Know My Name | Katie Hauck

Let's stand and worship the Lord. Good morning church, let's stand and worship the Lord. Let's just do a prayer. Oh, I can't help it. I can't help it. Worship, worship, worship the Lord, I pray. Worship, worship, worship the Lord for who He is and what He's done. Because He lives, we overcome, I pray. Worship, worship, worship the Lord. When I can see the love of a Savior and His unrelenting grace. A heart full of passion and total surrender. He never backed away. But this time He's stirring deep in my spirit. And the pull is just too great. Oh, I can't help it. I can't help it. Worship, worship, worship the Lord, I pray. Worship, worship, worship the Lord for who He is and what He's done. Because He lives, we overcome, I pray. Worship, worship, worship the Lord. The wonder working, new life birthing God who makes way. Past in grace and sinner saved. God who empties grace. Jehovah-Jireh, He's my provider. I bless His holy name. I can't help but praise. The wonder working, new life birthing God who makes way. Past in grace and sinner saved. God who empties grace. Jehovah-Jireh, He's my provider.

I bless His holy name. I can't help it. I can't help but praise. Worship, worship, worship the Lord, I pray. Worship, worship, worship the Lord. Worship, worship, worship the Lord. Worship the Lord for who He is, and what He's done, because He lives, we know, we know, we know. Worship, worship, worship the Lord. Yes, we worship You, Lord, because You bring us joy. Here and now I draw a boundary against every weapon that's formed. The thief and his plans will pass over when he sees the red on the door. I plead the blood. I plead the blood of Jesus. I plead the blood. I bleed the blood of Jesus The enemy can't take my family Cause this home belongs to the Lord I'm not afraid to remind him That he has no claim in this war I bleed the blood I bleed the blood of Jesus I bleed the blood I bleed the blood of Jesus Thank you for the blood Thank you for the blood My future is glory to glory My freedom's been purchased in full

For all of the weight of his suffering The man will receive his reward I bleed the blood I bleed the blood of Jesus It's more than enough I bleed the blood of Jesus My shield, my shelter, it's my defense I claim it over and over again I bleed the blood I bleed the blood of Jesus It's more than enough I bleed the blood of Jesus I bleed the blood of Jesus What can wash away my sin Nothing but the blood, nothing but the blood What can make me whole again Nothing but the blood, nothing but the blood Nothing can forsake my tongue Nothing but the blood, nothing but the blood Nothing good that I have done Nothing but the blood, nothing but the blood What can wash away my sin Nothing but the blood, nothing but the blood What can make me whole again Nothing but the blood, nothing but the blood Nothing can forsake my tongue Nothing but the blood, nothing but the blood Nothing good that I have done Nothing but the blood, nothing but the blood This is all my hope and peace

Nothing but the blood, nothing but the blood For my future is my plea Nothing but the blood I bleed the blood I bleed the blood of Jesus It's more than enough I bleed the blood of Jesus My shield and my shelter It's my revenge It's over, it's over again My shield and my shelter, it's my defense I claim it over, it's over again My shield and my shelter, it's my defense I claim it over, it's over again I drink the blood, I drink the blood of Jesus More than enough, I drink the blood of Jesus How many of you plead the blood of Jesus today? Come on, praise the Lord You know, when there's a time in my life and I don't know how to pray And I'm sure all of us have experienced those times I just simply say I plead the blood of Jesus over it, amen And that's enough, that's more than enough, amen Look over at your neighbor and tell them that's enough Let me share with you guys something that happened this week So Fridays, in our house, Fridays is Connie and my date day Okay, so we'll hike, we'll do whatever, we dedicate it to spending time together And so something always happens on Fridays though that's crazy It's like God gives us divine appointments with someone just to share Jesus Happens every single Friday And now we kind of laugh about it and it's like there's our divine appointment Well this past Friday, it was probably four o'clock or so We're driving into Maryville and we hadn't had our divine appointment yet Probably because we had four grandbabies that was running around the house most of that day

But anyway, we're driving into town, we're going out to get something to eat And I shared with Connie this, I said Connie, I've been having like a random pain in my stomach And I don't know what it is, but it comes and then it just goes And she said, well you probably strained yourself from cutting that firewood up at Hunter's house And moving logs or whatever And I said, well it doesn't really feel like a strain I've never had an ulcer, but maybe it's like a stomach ulcer, a small one Because it's just like a burning pain and then it would leave And so we're driving into Maryville, I asked her, I said will you Google and see if there's an over the counter Medicine or whatever that would help that And so she's doing that, we're driving down the road She comes up with a couple things and we're close to Walgreens So we stop in Walgreens, I go in and I go down the aisle where Pepto-Bismol's at If you guys have been in there, you know where that's at And all the other stomach medicines So I'm over there and I'm looking and I'm trying to find what Connie had found And anyway, I notice a lady to my right side And she's in the same section, looks like she's looking for the same thing I am And she looks over at me and she said, Pastor Pacer, how are you doing? And I said, I'm doing great, how are you doing? And she started talking to me And I'll just be honest with you, I didn't recognize her And we do have a large church and so I'm thinking, okay it's a good possibility Maybe she attends one of our services or maybe watches online And I just don't recognize her But I didn't want to let her know I didn't recognize her, okay? So I'm still talking, she's asking about Connie And she's asking about the family And it's like, oh Lord, she knows us really well So I should know her

