some things that are telling you, run. Some things that are telling you, sit down. Some intimidators and bullies that are trying to tell you your life is over, play it cool, sit back. Don't put your head up too high. Just kind of blend in with everybody. And if you do, you'll live a really good life. You'll make your way to heaven. You'll be a good person and everything will be fine. And these intimidators and bullies, they don't kill you quickly. They kill you softly. They kill you slowly. They're not designed to take you out right away they're designed to suffocate you over time. To take you from being a participator into a spectator into the life that God has called you to live. And there are many of us that there was a day you remember dreaming. There was a day that you remember having hope. There was a day that you remember there being a light in your eyes. There was a day you remember having some fire within your belly, but just through the course of life

some things have pushed you back. And now you're sitting down and you're like, I'd like to get up, but I don't wanna be sick again. I don't wanna be hurt again. I don't wanna be fearful again. I don't wanna end up in the same spot I was before. So maybe if I just stay where I am right now and I don't take another step out, maybe just maybe my life will be what it's supposed to be. And I'm letting you know that that intimidator and that bully is trying to keep you seated when God is calling you to stand up. And in the name of Jesus, today will be a day that you'll get to stand up again. (congregation applauding) Today will be a day that you get to stand up again. How do we have so many kids that are so gifted and then we have so many adults that are so average? [BLANK_AUDIO] free, excited about life, and now we talk to you. It's like, no, don't do that. Don't dream there. Don't go here. It's like, what happened in the meantime? I know sin happened, but the intimidators and the bullies, they trained you, shut up, sit down. Don't do that. You can't do that. Nobody who looks like you has ever done that. And they try to create a world for you

that's not the world that God has for you. It's the world that the intimidator and the bully has for you, because the intimidator is in the bully. Work for your enemy. So, kind of my chair for a second, kind of my chair. I asked the band to come out here to help me with something. OK. With the-- yeah. Thank you so much, Miss Maria. Thank you for my chair. OK. This little chair is little on purpose, OK? Because the bullies, they come to you and they talk to you like they're on the throne. They talk to you like they're real big. They talk to you like they own your life. They talk to you like I know you. So I just want to paint a different picture. They're not on some throne. They're on a little elementary school chair. That's what they're on right here. And this little elementary school chair, I want to bring out some of the bullies, the intimidators that are trying to take you and hold you captive and I want to sit them down and I want to have a conversation with them today. Matter of fact, what we're going to do is we've got a breakup letter for our intimidators and our bullies that are going to happen today. Now when I was working on this message and I started thinking about all these intimidators and these bullies that are coming my way, I saw my head Earl, call him out, call him out, call him out Earl, call him out Earl, call him out Earl, call him out Earl and then my brain

went to something else that I know this church will know, T.I., his song, bring him out, hit man. Yeah, yeah, bring him out, bring him out, bring him out, bring him out, bring him out, bring him out, bring him out, bring him out, bring him out, bring him out, bring him out, bring him out, bring him out, bring him out, I'm going to talk to Shane for just a second. We're going to have a, sit your behind right here Shane because Shane, Shane will try to tell you to sit down and to shut up so I got a breakup letter that all of us going to have for Shane because Shane right now is telling, you're divorced. You know how much you slept around? You're the mistakes you made. Nobody wants you. Nobody's interested in you. Shut your mouth. So Shane is shouting, keeping us prisoner when Jesus came and set us free. Someone that will have a conversation with Shane, put this on the screen, put my four things on the screen. I'm going to tell you how to do your breakup letter later this week. I want you to do your own breakup letter later this week. And in your own breakup letter, you got to put these four things in your breakup letter. Four things in your breakup letter. One, name the Intimidator, name it, name it, name it, name it, name it. Put a name on that thing. Why? Because every single name that can be named is less than the name of Jesus Christ. It's at the name of Jesus that every knee will bow and every tongue will confess. There is no name greater than his name, name that thing. Then expose the false authority. You go ahead and write that stuff down. And then answer with, you got to answer every single voice with Christ's work, not your willpower, not how good you are, not just your hopes and your dreams. You answer with Christ's work, His finished work on the cross, and then you end with allegiance, not just defiance. My allegiance is to the cross and to the finish work of Jesus and who Jesus is and what He wants to do in my life. So now I want you, I'm going to show you a letter. I wrote a letter. I wrote a letter for you. Before I do that though, give me another one. Give me another one. Bring them out. Thank you. Let's go. Here's another one. Feel it, feel it, feel it. Okay, okay. (upbeat music) Now pack your backs, I invited you in, but now I'm kicking you out. You've spoken loudly and I listened. You made promises and threats and I believe them.

But today that changes. I have a leader and it's not you. I have a Lord and it's not you. I have a King and His name is Jesus. So shame, let me talk to shame for just a second. Because this one is holding so many of us back. Shame, you've told me my past disqualifies me. You've reminded me of what I've done and where I failed and who I've disappointed. You've whispered that if people really knew me, they wouldn't love me. But listen carefully, my past has been forgiven. My sins have been washed away. My record has been nailed to the cross. And the one who knows everything about me has already declared his love for me. You may remember my past, but you do not get to determine my future. There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Let shame know, get out. Fear, oh my goodness, oh my goodness, fear, fear. It keeps on shouting, it keeps on shouting, it keeps on shouting, it keeps on shouting, it keeps on shouting, it keeps on shouting, and then it will get in your family and your family will say the same thing to you that fear has been saying to you. And then you think, I guess that's confirmation. I guess this is just who I am, and it's not who you are, because the inconsistent with the word of God. So I'm trying to get us back to God's word and God's truth and God's power and God's reality. Because if we can get there, then we could be the men and women that God has called us to be. Fear, I've got a letter for you, stand up, look me in the eyes, you've threatened me with tomorrow, you tormented me with what ifs, you've convinced me to rehearse disasters that haven't happened and surrender battles, I haven't fought.

You told me to sit down when God told me to stand up, to say silent when God told me to speak, to play it safe when God told me to walk by faith. But your reign is over, God has not given me a spirit of fear, but a power, love and a sound mind, you do not get to stop with God and his grace has started. The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear? The Lord is a stronghold of my life, of whom shall I be afraid? Fear, take notice, you cannot intimidate and bully me another day of my life. You pay, you pay, you pay, you pay, this right here, this right here, this pain right here, the pain is real right, isn't the pain real? You remember it, that's why you don't want to touch again, because you remember when you touch that the pain was so real, so you told yourself, don't reach out your hand again, because you reach out your hand again, you'll have the same pain and what that is doing, you think it's making you safe, it's not making you safe, it's making you soft, you're not walking by faith the way God has called you to walk by faith. So now you're living in a prison and I know your apartment is nice, I know your home is nice, but you're still in a prison nonetheless, because pain keeps telling you, sit down. But today in the Intimidator of Pain, the Intimidator of Shame, the Intimidator of Fear in the name of Jesus today is the day, we're writing the breakup letter and we're letting you know that you can't stay with me, you can't live with me, you can't walk with me, you can't own me, you can't tell me what to do, you can't tell me when to step, you can't tell me when to stop, you can't tell me when to go, because I get my authority from the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, man. I feel the grace of God in this place, I feel the power of God in this place, I hear chains breaking in this place, I'm willing to fight on your behalf, Jesus came to fight on your behalf, you've got a bunch of people that have your back, we've got your back, we've got your back, we've got your back, we've got your back, I'm telling you, man, I feel the tears, I can Today, today in the name of Jesus. Intimidators. Bullies. Shame.

Fear. Pain. How about comparison? How about this one? What? I don't look the part. I don't sound the part. I'm not married. I'm not single. I'm not a man. I'm not a woman. I'm too black. I'm too white. I'm too Latino. I'm too rich. I'm too this. I'm too that. I got too much of a background. I got too much education. And you're comparing yourself with everybody else. And this Intimidator is telling you, stay seated. Shut up. No one wants to hear what you have to say. But God puts you on this earth and puts you here for a reason. And you've got a pulse. You've got a calling. You've got a destiny. And I know your past might be crazy sketchy. But the blood of Jesus covers your entire past. And it covers your present.

And it covers your future. I'm talking about the stuff you won't tell anybody. God's got that cover. So I saw my head. I just want to pray. I want to pray. I want to pray. I want to pray. I want to pray. I want to pray that we have sufficient courage. I want to pray that Intimidators and bullies would bow today. I want to pray that you would leave here different. I want to pray that even though you're wiping tears from your eyes right now, you would sense the hand of God. Wiping tears from your eyes. Saying, "Daughter, I got your past." You're not in this alone. You're not fighting by yourself. I've been fighting for you the whole time. I brought you here today on purpose so you can get free. So I know, I know, I don't even have a lot of space at this altar. But I'm going to do this. If you are like, you know what? I got some things on battling. I got some Intimidators and bullies. I'm going to ask you. I know we already got people standing. Why don't you stand up? You're saying that's you. I got some Intimidators and bullies.