And I'm still looking for some type of lead that tells me who she is And then she finally says, I attend your brother's church I said, oh thank you Jesus, it's in my mind It's like, okay, praise the Lord And we start talking But she shared with me, she said that she was over here looking for some stuff She's having some stomach issues And it was very similar to what I was dealing with And immediately I knew, this is my divine appointment So I mentioned to her, I said, I know you believe in miracles And I do as well, I said, could I pray with you? And so we take our eyes off the medicine We put our eyes on Jesus, okay? And this is what reminded me as you guys were singing this song Because I had no clue you were doing this song, Drew, today But as we started praying, I simply said Lord, I plead the blood of Jesus over Shea In Jesus' name And she started praying over me And I want to tell you what happened in Walgreens The glory of God fell down in that aisle in Walgreens The Spirit of God, I'm not even exaggerating Just felt the presence of God coming down. Hey, you don't have to be in church on Sunday morning. Come on somebody It's it's wherever you call on him. I said, I plead the blood of Jesus and I noticed she started crying I'm crying spirit of God's moving and we got through praying and we and left picked up my medicine left and But here's what I wanted to share with you So I took one of those one of those pills For that stomach issue, but I'm gonna tell you it wasn't the pill That fixed my problem. I

Never again had that pain in my stomach after I left there. It was the spirit. It was the blood of Jesus It's pleading the blood of Jesus. Amen. And so here's what I will say to you today What is it in your life? You need to plead the blood of Jesus over? What is it you've been praying about what is it you've been expecting God to do or you've been asking the Lord to do I'm gonna ask you right now here in the next few few minutes to plead the blood of Jesus That's all that's all you need to do say Lord. I plead the blood of Jesus over my son That's lost over my daughter. That's sick over my the relationship and my family I plead though how many of you guys want to plead the blood of Jesus here for just one minute I'm less a worship team sing that one more time while we all plead the blood of Jesus If you're incarcerated today lift up your hands and plead the blood of Jesus. Amen Wherever you're at right now. I want you to do that. Let's go I plead the blood of Jesus I plead the blood of Jesus I plead the blood of Jesus Come on praise the Lord right now if you believe the blood of Jesus is enough, amen Welcome to Revolution Church, so good to see all of you here. You can be seated Thank you for coming to worship with us on this last Sunday of 2025 not a better place that I'd rather be than in the house of the Lord worshiping with the brothers and sisters Amen, so help me welcome the seven hundred and forty three correctional facilities right now. That's joining us from all over America 39 different states God bless every one of you Thank you for joining us today and all of our first-time guests if you are here today, and you're a first-time guest We just are thrilled that you decided to come and I'd like to ask you Sometime during the service if you would grab the card in the seat back in front of you or behind you just fill that out drop it in the offering buckets as you leave we'd like to know you're here and and Anything that you would like for us to pray about if you have a prayer request fill that out We have a team here that will be praying over those requests and and so thank you for that Also, I would like to ask you if you have a social media platform Would you do me a favor right now take it a second and share the link? Because we're having multiple people coming to Christ online every single weekend. So if you would do do that and Today, I I don't know about you, but man, I'm just here to celebrate Jesus. Amen. Amen. Amen

We don't have to just wait until Christmas or Easter We do it every Sunday and and I want to celebrate the Lord for a couple reasons one reason here at Revolution Church 2025 has been the most fruitful year of our church since we've been a church in 18 years going on 19 years. Can we celebrate the Lord for that? Thank you for the fruit over 950 salvations this past year many baptisms lots of ministry God's doing some incredible things and We're just we're seeing increase in every area of the church, and I'm grateful for that So as we're moving into 2026, I'm excited man. I'm moving in with with anticipation believing God's going to continue to open doors and Allow us to see more ministry than we've ever dreamed of now a couple things that I would like for you to note on your calendar one is we're starting our 21 days of prayer and fasting that'll start January the 4th okay and so if you'd like to know more about that or if you'd like to see our prayer guide we have one for you it's they're printed out at the connection hub if you'll stop by there pick one up as you're leaving and you'll be able to follow during the 21 days we'll have scripture that we'll read together we'll pray together and it's going to be an incredible time also Thursday night January the 1st this Thursday coming up we're going to be hosting the first revival of a wake 21 for the year amen so yeah come on praise the Lord Revolution Church has the privilege we were asked I was asked if we would host the first night so that will be here at our church and I would like to invite all of you let's let's all attend if you possibly can if it works with your schedule and let's worship together with the faith family of Blount County as we have all the different churches coming together and then and then not to January the 2nd I'll be preaching at Everett Hills Baptist Church and I'm excited about that and I would love to invite you to come out and be part of that so anyway it's going to be a great year we're looking forward to what the Lord's doing through through all of that so right now I want us to go to the Lord in prayer one other thing real quick January the