I want that chain broken off of me today. Just stand up. Just stand up. Actually, I'm going to do this. Everybody doesn't have to come forward. But anybody that wants to. I'm going to say the altars are open. Come on down front. I'm going to pray over you today that today would be the pain. The voice might not stop. But the power of the Holy Spirit will be stronger and louder than every single voice of every Intimidator and every bully. Come on down. We're going to pray and believe for breakthrough today. Oh my goodness, I sense God's presence. Oh my goodness, can we lift our hands church family? Can we lift our hands church family? I don't care how full it gets out here. Oh, come on down. The presence of God is here. The glory of God is here. We prayed for you this week. We prayed for you this week. We prayed for you this week. We prayed for you this week. But before we ever prayed, Jesus was already interceding on your behalf. Oh God. Oh God. Open up the heavens Father. Open up the heavens Father.

Open up the heavens. Rain down your glory right now. Rain down your power. Father, these sons and daughters of yours that are at the altar, that are standing, that are at home. We thank you that no weapon formed against any of them is able to prosper and these intimidators and bullies that have been trying to keep them captive and hold them back. Today is a day that we're finding freedom that you Jesus are setting us free. That you Jesus are taking us to a new level in you. That you Jesus are breaking the chains off of our wrists and taking the shackles off of our feet. You're breaking the chains off of our wrists and taking the shackles off of our feet. You're breaking the chains off of our wrists and taking the shackles off of our feet. Our mouths can sing again. Our mouths can speak again. Our minds are clear again. Our ears are open again. Our hearts are alive again. Because Jesus, you are in the room. So do what only you can do. *Music* *Music* *Music* *Music* *Music* *Music* *Music* *Music* *Music* *Music*

*Music* *Music* *Music* *Music* *Music* *Music* *Music* *Music* *Music* *Music* *Music* *Music* *Music* *Music* *Music* *Music* *Music* *Music* *Music* *Music* *Music* *Music* *Music* *Music* *Music* *Music* *Music* *Music* *Music* *Music*

*Music* *Music* *Music* *Music* *Music* *Music* *Music* *Music* *Music* *Music* *Music* *Music* *Music* If you're here for the first time, I want to apologize. Because you might think it's like this every week and God's presence is here every week. There's no doubt about that. But I don't nearly sweat this much each week. But I am willing to sweat as much as I need to sweat and shout as much as I need to shout because there's a future that God has for all of his sons and his daughters and he loves you so very much and we got your back and we got your back and he loves you so much. I love that gray hair. Look at the beautiful gray hair and glasses right here. I love that so God does it there with gray hairs and he does it with no hair and he does it with young and he does it with old because God has a plan and a purpose for your life. And Philippians chapter one verse number six says he who began a good work in you. *Music* I'm about to dismiss this. We're about to get out of here. This is a long time in church for some of y'all. We're about to be dismissed. But there is one great miracle, the greatest miracle. It's not just us being free from the intimidated and bullies. That is a great miracle. But the greatest one is salvation. This is when a person goes from dead to alive, from lost to found, from headed to hell, to headed to heaven, to becoming a son and a daughter of Almighty God. If you're under the sound of my voice and you have never given your heart and your life to Christ, you never made him first, you never made him number one. Or at one point in time you're following him but you slipped away and you've gone another direction. Today is the day of salvation for you. On the count of three I just want you to throw your hand in the air and say yes that's me. I'm giving my heart and my life to Jesus today. Ready one, two, three. Just lift it up high and say yup that's me. That's me. That's me. This is beautiful. This is beautiful. Teenagers say yup that's me. That's me. Young people, young adults, single people, married people say yup that's me. This is beautiful. This is beautiful. Oh man, it's a moment of transformation and change. I'm going to ask everyone to put your hand over your heart if you would not mind. Now, whenever we want to repeat this prayer out loud after me say dear Jesus, I ask you to forgive me of all my sins. I admit I've made it. live for you in Jesus name, amen, and amen.

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