25th if you're a visitor or you're new to the church and maybe you've not really gotten committed or involved or connected write this down on your calendar January 25th we'll be having a connect luncheon at the pavilion I'll be leading that and I'll be sharing the vision and values of our church and hopefully that'll be beneficial for you to maybe get better connected so keep that in mind it'll be at 1130 on January the 25th at the pavilion let's go to the Lord in prayers we move on service father we're just so grateful for an incredible year here at Revolution Church we want to thank you for every single salvation this happened this year each person that followed you in water baptism those that have been involved in discipleship those that have served in the body God those that have been ministered to and we're grateful for that father we're also grateful for all the those who are incarcerated who are watching today and we pray a blessing upon each one of them we pray that father that you anoint the remainder of this service and God we believe that this last service in 2025 is going to be a service to remember in Jesus name and everybody said come on help me amen amen good morning I'm Whitney and welcome to revolution if this is your first Sunday with us we are excited you're here please stop by the connect hub our team would love to meet you personally and give you a welcome gift if you're watching online say hi in the comments we'd love to connect with you and welcome you to church today now here's what's going on at revolution we hope you'll join us here on January 1st as we host our very first awake 21 event of 2026 head to awake 21.com to see a full calendar of January's events please join us as we pray and fast for 21 days beginning Sunday January 4th we will have available for you the Bible reading plan and prayer points in the lobby after service no one should face life alone and we believe in the incredible power of prayer if you're in need of prayer today our prayer team is here for you after the service simply come up and connect with one of our team members you can also write your prayer requests on a connect card and drop it in the offering bucket as you leave for those joining us online we're here for you too feel

free to share your prayer requests in the comments we'd love to lift you up and pray did you miss anything want to stay up today on everything happening here at revolution visit our website at Rio revolution calm or download the church center app for all the latest news and upcoming events thank you so much for being with us today we hope you feel right at home enjoy the rest of the service good morning how's everybody doing today good good good morning my name is Katie Hawk I have been a part of Revolution Church for about five years now I moved here from Chicago about eight years ago with the love of my life and my family I want to show you a picture of my family they'll put it up on the screen that is some of them we have 12 kiddos all together but those are the six that are still in the house with us aren't they cute yeah how many of you have kids have you ever tried have you ever tried to take like a nice little walk with your kids you have this great idea that you're gonna spend this quality time with them and it's gonna be fun and it's gonna be peaceful in this this is what I think that looks like right everyone's smiling and holding hands and peacefully enjoying nature together, but how many of you know that's not really very realistic, right? This is just what you post on social media. Okay, let me show you a picture of what it's really like when I try to take a walk with my kids. Yeah. My oldest daughter and I joke that we should have two albums on Facebook, like the pretty family pictures that we want everyone to see and then the real raw unedited pictures of what life actually looks like. Because to be honest taking a walk with your kids like as much as you love them can kind of be a little bit of a nightmare sometimes. Kids don't really listen and they run ahead and they can't keep up and they want us to carry them. Two years ago, I took my family to Costa Rica. We were staying in this beautiful resort and we had a morning free and I discovered that this resort had a sloth trail like with real sloths just walking around hanging in the trees and I was so excited. I was like kids. There's something really cool. I want to show you. Let's take a walk and it started off. Okay, but my kids have a lot of different personalities. So my one daughter she ran ahead like she had to be at the front. I had to keep calling her back.

We didn't know what was around the next corner. There could be a cliff that she could fall off of. Another one of my kids stopped to look at everything. They were so slow and then another one kept going off the path and was running all over the place. I'm just trying to keep everyone together. A few times I found something really beautiful like a waterfall or a cool plant and I try to turn it into a teaching moment because I'm a homeschool mom and that's what we do, but the kids were distracted and not really that interested in learning. They wanted to just keep going. So we're walking and pretty soon guess what they said. I'm thirsty. Do you have any water? Yes. I'm hungry. Do you have a snack? Yes. I don't like these snacks. Do you have a different snack? Yes. I'm hot. I'm tired. Are we there yet? This hill is too big. I'm bored. Why aren't we seeing any sloths? Eventually, they said can we just go back to the resort and I got so frustrated and tired of all the whining that I said yes, let's just go back and we never got to see any sloths and as you can tell I'm still a little sad about that, right? So why am I telling you this story? Okay? I want you to keep it in mind as I share a different story. A story about Israel. But really it's a story about identity and about what happens when people forget God's name and in forgetting his name forget their own name. Okay, after God created the world sin entered and he was separated from his people. He wanted a relationship but as people were so far from him, they didn't know him anymore. So he came up with a plan to use a man named Abraham. Abraham was a man who came to know God. He walked with him and talked with him and trusted him and through Abraham's descendants God wanted to show the world his glory and his goodness. Abraham had a son named Isaac. Isaac had a son named Jacob and Jacob had a lot of dysfunction. Okay, he ended up with 12 sons from four baby mamas, right? He fought with God, right? After fighting with God, God actually changed his name to Israel. So the 12 sons of Jacob became the 12 sons of Israel or the 12 tribes of Israel or the Israelites. Okay, now Jacob loved his son Joseph the most and 10 of the other brothers were really jealous. So they sold Joseph into slavery and told their dad he was dead.

Like I told you there was some dysfunction, right? God still used them. Joseph went through trials and he ended up becoming the second in command of Egypt just under the leader called Pharaoh. There was a great famine and because of his position he was able to rescue his family despite what they had done to him. And it's a beautiful story of forgiveness. So the whole family moves to Egypt to be with Joseph. Eventually Joseph dies and so did the Pharaoh who loved him. A new Pharaoh came and decided that the descendants of Jacob's 12 sons, the Israelites, would make really great slaves. They remained slaves for 400 years. 400 years, that's a long time to be in bondage. It's long enough to forget. Long enough for an entire group of people to lose sight once again of who their God was. So God decided to use a man named Moses to remind them. When Moses was 80 years old God appeared to him in a burning bush and told him to rescue the Israelites. Moses was afraid but God promised to be with him. So with the power of God Moses demanded the Pharaoh let the Israelites go and eventually led possibly as many as 2.4 million people out of Egypt. across the Red Sea in one of the greatest miracles of all time. And then God said to his people, let's take a walk. I have this amazing place I want to take you. It's called the Promised Land. It's flowing with milk and honey. It's more beautiful than you could possibly imagine. It probably had sloths, right? Yeah. So they start their walk, and he takes them to the base of a mountain. And he said, let's stop here for a bit so I can teach you some things. He gives them the 10 commandments, and he begins teaching them about how to live

in a relationship with him. But the people were distracted and not really that interested in learning. So he takes them a little bit further. And pretty soon, God, we're thirsty. Do you have any water? So God brings water from a rock. God, we're hungry. Do you have any snacks? God rains bread down from heaven. God, we don't like this food. Can you send something else? So God sends them quails. And then they're like, God, that's too many quails. Can you stop sending the quails? And God's like, come on, guys. Let's keep walking. So they're walking, and they're complaining. And eventually, they said, God, can we just go back? This is too hard. We don't want to do this anymore. Literally, the Israelites are asking to go back to Egypt, back to slavery and bondage, because the walk with the Lord was just too hard. So after so much complaining, God finally said, fine. Have what you want. I love you too much to let you go back, but I'm not taking you into the promised land. You can wander here for a while, and I'll try again with your kids.

And that generation never made it to the promised land. They wandered in the wilderness with no direction for 40 years, and they missed out on the incredible destination the Lord had for them. I wonder how often is our life like that, where God says to us, let's go for a walk. And sometimes we get way ahead of God, and that's a little bit dangerous. We're going too fast, and he can't protect us when we're that far ahead. So God is trying to call us back, but we're like, God, you're not moving fast enough. Things aren't happening quick enough. I'm in a hurry. This is taking too long. Sometimes we stop to look at the world around us, and we get distracted, and we get a little bit stuck in a place. And sometimes we get way off path. We go our own way. We try to discover our own things, and we end up walking much further than we ever needed to. And most of the time, we spend the whole walk complaining about the walk. This is hard. I don't like this. This is uncomfortable. I don't want to be here. Just let me go back. How many times do we need God to just take our hand like a child

so that we can stay on the path? If we could just learn to walk with him, to be with him, to enjoy the lessons, to trust his provision, how much more peaceful would our lives be? Do you know on my sloth walk in Costa Rica who never left my side? My husband. Not once. And do you know why? First, he trusted me. He trusted that I knew where I was going, and he trusted that I had a plan. And second, he just wanted to spend time with me, regardless of what we were doing. He loved me. He wanted to walk with me. He wanted to talk with me. It doesn't matter where we're going. What if we could look at our father that way? Trust where he's taking us and just enjoy being in his presence. But you see, my husband could do that because he's mature, but my children, they're just babies. But sometimes we are those babies, right? But God needs us to get to a point where we grow up and we become the bride of Christ and we hold his hand walking next to him. Whatever comes, whatever trial, whatever is around the next corner, never leaving his side. That's where God wants us.

How many of you in here, and you don't have to raise your hand if you don't want to, but how many of you in here read your Bible regularly? I love how there are so many different ways to read the Bible. It's so unlike any other book, right? Some people can meditate on one scripture for like days, and other people study a specific topic or a word. But that's not how I can do it. I'm not that way. I feel this need to see the big picture of the Bible, the whole story, right? So I read the Bible over and over and over, trying to understand the people and the structure and the timelines. And so every year, I start in January with Genesis. And Genesis is an amazing book that explains creation all the way through that story of Joseph that we talked about. And then in Exodus, it describes Moses leading the slaves out of Egypt and giving them the Ten Commandments. And then it goes downhill a little bit, OK? You get to Leviticus. Leviticus is a A lot of laws, and that's a little bit challenging to read, right? And then you get to numbers, and God tells Moses to number the people, so there's a lot of names and a lot of numbers, right? And then you get to Deuteronomy, which means repeated law. So you literally get to just read all those laws over again, right?

And I usually just kind of hurry through those three books, right? Because I want to get to where Joshua finally leads the people into the promised land, okay? But this year, I was a little bit more intentional about reading those books, okay? And when I'm in the book of Numbers, something jumped out at me. I had been missing a very important part of the story, and it blew my mind, okay? On the walk that God had with the Israelites, do you know how long it took God to bring the Israelites from slavery in Egypt to the edge of the promised land? Two years. Two years, not 40 years, two years. After giving them the Ten Commandments, God brought them to the edge of the promised land, and they're standing there, looking across the Jordan River, where they could see what was in store on the other side. Less than two years after being rescued from slavery and crossing the Red Sea, they're standing there, staring at the amazing promise of God, like it's right there. And God, who I'm sure was so excited, was like, here you go. Look, look where I brought you go. Take possession of your land. And guess how the people responded? They were like, eh, I don't know. I'm not so sure. I mean, it looks okay from here, but what if it's really not that great? What if we came all this way, and then we cross over, and it's really not that good? And God's like, no, guys, it's great. It's awesome. Go get it. And the people were like, I don't know. We're still not sure.

Can we send some people over to check it out before we make that decision? So God agreed, and he told them to send one spy from each of the 12 tribes over there, and they did. And the spies were gone for 40 days, and they came back, and they said it was the most beautiful land they had ever seen, better than you could possibly imagine. They brought some fruit back from the land that was more delicious than anything they had ever tasted, but they said there were some people in the promised land, people who weren't like them. Ten of the spies came back terrified. They said, the people over there are huge. They are giants. We cannot defeat them. Compared to them, we look like grasshoppers. Grasshoppers. I want you to think about what that word implies. It implies that something is insignificant, weak, inferior, small, easily crushed. That's how the Israelites saw themselves. Two of the spies, Joshua and Caleb, disagreed. They said this in Numbers 14, verses 8 through 9. They said, and if the Lord is pleased with us, he will bring us safely into that land and give it to us. It is a land rich, flowing with milk and honey. Do not rebel against the Lord, and don't be afraid of the people of the land. They are only helpless. Pray to us. They have no protection, but the Lord is with us. Don't be afraid of them. But the people were. They were terrified. They tore their clothes, and they cried out, and they begged for God to take them

back to Egypt. They asked God, why would you rescue us and provide for our need, walk us so far just to kill us? They actually said they wished that they could have just died in the wilderness. So they're standing on the edge of their promise, looking at it, but they couldn't take the step to get it. God was literally handing them a gift of hope and a future, handing them blessings, but they just wanted to go back to where it was comfortable. In that moment, all of them, except Joshua and Caleb, forgot who God was. So they forgot who they were. Now, their main complaint is they weren't like those people. They said, we are insignificant and inferior. Their fear caused them to make excuses. They complained some more. And this, this is when God said, fine, have what you want. Die in the wilderness, and I'll try again with your kids. Makes me wonder how many of us have ever let fear stop us from doing something God called us to do, or maybe being intimidated by other people. Can I be honest with you? Fear is something that I used to struggle with a lot. Like, I used to be afraid to talk to people. The idea of standing on a stage would make me absolutely sick. and sharing Jesus with someone else? Like, no way, zero chance I was gonna do that. But about six years ago, the Lord invited me to know him more and to walk with him in ministry. And I wasn't exactly sure what that would entail. It started as just posting fun facts on Facebook of interesting things that I learned when I was reading the Bible,

but the Lord slowly began to stretch me. And he would say things like, talk to that stranger. Offer to pray for your server. Start praying out loud in this group. And I actually enjoyed it. And it didn't take long, and I started to get way ahead of God, right? Like, I had all these ideas and all these things that I wanted to do, but it didn't usually turn out like I thought it was because I was sorta all over the place, right? I started a blog, no one read it. I started a Bible study, no one came. I started a YouTube channel, no one watched the videos. I started a class, no one showed up. And this went on for years. And guess what I did? I complained. Why isn't anything happening? Why aren't people coming? This isn't fast enough. Why am I wasting my time? And then one day, the Lord spoke to me, and he said, Katie, I'm ready for you to speak. And I literally, I was sitting in church. I laughed out loud. And God said, it's time. So I began arguing with him. How many of you argue with God when you think his ideas are super ridiculous, right?

And this was absolutely ridiculous idea. So I'm arguing with him, and all of a sudden, my hand starts moving, and it starts writing, and it's writing so fast I could barely keep up. And I didn't know what it was writing, but it was writing. And when it finally stopped, I looked down and I saw a list. And the list had all the things that I had tried that didn't work out. And I was like, cool, God, thanks. Thanks for reminding me of all my failures, right? And he said, Katie, I allowed you to do those things. I allowed you to get off the path, but I promised to work all things together for your good. And I didn't understand. But he gently and lovingly explained to me, that time you wrote a blog, I was teaching you to write. That time you started a Bible study, I was teaching you how to study my word. That time you made videos, I was teaching you how to share your faith. That time you taught a class, I was teaching you how to speak. I used each and every one of your so-called failures to get you where I needed you to be because I have a plan for your life that will glorify me. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.

Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. You see, we had taken a break so he could teach me some things. So I took that step of faith and I began to speak. And my first time was in this tiny church. There were maybe 25 people there. And I was so scared, I was shaking, I almost threw up. But each time that I did it, I got a little bit more comfortable. I started telling God, I want more, I want more. And then one day the Lord spoke to me and he said, okay, you want more? Go to celebrate recovery. And I was like, I don't even know what that is, right? And I was like, God, hmm, I know you brought me this far. And I know that you have provided for my every need, but I don't know about this because those people seem a little scary. I'm like, they're not like me. Those people are giants. Those people are intimidating. Lots of those people have been in jail, right? I'm just a grasshopper. I would be completely insignificant. I don't have a background in addiction. And I think this is our problem,

letting fear and intimidation stop us from our calling. Right, throughout the entire Bible, people struggled to trust God. It has been thousands of years and we have heard thousands of stories of God's faithfulness yet we still struggle. For three years, I stood at the edge. I could see where God was calling me, but I could not take that step. And so I pulled back and I got behind God in our walk together and I went back to where it was comfortable. And I tried to create some of my own paths and do things my own way, but God is so gracious. He would just stand on the path and wait for me to catch up, gently trying to direct me back to him. And then one day my daughter came to me. She had a friend who was struggling with addiction. And she said, I'm gonna take my friend to celebrate recovery. Do you wanna come? And I said, why don't you go check it out first and tell me what it's like. Literally, like Israel, I sent a spy. Okay, so my daughter came back and she's like, it's better than you can imagine. It is amazing. Like the Lord is there and it's powerful and it's incredible and you have to come. And in that moment I had a choice.

I could keep wandering around in my comfort zone complaining that God wasn't using me the way that I thought he should, right? Or I could trust that the God who rescued me, the God who provided. for me, the God who taught me to read, write, and read, and study, and share my faith, that that God might know what he's doing. And so I took that step. And today, Celebrate Recovery is one of the greatest blessings of my life, right? But back then, fear stopped me from going. I didn't go because I thought I was a grasshopper. I thought I was insignificant and not qualified and not like those people. I want to show you something that Israel couldn't see and something that I couldn't see about myself either. Thirty-eight years after the Israelites refused to enter the Promised Land and God told them to go wander in the wilderness, Joshua is finally ready to lead the next generation in. So he sends men across the Jordan River to prepare. And they meet a woman there named Rahab. She's lived there her entire life. And when she talks to them, she reveals something shocking to them. You have to read this. It's in Joshua chapter 2 verses 9 through 11. This is Rahab speaking. She says, I know the Lord has given you this land. We are all afraid of you. Everyone in the land is living in terror. For we have heard how the Lord made a dry path for you through the Red Sea when you left Egypt. And we know what you did to Shihon and Og, the two Amorite kings east of the Jordan River

whose people you completely destroyed. No wonder our hearts have melted in fear. No one has the courage to fight after hearing such things. For the Lord your God is the supreme God of the heavens above and the earth below. But hold on. The Israelites thought they were grasshoppers. But the people on the other side, they were afraid of them. Not just afraid, terrified because they thought mighty warriors were about to come in and defeat them. Isn't that crazy? Rahab knew God's name. She knew his reputation. She knew what he had done. And because she knew who he was, she knew who the Israelites were even when they couldn't see it for themselves, right? Because the Israelites could not see themselves the way everybody else saw them. They couldn't see what they looked like with God on their side. And maybe that's the same for you. Maybe you can't see what you look like with God on your side. Because how many of you have felt like that grasshopper? Insignificant and weak and inferior and small. How many of you have seen what the Lord has in store for your life? Like it's right there and he's called you, but you're stuck. Because maybe you aren't like those people. Maybe you think those people are better than me. Those people are stronger than me. Those people are smarter than me. Those people are more experienced than me. I'm not good enough. Listen to this.

You know how Moses, God gave Moses the 10 commandments, right? One of those commandments is do not take the Lord's name in vain. Do you know what it means to take the Lord's name in vain? Most people think it's cussing, okay? The definition of in vain means disrespectful or irreverent, okay? So cussing fits, right? But there's more. It says don't take God's name in vain. So you have to ask what is God's name, okay? And you could say God has lots of names because he does, right? God, Jehovah, Yahweh, Elohim. But what did God tell Moses? His name is when God was talking to Moses. In the burning bush, and Moses was afraid to go tell the Pharaoh to let the people go, what did God say his name was? Exodus 3.14, I am who I am. Say this to the people of Israel, I am has sent me to you. When God told Moses his name was I am, he wasn't just giving him a title to put on a business card. He was saying know my name, really know it because when you do, everything changes. So if he tells Moses my name is I am, and he tells Moses don't use my name in vain, then don't you think saying things like I am just a grasshopper is taking the Lord's name in vain? What about I am weak, I am not good enough, I am sick, I am tired, I am a bad mom, I am ugly, I am a loser, I am nothing, I am an addict, I am a felon, I am alone, I am too far gone. Those words are disrespectful because they make God a liar. Because that is definitely not what God says about you. We have got to start using words that line up with God's word, which is truth. as it goes deeper today than it did in Moses' day.

Because if you've accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, the Holy Spirit lives inside of you. And don't you think when you say things like I am stupid, you're actually calling God stupid, right? The Israelites didn't know who they were, and most of you don't either because you don't truly know who the great I am is. So if you want to know your name, if you want to know who you really are, you have to start by knowing his name. Because when you do, you can attach the right words to I am, right? Words like I am chosen, I am beautiful, I am forgiven, I am free, I am prosperous, I am healed, I am strong, I am worthy, I am called, I am victorious, I am complete, I am accepted, I am a new creation, I am loved. God is saying to you what he said to Moses in the burning bush, know my name. Because when you truly know my name, you'll finally know yours. Now you may say things like, God, I am too broken to be used. But God says in Colossians 1.12, you are qualified. And you may say, I am just a grasshopper. But God says in Romans 8.37, you are more than a conqueror. You may say, I am disqualified because of my past. But God says in Ephesians 2.10, you are his workmanship. You may say, I am not able to do this.

But God says in Hebrews 13.21 that you are equipped. You may say, God, I am all alone in this. But God says in Hebrews 13.5 that you are never forsaken. You may say, I am too scared to step out. But God says in Joshua 1.9, you are courageous. You may say, I am invisible, nobody sees me. But God says in Psalm 139.1 that you are fully known. And you may say, I am just too small to make a difference. But God says in Judges 6.12 that you are a mighty warrior. Each one of us has a view of God that has been shaped by countless voices throughout our lives. Your perspective on God's character and his relationship to you will undoubtedly be affected by the experiences you've had and the people around you. But maybe it's time for a perspective change. Romans 8 verses 14 through 16 says, for all who are led by the spirit of God are children of God. You have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God's spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him Abba Father, for his spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God's children. God sees you as his child and he promises to care for you and provide for you. And he loves you and he wants to spend time with you not because you are good, but because he is good.

And although it may seem simple, truly accepting this can create radical changes in your life as you approach God with confidence in who he is and who he says you are. The Lord wants to take you on a walk. There are no promises it will be easy, but he does promise to be with you. So walk with him, hold his hand, whatever comes, whatever trial, whatever's around the next corner, never leaving his side. Guys, the Israelites couldn't do that. They got stuck in fear, stuck in anxiety, stuck worrying they weren't good enough, they weren't strong enough, stuck thinking they weren't like everyone else. They got stuck using the name of the Lord in vain. They couldn't see how amazing they were with God on their side, even though everyone else could. Don't be like Israel. I pray you know who you are because you know who he is. So walk with him and get to know him and let him teach you and let him guide you and take that step of faith and let him have all of your life. But guys, while you're on this journey and you're on your own little sloth walk with the Lord, I need you to remember that there are people out there that are wandering aimlessly, lost in the wilderness, entire generations of people, and the Lord wants to use you to reach them.

Do you remember what made a difference on my sloth walk? It was my husband who stayed right beside me. That's how we're supposed to do this. You may need someone that's just one step ahead of you who can help you stay on the path when you fall behind or you need some encouragement. You may need that one person that's just one step behind you that you can point back to Jesus when they start to wander. Guys, that's called discipleship, okay? And that's part of your walk because we are not meant to do this alone. And those lost people, they may. They seem intimidating, but remember what Rahab revealed. They are not giants, and they need what you have. It is imperative that you recognize what will happen to them if no one is brave enough to try to reach them. If Moses had not trusted God, the Israelites would still be stuck in slavery and bondage, and it is the same today, only that slavery and bondage is eternal. Guys, there is an urgency. You don't know how much time you have, and you don't know how much time the people around you have, because everywhere you look, people are dying, and they're going to hell. So my question is, what is holding you back? What are you waiting for? What are you afraid of?

What does God say about you that you just can't bring yourself to believe? As we end the 2025, like in just a few days, a new year is beginning, a new page, a new walk. Some of you have been wandering in this wilderness all year, stuck in fear and anxiety, not knowing your identity, thinking you're a grasshopper, but God is standing at the edge with you right now, and he's saying it's time. Take a step. Don't carry fear into another year. Don't spend another 365 days wandering when the promised land is right there. Guys, I've shared three stories with you today, the sloth walk with my kids, Israel's journey where they stood at the edge of the promised land, and my own journey where I wandered for three years, and all three stories have the same problem, fear, unbelief, wrong identity. We didn't know his name, and that's what kept us stuck, but they also have the same solution, trusting God and taking the step, and it starts with knowing his name, because when you know who he is, you finally know who you are. Remember when Moses was afraid and unsure, and God gave him his name. I am who I am.

Say this to the people of Israel. I am has sent me to you, and he's saying the same thing right now. Know his name and take the step. As the prayer team comes up, I wanna pray with three groups of people, and then we're gonna do another worship song, and we're gonna have the altars open for anyone who needs some prayer as we go into this new year and this new walk, right? I wanna pray for three groups of people. The first is in group one, someone who's never taken that first step with Jesus. You're letting fear or intimidation or a wrong view of yourself keep you in the wilderness. God is inviting you to walk with him today. The second group is a group of people who are Christians, but you're stuck. You can see where God is calling you, but you just can't take that step. You're letting fear and anxiety and intimidation keep you in the wilderness. Today is your day to step into the promised land. And the third group is those of you who are walking with Jesus, but you're walking alone. You need someone to walk alongside of you, to disciple you, to encourage you, to keep you on track, or maybe you need to step up and start walking with someone else. Today is your day to stop walking alone.

So if you're in any of those three groups, I wanna invite you to come forward and pray with our prayer team. We wanna speak identity over you. We wanna help you take that next step because we don't want fear to keep you in the wilderness. Guys, don't miss out on what God has for you because you think you're a grasshopper. Get to know the great I am. Lord God, thank you so much. I thank you for every person who walked in this room today. Lord God, I thank you that you love them, that you have called them, Lord God, that you have a plan and a purpose for their life, Lord, and you're just waiting for them to get back on track with you. I thank you, Lord, that you are a gracious God who always waits, who's always patient with us, Lord, no matter how many times we get off track or fall behind or run ahead. Lord, I pray for those people that have never taken the step to accept you as their Lord and Savior and walk this journey of life with you. I pray right now, Lord God, that you would call them, that they would come forward, that they would humble themselves and accept that walk because they have no idea how amazing the walk with you can be. Lord God, call them right now.

Lord, I pray for those people who are walking with you, but they don't know who they are. Lord, I pray that when they look in the mirror, that they see themselves the way that you see them, that they see themselves as precious sons and daughters, Lord God, that you created them in your image and that you call them certain things, help them to believe the things that you say about who you are and who they are, Lord. And if there's anyone who feels alone, or bring them other people, bring them people to disciple, bring them people. to walk with them, Lord, as iron sharpens iron, Lord, so that they can just continue to grow. Above everything that we've asked today, Lord, I just want to tell you that we love you, that we honor you, that we thank you. We thank you for your son, Jesus. We thank you for your grace and your mercy and your compassion. And it's in the mighty, precious, powerful name of Jesus we pray. Amen. Amen. Amen. How lovely, isn't it? Give him glory. Come on, Lord. Come on. I love you, Lord.

Xin câo. Xin cao. Look out today. What you are doing here in The Ruins And where this will lead Oh, but I know But down through the years I'll look back on this moment And see your hand on it And know you were here And I'll testify of the battles you've won How you were my portion When there wasn't enough And I'll testify of the seas that we've crossed The waters you've parted The waves that I've walked Singing, oh, my God did not fail Oh, it's the story I'll tell Oh, I know it is well I know, I know Oh, it's the story I'll tell Believing gets hard When options are few When I can't see what you're doing I know that you're proving You're the God who comes through Oh, but I know, I know, I know, I know That over the years I'll look back on this moment And see your hand on it And know you were here And I'll testify of the battles you've won How you were my portion When there wasn't enough You're my provider And I'll testify of the seas that we've crossed You and I The waters you've parted The waves that I've walked Singing, oh, my God did not fail You'll never fail, you never will Oh, it's the story I'll tell It's my testimony Oh, I know it is well Oh, it's the story I'll tell And all that is left is highest praises So sing hallelujah To the rock of ages Oh, all that is left is highest praises

♪ All that is left is highest praises ♪ ♪ Oh we'll sing, so sing hallelujah to the rock of ages ♪ ♪ All that is left, all that is left is highest praise ♪ ♪ Is highest, highest, highest praise ♪ ♪ So sing hallelujah to the rock of ages ♪ ♪ Oh let's sing hallelujah to the rock of ages ♪ ♪ All that is left is highest praises to the rock of ages ♪ ♪ You deserve it God, sing hallelujah to the rock of ages ♪ ♪ And I'll testify of the battles you've won ♪ ♪ How you were my portion when there wasn't enough ♪ ♪ And I'll testify of the seas that we've crossed ♪ ♪ The waters you've parted, the waves that I've walked ♪ ♪ Singing oh, my God did not fail, never has ♪ ♪ Oh, my God did not fail, never has ♪ ♪ Oh, it's the story I'll tell ♪ ♪ Oh, I know it is well ♪ ♪ I know it is well ♪ ♪ Oh, it's the story I'll tell ♪ ♪ Your story I'll tell, your story I'll tell ♪ ♪ Your story I'll tell, cause I know it is well ♪ ♪ I know it's well, cause you've never failed me God ♪ ♪ You've never failed me God, you've never failed me God ♪ ♪ I know it is well ♪ ♪ I know it is well ♪ ♪ I know it is, I know, I know, cause I know ♪ ♪ You're a great big God, cause I know ♪ ♪ You're a great big God ♪ ♪ Jehovah Jireh, that's who you are, you're my provider God ♪ ♪ Jehovah Jireh, that's who you are, you're my provider God ♪ ♪ Jehovah Rapha, you've always been a healer ♪

♪ Jehovah Shalom, you are my peace ♪ ♪ Jehovah Shalom, you are our peace ♪ ♪ And I know it is well, I know it is well, I know it is well ♪ ♪ I know it is well, I know it is well, I know it is well ♪ Yes, and it's nothing that we do, it's nothing that I can do. It's the trust and the foundation of who you are. No matter what, same God yesterday, today, and forever. And no matter what we face, God, you are there. And so Father, I just ask this morning that your peace would be so great. so overwhelmingly heavy this morning that all the anxiety father everything that we've put on ourselves god no god you are our peace you are our portion you are our healer you are our deliverer you are the banner over us god father i pray that our eyes would be more fixated on you lord jesus than what is in front of us and know that it is well father we glorify your beautiful name you are worthy jesus you're worthy god god i pray that you would just bless every heart that is here this morning introduce yourself in new ways there's so many facets god lord i pray that we discover new areas of your heart this year god reveal your glory to us jesus we need more we want more we bless your sweet beautiful name father in jesus name we say amen